e welfare, and with the hope that whenever your proposed
union takes place it may contribute in the highest sense to your good
and happiness,--Believe me, your sincere friend,

'C. BRONTE.

'_P.S._--Remember me to your sister Mercy, who, I understand, is for
the present your companion and housekeeper.'

The correspondence did not end here. Indeed, Charlotte was so excellent
a letter-writer, that it must have been hard indeed for any one who had
had any experience of her in that capacity to readily forgo its
continuance.

TO REV. HENRY NUSSEY

'HAWORTH, _May_ 26_th_, 1840.

'DEAR SIR,--In looking over my papers this morning I found a letter
from you of the date of last February with the mark upon it
unanswered. Your sister Ellen often accuses me of want of
punctuality in answering letters, and I think her accusation is here
justified. However, I give you credit for as much considerateness as
will induce you to excuse a greater fault than this, especially as I
shall hasten directly to repair it.

'The fact is, when the letter came Ellen was staying with me, and I
was so fully occupied in talking to her that I had no time to think
of writing to others. This is no great compliment, but it is no
insult either. You know Ellen's worth, you know how seldom I see
her, you partly know my regard for her; and from these premises you
may easily draw the inference that her company, when once obtained,
is too valuable to be wasted for a moment. One woman can appreciate
the value of another better than a man can do. Men very often only
see the outside gloss which dazzles in prosperity, women have
opportunities for closer observation, and they learn to value those
qualities which are useful in adversity.

'There is much, too, in that mild even temper and that placid
equanimity which keep the domestic hearth always bright and
peaceful--this is better than the ardent nature that changes twenty
times in a day. I have studied Ellen and I think she would make a
good wife--that is, if she had a good husband. If she married a fool
or a tyrant there is spirit enough in her composition to withstand
the dictates of either insolence or weakness, though even then I
doubt not her