Brontës (221 page)

35.
CB to Catherine Wooler, 18 July 1854: MS FM 33 p.4, Fitzwilliam [
LCB
, iii, 278].

36.
CB to MW, 10 July 1854: MS FM 28 pp.2–4, Fitzwilliam [
LCB
, iii, 276]. See also Charlotte's comment, ‘I was also greatly surprised to find so much of English order and repose in the family habits and arrangements': CB to Catherine Wooler, 18 July 1854: MS FM 33 p.3, Fitzwilliam [
LCB
, iii, 278].

37.
CB to MW, 10 July 1854: MS FM 28 pp.3–5, Fitzwilliam [
LCB
, iii, 276].

38.
Ibid., p.4 [
LCB
, iii, 276]; ABN to Revd George Sowden, 10 Aug 1856: MS BS 247, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 284]; CB to Catherine Winkworth, 27 July 1854: MS p.2, Brotherton [
LCB
, iii, 279].

39.
CB to Catherine Wooler, 18 July 1854: MS FM 33 p.3, Fitzwilliam [
LCB
, iii, 278]. The West End Hotel, run by a widow, Mrs Shannon, and her 3 daughters, was the second best hotel in Kilkee and had an illustrious clientele, including Lord John Manners, who had visited earlier, and the Dowager Lady Charlotte O'Brien of Dromoland Castle, who was there at the same time as the newly-weds. Other visitors, including Jonathan Binns in 1837 and the future Poet Laureate Alfred Austin in 1894, complained about the quality of the food – presumably one of the things Charlotte might have carped at. I am grateful to Thomas J. Byrne for all this information.

40.
CB to Catherine Winkworth, 27 July 1854: MS pp.2–3, Brotherton [
LCB
, iii, 279–80]. Nicholls was actually equally impressed with the sea at Kilkee, singling it out as a particularly memorable part of the honeymoon tour: ‘the finest shore I ever saw – completely girdled with stupendous cliffs – it was most refreshing to sit on a rock & look out on the broad Atlantic boiling & foaming at our feet –': ABN to Revd George Sowden, 10 Aug 1856: MS BS 247, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 284–5].

41.
CB to EN, [?28 July 1854]: MS n.l. [
LCB
, iii, 282]. I have reordered the list of places to follow what seems more likely to have been their route.

42.
CB to Catherine Winkworth, 27 July 1854: MS p.4, Brotherton [
LCB
, iii, 280].

43.
CB to Martha Brown, 28 July 1854: MS BS 96 pp.1–2, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 281]; CB to EN, [?28 July 1854]: MS n.l. [
LCB
, iii, 282].

44.
CB to EN, 9 Aug 1854: MS pp.2–4, Law, photograph in MCP [
LCB
, iii, 283–4]. As yet unused to her new name Charlotte signed the letter ‘C Nicholls'.

45.
CB to MW, 22 Aug 1854: MS FM 29 p.4, Fitzwilliam [
LCB
, iii, 287]; CB to EN, 29 Aug [1854]: MS Bon 251 p.2, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 287].

46.
CB to MW, 19 Sept 1854: MS FM 30 p.4, Fitzwilliam [
LCB
, iii, 291].

47.
CB to EN, 9 Aug 1854: MS pp.2–4, Law, photograph in MCP [
LCB
, iii, 283].

48.
CB to MW, 22 Aug 1854: MS FM 29 pp.2–3, Fitzwilliam [
LCB
, iii, 286].

49.
CB to MW, 19 Sept 1854: MS FM 30 pp.2–3, Fitzwilliam [
LCB
, iii, 290]. Among the visiting clergy was Dr Burnett, vicar of Bradford, who came to preach the sermons on behalf of the Society for the Conversion of the Jews on 17 September; the collection raised a meagre £25s which, together with Patrick's annual subscription of 5s, was sent to the Bradford treasurer: PB, Account Book [
c
.1845–61]: MS BS 173 p.6 (16 Sept 1854).

