Somehow and
sometime, he would have to turn to his home as a hiding place for shame;
such was the sad foreboding of his sisters. Then how could she be
cheerful, when she was losing her dear and noble "Mary," for such a
length of time and distance of space that her heart might well prophesy
that it was "for ever"? Long before, she had written of Mary T., that
she "was full of feelings noble, warm, generous, devoted, and profound.
God bless her! I never hope to see in this world a character more truly
noble. She would die willingly for one she loved. Her intellect and
attainments are of the very highest standard." And this was the friend
whom she was to lose! Hear that friend's account of their final
interview:--
"When I last saw Charlotte (Jan. 1845), she told me she had quite decided
to stay at home. She owned she did not like it. Her health was weak.
She said she should like any change at first, as she had liked Brussels
at first, and she thought that there must be some possibility for some
people of having a life of more variety and more communion with human
kind, but she saw none for her. I told her very warmly, that she ought
not to stay at home; that to spend the next five years at home, in
solitude and weak health, would ruin her; that she would never recover
it. Such a dark shadow came over her face when I said, 'Think of what
you'll be five years hence!' that I stopped, and said, 'Don't cry,
Charlotte!' She did not cry, but went on walking up and down the room,
and said in a little while, 'But I intend to stay, Polly.
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