in the Rue d'Isabelle—a happy circumstance, which gave to Charlotte the materials for what is perhaps her masterpiece, the novel of "Villette."
Charlotte enjoyed Brussels, in her quiet way. She had Emily for company, she entered eagerly into her lessons, she liked the oddities and imperiousness of her brilliant teacher, M. Héger—the original of Paul Emanuel. Her near-sighted grey eyes lost none of the characteristics of the blooming Belgian school girls by whom she was surrounded, with their smooth hair, their romping ways, their devotion to dress, and their excellent appetites.
But Emily pined for Haworth and her beloved moor. Brussels was nothing to her; M. Héger only exasperated her, although she performed her tasks faithfully—finding, indeed, her only refuge from homesickness in labor. For his part, he recognized at once the exceptional talents of both his reserved, oddly dressed English pupils, but he considered Emily as the greater genius of the two; and indeed, her exercises were far superior to Charlotte's. His praise could not touch her, however; she cared only to do the work that must be done, and get home as quickly as possible. Sitting at twilight in the deserted schoolroom her thoughts turned to her home with the same passionate longing that had compelled her return from Roehead, and she tried one evening to give her feeling expression in verse:
The weary task is put away,
And I can sing and I can smile
Alike, while I have holiday.
What thought, what scene invites thee now?
What spot, or near or far apart,
Has rest for thee, my weary brow?