50.
See, for example, CB to MW, 19 Sept 1854: MS FM 30, Fitzwilliam [
LCB
, iii, 290–1].

51.
CB to EN, 29 Aug [1854]: MS Bon 251 p.1, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 287]; CB to EN, 7 Sept 1854: MS p.2, Pforzheimer [
LCB
, iii, 288], which is also signed ‘ C.B. Nicholls'; CB to EN, 14 Sept 1854: MS Montague [
LCB
, iii, 289].

52.
Ibid.; CB to EN, 11 Oct 1854: MS MA 2696 R-V p.1, PM [
LCB
, iii, 293]; CB to EN, 9Aug [1854]: MS p.3, Law, photograph in MCP [
LCB
, iii, 283]; CB to EN, [?20 Oct 1854]: MS MA 2696 R-V p.1, PM [
LCB
, iii, 295].

53.
CB to ECG, 30 Sept 1854: MS EL fB91 p.3, Rylands [
LCB
, iii, 292]; ECG,
Life
, 452; ECG to various correspondents, [11–30 Oct 1854] [C&P, 305–22]. Gaskell was also reluctant to visit ‘because it required a little courage to face Mr Nicholls, as she had told me he did not like her intimacy with us as dissenters, but that she knew he
would
like us when he had seen us': ECG to GS, 4 June [1855] [C&P, 347].

54.
CB to EN, 11 Oct 1854: MS MA 2696 R-V pp.2–3, PM [
LCB
, iii, 293].

55.
CB to EN, [?20 Oct 1854]: MS MA 2696 R-V pp.1–4, PM [
LCB
, iii, 295].

56.
CB to EN, 31 Oct 1854: MS BS 96.5, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 296–7].

57.
CB to EN, 7Nov 1854: MS MA 2696 R-V pp.2–3, PM [
LCB
, iii, 298], where she says ‘As to my own notes, I never thought of attaching importance to them, or considering their fate – till Arthur seemed to reflect on both so seriously'. A sharp exchange, through Clement Shorter, over 40 years later, revealed the fact that Charlotte had not kept Ellen's letters: ‘Pray tell Mr Nicholls that if he has found letters written by me to Charlotte before marriage, that I request that in faith to his wife's wishes he will seal and send them to me at once – She emphatically declared her intention of destroying everything of the kind. He had better show himself even thus late a man of honour': EN to C.K. Shorter, 10 Apr 1895: MS in bound vol of miscellaneous letters, Brotherton. Nicholls sent a more temperate reply: ‘You may tell Miss Nussey that her letters never came into my possession; in fact I cannot remember having ever seen a scrap of her hand-writing. I pre-sume my wife burned them as soon as read': ABN to C.K. Shorter, 26 Apr 1895: MS in bound vol of ABN letters to C.K. Shorter, Brotherton.

58.
EB to ABN, [Nov 1854]: MS in Texas [
LCB
, iii, 297]. This letter was addressed to ‘The Revd. The Magister'. How the note came back into Ellen's hands is unclear: there was no reason for Nicholls to return it as it was addressed to him personally so it is possible that Shorter was responsible. Ellen later lied about her response to Nicholls' request, saying that she had replied ‘Miss Nussey's compliments to Mr Nicholls and she will thank him to mind his own business': William Scruton, ‘Personal Reminiscences of Miss Ellen Nussey',
Yorkshire Notes & Queries
, vol. iii, no.8, 293.

59.
CB to EN, 7Nov 1854: MS MS MA 2696 R-V p.2, PM [
LCB
, iii, 298]. Ellen deleted the first sentence of this quote when making the letter available for publication, substituting her own phrase ‘Arthur wishes you would burn my letters', which appeared in all printed editions of the letters before
LCB
. Ellen was deliberately trying to conceal the fact that she had reneged on her promise to burn Charlotte's letters.

