Sir James came to meet me at the station; both he and Lady
Shuttleworth gave me a very kind reception. This place is
exquisitely beautiful, though the weather is cloudy, misty, and
stormy; but the sun bursts out occasionally and shows the hills and
the lake. Mrs. Gaskell is coming here this evening, and one or two
other people. Miss Martineau, I am sorry to say, I shall not see, as
she is already gone from home for the autumn.
'Be kind enough to write by return of post and tell me how you are
getting on and how you are. Give my kind regards to Tabby and
Martha, and--Believe me, dear papa, your affectionate daughter,
'C. BRONTE.'
And this is how she writes to a friend from Haworth, on her return, after
that first meeting:--
'Lady Shuttleworth never got out, being confined to the house with a
cold; but fortunately there was Mrs. Gaskell, the authoress of _Mary
Barton_, who came to the Briery the day after me. I was truly glad
of her companionship. She is a woman of the most genuine talent, of
cheerful, pleasing, and cordial manners, and, I believe, of a kind
and good heart.'
TO W. S. WILLIAMS
'_September_ 20_th_, 1850.
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