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THE BRONTE FAMILY
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
PATRICK BRANWELL BRONTE
VOL. I.
BY
FRANCIS A. LEYLAND.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS,
13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.
1886.
_All rights reserved._
PREFACE.
It has long seemed to me that the history of the Bronte family is
incomplete, and, in some senses, not well understood. Those who have
written upon it--as I shall have occasion to point out in these
pages--have had certain objects in view, which have, perhaps
necessarily, led them to give undue weight to special points and to
overlook others. Thus it happens that, though there are in the hands of
the public several able works on the Brontes, there are many
circumstances relating to them that are yet in comparative obscurity.
Especially has injustice been done to one member of the family--Patrick
Branwell Bronte--whose life has several times been treated by those who
have had some other object in view; and, through a misunderstanding of
the character of the brother, the sisters, Anne in particular, have
been put, in some respects, in a false light also. This circumstance,
coupled with the fact that I am in possession of much new information,
and am able to print here a considerable quantity of unknown poetry
from Branwell's hand, has induced me to write this work. Those of his
poems which are included in these volumes are placed in dealing with
the periods of his life in which they were written, for I felt that,
however great might be the advantages of putting them together in a
complete form, much more would be lost both to the interest of the
poems and the life of their author in doing so. Branwell's poems, more,
perhaps, than those of any other writer, are so clearly expressive of
his feelings at the time of their writing, that a correct view of his
character is only to be obtained by looking upon them as parts of his
life-history, which indeed they are. And, moreover, when we consider
the circumstances under which any of these were written, our
understanding and appreciation of the subject must necessarily be much
fuller and truer. It has not escaped the attention of writers on the
Bronte story that Branwell had an important influence on his sisters;
and, though I maintain it to have been essentially different from what
others allege, it would not be possible to do justice either to him or
to them without saying a good deal about his character.
I have felt it right, in these pages, to some extent also, to
re-consider the character of the Rev. Patrick Bronte, which has, along
with that of his son, suffered unfair treatment in the biographies of
his daughters. I have likewise entered upon some account of the local
circumstances of art and literature which surrounded the Brontes, an
element in their history which has hitherto been unknown, but is
especially necessary to a right understanding of the life and work of
Branwell Bronte and his sisters. These circumstances, and the altered
view I have taken of the tone of the lives of Mr. Bronte and his son,
have obliged me to deal more fully than would otherwise have been
necessary with the early years of the Brontes, but I venture to hope
that this may be atoned for by the new light I have thus been enabled
to throw on some important points. There are published here, for the
first time, a series of letters which Branwell Bronte addressed to an
intimate friend, J. B. Leyland, sculptor, who died in 1851, and it is
with these that a fresh insight is obtained into an interesting period
of Branwell's life.
I am largely indebted in some parts of my work, especially those which
deal with the lives of the sisters, to Mrs. Gaskell's fascinating 'Life
of Charlotte Bronte'; and it is a source of sincere regret to me that I
am compelled to differ from that writer on many points. I am likewise
indebted in parts to Mr. T. Wemyss Reid's admirable 'Charlotte Bronte:
a Monograph,' a work which has corrected several errors and
misconceptions into which Mrs. Gaskell had fallen. The reader will
perceive that I am obliged in several places to combat the theories and
question the statements of Miss A. Mary F. Robinson in her 'Emily
Bronte,' a book which, nevertheless, so far as its special subject is
concerned, is a worthy contribution to the history of the Brontes.
I have also found of much use, in writing this work, an article
entitled 'Branwell Bronte,' which Mr. George Searle Phillips--'January
Searle'--published in the 'Mirror' in 1872. The chapter in Mr. Francis
H. Grundy's 'Pictures of the Past' on Branwell Bronte, has likewise
been of the greatest service to me. Both these gentlemen were
Branwell's personal friends, and to them I gladly acknowledge my
indebtedness.
Among many other sources of information respecting the Brontes, of
which I have availed myself in writing these pages, I may mention
_Hours at Home_, 'Unpublished Letters of Charlotte Bronte'; _Scribner_,
'Reminiscences of Charlotte Bronte'; the _Athenaeum_, 'Notices and
Letters,' by Mr. A. C. Swinburne, and 'One of the Survivors of the
Bronte-Branwell Family.' To this lady I must also express my obligation
for her very kind letter to me.
In the preparation of my work I have been greatly assisted by the
information, and encouraged by the sympathy, of several who had
personal knowledge of Patrick Branwell Bronte, and who have supported
the view I have taken of his life and character, and also who had like
knowledge of the other members of the Bronte family. Among these, I
have to express my sincere thanks to Mr. H. Merrall and to Mr. William
Wood, who were early acquaintances of Branwell; also to Mr. William
Dearden. To Mr. J. H. Thompson and Mrs. Thornton I am greatly indebted
for information respecting Branwell's sojourn in Bradford. I have
likewise derived much information from the family of the Browns, now
all deceased, except Mrs. Brown, to whom I have to express my
obligation. I have also gained much reliable information from Nancy
Garrs, now Mrs. Wainwright, the nurse of the Brontes, and to her I must
especially express my thanks. To these, I must not omit to add my deep
and sincere thanks to those who will not permit me to mention them by
name, for the unwearied assistance, counsel, and literary judgment
which they have as cheerfully, as they have ably, rendered.
F. A. L.
OAKWOOD, SKIRCOAT, HALIFAX,
October, 1885.
CONTENTS
OF
THE FIRST VOLUME.
CHAPTER I.
Bronte Genius--Patrick Bronte--His Birthplace--His early
Endeavours--Ordained--Presented to Hartshead--High Town--His
Courtship and Marriage--Removes to Thornton--His House--Thornton
Chapel--Mrs. Bronte's failing Health--Mr. Bronte Accepts the Living
of Haworth--Rudeness of the Inhabitants--Local Fights between
Haworth and Heptonstall--Description of Haworth--Mrs. Bronte dies 1