They were all in all to each other.

I do not suppose that there ever was a family more tenderly bound to each other.

Maria read the newspapers, and reported intelligence to her younger sisters which it is wonderful they could take an interest in.

But I suspect that they had no "children's books," and that their eager minds "browzed undisturbed among the wholesome pasturage of English literature," as Charles Lamb expresses it.

The servants of the household appear to have been much impressed with the little Brontes' extraordinary cleverness.