It seems to
me a daring experiment on the part of their teacher; but, doubtless, he
knew his ground; and that it answered is evident in the composition of
some of Charlotte's _devoirs_, written about this time. I am tempted, in
illustration of this season of mental culture, to recur to a conversation
which I had with M. Heger on the manner in which he formed his pupils'
style, and to give a proof of his success, by copying a _devoir_ of
Charlotte's with his remarks upon it.
He told me that one day this summer (when the Brontes had been for about
four months receiving instruction from him) he read to them Victor Hugo's
celebrated portrait of Mirabeau, "mais, dans ma lecon je me bornais a ce
qui concerne _Mirabeau orateur_. C'est apres l'analyse de ce morceau,
considere surtout du point de vue du fond, de la disposition de ce qu'on
pourrait appeler _la charpente_ qu'ont ete faits les deux portraits que
je vous donne." He went on to say that he had pointed out to them the
fault in Victor Hugo's style as being exaggeration in conception, and, at
the same time, he had made them notice the extreme beauty of his
"nuances" of expression. They were then dismissed to choose the subject
of a similar kind of portrait. This selection M. Heger always left to
them; for "it is necessary," he observed, "before sitting down to write
on a subject, to have thoughts and feelings about it.
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