MRS. GASKELL: ‘Life of Charlotte Brontë.’ * * * * * [Sidenote: Mrs. Gaskell’s first impression.] A little lady in a black silk gown, whom I could not see at first for the dazzle in the room; she came up and shook hands with me at once.... She is (as she calls herself) _undeveloped_, thin, and more than half a head shorter than I am; soft brown hair, not very dark; eyes (very good and expressive, looking straight and open at you), of the same color as her hair; a large mouth; the forehead square, broad, and rather overhanging. She has a very sweet voice; rather hesitates in choosing her expressions, but when chosen they seem without an effort admirable, and just befitting the occasion; there is nothing overstrained, but perfectly simple. MRS. GASKELL: _Letter_, published in ‘Life of Charlotte Brontë.’ * * * * * [Sidenote: Charlotte at home.] Miss Brontë put me in mind of her own ‘Jane Eyre.’ She looked smaller than ever, and moved about so quietly and noiselessly, just like a little bird, as Rochester called her, barring that all birds are joyous, and that joy can never have entered that house since it was first built.... There is something touching in the sight of that little creature entombed in such a place, and moving about herself like a spirit, especially when you think that the slight still frame encloses a force of strong fiery life, which nothing has been able to freeze or extinguish. _Letter from a Visitor_: Quoted by Mrs. Gaskell. * * * * * [Sidenote: The Rev. Patrick Brontë.] [Sidenote: Charlotte’s appearance and manner.] [Sidenote: Her eyes.]