Reviews - Books I Read - DRJG: Jane Austen: Complete Works + Extras - 83 titles (Annotated and illustrated) by Jane Austen.

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Jane Austen: Complete Works

+ Extras - 83 titles

(Annotated and illustrated)

by Jane Austen.

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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3741337259

https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/18932385

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The reviews are given in the order I read them over years, followed by the order in this edition of collected works of Jane Austen. Contents of this one are given first below from the book, before the version given on Goodreads. The version given on Goodreads is different, although it tallies for most part.

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Contents (from book)

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MAJOR NOVELS

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (1811)

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1813)

MANSFIELD PARK (1814)

EMMA (1816)

NORTHANGER ABBEY (1818)

PERSUASION (1818)

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MINOR AND UNFINISHED NOVELS

THE WATSONS (1793-1795)

PLAN OF A NOVEL (1816)

SANDITON (1817)

LADY SUSAN (1871)

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JUVENILIA

INTRODUCTION

JUVENILIA Volume 1

FREDERIC AND ELFRIDA (1787-1793)

JACK AND ALICE (1787-1793)

EDGAR AND EMMA (1787-1793)

HENRY AND ELIZA (1787-1793)

THE ADVENTURES OF MR. HARLEY (1787-1793)

SIR WILLIAM MOUNTAGUE (1787-1793)

MEMOIRS OF MR. CLIFFORD (1787-1793)

THE BEAUTIFUL CASSANDRA (1787-1793)

AMELIA WEBSTER (1787-1793)

THE VISIT (1797-1793)

THE MYSTERY (1787-1793)

THE THREE SISTERS (1787-1793)

DETACHED PIECES (1787-1793)

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JUVENILIA Volume 2

LOVE AND FREINDSHIP (1787-1793)

LESLEY CASTLE (1787-1793)

THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND (1787-1793)

A COLLECTION OF LETTERS (1787-1793)

SCRAPS (1787-1793)

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JUVENILIA Volume 3

EVELYN (1787-1793)

CATHARINE (1787-1793)

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PLAYS

SIR CHARLES GRANDISON OR THE HAPPY MAN (1793)

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POEMS and PRAYERS

POEMS (1796-1817)

PRAYERS (1796-1817)

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LETTERS

THE LETTERS OF JANE AUSTEN (1908)

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EXTRAS

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–EXTRAS: Biographical–

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE (by Henry Austen) (1816)

JANE AUSTEN (by Samuel Stillman Conant) (1870)

MEMOIR OF JANE AUSTEN (by James Edward Austen-Leigh) (1871)

MORE VIEWS OF JANE AUSTEN (by George Barnett Smith) (1895)

JANE AUSTEN AND HER TIMES (by Geraldine Edith Mitton) (1905)

JANE AUSTEN (by William Lyon Phelps) (1906)

JANE AUSTEN, HER LIFE AND LETTERS: A Family Record (by W. Austen-Leigh and R. A. Austen-Leigh) (1913)

JANE AUSTEN by O.W. Firkins (1823)

AUSTEN, JANE from Encyclopaedia Britannica (1910-1911)

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–EXTRAS: Criticism–

THE NOVELS OF JANE AUSTEN (1859)

EXCERPT FROM Criticism and Fiction (1891)

THE PERFECTION OF THE NOVEL by William Edward Simonds (1894)

FROM FIELDING TO JANE AUSTEN by Williams James Dawson (1905)

JANE AUSTEN, AND THE NOVEL OF SOCIAL COMEDY by Williams James Dawson (1905)

MISS AUSTEN from the New Monthly Magazine (1852)

JANE AUSTEN by Anna Waterston (1863)

HUNTING FOR SNARKES AT LYME REGIS from Fanny Caroline Lefroy (1879)

IS IT JUST? from Fanny Caroline Lefroy (1883)

A BUNDLE OF LETTERS by Fanny Caroline Lefroy (1883)

MISS AUSTEN'S COUNTRY (1875)

STYLE AND MISS AUSTEN by Mary Augusta Ward (1884)

AN EXCERPT FROM Memoirs of John Murray by Samuel Smiles (1891)

LETTERS TO DEAD AUTHORS by Andrew Lang (1892)

A GIRL'S OPINION ON JANE AUSTEN by Edith Edlmann (1892)

A JANE AUSTEN LETTER by M. A. De Wolfe Howe (1925)

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Reviews

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MAJOR NOVELS

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Sense and Sensibility (1811)

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This one gives the clash of values characteristic of the writer, with wealth and temptation and opportunity versus rectitude and character and propriety as well as prudence playing the major part.

How love itself must give way to rectitude and character is the chief theme, with the obvious lesson that giving way to temptation for now might close the door to happiness, love and future in fact.

October 17, 2008.

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Pride and Prejudice (1813)

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"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." So the writer states right in the beginning.

That is because while this is assumed to be a romance it is really a very astute picture of society that transcends time and geography and social boundaries and cultures, and applies universally to any place where there are young women at an age ripe to marry without dowries to bring out grooms out of the woods swarming. This is all the more so when the young women in question are not about to while away time with pretense of careers and attempts at education while the men they school and party with are getting ready, or any other subterfuges of societies they belong to.

Marriage is the beginning of the life they are going to lead with homemaking and child rearing and building of social fabric and of future as their occupation, since time immemorial. It can be said to be the most important occupation in the world, and yet few societies make a provision of how the young women can go about securing their life in it, with few structures and storngholds and little if any security.

Jane Austen writes extensively about this in various settings in her works, and offers much light to guide people - not only young women but men and women of all ages - with good counsel. This is her most popular work and most famous one, and with good reason.

It seems like a romance and at some level it is but only after normal intelligent and prudent women - young and old - use decorum and wise counsel added to commonsense. This like other books by the author is about how to live well and safe and be good and decent, sensible and honourable, prudent and not blinded by illusions, and find love and romance and marriage as well.

Often people of a bit less comprehension are likely to make the mistake of a common sort, where they conclude "Elizabeth married Darcy not out of love, but for his money". She - the writer - herself makes a joke of the sort, somewhere along towards the end, but it is clearly a joke for all that. Elizabeth might not have been sighing and fainting with passionate abandon at first sight, but that is because unlike figures of trashy pulp she is a person with a mind and other concerns as well, and for a normal young woman passion does not necessarily come as the blinding flash at first sight any more than it does for - say - a writer or a poet or an artist or a scientist. Which does not reduce the final outcome of a certainty when it does come. Elizabeth married for her conviction of love, respect and rectitude, not for money.

If that were to be true she would not have refused him, or indeed even been off hand, and not fawning or manipulative, even before with all his standoffish behaviour.

But she behaved normally, and refused him with a growing wrath when he proposed - it was not his money, but to begin with the truth of his letter, and then the regard his household had for him, the people who knew him the most, and subsequently his more than civil behaviour towards her relatives who were only middle class, and his obvious attempts to have his sister know her and have her for a friend - these wer the successive steps that changed her more and more.

The final clinching one was of course his taking all the trouble to make amends to the grievous injury caused to her family by his silence, about someone he should have and did not warn people about, and keeping not only silent about it - the efforts he made to make sure about making amends to the injury caused by his reticence - but making sure her uncle would not tell anyone either.

In between was his aunt arriving haughtily to obtain a reassurance from her to the effect that she would not marry him - which not only made her stubborn but made the three concerned (the two and the aunt) realise that she might be considering it seriously, although his offer had not been left on the table indefinitely.

So if anyone out there still thinks Elizabeth married him for his money - I suppose you did not read the story, really.

October 15, 2008.

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Mansfield Park (1814)

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The writer of the universally popular Pride And Prejudice explores another angle of the conflicts of dealing with life as it is dealt out - wealth and relative status, temptation and opportunities, family and relationships, extended family and relatives, and love that never might be attained.Above all are rectitude and character and values, to be never lost whatever the temptation.

October 17, 2008.

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Emma (1815)

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Perhaps arguably the second most popular of the writer's works vying with Mansfield Park for the title, this one again explores values and conflicts from another angle, with growth of character and perception, and temptation to meddle in social affairs, as the chief theme. It is more serious than it looks, as is usual with a good deal of her work, where the seemingly most superficial and romantic turns out to be most serious and worthy of note. More people than would care to acknowledge or admit even to themselves do meddle in affairs of others, especially those of heart, with a fond illusion that they can do good to others and provide their happiness for them. But lacking in perception and maturity and judgement and discrimination they often spoil more than they would like to admit, often ruining lives. Couples that might change the world with their love are torn asunder by a disapproving bunch of relatives or even religious heads with their "concern" for the "soul" of the one who might bring wonderious gifts but is not one of them (hence the gifts of course), and the miracle that would have been the families and souls generated with such love are nipped in the bud. Of course, it is only the couple that knows the tremendous love and the pain and suffering of being torn asunder, while others merely go about congratulating one another for having averted an unsuitable match with an outsider. Of course, meddling is not limited to that - couples that could have changed the course of the universe with their love and their gifts combined often get torn apart by meddling others who delude themselves that they were acting in good faith for the betterment of society, and if it is clear they were tormenting a woman or a daughter, well that is what they are for - so they can learn to do the same to others in turn, if so lucky, and so goes the chain. Meanwhile gifts of heaven go squandered into dust because the couples are either too weak to hold on to each other and to their heavenly gift of creation of a new world, or even worse, because one gets turned against another and hurts until the one hurt is no more, which is when the survivor might realise if lucky of what has been lost, even though it might be too late. Often such realisation awaits death of the one who hurt the other one into death. None of this happened in Emma - she was lucky, to have good counsel and love guarding her, and her weakness of character of meddling with others nipped in bud and her mistakes of perception corrected by someone wiser and stern about serious faults. She was lucky indeed.

October 17, 2008.

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Northanger Abbey (1817) Posthumous

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The not so well to do young woman is taken to a resort by comparatively well to do relatives and is invited by the master of the Northanger Abbey, the father of the young and eligible gentleman who has a mutual attracted to her and courting her, to stay with him and his family, under the impression the she is going to inherit the relatives' money. The character of this father, the rich owner of the home that is the title, unfolds, and there are confusion, test of virtue and character, and separations and misunderstandings. The young man however has excellent character and fortunately realises what is what, and love triumphs even without money.

October 21, 2008.

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Persuasion (1817) Posthumous

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The most gentle love story from Austen repertoire, with the usual cache of gentle women and men following a normal course of life for their day while falling into easy traps of faults or follies and realising their mistakes and generally rising above, with their counterpart of men and women of small follies or serious faults of character providing examples of how not to be or behave. Someone (name escapes me, having read this long ago, two decades or more) had once pointed out that in Austen nothing happens page after page and yet one reads it with great interest, and to that one might only add, time after time again and again with the interest not diminished at all. And the most interesting are those of her tales that have the gentlest of stories, characters, et al.

July 4, 2010.

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MINOR AND UNFINISHED NOVELS

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Watsons

One wishes she had had time to write it up as she did others; here is an outline written in her green years.

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Plan of a Novel

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Plan of a novel

(according to hints from various quarters)

by Jane Austen

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Lovely!

"According to hints from various quarters"

Glad they - the sources - kept Those!

"Scene to be in the country, heroine the daughter of a clergyman[2], one who after having lived much in the world had retired from it and settled in a curacy, with a very small fortune of his own. He, the most excellent man that can be imagined, perfect in character, temper, and manners — without the smallest drawback or peculiarity to prevent his being the most delightful companion to his daughter from one year's end to the other. — Heroine[3] a faultless character herself, — perfectly good, with much tenderness and sentiment, and not the least wit[4] — very highly accomplished[5], understanding modern languages and (generally speaking) everything that the most accomplished young women learn, but particularly excelling in music — her favourite pursuit — and playing equally well on the pianoforte and harp — and singing in the first stile. Her person quite beautiful[6] — dark eyes and plump cheeks. — Book to open with the description of father and daughter — who are to converse in long speeches, elegant language — and a tone of high serious sentiment. — The father to be induced, at his daughter's earnest request, to relate to her the past events of his life. This narrative will reach through the greatest part of the first volume — as besides all the circumstances of his attachment to her mother and their marriage, it will comprehend his going to sea as chaplain[7] to a distinguished naval character about the court, his going afterwards to court himself, which introduced him to a great variety of characters and involved him in many interesting situations, concluding with his opinions on the benefits to result from tithes being done away, and his having buried his own mother (heroine's lamented grandmother) in consequence of the high priest of the parish in which she died refusing to pay her remains the respect due to them. The father to be of a very literary turn, an enthusiast in literature, nobody's enemy but his own — at the same time most zealous in discharge of his pastoral duties, the model of an exemplary parish priest[8]. ... "

Good deal of that sounds, up to a point, rather like description of the clergyman and his daughter in Felix Holt: The Radical, a work by George Eliot.

" ... — The heroine's friendship to be sought after by a young woman in the same neighbourhood, of talents and shrewdness, with light eyes and a fair skin, but having a considerable degree of wit[9], heroine shall shrink from the acquaintance. From this outset, the story will proceed, and contain a striking variety of adventures. ... "

This part reminds one of a work by Elizabeth Gaskell, read last year.

" ... Heroine and her father never above a fortnight together in one place[10], he being driven from his curacy by the vile arts of some totally unprincipled and heartless young man, desperately in love with the heroine, and pursuing her with unrelenting passion. ... "

There's the story of Kitty Bennett, with some differences.

" ... — No sooner settled in one country of Europe than they are necessitated to quit it and retire to another — always making new acquaintance, and always obliged to leave them. — This will of course exhibit a wide variety of characters — but there will be no mixture; the scene will be forever shifting from one set of people to another — but all the good[11] will be unexceptionable in every respect — and there will be no foibles or weaknesses but with the wicked, who will be completely depraved and infamous, hardly a resemblance of humanity left in them. ... "

Kitty Bennett's story was cut short, comparatively, in both time and space.

" ... — Early in her career, in the progress of her first removals, heroine must meet with the hero[12] — all perfection of course — and only prevented from paying his addresses to her by some excess of refinement. — Wherever she goes, somebody falls in love with her, and she receives repeated offers of marriage — which she refers wholly to her father, exceedingly angry that he should not be first applied to. ... "

What a pity Austen never wrote it!

" ... — Often carried away by the anti-hero, but rescued either by her father or by the hero — often reduced to support herself and her father by her talents and work for her bread; continually cheated and defrauded of her hire, worn down to a skeleton, and now and then starved to death. — ... "

Touch of George Eliot's (eventual bride of) Daniel Deronda, there.

" ... At last, hunted out of civilized society, denied the poor shelter of the humblest cottage, they are compelled to retreat into Kamschatka where the poor father, quite worn down, finding his end approaching, throws himself on the ground, and after 4 or 5 hours of tender advice and parental admonition to his miserable child, expires in a fine burst of literary enthusiasm, intermingled with invectives against holders of tithes. ... "

Kamchatka, all the way? They survived the journey - Austen never mentions railway, anywhere in her work, and sailing that far couldn't have been easy, even if they got passage on a steamship - only for him to die of lying on ground, presumably!

" ... — Heroine inconsolable for some time — but afterwards crawls back towards her former country — having at least 20 narrow escapes from falling into the hands of the anti-hero — and at last in the very nick of time, turning a corner to avoid him, runs into the arms of the hero himself, who having just shaken off the scruples which fettered him before, was at the very moment setting off in pursuit of her. ... "

Fortunately that's all in home country with towns and corners, not vast steppes of Russia on the way back! Or forests of Siberia for that matter.

" ... — The tenderest and completest éclaircissement takes place, and they are happily united. — Throughout the whole work, heroine to be in the most elegant society[13] and living in high style. The name of the work not to be Emma[14], but of the same sort as Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.[15]"

Really, "Throughout the whole work, heroine to be in the most elegant society[13] and living in high style."??!!! East of Moscow, there were country homes of the aristocracy, but surely not all the way to Kamchatka? Were there any, in Kamchatka?

Wonder what would the title finally have been! Home and Kamchatka?

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August 17,, 2021 - August 17,, 2021.

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Sanditon (1817)

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Austen is delightful as ever, in her way of quite succinctly judging characters she writes about.

"Upon the whole, Mr. Parker was evidently an amiable family man, fond of wife, children, brothers and sisters, and generally kind-hearted; liberal, gentlemanlike, easy to please; of a sanguine turn of mind, with more imagination than judgement. And Mrs. Parker was as evidently a gentle, amiable, sweet-tempered woman, the properest wife in the world for a man of strong understanding but not of a capacity to supply the cooler reflection which her own husband sometimes needed; and so entirely waiting to be guided on every occasion that whether he was risking his fortune or spraining his ankle, she remained equally useless."

What with Mr. Parker promoting Sandition with a faith in sea air and bathing as remedy for every ailment, and necessary to health, on one hand - and his siblings swearing their ill heath is too far gone for them to visit, the latter being quite hilarious, this is already promising entertainment and more, right at the beginning.

Later, it's the young Sir Edward Denham, handsome, and flattering in his attentions to the visitor Miss Charlotte Haywood, who is subject of the author's scrutiny.

"Charlotte’s first glance told her that Sir Edward’s air was that of a lover. There could be no doubt of his devotion to Clara. How Clara received it was less obvious, but she was inclined to think not very favourably; for though sitting thus apart with him (which probably she might not have been able to prevent, her air was calm and grave."

Austen is clear about her contempt for a modicum of behaviour slightly reminiscent of Mary Bennett from her most famous work, Pride And Prejudice.

"He surprised her by quitting Clara immediately on their all joining and agreeing to walk, and by addressing his attentions entirely to herself. Stationing himself close by her, he seemed to mean to detach her as much as possible from the rest of the party and to give her the whole of his conversation. He began, in a tone of great taste and feeling, to talk of the sea and the sea shore; and ran with energy through all the usual phrases employed in praise of their sublimity and descriptive of the undescribable emotions they excite in the mind of sensibility. The terrific grandeur of the ocean in a storm, its glass surface in a calm, its gulls and its samphire and the deep fathoms of its abysses, its quick vicissitudes, its direful deceptions, its mariners tempting it in sunshine and overwhelmed by the sudden tempest—all were eagerly and fluently touched; rather commonplace perhaps, but doing very well from the lips of a handsome Sir Edward, and she could not but think him a man of feeling, till he began to stagger her by the number of his quotations and the bewilderment of some of his sentences.

And she has Charlotte bequeathed with intelligence and common sense of Elizabeth Bennett, rather than the self absorption of Emma.

"His choosing to walk with her, she had learnt to understand. It was done to pique Miss Brereton. She had read it, in an anxious glance or two on his side; but why he should talk so much nonsense, unless he could do no better, was unintelligible. He seemed very sentimental, very full of some feeling or other, and very much addicted to all the newest-fashioned hard words, had not a very clear brain, she presumed, and talked a good deal by rote. ... "

Charlotte chooses to stay with Lady Denham on the Terrace, as asked by her, instead of going with others to library.

"Nobody could live happier together than us—and he was a very honourable man, quite the gentleman of ancient family. And when he died, I gave Sir Edward his gold watch.” She said this with a look at her companion which implied its right to produce a great impression; and seeing no rapturous astonishment in Charlotte’s countenance, added quickly, “He did not bequeath it to his nephew, my dear. It was no bequest. It was not in the will. He only told me, and that but once, that he should wish his nephew to have his watch; but it need not have been binding if l had not chose it.”

"“Very kind indeed! Very handsome!” said Charlotte, absolutely forced to affect admiration.

"“Yes, my dear, and it is not the only kind thing I have done by him. I have been a very liberal friend to Sir Edward. And poor young man, he needs it bad enough. For though I am only the dowager, my dear, and he is the heir, things do not stand between us in the way they commonly do between those two parties. Not a shilling do I receive from the Denham estate. Sir Edward has no payments to make me. He doesn’t stand uppermost, believe me. It is I that help him.”

"“Indeed! He is a very fine young man, particularly elegant in his address.” This was said chiefly for the sake of saying something, but Charlotte directly saw that it was laying her open to suspicion by Lady Denham’s giving a shrewd glance at her and replying,

"“Yes, yes, he is very well to look at. And it is to be hoped that some lady of large fortune will think so, for Sir Edward must marry for money. He and I often talk that matter over. A handsome young fellow like him will go smirking and smiling about and paying girls compliments, but he knows he must marry for money. And Sir Edward is a very steady young man in the main and has got very good notions.”"

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Austen writes candidly about - whether consciously aware, and deliberately writing, or simply taking them as facts of life - arranged marriage and caste systems of England in particular, Europe in general; things that since have been, falsely, identified exclusively with India, in line with Macaulay policy to break spirit of India.

"“Sir Edward Denham,” said Charlotte, “with such personal advantages may be almost sure of getting a woman of fortune, if he chooses it.”

"This glorious sentiment seemed quite to remove suspicion. “Aye my dear, that’s very sensibly said,” cried Lady Denham. “And if we could but get a young heiress to Sanditon! But heiresses are monstrous scarce! I do not think we have had an heiress here—or even a Co. since Sanditon has been a public place. Families come after families but, as far as I can learn, it is not one in a hundred of them that have any real property, landed or funded. An income perhaps, but no property. Clergymen maybe, or lawyers from town, or half-pay officers, or widows with only a jointure. And what good can such people do anybody? Except just as they take our empty houses and, between ourselves, I think they are great fools for not staying at home. Now if we could get a young heiress to be sent here for her health—and if she was ordered to drink asses’ milk I could supply her—and, as soon as she got well, have her fall in love with Sir Edward!”"

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And again, as the two parties unite -

"Sir Edward, approaching Charlotte, said, “You may perceive what has been our occupation. My sister wanted my counsel in the selection of some books. We have many leisure hours and read a great deal. I am no indiscriminate novel reader. The mere trash of the common circulating library I hold in the highest contempt. You will never hear me advocating those puerile emanations which detail nothing but discordant principles incapable of amalgamation, or those vapid tissues of ordinary occurrences from which no useful deductions can be drawn. In vain may we put them into a literary alembic; we distil nothing which can add to science. You understand me, I am sure?”

"“I am not quite certain that I do. But if you will describe the sort of novels which you do approve, l dare say it will give me a clearer idea.”

"“Most willingly, fair questioner. The novels which I approve are such as display human nature with grandeur; such as show her in the sublimities of intense feeling; such as exhibit the progress of strong passion from the first germ of incipient susceptibility to the utmost energies of reason half-dethroned; where we see the strong spark of woman’s captivations elicit such fire in the soul of man as leads him—though at the risk of some aberration from the strict line of primitive obligations—to hazard all, dare all, achieve all to obtain her. Such are the works which I peruse with delight and, I hope I may say, with amelioration. They hold forth the most splendid portraitures of high conceptions, unbounded views, illimitable ardour, indomitable decision. And even when the event is mainly anti-prosperous to the high-toned machinations of the prime character—the potent, pervading hero of the story—it leaves us full of generous emotions for him; our hearts are paralysed. It would be pseudo-philosophy to assert that we do not feel more enwrapped by the brilliancy of his career than by the tranquil and morbid virtues of any opposing character. Our approbation of the latter is but eleemosynary. These are the novels which enlarge the primitive capabilities to the heart; and it cannot impugn the sense or be any dereliction of the character of the most anti-puerile man, to be conversant with them.”"

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"He read all the essays, letters, tours and criticisms of the day; and with the same ill-luck which made him derive only false principles from lessons of morality, and incentives to vice from the history of its overthrow, he gathered only hard words and involved sentences from the style of our most approved writers. Sir Edward’s great object in life was to be seductive. With such personal advantages as he knew himself to possess, and such talents as he did also give himself credit for, he regarded it as his duty. He felt that he was formed to be a dangerous man, quite in the line of the Lovelaces. The very name of Sir Edward, he thought, carried some degree of fascination with it. To be generally gallant and assiduous about the fair, to make fine speeches to every pretty girl, was but the inferior part of the character he had to play. Miss Heywood, or any other young woman with any pretensions to beauty, he was entitled (according to his own views of society) to approach with high compliment and rhapsody on the slightest acquaintance. But it was Clara alone on whom he had serious designs; it was Clara whom he meant to seduce—her seduction was quite determined on. Her situation in every way called for it. She was his rival in Lady Denham’s favour; she was young, lovely and dependent. He had very early seen the necessity of the case, and had now been long trying with cautious assiduity to make an impression on her heart and to undermine her principles.

"Clara saw through him and had not the least intention of being seduced; but she bore with him patiently enough to confirm the sort of attachment which her personal charms had raised. A greater degree of discouragement indeed would not have affected Sir Edward. He was armed against the highest pitch of disdain or aversion. If she could not be won by affection, he must carry her off. He knew his business. Already had he had many musings on the subject. If he were constrained so to act, he must naturally wish to strike out something new, to exceed those who had gone before him; and he felt a strong curiosity to ascertain whether the neighbourhood of Timbuctu might not afford some solitary house adapted for Clara’s reception. But the expense, alas! of measures in that masterly style was ill-suited to his purse; and prudence obliged him to prefer the quietest sort of ruin and disgrace for the object of his affections to the more renowned."

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Miss Diana Parker had written to describe inability of Parker siblings to travel, but they arrived.

" ... You see how it was all managed. I had the pleasure of hearing soon afterwards by the same simple link of connection that Sanditon had been recommended by Mrs. Darling, and that the West Indians were very much disposed to go thither. This was the state of the case when I wrote to you. But two days ago—yes, the day before yesterday—I heard again from Fanny Noyce, saying that she had heard from Miss Capper, who by a letter from Mrs. Darling understood that Mrs. Griffiths had expressed herself in a letter to Mrs. Darling more doubtingly on the subject of Sanditon. Am I clear? I would be anything rather than not clear.”

"“Oh, perfectly, perfectly. Well? “

"“The reason of this hesitation was her having no connections in the place, and no means of ascertaining that she should have good accommodations on arriving there; and she was particularly careful and scrupulous on all those matters more on account of a certain Miss Lambe, a young lady—probably a niece—under her care than on her own account or her daughters’. Miss Lambe has an immense fortune—richer than all the rest—and very delicate health. One sees clearly enough by all this the sort of woman Mrs. Griffiths must be: as helpless and indolent as wealth and a hot climate are apt to make us. But we are not born to equal energy. What was to be done? I had a few moments’ indecision, whether to offer to write to you or to Mrs. Whitby to secure them a house; but neither pleased me. I hate to employ others when I am equal to act myself; and my conscience told me that this was an occasion which called for me. Here was a family of helpless invalids whom I might essentially serve. I sounded Susan. The same thought had occurred to her. Arthur made no difficulties. Our plan was arranged immediately, we were off yesterday morning at six, left Chichester at the same hour today—and here we are.”"

" ... I am very sure that the largest house at Sanditon cannot be too large. They are more likely to want a second. I shall take only one, however, and that but for a week certain. Miss Heywood, I astonish you. You hardly know what to make of me. I see by your looks that you are not used to such quick measures.”

"The words “unaccountable officiousness!” “activity run mad!” had just passed through Charlotte’s mind, but a civil answer was easy. “I dare say I do look surprised,” said she, “because these are very great exertions, and I know what invalids both you and your sister are.”

"“Invalids indeed. I trust there are not three people in England who have so sad a right to that appellation! But my dear Miss Heywood, we are sent into this world to be as extensively useful as possible, and where some degree of strength of mind is given, it is not a feeble body which will excuse us—or incline us to excuse ourselves. ... "

" ... Lady Denham had other motives for calling on Mrs. Griffiths besides attention to the Parkers. In Miss Lambe, here was the very young lady, sickly and rich, whom she had been asking for; and she made the acquaintance for Sir Edward’s sake and the sake of her milch asses. ... "

"The corner house of the Terrace was the one in which Miss Diana Parker had the pleasure of settling her new friends; and considering that it commanded in front the favourite lounge of all the visitors at Sanditon, and on one side whatever might be going on at the hotel, there could not have been a more favourable spot for the seclusion of the Miss Beauforts. And accordingly, long before they had suited themselves with an instrument or with drawing paper, they had, by the frequency of their appearance at the low windows upstairs in order to close the blinds, or open the blinds, to arrange a flower pot on the balcony, or look at nothing through a telescope, attracted many an eye upwards and made many a gazer gaze again. A little novelty has a great effect in so small a place. The Miss Beauforts, who would have been nothing at Brighton, could not move here without notice. And even Mr. Arthur Parker, though little disposed for supernumerary exertion, always quitted the Terrace in his way to his brother’s by this corner house for the sake of a glimpse of the Miss Beauforts—though it was half a quarter of a mile round about and added two steps to the ascent of the hill."

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" ... Charlotte, as soon as they entered the enclosure, caught a glimpse over the pales of something white and womanish in the field on the other side. It was something which immediately brought Miss Brereton into her head; and stepping to the pales, she saw indeed—and very decidedly, in spite of the mist—Miss Brereton seated not far before her at the foot of the bank which sloped down from the outside of the paling and which a narrow path seemed to skirt along—Miss Brereton seated, apparently very composedly, and Sir Edward Denham by her side.

"They were sitting so near each other and appeared so closely engaged in gentle conversation that Charlotte instantly felt she had nothing to do but to step back again and say not a word; privacy was certainly their object. ... Yet here she had seen them. They were really ill-used."

"The house was large and handsome. Two servants appeared to admit them and everything had a suitable air of property and order, Lady Denham valued herself upon her liberal establishment and had great enjoyment in the order and importance of her style of living. They were shown into the usual sitting room, well proportioned and well furnished, though it was furniture rather originally good and extremely well kept than new or showy. And as Lady Denham was not there, Charlotte had leisure to look about her and to be told by Mrs. Parker that the whole-length portrait of a stately gentleman which, placed over the mantelpiece, caught the eye immediately, was the picture of Sir Henry Denham; and that one among many miniatures in another part of the room, little conspicuous, represented Mr. Hollis, poor Mr. Hollis! lt was impossible not to feel him hardly used: to be obliged to stand back in his own house and see the best place by the fire constantly occupied by Sir Henry Denham."

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" ... Hodges has it from Mrs. Whitby that Mrs. Griffiths has actually been enquiring about a chamber-horse. The wonder of it is she mentioned no such thing when I called on her the day before yesterday. And if Miss Lambe is not to be benefited by asses’ milk, how am I to guess that daily indoor exercise on a chamber-horse is exactly what this physician of hers recommends? I have no patience with invalids who spurn one aid to health and clutch at another. ... "

................................................................................................

"The truth lay more in a failure of mental resilience, an unfortunate but inevitable result of Lady Denham’s declining years; she preferred everything and everybody about her to remain comfortably settled in their proper places. Charlotte could only think her very impolite. But Mrs. Parker, restraining Mary from further movement, could recognise the selfishness but still excuse it from the circumstances of Lady Denham’s having had rather too much her own way all her life, and being too old to change those ways now. So she set herself out to be as pleasant as possible; and having decided in advance how long their call was to last, refused to be provoked into curtailing it."

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The book ends abruptly here, just as the plot begins to show slight sign of thickening, to dismay of reader. Wish she'd had time to finish it!

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August 08, 2021 - August 11, 2021.

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Lady Susan

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If one never knew anyone of this sort, one would think the character is entirely invented. At that it is not that uncommon to come across men who deal with their own children, especially daughters, this cruelly or worse, but they are excused or even pressured to be this cruel and admired for it in various cultures (not excepting west or US for that matter) while women are usually this cruel with children of other women, say a lover's wife or a sister in law. But the character therefore is entirely possible, especially in an era when a woman could only obtain wealth and consequence by marriages her own and her relatives'; and the only area she could use her mind however sharp was in fields related to intrigues of social sort, marriages, love affaires, and so on, especially gossip and vile gossip about other women. This unfortunately is what far too many women and even men use their minds for, even now, for sport and not for want of subjects that could use the sharp minds. Sometimes it is the heart of such a gossiper and mud thrower that is at fault seriously in that destroying another person is the pleasure, and use of mind and other facilities is merely a means. Lady Susan comes as a surprise therefore not because of the subject but the author who chose to write it, since Jane Austen usually is as clear as a sunny day in desert about virtues and vices, and condemning not only the latter but even faults of character that might seem only human today but do lead to follies or tragedies even today often enough unquestionably. Here Austen chooses the letter form prevalent in her time, and avoids commentary, except in letters of another character, giving equal voice to two opposite characters as it were. The story ends well as all Austen tales do to reward virtue, protect innocent and punish vice or folly only in measure. A window as always to her time, and informative in that as well.

July 05, 2010.

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JUVENILIA

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INTRODUCTION

JUVENILIA Volume 1

FREDERIC AND ELFRIDA (1787-1793)

JACK AND ALICE (1787-1793)

EDGAR AND EMMA (1787-1793)

HENRY AND ELIZA (1787-1793)

THE ADVENTURES OF MR. HARLEY (1787-1793)

SIR WILLIAM MOUNTAGUE (1787-1793)

MEMOIRS OF MR. CLIFFORD (1787-1793)

THE BEAUTIFUL CASSANDRA (1787-1793)

AMELIA WEBSTER (1787-1793)

THE VISIT (1797-1793)

THE MYSTERY (1787-1793)

THE THREE SISTERS (1787-1793)

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Quoted from

INTRODUCTION

"Perhaps as early as 1787, Austen began to write poems, stories, and plays for her own and her family's amusement. Austen later compiled "fair copies" of 29 of these early works into three bound notebooks, now referred to as the Juvenilia, containing pieces originally written between 1787 and 1793. There is manuscript evidence that Austen continued to work on these pieces as late as the period 1809–1811, and that her niece and nephew, Anna and James Edward Austen, made further additions as late as 1814. Among these works are a satirical novel in letters titled Love and Freindship [sic], in which she mocked popular novels of sensibility, and The History of England, a manuscript of 34 pages accompanied by 13 watercolour miniatures by her sister Cassandra.

"Austen's History parodied popular historical writing, particularly Oliver Goldsmith's History of England (1764). Austen wrote, for example: "Henry the 4th ascended the throne of England much to his own satisfaction in the year 1399, after having prevailed on his cousin & predecessor Richard the 2nd, to resign it to him, & to retire for the rest of his life to Pomfret Castle, where he happened to be murdered." Austen's Juvenilia are often, according to scholar Richard Jenkyns, "boisterous" and "anarchic"; he compares them to the work of 18th-century novelist Laurence Sterne and the 20th century comedy group Monty Python."

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JUVENILIA Volume 1- Novel

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• Frederic and Elfrida

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Frederic & Elfrida, by Jane Austen,

Juliet McMaster (Illustrator), Victoria Kortes-Papp (Editor),

Sylvia Hunt (Editor).

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Jane Austen wrote these bits to amuse her family, and quite amusing they certainly are, from chuckle to hilarious through the collection termed juvenilia.

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"Dedication

"To Miss Lloyd

"My Dear Martha

"As a small testimony of the gratitude I feel for your late generosity to me in finishing my muslin cloak, I beg leave to offer you this little production of your sincere friend.

"The Author

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"The uncle of Elfrida was the father of Frederic; in other words, they were first cousins by the father's side."

Not always correct; the first part might be about Elfrieda's mother's brother, or an uncle by marriage, in which the latter case they wouldn't be related at all.

"They were exceedingly handsome and so much alike, that it was not everyone who knew them apart. Nay, even their most intimate friends had nothing to distinguish them by, but the shape of the face, the colour of the eye, the length of the nose, and the difference of the complexion."

Didn't people dress very differently those days, across gender gap? Or was cross dressing common?

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"On being shown into an elegant dressing room, ornamented with festoons of artificial flowers, they were struck with the engaging exterior and beautiful outside of Jezalinda, the eldest of the young ladies; but e'er they had been many minutes seated, the wit and charms which shone resplendent in the conversation of the amiable Rebecca enchanted them so much, that they all with one accord jumped up and exclaimed:

""Lovely and too charming fair one, not withstanding your forbidding squint, your greasy tresses and your swelling back, which are more frightful than imagination can paint or pen describe, I cannot refrain from expressing my raptures, at the engaging qualities of your mind, which so amply atone for the horror with which your first appearance must ever inspire the unwary visitor."

""Your sentiments so nobly expressed on the different excellencies of Indian and English muslins, and the judicious preference you give the former, have excited in me an admiration of which I can alone give an adequate idea, by assuring you it is nearly equal to what I feel for myself.""

How did "that they all with one accord jumped up and exclaimed" quite so much?

"From this period, the intimacy between the families of Fitzroy, Drummond, and Falknor daily increased, till at length it grew to such a pitch, that they did not scruple to kick one another out of the window on the slightest provocation."

"During this happy state of harmony, the eldest Miss Fitzroy ran off with the coachman and the amiable Rebecca was asked in marriage by Captain Roger of Buckinghamshire.

"Mrs. Fitzroy did not approve of the match on account of the tender years of the young couple, Rebecca being but thirty six and Captain Roger little more than sixty three. To remedy this objection, it was agreed that they should wait a little while till they were a good deal older."

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"Scarcely were they seated as usual, in the most affectionate manner in one chair, than the door suddenly opened and an aged gentleman with a sallow face and old pink coat, partly by intention and partly thro' weakness was at the feet of the lovely Charlotte, declaring his attachment to her and beseeching her pity in the most moving manner.

"Not being able to resolve to make anyone miserable, she consented to become his wife; where upon the gentleman left the room and all was quiet.

"Their quiet however continued but a short time, for on a second opening of the door a young and handsome gentleman with a new blue coat entered and entreated from the lovely Charlotte, permission to pay to her his addresses.

"There was a something in the appearance of the second stranger, that influenced Charlotte in his favour, to the full as much as the appearance of the first: she could not account for it, but so it was.

"Having therefore, agreeable to that and the natural turn of her mind to make everyone happy, promised to become his wife the next morning, he took his leave and the two ladies sat down to supper on a young leveret, a brace of partridges, a leash of pheasants and a dozen of pigeons.

"It was not till the next morning that Charlotte recollected the double engagement she had entered into; but when she did, the reflection of her past folly operated so strongly on her mind, that she resolved to be guilty of a greater, and to that end threw herself into a deep stream which ran thro her aunt's pleasure grounds in Portland Place.

"She floated to Crankhumdunberry where she was picked up and buried; the following epitaph, composed by Frederic, Elfrida, and Rebecca, was placed on her tomb."

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August 17, 2021 - August 17, 2021.

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JUVENILIA Volume 1- Novel

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• Jack and Alice

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Jack & Alice, by Jane Austen?

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"Dedication

"Jack and Alice

"A Novel Is respectfully inscribed to Francis William Austen Esq.

"Midshipman on board His Majesty's Ship The Perseverance

"By his obedient humble servant

"The Author

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Austen continues being amusing, from chuckling to hilarious.

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"Mr. and Mrs. Jones were both rather tall and very passionate, but were in other respects good tempered, well-behaved people. Charles Adams was an amiable, accomplished, and bewitching young man; of so dazzling a beauty that none but eagles could look him in the face.
"Miss Simpson was pleasing in her person, in her manners, and in her disposition; an unbounded ambition was her only fault. Her second sister Sukey was envious, spiteful, and malicious. Her person was short, fat and disagreeable. Cecilia (the youngest) was perfectly handsome, but too affected to be pleasing.
"In Lady Williams every virtue met. She was a widow with a handsome Jointure and the remains of a very handsome face. Tho' benevolent and candid, she was generous and sincere; tho' pious and good, she was religious and amiable, and tho elegant and agreeable, she was polished and entertaining.
"The Johnsons were a family of love, and though a little addicted to the bottle and the dice, had many good qualities.
"Such was the party assembled in the elegant drawing room of Johnson Court, amongst which the pleasing figure of a sultana was the most remarkable of the female masks. Of the males, a mask representing the sun was the most universally admired. The beams that darted from his eyes were like those of that glorious luminary, tho' infinitely superior. So strong were they that no one dared venture within half a mile of them; he had therefore the best part of the room to himself, its size not amounting to more than three quarters of a mile in length and half a one in breadth. The gentleman at last finding the fierceness of his beams to be very inconvenient to the concourse, by obliging them to crowd together in one corner of the room, half shut his eyes, by which means the company discovered him to be Charles Adams in his plain green coat, without any mask at all."

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"For three months did the masquerade afford ample subject for conversation to the inhabitants of Pammydiddle; but no character at it was so fully expatiated on as Charles Adams. The singularity of his appearance, the beams which darted from his eyes, the brightness of his wit, and the whole tout ensemble of his person had subdued the hearts of so many of the young ladies, that of the six present at the masquerade but five had returned uncaptivated. Alice Johnson was the unhappy sixth whose heart had not been able to withstand the power of his charms. But as it may appear strange to my readers, that so much worth and excellence as he possessed should have conquered only hers, it will be necessary to inform them that the Miss Simpsons were defended from his power by ambition, envy, and self-admiration.

"Every wish of Caroline was centred in a titled husband; whilst in Sukey such superior excellence could only raise her envy not her love, and Cecilia was too tenderly attached to herself to be pleased with anyone besides. ... "

"One evening, Alice finding herself somewhat heated by wine (no very uncommon case) determined to seek a relief for her disordered head and love-sick heart in the conversation of the intelligent Lady Williams.

"She found her ladyship at home, as was in general the case, for she was not fond of going out, and like the great Sir Charles Grandison scorned to deny herself when at home, as she looked on that fashionable method of shutting out disagreeable visitors, as little less than downright bigamy."

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" ... Preserve yourself from a first love and you need not fear a second.""

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"“For” (said she) “he has often and often declared to me that his wife, whoever she might be, must possess youth, beauty, birth, wit, merit, and money. I have many a time” (she continued) “endeavoured to reason him out of his resolution and to convince him of the improbability of his ever meeting with such a lady; but my arguments have had no effect, and he continues as firm in his determination as ever.” You may imagine, Ladies, my distress on hearing this; for I was fearful that tho' possessed of youth, beauty, wit and merit, and tho' the probable heiress of my aunt's house and business, he might think me deficient in rank, and in being so, unworthy of his hand."

""However I was determined to make a bold push and therefore wrote him a very kind letter, offering him with great tenderness my hand and heart. To this I received an angry and peremptory refusal, but thinking it might be rather the effect of his modesty than anything else, I pressed him again on the subject. But he never answered any more of my letters and very soon afterwards left the country. As soon as I heard of his departure, I wrote to him here, informing him that I should shortly do myself the honour of waiting on him at Pammydiddle, to which I received no answer; therefore, choosing to take silence for consent, I left Wales, unknown to my aunt, and arrived here after a tedious journey this morning. On enquiring for his house, I was directed thro' this wood, to the one you there see. With a heart elated by the expected happiness of beholding him, I entered it, and had proceeded thus far in my progress thro' it, when I found myself suddenly seized by the leg and on examining the cause of it, found that I was caught in one of the steel traps so common in gentlemen's grounds."

""Ah!” cried Lady Williams, “how fortunate we are to meet with you; since we might otherwise perhaps have shared the like misfortune —"

""It is indeed happy for you, Ladies, that I should have been a short time before you. I screamed, as you may easily imagine, till the woods resounded again and till one of the inhuman wretch's servants came to my assistance and released me from my dreadful prison, but not before one of my legs was entirely broken.""

"Lady Williams now interposed, and observed that the young lady's leg ought to be set without farther delay. After examining the fracture, therefore, she immediately began and performed the operation with great skill, which was the more wonderful on account of her having never performed such a one before. Lucy then arose from the ground, and finding that she could walk with the greatest ease, accompanied them to Lady Williams's house at her ladyship's particular request."

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"It may now be proper to return to the hero of this novel, the brother of Alice, of whom I believe I have scarcely ever had occasion to speak; which may perhaps be partly owing to his unfortunate propensity to liquor, which so completely deprived him of the use of those faculties nature had endowed him with, that he never did anything worth mentioning. His death happened a short time after Lucy's departure and was the natural consequence of this pernicious practice. By his decease, his sister became the sole inheritress of a very large fortune, which as it gave her fresh hopes of rendering herself acceptable as a wife to Charles Adams, could not fail of being most pleasing to her — and as the effect was joyful, the cause could scarcely be lamented."

""Sir, I may perhaps be expected to appear pleased at and grateful for the offer you have made me: but let me tell you that I consider it as an affront. I look upon myself to be, Sir, a perfect beauty — where would you see a finer figure or a more charming face. Then, Sir, I imagine my manners and address to be of the most polished kind; there is a certain elegance, a peculiar sweetness in them that I never saw equalled and cannot describe. Partiality aside, I am certainly more accomplished in every language, every science, every art and everything than any other person in Europe. My temper is even, my virtues innumerable, myself unparalleled. Since such, Sir, is my character, what do you mean by wishing me to marry your daughter? Let me give you a short sketch of yourself and of her. I look upon you, Sir, to be a very good sort of man in the main; a drunken old dog to be sure, but that's nothing to me. Your daughter Sir, is neither sufficiently beautiful, sufficiently amiable, sufficiently witty, nor sufficiently rich for me. — I expect nothing more in my wife than my wife will find in me — perfection. These, Sir, are my sentiments and I honour myself for having such. One friend I have, and glory in having but one. She is at present preparing my dinner, but if you choose to see her, she shall come and she will inform you that these have ever been my sentiments."

"Mr. Johnson was satisfied: and expressing himself to be much obliged to Mr. Adams for the characters he had favoured him with of himself and his daughter, took his leave.

"The unfortunate Alice, on receiving from her father the sad account of the ill success his visit had been attended with, could scarcely support the disappointment. — She flew to her bottle and it was soon forgot."

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"What might have been the effect of her ladyship's advice, had it ever been received by Lucy, is uncertain, as it reached Bath a few hours after she had breathed her last. She fell a sacrifice to the envy and malice of Sukey, who jealous of her superior charms, took her by poison from an admiring world at the age of seventeen."

"His Grace's affliction may likewise be easily accounted for, since he lost one for whom he had experienced, during the last ten days, a tender affection and sincere regard. He mourned her loss with unshaken constancy for the next fortnight, at the end of which time, he gratified the ambition of Caroline Simpson by raising her to the rank of a duchess. ... —The beautiful but affected Cecilia was too sensible of her own superior charms, not to imagine that if Caroline could engage a duke, she might without censure aspire to the affections of some prince — and knowing that those of her native country were chiefly engaged, she left England and I have since heard is at present the favourite Sultana of the great Mogul. —

"In the meantime, the inhabitants of Pammydiddle were in a state of the greatest astonishment and wonder, a report being circulated of the intended marriage of Charles Adams. The Lady's name was still a secret. Mr. and Mrs. Jones imagined it to be Miss Johnson; but she knew better; all her fears were centred in his cook, when to the astonishment of everyone, he was publicly united to Lady Williams —."

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August 17, 2021 - August 18, 2021.

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JUVENILIA Volume 1 – Tale

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• Edgar and Emma

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Here we see a glimpse more of the Austen we know, peeping through the outrageously hilarious Juvenilia in general which are pieces written, while she was younger, mostly to amuse her family.

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"'I cannot imagine,' said Sir Godfrey to his lady, 'why we continue in such deplorable lodgings as these, in a paltry market-town, while we have three good houses of our own situated in some of the finest parts of England, and perfectly ready to receive us!'

"'I'm sure, Sir Godfrey,' replied Lady Marlow, 'it has been much against my inclination that we have stayed here so long; or why we should ever have come at all indeed, has been to me a wonder, as none of our houses have been in the least want of repair.'"

"As, after a few more speeches on both sides, they could not determine which was the most to blame, they prudently laid aside the debate, and having packed up their clothes and paid their rent, they set out the next morning with their two daughters for their seat in Sussex."

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"The news of their arrival being quickly spread throughout the country, brought them in a few days visits of congratulation from every family in it.

"Amongst the rest came the inhabitants of Willmot Lodge a beautiful villa not far from Marlhurst. Mr Willmot was the representative of a very ancient family and possessed besides his paternal estate, a considerable share in a lead mine and a ticket in the lottery. His lady was an agreeable woman. Their children were too numerous to be particularly described; it is sufficient to say that in general they were virtuously inclined and not given to any wicked ways. Their family being too large to accompany them in every visit, they took nine with them alternately. When their coach stopped at Sir Godfrey's door, the Miss Marlow's hearts throbbed in the eager expectation of once more beholding a family so dear to them. Emma the youngest (who was more particularly interested in their arrival, being attached to their eldest son) continued at her dressing-room window in anxious hopes of seeing young Edgar descend from the carriage."

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"Emma had continued in the parlour some time before she could summon up sufficient courage to ask Mrs Willmot after the rest of her family; and when she did, it was in so low, so faltering a voice that no one knew she spoke. Dejected by the ill success of her first attempt she made no other, till on Mrs Willmot's desiring one of the little girls to ring the bell for their carriage, she stepped across the room and seizing the string said in a resolute manner.

"'Mrs Willmot, you do not stir from this house till you let me know how all the rest of your family do, particularly your eldest son.'

"They were all greatly surprised by such an unexpected address and the more so, on account of the manner in which it was spoken; but Emma, who would not be again disappointed, requesting an answer, Mrs Willmot made the following eloquent oration.

"'Our children are all extremely well but at present most of them from home. Amy is with my sister at Clayton. Sam at Eton. David with his uncle John. Jem and Will at Winchester. Kitty at Queen's Square. Ned with his grandmother. Hetty and Patty in a convent at Brussells. Edgar at college, Peter at Nurse, and all the rest (except the nine here) at home.'

"It was with difficulty that Emma could refrain from tears on hearing of the absence of Edgar; she remained however tolerably composed till the Willmots were gone when having no check to the overflowings of her grief, she gave free vent to them, and retiring to her own room, continued in tears the remainder of her life."

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August 18, 2021 - August 18, 2021.

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JUVENILIA Volume 1- Novel

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• Henry and Eliza

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Henry And Eliza, by Jane Austen.

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"Is humbly dedicated to Miss Cooper by her obedient humble servant,

The Author"

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"As Sir George and Lady Harcourt were superintending the labours of their haymakers, rewarding the industry of some by smiles of approbation, and punishing the idleness of others by a cudgel, they perceived lying closely concealed beneath the thick foliage of a haycock, a beautiful little girl not more than three months old.

"Touched with the enchanting graces of her face and delighted with the infantine tho' sprightly answers she returned to their many questions, they resolved to take her home and, having no children of their own, to educate her with care and cost."

"Beloved by Lady Harcourt, adored by Sir George and admired by all the world, she lived in a continued course of uninterrupted happiness, till she had attained her eighteenth year, when happening one day to be detected in stealing a banknote of £50, she was turned out of doors by her inhuman benefactors. Such a transition, to one who did not possess so noble and exalted a mind as Eliza, would have been death, but she, happy in the conscious knowledge of her own excellence, amused herself as she sat beneath a tree with making and singing ... "
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"With every expression of regard did the duchess introduce her to Lady Harriet, who was so much pleased with her appearance that she besought her, to consider her as her sister, which Eliza with the greatest condescension promised to do.

"Mr Cecil, the lover of Lady Harriet, being often with the family was often with Eliza. A mutual love took place and Cecil having declared his first, prevailed on Eliza to consent to a private union, which was easy to be effected, as the duchess's chaplain being very much in love with Eliza himself, would, they were certain, do anything to oblige her."

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" ... Cecil and Eliza continued their flight to the continent, which they judged to be more secure than their native land, from the dreadful effects of the duchess's vengeance which they had so much reason to apprehend."

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"Her children were too small to get down the ladder by themselves, nor would it be possible for her to take them in her arms when she did. At last she determined to fling down all her clothes, of which she had a large quantity, and then having given them strict charge not to hurt themselves, threw her children after them. She herself with ease descended by the ladder, at the bottom of which she had the pleasure of finding her little boys in perfect health and fast asleep.

"Her wardrobe she now saw a fatal necessity of selling, both for the preservation of her children and herself. With tears in her eyes, she parted with these last relics of her former glory, and with the money she got for them, bought others more useful, some playthings for her boys, and a gold watch for herself.

"But scarcely was she provided with the above-mentioned necessaries, than she began to find herself rather hungry, and had reason to think, by their biting off two of her fingers, that her children were much in the same situation.

"To remedy these unavoidable misfortunes, she determined to return to her old friends, Sir George and Lady Harcourt, whose generosity she had so often experienced and hoped to experience as often again."

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""Our real child! What, Lady Harcourt, do you mean? You know you never even was with child. Explain yourself, I beseech you.""

""Four months after you were gone, I was delivered of this girl, but dreading your just resentment at her not proving the boy you wished, I took her to a Haycock and laid her down. A few weeks afterwards, you returned, and fortunately for me, made no enquiries on the subject. Satisfied within myself of the welfare of my child, I soon forgot I had one, insomuch that when we shortly after found her in the very haycock I had placed her, I had no more idea of her being my own, than you had, and nothing, I will venture to say, would have recalled the circumstance to my remembrance, but my thus accidentally hearing her voice, which now strikes me as being the very counterpart of my own child's."

""The rational and convincing account you have given of the whole affair," said Sir George, "leaves no doubt of her being our daughter and as such I freely forgive the robbery she was guilty of."

"A mutual reconciliation then took place, and Eliza, ascending the carriage with her two children, returned to that home from which she had been absent nearly four years.

"No sooner was she reinstated in her accustomed power at Harcourt Hall, than she raised an army, with which she entirely demolished the duchess's Newgate, snug as it was, and by that act, gained the blessings of thousands, and the applause of her own heart."

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August 18, 2021 - August , 2021.

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JUVENILIA Volume 1 – Tale

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• The Adventures of Mr. Harley

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The Adventures of Mr. Harley, by Jane Austen.

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"A short, but interesting tale, is with all imaginable respect inscribed to Mr. Francis William Austen, Midshipman on board His Majesty's Ship the Perseverance by his obedient servant,

"The Author."

................................................................................................

"Mr. Harley was one of many children. Destined by his father for the church and by his mother for the sea, desirous of pleasing both, he prevailed on Sir John to obtain for him a chaplaincy on board a Man of War. He accordingly cut his hair and sailed.

"In half a year he returned and set-off in the stage coach for Hogsworth Green, the seat of Emma. His fellow travellers were, a man without a hat, another with two, an old maid, and a young wife.

"This last appeared about seventeen, with fine dark eyes and an elegant shape; in short, Mr. Harley soon found out that she was his Emma and recollected he had married her a few weeks before he left England.

"FINIS"

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August 18, 2021 - August 18, 2021.

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JUVENILIA Volume 1 – Tale

................................................................................................

• Sir William Mountague

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Sir William Mountague, by Jane Austen.

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"An unfinished performance is humbly dedicated to Charles John Austen Esq, By his most obedient humble servant

"The Author"

................................................................................................

"Sir William Mountague was the son of Sir Henry Mountague, who was the son of Sir John Mountague, a descendant of Sir Christopher Mountague, who was the nephew of Sir Edward Mountague, whose ancestor was Sir James Mountague a near relation of Sir Robert Mountague, who inherited the title and estate from Sir Frederic Mountague.

"Sir William was about seventeen when his father died, and left him a handsome fortune, an ancient house and a park well stocked with deer. Sir William had not been long in the possession of his estate before he fell in love with the three Miss Cliftons of Kilhoobery Park. These young ladies were all equally young, equally handsome, equally rich and equally amiable — Sir William was equally in love with them all, and knowing not which to prefer, he left the country and took lodgings in a small village near Dover.

"In this retreat, to which he had retired in the hope of finding a shelter from the pangs of love, he became enamoured of a young widow of quality, who came for change of air to the same village, after the death of a husband, whom she had always tenderly loved and now sincerely lamented.

"Lady Percival was young, accomplished and lovely. Sir William adored her and she consented to become his wife. Vehemently pressed by Sir William to name the day in which he might conduct her to the altar, she at length fixed on the following Monday, which was the first of September.

"Sir William was a shot and could not support the idea of losing such a day, even for such a cause. He begged her to delay the wedding a short time. Lady Percival was enraged and returned to London the next morning.

"Sir William was sorry to lose her, but as he knew that he should have been much more grieved by the loss of the first of September, his sorrow was not without a mixture of happiness, and his affliction was considerably lessened by his joy.

"After staying at the village a few weeks longer, he left it and went to a friend’s house in Surry. Mr Brudenell was a sensible man, and had a beautiful niece with whom Sir William soon fell in love. But Miss Arundel was cruel; she preferred a Mr Stanhope — Sir William shot Mr Stanhope; the lady had then no reason to refuse him; she accepted him, and they were to be married on the 27th of October. But on the 25th Sir William received a visit from Emma Stanhope, the sister of the unfortunate victim of his rage. She begged some recompense, some atonement for the cruel murder of her brother. Sir William bade her name her price. She fixed on 14s. Sir William offered her himself and fortune. They went to London the next day and were there privately married. For a fortnight Sir William was completely happy, but chancing one day to see a charming young woman entering a chariot in Brook Street, he became again most violently in love. On enquiring the name of this fair unknown, he found that she was the sister of his old friend Lady Percival, at which he was much rejoiced, as he hoped to have, by his acquaintance with her ladyship, free access to Miss Wentworth....

"FINIS"

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August 18, 2021 - August , 2021.

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JUVENILIA Volume 1 – Tale

................................................................................................

• Memoirs of Mr. Clifford

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.................................................................................................

Memoirs of Mr. Clifford, by Jane Austen.

...............................................................................................

................................................................................................

"To Charles John Austen Esqre

"Sir,

"Your generous patronage of the unfinished tale, I have already taken the liberty of dedicating to you, encourages me to dedicate to you a second, as unfinished as the first.

"I am Sir with every expression of regard for you and your noble family,

"Your most obedient

"Andc. Andc.

"The Author"

................................................................................................

Rare, memoirs written in third person!

................................................................................................

"Mr Clifford lived at Bath; and having never seen London, set off one Monday morning determined to feast his eyes with a sight of that great metropolis. He travelled in his coach and four, for he was a very rich young man and kept a great many carriages of which I do not recollect half. I can only remember that he had a coach, a chariot, a chaise, a landeau, a landeaulet, a phaeton, a gig, a whisky, an Italian chair, a buggy, a curricle and a wheelbarrow. He had likewise an amazing fine stud of horses. To my knowledge he had six greys, four bays, eight blacks and a pony.

"In his coach and four bays Mr Clifford set forward about five o'clock on Monday morning the first of May for London. He always travelled remarkably expeditiously and contrived therefore to get to Devizes from Bath, which is no less than nineteen miles, the first day. To be sure he did not set in till eleven at night and pretty tight work, it was as you may imagine.

"However when he was once got to Devizes he was determined to comfort himself with a good hot supper and therefore ordered a whole egg to be boiled for him and his servants. The next morning he pursued his journey and in the course of three days hard labour reached Overton, where he was seized with a dangerous fever the consequence of too violent exercise.

"Five months did our hero remain in this celebrated city under the care of its no less celebrated physician, who at length completely cured him of his troublesome disease.

"As Mr Clifford still continued very weak, his first days journey carried him only to Dean Gate where he remained a few days and found himself much benefited by the change of air.

"In easy stages he proceeded to Basingstoke. One day carrying him to Clarkengreen, the next to Worting, the third to the bottom of Basingstoke Hill, and the fourth, to Mr Robins's....

"FINIS"

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August 18, 2021 - August , 2021.

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JUVENILIA Volume 1 – Novel in 12 chapters

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• The Beautiful Cassandra

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"Dedicated by permission to Miss Austen.

"Dedication,

"Madam,

"You are a phoenix. Your taste is refined, your sentiments are noble, and your virtues innumerable. Your person is lovely, your figure, elegant, and your form, majestic. Your manners are polished, your conversation is rational and your appearance singular. If, therefore, the following tale will afford one moment's amusement to you, every wish will be gratified of

"Your most obedient

"Humble servant

"The Author"

................................................................................................

"Chapter the First

"Cassandra was the daughter and the only daughter of a celebrated milliner in Bond Street. Her father was of noble birth, being the near relation of the Duchess of ***'s butler.

"Chapter the Second

"When Cassandra had attained her 16th year, she was lovely and amiable, and chancing to fall in love with an elegant bonnet her mother had just completed, bespoke by the Countess of ***, she placed it on her gentle head and walked from her mother's shop to make her fortune.

"Chapter the Third

"The first person she met, was the Viscount of ***, a young man, no less celebrated for his accomplishments and virtues, than for his elegance and beauty. She curtseyed and walked on.

"Chapter the 4th

"She then proceeded to a pastry-cook's, where she devoured six ices, refused to pay for them, knocked down the pastry cook and walked away.

"Chapter the 5th

"She next ascended a hackney coach and ordered it to Hampstead, where she was no sooner arrived than she ordered the coachman to turn round and drive her back again.

"Chapter the 6th

"Being returned to the same spot of the same street she had set out from, the coachman demanded his pay.

"Chapter the 7th

"She searched her pockets over again and again; but every search was unsuccessful. No money could she find. The man grew peremptory. She placed her bonnet on his head and ran away.

"Chapter the 8th

"Thro’ many a street she then proceeded and met in none the least adventure, till on turning a corner of Bloomsbury Square, she met Maria.

"Chapter the 9th

"Cassandra started and Maria seemed surprised; they trembled, blushed, turned pale and passed each other in a mutual silence.

"Chapter the 10th

"Cassandra was next accosted by her friend the widow, who squeezing out her little head thro' her less window, asked her how she did? Cassandra curtseyed and went on.

"Chapter the 11th

"A quarter of a mile brought her to her paternal roof in Bond Street, from which she had now been absent nearly seven hours.

"Chapter the 12th

"She entered it and was pressed to her mother's bosom by that worthy woman. Cassandra smiled and whispered to herself "This is a day well spent."

"FINIS"

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August 18, 2021 - August , 2021.

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JUVENILIA Volume 1 – Tale

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• Amelia Webster

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Quite a round robin of letters, until suddenly it's neatly braided together as a triple wedding!

................................................................................................

"An interesting and well-written tale is dedicated by permission to Mrs Austen.

"By her humble servant,

"The Author"

"Letter the First

"To Miss Webster

"My dear Amelia

"You will rejoice to hear of the return of my amiable brother from abroad. He arrived on Thursday, and never did I see a finer form, save that of your sincere friend.

"Matilda Hervey

"Letter the Second

"To H. Beverley Esqre.

"Dear Beverley

"I arrived here last Thursday and met with a hearty reception from my father, mother, and sisters. The latter are both fine girls — particularly Maud, who I think would suit you as a wife well enough. What say you to this? She will have two thousand pounds and as much more as you can get. If you don't marry her you will mortally offend, George Hervey

"Letter the Third

"To

"Miss Hervey

"Dear Maud

"Believe me, I'm happy to hear of your brother's arrival. I have a thousand things to tell you, but my paper will only permit me to add that I am yr. affect. friend,

"Amelia Webster

"Letter the Fourth

"To

"Miss S. Hervey

"Dear Sally

"I have found a very convenient old hollow oak to put our letters in; for you know we have long maintained a private correspondence. It is about a mile from my house and seven from yours. You may perhaps imagine that I might have made choice of a tree which would have divided the distance more equally — I was sensible of this at the time, but as I considered that the walk would be of benefit to you in your weak and uncertain state of health, I preferred it to one nearer your house, and am yr. faithful,

"Benjamin Bar

"Letter the Fifth

"To

"Miss Hervey

"Dear Maud

"I write now to inform you that I did not stop at your house on my way to Bath last Monday. – I have many things to inform you of besides; but my paper reminds me of concluding; and believe me yrs. ever etc.

"Amelia Webster

"Letter the Sixth

"To Miss Webster

"Saturday

"Madam

"A humble admirer now addresses you — I saw you, lovely fair one, as you passed on Monday last, before our house on your way to Bath. I saw you thro' a telescope, and was so struck by your charms that from that time to this I have not tasted human food.

"George Hervey

"Letter the Seventh

"To Jack

"As I was this morning at breakfast the newspaper was brought me, and in the list of marriages I read the following.

""George Hervey Esqre. to Miss Amelia Webster"

""Henry Beverley Esqre. to Miss Hervey"

"And "Benjamin Bar Esqre. to Miss Sarah Hervey".

"Yours, Tom

"FINIS"

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August 18, 2021 - August 18, 2021.

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................................................................................................

JUVENILIA Volume 1 – Comedy in two acts

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• The Visit

................................................................................................

The Visit, by Jane Austen.

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"To the Revd. James Austen

"Sir,

"The following drama, which I humbly recommend to your protection and patronage, tho' inferior to those celebrated comedies called "The School for Jealousy" and "The Travelled Man", will I hope afford some amusement to so respectable a curate as yourself; which was the end in view when it was first composed by your,

"Humble Servant

"The Author."

................................................................................................

Austen seems fond of the name Willoughby! This is the third time it's cropped up in her works!

This work seems most normal, unlike mist of the Juvenilia - until, in three pages flat and bordering most normal conversation, suddenly we have three couples get engaged, and it's over before it has begun!

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August 18, 2021 - August 18, 2021.

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................................................................................................

JUVENILIA Volume 1 – Unfinished comedy

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• The Mystery

................................................................................................

The Mystery

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"To the Revd George Austen

"Sir,

"I humbly solicit your patronage to the following comedy, which tho' an unfinished one, is I flatter myself as complete a mystery as any of its kind.

"I am Sir your most

"Humble servant

"The Author"

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Mystery indeed! Three scenes of one act, and dialogue barely enough for a conversation, but the reader or the audience kept totally out of what it was about!

Amazing, Jane Austen!

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August 18, 2021 - August 18, 2021.

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................................................................................................

JUVENILIA Volume 1 – Unfinished novel

................................................................................................

• The Three Sisters

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The Three Sisters,

by Jane Austen.

................................................................................................

"To Edward Austen Esqre

"The following unfinished novel is respectfully inscribed by

"His obedient humble servant

"The Author"

................................................................................................

Very unlike the rest of Juvenilia pieces, thus one is so close to Pride And Prejudice in its storyline perfection that one wonders if Jane Austen wrote her best known work to improve upon this one, but left this one undestroyed for being too good to do so, and incorporated some of it nevertheless in the episode with Mrs Bennett being upset about Elizabeth refusing the cousin to whom the house was entailed.

One cannot quote any small bit without the rest, and it isn't small enough, so it's only possible to say, one has to read it to believe how well Austen has done the job of describing what goes on when a man proposes without being either in love or lovable, but has fortune too good to refuse! It's amusing, atrocious, all too real, dismaying, and more.

If only she'd seen her way to write up and complete this one, as well!

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August 18, 2021 - August 18, 2021.

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JUVENILIA Volume 1

................................................................................................

• Detached Pieces

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Detached Pieces

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It's unclear why these pieces, bundled together, are named detached pieces; all of Juvenilia is, after all, detached pieces.

................................................................................................

"My dear Niece

"Though you are at this period not many degrees removed from infancy, yet trusting that you will in time be older, and that through the care of your excellent parents, you will one day or another be able to read written hand, I dedicate to you the following miscellaneous morsels, convinced that if you seriously attend to them, you will derive from them very important instructions, with regard to your conduct in life. — If such my hopes should hereafter be realised, never shall I regret the days and nights that have been spent in composing these treatises for your benefit. I am my dear niece, Your very affectionate aunt,

"The Author

"June 2nd 1793"

................................................................................................

"A Beautiful Description of the Different Effects of Sensibility on Different Minds

"I am but just returned from Melissa's Bedside, and in my life tho' it has been a pretty long one, and I have during the course of it been at many bedsides, I never saw so affecting an object as she exhibits. She lies wrapped in a book muslin bed gown, a chambray gauze shift, and a French net nightcap. Sir William is constantly at her bedside. The only repose he takes is on the sofa in the drawing room, where for five minutes every fortnight he remains in an imperfect slumber, starting up every moment and exclaiming 'Oh! Melissa, Ah! Melissa,' then sinking down again, raises his left arm and scratches his head. Poor Mrs Burnaby is beyond measure afflicted. She sighs every now and then, that is about once a week; while the melancholy Charles says every moment 'Melissa, how are you?' The lovely sisters are much to be pitied. Julia is ever lamenting the situation of her friend, while lying behind her pillow and supporting her head — Maria more mild in her grief talks of going to town next week, and Anna is always recurring to the pleasures we once enjoyed when Melissa was well. — I am usually at the fire cooking some little delicacy for the unhappy invalid. — Perhaps hashing up the remains of an old duck, toasting some cheese or making a curry which are the favourite dishes of our poor friend. — ... "

................................................................................................

"The Generous Curate

"A moral tale, setting forth the advantages of being generous and a curate. In a part little known of the County of Warwick, a very worthy clergyman lately resided. The income of his living which amounted to about two hundred pound, and the interest of his wife's fortune which was nothing at all, was entirely sufficient for the wants and wishes of a family who neither wanted or wished for anything beyond what their income afforded them. Mr Williams had been in possession of his living above twenty years, when this history commences, and his marriage which had taken place soon after his presentation to it, had made him the father of six very fine children. The eldest had been placed at the Royal Academy for Seamen at Portsmouth when about thirteen years old, and from thence had been discharged on board of one of the vessels of a small fleet destined for Newfoundland, where his promising and amiable disposition had procured him many friends among the natives, and from whence he regularly sent home a large Newfoundland dog every month to his family. The second, who was also a son, had been adopted by a neighbouring clergyman with the intention of educating him at his own expense, which would have been a very desirable circumstance had the gentleman's fortune been equal to his generosity, but as he had nothing to support himself and a very large family but a curacy of fifty pound a year, young Williams knew nothing more at the age of 18 than what a two-penny Dame's School in the village could teach him. ... "

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August 18, 2021 - August 18, 2021.

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JUVENILIA Volume 2

LOVE AND FREINDSHIP (1787-1793)

LESLEY CASTLE (1787-1793)

THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND (1787-1793)

A COLLECTION OF LETTERS (1787-1793)

SCRAPS (1787-1793)

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JUVENILIA Volume 2

................................................................................................

• Love and Friendship

................................................................................................

Love and Friendship

................................................................................................

In one word, hilarious! When it isn't surprising, even shocking, considering this was written by the sober, sensible, prudent Jane Austen, the author of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, ....

................................................................................................

"My Father was a native of Ireland and an inhabitant of Wales; my Mother was the natural Daughter of a Scotch Peer by an italian Opera-girl—I was born in Spain and received my Education at a Convent in France.

"When I had reached my eighteenth Year I was recalled by my Parents to my paternal roof in Wales. Our mansion was situated in one of the most romantic parts of the Vale of Uske. ... "

"Isabel had seen the World. She had passed 2 Years at one of the first Boarding-schools in London; had spent a fortnight in Bath and had supped one night in Southampton.

"“Beware my Laura (she would often say) Beware of the insipid Vanities and idle Dissipations of the Metropolis of England; Beware of the unmeaning Luxuries of Bath and of the stinking fish of Southampton.”

"“Alas! (exclaimed I) how am I to avoid those evils I shall never be exposed to? What probability is there of my ever tasting the Dissipations of London, the Luxuries of Bath, or the stinking Fish of Southampton? I who am doomed to waste my Days of Youth and Beauty in an humble Cottage in the Vale of Uske.”

................................................................................................

"“My Father’s house is situated in Bedfordshire, my Aunt’s in Middlesex, and tho’ I flatter myself with being a tolerable proficient in Geography, I know not how it happened, but I found myself entering this beautifull Vale which I find is in South Wales, when I had expected to have reached my Aunts.”"

Very familiar, getting lost in England - and while following road signs too! In Germany its almost impossible, no matter where one is, unless one is new to Germany and used to following maps rather than road signs. Then it's not just easy, either.

................................................................................................

"Towards the close of the day we received the following Letter from Philippa.

"“Sir Edward is greatly incensed by your abrupt departure; he has taken back Augusta to Bedfordshire. Much as I wish to enjoy again your charming society, I cannot determine to snatch you from that, of such dear and deserving Freinds—When your Visit to them is terminated, I trust you will return to the arms of your” “Philippa.”

"We returned a suitable answer to this affectionate Note and after thanking her for her kind invitation assured her that we would certainly avail ourselves of it, whenever we might have no other place to go to. Tho’ certainly nothing could to any reasonable Being, have appeared more satisfactory, than so gratefull a reply to her invitation, yet I know not how it was, but she was certainly capricious enough to be displeased with our behaviour and in a few weeks after, either to revenge our Conduct, or releive her own solitude, married a young and illiterate Fortune- hunter. This imprudent step (tho’ we were sensible that it would probably deprive us of that fortune which Philippa had ever taught us to expect) could not on our own accounts, excite from our exalted minds a single sigh; yet fearfull lest it might prove a source of endless misery to the deluded Bride, our trembling Sensibility was greatly affected when we were first informed of the Event.The affectionate Entreaties of Augustus and Sophia that we would for ever consider their House as our Home, easily prevailed on us to determine never more to leave them, In the society of my Edward and this Amiable Pair, I passed the happiest moments of my Life; Our time was most delightfully spent, in mutual Protestations of Freindship, and in vows of unalterable Love, in which we were secure from being interrupted, by intruding and disagreable Visitors, as Augustus and Sophia had on their first Entrance in the Neighbourhood, taken due care to inform the surrounding Families, that as their happiness centered wholly in themselves, they wished for no other society. But alas! my Dear Marianne such Happiness as I then enjoyed was too perfect to be lasting. A most severe and unexpected Blow at once destroyed every sensation of Pleasure. Convinced as you must be from what I have already told you concerning Augustus and Sophia, that there never were a happier Couple, I need not I imagine, inform you that their union had been contrary to the inclinations of their Cruel and Mercenery Parents; who had vainly endeavoured with obstinate Perseverance to force them into a Marriage with those whom they had ever abhorred; but with a Heroic Fortitude worthy to be related and admired, they had both, constantly refused to submit to such despotic Power.

"After having so nobly disentangled themselves from the shackles of Parental Authority, by a Clandestine Marriage, they were determined never to forfeit the good opinion they had gained in the World, in so doing, by accepting any proposals of reconciliation that might be offered them by their Fathers—to this farther tryal of their noble independance however they never were exposed.

"They had been married but a few months when our visit to them commenced during which time they had been amply supported by a considerable sum of money which Augustus had gracefully purloined from his unworthy father’s Escritoire, a few days before his union with Sophia.

"By our arrival their Expenses were considerably encreased tho’ their means for supplying them were then nearly exhausted. But they, Exalted Creatures! scorned to reflect a moment on their pecuniary Distresses and would have blushed at the idea of paying their Debts.—Alas! what was their Reward for such disinterested Behaviour! The beautifull Augustus was arrested and we were all undone. Such perfidious Treachery in the merciless perpetrators of the Deed will shock your gentle nature Dearest Marianne as much as it then affected the Delicate sensibility of Edward, Sophia, your Laura, and of Augustus himself. To compleat such unparalelled Barbarity we were informed that an Execution in the House would shortly take place. Ah! what could we do but what we did! We sighed and fainted on the sofa."

................................................................................................

"Beware of swoons Dear Laura. . . . A frenzy fit is not one quarter so pernicious; it is an exercise to the Body and if not too violent, is I dare say conducive to Health in its consequences—Run mad as often as you chuse; but do not faint—”"

................................................................................................

"“We are the sons as you already know, of the two youngest Daughters which Lord St Clair had by Laurina an italian opera girl. Our mothers could neither of them exactly ascertain who were our Father, though it is generally beleived that Philander, is the son of one Philip Jones a Bricklayer and that my Father was one Gregory Staves a Staymaker of Edinburgh. This is however of little consequence for as our Mothers were certainly never married to either of them it reflects no Dishonour on our Blood, which is of a most ancient and unpolluted kind. Bertha (the Mother of Philander) and Agatha (my own Mother) always lived together. They were neither of them very rich; their united fortunes had originally amounted to nine thousand Pounds, but as they had always lived on the principal of it, when we were fifteen it was diminished to nine Hundred. This nine Hundred they always kept in a Drawer in one of the Tables which stood in our common sitting Parlour, for the convenience of having it always at Hand. Whether it was from this circumstance, of its being easily taken, or from a wish of being independant, or from an excess of sensibility (for which we were always remarkable) I cannot now determine, but certain it is that when we had reached our 15th year, we took the nine Hundred Pounds and ran away. Having obtained this prize we were determined to manage it with eoconomy and not to spend it either with folly or Extravagance. To this purpose we therefore divided it into nine parcels, one of which we devoted to Victuals, the 2d to Drink, the 3d to Housekeeping, the 4th to Carriages, the 5th to Horses, the 6th to Servants, the 7th to Amusements, the 8th to Cloathes and the 9th to Silver Buckles. Having thus arranged our Expences for two months (for we expected to make the nine Hundred Pounds last as long) we hastened to London and had the good luck to spend it in 7 weeks and a Day which was 6 Days sooner than we had intended. As soon as we had thus happily disencumbered ourselves from the weight of so much money, we began to think of returning to our Mothers, but accidentally hearing that they were both starved to Death, we gave over the design and determined to engage ourselves to some strolling Company of Players, as we had always a turn for the Stage. Accordingly we offered our services to one and were accepted; our Company was indeed rather small, as it consisted only of the Manager his wife and ourselves, but there were fewer to pay and the only inconvenience attending it was the Scarcity of Plays which for want of People to fill the Characters, we could perform. We did not mind trifles however—. One of our most admired Performances was MACBETH, in which we were truly great. The Manager always played BANQUO himself, his Wife my LADY MACBETH. I did the THREE WITCHES and Philander acted ALL THE REST. To say the truth this tragedy was not only the Best, but the only Play that we ever performed; and after having acted it all over England, and Wales, we came to Scotland to exhibit it over the remainder of Great Britain. We happened to be quartered in that very Town, where you came and met your Grandfather—. We were in the Inn-yard when his Carriage entered and perceiving by the arms to whom it belonged, and knowing that Lord St Clair was our Grandfather, we agreed to endeavour to get something from him by discovering the Relationship—. You know how well it succeeded—. Having obtained the two Hundred Pounds, we instantly left the Town, leaving our Manager and his Wife to act MACBETH by themselves, and took the road to Sterling, where we spent our little fortune with great ECLAT. We are now returning to Edinburgh in order to get some preferment in the Acting way; and such my Dear Cousin is our History.”"

................................................................................................

"When we arrived at Edinburgh Sir Edward told me that as the Widow of his son, he desired I would accept from his Hands of four Hundred a year. I graciously promised that I would, but could not help observing that the unsimpathetic Baronet offered it more on account of my being the Widow of Edward than in being the refined and amiable Laura."

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August 12, 2021 - August 13, 2021.

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................................................................................................

JUVENILIA Volume 2 – Unfinished Novel in Letters

................................................................................................

• Lesley Castle

................................................................................................

Lesley Castle

................................................................................................

Another delightful treat from Austen, in the spirit of Love and Friendship!

................................................................................................

"Lesley is at present but five and twenty, and has already given himself up to melancholy and Despair; what a difference between him and his Father! Sir George is 57 and still remains the Beau, the flighty stripling, the gay Lad, and sprightly Youngster, that his Son was really about five years back, and that HE has affected to appear ever since my remembrance. While our father is fluttering about the streets of London, gay, dissipated, and Thoughtless at the age of 57, Matilda and I continue secluded from Mankind in our old and Mouldering Castle, which is situated two miles from Perth on a bold projecting Rock, and commands an extensive veiw of the Town and its delightful Environs. But tho’ retired from almost all the World, (for we visit no one but the M’Leods, The M’Kenzies, the M’Phersons, the M’Cartneys, the M’Donalds, The M’kinnons, the M’lellans, the M’kays, the Macbeths and the Macduffs) we are neither dull nor unhappy; on the contrary there never were two more lively, more agreable or more witty girls, than we are; not an hour in the Day hangs heavy on our Hands. We read, we work, we walk, and when fatigued with these Employments releive our spirits, either by a lively song, a graceful Dance, or by some smart bon-mot, and witty repartee. We are handsome my dear Charlotte, very handsome and the greatest of our Perfections is, that we are entirely insensible of them ourselves."

................................................................................................

"I have a thousand excuses to beg for having so long delayed thanking you my dear Peggy for your agreable Letter, which beleive me I should not have deferred doing, had not every moment of my time during the last five weeks been so fully employed in the necessary arrangements for my sisters wedding, as to allow me no time to devote either to you or myself. And now what provokes me more than anything else is that the Match is broke off, and all my Labour thrown away. Imagine how great the Dissapointment must be to me, when you consider that after having laboured both by Night and by Day, in order to get the Wedding dinner ready by the time appointed, after having roasted Beef, Broiled Mutton, and Stewed Soup enough to last the new-married Couple through the Honey-moon, I had the mortification of finding that I had been Roasting, Broiling and Stewing both the Meat and Myself to no purpose. Indeed my dear Freind, I never remember suffering any vexation equal to what I experienced on last Monday when my sister came running to me in the store-room with her face as White as a Whipt syllabub, and told me that Hervey had been thrown from his Horse, had fractured his Scull and was pronounced by his surgeon to be in the most emminent Danger. “Good God! (said I) you dont say so? Why what in the name of Heaven will become of all the Victuals! We shall never be able to eat it while it is good. However, we’ll call in the Surgeon to help us. I shall be able to manage the Sir-loin myself, my Mother will eat the soup, and You and the Doctor must finish the rest.” Here I was interrupted, by seeing my poor Sister fall down to appearance Lifeless upon one of the Chests, where we keep our Table linen. ... leaving her with my Mother I took down the remains of The Ham and Chicken, and sent William to ask how Henry did. He was not expected to live many Hours; he died the same day. We took all possible care to break the melancholy Event to Eloisa in the tenderest manner; yet in spite of every precaution, her sufferings on hearing it were too violent for her reason, and she continued for many hours in a high Delirium. ... And now my dear Margaret let me talk a little of your affairs; and in the first place I must inform you that it is confidently reported, your Father is going to be married; I am very unwilling to beleive so unpleasing a report, and at the same time cannot wholly discredit it. I have written to my freind Susan Fitzgerald, for information concerning it, which as she is at present in Town, she will be very able to give me. ... "

"P. S. I have this instant received an answer from my freind Susan, which I enclose to you, and on which you will make your own reflections.

"The enclosed LETTER

"My dear CHARLOTTE You could not have applied for information concerning the report of Sir George Lesleys Marriage, to any one better able to give it you than I am. Sir George is certainly married; I was myself present at the Ceremony, which you will not be surprised at when I subscribe myself your Affectionate

"Susan Lesley"

................................................................................................

" ... A brother of Mrs Marlowe, Mr Cleveland is with them at present; he is a good-looking young Man, and seems to have a good deal to say for himself. I tell Eloisa that she should set her cap at him, but she does not at all seem to relish the proposal. I should like to see the girl married and Cleveland has a very good estate. Perhaps you may wonder that I do not consider myself as well as my Sister in my matrimonial Projects; but to tell you the truth I never wish to act a more principal part at a Wedding than the superintending and directing the Dinner, and therefore while I can get any of my acquaintance to marry for me, I shall never think of doing it myself, as I very much suspect that I should not have so much time for dressing my own Wedding- dinner, as for dressing that of my freinds."

................................................................................................

" ... Her Ladyship perfectly answers the description you sent me of her, except that I do not think her so pretty as you seem to consider her. She has not a bad face, but there is something so extremely unmajestic in her little diminutive figure, as to render her in comparison with the elegant height of Matilda and Myself, an insignificant Dwarf. Her curiosity to see us (which must have been great to bring her more than four hundred miles) being now perfectly gratified, she already begins to mention their return to town, and has desired us to accompany her. We cannot refuse her request since it is seconded by the commands of our Father, and thirded by the entreaties of Mr. Fitzgerald who is certainly one of the most pleasing young Men, I ever beheld. It is not yet determined when we are to go, but when ever we do we shall certainly take our little Louisa with us. ... "

................................................................................................

"Ah! my dear Freind I every day more regret the serene and tranquil Pleasures of the Castle we have left, in exchange for the uncertain and unequal Amusements of this vaunted City. Not that I will pretend to assert that these uncertain and unequal Amusements are in the least Degree unpleasing to me; on the contrary I enjoy them extremely and should enjoy them even more, were I not certain that every appearance I make in Public but rivetts the Chains of those unhappy Beings whose Passion it is impossible not to pity, tho’ it is out of my power to return. In short my Dear Charlotte it is my sensibility for the sufferings of so many amiable young Men, my Dislike of the extreme admiration I meet with, and my aversion to being so celebrated both in Public, in Private, in Papers, and in Printshops, that are the reasons why I cannot more fully enjoy, the Amusements so various and pleasing of London. How often have I wished that I possessed as little Personal Beauty as you do; that my figure were as inelegant; my face as unlovely; and my appearance as unpleasing as yours! But ah! what little chance is there of so desirable an Event; I have had the small-pox, and must therefore submit to my unhappy fate."

"... We see more of Lady L. who always makes her appearance (highly rouged) at Dinner-time. Alas! what Delightful Jewels will she be decked in this evening at Lady Flambeau’s! Yet I wonder how she can herself delight in wearing them; surely she must be sensible of the ridiculous impropriety of loading her little diminutive figure with such superfluous ornaments; is it possible that she can not know how greatly superior an elegant simplicity is to the most studied apparel? Would she but Present them to Matilda and me, how greatly should we be obliged to her, How becoming would Diamonds be on our fine majestic figures! And how surprising it is that such an Idea should never have occurred to HER. I am sure if I have reflected in this manner once, I have fifty times. Whenever I see Lady Lesley dressed in them such reflections immediately come across me. My own Mother’s Jewels too! But I will say no more on so melancholy a subject—let me entertain you with something more pleasing—Matilda had a letter this morning from Lesley, by which we have the pleasure of finding that he is at Naples has turned Roman-Catholic, obtained one of the Pope’s Bulls for annulling his 1st Marriage and has since actually married a Neapolitan Lady of great Rank and Fortune. He tells us moreover that much the same sort of affair has befallen his first wife the worthless Louisa who is likewise at Naples had turned Roman-catholic, and is soon to be married to a Neapolitan Nobleman of great and Distinguished merit. He says, that they are at present very good Freinds, have quite forgiven all past errors and intend in future to be very good Neighbours. He invites Matilda and me to pay him a visit to Italy and to bring him his little Louisa whom both her Mother, Step-mother, and himself are equally desirous of beholding. As to our accepting his invitation, it is at Present very uncertain; Lady Lesley advises us to go without loss of time; Fitzgerald offers to escort us there, but Matilda has some doubts of the Propriety of such a scheme—she owns it would be very agreable. I am certain she likes the Fellow. My Father desires us not to be in a hurry, as perhaps if we wait a few months both he and Lady Lesley will do themselves the pleasure of attending us. Lady Lesley says no, that nothing will ever tempt her to forego the Amusements of Brighthelmstone for a Journey to Italy merely to see our Brother. “No (says the disagreable Woman) I have once in my life been fool enough to travel I dont know how many hundred Miles to see two of the Family, and I found it did not answer, so Deuce take me, if ever I am so foolish again.” So says her Ladyship, but Sir George still Perseveres in saying that perhaps in a month or two, they may accompany us."

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August 14, 2021 - August 14, 2021.

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JUVENILIA Volume 2

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• The History of England

................................................................................................

The History of England,

by Jane Austen.

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It promises right off the start to bring a smile.

"From the reign of Henry the 4th to the death of Charles the 1st

"by a partial, prejudiced, and ignorant historian.

"To Miss Austen, eldest daughter of the Rev. George Austen, this work is inscribed with all due respect by THE AUTHOR.

"N.B. There will be very few Dates in this History."

And the promise is promptly begun being fulfilled too!

"HENRY the 4th

"Henry the 4th ascended the throne of England much to his own satisfaction in the year 1399, after having prevailed on his cousin and predecessor Richard the 2nd, to resign it to him, and to retire for the rest of his life to Pomfret Castle, where he happened to be murdered. It is to be supposed that Henry was married, since he had certainly four sons, but it is not in my power to inform the Reader who was his wife. Be this as it may, he did not live for ever, but falling ill, his son the Prince of Wales came and took away the crown; whereupon the King made a long speech, for which I must refer the Reader to Shakespear’s Plays, and the Prince made a still longer. Things being thus settled between them the King died, and was succeeded by his son Henry who had previously beat Sir William Gascoigne.

"HENRY the 5th

"This Prince after he succeeded to the throne grew quite reformed and amiable, forsaking all his dissipated companions, and never thrashing Sir William again. During his reign, Lord Cobham was burnt alive, but I forget what for. His Majesty then turned his thoughts to France, where he went and fought the famous Battle of Agincourt. He afterwards married the King’s daughter Catherine, a very agreable woman by Shakespear’s account. In spite of all this however he died, and was succeeded by his son Henry."

And it continues, next with a brief mention of Joan of Arc.

"HENRY the 6th"

" ... It was in this reign that Joan of Arc lived and made such a ROW among the English. They should not have burnt her—but they did. ... "

One has to wonder, did Austen write this piece as a satire or spoof, just so she could get away with that one declaration without being tried for treason? What's more, did she do these small works of humour - Love and Freindship, Lesley Court, et al - just so this would the be the gem hidden hidden in a bouquet, in plain sight?

................................................................................................

"EDWARD the 4th

"This Monarch was famous only for his Beauty and his Courage, of which the Picture we have here given of him, and his undaunted Behaviour in marrying one Woman while he was engaged to another, are sufficient proofs. His Wife was Elizabeth Woodville, a Widow who, poor Woman! was afterwards confined in a Convent by that Monster of Iniquity and Avarice Henry the 7th. One of Edward’s Mistresses was Jane Shore, who has had a play written about her, but it is a tragedy and therefore not worth reading. Having performed all these noble actions, his Majesty died, and was succeeded by his son."

................................................................................................

Curious!

"HENRY the 7th

"This Monarch soon after his accession married the Princess Elizabeth of York, by which alliance he plainly proved that he thought his own right inferior to hers, tho’ he pretended to the contrary. By this Marriage he had two sons and two daughters, the elder of which Daughters was married to the King of Scotland and had the happiness of being grandmother to one of the first Characters in the World. But of HER, I shall have occasion to speak more at large in future. The youngest, Mary, married first the King of France and secondly the D. of Suffolk, by whom she had one daughter, afterwards the Mother of Lady Jane Grey, who tho’ inferior to her lovely Cousin the Queen of Scots, was yet an amiable young woman and famous for reading Greek while other people were hunting. ... His Majesty died and was succeeded by his son Henry whose only merit was his not being quite so bad as his daughter Elizabeth."

Why did Jane Austen dislike Queen Elizabeth I? Her existence is the only justification possible, of that of Henry the VIIth! Her summing up of his life, with a flat out assertion of defence of Ann Boleyn and her innocence, and more, good read!

................................................................................................

"EDWARD the 6th

"As this prince was only nine years old at the time of his Father’s death, he was considered by many people as too young to govern, and the late King happening to be of the same opinion, his mother’s Brother the Duke of Somerset was chosen Protector of the realm during his minority. ... He was beheaded, of which he might with reason have been proud, had he known that such was the death of Mary Queen of Scotland; but as it was impossible that he should be conscious of what had never happened, it does not appear that he felt particularly delighted with the manner of it. ... "

Mary Queen of Scots being beheaded "never happened"????

" ... After his decease the Duke of Northumberland had the care of the King and the Kingdom, and performed his trust of both so well that the King died and the Kingdom was left to his daughter in law the Lady Jane Grey, who has been already mentioned as reading Greek. Whether she really understood that language or whether such a study proceeded only from an excess of vanity for which I beleive she was always rather remarkable, is uncertain. Whatever might be the cause, she preserved the same appearance of knowledge, and contempt of what was generally esteemed pleasure, during the whole of her life, for she declared herself displeased with being appointed Queen, and while conducting to the scaffold, she wrote a sentence in Latin and another in Greek on seeing the dead Body of her Husband accidentally passing that way."

Most instructive! And curious -

"MARY

"This woman had the good luck of being advanced to the throne of England, in spite of the superior pretensions, Merit, and Beauty of her Cousins Mary Queen of Scotland and Jane Grey. Nor can I pity the Kingdom for the misfortunes they experienced during her Reign, since they fully deserved them, for having allowed her to succeed her Brother—which was a double peice of folly, since they might have foreseen that as she died without children, she would be succeeded by that disgrace to humanity, that pest of society, Elizabeth. Many were the people who fell martyrs to the protestant Religion during her reign; I suppose not fewer than a dozen. She married Philip King of Spain who in her sister’s reign was famous for building Armadas. She died without issue, and then the dreadful moment came in which the destroyer of all comfort, the deceitful Betrayer of trust reposed in her, and the Murderess of her Cousin succeeded to the Throne.——"

Jane Austen really did hate Queen Elizabeth I??!!! And she cuts out the only epithet, presumably due to bloodshed during her reign, that Bloody Mary was known by, too! Was Austen catholic, secretly or otherwise?

................................................................................................

Jane Austen's wrath regarding Queen Elizabeth I finally explained - its about execution of her cousin, Mary Queens of Scots! Most of next piece, supposedly about - and titled - Queen Elizabeth I, goes on about Mary Queens of Scots.

" ... And yet could you Reader have beleived it possible that some hardened and zealous Protestants have even abused her for that steadfastness in the Catholic Religion which reflected on her so much credit? But this is a striking proof of THEIR narrow souls and prejudiced Judgements who accuse her. She was executed in the Great Hall at Fortheringay Castle (sacred Place!) on Wednesday the 8th of February 1586—to the everlasting Reproach of Elizabeth, her Ministers, and of England in general. ... "

Again, was Austen catholic, secretly or otherwise?

She goes on to mention herself next.

" ... It was about this time that Sir Francis Drake the first English Navigator who sailed round the World, lived, to be the ornament of his Country and his profession. Yet great as he was, and justly celebrated as a sailor, I cannot help foreseeing that he will be equalled in this or the next Century by one who tho’ now but young, already promises to answer all the ardent and sanguine expectations of his Relations and Freinds, amongst whom I may class the amiable Lady to whom this work is dedicated, and my no less amiable self."

................................................................................................

Austen admits the bias in the next piece, about James I -

" ... As I am myself partial to the roman catholic religion, it is with infinite regret that I am obliged to blame the Behaviour of any Member of it: yet Truth being I think very excusable in an Historian, I am necessitated to say that in this reign the roman Catholics of England did not behave like Gentlemen to the protestants. Their Behaviour indeed to the Royal Family and both Houses of Parliament might justly be considered by them as very uncivil, and even Sir Henry Percy tho’ certainly the best bred man of the party, had none of that general politeness which is so universally pleasing, as his attentions were entirely confined to Lord Mounteagle.

"Sir Walter Raleigh flourished in this and the preceeding reign, and is by many people held in great veneration and respect—But as he was an enemy of the noble Essex, I have nothing to say in praise of him, and must refer all those who may wish to be acquainted with the particulars of his life, to Mr Sheridan’s play of the Critic, where they will find many interesting anecdotes as well of him as of his friend Sir Christopher Hatton. ... ""

After she's blamed him, too, for death of Mary Queens of Scots.

................................................................................................

Austen explains the bias of the supposed writer of this piece next, as she ends it with Charles I -

" ... As therefore it is not my intention to give any particular account of the distresses into which this King was involved through the misconduct and Cruelty of his Parliament, I shall satisfy myself with vindicating him from the Reproach of Arbitrary and tyrannical Government with which he has often been charged. This, I feel, is not difficult to be done, for with one argument I am certain of satisfying every sensible and well disposed person whose opinions have been properly guided by a good Education—and this Argument is that he was a STUART."

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August 15, 2021 - August 15, 2021.

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................................................................................................

JUVENILIA Volume 2

................................................................................................

• A Collection of Letters

................................................................................................

A Collection of Letters,

by Jane Austen.

................................................................................................

Jane Austen continues the streak of satire and characters with various flaws along with outlandish coincidences and events that she has portrayed in her small works, Love and Freindship, and Lesley Castle, here the outrageous behaviour or expression of characters supplanting outlandish coincidences and events, through various letter from diverse characters to others of their acquaintance.

................................................................................................

"To Miss COOPER

"COUSIN

"Conscious of the Charming Character which in every Country, and every Clime in Christendom is Cried, Concerning you, with Caution and Care I Commend to your Charitable Criticism this Clever Collection of Curious Comments, which have been Carefully Culled, Collected and Classed by your Comical Cousin The Author."

................................................................................................

"“With such expectations and such intentions (cried I) I can have nothing to fear from you—and can chearfully conduct you to Mrs Cope’s without a fear of your being seduced by her Example, or contaminated by her Follies. Come, then my Children (added I) the Carriage is driving to the door, and I will not a moment delay the happiness you are so impatient to enjoy.” When we arrived at Warleigh, poor Augusta could scarcely breathe, while Margaret was all Life and Rapture. “The long- expected Moment is now arrived (said she) and we shall soon be in the World.”—In a few Moments we were in Mrs Cope’s parlour, where with her daughter she sate ready to receive us. I observed with delight the impression my Children made on them—. They were indeed two sweet, elegant-looking Girls, and tho’ somewhat abashed from the peculiarity of their situation, yet there was an ease in their Manners and address which could not fail of pleasing—. Imagine my dear Madam how delighted I must have been in beholding as I did, how attentively they observed every object they saw, how disgusted with some Things, how enchanted with others, how astonished at all! On the whole however they returned in raptures with the World, its Inhabitants, and Manners."

................................................................................................

"Why should this last disappointment hang so heavily on my spirits? Why should I feel it more, why should it wound me deeper than those I have experienced before? Can it be that I have a greater affection for Willoughby than I had for his amiable predecessors? Or is it that our feelings become more acute from being often wounded? I must suppose my dear Belle that this is the Case, since I am not conscious of being more sincerely attached to Willoughby than I was to Neville, Fitzowen, or either of the Crawfords, for all of whom I once felt the most lasting affection that ever warmed a Woman’s heart. Tell me then dear Belle why I still sigh when I think of the faithless Edward, or why I weep when I behold his Bride, for too surely this is the case—. My Freinds are all alarmed for me; They fear my declining health; they lament my want of spirits; they dread the effects of both. In hopes of releiving my melancholy, by directing my thoughts to other objects, they have invited several of their freinds to spend the Christmas with us. Lady Bridget Darkwood and her sister-in-law, Miss Jane are expected on Friday; and Colonel Seaton’s family will be with us next week. This is all most kindly meant by my Uncle and Cousins; but what can the presence of a dozen indefferent people do to me, but weary and distress me—. I will not finish my Letter till some of our Visitors are arrived."

