Delphi Complete Works of the Brontes Charlotte, Emily, Anne Brontë (Illustrated) (600 page)

‘C. Brontë.’

 
TO MISS ELLEN NUSSEY

‘November 4
th
, 1851.

‘Dear Ellen, — Papa, Tabby, and Martha are at present all better, yet none of them well.  Martha at present looks feeble.  I wish she had a better constitution.  As it is, one is always afraid of giving her too much to do; and yet there are many things I cannot undertake myself, and we do not like to change when we have had her so long.  How are you getting on in the matter of servants?  The other day I received a long letter from Mr. Taylor.  I told you I did not expect to hear thence, nor did I.  The letter is long, but it is worth your while to read it.  In its way it has merit, that cannot be denied; abundance of information, talent of a certain kind, alloyed (I think) here and there with errors of taste.  He might have spared many of the details of the bath scene, which, for the rest, tallies exactly with Mr. Thackeray’s account of the same process.  This little man with all his long letters remains as much a conundrum to me as ever.  Your account of the domestic joys at Hunsworth amused me much.  The good folks seem very happy — long may they continue so!  It somewhat cheers me to know that such happiness
does
exist on the earth.  Return Mr. Taylor’s letter when you have read it.  With love to your mother, — I am, dear Nell, sincerely yours,

‘C. B.’

TO JAMES TAYLOR, BOMBAY

‘Haworth,
November
15
th
, 1851.

‘My dear Sir, — Both your communications reached me safely — the note of the 17th September and the letter of the 2nd October.  You do yourself less than justice when you stigmatise the latter as “ill-written.”  I found it quite legible, nor did I lose a word, though the lines and letters were so close.  I should have been sorry if such had not been the case, as it appeared to me throughout highly interesting.  It is observable that the very same information which we have previously collected, perhaps with rather languid attention, from printed books, when placed before us in familiar manuscript, and comprising
 
the actual experience of a person with whom we are acquainted, acquires a new and vital interest: when we know the narrator we seem to realise the tale.

‘The bath scene amused me much.  Your account of that operation tallies in every point with Mr. Thackeray’s description in the
Journey from Cornhill to Grand Cairo
.  The usage seems a little rough, and I cannot help thinking that equal benefit might be obtained through less violent means; but I suppose without the previous fatigue the after-sensation would not be so enjoyable, and no doubt it is that indolent after-sensation which the self-indulgent Mahometans chiefly cultivate.  I think you did right to disdain it.

‘It would seem to me a matter of great regret that the society at Bombay should be so deficient in all intellectual attraction.  Perhaps, however, your occupations will so far absorb your thoughts as to prevent them from dwelling painfully on this circumstance.  No doubt there will be moments when you will look back to London and Scotland, and the friends you have left there, with some yearning; but I suppose business has its own excitement.  The new country, the new scenes too, must have their interest; and as you will not lack books to fill your leisure, you will probably soon become reconciled to a change which, for some minds, would too closely resemble exile.

‘I fear the climate — such as you describe it — must be very trying to an European constitution.  In your first letter, you mentioned October as the month of danger; it is now over.  Whether you have passed its ordeal safely, must yet for some weeks remain unknown to your friends in England — they can but
wish
that such may be the case.  You will not expect me to write a letter that shall form a parallel with your own either in quantity or quality; what I write must be brief, and what I communicate must be commonplace and of trivial interest.

‘My father, I am thankful to say, continues in pretty good health.  I read portions of your letter to him and he was interested in hearing them.  He charged me when I wrote to convey his very kind remembrances.

 
‘I had myself ceased to expect a letter from you.  On taking leave at Haworth you said something about writing from India, but I doubted at the time whether it was not one of those forms of speech which politeness dictates; and as time passed, and I did not hear from you, I became confirmed in this view of the subject.  With every good wish for your welfare, — I am, yours sincerely,

‘C. Brontë.’

TO MISS ELLEN NUSSEY

‘
November
19
th
, 1851.

‘Dear Ellen, — All here is much as usual, and I was thinking of writing to you this morning when I received your note.  I am glad to hear your mother bears this severe weather tolerably, as papa does also.  I had a cold, chiefly in the throat and chest, but I applied cold water, which relieved me, I think, far better than hot applications would have done.  The only events in my life consist in that little change occasional letters bring.  I have had two from Miss Wooler since she left Haworth which touched me much.  She seems to think so much of a little congenial company.  She says she has not for many days known such enjoyment as she experienced during the ten days she stayed here.  Yet you know what Haworth is — dull enough.

