It is piteous to see
even an animal lying lifeless. Emily is sorry." These few words relate
to points in the characters of the two sisters, which I must dwell upon a
little. Charlotte was more than commonly tender in her treatment of all
dumb creatures, and they, with that fine instinct so often noticed, were
invariably attracted towards her. The deep and exaggerated consciousness
of her personal defects--the constitutional absence of hope, which made
her slow to trust in human affection, and, consequently, slow to respond
to any manifestation of it--made her manner shy and constrained to men
and women, and even to children. We have seen something of this
trembling distrust of her own capability of inspiring affection, in the
grateful surprise she expresses at the regret felt by her Belgian pupils
at her departure. But not merely were her actions kind, her words and
tones were ever gentle and caressing, towards animals: and she quickly
noticed the least want of care or tenderness on the part of others
towards any poor brute creature. The readers of "Shirley" may remember
that it is one of the tests which the heroine applies to her lover.
"Do you know what soothsayers I would consult?" . . . "The little
Irish beggar that comes barefoot to my door; the mouse that steals out
of the cranny in my wainscot; the bird in frost and snow that pecks at
my window for a crumb; the dog that licks my hand and sits beside my
knee.
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