"Lady Bridget came this morning, and with her, her sweet sister Miss Jane—. Although I have been acquainted with this charming Woman above fifteen Years, yet I never before observed how lovely she is. She is now about 35, and in spite of sickness, sorrow and Time is more blooming than I ever saw a Girl of 17. I was delighted with her, the moment she entered the house, and she appeared equally pleased with me, attaching herself to me during the remainder of the day. There is something so sweet, so mild in her Countenance, that she seems more than Mortal. Her Conversation is as bewitching as her appearance; I could not help telling her how much she engaged my admiration—. “Oh! Miss Jane (said I)—and stopped from an inability at the moment of expressing myself as I could wish—Oh! Miss Jane—(I repeated)—I could not think of words to suit my feelings—She seemed waiting for my speech—. I was confused—distressed—my thoughts were bewildered—and I could only add—“How do you do?” She saw and felt for my Embarrassment and with admirable presence of mind releived me from it by saying—“My dear Sophia be not uneasy at having exposed yourself—I will turn the Conversation without appearing to notice it.” ... "

................................................................................................

"“ ... Have you got a new Gown on?”

"“Yes Ma’am.” replied I with as much indifference as I could assume.

"“Aye, and a fine one too I think—(feeling it, as by her permission I seated myself by her) I dare say it is all very smart—But I must own, for you know I always speak my mind, that I think it was quite a needless piece of expence—Why could not you have worn your old striped one? It is not my way to find fault with People because they are poor, for I always think that they are more to be despised and pitied than blamed for it, especially if they cannot help it, but at the same time I must say that in my opinion your old striped Gown would have been quite fine enough for its Wearer—for to tell you the truth (I always speak my mind) I am very much afraid that one half of the people in the room will not know whether you have a Gown on or not—But I suppose you intend to make your fortune to night—. Well, the sooner the better; and I wish you success.”

"“Indeed Ma’am I have no such intention—”

"“Who ever heard a young Lady own that she was a Fortune-hunter?” Miss Greville laughed but I am sure Ellen felt for me.

"“Was your Mother gone to bed before you left her?” said her Ladyship.

"“Dear Ma’am, said Ellen it is but nine o’clock.”

"“True Ellen, but Candles cost money, and Mrs Williams is too wise to be extravagant.”

"“She was just sitting down to supper Ma’am.” “And what had she got for supper?” “I did not observe.” “Bread and Cheese I suppose.” “I should never wish for a better supper.” said Ellen. “You have never any reason replied her Mother, as a better is always provided for you.” Miss Greville laughed excessively, as she constantly does at her Mother’s wit."

"The next day while we were at dinner Lady Greville’s Coach stopped at the door, for that is the time of day she generally contrives it should. She sent in a message by the servant to say that “she should not get out but that Miss Maria must come to the Coach-door, as she wanted to speak to her, and that she must make haste and come immediately—” “What an impertinent Message Mama!” said I—“Go Maria—” replied she—Accordingly I went and was obliged to stand there at her Ladyships pleasure though the Wind was extremely high and very cold.

"“Why I think Miss Maria you are not quite so smart as you were last night—But I did not come to examine your dress, but to tell you that you may dine with us the day after tomorrow—Not tomorrow, remember, do not come tomorrow, for we expect Lord and Lady Clermont and Sir Thomas Stanley’s family—There will be no occasion for your being very fine for I shant send the Carriage—If it rains you may take an umbrella—” I could hardly help laughing at hearing her give me leave to keep myself dry—“And pray remember to be in time, for I shant wait—I hate my Victuals over-done—But you need not come before the time—How does your Mother do? She is at dinner is not she?” “Yes Ma’am we were in the middle of dinner when your Ladyship came.” “I am afraid you find it very cold Maria.” said Ellen. “Yes, it is an horrible East wind—said her Mother—I assure you I can hardly bear the window down—But you are used to be blown about by the wind Miss Maria and that is what has made your Complexion so rudely and coarse. You young Ladies who cannot often ride in a Carriage never mind what weather you trudge in, or how the wind shews your legs. I would not have my Girls stand out of doors as you do in such a day as this. But some sort of people have no feelings either of cold or Delicacy—Well, remember that we shall expect you on Thursday at 5 o’clock—You must tell your Maid to come for you at night—There will be no Moon—and you will have an horrid walk home—My compts to Your Mother—I am afraid your dinner will be cold—Drive on—” And away she went, leaving me in a great passion with her as she always does."

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"From a YOUNG LADY very much in love to her Freind

"My Uncle gets more stingy, my Aunt more particular, and I more in love every day. What shall we all be at this rate by the end of the year! I had this morning the happiness of receiving the following Letter from my dear Musgrove."

" ...The sight of you was like the sight of a wonderful fine Thing. I started—I gazed at her with admiration—She appeared every moment more Charming, and the unfortunate Musgrove became a captive to your Charms before I had time to look about me. Yes Madam, I had the happiness of adoring you, an happiness for which I cannot be too grateful. “What said he to himself is Musgrove allowed to die for Henrietta? Enviable Mortal! and may he pine for her who is the object of universal admiration, who is adored by a Colonel, and toasted by a Baronet! Adorable Henrietta how beautiful you are! ... Angelic Miss Henrietta Heaven is my witness how ardently I do hope for the death of your villanous Uncle and his abandoned Wife, since my fair one will not consent to be mine till their decease has placed her in affluence above what my fortune can procure—. Though it is an improvable Estate—. Cruel Henrietta to persist in such a resolution! I am at Present with my sister where I mean to continue till my own house which tho’ an excellent one is at Present somewhat out of repair, is ready to receive me."

" ... How shall we manage to see one another? for we are so much in love that we cannot live asunder. Oh! my dear Musgrove you cannot think how impatiently I wait for the death of my Uncle and Aunt—If they will not Die soon, I beleive I shall run mad, for I get more in love with you every day of my Life."

................................................................................................

" ... She was proceeding to illustrate this doctrine by examples from the Lives of great Men when the Carriage came to the Door and the amiable Moralist with her Father and Sister was obliged to depart; but not without a promise of spending five or six months with us on their return. We of course mentioned you, and I assure you that ample Justice was done to your Merits by all. “Louisa Clarke (said I) is in general a very pleasant Girl, yet sometimes her good humour is clouded by Peevishness, Envy and Spite. She neither wants Understanding or is without some pretensions to Beauty, but these are so very trifling, that the value she sets on her personal charms, and the adoration she expects them to be offered are at once a striking example of her vanity, her pride, and her folly.” So said I, and to my opinion everyone added weight by the concurrence of their own."

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August 16, 2021 - August 16, 2021.

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................................................................................................

JUVENILIA Volume 2

................................................................................................

• Scraps

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Scraps

................................................................................................

Jane Austen's streak of humour continues. Delightful!

................................................................................................

"To Miss FANNY CATHERINE AUSTEN

"MY Dear Neice As I am prevented by the great distance between Rowling and Steventon from superintending your Education myself, the care of which will probably on that account devolve on your Father and Mother, I think it is my particular Duty to Prevent your feeling as much as possible the want of my personal instructions, by addressing to you on paper my Opinions and Admonitions on the conduct of Young Women, which you will find expressed in the following pages.—I am my dear Neice

"Your affectionate Aunt

"The Author.

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Contents

The Female Philosopher

The First Act of a Comedy

A Letter from a Young Lady

A Tour Through Wales A Tale

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THE FEMALE PHILOSOPHER

A LETTER

................................................................................................

The First Act of a Comedy

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That's all of the comedy, the first act, and half thereof is quoted here.

................................................................................................

"SCENE CHANGES TO THE MOON, and discovers Popgun and Pistoletta.

"Pistoletta) Pray papa how far is it to London?

"Popgun) My Girl, my Darling, my favourite of all my Children, who art the picture of thy poor Mother who died two months ago, with whom I am going to Town to marry to Strephon, and to whom I mean to bequeath my whole Estate, it wants seven Miles.

"SCENE CHANGES TO THE SUN— ENTER Chloe and a chorus of ploughboys.

"Chloe) Where am I? At Hounslow.—Where go I? To London—. What to do? To be married—. Unto whom? Unto Strephon. Who is he? A Youth. Then I will sing a song.

"SONG

"I go to Town And when I come down, I shall be married to Streephon. And that to me will be fun."

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"SCENE CHANGES TO THE INSIDE OF THE LION.

"Enter Strephon and Postilion.

"Streph:) You drove me from Staines to this place, from whence I mean to go to Town to marry Chloe. How much is your due?

"Post:) Eighteen pence.

"Streph:) Alas, my freind, I have but a bad guinea with which I mean to support myself in Town. But I will pawn to you an undirected Letter that I received from Chloe.

"Post:) Sir, I accept your offer."

................................................................................................

A Letter from a Young Lady

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"A LETTER from a YOUNG LADY, whose feelings being too strong for her Judgement led her into the commission of Errors which her Heart disapproved."

"Many have been the cares and vicissitudes of my past life, my beloved Ellinor, and the only consolation I feel for their bitterness is that on a close examination of my conduct, I am convinced that I have strictly deserved them. I murdered my father at a very early period of my Life, I have since murdered my Mother, and I am now going to murder my Sister. I have changed my religion so often that at present I have not an idea of any left. I have been a perjured witness in every public tryal for these last twelve years; and I have forged my own Will. In short there is scarcely a crime that I have not committed—But I am now going to reform. Colonel Martin of the Horse guards has paid his Addresses to me, and we are to be married in a few days. As there is something singular in our Courtship, I will give you an account of it. Colonel Martin is the second son of the late Sir John Martin who died immensely rich, but bequeathing only one hundred thousand pound apeice to his three younger Children, left the bulk of his fortune, about eight Million to the present Sir Thomas. Upon his small pittance the Colonel lived tolerably contented for nearly four months when he took it into his head to determine on getting the whole of his eldest Brother’s Estate. A new will was forged and the Colonel produced it in Court—but nobody would swear to it’s being the right will except himself, and he had sworn so much that Nobody beleived him. At that moment I happened to be passing by the door of the Court, and was beckoned in by the Judge who told the Colonel that I was a Lady ready to witness anything for the cause of Justice, and advised him to apply to me. In short the Affair was soon adjusted. The Colonel and I swore to its’ being the right will, and Sir Thomas has been obliged to resign all his illgotten wealth. The Colonel in gratitude waited on me the next day with an offer of his hand—. I am now going to murder my Sister.

"Yours Ever,

Anna Parker."

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A Tour Through Wales A Tale

................................................................................................

A TOUR THROUGH WALES—

in a LETTER from a YOUNG LADY—

................................................................................................

"My Dear Clara

"I have been so long on the ramble that I have not till now had it in my power to thank you for your Letter—. We left our dear home on last Monday month; and proceeded on our tour through Wales, which is a principality contiguous to England and gives the title to the Prince of Wales. We travelled on horseback by preference. My Mother rode upon our little poney and Fanny and I walked by her side or rather ran, for my Mother is so fond of riding fast that she galloped all the way. You may be sure that we were in a fine perspiration when we came to our place of resting. Fanny has taken a great many Drawings of the Country, which are very beautiful, tho’ perhaps not such exact resemblances as might be wished, from their being taken as she ran along. It would astonish you to see all the Shoes we wore out in our Tour. We determined to take a good Stock with us and therefore each took a pair of our own besides those we set off in. However we were obliged to have them both capped and heelpeiced at Carmarthen, and at last when they were quite gone, Mama was so kind as to lend us a pair of blue Sattin Slippers, of which we each took one and hopped home from Hereford delightfully—-

"I am your ever affectionate

"Elizabeth Johnson."

................................................................................................

A TALE

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"A Gentleman whose family name I shall conceal, bought a small Cottage in Pembrokeshire about two years ago. This daring Action was suggested to him by his elder Brother who promised to furnish two rooms and a Closet for him, provided he would take a small house near the borders of an extensive Forest, and about three Miles from the Sea. Wilhelminus gladly accepted the offer and continued for some time searching after such a retreat when he was one morning agreably releived from his suspence by reading this advertisement in a Newspaper.

"TO BE LETT

"A Neat Cottage on the borders of an extensive forest and about three Miles from the Sea. It is ready furnished except two rooms and a Closet.

"The delighted Wilhelminus posted away immediately to his brother, and shewed him the advertisement. Robertus congratulated him and sent him in his Carriage to take possession of the Cottage. After travelling for three days and six nights without stopping, they arrived at the Forest and following a track which led by it’s side down a steep Hill over which ten Rivulets meandered, they reached the Cottage in half an hour. Wilhelminus alighted, and after knocking for some time without receiving any answer or hearing any one stir within, he opened the door which was fastened only by a wooden latch and entered a small room, which he immediately perceived to be one of the two that were unfurnished—From thence he proceeded into a Closet equally bare. A pair of stairs that went out of it led him into a room above, no less destitute, and these apartments he found composed the whole of the House. He was by no means displeased with this discovery, as he had the comfort of reflecting that he should not be obliged to lay out anything on furniture himself—. He returned immediately to his Brother, who took him the next day to every Shop in Town, and bought what ever was requisite to furnish the two rooms and the Closet, In a few days everything was completed, and Wilhelminus returned to take possession of his Cottage. Robertus accompanied him, with his Lady the amiable Cecilia and her two lovely Sisters Arabella and Marina to whom Wilhelminus was tenderly attached, and a large number of Attendants.—An ordinary Genius might probably have been embarrassed, in endeavouring to accomodate so large a party, but Wilhelminus with admirable presence of mind gave orders for the immediate erection of two noble Tents in an open spot in the Forest adjoining to the house. Their Construction was both simple and elegant—A couple of old blankets, each supported by four sticks, gave a striking proof of that taste for architecture and that happy ease in overcoming difficulties which were some of Wilhelminus’s most striking Virtues."

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August 16, 2021 - August 16, 2021.

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................................................................................................

JUVENILIA Volume 3

EVELYN (1787-1793)

CATHARINE (1787-1793)

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JUVENILIA Volume 3

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• Evelyn

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................................................................................................

................................................................................................

EVELYN

by Jane Austen

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Jane Austen continues with the satire, or outrageous humour, however deceptively the piece begins, with a stranger enquiring if he can find a suitable house to let in the village of Evelyn in Sussex.

................................................................................................

"To Miss Mary Lloyd,

"The following novel is by permission dedicated,

"By her obedient humble servant,

"The Author"

................................................................................................

"Mr Gower rang — the door was soon opened.

"'Are Mr and Mrs Webb at home?'

"'My good sir, they are' — replied the servant; and leading the way, conducted Mr Gower upstairs into a very elegant dressing room, where a lady rising from her seat, welcomed him with all the generosity which Mrs Willis had attributed to the family.

"'Welcome best of men — welcome to this house, and to everything it contains. William, tell your master of the happiness I enjoy — invite him to partake of it —. Bring up some chocolate immediately; spread a cloth in the dining parlour, and carry in the venison pasty —. In the meantime let the gentleman have some sandwiches, and bring in a basket of fruit — send up some ices and a basin of soup, and do not forget some jellies and cakes.' Then turning to Mr Gower, and taking out her purse, 'Accept this, my good sir. Believe me you are welcome to everything that is in my power to bestow. — I wish my purse were weightier, but Mr Webb must make up my deficiencies —. I know he has cash in the house to the amount of a hundred pounds, which he shall bring you immediately.' Mr Gower felt overpowered by her generosity as he put the purse in his pocket, and from the excess of his gratitude, could scarcely express himself intelligibly when he accepted her offer of the hundred pounds. Mr Webb soon entered the room, and repeated every protestation of friendship and cordiality which his lady had already made. The chocolate, the sandwiches, the jellies, the cakes, the ice, and the soup soon made their appearance, and Mr Gower having tasted something of all, and pocketed the rest, was conducted into the dining parlour, where he ate a most excellent dinner and partook of the most exquisite wines, while Mr and Mrs Webb stood by him still pressing him to eat and drink a little more.

"'And now my good sir,' said Mr Webb, when Mr Gower's repast was concluded, 'what else can we do to contribute to your happiness and express the affection we bear you. Tell us what you wish more to receive, and depend upon our gratitude for the communication of your wishes.'

"'Give me then your house and grounds; I ask for nothing else.'

"'It is yours!' exclaimed both at once; 'From this moment it is yours.' The agreement concluded on and the present accepted by Mr Gower, Mr Webb rang to have the carriage ordered, telling William at the same time to call the young ladies.

"'Best of men,' said Mrs Webb, 'we will not long intrude upon your time.'

"'Make no apologies, dear Madam,' replied Mr Gower, 'you are welcome to stay this half hour if you like it.'

"They both burst forth into raptures of admiration at his politeness, which they agreed served only to make their conduct appear more inexcusable in trespassing on his time."

................................................................................................

"'Give me leave to assure you, Sir,' said Miss Webb, 'that I am highly sensible of your kindness in this respect, which from the shortness of my father's and mother's acquaintance with you, is more than usually flattering.'

"Mr Gower bowed — 'You are too obliging, Ma’am — I assure you that I like the house extremely — and if they would complete their generosity by giving me their eldest daughter in marriage with a handsome portion, I should have nothing more to wish for.' This compliment brought a blush into the cheeks of the lovely Miss Webb, who seemed however to refer herself to her father and mother. They looked delighted at each other. — At length Mrs Webb breaking silence, said, —

"'We bend under a weight of obligations to you which we can never repay. Take our girl, take our Maria, and on her must the difficult task fall, of endeavouring to make some return to so much beneficence.' Mr Webb added, 'Her fortune is but ten thousand pounds, which is almost too small a sum to be offered.' This objection however being instantly removed by the generosity of Mr Gower, who declared himself satisfied with the sum mentioned, ... "

................................................................................................

Austen continues in the outlandish strain, with no sensible explanations.

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August 18, 2021 - August 18, 2021.

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................................................................................................

JUVENILIA Volume 3 – Unfinished novel

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• Catharine

................................................................................................

Catharine

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Austen begins, seemingly, with the humour, right off the bat, in dedication. But the story itself is not the outlandish humour that pervades most of Juvenilia. It's more like the work of Austen that her readers are used to, before one begins on the Juvenilia, except here she's still not quite yet changing paragraph when she changes topic.

This book, too, like Sanditon and Three Sisters, finishes abruptly, leaving one wish she'd had time to write it to its completion.

................................................................................................

"To Miss Austen

"Madam

"Encouraged by your warm patronage of The Beautiful Cassandra, and The History of England, which through your generous support, have obtained a place in every library in the kingdom, and run through threescore editions, I take the liberty of begging the same exertions in favour of the following novel, which I humbly flatter myself, possesses merit beyond any already published, or any that will ever in future appear, except such as may proceed from the pen of,

"Your most grateful Humble servant

"The Author"

................................................................................................

" ... Her personal attractions had gained her a husband as soon as she had arrived at Bengal, and she had now been married nearly a twelve month. Splendidly, yet unhappily married. United to a man of double her own age, whose disposition was not amiable, and whose manners were unpleasing, though his character was respectable. Kitty had heard twice from her friend since her marriage, but her letters were always unsatisfactory, and though she did not openly avow her feelings, yet every line proved her to be unhappy. She spoke with pleasure of nothing, but of those amusements which they had shared together and which could return no more, and seemed to have no happiness in view but that of returning to England again. Her sister had been taken by another relation the Dowager Lady Halifax as a companion to her daughters, and had accompanied her family into Scotland about the same time of Cecilia's leaving England. From Mary therefore, Kitty had the power of hearing more frequently, but her letters were scarcely more comfortable —. There was not indeed that hopelessness of sorrow in her situation as in her sister's she was not married, and could yet look forward to a change in her circumstances, but situated for the present without any immediate hope of it, in a family where, tho' all were her relations she had no friend, she wrote usually in depressed spirits, which her separation from her sister and her sister's marriage had greatly contributed to make so. ... "

................................................................................................

" ... The living of Chetwynde was now in the possession of a Mr Dudley, whose family unlike the Wynnes were productive only of vexation and trouble to Mrs Percival and her niece. Mr Dudley, who was the younger son of a very noble family, of a family more famed for their pride than their opulence, tenacious of his dignity, and jealous of his rights, was forever quarrelling, if not with Mrs Percival herself, with her steward and tenants concerning tithes, and with the principal neighbours themselves concerning the respect and parade, he exacted. His wife, an ill-educated, untaught woman of ancient family, was proud of that family almost without knowing why, and like him too was haughty and quarrelsome, without considering for what. Their only daughter, who inherited the ignorance, the insolence, and pride of her parents, was from that beauty of which she was unreasonably vain, considered by them as an irresistible creature, and looked up to as the future restorer, by a splendid marriage, of the dignity which their reduced situation and Mr Dudley's being obliged to take orders for a country living had so much lessened. They at once despised the Percivals as people of mean family, and envied them as people of fortune. They were jealous of their being more respected than themselves and while they affected to consider them as of no consequence, were continually seeking to lessen them in the opinion of the neighbourhood by scandalous and malicious reports. Such a family as this, was ill-calculated to console Kitty for the loss of the Wynnes, or to fill up by their society, those occasionally irksome hours which in so retired a situation would sometimes occur for want of a companion. Her aunt was most excessively fond of her, and miserable if she saw her for a moment out of spirits; yet she lived in such constant apprehension of her marrying imprudently if she were allowed the opportunity of choosing, and was so dissatisfied with her behaviour when she saw her with young men, for it was, from her natural disposition remarkably open and unreserved, that though she frequently wished for her niece's sake, that the neighbourhood were larger, and that she had used herself to mix more with it, yet the recollection of there being young men in almost every family in it, always conquered the wish. The same fears that prevented Mrs Percival's joining much in the society of her neighbours, led her equally to avoid inviting her relations to spend any time in her house; — she had therefore constantly regretted the annual attempt of a distant relation to visit her at Chetwynde, as there was a young man in the family of whom she had heard many traits that alarmed her. This son was however now on his travels, and the repeated solicitations of Kitty, joined to a consciousness of having declined with too little ceremony the frequent overtures of her friends to be admitted, and a real wish to see them herself, easily prevailed on her to press with great earnestness the pleasure of a visit from them during the summer. Mr and Mrs Stanley were accordingly to come, and Catharine, in having an object to look forward to, a something to expect that must inevitably relieve the dullness of a constant tête à tête with her aunt, was so delighted, and her spirits so elevated, that for the three or four days immediately preceding their arrival, she could scarcely fix herself to any employment. ... "

................................................................................................

" ... Mr and Mrs Stanley were people of large fortune and high fashion. He was a member of the House of Commons, and they were therefore most agreeably necessitated to reside half the year in town where Miss Stanley had been attended by the most capital masters from the time of her being six years old to the last spring, which comprehending a period of twelve years had been dedicated to the acquirement of accomplishments which were now to be displayed and in a few years entirely neglected. She was elegant in her appearance, rather handsome, and naturally not deficient in abilities; but those years which ought to have been spent in the attainment of useful knowledge and mental improvement, had been all bestowed in learning drawing, Italian and music, more especially the latter, and she now united to these accomplishments, an understanding unimproved by reading and a mind totally devoid either of taste or judgement. Her temper was by nature good, but unassisted by reflection, she had neither patience under disappointment, nor could sacrifice her own inclinations to promote the happiness of others. All her ideas were towards the elegance of her appearance, the fashion of her dress, and the admiration she wished them to excite. She professed a love of books without reading, was lively without wit, and generally good humoured without merit. Such was Camilla Stanley; and Catharine, who was prejudiced by her appearance, and who from her solitary situation was ready to like anyone, tho' her understanding and judgement would not otherwise have been easily satisfied, felt almost convinced when she saw her, that Miss Stanley would be the very companion she wanted, and in some degree make amends for the loss of Cecilia and Mary Wynne. ... "

................................................................................................

" ... She could scarcely resolve what to think of her new acquaintance; she appeared to be shamefully ignorant as to the geography of England, if she had understood her right, and equally devoid of taste and information. Kitty was however unwilling to decide hastily; she was at once desirous of doing Miss Stanley justice, and of having her own wishes in her answered; she determined therefore to suspend all judgement for some time. After supper, the conversation turning on the state of affairs in the political world, Mrs Percival, who was firmly of opinion that the whole race of mankind were degenerating, said that for her part, everything she believed was going to rack and ruin, all order was destroyed over the face of the world, the House of Commons she heard did not break up sometimes till five in the morning, and depravity never was so general before; concluding with a wish that she might live to see the manners of the people in Queen Elizabeth's reign, restored again."

" ... She found no variety in her conversation; she received no information from her but in fashions, and no amusement but in her performance on the harpsichord; and after repeated endeavours to find her what she wished, she was obliged to give up the attempt and to consider it as fruitless. There had occasionally appeared a something like humour in Camilla which had inspired her with hopes, that she might at least have a natural genius, tho' not an improved one, but these sparklings of wit happened so seldom, and were so ill-supported that she was at last convinced of their being merely accidental. All her stock of knowledge was exhausted in a very few days, and when Kitty had learnt from her, how large their house in town was, when the fashionable amusements began, who were the celebrated beauties and who the best milliner, Camilla had nothing further to teach, except the characters of any of her acquaintance as they occurred in conversation, which was done with equal ease and brevity, by saying that the person was either the sweetest creature in the world, and one of whom she was dotingly fond, or horrid, shocking and not fit to be seen.

"As Catharine was very desirous of gaining every possible information as to the characters of the Halifax family, and concluded that Miss Stanley must be acquainted with them, as she seemed to be so with everyone of any consequence, she took an opportunity as Camilla was one day enumerating all the people of rank that her mother visited, of asking her whether Lady Halifax were among the number."

" ... But I was going to ask you whether you have ever seen a Miss Wynne with them?'

"'I know who you mean perfectly — she wears a blue hat —. I have frequently seen her in Brook Street, when I have been at Lady Halifax's balls — she gives one every month during the winter —. But only think how good it is in her to take care of Miss Wynne, for she is a very distant relation, and so poor that, as Miss Halifax told me, her mother was obliged to find her in clothes. Is not it shameful?'

"'That she should be so poor? It is indeed, with such wealthy connexions as the family have.'

"'Oh! no; I mean, was not it shameful in Mr Wynne to leave his children so distressed, when he had actually the living of Chetwynde and two or three curacies, and only four children to provide for —. What would he have done if he had had ten, as many people have?'

"'He would have given them all a good education and have left them all equally poor.'

"'Well I do think there never was so lucky a family. Sir George Fitzgibbon you know sent the eldest girl to India entirely at his own expense, where they say she is most nobly married and the happiest creature in the world — Lady Halifax you see has taken care of the youngest and treats her as if she were her daughter; she does not go out into public with her to be sure; but then she is always present when her ladyship gives her balls, and nothing can be kinder to her than Lady Halifax is; she would have taken her to Cheltenham last year, if there had been room enough at the lodgings, and therefore I do not think that she can have anything to complain of. Then there are the two sons; one of them the Bishop of M—— has got into the army as a lieutenant I suppose; and the other is extremely well off I know, for I have a notion that somebody puts him to school somewhere in Wales. ... "

................................................................................................

"'For my own part, Catharine' said Mrs Percival 'I have not a doubt but that you caught this toothache by sitting so much in that arbour, for it is always damp. I know it has ruined your constitution entirely; and indeed I do not believe it has been of much service to mine; I sat down in it last May to rest myself, and I have never been quite well since —. I shall order John to pull it all down I assure you.'

"'I know you will not do that, Ma’am,' said Kitty, 'as you must be convinced how unhappy it would make me.'

"'You talk very ridiculously Child; it is all whim and nonsense. Why cannot you fancy this room an arbour!'"

................................................................................................

"' ... I hope he may not go abroad again.'

"'Do you think he will not?'

"'Oh! dear, to be sure he must, but I wish he may not with all my heart —. You cannot think how fond I am of him! By the bye are not you in love with him yourself?'

"'To be sure I am,' replied Kitty laughing, 'I am in love with every handsome man I see.'

"'That is just like me — I am always in love with every handsome man in the world.'

"'There you out do me,' replied Catharine 'for I am only in love with those I do see.'

"Mrs Percival who was sitting on the other side of her, and who began now to distinguish the words, love and handsome man, turned hastily towards them and said 'What are you talking of, Catharine?' To which Catharine immediately answered with the simple artifice of a child,

"'Nothing, Ma’am.' She had already received a very severe lecture from her aunt on the imprudence of her behaviour during the whole evening; she blamed her for coming to the ball, for coming in the same carriage with Edward Stanley, and still more for entering the room with him. For the last-mentioned offence Catharine knew not what apology to give, and tho' she longed in answer to the second to say that she had not thought it would be civil to make Mr Stanley walk, she dared not so to trifle with her aunt, who would have been but the more offended by it. The first accusation however she considered as very unreasonable, as she thought herself perfectly justified in coming. This conversation continued till Edward Stanley entering the room came instantly towards her, and telling her that everyone waited for her to begin the next dance led her to the top of the room, for Kitty, impatient to escape from so unpleasant a companion, without the least hesitation, or one civil scruple at being so distinguished, immediately gave him her hand, and joyfully left her seat. This conduct however was highly resented by several young ladies present, and among the rest by Miss Stanley whose regard for her brother tho' excessive, and whose affection for Kitty tho' prodigious, were not proof against such an injury to her importance and her peace. Edward had however only consulted his own inclinations in desiring Miss Percival to begin the dance, nor had he any reason to know that it was either wished or expected by anyone else in the party. As an heiress she was certainly of consequence, but her birth gave her no other claim to it, for her father had been a merchant. It was this very circumstance which rendered this unfortunate affair so offensive to Camilla, for tho' she would sometimes boast in the pride of her heart, and her eagerness to be admired that she did not know who her grandfather had been, and was as ignorant of everything relative to genealogy as to astronomy, (and she might have added, geography) yet she was really proud of her family and connexions, and easily offended if they were treated with neglect."

"Kitty in the meantime remained insensible of having given anyone offence, and therefore unable either to offer an apology, or make a reparation; her whole attention was occupied by the happiness she enjoyed in dancing with the most elegant young man in the room, and everyone else was equally unregarded. The evening indeed to her, passed off delightfully; he was her partner during the greatest part of it, and the united attractions that he possessed of person, address and vivacity, had easily gained that preference from Kitty which they seldom fail of obtaining from everyone. She was too happy to care either for her aunt's ill humour which she could not help remarking, or for the alteration in Camilla's behaviour which forced itself at last on her observations. Her spirits were elevated above the influence of displeasure in anyone, and she was equally indifferent as to the cause of Camilla's, or the continuance of her aunt's. ... "

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"'I do not speak, Sir,' she continued, 'out of any disrespect to you, but I could not answer it to myself to allow of his stay; there is no knowing what might be the consequence of it, if he were to continue here, for girls nowadays will always give a handsome young man the preference before any other, tho' for why, I never could discover, for what after all is youth and beauty! It is but a poor substitute for real worth and merit; believe me Cousin that, whatever people may say to the contrary, there is certainly nothing like virtue for making us what we ought to be, and as to a young man's being young and handsome and having an agreeable person, it is nothing at all to the purpose for he had much better be respectable. I always did think so, and I always shall, and therefore you will oblige me very much by desiring your son to leave Chetwynde, or I cannot be answerable for what may happen between him and my niece. You will be surprised to hear me say it,' she continued, lowering her voice, ‘but truth will out, and I must own that Kitty is one of the most impudent girls that ever existed. I assure you Sir, that I have seen her sit and laugh and whisper with a young man whom she has not seen above half a dozen times. Her behaviour indeed is scandalous, and therefore I beg you will send your son away immediately, or everything will be at sixes and sevens.'"

" ... Mr Stanley went immediately to Edward, to whom he repeated the conversation that had passed between Mrs Percival and himself, and strongly pointed out the necessity of his leaving Chetwynde the next day, since his world was already engaged for it. His son however appeared struck only by the ridiculous apprehensions of Mrs Percival; and highly delighted at having occasioned them himself, seemed engrossed alone in thinking how he might increase them, without attending to any other part of his father's conversation. Mr Stanley could get no determinate answer from him, and tho' he still hoped for the best, they parted almost in anger on his side.

"His son though by no means disposed to marry, or any otherwise attached to Miss Percival than as a good natured lively girl who seemed pleased with him, took infinite pleasure in alarming the jealous fears of her aunt by his attentions to her, without considering what effect they might have on the lady herself. He would always sit by her when she was in the room, appear dissatisfied if she left it, and was the first to enquire whether she meant soon to return. He was delighted with her drawings, and enchanted with her performance on the harpsichord; everything that she said, appeared to interest him; his conversation was addressed to her alone, and she seemed to be the sole object of his attention. That such efforts should succeed with one so tremblingly alive to every alarm of the kind as Mrs Percival, is by no means unnatural, and that they should have equal influence with her niece whose imagination was lively, and whose disposition romantic, who was already extremely pleased with him, and of course desirous that he might be so with her, is as little to be wondered at. Every moment as it added to the conviction of his liking her, made him still more pleasing, and strengthened in her mind a wish of knowing him better. As for Mrs Percival, she was in tortures the whole day; nothing that she had ever felt before on a similar occasion was to be compared to the sensations which then distracted her; her fears had never been so strongly, or indeed so reasonably excited. — Her dislike of Stanley, her anger at her niece, her impatience to have them separated conquered every idea of propriety and good breeding, and though he had never mentioned any intention of leaving them the next day, she could not help asking him after dinner, in her eagerness to have him gone, at what time he meant to set out.

"'Oh! Ma’am,' replied he, 'if I am off by twelve at night, you may think yourself lucky; and if I am not, you can only blame yourself for having left so much as the hour of my departure to my own disposal.' Mrs Percival coloured very highly at this speech, and without addressing herself to anyone in particular, immediately began a long harangue on the shocking behaviour of modern young men, and the wonderful alteration that had taken place in them, since her time, which she illustrated with many instructive anecdotes of the decorum and modesty which had marked the characters of those whom she had known, when she had been young. This however did not prevent his walking in the garden with her niece, without any other companion for nearly an hour in the course of the evening. They had left the room for that purpose with Camilla at a time when Mrs Percival had been out of it, nor was it for some time after her return to it, that she could discover where they were. Camilla had taken two or three turns with them in the walk which led to the arbour, but soon growing tired of listening to a conversation in which she was seldom invited to join, and from its turning occasionally on books, very little able to do it, she left them together in the arbour, to wander alone to some other part of the garden, to eat the fruit, and examine Mrs Percival's greenhouse. Her absence was so far from being regretted, that it was scarcely noticed by them, and they continued conversing together on almost every subject, for Stanley seldom dwelt long on any, and had something to say on all, till they were interrupted by her aunt."

" ... They had continued therefore for some time conversing in this manner on the character of Richard the Third, which he was warmly defending when he suddenly seized hold of her hand, and exclaiming with great emotion, 'Upon my honour you are entirely mistaken,' pressed it passionately to his lips, and ran out of the arbour. Astonished at this behaviour, for which she was wholly unable to account, she continued for a few moments motionless on the seat where he had left her, and was then on the point of following him up the narrow walk through which he had passed, when on looking up the one that lay immediately before the arbour, she saw her aunt walking towards her with more than her usual quickness. This explained at once the reason for his leaving her, but his leaving her in such manner was rendered still more inexplicable by it. ... "

................................................................................................

"Edward and his sister soon came in, and Kitty had no difficulty in gaining an explanation of his conduct from him, for he was too warm on the subject himself, and too eager to learn its success, to refrain from making immediate enquiries about it; and she could not help feeling both surprised and offended at the ease and indifference with which he owned that all his intentions had been to frighten her aunt by pretending an affection for her, a design so very incompatible with that partiality which she had at one time been almost convinced of his feeling for her. It is true that she had not yet seen enough of him to be actually in love with him, yet she felt greatly disappointed that so handsome, so elegant, so lively a young man should be so perfectly free from any such sentiment as to make it his principal sport. There was a novelty in his character which to her was extremely pleasing; his person was uncommonly fine, his spirits and vivacity suited to her own, and his manners at once so animated and insinuating, that she thought it must be impossible for him to be otherwise than amiable, and was ready to give him credit for being perfectly so. He knew the powers of them himself; to them he had often been indebted for his father's forgiveness of faults which had he been awkward and inelegant would have appeared very serious; to them, even more than to his person or his fortune, he owed the regard which almost everyone was disposed to feel for him, and which young women in particular were inclined to entertain.

"Their influence was acknowledged on the present occasion by Kitty, whose anger they entirely dispelled, and whose cheerfulness they had power not only to restore, but to raise —. The evening passed off as agreeably as the one that had preceded it; they continued talking to each other, during the chief part of it, and such was the power of his address, and the brilliancy of his eyes, that when they parted for the night, tho' Catharine had but a few hours before totally given up the idea, yet she felt almost convinced again that he was really in love with her. ... She was convinced of his being naturally very clever and very well disposed, and that his thoughtlessness and negligence, which tho' they appeared to her as very becoming in him, she was aware would by many people be considered as defects in his character, merely proceeded from a vivacity always pleasing in young men, and were far from testifying a weak or vacant understanding. Having settled this point within herself, and being perfectly convinced by her own arguments of its truth, she went to bed in high spirits; determined to study his character, and watch his behaviour still more the next day."

................................................................................................

"The Grove, for so was the mansion of Mrs Percival at Chetwynde denominated, was situated within five miles from Exeter, but though that lady possessed a carriage and horses of her own, it was seldom that Catharine could prevail on her to visit that town for the purpose of shopping, on account of the many officers perpetually quartered there and who infested the principal streets —. A company of strolling players on their way from some neighbouring races having opened a temporary theatre there, Mrs Percival was prevailed on by her niece to indulge her by attending the performance once during their stay — Mrs Percival insisted on paying Miss Dudley the compliment of inviting her to join the party, when a new difficulty arose, from the necessity of having some gentleman to attend them —

"FINIS"

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August 19, 2021 - August 19, 2021.

................................................

................................................................................................

SIR CHARLES GRANDISON OR THE HAPPY MAN (1793)

................................................................................................

It's difficult to imagine a more madcap piece of writing, but after going through Jane Austen's Juvenilia, one can be sure she could hsve done it! What with a kidnapping and a man attempting to force a young woman to marry him, and someone else rescuing and eventually marrying her, but little of consequence taking place on stage other than the failed wedding ceremony attempted by the kidnapper - wonder what audience would think or do if this were performed!

................................................................................................

................................................

August 20, 2021 - August 20, 2021.

Kindle Edition, 45 pages

Published January 23rd 2016

(first published March 19th 1981)

Original Title Sir Charles Grandison

ASIN:- B01B05MWBS

................................................

................................................................................................

Poems,

by Jane Austen.

................................................................................................

Some in jest, some to celebrate a family occasion, some accompany a gift - but Ode to Pity, it's mystical.

................................................................................................

Table of contents

Happy the Lab'rer

I've a Pain in my Head

Miss Lloyd Has Now Went to Miss Green

Mock Panegyric on a Young Friend

My Dearest Frank, I Wish You Joy

Ode to Pity

Of a Ministry Pitiful, Angry, Mean

Oh! Mr Best You're Very Bad

See They Come, Post Haste from Thanet

This Little Bag

To the Memory of Mrs. Lefroy Who Died Decr 16 – My Birthday.

When Stretched on One's Bed

When Winchester Races

................................................................................................

Happy the Lab'rer

"In light-drab coat, smart waistcoat, well-darned hose,

"And hat upon his head, to church he goes;

"As oft, with conscious pride, he downward throws

"A glance upon the ample cabbage rose

"That, stuck in button-hole, regales his nose,

"He envies not the gayest London beaux.

"In church he takes his seat among the rows,

"Pays to the place the reverence he owes,

"Likes best the prayers whose meaning least he knows,

"Lists to the sermon in a softening doze,

"And rouses joyous at the welcome close."

................................................................................................

I've a Pain in my Head

"Said Miss Beckford,

"'Suppose if you think there's no risk,

"I take a good dose

"Of calomel brisk.' —

"'What a praise worthy notion.'

"Replied Mr. Newnham.

"'You shall have such a potion

"And so will I too Ma’am.'"

................................................................................................

Miss Lloyd Has Now Went to Miss Green

"Miss Lloyd must in mourning appear

"For the death of a relative dear —

"Miss Lloyd must expect to receive

"This license to mourn and to grieve,"

................................................................................................

Mock Panegyric on a Young Friend

"If thus her mind to be defined

"America exhausts,

"And all that's grand in that great land

"In similes it costs —

"Oh how can I her person try

"To image and portray?

"How paint the face, the form how trace,

"In which those virtues lay?"

................................................................................................

My Dearest Frank, I Wish You Joy

"A native fault may thus give birth

"To the best blessing, conscious worth."

................................................................................................

Ode to Pity

"Ever musing I delight to tread

"The paths of honour and the myrtle grove

"Whilst the pale moon her beams doth shed

"On disappointed love.

"While Philomel on airy hawthorn bush

"Sings sweet and melancholy,

"And the thrush converses with the dove.

"Gently brawling down the turnpike road,

"Sweetly noisy falls the silent stream —

"The moon emerges from behind a cloud

"And darts upon the myrtle grove her beam.

"Ah! then what lovely scenes appear,

"The hut, the cot, the grot, and chapel queer,

"And eke the abbey too a mouldering heap,

"Concealed by aged pines her head doth rear

"And quite invisible doth take a peep."

................................................................................................

Of a Ministry Pitiful, Angry, Mean

"That they, too, may suffer themselves, soon or late,

"The injustice they warrant.

"But vain is my spite

"They cannot so suffer who never do right."

................................................................................................

Oh! Mr Best You're Very Bad

"It is your duty Mr Best

"To give your health repair.

"Vain else your Richard's pills will be,

"And vain your consort's care.

"But yet a nobler duty calls

"You now towards the North.

"Arise ennobled — as

"Escort of Martha Lloyd stand forth.

................................................................................................

See They Come, Post Haste from Thanet

"Run, my brothers, to the pier gate!

"Throw it open, very wide!

"Let it not be said that we're late

"In welcoming my uncle's bride!"

................................................................................................

This Little Bag

"This little bag I hope will prove

"To be not vainly made —

"For, if you should a needle want

"It will afford you aid."

................................................................................................

To the Memory of Mrs. Lefroy Who Died Decr 16 – My Birthday.

"The day, commemorative of my birth

"Bestowing life and light and hope on me,

"Brings back the hour which was thy last on earth.

"Oh! bitter pang of torturing memory! —"

................................................................................................

When Stretched on One's Bed

"When stretched on one's bed

"With a fierce-throbbing head,

"Which precludes alike thought or repose,

"How little one cares For the grandest affairs

"That may busy the world as it goes!"

....

"Our own bodily pains

"Every faculty chains;

"We can feel on no subject besides.

"Tis in health and in ease

"We the power must seize

"For our friends and our souls to provide."

................................................................................................

When Winchester Races

"When Winchester races first took their beginning

"It is said the good people forgot their old saint

"Not applying at all for the leave of Saint Swithin

"And that William of Wykeham's approval was faint."

"But when the old saint was informed of these doings

"He made but one spring from his shrine to the roof

"Of the palace which now lies so sadly in ruins

"And then he addressed them all standing aloof."

....

"These races and revels and dissolute measures

"With which you're debasing a neighbouring plain

"Let them stand — you shall meet with your curse in your pleasures

"Set off for your course, I'll pursue with my rain.

"Ye cannot but know my command o'er July

"Henceforward I'll triumph in showing my powers

"Shift your race as you will it shall never be dry

"The curse upon Venta is July in showers —'."

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................................................

August 20, 2021 - August 21, 2021.

Poems

by Jane Austen

Kindle Edition, 17 pages

Published July 9th 2015

by Jane Austen

ASIN:- B011AS3JGW

................................................

Poems Of Jane Austen,

A Classic Collection Book

by Debbie Brewer (Goodreads Author)

Paperback, 74 pages

Published June 29th 2019 by Lulu.com

ISBN0244797641

(ISBN13: 9780244797645)

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................................................................................................

Prayers,

by Jane Austen.

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There are only three, but well written, very pious, written in prose form, almost as if she were the preacher or priest in charge of a parish writing a sermon.

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August 21, 2021 - August , 2021.

Prayers, by Jane Austen.

Kindle Edition, 7 pages

Published July 9th 2015

by Jane Austen

(first published July 1st 2015)

Original Title

The Prayers of Jane Austen

ASIN:- B011AS3KIO

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................................................................................................

The Letters of Jane Austen,

by Jane Austen.

................................................................................................

Reading these letters over two centuries after they were written, it's entering another world, and unless one has read a biography of Jane Austen, a world doubly unfamiliar to a reader.

Reading Jane Austen is nothing as much as looking into a mirror held to English life of her times, mainly life of home, involving men and women, characters and values - and most of it, with sense valued high, transcends time and place, so isn't strange or foreign to readers even couple of centuries later. Reading letters written by the author, personal and mostly to family members, is not different in this sense, except they are naturally more intimate and so more of a close up mirror, viewed by the reader invisible to the characters who were real, long since gone.

Slowly one begins to see her through them, a woman quite involved in her family and everyday life in small details. She mentions her writing but rarely, and speaks of details of family and clan, cousins and nephews and nieces; of servants and food, prices and salaries, livings and commissions and promotions, visits and visitors and travels.

And more than anything else, of dresses, balls, dances. One begins to see why, after reading so much of her work, and liking most, Elizabeth Bennett remains the central figure - because she's as close to the author herself as can get, a mirror image as Jane Austen saw herself. She reads, but isn't bookish like Mary Bennet. She's interested in clothes and balls and dancing, but isn't silly like or crazy like the two youngest Bennet girls. And she's decent, but not Jane Bennet. She's sensible, like her writing.

................................................................................................

It isn't until close to halfway that one clearly sees a reference to her own writing, in the thirty fifth letter - there is a reference before, or two, but very fleeting, and this one is very brief, too.

The letter mentioning publication of her most well known, most popular, most quintessential work, mentions not the title, but her best known character by name, and this letter, fortieth, does not disappoint - it's short, but is all about the book; what's more, she states flat out -

" ... Elizabeth. I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print, and how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least, I do not know. "!

And the next one continues about Pride and Prejudice, but is startling-

"The work is rather too light and bright and sparkling: it wants shade; it wants to be stretched out here and there with a long chapter of sense, if it could be had; if not, of solemn specious nonsense, about something unconnected with the story, — an essay on writing, a critique on Walter Scott, or the history of Buonaparte, or something that would form a contrast ... "

Heaven forbid!

................................................................................................

Somewhere between the fiftieth and the sixtieth letter, after she's talked about her family's reception of Mansfield Park, there is another surprise- Jane Austen is writing to her niece Anna about the latter working on her own novel, and most of us not professionally acquainted with history of English literature are likely to be surprised that the Austen family as such isn't counted anywhere near the Bronte family as more than one author being involved therein; didn't Anna get to publish? Are the manuscripts gone?

Letter LXII, to her niece Fanny, presumably one we've been reading about in most of her letters to Cassandra and now grown up, is so very like her writing in her most popular works, filled with sensible advice about love and realities, it's a positive delight reading it. This continues in letter LXVI.

................................................................................................

It's startling reading her next letter to - presumably her niece - Anna, where she goes

"The chief news from this country is ... "

and one naturally infers that its her newly married niece Anna who is, presumably with her husband, at the country of his posting, perhaps in India, or somewhere as distant, this being the era of rising power of the British empire.

But the very next paragraph brings

"I think I understand the country about Hendon from your description. ",

explaining the mistake one -naturally! - made in inferring so - she's only speaking of country as in town vs countryside!

Letter sixty-six is a tad surprising, in that it criticises a nuece Annato another niece Fanny, about trifles that were better spoken to with Anna, privately and directly. The author's opinions and attitude about things aren't unfamiliar, but it does seem bordering incorrect that she criticises one niece to another, in a letter, rather than privately talk the matter over with the niece concerned.

It's amusing, when further she says

"Thank you, but it is not settled yet whether I do hazard a second edition. We are to see Egerton today, when it will probably be determined. People are more ready to borrow and praise than to buy, which I cannot wonder at; but though I like praise as well as anybody, I like what Edward calls "Pewter" too.",

having just criticised one niece to another for spending on a pianoforte and a pelisse, which she obviously considers extravagance - or were books so cheap in England as to be a negligible expense in her day, for anyone capable of reading?

That's to say, if there were no concept in her time of public libraries. Which would amount to the reason why rich had libraries at home, whether anyone read anything at all ever, or little, while poor being unread, unwashed, subcultures was presumed natural order of things in West generally.

But whether there were libraries or not, there was a middle class struggling to stay afloat, to manage poor finances - as for example on a curate's living, or even a vicar with a sizable family - while struggling to stay decent, reasonably decently dressed and so forth, in the difficult pre industrial era - and Austen is very familiar with it all, having described it so well in Sense and Sensibility, apart from her minute discussion of muslin and prices in her letters. Surely she was familiar with books or borrowers being not necessarily damaged by borrowing, unlike clothes or furniture?

................................................................................................

The very next letter, LXVII, however, is accompanied with a postscript from Lord Brabourne, a nephew of the author, informing the reader about the ill health of her brother and her being feeble perhaps as a consequence of the worry, and the subsequent plight of the family when, after his recovery, his bank failed, affecting the circumstances of them all. It affects one as one reads it, decades over two centuries later, such is the identification of a reader with the author and her near and dear, as an effect of reading this compilation of her letters.

LXXIII has matter that makes one wonder, was Northanger Abbey inspired from an episode in life of author's niece, Fanny Knight? In the book the couple was united, by him leaving his father; here, Austen urges Fanny to get over him.

................................................................................................

It's a sudden shock, although one knew she is long gone, when letter LXXVI has her nephew, Lord Brabourne, inform readers about Jane Austen passing on; one had expected the letters to continue to last. Next two are letters from her sister Cassandra to their niece Fanny.

Below are some of interesting excerpts.

................................................................................................

The preface to this, included in

Jane Austen: Complete Works

+ Extras - 83 titles

(Annotated and illustrated)

by Jane Austen.

Kindle Edition

Published April 21st 2013

by Bourville Publishing

(first published 1989)

ASIN:- B00CH82ACY

is so well written, giving a good picture of times and place the author lived in, that the temptation to quote therefrom is irresistible.

................................................................................................

"The recent cult for Miss Austen, which has resulted in no less than ten new editions of her novels within a decade and three memoirs by different hands within as many years, have made the facts of her life familiar to most readers. It was a short life, and an uneventful one as viewed from the standpoint of our modern times, when steam and electricity have linked together the ends of the earth, and the very air seems teeming with news, agitations, discussions. We have barely time to recover our breath between post and post; and the morning paper with its statements of disaster and its hints of still greater evils to be, is scarcely out-lived, when, lo! in comes the evening issue, contradicting the news of the morning, to be sure, but full of omens and auguries of its own to strew our pillows with the seed of wakefulness.

"To us, publications come hot and hot from the press. Telegraphic wires like the intricate and incalculable zigzags of the lightning ramify above our heads; and who can tell at what moment their darts may strike? In Miss Austen's day the tranquil, drowsy, decorous English day of a century since, all was different. News travelled then from hand to hand, carried in creaking post-wagons, or in cases of extreme urgency by men on horseback. ... No doubt they lived the longer for this exemption from excitement, and kept their nerves in a state of wholesome repair; but it goes without saying that the events of which they knew so little did not stir them deeply.

"Miss Austen's life coincided with two of the momentous epochs of history, — the American struggle for independence, and the French Revolution; but there is scarcely an allusion to either in her letters. ... She was interested in the fleet and its victories because two of her brothers were in the navy and had promotion and prize-money to look forward to. In this connection she mentions Trafalgar and the Egyptian expedition, and generously remarks that she would read Southey's "Life of Nelson" if there was anything in it about her brother Frank! She honours Sir John Moore by remarking after his death that his mother would perhaps have preferred to have him less distinguished and still alive; further than that, the making of the gooseberry jam and a good recipe for orange wine interests her more than all the marchings and counter-marchings, the manoeuvres and diplomacies, going on the world over. ... "The society of rural England in those days," as Mr. Goldwin Smith happily puts it, "enjoyed a calm of its own in the midst of the European tempest like the windless centre of a circular storm.""

................................................................................................

" ... Seeing little, she painted what she saw with absolute fidelity and a dexterity and perfection unequalled. ... Endowed with the keenest and most delicate insight and a vivid sense of humour, she depicted with exactitude what she observed and what she understood, giving to each fact and emotion its precise shade and value. The things she did not see she did not attempt. Affectation was impossible to her, — most of all, affectation of knowledge or feeling not justly her own. "She held the mirror up to her time" with an exquisite sincerity and fidelity; and the closeness of her study brought her intimately near to those hidden springs which underlie all human nature. This is the reason why, for all their skimp skirts, leg-of-mutton sleeves, and bygone impossible bonnets, her characters do not seem to us old-fashioned. Minds and hearts are made pretty much after the same pattern from century to century; and given a modern dress and speech, Emma or Elizabeth or dear Anne Eliot could enter a drawing-room today, and excite no surprise except by so closely resembling the people whom they would find there."

................................................................................................

""I was very well pleased (pray tell Fanny) with a small portrait of Mrs. Bingley, excessively like her. I went in hopes of seeing one of her sister, but there was no Mrs. Darcy. Perhaps I may find her in the great exhibition, which we shall go to if we have time. Mrs. Bingley's is exactly like herself, — size, shaped face, features and sweetness; there never was a greater likeness. She is dressed in a white gown, with green ornaments, which convinces me of what I had always supposed, that green was a favourite colour with her. I dare say Mrs. D. will be in yellow."

"And later: —

""We have been both to the exhibition and Sir J. Reynolds'; and I am disappointed, for there was nothing like Mrs. D. at either. I can only imagine that Mr. D. prizes any picture of her too much to like it should be exposed to the public eye. I can imagine he would have that sort of feeling, — that mixture of love, pride, and delicacy.""

................................................................................................

" ... But Cowper and Crabbe were the poetical sensations in Miss Austen's time, Scott and Byron its phenomenal novelties; it took months to get most books printed, and years to persuade anybody to read them. Furthermore the letters, in all probability, are carefully chosen to reveal only the more superficial side of their writer. There are wide gaps of omission, covering important events such as Mr. Austen's death, the long illness through which Jane nursed her brother Henry, and the anxieties and worries which his failure in business caused to the whole family. What is vouchsafed us is a glimpse of the girlish and untroubled moments of Miss Austen's life; and the glimpse is a sweet and friendly one. ... Her literary work never stood in the way of her home duties, any more than her "quiet, limpid, unimpassioned style" stood between her thought and her readers.

"Her fame may justly be said to be almost entirely posthumous. She was read and praised to a moderate degree during her lifetime, but all her novels together brought her no more than seven hundred pounds; and her reputation, as it were, was in its close-sheathed bud when, at the early age of forty-one, she died. It would have excited in her an amused incredulity, no doubt, had anyone predicted that two generations after her death the real recognition of her powers was to come. Time, which like desert sands has effaced the footprints of so many promising authors, has, with her, served as the desert wind, to blow aside those dusts of the commonplace which for a while concealed her true proportions. She is loved more than she ever hoped to be, and far more widely known."

................................................................................................

"Scott, Macaulay, Sir James Mackintosh, Miss Martineau, Mrs. Ritchie, Miss Mitford, and a host of others have vied in their generous tributes of admiration. But most striking of all, to our thinking, is that paid to Miss Austen by Lord Tennyson when, in some visit to Lyme not many years since, those with him pointed out this and the other feature of the place only to be interrupted with —"Never mind all that. Show me the exact spot where Louisa Musgrove fell!" Could non-historical verisimilitude go farther or mean more?

"S. C. W.

"Newport, June, 1892."

................................................................................................

"I.

"Steventon, Thursday (January 16, 1796)."

Austen was a normal girl - young woman - of her times, or of any -

"Our party to Ashe tomorrow night will consist of Edward Cooper, James (for a ball is nothing without him), Buller, who is now staying with us, and I. I look forward with great impatience to it, as I rather expect to receive an offer from my friend in the course of the evening. I shall refuse him, however, unless he promises to give away his white coat."

But the very next bit is her inner self, the author

"I am very much flattered by your commendation of my last letter, for I write only for fame, and without any view to pecuniary emolument."

Then again

Then again, we don't know if she's teasing -

"Tell Mary that I make over Mr. Heartley and all his estate to her for her sole use and benefit in future, and not only him, but all my other admirers into the bargain wherever she can find them, even the kiss which C. Powlett wanted to give me, as I mean to confine myself in future to Mr. Tom Lefroy, for whom I don't care sixpence."

Or later, whether she's serious -

"Friday. — At length the day is come on which I am to flirt my last with Tom Lefroy, and when you receive this it will be over. My tears flow as I write at the melancholy idea. Wm. Chute called here yesterday. I wonder what he means by being so civil."

................................................................................................

III.

Austen is occupied with travel, balls, and writing to Cassandra about it, throughout the letter, until there's this bit.

"Give my love to Mary Harrison, and tell her I wish, whenever she is attached to a young man, some respectable Dr. Marchmont may keep them apart for five volumes…."

Does that refer to writing about her?

................................................................................................

IV.

Curious contents.

"I believe I told you in a former letter that Edward had some idea of taking the name of Claringbould; but that scheme is over, though it would be a very eligible as well as a very pleasant plan, would anyone advance him money enough to begin on. We rather expected Mr. Milles to have done so on Tuesday; but to our great surprise nothing was said on the subject, and unless it is in your power to assist your brother with five or six hundred pounds, he must entirely give up the idea."

And

"Mrs. Milles, Mr. John Toke, and in short everybody of any sensibility inquired in tender strains after you, and I took an opportunity of assuring Mr. J. T. that neither he nor his father need longer keep themselves single for you."

In midst, there's

"We went by Bifrons, and I contemplated with a melancholy pleasure the abode of him on whom I once fondly doted."

Which leaves one curious unless well versed with her life, of course. Then

"So His Royal Highness Sir Thomas Williams has at length sailed; the papers say "on a cruise." But I hope they are gone to Cork, or I shall have written in vain. Give my love to Jane, as she arrived at Steventon yesterday, I dare say."

Which is unclear - literal or sarcastic? Then a bomb -

"Mr. Children's two sons are both going to be married, John and George. They are to have one wife between them, a Miss Holwell, who belongs to the Black Hole at Calcutta. ... "

Further,

"Buy Mary Harrison's gown by all means. You shall have mine forever so much money, though, if I am tolerably rich when I get home, I shall like it very much myself."

Leaves one wondering.

................................................................................................

VII.

"Steventon, Saturday (October 27).

"My dear Cassandra, —"

" ... I bought some Japan ink likewise, and next week shall begin my operations on my hat, on which you know my principal hopes of happiness depend."

"Mrs. Hall, of Sherborne, was brought to bed yesterday of a dead child, some weeks before she expected, owing to a fright. I suppose she happened unawares to look at her husband."

"I hear that Martha is in better looks and spirits than she has enjoyed for a long time, and I flatter myself she will now be able to jest openly about Mr. W."

"The books from Winton are all unpacked and put away; the binding has compressed them most conveniently, and there is now very good room in the bookcase for all that we wish to have there. ... I understand that there are some grapes left, but I believe not many; they must be gathered as soon as possible, or this rain will entirely rot them."

" ... The laceman was here only a few days ago. How unfortunate for both of us that he came so soon! ... John Steevens' wife undertakes our purification. She does not look as if anything she touched would ever be clean, but who knows? We do not seem likely to have any other maidservant at present, but Dame Staples will supply the place of one. Mary has hired a young girl from Ashe who has never been out to service to be her scrub, but James fears her not being strong enough for the place.

"Earle Harwood has been to Deane lately, as I think Mary wrote us word, and his family then told him that they would receive his wife, if she continued to behave well for another year. He was very grateful, as well he might; their behaviour throughout the whole affair has been particularly kind. Earle and his wife live in the most private manner imaginable at Portsmouth, without keeping a servant of any kind. What a prodigious innate love of virtue she must have, to marry under such circumstances!"

"I have received my aunt's letter, and thank you for your scrap. I will write to Charles soon. Pray give Fanny and Edward a kiss from me, and ask George if he has got a new song for me. 'Tis really very kind of my aunt to ask us to Bath again; a kindness that deserves a better return than to profit by it.

"Yours ever,

"J. A.

"Miss Austen,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

"VIII.

"Steventon, December 1.

"My dear Cassandra, —

"I am so good as to write to you again thus speedily, to let you know that I have just heard from Frank. He was at Cadiz, alive and well, on October 19, and had then very lately received a letter from you, written as long ago as when the "London" was at St. Helen's. But his raly latest intelligence of us was in one from me of September 1, which I sent soon after we got to Godmersham. He had written a packet full for his dearest friends in England, early in October, to go by the "Excellent;" but the "Excellent" was not sailed, nor likely to sail, when he dispatched this to me. It comprehended letters for both of us, for Lord Spencer, Mr. Daysh, and the East India Directors. Lord St. Vincent had left the fleet when he wrote, and was gone to Gibraltar, it was said to superintend the fitting out of a private expedition from thence against some of the enemies' ports; Minorca or Malta were conjectured to be the objects.

"Frank writes in good spirits, but says that our correspondence cannot be so easily carried on in future as it has been, as the communication between Cadiz and Lisbon is less frequent than formerly."

" ... Mary does not manage matters in such a way as to make me want to lay in myself. She is not tidy enough in her appearance; she has no dressing-gown to sit up in; her curtains are all too thin, and things are not in that comfort and style about her which are necessary to make such a situation an enviable one. Elizabeth was really a pretty object with her nice clean cap put on so tidily and her dress so uniformly white and orderly. ... "

" ... Who is Miss Maria Montresor going to marry, and what is to become of Miss Mulcaster?"

"Charles Powlett gave a dance on Thursday, to the great disturbance of all his neighbours, of course, who, you know, take a most lively interest in the state of his finances, and live in hopes of his being soon ruined.

"We are very much disposed to like our new maid; she knows nothing of a dairy, to be sure, which, in our family, is rather against her, but she is to be taught it all. In short, we have felt the inconvenience of being without a maid so long, that we are determined to like her, and she will find it a hard matter to displease us. As yet, she seems to cook very well, is uncommonly stout, and says she can work well at her needle."

"Affectionately yours,

"J. A.

"Miss Austen,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

"IX.

"Steventon, Tuesday (December 18).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"I took the liberty a few days ago of asking your black velvet bonnet to lend me its cawl, which it very readily did, and by which I have been enabled to give a considerable improvement of dignity to cap, which was before too nidgetty to please me. I shall wear it on Thursday, but I hope you will not be offended with me for following your advice as to its ornaments only in part. I still venture to retain the narrow silver round it, put twice round without any bow, and instead of the black military feather shall put in the coquelicot one as being smarter, and besides coquelicot is to be all the fashion this winter. After the ball I shall probably make it entirely black.

"I am sorry that our dear Charles begins to feel the dignity of ill-usage. My father will write to Admiral Gambier. He must have already received so much satisfaction from his acquaintance and patronage of Frank, that he will be delighted, I dare say, to have another of the family introduced to him."

"Wednesday. — I have changed my mind, and changed the trimmings of my cap this morning; they are now such as you suggested. I felt as if I should not prosper if I strayed from your directions, and I think it makes me look more like Lady Conyngham now than it did before, which is all that one lives for now. I believe I shall make my new gown like my robe, but the back of the latter is all in a piece with the tail, and will seven yards enable me to copy it in that respect?..."

"J. A.

"Miss Austen,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

"Steventon, Monday night

"(December 24).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"Admiral Gambier, in reply to my father's application, writes as follows: "As it is usual to keep young officers in small vessels, it being most proper on account of their inexperience, and it being also a situation where they are more in the way of learning their duty, your son has been continued in the 'Scorpion;' but I have mentioned to the Board of Admiralty his wish to be in a frigate, and when a proper opportunity offers and it is judged that he has taken his turn in a small ship, I hope he will be removed. With regard to your son now in the 'London' I am glad I can give you the assurance that his promotion is likely to take place very soon, as Lord Spencer has been so good as to say he would include him in an arrangement that he proposes making in a short time relative to some promotions in that quarter.""

" ... My father has written to Daysh to desire that he will inform us, if he can, when the commission is sent. Your chief wish is now ready to be accomplished; and could Lord Spencer give happiness to Martha at the same time, what a joyful heart he would make of yours!"

" ... I spent my time very quietly and very pleasantly with Catherine. Miss Blackford is agreeable enough. I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal. ... "

"Our ball was very thin, but by no means unpleasant. There were thirty-one people, and only eleven ladies out of the number, and but five single women in the room. Of the gentlemen present you may have some idea from the list of my partners, — Mr. Wood, G. Lefroy, Rice, a Mr. Butcher (belonging to the Temples, a sailor and not of the 11th Light Dragoons), Mr. Temple (not the horrid one of all), Mr. Wm. Orde (cousin to the Kingsclere man), Mr. John Harwood, and Mr. Calland, who appeared as usual with his hat in his hand, and stood every now and then behind Catherine and me to be talked to and abused for not dancing. We teased him, however, into it at last. I was very glad to see him again after so long a separation, and he was altogether rather the genius and flirt of the evening. He inquired after you.

"There were twenty dances, and I danced them all, and without any fatigue. I was glad to find myself capable of dancing so much, and with so much satisfaction as I did; from my slender enjoyment of the Ashford balls (as assemblies for dancing) I had not thought myself equal to it, but in cold weather and with few couples I fancy I could just as well dance for a week together as for half an hour. My black cap was openly admired by Mrs. Lefroy, and secretly I imagine by everybody else in the room...."

"The Lords of the Admiralty will have enough of our applications at present, for I hear from Charles that he has written to Lord Spencer himself to be removed. I am afraid his Serene Highness will be in a passion, and order some of our heads to be cut off...."

"Yours affectionately,

"Jane Austen.

"Wednesday. —

"The snow came to nothing yesterday, so I did go to Deane, and returned home at nine o'clock at night in the little carriage, and without being very cold.

"Miss Austen,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

"XI.

"Steventon, Friday (December 28).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"Frank is made. He was yesterday raised to the rank of commander, and appointed to the "Petterel" sloop, now at Gibraltar. A letter from Daysh has just announced this, and as it is confirmed by a very friendly one from Mr. Mathew to the same effect, transcribing one from Admiral Gambier to the general, we have no reason to suspect the truth of it."

" ... India House have taken Captain Austen's petition into consideration, — this comes from Daysh, — and likewise that Lieutenant Charles John Austen is removed to the "Tamar" frigate, — this comes from the admiral. We cannot find out where the "Tamar" is, but I hope we shall now see Charles here at all events."

" ... If you will send my father an account of your washing and letter expenses, etc., he will send you a draft for the amount of it, as well as for your next quarter, and for Edward's rent. If you don't buy a muslin gown now on the strength of this money and Frank's promotion, I shall never forgive you.

"Mrs. Lefroy has just sent me word that Lady Dorchester meant to invite me to her ball on January 8, which, though a humble blessing compared with what the last page records, I do not consider as any calamity."

"Yours affectionately,

"Jane.

"Miss Austen, Godmersham Park."

................................................................................................

XII.

"Steventon, Tuesday (January 8, 1799).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"Elizabeth is very cruel about my writing music, and, as a punishment for her, I should insist upon always writing out all hers for her in future, if I were not punishing myself at the same time.

"I am tolerably glad to hear that Edward's income is so good a one, — as glad as I can be at anybody's being rich except you and me, — and I am thoroughly rejoiced to hear of his present to you.

"I am not to wear my white satin cap tonight, after all; I am to wear a mamalone cap instead, which Charles Fowle sent to Mary, and which she lends me. It is all the fashion now; worn at the opera, and by Lady Mildmays at Hackwood balls. I hate describing such things, and I dare say you will be able to guess what it is like. I have got over the dreadful epocha of mantua-making much better than I expected. My gown is made very much like my blue one, which you always told me sat very well, with only these variations: the sleeves are short, the wrap fuller, the apron comes over it, and a band of the same completes the whole.

"I assure you that I dread the idea of going to Brighton as much as you do, but I am not without hopes that something may happen to prevent it."

"You express so little anxiety about my being murdered under Ash Park Copse by Mrs. Hulbert's servant, that I have a great mind not to tell you whether I was or not, and shall only say that I did not return home that night or the next, as Martha kindly made room for me in her bed, which was the shut-up one in the new nursery. Nurse and the child slept upon the floor, and there we all were in some confusion and great comfort. The bed did exceedingly well for us, both to lie awake in and talk till two o'clock, and to sleep in the rest of the night. I love Martha better than ever, and I mean to go and see her, if I can, when she gets home. We all dined at the Harwoods' on Thursday, and the party broke up the next morning."

" ... I wore my green shoes last night, and took my white fan with me ... "

"Mrs. Knight giving up the Godmersham estate to Edward was no such prodigious act of generosity after all, it seems, for she has reserved herself an income out of it still; this ought to be known, that her conduct may not be overrated. I rather think Edward shows the most magnanimity of the two, in accepting her resignation with such encumbrances.

"The more I write, the better my eye gets; so I shall at least keep on till it is quite well, before I give up my pen to my mother."

"I spent a very pleasant evening, chiefly among the Manydown party. There was the same kind of supper as last year, and the same want of chairs. There were more dancers than the room could conveniently hold, which is enough to constitute a good ball at any time.

"I do not think I was very much in request. People were rather apt not to ask me till they could not help it; one's consequence, you know, varies so much at times without any particular reason. There was one gentleman, an officer of the Cheshire, a very good-looking young man, who, I was told, wanted very much to be introduced to me; but as he did not want it quite enough to take much trouble in effecting it, we never could bring it about.

"I danced with Mr. John Wood again, twice with a Mr. South, a lad from Winchester, who, I suppose, is as far from being related to the bishop of that diocese as it is possible to be, with G. Lefroy, and J. Harwood, who, I think, takes to me rather more than he used to do. One of my gayest actions was sitting down two dances in preference to having Lord Bolton's eldest son for my partner, who danced too ill to be endured. The Miss Charterises were there, and played the parts of the Miss Edens with great spirit. Charles never came. Naughty Charles! I suppose he could not get superseded in time."

" ... Mr. Ludlow and Miss Pugh of Andover are lately married, and so is Mrs. Skeete of Basingstoke, and Mr. French, chemist, of Reading."

"I shall be able to send this to the post today, which exalts me to the utmost pinnacle of human felicity, and makes me bask in the sunshine of prosperity or gives me any other sensation of pleasure in studied language which you may prefer. Do not be angry with me for not filling my sheet, and believe me yours affectionately,

"J. A.

"Miss Austen,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham."

................................................................................................

XIII.

"Steventon, Monday (January 21).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"I will endeavour to make this letter more worthy your acceptance than my last, which was so shabby a one that I think Mr. Marshall could never charge you with the postage. My eyes have been very indifferent since it was written, but are now getting better once more; keeping them so many hours open on Thursday night, as well as the dust of the ballroom, injured them a good deal. I use them as little as I can, but you know, and Elizabeth knows, and everybody who ever had weak eyes knows, how delightful it is to hurt them by employment, against the advice and entreaty of all one's friends.

"Charles leaves us tonight. The "Tamar" is in the Downs, and Mr. Daysh advises him to join her there directly, as there is no chance of her going to the westward. Charles does not approve of this at all, and will not be much grieved if he should be too late for her before she sails, as he may then hope to get into a better station. He attempted to go to town last night, and got as far on his road thither as Dean Gate; but both the coaches were full, and we had the pleasure of seeing him back again. He will call on Daysh tomorrow to know whether the "Tamar" has sailed or not, and if she is still at the Downs he will proceed in one of the night coaches to Deal. I want to go with him, that I may explain the country to him properly between Canterbury and Rowling, but the unpleasantness of returning by myself deters me. I should like to go as far as Ospringe with him very much indeed, that I might surprise you at Godmersham."

"Yesterday came a letter to my mother from Edward Cooper to announce, not the birth of a child, but of a living; for Mrs. Leigh has begged his acceptance of the Rectory of Hamstall-Ridware in Staffordshire, vacant by Mr. Johnson's death. We collect from his letter that he means to reside there, in which he shows his wisdom. Staffordshire is a good way off; so we shall see nothing more of them till, some fifteen years hence, the Miss Coopers are presented to us, fine, jolly, handsome, ignorant girls. The living is valued at £140. a year, but perhaps it may be improvable. How will they be able to convey the furniture of the dressing-room so far in safety?

"Our first cousins seem all dropping off very fast. One is incorporated into the family, another dies, and a third goes into Staffordshire. We can learn nothing of the disposal of the other living. I have not the smallest notion of Fulwar's having it. Lord Craven has probably other connections and more intimate ones, in that line, than he now has with the Kintbury family.

"Our ball on Thursday was a very poor one, only eight couple and but twenty-three people in the room; but it was not the ball's fault, for we were deprived of two or three families by the sudden illness of Mr. Wither, who was seized that morning at Winchester with a return of his former alarming complaint ... "

"Our ball was chiefly made up of Jervoises and Terrys, the former of whom were apt to be vulgar, the latter to be noisy. I had an odd set of partners: Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Street, Colonel Jervoise, James Digweed, J. Lyford, and Mr. Briggs, a friend of the latter. I had a very pleasant evening, however, though you will probably find out that there was no particular reason for it; but I do not think it worthwhile to wait for enjoyment until there is some real opportunity for it. ... "

"I congratulate you on Mr. E. Hatton's good fortune. I suppose the marriage will now follow out of hand. Give my compliments to Miss Finch."

"I have just heard from Charles, who is by this time at Deal. He is to be second lieutenant, which pleases him very well. The "Endymion" is come into the Downs, which pleases him likewise. He expects to be ordered to Sheerness shortly, as the "Tamar" has never been refitted."

"Yours affectionately,

"Jane.

"Miss Austen,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

XIV.

"13 Queen's Square, Friday (May 17).

"My dearest Cassandra, —

"Our journey yesterday went off exceedingly well; nothing occurred to alarm or delay us. We found the roads in excellent order, had very good horses all the way, and reached Devizes with ease by four o'clock. I suppose John has told you in what manner we were divided when we left Andover, and no alteration was afterwards made. At Devizes we had comfortable rooms and a good dinner, to which we sat down about five; amongst other things we had asparagus and a lobster, which made me wish for you, and some cheesecakes, on which the children made so delightful a supper as to endear the town of Devizes to them for a long time.

"Well, here we are at Bath; we got here about one o'clock, and have been arrived just long enough to go over the house, fix on our rooms, and be very well pleased with the whole of it. Poor Elizabeth has had a dismal ride of it from Devizes, for it has rained almost all the way, and our first view of Bath has been just as gloomy as it was last November twelvemonth."

"We are exceedingly pleased with the house; the rooms are quite as large as we expected. Mrs. Bromley is a fat woman in mourning, and a little black kitten runs about the staircase. Elizabeth has the apartment within the drawing-room; she wanted my mother to have it, but as there was no bed in the inner one, and the stairs are so much easier of ascent, or my mother so much stronger than in Paragon as not to regard the double flight, it is settled for us to be above, where we have two very nice-sized rooms, with dirty quilts and everything comfortable. I have the outward and larger apartment, as I ought to have; which is quite as large as our bedroom at home, and my mother's is not materially less. The beds are both as large as any at Steventon, and I have a very nice chest of drawers and a closet full of shelves, — so full indeed that there is nothing else in it, and it should therefore be called a cupboard rather than a closet, I suppose."

"My mother does not seem at all the worse for her journey, nor are any of us, I hope, though Edward seemed rather fagged last night, and not very brisk this morning; but I trust the bustle of sending for tea, coffee, and sugar, etc., and going out to taste a cheese himself, will do him good.

"There was a very long list of arrivals here in the newspaper yesterday, so that we need not immediately dread absolute solitude; and there is a public breakfast in Sydney Gardens every morning, so that we shall not be wholly starved."

"I like our situation very much; it is far more cheerful than Paragon, and the prospect from the drawing-room window, at which I now write, is rather picturesque, as it commands a prospective view of the left side of Brock Street, broken by three Lombardy poplars in the garden of the last house in Queen's Parade.

"I am rather impatient to know the fate of my best gown, but I suppose it will be some days before Frances can get through the trunk. In the mean time I am, with many thanks for your trouble in making it, as well as marking my silk stockings,

"Yours very affectionately,

"Jane.

"A great deal of love from everybody.

"Miss Austen,

"Steventon, Overton, Hants."

................................................................................................

XV.

"13 Queen Square, Sunday (June 2).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"I will lay out all the little judgement I have in endeavouring to get such stockings for Anna as she will approve; but I do not know that I shall execute Martha's commission at all, for I am not fond of ordering shoes; and, at any rate, they shall all have flat heels."

"I heard from Charles last week; they were to sail on Wednesday."

" ... I saw some gauzes in a shop in Bath Street yesterday at only 4d. a yard, but they were not so good or so pretty as mine. Flowers are very much worn, and fruit is still more the thing. Elizabeth has a bunch of strawberries, and I have seen grapes, cherries, plums, and apricots. There are likewise almonds and raisins, French plums, and tamarinds at the grocers', but I have never seen any of them in hats. A plum or greengage would cost three shillings; cherries and grapes about five, I believe, but this is at some of the dearest shops. ... "

"I spent Friday evening with the Mapletons, and was obliged to submit to being pleased in spite of my inclination. We took a very charming walk from six to eight up Beacon Hill, and across some fields, to the village of Charlecombe, which is sweetly situated in a little green valley, as a village with such a name ought to be. Marianne is sensible and intelligent; and even Jane, considering how fair she is, is not unpleasant. We had a Miss North and a Mr. Gould of our party; the latter walked home with me after tea. He is a very young man, just entered Oxford, wears spectacles, and has heard that "Evelina" was written by Dr. Johnson.

"I am afraid I cannot undertake to carry Martha's shoes home, for, though we had plenty of room in our trunks when we came, we shall have many more things to take back, and I must allow besides for my packing.

"There is to be a grand gala on Tuesday evening in Sydney Gardens, a concert, with illuminations and fireworks. To the latter Elizabeth and I look forward with pleasure, and even the concert will have more than its usual charm for me, as the gardens are large enough for me to get pretty well beyond the reach of its sound. ... "

"I am quite pleased with Martha and Mrs. Lefroy for wanting the pattern of our caps, but I am not so well pleased with your giving it to them. Some wish, some prevailing wish, is necessary to the animation of everybody's mind, and in gratifying this you leave them to form some other which will not probably be half so innocent. I shall not forget to write to Frank. Duty and love, etc.

"Yours affectionately, Jane.

"My uncle is quite surprised at my hearing from you so often; but as long as we can keep the frequency of our correspondence from Martha's uncle, we will not fear our own.

"Miss Austen, Steventon."

................................................................................................

XVI.

"13 Queen Square, Tuesday (June 11).

"My dear Cassandra, —"

" ... We have been to the cheap shop, and very cheap we found it, but there are only flowers made there, no fruit; and as I could get four or five very pretty sprigs of the former for the same money which would procure only one Orleans plum — in short, could get more for three or four shillings than I could have means of bringing home — I cannot decide on the fruit till I hear from you again. Besides, I cannot help thinking that it is more natural to have flowers grow out of the head than fruit. What do you think on that subject?

"I would not let Martha read "First Impressions"[19] again upon any account, and am very glad that I did not leave it in your power. She is very cunning, but I saw through her design; she means to publish it from memory, and one more perusal must enable her to do it. As for "Fitzalbini," when I get home she shall have it, as soon as ever she will own that Mr. Elliott is handsomer than Mr. Lance, that fair men are preferable to black; for I mean to take every opportunity of rooting out her prejudices.

"Benjamin Portal is here. How charming that is! I do not exactly know why, but the phrase followed so naturally that I could not help putting it down. ... "

"Dr. Gardiner was married yesterday to Mrs. Percy and her three daughters.

"Now I will give you the history of Mary's veil, in the purchase of which I have so considerably involved you that it is my duty to economize for you in the flowers. I had no difficulty in getting a muslin veil for half a guinea, and not much more in discovering afterwards that the muslin was thick, dirty, and ragged, and therefore would by no means do for a united gift. I changed it consequently as soon as I could, and, considering what a state my imprudence had reduced me to, I thought myself lucky in getting a black lace one for sixteen shillings. I hope the half of that sum will not greatly exceed what you had intended to offer upon the altar of sister-in-law affection.

"Yours affectionately, Jane."

"Miss Austen, Steventon, Overton, Hants."

................................................................................................

XVII.

"Steventon, Thursday (November 20, 1800).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"It was a pleasant evening; Charles found it remarkably so, but I cannot tell why, unless the absence of Miss Terry, towards whom his conscience reproaches him with being now perfectly indifferent, was a relief to him. There were only twelve dances, of which I danced nine, and was merely prevented from dancing the rest by the want of a partner. We began at ten, supped at one, and were at Deane before five. There were but fifty people in the room; very few families indeed from our side of the county, and not many more from the other. My partners were the two St. Johns, Hooper, Holder, and a very prodigious Mr. Mathew, with whom I called the last, and whom I liked the best of my little stock.

"There were very few beauties, and such as there were, were not very handsome. Miss Iremonger did not look well, and Mrs. Blount was the only one much admired. She appeared exactly as she did in September, with the same broad face, diamond bandeau, white shoes, pink husband, and fat neck. The two Miss Coxes were there; I traced in one the remains of the vulgar, broad-featured girl who danced at Enham eight years ago; the other is refined into a nice, composed-looking girl, like Catherine Bigg. I looked at Sir Thomas Champneys, and thought of poor Rosalie; I looked at his daughter, and thought her a queer animal with a white neck. Mrs. Warren I was constrained to think a very fine young woman, which I much regret. She danced away with great activity. Her husband is ugly enough, uglier even than his cousin John; but he does not look so very old. The Miss Maitlands are both prettyish, very like Anne, with brown skins, large dark eyes, and a good deal of nose. The General has got the gout, and Mrs. Maitland the jaundice. Miss Debary, Susan, and Sally, all in black, but without any statues, made their appearance, and I was as civil to them as circumstances would allow me….

"Mary said that I looked very well last night. I wore my aunt's gown and handkerchief, and my hair was at least tidy, which was all my ambition. I will now have done with the ball, and I will moreover go and dress for dinner....

"Farewell; Charles sends you his best love, and Edward his worst. If you think the distinction improper, you may take the worst yourself. He will write to you when he gets back to his ship, and in the meantime desires that you will consider me as

"Your affectionate sister, J. A."

"I rejoice to say that we have just had another letter from our dear Frank. It is to you, very short, written from Larnica in Cyprus, and so lately as October 2. He came from Alexandria, and was to return there in three or four days, knew nothing of his promotion, and does not write above twenty lines, from a doubt of the letter's ever reaching you, and an idea of all letters being opened at Vienna. He wrote a few days before to you from Alexandria by the "Mercury," sent with dispatches to Lord Keith."

"Mrs. Estwick is married again to a Mr. Sloane, a young man under age, without the knowledge of either family. He bears a good character, however.

"Miss Austen,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

XVIII.

"Steventon, Saturday (January 3, 1801).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"Our visit at Ash Park, last Wednesday, went off in a come-cá way. We met Mr. Lefroy and Tom Chute, played at cards, and came home again. ... "

"My mother looks forward with as much certainty as you can do to our keeping two maids; my father is the only one not in the secret. We plan having a steady cook and a young giddy housemaid, with a sedate, middle-aged man, who is to undertake the double office of husband to the former and sweetheart to the latter. No children of course to be allowed on either side."

"There are three parts of Bath which we have thought of as likely to have houses in them, — Westgate Buildings, Charles Street, and some of the short streets leading from Laura Place or Pulteney Street.

"Westgate Buildings, though quite in the lower part of the town, are not badly situated themselves. The street is broad, and has rather a good appearance. Charles Street, however, I think is preferable. The buildings are new, and its nearness to Kingsmead Fields would be a pleasant circumstance. ... "

"The houses in the streets near Laura Place I should expect to be above our price. Gay Street would be too high, except only the lower house on the left-hand side as you ascend. Towards that my mother has no disinclination; it used to be lower rented than any other house in the row, from some inferiority in the apartments. But above all others her wishes are at present fixed on the corner house in Chapel Row, which opens into Prince's Street. ... "

"My father and mother, wisely aware of the difficulty of finding in all Bath such a bed as their own, have resolved on taking it with them; all the beds, indeed, that we shall want are to be removed, — namely, besides theirs, our own two, the best for a spare one, and two for servants; and these necessary articles will probably be the only material ones that it would answer to send down. I do not think it will be worthwhile to remove any of our chests of drawers; we shall be able to get some of a much more commodious sort, made of deal, and painted to look very neat; and I flatter myself that for little comforts of all kinds our apartment will be one of the most complete things of the sort all over Bath, Bristol included.

"We have thought at times of removing the sideboard, or a Pembroke table, or some other piece of furniture, but, upon the whole, it has ended in thinking that the trouble and risk of the removal would be more than the advantage of having them at a place where everything may be purchased. Pray send your opinion."

"My mother bargains for having no trouble at all in furnishing our house in Bath, and I have engaged for your willingly undertaking to do it all. I get more and more reconciled to the idea of our removal. We have lived long enough in this neighbourhood: the Basingstoke balls are certainly on the decline, there is something interesting in the bustle of going away, and the prospect of spending future summers by the sea or in Wales is very delightful."

"Yours affectionately, J. A.

"Miss Austen,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

XIX.

"Steventon, Thursday (January 8).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"Mr. Payne has been dead long enough for Henry to be out of mourning for him before his last visit, though we knew nothing of it till about that time. Why he died, or of what complaint, or to what noblemen he bequeathed his four daughters in marriage, we have not heard.

"I am glad that the Wildmans are going to give a ball, and hope you will not fail to benefit both yourself and me by laying out a few kisses in the purchase of a frank. I believe you are right in proposing to delay the cambric muslin, and I submit with a kind of voluntary reluctance.

"Mr. Peter Debary has declined Deane curacy; he wishes to be settled near London. A foolish reason! As if Deane were not near London in comparison of Exeter or York. Take the whole world through, and he will find many more places at a greater distance from London than Deane than he will at a less. What does he think of Glencoe or Lake Katherine?

"I feel rather indignant that any possible objection should be raised against so valuable a piece of preferment, so delightful a situation! — that Deane should not be universally allowed to be as near the metropolis as any other country villages. As this is the case, however, as Mr. Peter Debary has shown himself a Peter in the blackest sense of the word, we are obliged to look elsewhere for an heir; and my father has thought it a necessary compliment to James Digweed to offer the curacy to him, though without considering it as either a desirable or an eligible situation for him. Unless he is in love with Miss Lyford, I think he had better not be settled exactly in this neighbourhood; and unless he is very much in love with her indeed, he is not likely to think a salary of £50. equal in value or efficiency to one of £75."

"You are very kind in planning presents for me to make, and my mother has shown me exactly the same attention; but as I do not choose to have generosity dictated to me, I shall not resolve on giving my cabinet to Anna till the first thought of it has been my own.

"Sidmouth is now talked of as our summer abode. Get all the information, therefore, about it that you can from Mrs. C. Cage."

" ... Martha and I work at the books every day.

Yours affectionately, J. A.

"Miss Austen,"

................................................................................................

XX.

"Steventon, Wednesday (January 14).

"Your letter to Mary was duly received before she left Deane with Martha yesterday morning, and it gives us great pleasure to know that the Chilham ball was so agreeable, and that you danced four dances with Mr. Kemble. Desirable, however, as the latter circumstance was, I cannot help wondering at its taking place. Why did you dance four dances with so stupid a man? Why not rather dance two of them with some elegant brother officer who was struck with your appearance as soon as you entered the room?"

"On Saturday Miss Lyford went to her long home, — that is to say, it was a long way off, — and soon afterwards a party of fine ladies issuing from a well-known commodious green vehicle, their heads full of Bantam cocks and Galinies, entered the house, — Mrs. Heathcote, Mrs. Harwood, Mrs. James Austen, Miss Bigg, Miss Jane Blachford."

................................................................................................

XXI.

"Steventon, Wednesday (January 21).

"Eliza talks of having read in a newspaper that all the first lieutenants of the frigates whose captains were to be sent into line-of-battle ships were to be promoted to the rank of commanders. If it be true, Mr. Valentine may afford himself a fine Valentine's knot, and Charles may perhaps become first of the "Endymion," though I suppose Captain Durham is too likely to bring a villain with him under that denomination....

"The neighbourhood have quite recovered the death of Mrs. Rider, — so much so, that I think they are rather rejoiced at it now; her things were so very dear! and Mrs. Rogers is to be all that is desirable. Not even death itself can fix the friendship of the world...."

"Why did not J. D. make his proposals to you? I suppose he went to see the cathedral, that he might know how he should like to be married in it....

"Miss Austen,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

XXII.

"Southampton, Wednesday (January 7, 1807).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"When you receive this, our guests will be all gone or going; and I shall be left to the comfortable disposal of my time, to ease of mind from the torments of rice puddings and apple dumplings, and probably to regret that I did not take more pains to please them all."

"Two or three things I recollected when it was too late, that I might have told you; one is that the Welbys have lost their eldest son by a putrid fever at Eton, and another that Tom Chute is going to settle in Norfolk.

"You have scarcely ever mentioned Lizzy since your being at Godmersham. I hope it is not because she is altered for the worse."

""Alphonsine" did not do. We were disgusted in twenty pages, as, independent of a bad translation, it has indelicacies which disgrace a pen hitherto so pure; and we changed it for the "Female Quixote," which now makes our evening amusement; to me a very high one, as I find the work quite equal to what I remembered it. Mrs. F. A., to whom it is new, enjoys it as one could wish; the other Mary, I believe, has little pleasure from that or any other book."

"Thursday. — We expected James yesterday, but he did not come; if he comes at all now, his visit will be a very short one, as he must return tomorrow, that Ajax and the chair may be sent to Winchester on Saturday. Caroline's new pelisse depended upon her mother's being able or not to come so far in the chair; how the guinea that will be saved by the same means of return is to be spent I know not. Mrs. J. A. does not talk much of poverty now, though she has no hope of my brother's being able to buy another horse next summer."

"You will be surprised to hear that Jenny is not yet come back; we have heard nothing of her since her reaching Itchingswell, and can only suppose that she must be detained by illness in somebody or other, and that she has been each day expecting to be able to come on the morrow. I am glad I did not know beforehand that she was to be absent during the whole or almost the whole of our friends being with us, for though the inconvenience has not been nothing, I should have feared still more. Our dinners have certainly suffered not a little by having only Molly's head and Molly's hands to conduct them; she fries better than she did, but not like Jenny.

"We did not take our walk on Friday, it was too dirty, nor have we yet done it; we may perhaps do something like it today, as after seeing Frank skate, which he hopes to do in the meadows by the beech, we are to treat ourselves with a passage over the ferry. It is one of the pleasantest frosts I ever knew, so very quiet. I hope it will last some time longer for Frank's sake, who is quite anxious to get some skating; he tried yesterday, but it would not do.

"Our acquaintance increase too fast. He was recognised lately by Admiral Bertie, and a few days since arrived the admiral and his daughter Catherine to wait upon us. There was nothing to like or dislike in either. To the Berties are to be added the Lances, with whose cards we have been endowed, and whose visit Frank and I returned yesterday. They live about a mile and three-quarters from S. to the right of the new road to Portsmouth, and I believe their house is one of those which are to be seen almost anywhere among the woods on the other side of the Itchen. It is a handsome building, stands high, and in a very beautiful situation."

"We found only Mrs. Lance at home, and whether she boasts any offspring besides a grand pianoforte did not appear. She was civil and chatty enough, and offered to introduce us to some acquaintance in Southampton, which we gratefully declined.

"I suppose they must be acting by the orders of Mr. Lance of Netherton in this civility, as there seems no other reason for their coming near us. They will not come often, I dare say. They live in a handsome style and are rich, and she seemed to like to be rich, and we gave her to understand that we were far from being so; she will soon feel therefore that we are not worth her acquaintance."

"Yours affectionately, J. A.

"I have just asked Caroline if I should send her love to her godmamma, to which she answered "Yes."

"Miss Austen,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

XXIII.

"Southampton, February 8. ...

"Our garden is putting in order by a man who bears a remarkably good character, has a very fine complexion, and asks something less than the first. The shrubs which border the gravel walk, he says, are only sweetbrier and roses, and the latter of an indifferent sort; we mean to get a few of a better kind, therefore, and at my own particular desire he procures us some syringas. I could not do without a syringa, for the sake of Cowper's line. We talk also of a laburnum. The border under the terrace wall is clearing away to receive currants and gooseberry bushes, and a spot is found very proper for raspberries.

"The alterations and improvements within doors, too, advance very properly, and the offices will be made very convenient indeed. Our dressing-table is constructing on the spot, out of a large kitchen table belonging to the house, for doing which we have the permission of Mr. Husket, Lord Lansdown's painter, — domestic painter, I should call him, for he lives in the castle. Domestic chaplains have given way to this more necessary office, and I suppose whenever the walls want no touching up he is employed about my lady's face."

"What is become of all the shyness in the world? Moral as well as natural diseases disappear in the progress of time, and new ones take their place. Shyness and the sweating sickness have given way to confidence and paralytic complaints....

"Evening. — Our little visitor has just left us, and left us highly pleased with her; she is a nice, natural, open-hearted, affectionate girl, with all the ready civility which one sees in the best children in the present day; so unlike anything that I was myself at her age, that I am often all astonishment and shame."

"But I must tell you a story. Mary has for some time had notice from Mrs. Dickson of the intended arrival of a certain Miss Fowler in this place. Miss F. is an intimate friend of Mrs. D., and a good deal known as such to Mary. On Thursday last she called here while we were out. Mary found, on our return, her card with only her name on it, and she had left word that she would call again. The particularity of this made us talk, and, among other conjectures, Frank said in joke, "I dare say she is staying with the Pearsons." The connection of the names struck Mary, and she immediately recollected Miss Fowler's having been very intimate with persons so called, and, upon putting everything together, we have scarcely a doubt of her being actually staying with the only family in the place whom we cannot visit. What a contretemps! in the language of France.

"What an unluckiness! in that of Madame Duval. The black gentleman has certainly employed one of his menial imps to bring about this complete, though trifling mischief. Miss F. has never called again, but we are in daily expectation of it. Miss P. has, of course, given her a proper understanding of the business. It is evident that Miss F. did not expect or wish to have the visit returned, and Frank is quite as much on his guard for his wife as we could desire for her sake or our own."

"We are reading "Clarentine," and are surprised to find how foolish it is. I remember liking it much less on a second reading than at the first, and it does not bear a third at all. It is full of unnatural conduct and forced difficulties, without striking merit of any kind."

"The Browns are added to our list of acquaintance. He commands the Sea Fencibles here, under Sir Thomas, and was introduced at his own desire by the latter when we saw him last week. As yet the gentlemen only have visited, as Mrs. B. is ill; but she is a nice-looking woman, and wears one of the prettiest straw bonnets in the place."

"I hope your cough is gone, and that you are otherwise well, and remain, with love,

"Yours affectionately, J. A.

"Miss Austen,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

XXIV.

"Godmersham, Wednesday (June 15, 1808).

"My dear Cassandra, — Where shall I begin? Which of all my important nothings shall I tell you first? ... "

....

"The country is very beautiful. I saw as much as ever to admire in my yesterday's journey....

"Mrs. Edward Austen."

................................................................................................

"XXV.

"Castle Square, October 13.

"My dearest Cassandra, —

"I have received your letter, and with most melancholy anxiety was it expected, for the sad news[20] reached us last night, but without any particulars. It came in a short letter to Martha from her sister, begun at Steventon and finished in Winchester."

"You will know that the poor boys are at Steventon. Perhaps it is best for them, as they will have more means of exercise and amusement there than they could have with us, but I own myself disappointed by the arrangement. I should have loved to have them with me at such a time. I shall write to Edward by this post."

"We need not enter into a panegyric on the departed, but it is sweet to think of her great worth, of her solid principles, of her true devotion, her excellence in every relation of life. It is also consolatory to reflect on the shortness of the sufferings which led her from this world to a better. Farewell for the present, my dearest sister. Tell Edward that we feel for him and pray for him.

"Yours affectionately,

"J. Austen.

"I will write to Catherine.

"Perhaps you can give me some directions about mourning.

"Miss Austen, Edward Austen's, Esq.,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

XXVI.

"Castle Square, Saturday night (October 15).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"Your accounts make us as comfortable as we can expect to be at such a time. Edward's loss is terrible, and must be felt as such, and these are too early days indeed to think of moderation in grief, either in him or his afflicted daughter, but soon we may hope that our dear Fanny's sense of duty to that beloved father will rouse her to exertion. For his sake, and as the most acceptable proof of love to the spirit of her departed mother, she will try to be tranquil and resigned. Does she feel you to be a comfort to her, or is she too much overpowered for anything but solitude?

"Your account of Lizzy is very interesting. Poor child! One must hope the impression will be strong, and yet one's heart aches for a dejected mind of eight years old.

"I suppose you see the corpse? How does it appear? We are anxious to be assured that Edward will not attend the funeral, but when it comes to the point I think he must feel it impossible.

"Your parcel shall set off on Monday, and I hope the shoes will fit; Martha and I both tried them on. I shall send you such of your mourning as I think most likely to be useful, reserving for myself your stockings and half the velvet, in which selfish arrangement I know I am doing what you wish.

