The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë/ Syrie James

Exciting news! The Women’s National Book Association has named my novel, The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë, one of the Great Group Reads of 2009. I am delighted because I truly believe that Charlotte’s story will open up lively discussions about a host of timely and provocative topics.
The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë, by Avon/HarperCollins Publishing in July 2009, is the result of many years of intense research and writing. As a devoted Brontë scholar, I was intrigued by how many of Charlotte's own life experiences found their way into her novels, and I found immense pleasure in bringing her true story to life on the page.
The novel begins with an impassioned proposal from Charlotte’s father's curate, Arthur Bell Nicholls, who has carried a silent torch for Charlotte for more than seven years. Charlotte greatly disliked Mr Nicholls when they first met, but her feelings have evolved and changed over the years. Does she love him? Does she wish to marry him?

Seeking answers, Charlotte takes up her pen to examine the truth about her life. In these pages, she exposes her deepest feelings and desires, her triumphs and shattering personal disappointments, her scandalous, secret passion for the man she can never have—the man who was the basis for all the heroes in her books, including Mr Rochester in Jane Eyre —and the intimate details of her compelling relationship with Mr Nicholls, the man she eventually comes to love with all her heart.
At the same time, we learn of Charlotte’s relationship with her family, the inspiration behind their work, and their evolution as novelists. Although Charlotte and her sisters Emily and Anne did not have a single connection to the literary world, and lived in an era when women rarely saw their work in print — and despite their difficult circumstances at home, including an alcoholic brother and a father who was going blind — all three women became published authors at the same time. I cannot think of any other family in history who have achieved such an extraordinary feat, and I wanted to celebrate that and reveal how it happened.

As part of my research I made an extended visit to the Brontë Parsonage Museum. I owe a debt of gratitude to Ann Dinsdale, the Collections Manager, for her gracious welcome to both the house and library, and to Sarah Laycock, the museum’s Library and Information Officer, for sharing many wonderful details about Charlotte’s clothing and other garments in the collection. I also was privileged to receive an unforgettable, attic-to-cellar tour of the former Roe Head School in Mirfield which Charlotte attended, which still sports the legend of a mysterious attic-dwelling ghost.

Mode

De uitvinding van machines maakte materialen minder duur. Batist, gedrenkt mousseline, geborduurde organdie ( dun doorzichtig katoen), barege (ongekeperde, doorschijnende wollen stof), een wol-en-zijde materiaal, werden veel gebruikt. Onder de zwaardere materialen hoorden kasjmier en witte merino. Een licht-roze zijde genoemd Levantijnse, gros de Naples, en pluche en fluweel werden hoofdzakelijk gebruikt voor hoeden en mutsen. Gaas, crêpe, tule en waren de favorieten voor het snoeien. Materialen en kleuren werden genoemd van gebeurtenissen, en kwamenvaak uit boeken. "Ipsiboe," Trocadero, "" brons, rook, Nijlwater, waren enkele van de vreemde namen. Nadat de eerste giraffe in de Jardin des Plantes arriveerde in 1827, werden mode en kleuren "a la Girafe."

Gedurende ongeveer twintig jaar had de klassieke stijl of “”ontkleed”” gezegevierd, waaruit een verlangen bleek om terug te keren naar de natuur. Geleidelijk voor een andere jurk twintig jaar verliet de natuur steeds verder achter, tot het echt grotesk werd." Een meer conservatieve stijl van kleden resulteerde voor een korte periode.

De rok veranderde weinig tot 1814-1822, daarna werd de rok voller en voller. De onderste rand werd iets veranderd, meer of minder uitvoerig versierd met volants, plooien, vouwen en bandjes in verschillende vormen. Het toonde de voeten en enkels. De grootste verandering kwam in het lijfje en de mouwen. Zat het lijfje eerst hoog in de taille, geleidelijk werd het verlaagd tot de normale taille. Het sloot of heel hoog in de hals en afgewerkt met een ruche, of laag en afgewerkt met een turned-down kraag. Soms werden zowel kraag en ruche gedragen, vooral op straat. Mouwen ontwikkelen zich tot zeer wijd aan de bovenkant en taps toelopend naar de hand. Zoals de mouw in breedte toenam, zo nam ook de schouder en kraag (of "Bertha") toe, het werkte de zeer lage hals af en de taille werd ingesnoerd.