60.
CB to EN, 7Nov 1854: MS MA 2696 R-V p.3, PM [
LCB
, iii, 298]. George Sowden (1822–99) later wrote of this visit that Charlotte was ‘a thoroughly lady-like woman and very self-possessed. I could imagine her somewhat reserved with strangers, though with us she was not so in the slightest degree. There was not a word of high-flown conversation. In fact, all was so simple that I have almost forgotten what we talked about. She shewed me two beautifully illustrated volumes of French Fables (La Fontaine's) which she was evidently proud of as the gift to her of Wm Makepeace Thackeray … As I came down stairs one morning, she was ascending the
steps from the cellar which opened on the passage, with a tea-cake in her hand; and she took it into the kitchen to toast for our breakfast, perfectly unconcerned and natural, never dreaming of an apology for being caught in a domestic employment. It is this simplicity which I chiefly remember as lending a charm to our visit.': George Sowden,
Recollections of the Brontës
, edited by Ian and Catherine Emberson (Todmorden, 2005), 7–8. Charlotte's copy of
Fables de la Fontaine
(Paris, 1839), 2 vols, is HAOBP: Bon 47, BPM.

61.
CB to EN, 14 Nov 1854: MS Ashley 168, BL [
LCB
, iii, 299]; CB to MW, 15 Nov 1854: MS FM 31 pp.3–4, Fitzwilliam [
LCB
, iii, 301]. Charlotte touchingly chose to view the offer as ‘a gratifying proof of respect for my dear Arthur': ibid., p.3.

62.
CB to EN, 14 Nov 1854: MS Ashley 168, BL [
LCB
, iii, 299–300]; CB to EN, 21 Nov 1854: MS pp.2–3, Berg [
LCB
, iii, 303]. Charlotte's insistence that ‘Mr S— is most anxious that the affair should be kept absolutely quiet – in the event of disappointment it would be both painful and injurious to him if it should be rumoured at Hebden-Bridge that he has had thoughts of leaving. Arthur says if a whisper gets out – these things fly from parson to parson like wild-fire', is clear evidence that her husband was
not
censoring her letters at this time as Ellen later claimed.

63.
CB to MW, 15 Nov 1854: MS FM 31 pp.3–4, Fitzwilliam [
LCB
, iii, 301].

64.
Ibid., pp.1–2[
LCB
, iii, 301]; CB to EN, 14 Nov 1854: MS Ashley 168 p.3, BL [
LCB
, iii, 300].

65.
CB to Amelia Taylor, [late Dec 1854]: MS p.3, Brotherton [
LCB
, iii, 311].

66.
CB to Amelia Taylor, [early Dec 1854]: MS p.3, Brotherton [
LCB
, iii, 309].

67.
CB to EN, 21 Nov 1854: MS p.1, Berg [
LCB
, iii, 302–3]; CB to EN, 29 Nov 1854: MS Ashley 2452(5) p.3, BL [
LCB
, iii, 304]; CB to MW, 6 Dec 1854: MS FM 32 pp.1–2, Fitzwilliam [
LCB
, iii, 305].

68.
Ibid., p.2[
LCB
, iii, 305]; CB to EN, 7 Dec 1854: MS Gr.E30 pp.1–4, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 306–7].

69.
Ibid., p.3 [
LCB
, iii, 306]; CB to Mr Ingham, [?Dec 1854 or 2Jan 1855]: MS BS 98, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 314].

70.
CB to MW, 6Dec 1854: MS FM 32 pp.3–4, Fitzwilliam [
LCB
, iii, 305].

71.
CB pp. PB to unidentified, 13 Dec 1854: MS, Woodhouse Grove School, Rawdon. I am grateful to the Headmaster for allowing me to see this letter: the addressee's name is hidden by its frame. See also ABN pp. PB to Messrs Heaton, 13 Dec 1854: MS Heaton B143 p.4, WYAS, Bradford. Both letters are in Patrick's name, including the signature, but are in Charlotte and Nicholls' hands respectively. Haworth was slow in responding to the Royal Proclamation setting up the Patriotic Fund which had been reported in
LI
, 14 Oct 1854 p.5 and
BO
, 19 Oct 1853 p.7. The Bradford meeting at the end of October raised over £3000:
HG
, 4 Nov 1854 p.5.

