Open Writing

“What time did you say you were meeting Charlotte, Ellen?”

It was Thursday, the twenty-sixth of June 1845 and the questioner, Henry Nussey, Vicar of St Michaels Church, Hathersage, Derbyshire. Ellen Nussey, Henry’s sister, had invited Charlotte Bronte, her closest friend, to stay at the vicarage while her brother was away. The plan was that Charlotte would stay for two weeks to help Ellen prepare and decorate the rooms for Henry and his new bride, Emily Prescott, who were leaving for their honeymoon that morning.

“About ten o’clock”, Ellen said. “The coach leaves The George at ten, so I have a little time to spare before Charlotte’s bus arrives in Sheffield.”

Secretly, Henry was relieved that he wouldn’t be meeting Charlotte face to face. Some years earlier, anxious to find a bride, he had drawn up a list of possibles and in 1839 had approached Mary Lutwidge, his first preference.

Henry’s diary later read “On Tuesday last, I received a decisive reply from Mary. It was a loss but I trust a providential one . God knows what is good for us. I will now write to my second choice, C. B. a Yorkshire friend.”

A later diary entry reads “Today, I received an unfavourable reply from C B. The Lords will be done.’’

Emily Prescott’s position on Henry’s list is unrecorded but she clearly answered in the affirmative, as this day’s events confirmed.

Meanwhile, Charlotte was making her way to Sheffield in the discomfort of one of the new omnibuses. Considerably cheaper than travelling by stage, but with only marginal regard for passenger comfort, the buses carried twenty persons.
There were no assigned stops and rival companies raced to pick up passengers standing at the roadside, anywhere on route.

A stocky farmer, jammed in the next seat, startled Charlotte by suddenly banging on the roof with his cow–stick, the signal to halt the bus at the Wakefield turn-off. He raised his hat to his travelling companion and clambered off as the three horses whinnied and snorted their displeasure at the driver, heaving on the reins.

Charlotte amused herself by reading a copy of ‘Omnibus Law’, a sheet produced by the Times newspaper and widely circulated by the omnibus companies. The instructions to passengers were intended to make bus travel more enjoyable. She took in the advice with amusement.

! Keep your feet off the seats.

2 Do not get into a snug corner yourself and then open the windows to
admit the wind on to your neighbour’s neck.

3 Sit with straight limbs. Legs at 45 degrees, take up two seats.

4 Do not spit on the straw – you are not in a hog sty.

5 Dogs must be small and on a string.

6 No large parcels. This is not a van.

7 Refrain from affectation and conceited airs. You are in a ‘bus, not a hackney coach at ten times the price.

A smile spread across Charlotte’s face as she opened her journal. She was making jottings for a new novel and was sure she would find inspiration in Derbyshire. Overwhelmingly, she looked forward to seeing her beloved Ellen once more and was grateful for the break from Howarth. Ann had recently resigned from her post as governess at Thorn Green and she and Emily had just returned from a three-day outing to York.

The Leeds-Sheffield bus clattered into the bustling station almost exactly on the stroke of one and Charlotte looked anxiously for Ellen’s familiar smiling face in the ruck of people milling around the bus company offices.

“Charlotte darling, I’m here, I’m here. How are you? You look wonderful. Let me take your bags. You must be exhausted. The bus is so tiny and crowded.”

The words poured out in the pleasure and excitement of the meeting.

“We have just time to take tea before the stage leaves again for Hathersage.”

“It’s so wonderful to see you again Ellen – you look younger than ever.” Charlotte burst out. “Thank you so much for coming to meet me.”

The friends embraced and after much gossip and laughter over the tea, made their way through the crowd to the Hathersage stage. There was much to see and do in the next two weeks.