Page:The complete poems of Emily Bronte.djvu/20

xvi merits of the verses are of a special kind. But so very little is known of Emily Brontë, the greatest woman genius of the nineteenth century, that whatever throws light upon her thoughts is of high interest to her lovers. It is only for these that this book has been compiled and printed.

How small our knowledge of Emily Brontë's life is may be best shown by a brief chronological account of her thirty years:—

1818.—Emily Brontë born at Thornton.

1820.—Anne Brontë born at Thornton.

1820.—The family remove to Haworth.

1821 (September).—The mother, Mrs. Brontë, died.

1824.—The little Brontë girls went to school at Cowan's Bridge. Emily, the prettiest of the sisters, was 'a darling child, under five years of age, quite the pet nursling of the school.' As a matter of fact, Emily was in her seventh year.

1826.—The children established their plays, each choosing representatives. Emily chose Sir Walter Scott, Mr. Lockhart, and Johnny Lockhart. Blackwood's Magazine was the favourite reading of the children, and they had also Southey and Sir Walter Scott left by