72.
CB to EN, 26 Dec [1854]: MS BS 97 p.2, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 312].

73.
BO
, 21 Dec 1854 p.5; 4Jan 1855 p.6;
HG
, 13 Jan 1855 p.5.

74.
ABN to GS, 11 Oct 1859: MS File 8 no.3pp.2–3, JMA.

75.
CB, ‘Emma', 27 Nov 1853: MS at Princeton [CB, ‘The Last Sketch',
Cornhill Magazine
, i, (Jan–June 1860), 487–98].

76.
CB to EN, 19 Jan 1855: MS BS 99 pp.1–2, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 318–19]. The exact date of the visit to Gawthorpe is uncertain: their intention was to arrive on 9Jan and stay 2–3days:
LCB
, iii, 318 n.1. There are no entries in the parish registers between 6and 16 January.

77.
ECG,
Life
, 453–4; CB to EN, 29 Nov 1854: MS Ashley 2452(5) pp.1–2, BL [
LCB
, iii, 304]; EN to CB, 7Dec 1854: MS Gr. E30 p.2, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 306]; CB to EN, 26 Dec 1854: MS BS 97 p.2, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 312].

78.
CB to EN, 19 Jan 1855: MS BS 99 pp.2–3, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 319].

79.
CB to Amelia Taylor, [?21 Jan 1855]: MS pp.3–4, Brotherton [
LCB
, iii, 321].

80.
Ibid., p.1 [
LCB
, iii, 320].

81.
CB to EN, 31 Oct 1854: MS BS 96.5 p.3, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 297]; ABN to EN, 23 Jan 1855: MS pp.1–2, Brotherton [
LCB
, iii, 321]; ABN to EN, 29 Jan 1855: MS p.1, Brotherton [
LCB
, iii, 322]; ABN to EN, 1Feb 1855: MS p.1, Brotherton [
LCB
, iii, 323].

82.
PB to Sir James Kay Shuttleworth, 3Feb 1855: MS pp.1–2, Brotherton [
LCB
, iii, 321].

83.
ABN to EN, 14 Feb 1855: MS pp.1–2, Brotherton [
LCB
, iii, 324–5].

84.
CB, Last Will & Testament, 17 Feb 1855: MS in Borthwick.

85.
Tabitha Ackroyd, gravestone, Haworth Churchyard; Burials, Haworth (21 Feb 1855).

86.
CB to EN, [21 Feb 1855]: MS BS 101 p.1, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 326].

87.
CB to EN, [?early Mar 1955]: MS BS 100 p.1, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 328]. Mary Hewitt's baby had been born in December 1854: CB
to EN, 7 Dec 1854: MS Gr. E30 pp.2–3, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 306].

88.
CB to Amelia Taylor, [?late Feb 1855]: MS BS 103 p.1, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 327].

89.
CB to Amelia Taylor, [?early Mar 1855]: MS BS 102 p.1, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 327]; ECG,
Life
, 454.

90.
CB to EN, [?early Mar 1955]: MS BS 100 p.1, BPM [
LCB
, iii, 328].

91.
ABN to EN, 15 Mar 1855: MS pp.1–2, Brotherton [
LCB
, iii, 329].

92.
ECG,
Life
, 455.

93.
LI
, 17 Mar 1855 p.3; 24 Mar 1855 p.7; Burials, Haworth (27 Mar 1855).

94.
PB to EN, 30 Mar 1855: MS pp.1–3, Princeton [
LCB
, iii, 329–30].