Naar sjaals was nog steeds veel vraag, ook al was de extreme rage voorbij, de spencer en de pelisse met cape begon de plaats in te nemen. Deze had lange mouwen aan de pols en zat hoog in de nek, de spencer stopte op de taille, maar de pelisse reikt e tot de onderkant van de rok. Het werd in de winter gedragen en was over het algemeen afgezet met bont. Veren boa's en enorme moffen van chinchilla's en vossen bont kwam in de mode. De boa werd een kenmerk bij de jurk van 1830, meestal zwart het werd rond de hals en het lichaam gewonden en de uiteinden fladderden in de wind.

Er kwamen diverse wijzigingen in het kappen van het haar en de stijl van hoofdbekleding. Tijdens de beginjaren van de Restauratie was het haar gekruld en horizontaal gehouden rond het gezicht met een lus in de nek, versierd met kleine kunstbloemen, in bossen of kransen.

In de jaren '20 zat er een scheiding met krullen langs elke zijde van het gezicht, aan de achterkant strak en glad in de nek en gerangschikt in een grote lus of strik op de bovenkant van het hoofd met allerlei versieringen zoals veren, kunstmatige bloemen en strikken van lint. Een hoge kam van uitgesneden schildpad hield dit bouwwerk op zijn plaats.

De hoed kreeg een rand en werd met brede linten vastgebonden onder de kin en toonde alleen het gezicht versierd met struisvogelveren. De bovenkant had een klokvorm.

http://www.fashion-era.com/regency_fashion.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1795-1820_in_fashion

http://www.printsgeorge.com/Jane_Austen-fashion.htm

A remarkable cache

Tuesday, 3 November 2009
A remarkable cache
News release from the Parsonage:

A remarkable cache of new Brontë treasures have recently been donated the Brontë Parsonage Museum by a private owner living in Manitoba, Canada. The items were given to the museum by Mr Tony Hart, whose great grandfather was the nephew of Mary Anna Bell, the second wife of Arthur Bell Nicholls. Nicholls’ first marriage was to Charlotte Brontë and took place at Haworth Church in 1854, although Charlotte died the following year, possibly in the early stages of pregnancy. Mr Hart’s great grandfather emigrated from Ireland to Canada in the 1870s.

 

 

The items donated all belonged to Charlotte Brontë and include a gold brooch set with garnets, a beautifully carved ivory visiting card case and card, a fragmentary manuscript by Charlotte, dated 1829 and entitled ‘Anecdotes of the Duke of Wellington’, an ink drawing of a ‘Wellington monument’ accompanying the manuscript, and a signed engraved portrait of Charlotte. The items would have been taken to Ireland by Arthur Bell Nicholls in 1861 after Charlotte’s death and may have been given to Mr Hart’s great grandfather as keepsakes.

It’s very rare indeed for such a wonderful group of items to emerge under any circumstances, but we feel extremely fortunate and grateful to Mr Hart for donating what is certainly a very valuable collection indeed to the museum. Some of these items are quite unique within the context of the museum’s collection and so to have them return to Haworth after so many years, and all the way from Canada, is very special.

Ann Dinsdale
Collections Manager

The new items are now on display at the Brontë Parsonage Museum and can be seen along with many other treasures from the museum’s collection as part of an exhibition focusing on Charlotte Brontë.

Emily Bronte

In 1861, after the Brontës had died, the Gondal poems notebook left Haworth for Ireland with Charlotte’s widower Arthur Bell Nicholls. Following his death in 1907, the manuscript was auctioned in a sale at Sotheby’s and purchased by Mrs George Smith, widow of Charlotte’s publisher. It was then bequeathed to the British Library in London by the Smith family and for the first time since 1861, returns to the Parsonage where it was originally composed.

The iconic portrait of Emily by her brother Branwell was once part of a larger painting called ‘The Gun Group’ portrait. It was cut out by Arthur Bell Nicholls on the death of Patrick Brontë in 1861 and was later found on top of a wardrobe along with ‘The Brontë Sisters’ portrait (also by Branwell) by Arthur’s second wife Mary Ann Nicholls after his death.

