10 Maria

And so now I have written it．It is three o'clock in the morning．The house is very quiet and the wind has stopped．I can hear the sound of the wood burning¹ in the fire and the clock on the stairs．Somewhere³ upstairs⁴ Arthur Nicholls is sleeping quietly．

I know that Charlotte's friend， Mrs Gaskell， has nearly⁶ fin－ished her book about Charlotte．Perhaps⁷ I will show her what I have written．

Perhaps．But I don't think so．I wrote⁸ to her before，and an-swered her questions，and that is enough．She is a writer， she can write her own¹⁰ book．I will keep this book in my desk，for myself—and perhaps for Arthur Nicholls．There is no need for other people to read it． My daughter Charlotte is famous¹¹ al－ready，and when Mrs Gaskell has written about her，she will be more famous still．

I wish my wife¹² Maria could¹³ read Charlotte's books—and Emily's，and Anne's．Perhaps she can． We had¹⁴ some fine children， didn't we， Maria？

I wonder¹⁵ if she can hear me．It is a fine night，now that the wind has stoppod．There is a bright moon，and the sky is full of stars．I think I will go outside，and walk through the graveyard¹⁶ to the church，and talk to Maria there．

10 玛丽亚

现在我写完了。凌晨3点钟，整幢房子非常寂静，风也停了。我可以听见木柴在火中燃烧的声音，还有楼梯上钟的嘀哒声。楼上，亚瑟•尼可斯静静地睡着。我知道夏洛蒂的朋友盖斯凯尔夫人快写完夏洛蒂的传记了，或许我会给她看看我写下的这些。

也许，但也许不会。我以前给她写过信，回答了一些她的问题，那已经够了。她是个作家，会写好自己的书的。我会把这本书放在我的书桌里，只给我自己——或许还有亚瑟•尼可斯看。没有必要给别人看了。我女儿夏洛蒂已经成名了，而且盖斯凯尔夫人的书写好了，她会更出名的。

我真想我妻子玛丽亚能读读夏洛蒂的书——还有爱米丽和安妮的。或许她能看到，我们有一些多么出色的孩子，玛丽亚，是吗？

我不知道她是否能听见我的话。今夜天气很好，风现在也已停了。一轮明月当空，天上繁星点缀。我想我会出去走走，穿过墓地，到教堂去，在那儿和玛丽亚谈谈。