‘How could you imagine your last letter offended me?  I only disagreed with you on
one point
.  The little man’s disdain of the sensual pleasure of a Turkish bath had, I must own, my approval.  Before answering his epistle I got up my courage to write to Mr. Williams, through whose hands or those of Mr. Smith I knew the Indian letter had come, and beg him to give me an impartial judgment of Mr. Taylor’s character and disposition, owning that I was very much in the dark.  I did not like to continue correspondence without further information.  I got the answer, which I inclose.  You say nothing about the Hunsworth Turtle-doves — how are they? and how is the branch of promise?  I hope doing well. — Yours faithfully,

‘C. Brontë.’

 
TO W. S. WILLIAMS

‘
January
1
st
, 1852.

‘My dear Sir, — I am glad of the opportunity of writing to you, for I have long wished to send you a little note, and was only deterred from doing so by the conviction that the period preceding Christmas must be a very busy one to you.

‘I have wished to thank you for your last, which gave me very genuine pleasure.  You ascribe to Mr. Taylor an excellent character; such a man’s friendship, at any rate, should not be disregarded; and if the principles and disposition be what you say, faults of manner and even of temper ought to weigh light in the balance.  I always believed in his judgment and good-sense, but what I doubted was his kindness — he seemed to me a little too harsh, rigid, and unsympathising.  Now, judgment, sense, principle are invaluable and quite indispensable points, but one would be thankful for a
little
feeling, a
little
indulgence in addition — without these, poor fallible human nature shrinks under the domination of the sterner qualities.  I answered Mr. Taylor’s letter by the mail of the 19th November, sending it direct, for, on reflection, I did not see why I should trouble you with it.

‘Did your son Frank call on Mrs. Gaskell? and how did he like her?

‘My health has not been very satisfactory lately, but I think, though I vary almost daily, I am much better than I was a fortnight ago.  All the winter the fact of my never being able to stoop over a desk without bringing on pain and oppression in the chest has been a great affliction to me, and the want of tranquil rest at night has tried me much, but I hope for the better times.  The doctors say that there is no organic mischief.

‘Wishing a happy New Year to you,

‘C. Brontë.’

TO MISS ELLEN NUSSEY

‘
March
7
th
, 1852.

‘Dear Ellen, — I hope both your mother’s cold and yours are quite well ere this.  Papa has got something of his spring
 
attack of bronchitis, but so far it is in a greatly ameliorated form, very different to what it has been for three years past.  I do trust it may pass off thus mildly.  I continue better.

‘Dear Nell, I told you from the beginning that my going to Sussex was a most improbable event; I tell you now that unless want of health should absolutely compel me to give up work and leave home (which I trust and hope will not be the case) I
certainly shall not think of going
.  It is better to be decided, and decided I must be.  You can never want me less than when in Sussex surrounded by amusement and friends.  I do not know that I shall go to Scarbro’, but it might be possible to spare a fortnight to go there (for the sake of a sad duty rather than pleasure), when I could not give a month to a longer excursion.  I have not a word of news to tell you.  Many mails have come from India since I was at Brookroyd.  Expectation would at times be on the alert, but disappointment knocked her down.  I have not heard a syllable, and cannot think of making inquiries at Cornhill.  Well, long suspense in any matter usually proves somewhat cankering, but God orders all things for us, and to His Will we must submit.  Be sure to keep a calm mind; expect nothing. — Yours faithfully,

‘C. Brontë.’

When Mr. Taylor returned to England in 1856 Charlotte Brontë was dead.  His after-life was more successful than happy.  He did not, it is true, succeed in Bombay with the firm of Smith, Taylor & Co.  That would seem to have collapsed.  But he made friends in Bombay and returned there in 1863 as editor of the
Bombay Gazette
and the
Bombay Quarterly Review
.  A little later he became editor of the
Bombay Saturday Review
, which had not, however, a long career.  Mr. Taylor’s successes were not journalistic but mercantile.  As Secretary of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce, which appointment he obtained in 1865, he obtained much real distinction.  To this post he added that of Registrar of the University of Bombay and many other offices.  He was elected Sheriff in 1874, in which year he died.  An imposing funeral ceremony took place
 
in the Cathedral, and he was buried in the Bombay cemetery, where his tomb may be found to the left of the entrance gates, inscribed —

JAMES TAYLOR.  DIED APRIL 29, 1874, AGED 57.

He married during his visit to England, but the marriage was not a happy one.  That does not belong to the present story.  Here, however, is a cutting from the
Times
marriage record in 1863: —

‘On the 23rd inst., at the Church of St. John the Evangelist, St. Pancras, by the Rev. James Moorhouse, M.A., James Taylor, Esq., of Furnival’s-inn, and Bombay, to Annie, widow of Adolph Ritter, of Vienna, and stepdaughter of Thos. Harrison, Esq., of Birchanger Place, Essex.’

