Mr. Nicholls, moreover, told Mrs. Gaskell that
Miss Nussey was the person of all others to apply to; that she had been
the friend of his wife ever since Charlotte was fifteen, and that he was
writing to Miss Nussey to beg her to let Mrs. Gaskell see some of the
correspondence.
But here is Mr. Nicholls's actual letter, unearthed after forty years, as
well as earlier letters from and to Miss Nussey, which would seem to
indicate a suggestion upon the part of 'E' that some attempt should be
made to furnish a biography of her friend--if only to set at rest, once
and for all, the speculations of the gossiping community with whom
Charlotte Bronte's personality was still shrouded in mystery; and indeed
it is clear from these letters that it is to Miss Nussey that we really
owe Mrs. Gaskell's participation in the matter:--
TO REV. A. B. NICHOLLS
'BROOKROYD, _June_ 6_th_, 1855.
'DEAR MR. NICHOLLS,--I have been much hurt and pained by the perusal
of an article in _Sharpe_ for this month, entitled "A Few Words about
_Jane Eyre_." You will be certain to see the article, and I am sure
both you and Mr. Bronte will feel acutely the misrepresentations and
the malignant spirit which characterises it. Will you suffer the
article to pass current without any refutations? The writer merits
the contempt of silence, but there will be readers and believers.
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