Brontës (26 page)

where, in all human probability, I shall continue during the remainder of my life. This Living is what is here called a Benefice, or Perpetual Curacy. It is mine for life, no one can take it from me. The only difference between it and a Vicarage is that in a Vicarage the salary arises from tithes, and in the Living I have it arises
from the rent of Freehold Estates, which I like much better. My salary is not large, it is only about two hundred a year. But in addition to this two hundred a year I have a good House, which is mine for life also, and is rent free.

Just in case Mrs Burder had not taken the hint, but not wishing to be too blatant, he continued: ‘I should like to know whether Miss Davy be still alive, how you are yourself, how all your children are, whether they be married or single, and whether they be doing well, both as it respects this life, and that which is to come.'
¹⁰¹

Not knowing that the family had moved to The Park, a farm nearer Finchingfield owned by Mary's brother, Patrick addressed his letter to their old home, The Broad, and then waited for a reply.

While he waited he was approached by the chairman of the committee at Woodhouse Grove School and asked to examine the boys in classical learning. The last time he had done this was in 1812 and the occasion had been the start of his serious courtship of Maria Branwell. It must have been acutely distressing, therefore, to have to return to the school where he had met and wooed his wife and where so many happy memories must have been revived. Patrick was never one to shirk his duty, however, and this time he was able to give a satisfactory report to the committee. As a clergyman in the Church of England he then had the curious distinction of being thanked by the Methodist Conference for his ‘Valuable and gratuitous services' in examining the boys and presenting his report.
¹⁰²

At the end of July Patrick received the long-awaited reply to his letter and learnt that Mary Burder was indeed still single. Patrick lost no time in writing to renew his addresses to her:

It is now almost fifteen years since I last saw you. This is a long interval of time and may have effected many changes. It has made me look something older. But, I trust I have gained more than I have lost, I hope I may venture to say I am
wiser
and better … Though I have had much bitter sorrow in consequence of the sickness and death of my dear Wife, yet I have ample cause to praise God for his numberless mercies. I have a
small
but
sweet
little family that often soothe my heart and afford me pleasure by their endearing little ways, and I have what I consider a competency of the good things of this life. I am
now
settled
in a part of the country
for
life
where I have many friends, and it has pleased God in many respects to give me favour in the eyes of the people, and to prosper me in my ministerial labours. I want but
one
addition to my comforts, and then I
think I should wish for no more on this side [of] eternity. I want to see a dearly Beloved Friend, kind as I
once
saw her, and as
much
disposed to promote my happiness. If I have ever given her any pain I only wish for an opportunity to make her ample amends, by every attention and kindness.
¹⁰³

Patrick even referred her to John Buckworth for references, in case she doubted his own words! She clearly did, and in a letter full of ‘disdain, hatred, and revenge'
¹⁰⁴
she gave a ‘
decided
negative' to Patrick's proposed visit, telling him, ‘I know of no ties of friendship
ever
existing between us which the last eleven or twelve years have not severed or at least placed an insuperable bar to any revival.' She also firmly quashed any idea that Patrick might have had about her continued unmarried state: ‘My present condition upon which you are pleased to remark has hitherto been the state of my choice and to me a state of much happiness and comfort.' Somewhat maliciously, in view of his proposal, she told him that the Lord could supply all his and his children's needs, and expressed the hope that he would be as faithful, zealous and successful at Haworth as his illustrious predecessor, William Grimshaw.
¹⁰⁵

After such an assault, it took Patrick some months before he could summon his courage to pursue his object once more. On 1 January 1824, he wrote in terms of mild reproach for her unkindness and sought her forgiveness:

For this, and every other word or action towards you and yours in which I have been wrong, I ask your pardon. I do not remember the things you allude to, but as far as I can collect from your letter I must have said something or other highly unbecoming and improper. Whatever it was, as a Christian Minister and a gentleman, I feel myself called upon to acknowledge my great sorrow for it. Such an apology becomes me, and is, I deem, required of me. And such an apology I now make.
¹⁰⁶

Had he left it at that, Mary Burder might have thought better of him but, with characteristic obstinacy, Patrick refused to give up this last chance of securing a mother for his children. Returning to the touchy subject of her unmarried state, he affirmed, ‘I
have
not
the
least
doubt
that if you had
been
mine
you would have been happier than you
now
are or
can
be as one in
single
life. You would have had other and kindlier views and feelings.'
¹⁰⁷
Despite all that she had said, he renewed his request to be allowed to visit
her more urgently than before. Mary Burder seems to have left this, Patrick's last letter, unanswered. He had abased himself to no avail.

Patrick was now nearly forty-seven years of age. His lack of fortune and position made him an unattractive marriage prospect among the ranks of his wealthier friends. He had tried and failed to win back someone who, having once loved him for himself alone, now hated him for the same reason. There could have been no clearer sign that God did not intend Patrick to take a second wife. He would have to abandon any idea of remarrying, resign himself to celibacy and, most important of all, make alternative plans for the future of his children.