Drawings

Drawings from Charlotte Brontë's tale High Life in Verdopolis, the story that she presented to Heger and that turned up mysteriously in a Brussels secondhand bookshop in the early 1890s - now in the British Library. "Portrait of a Young Woman" c. and "King of Angria, Duke of Zamorna" c. 1834.

Handschoenen en portret van Charlotte

Her white kid leather gloves with brass studs and dress with tiny waist are testament to her slight physical appearance.













A recently restored chalk drawing of Charlotte Bronte which was purchased at Sotherbys in 2004 and carefully restored to its former glory by experts.

Boekje waarin Charlotte als kind schreef.

This little book originally belonged to Arthur Bell Nicholls, the husband of Charlotte Brontë. After his death most of his Bronte collection was sold in an auction in 1907. Unfortunately for the Bronte Society at the time the little book was sold to a private American collector called Henry H. Bonnell. It resided with him until his death in 1926, finally returning home in 1927 when it was kindly donated by Henry Bonnellâs family to the Parsonage, the place where it was written.

Repairing or restoring

http://bronteblog.blogspot.com


Repairing or restoring all the damaged setts in and around Haworth’s historic Main Street would cost about £1 million.
The figure was announced by Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury Parish Council chairman John Huxley, who is part of a working group set up to investigate how to carry out the work.
Cllr Huxley said a report on the issue has suggested different methods of preserving the setts, including imposing a 7.5 tonne vehicle weight restriction.
Cllr Peter Hill said there has already been one concrete, positive outcome of the increased attention on the state of Main Street.
He said in future, any contractors digging up the road would be obliged to employ a sett specialist to ensure the stones were properly replaced.
Cllr Huxley said Bradford Council was now considering what effect a figure of £1 million would have on its budget.
He said a complete restoration would take years to finish.
The parish council declined an invitation from British Telecom to “adopt” the traditional red phone booth in Sun Street, Haworth, for £1.
Councillors were informed that BT was planning to remove the phone but leave the booth in place.
Parish clerk Glyn Broomhead said he understood that in the last 12 months only 105 calls had been made from the phone box.
Cllr Barry Thorne warned the cost of maintaining the structure would be “enormous”, adding that even replacing broken window panels would be extremely expensive.
Cllr Huxley said the council should respond “thanks but no thanks” to the invitation.
Haworth is to be twinned with its namesake, in New Jersey, USA.
Cllr Peter Hill, who has recently visited Brontë Country’s American counterpart, said he would be putting together a “twinning statement of goodwill” to formalise the partnership.
He said there was scope for Haworth New Jersey’s school, along with its volunteer fire brigade and ambulance services, to link up with similar organisations here.
He emphasised the initiative would not cost the parish council any money. (Miran Rahman)

The Secret of Charlotte Brontë

This is probably the first and only book which is focused solely on Charlotte Brontë and Brussels, and would therefore be of great interest to everyone interested in that period of her life.

Frederika MacDonald, in 1859, was herself a pupil at the Pensionnat Heger where 17 years earlier Charlotte had been a student, and later a teacher. She knew from first-hand experience what life was like at the school, and even more interesting, what M. Heger and his wife Madame Heger were like in real life.

Frederika had been writing articles as an ex-pupil of the Pensionnat from 1894 onwards, but when Charlotte’s letters to Heger were made public in 1913 (when Paul Heger handed them over to the British Museum), she was the first to quote from these letters in a Brontë biography. They form a vital part of this publication, in which Frederika tries to unravel the ‘secret’ of Charlotte on the basis of these letters.

The book is separated in 2 parts:

Part I; CHARLOTTE BRONTË’S LETTERS TO M. HEGER
(These Letters supply the Key to the Secret of Charlotte Brontë). She ends this part by quoting Charlotte’s last desperate letter to Constantin Heger. She writes: “ The Letter obtained no answer.
And thus the end was reached. We now know where in Charlotte Bronte's life lay her experiences that formed her genius and made her the great Romantic whose quality was that she saw all events and personages through the medium of one passion: the passion of a predestined tragical and unrequited love.”

Part II; SOME REMINISCENES OF THE REAL MONSIEUR HEGER
Frederika MacDonald gives us a marvellous insight into her life at the Pensionnat and her own personal view of the teacher she and Charlotte both shared. She writes: “ But Monsieur Heger had one really beautiful feature, that I remember often watching with extreme pleasure when he recited fine poetry or read noble prose : - his mouth, when uttering words that moved him, had a delightful smile, not in the least tender towards ordinary mortals, but almost tender in its homage to the excellence of writers of genius.

