The chief part of
Charlotte Bronte's life was spent in a wild solitude compared with which
Steventon and Chawton might be considered to be in the gay world; and yet
she attained to personal distinction which never fell to Jane's lot. When
she visited her kind publisher in London, literary men and women were
invited purposely to meet her: Thackeray bestowed upon her the honour of
his notice; and once in Willis's Rooms, {117} she had to walk shy and
trembling through an avenue of lords and ladies, drawn up for the purpose
of gazing at the author of 'Jane Eyre.' Miss Mitford, too, lived quietly
in 'Our Village,' devoting her time and talents to the benefit of a
father scarcely worthy of her; but she did not live there unknown. Her
tragedies gave her a name in London. She numbered Milman and Talfourd
amongst her correspondents; and her works were a passport to the society
of many who would not otherwise have sought her. Hundreds admired Miss
Mitford on account of her writings for one who ever connected the idea of
Miss Austen with the press. A few years ago, a gentleman visiting
Winchester Cathedral desired to be shown Miss Austen's grave.
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