u, Awl 1 io tttk, conponxCoiu ^v. a crtw&f roonx,CDv6 -dvete upoit m m ; ' ; : ; jf~ A- 9 THE BRONTES IN IRELAND facts Stranger tban fiction BY DR. WILLIAM WRIGHT SECOND EDITION HODDER AND STOUGHTON 27, PATERNOSTER ROW Printed by Haaell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aytesbury PREFACE T TRUST it is unnecessary to say that I dis- claim all responsibility for the Bronte acts, opinions, and sentiments recorded in this book. As no one living could lay claim to Bronte genius, even in its less-cultured condition, no one should be held responsible for the eccentricities of that genius. It is right, however, that I should express my indebtedness to many for generous encouragement and unstinted assistance in setting in order these fragments of an almost forgotten past. In a very special manner I have to acknowledge my obligation to Dr. W. Robertson Nicoll, whose sympathy with the Bronte genius is as profound as his knowledge of the literature is unrivalled. Dr. Nicoll has the rare power of kindling the zeal of others at his own torch, and but for his enthusiasm the story of The Brontes in Ireland would probably never have been published. The Rev. J. B. Lusk, M.A., now resident in the 2060801 vi PREFACE Ballynaskeagh manse, has been indefatigable in investigating old documents, and in interviewing old residents, and generally in verifying my accu- mulated facts. Besides enabling me to study the history of the Brontes from new standpoints, he has disposed for ever of the baseless assertion that the family was called " Prunty " in Ireland. The Rev. W. John McCracken of Ballyeaston, Belfast, who knew the Brontes personally, has placed at my disposal, in written form, his recol- lections of the family. The Rev. R. H. Harshaw of Mount Mellick, in whose grandfather's house Hugh Bronte was once a hired servant, has kindly supplied me with valu- able details. The Rev. H. W. Lett, Rector of Aghaderg, Loughbrickland, to whom we owe the recovery of the Drumgooland Vestry-book, has generously given me permission to make use of his summary of that precious document. I am much indebted to the Registrar of Cam- bridge University, and to the Bursar of St. John's College, for information readily and courteously given. They have shown that there was no trace of the name of " Prunty " at Cambridge, as Mr. PREFACE vii Lusk has shown that there was no trace of it in Ireland. From Miss Ellen Nussey, the " Miss E." of the Gaskell biography, and the Caroline Helstone of Shirley, I have heard abundant details regarding the gifted family in England. Miss Nussey is a close observer and a vivid narrator, and during a much-appreciated visit to my house in April 1891 she often made the inmates of the Haworth vicarage live again. Besides Miss Nussey, several other ladies helped me much ; and to many in humble life in Ireland I am deeply indebted for information regarding matters which had fallen within their own obser- vation. When my many helpers discover in these pages little trace of the abundant material which they placed at my disposal, I trust they will remember that the narrative had to be kept within narrow limits, and that every bit of information helped me to come to conclusions on doubtful matters, and contributed to the general result. Besides, there are several important incidents which I have left untold, believing as I do that in such matters the half is more than the whole. viii PREFACE I must also thank my spirited publishers on both sides of the Atlantic for the attractive form in which they have brought out the book. While acknowledging my great indebtedness to the living, I must admit that my obligation to the dead is still greater. WILLIAM WRIGHT. WOOLSTHORPE, NORWOOD, October 1893. NOTE TO SECOND EDITION issue of a Second Edition affords me an opportunity to thank my reviewers and readers for the generous reception they have given my book. It is pleasant to learn that lowly lives, when seen as they are, have enough tragic pathos and homely romance to kindle and quicken human interest without the shifts and tricks of fiction. W. W. December 1893. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. PAGES THE HIDDEN SOURCES i5 The history of the Brontes and the history of the Nile Investigations mainly on English soil Guess- work The heart of the mystery in Ireland Mrs. Gaskell's tribute inadequate Something bey-ond Mr. Wemyss Reid's theory Mr. Augustine Birrell's ad- ditional facts and pointless sarcasm Authors building on an Egyptian model Mr. Erskine Stuart's prediction. CHAPTER II. THE CHIEF SOURCES OF INFORMATION : PRE- LIMINARY ..'... . 