of her course of life at the parsonage:


"An account of one day is an account of all. In the morning, from nine
o'clock till half-past twelve, I instruct my sisters, and draw; then we
walk till dinner-time. After dinner I sew till tea-time, and after tea
I either write, read, or do a little fancywork, or draw, as I please.
Thus, in one delightful though somewhat monotonous course, my life is
passed. I have been out only twice to tea since I came home. We are
expecting company this afternoon, and on Tuesday next we shall have all
the female teachers of the Sunday-school to tea."


It was about this time that Mr. Brontë provided his children with a
teacher in drawing, who turned out to be a man of considerable talent
but very little principle. Although they never attained to anything
like proficiency, they took great interest in acquiring this art;
evidently from an instinctive desire to express their powerful
imaginations in visible forms. Charlotte told me that at this period
of her life drawing and walking out with her sisters formed the two
great pleasures and relaxations of her day. . . .

Quiet days, occupied in teaching and feminine occupations in the house,
did not present much to write about; and Charlotte was naturally driven
to criticise books.

Of these there were many in different plights, and according to their
plight, kept in different places. The well bound were ranged in the
sanctuary of Mr. Brontë's study; but the purchase of books was a
necessary luxury to him, and as it was often a choice between binding