Chapter Five

CHARITY-CHILDREN

On 4 October 1823, Patrick called at Kipping House for the first time in nearly two years to renew his acquaintance with Elizabeth Firth and her stepmother. Perhaps he apologized for his ill-advised proposal two years before; perhaps he simply explained the desperation which had led him to make it. Certainly he was forgiven and invited to stay for a couple of nights.
¹
He may well have taken the opportunity to discuss with Elizabeth Firth the problem of what he was to do with his young family. Aunt Branwell had been with him for just over two years and was anxious to return to Cornwall. If she went, there would only be the two Garrs girls to look after the children and, with the best will in the world, they were not themselves sufficiently well educated to take on the responsibility of bringing up his daughters. They needed a role model to learn the social niceties that would be expected of them as the daughters of a clergyman. More importantly, as it was obvious that their father would be unable to provide financially for them all, they needed to have the sort of education that would equip them to earn their own living.

There were not many options open to the daughters of impoverished clergymen. The most likely course was a suitable marriage but, as Patrick had found to his own cost, without money behind them they were unlikely to attract husbands of substance. If they moved in the right circles, however, their chances of a good marriage were improved; the correct sort of education, with girls of similar social standing but greater fortune, would be an important step in the right direction. Equally, it was unlikely that all five would marry, or marry well. If the option of marriage was not open to them, then a career had to be considered. There was, of course, no question of them entering a profession as this was simply unheard of in the early nineteenth century. Dressmaking, shopkeeping, nursing
²
and going into service were all working-class occupations and could not be considered. All that remained was teaching, either in a private school or in a private household, or becoming the companion of a wealthy lady. In either case, the right education was essential. It was not simply that the girls would have to be able to read and write; they would have to walk, talk and behave correctly in a society which condemned any deviation from the accepted standards of conduct. They would have to have the right sort of feminine attainments too, including an ability to draw, play the piano and do needlework; a smattering of French, Italian and (if the girl was bookish) German was an advantage, but the classical languages or mathematics were the prerogative of the male sex. The contemporary view of a woman's role is perfectly put by one of Patrick's characters in
The Maid of Killarney
.

The education of a female ought, most assuredly, to be competent, in order that she might enjoy herself, and be a fit companion for man. But, believe me, lovely, delicate, and sprightly woman, is not formed by nature, to pore over the musty pages of Grecian and Roman literature, or to plod through the windings of Mathematical Problems; nor has Providence assigned for her sphere of action, either the cabinet or the field. Her forte is softness, tenderness, and grace.
³

With the acquisition of these qualities in mind, Patrick sought the advice of Elizabeth Firth, who seems to have recommended her own old school as the ideal place for his daughters.

Crofton Hall, near Wakefield, was a country house run as a boarding school for young ladies. It had been founded and run for nearly thirty years by Miss Richmal Mangnall, a lady whose name was preeminent in education circles. Pious and charitable – she gave one fifth of her annual income
to the poor – she was also something of a blue-stocking. Not content with running her own school, ‘a highly respected ladies' academy', she was the author of one of the standard text books, Mangnall's
Historical Questions
.
⁴
She had died some four years before, on 1 May 1820, but her school continued to be run on the lines she had set down.
⁵

Elizabeth Firth and Fanny Outhwaite, another Brontë godmother, had both been to Crofton Hall and had been very happy there. There seems to have been a mixture of carrot and stick in the learning process. Elizabeth was proud of, and preserved, the tiny prize cards she had won for learning and repeating her lessons correctly.
⁶
Misdemeanours, such as failing in lessons, were punished by having to learn Bible verses or dictionary excerpts, wearing the dunce's cap or being sent early to bed; graver offences, such as lying, thieving or obstinacy, merited whipping. Elizabeth's diary for the period reveals a cheerful round of lessons, half-holidays, concerts, dancing and the usual boarding-school obsession of eating.
⁷

Elizabeth Firth had been fifteen when she went to Crofton Hall; Maria and Elizabeth Brontë were now only nine and eight years old respectively, but they were still old enough to go away to boarding school and were certainly of an age when a formal education was beginning to be a necessity. It is possible that their two godmothers contributed at least some of their expenses.
⁸
The exact dates of the Brontës' time at Crofton Hall are not known. Patrick himself simply said that they went to a good school in Wakefield and briefly described his two eldest daughters: ‘Maria had a powerfully intellectual mind – Elizabeth had good solid sense.'
⁹
One imagines that with those qualities they would have done well. It seems likely that their stay was of fairly brief duration, given it was an expense Patrick could ill afford. Moreover, there was the problem of his three other daughters to contend with; it was only fair that they, too, should receive as good an education as was possible.

On 4 December 1823, an advertisement for a new school appeared in the
Leeds Intelligencer
. For Patrick it must have seemed like the answer to prayer. ‘School for Clergymen's Daughters' ran the headline. The advertisement announced that a property had been purchased at Cowan Bridge in the parish of Tunstall, one governess had already been engaged and a school would open on the premises in March or April.

The House will be enlarged and altered for the Accommodation of Sixty Pupils: each Girl is to pay £14 a Year (Half in Advance) for Clothing, Lodging,
Boarding, and Educating: and £1 Entrance towards the Expense of Books, &c. The Education will be directed according to the Capacities of the Pupils, and the Wishes of their Friends. In all Cases, the great Object in View will be their intellectual and religious Improvement; and to give that plain and useful Education, which may best fit them to return with Respectability and Advantage to their own Homes, or to maintain themselves in the different Stations of Life to which Providence may call them. If a more liberal Education is required for any who may be sent to be educated as Teachers and Governesses, an extra Charge will probably be made.
¹⁰