' She said, 'Now you don't know the meaning of
_clever_, Sheridan might be clever; yes, Sheridan was clever,--scamps
often are; but Johnson hadn't a spark of cleverality in him.' No one
appreciated the opinion; they made some trivial remark about
'_cleverality_,' and she said no more.
"This is the epitome of her life. At our house she had just as little
chance of a patient hearing, for though not school-girlish, we were more
intolerant. We had a rage for practicality, and laughed all poetry to
scorn. Neither she nor we had any idea but that our opinions were the
opinions of all the _sensible_ people in the world, and we used to
astonish each other at every sentence . . . Charlotte, at school, had no
plan of life beyond what circumstances made for her. She knew that she
must provide for herself, and chose her trade; at least chose to begin it
once. Her idea of self-improvement ruled her even at school. It was to
cultivate her tastes. She always said there was enough of hard
practicality and _useful_ knowledge forced on us by necessity, and that
the thing most needed was to soften and refine our minds. She picked up
every scrap of information concerning painting, sculpture, poetry, music,
&c., as if it were gold."
What I have heard of her school days from other sources, confirms the
accuracy of the details in this remarkable letter.
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