"I am to be in bombazeen and crape, according to what we are told is universal here, and which agrees with Martha's previous observation. My mourning, however, will not impoverish me, for by having my velvet pelisse fresh lined and made up, I am sure I shall have no occasion this winter for anything new of that sort. I take my cloak for the lining, and shall send yours on the chance of its doing something of the same for you, though I believe your pelisse is in better repair than mine. One Miss Baker makes my gown and the other my bonnet, which is to be silk covered with crape."

"We are desired by Mrs. Harrison and Miss Austen to say everything proper for them to yourself and Edward on this sad occasion, especially that nothing but a wish of not giving additional trouble where so much is inevitable prevents their writing themselves to express their concern. They seem truly to feel concern."

"Upon your letter to Dr. Goddard's being forwarded to them, Mary wrote to ask whether my mother wished to have her grandsons sent to her. We decided on their remaining where they were, which I hope my brother will approve of. I am sure he will do us the justice of believing that in such a decision we sacrificed inclination to what we thought best."

" ... I shall certainly make use of the opportunity of addressing our nephew on the most serious of all concerns, as I naturally did in my letter to him before. The poor boys are, perhaps, more comfortable at Steventon than they could be here, but you will understand my feelings with respect to it."

"That you are forever in our thoughts you will not doubt. I see your mournful party in my mind's eye under every varying circumstance of the day; and in the evening especially figure to myself its sad gloom: the efforts to talk, the frequent summons to melancholy orders and cares, and poor Edward, restless in misery, going from one room to another, and perhaps not seldom upstairs, to see all that remains of his Elizabeth. Dearest Fanny must now look upon herself as his prime source of comfort, his dearest friend; as the being who is gradually to supply to him, to the extent that is possible, what he has lost. This consideration will elevate and cheer her."

"Miss Austen, Edward Austen's, Esq.,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

"XXVII.

"Castle Square, Monday (October 24).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"Edward and George came to us soon after seven on Saturday, very well, but very cold, having by choice travelled on the outside, and with no greatcoat but what Mr. Wise, the coachman, good-naturedly spared them of his, as they sat by his side. They were so much chilled when they arrived, that I was afraid they must have taken cold; but it does not seem at all the case: I never saw them looking better.

"They behave extremely well in every respect, showing quite as much feeling as one wishes to see, and on every occasion speaking of their father with the liveliest affection. His letter was read over by each of them yesterday, and with many tears; George sobbed aloud, Edward's tears do not flow so easily; but as far as I can judge they are both very properly impressed by what has happened. Miss Lloyd, who is a more impartial judge than I can be, is exceedingly pleased with them."

"Mrs. J. A. had not time to get them more than one suit of clothes; their others are making here, and though I do not believe Southampton is famous for tailoring, I hope it will prove itself better than Basingstoke. Edward has an old black coat, which will save his having a second new one; but I find that black pantaloons are considered by them as necessary, and of course one would not have them made uncomfortable by the want of what is usual on such occasions.

"Fanny's letter was received with great pleasure yesterday, and her brother sends his thanks and will answer it soon. We all saw what she wrote, and were very much pleased with it."

"Anne has just given her mistress warning; she is going to be married; I wish she would stay her year.

"On the subject of matrimony, I must notice a wedding in the Salisbury paper, which has amused me very much, Dr. Phillot to Lady Frances St. Lawrence. She wanted to have a husband, I suppose, once in her life, and he a Lady Frances."

"Tuesday. — Your close-written letter makes me quite ashamed of my wide lines; you have sent me a great deal of matter, most of it very welcome. As to your lengthened stay, it is no more than I expected, and what must be, but you cannot suppose I like it.

"All that you say of Edward is truly comfortable; I began to fear that when the bustle of the first week was over, his spirits might for a time be more depressed; and perhaps one must still expect something of the kind."

"The day began cheerfully, but it is not likely to continue what it should, for them or for us. We had a little water-party yesterday; I and my two nephews went from the Itchen Ferry up to Northam, where we landed, looked into the 74, and walked home, and it was so much enjoyed that I had intended to take them to Netley today; the tide is just right for our going immediately after moonshine, but I am afraid there will be rain; if we cannot get so far, however, we may perhaps go round from the ferry to the quay.

"I had not proposed doing more than cross the Itchen yesterday, but it proved so pleasant, and so much to the satisfaction of all, that when we reached the middle of the stream we agreed to be rowed up the river; both the boys rowed great part of the way, and their questions and remarks, as well as their enjoyment, were very amusing; George's inquiries were endless, and his eagerness in everything reminds me often of his uncle Henry."

"We have just had two hampers of apples from Kintbury, and the floor of our little garret is almost covered.

"Love to all.

"Yours very affectionately, J. A.

"Miss Austen, Edward Austen's, Esq.,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

XXVIII.

"Castle Square, Sunday (November 21).

"Your letter, my dear Cassandra, obliges me to write immediately, that you may have the earliest notice of Frank's intending, if possible, to go to Godmersham exactly at the time now fixed for your visit to Goodnestone."

"He meant to ask for five days more, and if they were granted, to go down by Thursday night's mail, and spend Friday and Saturday with you; and he considered his chance of succeeding by no means bad. I hope it will take place as he planned, and that your arrangements with Goodnestone may admit of suitable alteration.

"Your news of Edward Bridges was quite news, for I have had no letter from Wrotham. I wish him happy with all my heart, and hope his choice may turn out according to his own expectations, and beyond those of his family; and I dare say it will. Marriage is a great improver, and in a similar situation Harriet may be as amiable as Eleanor. As to money, that will come, you may be sure, because they cannot do without it. When you see him again, pray give him our congratulations and best wishes. This match will certainly set John and Lucy going.

"There are six bedchambers at Chawton; Henry wrote to my mother the other day, and luckily mentioned the number, which is just what we wanted to be assured of. He speaks also of garrets for store-places, one of which she immediately planned fitting up for Edward's man-servant; and now perhaps it must be for our own; for she is already quite reconciled to our keeping one. The difficulty of doing without one had been thought of before. His name shall be Robert, if you please.

"Before I can tell you of it, you will have heard that Miss Sawbridge is married. It took place, I believe, on Thursday. Mrs. Fowle has for some time been in the secret, but the neighbourhood in general were quite unsuspicious. Mr. Maxwell was tutor to the young Gregorys, — consequently, they must be one of the happiest couples in the world, and either of them worthy of envy, for she must be excessively in love, and he mounts from nothing to a comfortable home. Martha has heard him very highly spoken of. They continue for the present at Speen Hill.

"I have a Southampton match to return for your Kentish one, Captain G. Heathcote and Miss A. Lyell. I have it from Alethea, and like it, because I had made it before."

"How could you have a wet day on Thursday? With us it was a prince of days, the most delightful we have had for weeks; soft, bright, with a brisk wind from the southwest; everybody was out and talking of spring, and Martha and I did not know how to turn back. On Friday evening we had some very blowing weather, — from six to nine; I think we never heard it worse, even here. And one night we had so much rain that it forced its way again into the store-closet; and though the evil was comparatively slight and the mischief nothing, I had some employment the next day in drying parcels, etc. I have now moved still more out of the way."

"Mary Jane missed her papa and mamma a good deal at first, but now does very well without them. I am glad to hear of little John's being better, and hope your accounts of Mrs. Knight will also improve. Adieu! Remember me affectionately to everybody, and believe me,

"Ever yours, J. A.

"Miss Austen, Edward Austen's, Esq.,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

XXIX.

"Castle Square, Friday (December 9).

""But all this," as my dear Mrs. Piozzi says, "is flight and fancy and nonsense, for my master has his great casks to mind and I have my little children." It is you, however, in this instance, that have the little children, and I that have the great cask, for we are brewing spruce beer again"

"In the first place, Miss Curling is actually at Portsmouth, which I was always in hopes would not happen. I wish her no worse, however, than a long and happy abode there. Here she would probably be dull, and I am sure she would be troublesome.

"The bracelets are in my possession, and everything I could wish them to be. They came with Martha's pelisse, which likewise gives great satisfaction."

"A larger circle of acquaintance, and an increase of amusement, is quite in character with our approaching removal. Yes, I mean to go to as many balls as possible, that I may have a good bargain. Everybody is very much concerned at our going away, and everybody is acquainted with Chawton, and speaks of it as a remarkably pretty village, and everybody knows the house we describe, but nobody fixes on the right.

"I am very much obliged to Mrs. Knight for such a proof of the interest she takes in me, and she may depend upon it that I will marry Mr. Papillon, whatever may be his reluctance or my own. I owe her much more than such a trifling sacrifice.

"Our ball was rather more amusing than I expected. Martha liked it very much, and I did not gape till the last quarter of an hour. It was past nine before we were sent for, and not twelve when we returned. The room was tolerably full, and there were, perhaps, thirty couple of dancers. The melancholy part was to see so many dozen young women standing by without partners, and each of them with two ugly naked shoulders.

"It was the same room in which we danced fifteen years ago. I thought it all over, and in spite of the shame of being so much older, felt with thankfulness that I was quite as happy now as then. We paid an additional shilling for our tea, which we took as we chose in an adjoining and very comfortable room.

"There were only four dances, and it went to my heart that the Miss Lances (one of them, too, named Emma) should have partners only for two. You will not expect to hear that I was asked to dance, but I was—by the gentleman whom we met that Sunday with Captain D'Auvergne. We have always kept up a bowing acquaintance since, and, being pleased with his black eyes, I spoke to him at the ball, which brought on me this civility; but I do not know his name, and he seems so little at home in the English language that I believe his black eyes may be the best of him. Captain D'Auvergne has got a ship.

"Martha and I made use of the very favourable state of yesterday for walking, to pay our duty at Chiswell. We found Mrs. Lance at home and alone, and sat out three other ladies who soon came in. We went by the ferry, and returned by the bridge, and were scarcely at all fatigued."

" ... Mr. Sloper is married again, not much to Nanny's, or anybody's satisfaction. The lady was governess to Sir Robert's natural children, and seems to have nothing to recommend her. ... "

"Having now cleared away my smaller articles of news, I come to a communication of some weight; no less than that my uncle and aunt[23] are going to allow James £100. a year. We hear of it through Steventon. Mary sent us the other day an extract from my aunt's letter on the subject, in which the donation is made with the greatest kindness, and intended as a compensation for his loss in the conscientious refusal of Hampstead living; £100. a year being all that he had at the time called its worth, as I find it was always intended at Steventon to divide the real income with Kintbury."

"I am glad you are to have Henry with you again; with him and the boys you cannot but have a cheerful, and at times even a merry, Christmas. ... "

"Yours ever sincerely, J. A.

"Miss Austen, Edward Austen's, Esq.,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

XXX.

"Castle Square, Tuesday (December 27).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"I can now write at leisure and make the most of my subjects, which is lucky, as they are not numerous this week."

" ... You tell me much that gives me pleasure, but I think not much to answer. I wish I could help you in your needlework. I have two hands and a new thimble that lead a very easy life.

"Lady Sondes' match surprises, but does not offend me; had her first marriage been of affection, or had there been a grown-up single daughter, I should not have forgiven her; but I consider everybody as having a right to marry once in their lives for love, if they can, and provided she will now leave off having bad headaches and being pathetic, I can allow her, I can wish her, to be happy."

"Our evening party on Thursday produced nothing more remarkable than Miss Murden's coming too, though she had declined it absolutely in the morning, and sitting very ungracious and very silent with us from seven o'clock till half after eleven, for so late was it, owing to the chairmen, before we got rid of them.

"The last hour, spent in yawning and shivering in a wide circle round the fire, was dull enough, but the tray had admirable success. The widgeon and the preserved ginger were as delicious as one could wish. But as to our black butter, do not decoy anybody to Southampton by such a lure, for it is all gone. ... "

"James means to keep three horses on this increase of income; at present he has but one. Mary wishes the other two to be fit to carry women, and in the purchase of one Edward will probably be called upon to fulfil his promise to his godson. We have now pretty well ascertained James's income to be eleven hundred pounds, curate paid, which makes us very happy, — the ascertainment as well as the income."

"I was happy to hear, chiefly for Anna's sake, that a ball at Manydown was once more in agitation; it is called a child's ball, and given by Mrs. Heathcote to Wm. Such was its beginning at least, but it will probably swell into something more. Edward was invited during his stay at Manydown, and it is to take place between this and Twelfth-day. Mrs. Hulbert has taken Anna a pair of white shoes on the occasion."

" ... We spent Friday evening with our friends at the boarding-house, and our curiosity was gratified by the sight of their fellow-inmates, Mrs. Drew and Miss Hook, Mr. Wynne and Mr. Fitzhugh; the latter is brother to Mrs. Lance, and very much the gentleman. ... "

"Miss Hook is a well-behaved, genteelish woman; Mrs. Drew well behaved, without being at all genteel. Mr. Wynne seems a chatty and rather familiar young man. Miss Murden was quite a different creature this last evening from what she had been before, owing to her having with Martha's help found a situation in the morning, which bids very fair for comfort. When she leaves Steventon, she comes to board and lodge with Mrs. Hookey, the chemist — for there is no Mr. Hookey.

"I cannot say that I am in any hurry for the conclusion of her present visit, but I was truly glad to see her comfortable in mind and spirits; at her age, perhaps, one may be as friendless oneself, and in similar circumstances quite as captious.

"My mother has been lately adding to her possessions in plate, — a whole tablespoon and a whole dessert-spoon, and six whole teaspoons, — which makes our sideboard border on the magnificent. They were mostly the produce of old or useless silver. I have turned the 11s. in the list into 12s., and the card looks all the better; a silver tea-ladle is also added, which will at least answer the purpose of making us sometimes think of John Warren."

"I must write to Charles next week. You may guess in what extravagant terms of praise Earle Harwood speaks of him. He is looked up to by everybody in all America."

"We have had snow on the ground here almost a week; it is now going, but Southampton must boast no longer. We all send our love to Edward junior and his brothers, and I hope Speculation is generally liked.

"Fare you well.

"Yours affectionately,

"J. Austen."

"Miss Austen, Edward Austen's, Esq.,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

XXXI.

"Castle Square, Tuesday (January 10, 1809)."

" ... about your good godmother ... she is better ...

"Her disorder is an inflammation on the lungs, arising from a severe chill taken in church last Sunday three weeks; her mind all pious composure, as may be supposed. George Cooke was there when her illness began; his brother has now taken his place. Her age and feebleness considered, one's fears cannot but preponderate, though her amendment has already surpassed the expectation of the physician at the beginning. I am sorry to add that Becky is laid up with a complaint of the same kind.

"I am very glad to have the time of your return at all fixed; we all rejoice in it, and it will not be later than I had expected. I dare not hope that Mary and Miss Curling may be detained at Portsmouth so long or half so long; but it would be worth twopence to have it so.

"The "St. Albans" perhaps may soon be off to help bring home what may remain by this time of our poor army, whose state seems dreadfully critical. The "Regency" seems to have been heard of only here; my most political correspondents make no mention of it. Unlucky that I should have wasted so much reflection on the subject."

"William will be quite recovered, I trust, by the time you receive this. What a comfort his cross-stitch must have been! Pray tell him that I should like to see his work very much. I hope our answers this morning have given satisfaction; we had great pleasure in Uncle Deedes' packet; and pray let Marianne know, in private, that I think she is quite right to work a rug for Uncle John's coffee urn, and that I am sure it must give great pleasure to herself now, and to him when he receives it.

"The preference of Brag over Speculation does not greatly surprise me, I believe, because I feel the same myself; but it mortifies me deeply, because Speculation was under my patronage; and, after all, what is there so delightful in a pair royal of Braggers? It is but three nines or three knaves, or a mixture of them. When one comes to reason upon it, it cannot stand its ground against Speculation, — of which I hope Edward is now convinced. Give my love to him if he is."

"The Holders are as usual, though I believe it is not very usual for them to be happy, which they now are at a great rate, in Hooper's marriage. The Irvines are not mentioned. The American lady improved as we went on; but still the same faults in part recurred.

"We are now in Margiana, and like it very well indeed. We are just going to set off for Northumberland to be shut up in Widdrington Tower, where there must be two or three sets of victims already immured under a very fine villain.

"Wednesday. — Your report of Eliza's health gives me great pleasure, and the progress of the bank is a constant source of satisfaction. With such increasing profits, tell Henry that I hope he will not work poor High-Diddle so hard as he used to do.

"Has your newspaper given a sad story of a Mrs. Middleton, wife of a farmer in Yorkshire, her sister, and servant, being almost frozen to death in the late weather, her little child quite so? I hope the sister is not our friend Miss Woodd, and I rather think her brother-in-law had moved into Lincolnshire, but their name and station accord too well. Mrs. M. and the maid are said to be tolerably recovered, but the sister is likely to lose the use of her limbs.

"Charles's rug will be finished today, and sent tomorrow to Frank, to be consigned by him to Mr. Turner's care; and I am going to send Marmion out with it, — very generous in me, I think.

"As we have no letter from Adlestrop, we may suppose the good woman was alive on Monday, but I cannot help expecting bad news from thence or Bookham in a few days. Do you continue quite well?"

"Yours affectionately, J. Austen.

"The Manydown ball was a smaller thing than I expected, but it seems to have made Anna very happy. At her age it would not have done for me.

"Miss Austen, Edward Austen's, Esq.,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

................................................................................................

XXXII.

"Castle Square, Tuesday (January 17).

"My dear Cassandra, —

" ... Your offer of cravats is very kind, and happens to be particularly adapted to my wants, but it was an odd thing to occur to you.

"Yes, we have got another fall of snow, and are very dreadful; everything seems to turn to snow this winter.

"I hope you have had no more illness among you, and that William will be soon as well as ever. His working a footstool for Chawton is a most agreeable surprise to me, and I am sure his grandmamma will value it very much as a proof of his affection and industry, but we shall never have the heart to put our feet upon it. I believe I must work a muslin cover in satin stitch to keep it from the dirt. I long to know what his colours are. I guess greens and purples."

"Anna went to Clanville last Friday, and I have hopes of her new aunt's being really worth her knowing. Perhaps you may never have heard that James and Mary paid a morning visit there in form some weeks ago, and Mary, though by no means disposed to like her, was very much pleased with her indeed. Her praise, to be sure, proves nothing more than Mrs. M.'s being civil and attentive to them, but her being so is in favour of her having good sense. Mary writes of Anna as improved in person, but gives her no other commendation. I am afraid her absence now may deprive her of one pleasure, for that silly Mr. Hammond is actually to give his ball on Friday.

"We had some reason to expect a visit from Earle Harwood and James this week, but they do not come. Miss Murden arrived last night at Mrs. Hookey's, as a message and a basket announced to us. You will therefore return to an enlarged and, of course, improved society here, especially as the Miss Williamses are come back."

"I can easily suppose that your six weeks here will be fully occupied, were it only in lengthening the waists of your gowns. I have pretty well arranged my spring and summer plans of that kind, and mean to wear out my spotted muslin before I go. You will exclaim at this, but mine really has signs of feebleness, which with a little care may come to something.

"Martha and Dr. Mant are as bad as ever; he runs after her in the street to apologise for having spoken to a gentleman while she was near him the day before. Poor Mrs. Mant can stand it no longer; she is retired to one of her married daughters'."

"To set against your new novel, of which nobody ever heard before, and perhaps never may again, we have got "Ida of Athens," by Miss Owenson, which must be very clever, because it was written, as the authoress says, in three months. We have only read the preface yet, but her Irish girl does not make me expect much. If the warmth of her language could affect the body, it might be worth reading in this weather."

"We afterwards called on the Miss Williamses, who lodge at Durantoy's. Miss Mary only was at home, and she is in very indifferent health. Dr. Hacket came in while we were there, and said that he never remembered such a severe winter as this in Southampton before. It is bad, but we do not suffer as we did last year, because the wind has been more N.E. than N.W."

"The Queen's birthday moves the assembly to this night instead of last, and as it is always fully attended, Martha and I expect an amusing show. We were in hopes of being independent of other companions by having the attendance of Mr. Austen and Captain Harwood; but as they fail us, we are obliged to look out for other help, and have fixed on the Wallops as least likely to be troublesome. I have called on them this morning and found them very willing, and I am sorry that you must wait a whole week for the particulars of the evening. I propose being asked to dance by our acquaintance Mr. Smith, now Captain Smith, who has lately reappeared in Southampton, but I shall decline it. He saw Charles last August."

"Yours affectionately,

"J. Austen."

"Miss Austen, Edward Austen's, Esq.,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

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XXXIII.

"Castle Square, Tuesday (January 24).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"This day three weeks you are to be in London, and I wish you better weather; not but that you may have worse, for we have now nothing but ceaseless snow or rain and insufferable dirt to complain of; no tempestuous winds nor severity of cold. Since I wrote last we have had something of each, but it is not genteel to rip up old grievances."

"You have by no means raised my curiosity after Caleb. My disinclination for it before was affected, but now it is real. I do not like the evangelicals. Of course I shall be delighted when I read it, like other people; but till I do I dislike it."

"My mother has been talking to Eliza about our future home, and she, making no difficulty at all of the sweetheart, is perfectly disposed to continue with us, but till she has written home for mother's approbation cannot quite decide. Mother does not like to have her so far off. At Chawton she will be nine or ten miles nearer, which I hope will have its due influence."

"Your silence on the subject of our ball makes me suppose your curiosity too great for words. We were very well entertained, and could have stayed longer but for the arrival of my list shoes to convey me home, and I did not like to keep them waiting in the cold. The room was tolerably full, and the ball opened by Miss Glyn. The Miss Lances had partners, Captain Dauvergne's friend appeared in regimentals, Caroline Maitland had an officer to flirt with, and Mr. John Harrison was deputed by Captain Smith, being himself absent, to ask me to dance. Everything went well, you see, especially after we had tucked Mrs. Lance's neckerchief in behind and fastened it with a pin.

"We had a very full and agreeable account of Mr. Hammond's ball from Anna last night; the same fluent pen has sent similar information, I know, into Kent. She seems to have been as happy as one could wish her, and the complacency of her mamma in doing the honours of the evening must have made her pleasure almost as great. The grandeur of the meeting was beyond my hopes. I should like to have seen Anna's looks and performance, but that sad cropped head must have injured the former."

"Martha pleases herself with believing that if I had kept her counsel you would never have heard of Dr. M.'s late behaviour, as if the very slight manner in which I mentioned it could have been all on which you found your judgement. I do not endeavour to undeceive her, because I wish her happy, at all events, and know how highly she prizes happiness of any kind. She is, moreover, so full of kindness for us both, and sends you in particular so many good wishes about your finger, that I am willing to overlook a venial fault, and as Dr. M. is a clergyman, their attachment, however immoral, has a decorous air. Adieu, sweet you. This is grievous news from Spain. It is well that Dr. Moore was spared the knowledge of such a son's death.

"Yours affectionately,

"J. Austen.

"Anna's hand gets better and better; it begins to be too good for any consequence. We send best love to dear little Lizzy and Marianne in particular.

"The Portsmouth paper gave a melancholy history of a poor mad woman, escaped from confinement, who said her husband and daughter, of the name of Payne, lived at Ashford, in Kent. Do you own them?

"Miss Austen, Edward Austen's, Esq.,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

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XXXIV.

"Castle Square, Monday (January 30).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"Here is such a wet day as never was seen. I wish the poor little girls had better weather for their journey; they must amuse themselves with watching the raindrops down the windows. ... "

"I am not at all ashamed about the name of the novel, having been guilty of no insult toward your handwriting; the diphthong I always saw, but knowing how fond you were of adding a vowel wherever you could, I attributed it to that alone, and the knowledge of the truth does the book no service; the only merit it could have was in the name of Caleb, which has an honest, unpretending sound, but in Coelebs there is pedantry and affectation. Is it written only to classical scholars?"

"A letter from Hamstall gives us the history of Sir Tho. Williams's return. The admiral, whoever he might he, took a fancy to the "Neptune," and having only a worn-out 74 to offer in lieu of it, Sir Tho. declined such a command, and is come home passenger. Lucky man! to have so fair an opportunity of escape. I hope his wife allows herself to be happy on the occasion, and does not give all her thoughts to being nervous.

"A great event happens this week at Hamstall in young Edward's removal to school. He is going to Rugby, and is very happy in the idea of it; I wish his happiness may last, but it will be a great change to become a raw school-boy from being a pompous sermon-writer and a domineering brother. It will do him good, I dare say."

"What you tell me of Miss Sharpe is quite new, and surprises me a little; I feel, however, as you do. She is born, poor thing! to struggle with evil, and her continuing with Miss B. is, I hope, a proof that matters are not always so very bad between them as her letters sometimes represent.

"Jenny's marriage I had heard of, and supposed you would do so too from Steventon, as I knew you were corresponding with Mary at the time. I hope she will not sully the respectable name she now bears."

" ... I am sorry to find that Sir J. Moore has a mother living, but though a very heroic son he might not be a very necessary one to her happiness. Deacon Morrell may be more to Mrs. Morrell."

" ... Col. Maitland is safe and well; his mother and sisters were of course anxious about him, but there is no entering much into the solicitudes of that family."

"Lady Sondes is an impudent woman to come back into her old neighbourhood again; I suppose she pretends never to have married before, and wonders how her father and mother came to have her christened Lady Sondes."

"Yours very affectionately,

"J. Austen.

"Miss Austen, Edward Austen's, Esq.,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

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XXXV.

"Sloane St., Thursday (April 18, 1811).

"My dear Cassandra, —

"The badness of the weather disconcerted an excellent plan of mine, — that of calling on Miss Beckford again; but from the middle of the day it rained incessantly. Mary and I, after disposing of her father and mother, went to the Liverpool Museum and the British Gallery, and I had some amusement at each, though my preference for men and women always inclines me to attend more to the company than the sight.

"Mrs. Cooke regrets very much that she did not see you when you called; it was owing to a blunder among the servants, for she did not know of our visit till we were gone. She seems tolerably well, but the nervous part of her complaint, I fear, increases, and makes her more and more unwilling to part with Mary."

"I did not see Theo. till late on Tuesday; he was gone to Ilford, but he came back in time to show his usual nothing-meaning, harmless, heartless civility. Henry, who had been confined the whole day to the bank, took me in his way home, and, after putting life and wit into the party for a quarter of an hour, put himself and his sister into a hackney coach."

I am sorry to tell you that I am getting very extravagant, and spending all my money, and, what is worse for you, I have been spending yours too; for in a linen-draper’s shop to which I went for checked muslin, and for which I was obliged to give seven shillings a yard, I was tempted by a pretty-coloured muslin, and bought ten yards of it on the chance of your liking it; but at the same time, if it should not suit you, you must not think yourself at all obliged to take it; it is only 3s. 6d. per yard, and I should not in the least mind keeping the whole. In texture it is just what we prefer, but its resemblance to green crewels, I must own, is not great, for the pattern is a small red spot. And now I believe I have done all my commissions except Wedgwood.

"I liked my walk very much; it was shorter than I had expected, and the weather was delightful. We set off immediately after breakfast, and must have reached Grafton House by half-past eleven; but when we entered the shop the whole counter was thronged, and we waited full half an hour before we could be attended to. When we were served, however, I was very well satisfied with my purchases, — my bugle trimming at 2s. 4d. and three pair silk stockings for a little less than 12s. a pair.

"In my way back who should I meet but Mr. Moore, just come from Beckenham. I believe he would have passed me if I had not made him stop, but we were delighted to meet. I soon found, however, that he had nothing new to tell me, and then I let him go.

"Miss Burton has made me a very pretty little bonnet, and now nothing can satisfy me but I must have a straw hat, of the riding-hat shape, like Mrs. Tilson's; and a young woman in this neighbourhood is actually making me one. I am really very shocking, but it will not be dear at a guinea. Our pelisses are 17s. each; she charges only 8s. for the making, but the buttons seem expensive,—are expensive, I might have said, for the fact is plain enough."

"Eliza is walking out by herself. She has plenty of business on her hands just now, for the day of the party is settled, and drawing near. Above eighty people are invited for next Tuesday evening, and there is to be some very good music, — five professionals, three of them glee singers, besides amateurs. Fanny will listen to this. One of the hirelings is a capital on the harp, from which I expect great pleasure. The foundation of the party was a dinner to Henry Egerton and Henry Walter, but the latter leaves town the day before. I am sorry, as I wished her prejudice to be done away, but should have been more sorry if there had been no invitation."

"Saturday.—Frank is superseded in the "Caledonia." Henry brought us this news yesterday from Mr. Daysh, and he heard at the same time that Charles may be in England in the course of a month. Sir Edward Pollen succeeds Lord Gambier in his command, and some captain of his succeeds Frank; and I believe the order is already gone out. Henry means to inquire further today. He wrote to Mary on the occasion. This is something to think of. Henry is convinced that he will have the offer of something else, but does not think it will be at all incumbent on him to accept it; and then follows, what will he do? And where will he live?"

"Our first object today was Henrietta St., to consult with Henry in consequence of a very unlucky change of the play for this very night, — "Hamlet" instead of "King John," — and we are to go on Monday to "Macbeth" instead; but it is a disappointment to us both.

"Love to all.

"Yours affectionately,

"Jane. Miss Austen, Edward Austen's, Esq.,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

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XXXVI.

"Sloane St., Thursday (April 25).

"My dearest Cassandra, —"

"I think Edward will not suffer much longer from heat; by the look of things this morning I suspect the weather is rising into the balsamic north-east. It has been hot here, as you may suppose, since it was so hot with you, but I have not suffered from it at all, nor felt it in such a degree as to make me imagine it would be anything in the country. Everybody has talked of the heat, but I set it all down to London.

"I give you joy of our new nephew, and hope if he ever comes to be hanged it will not be till we are too old to care about it. It is a great comfort to have it so safely and speedily over. ... "

"No, indeed, I am never too busy to think of S. and S.[27] I can no more forget it than a mother can forget her sucking child; and I am much obliged to you for your inquiries. I have had two sheets to correct, but the last only brings us to Willoughby's first appearance. Mrs. K. regrets in the most flattering manner that she must wait till May, but I have scarcely a hope of its being out in June. Henry does not neglect it; he has hurried the printer, and says he will see him again today. It will not stand still during his absence, it will be sent to Eliza.

"The incomes remain as they were, but I will get them altered if I can. I am very much gratified by Mrs. K.'s interest in it; and whatever may be the event of it as to my credit with her, sincerely wish her curiosity could be satisfied sooner than is now probable. I think she will like my Elinor, but cannot build on anything else.

"Our party went off extremely well. There were many solicitudes, alarms, and vexations beforehand, of course, but at last everything was quite right. The rooms were dressed up with flowers, etc., and looked very pretty. A glass for the mantelpiece was lent by the man who is making their own. Mr. Egerton and Mr. Walter came at half-past five, and the festivities began with a pair of very fine soles."

"At half-past seven arrived the musicians in two hackney coaches, and by eight the lordly company began to appear. Among the earliest were George and Mary Cooke, and I spent the greatest part of the evening very pleasantly with them. The drawing-room being soon hotter than we liked, we placed ourselves in the connecting passage, which was comparatively cool, and gave us all the advantage of the music at a pleasant distance, as well as that of the first view of every new-comer.

"I was quite surrounded by acquaintance, especially gentlemen; and what with Mr. Hampson, Mr. Seymour, Mr. W. Knatchbull, Mr. Guillemarde, Mr. Cure, a Captain Simpson, brother to the Captain Simpson, besides Mr. Walter and Mr. Egerton, in addition to the Cookes, and Miss Beckford, and Miss Middleton, I had quite as much upon my hands as I could do."

"Including everybody we were sixty-six, — which was considerably more than Eliza had expected, and quite enough to fill the back drawing-room and leave a few to be scattered about in the other and in the passage.

"The music was extremely good. It opened (tell Fanny) with "Poike de Parp pirs praise pof Prapela;" and of the other glees I remember, "In peace love tunes," "Rosabelle," "The Red Cross Knight," and "Poor Insect." Between the songs were lessons on the harp, or harp and pianoforte together; and the harp-player was Wiepart, whose name seems famous, though new to me. There was one female singer, a short Miss Davis, all in blue, bringing up for the public line, whose voice was said to be very fine indeed; and all the performers gave great satisfaction by doing what they were paid for, and giving themselves no airs. No amateur could be persuaded to do anything."

"This said Captain Simpson told us, on the authority of some other Captain just arrived from Halifax, that Charles was bringing the "Cleopatra" home, and that she was probably by this time in the Channel; but as Captain S. was certainly in liquor, we must not quite depend on it. It must give one a sort of expectation, however, and will prevent my writing to him anymore. I would rather he should not reach England till I am at home, and the Steventon party gone."

"Your lilacs are in leaf, ours are in bloom. The horse-chestnuts are quite out, and the elms almost. I had a pleasant walk in Kensington Gardens on Sunday with Henry, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Tilson; everything was fresh and beautiful.

"We did go to the play, after all, on Saturday. We went to the Lyceum, and saw the "Hypocrite," an old play taken from Molière's "Tartuffe," and were well entertained. Dowton and Mathews were the good actors; Mrs. Edwin was the heroine, and her performance is just what it used to be. I have no chance of seeing Mrs. Siddons; she did act on Monday, but as Henry was told by the box-keeper that he did not think she would, the plans, and all thought of it, were given up. I should particularly have liked seeing her in "Constance," and could swear at her with little effort for disappointing me."

"Eliza caught her cold on Sunday in our way to the D'Entraigues. The horses actually gibbed on this side of Hyde Park Gate: a load of fresh gravel made it a formidable hill to them, and they refused the collar; I believe there was a sore shoulder to irritate. Eliza was frightened, and we got out, and were detained in the evening air several minutes. The cold is in her chest, but she takes care of herself, and I hope it may not last long.

"This engagement prevented Mr. Walter's staying late, — he had his coffee and went away. Eliza enjoyed her evening very much, and means to cultivate the acquaintance; and I see nothing to dislike in them but their taking quantities of snuff. Monsieur, the old count, is a very fine-looking man, with quiet manners, good enough for an Englishman, and, I believe, is a man of great information and taste. He has some fine paintings, which delighted Henry as much as the son's music gratified Eliza; and among them a miniature of Philip V. of Spain, Louis XIV.'s grandson, which exactly suited my capacity. Count Julien's performance is very wonderful."

"Yours affectionately,

"J. A.

"Give my love particularly to my goddaughter.

"Miss Austen, Edward Austen's, Esq., Godmersham Park, Faversham."

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XXXVII.

"Sloane St., Tuesday.

"My dear Cassandra, —

"I had sent off my letter yesterday before yours came, which I was sorry for; but as Eliza has been so good as to get me a frank, your questions shall be answered without much further expense to you."

"We have tried to get "Self-control," but in vain. I should like to know what her estimate is, but am always half afraid of finding a clever novel too clever, and of finding my own story and my own people all forestalled."

"I like your opinion of Miss Atten much better than I expected, and have now hopes of her staying a whole twelvemonth. By this time I suppose she is hard at it, governing away. Poor creature! I pity her, though they are my nieces."

"I congratulate Edward on the Weald of Kent Canal Bill being put off till another Session, as I have just had the pleasure of reading. There is always something to be hoped from delay."

"I mean, if I can, to wait for your return before I have my new gown made up, from a notion of their making up to more advantage together; and as I find the muslin is not so wide as it used to be, some contrivance may be necessary. I expect the skirt to require one-half breadth cut in gores, besides two whole breadths.

"Eliza has not yet quite resolved on inviting Anna, but I think she will.

"Yours very affectionately,

"Jane."

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XXXVIII.

"Chawton, Wednesday (May 29).

"It was a mistake of mine, my dear Cassandra, to talk of a tenth child at Hamstall. I had forgot there were but eight already.

"Your inquiry after my uncle and aunt were most happily timed, for the very same post brought an account of them. They are again at Gloucester House enjoying fresh air, which they seem to have felt the want of in Bath, and are tolerably well, but not more than tolerable. My aunt does not enter into particulars, but she does not write in spirits, and we imagine that she has never entirely got the better of her disorder in the winter. Mrs. Welby takes her out airing in her barouche, which gives her a headache, — a comfortable proof, I suppose, of the uselessness of the new carriage when they have got it.

"You certainly must have heard before I can tell you that Col. Orde has married our cousin Margt. Beckford, the Marchess of Douglas's sister. The papers say that her father disinherits her, but I think too well of an Orde to suppose that she has not a handsome independence of her own.

"The chickens are all alive and fit for the table, but we save them for something grand. Some of the flower seeds are coming up very well, but your mignonette makes a wretched appearance. Miss Benn has been equally unlucky as to hers. She had seed from four different people, and none of it comes up. Our young piony at the foot of the fir-tree has just blown and looks very handsome, and the whole of the shrubbery border will soon be very gay with pinks and sweet-williams, in addition to the columbines already in bloom. The syringas, too, are coming out. We are likely to have a great crop of Orleans plums, but not many greengages — on the standard scarcely any, three or four dozen, perhaps, against the wall. I believe I told you differently when I first came home, but I can now judge better than I could then."

"Mrs. Terry, Mary, and Robert, with my aunt Harding and her daughter, came from Dummer for a day and a night, — all very agreeable and very much delighted with the new house and with Chawton in general.

"We sat upstairs, and had thunder and lightning as usual. I never knew such a spring for thunderstorms as it has been. Thank God! we have had no bad ones here. I thought myself in luck to have my uncomfortable feelings shared by the mistress of the house, as that procured blinds and candles. It had been excessively hot the whole day. Mrs. Harding is a good-looking woman, but not much like Mrs. Toke, inasmuch as she is very brown and has scarcely any teeth; she seems to have some of Mrs. Toke's civility. Miss H. is an elegant, pleasing, pretty-looking girl, about nineteen, I suppose, or nineteen and a half, or nineteen and a quarter, with flowers in her head and music at her finger-ends. She plays very well indeed. I have seldom heard anybody with more pleasure. They were at Godington four or five years ago. My cousin Flora Long was there last year.

"My name is Diana. How does Fanny like it? What a change in the weather! We have a fire again now."

"If you have not heard it is very fit you should, that Mr. Harrison has had the living of Fareham given him by the bishop, and is going to reside there; and now it is said that Mr. Peach (beautiful wiseacre) wants to have the curacy of Overton, and if he does leave Wootton, James Digweed wishes to go there. Fare you well.

"Yours affectionately, Jane Austen.

"The chimneys at the great house are done. Mr. Prowting has opened a gravel-pit, very conveniently for my mother, just at the mouth of the approach to his house; but it looks a little as if he meant to catch all his company. Tolerable gravel.

"Miss Austen,

"Godmersham Park, Faversham, Kent."

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August 21, 2021 - August 26, 2021.

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–EXTRAS: Biographical–

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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE (by Henry Austen) (1816)

JANE AUSTEN (by Samuel Stillman Conant) (1870)

MEMOIR OF JANE AUSTEN (by James Edward Austen-Leigh) (1871)

MORE VIEWS OF JANE AUSTEN (by George Barnett Smith) (1895)

JANE AUSTEN AND HER TIMES (by Geraldine Edith Mitton) (1905)

JANE AUSTEN (by William Lyon Phelps) (1906)

JANE AUSTEN, HER LIFE AND LETTERS: A Family Record (by W. Austen-Leigh and R. A. Austen-Leigh) (1913)

JANE AUSTEN by O.W. Firkins (1823)

AUSTEN, JANE from Encyclopaedia Britannica (1910-1911)

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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE (by Henry Austen) (1816)

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"The very first biographical work on Jane Austen.", says a subtitle. Of course. It was written as a notice, shortly after her funeral, by one of the brothers, one who had encouraged her reading, writing, and publishing.

It's what one would expect from someone close, loving, and mindful of her privacy, and so on. Still, it's invaluable, in a first-hand description and a tribute to someone who was known and read exponentially more over centuries after her time.

One does get first-hand information from reading thus, of course, however closely guarded her privacy, and however sweet and soft her description, well deserved as it must have been - for not even those close and loving can completely cover or falsify the person and the relationships.

So one gets a picture of the youngest daughter of a clergyman in the small village of Steventon, growing up in a large family with five brothers - one younger to her - and a sister, who remained close to the author through her life. The picture is soft, but definite, and corresponds well enough with the impressions we get through her work and her letters.

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"Jane Austen was born on the 16th of December, 1775, at Steventon, in the county of Hampshire. Her father was Rector of the parish upwards of forty years. There he resided, in the conscientious and unassisted discharge of his ministerial duties, until he was turned of seventy years. Then he retired with his wife, our authoress, and her sister, to Bath, for the remainder of his life, a period of about four years. ... "

The place names are familiar to those who have read her letters, of course.

"On the death of her father she removed, with her mother and sister, for a short time, to Southampton, and finally, in 1809, to the pleasant village of Chawton, in the same county. From this place she sent into the world those novels, which by many have been placed on the same shelf as the works of a D'Arblay and an Edgeworth. Some of these novels had been the gradual performances of her previous life. For though in composition she was equally rapid and correct, yet an invincible distrust of her own judgement induced her to withhold her works from the public, till time and many perusals had satisfied her that the charm of recent composition was dissolved."

And to think most of us, familiar with her work betweenover a century to two centuries later after she was gone, have never heard of "... a D'Arblay and an Edgeworth" whom the brother values as he writes this, perhaps not personally as much, but definitely as those then very well established as esteemed autjors. Jane Austen we all have heard of, and most of us read, if at all familiar with English language and literature, and millions who are not, at that, for her work is translated in other languages too - and transcends her time just as it does her country.

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"But the symptoms of a decay, deep and incurable, began to show themselves in the commencement of 1816. Her decline was at first deceitfully slow; and until the spring of this present year, those who knew their happiness to be involved in her existence could not endure to despair. But in the month of May, 1817, it was found advisable that she should be removed to Winchester for the benefit of constant medical aid, which none even then dared to hope would be permanently beneficial. She supported, during two months, all the varying pain, irksomeness, and tedium, attendant on decaying nature, with more than resignation, with a truly elastic cheerfulness. She retained her faculties, her memory, her fancy, her temper, and her affections, warm, clear, and unimpaired, to the last. ... She wrote whilst she could hold a pen, and with a pencil when a pen was become too laborious. The day preceding her death she composed some stanzas replete with fancy and vigour. Her last voluntary speech conveyed thanks to her medical attendant; and to the final question asked of her, purporting to know her wants, she replied, 'I want nothing but death.'

"She expired shortly after, on Friday the 18th of July, 1817, in the arms of her sister, who, as well as the relator of these events, feels too surely that they shall never look upon her like again.

"Jane Austen was buried on the 24th of July, 1817, in the cathedral church of Winchester, which, in the whole catalogue of its mighty dead, does not contain the ashes of a brighter genius or a sincerer Christian."

While one does not question, much less doubt, her values, if one has read anything she wrote, one has to wonder why her brother felt he needed to assert those, to reassure people who might have not known her personally.

Was it doe to the prevailing atmosphere of lingering memories of inquisition not yet a distant memory, coupled with the then still fresh new breezes of renaissance helped by the French revolution, scientific inquiry newly freed from shackles of church, and women being not burnt at stake if suspected of having a mind at all a phenomenon not yet old enough in Europe- or U.S. - to be reassuring enough?

Henry Austen himself, cryptically for those unaware of why, says

"In the present age it is hazardous to mention accomplishments."

He does not elaborate - he was writing a notice of her having passed on, and not expecting posterity to read it, centuries later, unfamiliar with reasons, with the prevalent atmosphere as he wrote. He expected those that read to know and understand, as a matter of course.

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"If there be an opinion current in the world, that perfect placidity of temper is not reconcilable to the most lively imagination, and the keenest relish for wit, such an opinion will be rejected for ever by those who have had the happiness of knowing the authoress of the following works. Though the frailties, foibles, and follies of others could not escape her immediate detection, yet even on their vices did she never trust herself to comment with unkindness. The affectation of candour is not uncommon; but she had no affectation. Faultless herself, as nearly as human nature could be, she always sought, in the faults of others, something to excuse, to forgive or forget. Where extenuation was impossible, she had a sure refuge in silence. She never uttered either a hasty, a silly, or a severe expression. In short, her temper was as polished as her wit. Nor were her manners inferior to her temper. They were of the happiest kind. No one could be often in her company without feeling a strong desire of obtaining her friendship, and cherishing a hope of having obtained it. She was tranquil without reserve or stiffness; and communicative without intrusion or self-sufficiency. She became an authoress entirely from taste and inclination. Neither the hope of fame nor profit mixed with her early motives. Most of her works, as before observed, were composed many years previous to their publication. It was with extreme difficulty that her friends, whose partiality she suspected whilst she honoured their judgement, could prevail on her to publish her first work. Nay, so persuaded was she that its sale would not repay the expense of publication, that she actually made a reserve from her very moderate income to meet the expected loss. She could scarcely believe what she termed her great good fortune when "Sense and Sensibility" produced a clear profit of about £150. Few so gifted were so truly unpretending. She regarded the above sum as a prodigious recompense for that which had cost her nothing. Her readers, perhaps, will wonder that such a work produced so little at a time when some authors have received more guineas than they have written lines. The works of our authoress, however, may live as long as those which have burst on the world with more éclat. But the public has not been unjust; and our authoress was far from thinking it so. Most gratifying to her was the applause which from time to time reached her ears from those who were competent to discriminate. Still, in spite of such applause, so much did she shrink from notoriety, that no accumulation of fame would have induced her, had she lived, to affix her name to any productions of her pen. ... "

That last sentence is puzzling. While many women then wrote and publ8shed under pen names - male names, since women doing things other than housework, or lowly manual work, if done elsewhere for a living, was seen as abhorrent at worst, or impossible at best, despite Queens having ruled Britain successfully enough, and one in particular (Queen Elizabeth I) having eclipsed most monarchs in her success, still - this author isn't known to have published under any name other than her own! Did she?

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Curiously, he says -

"Her power of inventing characters seems to have been intuitive, and almost unlimited. She drew from nature; but, whatever may have been surmised to the contrary, never from individuals."

One somehow had the impression on the whole that her characters, being so diverse, so very alive, and true across time and space and cultures, were from general observations of society, until one reads her letters. Then two or three things emerge, however veiled by mist.

One, the loving and close relationship between her best known character Elizabeth Bennet and her sister Jane, might have been the unconscious if not conscious regard that Jane Austen paid her own sister Cassandra and the close, loving relationship they shared.

Two, her Northanger Abbey might have been inspired from a small episode in her niece Fanny's life, although the resolution thereof was different - we read the author advise her to forget the excellent young man without independent means, whose father objected to the young woman on grounds of her pecuniary circumstances being not up to the expectations the father had of women he considered eligible for the son.

And finally, the person if not the story, of Mansfield Park, of the loved character of Fanny Price, being probably named after the niece Jane Austen loved and was close to - their being semi-orphaned, for one, and living with close relatives, is somewhat similar, although it's the very righteous, despite her modesty, character of Fanny Price that is now, after reading the letters of Jane Austen, is explained by the love of the author for her niece.

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August 26, 2021 - August 27, 2021.

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JANE AUSTEN

(by Samuel Stillman Conant) (1870)

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JANE AUSTEN (by Samuel Stillman Conant) (1870)

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This title produces no results when searched for on Goodreads or even Amazon, but does when searched on Google; there seem several sites, beginning with one called Holland's, familiar with the title.

But the author of this biographical work on Jane Austen, Samuel Stillman Conant, must have been a known name in his time. How Time obliterated temporary names, while others little known in their time, rise as Himaalayan ranges rising through the ocean now stand taller than the world, still rising!

Or so one thought, before reading the next work included in this collection,

MEMOIR OF JANE AUSTEN

(by James Edward Austen-Leigh) (1871)

Then it became clear, to one's surprise, that this piece by Conant seems to be extracted, almost entirely, from various chapters of the memoir by her nephew!

Almost the only original contribution made by Conant to this collection of excerpts, not necessarily following the order from the original book, is the observation he makes about the brothers being all married - some more than once - and having children, while the two sisters never married.

The memoir he draws from, on the other hand - and the one previous to this one (in this collection of works of Jane Austen), BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE (by Henry Austen) (1816), for that matter - assert the devout, religious, specifically, Christian values, and firm faith, of the sisters, repeatedly.

Since the father and two of the brothers were clergymen, it all makes one wonder, did that affect the daughters into remaining unmarried, and was it their being virginal through their lives that made the brothers retain respect for them, in addition to which they - the sisters - being the ones to care for the parents? And if so, what does that say about their attitude towards women who married, and had large families, such as their mother and wives? Or were those women supposed, firmly, to be merely carrying a duty, unpleasant to them since they were virtuous, Christian women, who couldn't possibly be imagined to feel anything but suffering in course of such duty?

Did this free them, and others like them, to have comfort in their roles in empire building as merely carrying out an unpleasant duty, in not only killings of hapless "natives", but very associating with them, in any way?

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Conant gives interesting facts, interesting especially to those unfamiliar with them.

"A few years ago, a gentleman visiting the beautiful cathedral of Winchester, England, desired to be shown the grave of Jane Austen. The verger, as he pointed it out, asked, "Pray, Sir, can you tell me whether there was anything particular about that lady; so many people want to know where she was buried?" We fancy the ignorance of the honest verger is shared by most American readers of the present day, respecting the life and character of a lady whose novels commanded the admiration of Scott, of Mackintosh, of Macaulay, of Coleridge, of Southey, and others of equal eminence in the world of letters. Even during her lifetime she was known only through her novels. Unlike her gifted contemporary, Miss Mitford, she lived in entire seclusion from the literary world; neither by correspondence nor by personal intercourse was she known to any contemporary authors. It is probable that she never was in company with any person whose talents or whose celebrity equalled her own; so that her powers never could have been sharpened by collision with superior intellects, nor her imagination aided by their casual suggestions. Even during the last two or three years of her life, when her works were rising in the estimation of the public, they did not enlarge the circle of her acquaintance. ... "

Does bring a smile. But then he says

"Few of her readers knew even her name, and none knew more of her than her name. It would scarcely he possible to mention any other author of note, whose personal obscurity was so complete."

Once again - for her brother Henry said something similar, in her biographical notice - why didn't her readers know her name? Weren't names of authors mentioned on their published works? And she wasn't, isn't, known to have hidden her own, as did more than one of women writers of the times, using a male pen name! Or did she, too, use one, perforce?

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Interesting, about fame!

"Fanny Burney, afterward Madame d'Arblay, was at an early age petted by Dr. Johnson, and introduced to the wits and scholars of the day at the tables of Mrs. Thrale and Sir Joshua Reynolds. Anna Seward, in her self-constituted shrine at Litchfield, would have been miserable, had she not trusted that the eyes of all lovers of poetry were devoutly fixed on her. Joanna Baillie and Maria Edgeworth were far from courting publicity; they loved the privacy of their own families, one with her brother and sister in their Hampstead villa, the other in her more distant retreat in Ireland; but fame pursued them, and they were the favourite correspondents of Sir Walter Scott."

And now, tables have turned and how! How many know those names now?

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"The chief part of Charlotte Bronte's life was spent in a wild solitude compared with which Steventon and Chawton might be considered to be in the gay world; and yet she attained to personal distinction which never fell to Miss Austen's lot. When she visited her kind publisher in London, literary men and women were invited purposely to meet her: Thackeray bestowed upon her the honour of his notice; and once in Willis's Rooms, she had to walk shy and trembling through an avenue of lords and ladies, drawn up for the purpose of gazing at the author of "Jane Eyre.""

Conant doesn't mention the now known bit about the same Thackeray - or was it another great man of letters of the day? - who said to her publisher, when referring to the work of her then much less known, not so much esteemed sister Emily Bronte, that as time goes, Emily would rise in esteem and her work be far more known, dwarfing that of the then more famous Charlotte and her far more copious work.

" ... Miss Mitford, too, lived quietly in "Our Village," devoting her time and talents to the benefit of a father scarcely worthy of her; but she did not live there unknown. Her tragedies gave her a name in London. She numbered Milman and Talfourd among her correspondents; and her works were a passport to the society of many who would not otherwise have sought her. Hundreds admired Miss Mitford on account of her writings for one who ever connected the idea of Miss Austen with the press."

Again, how times change! Atlantis become mythical, once long ago known and now so completely unknown; Himaalayan ranges rising changes landscapes of continents, and one ocean expands at the ridge in middle even as the ring of fire surrounding the other brings tsunamis threatening to drown lands.

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"It was not till toward the close of her life, when the last of the works that she saw published was in the press that she received the only mark of distinction that was ever bestowed upon her; and that was remarkable for the high quarter whence it emanated rather than for any actual increase of fame that it conferred. It happened thus. In the autumn of 1815 she nursed her brother Henry through a dangerous fever and slow convalescence at his house in Hans Place. He was attended by one of the Prince Regent's physicians. All attempts to keep her name secret had at this time ceased, and though it had never appeared on a title-page, yet it was pretty well known; and the friendly physician was aware that his patient's nurse was the author of "Pride and Prejudice." ... "

Her name "had never appeared on a title-page"??? Didn't authors' names appear on title page, then, generally?

How then was the doctor, incidentally, aware of her being the author?

"Accordingly he informed her one day that the prince was a great admirer of her novels; that he read them often, and kept a set in every one of his residences; that he himself therefore had thought it right to inform his Royal Highness that Miss Austen was staying in London, and that the prince had desired Mr. Clarke, the librarian of Carlton House, to wait upon her. The next day Mr. Clarke made his appearance, and invited her to Carlton House, saying that he had the prince's instructions to show her the library and other apartments, and to pay her every possible attention. The invitation was of course accepted, and during the visit to Carlton House Mr. Clarke declared himself commissioned to say that if Miss Austen had any other novel forthcoming she was at liberty to dedicate it to the prince. Accordingly such a dedication was immediately prefixed to "Emma," which was at that time in the press."

This would be before Queen Victoria.

" ... After a long period of undeserved neglect her novels are again coming into vogue with readers of quiet and refined tastes; and many may take an interest in a delineation of her mind and character. Many may care to know whether the moral rectitude, the correct taste, and the warm affections with which she invested her ideal characters were really existing in the native source whence those ideas flowed, and were actually exhibited by her in the various relations of life. "I can indeed hear witness," writes her nephew, "that there was scarcely a charm in her most delightful characters that was not a true reflection of her own sweet temper and loving heart. I was young when we lost her; but the impressions made on the young are deep, and though in the course of fifty years I have forgotten much, I have not forgotten that 'Aunt Jane' was the delight of all her nephews and nieces. We did not think of her as being clever, still less as being famous; but we valued her as one always kind, sympathizing, and amusing.""

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"Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, at the parsonage house of Steventon, in Hampshire, England. Her father, the Rev. George Austen, was of an old family. At the time of his daughter's birth he held the two adjoining rectories of Deane and Steventon. The two villages were little more than a mile apart, and their united populations scarcely amounted to three hundred, so that this was not considered a very gross case of plurality. At this time the grandfather of Mary Russell Mitford, Dr. Russell, was rector of the adjoining parish of Ashe; so that the parents of two popular female authors must have been intimately acquainted with each other."

Was this the same Milford family who were known for society glamour in early twentieth century, until one daughter, and a son-in-law Mosley, brought infamy due to their adherence to an infamous cause, even in face of war, so much so the said daughter attempted suicide rather than return from Germany when England declared war, even though she was alone in Germany and could only hope to see the object of her worship once in a while?

" ... Cassandra's was the colder and calmer disposition; she was always prudent and well judging, but with less outward demonstration of feeling and less sunniness of temper than Jane possessed. It was remarked in her family that "Cassandra had the merit of having her temper always under command, but that Jane had the happiness of a temper that never required to be commanded.""

" ... She was always very careful not to meddle with matters which she did not thoroughly understand. She never touched upon politics, law, or medicine; but with ships and sailors she felt herself at home, or at least could always trust to a brotherly critic to keep her right. It is said that no flaw has ever been found in her seamanship either in "Mansfield Park" or in "Persuasion.""

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In describing the family life at Steventon, Conant says-

" ... Their situation had some peculiar advantages beyond those of ordinary rectories. Steventon was a family living. Mr. Knight, the patron, was also proprietor of nearly the whole parish. He never resided there, and consequently the rector and his children came to be regarded in the neighbourhood as in some sort representatives of the family. They shared with the principal tenant the command of an excellent manor, and enjoyed, in this reflected way, some of the consideration usually awarded to landed proprietors. They were not rich, but, aided by Mr. Austen's powers of teaching, they had enough to afford a good education to their sons and daughters, to mix in the best society of the neighbourhood, and to exercise a liberal hospitality to their own relations and friends. ... "

It's unclear what exactly "They shared with the principal tenant the command of an excellent manor" means - did they live in the manor? Also, what does "they had enough to afford a good education to their sons and daughters" mean, other than possibly the sons being sent to good public schools, possibly also universities? Did the daughters have governesses, or more?

" ... A carriage and a pair of horses were kept. This might imply a higher style of living in our days than it did in theirs. There were then no assessed taxes. The carriage, once bought, entailed little further expense; and the horses, probably, were often employed in farm work. Moreover, it should be remembered that a pair of horses in those days was almost necessary, if ladies were to move about at all; for neither the condition of the roads nor the style of carriage-building admitted of any comfortable vehicle being drawn by a single horse. When one looks at the few specimens still remaining of coach-building in the last century, it strikes one that the chief object of the builders must have been to combine the greatest possible weight with the least possible amount of accommodation."

Perhaps that was necessary to keep the carriage steady despite the bad roads?

" ... Potatoes were used, but not so abundantly as now; and there was an idea that they were to be eaten only with roast meat. They were novelties to a tenant's wife who was entertained at Steventon parsonage, certainly less than a hundred years ago; when Mrs. Austen advised her to plant them in her own garden she replied, "No, no; they are very well for you gentry, but they must be terribly costly to raise.""

How times change! Chief example of German grievances post WWI has always been summed up in having to survive on potatoes!

"But a still greater difference would be found in the furniture of the rooms, which would appear to us lamentably scanty. There was a general deficiency of carpeting in sitting-rooms, bedrooms, and passages. A piano-forte, or rather a spinnet or harpsichord, was by no means a necessary appendage. It was to be found only where there was a decided taste for music, not so common then as now, or in such great houses as would probably contain a billiard-table. There would often be but one sofa in the house, and that a stiff, angular, uncomfortable article. There were no deep easy-chairs, nor other appliances for lounging; for to lie down, or even to lie back, was a luxury permitted only to old persons or invalids. ... "

And yet, as Jane Austen describes social life in her work, and her letters as well, people visited one another copiously, had tea or lunch or dinner together often enough with visitors, and balls were very common centre of social life. They must have sat together, in drawing rooms, a great deal.

" ... But perhaps we should he most struck with the total absence of those elegant little articles which now embellish and encumber our drawing-room tables. We should miss the sliding book-cases and picture-stands, the letter-weighing machines and envelope-cases, the periodicals and illustrated newspapers—above all, the countless swarm of photograph books which now threaten to swallow up all space. ... "

Most of which tells much more about the times of thus author, Conant.

" ... A small writing-desk, with a smaller work-box or netting-case, was all that each young lady contributed to occupy the table; for the large family work-basket, though often produced in the parlour, lived in the closet."

Which changed long before the electronics and internet era!

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"It was, however, at Steventon that the real foundations of her fame were laid. There some of her most successful writing was composed, at such an early age as to make it surprising that so young a woman could have acquired the insight into character and the nice observation of manners which they display. "Pride and Prejudice," which some consider the most brilliant of her novels, was the first finished, if not the first begun. She began it in October, 1796, before she was twenty-one years old, and completed it in about ten months, in August, 1897. The title then intended for it was "First Impressions." "Sense and Sensibility" was begun, in its present form, immediately after the completion of the former, in November, 1797; but something similar in story and character had been written earlier under the title of "Elinor and Marianne ;" and if as is probable, a good deal of this earlier production was retained, it must form the earliest specimen of her writing that has been given to the world. "Northanger Abbey," though not prepared for the press till 1803, was certainly first composed in 1798."

Wasn't "Sense and Sensibility"published first?

"At the time of her removal to Chawton Cottage, Jane Austen was very attractive in person: her figure was rather tall and slender, her step light and firm, and her whole appearance expressive of health and animation. In complexion she was a clear brunette with a rich colour; she had full round cheeks, with mouth and nose small and well formed, bright hazel eyes, and brown hair forming natural curls close round her face. If not so regularly handsome as her sister, yet her countenance had a peculiar charm of its own to the eyes of most beholders. ... "

This supports the impression about the two elder Bennet sisters, of Pride and Prejudice, being modelled after Jane Austen's sister and herself, with perhaps an unconscious desire about wishing she was the more beautiful elder sister, reflected in choice of names.

" ... She was not highly accomplished according to the present standard. Her sister drew well, and it is from a drawing of hers that the likeness prefixed to this article has been taken. ... "

That must be the source of the image used on most of the Jane Austen works.

" ... Jane herself was fond of music, and had a sweet voice, both in singing and in conversation; in her youth she had received some instruction on the piano-forte; and at Chawton she practiced daily, chiefly before breakfast. In the evening she would sometimes sing, to her own accompaniment, some simple old songs, the words and airs of which, now rarely heard, still linger in the memory of old people. ... "

That has gone into the Elizabeth Bennet image, certainly.

" ... She read French with facility, and knew something of Italian. ... "

Reminds of the scene in the Bingley drawing room, where Miss Bingley provokes Darcy to speak regarding his expectations of a young woman's accomplishments before he could call her accomplished.

" ... In those days German was no more thought of than Hindostanee, as part of a lady's education. ... "

On one hand, that tells us of the disdain of an ignorant Brit, and most Europeans at that, about the treasure they were looting and attempting destruction thereof - India. On the other, one has to wonder if any of them, including those enamoured of India due to realising just how rich and enormous the treasure India was and is, could quite learn an Indian language, much less be good at it? Including Goethe or Maxmuller or a Hesse? Brits would, of course, have a problem of attitude, although the missionaries had to let go of one attitude to support another, in attemptin learning a local language in India so as to be able to convert people, thus remaining blind to the far deeper, far faster treasure.

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"The fascination which she exercised over children cannot be better described than by quoting the words of one of her nieces. She says:

""As a very little girl I was always creeping up to Aunt Jane and following her whenever I could, in the house and out of it. I might not have remembered this but for the recollection of my mother's telling me privately that I must not be troublesome to my aunt. Her first charm to children was great sweetness of manner. She seemed to love you, and you loved her in return. This, as well as I can now recollect, was what I felt in my early days before I was old enough to be amused by her cleverness. But soon came the delight of her playful talk. She could make everything amusing to a child. Then, as I got older, when cousins came to share the entertainment, she would tell us the most delightful stories, chiefly of Fairy-land, and her fairies had all characters of their own. The tale was invented, I am sure, at the moment, and was continued for two or three days if occasion served.""

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"The first year of Jane Austen's residence at Chawton seems to have been devoted to revising and preparing for the press "Sense and Sensibility" and "Pride and Prejudice;" but between February, 1811, and August, 1816, she began and completed "Mansfield Park." "Emma," and "Persuasion," so that the last five years of her life produced the same number of novels with those which had been written in her early youth. How she was able to effect all this is surprising; for she had no separate study to retire to, and most of the work must have been done in the general sitting-room, subject to all kinds of casual interruptions. So much having been prepared beforehand, when once she began to publish, her works came out in quick succession. "Sense and Sensibility" was published in 1811, "Pride and Prejudice" at the beginning of 1813, "Mansfield Park" in 1814, "Emma" early in 1816; "Northanger Abbey" and "Persuasion" did not appear till after her death, in 1818. The profits of those which had been printed before her death had not at that time amounted to seven hundred pounds. Her first attempts at publication were discouraging. The manuscript of "Pride and Prejudice" was declined without a reading; and that of "Northanger Abbey," after being sold for ten pounds, lay for many years in the publisher's drawer, until it was gladly relinquished for the original purchase-money."

"The most interesting as well as the most hearty testimony to the merits of Miss Austen's novels came from the pen of Sir Walter Scott, who wrote as follows, in his diary for March 14, 1826:

""Read again, for the third time at least, Miss Austen's finely written novel of 'Pride and Prejudice.' That young lady had a talent for describing the involvements and feelings and characters of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with. The big bow-wow strain I can do myself like any now going; but the exquisite touch which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting, from the truth of the description and the sentiment, is denied to me. What a pity such a gifted creature died so early!""

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August 28, 2021 - August 28, 2021.

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MEMOIR OF JANE AUSTEN

(by James Edward Austen-Leigh) (1871)

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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4205241760

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MEMOIR OF JANE AUSTEN

(by James Edward Austen-Leigh) (1871)

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This is a most satisfactory account to read of life and memories of Jane Austen, written and compiled as it is by a loving nephew with memories of his aunt, her home, and intimate knowledge of the family, with painstaking compilation that reminds one of perfection of her own writings.

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The previous biographical work, JANE AUSTEN (by Samuel Stillman Conant) (1870), included in thi compilation

Jane Austen: Complete Works

+ Extras - 83 titles

(Annotated and illustrated)

by Jane Austen.

Published April 21st 2013

by Bourville Publishing,

seems to be extracted, almost entirely, from various chapters of this memoir by her nephew!

This memoir that Conant draws from, on the other hand - and the one previous to Conant's (in this collection of works of Jane Austen), BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE (by Henry Austen) (1816), for that matter - assert the devout, religious, specifically, Christian values, and firm faith, of the sisters, repeatedly.

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"The memoir of my aunt, Jane Austen, has been received with more favour than I had ventured to expect. The notices taken of it in the periodical press, as well as letters addressed to me by many with whom I am not personally acquainted, show that an unabated interest is still taken in every particular that can be told about her. I am thus encouraged not only to offer a second edition of the memoir, but also to enlarge it with some additional matter which I might have scrupled to intrude on the public if they had not thus seemed to call for it. In the present edition, the narrative is somewhat enlarged, and a few more letters are added; with a short specimen of her childish stories. The cancelled chapter of 'Persuasion' is given, in compliance with wishes both publicly and privately expressed. A fragment of a story entitled 'The Watsons' is printed; and extracts are given from a novel which she had begun a few months before her death; but the chief addition is a short tale never before published, called 'Lady Susan.' I regret that the little which I have been able to add could not appear in my first edition; as much of it was either unknown to me, or not at my command, when I first published; and I hope that I may claim some indulgent allowance for the difficulty of recovering little facts and feelings which had been merged half a century deep in oblivion.

"November 17, 1870."

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"Mr. George Austen had lost both his parents before he was nine years old. He inherited no property from them; but was happy in having a kind uncle, Mr. Francis Austen, a successful lawyer at Tunbridge, the ancestor of the Austens of Kippington, who, though he had children of his own, yet made liberal provision for his orphan nephew. The boy received a good education at Tunbridge School, whence he obtained a scholarship, and subsequently a fellowship, at St. John's College, Oxford. In 1764 he came into possession of the two adjoining Rectories of Deane and Steventon in Hampshire; the former purchased for him by his generous uncle Francis, the latter given by his cousin Mr. Knight. This was no very gross case of plurality, according to the ideas of that time, for the two villages were little more than a mile apart, and their united populations scarcely amounted to three hundred. In the same year he married Cassandra, youngest daughter of the Rev. Thomas Leigh, of the family of Leighs of Warwickshire, who, having been a fellow of All Souls, held the College living of Harpsden, near Henley-upon-Thames. Mr. Thomas Leigh was a younger brother of Dr. Theophilus Leigh, a personage well known at Oxford in his day, and his day was not a short one, for he lived to be ninety, and held the Mastership of Balliol College for above half a century. He was a man more famous for his sayings than his doings, overflowing with puns and witticisms and sharp retorts; but his most serious joke was his practical one of living much longer than had been expected or intended. He was a fellow of Corpus, and the story is that the Balliol men, unable to agree in electing one of their own number to the Mastership, chose him, partly under the idea that he was in weak health and likely soon to cause another vacancy. It was afterwards said that his long incumbency had been a judgment on the society for having elected an Out-College Man. ... "

" ... I do not know from what common ancestor the Master of Balliol and his great-niece Jane Austen, with some others of the family, may have derived the keen sense of humour which they certainly possessed."

"Mr. and Mrs. George Austen resided first at Deane, but removed in 1771 to Steventon, which was their residence for about thirty years. They commenced their married life with the charge of a little child, a son of the celebrated Warren Hastings, who had been committed to the care of Mr. Austen before his marriage, probably through the influence of his sister, Mrs. Hancock, whose husband at that time held some office under Hastings in India. Mr. Gleig, in his 'Life of Hastings,' says that his son George, the offspring of his first marriage, was sent to England in 1761 for his education, but that he had never been able to ascertain to whom this precious charge was entrusted, nor what became of him. I am able to state, from family tradition, that he died young, of what was then called putrid sore throat; and that Mrs. Austen had become so much attached to him that she always declared that his death had been as great a grief to her as if he had been a child of her own.""

"Attention has lately been called by a celebrated writer to the inferiority of the clergy to the laity of England two centuries ago. The charge no doubt is true, if the rural clergy are to be compared with that higher section of country gentlemen who went into parliament, and mixed in London society, and took the lead in their several counties; but it might be found less true if they were to be compared, as in all fairness they ought to be, with that lower section with whom they usually associated. The smaller landed proprietors, who seldom went farther from home than their county town, from the squire with his thousand acres to the yeoman who cultivated his hereditary property of one or two hundred, then formed a numerous class —each the aristocrat of his own parish; and there was probably a greater difference in manners and refinement between this class and that immediately above them than could now be found between any two persons who rank as gentlemen. For in the progress of civilisation, though all orders may make some progress, yet it is most perceptible in the lower. It is a process of 'levelling up;' the rear rank 'dressing up,' as it were, close to the front rank. When Hamlet mentions, as something which he had 'for three years taken note of,' that 'the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel of the courtier,' it was probably intended by Shakespeare as a satire on his own times; but it expressed a principle which is working at all times in which society makes any progress. I believe that a century ago the improvement in most country parishes began with the clergy; and that in those days a rector who chanced to be a gentleman and a scholar found himself superior to his chief parishioners in information and manners, and became a sort of centre of refinement and politeness."

" ... Being a good scholar he was able to prepare two of his sons for the university, and to direct the studies of his other children, whether sons or daughters, as well as to increase his income by taking pupils."

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"But dearest of all to the heart of Jane was her sister Cassandra, about three years her senior. Their sisterly affection for each other could scarcely be exceeded. Perhaps it began on Jane's side with the feeling of deference natural to a loving child towards a kind elder sister. Something of this feeling always remained; and even in the maturity of her powers, and in the enjoyment of increasing success, she would still speak of Cassandra as of one wiser and better than herself. In childhood, when the elder was sent to the school of a Mrs. Latournelle, in the Forbury at Reading, the younger went with her, not because she was thought old enough to profit much by the instruction there imparted, but because she would have been miserable without her sister; her mother observing that 'if Cassandra were going to have her head cut off, Jane would insist on sharing her fate.' This attachment was never interrupted or weakened. They lived in the same home, and shared the same bed-room, till separated by death. They were not exactly alike. Cassandra's was the colder and calmer disposition; she was always prudent and well judging, but with less outward demonstration of feeling and less sunniness of temper than Jane possessed. It was remarked in her family that 'Cassandra had the merit of having her temper always under command, but that Jane had the happiness of a temper that never required to be commanded.' When 'Sense and Sensibility' came out, some persons, who knew the family slightly, surmised that the two elder Miss Dashwoods were intended by the author for her sister and herself; but this could not be the case. Cassandra's character might indeed represent the 'sense' of Elinor, but Jane's had little in common with the 'sensibility' of Marianne. The young woman who, before the age of twenty, could so clearly discern the failings of Marianne Dashwood, could hardly have been subject to them herself."

No, it's quite clear that the two sisters are mirrored by Jane Austen in the two eldest Bennet sisters, Jane and Elizabeth Bennet. And further, she gave her own name to the elder, beautiful one, while taking the name Elizabeth for the younger one whom she is more like, going by her writings.

" ... There was so much that was agreeable and attractive in this family party that its members may be excused if they were inclined to live somewhat too exclusively within it. They might see in each other much to love and esteem, and something to admire. The family talk had abundance of spirit and vivacity, and was never troubled by disagreements even in little matters, for it was not their habit to dispute or argue with each other: above all, there was strong family affection and firm union, never to be broken but by death. It cannot be doubted that all this had its influence on the author in the construction of her stories, in which a family party usually supplies the narrow stage, while the interest is made to revolve round a few actors."

" ... Her acquaintance, in fact, constituted the very class from which she took her imaginary characters, ranging from the Member of Parliament, or large landed proprietor, to the young curate or younger midshipman of equally good family; ... "

................................................................................................

"The family lived in close intimacy with two cousins, Edward and Jane Cooper, the children of Mrs. Austen's eldest sister, and Dr. Cooper, the Vicar of Sonning, near Reading. The Coopers lived for some years at Bath, which seems to have been much frequented in those days by clergymen retiring from work. I believe that Cassandra and Jane sometimes visited them there, and that Jane thus acquired the intimate knowledge of the topography and customs of Bath, which enabled her to write 'Northanger Abbey' long before she resided there herself. After the death of their own parents, the two young Coopers paid long visits at Steventon. Edward Cooper did not live undistinguished. When an undergraduate at Oxford, he gained the prize for Latin hexameters on 'Hortus Anglicus' in 1791; and in later life he was known by a work on prophecy, called 'The Crisis,' and other religious publications, especially for several volumes of sermons, much preached in many pulpits in my youth. Jane Cooper was married from her uncle's house at Steventon, to captain, afterwards Sir Thomas Williams, under whom Charles Austen served in several ships. She was a dear friend of her namesake, but was fated to become a cause of great sorrow to her, for a few years after the marriage she was suddenly killed by an accident to her carriage."

"There was another cousin closely associated with them at Steventon, who must have introduced greater variety into the family circle. This was the daughter of Mr. Austen's only sister, Mrs. Hancock. This cousin had been educated in Paris, and married to a Count de Feuillade, of whom I know little more than that he perished by the guillotine during the French Revolution. Perhaps his chief offence was his rank; but it was said that the charge of 'incivism,' under which he suffered, rested on the fact of his having laid down some arable land into pasture —a sure sign of his intention to embarrass the Republican Government by producing a famine! His wife escaped through dangers and difficulties to England, was received for some time into her uncle's family, and finally married her cousin Henry Austen. During the short peace of Amiens, she and her second husband went to France, in the hope of recovering some of the count's property, and there narrowly escaped being included amongst the detenus. Orders had been given by Buonaparte's government to detain all English travellers, but at the post-houses Mrs. Henry Austen gave the necessary orders herself, and her French was so perfect that she passed everywhere for a native, and her husband escaped under this protection.

"She was a clever woman, and highly accomplished, after the French rather than the English mode; and in those days, when intercourse with the continent was long interrupted by war, such an element in the society of a country parsonage must have been a rare acquisition. The sisters may have been more indebted to this cousin than to Mrs. La Tournelle's teaching for the considerable knowledge of French which they possessed. She also took the principal parts in the private theatricals in which the family several times indulged, having their summer theatre in the barn, and their winter one within the narrow limits of the dining-room, where the number of the audience must have been very limited. On these occasions, the prologues and epilogues were written by Jane's eldest brother, and some of them are very vigorous and amusing. Jane was only twelve years old at the time of the earliest of these representations, and not more than fifteen when the last took place. She was, however, an early observer, and it may be reasonably supposed that some of the incidents and feelings which are so vividly painted in the Mansfield Park theatricals are due to her recollections of these entertainments."

That being so, how does one interpret the attitude of moral disapproval of Mansfield Park regarding such activities? True, it was the uncle of Fanny Price who disapproved, but she adhered to this, as a matter of principle, from his being the head of household, and as per her morals, it being a duty to obey him; so was this the state of affairs in the Austen household? Was there a counterpart, perhaps the Digweeds or some relatives of theirs visiting, reflected in the brother and sister pair in Mansfield Park as those after marrying Edward and Fanny?

"Some time before they left Steventon, one great affliction came upon the family. Cassandra was engaged to be married to a young clergyman. He had not sufficient private fortune to permit an immediate union; but the engagement was not likely to be a hopeless or a protracted one, for he had a prospect of early preferment from a nobleman with whom he was connected both by birth and by personal friendship. He accompanied this friend to the West Indies, as chaplain to his regiment, and there died of yellow fever, to the great concern of his friend and patron, who afterwards declared that, if he had known of the engagement, he would not have permitted him to go out to such a climate. This little domestic tragedy caused great and lasting grief to the principal sufferer, and could not but cast a gloom over the whole party. The sympathy of Jane was probably, from her age, and her peculiar attachment to her sister, the deepest of all."

This is reflected in Mansfield Park in the death of the heir in the household, turning Edward into the heir. The manner of death of the elder son of the family, a first cousin of Fanny Price, is a journey to West Indies causing an illness; and Jane Austen here has subtly, obliquely, indicated more, via a sketchbook of this cousinthat horrified Fanny Price.

" ... She did not indeed pass through life without being the object of warm affection. In her youth she had declined the addresses of a gentleman who had the recommendations of good character, and connections, and position in life, of everything, in fact, except the subtle power of touching her heart. There is, however, one passage of romance in her history with which I am imperfectly acquainted, and to which I am unable to assign name, or date, or place, though I have it on sufficient authority. Many years after her death, some circumstances induced her sister Cassandra to break through her habitual reticence, and to speak of it. She said that, while staying at some seaside place, they became acquainted with a gentleman, whose charm of person, mind, and manners was such that Cassandra thought him worthy to possess and likely to win her sister's love. When they parted, he expressed his intention of soon seeing them again; and Cassandra felt no doubt as to his motives. But they never again met. Within a short time they heard of his sudden death. I believe that, if Jane ever loved, it was this unnamed gentleman; but the acquaintance had been short, and I am unable to say whether her feelings were of such a nature as to affect her happiness."

................................................................................................

" ... There is no doubt that if we could look into the households of the clergy and the small gentry of that period, we should see some things which would seem strange to us, and should miss many more to which we are accustomed. Every hundred years, and especially a century like the last, marked by an extraordinary advance in wealth, luxury, and refinement of taste, as well as in the mechanical arts which embellish our houses, must produce a great change in their aspect. ... "

"Important inventions, such as the applications of steam, gas, and electricity, may find their places in history; but not so the alterations, great as they may be, which have taken place in the appearance of our dining and drawing-rooms. ... "

"There must have been more dancing throughout the country in those days than there is now: and it seems to have sprung up more spontaneously, as if it were a natural production, with less fastidiousness as to the quality of music, lights, and floor. Many country towns had a monthly ball throughout the winter, in some of which the same apartment served for dancing and tea-room. Dinner parties more frequently ended with an extempore dance on the carpet, to the music of a harpsichord in the house, or a fiddle from the village. This was always supposed to be for the entertainment of the young people, but many, who had little pretension to youth, were very ready to join in it. There can be no doubt that Jane herself enjoyed dancing, for she attributes this taste to her favourite heroines; in most of her works, a ball or a private dance is mentioned, and made of importance.

"Many things connected with the ball-rooms of those days have now passed into oblivion. The barbarous law which confined the lady to one partner throughout the evening must indeed have been abolished before Jane went to balls. It must be observed, however, that this custom was in one respect advantageous to the gentleman, inasmuch as it rendered his duties more practicable. He was bound to call upon his partner the next morning, and it must have been convenient to have only one lady for whom he was obliged—

"To gallop all the country over,

"The last night's partner to behold,

"And humbly hope she caught no cold."

................................................................................................

"I am tempted to add a little about the difference of personal habits. It may be asserted as a general truth, that less was left to the charge and discretion of servants, and more was done, or superintended, by the masters and mistresses. With regard to the mistresses, it is, I believe, generally understood, that at the time to which I refer, a hundred years ago, they took a personal part in the higher branches of cookery, as well as in the concoction of home-made wines, and distilling of herbs for domestic medicines, which are nearly allied to the same art. Ladies did not disdain to spin the thread of which the household linen was woven. Some ladies liked to wash with their own hands their choice china after breakfast or tea. In one of my earliest child's books, a little girl, the daughter of a gentleman, is taught by her mother to make her own bed before leaving her chamber. It was not so much that they had not servants to do all these things for them, as that they took an interest in such occupations. And it must be borne in mind how many sources of interest enjoyed by this generation were then closed, or very scantily opened to ladies. A very small minority of them cared much for literature or science. Music was not a very common, and drawing was a still rarer, accomplishment; needlework, in some form or other, was their chief sedentary employment."

The author mentions the corresponding difference in gentlemen's occupations during his era and earlier, but it must have been much more; for the era when women of the household were keeping their hand in supervision and major work in kitchen, and more, gentlemen were doing so in farms and stables, in supervision and major works if not in every manual bit of work. He mentions some of it, but there was likely much more.

"Up to the beginning of the present century, poor women found profitable employment in spinning flax or wool. This was a better occupation for them than straw plaiting, inasmuch as it was carried on at the family hearth, and did not admit of gadding and gossiping about the village. ... "

"It may be observed that this hand-spinning is the most primitive of female accomplishments, and can be traced back to the earliest times. ... "

What makes the author assume it was strictly female accomplishment? It's probably only that, as women took it up and showed their competence, misogyny of Europe - and of abrahmic cultures in general - had males disdain doing it, and see with contempt, the occupation they had been at.

" ... The term 'spinster' still testifies to its having been the ordinary employment of the English young woman. ... "

Accompanied, needless to say, with great amount of negativity, something that does not stick to the word bachelor- usually reserved for males - however old, feeble, poor, or worse. Indeed, one can only think of Queen Elizabeth I who escaped so pejorative an epithet, or perhaps another one or two women such as Jean D'Arc, Bernadette of Lourdes, et al.

" ... It was the labour assigned to the ejected nuns by the rough earl who said, 'Go spin, ye jades, go spin.' It was the employment at which Roman matrons and Grecian princesses presided amongst their handmaids. Heathen mythology celebrated it in the three Fates spinning and measuring out the thread of human life. Holy Scripture honours it in those 'wise-hearted women' who 'did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun' for the construction of the Tabernacle in the wilderness: and an old English proverb carries it still farther back to the time 'when Adam delved and Eve span.' ... "

Notice the "heathen", "holy", ... attitudes of Rome, or did they carry into church of England as well?

And yet, the disdain and contempt for Jews prevailed, despite the awareness of self conscious attitude of superiority of an abrahmic culture, over not only those of other continents, but of Greece and Egypt etc., as well.

Or do they forget bible was the Jewish history, literally?

" ... But, at last, this time-honoured domestic manufacture is quite extinct amongst us —crushed by the power of steam, overborne by a countless host of spinning jennies, and I can only just remember some of its last struggles for existence in the Steventon cottages."

And Gandhi revived it, to fight back Brits taking away food out of mouths in India by literally chopping off thumbs of Indian weavers.

................................................................................................

"I know little of Jane Austen's childhood. Her mother followed a custom, not unusual in those days, though it seems strange to us, of putting out her babies to be nursed in a cottage in the village. The infant was daily visited by one or both of its parents, and frequently brought to them at the parsonage, but the cottage was its home, and must have remained so till it was old enough to run about and talk; for I know that one of them, in after life, used to speak of his foster mother as 'Movie,' the name by which he had called her in his infancy. ... "

This seems to conform to the French upper class custom of the childhood of Balzac, who was not only farmed out but nowhere close to his parents, brought up in a comparatively poor and rough village by a farmers family paid for the purpose, having never met his upper class parents until he was five, and disdained forever by them for his lack of elegance. There were more horrors mentioned as normal French practice by the biographer of Balzac, such as upper class women not only never breastfeeding their own children, but often using tight stays during pregnancy throughout, so children were born damaged, and if so, were then doomed to spend their lives as circus freaks.

"" ... It may be that the contrast between the parsonage house and the best class of cottages was not quite so extreme then as it would be now, that the one was somewhat less luxurious, and the other less squalid. It would certainly seem from the results that it was a wholesome and invigorating system, for the children were all strong and healthy. Jane was probably treated like the rest in this respect. In childhood every available opportunity of instruction was made use of. According to the ideas of the time, she was well educated, though not highly accomplished, and she certainly enjoyed that important element of mental training, associating at home with persons of cultivated intellect. It cannot be doubted that her early years were bright and happy, living, as she did, with indulgent parents, in a cheerful home, not without agreeable variety of society. To these sources of enjoyment must be added the first stirrings of talent within her, and the absorbing interest of original composition. It is impossible to say at how early an age she began to write. There are copy books extant containing tales some of which must have been composed while she was a young girl, as they had amounted to a considerable number by the time she was sixteen." ... "

The author gives an example of her earlier writing, a comedy titled Mystery.

""Her own mature opinion of the desirableness of such an early habit of composition is given in the following words of a niece—

"'As I grew older, my aunt would talk to me more seriously of my reading and my amusements. I had taken early to writing verses and stories, and I am sorry to think how I troubled her with reading them. She was very kind about it, and always had some praise to bestow, but at last she warned me against spending too much time upon them. She said —how well I recollect it! —That she knew writing stories was a great amusement, and she thought a harmless one, though many people, she was aware, thought otherwise; but that at my age it would be bad for me to be much taken up with my own compositions. Later still —it was after she had gone to Winchester —she sent me a message to this effect, that if I would take her advice I should cease writing till I was sixteen; that she had herself often wished she had read more, and written less in the corresponding years of her own life.' As this niece was only twelve years old at the time of her aunt's death, these words seem to imply that the juvenile tales to which I have referred had, some of them at least, been written in her childhood."

"But between these childish effusions, and the composition of her living works, there intervened another stage of her progress, during which she produced some stories, not without merit, but which she never considered worthy of publication. During this preparatory period her mind seems to have been working in a very different direction from that into which it ultimately settled. Instead of presenting faithful copies of nature, these tales were generally burlesques, ridiculing the improbable events and exaggerated sentiments which she had met with in sundry silly romances. ..."

These early attempts were later collectively published, individually, and collectively as Juvenilia, but not until the time this memoir was published, for the author thinks the family deciding not to publish them was the right decision.

"The family have, rightly, I think, declined to let these early works be published."

" ... it would be as unfair to expose this preliminary process to the world, as it would be to display all that goes on behind the curtain of the theatre before it is drawn up."

But Jane Austen could have destroyed them if she'd so chosen, although to be fair she didn't decide to publish her more finished works until much later, years after they were written, either, and then only with much persuasion from her brother.

................................................................................................

"It was, however, at Steventon that the real foundations of her fame were laid. There some of her most successful writing was composed at such an early age as to make it surprising that so young a woman could have acquired the insight into character, and the nice observation of manners which they display. 'Pride and Prejudice,' which some consider the most brilliant of her novels, was the first finished, if not the first begun. She began it in October 1796, before she was twenty-one years old, and completed it in about ten months, in August 1797. The title then intended for it was 'First Impressions.' 'Sense and Sensibility' was begun, in its present form, immediately after the completion of the former, in November 1797 but something similar in story and character had been written earlier under the title of 'Elinor and Marianne;' and if, as is probable, a good deal of this earlier production was retained, it must form the earliest specimen of her writing that has been given to the world. 'Northanger Abbey,' though not prepared for the press till 1803, was certainly first composed in 1798."

"Amongst the most valuable neighbours of the Austens were Mr. and Mrs. Lefroy and their family. He was rector of the adjoining parish of Ashe; she was sister to Sir Egerton Brydges, to whom we are indebted for the earliest notice of Jane Austen that exists. In his autobiography, speaking of his visits at Ashe, he writes thus: 'The nearest neighbours of the Lefroys were the Austens of Steventon. I remember Jane Austen, the novelist, as a little child. She was very intimate with Mrs. Lefroy, and much encouraged by her. Her mother was a Miss Leigh, whose paternal grandmother was sister to the first Duke of Chandos. Mr. Austen was of a Kentish family, of which several branches have been settled in the Weald of Kent, and some are still remaining there. When I knew Jane Austen, I never suspected that she was an authoress; but my eyes told me that she was fair and handsome, slight and elegant, ... "

"That great-grandmother however lives in the family records as Mary Brydges, a daughter of Lord Chandos, married in Westminster Abbey to Theophilus Leigh of Addlestrop in 1698. When a girl she had received a curious letter of advice and reproof, written by her mother from Constantinople ... "

"This letter shows that the wealth acquired by trade was already manifesting itself in contrast with the straitened circumstances of some of the nobility. Mary Brydges's 'poor ffather,' in whose household economy was necessary, was the King of England's ambassador at Constantinople; the grandmother, who lived in 'great plenty and splendour,' was the widow of a Turkey merchant. But then, as now, it would seem, rank had the power of attracting and absorbing wealth."

................................................................................................

"At Ashe also Jane became acquainted with a member of the Lefroy family, who was still living when I began these memoirs, a few months ago; the Right Hon. Thomas Lefroy, late Chief Justice of Ireland. One must look back more than seventy years to reach the time when these two bright young persons were, for a short time, intimately acquainted with each other, and then separated on their several courses, never to meet again; both destined to attain some distinction in their different ways, one to survive the other for more than half a century, yet in his extreme old age to remember and speak, as he sometimes did, of his former companion, as one to be much admired, and not easily forgotten by those who had ever known her."

In one of her letters to her sister, Jane mentions this Lefroy as one she must stop flirting with; was there, had there been more? The author includes here a poem written as tribute to Mrs Lefroy by Jane, one not included in the collection of her poems published under that title.

....

"Angelic woman! past my power to praise

"In language meet thy talents, temper, mind,

"Thy solid worth, thy captivating grace,

"Thou friend and ornament of human kind."

....

"Listen! It is not sound alone, 'tis sense,

"'Tis genius, taste, and tenderness of soul:

"'Tis genuine warmth of heart without pretence,

"And purity of mind that crowns the whole."

....

The terms of praise in this poem, a paens to late Mrs Lefroy who'd died in 1804 on Jane Austen's birthday, we're written four years later, and the praise makes one wonder if the figure of Jane Fairfax was modelled on this person, and perhaps also part of the story.

................................................................................................

Author includes some of the letters written by Jane Austen. These letters seem not to have been included in the collection of Jane Austen letters published under that title, but interestingly one mentions a tidbit that reminds one of Mansfield Park.

"' ... Charles has received 30l. for his share of the privateer, and expects 10l. more; but of what avail is it to take prizes if he lays out the produce in presents to his sisters? He has been buying gold chains and topaze crosses for us. He must be well scolded. ... "

................................................................................................

" ... I do not know whether they were at all attracted to Bath by the circumstance that Mrs. Austen's only brother, Mr. Leigh Perrot, spent part of every year there. The name of Perrot, together with a small estate at Northleigh in Oxfordshire, had been bequeathed to him by a great uncle. I must devote a few sentences to this very old and now extinct branch of the Perrot family; for one of the last survivors, Jane Perrot, married to a Walker, was Jane Austen's great grandmother, from whom she derived her Christian name. The Perrots were settled in Pembrokeshire at least as early as the thirteenth century. ... The last of this family died about 1778, and their property was divided between Leighs and Musgraves, the larger portion going to the latter. Mr. Leigh Perrot pulled down the mansion, and sold the estate to the Duke of Marlborough, and the name of these Perrots is now to be found only on some monuments in the church of Northleigh.

"Mr. Leigh Perrot was also one of several cousins to whom a life interest in the Stoneleigh property in Warwickshire was left, after the extinction of the earlier Leigh peerage, but he compromised his claim to the succession in his lifetime. He married a niece of Sir Montague Cholmeley of Lincolnshire. He was a man of considerable natural power, with much of the wit of his uncle, the Master of Balliol, and wrote clever epigrams and riddles, some of which, though without his name, found their way into print; but he lived a very retired life, dividing his time between Bath and his place in Berkshire called Scarlets. Jane's letters from Bath make frequent mention of this uncle and aunt.

"The unfinished story, now published under the title of 'The Watsons,' must have been written during the author's residence in Bath. In the autumn of 1804 she spent some weeks at Lyme, and became acquainted with the Cobb, which she afterwards made memorable for the fall of Louisa Musgrove."

................................................................................................

Author includes another couple of letters here, to Cassandra, and there are some bits of the sparkling wit of Jane Austen.

" ... It was absolutely necessary that I should have the little fever and indisposition which I had: it has been all the fashion this week in Lyme. ... "

Then there is one bit that reminds one of Emma being given a sharp reproof by Knightley ".. it was badly done!", when she is witty at the picnic at expense of an elderly gentlewoman, now in reduced circumstances.

" ... Poor Mrs. Stent! it has been her lot to be always in the way; but we must be merciful, for perhaps in time we may come to be Mrs. Stents ourselves, unequal to anything, and unwelcome to everybody ... "

Next, there's a bit that reminds one of Frank Churchill in Emma -

" ... I have not expressly enumerated myself among the party, but there I was, and my cousin George was very kind, and talked sense to me every now and then, in the intervals of his more animated fooleries with Miss B., who is very young, and rather handsome, and whose gracious manners, ready wit, and solid remarks, put me somewhat in mind of my old acquaintance L. L. There was a monstrous deal of stupid quizzing and common-place nonsense talked, but scarcely any wit; all that bordered on it or on sense came from my cousin George, whom altogether I like very well. ... "

And the author comments on this -

"Jane did not estimate too highly the 'Cousin George' mentioned in the foregoing letter; who might easily have been superior in sense and wit to the rest of the party. He was the Rev. George Leigh Cooke, long known and respected at Oxford, where he held important offices, and had the privilege of helping to form the minds of men more eminent than himself. As tutor in Corpus Christi College, he became instructor to some of the most distinguished undergraduates of that time: amongst others to Dr. Arnold, the Rev. John Keble, and Sir John Coleridge. ... Mr. Cooke was also an impressive preacher of earnest awakening sermons. I remember to have heard it observed by some of my undergraduate friends that, after all, there was more good to be got from George Cooke's plain sermons than from much of the more laboured oratory of the university pulpit. He was frequently Examiner in the schools, and occupied the chair of the Sedleian Professor of Natural Philosophy, from 1810 to 1853."

................................................................................................

The author recounts some memories of his own of Southampton, where the family shifted after death of Jane Austen's father at Bath.

"In 1809 Mr. Knight was able to offer his mother the choice of two houses on his property; one near his usual residence at Godmersham Park in Kent; the other near Chawton House, his occasional residence in Hampshire. The latter was chosen; and in that year the mother and daughters, together with Miss Lloyd, a near connection who lived with them, settled themselves at Chawton Cottage.

"Chawton may be called the second, as well as the last home of Jane Austen; for during the temporary residences of the party at Bath and Southampton she was only a sojourner in a strange land; but here she found a real home amongst her own people. It so happened that during her residence at Chawton circumstances brought several of her brothers and their families within easy distance of the house. Chawton must also be considered the place most closely connected with her career as a writer; for there it was that, in the maturity of her mind, she either wrote or rearranged, and prepared for publication the books by which she has become known to the world. This was the home where, after a few years, while still in the prime of life, she began to droop and wither away, and which she left only in the last stage of her illness, yielding to the persuasion of friends hoping against hope."

................................................................................................

"Chapter 5

"Description of Jane Austen's person, character, and tastes."

Such parts hereof, as have been taken into Conant's extracts, have been commented on the review to his article. But it's worth repeating some parts here.

" ... She was not highly accomplished according to the present standard. Her sister drew well, and it is from a drawing of hers that the likeness prefixed to this article has been taken. ... "

That must be the source of the image used on most of the Jane Austen works.

That has gone into the Elizabeth Bennet image, certainly.

" ... She read French with facility, and knew something of Italian. ... "

Reminds of the scene in the Bingley drawing room, where Miss Bingley provokes Darcy to speak regarding his expectations of a young woman's accomplishments before he could call her accomplished.

" ... In those days German was no more thought of than Hindostanee, as part of a lady's education. ... "

................................................................................................

" ... In history she followed the old guides —Goldsmith, Hume, and Robertson. Critical enquiry into the usually received statements of the old historians was scarcely begun. The history of the early kings of Rome had not yet been dissolved into legend. Historic characters lay before the reader's eyes in broad light or shade, not much broken up by details. The virtues of King Henry VIII. were yet undiscovered, nor had much light been thrown on the inconsistencies of Queen Elizabeth; the one was held to be an unmitigated tyrant, and an embodied Blue Beard; the other a perfect model of wisdom and policy. ... "

That being the case, strange how she was so against Queen Elizabeth I in her History of England, even if it wasn't a serious piece of writing.

" ... Scott's poetry gave her great pleasure; she did not live to make much acquaintance with his novels. ... "

Author quotes from a letter of hers -

" 'Walter Scott has no business to write novels; especially good ones. It is not fair. He has fame and profit enough as a poet, and ought not to be taking the bread out of other people's mouths. I do not mean to like "Waverley," if I can help it, but I fear I must. I am quite determined, however, not to be pleased with Mrs. ——'s, should I ever meet with it, which I hope I may not. I think I can be stout against anything written by her. I have made up my mind to like no novels really, but Miss Edgeworth's, E.'s, and my own.'"

One has to wonder who E. is or was; coukdnt be Emily Bronte, could it? She wrote only one. But thanks to internet and e-books, one has become acquainted with the name of Maria Ellsworth.

................................................................................................

Author quotes her nieces and nephews who visited Chawton House.

"'As a very little girl I was always creeping up to Aunt Jane, and following her whenever I could, in the house and out of it. I might not have remembered this but for the recollection of my mother's telling me privately, that I must not be troublesome to my aunt. Her first charm to children was great sweetness of manner. She seemed to love you, and you loved her in return. This, as well as I can now recollect, was what I felt in my early days, before I was old enough to be amused by her cleverness. But soon came the delight of her playful talk. She could make everything amusing to a child. Then, as I got older, when cousins came to share the entertainment, she would tell us the most delightful stories, chiefly of Fairyland, and her fairies had all characters of their own. The tale was invented, I am sure, at the moment, and was continued for two or three days, if occasion served.'"

