That she still lives
to receive our reverent gratitude for preserving so many interesting
traits of the Brontes, is matter for full and cordial congratulation,
wherever the names of the authors of _Jane Eyre_ and _Wuthering Heights_
are held in just and wise esteem.
CHAPTER IX: MARY TAYLOR
Mary Taylor, the 'M---' of Mrs. Gaskell's biography, and the 'Rose Yorke'
of _Shirley_, will always have a peculiar interest to those who care for
the Brontes. She shrank from publicity, and her name has been less
mentioned than that of any other member of the circle. And yet hers was
a personality singularly strenuous and strong. She wrote two books 'with
a purpose,' and, as we shall see, vigorously embodied her teaching in her
life. It will be remembered that Charlotte Bronte, Ellen Nussey, and
Mary Taylor first met at Roe Head School, when Charlotte and Mary were
fifteen and her friend about fourteen years of age. Here are Miss
Nussey's impressions--
'She was pretty, and very childish-looking, dressed in a red-coloured
frock with short sleeves and low neck, as then worn by young girls.
Miss Wooler in later years used to say that when Mary went to her as
a pupil she thought her too pretty to live. She was not talkative at
school, but industrious, and always ready with lessons. She was
always at the top in class lessons, with Charlotte Bronte and the
writer; seldom a change was made, and then only with the three--one
move.
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