In brief, what M. Heger 's face revealed when studied as the index of his natural qualities, was intellectual superiority, an imperious temper, a good deal of impatience against stupidity, and very little patience with his fellow-creatures generally; it revealed too a good deal of humour; and a very little kindheartedness, to be weighed against any amount of irritability. It was a sort of face bound to interest one; but not, so it seems to me, to conquer affection.” There are also some interesting illustrations, which you hardly find in any other publication or biography.

I strongly recommend this book as a wonderful addition of any good Brussels/Brontë collection.
If you are able to get your hands on a copy, don’t let it slip you by. There is however the possibilty to read the text, by clicking on this link: http://www.archive.org/details/secretofcharlott00macduoft
To see the digitalized original edition, click on ‘FLIP BOOK’ in the left panel where it says; ‘View the book’.

Some more information on Frederika’s book in the Australian Brontë Association Newsletter:
www.ics.mq.edu.au/~chris/bronte/news17.pdf

Guided bronte walks in Brussel

The bandstand in Parc de Bruxelles featured in Villette.



Uit:
http://brusselsbronte.blogspot.com/
I am not going to go into details of the tour since it will spoil the little discoveries that one comes across, as expertly guided by Myriam (for all the people who will go on future walks). I just want to give you a brief overview of what we saw. As I mentioned the tour started out in front of the Chapelle Royale where Charlotte and Emily went every Sunday. From there we moved on to the Place Royale, where Myriam went through the history of the area in the early19th century. The square and surrounding areas were a focal point of Brussels life, since the Belgian nobility lived and worked here.

After walking through some small streets in the area we concluded our walk by visiting the Cathedral of Saint Michel and Saint Gudule, where Charlotte Bronte actually went to confession and which is described in great detail in her letters and Villette.

Agnes Grey

scarlborough+wild+sea

 

But the sea was my delight;

and I would often gladly pierce the town

to obtain the pleasure of a walk beside it,

whether with the pupils,

or alone with my mother during the vacations.

It was delightful to me at all times and seasons,

but especially in the wild commotion of a rough sea-breeze,

 and in the brilliant freshness of a Summer morning.

~ Agnes Grey (ch. XXIV), by Anne Brontë

Haworth

http://bronteparsonage.blogspot.com/


Few English villages can have been as well documented and photographed as Hawortha place with more significant connotations than most of the others. A recent publication is the latest in a series which uses the old pictures next to the new ones to show how things have changed, and not always for the better. The title is Haworth Through Time, and it is by Steven Wood and photographer Ian Palmer.

Its brief introduction puts the causes of the many changes into a nutshell. It is explained, for example, that the first development of Main Street was brought about by the making of the Blue Bell turnpike through Haworth in 1755, and that the reason for the large number of non-conformist chapels in the Haworth area is because one of the charismatic leaders of the evangelical revival, William Grimshaw, was the local minister. The major nineteenth century expansions were caused by the opening of the branch railway from Keighley in 1867, which also made it necessary to alter the road system in the lower part of the village.

A point sometimes missed by students of the Brontës and by some scholars as well, is that Haworth was until well into the twentieth century a hectic, industrialised part of Yorkshire, and a generally unhealthy place for those people packed into small rooms where they lived, worked hard and died, apart from the folk up at the Parsonage. It was not at the far end of beyond. Many industries and the quarries have of course collapsed now, and at one time the railway itself was closed – until it was reopened by a preservation society.

Today, so many people have cars, and Haworth is a healthy and desirable place for commuters and families to put down roots.

Main Street is full of little shops and cafés geared to the tourist trade, and a good place to stroll along, even though it is not yet a pedestrian precinct, and cars can often be observed going unnecessarily fast along it.