"Very similar is the testimony of another niece: —'Aunt Jane was the general favourite with children; her ways with them being so playful, and her long circumstantial stories so delightful. These were continued from time to time, and were begged for on all possible and impossible occasions; woven, as she proceeded, out of nothing but her own happy talent for invention. Ah! if but one of them could be recovered! And again, as I grew older, when the original seventeen years between our ages seemed to shrink to seven, or to nothing, it comes back to me now how strangely I missed her. It had become so much a habit with me to put by things in my mind with a reference to her, and to say to myself, I shall keep this for Aunt Jane.'

"A nephew of hers used to observe that his visits to Chawton, after the death of his aunt Jane, were always a disappointment to him. From old associations he could not help expecting to be particularly happy in that house; and never till he got there could he realise to himself how all its peculiar charm was gone. It was not only that the chief light in the house was quenched, but that the loss of it had cast a shade over the spirits of the survivors. ... "

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Author quotes several examples of her humour expressed in verse, of which one surprises because Jane Austen never did travel outside England.

"In measured verse I'll now rehearse

"The charms of lovely Anna:

"And, first, her mind is unconfined

"Like any vast savannah.

"Ontario's lake may fitly speak

"Her fancy's ample bound:

"Its circuit may, on strict survey

"Five hundred miles be found.

"Her wit descends on foes and friends

"Like famed Niagara's Fall;

"And travellers gaze in wild amaze,

"And listen, one and all.

"Her judgment sound, thick, black, profound,

"Like transatlantic groves,

"Dispenses aid, and friendly shade

"To all that in it roves.

"If thus her mind to be defined

"America exhausts,

"And all that's grand in that great land

"In similes it costs—

"Oh how can I her person try

"To image and portray?

"How paint the face, the form how trace

"In which those virtues lay?

"Another world must be unfurled,

"Another language known,

"Ere tongue or sound can publish round

"Her charms of flesh and bone."

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Author's mention of Jane Austen's niece writing a novel explains something.

"The following extracts are from letters addressed to a niece who was at that time amusing herself by attempting a novel, probably never finished, certainly never published, and of which I know nothing but what these extracts tell. They show the good-natured sympathy and encouragement which the aunt, then herself occupied in writing 'Emma,' could give to the less matured powers of the niece. ... "

The extracts, already mostly quoted in reviewing Jane Austen Letters, aren't quoted here; but one bit is irresistible.

"Indeed, I do think you get on very fast. I wish other people of my acquaintance could compose as rapidly. Julian's history was quite a surprise to me. You had not very long known it yourself, I suspect; but I have no objection to make to the circumstance; it is very well told, and his having been in love with the aunt gives Cecilia an additional interest with him. I like the idea; a very proper compliment to an aunt! I rather imagine, indeed, that nieces are seldom chosen but in compliment to some aunt or other. I dare say your husband was in love with me once, and would never have thought of you if he had not supposed me dead of a scarlet fever.'"

But, reading the letters, then, one was mystified about the niece's writing, since it wasn't known to one that this was a family with more than one writer.

Why she did not publish is a good question. Was it fear or shyness due to possibility of comparison? Or just the family trait?

We are lucky Jane Austen had a brother who encouraged her to publish!

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"Jane Austen was successful in everything that she attempted with her fingers. ... But the writing was not the only part of her letters which showed superior handiwork. In those days there was an art in folding and sealing. No adhesive envelopes made all easy. Some people's letters always looked loose and untidy; but her paper was sure to take the right folds, and her sealing-wax to drop into the right place. Her needlework both plain and ornamental was excellent, and might almost have put a sewing machine to shame. She was considered especially great in satin stitch. She spent much time in these occupations, and some of her merriest talk was over clothes which she and her companions were making, sometimes for themselves, and sometimes for the poor. There still remains a curious specimen of her needle work made for a sister-in-law, my mother. In a very small bag is deposited a little rolled up housewife, furnished with minikin needles and fine thread. In the housewife is a tiny pocket, and in the pocket is enclosed a slip of paper, on which, written as with a crow quill, are these lines:—

"This little bag, I hope, will prove

"To be not vainly made;

"For should you thread and needles want,

"It will afford you aid.

"And, as we are about to part,

"'T will serve another end;

"For, when you look upon this bag,

"You'll recollect your friend."

""It is the kind of article that some benevolent fairy might be supposed to give as a reward to a diligent little girl. The whole is of flowered silk, and having been never used and carefully preserved, it is as fresh and bright as when it was first made seventy years ago; and shows that the same hand which painted so exquisitely with the pen could work as delicately with the needle.""

................................................................................................

" ... The first year of her residence at Chawton seems to have been devoted to revising and preparing for the press 'Sense and Sensibility,' and 'Pride and Prejudice'; but between February 1811 and August 1816, she began and completed 'Mansfield Park,' 'Emma,' and 'Persuasion,' so that the last five years of her life produced the same number of novels with those which had been written in her early youth. How she was able to effect all this is surprising, for she had no separate study to retire to, and most of the work must have been done in the general sitting-room, subject to all kinds of casual interruptions. She was careful that her occupation should not be suspected by servants, or visitors, or any persons beyond her own family party. She wrote upon small sheets of paper which could easily be put away, or covered with a piece of blotting paper. There was, between the front door and the offices, a swing door which creaked when it was opened; but she objected to having this little inconvenience remedied, because it gave her notice when anyone was coming."

"In that well occupied female party there must have been many precious hours of silence during which the pen was busy at the little mahogany writing-desk,[71] while Fanny Price, or Emma Woodhouse, or Anne Elliott was growing into beauty and interest. I have no doubt that I, and my sisters and cousins, in our visits to Chawton, frequently disturbed this mystic process, without having any idea of the mischief that we were doing; certainly we never should have guessed it by any signs of impatience or irritability in the writer.

"As so much had been previously prepared, when once she began to publish, her works came out in quick succession. 'Sense and Sensibility' was published in 1811, 'Pride and Prejudice' at the beginning of 1813, 'Mansfield Park' in 1814, 'Emma' early in 1816; 'Northanger Abbey' and 'Persuasion' did not appear till after her death, in 1818. It will be shown farther on why 'Northanger Abbey,' though amongst the first written, was one of the last published. Her first three novels were published by Egerton, her last three by Murray. The profits of the four which had been printed before her death had not at that time amounted to seven hundred pounds."

................................................................................................

"It was not till towards the close of her life, when the last of the works that she saw published was in the press, that she received the only mark of distinction ever bestowed upon her; and that was remarkable for the high quarter whence it emanated rather than for any actual increase of fame that it conferred. It happened thus. In the autumn of 1815 she nursed her brother Henry through a dangerous fever and slow convalescence at his house in Hans Place. He was attended by one of the Prince Regent's physicians. All attempts to keep her name secret had at this time ceased, and though it had never appeared on a title-page, all who cared to know might easily learn it and the friendly physician was aware that his patient's nurse was the author of 'Pride and Prejudice.' Accordingly he informed her one day that the prince was a great admirer of her novels; that he read them often, and kept a set in every one of his residences; that he himself therefore had thought it right to inform his Royal Highness that Miss Austen was staying in London, and that the prince had desired Mr. Clarke, the librarian of Carlton House, to wait upon her. The next day Mr. Clarke made his appearance, and invited her to Carlton House, saying that he had the prince's instructions to show her the library and other apartments, and to pay her every possible attention. The invitation was of course accepted, and during the visit to Carlton House, Mr. Clarke declared himself commissioned to say that if Miss Austen had any other novel forthcoming she was at liberty to dedicate it to the prince. Accordingly such a dedication was immediately prefixed to 'Emma,' which was at that time in the press."

They met, and Mr Clarke suggested that she write sketching a clergyman, asserting no one else could do so as well; she declined, stating the lack of knowledge enough on her part.

"Mr. Clarke, however, was not to be discouraged from proposing another subject. He had recently been appointed chaplain and private English secretary to Prince Leopold, who was then about to be united to the Princess Charlotte; and when he again wrote to express the gracious thanks of the Prince Regent for the copy of 'Emma' which had been presented, he suggests that 'an historical romance illustrative of the august House of Cobourg would just now be very interesting,' and might very properly be dedicated to Prince Leopold. This was much as if Sir William Ross had been set to paint a great battle-piece; and it is amusing to see with what grave civility she declined a proposal which must have struck her as ludicrous, in the following letter:—

"'My dear Sir, —I am honoured by the prince's thanks and very much obliged to yourself for the kind manner in which you mention the work. ... "

" ... I am fully sensible that an historical romance, founded on the House of Saxe Cobourg, might be much more to the purpose of profit or popularity than such pictures of domestic life in country villages as I deal in. But I could no more write a romance than an epic poem. I could not sit seriously down to write a serious romance under any other motive than to save my life; and if it were indispensable for me to keep it up and never relax into laughing at myself or at other people, I am sure I should be hung before I had finished the first chapter. No, I must keep to my own style and go on in my own way; and though I may never succeed again in that, I am convinced that I should totally fail in any other.

"'I remain, my dear Sir,

"'Your very much obliged, and sincere friend, 'J. AUSTEN."

................................................................................................

"All writers of fiction, who have genius strong enough to work out a course of their own, resist every attempt to interfere with its direction. No two writers could be more unlike each other than Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte; so much so that the latter was unable to understand why the former was admired, and confessed that she herself 'should hardly like to live with her ladies and gentlemen, in their elegant but confined houses;' but each writer equally resisted interference with her own natural style of composition. Miss Bronte, in reply to a friendly critic, who had warned her against being too melodramatic, and had ventured to propose Miss Austen's works to her as a study, writes thus:—

"'Whenever I do write another book, I think I will have nothing of what you call "melodrama." I think so, but I am not sure. I think, too, I will endeavour to follow the counsel which shines out of Miss Austen's "mild eyes," to finish more, and be more subdued; but neither am I sure of that. When authors write best, or, at least, when they write most fluently, an influence seems to waken in them which becomes their master —which will have its way —putting out of view all behests but its own, dictating certain words, and insisting on their being used, whether vehement or measured in their nature, new moulding characters, giving unthought of turns to incidents, rejecting carefully elaborated old ideas, and suddenly creating and adopting new ones. Is it not so? And should we try to counteract this influence? Can we indeed counteract it?'"

"The playful raillery with which the one parries an attack on her liberty, and the vehement eloquence of the other in pleading the same cause and maintaining the independence of genius, are very characteristic of the minds of the respective writers.

"The suggestions which Jane received as to the sort of story that she ought to write were, however, an amusement to her, though they were not likely to prove useful; and she has left amongst her papers one entitled, 'Plan of a novel according to hints from various quarters.' The names of some of those advisers are written on the margin of the manuscript opposite to their respective suggestions."

Indeed, that project would have been most interesting; but just as interesting are the names of those providing the suggestions. And one has to wonder why one part has a similarity to a work of George sand, while the flight through Europe clear to Kamchatka is very reminiscent of a work by James Hilton based in the Russian revolution times.

................................................................................................

" ... Sometimes a friend or neighbour, who chanced to know of our connection with the author, would condescend to speak with moderate approbation of 'Sense and Sensibility,' or 'Pride and Prejudice'; but if they had known that we, in our secret thoughts, classed her with Madame d'Arblay or Miss Edgeworth, or even with some other novel writers of the day whose names are now scarcely remembered, they would have considered it an amusing instance of family conceit. To the multitude her works appeared tame and commonplace,[78] poor in colouring, and sadly deficient in incident and interest. It is true that we were sometimes cheered by hearing that a different verdict had been pronounced by more competent judges: we were told how some great statesman or distinguished poet held these works in high estimation; we had the satisfaction of believing that they were most admired by the best judges, and comforted ourselves with Horace's 'satis est Equitem mihi plaudere.' So much was this the case, that one of the ablest men of my acquaintance[79] said, in that kind of jest which has much earnest in it, that he had established it in his own mind, as a new test of ability, whether people could or could not appreciate Miss Austen's merits.

"But though such golden opinions were now and then gathered in, yet the wide field of public taste yielded no adequate return either in praise or profit. Her reward was not to be the quick return of the cornfield, but the slow growth of the tree which is to endure to another generation. Her first attempts at publication were very discouraging. In November, 1797, her father wrote ... to Mr. Cadell "

"This proposal was declined by return of post! The work thus summarily rejected must have been 'Pride and Prejudice.'

"The fate of 'Northanger Abbey' was still more humiliating. It was sold, in 1803, to a publisher in Bath, for ten pounds, but it found so little favour in his eyes, that he chose to abide by his first loss rather than risk farther expense by publishing such a work. It seems to have lain for many years unnoticed in his drawers; somewhat as the first chapters of 'Waverley' lurked forgotten amongst the old fishing-tackle in Scott's cabinet. Tilneys, Thorpes, and Morlands consigned apparently to eternal oblivion! But when four novels of steadily increasing success had given the writer some confidence in herself, she wished to recover the copyright of this early work. One of her brothers undertook the negotiation. He found the purchaser very willing to receive back his money, and to resign all claim to the copyright. When the bargain was concluded and the money paid, but not till then, the negotiator had the satisfaction of informing him that the work which had been so lightly esteemed was by the author of 'Pride and Prejudice.' I do not think that she was herself much mortified by the want of early success. She wrote for her own amusement. Money, though acceptable, was not necessary for the moderate expenses of her quiet home. Above all, she was blessed with a cheerful contented disposition, and an humble mind; and so lowly did she esteem her own claims, that when she received 150l. from the sale of 'Sense and Sensibility,' she considered it a prodigious recompense for that which had cost her nothing. It cannot be supposed, however, that she was altogether insensible to the superiority of her own workmanship over that of some contemporaries who were then enjoying a brief popularity. Indeed a few touches in the following extracts from two of her letters show that she was as quick sighted to absurdities in composition as to those in living persons.

"'Mr. C.'s opinion is gone down in my list; but as my paper relates only to "Mansfield Park," I may fortunately excuse myself from entering Mr. D's. I will redeem my credit with him by writing a close imitation of "Self-Control," as soon as I can. I will improve upon it. My heroine shall not only be wafted down an American river in a boat by herself. She shall cross the Atlantic in the same way; and never stop till she reaches Gravesend.'"

................................................................................................

Author describes two reviews, one by "Whately, afterwards Archbishop of Dublin."

" ... One can scarcely be satisfied with the critical acumen of the former writer, who, in treating of 'Sense and Sensibility,' takes no notice whatever of the vigour with which many of the characters are drawn, but declares that 'the interest and merit of the piece depends altogether upon the behaviour of the elder sister!' Nor is he fair when, in 'Pride and Prejudice,' he represents Elizabeth's change of sentiments towards Darcy as caused by the sight of his house and grounds. ... "

This is a mistake very commonly made, and perhaps is a key separating a common mind from a finer one that can discern Jane Austen's writing.

"The world, I think, has endorsed the opinion of the later writer; but it would not be fair to set down the discrepancy between the two entirely to the discredit of the former. The fact is that, in the course of the intervening five years, these works had been read and reread by many leaders in the literary world. The public taste was forming itself all this time, and 'grew by what it fed on.' These novels belong to a class which gain rather than lose by frequent perusals, and it is probable that each reviewer represented fairly enough the prevailing opinions of readers in the year when each wrote."

................................................................................................

"The admiration felt by Lord Macaulay would probably have taken a very practical form, if his life had been prolonged. I have the authority of his sister, Lady Trevelyan, for stating that he had intended to undertake the task upon which I have ventured. He purposed to write a memoir of Miss Austen, with criticisms on her works, to prefix it to a new edition of her novels, and from the proceeds of the sale to erect a monument to her memory in Winchester Cathedral. Oh! that such an idea had been realised! That portion of the plan in which Lord Macaulay's success would have been most certain might have been almost sufficient for his object. A memoir written by him would have been a monument."

Would, could, this be the Macaulay who wrote up the explicit policy of how to butcher India so as to break her spirit, enslave her people and loot her successfully, using lies about anything that was good about India, and breaking down anything that helped her live?

................................................................................................

" ... remarkable words of Sir Walter Scott, taken from his diary for March 14, 1826:[84] 'Read again, for the third time at least, Miss Austen's finely written novel of "Pride and Prejudice." That young lady had a talent for describing the involvements and feelings and characters of ordinary life, which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with. The big bow-wow strain I can do myself like any now going; but the exquisite touch which renders ordinary common-place things and characters interesting from the truth of the description and the sentiment is denied to me. What a pity such a gifted creature died so early!' The well-worn condition of Scott's own copy of these works attests that they were much read in his family. When I visited Abbotsford, a few years after Scott's death, I was permitted, as an unusual favour, to take one of these volumes in my hands. One cannot suppress the wish that she had lived to know what such men thought of her powers, and how gladly they would have cultivated a personal acquaintance with her. I do not think that it would at all have impaired the modest simplicity of her character; or that we should have lost our own dear 'Aunt Jane' in the blaze of literary fame."

................................................................................................

"It is not the object of these memoirs to attempt a criticism on Jane Austen's novels. Those particulars only have been noticed which could be illustrated by the circumstances of her own life; but I now desire to offer a few observations on them, and especially on one point, on which my age renders me a competent witness —the fidelity with which they represent the opinions and manners of the class of society in which the author lived early in this century. They do this the more faithfully on account of the very deficiency with which they have been sometimes charged —namely, that they make no attempt to raise the standard of human life, but merely represent it as it was. They certainly were not written to support any theory or inculcate any particular moral, except indeed the great moral which is to be equally gathered from an observation of the course of actual life —namely, the superiority of high over low principles, and of greatness over littleness of mind. These writings are like photographs, in which no feature is softened; no ideal expression is introduced, all is the unadorned reflection of the natural object; and the value of such a faithful likeness must increase as time gradually works more and more changes in the face of society itself. ... "

" ... It is indeed true, both of the writer and of the painter, that he can use only such lineaments as exist, and as he has observed to exist, in living objects; otherwise he would produce monsters instead of human beings; but in both it is the office of high art to mould these features into new combinations, and to place them in the attitudes, and impart to them the expressions which may suit the purposes of the artist; so that they are nature, but not exactly the same nature which had come before his eyes; just as honey can be obtained only from the natural flowers which the bee has sucked; yet it is not a reproduction of the odour or flavour of any particular flower, but becomes something different when it has gone through the process of transformation which that little insect is able to effect. Hence, in the case of painters, arises the superiority of original compositions over portrait painting."

" ... She herself, when questioned on the subject by a friend, expressed a dread of what she called such an 'invasion of social proprieties.' She said that she thought it quite fair to note peculiarities and weaknesses, but that it was her desire to create, not to reproduce; 'besides,' she added, 'I am too proud of my gentlemen to admit that they were only Mr. A. or Colonel B.'"

"She certainly took a kind of parental interest in the beings whom she had created, and did not dismiss them from her thoughts when she had finished her last chapter. We have seen, in one of her letters, her personal affection for Darcy and Elizabeth; and when sending a copy of 'Emma' to a friend whose daughter had been lately born, she wrote thus: 'I trust you will be as glad to see my "Emma," as I shall be to see your Jemima.' She was very fond of Emma, but did not reckon on her being a general favourite; for, when commencing that work, she said, 'I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.' She would, if asked, tell us many little particulars about the subsequent career of some of her people. In this traditionary way we learned that Miss Steele never succeeded in catching the doctor; that Kitty Bennet was satisfactorily married to a clergyman near Pemberley, while Mary obtained nothing higher than one of her uncle Philip's clerks, and was content to be considered a star in the society of Meryton; that the 'considerable sum' given by Mrs. Norris to William Price was one pound; that Mr. Woodhouse survived his daughter's marriage, and kept her and Mr. Knightley from settling at Donwell, about two years; and that the letters placed by Frank Churchill before Jane Fairfax, which she swept away unread, contained the word 'pardon.' Of the good people in 'Northanger Abbey' and 'Persuasion' we know nothing more than what is written: for before those works were published their author had been taken away from us, and all such amusing communications had ceased for ever."

Wonder why she disliked Mary Bennet so! It could have been perfect for Mary to have caught the clerical cousin on rebound after Elizabeth Bennet had rejected him, and have the family reassured of their home, to begin with; but surely she didn't deserve the disdain, just for being immersed in books and music, even if she wasn't intellectual enough!

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"'Chawton, Monday, Dec. 16th (1816). 'MY DEAR E., —One reason for my writing to you now is, that I may have the pleasure of directing to you Esqre. I give you joy of having left Winchester. Now you may own how miserable you were there; now it will gradually all come out, your crimes and your miseries —how often you went up by the mail to London and threw away fifty guineas at a tavern, and how often you were on the point of hanging yourself, restrained only, as some ill-natured aspersion upon poor old Winton has it, by the want of a tree within some miles of the city. ... "

"Uncle Henry writes very superior sermons. You and I must try to get hold of one or two, and put them into our novels; it would be a fine help to a volume; and we could make our heroine read it aloud on a Sunday evening, just as well as Isabella Wardour, in the "Antiquary," is made to read the "History of the Hartz Demon" in the ruins of St. Ruth, though I believe, on recollection, Lovell is the reader. By the bye, my dear E., I am quite concerned for the loss your mother mentions in her letter. Two chapters and a half to be missing is monstrous! It is well that I have not been at Steventon lately, and therefore cannot be suspected of purloining them: two strong twigs and a half towards a nest of my own would have been something. I do not think, however, that any theft of that sort would be really very useful to me. What should I do with your strong, manly, vigorous sketches, full of variety and glow? How could I possibly join them on to the little bit (two inches wide) of ivory on which I work with so fine a brush, as produces little effect after much labour?

"'You will hear from Uncle Henry how well Anna is. She seems perfectly recovered. Ben was here on Saturday, to ask uncle Charles and me to dine with them, as tomorrow, but I was forced to decline it, the walk is beyond my strength (though I am otherwise very well), and this is not a season for donkey-carriages; and as we do not like to spare uncle Charles, he has declined it too.

"Tuesday. Ah, ah! Mr. E. I doubt your seeing Uncle Henry at Steventon today. The weather will prevent your expecting him, I think. Tell your father, with Aunt Cass's love and mine, that the pickled cucumbers are extremely good, and tell him also —"tell him what you will." No, don't tell him what you will, but tell him that grandmamma begs him to make Joseph Hall pay his rent, if he can.

"'You must not be tired of reading the word uncle, for I have not done with it. Uncle Charles thanks your mother for her letter; it was a great pleasure to him to know that the parcel was received and gave so much satisfaction, and he begs her to be so good as to give three shillings for him to Dame Staples, which shall be allowed for in the payment of her debt here.

"'Adieu, Amiable! I hope Caroline behaves well to you.

"Yours affecly,

"'J. AUSTEN.'"

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" ... The usual walk was at first shortened, and then discontinued; and air was sought in a donkey-carriage. Gradually, too, her habits of activity within the house ceased, and she was obliged to lie down much. The sitting-room contained only one sofa, which was frequently occupied by her mother, who was more than seventy years old. Jane would never use it, even in her mother's absence; but she contrived a sort of couch for herself with two or three chairs, and was pleased to say that this arrangement was more comfortable to her than a real sofa. Her reasons for this might have been left to be guessed, but for the importunities of a little niece, which obliged her to explain that if she herself had shown any inclination to use the sofa, her mother might have scrupled being on it so much as was good for her.

"It is certain, however, that the mind did not share in this decay of the bodily strength. 'Persuasion' was not finished before the middle of August in that year; and the manner in which it was then completed affords proof that neither the critical nor the creative powers of the author were at all impaired. The book had been brought to an end in July; and the re-engagement of the hero and heroine effected in a totally different manner in a scene laid at Admiral Croft's lodgings. But her performance did not satisfy her. She thought it tame and flat, and was desirous of producing something better. This weighed upon her mind, the more so probably on account of the weak state of her health; so that one night she retired to rest in very low spirits. But such depression was little in accordance with her nature, and was soon shaken off. The next morning she awoke to more cheerful views and brighter inspirations: the sense of power revived; and imagination resumed its course. She cancelled the condemned chapter, and wrote two others, entirely different, in its stead. The result is that we possess the visit of the Musgrove party to Bath; the crowded and animated scenes at the White Hart Hotel; and the charming conversation between Capt. Harville and Anne Elliot, overheard by Capt. Wentworth, by which the two faithful lovers were at last led to understand each other's feelings. ... "

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" ... I think I understand my own case now so much better than I did, as to be able by care to keep off any serious return of illness. I am convinced that bile is at the bottom of all I have suffered, which makes it easy to know how to treat myself. ... This is not a time of year for donkey-carriages, and our donkeys are necessarily having so long a run of luxurious idleness that I suppose we shall find they have forgotten much of their education when we use them again. We do not use two at once however; don't imagine such excesses..."

....

"'Yours affly, 'J. AUSTEN.

"'The real object of this letter is to ask you for a receipt, but I thought it genteel not to let it appear early. We remember some excellent orange wine at Manydown, made from Seville oranges, entirely or chiefly. I should be very much obliged to you for the receipt, if you can command it within a few weeks.'"

................................................................................................

"Alas! summer came to her only on her deathbed. March 17th is the last date to be found in the manuscript on which she was engaged; and as the watch of the drowned man indicates the time of his death, so does this final date seem to fix the period when her mind could no longer pursue its accustomed course."

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"'Mrs. David's, College St., Winton,

"'Tuesday, May 27th.

"'There is no better way, my dearest E., of thanking you for your affectionate concern for me during my illness than by telling you myself, as soon as possible, that I continue to get better. I will not boast of my handwriting; neither that nor my face have yet recovered their proper beauty, but in other respects I gain strength very fast. I am now out of bed from 9 in the morning to 10 at night; upon the sofa, it is true, but I eat my meals with Aunt Cassandra in a rational way, and can employ myself, and walk from one room to another. Mr. Lyford says he will cure me, and if he fails, I shall draw up a memorial and lay it before the dean and chapter, and have no doubt of redress from that pious, learned, and disinterested body. Our lodgings are very comfortable. We have a neat little drawing-room with a bow window overlooking Dr. Gabell's garden.[94] Thanks to the kindness of your father and mother in sending me their carriage, my journey hither on Saturday was performed with very little fatigue, and had it been a fine day, I think I should have felt none; but it distressed me to see uncle Henry and Wm. Knight, who kindly attended us on horseback, riding in the rain almost the whole way. We expect a visit from them tomorrow, and hope they will stay the night; and on Thursday, which is a confirmation and a holiday, we are to get Charles out to breakfast. We have had but one visit from him, poor fellow, as he is in sick-room, but he hopes to be out tonight. We see Mrs. Heathcote every day, and William is to call upon us soon. God bless you, my dear E. If ever you are ill, may you be as tenderly nursed as I have been. May the same blessed alleviations of anxious, sympathising friends be yours: and may you possess, as I dare say you will, the greatest blessing of all in the consciousness of not being unworthy of their love. I could not feel this.

"'Your very affecte Aunt, 'J. A.'"

"Throughout her illness she was nursed by her sister, often assisted by her sister-in-law, my mother. Both were with her when she died. Two of her brothers, who were clergymen, lived near enough to Winchester to be in frequent attendance, and to administer the services suitable for a Christian's death-bed. While she used the language of hope to her correspondents, she was fully aware of her danger, though not appalled by it. It is true that there was much to attach her to life. She was happy in her family; she was just beginning to feel confidence in her own success; and, no doubt, the exercise of her great talents was an enjoyment in itself. We may well believe that she would gladly have lived longer; but she was enabled without dismay or complaint to prepare for death. She was a humble, believing Christian. Her life had been passed in the performance of home duties, and the cultivation of domestic affections, without any self-seeking or craving after applause. She had always sought, as it were by instinct, to promote the happiness of all who came within her influence, and doubtless she had her reward in the peace of mind which was granted her in her last days. Her sweetness of temper never failed. She was ever considerate and grateful to those who attended on her. At times, when she felt rather better, her playfulness of spirit revived, and she amused them even in their sadness. Once, when she thought herself near her end, she said what she imagined might be her last words to those around her, and particularly thanked her sister-in-law for being with her, saying: 'You have always been a kind sister to me, Mary.' When the end at last came, she sank rapidly, and on being asked by her attendants whether there was anything that she wanted, her reply was, 'Nothing but death.' These were her last words. In quietness and peace she breathed her last on the morning of July 18, 1817."

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The next chapter, chapter 12 of this memoir by her nephew, consists of the original ending chapter of Persuasion that Jane Austen rewrote to her satisfaction, even as she was close to death.

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Chapter 13 begins with author describing her final days.

"'Persuasion' had been finished in August 1816; some time was probably given to correcting it for the press; but on the 27th of the following January, according to the date on her own manuscript, she began a new novel, and worked at it up to the 17th of March. The chief part of this manuscript is written in her usual firm and neat hand, but some of the latter pages seem to have been first traced in pencil, probably when she was too weak to sit long at her desk, and written over in ink afterwards. The quantity produced does not indicate any decline of power or industry, for in those seven weeks twelve chapters had been completed. It is more difficult to judge of the quality of a work so little advanced. It had received no name; there was scarcely any indication what the course of the story was to be, nor was any heroine yet perceptible, who, like Fanny Price, or Anne Elliot, might draw round her the sympathies of the reader. Such an unfinished fragment cannot be presented to the public; but I am persuaded that some of Jane Austen's admirers will be glad to learn something about the latest creations which were forming themselves in her mind; and therefore, as some of the principal characters were already sketched in with a vigorous hand, I will try to give an idea of them, illustrated by extracts from the work.

"The scene is laid at Sanditon, a village on the Sussex coast, just struggling into notoriety as a bathing-place, under the patronage of the two principal proprietors of the parish, Mr. Parker and Lady Denham."

Certainly Sanditon is quite promising, coming from Jane Austen, and one could see the budding story when Charlotte meets Sir Edward and later sees the couple talking together, obviously thinking they had complete privacy. It was disappointing it's cut at this point, almost as soon as it began.

"If the author had lived to complete her work, it is probable that these personages might have grown into as mature an individuality of character, and have taken as permanent a place amongst our familiar acquaintance, as Mr. Bennet, or John Thorp, Mary Musgrove, or Aunt Norris herself."

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"When first I was asked to put together a memoir of my aunt, I saw reasons for declining the attempt. It was not only that, having passed the three score years and ten usually allotted to man's strength, and being unaccustomed to write for publication, I might well distrust my ability to complete the work, but that I also knew the extreme scantiness of the materials out of which it must be constructed. The grave closed over my aunt fifty-two years ago; and during that long period no idea of writing her life had been entertained by any of her family. Her nearest relatives, far from making provision for such a purpose, had actually destroyed many of the letters and papers by which it might have been facilitated. They were influenced, I believe, partly by an extreme dislike to publishing private details, and partly by never having assumed that the world would take so strong and abiding an interest in her works as to claim her name as public property. It was therefore necessary for me to draw upon recollections rather than on written documents for my materials; while the subject itself supplied me with nothing striking or prominent with which to arrest the attention of the reader. It has been said that the happiest individuals, like nations during their happiest periods, have no history. In the case of my aunt, it was not only that her course of life was unvaried, but that her own disposition was remarkably calm and even. There was in her nothing eccentric or angular; no ruggedness of temper; no singularity of manner; none of the morbid sensibility or exaggeration of feeling, which not unfrequently accompanies great talents, to be worked up into a picture. Hers was a mind well balanced on a basis of good sense, sweetened by an affectionate heart, and regulated by fixed principles; so that she was to be distinguished from many other amiable and sensible women only by that peculiar genius which shines out clearly enough in her works, but of which a biographer can make little use. The motive which at last induced me to make the attempt is exactly expressed in the passage prefixed to these pages. I thought that I saw something to be done: knew of no one who could do it but myself, and so was driven to the enterprise. I am glad that I have been able to finish my work. ... "

"BRAY VICARAGE:

"Sept. 7, 1869."

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MORE VIEWS OF JANE AUSTEN

(by George Barnett Smith) (1895)

(From 'The Gentleman's Magazine'.)

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The author, writing for an article in a magazine a few years after publication of memoirs of Jane Austen by her nephew, mostly borrows material from the said memoirs; but he writes well, in his own words, except where he uses quotes.

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"An author who shall kindle into enthusiasm critics so diverse in character as Sir Walter Scott, Sir James Mackintosh, Archbishop Whately, and Lord Macaulay, must—in a literary sense—be in possession of the philosopher's stone. Such an author was the gifted woman whose name appears at the head of this article. Like Shakespeare, she took, as it were, the common dross of humanity, and by her wonderful power of literary alchemy, turned it into pure gold. yet she was apparently unconscious of her strength, and in the long roll of writers who have adorned our noble literature there is probably not one so devoid of pedantry or affectation, so delightfully self-repressive, or so free from egotism, as Jane Austen. Her life passed calmly and smoothly, resembling some translucent stream which meanders through our English meadows, and is never lashed into anger by treacherous rocks or violent currents. The lover of books, who turns from the rush and strife of existence in quest of intellectual solace and recreation, will discover in this writer a perennial spring of enjoyment and satisfaction."

"A very entertaining Memoir of Jane Austen was given to the world some years ago by her nephew, the Rev. J. E. Austen Leigh. ... Mr. Austen Leigh furnishes us with a glimpse of rural life in the South of England a century ago. It seems scarcely possible that so short a space of time should have made such a difference, both as regards the enlightenment of the inner and the softening of the rugged and outer aspects of life in the rural districts. We read that, so lately as towards the close of the last century, "a neighbouring squire, a man of many acres," referred the following difficulty to Mr. Austen's decision. "You know all about these sort of things. Do tell us. Is Paris in France, or France in Paris? For my wife has been disputing with me about it." If such was the condition of the tolerably well-to-do, we may form some idea of the ignorance and degradation of the labouring classes. ... Both Mr. and Mrs. Austen, however, were possessed of no ordinary mental parts, though it was from the latter (who lived to the great age of eighty-eight, dying only in 1827) that Jane Austen derived the genius which was destined to gain her high literary distinction. ... Happily Jane Austen was not left to the ordinary rural society we have already depicted. There was the refinement of her own home, and to her mother and elder sister Cassandra—women of intellectual power and high and pure tone—Miss Austen was deeply attached. But, besides these home sources of culture and improvement as well as enjoyment, she found in the neighbourhood, as her biographer observes, "persons of good taste and cultivated minds. Her acquaintance, in fact, constituted the very class from which she took her imaginary characters, ranging from the Member of Parliament or large landed proprietor to the young curate or younger midshipman of equally good family; and I think that the influence of these early associations may be traced in her writings, especially in two particulars. First, that she is entirely free from the vulgarity which is so offensive in some novels, of dwelling on the outward appendages of wealth or rank as if they were things to which the writer was unaccustomed; and, secondly, that she deals as little with very low as with very high stations in life." ... "

" ... "Pride and Prejudice," considered by many persons the most brilliant of her novels, was begun in 1796, before she was twenty-one years of age, and completed in about ten months. ... But the groundwork of "Sense and Sensibility" was composed even earlier than this, while "Northanger Abbey" was first written in 1798. ... "

"In the year 1801 the Austens removed to Bath, where "The Watsons," a story never concluded by the author, was written. ... The residence in Bath had not been without its uses to the novelist, as many scenes in her works abundantly testify. She was, however, acquainted with the fashionable city of the West before it became the residence of her family. Their stay at Southampton was not of long duration, as in 1809, through the kindness of Mr. Knight, of Steventon, they were able to take up their abode at Chawton, in Hampshire. ... She delighted in working unsuspected by others, and wrote upon small sheets of paper which could readily be put away or covered over on the approach of intruders. ... "

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"‘Seven Eastern cities claim great Homer dead,

"Through which the living Homer begged his bread.’"

"The prince's librarian, Mr. Clarke, writing to Miss Austen at the time of the approaching marriage of Prince Leopold to the Princess Charlotte, suggested that "an historical romance illustrative of the august House of Cobourg would just now be very interesting," and might very properly be dedicated to Prince Leopold. To this obliging recommendation, Miss Austen replied in terms which implied that she could not write to order. "I could no more write a romance than an epic poem. I could not sit seriously down to write a serious romance under any other motive than to save my life; and if it were indispensable to me to keep it up and never relax into laughing at myself or other people, I am sure I should be hung before I had finished the first chapter." ... "

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" ... Cadell, the well-known publisher, declined by return of post to give any encouragement to the publication of Miss Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," or even to entertain the proposition to publish the work at the author's risk. "Northanger Abbey" was sold in 1803 to a publisher in Bath for 10l.; but so little enamoured was he of the story that he chose to abide by his first loss rather than risk further expense by publishing such a work. The author herself considered that when she -received 150l. from the sale of "Sense and Sensibility," it was a prodigious recompense for that which had cost her little or nothing. ... "

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" ... Except through the eye, however, the intellect of this great writer is scarcely indicated in the portrait; and ladies of the present day, in observing the style of dress, will be apt to think that they have improved vastly, as regards grace and beauty, upon the costume in vogue with their grandmothers.

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"The "Letters of Jane Austen," recently edited by Lord Brabourne, add very little knowledge of a personal character to that we already enjoyed. Nor are the letters themselves valuable from the literary point of view, and if Jane Austen were now living she would probably be extremely angry at their publication. If anything could damage the fame of a writer already well established it would be the issue of such works of supererogation as that undertaken by Lord Brabourne. There are, perhaps, twenty pages in the two volumes issued by his lordship which are either amusing or valuable, as illustrating Jane Austen's character and epistolary skill; but as the world is so very busy, and has so many important things to attend to, it could well have spared the remainder."

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The author quotes passages from Emma, and from Northanger Abbey, reminding us of the excellence of character sketching by Jane Austen.

The result is a strengthening of a remainder of subtle values emphasised by Jane Austen, as for example the key scene where Knightley's strong reproof to Emma after the picnic, which is what one is reminded of reading at he quotes here from Emma- for, excellent as the passage is, the strongest feeling one has is that Emma wasn't wrong in her jest, but yes, Knightley was right in the reproof, that however boring someone might be, it's wrong to hurt them merely for a jest, and it's not done by those brought up to manners of civil society.

"How comes it that of all the old novels, so few have survived to our own day? Where twenty have perished, only one lives to be read and remembered. We have Fielding, Smollett, Richardson, Goldsmith, and Jane Austen; but the works of other novelists, for which immortality was predicted at the beginning of the century, have sunk beyond revival in the waters of oblivion. ... "

So have others he mentions along with hername; but curiously enough, he doesn't mention the Bronte sisters or George Eliot, who were her contemporary and have survived the centuries as well.

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"A recent critic has quarrelled with her on the ground that her clergymen are not such clergymen as would satisfy us if they were thus drawn in stories written at the present time. This may be so; she has drawn the clergy of her own day; and they were not in the habit of obtruding the cloth, neither did they claim to be aesthetic as the word is now understood. Many of the clergymen Miss Austen has drawn are fine manly fellows; but in mingling in society they do not make everybody else uncomfortable by continually insisting upon the nature of their profession. Yet it must be admitted that some of them fail in rising to a true conception of the sacred and dignified nature of the office of a parish priest. Since Miss Austen's time, conscience has been quickened in the church. There is now an earnestness abroad to which the clergy were formerly comparative strangers."

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" ... It has been observed that, although novels are supposed to give a false picture of life and manners, this is not necessarily so. As regards many novelists, unquestionably the accusation is true, but no one can really feel its applicability to the works of Jane Austen. Her characters are not unnatural, neither are her incidents in the least degree improbable. She too thoroughly understands human nature to exaggerate its sentiments beyond recognition. Miss Austen is also a moral writer in the highest sense—that is, there is a high tone pervading all her works; this is no more than the natural outcome of her own life and character. But she has also great literary claims. Besides her capacity for minute detail as affecting her dramatis personae, already insisted upon, she has vivid powers of description, all the more effective, perhaps, because they are held in check by a sound judgment and a well-balanced imagination. She never exhausts a scene by what is called word-painting. She indicates its main features, and describes the general effect it produces upon the spectator, rather than recapitulates the size, weight, and colour of its various component elements. To say that she has a strong insight into female character is almost superfluous. George Eliot does not enter more deeply into the workings of the female mind and heart than she does. Add to all these claims that our author's novels are perfectly unexceptionable from every point of view, and that they combine rational amusement with no small degree of instruction, and we have advanced tolerably sufficient grounds for the continuous favour with which they have been and are still regarded."

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JANE AUSTEN AND HER TIMES

(by Geraldine Edith Mitton) (1905)

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Very well written.

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"Of Jane Austen's life there is little to tell, and that little has been told more than once by writers whose relationship to her made them competent to do so. It is impossible to make even microscopic additions to the sum-total of the facts already known of that simple biography, and if by chance a few more original letters were discovered they could hardly alter the case, for in truth of her it may be said, "Story there is none to tell, sir." To the very pertinent question which naturally follows, reply may thus be given. Jane Austen stands absolutely alone, unapproached, in a quality in which women are usually supposed to be deficient, a humorous and brilliant insight into the foibles of human nature, and a strong sense of the ludicrous. As a writer in The Times (November 25, 1904) neatly puts it, "Of its kind the comedy of Jane Austen is incomparable. It is utterly merciless. Prancing victims of their illusions, her men and women are utterly bare to our understanding, and their gyrations are irresistibly comic. "Therefore as a personality, as a central figure, too much cannot be written about her, and however much is said or written the mystery of her genius will still always baffle conjecture, always lure men on to fresh attempts to analyse and understand her.

"The data of Jane Austen's life have been repeated several times, as has been said, but beyond a few trifling allusions to her times no writer has thought it necessary to show up the background against which her figure may be seen, or to sketch from contemporary records the environment amid which she developed. Yet surely she is even more wonderful as a product of her times than considered as an isolated figure; therefore the object of this book is to show her among the scenes wherein she moved, to sketch the men and women to whom she was accustomed, the habits and manners of her class, and the England with which she was familiar. Her life was not long, lasting only from 1775 to 1817, but it covered notable times, and with such an epoch for presentation, with such a central figure to link together the sequence of events, we have a theme as inspiring as could well be found."

"It is an endless puzzle why, when her books so faithfully represent the society and manners of a time so unlike our own, they seem so natural to us. If you tell any half-dozen people, who have not made a special study of the subject, at what date these novels were written, you will find that they are all surprised to hear how many generations ago Jane Austen lived, and that they have always vaguely imagined her to be very little earlier than, if not contemporary with, Charlotte Brontë or George Eliot. So far as I am aware, no writer on Jane Austen has ever touched on this problem before. Her stories are as fresh and real as the day they were written, her characters might be introduced to us in the flesh any time, and, with the exception of a certain quaintness of eighteenth-century flavouring, there is nothing to bring before us the striking difference between their environment and our own. It is true that the long coach journeys stand out as an exception to this, but they are the only marked exception. ... The knee-breeches of the men, their slippers and cravats, the neat, close-fitting clerical garb, these things we owe to the artists, —they are taken for granted in the text. It would have seemed as ridiculous to Jane Austen to describe them, as for a present-day novelist to mention that a London man made a call in a frock-coat and top-hat.

"Yet her word-pictures are living and detailed, filled in with innumerable little touches. How can we reconcile the seeming inconsistency? The explanation probably is, that without acting consciously, she, with the unerring touch of real genius, chose that which was lasting, and of interest for all time, from that which was ephemeral. In her sketches of human nature, in the strokes with which she describes character, no line is too fine or too delicate for her attention; but in the case of manners and customs she gives just the broad outlines that serve as a setting. Her novels are novels of character. But the problem is not confined to the books; in her letters to her sister, though there is abundant comment on dress, food, and minor details which should mark the epoch, yet the letters might have been written yesterday. Austin Dobson in one of his admirable prefaces to the novels says: "Going over her pages, pencil in hand, the antiquarian annotator is struck by their excessive modernity, and after a prolonged examination discovers, in this century-old record, nothing more fitted for the exercise of his ingenuity that such an obsolete game at cards as 'Casino' or 'quadrille.'

"And this is true also of her letters. More remarkable still is the entire absence of comment on the great events which thrilled the world; with the exception of an allusion to the death of Sir John Moore, we hear no whisper of the wars and upheavals which happened during her life. It is true that the Revolution in France, which shook monarchs on their thrones, occurred before the first date of the published letters, yet her correspondence covers a time when battles at sea were chronicled almost continuously, when an invasion by France was an ever-present terror; Trafalgar and Waterloo were not history, but contemporary events; but though Jane must have heard and discussed these matters, no echo finds its way into her lively and amusing budgets of chit-chat to her sister. Of course women were not supposed to read the papers in those days, but with to sailor brothers the news must have often been personal and intimate, and she was, according to the notions of her time, well educated; yet we search in vain for any allusion to such contemporary matters. It may be objected that the letters of a modern girl to a sister would hardly touch on questions which agitate the public, but there are several replies to this: in the first place, few such exciting events have occurred in recent times as happened during Jane Austen's life; our war in Africa was a mere trifle in comparison with the bloody field of Waterloo, where Blucher and Wellington lost 30,000 men, or the thrilling naval victory of Trafalgar; and stupendous as have been the recent battles between Russia and Japan, they affect us only indirectly —England is not herself involved in them, nor are her sons being slain daily. ... Thirdly, letters in Jane Austen's time were one great means of news, for newspapers were not so easy to get, and were much more costly than now, so that we expect to find more of contemporary events in letters than at a time like the present, when telegrams and columns of print save us the trouble of recording such matters in private."

"The epoch was one of change and enlargement in other than geographical directions. In the thirty years before Jane Austen's birth an immense improvement had taken place in the position of women. Mrs. Montagu, in 1750, had made bold strokes for the freedom and recognition of her sex. The epithet "blue-stocking," which has survived with such extraordinary tenacity, was at first given, not to the clever women who attended Mrs. Montagu's informal receptions, but to her men friends, who were allowed to come in the grey or blue worsted stockings of daily life, instead of the black silk considered de rigueur for parties. Up to this time, personal appearance and cards had been the sole resources for a leisured dame of the upper classes, and the language of gallantry was the only one considered fitting for her to hear. By Mrs. Montagu's efforts it was gradually recognised that a woman might not only have sense herself, but might prefer it should be spoken to her; and that because the minds of women had long been left uncultivated they were not on that account unworthy of cultivation. ... "

"As we have said, matters of history are not mentioned or noticed in Jane Austen's correspondence, which is taken up with her own environment, her neighbours, their habits and manners, and illumined throughout by a bright insight at times rather too biting to be altogether pleasant. Of her immediate surroundings we have a very clear idea.

"Of all the writers of fiction, Jane Austen is most thoroughly English. She never went abroad, and though her native good sense and shrewd gift of observation saved her from becoming insular, yet she cannot be conceived as writing of any but the sweet villages and the provincial towns of her native country. Even the Brontës, deeply secluded as their lives were, crossed the German Ocean, and saw something of continental life from their school at Brussels. Nothing of this kind fell to Jane Austen's share. Yet people did travel in those days, travelled amazingly considering the difficulties they had to encounter, among which were the horrors of a sailing-boat with its uncertain hours. Fielding, in going to Lisbon, was kept waiting a month for favourable winds! There was also the terrible embarking and landing from a small boat before such conveniences as landing-stages were built."

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"During a great part of Jane Austen's life, much of the continent was closed to English people because of the perpetual state of war between us and either Spain or France, but in any case such an expedition would seem to have lain quite outside her limited daily round, and was never even mooted.

"Steventon Rectory, where she was born on December 16, 1775, has long ago vanished, and a new rectory, more in accordance with modern luxurious notions, has been built. Of the old house, Lord Brabourne, great-nephew to Jane Austen, writes: “The house standing in the valley was somewhat better than the ordinary parsonage houses of the day; the old-fashioned hedgerows were beautiful, and the country around sufficiently picturesque for those who have the good taste to admire country scenery."

"The country and the writer suited each other so wonderfully, that one pauses for a moment wondering whether, after all, environment may not have that magic influence claimed for it by some who hold it to be more powerful than inherited qualities. Influence of course it has, and one wonders what could possibly have been the result if two such natures as those of Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë had changed places; if Jane had been brought up amid the wild, bleak Yorkshire moors, and Charlotte amid the pleasant fields of Hampshire. As it is, the surroundings of each intensified and developed their own peculiar genius."

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"In the time of Jane's childhood the old days of rigid severity toward children were past, no longer were mere babies taken to see executions and whipped on their return to enforce the example they had beheld. ... "

"Her own attitude toward children is peculiar. Though on indisputable testimony she was the most popular and best loved of aunts, the fact remains that she had no great insight into child nature, nor does she seem to have had any general love of children beyond those who were specially connected with her by close ties. She loved her nieces, but much more as they grew older than as children."

"The truth probably is that her innate kindness of heart and unselfishness compelled her to be as amusing as possible when thrown with little people, but perhaps because she took so much trouble to entertain them she found children more tiresome than other people who accept their company more placidly. However this may be, it is undeniable that the attitude she takes toward children in her books is almost always that of their being tiresome, there never appears any genuine love for them or realisation of pleasure in their society; and she continually satirises the foolish weakness of their doting parents. It is recorded as a great feature in the character of Mrs. John Knightley "that in spite of her maternal solicitude for the immediate enjoyment of her little ones, and for their having instantly all the liberty and attendance, all the eating and drinking, and sleeping and playing, which they could possibly wish for, without the smallest delay, the children were never allowed to be long a disturbance to him [their grandfather] either in themselves or in any restless attendance on them.""

Author gives examples from her works.

""'I have a notion,' said Lucy [to Elinor] 'you think the little Middletons are too much indulged. Perhaps they may be the outside of enough, but it is so natural in Lady Middleton, and for my part I love to see children full of life and spirits; I cannot bear them if they are tame and quiet.'

""'I confess,' replied Elinor, 'that while I am at Barton Park I never think of tame and quiet children with any abhorrence!'""

"The other instance is a sample of a very nervous, shy child, perhaps drawn from the recollections of Jane Austen's own feelings in childhood, this is Fanny Price, whose loneliness on her first coming to Mansfield Park is carefully depicted, but Fanny herself is unchildlike and exceptional. Her younger brothers rank among the gallery of bad children, for by "the superior noise of Sam, Tom, and Charles chasing each other up and down stairs, and tumbling about and hallooing, Fanny was almost stunned. Sam, loud and overbearing as he was…..was clever and intelligent... Tom and Charles being at least as many years as they were his juniors distant from that age of feeling and reason which might suggest the expediency of making friends, and of endeavouring to be less disagreeable. ... "

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"Jane Austen was a clergyman's daughter. At the present time there are undoubtedly wide differences in the social standing of the clergy according to their own birth and breeding, but yet it may be taken for granted that a clergyman is considered a fit guest for any man's table. It was not always so. There was a time when a clergyman was a kind of servant, ranking with the butler, whose hospitality he enjoyed; we have plenty of pictures of this state of affairs in The Vicar of Wakefield to go no further. But before Jane was born, matters had changed. The pendulum had not yet swung to the opposite extreme of our own day, when the fact of a man's being ordained is supposed to give him new birth in a social sense, and a tailor's son passes through the meagrest of the Universities in order that he may thus be transformed into a gentleman without ever considering whether he has the smallest vocation for the ministry. In the Austens' time the status of a clergyman depended a very great deal on himself, and as the patronage of the Church was chiefly in the hands of the well-to-do lay-patrons, who bestowed the livings on their younger sons or brothers, there was very frequently a tie of relationship between the vicarage and the great house, which was sufficient to ensure probably at its best, obviating any inducement to servility; but there was a very evil side to what may be called local patronage, which was much more in evidence than it is in our time. Archbishop Seeker, in his charges to the clergy of the diocese of Oxford, when he was their bishop in 1737, throws a very clear light on this side of the question. He expressly enjoins incumbents to make no promise to their patrons to quit the benefice when desired before entering into office. "The true meaning therefore is to commonly enslave the incumbent to the will and pleasure of the patron.” The motive for demanding such a promise was generally that the living might be held until such time as some raw young lad, a nephew or younger son of the lord of the manor, was ready to take it. The evils of such a system are but too apparent. We can imagine a nervous clergyman who would never dare to express an opinion contrary to the will of the benefactor who had the power to turn him out into the world penniless; we can imagine the time-server courting his patron with honeyed words. This debased type is inimitably sketched in the character of Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice. ... "

How can anyone forget Collins! Or his Lady of the Manor!

"Cowper's satire on the way in which preferment is secured ... "

""The parson knows enough who knows a duke.""

"The duties of clergymen were therefore almost as light as they chose to make them. One service on Sunday, and the Holy Communion three times yearly, at Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide, was considered enough."

"Baptisms, marriages, and funerals were looked on as nuisances; the clergyman ran them together as much as possible, and often arrived at the last minute, flinging himself off his smoking horse to gabble through the service with the greatest possible speed; children were frequently buried without any service at all.

"The churches were for the most part damp and mouldy; there were, of course, none of the present conveniences for heating and lighting. Heavy galleries cut off the little light that struggled through the cobwebby windows. There were mouse-eaten hassocks, curtains on rods thick with dust, a general smell of mouldiness and disuse, and a cold, but ill-ventilated, atmosphere.

"In some old country churches there still survive the family pews, which were like small rooms, and in which the occupants could read or sleep without being seen by anyone; in one or two cases there are fire-grates in these; and in one strange example at Langley, in Bucks, the pew is not only roofed in, but it has a lattice in front, with painted panels which can be opened and shut at the occupants' pleasure, and there is a room in connection with it in which is a library of books, so that it would be quite possible for anyone to retire for a little interlude without the rest of the congregation's being aware of it!

"The church, only opened as a rule once a week, was left for the rest of the time to the bats and birds. Compare this with one of the neat, warm, clean churches to be found almost everywhere at present; churches with polished wood pews, shining brass fittings, tessellated floor in place of uneven bricks, a communion table covered by a cloth worked by the vicar's wife, and bearing white flowers placed by loving hands. A pulpit of carved oak, alabaster, or marble, instead of a dilapidated old three-decker in which the parish clerk sat below and gave out the tunes in a droning voice."

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"But though the clergy frequently left all the work to their curates, they always took care to receive the tithes themselves. ... "

"Hannah More gives us an account of the usual state of things in regard to non-residence—

""The vicarage of Cheddar is in the gift of the Dean of Wells; the value nearly fifty pounds per annum. The incumbent is a Mr. K., who has something to do, but I cannot find out what, in the University of Oxford, where he resides. The curate lives at Wells, twelve miles distant. They have only service once a week, and there is scarcely an instance of a poor person being visited or prayed with. The living of Axbridge annual value is about fifty pounds. The incumbent about sixty years of age. Mr. G. is intoxicated about six times a week, and very frequently is prevented from preaching by two black eyes, honestly earned by fighting."

""We have in this neighbourhood thirteen adjoining parishes without so much as even a resident curate."

""No clergyman had resided in the parish for forty years. One rode over three miles from Wells to preach once on a Sunday, but no weekly duty was done or sick persons visited; and children were often buried without any funeral service. Eight people in the morning, and twenty in the afternoon, was a good congregation."

"She evidently means that the service was sometimes held in the morning, and sometimes in the afternoon, as she says there were not two services.

"She also speaks of it as an exceptionally disinterested action of Dr. Kennicott that he had resigned a valuable living because his learned work would not allow him to reside in the parish."

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"By far the best account of what was expected from a contemporary clergyman is to be gathered from Jane Austen's own books. It is one of her strong points that she wrote only of what she knew, and as her own father and two of her brothers were clergymen, we cannot suppose that she was otherwise than favourably inclined to the class. Her sketch of Mr. Collins is no doubt something of a caricature, but it serves to illustrate very forcibly one great error in the system then in vogue —that of local patronage.

"The other clergymen in her books are numerous: we have Mr. Elton in Emma, Edmund Bertram and Dr. Grant in Mansfield Park, Henry Tilney in Northanger Abbey, and Edward Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility.

" It is impossible to deny that Edmund Bertram is a prig, or perhaps, to put it more mildly, is inclined to be sententious, so sometimes one almost sympathises with the gay Miss Crawford, whose ideas so shocked him and Fanny; yet though those ideas only reflected the current opinion of the times, they were reprehensible enough. ... "

" ... she says: "It is indolence, Mr. Bertram, indeed —indolence and love of ease —a want of all laudable ambition, of taste for good company, or of inclination to take the trouble of being agreeable, which make men clergymen. A clergyman has nothing to do but to be slovenly and selfish, read the newspaper, watch the weather, and quarrel with his wife. His curate does all the work, and the business of his own life is to dine.'"

"This type is exemplified in the same book by Dr. Grant, who is not drawn vindictively, but is described by his own sister-in-law, Miss Crawford, as "'an indolent, selfish bon vivant, who must have his palate consulted in everything; who will not stir a finger for the convenience of anyone; and who, moreover, if the cook makes a blunder, is out of humour with his excellent wife. To own the truth, Henry and I were driven out this very evening by a disappointment about a green goose, which he could not get the better of. My poor sister was forced to stay and bear it.'"

"And when Edmund is about to enter on the living, Henry Crawford gaily observes, "I apprehend he will not have less than seven hundred a year. Seven hundred a year is a fine thing for a younger brother; and as, of course, he will still live at home, it will be all for his menus plaisirs, and a sermon at Christmas and Easter, I suppose, will be the sum total of sacrifice.'""

"After all this, it is pleasant to know that some upright and serious men, even in those days, thought differently of the life and duties of a clergyman, for Jane makes Sir Thomas Bertram reply—

""'A parish has wants and claims which can be known only by a clergyman constantly resident, and which no proxy can be capable of satisfying to the same extent. Edmund might, in the common phrase, do the duty of Thornton, that is, he might read prayers and preach without giving up Mansfield Park; he might ride over every Sunday to a house nominally inhabited, and go through divine service; he might be the clergyman of Thornton Lacey every seventh day, for three or four hours, if that would content him. But it will not. He knows that human nature needs more lessons than a weekly sermon can convey; and that if he does not live among his parishioners, and prove himself by constant attention to be their well-wisher and friend, he does very little either for their good or his own.'"

"It is also striking to see how very much the taking of Orders depended upon some living to be obtained; there seems to have been no special idea of suitability, and still less of preparation, only the merest and most perfunctory examination was demanded of the candidate for Orders. There is a story of this date of one examination for ordination where only two questions were asked, one of which was, "What is the Hebrew for a skull?"

"In an entertaining book on Jane Austen by Miss Constance Hill, published in 1902, there is a quotation from a letter anent the ordination examination of Mr. Lefroy, who married Anna, Jane's niece. "The Bishop only asked him two questions, first if he was the son of Mrs. Lefroy of Ashe, and secondly if he had married a Miss Austen."

"It is said also that Brownlow North, Bishop of Winchester, examined his candidates for ordination in a cricket-field during a match. One candidate is described by Bosweil as having read no books of divinity, not even the Greek Testament. There were, of course, serious and learned bishops enough; Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury, who lived from 1643 to 1715, was horrified at the ignorance of candidates, who apparently had never read the Old Testament and hardly knew what was in the New. "They cry, and think it a sad disgrace to be denied Orders, though the ignorance of some is such that in a well-regulated state of things they would appear not to know enough to be admitted to the Holy Sacrament."

"It is probable that the Bishops judged a great deal more, on the whole, by the appearance and manners of the man before them, and the prospects he had of holding a living, than by his own knowledge, and in the case of a well-born, serious-minded man like Edmund Bertram there would be no difficulty whatever about his lack of divinity. Of Henry Tilney's duties in Northanger Abbey, very little can be said or gathered, he never appears like a clergyman at all. We are told that the parsonage was a "new built, substantial stone house." We know that he had to go there, much to Catherine Morland's distress, when she was a guest at his father's house, Northanger Abbey, because the engagements of his curate at Woodston obliged him to leave on Saturday for a couple of nights. But at all events he does seem to have spent most of his time at the parsonage, though he still kept on his room at home.

"Of Edward Ferrars' clerical avocations we also hear so very little that he might almost as well have been of any other profession."

"Emma thinks he will do admirably for her somewhat ambiguously placed friend Harriet Smith, while Mr. Elton himself fixes his eyes on the heiress Emma. A nice little illustration of the social status of the cleric, who would not have been thought entirely out of the question for the heiress, though doubtless a little beneath her. Mr. Elton is represented as a handsome, ingratiating, debonair young man, who spends his time playing the gallant, reading aloud, making charades with the young ladies, and preaching sermons that please everybody. However, he meets his match in the dashing and vulgar Mrs. Elton, whom he picks up, soon after his rejection by Emma, at a watering place, and thereafter they spend their time in a blissful state of mutual admiration."

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And yet, as per the fraud perpetrated forever according to Macaulay policy of lies and hypocrisy practised so as to break the spirit of India, it's not only pushed under the rug that West - England, Europe, every society outside India - not only had a caste system, but thst caste system was just as hidebound to birth as that of india has been accused of; only, the caste system of West, including that of England, is based on property and wealth, aristocratic titles and racem and yes, gender; while that in india was always about classification of vocation, or profession, into categories; wealth was - and is - not only irrelevant to castes, but quite the opposite; and unlike West, including England, where caste is an almost totally insurmountable barrier to higher rungs in every profession,

India has only one slight barrier to the choice of the higuest vocation, spiritual, for anyone of any caste - namely, someone married cannot choose a spiritual life - and leave family - without permission of his wife, if he's married. Needless to say, such a choice does not involve a "living", quite contrary; it promises every possible difficulty one can think of, including that of possible starvation, living out of doors, and most likely living in cold of Himaalayan heights, where its supposed one seeking spiritual life must sojourn. Or one could traipse, but certainly no comfortable houses promised.

And yet the fraud perpetrated forever according to Macaulay policy of breaking India has West not only deny their own caste systems, but equate the very word caste with India! While it's understood all the while, that an Emma would be outraged at the presumption of an Elton, that a Mrs Elton is naturally lower, that a cousin Willy disdain Battenburg cousins because of a morganatic marriage to which his grandmother Queen Victoria objects only on grounds of her attitude of being the empress and demanding he - and others - follow her example, and if she accepts Battenburg relatives, they must honour them too. She didn't deny caste system of England, of Europe, or of West.

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"For the first five-and-twenty years of her life, from 1775 spring of 1801, Jane lived at Steventon, in her father's rectory, as peaceful and quiet a home as even she could have wished. But though her own circumstances were peaceful and happy, the great world without was full of flux and reflux.

"Wars and rumours of wars, revolutions and upheavals, which changed the whole face of Europe, were going on year by year, but of these things, as I have said, hardly an echo reaches us in her writing; not even in the correspondence with her sister, which begins in 1796 when the turmoil was at its height, which is the more surprising when we consider that her own sailor brothers were taking an active part in affairs; and her cousin, the Countess de Feuillade, had fled to the Austens for shelter when her husband suffered death by the guillotine. What depths these things stirred in Jane, or whether she lacked the imagination to bring home to her their enormous importance relative to the small details of immediate surroundings, we shall never know. Her minute observation, her unrivalled faculty for using that which lay under her hand, the stores of little human characteristics which, by her transmuting touch, she invested with such intense interest, lead one to suppose that such a clear, nearsighted mental vision carried with it defective mental long sight. There are a number of persons who, deeply and warmly interested in that which immediately appeals to them, cannot throw their sympathy far out over unseen events and persons. We are all prone to this, there is not one of us who is not more affected by a single tragic death in the neighbourhood than by the loss of a hundred lives in America; life in this world would be intolerable were it not so, this is one of the provisions of a merciful providence for making it endurable. But there are some more nearsighted in this respect than others, and from internal evidence in the letters we may judge that Jane belonged to them; it is only conjecture, but it is often the case in life, that virtues carry corresponding faults, that extreme cleverness induces a little want of perception in another of balance and compensation is so omnipresent, that Jane's intensely clear vision in regard to near objects may have been paid for by absorption in them, somewhat to the exclusion of larger interests.

"In 1789, while she was yet but fourteen years old, there began that Revolution which, taking it altogether, is the most tremendous fact in the history of Europe. France was seething, but as yet the ferment had not affected other nations. In the July of that year the tricolour was adopted as the national flag, excess reigned supreme, and the nobles began to emigrate. It was not until 1792 that France began to grasp the lands of others, and reached forth the first of those tentacles, which, like those of an octopus, were to spread all over Europe. In the beginning Austria and Prussia opposed her, but after the murder of the French King, in January 1793, England was forced to join in to protect Holland, and to uphold the general status of nations. Treaties were signed between almost all the civilised nations of Europe, for the crushing of a common enemy; Switzerland alone, of those affected by France's movements, remaining perfectly neutral.

"The echoes of the Reign of Terror that followed must have reached even to the remotest recesses of England, and it is impossible to believe that the Austens were not deeply affected."

" ... The news of the death of the French King was known, by rumour at least, with extraordinary quickness, about two days after it happened, and was received with execration. Detailed accounts did not come in until some days after. ... "

"In August of the same year, the death of Marie Antoinette was daily expected. "The queen was dressed in white lawn and wore a black girdle... Her cell is only eight feet long, and eight feet wide. Her couch consists of a hard straw bed and very thin coverings; her diet, soup and boiled meat."

"But in an anguish of mind which must have made her indifferent to the horrors of material surroundings, the poor queen was kept alive until October, when finally news came of her execution. "As soon as the ci-devant queen left the conciergerie to ascend the scaffold, the multitude cried out brava in the midst of plaudits. Marie Antoinette had on a white loose dress, her hands were tied behind her back. She looked firmly round her on all sides, and on the scaffold preserved her natural dignity of mind."

"This is the kind of reading of contemporary events that would greet Jane when the household received its bi-weekly or tri-weekly paper.

"All through 1794 war continued, while the French slowly bored their way into the continent. Of the splendid naval victories of these years we speak in the chapter on the Navy; these surely must have affected Jane, and made her heart beat high at the thought of what her brothers might be called upon to undergo any day. Toward the end of 1795, Austria and Britain alone were left to uphold the right of nations against the all-devouring French. In England food was at famine prices, and there was actually a party who wished the enemy to win in order that the war might end. London was in a state of great agitation, so that public meetings were suppressed in the interests of public safety. In 1796, Spain declared war against Great Britain, having previously patched up peace with her dangerous neighbour. In this year Napoleon Buonaparte first began to be heard of outside his own country, by his successes in his Italian campaign.

"England, in sore straits, attempted to make peace, but the arrogance of France left her no other course compatible with honour than to continue the war, and the opening of 1797 found her in great difficulties. On all sides invasion by France was dreaded; in fact, in the previous December an attempt at such an invasion by landing on the coast of Ireland, which was in a state of bitter rebellion, was made. In February the victory of St. Vincent put a little heart into the English people, and did away for a time with the possibility of another attempt at invasion by Hoche, whose fleet was scattered by a storm. In May of 1797 a dangerous mutiny broke out among the sailors, followed by another at the Nore, but these were firmly quelled.

"In 1798, Napoleon's Egyptian campaign must have been followed with tense interest, though news would be slow in coming, and it would probably be many days before the news of Lord Nelson's glorious victory at the Rattle of the Nile, which had smashed up the French fleet and left Napoleon stranded, was received in England. This victory gave renewed spirit to the Allies in Europe. A whole string of affiliated Republics had now been established by France, made out of her conquests —including Switzerland, whose strict neutrality had not preserved her from invasion. Yet Austria carried on her share of the war bravely, and in the autumn of 1799 the English made a desperate attempt to retrieve the integrity of Holland, but after a short campaign were compelled to evacuate the country. In October 1799, Napoleon, finding his dreams of establishing a great Eastern kingdom impracticable, returned to France, and in the December of the same year was acclaimed First Consul."

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"Long before Jane's death, the mighty Empire of India had passed almost completely under British control. But if her lifetime saw the foundation of one Empire it witnessed also the loss of another country. The United States were declared independent in the first year of her life, and before she was of an age to take any practical note of politics they had been recognised by France as an independent nation. She lived, indeed, in an epoch when history was made, and she lived on into a new era of things, when Buonaparte was finally subdued, France settled, the continent at peace. At present we have only briefly outlined the extraordinary series of events which filled the five-and-twenty years during which she, living in her sheltered nook at Steventon, heard only echoes. There is something peculiarly suitable in picturing her in this tranquil backwater."

"Yet though bright and clever, and animated by indisputable genius, she was not intellectual; the world of ideas held no place in her mind. We can see very well from her books that the great fundamental laws so important to a wide, deep mind were entirely ignored by her. She was of the mental calibre of her own Elizabeth Bennet, a bright intelligent companion, without depth or brain force. We cannot imagine her grasping abstractions or wrestling with theories; her mind was formed for practicalities and facts."

That's cèrtainly hit nail on head, more than any other so far. It's not only reflected in her limiting her writing to normal, everyday concerns of middle class of a quet little English village, without any mention of the tremendous global events of history which were then of immediate concern, especially in England; but it also is mirrored in her complete disdain of a character of her own creation, Mary Bennet, for her always being absorbed in reading, and her lonely aspirations to an intellectual conversation; in fact, the existence of this character serves no other purpose than the author showering her contempt on such a person, preferring Elizabeth who, while she reads or plays music, does not make much of either.

This, in eyes of Jane Austen, was virtue. Any absorption in intellectual matters, of higher spheres of mind, was to be ridiculed, seen with contempt. So much so, she not only has a ridiculous and ridiculed Collins prefer someone else over Mary Bennet, she privately had the unpublished futures if the characters sketched out, where Kitty Bennet finds a match in a clergyman st Pemberley, but Mary "not doing so well even as to find a clergyman, and settling with a clerk in Meryton - and this was clear by the last chapter of the book, since Elizabeth took Kitty with her, author expressing her verdict about Kitty being likely to benefit from company, while Mary being beyond such possibility of hope, and remaining with her mother as her solace.

And in the comparison between the two matches, Jane Austen certainly made her own firm base of casteism, a la caste system of England in particular and West in general, clear - clergy is lower than landed class property owners, and clerks are lower. This was not touched by a shred of a thought for personal qualities of any kind in case of either.

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"The Austens had special advantages in their position in the fact that they were relatives of Mr. Knight, to whom the whole parish belonged. Mr. Austen seems to have been referred to, in the absence of Mr. Knight, as a kind of squire. He lived simply, but had apparently enough money to allow his daughters the privileges of gentlewomen, and they went to all the dances and balls in the neighbourhood, and paid frequent visits to their brothers' houses for weeks at a time. Mr. Austen kept a carriage and pair, though that meant less than it would do now, as private means of conveyance was much more necessary and there was no carriage tax to add to the expense.

"Mrs. Austen seems to have been constantly ailing, which threw the housekeeping a good deal into the hands of her daughters. It is possible that her ailments were more imaginary than real, as she lived to a great age, and in her old age employed herself about the garden and poultry, and is spoken of as being brisk and bright. Perhaps she grew more energetic as she grew older, a not uncommon process. Jane's allusions to her mother's health are frequent, and sometimes seem to point to the fact that she did not altogether believe in them ... "

Perhaps it's that Mrs Austen was taxed by the marital life beyond her capacity, having given birth to at least seven children, and her being unwell had to do with matters then not mentioned by women, nor made a cause of a medical check up or assistance, unless and until ir was a life and death matter. And too, perhaps, Jane was aware of the status difference between Mrs Austen on one hand and the daughters on the other, in eyes of the males of the family - Mrs Austen had a marital life, whatever it's effect on her health; the daughters remained unmarried, and neither the father nor the brothers made any efforts to change that. Perhaps Jane's disdain for her mother, reflected in her portrayals of mothers of grown up daughters in her work, stemmed from this.

"In the family memoirs, Mrs. George Austen is always spoken of as a person of wit and imagination, in whom might be found the germs of her daughter's genius; such opinion based on recollections must be deferred to, but such is not the picture we gather from the letters. There, Mrs. Austen seems to have exercised none but the slightest influence on her daughters' lives, and when they do mention her, it is only to remark on her health, or the care of her in a journey, or that she will not have anything to do with choosing the furniture for the new home in Bath.

"It is a curious circumstance, taken in conjunction with this, that all the mothers of Jane's heroines, when living, are described as fools or worse. It is not intended to hint that she drew such characters from the home circle or from her mother's friends, but it is plainly to be seen that she did not look for, or expect from women of this standing, the wit and sense she found elsewhere. ... "

Author quotes an example, the mist memorable one, from Pride and Prejudice, where Mrs Bennet urges Mr Bennet to make Elizabeth accept Collins. But neither thus author nor Jane Austen herself quite got the desperation of heart and mind of a mother with five beautiful grown up daughters whose father is as little concerned about their future as Mr Bennet seems to have been, always closed in his study, making no efforts to take them out into society; his one folly, of marrying someone beautiful without much brains, and his subsequent repentance had only had this effect of closeting himself: it neither stopped him from having five daughters, nor from giving up efforts to commune with them to have them benefit from his mind. One can only pity Mrs Bennet who wasn't at fault for having beauty and heart, nor for lacking a mind, or a husband who had a mind but wouldn't help her improve, and merely disdained her openly.

"The middle-aged women without daughters, such as Lady Russell and Mrs. Croft, in the same book, are allowed to be sensible, but a mother with grown-up daughters seems always to be mercilessly delineated by Jane."

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"When she went to stay at Godmersham, which she frequently did, she mingled with county people and noted their manners and ways; but she was entirely free from snobbishness, and her quiet satire of those who imitated all the superficial details in the life of a higher class than their own is seen in her account of Tom Musgrave in The Watsons, who condescends to stay and play cards with the Watsons until nine, when "the carriage was ordered to the door, and no entreaties for his staying longer could now avail; for he well knew that if he stayed he would have to sit down to supper in less than ten minutes, which, to a man whose heart had long been fixed on calling his next meal a dinner, was quite insupportable.""

Author discusses various details of breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner, supper, as differing between working classes vs gentry, and her time vs past. Most of her observations make sense, until

"It is to be wished that two-pronged forks still survived in the public restaurants of today, as the use of the present forks in such places is one of the minor trials of daily life."

?????

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Interesting detail -

"Mrs. Papendick's account of the plate and services acquired at her marriage gives us an idea of what was then thought necessary in this respect. She says, "Two of our rooms were furnished by Her Majesty, and a case of plate was also sent by her, which contained cruets, saltcellars, candle-sticks, and spoons of different sizes, silver forks not being then used. From the queen came also six large and six small knives and forks, to which mamma added six more of each, and a carving knife and fork. Our tea and coffee set were of common Indian china, our dinner service of earthenware, to which, for our rank, there was nothing superior, Chelsea porcelain and fine India china being only for the wealthy. Pewter and Delft ware could also be had, but were inferior." Though Mr. Papendick was attached to the court, he was anything but wealthy."

Does anyone now recall that English thought India produced superior china, superior to England, deft, and China? For if they could import from India, they could from China, just as well! It couldn't have been free after all, or did they just loot it?

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"Turning to the novels, we find food frequently mentioned in Emma, when the little suppers of minced chicken and scalloped oysters, so necessary after an early dinner, were always provided at the Woodhouses. Poor Mr. Woodhouse's feelings on these occasions are mixed. "He loved to have the cloth laid because it had been the fashion of his youth; but his conviction of suppers being very unwholesome, made him rather sorry to see anything put upon it; and while his hospitality would have welcomed his visitors to everything, his care for their health made him grieve that they would eat. Such another small basin of thin gruel as his own was all that he could, with thorough self-approbation, recommend; though he might constrain himself, while the ladies were comfortably clearing the nicer things, to say—

""'Mrs. Bates, let me propose your venturing on one of these eggs. An egg boiled very soft is not unwholesome. Serle understands boiling an egg better than anybody. I would not recommend an egg boiled by anyone else, but you need not be afraid, they are very small you see —one of our small eggs will not hurt you. Miss Bates, let Emma help you to a little bit of tart —a very little bit. Ours are all apple tarts. You need not be afraid of unwholesome preserves here. I do not advise the custard. Mrs. Goddard, what say you to half a glass of wine? A small half glass put into a tumbler of water? I do not think it could disagree with you.'""

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"Though there would possibly be rather more active superintendence of the domestics than at present, ladies of comfortable means did not then, any more than now, spend all their mornings in the kitchen, as is sometimes erroneously supposed. Jane would doubtless fill up her time with a little practising, a little singing, the retrimming of a hat, correspondence, and the other small items that go to make up a country girl's life. In the usual avocations of a genteel young lady, "the pianoforté, when they were weary of the harp, copying some indifferent drawings, gilding a set of flower pots, and netting white gloves and veils," we see a tedious inanition quite foreign to our conception of Jane."

On the contrary! Isn't all that precisely how her heroines, from Elizabeth Bennet to Emma Woodhouse, occupy their time, apart from supervision of household and ordering of necessities? Letters of Jane Austen are filled with details of clothing and prices, apart from descriptions of balls, or tea visits etc.

"Though gardening was not then a hobby, as it is now, there would be general superintendence of the gardener, and many a lingering walk by the borders and flower-beds on sunny mornings. Jane evidently loved flowers, as she often refers to them in her letters.

""Hacker has been here today, putting in the fruit trees. A new plan has been suggested concerning the plantation of the new enclosures on the right-hand side of the elm walk; the doubt is whether it would be better to make a little orchard of it by planting apples, pears, and cherries, or whether larch, mountain ash, and acacia."

"There was at this time a reaction against the stiff and formal gardening which had been in fashion since introduced by William III. "It is from wild and uncultivated woods, that is from pure nature, that the present (1772) English have borrowed their models in gardening.....daisies and violets irregularly scattered form the borders of them. These flowers are succeeded by dwarf trees, such as rose buds, myrtle, Spanish broom, etc." (Grosley.)"

" ... But country lane walking was not greatly in favour then, women's gowns, with long clinging skirts, were not adapted for such promenades, and it is amusing to think how surprised either Jane or Cassandra would have been could they have met a modern tailor-made girl, with gaiters, and comfortable, trim short skirt well clearing the ground. Though visiting the poor was not a regular duty, it is evident from many indications that the girls took pleasure in knowing the parishioners, and they must have been to see them occasionally. The life of labourers was at that time extremely dull, and it is little to be wondered at that they were rough boors when they were left entirely without reasonable means of recreation, and without any mental nourishment. The public-house was often the working- man's sole chance of relaxation. Very few could read or write; in the long winter evenings there was nothing for them to do but to sit in a draughty cottage over a small wood-fire, without any of the luxuries that are now considered necessaries in every labourer's cottage. The interiors resembled a Highland crofter's hut, with beaten earth flooring, often damp; rough uncovered walls, no gay prints, or polished furniture. ... "

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"At that time the state of the roads cut off the dweller in a small village from any neighbouring town. At present the three or four miles of good solid road in and out of a provincial town are nothing to a young man who starts off after his work on Saturday evenings, and in many cases he has a bicycle with which to run over them more easily still. At that time the ruts, even main roads, were in a filthy state; the Act of 1775, by making turnpike roads compulsory, did much to improve them, but previously they were often mere quagmires with deep ruts, similar to the roads running by the side of a field where carting has been going on. Many and many a record is there of the coaches being stuck or overturned in the heavy mud.

"The days of village merry-making and sociability seemed to have passed away in Puritan times never to revive, and had not been replaced by the personal pleasures of the present time. A labourer of Jane Austen's days had the bad luck to live in a sort of intermediate time. Not for him the reading-room with its bright light and warm fire, the concert, the club, and the penny readings, the smooth-running bicycle or the piano."

Did working class ever have access to facilities such as a piano? Reading room and bright lights and books, perhaps, since public libraries became norm; but even if they exist in a village, they are small, in terms of collection; and do the working classes have any time or energy left, after hours of manual labour? One can hardly imagine a waitress in U.S., after eight hours of standing and serving in high heels and skin-tight skirts that are de rigour for most working women in U.S., to have so much time and strength, even if such inclinstions haven't been killed by society bringing them up to think that such activities would make them "unpopukar", and money, if left over from food, must be spent on latest fashion clothes, accessories and expensive cosmetics. Most, besides, must rush home and do housekeeping and childcare, too. Men - if they haven't left - are most likely only couch potatoes, ordering around if not beating up, the women. Their inclinations run at best to sport, if not satisfied with watching it on television, after work.

Author mentions tea, then, being expensive, and quotes Walpole's disapproval of working classes wasting their money and time twice a day on tea drinking.

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"Besides other occupations, such as have been slightly indicated, there was one in Jane's life about which she seldom spoke to anyone; from her earliest childhood the instinct to write had been in her, and she had scribbled probably in secret. Such a thing would not be encouraged in a child of her time. ... Jane wrote because she had to write, it was there and it must come out, but she probably looked on her writing as something to be ashamed of, a waste of time, and only read her compositions to her brothers and sisters under compulsion when no adults were present. ... "

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"This book, at all events, is intended only for those who know the novels at first hand, and there shall be no explaining, no pandering to that laziness that prefers hash to joints. Taking it for granted that everyone knows the six complete novels, we enter here on a discussion of the excellencies common to all, leaving them to be discussed singly as they occur chronologically in the life of their author. The first question that occurs to anyone in this connection is, how is it that these books, without plot, without adventures, without double entendre, have managed to entrance generations of readers, and to be as much alive today as when they were written? The answer is simple and comprehensive, —they are of human nature all compact. This is the first and greatest quality. We have in them no heroes and heroines, no villains, but only men and women; and while the world lasts stories of real live flesh-and-blood characters will hold their own. The second characteristic, which is the salt of fiction, is the keen sense of humour that runs throughout. Jane Austen's observation of the foibles of her fellow-creatures was unusually sharp, her remarks in her letters are not always kind, but in the novels this sharp and keen relish of what is absurd is softened down so as to be nowhere offensive. Like her own Elizabeth, she might say, "I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good. Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies, do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can.""

" ... The art of selection is that which distinguishes real dramatic talent from photographic realism. To be able to put down on paper exactly what average people say is certainly a gift, for few can do it, but a far higher gift is to select and combine just those speeches and actions which give the desired effect without leaving any sense of omission or incompleteness. Jane Austen had the power also of giving a flash of insight into a state of mind or a personal feeling in a few words more than any writer before or since. It is one of her strongest points. Take for example that scene when Henry Tilney instructing Catherine "talked of foregrounds, distances, and second distances; side screens and perspectives; lights and shades; and Catherine was so hopeful a scholar, that when they gained the top of Beechen Cliff, she voluntarily rejected the whole city of Bath as unworthy to make part of the landscape"; or the opening sentences of Mansfield Park. "Miss Maria Ward of Huntingdon, with only seven thousand pounds, had the good luck to captivate Sir Thomas Bertram of Mansfield Park, in the county of Northampton, and to be thereby raised to the rank of a baronet's lady, with all the comforts and consequences of a handsome house and large income. All Huntingdon exclaimed on the greatness of the match; and her uncle, the lawyer, himself, allowed her to be at least three thousand pounds short of any equitable claim to it."

"It is by touches such as these that the characters are made to live before us, Jane never condescends to the device of tricks which Dickens allowed himself to use with such wearisome iteration; we have none of "the moustache went up and the nose came down" style. It is by a perfect perspective, by light touches given with admirable effect, that we know the difference ... Henry Tilney and Edmund Crawford were both young clergymen of a priggish type, but Henry's didactic reflections are not in the least the same as those which Edmund would have uttered."

Surely the author meant Edmund Bertram?

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"It was a transition age from the conventional to the natural; as in the admiration of landscape, the love for natural gardens, the gradual disappearance of the formal and empty compliment to which women had hitherto been treated, we find taste changing, so in literature the conventional was giving way to the natural. Fielding and Smollett had broken down the barriers in this respect, they had depicted life as it was, not as convention had decreed it should be, hence their gigantic success; but the life they saw and rendered was the life of a man of the world, with all its roughness and brutality. Jane Austen was the first to draw exactly what she saw around her in a humdrum country life, and to discard all incident, all adventure, all grotesque types, for perfect simplicity. She little understood what she was doing, but herein lies her wonderful power, she was a pioneer. Jane's writing had nothing in common with Mrs. Radcliffe, whose style is mimicked in Northanger Abbey. It had absolutely no adventures. The fall of Louisa on the Cobb is perhaps the most thrilling episode in all the books, yet by virtue of its entire simplicity, its naturalness, its gaiety, her writing never fails to interest. Perhaps the most remarkable tribute to her genius lies in the fact that, though her books are simplicity itself, dealing with the love-stories of artless girls, they are read and admired not only by girls and women, but more especially by men of exceptional mental calibre. It has been said that the appreciation of them is a test of intellect.

"Though her novels are novels of sentiment, they never drift into sickly sentiment, they are wholesome and healthy throughout. With tragedy she had nothing to do; her work is comedy, pure comedy from beginning to end. And as comedies well done are the most recreative of all forms of reading, it is no wonder that, slight as are her plots, hardly to be considered, minute as are the incidents, the attention of readers should ever be kept alive. In all her books marriage is the supreme end; the meeting, the obstacles, the gradual surmounting of these, and the happy ending occur with the regularity of clockwork. And yet each one differs from all the others, and she is never monotonous. Every single book ends well, and it is a striking fact that there is not a death in one of them. ..."

"The Christian names of that date were plain, and, for women, strictly limited in number; it detracts something from a heroine to be called Fanny Price or Anne Elliot; and Emma Woodhouse and Elizabeth Bennet are little better; Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are the most fancy names applied by Jane to any of her heroines.

"Another point which may be noticed in the novels is that the outward forms of religion, beyond the fact of a man’s being a clergyman, are never mentioned, and that on all religious matters Jane is silent; ... though actual religion does not appear in her pages, the lessons that the books teach are none the less enforced; had she been taking for her sole text the merit of unselfishness, she could not have done more, or indeed half so much, to further the spread of that virtue. To read the books straight through one after the other is to feel the petty meanness of self-striving, and the small gain that lies therein. The talk of the mammas, such as Mrs. Bennet, who are perfectly incapable of seeing their neighbours' interest should it clash with their own; the picture of the egregious Mrs. Norris with her grasping at the aspect of generosity and self-sacrifice, without any intention of putting herself to any inconvenience thereby; the weakness of such characters as Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility, who allow themselves to drift along the lines of least resistance without a thought of the after misery they may cause: each and all of these are more potent than a volume of sermons."

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" ... We of this present generation hardly realise how vice was countenanced in the days of the Georges; well indeed was it for England that males of that line died out, so that the heir to the throne was a girl-child, for during her long reign the example which the court set, and which the inferiors were quick to copy, was altered altogether. George the Third himself, who occupied the throne during the whole of Jane Austen's life, was a happy exception among the Hanoverian sovereigns, but the excesses of his sons were notorious."

" ... And her clear, unaffected view of middle-class life in small towns and villages was true and not idealised, for these people were then, as they still are, the salt of the world, neither aping the fantastic vices of the upper, nor the abandoned coarseness of the lower classes. They were respectable and sometimes humdrum. They suffered from monotony, not dissipation. That anyone should have been able to extract so much pure fun from such slight materials is ever matter for wonder. She did it by her marvellously close observation and power of selection, qualities which are a gift. She was far more true to human nature than the superficial reader knows, perhaps than she herself knew, for it is a trait of genius to do by the light of nature what other people must set about laboriously and ever fall short of attaining. When we notice Mr. Bennet's caustic humour reappearing in more genial form in his second daughter, there is one of those little touches that binds the characters together —the touch of heredity."

"Jane Austen seems to have been also as far ahead of her time in the use of simple direct English as she was in construction and effect. She is at least a generation in advance of average contemporary letters and journals, in which the phrasing is often ponderous; the sonorous roll of heavily-weighted sentences in the Johnsonian style, then so much admired, does not ever seem to have occurred to her."

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" ... As the order of writing is everything, and the order of publication a mere accident, we will take them as they were written. This was in two groups of three each. Pride and Prejudice was begun in October 1796 and finished the following August; Sense and Sensibility was begun in 1797 and finished in 1798, in which year Northanger Abbey was also written. Then there was a long gap, in which she produced only a fragment to be noted hereafter, and not until 1812 was Mansfield Park written; four years later, in 1816, came Emma, quickly followed by Persuasion. Of all these the first to be published was Sense and Sensibility in 1811, and the dates of publication will thereafter be noted in chronological order in the book as it progresses.

"Besides these two distinct groups of three novels each, there is another of the unfinished fragments, which never became real stories. These consist of Lady Susan, a comedy in the form of letters, which is ended up hastily with a few paragraphs of explanation; and The Watsons, an unfinished tale, of which the end was told by Cassandra Austen from remarks that her sister had made. Both of these are included, as has been said, in Mr. Austen-Leigh's Memoir, and it seems a pity that they should not form a volume in one of the neat series of Jane Austen's novels now published, as to a real Austenite they contain much that is valuable, and are full of characteristic touches. Of the complete novels Pride and Prejudice is admittedly the best; there are several candidates for the second place, but the superiority of Pride and Prejudice is unquestioned. It was the earliest of the books written, under the title First Impressions, and as such it is referred to in Jane's correspondence: "I do not wonder at your wanting to read First Impressions again, so seldom as you have gone through it, and that so long ago;" this was to her sister in 1799, and later on she adds, with the playfulness never long wanting, "I would not let Martha read First Impressions again upon any account, and am very glad I did not leave it in your power. She is very cunning, but I saw through her design, she means to publish it from memory, and one more perusal must enable her to do it."

"Jane Austen is one of the three greatest among English women novelists; the other two being, of course, George Eliot and Charlotte Brontë, whose lives overlapped at a much later date. ... "

Indeed so they were known in their time; but even then, one of the greatest known authors, who respected and honoured Charlotte Bronte, had told the publisher, that Emily Bronte will rise in esteem for her genius as time goes by, even though her one novel then didn't make waves as much as works of Charlotte Bronte; and so it has proved. So perhaps this author and this work was not too soon after the time of publication of the works of Bronte sisters. She does not even name Emily Bronte, much less discuss her, and perhaps the third sister became known more as time went.

" ... The genius of these three women is so entirely different in kind that the relative value of their gifts can never be put into like terms; so long as men and women read and discuss fiction, so long will each of the three styles have its partisans who will argue it to be the supreme one of the trio. Yet in spite of this, in spite also of a momentary fashion to decry the wonderful gifts of George Eliot, it is quite certain that in depth and breadth of feeling, and ability in its portrayal, she was unequalled by either her predecessor or contemporary. Her range far surpasses theirs. They each dealt with one phase of life or feeling: Jane Austen with English village life, Charlotte Brontë with the element of passion in man and woman, while George Eliot's works embrace many varieties of human nature and action. If her detractors are questioned, it will commonly be found that they do not deny her ability or her brain power, but her genius, which is of course a totally distinct thing. On further probing of the matter, it is usually discovered that the contention is based on the later works, such as Middlemarch or Daniel Deronda. To be quite fair, there are some appearances in these volumes to justify such an estimate, but the mistake is that the opinion is superficial and based on appearance only. In her later days George Eliot's tremendous ability, tremendous soul, and tremendous is the only English word that can be fitly applied to it, made her see so far round and over her own work, as well as allowing her such a wide survey as to the causes and nature of things, that even the productions of her genius were analysed, curbed, and held in channels. She could not let herself go; her subtle insight, her complete knowledge of her characters, made her qualify and account for their actions, perhaps more for her own satisfaction than for that of readers. She might safely have left this to her innate perception without fear, her genius would never have let her go wrong, but she could not, she must analyse even her own creations. No one in the world was more free from this tendency than Jane Austen, she was perfectly unconscious of her own mastery of her subject, as unconscious as the bee when it rejects all other shapes in its cells for the hexagonal. The marvellous precision with which she selected and rejected and grouped her puppets was almost a matter of instinct. She put in the little touches which revealed what was in the mind of her men and women without premeditation or any striving. It is the perfection of this gift which allows her books to be read again and again, for once the story is known, all the slight indications of its ultimate ending, which may have been overlooked while the reader is not in the secret, stand out vividly. We grant to George Eliot's detractors that in her later works her eyes were opened, and she analysed the work of her genius instead of writing spontaneously, but to her true admirers the genius is still there, though curbed and trammelled."

"Jane cannot dispute precedence with George Eliot, but must yield the palm; her characters, true and admirable as they are, lack that living depth which George Eliot had the power to impart. But the two are so totally different that it is difficult to find any simile that will bring them into relation with one another. Perhaps the most expressive is that of instrumental music: Jane Austen's clear notes are like those which a skilful performer extracts from a good harp, sweet and ringing, always pleasant to listen to, and restful, but not soul stirring; while George Eliot's tones are like the deep notes of a violoncello, stirring up the heart to its core, and leaving behind them feeling even after the sound has ceased. The novels of Jane Austen were novels of character and manners, those of George Eliot of feeling. There is no intention in this comparison to minimise in any way the work of the earlier writer, she chose her style, and of its kind it is perfect; her subtle touches could only have been the result of the intuition which is genius, but the profounder emotions, the slow development of character by friction with those around, she did not attempt to depict."

" ... The only simile that occurs as suitable to use in the comparison between Charlotte and Jane is that the soul of the one was like the turbulent rush of her own brown Yorkshire streams over the wild moorlands —streams which pour in cataracts and shatter themselves on great grey stones in a tumultuous frenzy, while that of the other resembled the calm limpid waters of her own Hampshire river, the Itchen, wending its way placidly between luscious green meadows."

And going further, Emily Bronte is Irish coast battered by Atlantic storms - her Cathy an Iceland, with icy field hiding volcanoes that erupt fuming into stratospheric, straddling a mid-Atlantic ridge expanding inexorably, tearing Cathy apart.

But characters of Jane Austen or writing of George Eliot are not faultless perfection.

Elizabeth Bennet is fine, as are her parents, or Claudia, and Miss Bingley. But Jane Bennet is an elusive reflection of starlight in a lake surrounded by tall trees spreading leafy branches wide, hardly seen enough without observations as close as that of Elizabeth or keen as that by Darcy when he brings Bingley back. Austen fails to sympathise with Mrs Bennet, with her very real problems, which include a husband who would rather vanish in his study than take charge. And that's about her best book.

George Eliot goes overboard in moral fervour and brings tragedies from jaws of possible happy endings, as for example when Dorothea gives up the husband's estate to let it go to a stranger, which brings total tragedy to the doctor she'd promised to support in his quest for medical research, dooming him to second rate practice and early death just to keep his faulty wife in luxuries she can't do without. Yes, she coukdnt keep the late husband's estate if she married, but she could have formed the trust and handed the estate over before marrying, keeping only an honorary headship so the doctor would be taken care of. Morality isn't about flagallating the good to death so sinners can flourish!

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About Jane Austen's letters, published by Lord Brabourne -

" The first of the published letters is dated the beginning of 1796, when Jane was twenty-one. As the letters contain many comments on dress, food, daily occurrences of all sorts, the best method seems to be to use them as a thread on which to hang notes of the everyday life of the period, collating what the writer herself says with what is otherwise known, and in this way to gain a background against which her own figure will stand out.

"One great characteristic of her correspondence is its extreme liveliness and humour. This is the more remarkable because in her age and time letters were, with a few brilliant exceptions, ponderous and laboured, written in the grand style, as was perhaps natural when the sending of a letter was a serious consideration."

She gives an example -

" ... We received a visit from Mr. Tom Lefroy and his cousin George. The latter is really very well behaved now, and as for the other he has but one fault, which time will, I trust, entirely remove, it is that his morning coat is a great deal too light.""

"It was an age of letter writing, periodicals were expensive, and, in remote districts, difficult to get; even when obtained, the news was what we should deem at the present time scanty in the extreme. The Times, for instance, consisted of only a single folded sheet, of which the front page was occupied with advertisements. The foreign news was always some days old, as it was obtained by special packet-boats, which brought across the French papers. These boats being dependent on the wind and currents, were subject to many delays. The newspaper taxes were heavy and burdensome, and though even the poorest sheet of news must be considered wonderful in view of the difficulty and expense attendant on the procuring of news in pre-telegraph days, the fact remains that much was left out which could only be supplied by private correspondence. Horace Walpole, of course, stands out as the prince of letter-writers of his time; his published letters now amount to over two thousand, and deal with all the current questions of the day. Of course these letters are on an altogether different plane from the little batch of about two hundred, which are all we have of Jane's. Walpole's letters are read, not only for their style and manner, but for the light they throw on society and politics. Jane's can be of interest to none but those who are interested in her. And at the time they were published there were many voices raised in protest against the publication of such very "small beer," but in so far as they throw light on her own daily life they are certainly worth having.

"Considered merely as private productions, it is wonderful, considering the expense of letter carriage and the delay of correspondence, that she wrote so much as she did.

"Letters in those days consisted only of a single sheet without an envelope, which was formed by the last page of the sheet itself being folded over and fastened by a wafer. This did not leave much room for writing.

"Jane wrote very small, and her lines are neat and straight, so that she got the largest amount possible into the available space. At that time a single sheet of paper, not exceeding an ounce in weight, varied in price from 4d. to 1s. 6d., according to the distance it was carried; if it exceeded an ounce, it was charged fourfold; any additional bit of paper made it into a double letter, which was charged accordingly. But the thing which would seem to us most intolerable of all, was that the recipient and not the sender paid for the missive, whereby many modest souls must have been prevented from ever writing to their friends lest the letter should not be considered worth the charge. Not until long after Jane had been in her grave did adhesive stamps come into use.

"It is a commonly received idea that the post office as an institution dates from the establishment of universal penny post in the British Isles by Rowland Hill in 1840. But this is far from being the case; there was a postmaster in 1533, if not before. In 1680 a parcels post at a penny a pound was established in London by William Dockwra, who also suggested passing letters in London at the same rate."

" ... Stamps were also used to mark the hour when the letters were sent out to be delivered, an item only recently reintroduced into our postal service. Much wailing was heard at Dockwra's reforms from the porters of London, who had made a fine living by carrying correspondence, their outcries were much the same as those of the watermen, who afterwards wailed at the introduction of hackney coaches.

"Dockwra was not long allowed to enjoy his idea, for his scheme was incorporated into the general post office, though he afterwards received a pension of £500 a year, and was made comptroller of the London post office.

