the natural
presentiment that she saw them all for the last time, and she received
but a dead kind of comfort from being reminded by her friends that
Brussels and Haworth were not so very far apart; that access from one
place to the other was not so difficult or impracticable as her tears
would seem to predicate; nay, there was some talk of one of Madame
Heger's daughters being sent to her as a pupil, if she fulfilled her
intention of trying to begin a school. To facilitate her success in this
plan, should she ever engage in it, M. Heger gave her a kind of diploma,
dated from, and sealed with the seal of the Athenee Royal de Bruxelles,
certifying that she was perfectly capable of teaching the French
language, having well studied the grammar and composition thereof, and,
moreover, having prepared herself for teaching by studying and practising
the best methods of instruction. This certificate is dated December 29th
1843, and on the 2nd of January, 1844, she arrived at Haworth.

On the 23rd of the month she writes as follows:--

"Every one asks me what I am going to do, now that I am returned home;
and every one seems to expect that I should immediately commence a
school. In truth, it is what I should wish to do. I desire it above all
things. I have sufficient money for the undertaking, and I hope now
sufficient qualifications to give me a fair chance of success; yet I
cannot yet permit myself to enter upon life--to touch the object which
seems now within my reach, and which I have been so long straining to
attain. You will ask me why? It is on papa's account; he is now, as you
know, getting old, and it grieves me to tell you that he is losing his
sight. I have felt for some months that I ought not to be away from him;
and I feel now that it would be too selfish to leave him (at least, as
long as Branwell and Anne are absent), in order to pursue selfish
interests of my own. With the help of God, I will try to deny myself in
this matter, and to wait.

"I suffered much before I left Brussels. I think, however long I live, I
shall not forget what the parting with M. Heger cost me. It grieved me
so much to grieve him who has been so true, kind, and disinterested a
friend. At parting he gave me a kind of diploma certifying my abilities
as a teacher, sealed with the seal of the Athenee Royal, of which he is
professor. I was surprised also at the degree of regret expressed by my
Belgian pupils, when they knew I wa