CHAPTER XIII: LITERARY AMBITIONS

We have seen how Charlotte Brontë and her sisters wrote from their earliest years those little books which embodied their vague aspirations after literary fame.  Now and again the effort is admirable, notably in
The Adventures of Ernest Alembert
, but on the whole it amounts to as little as did the juvenile productions of Shelley.  That poet, it will be remembered, wrote
Zastrozzi
at nineteen, and much else that was bad, some of which he printed.  Charlotte Brontë was mercifully restrained by a well-nigh empty purse from this ill-considered rashness.  It was not till the death of their aunt had added to their slender resources that the Brontë girls conceived the idea of actually publishing a book at their own expense.  They communicated with the now extinct firm of Aylott & Jones of Paternoster Row, and Charlotte appears to have written many letters to the firm,
  
only two or three of which are printed by Mrs. Gaskell.  The correspondence is comparatively insignificant, but as the practical beginning of Charlotte’s literary career, the hitherto unpublished letters which have been preserved are perhaps worth reproducing here.

TO AYLOTT & JONES

‘
January
28
th
, 1846.

‘Gentlemen, — May I request to be informed whether you
 
would undertake the publication of a collection of short poems in one volume, 8vo.

‘If you object to publishing the work at your own risk, would you undertake it on the author’s account? — I am, gentlemen, your obedient humble servant,

‘C. Brontë.

‘Address — Rev. P. Brontë, Haworth, Bradford, Yorkshire.’

TO AYLOTT & JONES

‘
March
3
rd
, 1846.

‘Gentlemen, — I send a draft for £31, 10s., being the amount of your estimate.

‘I suppose there is nothing now to prevent your immediately commencing the printing of the work.

‘When you acknowledge the receipt of the draft, will you state how soon it will be completed? — I am, gentlemen, yours truly,

‘C. Brontë.’

TO AYLOTT & JONES

‘
March
11
th
, 1846.

‘Gentlemen, — I have received the proof-sheet, and return it corrected.  If there is any doubt at all about the printer’s competency to correct errors, I would prefer submitting each sheet to the inspection of the authors, because such a mistake, for instance, as
tumbling
stars, instead of
trembling
, would suffice to throw an air of absurdity over a whole poem; but if you know from experience that he is to be relied on, I would trust to your assurance on the subject, and leave the task of correction to him, as I know that a considerable saving both of time and trouble would be thus effected.

‘The printing and paper appear to me satisfactory.  Of course I wish to have the work out as soon as possible, but I am still more anxious that it should be got up in a manner creditable to the publishers and agreeable to the authors. — I am, gentlemen, yours truly,

‘C. Brontë.’

 
TO AYLOTT & JONES

‘
March
13
th
, 1846.

‘Gentlemen, — I return you the second proof.  The authors have finally decided that they would prefer having all the proofs sent to them in turn, but you need not inclose the Ms., as they can correct the errors from memory. — I am, gentlemen, yours truly,

‘C. Brontë.’

TO AYLOTT & JONES

‘
March
23
rd
, 1846.

‘Gentlemen, — As the proofs have hitherto come safe to hand under the direction of C. Brontë,
Esq
., I have not thought it necessary to request you to change it, but a little mistake having occurred yesterday, I think it will be better to send them to me in future under my real address, which is Miss Brontë, Rev. P. Brontë, etc. — I am, gentlemen, yours truly,

‘C. Brontë.’

TO AYLOTT & JONES

‘
April
6
th
, 1846.

‘Gentlemen, — C., E., and A. Bell are now preparing for the press a work of fiction, consisting of three distinct and unconnected tales, which may be published either together, as a work of three volumes, of the ordinary novel size, or separately as single volumes, as shall be deemed most advisable.

‘It is not their intention to publish these tales on their own account.  They direct me to ask you whether you would be disposed to undertake the work, after having, of course, by due inspection of the Ms., ascertained that its contents are such as to warrant an expectation of success.

‘An early answer will oblige, as, in case of your negativing the proposal, inquiry must be made of other publishers. — I am, gentlemen, yours truly,

‘C. Brontë.’

TO AYLOTT & JONES

‘
April
15
th
, 1846.

‘Gentlemen, — I have to thank you for your obliging answer to my last.  The information you give is of value to us,
 
and when the MS. is completed your suggestions shall be acted on.

‘There will be no preface to the poems.  The blank leaf may be filled up by a table of contents, which I suppose the printer will prepare.  It appears the volume will be a thinner one than was calculated on. — I am, gentlemen, yours truly,

‘C. Brontë.’

TO AYLOTT & JONES

‘
May
11
th
, 1846.

‘Gentlemen, — The books may be done up in the style of Moxon’s duodecimo edition of Wordsworth.