"For anything outside of London, distance still counted in the cost, though we read in The Times of 1793 a penny post had been established in Manchester. It was Rowland Hill who introduced the universal penny post in Great Britain, thus extending the Dockwra idea. In 1710 the postal system was reformed and improved, three rates were put in force, namely: threepence if under eighty miles; fourpence if above; and sixpence to Edinburgh or Dublin. This explains the custom of carrying letters for some distance and then posting them; Jane Austen says, "I put Mary's letter into the post office with my own hand at Andover," this was on the way to Bath. In 1720 cross-posts were introduced by the suggestion of Ralph Alien, a Bath postmaster; before that time every letter had to go round by London to be cleared, even supposing it to be intended for a town not far off from the sender. Alien offered to organise the whole thing, paying a fixed rent, and taking the profits. His plan succeeded so well that he cleared £10,000 a year. At his death in 1764 the government took over the contract.

"Up to 1784, letters were carried on horseback by post-boys, who were underpaid and undisciplined; if a boy got drunk, or entered into conversation with strangers who turned out to be well-mannered footpads, the bags never reached their destination. In 1783, John Palmer, manager of the Bath and Bristol Theatre, suggested the employment of regular coaches, which might at the same time carry passengers, hence the inauguration of mail-coaches, the first two of which started between London and Bristol in August 1784 The drivers and guards were armed, and if this did not altogether ensure the safety of the mails —as the weapons were often a mere farce, and the men themselves either chicken-hearted or in collusion with the robbers —it proved, at all events, productive of greater regularity in the delivery of letters."

"The system of franking is one of those things that make us realise the difference between the ideas of our own time and those of the eighteenth century more than anything else; that such an abuse can have been permitted is incredible, monstrous. ... "

""The franking of letters as an institution commenced as early as the year 1660, when it was resolved that members' letters should come and go free, during the sitting of the House. When the Bill was sent up to the Lords, it was thrown out because the privilege was not extended to them. When, however, the omission was supplied, the Bill passed. The privilege in course of time was grossly abused. Members signed large packets of envelopes at once, and either sold them, or gave them to their friends. It was worth the while of a house of business, when letters cost sixpence apiece, to buy a thousand franks at fourpence apiece; sometimes servants got them from their masters and sold them. In the year 1715, franked letters representing £24,000 a year passed through the post. In 1763 the amount was actually £170,000. Supposing that each letter would have brought in sixpence to the post office, this means nearly 7,000,000 letters, so that every member of the two Houses would have signed an average of 7000 letters a year. It was then enacted that no letter should pass free unless the address, as well as the signature, was in the member's handwriting. Lastly, it was ordered that all franks should be sealed and that they should be put into the post on the day of the date. Even with these precautions the amount of franks represented £84,000 a year. The privilege was finally abolished with the great reforms of 1841. It is needless to add that a system of wholesale forgery had sprung up long before. "Members of Parliament sold their privileges of franking sometimes for £300 a year."

"(Sir Walter Besant, London in the Eighteenth Century.)"

As per credible accounts of pre-WWII era in U.S. when Nazi propaganda was carried on by various people, cranking privileges of congressional members were abused wholesale for the purpose of the propaganda.

"The abuse of franking was called in question at various dates, and reforms advised. In reply to questions asked in Parliament, it was stated that various clerks in government offices used to frank to any amount —not only their own correspondence but that of others; probably receiving large sums of money for doing so. In fact it was known that some persons whose salaries were £300 or £400 a year had been making incomes of £1000 and £1200 by this means! The celebrated bookseller Lackington had friends in one of the offices, and sent his catalogues free all over the country. A majority of twelve decided for the Question in the House."

"Of course there were no postmen to deliver letters as they do now. It was considered a great convenience to have a post-office at all, from which letters could be fetched. In 1787, Horace Walpole says there was no posthouse at Twickenham. ... "

"When we realise that every one of the letters preserved for us in Lord Brabourne's book must have cost on an average a shilling, we feel more strongly than before the tie between Jane and Cassandra, which demanded such constant communication, and the retailing of every minute affair.

"We have nothing to tell us how letters came to Steventon, but can form some sort of conjecture for ourselves. There was of course no post-office in such a minute place; the letters would arrive at Winchester, and from thence be forwarded by the Basingstoke coach, and dropped at the inn which stands at Popham Lane End, about two miles away. It would be almost certainly impossible for Jane to walk, except in the driest weather, through lanes of which we are told they were impassable for carriages at certain seasons, and could only be traversed on horseback. The man-servant would therefore probably be detailed to go for the post-bag, possibly riding on one of the carriage horses; and Jane would wait in the damp mist of an autumn afternoon by the front door, dressed in a costume most unsuitable for the climate, according to our ideas, ... "

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" ... it was the season of balls at Steventon; quiet as the rectory was there were many large houses of the country gentry around in various directions, and entertainments of all sorts were then perhaps even more in fashion than now; to all of these the rectory party received invitations. ... "

"People in the country were then more dependent on each other for entertainment, there was no looking upon the London season as a necessity, and people could not rush about from one end of England to another for a night or two as they now do. During the long winter months, when the bitter cold and the cumbersome methods of travelling made any journey out of the question for most, to say nothing of the expense, balls for those in the neighbourhood of Steventon were frequently given, and Jane and Cassandra Austen had their full share, and seem to have most heartily enjoyed it. Jane herself evidently loved dancing, balls are frequently mentioned in her novels, and the actual dancing itself, even without its enjoyable concomitant of flirtation, seems to have attracted her."

"Customs, however, then differed very much from those that now reign in ballrooms. In one way everything was more formal, in another more simple. The music, the wines, and the floor were less considered; young people got up an impromptu dance in a drawing room very easily; and the champagne, without which no one would dare to ask their friends to a dance now, was then not considered necessary. On the other hand, the actual performance was more formal; there were no romps at lancers, no round dances such as waltzes at all; waltzes did not begin to be danced generally until 1814, and the polka not until 1844. ... In Jane's time, minuets, cotillions, etc., were the staple of the programme, and toward the end of the evening country dances, no doubt danced with much precision and elegance. Deportment was then a necessary part of the curriculum at every girls' boarding-school; and the ways of getting in and out of a carriage, and much more of bowing and entering a reception room, were all taught as if the performer were to go upon the stage; every motion was regulated. ... "

" ... At the dances at Basingstoke or in the neighbourhood, she probably knew almost everyone in the room on familiar terms; and she frequently had a brother with her to counterbalance the brothers of her girlfriends. She danced well, with vivacity and grace; we can imagine her appearance without difficulty; her hair encircled by some neat bandeau or coquettish bow, her high-waisted simple frock of soft white muslin, her curls escaping in little ringlets on forehead and shoulders, her hazel eyes dancing as she parried the conversational thrusts of some too bold admirer, even as her own Elizabeth Bennet might have done. She certainly must have been popular; a girl who can talk wittily, dance well, and who is bright and sweet-tempered must always be in demand. And all the time her mind, half unconsciously, was storing up the little words and gestures of the persons around. Everything that was significant, everything that was amusing was noted, and from this storehouse she was to draw many a scene to delight unnumbered people yet unborn.

"In her time, the acceptance of a dance still carried with it two dances, or the twice going up and down in the minuet."

"With the soft light of wax candles —even nowadays sometimes preferred to modern brilliancy —shining on the long, clinging muslin dresses, the arch head-dresses and nodding plumes, the swords and the fans, a ballroom must have presented a most animated spectacle; added to which the dress of the gentlemen was certainly far more picturesque and becoming than that of the present day. The gay satin coats and ruffles, the knee-breeches and silk stockings, must greatly have enlivened the scene. ... "

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"But balls were not the only recreations Jane and Cassandra had; people were very sociable in those days; the sketch of Sir John Middleton's horror of being alone, and his delight at gathering together in his house all the acquaintances whom he could persuade to come, is only slightly exaggerated from the prevailing spirit of his times. People were always running over to see each other, always spending long days at each other's houses; hospitality was taken for granted, and was too common to be reckoned a virtue. Jane and Cassandra in this way were continually in touch with their nearest neighbours at Deane and Ashe."

"Jane must have been admired, her vivacity, her wit, her gaiety of heart, her pleasant person, and her keen enjoyment of life must have attracted attention; we know definitely she had at least two eligible offers, and probably others, as she was the very last person to boast of such things openly. It has sometimes happened that those most worth having have lived and died single, for they are too fastidious, too difficult to please, to mate readily, while a commonplace girl is made happy by the addresses of any ordinary man, and gladly persuades herself to be in love. Jane, who had a peculiar and deep knowledge of character, could not be easily blinded, she would have required much in a man, and men no doubt instinctively knew it. Her tongue, we know, was sharp, she had a knack of saying sharp things, and those who did not know her well may have been uneasy under her penetrating insight. Those who did know her may have gathered from her perfectly spontaneous manner and absence of any affectation that she was entirely heart whole, and been thus discouraged from trying their fate. The extract naming her Irish friend has already been quoted, this referred to the late Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, at that time only Tom Lefroy, whose uncle was Rector of Ashe, adjoining Deane, and with whom Jane seems to have carried on a lively flirtation.

"After telling Cassandra how much she had danced with him, she adds, "I can expose myself, however, only once more, because he leaves the country soon after next Friday, on which day we are to have a dance at Ashe after all. He is a very gentlemanlike, good looking, pleasant young man, I assure you. But as to our having ever met, except at the three last balls, I cannot say much; for he is so excessively laughed at about me at Ashe, that he is ashamed of coming to Steventon, and ran away when we called on Mrs. Lefroy a few days ago After I had written the above we received a visit from Mr. Tom Lefroy and his cousin George."

""I mean to confine myself in future to Mr. Tom Lefroy, for whom I don't care sixpence."…

"Friday - "At length the day is come on which I am to flirt my last with Tom Lefroy, and when you receive this it will be over. My tears flow as I write at the melancholy idea." At this time she was twenty-one, and he twenty-three, but they do not seem to have been of such susceptible dispositions as many young men and women of their age."

" ... A temperament like Jane Austen's, where the whole nature was extremely sensitive, and the mind extremely clear-sighted, would have required qualities of the heart and mind in a man to be loved that are not to be found every day. In addition, it would have been quite impossible for her to marry any man from respect only or simple friendship. Nothing but love could have carried her fastidious nature over the bound of matrimony. Such natures as Jane's are not facile: not for them the willing self-deception which imagines love in any man who is an admirer; not for them the blindness which attributes qualities where they are not, nor the vanity which credits a man with every virtue merely because he has the taste to prefer them. Many marriages are made on these lines, and a proportion turn out well; but the higher natures, standing out here and there, require a sounder basis."

" ... Many and many a man takes a rash step into marriage, solely on the ground of external attraction, to gratify a youthful impulse, and having himself fitted the harness to his shoulders, spends the rest of his life in accommodating himself to it, without making the process of accommodation too patent to the eyes of the world. If he be a man at all, he realises that it was his own doing entirely, and he must bear the responsibility. ... "

As exemplified in Mr Bennet of Pride and Prejudice.

" ... In one place Jane shows how fully she realised the difference between the true and the false by a little saying, "Three and twenty —a period when, if a man chooses a wife, he generally chooses ill.""

"And John Dashwood's idea of the barter of women for so much, according to their attractions, though it differed not in essentials from that of a Circassian slave-dealer, was quite an ordinary one. The unblushing eagerness with which any heiress was literally pursued, the desperate devices to get portionless daughters married, doubtless have their counterparts now, but they are not so prominent; portionless daughters of wit and talent can make lives for themselves, independent of matrimony, and heiress hunters have at least the decency to pretend they are in love. In view of the ideas of her times, Jane's ideal of marriage stands out conspicuously. She wanted all her heroines to have every probability of happiness in the marriage state, and though perhaps she did not consciously set to work to consider what would make them so in so many words, it is remarkable that certain points which, from her own observations of the human race, were the best foundations for married happiness, are to be found in every one of the marriages of her principal characters. ... "

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Author delves into travels and visits, by Jane Austen in particular, and people in general, in her times.

" ... In the August of 1796 she went to stay with her brother Edward, at Rowling, a little place in Kent, near Goodnestone. ... "

"Jane did not expect to be able to return to Steventon until about the middle of October, but it was necessary to lay plans long before so as to arrange if possible for the escort of one of her brothers, as it was not thought at all the proper thing for a young lady to go by herself on a journey, and considering the changes at inn-yards and many stoppages, this is not to be wondered at. Just at this time Frank Austen received a naval appointment, and had to be up in town the next day, September 21, so Jane seized the opportunity to go with him. "As to the mode of our travelling to town, I want to go in a stage coach, but rank will not let me." This means of course that they would have to travel post, a much more expensive performance. The whole subject of travelling is one of the things that bring more vividly before us than any other the difference of the then and the now.

"In 1755 an Act was passed compelling districts all over the country to make turnpike roads and charge toll accordingly; before this date the state of the roads had been too terrible for description, and even after it road-making progressed but slowly, for it was not until the beginning of the nineteenth century that Macadam's improvements were adopted."

" ... the method of road mending previous to Macadam was nothing more than setting down enormous stones to be crushed in by passing wheels, but as they were not set close, the wheels went bumping into the mud between, and the force of the jolt instead of setting the stones pushed them out of position ever worse and worse."

"As for the means of conveyance over these vile highways, before the making of turnpike-roads waggons had been the usual method, and flying coaches, as they were at first called, were considered a great improvement; however, coach fares were high, and even after the introduction of coaches many people who were unable to afford them still travelled by the slow-going waggon."

" ... The heat was now so great that all the windows were opened, and with the fresh air entered clouds of dust, for the body of the machine is but a few inches from the surface of the road.""

"The accidents attendant on coach journeys were many and various, and the badness of the roads was the principal cause. ... "

"The Austen women do not seem at any time to have travelled by coach, but always post, a much more comfortable method, ensuring privacy, though it also had its disadvantages, as when one arrived at an inn requiring change of horses only to find the Marquess of Carabbas had passed on before with a whole retinue of attendants, taking every horse in the stable, and the second comers were therefore compelled to wait until the return of the jaded steeds, and to use them again when the poor beasts had only had half the rest they deserved. The keeping of horses was a necessary branch of the business of every inn-keeper on the high-road, a branch which is now seldom called for, so that it is only at very large establishments, or those in the most out-of-the-way districts where trains come not, that "posting in all its branches" forms part of the landlord's boast."

" ... The wonder is not that highwaymen were so numerous, but that, with the cumbersome methods of capturing and dealing with them, any of them were ever caught at all."

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"The end of the eighteenth century was an age when merit in literature was an Open Sesame to the very best society that the capital could supply. An author who had brought out a work a little above the average was received and fêted, not only by the literary set, who rapidly passed her or him on from one to another, but by the persons of the highest social rank also. London was so much smaller then, that there was not room for all the grades and sets that now run parallel without ever overlapping. When anyone was made welcome they were free of all the best society at once, and the ease with which some people slipped into the position of social lions on the strength of very small performance is little short of wonderful. ... "

"In those days the same people met again and again at each other's houses, more after the fashion of a country town than of that of London at present. Indeed they seem to have spent the whole day and most of the night running after each other. There is one custom which we must all be thankful exists no longer, the intolerable fashion of morning calls. ... "

"Considering how easily the heights of celebrity were stormed at that time, and especially by a woman, it is most remarkable that Jane received no encouragement, and had no literary society, and not one literary correspondent in the whole of her lifetime. Of course her first novel was not published until 1811, and then anonymously, with the simple inscription "By a Lady" on the title-page, yet it sold well and became very popular, and though no effort was made to proclaim her the authoress certainly there was no rigid attempt to hide her personality. Before the publication of Emma her identity was known, for she was requested to dedicate this book to the Prince Regent ... this was the only recognition of any public sort she received. Many of her contemporaries were brought up in a sort of hotbed of intellect, and associated with men of talent and distinction from their cradles —what a wonderful quickening and impetus must this have brought with it! Jane had none of these advantages, her genius was her own entirely, and her material of the slightest; she had no contemporaries of original talent with which to exchange ideas, to strike out sparks or receive suggestions. She did not mingle with people of her own calibre at all. ... "

"But the London of 1811, when we have the first record of Jane's visiting it, was not what it had been thirty years before. ... "

"A book called Self Control, which appeared in 1810, by Mary Brunton, the wife of a Scotch minister, had a fair measure of success, and was reprinted as lately as 1852. Jane speaks very slightingly of it: "I am looking over Self Control again, and my opinion is confirmed of its being an excellently meant, elegantly written work, without anything of nature or probability in it. I declare I do not know whether Laura's passage down the American river is not the most natural possible every-day thing she ever does." ... "

"It is, of course, very difficult to give any picture of contemporary literature in Jane Austen's time without degenerating into mere strings of names. The fact that she herself came in contact with no one of the first rank in literature prevents any of the characters from being woven into her life. The books she mentions as having read are a mere drop in the ocean compared with the books which came out in her time, and which she probably, in some cases almost certainly, read. ... "

"The seventies in the eighteenth century produced numerous brilliant men and women whose names still live; besides Jane Austen herself, we have Sir Walter Scott, Hazlitt, Sydney Smith, Lamb, Sir Humphry Davy, Coleridge, Southey, Wordsworth, Hogg, Thomas Moore, and Thomas Campbell, who were all born in this decade, though, as the development of a writer differs enormously in growth, some of them were much later in making their appearance in print than others. Among the better known names of women novelists not already mentioned we have Miss Edgeworth, Jane Austen's senior by eight years, whose first novel, Castle Rackrent, was published anonymously in 1800. That Jane knew and admired her work is obvious from the fact that she sent her a copy of Emma for a present on its publication. Mrs. Inchbald, born in 1753, was at first known as an actress, her Simple Story, by which she is best remembered, was published in 1791. Mrs. Radcliffe, whose romances induced Jane Austen to write Northanger Abbey in mockery, was very busy between 1789 and 1797, during which time she published five novels, including her famous Mysteries of Udolpho in 1794. Joanna Baillie published a volume of verse in 1790, and her first volume of plays in 1798; though almost forgotten now, she was taken very seriously in her time, and her play De Montfort was produced at Drury Lane in 1800 by Mrs. Siddons and Kemble. Anna Seward, who was born in 1747, lived to 1809; she, like Hannah More, was far more praised and valued than any of her poor little productions warranted.

"Sheridan brought out his famous play The Rivals in the year of Jane's birth; it was at first a dead failure, but, nothing daunted, he cut it about and altered it, and when reproduced two years subsequently it attained success at once. The same year saw The School for Scandal, and the following one The Critic. In this year also the first volume of Gibbon's great History appeared."

"Burns, who had written some of his best work while Jane was still a child, died in 1796, and the brilliant Burke the succeeding year."

" ... Samuel Rogers' Pleasures of Memory came out in 1792; Lyrical Ballads, including Coleridge's Ancient Mariner and some of Wordsworth's poems, in 1798; Campbell's Pleasures of Hope in 1799.

"Byron was thirteen years younger than Jane, yet his precocity was so great that his first book, Hours of Idleness, was produced in 1807. The first two cantos of Childe Harold followed in 1812 but the whole poem was not completed until Jane was in her grave; the Giaour, Corsair, etc., she must have known as new books a year or two before her death."

"Scott's literary career began with the publication of a translation of Burger's "Lenore" in 1799, between that date and 1814 his poems appeared at intervals, and in 1814 his first great novel Waverley. Though it was anonymous, Jane seems to have discovered the secret of the authorship, for she writes: "Walter Scott has no business to write novels, especially good ones. It is not fair. He has fame and profit enough as a poet and ought not to be taking the bread out of other people's mouths. I do not mean to like Waverley if I can help it, but I fear I must." ... "

"In the last decade of the eighteenth century were born among poets: Shelley, Keats, Hood, Keble, and Mrs. Hemans; among historians, Grote, Alison, Napier, Carlyle, and Thirlwall; among men of science, Faraday and Lyell; and among novelists, Marryat.

"In the beginning of the nineteenth century we have a string of great names; a trio of poets: Tennyson, Longfellow, and Browning; men of science such as Darwin; historians such as Macaulay; novelists in numbers, such as Dickens, Thackeray, Charles Reade, Harrison Ainsworth, Bulwer Lytton, and Trollope; statesmen such as Gladstone and Disraeli."

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"Pride and Prejudice was apparently written solely to gratify the instincts of the writer, without any thought of publication. But after it was completed, a year later, November 1797, Jane's father wrote for her to the well-known publisher Cadell as follows: —

""SIR, —I have in my possession a manuscript novel comprising 3 vols. about the length of Miss Burney's Evelina. As I am well aware of what consequence it is that a work of this sort should make its first appearance under a respectable name, I apply to you. I shall be much obliged therefore if you will inform me whether you choose to be concerned in it, what will be the expense of publishing it at the author's risk, and what you will venture to advance for the property of it, if on perusal it is approved of. Should you give any encouragement I will send you the work."

"This proposal, modest as it is, was rejected by return of post. One would have thought that the success of Miss Burney's books would have made a leading publisher anxious to look at a work on similar lines, but no —Pride and Prejudice was destined not to be published until 1813, sixteen years later!"

"Indeed, Darcy's whole character is so averse from anything usually associated with the word gentleman, that one wonders where Miss Austen found her prototype. Possibly he was one of the few characters for which she drew entirely on her imagination. ... "

Quite on the contrary - he's a boor to begin with, and readers sympathetic with Elizabeth Bennet if not adoring her, flow with her dislike, and are just as indignant when he proposes, and laud her response. It's thereafter with his letter that - again, flowing with Elizabeth and her thinking and feelings - one is perplexed, giving quarter in fsirness; and it's a surprise when he's civil, going out of the way, at his estate, but one still isn't kneeling over until his role in marriage of the youngest sister is revealed, and Lady Catherine puts up Elizabeth's hackles. We only know that she loves him when he confronts her, stating flatly that his hopes were only revived with Lady Catherine's report about her refusing to promise her against marrying him. But when an author paints the suitor of her most beloved heroine, in her most universally loved work, in such negative hues to begin with, it can only be because she knew, met, such a person; and perhaps it was the subsequent humanisation of Darcy that was the author's dream. But remain in shade he does, even till end inscrutable, and only humanized into being revealed a gentleman, albeit one whose servants and others of village vouch for his sterling qualities. If he's seen as romantic hero at all, it's the successful retaining of the mystery while removing the cloak of negativity that does it.

"Sir Walter Scott in the Quarterly Review of 1815 makes the base insinuation that Elizabeth having refused Darcy "does not perceive that she has done a foolish thing, until she accidentally visits a very handsome seat and grounds belonging to her admirer."

"We are sure from what we know of Lizzie, that this is quite unfounded. Had she been liable to any undue influence of that sort, she would have accepted Darcy at the first, for she knew very well all about his position and estates from the beginning. That she had the courage and good sense to snub him speaks much more forcibly for her character than a like action on the part of any girl similarly circumstanced would do now. For then a position gained by marriage was the only one a woman could hope for, and such chances were few and far between when, as we have seen, men were desperately prudent in their matrimonial affairs, and looked on marriage more as a well considered and suitable monetary alliance than as a love match, though perhaps the actual person of the woman was not always such a matter of perfect indifference to them as it seems to have been ... "

"The fact that Jane felt the extreme brilliancy and lightness of her own work shows that the critical faculty was active in her, but as for wishing to do away with it in order to bring the book more into conformity with the heavily padded novels of the time, that of course is pure nonsense."

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"After only the lapse of a month or two from the completion of First Impressions, Jane began on Sense and Sensibility, which she at first called Elinor and Marianne, and which, in the form of letters, had been written long before; probably, if the truth were known, this might be called her first long story, and it was in any case the first published. The story in letters has been wittily described as the "most natural but the most improbable" form; and certainly, though this style of novel had a brief renewal of popularity a year or two ago, it is one that is aggravating to most readers, and requires many clumsy expedients to fill in gaps in order to make the story hang together connectedly. ... In any case Jane was well advised to abandon this form. The novel was finished in 1798 but not published until 1811."

"Sense and Sensibility, though it has never been placed first in position among Jane Austen's novels, has been accounted second by many people. ... "

" ... There is no rational explanation of the obliging conduct of Robert Ferrars, Edward's brother; to make a man so vain and selfish marry a woman who could bring him nothing, and whose charms were not great, is a poor means of escaping from an undesirable deadlock."

To expect everything rational is, surely, not rational! As for Lucy Price, she'd done it once before, and she did it again, getting the guy she set her cap at, that's all. What could be surprising in another brother falling for her, after all, if the more sensible one did in a moment of loneliness? And perhaps he felt victorious by snatching away his brother's prize, since he wasn't engaged? Most important, it was Lucy Price who managed it.

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"On the whole, though interesting enough, Sense and Sensibility does not take very high rank among the novels. ... "

That changed since this book was published. Glamourous films aren't made based on less popular works, and while there are several Pride and Prejudice films, and at least one good Emma if not more, the most glamourous film based on a Jane Austen work remains the Emma Thompson - Hugh Grant version of Sense and Sensibility, with a perfect Mariane too.

" ... Northanger Abbey was begun in 1795, soon after the completion of Sense and Sensibility, and, unlike its predecessors, it does not seem to have been based on existing MSS., but to have been written as we now have it, though the writing was spread over a long period. It is the one of all Miss Austen's novels about which opinions differ most. ... "

Northanger Abbey is Jane Austen's Hamlet, the horror story that isn't called so. People usually do love horror stories.

"The scene of Northanger Abbey is laid in Bath, and it is easy to see how very well acquainted not only with the topography, but with the manners of Bath, Jane was. The chattering and running to and fro from Pump rooms to Upper or Lower Assembly rooms, the continual meetings, and the saunterings in the streets, with all the affected or real gaiety, and the magnifying of trifles, are cleverly sketched in the earlier part of the book. The sincere but foolish little heroine, with her contrast to and intense admiration for her silly and selfish friend, Isabella Thorpe, is a life-like figure. Her mother is one of the very few elderly ladies who are allowed to be sensible in Jane's books, and she comes in so little as to be a very minor figure."

"The writing, though begun in 1798, spread over a long period, for the book was not finished until 1803, by which time Jane herself was settled in Bath. It was then offered to a Bath bookseller, the equivalent of a publisher in our day. He gave ten pounds for it, probably because of the local colour, but evidently after reading it he found it lacked that melodramatic flavour to which he was accustomed; and it is also highly probable that he did not at all comprehend the delightful flavour of irony. The book remained with him, luckily in safety, until thirteen years had passed, when it was bought back by Henry Austen on his sister's account for the same sum that had been given for it. When the transaction had been completed he told the bookseller that it was by the author of Sense and Sensibility, which had attracted much attention, whereat the man must have experienced the regret he deserved to feel, as he had missed the honour of introducing Jane to the public, a, honour that would have linked genius.

"The book did not appear until 1818, when the author was in her grave, and it was the first to bear her name on the title-page. It was published in one volume with the last of her writings, Persuasion. In a preface written before her death, she says of Northanger Abbey —Thirteen years have made it "comparatively obsolete, places, manners, books, and opinions have undergone considerable changes." It is evident, therefore, she did not attempt to bring it up to date. This preface is prefixed to the first edition, as is also the biographical Memoir by her brother which has already been referred to."

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"The few closing years of the eighteenth century, the last spent at Steventon, while these three works were in hand, must have been bright ones to Jane; she had found an outlet for all the vivacious humour that was in her, and must have lived in the world of fancy with her characters, which were all very real to her, quite as much as in the material world."

"The last few years of the century which passed so quietly at Steventon were times of continual change and stir in the larger world, a world in which both Francis and Charles Austen were taking an active part. But except for the personal matters that affected them, Jane does not refer to these events. It is true that from September 1796 to October 1798 we have no letters of hers, which may be due to the fact that she and her sister were not much parted then. This is one of the disadvantages of a correspondence carried on with such a near relation. But subsequently to this break the allusions to her brothers' promotions and prospects are fairly frequent."

" ... Charles Austen had seen active service when only a lad of fifteen, and both brothers frequently took part in the small actions which were continually occurring on the seas."

"The most amazing part of this splendid series of victories, all of which contained much boarding and hand-to-hand fighting, demanding personal pluck and endurance, is, that the sailors, as a mass, were either unwilling men pressed into a service which they disliked, or the very off-scourings of the country. On board there was bad food, bad water, wretched accommodation, and often rank brutality. There was the discipline of terror not of respect, and insubordination was only held down by fear.

"The officers fared a little better than the men in regard to comfort, but it speaks well for young Charles Austen that he followed in his brother's steps when he must have known by word of mouth of all the discomforts, to speak of nothing worse, which must be his lot on board ship."

"The wonder is that such boys as went to sea picked up enough seamanship to pass any but the most practical examination. Navigation was in those days even more difficult than at present, owing to the dependence on the wind and the necessity for understanding the exact management of sails. There were no engineers who could make the vessel go in any direction the captain thought best at a moment's notice; and the man on the bridge had a heavy responsibility."

"The between decks, where the men slept, had not been ventilated at all up to the middle of the eighteenth century, when a hand-pump was invented to expel the foul air, the fresh air being left to find its own way in. The noisome smells, the cramped space, the continual darkness and disorder, must have bred sickness and debility in many, which all the open-air life on deck could not counteract."

"As for the state of the hospitals in India and elsewhere, the following story tells a tale. "Soon after the last action with the French fleet, I observed a wounded seaman, who had lost part of his hand by a shot, climbing up the side with one hand, and holding his bread bag in his teeth. I asked why he had left the hospital. He answered they were so much in want of provisions that he had come on board to beg some biscuit (which was full of maggots) for his messmates. At that time I understood government was charged a rupee a day for every man in the hospital (about 1000 or 1500) but I believe seven or eight pence was all it cost the contractor for their provisions, and it was reported that he was obliged to share the profits with the admiral and his secretary, said to amount to about £70 a day."

"We have had some revelations of official corruption recently, but there is nothing to compare with the openly recognised stealing of the eighteenth century, when, so late as 1783, a minister could say in earnest to a purser who had been a commissary and complained of poverty, "You had your hand in the bag, sir, why did you not help yourself?" And help themselves everyone apparently did, from the highest to the lowest. ... "

"The difference between an ordinary press and a "hot press" was that in the latter all protection was disregarded, and men of every sort, even apprentices usually protected by law, were seized and carried off to serve, utterly regardless of mercy. The odd part of it is that, when it was found to be inevitable, the men who had been taken against their will plucked up spirit and performed their duties well."

"To counterbalance all the manifold disadvantages of service in the navy, for the officers at least, there were some attractions; that of prize-money was very great, for a man might literally make his fortune at sea in a few years by lucky captures, and the spirit of gambling and adventure to which this gave rise must have had a very strong effect in attracting young officers.

"The account of the sums received in prize-money is perfectly amazing; the best haul of all was perhaps the Hermione, a Spanish ship taken long before the Austens' day, in 1762. The treasure was conveyed to London in twenty waggons with the British colours flying over those of Spain, a sight that would confound those of our own time, who seem to think the true way to celebrate a victory is to give compensation to those who have provoked war, and brought defeat upon themselves! The share of one ship alone, the Active, amounted to over £250,000; and the proportion given to the ships of the same squadron not actually present amounted to nearly £67,000. The value of the St. Jago, taken in 1793, as adjudged to the captors was £935,000, of which about £100,000 went to Admiral Gell. (The Times, February 4, 1795.) Each captain got nearly £14,000.

"In 1801, Jane tells us that "Charles has received £30 for his share of the privateer and expects ten pounds more, but of what avail is it to take prizes if he lays out the produce in presents to his sisters? He has been buying gold chains and topaz crosses for us. He must be well scolded."

"After this it does not seem so strange to read in Persuasion that in only seven years Anne's lover, Wentworth, "had distinguished himself, and early gained the other step in rank, and must now, by successive captures, have made a handsome fortune," which otherwise strikes oddly on our ears."

"A peculiar feature of the end of the eighteenth and beginning of nineteenth centuries was the tendency to mutiny, induced doubtless by the terrible hardships and injustices undergone by the men on board. And the wonder is, not that the men did mutiny, but that they endured so long and fought so splendidly without doing so."

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"Jane's letters for the last few years before leaving Steventon show some of the decadence due to trivial surroundings, and her remarks are apt to be spiced with unkindness. Evidently her sister-in-law, James's wife, was not a favourite; she objected to her husband's being so much at Steventon, though Jane notes that he persevered in coming "in spite of Mary's reproaches." But Jane's sharpness is also extended to her remarks on her acquaintances. "The Debaries persist in being afflicted at the death of their uncle, of whom they now say they saw a great deal in London.""

"The income which the family would have is indicated in the following remark of Jane's made about this time: "My father is doing all in his power to increase his income, by raising his tithes, etc., and I do not despair of getting very nearly six hundred a year.""

" ... Nash's name is associated even more with the assembly rooms than the pump room. The assembly Rooms are some distance from the pump rooms and the Baths, being situated not far from the famous crescent. In Jane's time there were two sets of assembly rooms, upper and lower, governed by two different masters of the ceremonies, positions which were much coveted. In 1820 the lower rooms were burnt down and not rebuilt, but the upper are still used, and the names over the doors of the rooms, card-room, tea-room, etc., recall many a scene in Jane Austen's novels.

"Bath really began to be fashionable in the early part of Queen Anne's reign, but it was Nash who consolidated its attractions, and brought it up to its highest pitch of popularity.

"Nash came in 1705. He was the man of all others to organise fashionable entertainments. Under his severe, yet fatherly rule, the place sprang quickly into popularity. Houses were built, streets repaved, balls and entertainments followed each other in quick succession. An assembly room was built, and good music engaged; but it was not until 1769, eight years after Nash's death, that the present building was erected. Nash's code of rules continued in force for long after his death, before which he had sunk from the position of esteem which he had once enjoyed. ... "

" ... The rules for balls were probably very much the same when Jane Austen attended them as when Nash was living. Everything was to be performed in proper order. Each ball was to open with a minuet danced by two persons of the highest distinction present. When the minuet concluded the lady was to return to her seat, and Mr. Nash was to bring the gentleman a new partner. The minuets generally continued two hours. At eight the country dances began, ladies of quality according to their rank standing up first. About nine o'clock a short interval was allowed for rest, and for the gentlemen to help their partners to tea, the ball having begun, it must be remembered, about six. The company pursued their amusements until the clock struck eleven, when the music ceased instantly; and Nash never allowed this rule to be broken, even when the Princess Amelia herself pleaded for one dance more.

"Among other rules was one mentioned by Mr. Austen-Leigh, that ladies who intended to dance minuets were requested to wear lappets to distinguish them. Also, in order that every lady may have an opportunity of dancing, gentlemen should change their partners every two dances. We see in this last rule how the transition from one partner for the whole evening to the continual change of partners came to pass."

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"There is little reason to doubt that Jane would thoroughly enjoy the change afforded by such constant opportunity for diversion, such delightful mingling with a crowd in which her bright humour must have found frequent opportunities for indulgence.

"As we have seen, she had written her first Bath book, Northanger Abbey, many years before, and while a she sat in the pump room, awaited a partner in the assembly rooms, or shopped in Milsom Street, she must have recalled her own creations, Catherine Morland and Isabella Thorpe, Henry Tilney and Mrs. Allen, quite as vividly as if they were real persons of her acquaintance.

"The second Bath book, Persuasion, was not written until many years after, yet these two, chronologically so far apart, topographically so near each other, have always been, owing to conditions of length, bound together."

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" ... the vision of all the boys in a school going to bed in night-caps is a funny one."

Funny, this was written in an era in U.K. where fireplaces couldn't have kept even the wealthy very warm, else why was the householder always with his back or his feet to the fire, as the one with privileges? As it is, central heating came in U.K. much later than it did in U.S. - and hot showers still dont always function well in houses. In Jane Austen's time, and even until WWII era, transatlantic visitors always complained of cold and draughty English homes. Surely children, including boys, were better off with heads not exposed when they were in bed at schools?!!!

"Head-dresses reached their climax of absurdity at the end of the eighteenth century, but the styles varied so much that almost everyone could please themselves. At a famous trial only a few ladies were dressed in the French taste. "All the rest, decked in the finest manner with brocades, diamonds, and lace, had no other head-dress, but a ribband tied to their hair, over which they wore a flat hat, adorned with a variety of ornaments. It requires much observation to be able to give full account of the great effect produced by this hat; it affords the ladies who wear it that arch and roguish air, which the winged hat gives to Mercury." And Sir Waiter Besant says: "The women wore hoods, small caps, enormous hats, tiny milkmaid's straw hats; hair in curls and flat to the head; 'pompoms,' or huge structures two or three feet high, with all kinds of decorations-ribbons, birds' nests, ships, carriages and waggons in gold and silver lace —in the erection.""

"But in 1787 a great change occurred in the mode of hair-dressing, the huge cushions disappeared and the main part of the hair was gathered together at the back in a chignon from which one or two loose curls were allowed to escape. The long feathers, which have already been commented on, varied in number from three to one, and continued to be worn well on into the nineteenth century. These feathers appeared in turbans, bonnets, and head- dresses of all kinds, and hardly a picture of the period representing ladies at a card-table does not show one or more of these ludicrous quivering monstrosities."

"In the last ten years of the century, poke bonnets and dunstable hats were much in evidence, and with flowing curls, and flowing ribbons tied in a large bow under the chin, were sometimes not unbecoming to a pretty face."

"In regard to the rest of the costume of ladies, the most noticeable points of the mode were the high waists and long flowing skirts clinging tightly to the figure. This, if not carried to excess, was certainly becoming, but fashion cannot be content with mediocrity, it must be extravagant. Consequently, "With very low bodices and very high waists, came very scanty clothing, with an absence of petticoat, a fashion which left very little of the form to the imagination. I do not say that our English belles went to the extent of some of their French sisters, of having their muslin dresses put on damp —and holding them tight to their figures till they dried —so as absolutely to mould them to their form but their clothes were of the scantiest, and as year succeeded year, this fashion developed, if one can call diminution of clothing development." (John Ashton, Old Times.)"

"Coquelicot, that is poppy colour, was very fashionable, Jane as we have seen adopted it; at one time no lady's dress was considered complete without a dash of coquelicot in sash or trimmings.

"Jane frequently mentions her cloak; this would not be what ladies call a cloak now, but more what would be described as a fichu or tippet, covering the shoulders and having long ends which fell like a stole in front, some of the modern fur stoles are in fact made very much on the same pattern; no lady's wardrobe seems to have been complete without at least one black silk cloak of this sort. Dresses were cut low in front, either in v-shape or curved, and even in winter this custom was followed; a silk handkerchief was sometimes folded crosswise over the opening, but very generally, though warmly dressed in other respects, a lady had her neck quite uncovered. The short sleeves which went with low necks necessitated the use of long gloves, which reached above the elbow and were tied there with ribbon. The high waists made the bodice of the dress so small that it was of very little consequence, and sometimes was formed merely by a folded bit of material like a fichu. This was covered by that fashionable and characteristic garment, the pelisse. It was not considered proper for very young girls to wear pelisses, they wore cloaks, but the pelisse did not really differ very greatly from the cloak, for it was like a long open coat, fitting closely to the arm, but falling straight in long ends from the armholes, thus leaving the front of the dress exposed in a panel; later, pelisses became more voluminous and completely covered the dress, fastening in front."

"Huge muffs were very common, and this is one of the features of the dress of that date which is generally remembered because of its singularity.

"The small girls were dressed in long skirts plainly made, and their robes must have precluded any possibility of romping; the short skirts and long stockinged legs of our present mode would have made them stare indeed.

"As for the materials for dresses, they were of course much less varied than the inventions of printing and machinery allow women to use nowadays. Plain muslins, or muslins embroidered at the edge, were most common, though there were other materials such as taffeta, sarsenet, and bombazine. We must realise also that any lace used in trimming must have been real lace, there was no machine-made stuff at 2 3/4 d. a yard as in our own time the distorted sleeves or ever-changing with which every servant girl could deck herself as she does now. India muslins were extremely popular, and seemed to have been worn quite regardless of the climate, which according to accounts, our grandmothers notwithstanding, does not seem to have changed remarkably."

And these famous muslins from India, so popular even with U.K. population, especially women, for very good reasons, we're killed deliberately by British rulers in India, by chopping off hands of weavers, so the inferior British products could be substituted, not only in Britain but forced on India as well.

"When Lady Newdigate was at Brighton in 1797 she writes to her husband: "Do ask of your female croneys if they have any wants in the muslin way. Nothing else is worn in gowns by any rank of people, but I don't know that I can get them cheaper here, but great choice there is, very beautiful and real India.""

"Hoops were worn in court dress, long after they were abandoned elsewhere, someone describes them as the "excrescences and balconies with which modern hoydens overwhelm and barricade their persons." Apart from this survival at court, dress was generally long and clinging."

"Men's dress of the same period was most magnificent, and perhaps the feature of it that would strike one most in contrast with modern fashions, would be its variety of colour; coats and waistcoats were always coloured, black was only donned for mourning. Gold and silver lace and figured brocades, with lace cuffs and ruffles, were essential to a beau. Horace Walpole notes at the wedding of a nephew that, except for himself, there wasn't a bit of gold lace anywhere in the dress of the men, and he considered it altogether as a very poor affair."

"The following is the wardrobe of a fashionable man of the time. "My wardrobe consisted of five fashionable coats full mounted, two of which were plain, one of cut velvet, one trimmed with gold, and another with silver lace; two frocks, one of which was drab with large plate buttons, the other of blue with gold binding; one waistcoat of gold brocade, one of blue satin, embroidered with silver, one of green silk trimmed with broad figured gold lace; one of black silk with fringes; one of white satin, one of black cloth and one of scarlet ; six pairs of cloth breeches, one pair of crimson, and another of black velvet; twelve pair of white silk stockings, as many of black silk, and the same number of fine cotton; one hat laced with gold point d' Espagne; another with silver lace scalloped, a third gold binding, and a fourth plain; three dozen of fine ruffled shirts, as many neckcloths; one dozen of cambric handkerchiefs, and the like number of silk. A gold watch with a chased case (it was the fashion to wear two watches at one time during the century), two valuable diamond rings, two morning swords, one with a silver handle, and a fourth cut steel inlaid with gold; a diamond stock buckle and a set of stone buckles for the knees and shoes; a pair of silver mounted pistols with rich housings; a gold headed cane, and a snuff box of tortoiseshell, mounted with gold, having the picture of a lady on the top.""

"Jane Austen's brother Edward would dress, as befitted his position, with greater variety of colour and style than his clergyman father and brother. It was the usual thing for a clergyman to dress in black, with knee-breeches and white stock, but it was not essential. In Northanger Abbey when Henry Tilney is first introduced to Catherine in the lower rooms at Bath, there is nothing in his attire to indicate that he is a clergyman, a fact which she only learns subsequently.

"In ordinary civilian dress, men wore long green, blue, or brown cloth coats with stocks and frilled ruffles. In the Man of Feeling a man casually met with is wearing "a brownish coat with a narrow gold edging, and his companion an old green frock with a buff coloured waistcoat," while an ex-footman trying to play the gentleman has on "a white frock and a red laced waistcoat."

"At that time footgear for men consisted of slippers in the house, and riding-boots for out of doors. When Beau Nash was forming the assemblies at Bath, as has been said he made a dead set against the habit some men had of wearing boots in the dancing-room. ... "

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"During the four years that had passed since the beginning of the century, Europe had been in a continual turmoil, a turmoil that could never cease while Napoleon was at liberty. The Battle of Alexandria in the first year of the new century had taught him that the English were as formidable on land as on sea, and the Battle of the Baltic in the following month, further convinced him that there was one unconquered nation that dared oppose him. He recognised, however, that while he could not but acknowledge the superiority of Britain on the sea, and in places accessible by sea, he could do much as he pleased on the continent, therefore a compromise was arrived at, and on March 27, 1803, the Treaty of Amiens was signed, and for the first time for many years the strain of war was relaxed in Great Britain."

"Mrs. Austen was not well off, for her husband had had no private means and she herself but little, yet her son Edward was well able to help her, for Chawton alone is said to have been worth £5000 a year. There was also money in the family, for Jane some years later speaks of her eldest brother's income being £1100 a year. She and her sister must have had some little allowance also, as it was with her own money that she paid for the publication of the first of her books. Simply as she had always lived, she does not seem to have had small ideas on the subject, the couples in her books require about two thousand a year before they can be considered prosperous, and incomes of from five thousand to ten thousand pounds are not rare. She makes one of the characters in Mansfield Park remark, on hearing that Mr. Crawford has four thousand pounds a year, "'Those who have not more must be satisfied with what they have. Four thousand a year is a pretty estate.'""

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"At this time an amicable arrangement had been arrived at, by which Frank Austen and his wife shared the house of the mother and sisters at Southampton, Frank himself being of course frequently away. His first wife, Mary Gibson, whom he had only recently married, lived until 1823; and is referred to by her sister-in-law as "Mrs. F. A.," doubtless to distinguish her from the other Mary, James's wife. Martha Lloyd, whom Frank married as his second wife, long, long after, seems to have been such a favourite with the family that she practically lived with the Austens at Southampton, as her own mother had died some years before."

"There does not seem to be any record of the first year spent here, there are no letters preserved, and we know that Jane wrote no more novels. Household affairs and altering clothes according to the mode must have filled up days too pleasantly monotonous to have anything worth recording. Southampton evidently did not inspire her, for it figures in none of her books, though its neighbour, Portsmouth, is described as the home of Fanny Price in Mansfield Park.

"Yet in October 1805, just at the time Jane was settling into her new home, was fought the Battle of Trafalgar, which smashed the allied fleets of Spain and France, and freed Britain from any fear of invasion. As it was a naval battle, we can imagine for the sake of her brothers she must have thrilled at the tremendous news, which would arrive as fast as a sailing ship could bring it —probably a day or two after the action."

"The garden at Southampton was evidently the cause of much enjoyment. "We hear that we are envied our house by many people, and that our garden is the best in the town.""

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"Terrific fighting continued on the continent, and in December the prestige of Napoleon was enhanced on the stubborn field of Austerlitz. In the beginning of 1806, England had the misfortune to lose by death the great minister Pitt, who had steered her through such perilous times. It is said that the news of Austerlitz was the final blow to a nature worn out by stress and anxiety. In September of the same year his talented but inferior rival, Fox, died also. In this year was issued the famous Berlin Decree, by which Napoleon prohibited all commerce with Great Britain, and declared confiscated any British merchandise or shipping. But Britain had spirit enough to retort in the following year with a decree declaring a blockade of France, and that any of her merchant vessels were fair prizes unless they had previously touched at a British port.

"The war continued without intermission throughout 1807. Austria, exhausted, had sullenly withdrawn, Prussia had plucked up spirit to join with Russia in opposing the conqueror of Europe, but in June, after the hard fought Battle of Frieland, France concluded with Russia the secret Peace of Tilsit, based upon mutual hatred of England. England, however, soon found out the menace directed against her, and as the French troops marched to Denmark, evidently with the intention of summoning that country to use her fleet in accordance with their orders, England by a prompt and brilliant countermove appeared before Copenhagen first, and by bombarding the town compelled submission, and carried away the whole fleet for safety's sake. Those were glorious days for the navy, when measures were prompt and decisive, when no hesitation and shilly-shallying and fear of "hurting the feelings" of an unscrupulous enemy prevented Britain from taking care of herself.

"Britain was now at war with Russia and Denmark as well as France, but the unprecedented duplicity of Napoleon in Spain in 1807 gave Britain an unexpected field on which to do battle, and allies by no means to be despised. Spain was France's ally, yet France after marching through the country to crush Portugal, quietly annexed the country of their ally in returning, and by a ruse made the whole Royal Family prisoners in France, while Napoleon's brother Joseph, King of Naples, was subsequently proclaimed king. The Spaniards were aroused, and though the best of their troops had been previously drawn off into Germany by the tyrant, they managed to give a good account of themselves, even against the invincible French. Joseph Buonaparte had been proclaimed King of Spain in June 1808. In that month Jane was at Godmersham again, and though she did not know it, this was the last visit she would pay before the death of Mrs. Edward Knight, which occurred in the following October, at the birth of her eleventh child; Jane seems to have noticed her sister-in-law was not in good health, she says, "I cannot praise Elizabeth's looks, but they are probably affected by a cold.""

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"Poor Fanny was then in her sixteenth year, the time when a girl perhaps feels the loss of a sensible, affectionate mother more than any other. She acquitted herself splendidly in the difficult task that fell on her as the eldest of so many brothers and sisters. Her next sister Lizzy was at this time only eight years old, and though she seems to have felt the loss keenly, it could not be the same to her as it was to Fanny.

"Mourning at that time entailed heavy crape, and Jane at once fitted herself out with all that was proper. The two eldest boys, Edward and George, were by this time at Winchester College, but when their mother died they went first to their aunt and uncle at Steventon, and on October 24 came on to Southampton. Jane's next letter is full of them. ... "

"In 1809 another move was contemplated. Edward Knight had found it in his power to offer his mother and sisters a home rent free; and he gave them the choice of a house in Kent, probably not far from Godmersham, or a cottage at Chawton close to his manor house there."

"Chawton was her home for the rest of her short life, though she actually died at Winchester. At Chawton her three last novels were written, as will be recounted in detail. It is curious that the periods of her literary activity seem to have been synchronous with her residence in the country; at Steventon and at Chawton respectively she produced three novels; at Bath only a fragment, and at Southampton nothing at all.

"The life at Chawton during this and the next few years must have been part of the happiest time she ever experienced. Her first book, Sense and Sensibility, was published in 1811; she had tasted the joys of earning money, and, what was much greater, the joy of seeing her own ideas and characters in tangible shape; she lived in a comfortable, pretty home, with the comings and goings of her relatives at the manor house to add variety, and she had probably lost the restlessness of girlhood. ... "

"For six months, during the year 1813, the whole of the Godmersham party lived at Chawton, while their other house was being repaired and painted, and this intercourse added greatly to Jane's happiness. She cemented that affectionate friendship with her eldest niece Fanny ... "

"But during these years there was no abatement of the fierce turmoil in Europe, the Peninsular War, demanding ever fresh levies of men and fresh subsidies of money, was a continual drain on England's resources, and the beginning of 1812 found the French practically masters of Spain; but in that year the tide turned, and after continual and bloody battles and sieges in which the loss of life was enormous, Wellington drove the French back across the Pyrenees, and in the following year planted his victorious standard actually on French soil."

" ... Austria had signed the disastrous Peace of Vienna with France in 1809, and during this and the following years the continent with small exception was ground beneath the heel of Napoleon, who in 1812 commenced the invasion of Russia which was to cost him so dearly. In 1811 there is rather a characteristic exclamation in one of Jane's letters apropos of the war: "How horrible it is to have so many people killed! And what a blessing that one cares for none of them!"

"Napoleon's tyranny and utter regardlessness of the feelings of national pride in the countries he had conquered now began to bring forth for him a bitter harvest. The Sixth Coalition of nations was formed against him, including Russia, Prussia, Austria, Great Britain and Sweden. After terrific fighting his armies were forced back over the Rhine, and the mighty Empire he had formed of powerless and degraded "republics" melted away like snow in an August sun. In March 1814, Paris, itself was forced to surrender to the triumphant armies of the Allies. In April, Napoleon signed his abdication and retired to Elba. Ever since he first appeared as an active agent on the battlefields of Europe he had kept the continent in a perpetual ferment; cruelty, bloodshed and horror had followed in his train. His mighty personality had seemed scarcely human, and his very name struck terror into all hearts, and became a bugbear with which to frighten children."

"In the June letter she says to Cassandra, who was in London, "Take care of yourself and do not be trampled to death in running after the Emperor. The report in Alton yesterday was that they would certainly travel this road either to or from Portsmouth." This referred to the visit of the Allied monarchs to England after their triumph in Paris, and the "emperor" was the Emperor Alexander of Russia, who but a few years ago had formed a secret treaty with Napoleon to the detriment of England!"

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"In 1811 the first of her books, Sense and Sensibility, was published at her own expense, and produced in three neat little volumes in clear type by T. Egerton, Whitehall. Her identity was not disclosed by the title-page, which simply bore the words "By a Lady." ... "

" ... The gratifying reception of Sense and Sensibility seems to have awakened the powers of writing which had so long lain dormant from want of encouragement. In 1812 she began Mansfield Park ... "

"Mrs. Norris, with her sycophantic speeches towards her well-to-do nieces, her own opinion of her virtues, her admonitions to Fanny, her habit of taking credit for the generous acts performed by other people, her sponging, and trick of getting everything at the expense of others, is the most striking figure in the book. When poor Fanny, having been neglected and left alone all day, the odd one of the party, is returning with the rest rather drearily from Rushworth Park, Mrs. Norris remarks —

""Well, Fanny, this has been a fine day for you, upon my word! Nothing but pleasure from beginning to end! I am sure you ought to be very much obliged to your Aunt Bertram and me for contriving to let you go. A pretty good day's amusement you have had." This, when she has done her best to stop Fanny's going at all, depicts her character in unmistakable colours. On another occasion she tells the meek Fanny, "The nonsense and folly of people's stepping out of their rank and trying to appear above themselves makes me think it right to give you a hint, Fanny, now that you are going into company without any of us, and I do beseech and entreat you not to be putting yourself forward, and to talking and giving your opinion as if you were one of your cousins, as if you were dear Mrs. Rushworth or Julia. That will never do, believe me. Remember wherever you are you must be the lowest and last." In the same book Sir Thomas Bertram's conference with his niece on the proposals he has received for her from Mr. Crawford is a wonderful commentary on the opinions of the time, but is too long to quote in entirety. That Fanny should refuse a handsome eligible young man, merely because she could neither respect nor love him, was quite incredible, and not only foolish but wicked. Sir Thomas speaks sternly of his disappointment in her character, "I had thought you peculiarly free from wilfulness of temper, self-conceit and every tendency to that independence of spirit which prevails so much in modern days, even in young women, and which, in young women, is offensive and disgusting beyond all common offence."

"We know what Jane herself thought of coercion of this kind, and how fully her sentiments were on the side of liberty of choice."

"In 1813 came the publication of Pride and Prejudice, apparently at Mr. Egerton's risk. This was evidently Jane's own favourite among the novels, and her references to it are made with genuine delight."

"Mansfield Park was finished in the same year, and came out under the auspices of Mr. Egerton in 1814, though the second edition was transferred to Mr. Murray. Before the publication of Emma, Jane had begun to be known in spite of the anonymity of her title-pages. ... "

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"During the years when she lived at Chawton, Jane stayed pretty frequently in London, generally with her brother Henry. She was with him in 1811, when he was in Sloane Street, going daily to the bank in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, in which he was a partner."

"Henry was at this time married to his cousin Eliza, widow of the Count de Feuillade, who has already been mentioned, and Eliza was evidently vivacious and fond of society, so her sister-in-law had by no means a dull time when staying with her. But how different were Jane's visits to London, unknown, and certainly without any idea of the fame that was to attend her later, to those of her forerunners and contemporaries who had been "discovered," and who on the very slightest grounds were fêted and adored. The company of Mrs. Austen's friends, a little shopping, an occasional visit to the play, these were the details which filled up the daily routine of Jane's visit. She made the acquaintance of many of her sister-in-law's French friends, and enjoyed a large musical party given by her, where, "including everybody we were sixty-six," and where "the music was extremely good harp, pianoforte, and singing," and the "house was not clear till twelve.""

"The streets were full of enormous coaches, sometimes gilt, hung on high springs, drawn by four, and even six horses; footmen, to the number of four or six, ran beside them, and the wheels splashed heavily in the dirt described, sending up the mud in black spurts. It was early in the nineteenth century that a new kind of paving was tried, blocks of cast-iron covered with gravel, but this was not a success. Besides the large coaches there were hackney coaches, which would seem to us almost equally clumsy and unwieldy. Omnibuses were not seen in the metropolis until 1823, but there was something of the kind running from outlying places to London ... "

"Hackney coaches were in severe competition with sedan chairs, for to call a chair was as frequent a custom as to send for a hackney coach. The chairmen were notorious for their incivility, just as the watermen had previously been, and as their successors, the cabmen, became later, though now the reproach is removed from them."

"These chairs were kept privately by great people, and often were very richly decorated with brocade and plush; it was not an unusual thing for the footmen or chairmen of the owner to be decoyed into a tavern while the chair was stolen for the sake of its valuable furniture. The chairs opened with a lid at the top to enable the occupant to stand up on entrance, and then were shut down; in the caricatures of the day, these lids are represented as open to admit of the lady's enormous feather being left on her head.

"It was of course quite impossible for a lady to go about alone in the streets of London at this date, and even dangerous sometimes for men. The porters, carriers, chairmen, drunken sailors, etc., ready to make a row, are frequently mentioned by Grosley, and scuffles were of constant occurrence. George Selwyn in 1782 was so "mobbed, daubed, and beset by a crew of wretched little chimney-sweeps" that he had to give them money to go away.

"These pests were under no sort of control, as there were no regular police in the streets."

"In 1811 gas was just beginning to be used in lighting the streets! The town was in a strange transitional state. Pall Mall was first lighted with a row of gas lamps in 1807, and on the king's birthday, June 4, the wall between Pall Mall and St. James's Park was brilliantly illuminated in the same way, but gas generally was not placed in the thoroughfares until 1812 or 1813, and meantime oil-lamps requiring much care and attention were the only resource."

"When one realises the crowds that habitually frequented the place it seems as if there must be some mistake in the record that a man was accidentally shot in 1798 when the keepers "were hunting foxes in Kensington Gardens!""

""On the stage the principal actresses drag long trains after them, and are followed by a little boy in quality of a train-bearer, who is as inseparable from them as the shadow from the body. This page keeps his eye constantly upon the train of the princess, sets it to rights when it is ever so little ruffled or disordered, and is seen to run after it with all his might, when a violent emotion makes the princess hurry from one side of the stage to another.""

"Just as in novels during the lifetime of Jane Austen, there was an enormous change from the grandiloquent and conventional, to the natural and simple, and the same in poetry, so it was on the stage. The absurd conventionalism, the unsuitable dresses, no matter what, so long as they were grand, were exchanged for easy declamation and natural attitude."

"We have no letters of Jane's before November 1815; but she was probably at home at Chawton with her sister and mother, when the news that Napoleon had escaped from Elba burst upon the world like a thunderclap! The call to arms rang throughout Europe, and then followed the terrible Hundred Days which ended on June the eighteenth with the Battle of Waterloo."

"Louis XVIII. was once more placed on the throne of his fathers, and Napoleon was sent to St. Helena. He arrived there on November the sixteenth, and by that date Jane was again in London nursing her brother Henry."

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"Persuasion was finished in July 1816, but Jane was not satisfied with it, perhaps her own failing health and the sense of tiredness that went with it, had made her lose that grip of the action that she had hitherto held so well; she felt the story did not end satisfactorily, that it wanted bringing together and clinching so to speak; Mr. Austen-Leigh says: "This weighed upon her mind, the more so probably on account of her weak state of health, so that one night she retired to rest in very low spirits. But such depression was little in accordance with her nature, and was soon shaken off. The next morning she woke to more cheerful views and brighter inspirations; the sense of power revived and imagination resumed its course. She cancelled the condemned chapter and wrote two others, entirely different, in its stead.""

"This book was not published until after her death, when it appeared in one volume with Northanger Abbey, the first to which her name was prefixed, this came out in 1818 with a Memoir by her brother Henry. Up to the time of her death she had received nearly seven hundred pounds for the published books, which, considering her anonymity, and entire lack of publicity and influence, must have appeared to her, and indeed was, wonderful, though in comparison with the true value of the work very little indeed."

"She had taken to using a donkey-carriage in good weather, and doubtless this was a great boon, though she was able to walk one way either to or from Alton without over-fatigue, and hoped to be able to manage both ways when the summer came. In January also she mentions that her brother Henry, who was now ordained, was coming down to preach. "It will be a nervous hour for our pew, though we hear that he acquits himself with as much ease and collectedness as if he had been used to it all his life.""

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"Cassandra herself survived for twenty-eight years, and spent her last days in the cottage at Chawton endeared to her by recollections of her mother and beloved sister."

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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4219500855
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August 31, 2021 - September 05, 2021.

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JANE AUSTEN (by William Lyon Phelps) (1906)

Introduction to the Illustrated Cabinet Edition of

'Sense and Sensibility'

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Very well written, circa 1900, with concise chapters, one a biography, and then one each on her books.

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"Wednesday, 12 September, 1900 ... "

Author writes of bicycling through Hampshire, from Salisbury to Winchester and then on to Steventon.

" ... A small, mean, dirty village is Steventon today, graced only by beautiful hedgerows. The house where Jane Austen lived has long since disappeared, an instance if any were needed —of how much more transient are the houses built with hands than those created by the imagination. ... "

" ... The oldest son, James, was born at Deane in 1765. At Oxford he had a high reputation among the undergraduates for his literary skill and his knowledge of English literature. It is to this young Oxonian that the world owes a debt of gratitude; for on his return to the rectory, his mind full of his favourite books, he took charge of the reading of his two younger sisters, and guided them at their most docile age into the green pastures of literature. ... "

"The dearest member of the family to Jane, and indeed by far the most intimate friend she had in the world, was her sister Cassandra, three years her senior. Two girls of about the same age with five brothers would naturally form an offensive and defensive alliance; and between these two sisters as they grew from childhood into maturity ripened a marvellous friendship, where each took delight in the other's gifts and pleasures. They were all in all to each other; they were never married, and they remained in the diminishing family circle while the brothers struck out into the world. It was to Cassandra that Jane wrote nearly all of the letters that have come down to us; and the very absence of literary style in these documents and their meagreness of information about Jane's literary career is a substantial proof of the complete intimacy of the two women. It was in Cassandra's arms that Jane died; and how terribly the survivor suffered we shall never know, for she thought it to be her duty to control the outward expression of her grief. She was indeed a woman of extraordinary good sense, independence, and self-reliance, who loved her younger and more impulsive sister with an affection unknown to many more demonstrative individuals. She died in 1845."

"Readers of her novels have often wondered why Jane Austen, who lived in wars and rumours of wars, showed apparently so little interest in the momentous events of her time. As a matter of fact she took her part in those world-combats vicariously, and the welfare of her brothers was more interesting to her than the fate of Napoleon. The sea-faring men in her books afford the evidence of her knowledge of the navy, though, true to her primal principle of art, she did not let them escape beyond the boundaries of her personal experience.

"Jane Austen has been regarded by many as a prim, prudish old maid, and yet the stricter women of our more liberal times would look upon her as a daughter of Belial, for she loved to drink wine and play cards, she loved to dance, and she delighted in the theatre. The very smallness of Steventon brought its inhabitants together in social intercourse; and in a house where a genial father and mother presided over seven children, and where there were often dances and social gatherings several times a week, we need not waste any pity on her desolate and lonely youth. She was so fond of society that had she lived in a large city, among brilliant men and women, she might never have written a book. In her four residences, Steventon, Bath, Southampton, and Chawton, she saw all phases of society, for Thomas Hardy has shown us that the human comedy is played in the villages as well as in great cities Her close proximity to the persons she saw m village balls and dances gave her unrivalled opportunities for observation, since the; main traits in human nature are always the same. We need not regret therefore, that the geographical limits of her bodily life were so circumscribed. She could have lived in a nutshell, and counted herself a monarch of infinite space, for she had no bad dreams like those of Hamlet. It has been well said that the happiest person is he who thinks the most interesting thoughts; and the enjoyment and entertainment that this quiet, woman got out of life can hardly be over-estimated."

" ... She had the pleasant excitement of the publication of her books, of reading them aloud to the family in manuscript, of receiving and examining bundles of proof, of actually handling money earned by her pen, and of observing the faint dawn of her great reputation. This made her peaceful environment more than interesting, and we may be sure that the days passed swiftly. Up to this tune her sole reward for her labour had been the glow of composition and the satisfaction of knowing that she had done good work; the harvest was late, but she now began to reap it. Unfortunately the time was short. It is one of the apparent perversities of the stupidity of destiny, that the only member of the family who possessed undoubted genius should have had to die so young. Jane Austen is the kind of person who ought to live forever.

"In the spring of the year 1816 her health began to fail. This is said to have been caused by worry over some family misfortunes; but may it not have been owing to the consuming flame of genius? It is impossible that she could have written such masterpieces of literature without feeling that virtue had gone out of her. The joy of artistic creation is probably one of the greatest Joys known to the sons and daughters of men; but the bodily frame pays dearly for it, and the toil of making a good book surpasses in intensity of labour almost all other forms of human exertion. Whatever was the cause, the fact was that her life began to decay at precisely the time when her mind began to reach its greatest brilliancy. ... "

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"In the history of English fiction there are only eight writers who may be said to have an assured place in the front rank, for Stevenson and Thomas Hardy are still too near to be seen in the proper perspective. These immortal eight in order of time are Daniel De Foe, Samuel Richardson, Henry Fielding, Jane Austen, Walter Scott, Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, and George Eliot. What are the qualities that place the novels of Jane Austen so far above those of all her contemporaries except Scott, and that class her so distinctly above a writer like Charlotte Brontë?"

This was written well over a century ago, and of course refers to English literature only of england; but a glaring omission is obviously Emily Bronte, and while he puts Charlotte Bronte below Jane Austen which not every contemporary of his or theirs did, Emily Bronte certainly did not deserve that grade affixed, much less being ignored or forgotten. But then, wasn't it Thackeray who prophesied that her repute would grow to shadow that of her sister, for while Charlotte had talent, Emily, he had said, had genius?

"That much abused phrase, "Art for art's sake," so often heard in the mouths of hypocritical and unclean authors, is strictly applicable to the aims and ideals of Jane Austen. She is one of the supreme literary artists of the world, like the Russian Turgenev. She made no compromises, and never wrote a line to please anybody but herself. That is precisely why she pleases all readers of taste and intelligence. Coming before the days when the advertising of new novels had become as purely a commercial enterprise as the exploitation of breakfast foods, she knew nothing of the ways of publishers, nor did she understand how it was possible for an author to write for the market. Far from the madding crowd she wrought her books in the peaceful tranquillity of an affectionate family circle, and she refused to search for material either in huge libraries or in remote corners of the earth. ... There are those who think the flawless perfection of her books was a kind of accident; that she wrote them without in the least realising the magnitude of her success. That she did not anticipate the prodigious fame that her novels have won in the twentieth century is probably true; but that a woman of so consummate genius and good sense did not know that she had done truly great work, is simply impossible. She knew exactly what she was about; she understood her powers and in exactly what field of art they could find full play. ... "

"Not only is the structure of her stories superb in outline, not only is her style so perfect that it seems to the unskilful no style at all, but her characters have an amazing vitality. Not a single one of them passes through an extraordinary adventure; hence we are interested in them not for what they do and suffer, but wholly for what they are. No persons in the whole realm of fiction are more alive than Elizabeth Bennet, ... "

"Her books are truly great, then, because they have in them what Mrs. Browning called the "principle of life." Their apparently simple and transparently clear style contains treasures, inexhaustible; for no one reads any of her stories, only once. ... Jane Austen has outlived thousands of novelists who have been greeted with wild acclaim, is simply because she succeeded introducing to a marvellous degree the illusion that is the essence of great art, the pleasing illusion that we are gazing not on the image, but at the reality. Her books have the "principle of life," and cannot die. Her fame was slow in growth, but no slower than might have been expected, and we should not blame previous generations for not seeing instantly what we have the advantage of seeing with a proper background. She lived only six years after the publication of her first book; and during that brief time she enjoyed fully as much reputation as could reasonably have been hoped for. Some of her novels went almost immediately into second editions; and her pleasure at praise from good sources was like all her emotions, perfectly genuine, frank, and unashamed. She was very glad to have her books widely read and appreciated, as any sensible person would be; and her delight in receiving a sum of money from the publisher —the tangible mark of success —was charming in its unaffected demonstration. ... "

" ... After the publication of the Memoir by her nephew in 1870, which came at the psychological moment, the books and articles on Jane Austen began to bloom in every direction. About 1890, what was called a "revival" took place; it was really nothing but the cumulative growth of her fame. Many new editions appeared; and an instance of how she was regarded as a master of style may be seen in the fact that for some years every Harvard Freshman was required to read one of her books for rhetorical purposes. She has had sufficient vitality to survive even such treatment."

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"Sense and Sensibility was the first of the novels to be honoured by publication. It appeared in 1811. It may be considered as her first work, for she had written a draft called Elinor and Marianne, which is undoubtedly the first form of the later novel. ... Her nephew tells us that Sense and Sensibility was begun at Steventon in November, 1797, immediately after the completion of Pride and Prejudice; even thus early she had rejected the epistolary form for this novel, and had composed it on its present plan Then the work remained in manuscript until 1811, as the rejection of Pride and Prejudice, and the unwillingness of the Bath publisher to risk his money on Northanger Abbey —both of which works she must have thought superior to Sense and Sensibility —did not give her sufficient courage to make further overtures. During the spring of 1811, however, Jane Austen was in London, and with the assistance of her brother, the publication of her first novel became an assured fact. ... "

"Sense and Sensibility is on the whole the poorest of Jane Austen's completed novels. The contrast between the two sisters is of course interesting; but they are less individual than the persons in the other tales. The very fact that Elinor stands for Sense and Marianne for Sensibility militates against the reality and charm of their personalities; and the three leading men are less satisfactory than her other heroes. The book is the least original of all her works; and in places sounds as if it were written under the shadow of Richardson's influence. There is of course the same contrast between first impressions and the final reality that appears elsewhere; there is the same endeavour to show that those who have the most ease of manner are not necessarily of the most solid worth. There is in addition the touch of burlesque in the character of Marianne, where Jane Austen is laughing at the sentimentalists; but while all these characteristics are typical of her art, they appear with less subtlety than in the other novels, indeed one might say there is now and then a suggestion of crudity. Edward Ferrars is spineless, Willoughby is a stage villain, and Colonel Brandon is depressing. On the whole, if we had to part with any one of Jane Austen's works, I imagine that Sense and Sensibility is the one that we should most willingly let die."

Nonsense. It's the most natural and alive of her works. Else one has to say Emma Thompson and her screen writers wrought magic in producing so alive, so real a film based on it, it overshadows all films based on Jane Austen's best, Pride And Prejudice. Not likely. It's all there, in the book. Mariane is real, as is Elinore. So are the men.

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"Pride and Prejudice

"This immortal book has a curious history. She began its composition before she was twenty-one years old, in October 1796, and finished it in less than a year, during the month of August 1797. Her father —who unfortunately did not live to see a line of his daughter's in print —was so captivated by this story that he immediately set about finding a publisher. On the first of November, 1797, he wrote the following letter to Cadell ... "

"The father's suspense was of short duration, for the very next post brought a summary declination. The publisher did not even care to look at the manuscript, or to consider the question of printing it at the author's expense, probably; thinking, as someone has suggested, that it was a feeble imitation of Miss Burney. Here indeed was a case of pride and prejudice! Paternal pride and publisher's prejudice kept this work in manuscript until 1813. It is fortunate that the young girl knew the value of her work, and preserved it —for we have instances in literature where proud and angry authors have committed literary infanticide. In January 1813 this novel —which had been originally christened "First Impressions " —was published at London by Egerton, in three neat volumes, printed in large, heavy type. On the title-pages of Sense and Sensibility ran the legend, "By a Lady" for Jane Austen would not permit her name to appear with any of her publications; it was perhaps thought inconsistent with true feminine modesty. The title-pages of the second work are as follows: Pride and Prejudice: A Novel. In Three Volumes. By the Author of 'Sense and Sensibility.' ... It was undoubtedly thoroughly revised and corrected for the press. ... "

"Pride and Prejudice was a successful novel, for it went into a second edition the same year. ... I have a beautiful copy of this second edition in three neat volumes before me as I write. One winter day in 1904, as I was prowling around old book-shops in Munich, I had the rare fortune to find these three neat volumes tucked away among various curiosities in various languages. I inquired the price with a beating heart —it was one mark the volume, seventy-five cents for the whole work!"

"Pride and Prejudice is Miss Austen's master piece, and one of the few great novels of the world. Its literary style is not perhaps equal in finish to that shown in Mansfield Park or Persuasion; but Elizabeth Bennet is her author's greatest creation, and of all the delightful characters in her works, Elizabeth is the one we should most like to meet. She has the double charm of girlhood and womanhood; and to know her is indeed a liberal education. She has no particular accomplishments, and is second to one of her sisters in beauty; it is her personality that counts with us, as it did with her proud lover. Mr. Darcy, in spite of his stiffness and hauteur, is a real man, an enormous improvement on Colonel Brandon. He exhibits the exact difference between pride and conceit that Miss Austen wished to portray. The whole Bennet family are impossible to forget, in their likeness and in their individuality; and there is so astonishing a sense of reality in the characters and action of this work, that when Elizabeth hurries into the breakfast-room of her critics "with weary ankles, dirty stockings and a face glowing with warmth of exercise," no corporeal appearance could be more vivid to our eyes, and we actually tremble for the impression her dirty stockings and petticoat will make on the fastidious folk around the table. ... "

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"Northanger Abbey was composed in 1798, when its author was only twenty-two. ... It was not published until after its author had ceased to live, finally appearing with Persuasion and a brief Memoir —four volumes altogether —in 1818. The family neatly revenged themselves on this publisher's delay; for years later, when they were living at Chawton, the same publisher, Mr. Bull, was offered his ten pounds back for the surrender of the manuscript, which proposition he accepted with surprise and pleasure. After the precious papers were received, he was informed that the dust-covered pages were written by the author of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice!

"Northanger Abbey bears the marks of youth. It is a burlesque, and has the virtues and defects of that species of literature. As an example of what Jane thought of the Mysteries of Udolpho, and of the whole school of blood and thunder, it is highly important; it contains also many remarks on novels and novel-reading which are valuable as showing how Jane Austen regarded her art. But it is not equal to such a work as Mansfield Park; it lacks the variety and subtlety; of her masterpieces. The narration of the heroine's finding the washing-bill in the old Abbey is pure fun, youthful mirth, and the description of the face and figure of the young girl is no more nor less than satire on the popular heroines of the day. Historically, however, the book is of the deepest significance; for it marks a turning-point in the history of the English novel, and it tells us more of its author's personal views than all the rest of her tales put together. It is far more subjective; in the fifth chapter there is an almost passionate defence of the novel against its detractors, who regarded such writing as merely superficial and totally lacking in serious artistic purpose; while in the sixth chapter, Sir Charles Grandison is most favourably compared with the romances of Mrs. Radcliffe and her ilk. Such a work, written in the very bloom of youth, is conclusive evidence of the self-conscious purpose of its author; it proves that she knew exactly what she wanted; that her purpose in art was fixed, definite, and unalterable. In Northanger Abbey she showed how novels ought not to be written; her other books are illustrations of what she conceived to be the true theory."

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"Lady Susan and The Watsons

"Of these two stories little need be said, and it is probable that Jane Austen would have forbidden their publication. They appeared together with the second edition of Mr. Austen-Leigh's Memoir, in 1871. No one knows exactly when they were written; the fact that Lady Susan is in the form of letters, as was the first draft of Sense and Sensibility, seems to set the date of its composition before that of Pride and Prejudice, at the very beginning of her career. ... "

"The date of the composition of the unfinished fragment, The Watsons, can be guessed at with more evidence. The watermarks of the years 1803 and 1804 were found on the manuscript, after a careful examination; this makes it of course certain that it was not composed before those dates, but leaves us in the dark as to its exact time. The most probable supposition seems to be that she worked at it while living in Bath, but subsequently lost interest, and was content to leave it in obscurity. ... "

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"Mansfield Park"

"Next to Pride and Prejudice, this novel is probably Jane Austen's greatest work. It contains an immense variety of characters, none of whom is badly drawn. Fanny Price, Henry Crawford and his brilliant sister, Mrs. Norris, Sir Thomas Bertram, his wife, and sons and daughters, Fanny's father, mother, and family, the Rev. Dr. Grant and his wife, Mr. Rushworth, —these are all strikingly individual, and all unforgettable."

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"Emma

"This novel, bearing on its three title-pages the date 1816, was advertised to appear in the preceding December. Since the publication of Mansfield Park, early in 1814, Miss Austen had been steadily at work on this story, and was far advanced with it by the spring of 1815. The dedication of Emma, and the circumstances that led to it, are interesting, and prove, that although the author's name never appeared with her books, her identity was fairly well known. During the autumn of 1815 her brother Henry fell seriously ill, and Jane went to London to take care of him. ... "

"Emma is unique among Jane Austen's works in that the reader's attention is almost entirely concentrated upon one character. In this respect it differs most widely of all from Mansfield Park, where the interest is more generally diffused than in any other of her stories. ... there are many who place Emma first in the list of the author's novels. ... The curious thing is, that before we finish the book we actually like her all the better for her faults, and for her numerous mistakes; because her heart is pure, sound, and good, and her sense of principle is as deeply rooted as the Rock of Gibraltar.

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"She finished Persuasion in August 1816, in the form in which we have it now; but she thought she had finished the book on the 18 July, for she wrote at the end of the manuscript, "Finis," and then added that date. The more she thought about the conclusion, however, the less she liked it; and in spite of failing health, she determined to have nothing published of which she could not approve. She therefore struck out Chapter X, and wrote in its place two others, which bring about the denouement in a totally different fashion. Curious readers may compare the condemned chapter, which appears in Mr. Austen Leigh's Memoir, with the book as it stands; and they will see that the flame of genius burned brightly to the last, for the substitution is a marked improvement on the first version. It affords, also, as has been said, an illustration of her conscientious devotion to her art.

"She probably spent the rest of the year 1816 in revising and correcting the whole work; and on 27 January she began the composition of a story, which she wrote at steadily, completing twelve chapters, under enormous difficulties of disease, by 17 March, when she was forced to lay aside all thoughts of book-making. No title was ever given to this narrative, nor does anyone know what course the plot was to follow; but we are assured by her nephew that in the draft which remains there is no evidence of failing strength.

"Persuasion was not published until 1818, when, as has been said, it appeared with Northanger Abbey and a Memoir, in four volumes. It thus has a melancholy interest for us, as being the last work of art that she completed. It is one of the miniature masterpieces in the English language, and its scenes at Bath and at Lyme are indelibly impressed on the reader's mind."

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September 05, 2021 - September 05, 2021.

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JANE AUSTEN, HER LIFE AND LETTERS:

A Family Record

(by W. Austen-Leigh and R. A. Austen-Leigh) (1913)

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A further work by some members of another generation of descendants of Jane Austen's brothers, this book is intended to supplement accounts of her life then existing, with more information and a more distant point of view, as the authors state in a very well written preface.

It begins to be so already in the first chapter, chronology of her life. And it continues in the first chapter, adding a wealth of detailed information to the accounts in existence before. It's

Written in a concise manner, it's extremely difficult to select quotes from this, so much of it is worth noting. That's so, despite by now having read memoirs by her nephew, and more than a couple of other biographical accounts of Jane Austen.

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Table of contents

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Preface

Chronology of Jane Austen's Life

Chapter I Austens and Leighs (1600-1764)

Chapter II Steventon (1764-1785)

Chapter III Warren Hastings and the Hancocks (1752-1794)

Chapter IV Family Life (1779-1792)

Chapter VI Romance (1795-1802)

Chapter V Growth and Change (1792-1796)

Chapter VIII Godmersham and Steventon (1798-1799)

Chapter IX The Leigh Perrots and Bath (1799-1800)

Chapter X Change of Home (1800-1801)

Chapter XI Bath Again (1801-1805)

Chapter XII From Bath to Southampton (1805-1808)

Chapter XIII From Southampton to Chawton (1808-1809)

Chapter XIV Sense and Sensibility (1809-1811)

Chapter XV Pride and Prejudice 1812-1814

Chapter XVI Mansfield Park (1812-1814)

Chapter XVII Emma (1814-1815)

Chapter XVIII Persuasion (1815-1816)

Chapter XIX Aunt Jane (1814-1817)

Chapter XX Failing Health (1816-1817)

Chapter XXI Winchester (1817)

Appendix The Text of Jane Austen's Novels

'MANSFIELD PARK'

'EMMA'

'NORTHANGER ABBEY'

Chapter VII Authorship and Correspondence (1796-1798)

'PERSUASION'

Bibliography

A Family Record

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Preface

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Quoted from

PREFACE

"Since 1870-1, when J. E. Austen Leigh[1] published his Memoir of Jane Austen, considerable additions have been made to the stock of information available for her biographers. Of these fresh sources of knowledge the set of letters from Jane to Cassandra, edited by Lord Brabourne, has been by far the most important. These letters are invaluable as mémoires pour servir; although they cover only the comparatively rare periods when the two sisters were separated, and although Cassandra purposely destroyed many of the letters likely to prove the most interesting, from a distaste for publicity.

"Some further correspondence, and many incidents in the careers of two of her brothers, may be read in Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers, by J. H. Hubback and Edith C. Hubback; while Miss Constance Hill has been able to add several family traditions to the interesting topographical information embodied in her Jane Austen: Her Homes and Her Friends. ... "

"During the last few years, we have been fortunate enough to be able to add to this store; and every existing MS. or tradition preserved by the family, of which we have any knowledge, has been placed at our disposal."

"The Memoir must always remain the one firsthand account of her, resting on the authority of a nephew who knew her intimately and that of his two sisters. We could not compete with its vivid personal recollections; and the last thing we should wish to do, even were it possible, would be to supersede it. We believe, however, that it needs to be supplemented, not only because so much additional material has been brought to light since its publication, but also because the account given of their aunt by her nephew and nieces could be given only from their own point of view, while the incidents and characters fall into a somewhat different perspective if the whole is seen from a greater distance. Their knowledge of their aunt was during the last portion of her life, and they knew her best of all in her last year, when her health was failing and she was living in much seclusion; and they [vii] were not likely to be the recipients of her inmost confidences on the events and sentiments of her youth.

"Hence the emotional and romantic side of her nature—a very real one—has not been dwelt upon. No doubt the Austens were, as a family, unwilling to show their deeper feelings, and the sad end of Jane's one romance would naturally tend to intensify this dislike of expression; but the feeling was there, and it finally found utterance in her latest work, when, through Anne Elliot, she claimed for women the right of 'loving longest when existence or when hope is gone.'"

"A third point is the uneventful nature of the author's life, which, as we think, has been a good deal exaggerated. Quiet it certainly was; but the quiet life of a member of a large family in the England of that date was compatible with a good deal of stirring incident, happening, if not to herself, at all events to those who were nearest to her, and who commanded her deepest sympathies."

"Both in the plan and in the execution of our work we have received much valuable help from another member of the family, Mary A. Austen Leigh.[2]

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Chronology of Jane Austen's Life

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Some new information here for those who have already read the memoir by her nephew, such as

"1783

"Mrs. Cawley having moved to Southampton, Jane nearly died there of a fever. Mrs. Cooper (her aunt) took the infection and died (October)."

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Chapter I Austens and Leighs (1600-1764)

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"At the end of the sixteenth century there was living at Horsmonden—a small village in the Weald of Kent—a certain John Austen. From his will it is evident that he was a man of considerable means, owning property in Kent and Sussex and elsewhere; he also held a lease of certain lands from Sir Henry Whetenhall, including in all probability the manor house of Broadford in Horsmonden. What wealth he had was doubtless derived from the clothing trade; for Hasted[4] instances the Austens, together with the Bathursts, Courthopes, and others, as some of the ancient families of that part 'now of large estate and genteel rank in life,' but sprung from ancestors who had used the great staple manufacture of clothing. ... "

"John Austen died in 1620, leaving a large family. [2] [5] Of these, the fifth son, Francis, who died in 1687, describes himself in his will as a clothier, of Grovehurst; this place being, like Broadford, a pretty timbered house of moderate size near the picturesque old village of Horsmonden. Both houses still belong to the Austen family. ... One of his sisters married into the family of the Stringers (neighbours engaged in the same trade as the Austens), and numbered among her descendants the Knights of Godmersham—a circumstance which exercised an important influence over the subsequent fortunes of the Austen family."

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"The young squire and his son held gentle sway at Broadford through the eighteenth century; but much more stirring and able was the next brother, Francis. He became a solicitor. Setting up at Sevenoaks 'with eight hundred pounds and a bundle of pens,' he contrived to amass a very large fortune, living most hospitably, and yet buying up all the valuable land round the town which he could secure, and enlarging his means by marrying two wealthy wives. ... "

"Francis's son by his first wife (known as Motley Austen) rounded off the family estate at [4] Sevenoaks by purchasing the Kippington property. Motley's third son, John, eventually inherited the Broadford estate. Francis's two most distinguished descendants were Colonel Thomas Austen of Kippington, well known as M.P. for Kent, and the Rev. John Thomas Austen, senior wrangler in 1817.

"Both the two next brothers of Francis Austen adopted the medical profession. Thomas, an apothecary at Tonbridge, had an only son, Henry, who graduated at Cambridge, and, through his uncle's interest, held the living of West Wickham for twenty years. His descendants on the female side are still flourishing.

"William, the surgeon, Jane Austen's grandfather, is more immediately interesting to us. He married Rebecca, daughter of Sir George Hampson, a physician of Gloucester, and widow of another medical man, James Walter. By her first husband she had a son, William Hampson Walter, born in 1721; by her second she had three daughters, and one son, George, born in 1731. ... George Austen (Jane's father), who had lost both his parents when he was six years old, continued under the care of his stepmother. However, all that we know of his childhood is that his uncle Francis befriended him, and sent him to Tonbridge School, and that from Tonbridge he obtained a Scholarship (and subsequently a Fellowship) at St. John's College, Oxford [5] —the College at which, later on, through George's own marriage, his descendants were to be 'founder's kin.' ... "

"The Walter family settled in Lincolnshire, where they have held Church preferment, and have also been well known in the world of sport. Phila's brother James seems to have been at the same time an exemplary parson, beloved by his flock, and also a sort of 'Jack Russell,' and is said to have met his death in the hunting-field, by falling into a snow-drift, [6] at the age of eighty-four. His son Henry distinguished himself in a more academical manner. He was second wrangler in 1806, and a Fellow of St. John's. Nor was he only a mathematician; for in June 1813 Jane Austen met a young man named Wilkes, an undergraduate of St. John's, who spoke very highly of Walter as a scholar; he said he was considered the best classic at Cambridge. She adds: 'How such a report would have interested my father!' Henry Walter was at one time tutor at Haileybury, and was also a beneficed clergyman. He was known at Court; indeed, it is said that, while he declined higher preferment for himself, he was consulted by George IV and William IV on the selection of bishops."

"Both these branches of the Leigh family descended from Sir Thomas Leigh, Lord Mayor of London, behind whom Queen Elizabeth rode to be proclaimed at Paul's Cross. He was rich enough and great enough to endow more than one son with estates; but while the elder line at Adlestrop remained simple squires, the younger at Stoneleigh rose to a peerage. The latter branch, however, were now rapidly approaching extinction, while the former had many [7] vigorous scions. The family records have much to say of one of the squires—Theophilus (who died in 1724), the husband of Mary Brydges and the father of twelve children, a strong character, and one who lived up to fixed, if rather narrow, ideas of duty. We hear of his old-fashioned dress and elaborate bows and postures, of his affability to his neighbours, and his just, though somewhat strict, government of his sons. It is difficult to picture to oneself a set of modern Oxford men standing patiently after dinner, in the dining-parlour, as Theophilus's sons did, 'till desired to sit down and drink Church and King.' ... "

"Cassandra's father, Thomas, was the fourth son of Theophilus Leigh. An older and better known brother was another Theophilus, Master of Balliol for more than half a century."

"Cassandra Leigh's youth was spent in the quiet rectory of Harpsden, for her father was one of the more conscientious of the gently born clergy of that day, living entirely on his benefice, and greatly beloved in his neighbourhood as an exemplary parish-priest. ... His peaceful wife, Jane Walker, was descended on her [9] mother's side from a sufficiently warlike family; she was the daughter of an Oxford physician, who had married a Miss Perrot, one of the last of a very old stock, long settled in Oxfordshire, but also known in Pembrokeshire at least as early as the fourteenth century. They were probably among the settlers planted there to overawe the Welsh, and it is recorded of one of them that he slew 'twenty-six men of Kemaes and one wolf.' A contrast to these uncompromising ancestors was found in Mrs. Leigh's aunt, Ann Perrot, one of the family circle at Harpsden, whom tradition states to have been a very pious, good woman. Unselfish she certainly was, for she earnestly begged her brother, Mr. Thomas Perrot, to alter his will by which he had bequeathed to her his estates at Northleigh in Oxfordshire, and to leave her instead an annuity of one hundred pounds. Her brother complied with her request, and by a codicil devised the estates to his great-nephew, James, son of the Rev. Thomas Leigh, on condition that he took the surname and arms of Perrot.[11] Accordingly, on the death of Mr. Thomas Perrot at the beginning of 1751, James Leigh became James Leigh Perrot of Northleigh. ... "

"Northleigh, for some reason or other, did not suit its new owner. He pulled down the mansion and sold the estate to the Duke of Marlborough, buying for himself a property at Hare Hatch on the Bath Road, midway between Maidenhead and Reading. ... "

"George Austen perhaps met his future wife at the house of her uncle, the Master of Balliol, but no particulars of the courtship have survived. The marriage took place at Walcot Church, Bath, on April 26, 1764, the bride's father having died at Bath only a short time before. Two circumstances connected with their brief honeymoon—which consisted only of a journey from Bath to Steventon, broken by one day's halt at Andover—may be mentioned. The bride's 'going-away' dress seems to have been a scarlet riding-habit, whose future adventures were not uninteresting; and the pair are believed to have had an unusual companion for such an occasion—namely, a small boy, six years old, the only son of Warren Hastings by his first wife. We are told that he was committed to the charge of Mr. Austen when he was sent over to England in 1761, and we shall see later that there was a reason for this connexion; but a three-year-old boy is a curious charge for a bachelor, and poor little George must have wanted a nurse rather than a tutor. In any case, he came under Mrs. Austen's maternal care, who afterwards mourned for his early death 'as if he had been a child of her own.'[12]"

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Chapter II Steventon (1764-1785)

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"Steventon is a small village tucked away among the Hampshire Downs, about seven miles south of Basingstoke. ... "

"The surrounding country is certainly not picturesque; it presents no grand or extensive views: the features, however, being small rather than plain.[14] It is, in fact, an undulating district whose hills have no marked character, and the poverty of whose soil prevents the timber from attaining a great size. We need not therefore be surprised to hear that [12] when Cassandra Leigh saw the place for the first time, just before her marriage, she should think it very inferior to the valley of the Thames at Henley. Yet the neighbourhood had its beauties of rustic lanes and hidden nooks; and Steventon, from the fall of the ground and the abundance of its timber, was one of the prettiest spots in it. The Rectory had been of the most miserable description, but George Austen improved it until it became a tolerably roomy and convenient habitation. It stood 'in a shallow valley, surrounded by sloping meadows, well sprinkled with elm-trees, at the end of a small village of cottages, each well provided with a garden, scattered about prettily on either side of the road. ... "

"'But the chief beauty of Steventon consisted in its hedgerows. A hedgerow in that country does not mean a thin formal line of quickset, but an irregular border of copse-wood and timber, often wide enough to contain within it a winding footpath, or a rough cart-track. Under its shelter the earliest [13] primroses, anemones, and wild hyacinths were to be found; sometimes the first bird's nest; and, now and then, the unwelcome adder. ... "

"The usefulness of a hedgerow as a place where a heroine might remain unseen and overhear what was not intended to reach her ears must have impressed itself early on the mind of our author; and readers of Persuasion will remember the scene in the fields near Uppercross where Anne hears a conversation about herself carried on by Captain Wentworth and Louisa Musgrove. The writer had possibly intended to introduce a similar scene into Mansfield Park, for, in a letter to her sister, of January 29, 1813, when turning from Pride and Prejudice to a new subject, she says: 'If you could discover whether Northamptonshire is a country of hedgerows I should be glad again.' Presumably, her question was answered in the negative, and her scrupulous desire for accuracy did not allow of her making use of the intended device."

" ... But whatever may be the beauties or defects of the surrounding scenery, this was the residence of Jane Austen for twenty-four years. This was the cradle of her genius. These were the first objects which inspired her young heart with a sense of the beauties of nature. In strolls along these wood-walks, thick-coming fancies rose to her mind, and gradually assumed the forms in which they came forth to the world. ... "

"To this description of the surroundings of the home, given by the author of the Memoir, whose own home it was through childhood and boyhood, we may add a few sentences respecting its interior as it appeared to his sister, Mrs. Lefroy. She speaks of her grandfather's study looking cheerfully into [15] the sunny garden, 'his own exclusive property, safe from the bustle of all household cares,' and adds: 'The dining- or common sitting-room looked to the front and was lighted by two casement windows. On the same side the front door opened into a smaller parlour, and visitors, who were few and rare, were not a bit the less welcome to my grandmother because they found her sitting there busily engaged with her needle,[16] making and mending. In later times—but not probably until my two aunts had completed their short course at Mrs. Latournelle's at Reading Abbey, and were living at home—a sitting-room was made upstairs: "the dressing-room," as they were pleased to call it, perhaps because it opened into a smaller chamber in which my two aunts slept. I remember the common-looking carpet with its chocolate ground, and painted press with shelves above for books, and Jane's piano, and an oval looking-glass that hung between the windows; but the charm of the room with its scanty furniture and cheaply painted walls must have been, for those old enough to understand it, the flow of native wit, with all the fun and nonsense of a large and clever family.' Such was the room in which the first versions of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice were composed."

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" ...a good father and a good scholar, he deserved the love and respect which every evidence that we have shows him to have gained from his family and his neighbours. His wife's was a somewhat more positive nature: shrewd and acute, high-minded and determined, with a strong sense of humour, and with an energy capable of triumphing over years of indifferent health, she was ardently attached to her children, and perhaps somewhat proud of her ancestors. We are told that she was very particular about the shape of people's noses, having a very aristocratic one herself; but we ought perhaps to add that she admitted she had never been a beauty, at all events in comparison with her own elder sister.

"If one may divide qualities which often overlap, one would be inclined to surmise that Jane Austen inherited from her father her serenity of mind, the refinement of her intellect, and her delicate appreciation of style, while her mother supplied the acute observation of character, and the wit and humour, for which she was equally distinguished."

"The writer of the Memoir, who was under the impression that George Austen became Rector of both Steventon and Deane in 1764, states that the Austens began their married life in the parsonage at Deane, and did not move to Steventon till 1771, seven years later. This cannot be quite correct, because we have letters of George Austen dated from Steventon in 1770; nor is it quite easy to understand why Mr. Austen should have lived in some one else's Rectory in preference to his own, unless we conceive that the Rector of Deane was non-resident, and that George Austen did duty at Deane and rented the parsonage while his own was under repair. It seems impossible now to unravel this skein. ... "

" ... her eldest boy, James, was born on February 13, 1765; the second, George, on August 26, 1766; and the third, Edward, on October 7, 1767. The Austens followed what was a common custom in those days—namely, that of putting out their children to nurse. An honest woman in Deane had charge of them all in turn, and we are told that one or both of their parents visited them every day."

" ... Cassandra's brother was now living on his property called Scarlets, at Hare Hatch, in the parish of Wargrave, and was thus within a day's journey from Steventon. He had married a Miss Cholmeley, of Easton in Lincolnshire, but they had no children. Cassandra's only sister, Jane (the beauty of the family), was married at the end of 1768 to Dr. Cooper, Rector of Whaddon, near Bath. Edward Cooper was the son of Gislingham Cooper, a banker in the Strand, by Ann Whitelock, heiress of Phyllis Court and Henley Manor. Dr. and Mrs. Cooper divided their time between his house at Southcote, near Reading, and Bath—from which [19] latter place no doubt he could keep an eye on his neighbouring parish. The Coopers had two children, Edward and Jane. They and the Austens were on very intimate terms, and it is probable that Jane Austen's early knowledge of Bath was to a great extent owing to the visits paid to them in that place. Another family with whom the Austens were on cousinly terms were the Cookes. Samuel Cooke, Rector of Little Bookham in Surrey and godfather to Jane, had married a daughter of the Master of Balliol (Theophilus Leigh), and their three children, Theophilus, Mary, and George, belonged, like the Coopers, to an inner circle of relations on both sides (Leigh Perrots, Coopers, Cookes, Walters, and Hancocks), who made up—in addition to the outer-circle of country neighbours—the world in which the Austens moved."

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"In June 1771, the Austens' fourth child, Henry, was born, ... "

"Unfortunately, poor little George never recovered sufficiently to take his place in the family, and we hear no more of him, though he lived on as late as 1827.

"The fifth child, Cassandra, was born in January 1773, and on June 6, 1773, ... "

"A sixth child, Francis William, was born in April 1774. ... "

"Never were sisters more to each other than Cassandra and Jane; while in a particularly affectionate family there seems to have been a special link between Cassandra and Edward on the one hand, and between Jane and Henry on the other."

"We have, indeed, but little information about the household at Steventon for the next few years. Another child—the last—Charles, was born in June 1779. There must, as the children grew older, have been a bright and lively family party to fill the Rectory, all the more so because the boys were educated at home instead of being sent to any school. One of George Austen's sons has described him as being 'not only a profound scholar, but possessed of a most exquisite taste in every species of literature'; and, even if we allow for some filial exaggeration, there can be no doubt that it was a home where good teaching—in every sense of the word—good taste, and a general love of reading prevailed. ... "

" ... Cassandra and Jane were dispatched at a very early age to spend a year at Oxford with Mrs. Cawley, a sister of Dr. Cooper—a fact which makes it likely that their cousin, Jane Cooper, was also of the party. Mrs. Cawley was the widow of a Principal of Brasenose College, and is said to have been a stiff-mannered person. She moved presently to Southampton, and there also had the three girls under her charge. At the latter place Cassandra and Jane Austen were attacked by a putrid fever. Mrs. Cawley would not write word of this to Steventon, but Jane Cooper thought it right to do so, upon which Mrs. Austen and Mrs. Cooper set off at once for Southampton and took their daughters away. Jane Austen was very ill and nearly died. Worse befell poor Mrs. Cooper, who took the infection and died at Bath whither she had returned. As Mrs. Cooper died in October 1783, this fixes the date roughly when the sisters went to Oxford and Southampton. Jane would have been full young to profit from the instruction of masters at Oxford (she can hardly have [26] been seven years old when she went there), and it must have been more for the sake of her being with Cassandra than for any other reason that she was sent.

