"The fixed conviction I held, and hold, of the worth of these poems, has
not, indeed, received the confirmation of much favourable criticism; but
I must retain it notwithstanding."
FOOTNOTES:
{1} A reviewer pointed out the discrepancy between the age (twenty-seven
years) assigned, on the mural tablet, to Anne Bronte at the time of her
death in 1849, and the alleged fact that she was born at Thornton, from
which place Mr. Bronte removed on February 25th, 1820. I was aware of
the discrepancy, but I did not think it of sufficient consequence to be
rectified by an examination of the register of births. Mr. Bronte's own
words, on which I grounded my statement as to the time of Anne Bronte's
birth, are as follows:--
"In Thornton, Charlotte, Patrick Branwell, Emily Jane, and Anne were
born." And such of the inhabitants of Haworth as have spoken on the
subject say that all the children of Mr. and Mrs. Bronte were born before
they removed to Haworth. There is probably some mistake in the
inscription on the tablet.
{2} In the month of April 1858, a neat mural tablet was erected within
the Communion railing of the Church at Haworth, to the memory of the
deceased members of the Bronte family. The tablet is of white Carrara
marble on a ground of dove-coloured marble, with a cornice surmounted by
an ornamental pediment of chaste design.
Pages:
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392