it
in "Villette," her sense of loneliness, and yet her strange pleasure in
the excitement of the situation, as in the dead of that winter's night
she went swiftly over the dark river to the black hull's side, and was at
first refused leave to ascend to the deck. "No passengers might sleep on
board," they said, with some appearance of disrespect. She looked back
to the lights and subdued noises of London--that "Mighty Heart" in which
she had no place--and, standing up in the rocking boat, she asked to
speak to some one in authority on board the packet. He came, and her
quiet simple statement of her wish, and her reason for it, quelled the
feeling of sneering distrust in those who had first heard her request;
and impressed the authority so favourably that he allowed her to come on
board, and take possession of a berth. The next morning she sailed; and
at seven on Sunday evening she reached the Rue d'Isabelle once more;
having only left Haworth on Friday morning at an early hour.

Her salary was 16_l_. a year; out of which she had to pay for her German
lessons, for which she was charged as much (the lessons being probably
rated by time) as when Emily learnt with her and divided the expense,
viz., ten francs a month. By Miss Bronte's own desire, she gave her
English lessons in the _classe_, or schoolroom, without the supervision
of Madame or M. Heger. They offered to be present, with a view to
maintain order among the unruly Belgian girls; but she declined this,
saying that she would rather enforce discipline by her own manner and
character than be indebted for obedience to the presence of a _gendarme_.
She ruled over a new schoolroom, which had been built on the space in the
play-ground adjoining the house. Over that First Class she was
_surveillante_ at all hours; and henceforward she was called
_Mademoiselle_ Charlotte by M. Heger's orders. She continued her own
studies, principally attending to German, and to Literature; and every
Sunday she went alone to the German and English chapels. Her walks too
were solitary, and principally taken in the allee defendue, where she was
secure from intrusion. This solitude was a perilous luxury to one of her
temperament; so liable as she was to morbid and acute mental suffering.

On March 6th, 1843, she writes thus:--

"I am settled by this time, of course. I am not too much overloaded
with occupation; and besides teaching English, I have time to improve
myself