"On the same principle, she went to school at Reading soon after the Southampton experience. 'Not,' we are told, 'because she was thought old enough to profit much by the instruction there imparted, but because she would have been miserable without her sister'; her mother, in fact, observing that 'if Cassandra were going to have her head cut off, Jane would insist on sharing her fate.'

"The school chosen was a famous one in its day—namely, the Abbey School in the Forbury at Reading, kept by a Mrs. Latournelle, an Englishwoman married to a Frenchman. ...."

"School life does not appear to have left any very deep impression on Jane Austen.[21] Probably she went at too youthful an age, and her stay was too short. At any rate, none of the heroines of her novels, except Anne Elliot,[22] are sent to school, though it is likely enough, as several writers have pointed out, that her Reading experiences suggested Mrs. Goddard's school in Emma.

"Mrs. Goddard was the mistress of a school—not of a seminary, or an establishment, or anything which professed, in long sentences of refined nonsense, to combine liberal acquirements with elegant morality upon new principles and new systems—and where young ladies for enormous pay might be screwed out of health and into vanity, but a real, honest, old-fashioned boarding-school, where a reasonable quantity of accomplishments were sold at a reasonable price, and where girls might be sent to be out of the way, and scramble themselves into a little education, without any danger of coming back prodigies. Mrs. Goddard's school was in high repute. . . . She had an ample house and garden, gave the children plenty of wholesome food, let them run about a great deal in the summer, and in winter dressed their chilblains with her own hands. It was no wonder that a train of twenty young couples now walked after her to church. She was a plain, motherly kind of woman.

"Jane herself finished her schooling at the early age [29] of nine. The rest of her education was completed at home. Probably her father taught her in his leisure hours, and James, when he was at home, gave her many useful hints. Father, mother, and eldest brother were all fully capable of helping her, and perhaps even Cassandra did her share. But for the most part her culture must have been self-culture, such as she herself imagined in the case of Elizabeth Bennet. Later on, the French of Reading Abbey school was corrected and fortified by the lessons of her cousin Eliza. On the whole, she grew up with a good stock of such accomplishments as might be expected of a girl bred in one of the more intellectual of the clerical houses of that day. She read French easily, and knew a little of Italian; and she was well read in the English literature of the eighteenth century. ... "

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Chapter III Warren Hastings and the Hancocks (1752-1794)

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"The title of this chapter may seem at first sight to remove it far from the life of Jane Austen; but Mrs. Hancock (who had been Philadelphia Austen) was her aunt, and Eliza Hancock not only a cousin but also a close friend; and both were always welcome visitors at Steventon. The varying fortunes of these ladies would therefore be an object of constant thought and discussion at the Rectory, and Jane had an early opportunity of becoming interested in the affairs both of India and of France."

"That Philadelphia Austen went to seek her fortune in India is certain, and that she did so reluctantly is extremely likely. She had at an early age been left an orphan without means or prospects, and the friends who brought her up may have settled the matter for her. Who those friends were, we do not know; but from the intimate terms on which she continued through life—not only with her brother, George Austen, but also, in a less degree, with her half-brother, William Walter—it is probable that she had spent much of her youth with her mother's family.

Beginning of next paragraph certainly seems strange, even with West being different - George Austen not only had a living, but use of a large rectory for home, and whike he had not so many chikdren yet, certainly could have had his one sister live with them! Unless, of course, she left long before he could yet earn.

"Her brother George, however, as a young man, was poor, and had no home to offer her; but the banishment which threatened entirely to separate the brother and sister proved in the end to have a contrary effect. Philadelphia did in time come back to England, as a wife and as the mother of one daughter, and her husband's subsequent return to India caused her to depend much for companionship upon her English relations. At Steventon little Betsy would find playfellows, somewhat younger than herself, in the elder Austen children, while her mother was discussing the last news from India with the heads of the family.

"Our first definite information about Philadelphia is, that in November 1751 she petitioned the Court of East India Directors for leave to go to friends at Fort St. David by the Bombay Castle; but who these friends were, or what induced her to take so adventurous a journey in search of them, we cannot say. Her sureties were also sureties for a certain Mary Elliott, so they may have been friends intending to travel together. But, according to Sydney Grier's conjecture, Mary Elliott did not, after all, sail in the Bombay Castle, but remained behind to marry a certain Captain Buchanan, sailing with him to India the following year. Captain Buchanan lost his life in the Black Hole, and his widow (whether she was Mary Elliott or not) married Warren Hastings. By her second husband she had two children, a son, George, born about 1758, and a daughter born about 1759 who lived only three weeks. The short history of the boy we have already told. Mrs. Hastings died on July 11, 1759, at Cossinbazar."

" ... Mr. Hancock, who must have been forty or more when he married her at Cuddalore on February 22, 1753. The name of Tysoe Saul Hancock appears in the list of European inhabitants at Fort St. David for 1753, as surgeon, at £36 per annum; and at Fort St. David he and Philadelphia remained for three years after their marriage. Where the Hancocks were during the troublous times which began in 1757 is not known; but by the beginning of 1762 they were certainly in Calcutta, for their daughter Elizabeth—better known as Betsy—was born there in December 1761. Warren Hastings, at this time resident at Murshidabad, was godfather to Elizabeth, who received the name he had intended to give to his own infant daughter. The origin of the close intimacy that existed between the Hancocks and Warren Hastings is uncertain; but if Mary Elliott really became the wife of the latter, the friendship of the two women may perhaps explain the great obligation under which Hastings describes himself as being to Philadelphia."

Hence the little son of Hastings entrusted to care of George Austen and wife, who went with them, to live with them, after their wedding to Steventon.

" ... Warren Hastings's loyal attachment to the widow and daughter of his friend remained unchanged, and they lived on terms of intimacy with his brother-in-law Woodman and his family. As long as Hancock lived he wrote constantly to wife and child, and gave advice—occasionally, perhaps, of a rather embarrassing kind—about the education of the latter. He discouraged, however, an idea of his wife's that she should bring Betsy out to India at the age of twelve. At last Mrs. Hancock, who, though a really good woman, was over-indulgent to her daughter, was able to fulfil the chief desire of her own heart, and to take her abroad to finish her studies, and later to seek an entry into the great world in Paris. Her husband's affairs had been left in much confusion, but Hastings's generous gift of £10,000 put them above want.

"Betsy, or rather 'Eliza' ('for what young woman" of common gentility,' as we read in Northanger Abbey, 'will reach the age of sixteen without altering her name as far as she can?'), was just grown up when this great move was made. In years to come, her connexion with her Steventon cousins was destined to be a close one; at the present time she was a very pretty, lively girl, fond of amusements, and perhaps estimating her own importance a little too highly. ..."

"Such a girl as Eliza was not likely to pass unnoticed in any society; and in August 1781 Mr. Woodman writes to tell Warren Hastings that she is on the point of marriage with a French officer, and that 'Mr. Austen is much concerned at the connexion, which he says is giving up all their friends, their country, and he fears their religion.' The intended husband was Jean Capotte, Comte de Feuillide,[28] aged thirty, an officer in the Queen's Regiment of Dragoons, and owner of an estate called Le Marais, near Gaboret, in Guyenne. The marriage took place in the same year, and in the following March, Eliza, now Comtesse de Feuillide, writes Phila a long letter praising the Comte and his devotion to herself."

"Neither she nor her 'numerous and brilliant [39] acquaintance' had any prevision of the terrible days that awaited all their order, nor any knowledge of the existence of the irresistible forces which were soon to overwhelm them, and to put a tragical end to every hope cherished by the bride, except that of rejoining her English friends. For the present, she led a life of pleasure and gaiety; but that it did not make her forgetful of Steventon ... "

"Eliza's domestic cares and her gaieties must still have left her some time to think with anxiety and apprehension of the impeachment of her godfather and benefactor, Hastings. ... "

"We hear but little of Eliza during the next two or three years, which she seems to have spent partly in France, partly in England. She must have been much engrossed by the stirring events in Paris, the result of which was eventually to prove fatal to her husband."

"The crisis of her husband's fate was not far distant. How the tragedy was led up to by the events of 1793, we do not know; but in February 1794 he was arrested on the charge of suborning witnesses in favour of the Marquise de Marbœuf. The Marquise had been accused of conspiring against the Republic in 1793;[31] one of the chief counts against her being that she had laid down certain arable land on her estate at Champs, near Meaux, in lucerne, sainfoin, and clover, with the object of producing a famine. The Marquise, by way of defence, printed a memorial [45] of her case, stating, among other things, that she had not done what she was accused of doing, and further, that if she had, she had a perfect right to do what she liked with her own property. But it was evident that things were likely to go hard with the Marquise at her trial. The Comte de Feuillide then came upon the scene, and attempted to bribe Morel, one of the Secretaries of the Committee of Safety, to suppress incriminating documents, and even to bear witness in her favour. Morel drew the Count on, and then betrayed him. The Marquise, her agent and the Count were all condemned to death, and the Count suffered the penalty on February 22, 1794."

" ... It was an event to make a lasting impression on a quick-witted and emotional girl of eighteen, and Eliza remained so closely linked with the family that the tragedy probably haunted Jane's memory for a long time to come."

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Chapter IV Family Life (1779-1792)

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"The eldest brother of the family, James, was nearly eleven years older than Jane, and had taken his degree at Oxford before she left school. He had matriculated at St. John's (where he obtained a 'founder's kin' Scholarship and, subsequently, a Fellowship) in 1779, at the early age of fourteen; his departure from home having been perhaps hastened in order to make room for the three or four pupils who were sharing his brothers' studies at that time. His was a scholarly type of mind; he was well read in English literature, had a correct taste, and wrote readily and happily, both in prose and verse. His son, the author of the Memoir, believes that he had a large share in directing the reading, and forming the taste, of his sister Jane. James was evidently in sympathy with Cowper's return to nature from the more artificial and mechanical style of Pope's imitators, and so was she; in Sense and Sensibility, Marianne, after her first conversation with Willoughby, had happily assured herself of his admiring Pope 'no more than is proper.' In 1786 we hear of James being in France; his cousin Eliza was hoping for a visit of some months from him; but in the next year he had returned, and he must have soon [47] gone into residence at Oxford as a young Fellow of his College ... ;"

"Edward Austen's disposition and tastes were as different from James's as his lot in life proved to be. Edward, as his mother says, 'made no pretensions' to literary taste and scholarship; but he was an excellent man of business, kind-hearted and affectionate; and he possessed also a spirit of fun and liveliness, which made him—as time went on—especially delightful to all young people. His history was more like fiction than reality. Most children have at some time or other indulged in day-dreams, in which they succeed to unexpected estates and consequent power; and it all happened to Edward. Mr. Thomas Knight of Godmersham Park in Kent, and Chawton House in Hampshire, had married a second cousin of George Austen, and had placed him in his Rectory at Steventon. His son, another Thomas Knight, and his charming wife, Catherine Knatchbull, took a fancy to young Edward, had him often to their house, and eventually adopted him. The story remains in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Knight's asking for the company of young [48] Edward during his holidays, of his father's hesitating in the interests of the Latin Grammar, and of his mother's clinching the matter by saying 'I think, my dear, you had better oblige your cousins and let the child go.' There was no issue of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Knight, and by degrees they made up their minds to adopt Edward Austen as their heir. This resolution was not only a mark of their regard for Edward but also a compliment to the Austen family in general, whose early promise their cousins had probably observed; the relationship not being near enough to constitute any claim. But Mr. Knight was most serious in his intentions, for in his will he left the estates in remainder to Edward's brothers in succession in case of the failure of his issue, and Mrs. Knight always showed the kindest interest in all the family. Edward was now more and more at Godmersham and less and less at home. Under the Knights' auspices, he was sent, not to the University, but on a 'grand tour,' which included Dresden and Rome. ... "

"Jane's favourite brother, Henry, was nearly four years younger than Edward, and was no doubt still profiting by his father's instructions. By 1789 he was not only at Oxford but was contributing to The Loiterer a paper on the sentimental school of Rousseau ... "

"There can be no doubt that by his bright and lovable nature he contributed greatly to the happiness of his sister Jane. She tells us that he could not help being amusing, and she was so good a judge of that quality that we accept her opinion of Henry's humour without demur ... "

"Very different again was the self-contained and steadfast Francis—the future Admiral of the Fleet; who was born in April 1774, and divided in age from Henry by their sister Cassandra. He must have spent some time at home with his sisters, after their return from school, before he entered the Royal Naval Academy, established in 1775 at Portsmouth under the supreme direction of the Lords of the Admiralty. Francis joined it when he was just twelve, and, 'having attracted the particular notice of the Lords of the Admiralty by the closeness of his application, and been in consequence marked out for early promotion,'[33] embarked two and a half years [50] later as a volunteer on board the frigate Perseverance (captain, Isaac Smith), bound to the East Indies. ... "

"The remaining brother, Charles, his sisters' 'own particular little brother,' born in 1779, must have been still in the nursery when his sisters left school.

"These brothers meant a great deal to Jane[35]; 'but dearest of all to her heart was her sister Cassandra, about three years her senior. Their sisterly affection for each other could scarcely be exceeded. Perhaps it began on Jane's side with the feeling of deference [51] natural to a loving child towards a kind elder sister. Something of this feeling always remained; and even in the maturity of her powers, and in the enjoyment of increasing success, she would still speak of Cassandra as of one wiser and better than herself.' 'Their attachment was never interrupted or weakened; they lived in the same home, and shared the same bedroom, till separated by death. ... "

"Such was the family party at Steventon; and 'there was so much that was agreeable in it that its members may be excused if they were inclined to live somewhat too exclusively within it.[36] They might see in each other much to love and esteem, and something to admire. The family talk had abundance of spirit and vivacity, and was never troubled by disagreements even in little matters, for it was not their habit to dispute or argue with each other; above all, there was strong family affection and firm union, never to be broken but by death. It cannot be doubted that all this had its influence with the author in the construction of her stories,' in which family life often plays a large part."

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"In the summer of 1788, when the girls were fifteen and twelve respectively, they accompanied their parents on a visit to their great-uncle, old Mr. Francis Austen, at Sevenoaks. Though Jane had been to Oxford, Southampton, and Reading before, it is probable that this was her first visit into Kent, and, what must have been more interesting still, her first visit to London. We have no clue as to where the party stayed in town, but one of Eliza de Feuillide's letters to Philadelphia Walter mentions that they dined with Eliza and her mother on their way back to Hampshire."

"When due allowance is made for family exaggeration, we may conclude that at eighteen and fifteen years of age both Cassandra and Jane had their fair share of good looks."

"The date 1790 or 1791 must be assigned to the portrait—believed to be of Jane Austen, and believed to be by Zoffany—which has been chosen as the frontispiece for this book, as it was for Lord Brabourne's edition of the Letters.[43] We are unable for want of evidence to judge of the likeness of the picture to Jane Austen as a girl; there is, so far as we have heard, no family tradition of her having been painted; and, as her subsequent fame could hardly have been predicted, we should not expect that either her great-uncle Frank, or her cousin, Francis Motley Austen, would go to the expense of a picture of her by Zoffany. Francis Motley had a daughter of his own, another Jane Austen, who became Mrs. Campion of Danny, and a confusion between the two Janes is a possible explanation.

"On the other hand, we believe there is no tradition in either the Austen or the Campion family of any such portrait of that Jane Austen, and the provenance [63] of our picture is well authenticated. The Rev. Morland Rice (grandson of Edward Austen) was a Demy of Magdalen College, Oxford. An old Fellow of Magdalen, Dr. Newman, many years before his death, told him that he had a portrait of Jane Austen the novelist, that had long been in his family. He stated that it was painted at Bath when she was about fifteen, and he promised to leave him (M. Rice) the picture. A few months before his death, Dr. Newman wrote to his friend, Dr. Bloxam, sending him a picture as a farewell present, and adding: 'I have another picture that I wish to go to your neighbour, Morland Rice. It is a portrait of Jane Austen the novelist, by Zoffany. The picture was given to my stepmother by her friend Colonel Austen of Kippington, Kent, because she was a great admirer of her works.' Colonel Austen was a son of Francis Motley, and it is hardly conceivable that he should give away to a stranger a portrait of his sister Jane as one of his cousin Jane. Our Jane became fifteen on December 16, 1790, and Zoffany returned from India[44] in that year. Jane is believed to have visited her uncle, Dr. Cooper (who died in 1792), at Bath. There is nothing in these dates to raise any great difficulty, and, on the whole, we have good reason to hope that we possess in this picture an authentic portrait of the author."

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"Midsummer and Christmas were the two seasons when George Austen dismissed his pupils for their holidays, and it was at these two periods that the theatricals usually took place. For the year 1787 we have a few details as to contemplated performances. Eliza de Feuillide had come to England with her mother in the summer of 1786, and probably went to Steventon at midsummer. In September 1787 she was at Tunbridge Wells with her mother and her cousin Phila. In a letter to her brother, Phila tells us that they went to the theatre, where (as was the custom in those days) the Comtesse—presumably as a person of some importance—'bespoke' the play, which was Which is the Man?[46] and Bon Ton.[47] This is interesting, because later on in the same letter Phila says: 'They [i.e. the Comtesse and her mother] go at Christmas to Steventon [65] and mean to act a play, Which is the Man? and Bon Ton. My uncle's barn is fitting up quite like a theatre, and all the young folks are to take their part. The Countess is Lady Bob Lardoon [sic] in the former and Miss Tittup in the latter. They wish me much of the party and offer to carry me, but I do not think of it. I should like to be a spectator, but am sure I should not have courage to act a part, nor do I wish to attain it.'

"Eliza was, however, very urgent with Phila that she should send all diffidence to Coventry."

"Of Jane's own part in these performances there is no record, for she was only just fourteen when the last took place. But even if she took no more share than Fanny Price, she must have acquired a considerable acquaintance with the language of the theatre—knowledge that she was to turn to good account in Mansfield Park. She was an early observer, and it might reasonably be supposed that some of the incidents and feelings which are so vividly painted in the Mansfield Park theatricals are due to her recollections of these entertainments."

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Chapter V Growth and Change (1792-1796)

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"In the outer circle of their neighbourhood stood the houses of three peers—those of Lord Portsmouth at Hurstbourne, Lord Bolton at Hackwood, and Lord Dorchester at Greywell. The owners of these places now and then gave balls at home,[52] and could also be relied upon to bring parties to some of the assemblies at Basingstoke. Hardly less important than these magnates were the Mildmays of Dogmersfield and the Chutes of The Vyne. The Mr. Chute of that day was not only one of the two M.P.'s for the whole county of Hampshire, but was also a well-known and popular M.F.H., and the husband of an excellent and cultivated wife. Then came other squires—Portals at Freefolk, Bramstons at Oakley Hall, Jervoises at Herriard, Harwoods at Deane, Terrys at Dummer, Holders at Ashe Park—with several clerical families, and other smaller folk.

"But there were three houses which meant to the Austen sisters far more than any of the others. The Miss Biggs[53] of Manydown Park—a substantial old manor-house owned by their father, Mr. Bigg Wither, which stands between Steventon and Basingstoke—were especial friends of Cassandra and Jane. One of these, Elizabeth, became Mrs. Heathcote, and was the mother of Sir William Heathcote of Hursley Park—a fine specimen, morally and intellectually, of a country [69] gentleman, and still remembered by many as Member for Oxford University, and as sole patron of John Keble. Catherine, another sister, married Southey's uncle, the Rev. Herbert Hill; and Alethea, who never married, was probably for that very reason all the more important to the Steventon sisters. One of the latest of Jane's extant letters is addressed to Alethea.

"A still closer friendship united Jane and Cassandra to a family named Lloyd, who for a short time inhabited their father's second house, the parsonage at Deane. Mrs. Lloyd had been a Craven—one of the unhappy daughters of a beautiful and fashionable but utterly neglectful mother, who left them to shift for themselves and to marry where they could. In this respect Martha Craven had done better than some of her sisters, having become the wife of a beneficed clergyman of respectable character and good position. With him she had led a peaceful life, and, on his death in January 1789, she spent the first two or three years of a quiet widowhood at Deane. Her second daughter, Eliza, was then already married to a first cousin, Fulwar Craven Fowle; but the two others, Martha and Mary, were still at home. Both became fast friends of Cassandra and Jane, and both were destined eventually to marry into the Austen family. ... "

"We must mention one other intimate friendship—that which existed between the Austens and the Lefroys of Ashe. Mr. Lefroy was Rector of that parish; and his wife, known within it as 'Madam Lefroy,' was sister to Sir Egerton Brydges to whom we are indebted for the very early notice of Jane Austen as a girl which we have already given."

................................................................................................

"Time was now to bring changes to the Austens. The elder brothers married. James had a curacy at Overton, and near Overton was Laverstoke Manor House, now occupied by General and Lady Jane Mathew. James became engaged to their daughter Anne, five years older than himself. They were married in March 1792, and started life on an income of £300 (of which £100 was an allowance made by General Mathew), keeping, it is said, a small pack of harriers for the husband, and a close carriage for the wife. James afterwards moved to Deane, where he was his father's curate. The married life of the couple was but short. Their one child, always [73] known as Anna, was born in April 1793, and the mother died suddenly in May 1795, leaving to her daughter only a shadowy recollection of 'a tall and slender lady dressed in white.' The poor little girl fretted in her solitude, till her father took the wise step of sending her to Steventon Rectory to be comforted by her aunts. She was admitted to the chocolate-carpeted dressing-room, which was now becoming a place of eager authorship. Anna was a very intelligent, quick-witted child, and, hearing the original draft of Pride and Prejudice read aloud by its youthful writer to her sister, she caught up the names of the characters and repeated them so much downstairs that she had to be checked; for the composition of the story was still a secret kept from the knowledge of the elders."

"Anna also composed stories herself long before she could write them down, and preserved a vivid remembrance of her dear Aunt Jane performing that task for her, and then telling her others of endless adventure and fun, which were carried on from day to day, or from visit to visit.

"Towards the end of 1796 James became engaged to Mary Lloyd, and they were married early in 1797. The marriage could hardly have happened had not General Mathew continued, for the sake of Anna, the £100 a year which he had allowed to his daughter. The event must have been most welcome to Jane; and Mrs. Austen wrote a very cheerful and friendly letter to her daughter-in-law elect, expressing the 'most heartfelt satisfaction at the prospect.' She adds: 'Had the selection been mine, you, my dear Mary, are the person I should have chosen for James's wife, Anna's mother and my daughter, being as certain as I can be of anything in this uncertain [74] world, that you will greatly increase and promote the happiness of each of the three. . . . I look forward to you as a real comfort to me in my old age when Cassandra is gone into Shropshire,[56] and Jane—the Lord knows where. Tell Martha she too shall be my daughter, she does me honour in the request.' There was an unconscious prophecy contained in the last words, for Martha became eventually the second wife of the writer's son Francis."

"Edward Austen's marriage had preceded his brother's by a few months. His kind patrons, the Knights, would be sure to make this easy for him; and it must have been under their auspices that he married (before the end of 1791) Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Brook Bridges, and was settled at Rowling, a small house belonging to the Bridges family, about a mile away from their seat at Goodnestone. No doubt it was a suitable match; but it must also have been a marriage of affection, if one may judge from the happy life which ensued, and from the lovely features of Mrs. Edward Austen, preserved in the miniature by Cosway.[57] Some of Jane's earliest extant letters were written from Rowling.

"The place was not, however, to be the home of the Edward Austens for long. Mr. Thomas Knight died in 1794, leaving his large estates to his widow for her life. Three years later, in 1797, she determined to make them over, at once, to the adopted son, who was after her death to become their owner, retaining for herself only an income of £2000."

................................................................................................

"Meanwhile, Francis Austen had made a good start in his profession. Going out to the East Indies, according to the custom of those days as a 'volunteer,' he became a midshipman, but remained one for four years only. Promotion—'that long thought of, dearly earned, and justly valued blessing'—was bestowed upon him two years sooner than it fell to the lot of William Price in Mansfield Park, and he became a lieutenant at the age of seventeen ... "

" ... Besides Eliza de Feuillide, who took refuge there with her young son while the clouds were gathering round her husband in France, the rectory had another visitor in the summer of 1792, in Jane Cooper, daughter of Mrs. Austen's only sister, who came here after her father's death. Dr. Cooper had set out in June with his son and daughter, and his neighbours, the Lybbe Powyses, on a tour to the Isle of Wight. The tour had important results for the young Coopers, as Edward became engaged to Caroline Lybbe Powys, and his sister to Captain Thomas Williams, R.N., whom she met at Ryde. Dr. Cooper, whose health had been the chief reason for the tour, did not long survive his return, dying at Sonning (of which he had been vicar since 1784) on August 27. The date of his daughter's wedding was already fixed, but had of course to be postponed. She went immediately to Steventon, and was married from the Rectory on December 11 of the same year. One happy result of this marriage was to provide an opening for the naval career of the youngest of the Austens, Charles, who was three years younger than Jane, and whom we last met in the nursery. As he was also five years junior to Francis, the latter must have quitted the Naval Academy some time before his brother entered it. Charles Austen was one of those happy mortals destined to be loved from childhood to old age by every one with whom they come in contact. ... "

"On leaving the Academy he served under his cousin's husband, Captain Thomas Williams, and was fortunate enough to witness and take part in a most gallant action when, in June 1796, Captain Williams's frigate, the Unicorn, gave chase to a French frigate, La Tribune, and, after a run of two hundred and ten miles, succeeded in capturing her. To Charles, at the age of seventeen, this must have been a very exciting experience; while to Captain Williams it brought the honour of knighthood.

"What with their visitors and their dances, and with a wedding to prepare for, life must have been gay enough for the Miss Austens during the autumn of 1792. Cassandra and Jane were now of an age to enjoy as much dancing as they could get: in fact, if Jane began dancing as early as she made Lydia Bennet begin, she may already have been going for a year or two to the monthly assemblies that Basingstoke (like every other town of any size) boasted of during the winter months."

"Early in 1794 came the shock of the execution of the Comte de Feuillide; and Eliza, widowed and motherless, and with an invalid boy, must have become more of a serious care to her relations. Over the acquittal of her benefactor and godfather, Warren Hastings, there was but one feeling in the family. ... "

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Chapter VI Romance (1795-1802)

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"North Cadbury is an Emmanuel College living, and Mr. Blackall was a Fellow of that society, who, after the fashion of the times, had waited long for his living and his wife. Jane had known him well and liked him much, though with sufficient detachment to remember and to criticise his demonstrative manners, his love of instructing others, and other little peculiarities. The 'friend' of 1798 must have been a young Cambridge don; and she was not likely to have had an opportunity of knowing individually more than one of that limited community, who did not naturally come in the Austens' way. It seems obvious to link the two allusions together; and if this is correct, we have identified one of the admirers of our heroine."

"More serious—but not very serious—was the attachment between her and Mrs. Lefroy's nephew, Tom Lefroy, afterwards Chief Justice of Ireland, which is mentioned somewhat cautiously in the Memoir, and the end of which is alluded to in the letter already quoted."

"A few days later she is writing again:—

"Our party to Ashe to-morrow night will consist of Edward Cooper, James (for a ball is nothing without him), Buller, who is now staying with us, and I. I look forward with great impatience to it, as I rather expect to receive an offer from my friend in the course of the evening. I shall refuse him, however, unless he promises to give away his white coat.

"Friday.—At length the day is come on which I am to flirt my last with Tom Lefroy, and when you receive this it will be over. My tears flow as I write at the melancholy idea."

" ... Unfortunately, there is no further letter to tell us whether Tom made the expected proposal or not; but it is pretty certain that he did not, and indeed there is a good deal of doubt whether it was really expected. Possibly lack of means prevented its ever being a serious matter on his side. They can never have met again on the same intimate terms. If he visited Ashe at all in 1798, the conditions must have been different, for he was by that time tacitly engaged to the lady whom he married in March 1799. [89]

"Tom Lefroy accordingly disappears from Jane's life, though he never forgot her till his death at the age of ninety. When he was an old man he told a young relation that 'he had been in love with Jane Austen, but it was a boy's love.'

"As for Jane's feelings, the opinion in the family seems to have been that it was a disappointment, but not a severe one. Had it been severe, either Jane would not have joked about it, or Cassandra would have destroyed the letters."

................................................................................................

"But the day of Jane's one real romance was still to come: a romance which probably affected the flow of her spirits, and helped to disincline her for literary composition, for some time after its occurrence. In this case, as in the other, the author of the Memoir was rather reticent; but shortly after its publication his sister, Caroline Austen, was induced to put down in writing the facts as she knew them. No one could be better qualified to do this, for she was a person of great ability, and endowed with a wonderfully accurate and retentive memory. It will be seen also that she has the unimpeachable authority of Cassandra to support her; we can therefore feel confidence in the truth of the story, although date, place, and even the name[68] of the gentleman are missing."

"This short history contains all the facts that are known. The rest must be left to imagination; but of two things we may be sure: the man whom Cassandra deemed worthy of her sister can have been no ordinary person, and the similarity in the ending of romance in the case of both sisters must [91] have added a strong link of sympathy to the chain of love which bound their lives together."

................................................................................................

"One more incident shall be narrated: an incident which, though full of discomfort and inconvenience for the actors, yet lacks the note of tragedy contained in the last. It rests on the same excellent authority, with the additional safeguard that Caroline Austen's own mother must have known the circumstances exactly. The story is as follows:—

"In November 1802 Cassandra and Jane came from Bath to pay a visit to their old home—then in the possession of their eldest brother James and his wife Mary. In the course of it, they went to spend a few days with some old friends in the neighbourhood. On the morning of Friday, December 3, they suddenly reappeared—their friends having driven them back—at an unlooked-for moment. All got out, and to Mrs. James Austen's surprise a tender scene of embraces and tears and distressing farewells took place in the hall. No sooner had the carriage disappeared than Cassandra and Jane, without offering any explanation, turned to her and said that they must at once go back to Bath—the very next day—it was absolutely necessary, and (as an escort for young ladies [93] travelling by coach was also necessary) their brother James must take them—although Saturday was a day on which it was most inconvenient for a single-handed rector to go far from his parish; for he could not return till Monday, and there was hardly any time to provide for his Sunday duty. But Cassandra and Jane, in a manner very unlike their usual considerate selves, refused to remain till Monday, nor would they give any reason for this refusal. James was therefore obliged to yield and to go with them to Bath. In course of time the mystery was solved. One[69] of the family with whom they had been staying had made Jane an offer of marriage, which she accepted—only to repent of her action deeply before many hours had passed. Her niece Caroline's remarks are as follows:—

"I conjecture that the advantages he could offer, and her gratitude for his love, and her long friendship with his family, induced my aunt to decide that she would marry him when he should ask her, but that having accepted him she found she was miserable. To be sure, she should not have said 'Yes' overnight; but I have always respected her for her courage in cancelling that 'Yes' the next morning; all worldly advantages would have been to her, and she was of an age to know this quite well (she was nearly twenty-seven). My aunts had very small fortunes; and on their father's death, they and their mother would be, they were aware, but poorly off. I believe most young women so circumstanced would have gone on trusting to love after marriage."

................................................................................................

" ... As time went on, she acquiesced cheerfully in the gradual disappearance of youth. She did not eschew balls, but was indifferent whether she was asked to dance or not: 'It was the same room in which we danced fifteen years ago; I thought it all over, and in spite of the shame of being so much older, felt with thankfulness that I was quite as happy now as then. . . . You will not expect to hear that I was asked to dance, but I was.'"

" ... She could afford to laugh at the suggestion that she should marry the Rector of Chawton, and promise to do so, whatever his reluctance or her own. She retained to the end her freshness and humour, her sympathy with the young: 'We do not grow older, of course,' she says in one of her latest letters; and it is evident that this was the impression left with the rising generation of nephews and nieces from their intercourse with her."

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Chapter VII Authorship and Correspondence (1796-1798)

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"Jane was destined to have two periods of active authorship: periods of unequal length, and divided from each other by eight or ten nearly barren years. This unfruitful time has been accounted for in several different ways: as arising from personal griefs, literary disappointment, or want of a settled home. ... "

Funny, do they not accept reality staring them in face? Her father had written to Cadell, and been refused by return post, about publishing Pride and Prejudice at their - Austen's- expense, during the early years when she wrote it; it wasn't until her brother Henry, who must have been too young at the time, grew up enough to encourage her, that publication of her early works took place. That success, apart from being settled again in a secure and quiet home, must have been the key to her writing again, apart from the settling into single life. For surely, the interim years did have the uncertainty, one every young woman goes through, about whether she would find love, marry, and consequently have a life that might not allow her to continue the occupation of her earlier years.

................................................................................................

"No precise date has been assigned to the writing of Elinor and Marianne; but after the completion of that sketch her time has been fully mapped out[71] as follows:—

"First Impressions (original of Pride and Prejudice), begun October 1796, ended August 1797.

"Sense and Sensibility, begun November 1797.

"Northanger Abbey (probably called Susan), written in 1797 and 1798."

"It has been usual to dwell on the precocity of intellect shown in the composition of the first two of these works by a young and inexperienced girl, and no doubt there is much justice in the observation; but we venture to think that it is in Northanger Abbey that we get the best example of what she could produce at the age of three- or four-and-twenty. In the two others, the revision they underwent before publication was so complete that it is impossible now to separate the earlier from the later work; whereas in Northanger Abbey, while there is good evidence from the author's preface of a careful preparation for the press before she sold it in 1803, there is no mention of any radical alteration at a subsequent date. On the contrary, she apologises for what may seem old-fashioned in the social arrangements of the story by alleging the length of time that had elapsed since its completion. There is internal evidence to the same effect: she has not quite shaken off the tendency to satirise contemporary extravagances; and it is not until several chapters are past that she settles [97] herself down to any serious creation of characters. .. "

"George Austen was ready, and indeed anxious, that his daughter's work should be published; and when she had finished the story in August 1797, he took steps to find a publisher. Years afterwards (probably in 1836), at the sale of the effects of Mr. Cadell, the famous London publisher, the following letter was purchased by a connexion of the family:—

"Sir,—I have in my possession a manuscript novel, comprising 3 vols., about the length of Miss Burney's Evelina. As I am well aware of what consequence it is that a work of this sort shd. make its first appearance under a respectable name, I apply to you. I shall be much obliged, therefore, if you will inform me whether you choose to be concerned in it, what will be the expense of publishing [98] it at the author's risk, and what you will venture to advance for the property of it, if on perusal it is approved of. Should you give any encouragement, I will send you the work.

"I am, Sir, your humble servant,

"George Austen.

"Steventon, near Overton, Hants.:

"November 1, 1797.

"This proposal, we are told, was declined by return of post."

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The author quotes several of letters from Jane Austen, wŕitren about this time. Couple of excerpts -

"Tell Mary[73] that I make over Mr. Heartley and all his estate to her for her sole use and benefit in future, and not only him, but all my other admirers into the bargain wherever she can find them, even the kiss which C. Powlett wanted to give me, as I mean to confine myself in future to Mr. Tom Lefroy, for whom I don't care sixpence. Assure her also as a last and indubitable proof of Warren's indifference to me, that he actually drew that gentleman's picture for me, and delivered it to me without a sigh."

"So His Royal Highness Sir Thomas Williams has at length sailed; the papers say 'on a cruise.' But I hope they are gone to Cork, or I shall have written in vain. Give my love to Jane, as she arrived at Steventon yesterday, I dare say."

................................................................................................

"Jane managed to reach Steventon, and at once set to work on First Impressions. From that point the letters cease for two years—namely, till October 1798. Several family events occurred during the interval. In January 1797 came the wedding of James Austen and Mary Lloyd. Owing to the friendship which had long existed between the Austens and the Lloyds, this marriage gave great pleasure at Steventon, and Eliza de Feuillide remarks on it as follows:—

"James has chosen a second wife in the person of Miss Mary Lloyd, who is not either rich or handsome, but very sensible and good humoured. . . . Jane seems much pleased with the match, and it is natural she should, having long known and liked the lady."

"Not long after this happy event, the rectory at Steventon was plunged into deep grief, for news came that Cassandra's intended husband, Thomas [105] Fowle, who was expected home from St. Domingo in a few weeks, had died in February of yellow fever."

"His kinsman, Lord Craven, who had taken him out as chaplain to his regiment, said afterwards that, had he known of his engagement, he would not have allowed him to go to so dangerous a climate."

................................................................................................

" ... In November of this same year, Mrs. Austen, whose health was not good determined to go to Bath with her daughters. ... "

"The Austens stayed at Bath into December, for Elizabeth de Feuillide mentions, on December 11, that she had heard very lately from Jane, 'who is still at Bath with her mother and sister. Mr. Hampson, whom I saw yesterday . . . told me he had heard Cassandra was going to be married, but Jane says not a word of it.' When we think of Jane's silence, and still more of Cassandra's recent grief, we may safely discredit this extremely improbable rumour.

"On returning home for Christmas, they received a piece of news which, even if it did not come entirely as a surprise, can hardly have given unmixed pleasure. This was the engagement of Henry Austen to his cousin, Eliza de Feuillide—his senior by some ten years. Intended originally for the Church, Henry [107] Austen had abandoned the idea of taking Orders, and had joined the Oxford Militia as lieutenant, in 1793, becoming adjutant and captain four years later. Though he was endowed with many attractive gifts there was a certain infirmity of purpose in his character that was hardly likely to be remedied by a marriage to his very pleasure-loving cousin.

"Neither side wished for a long engagement, and they were married on December 31. Henry continued with the Militia regiment probably till the Peace of 1802. By 1804 he had joined a brother Militia officer of the name of Maunde, and set up as banker and army agent, with offices in Albany, Piccadilly; removing in or before 1808 to 10 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden. Poor little Hastings de Feuillide became subject to epilepsy, and died on October 9, 1801, while the Henry Austens were living in Upper Berkeley Street.[77]

"During the first half of 1798, Jane, fresh from her late visit to Bath, was able to devote some happy months of unbroken leisure to writing the first draft of the book known to us as Northanger Abbey; but her comedy was once more interrupted by one of the tragedies of real life. On August 9 occurred the death of her cousin, Lady Williams (Jane Cooper): while she was driving herself in a whiskey, a dray-horse ran away and drove against the chaise. She was thrown out and killed on the spot: 'never spoke again,' so Mrs. Lybbe Powys records the news on August 14. Jane Williams had been married from Steventon Rectory, and had been, both before and after that event, so frequent a visitor there that her death must have been severely felt by the Austens—especially by the daughters of the family, her friends and contemporaries."

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Chapter VIII Godmersham and Steventon (1798-1799)

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"Some change after this shock must have been desirable; and at the end of the same month Mr. and Mrs. Austen, with Cassandra and Jane, started on a visit to the Edward Austens—no longer at Rowling but at Godmersham, which, by the generosity of Mrs. Knight, was now become their residence. Edward would naturally wish for a visit from his parents and sisters in his new and beautiful home. We know very little of Jane's doings there, except that she attended a ball at Ashford; but, on her parting from Cassandra (who was left behind) and returning to Steventon with her father and mother, we find ourselves fortunately in the company of the letters once more."

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"Steventon: [December 1, 1798.]

"My dear Cassandra,—

"I am so good as to write you again thus speedily, to let you know that I have just heard from Frank. He was at Cadiz, alive and well, on October 19, and had then very lately received a letter from you, written as long ago as when the London was at St. Helen's. But his raly latest intelligence of us was in one from me of September 1st, which I sent soon after we got to Godmersham. He had written a packet full for his dearest friends in England, early in October, to go by the Excellent; but the Excellent was not sailed, nor likely to sail, when he despatched this to me. It comprehended letters for both of us, for Lord Spencer,[85] Mr. Daysh,[86] and the East India Directors. Lord St. Vincent had left the fleet when he wrote, and was gone to Gibraltar, it was said to superintend the fitting out of a private expedition from thence against some of the enemies' ports; Minorca or Malta were conjectured to be the objects.

"Frank writes in good spirits, but says that our correspondence cannot be so easily carried on in future as it has been, as the communication between Cadiz and Lisbon is less frequent than formerly. You and my mother, therefore, must not alarm yourselves at the long intervals that may divide his letters. I address this advice to you two as being the most tender-hearted of the family.

"My mother made her entrée into the dressing-room through crowds of admiring spectators yesterday afternoon, and we all drank tea together for the first time these five weeks. She has had a tolerable night, and bids fair for a continuance in the same brilliant course of action to-day. . . .

"Mr. Lyford[87] was here yesterday; he came while [116] we were at dinner, and partook of our elegant entertainment. I was not ashamed at asking him to sit down to table, for we had some pease-soup, a sparerib, and a pudding. He wants my mother to look yellow and to throw out a rash, but she will do neither.

"We live entirely in the dressing-room now, which I like very much; I always feel so much more elegant in it than in the parlour.

"I have made myself two or three caps to wear of evenings since I came home, and they save me a world of torment as to hair-dressing, which at present gives me no trouble beyond washing and brushing, for my long hair is always plaited up out of sight, and my short hair curls well enough to want no papering."

................................................................................................

"Steventon: Friday [December 28, 1798].

"My dear Cassandra,—Frank is made. He was yesterday raised to the rank of Commander, and appointed to the Peterel sloop, now at Gibraltar. A letter from Daysh has just announced this, and as it is confirmed by a very friendly one from Mr. Mathew to the same effect, transcribing one from Admiral Gambier to the General,[91] we have no reason to suspect the truth of it.

"As soon as you have cried a little for joy, you may go on, and learn farther that the India House have taken Captain Austen's petition into consideration—this comes from Daysh—and likewise that Lieutenant Charles John Austen is removed to the Tamar frigate—this comes from the Admiral. We cannot find out where the Tamar is, but I hope we shall now see Charles here at all events.

"This letter is to be dedicated entirely to good news. If you will send my father an account of your washing and letter expenses, &c., he will send you a draft for the amount of it, as well as for your next quarter,[92] and for Edward's rent. If you don't buy a muslin gown now on the strength of this money and Frank's promotion, I shall never forgive you.

"Mrs. Lefroy has just sent me word that Lady Dorchester meant to invite me to her ball on January 8, which, though an humble blessing compared with what the last page records, I do not consider as any calamity.

"I cannot write any more now, but I have written enough to make you very happy, and therefore may safely conclude."

................................................................................................

"Steventon: Tuesday [January 8, 1799].

"I am tolerably glad to hear that Edward's income is a good one—as glad as I can be at anybody's being rich except you and me—and I am thoroughly rejoiced to hear of his present to you.

"I assure you that I dread the idea of going to Brighton[93] as much as you do, but I am not without hopes that something may happen to prevent it.

"[Wednesday.]—You express so little anxiety about my being murdered under Ashe Park Copse by Mrs. Hulbert's servant, that I have a great mind not to tell you whether I was or not, and shall only say that I did not return home that night or the next, as Martha kindly made room for me in her bed, which was the shut-up one in the new nursery. Nurse and the child slept upon the floor, and there we all were in some confusion and great comfort. The bed did exceedingly well for us, both to lie awake in and talk till two o'clock, and to sleep in the rest of the night. I love Martha better than ever, and I mean to go and see her, if I can, when she gets home.

"We all dined at the Harwoods' on Thursday, and the party broke up the next morning.

"My sweet little George! I am delighted to hear that he has such an inventive genius as to face-making. I admired his yellow wafer very much, and hope he will choose the wafer for your next letter. I wore my [123] green shoes last night, and took my white fan with me; I am very glad he never threw it into the river.

"Mrs. Knight[94] giving up the Godmersham estate to Edward was no such prodigious act of generosity after all, it seems, for she has reserved herself an income out of it still; this ought to be known, that her conduct may not be overrated. I rather think Edward shows the most magnanimity of the two, in accepting her resignation with such incumbrances.

"The more I write, the better my eye gets, so I shall at least keep on till it is quite well, before I give up my pen to my mother.

"I do not think I was very much in request [at the Kempshot ball]. People were rather apt not to ask me till they could not help it; one's consequence, you know, varies so much at times without any particular reason. There was one gentleman, an officer of the Cheshire, a very good-looking young man, who, I was told, wanted very much to be introduced to me; but as he did not want it quite enough to take much trouble in effecting it, we never could bring it about.

"I danced with Mr. John Wood again, twice with a Mr. South, a lad from Winchester, who, I suppose, is as far from being related to the bishop of that diocese as it is possible to be, with G. Lefroy, and J. Harwood, who I think takes to me rather more than he used to do. One of my gayest actions was sitting down two dances in preference to having Lord Bolton's eldest son for my partner, who danced too ill to be endured. The Miss Charterises were there, and played the parts of the Miss Edens with great spirit. Charles never came. Naughty Charles! I suppose he could not get superseded in time."

................................................................................................

Chapter IX The Leigh Perrots and Bath (1799-1800)

................................................................................................

"Mrs. Austen's brother, James Leigh Perrot, and his wife had for many years led a prosperous and uneventful life at Scarlets, enjoying the respect and friendship of a large circle of acquaintances. Scarlets was a small property on the Bath road, about thirty miles from London, adjoining the hamlet of Hare Hatch, where (as was often the case on a great highroad) a number of gentlemen's places of moderate size were congregated within easy reach of each other. Among those who sooner or later were neighbours of the Leigh Perrots were Maria Edgeworth's father Richard Lovell Edgeworth (who speaks of the help he received from Mr. Perrot in his experiments of telegraphing from Hare Hatch to Nettlebed by means of windmills), and Thomas Day, the author of Sandford and Merton. The house at Scarlets in its then existing shape was the work of Mr. Leigh Perrot, and was of a suitable size for a childless couple in easy circumstances. Its owner had abilities which might have stood him in good stead in any profession, had he adopted one; and he was of a kind and affectionate disposition, combining an easy temper with ready wit, and much resolution [127] of character. His wife was hardly formed for popularity, but she was highly respected. She was not exactly open-handed, but she had a great idea of the claims of family ties, and a keen sense of justice as between herself and others. The couple were unusually devoted to each other. The only crook in their lot appeared to be the constant gout attacks from which the husband suffered, and the necessity for frequent visits to Bath: visits, by the way, which had helped to give to their niece, Jane Austen, such good opportunities for studying the Bath varieties of human nature.

"The journey, however, of the Austens to Bath in the spring of 1799 (described in our next letters) was independent of the Leigh Perrots. Edward Austen had been suffering, like his uncle, from gout, and determined to try the waters of Bath; his mother and Jane accompanying his family party thither. But the Perrots were already settled in Paragon Buildings[99] when the Austens arrived, and the two families would be constantly meeting.

"The Austens took up their quarters in Queen Square, which Jane seems to have liked much better than she made her Miss Musgroves like it when she wrote Persuasion, sixteen years later."

................................................................................................

"13 Queen Square: Sunday [June 2, 1799].

"Flowers are very much worn, and fruit is still more the thing. Elizabeth has a bunch of strawberries, and I have seen grapes, cherries, plums, and apricots. There are likewise almonds and raisins, French plums, and tamarinds at the grocers', but I have never seen any of them in hats. A plum or greengage would cost three shillings; cherries and grapes about five, I believe, but this is at some of the dearest shops. My aunt has told me of a very cheap one, near Walcot Church, to which I shall go in quest of something for you. I have never seen an old woman at the pump-room.

"I spent Friday evening with the Mapletons, and was obliged to submit to being pleased in spite of my inclination. We took a very charming walk from six to eight up Beacon Hill, and across some fields, to the village of Charlecombe, which is sweetly situated in a little green valley, as a village with such a name ought to be. Marianne is sensible and intelligent, and even Jane, considering how fair she is, is not unpleasant. We had a Miss North and a Mr. Gould of our party; the latter walked home with me after tea. He is a very young man, just [130] entered Oxford, wears spectacles, and has heard that Evelina was written by Dr. Johnson.

"There is to be a grand gala on Tuesday evening[101] in Sydney Gardens, a concert, with illuminations and fireworks. To the latter Elizabeth and I look forward with pleasure, and even the concert will have more than its usual charm for me, as the gardens are large enough for me to get pretty well beyond the reach of its sound. In the morning Lady Willoughby is to present the colours to some corps, or Yeomanry, or other, in the Crescent."

................................................................................................

"I would not let Martha read First Impressions again upon any account, and am very glad that I did not leave it in your power. She is very cunning, but I saw through her design; she means to publish it from memory, and one more perusal must enable her to do it. As for Fitz-Albini, when I get home she shall have it, as soon as ever she will own that Mr. Elliott is handsomer than Mr. Lance, that fair men are preferable to black; for I mean to take every opportunity of rooting out her prejudices."

"Last night we were in Sydney Gardens again, as there was a repetition of the gala which went off so ill on the 4th. We did not go till nine, and then were in very good time for the fireworks, which were really beautiful, and surpassing my expectation; the illuminations too were very pretty. The weather was as favourable as it was otherwise a fortnight ago. The play on Saturday is, I hope, to conclude our gaieties here, for nothing but a lengthened stay will make it otherwise. We go with Mrs. Fellowes."

................................................................................................

"The Austens quitted Bath on Wednesday, June 26, reaching Steventon on the following day, and leaving the Leigh Perrots to an unexpected fate—which they had done nothing whatever to deserve.

"On Thursday, August 8, Mrs. Leigh Perrot went into a milliner's shop at the corner of Bath and Stall Streets, kept by a certain Mrs. Gregory (but known as Smith's), and bought a piece of black lace. She paid for it, and took it away wrapped up in a piece of paper. After leaving the shop, Mrs. Perrot met her husband and strolled about with him. As they re-passed the same shop a quarter of an hour later, Mrs. Gregory rushed out and accused Mrs. Perrot of having in her possession a piece of white lace. Mrs. Perrot replied that if so it must have been put up in [132] her parcel by mistake. She then handed her parcel to Mrs. Gregory to examine, when a piece of white lace was found therein as well as a piece of black. Mrs. Gregory at once accused Mrs. Perrot of having stolen it, and, refusing to listen to any protest, made off with the incriminating piece of lace. A little later, as the Perrots were turning the corner of the Abbey Churchyard, Charles Filby, the shop assistant who had actually sold the black lace, came up and asked Mr. Perrot his name. Mr. Perrot replied that he lived at No. 1 Paragon Buildings, and that his name was on the door."

"The charge was a monstrous one; the accused had ample means to indulge every wish, and nothing short of lunacy (of which she never showed the slightest sign) could have induced her to commit so petty a theft. Her high character and the absence of motive combined to render it incredible, and, had she been capable of such a deed, she would not have courted detection by walking quietly past the shop, a quarter of an hour later, with the parcel in her hand. There were also strong reasons for thinking that the accusation was the result of a deep-laid plot. Gye, the printer, who lived in the market-place, was believed to be the chief instigator. His character was indifferent, and he had money invested in Gregory's shop; and the business was in so bad a way that there was a temptation to seek for some large haul by way of blackmail. Mrs. Leigh Perrot was selected as the victim, people thought, because her husband was so extremely devoted to her that he would be sure to do anything to save her from the least vexation. If so, the conspirators were mistaken in their man. Mr. Perrot resolved to see the matter through, and, taking no notice of the many suggestions as to hush-money that were apparently circulated, engaged the best counsel possible, secured his most influential acquaintance as witnesses to his wife's character, and spent the terrible intervening period in confinement with her at Ilchester. He was well aware that the criminal law of England, as it then existed, made the lot of untried prisoners as hard, and the difficulty of proving their innocence as great, as possible; he knew also that in the seething disquiet of men's minds, brought about by the French Revolution, it was quite possible [134] they might encounter a jury anxious to cast discredit on the well-to-do classes. He was therefore prepared for a failure of justice; and, we are told, had arranged that in case of an adverse verdict, followed by transportation, he would sell his property and accompany his wife across the seas."

"The trial took place at Taunton on Saturday, March 29. The old Castle Hall—where Judge Jeffreys once sat on his 'Bloody Assizes'—said to be capable of containing 2000 persons, was filled at an early hour. So urgent was the curiosity, even of the Bar, that the 'Nisi Prius' Court, which stood at the opposite end of the hall, was not opened for business that morning—all the counsel on the circuit [136] surrounding the table of the Crown Bar; while the rest of the hall was thronged with anxious spectators, many hundreds of whom could not possibly have heard a word that was said, and were almost crushed to death and suffocated with heat. Between seven and eight o'clock, Mrs. Leigh Perrot, who had been conveyed from Ilchester, appeared in the dock, attended by Mr. Leigh Perrot and three ladies, and the proceedings commenced."

"The jury evidently saw great reason to disbelieve the witnesses for the prosecution, and, after only fifteen[105] minutes, returned a verdict of 'Not Guilty.'"

................................................................................................

"An accusation of petty and purposeless theft had been made against a woman whose uprightness was known to all those around her; a wife who enjoyed (then and always) the absolute confidence of an upright husband. It had been found baseless by a jury after only a few minutes' deliberation; and the Leigh Perrots had the pleasure of seeing the high estimation in which they were held by their neighbours exhibited in a strong light. This estimation was to be theirs for the remainder of their lives, extending in his case over seventeen, and in hers over thirty-five years.[106] For our particular purpose the story seems worth narrating, because it shows that the peaceful and well-ordered progress of Jane Austen's life was not beyond the reach of tragic possibilities. Indeed, at or near this time there were three particular occurrences which, when taken together, might well disturb the serenity and cheerfulness of her mind, and indispose her for writing—especially writing of a humorous character. ... "

................................................................................................

Chapter X Change of Home (1800-1801)

................................................................................................

Though we can guess what was constantly occupying the thoughts of the Austens in the autumn and winter of 1799-1800, nothing remains to tell us how they employed themselves during these anxious months. Perhaps the sisters were at home, and exchanged no letters; but had any been written, we may be pretty sure they would be among those destroyed by Cassandra. When we meet the family again, in October 1800, we find that they have returned to everyday life with its little incidents, its duties, and its pleasures; that Edward and his eldest son have lately left Steventon for Godmersham, taking Cassandra with them, and that Jane is remaining at home with her parents.

................................................................................................

"Sunday.—Our improvements have advanced very well; the bank along the elm walk is sloped down for the reception of thorns and lilacs, and it is settled that the other side of the path is to continue turfed, and to be planted with beech, ash, and larch."

"Did you think of our ball [probably at Basingstoke] on Thursday evening, and did you suppose me at it? You might very safely, for there I was. On Wednesday morning it was settled that Mrs. Harwood, Mary, and I should go together, and shortly [144] afterwards a very civil note of invitation for me came from Mrs. Bramston, who wrote I believe as soon as she knew of the ball. I might likewise have gone with Mrs. Lefroy, and therefore, with three methods of going, I must have been more at the ball than anyone else. I dined and slept at Deane; Charlotte and I did my hair, which I fancy looked very indifferent; nobody abused it, however, and I retired delighted with my success.

"It was a pleasant ball, and still more good than pleasant, for there were nearly sixty people, and sometimes we had seventeen couple. The Portsmouths, Dorchesters, Boltons, Portals, and Clerks were there, and all the meaner and more usual &c., &c.'s. There was a scarcity of men in general, and a still greater scarcity of any that were good for much. I danced nine dances out of ten—five with Stephen Terry, T. Chute, and James Digweed, and four with Catherine.[109] There was commonly a couple of ladies standing up together, but not often any so amiable as ourselves."

................................................................................................

" ... Earle Harwood has been again giving uneasiness to his family and talk to the neighbourhood; in the present instance, however, he is only unfortunate, and not in fault. About ten days ago, in cocking a pistol in the guard-room at Marcau (?) he accidentally shot himself through the thigh. Two young Scotch surgeons in the island were polite enough to propose taking off the thigh at once, but to that he would not consent; and accordingly in his wounded state was put on board a cutter and conveyed to Haslar Hospital, at Gosport, where the bullet was extracted, and where he now is, I hope, in a fair way of doing well. ... "

................................................................................................

"Steventon: Wednesday evening [November 12, 1800].[112]

"My dear Martha,"

" ... Your promise in my favour was not quite absolute, but if your will is not perverse, you and I will do all in our power to overcome your scruples of conscience. I hope we shall meet next week to talk all this over, till we have tired ourselves with the very idea of my visit before my visit begins. ... "

"You distress me cruelly by your request about books. I cannot think of any to bring with me, nor [150] have I any idea of our wanting them. I come to you to be talked to, not to read or hear reading; I can do that at home; and indeed I am now laying in a stock of intelligence to pour out on you as my share of the conversation. I am reading Henry's History of England, which I will repeat to you in any manner you may prefer, either in a loose, desultory, unconnected stream, or dividing my recital, as the historian divides it himself, into seven parts:—The Civil and Military: Religion: Constitution: Learning and Learned Men: Arts and Sciences: Commerce, Coins, and Shipping: and Manners. So that for every evening in the week there will be a different subject. The Friday's lot—Commerce, Coins, and Shipping—you will find the least entertaining; but the next evening's portion will make amends. With such a provision on my part, if you will do yours by repeating the French Grammar, and Mrs. Stent[114] will now and then ejaculate some wonder about the cocks and hens, what can we want? Farewell for a short time. We all unite in best love, and I am your very affectionate

"J. A."

................................................................................................

"Steventon: Thursday [November 20, 1800].

"My dear Cassandra,""

...

"The three Digweeds all came on Tuesday, and we played a pool at commerce. James Digweed left Hampshire to-day. I think he must be in love with you, from his anxiety to have you go to the Faversham balls, and likewise from his supposition that the two elms fell from their grief at your absence. Was not it a gallant idea? It never occurred to me before, but I dare say it was so.

"I rejoice to say that we have just had another letter from our dear Frank. It is to you, very short, written from Larnica in Cyprus, and so lately as October 2nd. He came from Alexandria, and was to return there in three or four days, knew nothing of his promotion, and does not write above twenty lines, from a doubt of the letter's ever reaching you, and [153] an idea of all letters being opened at Vienna. He wrote a few days before to you from Alexandria by the Mercury sent with despatches to Lord Keith. Another letter must be owing to us besides this, one if not two; because none of these are to me. Henry comes to-morrow, for one night only."

................................................................................................

"Ibthorp: Sunday [November 30, 1800].[117]

"My dear Cassandra,"

....

"Three of the Miss Debaries[118] called here [154] the morning after my arrival, but I have not yet been able to return their civility. You know it is not an uncommon circumstance in this parish to have the road from Ibthorp to the Parsonage much dirtier and more impracticable for walking than the road from the Parsonage to Ibthorp. I left my Mother very well when I came away, and left her with strict orders to continue so.

"The endless Debaries are of course very well acquainted with the lady who is to marry Sir Thomas, and all her family. I pardon them, however, as their description of her is favourable. Mrs. Wapshire is a widow, with several sons and daughters, a good fortune, and a house in Salisbury; where Miss Wapshire has been for many years a distinguished beauty. She is now seven or eight and twenty, and tho' still handsome, less handsome than she has been. This promises better than the bloom of seventeen; and in addition to this they say that she has always been remarkable for the propriety of her behaviour distinguishing her far above the general classes of town misses, and rendering her of course very unpopular among them.

"Martha has promised to return with me, and our plan is to have a nice black frost for walking to Whitchurch, and then throw ourselves into a post chaise, one upon the other, our heads hanging out at one door and our feet at the opposite one. If you have never heard that Miss Dawes has been married these two months, I will mention it in my next. Pray do not forget to go to the Canterbury Ball; I shall despise you all most insufferably if you do."

"Miss Austen,

"Godmersham Park,

"Yours ever,

"J. A."

................................................................................................

Next bit is surprising.

"While Jane was away on this visit, Mr. and Mrs. Austen came to a momentous decision—namely, to leave Steventon and retire to Bath. There can be little doubt that the decision was a hasty one. Some of Jane's previous letters contain details of the very considerable improvements that her father had just begun in the Rectory garden; and we do not hear that these improvements were concerted with the son who was to be his successor. So hasty, indeed, did Mr. Austen's decision appear to the Perrots that they suspected the reason to be a growing attachment between Jane and one of the three Digweed brothers. There is not the slightest evidence of this very improbable supposition in Jane's letters, though she does occasionally suggest that James Digweed must be in love with Cassandra, especially when he gallantly supposed that the two elms had fallen from grief at her absence. On the whole it seems most probable that Mrs. Austen's continued ill-health was the reason for the change.

"Tradition says that when Jane returned home accompanied by Martha Lloyd, the news was abruptly announced by her mother, who thus greeted them: 'Well, girls, it is all settled; we have decided to leave Steventon in such a week, and go to Bath'; and that the shock of the intelligence was so great [156] to Jane that she fainted away. Unfortunately, there is no further direct evidence to show how far Jane's feelings resembled those she has attributed to Marianne Dashwood on leaving Norland; but we have the negative evidence arising from the fact that none of her letters are preserved between November 30, 1800, and January 3, 1801, although Cassandra was at Godmersham during the whole of the intervening month. Silence on the part of Jane to Cassandra for so long a period of absence is unheard of: and according to the rule acted on by Cassandra, destruction of her sister's letters was a proof of their emotional interest. We cannot doubt, therefore, that she wrote in a strain unusual for her more than once in that month; but as she says of Elizabeth Bennet 'it was her business to be satisfied—and certainly her temper to be happy'; and the next letter that we have shows that she was determined to face a new life in a new place with cheerfulness."

Why would the parents not want Jane to have an eligible suitor such as a Digweed, son of the local squire, of who me Jane mentions nothing objectionable in personal matters, which, if it were so, she wouldn't be likely to be attached to? Was it mere selfishness, of keeping daughters living at home, so parents were cared for as they grew old?

Or weren't the Digweeds wealthy enough for the Austen relationships? Leigh Parrots were close relatives, not malicious or false, so this theory coukdnt be invention on their part, but makes little sense. Especially so, since a letter to Cassandra soon mentions her father offering piracy of Deane to Digweed, after its rejected by a Debary.

"Steventon: Thursday [January 8, 1801].

"Mr. Peter Debary has declined Deane curacy; he wishes to be settled near London. A foolish reason! as if Deane were not near London in comparison of Exeter or York. Take the whole world through, and he will find many more places at a greater distance from London than Deane than he will at a less. What does he think of Glencoe or Lake Katherine?

"I feel rather indignant that any possible objection should be raised against so valuable a piece of preferment, so delightful a situation!—that Deane should not be universally allowed to be as near the metropolis as any other country villages. As this is the case, however, as Mr. Peter Debary has shown himself a Peter in the blackest sense of the word, we are obliged to look elsewhere for an heir; and my father has thought it a necessary compliment to James Digweed to offer the curacy to him, though without considering it as either a desirable or an eligible situation for him.

"Eliza has seen Lord Craven at Barton, and probably by this time at Kintbury, where he was expected for one day this week. She found his [159] manners very pleasing indeed. The little flaw of having a mistress now living with him at Ashdown Park seems to be the only unpleasing circumstance about him. From Ibthorp, Fulwar and Eliza are to return with James and Mary to Deane.

"Pray give my love to George; tell him that I am very glad to hear he can skip so well already, and that I hope he will continue to send me word of his improvement in the art."

................................................................................................

"Mention is made in several letters of Frank's promotion and his ignorance of it. In 1799, while commanding the sloop Peterel, he had been entrusted by Lord St. Vincent with dispatches conveying to Nelson at Palermo the startling news of Admiral Bruix's escape from Brest with a considerable fleet, and his entry into the Mediterranean. So important did Francis Austen believe this intelligence to be, that he landed his first lieutenant with the dispatches on the coast of Sicily some way short of Palermo, the wind being unfavourable for the approach to the capital by sea. Nelson next employed him in taking orders to the squadron blockading Malta. Frank spent the autumn and winter cruising about the Mediterranean, and taking various prizes; the most important capture being that of the Ligurienne—a French national brig convoying two vessels laden with corn for the French forces in Egypt. This exploit took place in March 1800, and was considered of such importance that he was made a post-captain [161] for it; but so slow and uncertain was communication to and from the seat of war that he knew nothing of his promotion till October—long after his friends at home had become acquainted with it. His being 'collared and thrust out of the Peterel by Captain Inglis' (his successor) is of course a graphic way of describing his change of vessel and promotion."

................................................................................................

"Steventon: Sunday [January 25, 1801].

"Your unfortunate sister was betrayed last Thursday into a situation of the utmost cruelty. I arrived at Ashe Park before the party from Deane, and was shut up in the drawing-room with Mr. Holder alone for ten minutes. I had some thoughts of insisting on the housekeeper or Mary Corbett being sent for, and nothing could prevail on me to move two steps from the door, on the lock of which I kept one hand constantly fixed. We met nobody but ourselves, played at vingt-un again, and were very cross.

"Your brother Edward makes very honourable mention of you, I assure you, in his letter to James, and seems quite sorry to part with you. It is a great comfort to me to think that my cares have not been thrown away, and that you are respected in the world. Perhaps you may be prevailed on to return with him and Elizabeth into Kent, when they leave us in April, and I rather suspect that your great wish of keeping yourself disengaged has been with that view. Do as you like; I have overcome my desire of your going to Bath with my mother and me. There is nothing which energy will not bring one to."

................................................................................................

Author quotes another letter from Jane to Cassandra with news of one brother on sea from another.

"After this, we have no letters of Jane till she wrote from Bath; so we may suppose that the sisters were soon united. The months of March and April were spent in making the final preparations for leaving Steventon, and in receiving farewell visits from Edward Austen and his wife, as well as from Frank and Charles and Martha Lloyd. At the beginning of May, Mrs. Austen and her two daughters left their old home and went to Ibthorp; two days later, leaving Cassandra behind them, Jane and her mother went in a single day from Ibthorp to Bath, where they stayed with the Leigh Perrots in Paragon Buildings."

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Chapter XI Bath Again (1801-1805)

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Letters to Cassandra continued.

................................................................................................

"Paragon: Thursday [May 21, 1801]."

"The friendship between Mrs. Chamberlayne and me which you predicted has already taken place, for we shake hands whenever we meet. Our grand walk to Weston was again fixed for yesterday, and was accomplished in a very striking manner. Every one of the party declined it under some pretence or other except our two selves and we had therefore a tête-à-tête, but that we should equally have had, after the first two yards, had half the inhabitants of Bath set off with us.

"It would have amused you to see our progress. We went up by Sion Hill, and returned across the fields. In climbing a hill Mrs. Chamberlayne is very capital; I could with difficulty keep pace with her, yet would not flinch for the world. On plain ground I was quite her equal. And so we posted away under a fine hot sun, she without any parasol or any shade to her hat, stopping for nothing and crossing the churchyard at Weston with as much expedition as if we were afraid of being buried alive. After seeing what she is equal to, I cannot help [169] feeling a regard for her. As to agreeableness, she is much like other people."

"Paragon: Tuesday [May 26, 1801].[125] . . . . . . . . . .

"The Endymion came into Portsmouth on Sunday and I have sent Charles a short letter by this day's post. My adventures since I wrote you three days ago have been such as the time would easily contain. I walked yesterday morning with Mrs. Chamberlayne to Lyncombe and Widcombe, and in the evening I drank tea with the Holders. Mrs. Chamberlayne's pace was not quite so magnificent on this second trial as on the first: it was nothing more than I could keep up with, without effort, and for many many yards together on a raised narrow footpath I led the way. The walk was very beautiful, as my companion agreed whenever I made the observation. And so ends our friendship, for the Chamberlaynes leave Bath in a day or two."

"I assure you in spite of what I might choose to insinuate in a former letter, that I have seen very little of Mr. Evelyn since my coming here; I met him this morning for only the fourth time, and as to my anecdote about Sydney Gardens, I made the most of the story because it came into advantage, but [171] in fact he only asked me whether I were to be in Sydney Gardens in the evening or not. There is now something like an engagement between us and the Phaeton, which to confess my frailty I have a great desire to go out in; but whether it will come to anything must remain with him. I really believe he is very harmless; people do not seem afraid of him here, and he gets groundsel for his birds and all that. . . .

"Yours affectionately, J. A.

"Wednesday.—I am just returned from my airing in the very bewitching Phaeton and four for which I was prepared by a note from Mr. E., soon after breakfast. We went to the top of Kingsdown, and had a very pleasant drive. One pleasure succeeds another rapidly. On my return I found your letter, and a letter from Charles, on the table. The contents of yours I suppose I need not repeat to you; to thank you for it will be enough. I give Charles great credit for remembering my uncle's direction, and he seems rather surprised at it himself. He has received £30 for his share of the privateer, and expects £10 more, but of what avail is it to take prizes if he lays out the produce in presents to his sisters? He has been buying gold chains and topaze crosses[127] for us—he must be well scolded. The Endymion has already received orders for taking troops to Egypt—which I should not like at all if I did not trust to Charles being removed from her somehow or other before she sails. He knows nothing of his own destination he says—but desires me to write directly—as the Endymion will probably sail in three or four days. He will receive my yesterday's letter to-day, and I shall write again by this post to thank and reproach him. We shall be unbearably fine."

................................................................................................

"So began the five years' residence at Bath.

"Cassandra and her father (the latter having been paying visits in Kent and London) joined the others at the beginning of June; and from that date till September 1804 there is little that can be said definitely about Jane's life.

"We know, however, that it was the intention of the Austens to spend the summer of 1801 by the sea—perhaps at Sidmouth; and a letter of Eliza Austen informs us that this plan was duly carried out. ... "

"So the house had at last been fixed on; and we learn in the Memoir that it was No. 4 Sydney Terrace,[128] in the parish of Bathwick. The houses here face the Sydney Gardens, and it is a part of Bath that Jane seems to have fancied. Her residence there is now commemorated by a marble tablet. How long the Austens resided in this house cannot definitely be stated; perhaps they took it for three years—at any rate, by the beginning of 1805 they had moved to 27 Green Park Buildings. Possibly Mr. Austen, as he grew older, had found the distance to the centre of the town too great for his powers of walking."

"In 1802, in addition to the visit to Steventon with its distressing incidents,[130] Jane was at Dawlish; for, in a letter written in 1814, she says of the library at Dawlish that it 'was pitiful and wretched twelve years ago and not likely to have anybody's publications.' A writer, too, in Temple Bar[131] for February 1879, states that about this time the Austens went to Teignmouth (which would be very easily combined with a stay at Dawlish), and that they resided there some weeks.

"This was the year of the short cessation of hostilities brought about by the Peace of Amiens. During its continuance, we are told that the Henry Austens went to France in the vain hope of recovering some of her first husband's property, and narrowly escaped being included amongst the détenus. 'Orders had been given by Bonaparte's Government to detain [174] all English travellers; but at the post-houses Mrs. Henry Austen gave the necessary orders herself, and her French was so perfect that she passed everywhere for a native, and her husband escaped under this protection.'

"Our only evidence of Jane's having been absent from Bath in 1803 is that Sir Egerton Brydges,[133] in speaking of her, says: 'The last time I think that I saw her was at Ramsgate in 1803.'

"On Francis Austen's promotion (already mentioned), Admiral Gambier seems rather to have gone out of his way to choose him as his flag-captain on the Neptune; but on the Peace of Amiens, he, like many others, went on half-pay. His first employment when war broke out again, in 1803, was the raising from among the Kent fishermen of a corps of 'sea fencibles,' to protect the coast from invasion. His head-quarters were at Ramsgate, and it was quite likely that Jane would visit him there, especially if she could combine this visit with one to Godmersham. We shall see later that the 'sea fencibles' did not take up the whole of Frank's time.

"She must now have begun to turn her mind again to her neglected MSS., and especially to Northanger Abbey. This, no doubt, underwent a thorough revision (Belinda, mentioned in the famous dissertation on novels, was not published till 1801); and there is evidence[134] that she sold the MS., under the title of Susan, in the spring of 1803: not, indeed, to a Bath publisher—as has been often stated—but to Messrs. Crosby & Son of London, for ten pounds, stipulating for an early publication. Distrustful of appearing under her own name in the transaction, [175] Jane seems to have employed a certain Mr. Seymour—probably her brother Henry's man of business—a fact which suggests that the sale was effected while Jane was staying in London with Henry. For reasons best known to himself, Mr. Crosby did not proceed with the publication.

"Besides Northanger Abbey, Jane seems to have written at this time the beginning of a tale which was published in the second edition of the Memoir as The Watsons,[135] although the author had not given that, or any other name, to it. The setting of the story was very like that of the novels with which we are so familiar, and the characters were sketched in with a firm hand. One of these creations in particular might have been expected to re-appear in another book (if this work was to be laid aside); but such a procedure was contrary to Jane Austen's invariable practice. It is the character of a young man—Tom Musgrave by name—a clever and good-natured toady, with rather more attractive qualities than usually fall to the lot of the members of that fraternity. But why was it laid aside? The writer of the Memoir suggests[136] that the author may have become aware 'of the evil of having placed her heroine too low, in a position of poverty and obscurity, which, though not necessarily connected with vulgarity, has a sad tendency to degenerate into it; and therefore, like a singer who has begun on too low a note, she discontinued the strain.'

"To this we may add that circumstances soon occurred to divert her mind from original composition for a considerable period; and when at last she [176] returned to it, she was much more likely to think of the two completed stories that were lying in her desk than of one that was only begun. She did, however, retain in her recollection the outline of the intended story. The MS. of The Watsons, still existing, is written on the small sheets of paper described in the Memoir: sheets which could be easily covered with a piece of blotting-paper in case of the arrival of unexpected visitors, and which would thus fit in with her desire for secrecy. All the pages are written in her beautifully neat handwriting; but some seem to flow on without doubt or difficulty, while others are subject to copious corrections. As all the MSS. of her six published novels have perished, it is worth our while to notice her methods where we can.

"The first interruption that occurred to her writing in 1804 was of a pleasant nature, and none of her admirers need regret it: she went to Lyme with her family. They had been joined in their summer rambles by the Henry Austens, who afterwards proceeded with Cassandra to Weymouth, leaving Jane with her parents at Lyme. We have it on record that Jane loved the sight of the beauties of nature so much that she would sometimes say she thought it must form one of the joys of heaven; but she had few opportunities of visiting any scenes of especial beauty. We need not therefore be surprised that the impression produced by Lyme was so great that she retained a vivid and accurate memory of the details eleven years afterwards. In Persuasion, she allowed herself to dwell on them with greater fullness and greater enthusiasm than she had ever displayed on similar occasions before. Readers of that book who visit Lyme—especially if they have the valuable help of the Miss Hills' descriptions and [177] sketches—will feel no difficulty in recognising the exact spot on the Cobb which was pointed out to Tennyson as the scene of the fall of Louisa Musgrove, or the well-placed but minute house at the corner of the pier, past which Captain Benwick was seen rushing for the doctor, and in which the Harvilles managed to entertain a large party; they may note the point on the steps leading down to the sea where Mr. Elliot first saw Anne; and if they go to the 'Royal Lion' Hotel and engage a private sitting-room, they can look from the window, as Mary Musgrove looked at her cousin's carriage, when she recognised the Elliot countenance, but failed to see the Elliot arms, because the great-coat was folded over the panels."

................................................................................................

"Lyme: Friday [September 14, 1804].

" My dear Cassandra,"

"Your account of Weymouth contains nothing which strikes me so forcibly as there being no ice in the town. For every other vexation I was in some measure prepared, and particularly for your disappointment in not seeing the Royal Family go on board on Tuesday, having already heard from Mr. Crawford that he had seen you in the very act of being too late. But for there [178] being no ice, what could prepare me? ... I continue quite well; in proof of which I have bathed again this morning. It was absolutely necessary that I should have the little fever and indisposition which I had: it has been all the fashion this week in Lyme. . . . We are quite settled in our lodgings by this time, as you may suppose, and everything goes on in the usual order. The servants behave very well, and make no difficulties, though nothing certainly can exceed the inconvenience of the offices, except the general dirtiness of the house and furniture, and all its inhabitants. I endeavour, as far as I can, to supply your place, and be useful, and keep things in order. I detect dirt in the water decanters, as fast as I can, and keep everything as it was under your administration. . . . James is the delight of our lives, he is quite an Uncle Toby's annuity to us. My Mother's shoes were never so well blacked before, and our plate never looked so clean. He waits extremely well, is attentive, handy, quick and quiet, and in short has a great many more than all the cardinal virtues (for the cardinal virtues in themselves have been so often possessed that they are no longer worth having), and amongst the rest, that of wishing to go to Bath, as I understand from Jenny. He has the laudable thirst I fancy for travelling, which in poor James Selby was so much reprobated; and part of his disappointment in not going with his master arose from his wish of seeing London."

" ... Nobody asked me the two first dances; the two next I danced with Mr. Crawford, and had I chosen to stay longer might have danced with Mr. Granville, Mrs. Granville's son, whom my dear friend Miss A. offered to introduce to me, or with a new odd-looking man who had been eyeing me for some time, and at last, without any introduction, asked me if I meant to dance again. I think he must be Irish by his ease, and because I imagine him to belong to the honble B.'s, who are the son, and son's wife of an Irish viscount, bold queer-looking people, just fit to be quality at Lyme."

................................................................................................

"As the autumn of 1804 was succeeded by winter, Jane's thoughts were to be taken up by more serious considerations. On her birthday, December 16, occurred the death (by a fall from her horse) of her great friend, Mrs. Lefroy, on which we have already dwelt.[139]

"But she was shortly to suffer an even greater loss, for on January 21, 1805, her father died, after an illness of only forty-eight hours. ... "

"Mr. Austen's death placed his widow and daughters in straitened circumstances; for most of his income had been derived from the livings of Steventon and Deane. In fact the income of Mrs. Austen, together with that of Cassandra (who had inherited one thousand pounds from her intended husband, Thomas Fowle), was no more than two hundred and ten pounds. Fortunately, she had sons who were only too glad to be able to help her, and her income was raised to four hundred and sixty pounds a year by contributions of one hundred pounds from Edward, and fifty pounds from James, Henry, and Frank respectively. Frank, indeed, was ready to do more; for Henry wrote to him to say that their mother 'feels the magnificence of your offer and accepts of half.' Mrs. Austen's first idea was to remain in Bath so long as her brother, Mr. Leigh Perrot, lived there. Accordingly, she gave up her house at [183] Lady Day, and moved, with her daughters and one maid, into furnished lodgings at 25 Gay Street.

"Early in April, Cassandra was staying at Ibthorp, where it was her lot to attend another death-bed—that of old Mrs. Lloyd."

................................................................................................

"25 Gay Street: Monday [April 8, 1805].

"My dear Cassandra,"

" ... We were out again last night. Miss Irvine invited us, when I met her in the Crescent, to drink tea with them, but I rather declined it, having no idea that my mother would be disposed for another evening visit there so soon; but when I gave her the message, I found her very well inclined to go; and accordingly, on leaving Chapel, we walked to Lansdown. This morning we have been to see Miss Chamberlayne look hot on horseback. Seven years and four months ago we went to the same riding-house to see Miss Lefroy's performance! What a different set are we now moving in! But seven years, I suppose, are enough to change every pore of one's skin and every feeling of one's mind. We did not walk long in the Crescent yesterday. It was hot and not crowded enough; so we went into the field, and passed close by S. T. and Miss S.[143] again. I have not yet seen her face, but neither her dress nor air have anything of the dash or stylishness which the Browns talked of; quite the contrary; indeed, her dress is not even smart, and her appearance very quiet. Miss Irvine says she is never speaking a word. Poor wretch; I am afraid she is en pénitence. ... "

"The Cookes want us to drink tea with them to-night, but I do not know whether my mother will have nerves for it. We are engaged to-morrow evening—what request we are in! Mrs. Chamberlayne expressed to her niece her wish of being intimate enough with us to ask us to drink tea with her in a quiet way. We have therefore offered her ourselves and our quietness through the same medium. Our tea and sugar will last a great while. I think we are just the kind of people and party to be treated about among our relations; we cannot be supposed to be very rich.

"Thursday.—I was not able to go on yesterday; all my wit and leisure were bestowed on letters to Charles and Henry. To the former I wrote in consequence of my mother's having seen in the papers that the Urania was waiting at Portsmouth for the convoy for Halifax. This is nice, as it is only three weeks ago that you wrote by the Camilla. . . . I wrote to Henry because I had a letter from him in which he desired to hear from me very soon. His to me was most affectionate and kind, as well as entertaining; there is no merit to him in that; he cannot help being amusing. . . . He offers to meet us on the sea coast, if the plan of which Edward gave him some hint takes place. Will not this be making the execution of such a plan more desirable and delightful than ever? He talks of the rambles we took together last summer with pleasing affection.

"Yours ever,

"J. A."

................................................................................................

"Gay Street: Sunday Evening, April 21 [1805].[144]

"My dear Cassandra,"

" ... Yesterday was a busy day with me. I went to Sydney Gardens soon after one and did not return until four, and after dinner I walked to Weston. My morning engagement was with the Cookes, and our party consisted of George and Mary, a Mr. and Miss B. who had been with us at the concert, and the youngest Miss W. Not Julia; we have done with her; she is very ill; but Mary. Mary W.'s turn is actually come to be grown up, and have a fine complexion, and wear a great square muslin shawl. I have not expressly enumerated myself among the party, but there I was, and my cousin George was very kind, and talked sense to me every now and then, in the intervals of his more animated fooling with Miss B., who is very young, and rather handsome, and whose gracious manners, ready wit, and solid remarks, put me somewhat in mind of my old acquaintance L. L. There was a monstrous deal of stupid quizzing and common-place nonsense talked, but scarcely any wit; all that bordered on it or on sense came from my cousin George, whom altogether I like very well. Mr. B. seems nothing more than a tall young man. . . . My evening engagement and walk was with Miss A., who had called on me the day before, and gently upbraided me in her turn with a change of manners to her since she had been in Bath, or at least of late. Unlucky me! that my notice should be of such consequence, and my manners so bad! She was so well disposed, and so reasonable, that I soon forgave her, and made this engagement with her in proof of it."

"She is really an agreeable girl, so I think I may like her; and her great want of a companion at home, which may well make any tolerable acquaintance important to her, gives her another claim on my attention. I shall as much as possible endeavour to keep my intimacies in their proper place, and prevent their clashing. . . . Among so many friends, it will be well if I do not get into a scrape; and now here is Miss Blachford come. I should have gone distracted if the Bullers had staid. . . ."

"I am quite of your opinion as to the folly of concealing any longer our intended partnership with Martha, and wherever there has of late been an enquiry on the subject I have always been sincere, and I have sent word of it to the Mediterranean in a letter to Frank. None of our nearest connections I think will be unprepared for it, and I do not know how to suppose that Martha's have not foreseen it."

"I shall write to Charles by the next packet, unless you tell me in the meantime of your intending to do it.

"Believe me, if you chuse,

"Yr affte Sister."

"'Cousin George' was the Rev. George Leigh Cooke, long known and respected at Oxford, where he held important offices, and had the privilege of helping to form the minds of men more eminent than himself. As tutor at Corpus Christi College, he had under his charge Arnold, Keble, and Sir J. T. Coleridge.

"The 'intended partnership' with Martha was an arrangement by which Martha Lloyd joined the family party: an arrangement which was based on their affectionate friendship for her, and which succeeded so well that it lasted through Southampton and Chawton, and did not end until after the death of Mrs. Austen in 1827."

................................................................................................

Chapter XII From Bath to Southampton (1805-1808)

................................................................................................

"The addition of Martha to the family party made it easy for the two sisters to leave their mother in August and pay a visit to Godmersham; and owing to the fact that they, each in turn, varied their stay at Godmersham by paying a short visit to Lady Bridges at Goodnestone Farm, we have three brief letters from Jane at this date. She was spending her time in the usual way, seeing a good deal of her sister-in-law's neighbours and connexions, and playing with her nephews and nieces."

................................................................................................

"Goodnestone Farm: Tuesday [August 27, 1805].

"There is no chance of tickets for the Mr. Bridgeses, as no gentlemen but of the garrison are invited.

"With a civil note to be fabricated to Lady F., and an answer written to Miss H., you will easily believe that we could not begin dinner till six. We were [191] agreeably surprised by Edward Bridges's company to it. He had been, strange to tell, too late for the cricket match, too late at least to play himself, and, not being asked to dine with the players,[149] came home. It is impossible to do justice to the hospitality of his attentions towards me; he made a point of ordering toasted cheese for supper entirely on my account."

................................................................................................

"Meanwhile, Francis Austen had been helping to make history—though not always in so front a rank as he would have desired to occupy. We left him [192] raising the 'sea fencibles' at Ramsgate, instructing the defenders of the coast, and considering the possibilities of a landing by the French in their flat-bottomed vessels. It was at Ramsgate that he was noted as 'the officer who knelt in Church,' and it was there that he met and fell in love with his future wife, Mary Gibson. She became in time one of the best loved of the sisters-in-law; but we are told that at the time the engagement was a slight shock to Cassandra and Jane, because the lady chosen was not Martha Lloyd, as they had hoped she might be.

"Immediate marriage was out of the question, and in May 1804 Frank was appointed to the Leopard, the flagship of Admiral Louis, who at this time held a command in the squadron blockading Napoleon's flotilla. Frank's removal from the Leopard to the Canopus[151] brought him home, for a short time, just at the date of his father's death in January 1805. In March, Admiral Louis hoisted his flag in the Canopus and soon became second-in-command to Nelson. Frank, as his flag-captain, took part in the chase after Villeneuve to the West Indies and back. Thus far, fortune had favoured him: a state of things which seemed likely to continue, as he was personally known to Nelson and had reason to hope that he would soon give him the command of a frigate. But a sad reverse was in store for him. September was spent in blockading Cadiz; and, after Nelson's arrival from England in the Victory on September 28, the Canopus was ordered to 'complete supplies'[152] at Gibraltar.

"After this, followed an order to Admiral Louis to give protection, as far as Cartagena, to a convoy proceeding to Malta. Shaking themselves free from this duty on the news that the enemy's fleet was coming out of Cadiz, they made haste to join the main fleet in spite of contrary winds, and with the dreadful apprehension of being too late for the imminent battle. ... "

"For his personal disappointment, Frank was, to a certain extent, consoled by taking part in Sir John Duckworth's cruise to the West Indies and in the victory over the French at St. Domingo; the squadron returning home, with three prizes, to receive the thanks of Parliament on their arrival at the beginning of May 1806. In the [194] following July, Francis Austen and Mary Gibson were married.

"Meanwhile, the long residence at Bath of his mother and sisters had come to an end. On July 2, Mrs. Austen, her two daughters, and Martha Lloyd, left Bath. Cassandra and Jane were thoroughly tired of the place—so says Jane in a letter written two years afterwards to Cassandra, reminding her of their happy feelings of escape.[154] The immediate destination of the party was Clifton, and here Martha Lloyd left them—perhaps for Harrogate in accordance with the lines quoted above.[155] The Austens did not stay long at Clifton, and by the end of the month were at Adlestrop Rectory on a visit to Mr. Thomas Leigh; but neither did this prove more than a brief resting-place, for on August 5 they set out, in somewhat peculiar circumstances, together with Mr. Leigh, his sister (Miss Elizabeth Leigh), Mr. Hill (agent of Mr. Leigh),[156] and all the house party, to stay at Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire."

"This visit, and the whole question of the succession to Stoneleigh, must have been especially interesting to Jane's mother; for it seemed likely that Mrs. Austen's own brother, Mr. Leigh Perrot, would, under the terms of the will, have a life interest in the estate after Mr. Thomas Leigh, if he survived him. It was, however, obviously most in accordance with the desire of the testator, and with the general opinion of the family, that the estate should go according to the usual rules of succession by primogeniture in the Adlestrop branch; and as all the parties to the transaction were on excellent terms with each other, and as they believed it to be quite doubtful what interpretation a court of law would put upon the will, they settled the matter without any such intervention. Mr. Leigh Perrot resigned his claim to the estate and gained instead a capital sum of £24,000 [196] and an annuity of £2000, which lasted until the death of his wife in 1835. This is no doubt the agreement with Adlestrop, mentioned below in the letter of February 20, 1807,[159] and it must, one would think, have been considered satisfactory: indeed, the writer speaks of the negotiation as 'happily over.' The remaining clause in it which ensured to the Leigh Perrots two bucks, two does, and the game off one manor annually was less successful, for the bucks sometimes arrived in such a condition as to demand immediate burial. Yet it can hardly have been this which made Jane at a later date speak of the 'vile compromise': we should rather treat this expression as one of her obiter dicta, not meant to be taken seriously."

"Mrs. Austen had expected to find Stoneleigh very grand, but the magnificence of the place surpassed her expectations. After describing its exterior, she adds:—

"At nine in the morning we say our prayers in a handsome chapel of which the pulpit, &c., is now hung in black. Then follows breakfast, consisting of chocolate, coffee, and tea, plum cake, pound cake, hot rolls, cold rolls, bread and butter, and dry toast for me. The house steward, a fine large respectable-looking man, orders all these matters. Mr. Leigh and Mr. Hill are busy a great part of the morning. We walk a good deal, for the woods are impenetrable to the sun, even in the middle of an August day. I do not fail to spend some part of every day in the [197] kitchen garden, where the quantity of small fruit exceeds anything you can form an idea of."

"We have seen the remains of Kenilworth, which afforded us much entertainment, and I expect still more from the sight of Warwick Castle, which we are going to see to-day."

................................................................................................

"From Stoneleigh, we may imagine the Austens to have gone on to pay a promised visit to Hamstall-Ridware—Edward Cooper's living in Staffordshire; but the curtain drops on them once more, and is not raised again until Jane is writing from Southampton on January 7, 1807. Owing to the gap in the letters, we have no means of knowing why the Austens selected Southampton as a home; nor are we told what Jane herself thought of the place. At any rate, it was a change from Bath, and she preferred it to Canterbury, which, from its nearness to Godmersham, would have been another very suitable place of residence. Southampton was in her old county, and within fairly easy reach of her old home; and probably one reason for choosing the neighbourhood of a naval centre was, that it enabled them to join forces with Frank Austen and his newly married wife: but we should doubt whether Jane ever felt really at home during her two or three years' residence there, or took much to the [198] society of the place. No doubt the partnership with the Frank Austens and with Martha made it possible for the party to command better quarters, and to live in greater comfort than would have been within reach of the slender means of the Austens by themselves; and when Jane's letters begin again it is pretty clear that the party, though still in lodgings,[161] were getting ready to take possession in March of their house in Castle Square. They were living in a very quiet way, not caring to add to their acquaintance more than was necessary. Cassandra was at this time on a visit to Godmersham, and Martha Lloyd was also away. The Austens were near enough to Steventon to be visited occasionally by James Austen and his wife; and between their own acquaintance, and Frank's friends in the service, they had what they wanted in the way of society."

................................................................................................

"Our acquaintance increase too fast. He [Frank] was recognised lately by Admiral Bertie, and a few days since arrived the Admiral and his daughter Catherine to wait upon us. There was nothing to like or dislike in either. To the Berties are to be added the Lances, with whose cards we have been endowed, and whose visit Frank and I returned yesterday. They live about a mile and three-quarters from S[outhampton] to the right of the new road to Portsmouth, and I believe their house is one of those which are to be seen almost anywhere among the woods on the other side of the Itchen. It is a handsome building, stands high, and in a very beautiful situation.

"I suppose they must be acting by the orders of Mr. Lance of Netherton in this civility, as there seems no other reason for their coming near us."

................................................................................................

"On March 9, 1807, we may imagine the party taking possession of their new house; but Frank can have seen but little of it before he took command of the St. Albans in April, and went to the Cape of Good Hope on convoying duty. He was back by June 30.

"On Cassandra's return, the two sisters must have been together for a considerable period; but till June 1808 we know little that is definite about them, except that in September 1807, together with their mother, they paid a visit to Chawton House—Edward Austen's Hampshire residence."

"During these years, Charles Austen was long engaged in the unpleasant and unprofitable duty of enforcing the right of search on the Atlantic seaboard of America. Hardly anything is said in the extant letters of his marriage to Fanny Palmer, daughter of the Attorney-General of Bermuda, which took place in 1807.

"The month of June 1808 found Jane staying with her brother Henry in Brompton[172]; but we have no details of her stay beyond the fact that she watched some of her acquaintance going to Court on the King's birthday. On June 14 she left London with her brother James, his wife and two children, on a visit to Godmersham."

................................................................................................

"Friday, July 1.—It will be two years to-morrow since we left Bath for Clifton, with what happy feelings of escape!

In another week I shall be at home, and there, my having been at Godmersham will seem like a dream, as my visit to Brompton seems already.

"The orange wine will want our care soon. But in the meantime, for elegance and ease and luxury, the Hattons and the Milles' dine here to-day, and I shall eat ice and drink French wine, and be above vulgar economy. Luckily the pleasures of friendship, of unreserved conversation, of similarity of taste and opinions, will make good amends for orange wine.

"Little Edward is quite well again.

"Yours affectionately, with love from all,

"J. A."

................................................................................................

CHAPTER XIII FROM SOUTHAMPTON TO CHAWTON 1808-1809

................................................................................................

Chapter XIII From Southampton to Chawton (1808-1809)

................................................................................................

"We do not doubt that the orange wine was duly made, and the pleasure of unreserved conversation enjoyed during the remainder of the summer. Before the end of September, Cassandra had gone to Godmersham on what was to prove a long and a sad visit. She arrived just at the time of the birth of her sister-in-law's sixth son and eleventh child, John. For a time all went well with mother and child; but on October 8 Elizabeth Austen was suddenly seized with sickness, and died before the serious nature of her attack had been fully realised.[176] This sad event occurred, as the reader will see, between the second and third of the following letters. Edward Austen's two eldest boys, Edward and George, were now at Winchester School, but were taken away for a time on their mother's death. They went at first to the James Austens, at Steventon, no one appearing to think a journey to so distant a county as Kent feasible; and Jane, whose immediate impulse seems to have been to do what she could for her nephews, resigned them rather unwillingly for the time. On October 22 they went on to their grandmother and aunt at Southampton; [210] and then their Aunt Jane was able to devote herself entirely to them, as her own Jane Bennet once did to her small cousins, and to show how her 'steady sense and sweetness of temper exactly adapted her for attending to them in every way: teaching them, playing with them, and loving them'—words which she probably intended as a description of what Cassandra would have done in a similar position."

"Fanny Austen (afterwards Lady Knatchbull), Edward's eldest daughter, had nearly completed her sixteenth year. She was admirably adapted for the difficult position into which she was about to be thrown: that of companion to her father, mistress of a large household, and adviser to her younger brothers and sisters. She was sensible, even-tempered, affectionate, and conscientious. She did indeed prove 'almost another sister' to Jane, [212] who, as Cassandra said afterwards, was perhaps better known to her than to any other human being, except Cassandra herself. Though this niece did not profess any special literary ability, her Aunt always valued her sound judgment on each new book: and in return she gave her, without fear of offending, advice[179] on the most delicate subjects. ... "

................................................................................................

"There must be a letter missing between October 15 and October 24, containing Jane's first comment on the offer of a cottage at Chawton, made by Edward Austen to his mother. In the midst of his grief—perhaps, in consequence of his loss—he wished to bind his mother and sisters more closely to himself. He gave them a choice between a house near Godmersham, and one at Chawton; but the mother and sisters were what Jane afterwards called 'Hampshire-born Austens,' and clung to their county. The offer was particularly opportune, for Mrs. Austen was already hesitating between Kent and Hampshire as a place of residence. The attractions of a home at Chawton became greater the more they were considered; and though it was held to be necessary to consult the Frank Austens, whom they would be leaving, no doubt was entertained as to their answer."

................................................................................................

"Sunday [November 21, 1808].

"Your news of Edward Bridges[188] was quite news, for I have had no letter from Wrotham. I wish him happy with all my heart, and hope his choice may turn out according to his own expectations, and beyond those of his family; and I dare say it will. Marriage is a great improver, and in a similar situation Harriet may be as amiable as Eleanor. As to money, that will come, you may be sure, because they cannot do without it. When you see him again, pray give him our congratulations and best wishes. This match will certainly set John and Lucy going.

"There are six bedchambers at Chawton; Henry wrote to my mother the other day, and luckily mentioned the number, which is just what we wanted to be assured of. He speaks also of garrets for store places, one of which she immediately planned fitting up for Edward's man servant; and now perhaps it must be for our own; for she is already quite reconciled to our keeping [220] one. The difficulty of doing without one had been thought of before. His name shall be Robert, if you please.

"Yes, the Stoneleigh business is concluded, but it was not till yesterday that my mother was regularly informed of it, though the news had reached us on Monday evening by way of Steventon.

"Our brother[189] we may perhaps see in the course of a few days, and we mean to take the opportunity of his help to go one night to the play. Martha ought to see the inside of the theatre once while she lives in Southampton, and I think she will hardly wish to take a second view."

"Adieu! remember me affectionately to everybody, and believe me,

"Ever yours,

"J. A."

................................................................................................

"The home at Chawton was now looked upon as a certainty; though none of its future inhabitants inspected it until February 1809, when Cassandra visited it on her way back from Godmersham.

"It was some years since they had lived in the country, and their future home was likely to be very quiet; so, as Jane recovered her spirits, she determined to crowd into her remaining months at Southampton as much society and amusement as possible. She went to two of the Southampton assemblies—her last recorded appearances as an active ball-goer."

................................................................................................

"Castle Square: Friday [December 9, 1808].