6 14 Exceptional advantages for telling the tale My nurse's tales My tutor's recollections His methods Early screeds of Bronte novels The grain of truth in Bran- well's boast The facts of Wutherittg Heights The Todds and McAllisters Rev. David McKee, the friend and adviser of the Brontes The novels first read in his manse Arrival of Jane Eyre Side lights Collecting facts. CHAPTER III. GRANDFATHER BRONTE'S EARLY HOME . 15 18 Hereditary gift of story-telling Miss Ellen Nussey's testimony The girls hanging on their father's lips Grandfather Bronte an A Jane Eyre Hugh's childhood An uncle and aunt arrive Laying plans Visions of paradise A night to be remembered Incidents re- membered The dressmaker's beverage Last adieux from brothers and sisters His mother's caresses Out in the darkness. x CONTENTS CHAPTER IV. PAGES THE FOUNDLING AND FOSTER-FRIENDS . . IQ 31 The great-great-grandfather of the novelists Home near Drogheda on the Boyne Dirty child found on a boat from Liverpool to Drogheda Mrs. Bronte and the infant Baby taken home and called Welsh Brontes golden- haired from the third generation Welsh's unhappy lot Meets cruelty by cunning Clings to great-great-grand- father Hugh Accompanies him to fairs and markets The little spy useful The successful cattle-dealer Mysterious death of great-great-grandfather Hugh Position of the family Conference with Welsh Welsh proposes to marry Mary Bronte, his late master's daughter Rejected with scorn Welsh's threat Action of the family Counter-action of Welsh A land agent and entourage Welsh a sub-agent His business Helps himself as well as his master His twofold purpose Meg a female sub-agent Her functions Courtship by proxy The constant drip Welsh meets Mary Bronte and carries out his designs Marriage in secret, pro- claimed on the housetops Welsh secures the farm The brothers and the agent Law and order Birth of the tenant-right theory. CHAPTER V. THE ADOPTION AND OATH .... 32 34 Eviction and vengeance Burning of the old home Welsh's repentance Official oaths and family oaths The lost clue. CHAPTER VI. A FEARFUL JOURNEY 35 50 Welsh without the mask A child's struggle in the dark A curse and a blow Dreaming of home The careless heavens Friendless The tree of knowledge A child's prayers and doubts Cause of the cruelty A strange landscape A halt Journey continued The castle CONTENTS xi PAGES couch Scotch lad and English lady in Arab life Night journeys and day halts New clothes No deliverance Drogheda reached At home on the Boyne Sources of the narrative Hugh Bronte's dramatic eloquence con- trasted with that of his granddaughters No traces of the journey Searching for the Bronte house in vain. CHAPTER VII. A MISERABLE HOME 51 66 A cold welcome Settling conditions Gallagher ap- proves The Blessed Virgin and saints introduced An old grievance Meg and her business Destruction of bastards Joseph in Wuthering Heights typed by Gallagher Heathcliffe and Welsh New company Description of the mansion Hugh's illness Friendship with Keeper Something to live for Cocks Aunt Mary kind Tells him the Bronte tragedy Returning spring and health Keeper at work Emily Bronte's Keeper Irish home love Awaiting his deliverer Outgrowing his clothes Growing to his surroundings Hard slavery The spy The devil. CHAPTER VIII. THE CAPTIVE ESCAPES ..... 67 75 Welsh's quarrels A bit of bog Land agent An agrarian battle Welsh worsted Hugh joins the enemy Second battle of the Boyne and its results Words of truth and deferred claims Chaff bed and rival heir Promised chastisement A resourceful ally Presenti- ment Hugh trounces Gallagher Final leave-taking Kisses Keeper and plunges into the Boyne A swim for life Helped on his second great journey. CHAPTER IX. THE FLIGHT AND REFUGE .... 76 78 On solid ground The fugitive passes through Dun- leer, Castlebellingham, and Dundalk Turns eastward xii CONTENTS PAGES towards Carhngford Finds work at Mount Pleasant Kilns Burning lime New clothes Free labour- Makes a new friend. CHAPTER X. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT . . 79 82 Visit to County Down A surprise in store An Irish eauty Alice McClory described Hugh's discomfiture The Protestant barHugh's eagerness Alice cold. CHAPTER XI. TRUE LOVE AND PARTY STRIFE . . 83 9 1 Christmas holidays Engagement The Catholics roused Religious tests The dying Orangeman Perio- dical party battles I2th of July and I7th of March Weapons The great religious agitation An Irish priest Alice and the priest Hugh innocent of religion At- tempt to disarm prejudice A conference ends in a fight Contrairyness A dreadful speech Hugh among the Philistines Saved by Alice Tender good-bye Hugh's sudden conversion The deepening of true love. CHAPTER XII. LOVE'S SUBTERFUGES 92 105 Burning lime Hugh's inattention Visits Alice Secret meetings The Courting