‘The price may be fixed at 5s., or if you think that too much for the size of the volume, say 4s.

‘I think the periodicals I mentioned in my last will be sufficient for advertising in at present, and I should not wish you to lay out a larger sum than £2, especially as the estimate is increased by nearly £5, in consequence, it appears, of a mistake.  I should think the success of a work depends more on the notice it receives from periodicals, than on the quantity of advertisements.

‘If you do not object, the additional amount of the estimate can be remitted when you send in your account at the end of the first six months.

‘I should be obliged to you if you could let me know how soon copies can be sent to the editors of the magazines and newspapers specified. — I am, gentlemen, yours truly,

‘C. Brontë.’

TO AYLOTT & JONES

‘
May
25
th
, 1846.

‘Gentlemen, — I received yours of the 22nd this morning.  I now transmit £5, being the additional sum necessary to defray the entire expense of paper and printing.  It will leave a small surplus of 11s. 9d., which you can place to my account.

‘I am glad you have sent copies to the newspapers you mention, and in case of a notice favourable or otherwise appearing in them, or in any of the other periodicals to which
 
copies have been sent, I should be obliged to you if you would send me down the numbers; otherwise, I have not the opportunity of seeing these publications regularly.  I might miss it, and should the poems be remarked upon favourably, it is my intention to appropriate a further sum to advertisements.  If, on the other hand, they should pass unnoticed or be condemned, I consider it would be quite useless to advertise, as there is nothing, either in the title of the work or the names of the authors, to attract attention from a single individual. — I am, gentlemen, yours truly,

‘C. Brontë.’

TO AYLOTT & JONES

‘
July
10
th
, 1846.

‘Gentlemen, — I am directed by the Messrs. Bell to acknowledge the receipt of the
Critic
and the
Athenæum
containing notices of the poems.

‘They now think that a further sum of £10 may be devoted to advertisements, leaving it to you to select such channels as you deem most advisable.

‘They would wish the following extract from the
Critic
to be appended to each advertisement: —

‘“They in whose hearts are chords strung by Nature to sympathise with the beautiful and the true, will recognise in these compositions the presence of more genius than it was supposed this utilitarian age had devoted to the loftier exercises of the intellect.”

‘They likewise request you to send copies of the poems to
Fraser’s Magazine
,
Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal
, the Globe, and
Examiner
. — I am, gentlemen, yours truly,

‘C. Brontë.’

To an appreciative editor Currer Bell wrote as follows: —

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ‘DUBLIN UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE.’

‘
October
6
th
, 1846.

‘Sirs, — I thank you in my own name and that of my brothers, Ellis and Acton, for the indulgent notice that appeared in your
 
last number of our first humble efforts in literature; but I thank you far more for the essay on modern poetry which preceded that notice — an essay in which seems to me to be condensed the very spirit of truth and beauty.  If all or half your other readers shall have derived from its perusal the delight it afforded to myself and my brothers, your labours have produced a rich result.

‘After such criticism an author may indeed be smitten at first by a sense of his own insignificance — as we were — but on a second and a third perusal he finds a power and beauty therein which stirs him to a desire to do more and better things.  It fulfils the right end of criticism: without absolutely crushing, it corrects and rouses.  I again thank you heartily, and beg to subscribe myself, — Your constant and grateful reader,

‘Currer Bell.’

The reception which it met with from the public may be gathered from the following letter which accompanied De Quincey’s copy.
 

TO THOMAS DE QUINCEY.

‘
June
16
th
, 1847.

‘Sirs, — My relatives, Ellis and Acton Bell, and myself, heedless of the repeated warnings of various respectable publishers, have committed the rash act of printing a volume of poems.

‘The consequences predicted have, of course, overtaken us: our book is found to be a drug; no man needs it or heeds it.  In the space of a year our publisher has disposed but of two copies, and by what painful efforts he succeeded in getting rid of these two, himself only knows.

‘Before transferring the edition to the trunkmakers, we have decided on distributing as presents a few copies of what we cannot sell; and we beg to offer you one in acknowledgment of the pleasure and profit we have often and long derived from your works. — I am, sir, yours very respectfully,

‘Currer Bell.’

 
Charlotte Brontë could not have carried out the project of distribution to any appreciable extent, as a considerable ‘remainder’ appear to have been bound up with a new title-page by Smith & Elder.  With this Smith & Elder title-page, the book is not uncommon, whereas, with the Aylott & Jones title-page it is exceedingly rare.  Perhaps there were a dozen review copies and a dozen presentation copies, in addition to the two that were sold, but only three or four seem to have survived for the pleasure of the latter-day bibliophile.

Here is the title-page in question:

POEMS