"My dear Cassandra,"

"I am very much obliged to Mrs. Knight for such a proof of the interest she takes in me, and she may depend upon it that I will marry Mr. Papillon,[190] whatever may be his reluctance or my own. I owe her much more than such a trifling sacrifice.

"Our ball was rather more amusing than I expected. Martha liked it very much, and I did not gape till the last quarter of an hour. It was past nine before we were sent for, and not twelve when we returned. The room was tolerably full, and there were, perhaps, thirty couple of dancers. The melancholy part was, to see so many dozen young women standing by without partners, and each of them with two ugly naked shoulders."

"There were only four dances, and it went to my heart that the Miss Lances (one of them, too, named Emma) should have partners only for two. You will not expect to hear that I was asked to dance, but I was—by the gentleman whom we met that Sunday with Captain D'Auvergne. We have always kept up a bowing acquaintance since, and, being pleased with his black eyes, I spoke to him at the ball, which brought on me this civility; but I do not know his name, and he seems so little at home in the English language, that I believe his black eyes may be the best of him. Captain D'Auvergne has got a ship.

"Having now cleared away my smaller articles of news, I come to a communication of some weight: no less than that my uncle and aunt[191] are going to allow James £100 a year. We hear of it through Steventon. Mary sent us the other day an extract from my aunt's letter on the subject, in which the donation is made with the greatest kindness, and intended as a compensation for his loss in the conscientious refusal of Hampstead living; £100 a year being all that he had at the time called its [223] worth, as I find it was always intended at Steventon to divide the real income with Kintbury."

"Distribute the affectionate love of a heart not so tired as the right hand belonging to it."

................................................................................................

"Tuesday [January 10, 1809]."

"The St. Albans perhaps may soon be off to help bring home what may remain by this time of our poor army,[195] whose state seems dreadfully critical. The Regency seems to have been heard of only here; my most political correspondents make no mention of it. Unlucky that I should have wasted so much reflection on the subject."

................................................................................................

" ... The party were not to take up their residence at Chawton till the beginning of September; but they left Southampton in April, and we may presume that they carried out the programme mentioned in Jane's letter of January 10, and went by way of Alton to Bookham, and on to Godmersham.

"In the whole series of letters written from Southampton, there is not a single allusion to Jane's being engaged upon any novel; and it has been inferred—probably correctly—that her pen was idle during these years. The fact that she had already written three novels, but had not succeeded in publishing a single one, can hardly have encouraged her to write more. But it seems almost certain that, [230] a few days before she left Southampton, she made an effort to secure the publication of the novel which we know as Northanger Abbey, by the publisher to whom she had sold it as far back as 1803.""

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Chapter XIV Sense and Sensibility (1809-1811)

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"Chawton was a charming village, about a mile from Alton, and deep in the country; although two main roads from Gosport and Winchester respectively joined on their way towards London just in front of the Austens' cottage. Indeed, the place still refuses to be modernised, in spite of three converging railways, and a necessary but civil notice in the corner requesting motorists to 'drive slowly through the village.' The venerable manor-house (then always called the 'Great House') is on the slope of a hill above the Church, surrounded by garden, meadows, and trees, and commanding a view over the intervening valley to a hill opposite, crowned with a beech wood and known as 'Chawton Park.' ... "

................................................................................................

" ... Jane Austen (as her nephew tells us) 'lived in entire seclusion from the literary world,' and probably 'never was in company with any person whose talents or whose celebrity equalled her own.'[210] She was in the middle of a small family circle, the members of which were well-educated according to the fashion of the times, intelligent, and refined; but not especially remarkable for learning or original thought. They accepted the standards and views of their generation, interpreting them in a reasonable and healthy manner. She had therefore no inducement, such as might come from the influence of superior intellects, to dive into difficult problems. Her mental efforts were purely her own, and they led her in another direction; but she saw what she did see so very clearly, that she would probably have been capable of looking more deeply into the heart of things, had any impulse from outside induced her to try. Her vision, however, might not have remained so admirably adapted for the delicate operations nearer to the surface which were her real work in life."

................................................................................................

" ... She was not only shy: she was also at times very grave. Her niece Anna is inclined to think that Cassandra was the more equably cheerful of the two sisters. There was, undoubtedly, a quiet intensity of nature in Jane for which some critics have not given her credit. Yet at other times she and this same niece could joke so heartily over their needlework and talk such nonsense together that Cassandra would beg them to stop [241] out of mercy to her, and not keep her in such fits of laughing. Sometimes the laughter would be provoked by the composition of extempore verses, such as those given in the Memoir[211] celebrating the charm of the 'lovely Anna'; sometimes the niece would skim over new novels at the Alton Library, and reproduce them with wilful exaggeration. On one occasion she threw down a novel on the counter with contempt, saying she knew it must be rubbish from its name. The name was Sense and Sensibility—the secret of which had been strictly kept, even from her.

"The niece who shared these hearty laughs with her aunts—James's eldest daughter, Anna—differed widely from her cousin, Edward's daughter, Fanny. She was more brilliant both in looks and in intelligence, but also more mercurial and excitable. Both occupied a good deal of Jane's thoughts and affections; but Anna must have been the one who caused her the most amusement and also the most anxiety. The interest in her was heightened when she became engaged to the son of Jane's old friend, Mrs. Lefroy. Anna's giddiness was merely that of youth; she settled down into a steady married life as the careful mother of a large family. She cherished an ardent affection for her Aunt Jane, who evidently exercised a great influence on her character."

................................................................................................

"Her needlework was nearly always a garment for the poor; though she had also by her some satin stitch ready to take up in case of the appearance of company. The nature of the work will help to contradict an extraordinary misconception—namely, that she was indifferent to the needs and claims of the poor: an idea probably based on the fact that she never used them as 'copy.' Nothing could be further from the truth. She was of course quite ignorant of the conditions of life in the great towns, and she had but little money to give, but work, teaching, and sympathy were freely bestowed on rustic neighbours. A very good criterion of her attitude towards her own characters is often furnished by their relations with the poor around them. Instances of this may be found in Darcy's care of his tenants and servants, in Anne Elliot's farewell visits to nearly all the inhabitants of Kellynch, and in Emma's benevolence and good sense when assisting her poorer neighbours."

................................................................................................

"The ladies took possession of their cottage on July 7, and the first news that we have of them is in a letter from Mrs. Knight, dated October 26, 1809: 'I heard of the Chawton party looking very comfortable at breakfast from a gentleman who was travelling by their door in a post-chaise about ten days ago.'

"After this the curtain falls again, and we have no letters and no information for a year and a half from this time. We are sure, however, that Jane settled [243] down to her writing very soon, for by April 1811 Sense and Sensibility was in the printers' hands, and Pride and Prejudice far advanced."

................................................................................................

" ... We cannot doubt that extensive alterations were made: in fact, we know that this was the case with Pride and Prejudice. We feel equally certain that, of the two works, Sense and Sensibility was essentially the earlier, both in conception and in composition, and that no one could have sat down to write that work who had already written Pride and Prejudice.[213] There is, indeed, no lack of humour in the earlier work—the names of Mrs. Jennings, John Dashwood, and the Palmers are enough to assure us of this; but the humorous parts are not nearly so essential to the story as they become in her later novels: the plot is desultory, and the principal characters lack interest. We feel, in the presence of the virtue and sense of Elinor, a rebuke which never affects us in the same way with Jane Bennet, Fanny Price, or Anne Elliot; while Marianne [244] is often exasperating. Edward Ferrars is rather stiff; and Colonel Brandon is so far removed from us that we never even learn his Christian name.

"Mr. Helm[214] makes some acute remarks on the freedom which Elinor shows in talking of embarrassing subjects with Willoughby, and on her readiness to attribute his fall to the world rather than to himself. We are to imagine, however, that Elinor had been attracted by him before, and felt his personal charm again while she was under its spell: all the more, because she was herself in a special state of excitement, from the rapid changes in Marianne's condition, and the expectation of seeing her mother. Her excuses for Willoughby were so far from representing any opinion of the author's, that they did not even represent her own after a few hours of reflection. It is one of the many instances which we have of Jane Austen's subtle dramatic instinct."

................................................................................................

"The printing of Sense and Sensibility cannot have been very rapid, for in September 28 there is the following entry in Fanny Austen's diary: 'Letter from At. Cass to beg we would not mention that Aunt Jane wrote Sense and Sensibility.' This looks as if it were still on the eve of publication, and it was not in fact advertised until October 31."

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Chapter XV Pride and Prejudice 1812-1814

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"The title-page of Sense and Sensibility describes the book as being 'by a Lady.' This ascription satisfied the author's desire for concealment, but it puzzled the advertisers. The first advertisement—that in the Morning Chronicle on October 31, 1811—merely describes it as 'a novel, called Sense and Sensibility, by Lady ——.' In the same paper, on November 7, it is styled an 'extraordinary novel by Lady ——'; while on November 28 it sinks to being an 'interesting novel,' but is ascribed to 'Lady A.'

"Jane's expectations were so modest that she laid by a sum out of her very slender resources to meet the expected loss. She must have been delighted at the result. By July 1813 every copy of the first edition had been sold; and not only had her expenses been cleared but she was one hundred and forty pounds to the good."

"The money was no doubt very welcome; but still more important from another point of view was the favourable reception of the work. Had it been a failure and an expense to its author, she would hardly have dared, nor could she have afforded, to make a second venture. On the success of Sense and Sensibility, we may say, depended the existence of Pride and Prejudice. Now she could return with renewed spirit to the preparation of the more famous work which was to follow, and on which she had already been engaged for some time, concurrently with her first-published novel.

"We have no letters and little news for 1812; but we know that in April Edward Austen and his daughter Fanny came to Chawton House for three weeks. It was their last visit as Austens; for on the death of Mrs. Knight—his kind and generous patron and friend—in October of that year, Edward and all his family took the name of Knight[234]: a name which had been borne by every successive owner of the Chawton Estate since the sixteenth century. In June, Jane went with her mother to stay for a fortnight at Steventon Rectory—the last visit ever paid by Mrs. Austen to any place. When she determined never to leave home again, she said that her latest visit should be to her eldest son. Accordingly she went, and took a final farewell of the place where nearly the whole of her married life had been spent. She was then seventy- [257] two years old, and lived on for sixteen more; but she kept her resolution and never again left Chawton Cottage for a single night. Her long survival can hardly have been expected by those who had to nurse her through frequent fits of illness; but these ailments do not seem to have been of the sort that kills. She was, however, always ready to contemplate the near approach of death both for herself and others; for in July 1811, after buying some bombazine in which to mourn for the poor King, she said: 'If I outlive him it will answer my purpose; if I do not, somebody may mourn for me in it: it will be wanted for one or the other, I dare say, before the moths have eaten it up.' As it happened, the King lived nine more years, and Mrs. Austen sixteen; and it was the lot of the latter to lose two children before her own time came. When Jane died in 1817, the health of her eldest brother, James, was failing, and two years and a half later he died. His mother lived on; but during the last years of her life she endured continual pain not only patiently but with characteristic cheerfulness. She once said to her grandson, Edward Austen: 'Ah, my dear, you find me just where you left me—on the sofa. I sometimes think that God Almighty must have forgotten me; but I dare say He will come for me in His own good time.'

"Our letters recommence in January 1813—almost at the exact date of the publication of Pride and Prejudice—a date which will seem to many people the central point in Jane Austen's life. She appeared, indeed, to be rather of that opinion herself, so far as her modest, unassuming nature would allow her to attribute importance to one of her own works."

................................................................................................

"As she read and re-read Pride and Prejudice, Jane must have become aware (if she did not know it before) that she had advanced far beyond Sense and Sensibility. Indeed, the earlier work seems to fade [264] out of her mind, so far as allusions to its principal characters are concerned; while those of the later novel remain vivid and attractive to their creator. Even the minor characters were real to her; and she forgot nothing—down to the marriage of Kitty to a clergyman near Pemberley, and that of Mary to one of Uncle Philips's clerks."

" ... Here everything is complete; the humour, though brilliant, is yet always subordinate to the progress of the story; the plot is inevitable, and its turning-point (the first proposal of Darcy) occurs exactly when it ought; while all fear of a commonplace ending is avoided by the insertion of the celebrated interview between Lady Catherine and Elizabeth. It gives us also an excellent example of the way in which Jane Austen composed her stories. We are always in the confidence of the heroine, who is hardly off the stage throughout the whole novel; we see the other characters with her eyes, even when they are persons—like Jane Bennet—with whom we believe ourselves to be intimately acquainted. At the same time, such is the subtle irony of the author that we are quite aware of her intention to make us understand more of the heroine's state of mind than the heroine herself does, and to distinguish between her conscious and unconscious thoughts. Elizabeth has to change from hatred to love—real hatred and real love—in a volume and a half. But it would wound her self-respect if she acknowledged to herself that the pace at which she moved was so rapid; and the change is constantly only half admitted. Even near the end—when she says that, if Darcy is prevented from seeking her hand by the representations of Lady Catherine, she shall [265] soon cease to regret him—we know that this is far from the truth: that her affection is really steadfast, and that she is only trying to disguise from herself her own anxiety. Other examples might easily be found."

Strange how various accounts, by relatives or otherwise, while they all agree about faultless perfection of Pride and Prejudice, seem to criticise another of Jane Austen works, and it's never the same. Most don't realise that while Sense and Sensibility seems imperfect in a hundred ways, especially in comparison, it's far more vital and real, and real is imperfect, most often. Lack of vitality is often the accusation against Jane Austen's work and characters, but Sense and Sensibility is forgotten when such an accusation is made - and it's vital in a way far more real than a Charlotte Bronte work, however much more popular the latter; for the difference is, characters of Jane Austen are not perfect in an unreal way. Their faults are real, even when they are as universally loved as Elisabeth Bennet.

................................................................................................

"On April 25, 1813, occurred the death of Eliza, Henry Austen's wife. She had suffered from a long and painful illness, and the end was 'a release at last.' These circumstances would diminish the grief felt at her loss; but the event must have carried their minds back to early days at Steventon; and Jane was sure to remember with gratitude the affection and attention which Eliza had bestowed upon her much younger cousin.

"Soon afterwards, Henry went down to Chawton; and on May 20 he drove Jane up to London in his curricle. This was a short visit, and, owing to Henry's being in deep mourning, no theatres were visited. Jane went, however, to three picture-galleries—her mind still full of Bennets and Darcys."

................................................................................................

"Sloane Street: [Thursday, May 20, 1813].[246]

"My dear Cassandra,"

....

"The events of yesterday were, our going to Belgrave Chapel in the morning, our being prevented by the rain from going to evening service at St. James, Mr. Hampson's calling, Messrs. Barlow and Phillips[251] dining here, and Mr. and Mrs. Tilson's[252] coming in the evening à l'ordinaire. She drank tea with us both Thursday and Saturday; he dined out each day, and on Friday we were with them, and they wish us to go to them to-morrow evening to meet Miss Burdett, but I do not know how it will end. Henry talks of a drive to Hampstead, which may interfere with it.

"I should like to see Miss Burdett very well, but that I am rather frightened by hearing that she wishes to be introduced to me. If I am a wild beast I cannot help it. It is not my own fault.

"Get us the best weather you can for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. We are to go to Windsor in our way to Henley, which will be a great delight. We shall be leaving Sloane Street about 12, two or three hours after Charles's party have begun their journey. You will miss them, but the comfort of getting back into your own room will be great. And then the tea and sugar!"

....

"Setting aside this disappointment, I had great amusement among the pictures; and the driving about, the carriage being open, was very pleasant. I liked my solitary elegance very much, and was ready to laugh all the time at my being where I was. I could not but feel that I had naturally small right to be parading about London in a barouche.

"I should not wonder if we got no farther than Reading on Thursday evening, and so reach Steventon only to a reasonable dinner hour the next day; but whatever I may write or you may imagine we know it will be something different. I shall be quiet to-morrow morning; all my business is done, and I shall only call again upon Mrs. Hoblyn, &c.

"Yours affectionately,

"J. Austen.

................................................................................................

"A very happy summer awaited the cottage party. Godmersham wanted painting, and its owner moved his family for some months to Chawton. There were almost daily meetings between the two houses, and the friendship between Fanny Knight and her Aunt Jane became still closer as they spent 'delicious mornings' together."

................................................................................................

"Meanwhile, Frank, in command of the Elephant, was stationed in the Baltic ... "

There are a couple of interesting things in this letter, especially if one is familiar with Jane Austen's works and her letters.

"Chawton: [July 3, 1813].

"My dearest Frank,—Behold me going to write you as handsome a letter as I can! Wish me good luck. We have had the pleasure of hearing from you lately through Mary, who sent us some of the particulars of yours of June 18 (I think), written off Rugen, and we enter into the delight of your having so good a pilot. Why are you like Queen Elizabeth? Because you know how to chuse wise ministers. Does not this prove you as great a Captain as she was a Queen? This may serve as a riddle for you to put forth among your officers, by way of increasing your proper consequence. It must be a real enjoyment to you, since you are obliged to leave England, to be where you are, seeing something of a new country and one which has been so distinguished as Sweden. You must have great pleasure in it. I hope you may have gone to Carlscroon. Your profession has its douceurs to recompense for some of its privations; to an enquiring and observing mind like yours such douceurs must be considerable. Gustavus Vasa, and Charles XII., and Cristina and Linneus. Do their ghosts rise up before you? I have a great respect for former Sweden, so zealous as it was for Protestantism. And I have always fancied it more like England than other countries; and, according to the map, many of the names have a strong resemblance to the English. July begins [271] unpleasantly with us, cold and showery, but it is often a baddish month. We had some fine dry weather preceding it, which was very acceptable to the Holders of Hay, and the Masters of Meadows. In general it must have been a good hay-making season. Edward has got in all his in excellent order; I speak only of Chawton, but here he has better luck than Mr. Middleton ever had in the five years that he was tenant. Good encouragement for him to come again, and I really hope he will do so another year. The pleasure to us of having them here is so great that if we were not the best creatures in the world we should not deserve it. We go on in the most comfortable way, very frequently dining together, and always meeting in some part of every day. Edward is very well, and enjoys himself as thoroughly as any Hampshire-born Austen can desire. Chawton is not thrown away upon him.

"He will soon have all his children about him. Edward, George and Charles are collected already, and another week brings Henry and William."

"We are in hopes of another visit from our true lawful Henry very soon; he is to be our guest this time. He is quite well, I am happy to say ... He very long knew that she must die, and it was indeed a release at last. Our mourning for her is not over, or we should be putting it on again for Mr. Thomas Leigh, who has just closed a good life at the age of seventy-nine.

"Poor Mrs. L. P. [Leigh Perrot] would now have been mistress of Stoneleigh had there been none of the vile compromise, which in good truth has never been allowed to be of much use to them. It will be a hard trial."

"You will be glad to hear that every copy of S. and S. is sold, and that it has brought me £140, besides the copyright, if that should ever be of any value. I have now, therefore, written myself into £250,[256] which only makes me long for more. I have something in hand which I hope the credit of P. and P. will sell well, though not half so entertaining, and by the bye shall you object to my mentioning the Elephant in it, and two or three other old ships? I have done it, but it shall not stay to make you angry. They are only just mentioned.

"I hope you continue well and brush your hair, but not all off.

"Yours very affectionately,

"J. A."

One, she doesn't sound so down on Queen Elizabeth I as she seems in her History of England - quite the opposite! And two, the reference there is certainly to another work being ready for publication, likely Mansfield Park, as the author says.

"On September 14, Jane left Chawton for London and Godmersham, travelling as one of her brother Edward's large family party."

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Chapter XVI Mansfield Park (1812-1814)

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"Jane was now about to pay what proved to be her last visit to Godmersham. On the way thither she, with one division of the Knight family party, halted for a couple of days in London, to stay with Henry at 10 Henrietta Street."

................................................................................................

"I long to have you hear Mr. H.'s opinion of P. and P. His admiring my Elizabeth so much is particularly welcome to me.

"Miss Austen, Chawton."

"Her delight at the appreciation of her book by Warren Hastings may be compared with a passage from Madame d'Arblay's diary, which forms a curious link between the two writers.

""Mrs. Cooke [Jane Austen's cousin], my excellent neighbour, came in just now to read me a paragraph of a letter from Mrs. Leigh of Oxfordshire, her sister.[261] . . . After much civility about the new work [Camilla] and its author, it finishes thus: 'Mr. Hastings I saw just now; I told him what was going forward; he gave a great jump and exclaimed: "Well, then, now I can serve her, thank heaven, and I will! I will write to Anderson to engage Scotland, and I will attack the East Indies myself."'"

Hasting promises to "serve her", presumably Madame d'Arblay, by "attack the East Indies myself."????

Who was Dyer serving when he massacred several hundred unarmed civilians, including women and children and babies and old, who were merely enjoying an evening out, in a garden enclosed in walls - with a single gate, which he had barricaded with a tank, before ordering opening fire, until everyone was dead?

................................................................................................

"Godmersham Park [September 25, 1813].

"My dearest Frank,—The 11th of this month brought me your letter, and I assure you I thought it very well worth its two and three-pence. ... I wonder whether you and the King of Sweden knew that I was come to Godmersham with my brother. Yes, I suppose you have received due notice of it by some means or other. I have not been [279] here these four years, so I am sure the event deserves to be talked of before and behind, as well as in the middle. We left Chawton on the 14th, spent two entire days in town, and arrived here on the 17th. My brother, Fanny, Lizzie, Marianne and I composed this division of the family, and filled his carriage inside and out. Two post-chaises, under the escort of George, conveyed eight more across the country, the chair brought two, two others came on horseback, and the rest by coach, and so by one means or another, we all are removed. It puts me in remind of St. Paul's shipwreck, when all are said, by different means, to reach the shore in safety. ... "

" ... Henry has probably sent you his own account of his visit in Scotland. I wish he had had more time, and could have gone further north, and deviated to the lakes on his way back; but what he was able to do seems to have afforded him great enjoyment, and he met with scenes of higher beauty in Roxburghshire than I had supposed the South of Scotland possessed. Our nephew's gratification was less keen than our brother's. Edward is no enthusiast in the beauties of nature. His enthusiasm is for the sports of the field only. He is a very promising and pleasing young man, however, behaves [280] with great propriety to his father, and great kindness to his brothers and sisters, and we must forgive his thinking more of grouse and partridges than lakes and mountains."

"I thank you very warmly for your kind consent to my application,[267] and the kind hint which followed [281] it. I was previously aware of what I should be laying myself open to; but the truth is that the secret has spread so far as to be scarcely the shadow of a secret now, and that, I believe, whenever the third appears, I shall not even attempt to tell lies about it. I shall rather try to make all the money than all the mystery I can of it. People shall pay for their knowledge if I can make them. Henry heard P. and P. warmly praised in Scotland by Lady Robert Kerr and another lady; and what does he do, in the warmth of his brotherly vanity and love, but immediately tell them who wrote it? A thing once set going in that way—one knows how it spreads, and he, dear creature, has set it going so much more than once. I know it is all done from affection and partiality, but at the same time let me here again express to you and Mary my sense of the superior kindness which you have shown on the occasion in doing what I wished. I am trying to harden myself. After all, what a trifle it is, in all its bearings, to the really important points of one's existence, even in this world.

"Your very affectionate sister,

"J. A.

"There is to be a second edition of S. and S. Egerton advises it."

................................................................................................

"I am looking over Self-Control again, and my opinion is confirmed of its being an excellently-meant, elegantly-written work, without anything of [283] nature or probability in it. I declare I do not know whether Laura's passage down the American river is not the most natural, possible, everyday thing she ever does."

................................................................................................

"Mr. W. is about five- or six-and-twenty, not ill-looking, and not agreeable. He is certainly no addition. A sort of cool, gentlemanlike manner, but very silent. They say his name is Henry, a proof how unequally the gifts of fortune are bestowed. I have seen many a John and Thomas much more agreeable."

" ... Cassy was too tired and bewildered just at first to seem to know anybody. We met them in the hall—the women and girl part of us [285] —but before we reached the library she kissed me very affectionately, and has since seemed to recollect me in the same way."

"Now I must speak of him, and I like him very much. I am sure he is clever, and a man of taste. He got a volume of Milton last night, and spoke of it with warmth. He is quite an M.P., very smiling, with an exceeding good address and readiness of language. I am rather in love with him. I dare say he is ambitious and insincere. He puts me in mind of Mr. Dundas. He has a wide smiling mouth, and very good teeth, and something the same complexion and nose."

"[October 18, 1813.] No; I have never seen the death of Mrs. Crabbe.[272] I have only just been making out from one of his prefaces that he probably was married. It is almost ridiculous. Poor woman! I will comfort him as well as I can, but I do not undertake to be good to her children. She had better not leave any."

................................................................................................

"October 26.

"Our Canterbury scheme took place as proposed, and very pleasant it was—Harriot and I and little [286] George within, my brother on the box with the master coachman.

"Our chief business was to call on Mrs. Milles, and we had, indeed, so little else to do that we were obliged to saunter about anywhere and go backwards and forwards as much as possible to make out the time and keep ourselves from having two hours to sit with the good lady—a most extraordinary circumstance in a Canterbury morning.

"Old Toke came in while we were paying our visit. I thought of Louisa. Miss Milles was queer as usual, and provided us with plenty to laugh at. She undertook in three words to give us the history of Mrs. Scudamore's reconciliation, and then talked on about it for half an hour, using such odd expressions, and so foolishly minute, that I could hardly keep my countenance.

"Owing to a difference of clocks the coachman did not bring the carriage so soon as he ought by half an hour; anything like a breach of punctuality was a great offence, and Mr. Moore was very angry, which I was rather glad of. I wanted to see him angry; and, though he spoke to his servant in a very loud voice and with a good deal of heat, I was happy to perceive that he did not scold Harriot at all. Indeed, there is nothing to object to in his manners to her, and I do believe that he makes her—or she makes herself—very happy. They do not spoil their boy.

"George Hatton[273] called yesterday, and I saw him, saw him for ten minutes; sat in the same room with him, heard him talk, saw him bow, and was not in raptures. I discerned nothing extraordinary. I should speak of him as a gentlemanlike young man—eh bien! tout est dit. We are expecting the ladies of the family this morning."

................................................................................................

"What a convenient carriage Henry's is, to his friends in general! Who has it next? I am glad William's going is voluntary, and on no worse grounds. An inclination for the country is a venial fault. He has more of Cowper than of Johnson in him—fonder [288] of tame hares and blank verse than of the full tide of human existence at Charing Cross."

"I do not despair of having my picture in the Exhibition at last—all white and red, with my head on one side; or perhaps I may marry young Mr. D'Arblay. I suppose in the meantime I shall owe dear Henry a great deal of money for printing, &c.

"I hope Mrs. Fletcher will indulge herself with S. and S."

................................................................................................

"Since I wrote last, my 2nd edit.[275] has stared me in the face. Mary tells me that Eliza means to buy it. I wish she may. It can hardly depend upon any more Fyfield Estates. I cannot help hoping that many will feel themselves obliged to buy it. I shall not mind imagining it a disagreeable duty to them, so as they do it. Mary heard before she left home that it was very much admired at Cheltenham, and that it was given to Miss Hamilton.[276] It is pleasant to have such a respectable writer named. I cannot tire you, I am sure, on this subject, or I would apologise.

"What weather, and what news![277] We have enough to do to admire them both. I hope you derive your full share of enjoyment from each.

"Lady Eliz. Hatton and Annamaria called here this morning. Yes, they called; but I do not think I can say anything more about them. They came, and they sat, and they went."

................................................................................................

"Even in the middle of this large family party, Jane was not likely to forget the literary profession which she had now seriously adopted. Indeed, it was just at this time that the second edition of Sense and Sensibility, on which she had ventured under the advice of her publisher Egerton, appeared.[278] According to our dates, she was not now actually engaged in regular composition—for Mansfield Park[279] was completed 'soon after June 1813,' and Emma was not begun till January 21, 1814. We may guess, however, that she was either putting a few humorous touches to Mrs. Norris and Lady Bertram, or else giving herself hints in advance for Miss Bates or Mr. Woodhouse; for we learn something of her process from an eyewitness, her niece Marianne Knight, who related her childish remembrances of her aunt not very many years ago. 'Aunt Jane,'[280] she said, 'would sit very quietly at work beside the fire in the Godmersham library, then suddenly burst out laughing, jump up, cross the room to a distant table with papers lying upon it, write something down, returning presently and sitting down quietly to her work again.' She also remembered how her aunt would take the elder girls into an upstairs room and [291] read to them something that produced peals of laughter, to which the little ones on the wrong side of the door listened, thinking it very hard that they should be shut out from hearing what was so delightful! The laughter may have been the result of the second novel then published, for there is an entry in Fanny Knight's diary: 'We finished Pride and Prejudice'; or it may have been caused by a first introduction to Aunt Norris and Lady Bertram. Happy indeed were those who could hear their creator make her characters 'speak as they ought.' The dramatic element in her works is so strong that for complete enjoyment on a first acquaintance it is almost indispensable that they should be read aloud by some person capable of doing them justice. She had this power herself, according to the concurrent testimony of those who heard her, and she handed it on to her nephew, the author of the Memoir.

"On November 13 Jane left Godmersham with Edward, spent two days with some connexions of his at Wrotham, and reached London on the 15th, in time to dine with Henry in Henrietta Street.

"After that she had various plans; but we do not know which she adopted; and there is nothing further to tell of her movements until March 1814. We know, however, that Emma was begun in January; and that on March 2, when Henry drove his sister up to London, spending a night at Cobham on the way, he was engaged in reading Mansfield Park for the first time. Jane was of course eager to communicate Henry's impressions to Cassandra."

................................................................................................

"Henry's approbation is hitherto even equal to my wishes. He says it is very different from the other two, but does not appear to think it at all inferior. He has only married Mrs. R. I am afraid he has gone through the most entertaining part. He took to Lady B. and Mrs. N. most kindly, and gives great praise to the drawing of the characters. He understands them all, likes Fanny, and, I think, foresees how it will all be."

"... ". . . It is evening. We have drank tea, and I have torn through the third vol. of the Heroine. I do not think it falls off. It is a delightful burlesque, particularly on the Radcliffe style. Henry is going on with Mansfield Park. He admires H. Crawford: I mean properly, as a clever, pleasant man. I tell you all the good I can, as I know how much you will enjoy it. . . . We hear that Mr. Kean is more admired than ever. . . . There are no good places to be got in Drury Lane for the next fortnight, but Henry means to secure some [294] for Saturday fortnight, when you are reckoned upon. Give my love to little Cass. I hope she found my bed comfortable last night. I have seen nobody in London yet with such a long chin as Dr. Syntax, nor anybody quite so large as Gogmagoglicus."

"Saturday [March 5, 1814].

"Do not be angry with me for beginning another letter to you. I have read the Corsair, mended my petticoat, and have nothing else to do. Getting out is impossible. It is a nasty day for everybody. Edward's[284] spirits will be wanting sunshine, and here is nothing but thickness and sleet; and though these two rooms are delightfully warm, I fancy it is very cold abroad.

"Sunday.—"

"Henry has this moment said that he likes my M. P. better and better; he is in the third volume. I believe now he has changed his mind as to foreseeing the end; he said yesterday, at least, that he defied anybody to say whether H. C. would be reformed, or would forget Fanny in a fortnight."

"Monday.—You cannot think how much my ermine tippet is admired both by father and daughter. It was a noble gift."

"Wednesday [March 9, 1814]."

"Henry has finished Mansfield Park, and his approbation has not lessened. He found the last half of the last volume extremely interesting."

................................................................................................

"Henry must have read from a proof copy; for Mansfield Park was not yet published, though on the eve of being so. It was announced in the Morning Chronicle on May 23, and we shall see from the first letter in the next chapter that the Cookes had already been reading it before June 13. It was probably a small issue;[285] but whatever the size may have been, it was entirely sold out in the autumn.

"The author broke new ground in this work, which (it should be remembered) was the first dating wholly from her more mature Chawton period. ... "

................................................................................................

Chapter XVII Emma (1814-1815)

................................................................................................

"Jane had now completed the first of three visits which she was to pay to Henry this year, and Cassandra was in London in her place; while the Godmersham party were spending two months at Chawton. The two following letters were written by Jane from Chawton in anticipation of a visit to the Cookes at Cookes at Bookham. ... "

"Jane's visit to Bookham began on June 24, as soon as the Knights had left Chawton. She was to be away for more than a fortnight, and must have been at Chawton again for a month till the middle of August, when she once more went to join Henry in London. On this occasion she had no rich brother to take her in his carriage, and was forced to come by Yalden's somewhat crowded coach—four inside and fifteen on the top. Henry had moved between June and August, finding a house in his old neighbourhood at 23 Hans Place. ... "

................................................................................................

"Wednesday.—I got the willow yesterday, as Henry was not quite ready when I reached Hena. St. I saw Mr. Hampson there for a moment. He dines here to-morrow and proposed bringing his son; so I must submit to seeing George Hampson, though I had hoped to go through life without it. It was one of my vanities, like your not reading Patronage.

"Is not this all that can have happened or been arranged? Not quite. Henry wants me to see more of his Hanwell favourite, and has written to invite her to spend a day or two here with me. His scheme is to fetch her on Saturday. I am more and more convinced that he will marry again soon, and like the idea of her better than of anybody else, at hand."

"Yours very truly and affectionately, Jane."

................................................................................................

"All through this year and the early part of the next, Emma (begun January 1814, finished March 29, 1815) was assiduously worked at. Although polished to the highest degree, it was more quickly composed than any previous work and gave evidence of a practised hand. It was also the most 'Austenish' of all her novels, carrying out most completely her idea of what was fitted to her tastes and capacities. She enjoyed having a heroine 'whom no one would like but herself,' and working on 'three or four families in a country village.' Emma appeals therefore more exclusively than any of the others to an inner circle of admirers: but such admirers may possibly place it at the head of her compositions. There are no stirring incidents; there is no change of scene. The heroine, whose society we enjoy throughout, never sleeps away from home, and even there sees only so much company as an invalid father can welcome. No character in the [307] book is ill, no one is ruined, there is no villain, and no paragon. On the other hand, the plot is admirably contrived and never halts; while the mysteries—exclusively mysteries of courtship and love—are excellently maintained. Emma never expresses any opinion which is thoroughly sound, and seldom makes any forecast which is not belied by the event, yet we always recognise her acuteness, and she by degrees obtains our sympathy. The book also illustrates to the highest degree the author's power of drawing humorous characters; Miss Bates, Mr. Woodhouse, and Mrs. Elton in the first class, and Harriet Smith in the second. And the humour is always essential to the delineation of character—it is never an excrescence. It also depends more on what is said than on any tricks of speech; there are no catch-words, and every one speaks practically the same excellent English. Besides this, Emma also gives a very good instance of the author's habit of building up her characters almost entirely without formal description, and leaving analysis to her readers.

"Her custom of following her creations outside the printed pages enables us to say that the word swept aside unread by Jane Fairfax was 'pardon'; and that the Knightleys' exclusion from Donwell was ended by the death of Mr. Woodhouse in two years' time. According to a less well-known tradition, Jane Fairfax survived her elevation only nine or ten years. Whether the John Knightleys afterwards settled at Hartfield, and whether Frank Churchill married again, may be legitimate subjects for speculation."

"According to a less well-known tradition, Jane Fairfax survived her elevation only nine or ten years. "???

What tradition? Why? Why would a perfectly healthy young woman, newly married to someone who has just come into his property and the young newlyweds couple mutually very much in love, not have a long and happy life?

................................................................................................

"Meanwhile, Mansfield Park was selling well, and the idea of a second edition began to be mooted."

"Apparently, Egerton did not fancy taking the risk; for there was no second edition until 1816, when it appeared from the publishing house of Murray."

" ... During this quiet time, Emma was prepared for the press, and it was no doubt in connexion with its publication that she went to Hans Place on October 4, 1815, for a visit which proved to be much longer and more eventful than the last. For some reason that we are unable to explain, Jane now forsook her former publisher, Mr. Egerton, and put her interests in the charge of the historic house of Murray. She travelled up once more in the company of Henry, who had been paying his mother and sisters a short visit at the cottage. The prolongation of Jane's stay in London to more than a couple of months was caused by Henry's dangerous illness.

"Even in illness, the interests of Emma were not neglected; and a day or two later Henry was able to dictate the following letter to Mr. Murray:—

"Dear Sir,—Severe illness has confined me to my bed ever since I received yours of ye 15th. I cannot yet hold a pen, and employ an amanuensis. The politeness and perspicuity of your letter equally claim my earliest exertion. Your official opinion of the merits of Emma is very valuable and satisfactory.[299] Though I venture to differ occasionally from your critique, yet I assure you the quantum of your commendation rather exceeds than falls short of the author's expectation and my own. The terms you offer are so very inferior to what we had expected that I am apprehensive of having made some great error in my arithmetical calculation. On the subject of the expence and profit of publishing you must be much better informed than I am, but documents in my possession appear to prove that the sum offered by you for the copyright of Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, and Emma is not [311] equal to the money which my sister has actually cleared by one very moderate edition of Mansfield Park;—(you yourself expressed astonishment that so small an edition of such a work should have been sent into the world)—and a still smaller one of Sense and Sensibility."

................................................................................................

" ... I must make use of this opportunity to thank you, dear Sir, for the very high praise you bestow on my other novels. I am too vain to wish to convince you that you have praised them beyond their merit. My greatest anxiety at present is that this fourth work should not disgrace what was good in the others. But on this point I will do myself the [320] justice to declare that, whatever may be my wishes for its success, I am very strongly haunted by the idea that to those readers who have preferred Pride and Prejudice it will appear inferior in wit; and to those who have preferred Mansfield Park, very inferior in good sense. Such as it is, however, I hope you will do me the favour of accepting a copy. Mr. Murray will have directions for sending one. I am quite honoured by your thinking me capable of drawing such a clergyman as you gave the sketch of in your note of November 16th. But I assure you I am not. The comic part of the character I might be equal to, but not the good, the enthusiastic, the literary. Such a man's conversation must at times be on subjects of science and philosophy, of which I know nothing; or at least occasionally abundant in quotations and allusions which a woman who, like me, knows only her own mother tongue, and has read little in that, would be totally without the power of giving. A classical education, or at any rate a very extensive acquaintance with English literature, ancient and modern, appears to me quite indispensable for the person who would do any justice to your clergyman; and I think I may boast myself to be, with all possible vanity, the most unlearned and uninformed female who ever dared to be an authoress.

"Believe me, dear Sir, Your obliged and faithful humbl Sert., Jane Austen."

................................................................................................

"You were very good to send me Emma, which I have in no respect deserved. It is gone to the Prince Regent. I have read only a few pages, which I very much admired—there is so much nature and excellent description of character in everything you describe. Pray continue to write and make all your friends send sketches to help you—and Mémoires pour servir, as the French term it. Do let us have an English clergyman after your fancy—much novelty may be introduced—show, dear Madam, what good would be done if tythes were taken away entirely, and describe him burying his own mother, as I did, because the High Priest of the Parish in which she died did not pay her remains the respect he ought to do. I have never recovered the shock. Carry your clergyman to sea as the friend of some distinguished naval character about a Court, you can then bring forward, like Le Sage, many interesting scenes of character and interest."

"It is evident that what the writer of the above letter chiefly desired, was that Jane Austen should depict a clergyman who should resemble no one so much as the Rev. J. S. Clarke. This is borne out again in a further letter in which Mr. Clarke expressed the somewhat tardy thanks of his Royal master."

"Dear Miss Austen,—

"I have to return you the thanks of His Royal Highness, the Prince Regent, for the handsome copy you sent him of your last excellent novel. Pray, dear Madam, soon write again and again. Lord St. Helens and many of the nobility, who have been staying here, paid you the just tribute of their praise. The Prince Regent has just left us for London; and having been pleased to appoint me Chaplain and Private English Secretary to the Prince of Cobourg, I remain here with His Serene Highness and a select party until the marriage. Perhaps when you again [323] appear in print you may chuse to dedicate your volumes to Prince Leopold: any historical romance, illustrative of the history of the august House of Cobourg, would just now be very interesting.

"Believe me at all times,

"Dear Miss Austen,

"Your obliged friend,

"J. S. Clarke."

................................................................................................

"My dear Sir,—I am honoured by the Prince's thanks and very much obliged to yourself for the kind manner in which you mention the work. I have also to acknowledge a former letter forwarded to me from Hans Place. I assure you I felt very grateful for the friendly tenor of it, and hope my silence will have been considered, as it was truly meant, to proceed only from an unwillingness to tax your time with idle thanks. Under every interesting circumstance which your own talent and literary labours have placed you in, or the favour of the Regent bestowed, you have my best wishes. Your recent appointments I hope are a step to something still better. In my opinion, the service of a court can hardly be too well paid, for immense must be the sacrifice of time and feeling required by it. You are very, very kind in your hints as to the sort of composition which might recommend me at present, and I am fully sensible that an historical romance, founded on the House of Saxe Cobourg, might be much more to the purpose of profit or popularity than such pictures of domestic life in country villages as I deal in. But I could no more write a romance than an epic poem. I could not sit seriously down to write a serious romance under any other [324] motive than to save my life; and if it were indispensable for me to keep it up and never relax into laughing at myself or at other people, I am sure I should be hung before I had finished the first chapter. No, I must keep to my own style and go on in my own way, and though I may never succeed again in that, I am convinced that I should totally fail in any other.

"I remain, my dear Sir,

"Your very much obliged, and sincere friend,

"J. Austen."

"Chawton, near Alton, April 1, 1816."

................................................................................................

Chapter XVIII Persuasion (1815-1816)

................................................................................................

"So far as we know, Jane went to London in 1815 perfectly sound in health. Her remark to Cassandra on her enjoyment of the muggy, unwholesome weather is written with the security of a person accustomed to be free from bodily ailments, and expecting that condition of things to continue. But, alas! we must look upon this visit, which seemed to mark the highest point in her modest fame, as marking also a downward stage in her career as regards both prosperity and health. Perhaps the excitement of the publication of Emma, and probably the close attention on the sick-bed of her brother which coincided with it—possibly even the muggy weather which she praised so highly—combined to diminish her vigour, and to sow the seeds of a disease, the exact nature of which no one seems ever to have been able to determine. These, however, were not the only disquieting circumstances which surrounded her. In the following March her favourite brother, Henry, was declared a bankrupt; and there are one or two indications of her being aware that all was not well with the firm in the autumn. [326] The months which intervened while this catastrophe was impending must have been very trying to one already weakened by all that she had gone through. More agreeable associations, however, arose from the success of Emma. There was, for instance, a pleasant exchange of letters with the Countess of Morley, a lady of some literary capacity, to whom Jane had sent a copy of Emma, and who expressed her thanks and admiration in very warm terms. The author in her turn, speaking of Lady Morley's approval, says: 'It encourages me to depend on the same share of general good opinion which Emma's predecessors have experienced, and to believe that I have not yet, as almost every writer of fancy does sooner or later, overwritten myself.'

"The end of March brought a still more flattering tribute to Jane's growing fame, in the shape of an article on Emma in the Quarterly Review. The Review, though dated October 1815, did not appear till March of the following year,[311] and the writer of the article was none other than Sir Walter Scott."

" ... In thanking Mr. Murray for lending her a copy of the Review, she writes:—

"The authoress of Emma has no reason, I think, to complain of her treatment in it, except in the total omission of Mansfield Park. I cannot but be sorry that so clever a man as the Reviewer of Emma should consider it as unworthy of being noticed. You will be pleased to hear that I have received the Prince's thanks for the handsome copy I sent him of Emma. Whatever he may think of my share of the work, yours seems to have been quite right. [328]

"The fact that she was honoured with a notice in the Quarterly did not prevent the author from collecting and leaving on record the more domestic criticisms of her family and friends."

Author quotes two pages of various opinions, preferences and criticisms of Emma by Jane Austen's family and friends, no more than three lines each, most averaging two; Jane Austen must hsve kept a record of these!

"It was not the first time she had collected a miscellaneous set of opinions on her work."

................................................................................................

"Meanwhile, the banking-house of Austen, Maunde, and Tilson, had closed its doors; and on March 23, 1816, Henry Austen was declared a bankrupt: the immediate cause of the collapse being the failure of an Alton bank which the London firm had backed. No personal extravagance was charged against Henry; but he had the unpleasant sensation of starting life over again, and of having caused serious loss to several of his family, especially his brother Edward and Mr. Leigh Perrot, who had gone sureties for him on his appointment as Receiver-General for Oxfordshire. Jane herself was fortunate in losing no more than thirteen pounds—a portion of the profits of Mansfield Park.

"Henry Austen possessed an extraordinary elasticity of nature which made a rebound from depression easy—indeed, almost inevitable—in his case. He returned at once to his original intention of taking Orders, as if the intervening military and banking career had been nothing more than an interruption of his normal course. Nor was it merely perfunctory performance of clerical duties to which he looked forward: he was in earnest, and began [333] by making use of his former classical knowledge to take up a serious study of the New Testament in the original language. He seems to have been in advance of his age in this respect; for when he went to be examined by the Bishop, that dignitary, after asking him such questions as he thought desirable, put his hand on a book which lay near him on the table, and which happened to be a Greek Testament, and said: 'As for this book, Mr. Austen, I dare say it is some years since either you or I looked into it.'"

"It must have been somewhere about this time that Jane Austen succeeded in recovering the MS. of Northanger Abbey. An unsuccessful attempt to secure the publication of the novel in the year 1809 has already been noticed; but we learn from the Memoir that after four works of hers had been published, and somewhat widely circulated, one of her brothers (acting for her) negotiated with the publisher who had bought it, and found him very willing to receive back his money, and resign all claim to the copyright. When the bargain was concluded and the money paid, but not till then, the negotiator had the satisfaction of informing him that the work which had been so lightly esteemed was by the author of Pride and Prejudice.

"Meanwhile, Jane had been for some months engaged on Persuasion. It was begun before she went to London in the autumn of 1815 for the publication of Emma; but that visit and all that happened [334] to her during the winter must certainly have interrupted its composition, and possibly modified its tone. It is less high-spirited and more tender in its description of a stricken heart than anything she had attempted before."

................................................................................................

"In May, Cassandra and Jane left Chawton to spend three weeks at Cheltenham, stopping with their brother at Steventon, and with the Fowles at Kintbury on the way, and again at Steventon on their return. Jane must have been decidedly out of health, for the change in her did not escape the notice of her friends. But whatever was the exact state of her health during the first half of this year, it did not prevent her from being able, on July 18, to write 'Finis' at the end of the first draft of Persuasion ... "

"The book had been brought to an end in July; and the re-engagement of the hero and heroine effected in a totally different manner in a scene laid at Admiral Croft's lodgings. But her performance did not satisfy her. ... She cancelled the condemned chapter, and wrote two others, entirely different, in its stead. The result is that we possess the visit of the Musgrove party to Bath; the crowded and animated scenes at the White Hart Hotel; and the charming conversation between [335] Captain Harville and Anne Elliot, overheard by Captain Wentworth, by which the two faithful lovers were at last led to understand each other's feelings. The tenth and eleventh chapters of Persuasion, then, rather than the actual winding-up of the story, contain the latest of her printed compositions—her last contribution to the entertainment of the public. ... "

................................................................................................

"Writing to Fanny Knight, March 13, 1817, she says:—

"I will answer your kind questions more than you expect. Miss Catherine is put upon the shelf for the present, and I do not know that she will ever come out; but I have a something ready for publication, which may perhaps appear about a twelvemonth hence. It is short—about the length of Catherine. This is for yourself alone."

"Catherine is of course Northanger Abbey, and the 'something' is Persuasion. She returns to the latter in writing again to Fanny, March 23, telling her she will not like it, and adding 'You may perhaps like the heroine, as she is almost too good for me.'"

But amongst Juvenilia there is a very promising unfinished novel, titled Catherine! Perhaps she meant that one? And never had time to go on with it? It's one of the few pieces amonst her unfinished works that make one have strong regrets she did not go on with it.

"Had she followed all the advice given her by her friends, she would have produced something very different from either Northanger Abbey or Persuasion. It must have been in the course of the year 1816 that she drew up the following 'plan of a novel, according to hints from various quarters,' adding below the names of the friends who gave the hints."

The Plan of a Novel, with suggestions by friends and family, is of course fantastic, and for that reason makes one wish she'd written it! George Eliot's Daniel Deronda has some touches akin, as does James Hilton's Knight Without Armour. But nothing matches the requirement that the scene must remain most elegant throughout the escapade from England to France through Europe to Kamchatka!

"Throughout the whole work heroine to be in the most elegant society,[329] and living in high style."

................................................................................................

Chapter XIX Aunt Jane (1814-1817)

................................................................................................

"Any attempt at depicting the charm and attractiveness of Jane Austen's character must be quite incomplete if it fails to take into account the special manner in which she showed these qualities as an aunt. She herself says in joke to a young niece that she had always maintained the importance of aunts; and she evidently felt, in all seriousness, the responsibility of that relationship, though she would have been one of the last to display her sense of it by any didactic or authoritative utterance. The author of the Memoir tells us that her two nieces who were grown up in her lifetime could say how valuable to them had been her advice in 'the little difficulties and doubts of early womanhood'; and Lord Brabourne quotes here and there extracts from his mother's diary, such as these: 'Aunt Jane and I had a very interesting conversation'; 'Aunt Jane and I had a delicious morning together'; 'Aunt Jane and I very snug'; and so on, until the sad ending: 'I had the misery of losing my dear Aunt Jane after a lingering illness.'"

It's a delight, reading her letters to her nieces.

................................................................................................

"My dearest Fanny,"

"Upon the whole, what is to be done? You have no inclination for any other person. His situation in life, family, friends, and, above all, his character, his uncommonly amiable mind, strict principles, just notions, good habits, all that you know so well how to value, all that is really of the first importance—everything of this nature pleads his cause most [344] strongly. You have no doubt of his having superior abilities, he has proved it at the University; he is, I dare say, such a scholar as your agreeable, idle brothers would ill bear a comparison with.

"Oh, my dear Fanny! the more I write about him the warmer my feelings become—the more strongly I feel the sterling worth of such a young man and the desirableness of your growing in love with him again. I recommend this most thoroughly. There are such beings in the world, perhaps one in a thousand, as the creature you and I should think perfection, where grace and spirit are united to worth, where the manners are equal to the heart and understanding; but such a person may not come in your way, or, if he does, he may not be the eldest son of a man of fortune, the near relation of your particular friend, and belonging to your own county.

"Think of all this, Fanny. Mr. A. has advantages which we do not often meet in one person. His only fault, indeed, seems modesty. If he were less modest he would be more agreeable, speak louder, and look impudenter; and is not it a fine character of which modesty is the only defect? I have no doubt he will get more lively and more like yourselves as he is more with you; he will catch your ways if he belongs to you. And, as to there being any objection from his goodness, from the danger of his becoming even evangelical, I cannot admit that. I am by no means convinced that we ought not all to be evangelicals, and am at least persuaded that they who are so from reason and feeling must be happiest and safest.

"And now, my dear Fanny, having written so much on one side of the question, I shall turn round and entreat you not to commit yourself farther, and not to think of accepting him unless you really do like him. Anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without affection; and if his deficiencies of manner, &c. &c., strike you more than [345] all his good qualities, if you continue to think strongly of them, give him up at once. Things are now in such a state that you must resolve upon one or the other—either to allow him to go on as he has done, or whenever you are together behave with a coldness which may convince him that he has been deceiving himself. I have no doubt of his suffering a good deal for a time—a great deal when he feels that he must give you up; but it is no creed of mine, as you must be well aware, that such sort of disappointments kill anybody."

"Yours very affectionately,

"Jane Austen."

................................................................................................

"I shall be glad if you can revive past feelings, and from your unbiassed self resolve to go on as you have done, but this I do not expect; and without it I cannot wish you to be fettered. I should not be afraid of your marrying him; with all his worth you would soon love him enough for the happiness of both; but I should dread the continuance of this sort of tacit engagement, with such an uncertainty as there is of when it may be completed. Years may pass before he is independent; you like him well enough to marry, but not well enough to wait; the unpleasantness of appearing fickle is certainly great; but if you think you want punishment for past illusions, there it is, and nothing can be compared to the misery of being bound without love—bound to one, and preferring another; that is a punishment which you do not deserve."

................................................................................................

"The remaining letters of this series which we possess were written, after an interval of more than two years, in February and March 1817,[335] only a few [348] months before Jane's death. All idea of Fanny's engaging herself to 'Mr. A.' has now passed away; yet, with natural inconsistency, she lives in dread of his marrying some one else. By this time there is a 'Mr. B.' on the stage, but his courtship, though apparently demonstrative, is not really serious; and the last letter keeps away from love affairs altogether. As to 'Mr. A.,' we are told that he found his happiness elsewhere within a couple of years; while Fanny became engaged to Sir Edward Knatchbull in 1820."

................................................................................................

"I enjoy your visit to Goodnestone, it must be a great pleasure to you; you have not seen Fanny Cage in comfort so long. I hope she represents and remonstrates and reasons with you properly. Why should you be living in dread of his marrying somebody else? (Yet, how natural!) You did not choose to have him yourself, why not allow him to take comfort where he can? In your conscience you know that he could not bear a companion with a more animated character. You cannot forget how you felt under the idea of its having been possible that he might have dined in Hans Place.

"My dearest Fanny, I cannot bear you should [350] be unhappy about him. Think of his principles; think of his father's objection, of want of money, &c., &c. But I am doing no good; no, all that I urge against him will rather make you take his part more, sweet, perverse Fanny.

"And now I will tell you that we like your Henry to the utmost, to the very top of the glass, quite brimful. He is a very pleasing young man. I do not see how he could be mended. He does really bid fair to be everything his father and sister could wish; and William I love very much indeed, and so we do all; he is quite our own William. In short, we are very comfortable together; that is, we can answer for ourselves."

"Your objection to the quadrilles delighted me exceedingly. Pretty well, for a lady irrecoverably attached to one person! Sweet Fanny, believe no such thing of yourself, spread no such malicious slander upon your understanding, within the precincts of your imagination. Do not speak ill of your sense merely for the gratification of your fancy; yours is sense which deserves more honourable treatment. You are not in love with him; you never have been really in love with him.

"Yours very affectionately,

"J. Austen."

................................................................................................

"I have pretty well done with Mr. ——. By your description, he cannot be in love with you, however he may try at it; and I could not wish the match unless there were a great deal of love on his side."

"To you I shall say, as I have often said before, do not be in a hurry, the right man will come at last; you will in the course of the next two or three years meet with somebody more generally unexceptionable than anyone you have yet known, who will love you as warmly as possible, and who will so completely attract you that you will feel you never really loved before."

................................................................................................

"Very different in tone and subject were the letters, addressed about the same time as the two earlier of this series, to her other niece, Anna. Not that Anna was without her own love story: on the contrary, it came to a straightforward and satisfactory climax in her marriage to Ben Lefroy, which took place in November 1814; and no doubt, she, like her cousin, had received letters of sympathy and advice on the realities of life from her aunt. Her own romance, however, did not prevent her from interesting herself in the creations of her brain: indeed, all the three children of James Austen—Anna, Edward, and little Caroline—had indulged freely in the delights of authorship from a very youthful age. It was a novel of Anna's which caused the present correspondence; and we can see from the delicate hints of her aunt that Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park had not been without their influence over its matter and style. Readers of these letters will note the kindness with which Jane, now deep in the composition of Emma, turns aside from her own work to criticise and encourage, associating her views all the time with those of Cassandra—who was to her like a Court of Appeal—and allowing ample freedom of judgment also to Anna herself. They will see also that her vote is for 'nature and spirit,' above [354] everything; while yet she insists on the necessity of accuracy of detail for producing the illusion of truth in fiction."

................................................................................................

"After the death of her kind critic, Anna could not induce herself to go on with the tale; the associations were too melancholy. Long afterwards, she took it out of its drawer, and, in a fit of despondency, threw it into the fire. Her daughter, who tells us this, adds that she herself—a little girl—was sitting on the rug, and remembers that she watched the destruction, amused with the flame.

"A similar fate befell a tragedy written at a very early age by Anna's little sister Caroline, who was her junior by about twelve years. Caroline believed it to be a necessary part of a tragedy that all the dramatis personae should somehow meet their end, by violence or otherwise, in the last act; and this belief produced such a scene of carnage and woe as to cause fits of laughter among unsympathetic elders, and tears to the author, who threw the unfortunate tragedy into the fire on the spot.

"Caroline, however, continued to write stories; and some of them are alluded to in a series of little childish letters written to her by her Aunt Jane, which survive, carefully pieced together with silver paper and gum, and which are worth preserving for the presence in them of love and playfulness, and the entire absence of condescension."

................................................................................................

Chapter XX Failing Health (1816-1817)

................................................................................................

" ... She must have begun to feel her malady early in the year 1816; for some friends at a distance, whom she visited in the spring, 'thought that her health was somewhat impaired, and observed that she went about her old haunts and recalled the old recollections connected with them in a particular manner—as if she did not expect ever to see them again.'[347] This is, however, almost the only indication that we have of any diminution of vigour at that time; for the three letters to Fanny Knight, given by Lord Brabourne as written in 1816, must be transferred to 1817[348]; and so must the two short extracts[349] on pp. 150, 151 of the Memoir, as they evidently refer to a family event which occurred in the March of the later year. The tone of her letters through the remainder of 1816, and at the beginning of the next year, was almost invariably cheerful, and she showed by the completion of Persuasion that she was capable of first-rate literary work during the summer of 1816. The fact is that, as to health, she was an incurable optimist; her natural good spirits made her see the best side, and her unselfishness prompted the suppression of anything that might distress those around her. ... "

................................................................................................

"There was a second family visit this year to Cheltenham ... "

"In August 1816 it was a recent serious illness of Mrs. James Austen which took the party there; Mrs. Austen being accompanied by her daughter Caroline, and her sister-in-law Cassandra. Meanwhile, Jane remained with her mother at Chawton, where she had Edward Austen as a visitor.

"During Cassandra's absence Jane wrote to her ... "

" ... Edward is writing a novel—we have all heard what he has written—it is extremely clever, written with great ease and spirit; if he can carry it on in the same way it will be a first- [375] rate work, and in a style, I think, to be popular. Pray tell Mary how much I admire it—and tell Caroline that I think it is hardly fair upon her and myself to have him take up the novel line."

................................................................................................

"I have not seen Anna since the day you left us; her father and brother visited her most days. Edward[353] and Ben called here on Thursday. Edward was in his way to Selborne. We found him very agreeable. He is come back from France, thinking of the French [376] as one could wish—disappointed in everything. He did not go beyond Paris.

"I have a letter from Mrs. Perigord; she and her mother are in London again. She speaks of France as a scene of general poverty and misery: no money, no trade, nothing to be got but by the innkeepers, and as to her own present prospects she is not much less melancholy than before."

................................................................................................

"Chawton: Monday [December 16, 1816].

"My dear Edward,—One reason for my writing to you now is, that I may have the pleasure of directing to you Esqre. I give you joy of having left Winchester. Now you may own how miserable you were there; now it will gradually all come out, your crimes and your miseries—how often you went up by the Mail to London and threw away fifty guineas at a tavern, and how often you were on the point of hanging yourself, restrained only, as some ill-natured aspersion upon poor old Winton has it, by the want of a tree within some miles of the city. Charles Knight and his companions passed through Chawton about 9 this morning; later than it used to be. Uncle Henry and I had a glimpse of his handsome face, looking all health and good humour. I wonder when you will come and see us. I know what I rather speculate upon, but shall say nothing. We think uncle Henry in excellent looks. Look at him this moment, and think so too, if you have not done it before; and we have the great comfort of seeing decided improvement in uncle Charles, both as to health, spirits, and appearance. And they are each [378] of them so agreeable in their different way, and harmonise so well, that their visit is thorough enjoyment. Uncle Henry writes very superior sermons. You and I must try to get hold of one or two, and put them into our novels: it would be a fine help to a volume; and we could make our heroine read it aloud of a Sunday evening, just as well as Isabella Wardour, in The Antiquary, is made to read the History of the Hartz Demon, in the ruins of St. Ruth; though I believe, upon recollection, Lovell is the reader. By the bye, my dear Edward, I am quite concerned for the loss your mother mentions in her letter. Two chapters and a half to be missing is monstrous! It is well that I have not been at Steventon lately, and therefore cannot be suspected of purloining them: two strong twigs and a half towards a nest of my own would have been something. I do not think, however, that any theft of that sort would be really very useful to me. What should I do with your strong, manly, spirited sketches, full of variety and glow? How could I possibly join them on to the little bit (two inches wide) of ivory on which I work with so fine a brush, as produces little effect after much labour?

"You will hear from uncle Henry how well Anna is. She seems perfectly recovered. Ben was here on Saturday, to ask uncle Charles and me to dine with them, as to-morrow, but I was forced to decline it, the walk is beyond my strength (though I am otherwise very well), and this is not a season for donkey-carriages; and as we do not like to spare uncle Charles, he has declined it too.

"Tuesday. Ah, ha! Mr. Edward. I doubt your seeing uncle Henry at Steventon to-day. The weather will prevent your expecting him, I think. Tell your father, with aunt Cass's love and mine, that the pickled cucumbers are extremely good, and tell him also—'tell him what you will.' No, don't tell him what you will, but tell him that [379] grandmamma begs him to make Joseph Hall pay his rent, if he can.

"You must not be tired of reading the word uncle, for I have not done with it. Uncle Charles thanks your mother for her letter; it was a great pleasure to him to know the parcel was received and gave so much satisfaction, and he begs her to be so good as to give three shillings for him to Dame Staples, which shall be allowed for in the payment of her debt here.

"I am happy to tell you that Mr. Papillon will soon make his offer, probably next Monday, as he returns on Saturday. His intention can no longer be doubtful in the smallest degree, as he has secured the refusal of the house which Mr. Baverstock at present occupies in Chawton, and is to vacate soon, which is of course intended for Mrs. Elizabeth Papillon.

"Adieu, Amiable! I hope Caroline behaves well to you.

"Yours affecly,

"J. Austen."

................................................................................................

"Chawton: January 24, 1817.

"My dear Alethea,"

"The real object of this letter is to ask you for a receipt, but I thought it genteel not to let it appear early. We remember some excellent orange wine at Manydown, made from Seville oranges, entirely or chiefly. I should be very much obliged to you for the receipt, if you can command it within a few weeks."

................................................................................................

"At the end of March she made her will—a brief and simple document of which the operative part was in these words: 'To my dearest sister Cassandra Elizabeth, everything of which I may die possessed, or which may hereafter be due to me, subject to the payment of my funeral expenses and to a legacy of £50 to my brother Henry and £50 to Madame Bigeon.'

"About the same time another will was causing great disappointment to the Austen family; and as Jane was affected by anything that affected her nearest relations, we must probably attribute to it some share in the rapid decay of her bodily strength.

"Her uncle, Mr. Leigh Perrot, died at Scarlets on March 28. He was childless, and left a considerable fortune. As he was also a kind-hearted man and had always shown particular favour to the Austens, it was reasonably expected that they would reap some immediate benefit under his will. Most of the family were in narrow circumstances, and they had lately been crippled by the failure of Henry's business and the lawsuit about Edward's Hampshire property; a legacy, therefore, would have been very acceptable. Mr. Leigh Perrot, however, was actuated in making his will by a stronger motive than love to sister and nephews.[361] He was devoted to his wife, and was perhaps anxious to show that his devotion was increased in consequence of the false accusation with which she had been assailed at Bath in 1799-1800.

"He showed it by leaving everything to her for her life, and placing Scarlets and a considerable sum at her free disposal. At the same time he left a large sum (subject to her life interest) to James Austen and his heirs, and £1000 apiece to each of Mrs. Austen's children who should survive his wife. Mrs. Leigh Perrot, also, at a later date, gave allowances to some members of the family, and eventually made Edward Austen her heir. None of these advantages, however, fell to them immediately; and the disappointment caused by their uncle's disposition of his property is reflected in the following letter from Jane to her brother Charles. [April 6, 1817.]

"My dearest Charles,—Many thanks for your affectionate letter. I was in your debt before, but I have really been too unwell the last fortnight to write anything that was not absolutely necessary. I have been suffering from a bilious attack attended with a good deal of fever. A few days ago my complaint appeared removed, but I am ashamed to say that the shock of my uncle's will brought on a relapse, and I was so ill on Friday and thought myself so likely to be worse that I could not but press for Cassandra's returning with Frank after the funeral last night, which she of course did; and either her return, or my having seen Mr. Curtis, or my disorder's chusing to go away, have made me better this morning. I live upstairs however for the present, and am coddled. I am the only one of the legatees who has been so silly, but a weak body must excuse weak nerves.

"My mother has borne the forgetfulness of her extremely well—her expectations for herself were never beyond the extreme of moderation, and she thinks with you that my Uncle always looked forward to surviving her. She desires her best love, [386] and many thanks for your kind feelings; and heartily wishes that her younger children had more, and all her children something immediately. . . ."

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Chapter XXI Winchester (1817)

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"When May came, she consented to the proposal of those around her that she should move to Winchester, in order to get the best medical advice that the neighbourhood afforded. ... Accordingly, on Saturday, May 24, she bade farewell to her mother and her home, and her brother James's carriage conveyed Cassandra and herself to Winchester. The little cavalcade—for they were attended by two riders—started in sadness and in rain; and all must have doubted whether she would ever come back to Chawton."

"Mrs. James Austen went to Winchester on a Friday; perhaps Friday, June 6. Two or three days afterwards, her husband wrote to their son Edward, who no doubt was following at Oxford with painful interest the varying news. James, at any rate, cherished no illusions as to the possibility of a cure."

................................................................................................

"Edward's young sister Caroline (aged twelve) adds a few unhappy lines about her aunt, saying: 'I now feel as if I had never loved and valued her enough.'

Jane Austen 'retained her faculties, her memory, her fancy, her temper, and her affections—warm, clear, and unimpaired to the last. ... "

................................................................................................

"Till old Mrs. Austen's death in 1827, Martha Lloyd remained an inmate, and everything went on, nominally, as before; but the 'chief light was quenched and the loss of it had cast a shade over the spirits of the survivors.'[369] So, when the young Austens went to stay there, expecting to be particularly happy, they could not help feeling something of the chill of disappointment. Later, Martha became the second wife of Francis Austen, while Cassandra lived on at Chawton. One of her great-nieces remembers seeing her towards the end of her life at a christening, 'a pale, dark-eyed old lady, with a high arched nose and a kind smile, dressed in a long cloak and a large drawn bonnet, both made of black satin.' She died of a sudden illness in 1845, at the house of her brother Francis, near Portsmouth—at his house, but in his absence; for he and his family had to leave for the West Indies (where he was to take up a command) while she lay dying. She was tended by her brothers Henry and Charles and her niece Caroline. She was buried beside her mother at Chawton.

"All her brothers survived her, except James, who was in bad health when his sister Jane died, and followed her in 1819.

"Edward (Knight) saw his children and his children's children grow up around him, and died at Godmersham as peacefully as he had lived, in 1852.

"Henry held the living of Steventon for three years after the death of his brother James, till his nephew, William Knight, was ready to take it. He was afterwards Perpetual Curate of Bentley, near Farnham. Later on, he lived for some time in France, and he died at Tunbridge Wells in 1850. [403]

"Both the sailor brothers rose to be Admirals.[370] Charles was employed in the suppression of the Slave Trade and against Mehemet Ali, and became Rear-Admiral in 1846. In 1850 he commanded in the East Indian and Chinese waters, and died of cholera on the Irawaddy River in 1852, having 'won the hearts of all by his gentleness and kindness whilst he was struggling with disease.'

"Francis had thirty years on shore after the end of the long war; and his only subsequent foreign service was the command of the West Indian and North American Station, 1845-48. He, however, constantly rose in his profession, and enjoyed the esteem and respect of the Admiralty. He ended by being G.C.B. and Admiral of the Fleet, and did not die until 1865, aged ninety-one."

................................................................................................

"Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published in four volumes by John Murray in 1818, and to the former was prefixed a short biographical notice of the author from the pen of Henry Austen. [404]

"In 1832 Mr. Bentley bought the copyright of all the novels, except Pride and Prejudice (which Jane Austen had sold outright to Mr. Egerton), from Henry and Cassandra Austen, the joint proprietors, for the sum of two hundred and fifty pounds. Mr. Bentley must also have bought from Mr. Egerton's executors the copyright of Pride and Prejudice, for he proceeded to issue a complete edition of the novels with a biographical notice (also by Henry) containing a few extra facts not mentioned in the original edition of Northanger Abbey.

"(James) Edward Austen, who added 'Leigh' to his name on succeeding to the property of Scarlets in 1836, wrote (in 1869-70) the Memoir of his aunt which has been so often used in these pages, and which, as the work of three eyewitnesses,[371] enjoys an authority greater than that of any other account of her. Its publication coincided with the beginning of a great advance in her fame, and we think it may be claimed that it was an important contributory cause of that advance. Before that date, an appreciation of her genius was rather the special possession of small literary circles and individual families; since that date it has been widely spread both in England and in America. From her death to 1870, there was only one complete edition of her works, and nothing, except a few articles and reviews, was written about her. Since 1870, editions, lives, memoirs, &c., have been almost too numerous to count. We, who are adding to this stream of writings, cannot induce ourselves to believe that the interest of the public is yet exhausted."

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Appendix The Text of Jane Austen's Novels

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"In the course of frequent reprinting, various errors have crept into the text of the novels, which seem in danger of becoming perpetuated. We therefore make no apology for pointing these out and for giving our reasons why we prefer any particular reading.

"In arriving at the correct text of Jane Austen, common sense will be our best guide. It is of no use to assume, as some editors have done, that the latest edition which appeared in the author's lifetime, and which might naturally have had the benefit of her corrections, is any more correct than the earliest. Jane Austen was no skilled proofreader, and it is a melancholy fact that the second edition of Mansfield Park, which she returned to Mr. Murray 'as ready for press' as she could make it, contains more misprints than any of the other novels, including one or two that do not appear in the first edition. But as the type was evidently re-set, this may have been as much the printer's fault as the author's. Again, though in one of her letters she points out a misprint in the first edition of Pride and Prejudice, the passage is not corrected in either the second or third edition, both of which subsequently appeared in her lifetime.

"Before noticing the various discrepancies, it is necessary to say a few words about the chief editions of note. During the author's lifetime three editions appeared of Pride and Prejudice, two of Sense and Sensibility and of Mansfield Park, and one of Emma. Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published soon after her death. No [406] other edition of the novels seems to have been published until Bentley bought up the copyrights of all the novels in 1832, and included them in his 'Standard Novels' series."

................................................................................................

Rest of the appendix consists of discussions of various differences and selection of one most sensible, for each major work by Jane Austen.

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Rest of the work is an extensive bibliography chapter, and A Family Record in three family trees, and lists.

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Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters - A Family Record,

by Arthur Austen-Leigh, William Austen-Leigh.

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September 05, 2021 - September 10, 2021.

Kindle Edition, 225 pages

Published September 5th 2016

by anboco

ASIN:- B01KY3RN4S

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Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters: A Family Record

by William Austen-Leigh, Richard Arthur Austen-Leigh

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September 05, 2021 - September 10, 2021.

Paperback, 456 pages

Published May 8th 2006

by Hesperides Press

(first published 1913)

Original Title

Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters: A Family Record

ISBN:- 1406727717

(ISBN13: 9781406727715)

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JANE AUSTEN

by O.W. Firkins (1823)

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JANE AUSTEN by O.W. Firkins (1823)

New York, Henry Holt and Company

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The book opens with a dedication in form of a long, flattering poem, written to Jane Austen, presumably by the author.

This might just be a decoy - for the very next page begins by lashing out, not only at her first publication, and every major character therein, but at Jane Austen as well.

The author is acidic and happy to lash out in a language that would impress anyone reading this with his erudition and his well informed mind in matters of literature, for his day.

This book was published in 1823, presumably (- since that's the date attached to the title, in Jane Austen: Complete Works + Extras - 83 titles (Annotated and illustrated) by Jane Austen -), which was less than half a decade after Jane Austen's death. Perhaps he didn't realise what tasteless ignoramus he was going to reveal himself as, to posterity, for ever.

For he isn't satisfied with a contemptuous treatmentof the author, her writing and the characters; he is quite unabashed about abusing to categories of humanity she belongs to, as well - first, women, and next, English! That's the order of his abuse, whether or not it's the order Jane Austen belonged to those categories of humanity.

What's worse, this author isn't merely vituperative, he's throwing false interpretations along with abuses. In short, the author is an I'll- informed, ignorant Boro, incapable of understanding or growing, and seeks merely to abuse.

Firkins quotes a paragraph from Pride and Prejudice and comments.

""Charlotte herself was tolerably composed. She had gained her point, and had time to consider of it. Her reflections were in general satisfactory. Mr. Collins, to be sure, was neither sensible nor agreeable; his society was irksome, and his attachment to her must be imaginary. But still he would be her husband. Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage bad always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want. This preservative she had now obtained; and at the age of twenty-seven, without having ever been handsome, she felt all the good luck of it."

"This may be questionable as ethics —it is certainly dismal as philosophy; but its art is consummate."

Was the man stupid or blind? Even in his day, even now, few women have a safe alternative to a double danger at every step in every direction - if they find a way to survive, that is!

One, an unattached woman is preyed on by most males, far more than those attached; this works in reference to situations as simple as a walk, and as long as life. Males refrain from behaving like beasts confronting an object of attack out of regard for the escorting male or husband, or, in some cultures and situations, a brother or father. The last two are rarely likely to be protectors for life.

Two, any woman who has in fact found a career, if it takes her out of her home, is likely to confront attacks of not necessarily completely sexual or completely asexual kind - these are primarily of the sort that target women for having stepped out of the housework and sexual service confine at all, into what is viewed as male domain, and use sex as a tool of attack, but are far more deadly. They aim to paralyse the object, and send her back, pathetic and frightened, to scurrying for cover of a pathetic male protector, and dead if she does not.

Firkins's attack against Jane Austen in form of this garbage book is in fact of exactly this sort. And that was years, century after she was dead.

Why? Because she had dared to not marry, have occupation other than housework, and succeed so brilliantly as to have her fame and esteem not only rise through her life but through centuries past,and not just with ordinary public out to read for pleasure. So this male, who nobody would hear of - he wrote nothing original - went to attack. Hus weapon is mostly garbage dressed in concepts that seem complex and verbiage that sounds high, but often simply any lie.

Was he aware of just how disgusting he was, in his attitude towards women?

" ... She had a woman's playful self-will, but even in the heyday and riot of her caprice she foresees its final subjection to a masculine equity. She has all manner of unreasoned dislikes, which she relinquishes with the most admirable candour and the most engaging reluctance."

She admired Scott for quality, idiot, not "submit" because he was male"; women may have reason to fear male due to misbehaviour coupled with social power, but they do not "submit" to males for reasons of "subjection to a masculine equity", any more than the idiot Firkin wouldn't "submit" to an attacking buffalo for reasons of superiority of the buffalo rather than of danger of life.

AVOID READING THIS BOOK.

It's not only that it's stupid, pretentious, vituperative and no good. It's much worse.

It's seriously misogynistic.

Why this, amongst very likely dozens - hundreds, wouldn't be surprising - of other writings on Jane Austen, the Complete Collection had to include this one, is incomprehensible. Change of taste, we understand all too well in India - we love a little, or even a lot, of spice. But acid, of this sort?!!!!

Excerpts of his acid are quoted below, but not all of it - that might amount to quoting the whole book.

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Table of contents

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Dedication

Part I – The Novelist

Chapter I – Sense and Sensibility

Chapter II – Pride and Prejudice

Chapter III – Northanger Abbey

Chapter IV – Mansfield Park

Chapter V – Emma

Chapter VI – Persuasion

Chapter VII – The Group of Novels

Part II – The Realist

Chapter VIII – The Realist

Part III – The Woman

Chapter IX – Life and Ways of Life

Chapter X – Liabilities and Assets

Chapter XI – Conclusion

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Chapter I – Sense and Sensibility

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" ... If Miss Austen had been a man, she would have enjoyed the vocation of a courier. ... "

" ... Miss Austen is after all so much wiser than her superflux of wisdom would suggest. The truth is that the novelist is as intensely social as she is conscientious, and if the essence of conscience is inflexibility, the essence of society is compromise. The rational woman is provisionally rational and ultimately woman."

"The twentieth century hardly knows what to do with a young woman to whom apostrophes of this type are feasible:"

Wasn't this published in 1823? Why was this guy saying "The twentieth century", in present tense "hardly knows what to do with a young woman"?

"And you, ye well-known trees —but you will continue the same. —No leaf will decay because we are removed, nor any branch become motionless although we can observe you no longer.

"In lines like these the satirised Mrs. Radcliffe is vindicated —or avenged. Even where the heart is stirred, the creaking of the eighteenth-century stays in which its throbbings are confined is distinctly audible."

" ... His adhesion to the pestiferous Lucy seems a dismal if not a truckling type of virtue, and the American reader is not propitiated by his naïve view of the ministry as a steppingstone to a living in the double sense of a rectory and a livelihood. It is quite true that in this view of the church as a refectory he has the cordial support of his patroness, Miss Austen."

" ... Miss Austen is too robustly English to view any convenience with unqualified contempt."

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Chapter II – Pride and Prejudice

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It's hard to imagine someone being vituperative about Pride and Prejudice, but then this author is even handed in his vituperation, pouring acid equally on Jane Austen, her works, English, and all of womanhood. Perhaps he was rejected by everyone he looked at, and this was before civil war as he had nothing else to do on his father's plantation, so why not abuse everyone?!!!

"I incline to rank Pride and Prejudice among the best-plotted novels in English literature. This is far from holding it to be impeccable. It is unfortunately true that a novel need not be faultless —need not be free from grave faults, to be classed with the best-woven fabrics of the clumsy English looms. English novelists commonly write on the grand scale which makes the correlation of particulars difficult and irksome, and in general they are eager or preoccupied. Like the man who had been so busy in making money that he had wanted time to think about finance, they have been so lost in narrative that they have almost forgotten plot; and their forethought, when it has existed, has been moral and intellectual rather than artistic. Even the aesthetic re-quickening in the last years of the nineteenth century came almost too late for the amelioration of their plots. They found themselves ready to appropriate the patterns of their continental masters at the very time when those masters were preparing to teach them that art is truth and that truth is patternless. Accordingly, a strong, definite, and shapely plot, like that of Pride and Prejudice, has never lacked the pedestal of isolation. For the most part the English have muddled through in novel-writing as in war. Lovers of literature will find solace in the thought that in the military field the habit has not acted as preventive to Blenheims and Trafalgars.

"The plot of Pride and Prejudice belongs to that admirable class in which two processes, a flux and reflux, of approximately equal length and strength, are parted in the middle by a crest or equinox in which the first process finds an end and the second a beginning. This is the type which proved so captivating to the imagination of Gustave Freytag that he was decoyed into the error of making it an imperative formula for tragic drama. In Miss Austen's novel, Elizabeth Bennet accumulates dislike of Darcy throughout a volume; throughout a second volume she accumulates love; the arch finds its beautifully poised keystone in the rejection scene in which her aversion touches its acme. The manner of these changes is highly characteristic. The word "process" which I have applied to the movements is inexact, they are no more processes than a flight of steps or a series of ledges is an incline. The graduated is achievable by Miss Austen, but not the gradual. Elizabeth, in the first volume, collects evidence of Darcy's wickedness; in the second she collects evidence of his worth: and this evidence comes not in grains but in blocks. As soon as the rebuttal is complete, so strict a logician cannot delay the bestowal of the hand which is the irrefutable Q. E. D. Yet it is by no means unpleasing or unexciting to watch the deliberate movements of the crane by which block after block is swung into its due place in the massive lines of Miss Austen's geometric masonry."

" ... Even the general plan of the two movements is a departure from the truth, and owes all its brilliant virtuosity to the imposition on life of a symmetrical elegance to which life itself is uncompromisingly hostile. Of itself, it would block Miss Austen's claim to the title of an inexorable realist.

"The differences in merit between Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice are emphasised in one point by the similarity of their materials. There are two sisters with two parallel love-affairs in both noels. But in Sense and Sensibility the union of the stories has little other basis than the union of the heroines, as if two lapdogs became companions rather than partners through the fact that their mistresses were inseparable. ... The differences in merit between Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice are emphasised in one point by the similarity of their materials. There are two sisters with two parallel love-affairs in both noels. But in Sense and Sensibility the union of the stories has little other basis than the union of the heroines, as if two lapdogs became companions rather than partners through the fact that their mistresses were inseparable."

Jane pursue Bingley is as false, of course, as Mariane pursue Willoughby - the one thing they shared is lack of wherewithal, and when invited to visit with friends, options were acceptance if one wished to not become a recluse in country, or rejection and a possibility of ever lonely life - which is different from merely being single. Jane, moreover, visited her aunt and uncle; this was as respectable and normal as it could get. Did she know Bingley would not be elsewhere, visiting Darcy or Scotland or Italy? No, they weren't corresponding.

This author isn't merely vituperative, he's throwing false interpretations along with abuses.

"The Gardiners are entirely subordinate, but they are enlisted in the plot three times; they serve as hosts to Jane, as escorts to Elizabeth, as helpers to Lydia. An ordinary novelist would have treated such auxiliaries as porters or hackmen to be changed at every station."

Gardiner was a very close relative, his wife a friend of the two elder daughters of her sister in law. But perhaps the author didn't experience family.

" ... if reared in one household, they can hardly differ in manners as Rosalind differs from Audrey in As You Like It or as Romola differs from Tessa in George Eliot's Florentine story. Breeding, being more superficial, is more teachable and less variable than either intellect or character. The two eldest and the two youngest sisters in the Bennet household are divided by an incongruity of this type."

Here's a person who, despite being from "a free country", fails to comprehend that people, even babies of same parents, are individuals, not identical blocks of concrete poured and moulded to specifications. Obviously he wrote this when he had yet to experoence a family, whether of siblinfs or children or relatives or neibours, else he ought to have known siblings differ. Period.

"But Mr. Bennet's lot was less fortunately cast, amid earthier and grosser conditions, on a social order in which the farm-horse took the girls to fashionable parties."

Spoken like a good for nothing son of a wealthy Southern owner of a large plantation who doesn't know anything of English - or anywhere - country life.

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Chapter III – Northanger Abbey

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" ...The author wishes to reprove the romanticism of a fiction-reading young girl. ... "

"Catherine Morland is not even a romantic character; she seems intended as a rebuke and corrective to romance."

Reasonable perception so far, but soon the author - Firkins - returns to his stupidity and acid.

" ... Her first exploit, on venturing into the world, is to fall instantly and irreparably in love with a young man whose main attraction is his raillery, and the prime object of whose raillery is the absurdities of the producers and consumers of romance. At the end of the book she marries this young man, magnanimously overlooking his possession of a large income and an enviable position. ... "

"The plot, though scant, is spacious enough to include two gross improbabilities, that the general should be prepared to risk his son's happiness with a girl whose fortune was attested only by rumour, and that he should brave the tongues of the county by an act of violence which stamped him as dupe no less than ruffian."

" ... the general should be prepared to risk his son's happiness with a girl whose fortune was attested only by rumour ... "???

If a man goes so far as to invite a girl to his home, in an attempt to arrange a marriage of his son, only because he's heard she had money, where does concern for the sons happiness come in?

And equally, who ever said the general cared about what people said or thought?

" ... Catherine, whose ignorance at eighteen is abysmal ... "

Isn't that true of most kids at eighteen, even in most cities of U.S., now, not just country clergymen's daughters in England when they didnt go to school, for most part?

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Chapter IV – Mansfield Park

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"In Mansfield Park there is a concentration which contrasts pleasantly with the width and diversity which give the character of polypi to Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. Mansfield Park is frame as well as title; for most of the book the fixture of the story at the park seems as unchangeable as that of Lady Bertram herself, and the removal of the tale to Portsmouth, with the other baggage of Fanny Price, surprises us almost to the point of dismay. We had grown so used to acres and turbot. Again, the characters in the novel are relatively few, and form what may be called a closed circuit. ... the sense of distance in proximity, of peril in an asylum, which follows the reader throughout this reassuring and disquieting tale."

So far so good; one begins to hope the author won't spew acid and possibly he merely disliked her more successful works. But no.

" ... Miss Austen, who has a taste for wine, indulgence for cards, and approbation for balls, and who had seen her own kinsfolk taking part in private theatricals in her father's barn, is inexorable in her reprobation of the sport. ... "

" ... Henry Crawford rides away to Bath. The brusqueness of his treatment of Maria seems almost copied by Miss Austen in her cavalier desertion of an affair with which she has lingeringly and solicitously dallied. ... "

" ... Miss Austen probably made the confection to please the sprightly, and later discovered its virtue as cough medicine in order to placate the discreet.

"Mansfield Park is Fanny Price's book; indeed its faithfulness to Fanny is almost canine. It is a technical flaw perhaps that a book which scarcely leaves Fanny's side should admit a brief dialogue here and there from which she is shut out. ... "

"Fanny, at the time when we see most of her, is eighteen, absolutely ignorant of the world, shrinking and docile to an appealing, almost a pathetic, degree. But her mind is about twenty years older than her physique or her character. She is set down in the Mansfield Park circle as Miss Austen's delegate and mouthpiece. She observes with Miss Austen's keenness, and condemns with Miss Austen's severity. We are disconcerted by the hardihood with which this fragile and trembling girl holds out in her own mind against the judgment of the very persons who, so far as we can see, are responsible for the formation of her judgment."

But he gets horrible in one fell swoop, as if acid weren't enough.

" ... What is Miss Austen's expedient for helping the child of a drunken father and a slipshod mother? Apparently she has nothing to suggest but adoption into a rich family. When told that the French poor had no bread, Marie Antoinette is said to have replied: "Why, then, let them eat cake." I have no doubt that Miss Austen would have been duly amused at the artlessness or heartlessness of the young queen's reply."

So Firkins not only approves of beheading of the French royals, and only because the teenager who came to France to marry the Dauphin was a Princess from the mighty Austrian Empire, daughter of the formidable Empress, so she didn't know about bread or price thereof; but he - Firkins - is also suggesting Jane Austen deserves this, too?

Fortunately she wasn't living when he published this, in 1823!

Author gives another proof of his lack of perception, as if it were needed after his treatment of Jane Austen and her first two publications.

" ... One of those sicknesses which flourish in the third volumes of novels, with a view to the inducement of repentance in the hero or relenting in the heroine, waylays Tom Bertram; a moral convalescence accompanies the physical, which Miss Austen, whose respect for truth is highly variable, prolongs beyond the date of recovery."

He's missed it. And here's once more Firkin comes close to open insolence towards an author he coukd no more approach height of than a man suntanning on a Caribbean beach could tower over Matterhorn simultaneously.

" ... Crawford is the leisurely, the placid, the indolently supple ladykiller, the huntsman to whom the chase is more than the game, and his elegance in the saddle more than the chase. With Fanny his heart is touched, and alacrity is more apparent. I do not know whether Miss Austen is blind to the real insolence of the means he adopts in his pursuit of Fanny —means which reek with latent insult and which would settle his fate once for all with any spirited woman. I incline to think that Miss Austen views his wooing as refined and diplomatic. ... "

And he's determined to give yet another evidence of his stupidity.

" ... The elopement of Henry Crawford and Maria Rushworth in a story of this kind is like the firing of a pistol shot at an afternoon tea. ... "

It's nothing of the sort, not even very surprising, unless one really didn't pay any attention whatsoever whik e reading, and only thought continually about how to attack Jane Austen.

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Chapter V – Emma

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Acid continues, along with unconcealed stupidity of the ignoramus that Firkins keeps exposing his being as, without any self consciousness - couldn't be without consciousness, coukdnt it!

"The claim of Emma to the second place among Miss Austen's novels seems to me as incontestable as its failure to compete with Pride and Prejudice for the honour of the first. ... nobody, with the doubtful exception of the two Knightleys, has much to do; and the story resigns itself with the other inhabitants of Highbury to that poverty of incident and defect of bustle which is the price paid by small villagers for security and comfort."

So Firkins seniors refusal to sponsor junior living in N.Y. at his, seniors, expenses, has the author frustrated into imagining residents of country villages of Europe staffing at chains binding them to their homes and lands?!!!

Blind, again -

"The young clergyman proving ungrateful, nourishing indeed a most unseasonable passion for the patroness ... "

There was no passion, idiot, not even a real inclination or liking, any more than he would have had for any other daughter of any other rich man around!

" ... I cannot but feel that this world must be far better and far better-natured than it now is before a mere flick of satire at another person's obvious and obtrusive folly can deserve the avalanche of reprobation which Emma receives for her treatment of Miss Bates. ... "

Spoken like a true slave owner, rebuked by an aghast observer from North whose consequent breaking off an engagement is seen by Firkins as an exaggeration?

But there's more!

" ... His interest in the marriage of a young farmer with a village girl engrosses him to the point of quarrelling with the woman he loves in its behalf."

Firkins seems to imply, from his criticism of Darcy and Knightley, that it's not merely prudent but necessary, to keep silent about serious ethical or moral matters, where a man's interest in an eligible young woman is concerned - even if it were about a serious matter of life of another person!

And more exposing of his own ignorance, or thoughtless abuse, or both, by Firkin -

" ... Mrs. Elton should be humbled. Nothing of the sort occurs; Mrs. Elton is secretly abominated, but, openly, she is tolerated and deferred to by everybody on the premises. Mr. Knightley is taciturn; Emma is acquiescent; Jane Fairfax is submissive; Miss Bates is idolatrous. The form of portrayal does not show Miss Austen at her very best. ... "

The dumb guy fails to remember he's reading about a polite civilisation of a small country setting in England, and the clergymen's wife, who must be treated well! Not because she has money, or another reason of status, but simply that she's related by her marriage to religion of the village, so to speak! What would someone insulting her do, stop going to church for ever, dispensing with the services of her husband including at his own funeral? Firkins forgets it's not about rough West where one shoots and rides off!

And yet more -

"His profession clearly sets no bound to it in the eyes of the creator of the Reverend Mr. Collins. Mr. Elton's calling, like Mr. Collins's, appears to be removable like his surplice and with his surplice. He is not merely not religious; he is not even clerical."

Firkins wrote, and published, a book on Jane Austen, and her works, with no clue about England, church of England, or society of country; no clue about the clergy, and yet he continues making personal attacks.

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Chapter VI – Persuasion

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Firkins seems to be tired of limiting his vituperation to Jane Austen, her works, characters therein, women in general, or English society; so he extends it to humanity, or those who read.

" ... Even the exertions of a novelist can no longer keep the lovers apart, but the contrivance by which understanding is brought about is so clumsy and artificial that perhaps it ought not to surprise us to hear that it has been warmly admired. ... "

Firkins borders on obscene when he goes -

" ... Miss Austen's work in Persuasion may be described as teasing the reader, finding excuse after excuse for withholding from him a satisfaction which she is almost as eager to grant as he to obtain. ... "

This, at best, is in accord with U.S. habit of identifying a baby as male, when dealing with discussions about mother's and babies. At worst, it's implied porn. And an attack against Jane Austen, and implied threat against any woman who may choose to write.

" ... Anne is twenty-seven, and is supposed to have lost her bloom, but on this delicate point there is a vacillation that shakes our faith in Miss Austen's vigilance. The loss of beauty has gone so far that Frederick Wentworth, after a separation of eight years, finds her "altered beyond knowledge," or at best "wretchedly altered." At Lyme, not long after this, her appearance has mended to the point of making a deep and lasting impression on the mind of a virtual stranger —a cousin who sees her for the first time without knowing of the cousinship. Miss Austen feels that these are dubious procedures, and falters out something about the west wind and its reparative power upon faded beauty. It is clear that we have all underrated the west wind."

Austen was referring to West wind in Lyme, which Firkins knows as little of as he dies of England. But he should know the obvious, without Jane Austen stating it. Wentworth had an image in his mind of someone at nineteen, blooming additionally in love; she's not merely twenty-five when he sees her next, but has had effect of pining and regret. The cousin who sees her, without knowing she's his cousin, is seeing her for the first time, and is struck by her beauty. That's not difficult to understand. Loss of bloom and colour is about youth, but her fundamental beauty is retained.

" ... that he should insist that another man —even a man past fifty —is recreant to his social obligations unless he flaunts a handsome face, is outside of nature, as nature is conceived by a Western American like myself."

One, a review isn't about one's personal likes and dislikes, and Firkins never understood this; he isn't being served in a restaurant, he is reading about characters and lives that obviously do not populate his neighbourhood. If he can't understand, and dislikes it, he should in good taste let it go at that. Two, a country gentleman in England, and a Baronet at that, is allowed far more eccentricity than a man in U.S. who is forced to get along with the sparsely populated areas and the few neighbours, especially in West or South, and this forced conformity is quite familiar; it produces the bible belt, flat earth society and more. Renaissance could only happen in West Europe.

Three, U.S. isn't exactly famous for smooth and courteous relationship between races, and even now, protests about "white" cops killing non"white"s -as if humans, like animals or birds, could be white! - are treated as riots, bringing more killings. Jane Austen has the Baronet talk of beauty; Firkins fails to understand that Europe had an intermingling of races, with conquering races different from indigenous, that began to hsve a semblance of a fluidity rather than uniformity of race, only because of droit de seigneur, and not due to freedom of choosing a partner, especially out of caste - which, supposedly existing in U.S., is only in the affirmation, not in practice.

" ... If Miss Austen does not actually begin to draw Louisa, at least we can see her biting the end of her pencil. ... "

As stated by her various relatives, she only used a pencil - to write; one can't imagine she bit it, or held it in anything but fingers - when she lacked the strength to wield a pen, a few days before her death; but then she inked it over when she could. The habit of doing serious work, including submitting examination papers, written in pencil, is distinctly a U.S. tradition. So might too be the biting bit.

" ... It is rather curious that the only novelist, I suppose, in English literature who had two brothers in the admiralty should paint sailors so emphatically in their unprofessional capacity, their capacity as gentlemen. ... "

Obviously again Firkins shows his ignorance - of not only england and society thereof, but any concept of a society that involves ladies and gentlemen, not bar brawls in his neighbourhood. Jane Austen was a part of such a society, former not latter, with gentry and clergy, academia and aristocracy forming its boundaries; her brothers were brought up in this set-up, as was she. If they used lingo expected by Firkins, and that's a big if, it wouldn't be at home on land in presence of ladies.

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Chapter VII – The Group of Novels

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"The full criticisms I have given to the plots of the several novels will enable me to abridge my comments on the Austen plots. I may say, in word, that Sense and Sensibility reads like the 'prentice-work of a born expert; Pride and Prejudice speaking broadly, is unreservedly excellent; Northanger Abbey begins with mature power, only to relapse into juvenility; Mansfield Park, in its cemented love-affairs, is a much reduced but appreciable success on the same lines as Pride and Prejudice; Emma is a half lucky, half unlucky, shift to a newer and looser method; Persuasion is an unqualified failure. I speak solely with reference to plot."

Firkins wasted his time in reading Jane Austen, and he wasted time - and money, in most cases, if one paid for his work - of his readers; he ought to have restricted himself to strictly his home turf, wild West, with possible exceptions of likes of Treasure Island.

"Did Miss Austen read aloud her own paragraphs? ... "

"Miss Austen is not ringing each sentence on the counter of her ear, as a usurer tests coins to make sure of their claim to acceptance."

Firkins is being silly, expecting his own usual to be reflected in literature of England. And it might have not been so, but yes, the Austens read books aloud in company at home, whether within family or including visiting neighbours and friends. This included works of Jane Austen, and she was very much a stickler for natural, as affirmed in her letters. Firkins expects his time and era to be seen universally as the only alternative. If he doesn't speak thus, no one should write thus. How did he tolerate Shakespeare, or bible?

" ... Miss Austen liked style very well, but I think she liked ease and liked speed, and the English in her last three novels is the mixed result of these diverging tendencies. ... "

And yet her ardent fans include likes of Walter Scott, and more than one have compared her to Shakespeare.

Anybody heard of Firkin, lately?

Ever?

" ... Diana of the Crossways would have been a completer woman in 1900 than in 1800, and Jane Austen's style might have been bettered not so much by the instruction as by the countenance of the fashions exemplified in Macaulay and Thackeray."

Ah, yes, those fans of Jane Austen, Macaulay and Thackeray.

"Jane Austen's diction is of a lustrous purity, and her grammar is normally sound. It is a natural grammar, flowing like a spring out of the soil of her native Kent, not let in by pedagogic irrigation."

One, England takes priority in pedagogy of English literature, grammar, and all but local colour when describing West or U.S. in general; two, her native wasn't Kent. Ancestral a few generations back, but that would just as well include other neighbourhoods, and one of the Oxbridge colleges if not both the universities.

Funny, Firkins quoting Galsworthy as an author - so why does the Complete Works of Jane Austen have his, Firkin's, work dated 1823? Googling it gives, by Open Library, 1920 as publication date.

On the other hand, this explains his talking of twentieth century. But then he is writing not immediately, not a handful of years but a century, after her death, and had to be aware of high esteem Jane Austen has been held in, her fame and esteem only rising. That puts his vituperation in quite another light, that of a dwarf looking up and deliberately spitting at Mont Blanc just to be noticed.

Firkins criticises Jane Austen's English, giving examples of her usage of "were" and "which", but in those examples she's using the words properly, as per strictly taught English; then again, it's Firkin who belongs where language is named English but shouldn't be, it's been changed so much, as one famous author (Mark Twain, or ...?) said - they are two nations separated by a language; so much so, famously Canadians are said to feel like children of divorced parents! And that's how they sound, too, unlike Australians.

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Part II – The Realist

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Chapter VIII – The Realist

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More Firkins.