The cars were a problem for Ian Palmer too – he had to put up with their obscuring of many views of course, and apparently had to dodge one or two while pointing his camera, and no doubt holding in one hand the old photograph so that the new one could be taken from the same vantage point. One surprising thing to note in the new colour images is the number of trees. They appear to have multiplied. For example, in a view entitled Haworth from Brow, the increase in the numbers of houses for mill workers dating from the late nineteenth century can be clearly seen, and they are now accompanied by large numbers of verdant trunks and branches. In the old photo, Ivy Bank Mill with a smoking chimney is visible on the left. The chimney has gone, of course, along with thousands of others across Yorkshire, mainly demolished in the 1960s, and the background landscape looks windswept and bare. Ivy Bank mill is now a burnt out ruin.

A view of Church Street and Changegate from the Church Tower taken at the time of the Great War shows huddled buildings (usually described as ‘slums’) and a lack of modern roads. These can be seen in the up-to-date view. An old photo dating from 1960 of Acton Street shows a row of houses now demolished where once lived Old Jack Kay, who was known as the village wise man. Did every village have one of these? Old Jack could foretell and even control the weather, so it was said, and defeat the evil created by witches. Not many people come into the old or the new photos, but an exception is Smithy in the Fold, c1900, in which four well-built men can be seen posing casually – blacksmiths Abraham Scarborough and his son Herbert, along with two other smiths. Their smithy is now a garage.

And the most photographed building in Haworth has to be there as well, naturally – a well-known sepia image of the Parsonage from about 186o is set above a present-day view with tall trees in the foreground.

There are more than 180 photographs in this book.

The Bible of Charlotte

Bought from a dealer in the 1920s or 30s for 50.00, the bible is crammed packed with tiny notes by Charlotte. The expert authenicated the writing as Charlottes, dating the bible from about 1845. It’s estimated value between £15,000 and £20,000!

Een bezoek aan de pastorie

De pastorie ("Parsonage") werd in 1778, in neo klassieke stijl gebouwd van zandsteen uit de omgeving van Haworth. Een eeuw later liet dominee John Wade, Mr. Bröntes opvolger, de noordvleugel aan het huis bijbouwen. Hierin bevinden zich thans de bibliotheek en de expositieruimte, In het gedeelte van het huis dat de Bröntes oorspronkelijk bewoonden zijn meubels en persoonlijke bezittingen van de familie ondergebracht.
Het gebouw werd in 1928 aan de Brönte Society geschonken door de in Haworth geboren Sir James Roberts. Charlotte liet verscheidene veranderingen aan het huis aanbrengen; zo werden de eetkamer en de slaapkamer erboven groter gemaakt ten koste van de hal en de kinderkamer. Vrijwel alle meubels in het huis waren eigendom van de Bröntes en het grootste deel van de inrichting van de kamers stamt uit hun tijd.






2. Mr. Bröntes Studeerkamer

 
























De kamer rechts was Mr. Bröntes studeerkamer.
Hier deed hij veel aan zijn parochiewerk en vaak gebruikte hij er alleen, zijn maaltijd. Eén van de wandtafels is dan ook voor hem gedekt. Op het bureau voor de haard liggen zijn psalmenboek en vergrootglas. De piano was van zijn kinderen en werd voornamelijk door Emily bespeeld.

3. De Eetkamer

In de eetkamer deden de zusters veel van hun werk.
Hier staat de schommelstoel waar Anne gewoonlijk zat met haar voeten op de haardrand en de sofa waarop Emily is overleden. Volgens Mrs. Gaskell, Charlottes biografe, was de overheersende kleur in de kamer karmozijnrood. Charlotte schreef: We hebben gordijnen voor de eetkamer gekregen. Ik heb ze in de fabriek karmozijnrood laten verven, maar ze zijn slecht geverfd en staan me niet aan.

Boven de schoorsteenmantel hangt een reproductie van George Richmonds portret van Charlotte, boven de sofa bevindt zich, in de vorm van een gipsen medaillon, een portret van Patrick Branwell Brönte dat gemaakt is door Joseph Leyland. Aan de andere muur hangen gravures van twee van Charlottes helden: De hertog van Wellington en William Makepeace Thackeray. Charlotte liet de kamer groter maken toen ze succes kreeg als schrijfster.

4. de Keuken

Deze veranderde aanzienlijk toen er in 1878 een gang van werd gemaakt,
het raam werd dichtgemetseld, er kwam een nieuwe ingang en het oude, grote fornuis werd verwijderd. De keuken is zoveel mogelijk in oude staat teruggebracht en bevat het oorspronkelijke huisraad. Aan de tafel kneedde Emily iedere week het deeg terwijl ze haar Duits leerde. Het keukengerei en serviesgoed dat hier te zien is, was eigendom van de Bröntes.

