5th, 1791, and it is inscribed with the
text, _Flee from sin as from a serpent_, _for if thou comest too near to
it_, _it will bite thee_. _The teeth thereof are as the teeth of a lion
to slay the souls of men_. Another sampler is by Elizabeth Branwell;
another by Margaret, and another by Anne. These, some miniatures, and
the book and papers to which I have referred, are all that remain to us
as a memento of Mrs. Bronte, apart from the children that she bore to her
husband. The miniatures, which are in the possession of Miss Branwell,
of Penzance, are of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Branwell--Charlotte Bronte's
maternal grandfather and grandmother--and of Mrs. Bronte and her sister
Elizabeth Branwell as children.

To return, however, to our bundle of love-letters. Comment is needless,
if indeed comment or elucidation were possible at this distance of time.

TO REV. PATRICK BRONTE, A.B., HARTSHEAD

'WOOD HOUSE GROVE, _August_ 26_th_, 1812.

'MY DEAR FRIEND,--This address is sufficient to convince you that I
not only permit, but approve of yours to me--I do indeed consider you
as my _friend_; yet, when I consider how short a time I have had the
pleasure of knowing you, I start at my own rashness, my heart fails,
and did I not think that you would be disappointed and grieved at it,
I believe I should be ready to spare myself the task of writing. Do
not think that I am so wavering as to repent of what I have already
said. No, believe me, this will never be the case, unless you give
me cause for it. You need not fear that you have been mistaken in my
character. If I know anything of myself, I am incapable of making an
ungenerous return to the smallest degree of kindness, much less to
you whose attentions and conduct have been so particularly obliging.
I will frankly confess that your behaviour and what I have seen and
heard of your character has excited my warmest esteem and regard, and
be assured you shall never have cause to repent of any confidence you
may think proper to place in me, and that it will always be my
endeavour to deserve the good opinion which you have formed, although
human weakness may in some instances cause me to fall short. In
giving you these assurances I do not depend upon my own strength, but
I look to Him who has been my unerring guide through life, and in
whose