re of the
moor-sheep. Unless that light and freshness are innate and
self-sustained, the drear prospect of a Yorkshire moor will
be found as barren of poetic as of agricultural interest:
where the love of wild nature is strong, the locality will
perhaps be clung to with the more passionate constancy,
because from the hill-lover's self comes half its charm."

Thus much of the scene:--now as to the story of the authorship of these
singular books:--

"About five years ago, my two sisters and myself, after a
somewhat prolonged period of separation, found ourselves
reunited and at home. Resident in a remote district where
education had made little progress, and where, consequently,
there was no inducement to seek social intercourse beyond
our own domestic circle, we were wholly dependent on
ourselves and each other, on books and study, for the
enjoyments and occupations of life. * * One day, in the
autumn of 1845, I accidentally lighted on a MS. volume of
verse in my sister Emily's handwriting. Of course, I was not
surprised, knowing that she could and did write verse; I
looked it over, and something more than surprise seized
me,--a deep conviction that these were not common effusions,
nor at all like the poetry women generally write. * *
Meantime, my younger sister quietly produced some of her own
compositions, intimating that since Emily's had given me
pleasure, I might like to look at hers. I could not be a
partial judge, yet I thought that these verses too had a
sweet sincere pathos of their own. We had very early
cherished the dream of one day becoming authors. This dream,
never relinquished even when distance divided and absorbing
tasks occupied us, now suddenly acquired strength and
consistency: it took the character of a resolve. We agreed
to arrange a small selection of our poems, and, if possible,
get them printed. Averse to personal publicity, we veiled
our own names under those of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell;
the ambiguous choice being dictated by a sort of
conscientious scruple at assuming Christian names positively
masculine, while we did not like to declare ourselves women,
because--without at that time suspecting that our mode of
writing and thinking was not what is called 'feminine'--we
had a vague impression that