5. Mr. Nicholls studeerkamer


De studeerkamer was oorspronkelijk een voorraadkamer die alleen via de achterkant van het huis bereikbaar was.
In mei 1854 liet Charlotte, met de bedoeling een studeerkamer voor haar toekomstige echtgenoot te maken, de hoogte van de vloer veranderen, een haard inbouwen en een nieuw raam plaatsen. Aan de muren bevinden zich kerkbankdeurtjes uit de oude parochiekerk van Haworth die in 1879 werd afgebroken.

Bezoekers die nu de trap op te gaan, waar ze een reproductie kunnen zien van Branwells beroemde portret van Anne, Emily en Charlotte.
Hier staat tevens de klok die Mr. Brönte iedere avond opwond als hij naar bed ging.

6. de slaapkamer van de Dienstboden

Deze kamer kon men aanvankelijk alleen binnenkomen via een stenen trap aan de achterzijde van het huis. Tabitha Aykroyd kwam in 1825 voor de Bröntes werken en is 30 jaar lang bij hen in dienst geweest. Ze overleed in 1855 en is begraven nabij de tuinmuur van de pastorie. Martha Brown kwam op tienjarige leeftijd bij de familie werken en deed het huishouden tot de dood van Mr. Brönte dit gedeelte van het huis werd veranderd ten tijde van de Bröntes: het raam met de verticale, stenen stijlen in de westelijke muur werd afgesloten (een gedeelte van het kozijn is nog zichtbaar rechtsboven de haard) en vervangen door het huidige raam aan de zuidzijde.

7.Charlottes kamer

Rechts, aan de voorzijde van het huis, bevindt zich de kamer waar Mrs. Brönte in 1821 is overleden.
Haar zus Elisabeth Branwell nam na haar dood de zorg voor de nog jonge kinderen op zich en trok bij de familie in. In deze kamer leerde tante Branwell de meisjes nauwkeurig borduurwerk en huishoudelijk werk. U ziet hier de kleine schoentjes en een jurk van Charlotte, evenals vele persoonlijke bezittingen van de zussen en een deel van het familieservies. De kamer bevat tevens een opmerkelijk haardrooster.

Kinderkamer, later Emily's kamer

Voor de verbouwing in 1850 was deze kamer groter. De kinderen brachten hier vele gelukkige uren door terwijl ze speelden, lazen en avonturen verzonnen voor hun speelgoedsoldaatjes. Later werd deze kamer waarschijnlijk Emily's slaapkamer.











9. Mr. Bröntes slaapkamer

Mr. Brönte gebruikte deze kamer na de dood van zijn vrouw. Later deelde hij hem met Branwell. Het bed is een moderne reproductie, gebaseerd op een tekening van Branwell waarop hijzelf, slapend op bed, te zien is. De andere meubels en kledingstukken in de slaapkamer waren eigendom van de Bröntes.


10. Branwells Atelier

Zo genoemd omdat zich hier voorbeelden bevinden van Branwells werk als schilder. Hij kreeg tekenles in Keighley en had eveneens les van William Robinson, een bekend kunstenaar uit Leeds. Het beroemde portret van Emily en dat van de drie zussen is te zien in de National Portrait gallery in Londen. Branwell verdiende wat geld door korte tijd als portretschilder te werken in Bradford.

Branwell Brontë died 161 years ago

Branwell Brontë died 161 years ago, finding his much-needed peace at last. This year has seen him alive once again in the pages of several books dealing with his sisters in fictional tales. He's usually a secondary figure needing, nevertheless, to be treated very carefully, being after all a key figure too, bearing in mind that he was the driving force behind the 'scribblemania'. And yet, despite his own alter ego's incursions in fiction, we can hardly believe that he ever imagined himself as a character in a novel.

Branwell states in this week's weekly quote that he does not 'sigh after fame', and indeed, despite modern reappraisals, he reached fame by being the the brother of the three most famous sister-writers in the world. How would he have liked that? His sisters expected great things from him, perhaps they even imagined posterity knowing them through him.

That's one thing that can be said - for better or for worse - of all Brontës: things did never quite turn out as they expected them to.