Sketcher. Branwell Bronte.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XX, Issue 1428, 11 February 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

Sketcher. Branwell Bronte.

Poor, depraved, brilliant Branwell Bronte 1 In history or fiction, what name is there that calls forth more pity, admiration, and contempt than that of the gifted brother of the Bronte sisters? Though a bitter trial to them, he was, indirectly, the means ofbiinginj their genius into life. Had not the brother so wretchedly failed to fulfil the exceptional promise of his youth, in all likelihood the world would never have thrilled at the reading of " Jane Eyre," or shuddered over " Wulbering Heights." Like his sisters, he was sma^ of body, but ■with a disproportionately large head covered with red hair, and a face much freckled ; not beautiful, but witty, passionate, and gifted. Indeed, so complex was his temperament, so varied peculiar his moial organisation, it is (lifliouH to regard him a3 wholly sane ; the wild excesses of his later years, when he gave himself up to drink and the use of opium, strengthen if not altogether confirm this supposition.

This boy, tbe idol of his sister 3, grew np unrestrained and without guidancs fiom his father, who, indeed, paid little or no attention to his children, further lhan to know they wer9 alive and well, in a little, uninteresting village, whose Liens and resources were as contracted as its sheets, as primitively plain and uncouth as its houses. Its only place of recieation was the village tavern There Bianwell contracted habits that blighted his s-isfeis 1 lives, ruined his own, bringing him to a premature grave, and turned the peaceful parsonage into a hell. The limit of agony in which one person may involve hi; family is well nigh boundless, but it. must have been fully realised in the Bronte household through Bianwell. Genius without restiainfc, like runaway horses, generally ends in a smash-up, and thus it was with this highly imaginative youth, with his wonderful intuitive power of grasping an ides or a situation in its completeness that was astonishing. "Whenever there happened to be a traveller ■staying over night at* the llawoitb Inn, it was the landlord's custom to send for i: th' vicar's I'atiick," a3 he was called by the villagers, to come and euteitain his truest through the fong hours of the evening by his bri'liant wit and ready conversation. At these mceiings there was always a bigbovil of smoking punch to quicken the spiiitsof the company, which was never neglected by the unfortunate youth.

The following is told as an example of his accurate knowledge of places he had never visited : One night, in conversation with a gentleman from London about tbe city, young Bronte m r mioned the existancc of an insignificant bj'-street or alley by which one could make a short cs:t from one prominent part of the city to another ; apparently so familiar was he with its location and characteristics that ihc gentleman was greatly surprised to hear that he ha 1 never ■visited the place, but derived his knowledge from books and conversation with travellers like himself. It is also ?aid that he could write two letters at the same time, one with each hand, to different individuals on different subjects ; be that as it may, his versatili ty was variation itself, and his literal ability of a high oicler, as is evinced by his earl'or setters, especially one written when he was about seventeen to the poet Southey, asking Advice as to the practicability of beginning a jiterary career. He had also much ability as an artist, and it was his father's intention to send Lira to London for instruction, but lie probably saw, when the time came, that Branwell could not be trusted in the great city wheie his wild habits would have opportunity for greater swing, for the boy was never sent.

Itts not necessary to repeat here the story of his life, of his guilty love and wretched downfall ; of those long days and nigi.ts of hopeless misery to himself and his family, of bis mad ravings and outbursts of temper, tnd the degradation into which he sank lower and lower, each -dqith eeeming to open others still more awful, till he died despairing, lost.

We do not expect agility from a cripple, but are d.sn-ppointed when, (he athlete f.ii^s in his promise : neither i 3 swiftness looked for in a cart-horse, but a thorough-bred must have a goo'l record. So it is with genius. From those to whom nature is most lavish in the bestowal of her gifts, much is expected ; and this poor, nnfortunite youth, unfortunate in that same nature, so prodigal in her endowments tohirnjiad withheld the one faculty of self-rcstiaint, was, like a rudderless ship or an army without a leader, doomed to certain wreck. Yet, while regretting the culpable misuse of talent, and lamenting his untimely death, we condemn him most for what he did not do.

How to Manage a Fire —Fire requires air ; therefore, on its appearance every effort Bhoui J be made to exclude air, shut all doors und windows. By this means fire msy be confined to a single room for a sufficient period to enable all the inmates to be aroused and escape; but if the doors and windows are thrown open, tbe fanning of the wind and the draught will instantly cause the flames to increase with great rapidity. It must never be forgotten that the most precious moments are at the commencement of a fire, and not .1 single second of time should be lost in tackling it. In a room a tablecloth can be so used to smother a large sheet of flame, and a cushion may serve to beat it out; a coat or anything similar may be used with an equally successful result.

The great point is presence of mind, calmness in danger, action guided by reason and thought. In all large houses buckets of water should be placed on every landing, a little salt being put into the water. Always endeavor to attack the bed of a fire ; if you cannot extinguish afire, shut the window, and be Siire to shut the door when making good your retrf-at. A wet hanikerchief held o?rr the eyes and nose will make breathing possible in the midst of much smoke, and a blank' t wetted and wrapped round the body will ■ liable a person to pa 33 through a sheet of flame in comparative safety. Should a lady's dress catch fire, let the wearer at once lie down; rolling may extinguish the fire, but if not, anything, woollen preferred, wrapped tightly round will effect the desired purpose.

Artificial Clouds.— An exchange says that artificial clouds were recently created for the protection of vines fiom frost at Pagny, on the Franco-German frontier. Liquid iar wa3 ignited in tin boxes and pieces of solid tar on the »rouud near the vines. Large clouds of smoke arose and protected the vines for two hours. Although vines in tbe neighborhood were injured by the^fj-ost, all that remained under the clouds ■vtfejg-left uninjured. Of course such a procedure can succeed only in calm -eather ; but it is ia calm weather only that white frosts occur,

How to Renovate Velvet-— Have a hot iron and plenty of holdeis ; place the handle firmly between the knpea, leaving the flat, smoothe surface exposed ; ovei this lay a wet cloth, doubledj it must not bslinty or wooly; take the velvet in the left hand, draw it quickly toward yon over the wet cloth, brushit lightly at the same lime against the pile with a hat brush, and it will come forth like new if rJono proper!?-- Wot the cloth and change the iron as often as necessary to keep up the steam.

Properly, there is no other knowledge than that which is got by working; the rest is yet all a hypothesis of knowledge ; a thing to be argued of in schools; a thing floating in the clouds, in endless logic-vortices, till we try and fix it.

We Australians are so used to weighing multitudes nnd being ruled by majorities that we are apt to underrate tbe potential influence of individual