Firkins quotes a paragraph from Pride and Prejudice and comments.

"This may be questionable as ethics —it is certainly dismal as philosophy; but its art is consummate."

Was the man stupid or blind? Even in his day, even now, few women have a safe alternative to a double danger at every step in every direction - if they find a way to survive, that is!

Firkins's attack against Jane Austen in form of this garbage book is in fact of exactly this sort. And that was years, century after she was dead.

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Part III – The Woman

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Chapter IX – Life and Ways of Life

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"In this final section I shall treat of Jane Austen's personality with glances at certain literary traits to which that personality is closely related. Miss Austen is perhaps the poorest subject for biography of all notable persons who have lived since biography began to flourish. Her family was large, her acquaintance not small; she was part of a peering, listening, gossiping community; and forty-two years in one district and four towns should have supplied a field for the accumulation of reminiscence. But her life was barren of events; her fame, when it tardily arrived, was shy; and curiosity awoke only after its nutriment had vanished. She died in 1817; the memoir of her nephew, J. E. Austen-Leigh, published in 1870, was the first attempt to present her life in narrative. In respect of material that memoir is famished, though the grace and exquisite humility with which the little repast is served leave us obliged even by its meagreness. The taste and loyalty, if not the grace, of the memoir-writer was bequeathed to his son and grandson, William Austen-Leigh and Richard Arthur Austen-Leigh, who published in 1913 the Life and Letters of Jane Austen. The life-story yielded scarcely anything to further pressure; but, in view of Jane's own destitution on this score, a purse of facts, if I may hazard the expression, was made up in her behalf to which every ancestor, relative, and acquaintance was bidden to contribute his mite. ... "

Firkins must share the ambition of leading "she was part of a peering, listening, gossiping community", with people who successfully pretend to themselves they are independent, analytical, and impartial, all based on their physiology, rather than the malicious gossip hunters that they in fact are.

Firkins begins by setting down facts known about life and person of Jane Austen, from number of children her mother had (- eight, including the third son George who is mentioned in Jane Austen, Life And Letters, as born, and later subject to fits, but never recovered; the authors of that book, descendents of the brother who took the name Leigh attached to Austen, do mention that George lived on until 1827), to the list of food and drink she enjoyed (gleaned from her letters to her sister).

He does not - of course! - refrain, from snide remarks about her love life, what can be gleaned from accounts by various relatives.

"Miss Austen's love-affairs, so far as present evidence goes, present nothing that need detain or agitate the biographer. The industry of her relatives has come upon traces of two flirtations, of which Jane herself speaks with a matter-of-fact and reassuring lightness. Her niece, Caroline, is voucher for another story of Jane's acceptance of an income and position overnight and her rejection next morning of the human being with whom these advantages were encumbered. There is still another pointless story of a young man attractive to Jane who was expected to reappear and whose failure to meet expectations was the effect of a rendezvous with death. There is every reason to believe that Miss Austen in her youth had a girl's fondness for society, attention, and, very possibly, flirtation, and there is no reason to suppose that her aversion to matrimony was of the kind which suitable pressure from an eligible quarter would have failed to conquer. Her person is said to have been very attractive. I quote from the author of the memoir."

"In the dearth of biography I shall use the letters as the basis of a sketch of Jane's habits and interests, not shrinking from a little detail, which is more likely to surprise than to fatigue the reader."

After details about food, he goes on to drink, hoping to perhaps shock some of his readers who expect a woman to survive on air.

"Jane did not confine her partialities to imported liqueurs (they had liqueurs even in her day). The authoress whose peculiarity in literature was her fondness for the English domestic home-brew was true to her principles in the matter of drinks. She likes mead, and writes in 1813: "I find time in the midst of port and Madeira to think of the fourteen bottles of mead very often." She turns from the perfunctory mention of a pianoforte to the heart-felt cry: "We hear now that there is to be no honey this year. Bad news for us. We must husband our present stock of mead." Mead divided her affections with spruce beer. It was a period in which the variety of beverages at the same meal was sometimes interestingly great. Mrs. Austen reports a breakfast in which tea, coffee, and chocolate were served. ... "

And as he proceeds to her clothes, Firkins remains assiduously disgusting in his efforts to pour contempt on Jane Austen, hoping his readers will admire him in sharing it - even where, objectively, there is nothing to criticise her!

"If Jane was English in her respect for aliment, she was woman in her emphasis on dress. She is no more frivolous in her care for clothes than she is animal in her stress on nutriment; both are merely articles in the treaty which she made at the outset with things as they are. In relation to clothes her sentiment shows more of the zeal of the partisan than of the gravity of the devotee. They mix good-naturedly enough with more ethereal interests. "I have read the Corsair, mended my petticoat, and have nothing else to do." Literature and dress are associated after another fashion in the following mention of a cap. "It will be white satin and lace, and a little white flower perking out of the left ear, like Harriet Byron's feather." Jane's interest in caps is inextinguishable. She wears a black cap to a ball to the probable admiration of everybody in the room, even at the time of life when she could dance twenty dances without fatigue and imagine herself dancing for a week together. She and her sister were thought to have taken to caps and the other ensigns of middle age earlier than their years or their looks required."

"Animal"?? Because she didn't confirm to his Southern plantation boy expectations of women, and subconsciously believed the pretence that women don't eat?

Firkins speaks disdainfully of "the mutual attitude of mistress and servant in America", which implies, of course, an attitude of male ownership of, not merely superiority over, both.

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Firkins is getting ready for serious targeting with these practice potshots.

"A woman to whom the fact meant so much would affect no delicate indifference to money, and the letters and novels agree in testifying to the weight that Jane Austen gave to pounds. Money is never lightly spoken of, either by the most sensible or the most romantic persons in her books, and even people like Elinor Dashwood and Edward Ferrars, whose love is sincere and profound, are perfectly clear as to the relation of income to well-being. ... "

Only someone whose existence does not depend on, or be seriously affected by, an amount of money in question, would speak lightly of that amount of money. That would include a monk who is not supposed to deal with money, or anyone whose life and wellbeing is assured without being affected by the amount in question.

As for the characters he mentions, neither had property; the senior heir had kept the Dashwood property, with so little left to the widow and three daughters that the story began with their meagre circumstances. And Edward Ferrets was disinherited by his mother on learning of his engagement, which he refused to give up due only to his honour, which subsequently was somewhat remedied by Elinore recommending his case to Brandon who provided him a living. It's all very well being snide for likes of Firkins, but a couple in love doesn't look forward to begging for food for children after marrying. Firkins living in West in U.S. might have survived by hunting, but this wasn't possible in England. Poaching was as much a crime in England as horse theft in U.S., although poachers weren't executed in England, as horse thieves were in U.S..

" ... Miss Austen's attitude toward money, while neither idolatrous nor abject, is definable as homage. She was neither a Fanny Dashwood nor a Mrs. Norris, but money was for her one of the great good facts of life in the savour and brightness of which her imagination fondly rested. She says in one letter: "I shall keep my ten pounds to wrap myself up in." The reference is naturally to apparel, but I think Jane would have been quite capable of nestling cosily into the warm wrappage of a snug income. "My father is doing all in his power to increase his income by raising his tithes, etc., and I do not despair of getting very nearly six hundred a year ... "

The reference to ten pounds is humour, and one to six hundred is dead serious, since it was supposed to support four people, occasional visitors, and pay rent; Firkins does not care to mention, if he knew anything about, which he probablydid not, how far did the said amounts go in Jane Austen's day. After the father's death, the income was down to two hundred; without what Firkins terms as charity from her brother Edward Knight Austen, which was his providing the family a home at a place of their selection on his property either at Chawton or in Kent, they would have not done with comfort.

Firkins is disgusting enough to keep quoting instances about money from Jane Austen's letters just to heap contempt, even where most people would not only understand and call it rational (such as her being clear about high stakes in cards being unaffordable - so if his ideal was opposite, why didn't Firkins shoot himself in head after a serious poker game before writing this garbage book? because he always cheated, of course, and shot everybody else if caught out? of course! ), but worse, questioning it where humour was clear, and implying seriously that she was base (when she writes about the brother, who had given them a house, giving her some money).

Then, in an effort to clear himself, he points fingers at his readers about thinking bad of Jane Austen by misinterpreting him, and goes on to badmouthing other "women like George Eliot and Mrs. Browning", which does it twice over - do we have to be reminded they were women? Why do disgusting people have their heads in everybody's pants??!!!

"If the above paragraphs produce the impression that Miss Austen was grasping or parsimonious, they have been unskilfully written. The delicacy — the interest —of the situation lies in the fact that Miss Austen was all that these paragraphs imply without being either grasping or parsimonious. The thought of money raised in her mind a glow not unlike that which the sight of fire awakens in a chilly person in a fickle climate; that glow does not imply that its owner will monopolise the cheer of the hearth or will be niggardly of coals to freezing neighbours. Such a feeling in relation to money indicates nothing worse than the abeyance of lethargy of those higher spiritual interests which, in women like George Eliot and Mrs. Browning, preoccupy the imagination and the feelings, and reduce money to the condition of a railway ticket —a thing to be at once guarded and despised."

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Did Firkins seriously set out to be fraudulent, thinking his readers were stupid enough?

" ... She is rather captious with Scott. "Walter Scott has no business to write novels especially good ones. It is not fair. He has fame and profit enough as a poet, and should not be taking the bread out of the mouths of other people." "I do not like him, and do not mean to like Waverley if I can help it, but fear I must.""

Unless, of course, he really was stupid enough to not see humour.

Was he aware of just how disgusting he was, in his attitude towards women?

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Chapter X – Liabilities and Assets

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He reads Jane Austen with no comprehension whatsoever.

"She viewed it very much as she viewed the fruits on the ladies' hats in Bath. She had good eyes, and she knew perfectly well that the grapes and cherries of the feminine headgear were not edible grapes and cherries. But, so far as we know, it never occurred to her that they were not right because they were not real, or that they were less legitimate in their own way than the fruit which pleased the taste and fed the body. A real cherry on a hat would have been, not honest, but absurd. Now Miss Austen was a person who grasped things, and when a sham came in her way, she took hold of it with the admirable solidity and downrightness with which she grasped the actualities of life."

What she says is

" ... Flowers are very much worn, and fruit is still more the thing. Elizabeth has a bunch of strawberries, and I have seen grapes, cherries, plums, and apricots. There are likewise almonds and raisins, French plums, and tamarinds at the grocers', but I have never seen any of them in hats. A plum or greengage would cost three shillings; cherries and grapes about five, I believe, but this is at some of the dearest shops. ... "

It's clearly funny, and she meant it that way - it should be clear when she mentions tamarind, but she makes sure to mention grocer, as well, so as to avoid confusion. Well, she did not expect stupidity of Firkins's level, not in published books!

" ... It is doubtful if she read enough to command that virtual solitude of which the persevering reader is master or mistress. Her books were written in secret, but the shifts to which she resorted for the maintenance of this secrecy are of the degree to which her life was enveloped and permeated by the life of the household. ... "

Firkin, with his theory of women being less than males in areas of mind, coukdnt possibly have allowed any life of mind to his wife or daughter, if he had any; bring Western U.S. male, it's hard to imagine what he'd do to them if they read, much less seriously so. As for Jane and her sister, even their mother, they did read, after housework was taken care of, and often together, as custom was in gentry homes of an evening before and after dinner. They read together, too. She read Scott, apart from lighter fare of the day, and had been schooled by her father, and older brother James who'd returned a scholar from Oxford. From her writing, it's clear where she stands. It's far above Firkins, as clear from his.

" ... It is probable that Jane's respect for this order whose extremities and eccentricities she allowed herself to satirise was at bottom unshakable; and it was this esteem for the whole that gave point to her quarrel with the particulars. ... "

By that logic, Firkins must have been a slaveowner, since he did not rebel and go become a Buddhist in Africa! Jane Austen enjoying her life, her society seems objectionable to him because, what, she wasn't Karl Marx? Any reader of her books can see she is showing limitations of this life of country, especially for women; but Firkins is blind, or pretending to be so just so he can target her.

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Chapter XI – Conclusion

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More verbiage, where Firkins holds back acid a tad, but drivel he is determined to not stop, and drivel it is.

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September 10, 2021 - September 12, 2021.

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AUSTEN, JANE from Encyclopaedia Britannica (1910-1911)

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Austen, Jane

From the Encyclopedia Britannica,

Eleventh Edition; 1910-1911

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It has been generally agreed by the best critics that Miss Austen has never been approached in her own domain. No one indeed has attempted any close rivalry. No other novelist has so concerned herself or himself with the trivial daily comedy of small provincial family life, disdaining equally the assistance offered by passion, crime and religion. Whatever Miss Austen may have thought privately of these favourite ingredients of fiction, she disregarded all alike when she took her pen in hand. Her interest was in life's little perplexities of emotion and conduct; her gaze was steadily ironical. The most untoward event in any of her books is Louisa's fall from the Cobb at Lyme Regis, in Persuasion; the most abandoned, Maria's elopement with Crawford, in Mansfield Park. In pure ironical humour Miss Austen's only peer among novelists is George Meredith, and indeed Emma may be said to be her Egoist, or the Egoist his Emma. But irony and fidelity to the fact alone would not have carried her down the ages. To these gifts she allied a perfect sense of dramatic progression and an admirably lucid and flowing prose style which makes her stories the easiest reading.

"Recognition came to Miss Austen slowly. It was not until quite recent times that to read her became a necessity of culture. But she is now firmly established as an English classic, standing far above Miss Burney (Madame d'Arblay) and Miss Edgeworth, who in her day were the popular women novelists of real life, while Mrs Radcliffe and "Monk" Lewis, whose supernatural fancies Northanger Abbey was written in part to ridicule, are no longer anything but names. Although, however, she has become only lately a household word, Miss Austen had always her panegyrists among the best intellects--such as Coleridge, Tennyson, Macaulay, Scott, Sydney Smith, Disraeli and Archbishop Whately, the last of whom may be said to have been her discoverer. Macaulay, whose adoration of Miss Austen's genius was almost idolatrous, considered Mansfield Park her greatest feat; but many critics give the palm to Emma. Disraeli read Pride and Prejudice seventeen times. Scott's testimony is often quoted: "That young lady had a talent for describing the involvements, feelings and characters of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful I have ever met with. The big bow-wow I can do myself like any one going; but the exquisite touch which renders commonplace things and characters interesting from the truth of the description and the sentiment is denied to me."(E.V.L.)"

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THE NOVELS OF JANE AUSTEN

by George Henry Lewes (1859)

From Blackwood's Magazine.

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This was written over a century and six decades ago, a few decades after the time of Jane Austen's books being read first; they were successful as soon as they were published, but her name was not known in connection with them except to her intimate circle, that of her family - it wasn't published then. Her books were read widely, her esteem grew, but it took time before her name was known. This author begins with this phenomenon.

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"For nearly half a century England has possessed an artist of the highest rank, whose works have been extensively circulated, whose merits have been keenly relished, and whose name is still unfamiliar in men's mouths. One would suppose that great excellence and real success would inevitably produce a loud reputation. Yet in this particular case such a supposition would be singularly mistaken. ... Mention the name of Miss Austen to a cultivate dreader, and it is probable that the sparkle in his eye will at once flash forth sympathetic admiration, and he will perhaps relate how Scott, Whately, and Macaulay prize this gifted woman, and how the English public has bought her works; but beyond this literary circle we find the name almost entirely unknown; and not simply unknown in the sense of having no acknowledged place among the remarkable writers, but unremembered even in connections with the very works which are themselves remembered. ... "

"That Miss Austen is an artist of high rank, in the most rigorous sense of the word, is an opinion which in the present article we shall endeavour to substantiate. That her novels are very extensively read, is not an opinion, but a demonstrated fact; and with this fact we couple the paradoxical fact, of a fine artist, whose works are widely known and enjoyed, being all but unknown to the English public, and quite unknown abroad. The causes which have kept her name in comparative obscurity all the time that her works have been extensively read, and her reputation every year has been settling itself more firmly in the minds of the better critics, may well be worth an inquiry. It is intelligible how the blaze of Scott should have thrown her into the shade, at first: beside his frescoes her works are but miniatures; exquisite as miniatures, yet incapable of ever filling that space in the public eye which was filled by his massive and masterly pictures. But although it is intelligible why Scott should have eclipsed her, it is not at first so easy to understand why Miss Edgeworth should have done so. Miss Austen, indeed, has taken her revenge with posterity. She will doubtless be read as long as English novels find readers; whereas Miss Edgeworth is already little more than a name, and only finds a public for her children's books. ... Quarterly tells us that "her fame has grown fastest since she died: there was no éclat about her first appearance: the public took time to make up its mind; and she, not having staked her hopes of happiness on success or failure, was content to wait for the decision of her claims. Those claims have been long established beyond a question; but the merit of first recognising them belongs less to the reviewers than to the general readers." There is comfort in this for authors who see the applause of reviewers lavished on works of garish effect. Nothing that is really good can fail, at last, in securing its audience; and it is evident that Miss Austen's work must possess elements of indestructible excellence, since, although never "popular," she survives writers who were very popular; and forty years after her death, gains more recognition than she gained when alive. ... But the fact that her name is not even now a household word proves that her excellence must be of an unobtrusive kind, shunning the glare of popularity, not appealing to temporary tastes and vulgar sympathies, but demanding culture in its admirers. Johnson wittily says of somebody, "Sir, he managed to make himself public without making himself known." Miss Austen has made herself known without making herself public. There is no portrait of her in the shop windows; indeed, no portrait of her at all. But she is cherished in the memories of those whose memory is fame."

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"As one symptom of neglect we have to notice the scantiness of all biographical details about her. Of Miss Burney, who is no longer read, nor much worth reading, we have biography, and to spare. Of Miss Bronte, who, we fear, will soon cease to find readers, there is also ample biography; but of Miss Austen we have little information. In the first volume of the edition published by Mr. Bentley (five charming volumes, to be had for fifteen shillings) there is a meagre notice ... "

Over a century and half later - in fact, since over a half a century ago, and perhaps through the twentieth century for that matter - things have changed, and how! Charlotte Bronte is popular, but mostly amongst younger women, schoolgirl teenagers looking for a read tad more serious than the Mills and Boon etc; while other female contemporaries of Jane Austen are almost unknown, George Eliot is universally respected; and Emily Bronte has shot to much more of an eminence over the other siblings, who began - one suspects - to be looked into, as Emily Bronte began to be known. Jane Austen meanwhile has her works grow and become a monument straddling the line demarcation border between popular and critically regarded high, and one suspects that lack of a universal acknowledgement of her stature is largely due to a vast misogyny, widely prevalent in U.S., which denigrates women authors to a diminutive, disdained category labelled with a word at once known derogatory.

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" ... the charming novel, Northanger Abbey ... did not appear in print until after her death; and this work, which the Quarterly Review pronounces the weakest of the series (a verdict only intelligible to us because in the same breath Persuasion is called the best!), is not only written with unflagging vivacity, but contains two characters no one else could have equalled—Henry Tilney and John Thorpe. ... Between 1811 and 1816 appeared her three chefs-d'oeuvre—Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma. The applause these met with, gratified her, of course; but she steadily resisted every attempt to "make a lion of her," and never publicly avowed her authorship, although she spoke freely of it in private. ... "

" ... We may picture her as something like her own sprightly, natural, but by no means perfect Elizabeth Bennett, in Pride and Prejudice, one of the few heroines one would seriously like to marry.

"We have no means of ascertaining how many copies of these exquisite pictures of English life have been circulated, but we know that the number is very large. Twice or thrice have the railway editions been out of print; and Mr. Bentley's edition is stereotyped. This success implies a hold on the public, all the more certainly because the popularity is "not loud but deep." We have re-read them all four times; or rather, to speak more accurately, they have been read aloud to us, one after the other; and when it is considered what a severe test that is, how the reading aloud permits no skipping, no evasion of weariness, but brings both merits and defects into stronger relief by forcing the mind to dwell on them, there is surely something significant of genuine excellence when both reader and listener finish their fourth reading with increase of admiration. The test of reading aloud applied to Jane Eyre, which had only been read once before, very considerably modified our opinion of that remarkable work; and, to confess the truth, modified it so far that we feel as if we should never open the book again. The same test applied to such an old favourite as Tom Jones, was also much more damaging than we should have anticipated—bringing the defects and shortcomings of that much overrated work into very distinct prominence, and lessening our pleasure in its effective, but, on the whole, coarse painting. ... This is at any rate our individual judgment, which the reader is at liberty to modify as he pleases. In the course of the fifteen years which have elapsed since we first read Emma, and Mansfield Park, we have outlived many admirations, but have only learned to admire Miss Austen more; and as we are perfectly aware of why we so much admire her, we may endeavour to communicate these reasons to the reader."

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"If, as probably few will dispute, the art of the novelist be the representation of human life by means of a story; and if the truest representation, effected by the least expenditure of means, constitutes the highest claim of art, then we say that Miss Austen has carried the art to a point of excellence surpassing that reached by any of her rivals. Observe we say "the art;" we do not say that she equals many of them in the interest excited by the art; that is a separate question. It is probable, nay certain, that the interest excited by the Antigone is very inferior to that excited by Black-eyed Susan. It is probably that Uncle Tom and Dred surpassed in interest the Antiquary or Ivanhoe. It is probable that Jane Eyre produced a far greater excitement than the Vicar of Wakefield. But the critic justly disregards these fervid elements of immediate success, and fixes his attention mainly on the art which is of eternal substance. Miss Austen has nothing fervid in her works. She is not capable of producing a profound agitation in the mind. In many respects this is a limitation of her powers, a deduction from her claims. But while other writers have had more power over the emotions, more vivid imaginations, deeper sensibilities, deeper insight, and more of what is properly called invention, no novelist has approached her in what we may style the "economy of art," by which is meant the easy adaptation of means to ends, with no aid from extraneous or superfluous elements. Indeed, paradoxical as the juxtaposition of the names may perhaps appear to those who have not reflected much on this subject, we venture to say that the only names we can place above Miss Austen, in respect of this economy of art, are Sophocles and Molière (in Les Misanthrope). And if anyone will examine the terms of the definition, he will perceive that almost all defects in works of art arise from neglect of this economy. When the end is the representation of human nature in its familiar aspects, moving amid every-day scenes, the means must likewise be furnished from every-day life: romance and improbabilities must be banished as rigorously as the grotesque exaggeration of peculiar characteristics, or the representation of abstract types. it is easy for an artist to choose a subject from everyday life, but it is not easy for him so to represent the characters and their actions that they shall be at once lifelike and interesting; accordingly, whenever ordinary people are introduced, they are either made to speak a language never spoken out of books, and to pursue conduct never observed in life; or else they are intolerably wearisome. But Miss Austen is like Shakespeare: she makes her very noodles inexhaustibly amusing, yet accurately real. We never tire of her characters. They become equal to actual experiences. They live with us, and form perpetual topics of comment. ... The heroines—at least Elizabeth, Emma, and Catherine Morland—are truly lovable, flesh-and-blood young women; and the good people are all really good, without being goody. Her reverend critic in the Quarterly says, "She herself compares her productions to a little bit of ivory, two inches wide, worked upon with a brush so fine that little effect is produced with much labour. It is so: her portraits are perfect likenesses, admirably finished, many of them gems; but it is all miniature painting; and having satisfied herself with being inimitable in one line, she never essayed canvass and oils; never tried her hand at a majestic daub." ... She belongs to the great dramatists; but her dramas are of homely, common quality. It is obvious that the nature of the thing represented will determine degrees in art. Raphael will always rank higher than Teniers; Sophocles and Shakespeare will never be lowered to the rank of Lope de Vega and Scribe. It is a greater effort of genius to produce a fine epic than a fine pastoral; a great drama than a perfect lyric. There is far greater stain on the intellectual effort to create a Brutus or an Othello, than to create a Vicar of Wakefield or a Squire Western. The higher the aims, the greater is the strain, and the nobler is success.

"These, it may be said, are truism; and so they are. Yet they need restatement from time to time, because men constantly forget that the dignity of a high aim cannot shed lustre on an imperfect execution, though to some extent it may lessen the contempt which follows upon failure. It is only success which can claim applause. Any fool can select a great subject; and in general it is the tendency of fools to choose subjects which the strong feel to be too great. If a man can leap a five-barred gate, we applaud his agility; but if he attempt it, without a chance of success, the mud receives him, and we applaud the mud. This is too often forgotten by critics and artists, in their grandiloquence about "high art." No art can be high that is not good. A grand subject ceases to be grand when its treatment is feeble. It is a great mistake, as has been wittily said, "to fancy yourself a great painter because you paint with a big brush;" and there are unhappily too many big brushes in the hands of incompetence. ... It is twenty times more difficult to write a fine tragedy than a fine lyric; but it is more difficult to write a perfect lyric than a tolerable tragedy; and there was as much sense as sarcasm in Beranger's reply when the tragic poet Viennet visited him in prison, and suggested that of course there would be a volume of songs as the product of this leisure. "Do you suppose," said Beranger, "that chansons are written as easily as tragedies?"

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The following brings a smile towards end -

" ... The secret is, Miss Austen was a thorough mistress in the knowledge of human character; how it is acted upon by education and circumstance, and how, when once formed, it shows itself through every hour of every day, and in every speech of every person. ... in Miss Austen's hands we see into their hearts and hopes, their motives, their struggles within themselves; and a sympathy is induced which, if extended to daily life and the world at large, would make the reader a more amiable person; and we must think it that reader's own fault who does not close her pages with more charity in his heart towards unpretending, if prosing worth; with a higher estimation of simple kindness and sincere good-will; with a quickened sense of the duty of bearing and forbearing in domestic intercourse, and of the pleasure of adding to the little comforts even of persons who are neither wits nor beauties." It is worth remembering that this is the deliberate judgment of the present Archbishop of Dublin, and not a careless verdict dropping from the pen of a facile reviewer. There are two points in it to which especial attention may be given: first, the indication of Miss Austen's power of representing life; and, secondly, the indication of the effect which her sympathy with ordinary life produces. ... introducing a striking passage from one of the works of Mr. George Eliot, a writer who seems to us inferior to Miss Austen in the art of telling a story, and generally in what we have called the "economy of art;" but equal in truthfulness, dramatic ventriloquism, and humour, and greatly superior in culture, in reach of mind, and depth of emotional sensibility. ... "

Obviously Mr Lewes is far from a misogynist- he's completely unaware of identity of George Eliot, and assuming it's a male, despite being aware no doubt, that Charlotte Bronte wrote and published under a male name, Currer Bell, he is judging Jane Austen superior to what he unquestionably assumes is a male author, George Eliot- which a misogynist insect such as Firkins would not dream of doing.

"But the real secret of Miss Austen's success lies in her having the exquisite and rare gift of dramatic creation of character. Scott says of her, "She had a talent for describing the involvements, and feelings, and characters of ordinary life, which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with. The big bow-wow strain I can do myself like any one now going; but the exquisite touch, which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting, from the truth of the description and the sentiment, is denied me. What a pity such a gifted creature died so early!"[96] Generously said; but high as the praise is, it is as much below the real excellence of Miss Austen, as the "big bow-wow strain" is below the incomparable power of the Waverley Novels. Scott felt, but did not define, the excellence of Miss Austen. The very word "describing" is altogether misplaced and misleading. She seldom describes anything, and is not felicitous when she attempts it. But instead of description, the common and easy resource of novelists, she has the rare and difficult art of dramatic presentation: instead of telling us what her characters are, and what they feel, she presents the people, and they reveal themselves. In this she has never perhaps been surpassed, not even by Shakespeare himself. If ever living beings can be said to have moved across the page of fiction, as they lived, speaking as they spoke, and feeling as they felt, they do so in Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Mansfield Park. ... "

" ... If the reader fails to perceive the extraordinary merit of Miss Austen's representation of character, let him try himself to paint a portrait which shall be at once many-sided and interesting, without employing any but the commonest colours, without calling in the aid of eccentricity, exaggeration, or literary "effects;" or let him carefully compare the writings of Miss Austen with those of any other novelist, from Fielding to Thackeray.

"It is probably this same dramatic instinct which makes the construction of her stories so admirable. And by construction, we mean the art which, selecting what is useful and rejecting what is superfluous, renders our interest unflagging, because one chapter evolves the next, one character is necessary to the elucidation of another. In what is commonly called "plot" she does not excel. Her invention is wholly in character and motive, not in situation. Her materials are of the commonest every-day occurrence. Neither the emotions of tragedy, nor the exaggerations of farce, seem to have the slightest attraction for her. The reader's pulse never throbs, his curiosity is never intense; but his interest never wanes for a moment. The action begins; the people speak, feel, and act; everything that is said, felt, or done tends towards the entanglement or disentanglement of the plot; and we are almost made actors as well as spectators of the little drama. One of the most difficult things in dramatic writing is so to construct the story that every scene shall advance the denouement by easy evolution, yet at the same time give scope to the full exhibition of the characters. In dramas, as in novels, we almost always see that the action stands still while the characters are being exhibited, and the characters are in abeyance while the action is being unfolded. ... "

"So entirely dramatic, and so little descriptive, is the genius of Miss Austen, that she seems to rely upon what her people say and do for the whole effect they are to produce on our imaginations. She no more thinks of describing the physical appearance of her people than the dramatist does who knows that his persons are to be represented by living actors. ... It is impossible that Mr. Collins should not have been endowed by nature with an appearance in some way heralding the delicious folly of the inward man. Yet all we hear of this fatuous curate is, that "he was a tall, heavy-looking young man of five-and-twenty. His air was grave and stately, and his manners were very formal." Balzac or Dickens would not have been content without making the reader see this Mr. Collins. Miss Austen is content to make us know him, even to the very intricacies of his inward man. It is not stated whether she was short-sighted, but the absence of all sense of the outward world—either scenery or personal appearance—is more remarkable in her than in any writer we remember.

"We are touching here on one of her defects which help to an explanation of her limited popularity, especially when coupled with her deficiencies in poetry and passion. She has little or no sympathy with what is picturesque and passionate. This prevents her from painting what the popular eye can see, and the popular heart can feel. The struggles the ambitions, the errors, and the sins of energetic life are left untouched by her; and these form the subjects most stirring to the general sympathy. ... Passion and adventure are the sources of certain success with the mass of mankind. The passion may be coarsely felt, the romance may be ridiculous, but there will always be found a large majority whose sympathies will be awakened by even the coarsest daubs. Emotion is in its nature sympathetic and uncritical; a spark will ignite it. Types of villainy never seen or heard of out of books, or off the stage, types of heroism and virtue not less hyperbolical, are eagerly welcomed and believed in by a public which would pass over without notice the subtlest creations of genius, and which would even resent the more truthful painting as disturbing its emotional enjoyment of hating the bad, and loving the good. The nicer art which mingles goodness with villany, and weakness with virtue, as in life they are always mingled, causes positive distress to young and uncultivated minds. The mass of men never ask whether a character is true, or the events probable; it is enough for them that they are moved; and to move them strongly, black must be very black, and white without a shade. ... "

" ... Miss Austen is such a novelist. Her subjects have little intrinsic interest; it is only in their treatment that they become attractive; but treatment and art are not likely to captivate any except critical and refined tastes. Every reader will be amused by her pictures, because their very truth carries them home to ordinary experience and sympathy; but this amusement is of a tepid nature, and the effect is quickly forgotten. Partridge expressed the general sentiment of the public when he spoke slightingly of Garrick's "Hamlet," because Garrick did just what he, Partridge, would have done in presence of a ghost; whereas the actor who performed the king, powerfully impressed him by sonorous elocution and emphatic gesticulation: that was acting, and required art; the other was natural, and not worth alluding to.

"The absence of breadth, picturesqueness, and passion, will also limit the appreciating audience of Miss Austen to the small circle of cultivated minds; and even those minds are not always capable of greatly relishing her works."

Lewes, while far from anywhere near misogyny, still obliterated women, as most males do from what they consider their world - and forgets that women, too, read. Whats more, most women are concerned about questions of love, marriage, normal life, for not only themselves but for their daughters, granddaughters, sisters, nieces, and yes, sons and nephews too. This is the region of Jane Austen's writing, keeping out what does not concern most people, especially most women. Did anyone ever challenge anyone about an anonymous survey regarding who appreciated which works of Shakespeare's? It's possible on internet, and if done properly, neither Hamlet nor Othello will be high, but Romeo and Juliet will. Jane Austen might just do better, with matters of concern for women treted within framework of their normal life. The only way she could have done better was if she'd dealt satisfactorily with the question of dealing with abusive husband, or elders of a young girl. People might not realise it, but this is the only point where Charlotte Bronte started ahead in Jane Eyre - a helpless young girl dealing with an abusive elder in control.

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Lewes gives views of Charlotte Bronte and Walter Scott about Jane Austen's writing, which agree on her work being likened to pleasant cottages with little flower gardens, lacking romance, grandeur or serious problems. This is not true, and obviously neither could put their self in place of even Elizabeth Bennet, much less Elinore Dashwood or Fanny Price. Each of these is a character who has either lost a love, or refused at least one suitor who, if accepted, could secure her life. And this refusal has been on ethical, moral grounds, not necessarily those of actual dislike or repugnance. They have, moreover, subsequently faced desolation, looking forth to an empty life, of not only limited means or uncertain future, but a possibility of dire circumstances. If this does not border on difficulty, much less horror or tragedy, the reader is a comfortably situated person who never could imagine himself or herself in those circumstances. It isn't a pleasant cottage with a little flower garden, at all. One can only object to the word 'indifferent', when Lewes says -

"Miss Austen has generally but an indifferent story to tell, but her art of telling it is incomparable. Her characters, never ideal, are not of an eminently attractive order; but her dramatic ventriloquism and power of presentation is little less than marvellous. Macaulay declares his opinion that in this respect she is second only to Shakespeare. "Among the writers," he says, "who, in the point we have noticed, have approached nearest the manner of the great master, we have no hesitation in placing Jane Austen, a woman of whom England is justly proud. She has given us a multitude of characters, all, in a certain sense, commonplace—all such as we meet every day. Yet they are all as perfectly discriminated from each other as if they were the most eccentric of human beings…. And all this is done by touches so delicate that they elude analysis, that they defy powers of description, and that we only know them to exist by the general effect to which they have contributed.""

None of the stories by Jane Austen are indifferent - and in fact, they have an appeal far more universal beyond Shakespeare, whose one or two works are as timeless.

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"We have thus endeavoured to characterise, in general terms, the qualities which her works display. It is less easy to speak with sufficient distinctness of the particular works, since, unless our readers have these vividly present to memory (in which case our remarks would be superfluous), we cannot hope to be perfectly intelligible; no adequate idea of them can be given by a review of one ... Her characters are so gradually unfolded, their individuality reveals itself so naturally and easily in the course of what they say and do, that we learn to know them as if we had lived with them, but cannot by any single speech or act make them known to others. Aunt Norris, for instance, in Mansfield Park, is a character profoundly and variously delineated; yet there is no scene in which she exhibits herself to those who have not the pleasurable disgust of her acquaintance; while to those who have, there is no scene in which she does not exhibit herself. Mr. Collins, making an offer to Elizabeth Bennet, formally stating the reasons which induced him to marry, and the prudential motives which have induced him to select her, and then adding, "Nothing now remains for me but to assure you, in the most animated language, of the violence of my affection. To fortune I am perfectly indifferent, and shall make no demand of that nature on your father, since I am well aware that it could not be complied with; and that one thousand pounds in the four-per-cents, which will not be yours till after your mother's decease, is all that you may ever be entitled to. On that head, therefore, I shall be uniformly silent; and you may assure yourself that no ungenerous reproach shall ever pass my lips when we are married;" and after her refusal, persisting in accepting this refusal as only what is usual with young ladies, who reject the addresses of the man they secretly mean to accept, "I am therefore by no means discouraged by what you have just said, and shall hope to lead you to the altar ere long;"—this scene, ludicrous as it is throughout, receives its exquisite flavour from what has gone before. We feel morally persuaded that so Mr. Collins would speak and act. The man who, on taking leave of his host, formally assures him that he will not fail to send a "letter of thanks" on his return, and does send it, is just the man to have made this declaration. ... "

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September 12, 2021 - September 13, 2021.

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EXCERPT FROM

Criticism and Fiction

by William Dean Howells (1891)

(Chapter XV)

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" ... WHICH brings us again, after this long way about, to the divine Jane and her novels, and that troublesome question about them. She was great and they were beautiful, because she and they were honest, and dealt with nature nearly a hundred years ago as realism deals with it today. Realism is nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material, and Jane Austen was the first and the last of the English novelists to treat material with entire truthfulness. Because she did this, she remains the most artistic of the English novelist, and alone worthy to be matched with the great Scandinavian and Slavic and Latin artists. It is not a question of intellect, or not wholly that. The English have mind enough; but they have not taste enough; or, rather, their taste has been perverted by their false criticism, which is based upon personal preference, and not upon principle; which instructs a man to think that what he likes is good, instead of teaching him first to distinguish what is good before he likes it. The art of fiction, as Jane Austen knew it, declined from her through Scott, and Bulwer, and Dickens, and Charlotte Brontë, and Thackeray, and even George Eliot, because the mania of romanticism had seized upon all Europe, and these great writers could not escape the taint of their time; but it has shown few signs of recovery in England, because English criticism, in the presence of the continental masterpieces, has continued provincial and special and personal, and has expressed a love and a hate which had to do with the quality of the artist rather than the character of his work. ... The only observer of English middle-class life since Jane Austen worthy to be named with her was not George Eliot, who was first ethical and then artistic, who transcended her in everything but the form and method most essential to art, and there fell hopelessly below her. It was Anthony Trollope who was most like her in simple honesty and instinctive truth, as unphilosophised as the light of common day; but he was so warped from a wholesome ideal as to wish at times to be like the caricaturist Thackeray, and to stand about in his scene, talking it over with his hands in his pockets, interrupting the action, and spoiling the illusion in which alone the truth of art resides. Mainly, his instinct was too much for his ideal, and with a low view of life in its civic relations and a thoroughly bourgeois soul, he yet produced works whose beauty is surpassed only by the effect of a more poetic writer in the novels of Thomas Hardy. ... "

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" ... Jane Austen, born in 1775, at Steventon, is one of the true immortals of English literature, yet she found no easy road to fame. Few novelists have written three great novels without the prospect of publishing one of them, yet this was Jane Austen's fate. And when we remember that all the great names we have already mentioned are the names of persons moving more or less in a large world, cheered by the praise or stimulated by the opposition of their contemporaries, and drawing their knowledge of life from ample sources, perhaps the most extraordinary characteristic of Jane Austen's life is its singular isolation."

"Her highest claim as an artist is that she inaugurated the novel of still life.

"In a day when people wept over the mock pathos of Sterne, and were thrilled with the sensationalism of Mrs. Radcliffe, it needed an unusual degree of courage, of resolute self-poise, and of detachment of mind to accomplish this task, and for the development of these qualities solitude was necessary. And, to the discerning, there is genuine dignity and pathos in the picture of this quiet, cheerful, clear-eyed woman, far away from the great interests of life, sitting down to write books which no publisher was to venture on for years, and yet so absolutely assured of the rightness of her method, and so full of the quiet enjoyment of her own work, that her patience is never wearied, her temper never soured, her brightness never dulled. She wrought for pure love of her work, and without thinking much about it. She wrote at her little desk by the sunny window, carefully covering up her papers when a stranger entered, and breathing no word to anyone outside the family circle of the nature of her pursuits. Sometimes she wrote amid the chatter of conversation, and found it no detriment. She wrote on, unconscious of her own genius, and content that no one should recognise her as an unusual person. Before her, as she sat at her desk, all the little world she knew lived and moved, and it was all the world she wanted. She was content to love and be loved, and did not ask for praise. ... "

" ....there can be no doubt of the greatness of her work, though it is a kind of work too true and delicate ever to be appreciated at its real worth by minds destitute of critical discrimination."

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September 13, 2021 - September 13, 2021.

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JANE AUSTEN, AND THE NOVEL OF SOCIAL COMEDY

by Williams James Dawson (1905)

Chapter IV of Makers of English Fiction

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"It has often been said that an original writer has to create the taste by which he is appreciated; it may be remembered also that the original writer often unconsciously discerns an altered or a new taste in the public before the public itself is quite aware of the change ... "

" ... She brought to her task of social comedy a singular combination of rare gifts – a wit and satire of wonderful delicacy, a mind of great penetration, a style absolutely pellucid and effortless. No novelist has ever been more thoroughly an artist both in her attitude towards her own work and in her respect for her own limitations. She is so impersonal in her attitude that one may seek in vain for any trace of her own opinions or thoughts in her writings. Her respect for her own limitations is equally remarkable. "I must keep to my own style," she says, "and go on in my own way; and though I may never succeed again in that, I am convinced that I should totally fail in any other." Within her own limits she comes as near perfection as any human genius can, and those who object to the material and scale of her art should recollect that a dewdrop may be as perfect a creation as a star, a grass-blade may be fashioned with as high a skill as the most wonderful of tropic flowers.

"In order justly to appreciate Jane Austen, the first duty of the reader is, then, quite obvious; it is to respect the limitations of her art, as she herself did. It is foolish to expect from her what she does not profess to give, such as romance, or high-flown sentiment, or the tragedy of great passions. She painted the world she knew; her claim is that she not only painted it with fidelity, but with sympathy; with a lively sense of its blemishes, and with an ever-present satire, no doubt; but also with a true insight into its redeeming pieties and virtues. It is not her fault that romance and sentiment and large passions are not found in her pages; they were not found in the world she knew.

"Like the Brontës, Jane Austen was born and bred in an English parsonage, and lived in a by-road far from the main roads of life. But the Brontes had a far better opportunity than Jane Austen. They at least lived among a people in whom the primitive passions were strong and very imperfectly suppressed. The country which lay at the back of Haworth was as wild as the people, and had a primeval beauty and savageness of its own. One could conceive of great dramas, full of intense love and passion and revenge, being enacted on such a stage; there is a suggestion of the Titanic in the very scenery. But Jane Austen was born into a world of unredeemed dullness. Everything around her was prim and trim and proper. Instead of thunder-scarred hills there are leafy parks and smooth lawns. The people who move across these strictly regulated Edens have the unconscious self-poise of very proper persons; they love with discretion and sobriety ... "

"Yet it was from this material that Jane Austen has contrived to extract stories which have survived for a century, and seem likely to endure to quite unprophesied generations. The means by which this success has been achieved are quite clear to anyone who will study her works with even casual attention. She had the clearest eyes that ever detected the foibles of human character. The very limitation of her range of vision explains its intensity. She accurately described her method when she spoke of herself as a miniature painter. Broad and tumultuous effects she not merely cannot achieve —she dislikes them. But she can lay touch upon touch with an infinite patience and fineness, until the finished picture is as near perfection as one can well conceive. It may perhaps be but miniature painting —a work of art wrought upon three inches of ivory; nevertheless, to write "Pride and Prejudice" demands as fine a genius as the production of "Ivanhoe" or "Kenilworth." This no one knew better than Sir Walter Scott, who, after reading "Pride and Prejudice" for the third time, says: "The big bow-wow strain I can do myself, like any now going; but the exquisite touch which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting from the truth of the description and the sentiment is denied me." It is this exquisite touch which Jane Austen possesses, and in a degree that is unrivalled. She has successfully contrived the apotheosis of the commonplace, and clothed dullness with distinction.

"In Jane Austen it is the very naturalness of the picture which makes it seem uninteresting. Without perhaps saying it, or even analysing our thoughts so far as to express it, we all of us favour a little exaggeration in art. We do not object to emphasis; on the contrary, it attracts us. A bit of clear blue sky and greyish-blue down is not enough for us; its simplicity seems to us commonplace, and its truth foolish. And in the same way a book that is no more nor less than an exact reflection of life, which does not attempt to group people with an eye to stage-effect, or to put speeches into their mouths which invite applause, repels us by its very fidelity. Beyond doubt many readers will be similarly affected by Jane Austen. But upon reflection they will begin to discover how wonderful a gift this is, which can gaze on life with so unembarrassed an eye and report its vision with so perfect an exactitude. After a while the bit of blue sky and grey down charm us. The quiet and simple tones of colour soothe and delight us.

"The genius of Jane Austen lies in this perfect and even severe simplicity. Her characters evolve themselves without any aid of dramatic episodes. Her plot is as natural and inevitable as a problem in mathematics. Everything is fitted together with the most delicate contrivance, with the art that effectually conceals art. From first to last the atmosphere is exquisitely lucid, the style distinct and firm, the figures, in spite of the old-fashioned stiffness of their phrase and gait, so vital that they are more real to us than many of the people we have dined with. We feel, not that we have read a book, but that we have been magically transported into the eighteenth century, and have breathed its air and lived its life.

"Like all great artists, Jane Austen is thus in a sense an historian as well as an artist. ... It is often deplored that professional historians, who are capable enough of describing the pageantries of a court, the contests of politicians, the sumptuous lives of the rich, or even the miserable conditions of life among the disinherited and the criminal, appear incapable of producing any accurate picture of the average kind of life lived by those distinguished by neither great wealth nor great poverty, by neither uncommon learning nor uncommon ignorance. Jane Austen gives us incidentally just the sort of details about the lives of average people which the historian omits and the sociologist demands. We can leave to the historian the Napoleonic drama which was played out amid the terror and applause of Europe in the closing years of the eighteenth century. If there is no echo of its trampling hosts in the pages of Jane Austen, there is something equally valuable to us who survey the whole period with infinite curiosity there is a picture of England itself, the England of the dull average, from whose stubborn pride was evolved the force that brought the drama to a close. Yet it is an England that seems so far away as to appear almost unrecognisable. The heroines of Jane Austen's pages travel by post-chaise, think fifty miles a prodigious journey, and an excursion to Derbyshire a serious adventure. Gracechurch Street is a locality where a wealthy merchant may fitly reside; but the proud Darcy, who has an estate in Derbyshire, would never think of penetrating so plebeian a neighbourhood. Clergymen speak with bated breath and whispering humbleness of their patrons, and livings are left by will to family favourites. People have a way of talking like copybooks; and the proprieties, especially in relation to women, are defined and strict. It is looked upon as a monstrous thing that Elizabeth Bennet should walk three miles on a country road, and her critics exclaim:

""To walk three miles, or whatever it is, above her ankles in dirt, and alone, quite alone! What could she mean by it? It seems to me to show an abominable sort of conceited independence, a most country-town indifference to decorum. She really looked almost wild!""

"The comparison between Jane Austen and Shakespeare, suggested by both Macaulay and Mr. Goldwin Smith, is ingenious, and, within the limits drawn by these great critics, just; but Thackeray affords us a closer comparison. The spirit of Jane Austen is entirely the spirit of Thackeray.

"There is the same criticism of life; the hatred of shams, and the quick irony that pierces and exposes them; the delightful turns of expression, the caustic word which is not readily forgotten, and the humour, half genial and half sardonic, by which the facts of life are illumined. The only difference is that, while Thackeray was really angry with snobs, Jane Austen is too conscious of their absurdities to be irritated over them. Thackeray can be very bitter; but Jane Austen gives her most caustic criticisms a flavour of humour which robs them of ill-nature. When it becomes a question of pathos, Thackeray out-distances Jane Austen completely; but probably that is due simply to the fact that in 1850 writers did not deem it necessary to disguise their tenderer feelings, and in 1811 they did.

"A woman who carefully concealed the fact that she was a writer, and wished only to be loved and trusted for her womanliness, would not be likely to uncover the depths of her heart even in books. Jane Austen was trained in the tradition that regarded any display of deep feeling as unwomanly, and the real reticence and modesty of her nature made the expression of pathos as difficult as it was undesirable. But on her humour she put no restraint save that of kindliness, and keen as is her irony it is impossible to accuse her of cynicism. In this also she resembles Thackeray, who concealed beneath the assumed savageness of the satirist the softest and most human of hearts."

" ... When she was very ill, and near death, she would not use the sofa —sofas in those days were rare —because she was afraid if she did so her mother might scruple to use it. She made shift with a couple of chairs, and persuaded her mother that they were more comfortable. It is a little touch, but a tender and pathetic one) and it shows the woman. ... Today every summer brings numerous pilgrims to her grave, and her latest and most brilliant critic has said, "On her was bestowed, though in a humble form, the gift which has been bestowed on Homer, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Scott, and a few others —the gift of creative power."

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September 13, 2021 - September 14, 2021.

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MISS AUSTEN

from the New Monthly Magazine (1852)

Unsigned

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The author, unknown since the article is unsigned, begins with a highly misogynistic statement-

"Given a subject of composition like the novel, it is reasonable to expect a goodly proportion of what Monkbarns called "womankind" among the compositors. The subject is at active to those tastes, and within the scope of those faculties, which are, generally speaking, characteristic of the fairer sex. Perhaps, indeed—and some critics would substitute" unquestionably" for "perhaps"—none but a man, of first-rate powers withal, can produce a first-rate novel; and, if so, it may be alleged that a woman of corresponding genius (quâ woman) can only produce one of a second-rate order. ... "

It's unclear if that's the author's own opinion as well or whether it's acceptance of a general assumption, based on same facts that produced slave trade - namely, force ruled. But the author goes on :-

" ... However that may be—and leaving the definition of what is first-rate and what second-rate to critics of a subtler vein and weightier calibre than we shall ever attain to—proofs there are, enough and to spare, in the literature of our land, that clever women can write, and have written, very clever novels; that this is a department where they feel and show themselves at home; that, in the symmetry of a complicated plot, the elaboration of varied character, and the filling-in of artistic touches and imaginative details, they can design and accomplish works which go down to posterity not very far behind those of certain titanic lords of creation. ... "

Author goes on to give details of various women writers of the era in English literature, from beginning of novels as art form to eighteenth century, who were not only popular and successful, much lauded, but also critically worthy of appreciation.

" ... As it was reasonable to predicate an abundance of female novelists, so is it evident, by every circulating library and every advertising journal, that such abundance exists. Almost the earliest pieces of prose fictions in our language are from the pen of a woman—not the most exemplary of her sex—Mistress Aphra Beha, the "Astraea" of Charles the Second's days. After the novel, more properly so called, had acquired a local habitation and a name amongst us, by the performances of Richardson, Fielding, and Smollett, we find, during the past century, an imposing array of "womankind" successfully cultivating these "pastures new." Clara Reeve wrote several tales of the "Otranto" type, all marked, in the judgment of Sir Walter Scott, by excellent good sense, pure morality, and a competent command of those qualities which constitute a good romance. If the Minerva Press deluged the town with its springtide of fluent nonsense, much of it the billowy froth of feminine as well as effeminate "Persons of Quality," there soon uprose to stem the current a succession of ladies who could cope better with its surges than Mrs. Partington with those of the Atlantic. Mrs. Radcliffe is by no means the beau-ideal of a novelist; yet even her atrocities were an improvement upon, and instrumentally fatal to, the squeamish woes of that maudlin clique. Then, too, came Charlotte Smith, of "Old Manor House" celebrity; and little Fanny Burney, with her Evelinas and Cecilias and Camillas; and the sisters Lee, with their "Canterbury Tales;" and the sisters Porter, of whom Anna Maria alone published half a century of volumes; and Mrs. Brunton, the still popular authoress of "Self-Control;" and Miss Edgeworth, whose gift it was to "dispense common sense to her readers, and to bring them within the precincts of real life and natural feeling." As we approach more closely to our own times, the name of the fair company becomes legion. Mrs. Shelley appears:

"And Shelley, four-famed—for her parents, her lord,

"And the poor, lone, impossible monster abhorred—

""Frankenstein," to wit—a romance classed by Moore with those original conceptions that take hold of the public mind at once and forever. ... "

And many more -

" ... Miss Ferrier is a foremost reaper of what Scott called the large harvest of Scottish characters and fiction, a harvest in which recent labourers (witness "Mrs. Margaret Maitland," etc.) have found new sheaves for their sickle. Lady Morgan presents us with a "Wild Irish Girl" and "Florence Macarthy." Mrs. Trollope is seen in the plethora of exhaustless authorship, surpassed therein only by Mrs. Gore, with her Heaps of "Polite Conversation," so true

"That one cannot but wish the three volumes were two;

"But not when she dwells upon daughters or mothers—;

"Oh, then the three make us quite long for three others!

"And who will not be ready to name Mary Russell Mitford, one of England's truest autochthonai? And Mrs. S.C. Hall, that kindly and wise-hearted limner of the lights and shadows of Irish life? And Mrs. Bray, of Tavistock, the accomplished delineator of Devonshire characters and submissions? and Lady Blessington, whose writings often beam, like her face in the golden age of Gore House, (before the entrée of Soyer and the Symposium,) with "enjoyment, and judgment, and wit, and good-nature?" and Mrs. Marsh, the powerful as well as industrious authoress of many an impressive fiction? and Currer Bell, one of the few who have lately excited a real "sensation?" and Mrs. Crowe, with her melodramatic points and supernatural adjuncts, some of which make even utilitarians and materialists look transcendental for the nonce? And Mrs. Gaskill, whose "mission" is as benevolent and practical as her manner is clear and forcible? The catalogue might be lengthened out with many other well-known titles, such as Landon, Martineau, Hoffland, Pardoe, Bowles, Pickering, Norton, Howitt, Johnstone, Ellis, Kavanagh, etc., etc."

This was the background on which Jane Austen grew up, wrote, and published, and was lauded by more than one prominent intellectual and author as comparable to Shakespeare in her excellence and quality of her writing.

"In her own line of things, Jane Austen is surpassed, perhaps equalled by none of this pleasant and numerous family. She is perfect mistress of all she touches, and certainly nil tetigit quod non ornavit—if not with the embellishments of idealism and romance, at least with the fresh strokes of nature. She fascinates you with common-place people. She effectually interests you in the "small-beer chronicles" of every-day household life. ... "

"You have actually met all her heroes and heroines before—not in novels, but in most unromantic and prosaic circumstances; you have talked with them, and never seen anything in them—anything, at least, worthy of three volumes, at half-a-guinea a volume. How could such folks find their way into a printed book? That is a marvel, a paradox, a practical solecism. But a greater marvel remains behind, and that is, how comes at that such folks, having got into the book, make it so interesting? ... We do not mean that we, or you, reader, or even that professed and successful novelists now living, could produce the same result with the same means, or elicit from the given terms an equivalent remainder. Herein, on the contrary, lies the unique power of Jane Austen, that where everyone else is nearly sure of failing, she invariably and unequivocally triumphs. What, in other hands, would be a flat, insipid, intolerable piece of impertinent dullness, becomes, at her bidding, a sprightly, versatile, never-flagging chapter of realities. She knows how far to go in describing a character, and where to stop, never allowing that character to soar into romance or to sink into mere twaddle. She is a thorough artist in the management of nature. Her sketches from nature are not profusely huddled together in crude and ill-assorted heaps—the indiscriminate riches of a crowded portfolio, into which genius has recklessly tossed its manifold essays, all clever, but not all in place; but they are selected and arranged with the practised skill of a disciplined judgment, and challenge the scrutiny of tasteful students of design."

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" ... Both Sir Walter Scott and Archbishop Whately—the one in 1815, the other in 1821—saw and proclaimed her distinguished merits in the pages of the "Quarterly Review." Sir Walter observes, that, keeping close to common incidents, and to such characters as occupy the ordinary walks of life, she has produced sketches of such spirit and originality that we never miss the excitation which depends upon a narrative of uncommon events, arising from the consideration of minds, manners, and sentiments greatly above our own. She "confines herself chiefly to the middling classes of society. Her most distinguished characters do not rise greatly above well-bred country gentlemen and ladies; and those which are sketched with most originality and precision belong to a class rather below that standard. The narrative of all her novels is composed of such common occurrences as may have fallen under the observation of most folks, and her dramatis personae conduct themselves upon the motives and principles which the readers may recognise as ruling their own and that of most of their acquaintances." So wrote the unknown novelist who had just given to the world "Waverley" and "Guy Mannering." Eleven years of personal and unparalleled triumph found Sir Walter confirmed in his admiration of Jane Austen; for, in 1826—that is, after he had composed "Rob Roy," and the "Tales of my Landlord," and "Ivanhoe," and " Quentin Durward," and while he was busy at "Woodstock"—we find the following characteristic entry in his diary, or "gurnal," as he loved to style it: "Read again, and for the third time at least, Miss Austen's very finely-written novel of 'Pride and Prejudice.' That young lady had a talent for describing the involvements, and feelings, and characters of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with. The big bow-wow strain I can do myself like any now going; but the exquisite touch which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting, from the truth of the description and the sentiment, is denied to me. What a pity such a gifted creature died so early!" An Edinburgh reviewer justly remarks, that ordinary readers have been apt to judge of her as Partridge judged of Garrick's acting. He could not see the merit of a man behaving on the stage as anybody might be expected to behave under similar circumstances in real life. He infinitely preferred the "robustious, periwig-pated fellow," who flourished his arms like a windmill, and ranted with the voice of three. Even thus is Miss Austen too natural for superficial readers. "It seems to them as if there can be very little merit in making characters talk and act so exactly like the people whom they see around them every day. They do not consider that the highest triumph of art consists in its concealment; and here the art is so little perceptible that they believe there is none." Meanwhile, readers of more refined taste and critical acumen feel something like dissatisfaction with almost every other domestic novelist, after they have once appreciated Miss Austen. After her unaffected good-sense, her shrewd insight, her felicitous irony, and the fruitful harvest of her quiet eye, they are palled by the laboured unrealities of her competitors. ... "

And when the author says -

"She walks without irons to keep her in shape, or stilts to exalt her. Her diction is innocent of sesquipedalia verba; her manners and deportment were learnt under no Gallic dancing-master. If she occasionally dons a piece of bijouterie, be assured that it is no paste jewellery, and that Birmingham was not its birthplace. The fresh bloom upon her cheek comes from fresh air and sound health, not from the rouge-pot or any cognate source. Between this novel-writer and the conventional novel-wright, what a gulf profound! Alike, but oh, how different!"

He or she is extolling her writer, praise disguised poetically.

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" ... We may well admit, with one of the authors of "Guesses at Truth," that ordinary novels, which string a number of incidents and a few commonplace pasteboard characters around a love-story, teaching people to fancy that the main business of life is to make love, and to be made love to, and that, when it is made, all is over, are little or nothing else than mischievous; since it is most hurtful to be wishing to act a romance of this kind in real life—most hurtful to fancy that the interest of life lies in its pleasures and passions, not in its duties. But then Miss Austen's are not ordinary novels; hers are not pasteboard characters; and, with all her devotion to the task of delineating this master-principle, she, too, teaches that it is not the main business of life—she, too, contends that duty is before pleasure and passion, sense before sensibility. ... Miss Austen's estimate of love in its true form is as far as can be from that of sickly sentimentalism or flighty school girlishness. She honours it only when invested with the dignity, intensity, and equable constancy of its higher manifestations—where it comprehends and fulfils its wide circle of duties, and is as self-denying as it is self-respecting. There is a righteous intolerance of the mawkish trash which constitutes the staple of so many love-tales, and one cannot but admire Horace Walpole, for once, when he stops unpatiently at the fourth volume of "Sir Charles Grandison," and confesses: "I am so tired of sets of people getting together, and saying, 'Pray, miss, with whom are you in love!' etc., etc." And we grant that Miss Austen is a little too prodigal of scenes of love-making and preparations for match-making; but let us at the same time insist upon the marked difference between her descriptions and those of the common herd of novelists, with whom she is unjustly confounded; the fact being, that her most caustic passages, and the hardest hits and keenest thrusts of her satire, are directed against them and their miss-in-her-teens' extravaganzas. Mr. Thackeray himself is not more sarcastic against snobbism, than is Miss Austen against whatever is affected or perverted, or merely sentimental, in the province of love."

" ... Nothing can be more judicious than her use of suggestions and intimations of what is to follow. And all is conducted with a quiet grace that is, or seems to be inimitable."

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"If this paper has something of the rechauffé odour of a "retrospective" review, it is written not without a "prospective" purpose; the writer being persuaded that Jane Austen needs but to be more widely known, to be more justly appreciated, and accordingly using this opportunity "by way of remembrance." ... "

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September 14, 2021 - September 14, 2021.

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JANE AUSTEN

by Anna Waterston (1863)

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Beautifully written. Was this another niece? No, just the influence from reading Jane Austen.

"In the old Cathedral of Winchester stand the tombs of kings, with dates stretching back to William Rufus and Canute; here, too, are the marble effigies of queens and noble ladies, of crusaders and warriors, of priests and bishops. But our pilgrimage led us to a slab of black marble set into the pavement of the north aisle, and there, under the grand old arches, we read the name of Jane Austen. Many-coloured as the light which streams through painted windows, came the memories which floated in our soul as we read the simple inscription: happy hours, gladdened by her genius, weary hours, soothed by her touch; the honoured and the wise who first placed her volumes in our hand; the beloved ones who had lingered over her pages, the voices of our distant home, associated with every familiar story."

" ... Her life was passed chiefly in the country. Bath, then a fashionable watering-place, with occasional glimpses of London, must have afforded all the intercourse which she held with what is called "the world." Her travels were limited to excursions in the vicinity of her father's residence. Those were days of post-chaises and sedan-chairs, when the rush of the locomotive was unknown. Steam, that genie of the vapour, was yet a little household elf, singing pleasant tunes by the evening fire, at quiet hearthstones; it has since expanded into a mighty giant, whose influences are no longer domestic. The circles of fashion are changed also. Those were the days of country-dances and India muslins; the beaux and belles of "the upper rooms" at Bath knew not the whirl of the waltz, nor the ceaseless involvements of "the German." Yet the measures of love and jealousy, of hope and fear, to which their hearts beat time, would be recognised tonight in every ballroom. Infinite sameness, infinite variety, are not more apparent in the outward than in the inward world, and the work of that writer will alone be lasting who recognises and embodies this eternal law of the great author.

"Jane Austen possessed in a remarkable degree this rare intuition. The following passage is found in Sir Walter Scott's journal, under date of the fourteenth of March, 1826:—"Read again, and for the third time at least, Miss Austen's finely written novel of 'Pride and Prejudice.' That young lady had a talent for describing the involvements and feelings and characters of ordinary life, which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with. ... It is amid the dreary entries in his journal of 1826, many of which make our hearts ache and our eyes overflow. He read the pages of Jane Austen on the fourteenth of March, and on the fifteenth he writes, "This morning I leave 39 Castle Street for the last time." It was something to have written a book sought for by him at such a moment. Even at Malta, in December, 1831, when the pressure of disease, as well as of misfortune, was upon him, Sir Walter was often found with a volume of Miss Austen in his hand, and said to a friend, "There is a finishing-off in some of her scenes that is really quite above everybody else." "

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"A pleasant anecdote, told to us on good authority in England, is illustrative of Miss Austen's power over various minds. A party of distinguished literary men met at a country-seat; among them was Macaulay, and, we believe, Hallam; at all events, they were men of high reputation. While discussing the merits of various authors, it was proposed that each should write down the name of that work of fiction which had given him the greatest pleasure. Much surprise and amusement followed; for, on opening the slips of paper, seven bore the name of "Mansfield Park,"—a coincidence, of opinion most rare, and a tribute to an author unsurpassed."

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" ... While the English language is read, the world will always be provided with souls who can enjoy the rare excellence of that rich legacy left to them by her genius."

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September 14, 2021 - September 14, 2021.

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HUNTING FOR SNARKES AT LYME REGIS

from Fanny Caroline Lefroy (1879)

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Was this a niece, or her daughter? They all, or many of them, aspired to write, and did write well, even if it was only about the beloved Jane Austen.

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"Yes, we must go somewhere during these cruel north-easterly winds. We must leave the flowers that will blow in spite of them, the tulips, the polyanthuses, the crimson-and-white daisies that fill our suburban garden with beauty we cannot enjoy. We must leave the golden leaves that so reluctantly come forth to the bitter air, and, as the now famous Jane Austen used playfully to say, mindful no doubt of its evil character, "this north-eastern being equally against our skin and conscience," we must seek a shelter from its cutting breath. Let us go to Lyme Regis, a place that she has immortalised, and there, if the guide-books are to be trusted, we may walk on the sands and parade, or sit and bask in the sunshine, if haply we can get any, even in the midst of the Blackthorn winter, with impunity. There also we may have the amusement of testing her proverbial accuracy, and of tracing the steps of that party, and ascertaining the precise spot of that accident which has made the Cobb more famous than any wonders of its construction. Hunting for snarkes is a very pleasant occupation if you do but make believe strong enough, and Jane Austen's creatures shall be realities to us as long as we stay at Lyme Regis.

"We happened also to know that when Mr. Tennyson went there, and his friends wanted to show him the precise spot where the Duke of Monmouth landed, he exclaimed with an indignation equally creditable to his own genius and to hers, "Don't talk to me of the Duke of Monmouth. Show me that precise spot where Louise Musgrave fell."

"Everyone must surely perceive that to ascertain that precise spot and satisfy his most laudable curiosity was an object worthy of our best endeavours and of our highest ambition. To Lyme Regis therefore, one very cold day in the middle of last May, we went, and I may as well say at once that we found it as to warmth entirely satisfactory. The hill which rises behind the town quite shelters it from north wind, and as it curves to the east and joins the pretty line of cliffs which sweeps almost round to Portland Island, it scarcely feels even the north-easterns. Indeed, the parade is only open to winds that blow from the south, south-east, or south-west, especially south-east, and this fact was our first proof of Jane Austen's accuracy, for she speaks of the bloom in Anne Elliot's face being produced by the "fine south-easterly wind" she had been meeting."

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So they visited Lyme Regis, with a journey that sounds as dangerous as it seemed arduous, to lodgings she says were unique to the place.

" ... Then there were two ground floors, one in its proper place, containing kitchen entrance and dining-room, and the other at the top of the house, containing the bedrooms and back door, which latter opened on to the green hill behind. ... Nothing could fit better, and we counted the bedrooms and arranged the party, and settled which was the chamber to which Louise Musgrave was carried, when the word "carried" struck us all dumb. That dreadful staircase; could any man, even though a sailor, have carried any young lady up that dark and crooked ladder?—and not only dark and crooked, but with a projecting beam in the darkest corner, from which one could scarcely save one's own head. She might, indeed, have been carried up the steps on the outside of the house and so in at the back door, as our boxes had been, there being no other way of getting them into our rooms; but we dared not suppose so unusual a mode of entrance, and were reluctantly obliged to give up the idea."

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"Our first step was to go to the library to get 'Persuasion'—that is, if we could, about which we had some doubt; for some few years ago, when in Bath, being anxious to amuse ourselves with verifying all the places and streets, etc., mentioned in it and in 'Northanger Abbey,' we turned into a library close to Milsom Street, and asked for the volume, we were told not only that they had not got it, but had never even heard of Jane Austen! And what was still worse, and hurt our feelings more, was that when we sought the inn which her genius has made so memorable, though we indeed found it, lo and behold! it was no longer the White Hart, it had sunk into the Queen, or the Royal Hotel, or something equally commonplace. It was some consolation to discover the displaced old sign, the veritable gold-collared white hart standing in an obscure corner not very far off. Lyme, however, proved more grateful. The library not only contained the volume, but someone had added to its title, "A Story of the Cobb." By its help we could trace the movements of the whole party through those two eventful days. ... "

"We could not pass the assembly-rooms without remembering that she had danced in them, for at the time of her visit to Lyme she was only twenty-eight; young and pretty enough still to attract the admiring eyes of strangers, and to secure her more partners than she in her moderation wanted. Where she and her father and mother lodged in Lyme is not known; they were there in the September of 1804. Either just before or after this they were at Teignmouth, where they had lodgings in a house called "Great Bella Vista," which is still standing, and bears the same fantastic name. It is rather remarkable that there should be no allusion in any of her works to this latter place, unless it be in 'Sense and Sensibility,' which, though written before 1804, was not published until afterwards. Her description of the situation of Barten Cottage is that of one who had seen the country "four miles north of Exeter," as no doubt in passing from Bath to Teignmouth, or from Teignmouth to Bath, she had done, and it might have been retouched when preparing the MS. for publication. Of this visit to Devonshire there is no mention in the Life written by her nephew a few years ago.

"Of course everyone knows the Cobb. It was first constructed two years after the accession of Edward III., and then consisted only of wooden piles incapable of long resisting the force of the storms which swept over them. Of wood, however, it continued to be remade as often as destroyed, until the time of James I., when somebody had the genius to build it of stone. ... "

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They discovered there had been more than one severe storm, sweeping away much described by Jane Austen.

" ... Nothing, therefore, remains to Lyme of any historical interest. The railways have brought other and prettier places within easier reach, and any revival of her importance and prosperity does not seem probable. She ought to be dear, however, to the hearts of all geologists, for out of her blue lias cliffs came the first of the ichthyosauri and the plesiosauri found in this country, and still when her rocks are blasted or there is a fresh landslip some pre-Adamite reliques may be found. Once they might have been picked up amongst the shingle; but the pickers-up have been so numerous there are none left worth stooping for. However, I should like to say a word to recommend that particular corner of Devonshire to the notice of artists. I say Devonshire, because Lyme is only one mile from that county, and its greatest beauties lie over the boundary. I think anyone who would take Jane Austen's advice and go to Pinhay would find himself abundantly rewarded, and that he might work there for days without exhausting its beauties."

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"The cliffs from Lyme to Sidmouth offer also a most remarkable variety of tint. At Lyme, as has been before mentioned, they are mainly of blue lias, at Seaton they are of chalk and red marl, at Beer they are of chalk alone, at Sidmouth they are of chalk and red sandstone. Beautiful as are the greys and purples that the blue lias changes into, they offer a much smaller variety of colour than do the red sandstone of Sidmouth. These range from yellow and light red to the deepest ensanguined browns, and their gorgeous hues are often reflected in the waves which break and curdle into rose-coloured tints as they ebb and flow. Then the greys that form their shadows are so exquisite, the blue mists that gather in their hollows, the white clouds which crown their heads or hang about their peaks, are so beautiful, that they surely deserve that some artist should paint their loveliness. The Peak Hills also are splendid. Standing halfway up one you have a foreground of green turf with the red hill rising up to the clouds on your right, from which you are separated by a deep chasm of some three hundred feet, at the bottom of which is the sea. In front rises the other and higher Peak Hill, yellow and red, and grey and purple, with here and there a streak of green turf or a patch of scrub—and beyond that a long line of cliffs, of which the very palest and most distant are almost at Torquay. One or two detached rocks stand out of the base, over which the waves break, and around which the sea-gulls are perpetually flying. All this forms a picture, truly of all the tints of the rainbow never to be forgotten. But enough of the rocks. Let me say a word of sweeter and tenderer beauties.

"I should like to send every one with a sore heart or a weary brain to drive about the lanes of Devonshire in the early summer. There is not a bank which is not a feast of beauty—beauty, not awful like that of the cliffs, not melancholy like that of the moaning sea, but like that of childhood, loving and pure as if it were fresh from heaven. There are, no doubt, in many places rare ferns and rare plants, but it is not they that make the charm. No. It is the thousands of primroses, the fields and beds of blue hyacinths, the masses of red campion, all growing together in every hedgerow and upon every bank; in the midst of clusters of shining harts-tongues, and clumps of asplenium, mingled with the beautiful cut-leaved ivy and the yellow green spurge, and everywhere sprinkled over with the silver stars of the elegant little white stitchwort. It is these common things growing in such wonderful profusion that make a beauty that steals into your heart and soothes and comforts it like a word of love—a beauty which, like the songs of the birds, fills you with an emotion you cannot clothe in words—redolent of the tenderness which makes the sparrows its care and bids us behold "the lilies of the field.""

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September 14, 2021 - September 14, 2021.

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IS IT JUST?

from Fanny Caroline Lefroy (1883)

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It's hard to imagine how much forbearance was required for the family of a genius of an author, of impeccable propriety in her personal life as well as her writing, when she was targeted- of all the things - precisely for that.

On some level, all but corporeal, it's no different from being whiplashed by strangers just for visibility of a toe. It's really not for the visibility of that toe, but punishment for courage of having stepped out of the boundary of housework slavery, at all.

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One is exasperated and indignant right off the bat, for readers of Jane Austen and her relatives as well.

""HAD Miss Austen felt more deeply, she would have written differently."

But Fanny, the author of this, reminds one of comments of Mikes about the famous incident of Queen Victoria, displeased, remarking "We are not amused" - Mikes applauded the British pride in what he said they thought was her rudeness, in an incident that, on the continent, would have had a tiniest ruler order a beheading of the offender. It's not an exact quote, memory being of reading it several decades ago.

"These words in a recent number of 'Temple Bar' are the reason why this paper is written. They are, in whatever point of view we look at them, very wide of the truth, and are not the only error their author has fallen into, nor is he the only person who thus misjudges her. It is, notwithstanding all the praises bestowed, becoming the fashion to accuse her of being shallow and cold-hearted, and her heroines of being prudish; and undoubtedly there is not to be found in her novels those highly-spiced love scenes with which we are all so familiar, but which, while requiring little genius to write, only deprave the taste and imagination of the reader."

Fanny is being as patient and courteous as it was possible in face of such horrible criticism, which is not new for any woman not exactly blending in woodwork - if one isn't accused of impropriety, one is labelled frigid; and this goes in every field, not merely of propriety or otherwise. One is either too aggressive or incapable of a career, and so on.

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"Without exaggeration, it may be said that on few other female writers has such an amount of study, criticism, and praise been bestowed as on Jane Austen. Others, notably Miss Burney, enjoyed far more fame during their lives. They sowed one week and they reaped the next; admiring crowds followed them, and their name was in everybody's mouth. They were the lions of their day and enjoyed their own lionhood. But she never knew that she was a lion, and lived and died scarcely more widely known than Cowper's old woman, who "never was heard of half a mile from home." and now her name and the praise of her works is for ever cropping up in the most unlikely places, and her admirers and readers are innumerable, ranging from Cardinal Newman (nay, it would not astonish us to find the Pope himself amongst the number) to the young Hindus in the college at Calcutta. And yet there is no modern writer of equal fame of whom the public know so little. The blank of her life in some sort impairs the interest of her books, and so far is, and has been, an injury to her fame.... "

Which is as unjust, unfair, even mindlessly stupid as it gets. What difference does it make if those books were written by a mother of ten with ten score servants and five palaces, or by a daughter of a clergyman who led a normal life in country as others in her station did? The point really is how much joy her writing gives, and to that there's no addition or subtraction either way.

" ... That blank is mainly owing to her own nearest relations. They did not perceive that genius must always, bon grè, mal grè, lift its possessor out of the class of private individuals and more or less deprive them of the shelter, as it does of the obscurity, of private life. The more rare and excellent the genius, the more interesting to the public is the character of its possessor and the incidents of his or her life. Fame cannot be separated from publicity, and those who secure it do not often wish that it should be; but now and then it comes to those who have never sought it, and to whose modesty and reserve it is really painful. ... "

It's not those who are reserved despite fame, nor their families, that are at fault; it's those who target them for the reason of the fame.

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"Surely people, even geniuses, have a right to keep their lives hidden if they shrink from fame, and their relations a right to respect such a wish, even though it injures, as it must often do, the permanence of the renown. But the destruction of Miss Austen's letters has we think hurt, not so much her literary fame, as the loveableness of her character as shown to us. This her family could not have foreseen, and would not have desired. It could not have been their wish that she should be esteemed by any of her readers and critics, hard and shallow-hearted."

Nobody has a right to do the last, not without actual proof thereof (such as having seen someone get off a horse just to kick someone poor and old sitting quietly by wayside), and the beginning sentence of that paragraph is entirely correct.

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" ... But first we must observe that it is incorrect to say that she had "only her own taste to guide her." From her earliest youth she had the help and guidance of a father and mother much above the average in point of ability, and the companionship of brothers almost all of whom were clever and scholarly. Her nephew, Mr. Austen Leigh, who gave us the very pleasant recollections and memoir published a few years ago, says that her father was so good a scholar that he could himself prepare his sons for the university, and was able to increase his income by taking pupils; and that in her "mother was to be found the germ of that ability which was concentrated in Jane, but of which almost all of her children had a share." The boys were all brought up at home, until they went out into the world, no small advantage to their sisters, who, if they did not share the teaching, must often have heard it, and have listened to grammatical instructions which, though primarily concerning Latin and Greek, could not but influence their own language."

This would be all too familiar to anyone of India, where for over a millennium the invading colonial cultures did not allow any schools (other than those restricted to islamic teaching) to exist publicly, and hence parents taught children at home, sometimes taking a few students who could be fit in the household. Women of the family learned by hearing, even when they were busy learning necessities of household - which included medicine, apart from other necessities.

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Fanny Caroline Lefroy goes on with delightful accounts of mother of Jane Austen, including a few letters written by her, before returning to the main offense given (by what thoughtkess boor?).

"We are told that neither in Miss Austen's letters nor her books do we find any traces of a spirit ill at ease and restless, and dissatisfied with its lot, and it is therefore inferred that she had never had any "serious attachment," or met with any disappointment. If by disappointment be meant the having loved without meeting any return, that is undoubtedly true. No such trouble befell her. But does the absence of restlessness and discontent imply that no "serious attachment" has ever been felt? What if the love have ended in the grave?"

Yes, and really, it's offensive that people made any insinuations just because writing of Jane Austen remained clean. So did, incidentally, that of Emily Bronte, and yet there is no other greater love story.

"Jane Austen could indeed draw "the pangs of disappointed love," and certainly knew "they were curable." And truly she must have been a fool to suppose otherwise in the vast majority of cases, but when she painted Marianne Dashwood's misery she was not describing any suffering the like of which she had herself endured, and still less in drawing Harriet Smith was she giving us any picture of her own finer nature."

The difference between the two sisters in Sense and Sensibility was that of conduct, not degree of feeling; Elinore bore her devastating silently, holding up propriety of conduct in every trying situation. There is no point in questioning whether or not Jane Austen did suffer any such thing, but it's clear when one reads her, that if in privacy of their home she was Mariane, she held Elinore higher, and aspired to be her. On the other hand there's Jane Bennet, whose suffering was borne in silence; again, there's no point speculating if Jane Austen was Jane Bennet in real life, but it is frameless when people go the other extreme and accuse her of not feeling.

"The village of Steventon lies about half a mile from the great western road from London to Exeter, and about six from Basingstoke. Just where the lane turned off from the turnpike there stood a small public-house, where the coaches stopped before mounting the next hill to water their horses and to pick up parcels and letters, and, occasionally, passengers. Here it was, no doubt, one summer's morning that Mr. and Mrs. Austen and their daughters set off on their memorable tour into South Devon. They moved from place to place, halting at each a short time; but there is no record of where they went. It was in one of these halts that they made the acquaintance of two brothers, one of whom was a doctor and the other a clergyman. The latter fell in love with Jane Austen, as others had vainly done before. But he was so charming that he won her heart—and not only so, but such were his gifts of person and manner that even Cassandra, highly as she rated her sister, allowed he was worthy of her; and when in after-years she once spoke of him, did so as something quite exceptionally captivating and excellent. How the acquaintance was made we do not know. It might have been that Mrs. Austen, whose health was not good at the time, needed medical advice and called in the doctor, and the acquaintance with one brother led naturally to that of the other. But this is only conjecture. The clergyman was himself only a visitor in the place, as were they. However the introduction was effected, they could not have been long together. A week, or a fortnight at most, had seen the beginning and the end of the acquaintance. But brevity as to time does not always prove that the regard is only slight and fleeting. Two people staying in the same house for three or four days may have as much intercourse and come to know each other as well, or better, than they would have done in as many years if living half a dozen miles apart. And thus a few long summer days spent together in sight-seeing or in admiring the same lovely views, and the daily meetings, which a very little exertion on the gentleman's side must have been able to secure, might have given time not only for love to arise, but to have struck its roots deeply into the heart. Jane Austen so delighted in beautiful scenery that she thought it would form one of the joys of Heaven. Was it because it was in her mind associated with this sweetest summer of her life?

"When the day came for their moving on, the gentleman asked for permission to join them again at some farther point of their travels, and the permission was given. What time elapsed we do not know, but when they reached the place at which they were to meet, they received a letter from his brother announcing his death. No tidings of previous illness could have reached them to soften the shock. The hard pitiless fact is all we know. Of her suffering no word has reached us, but we do know that her sister so cherished his memory that many years afterwards, when an elderly woman, she took a good deal of trouble only to see again the brother of the man who had been so dear to Jane—surely proof enough of how dear he had been to her, and how mourned! Two facts also point to the same conclusion. Jane Austen never married, though she was solicited to do so, and from 1798 until 1810 there fell on her a strange, long silence. She wrote nothing for twelve years. Somewhere in 1804 she began 'The Watsons,' but her father died early in 1805, and it was never finished. Nearly at the same time as this grievous blow fell on her, a similar sorrow fell also on her sister. The young clergyman to whom she was engaged died of yellow fever in the West Indies. He had been one of her father's pupils, and she must therefore have known him from childhood and the attachment have been the growth of many years; but scarcely more is known of this story than the other.

"United in the closest and tenderest affection, Cassandra's sorrow could have been scarcely less to Jane than her own, or Jane's to Cassandra. To each other their griefs were confided, and to each other alone."

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"Is it not much more probable that this double affliction was the cause of Jane Austen's long silence, than that she who had been writing ever since she was sixteen, or indeed ever since she could hold a pen, should have lost both power and inclination because a single publisher had rejected 'Pride and Prejudice'? She had written, as all true genius does, as the bird sings, because she must, neither for fame nor for money; and it is not one disappointment which would have stopped her. To write was a necessity of her nature, and nature is only suddenly changed by some sudden shock. The blow must have paralysed her imagination. The sweet temper and the cheerfulness, and even playfulness of manner might have hidden the change from all save her sister, but the inclination to write was gone. She who at three-and-twenty had produced 'Lady Susan,' 'Northanger Abbey.' 'Sense and Sensibility,' and 'Pride and Prejudice,' during what should have been the finest and most productive years of her life wrote nothing! excepting the fragment which, as it seems to us, her father's death made her lay aside. Had her feelings only been skin deep, how much more might she not have given to the world! What a loss the tenacity of her affections has been! But if a happier end had been granted to her love, perhaps in the wife and the mother the genius would have disappeared altogether. It is impossible not to grieve over the destruction of the letters which would have given us a better insight into so true and lovely a spirit as hers. We are the richer for her genius, but we might have been enriched also by the posthumous companionship with a heart of such rare sweetness and strength that it would have exalted our standard, not only of the capacity of feeling in feminine nature, but in all humanity."

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" ... In manner, also, the change between those days and these is as great as in the matter of clothes, and here the change does no doubt give an appearance of coldness. It is not feeling, but the expression of feeling which has altered. If we do not wear our hearts on our sleeves, we seem to keep them on our lips, much more than formerly. Family affection was as strong then as now, but there was much more reticence in the expression of it, whether between parents and children or brothers and sisters. It is not only that nicknames were not in fashion, but "loves, dears and darlings" were much less plentifully used. ... Dear as Jane is to Lizzie in 'Pride and Prejudice' she is to her Jane and Jane only—and Elinor and Marianne in 'Sense and Sensibility,' who would in these days have certainly been Nellie and Minnie, are contented with their own unabbreviated names, without any prefix of affection. ... "

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" ... She moved about the world as much or more than most clergymen's daughters of the time, for those were days when the necessity of an annual change had not arisen, and people lived, with no other variety than a certain amount of visiting, year after year in their own houses. The Austens seem to have been more locomotive than most of their neighbours.

"In 1798 or 1799 they made their tour in South Devon; in 1802 they went to Teignmouth, where they resided some weeks in a house called Belle Vista, which is still standing. Two years afterwards they were at Lyme Regis, which Jane Austen has immortalised.

"In 1806 she went with her mother to stay at Stoneleigh Abbey, which on the death of Mrs. Mary Leigh, under the will of her brother Edward, the last Baron of the old creation, reverted to the elder branch of the family."

"These, with visits to her brothers in Kent and London, and to her other friends, formed the varieties and pleasures of her life. Not its happiness; that she found in her home and in her own warm family affections. From these also arose all her cares and most of her sorrows. In 1798 she lost her cousin, Lady Williams, who had been almost brought up with her and Cassandra, and who was married from Steventon some six years before. She was thrown from her carriage, and killed on the spot. In 1801 her father and mother left Steventon and settled in Bath, to her great grief. No young person can leave what has been the happy home of her childhood unconcerned, and to her Steventon was much more. ... The move was made on account of Mrs. Austen's health, which had for some time been very indifferent and to which it was hoped Bath would be beneficial; but there, she had a long and very severe illness, from which, she said, she owed her recovery to the prayers of her husband and the great care of her daughters. Here the father died in 1805, and the three ladies were obliged to give up the house and move into lodgings. Jane disliked Bath and thought it disagreed with her, and she must therefore have rejoiced when they were able to remove to Southampton, where they shared a house with one of her brothers. In 1809 they settled in the cottage at Chawton, which was the last home of all three; and the year after, what may be called her all too short literary life began. Perhaps it would have been longer, and she might have been spared to have given us more, but for the anxiety and fatigue she underwent in 1815 in nursing a brother through an illness, which brought him down to the very edge of the grave. She was staying with him alone when it came on, and upon her fell the greatest part of the strain. In a letter written soon afterwards, we find the first indication of failing health. It was followed by the bankruptcy of the firm of which this brother was head, the dread of which had caused his breakdown. No blame attached to him, the misfortune was produced in part by the failure of some other bank. Most of his brothers lost more or less, but they all behaved most kindly and nobly. Nevertheless it was a great blow, and Jane's health gave way beneath it. "I am the only one," she wrote, "so foolish as to have been made ill by it, but feeble nerves make a feeble body." She rallied, but never recovered, and died, to the inexpressible sorrow of all who loved her, in 1817."

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September 14, 2021 - September 14, 2021.

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A BUNDLE OF LETTERS

by Fanny Caroline Lefroy (1883)

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Author, niece (/grandniece?) of Jane Austen, discourses on letter writing, and mentions her Jane Austen's writing, novels and letters.

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"It has been said that Jane Austen's books are wanting in pathos. It is true they have none of the hysterical sentimentality, none of the morbid love of all that is painful, which are so common in the novels of the present day. Yet it can scarcely be denied that the character of Anne in 'Persuasion' is treated with a great tenderness, and drawn by a very delicate hand. This character is all the more touching for its reticence, for its modest self-control, and Anne is as womanly in her yieldingness as she is in her constancy. There has been a conjecture that Anne is Jane Austen herself, and that the story of the heroine was possibly that of the writer—only with a different ending. It is easy to believe that this may be true, although proofs are wanting. We find in Miss Austen's own letters to her family the same sweet traits, the same gentle affection, the same quiet depth of feeling that we have loved in the heroine of 'Persuasion;' and towards the end, when her health failed her, we read between the lines still more clearly, her pure unselfish nature.

""Thanks to the kindness of your father and mother" (she writes to her nephew, when she was moved to Winchester for further medical advice), "in sending me their carriage, my journey hither on Saturday was performed with very little fatigue, and had it been a fine day, I think I should have felt none; but it distressed me to see Uncle Henry and William Knight, who kindly attended us on horseback, riding in the rain almost the whole way."

"And again:—

""As to what I owe her" (her sister Cassandra), "and the anxious affection of all my beloved family on this occasion" (her illness), "I can only cry over it, and pray God to bless them more and more.""

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"It has been said, and I think unfairly, that with the introduction of the penny post, died the art of letter-writing. But as long as there are people with literary instincts, and with a facility of expression; as long as there is daily life to be chronicled in all its pleasant triviality; as long as there are friends divided by thousands of miles and land and sea; so long, and this will probably be to the end of time, will letter-writing deserve to be cultivated as a fine art."

One has to wonder about the first part; but of course, now, one knows when letter writing died - when everyone could afford to call, to begin with, and later, internet, cell phones and chat killed even language!

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" ... And here are letters with strange postmarks, and foreign stamps, letters closely written on thin paper, that have travelled thousands and thousands of miles to tell you that the writer still thought of you and loved you. And there is that last one, too, over which you have shed so many tears, and which arrived after the news of his death—a simple garrulous letter winding up with "there is no news to tell you, but I shall be home again, please God, next summer," or some such phrase, which cuts you still to the heart. And so on, and so on, until you are forced to own that these poor old letters have a charm of their own that time and change can only heighten, and around which death even can but set a halo."

This happened at least twice to Austen family, and related to the same cousin - Elizabeth, daughter of aunt Philadelphia nee Austen, whose husband died in India of illness while his wife and child were in England; and then Elizabeth married a French Count Feuillade who was guillotine during the revolution while Elizabeth and her son were in England.

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September 14, 2021 - September 14, 2021.

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MISS AUSTEN'S COUNTRY (1875)

Anonymous

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Lovely descriptions of Jane Austen's country, with references of her works.

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"The boundaries of Miss Austen's country are just vague enough to make speculation respecting them pleasant. She liked the cosy, rich, refined, cultivated "Home" counties, and the snuggest, most prosperous parts of them. Mansfield Park was in Hertfordshire, and have we not seen many a parsonage which might be that very home in which Dr. Grant outraged the housewifely memories of Mrs. Norris by the introduction of a round dinner-table, and made little of the flavour of the fruit upon the apricot-tree which had "cost her – no, it was a present from Sir Thomas, but she had seen the bill, and it had cost seven shillings, and was charged as a Moor-Park !" Rosings was in Kent, and when we drive past those trim, lovely hedgerows and see the plantations beyond, can we not make choice among the former of the garden-boundary of that abode in which Mrs. Collins dexterously assigned the front room to her husband, so that he might relieve her of his society while he watched for the pony-carriage in which "Lady Catharine and Miss de Bourgh did his humble dwelling the honour of passing it several times a day," and see, on the fringes of the latter, the very spot where Mr. Darcy put his angry love-letter into the hand of Elizabeth Bennet, to whom, by the way, one always grudges Darcy and Pemberley a little? But it is not "Pride and Prejudice," or "Mansfield Park," which travels closely with the visitor to the Box-Hill region, so much as "Emma," that quite incomparable novel, in which the unique talent of the wonderful woman whose works may fail to charm us in our youth, but are an ever-increasing joy to our middle-age, is at its perfection. From the height we overlook the whole of her especial country (the Dashwoods were only episodically located in Devonshire, and there can be no doubt that Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth ultimately settled within easy reach of town): but Box Hill itself and all the rich and beautiful valley beneath it, are the places which we identify with "Emma." ... "

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" ... It will be so charming to know that one's topography cannot be far wrong, because Emma and her party had only seven miles to drive to Box Hill, and Hartfield was sixteen miles from London."

"It ought to be quite enough for anybody, with the touch of the autumn loveliness upon it, the delicious stillness, and the sweet, fresh air. It has every kind of beauty that the "woodland wild" can combine, from the tender grace of the slight ash and beech trees, through which the sun's rays strike into the underwood, revealing marvellous treasures of multitudinous growth and infinite variety of colour, the watchful processional formality of poplars, whose front ranks stand across country in the valley below, the massive grandeur of great acorn-laden oaks and wide-spreading, sturdy elms; firs with flame-tinted stems and storm-defying heads; gloomy, bitter, poison-fruited yew, and solemn cypress; to the masses of the sharp and shining-leaved tree, growing thick and black-stemmed in the dense darkness, which give the place its name of "Box Hill." It has dells and downs, steep, heather-bordered road, and sharp-declining hillside, openings into undulating glades, o'erarching avenues, tunnels of shade of solemn blackness, wide stretches of green-velvet turf, dense thickets in which the crushed confusion of trees defies division, grand, solitary forest-lords standing in isolated majesty, each one a picture and a marvel. It has a gorgeous tangle of autumn flower and red poison-fruit, and acres of blackberry-bushes, with a purple bloom upon their berries. There are weird paths in it, with vistas into the wood, where the stems, shut from the sun, are bleached, and sickly, and distorted, like Doré's dreadful trees, with pain and writhing in their twisted limbs; and there are broad, jocund ways, with the generous sunlit growths bordering them, adown which the wood-nymphs might dance today without surprising anybody, so surely do they seem to have been laid out on purpose; and here the giant stems are dight in moss like emerald velvet, and touched with gem-like flashes of ruby and topaze colour. There is a blue sky, with a transparent veil of hurrying clouds before it, a strong stirring and sound in the trees and the underwood; the ear might easily cheat itself into a belief that the plain below is a lake; but on the brow of the hill the whole superb scene is unrolled before one; forty miles of rich country laugh under the sunshine, and the little village of Brockham stands in its prim prettiness in the foreground of the valley, like a Dutch village just taken out of a toy-box, set up, and ready to be packed up again when the private view shall be over."

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September 14, 2021 - September 14, 2021.

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STYLE AND MISS AUSTEN

by Mary Augusta Ward (1884)

From Macmillans Magazine

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Style, especially since a century ago or more, has come to mean - especially when the word is used in relation to a woman - her couture and her related preferences. It takes time to dawn on one, a third of the way through, that this article isnt about hiw jane Austen dressed, or liked to dress.

Mary Augusta Ward is highly indignant with the publication of Letters of Jane Austen, and with Lord Brabourne for doing so, in a tone that would have us wonder if she too was his aunt or great aunt; what she says is a mixture of propriety and personal opinion ( the latter being about which letters should have been ok to publish, if at all), but there is nothing one could take exception to - it's almost as if she were one with the two sisters, Jane Austen and Cassandra.

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"By this publication of a newly discovered collection of Miss Austen's letters, Miss Austen's great-nephew has done her as ill a turn as it is in anybody's power to do to the author of "Pride and Prejudice." The name of one of the nimblest, quickest, and least tiresome of mortals has been perforce associated with two volumes of half-edited matter, with letters of which she herself would never have authorised the publication, with family pedigrees of which she would have been the first person to feel the boredom and the incongruity, and literary criticisms of a kind to have set that keen wit of hers moving in its most trenchant fashion. When Lord Brabourne came into possession of those bundles of his great-aunt's letters which Mr. Austen Leigh, her first biographer, believed to have been lost, the temptation to make use of them in some way was no doubt irresistible. The virtue of literary reticence is fast becoming extinct; we have almost indeed forgotten that it is a virtue at all. To be able to persuade oneself that the world could possibly do without information which it is in one's power to give it, implies now a strength of mind so abnormal and so rare, that a modern instance of it is scarcely to be found. And the old distinction between public and private life, which still held firmly in the days when Jane Austen and Miss Ferrier refused to give their names to any production of their pens — the old personal reserve, which still forms part of the continental idea of the typical Englishman — have been so rapidly swept away during the last generation, that it would be absurd nowadays to expect of any inheritor of a great writer's correspondence that he should form the same sort of strict judgment on its claims to publication which would have been natural and possible a hundred or even fifty years ago. Taste is laxer, the public easier to please, and book-making more profitable. A modern editor of unpublished documents, by the nature of things, approaches his task in a more prodigal frame of mind. The whole mood of the present day is one of greater indulgence towards what may be called the personal side of letters than used to be the case with our grandfathers; and the seven volumes which Mr. Froude has devoted to the Carlyles, and which, under all the circumstances, would have been a scandal in the days of Southey and Scott, will perhaps be accepted later on as marking the highest point of a tendency which has been long gathering strength and may not improbably soon have to fight against reaction.

"Lord Brabourne, then, hardly deserves serious blame for not deciding as Mr. Austen Leigh would have probably decided twenty years ago, that the newly discovered correspondence threw practically no fresh light on Miss Austen's personality, and, with half-a-dozen exceptions, which might have seen the light in a review, had therefore better be reserved for that family use for which it was originally intended; but he might at least have set some bounds to his confidence in the public. One small volume of these letters, carefully chosen and skilfully edited, would have been pleasant reading enough. They might have been used as illustrations of the novels, of the country society or the class relations of eighty years ago, and a few short explanations of the identity of the persons most frequently mentioned in them would have made them sufficiently intelligible to the general reader. As it is, the letters of the last fifteen years of Jane Austen's life dull the edge of whatever gentle enjoyment the reader may have derived from the sprightliness of the earlier ones, while the one literary merit which the collection possesses, its lightness and airiness of tone, is lost in the ponderous effect of the introductory chapters, with their endless strings of names and wandering criticisms on the novels. ... "

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" ... "Northanger Abbey" especially, gay, sparkling, and rapid as it is from beginning to end, is the book in which the bright energy of Jane Austen's youth finds its gayest and freshest expression. ... "

Northanger Abbey? Gay? Sparkling???? Good heavens, it's a horror story! Not a horror story on par with Hamlet, but quite halfway there!

"Miss Austen's novels are a well-worn subject. We have all read her, or ought to have read her; we all know what Macaulay and what Scott thought of her and the qualities of her humour, the extent of her range, have been pointed out again and again. Perhaps, after all, however, it may be still worthwhile to try and face the question which these disappointing letters bring home to one. How was it that, with all her lack of knowledge and of ideas, and with her comparative lack of passion, which so often supplies the place of both, Jane Austen accomplished work so permanent and so admirable? What is it, in a word, which makes "Pride and Prejudice" and "Northanger Abbey" English classics, while the books of her contemporaries, Miss Ferrier and Miss Edgeworth, have practically lost their hold upon our sympathies, and are retreating year by year into a dimmer background? ... "

It's unclear why, reading letters to a sister with intimate trivial details, one would judge Jane Austen to have been completely devoid of higher thought or ideas, concerns and more. All the more so since the publication was long after the sister had reportedly destroyed the parts she thought were private, after Jane Austen had departed and her fame being on the rise made Cassandra worry about privacy.

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"Another striking instance of this choosing instinct of hers is the description of Darcy’s place, Pemberley, in "Pride and Prejudice." There, although there is scarcely any description at all, every stroke of the pen is so managed that any reader with ordinary attention may realise, if he pleases, the whole lie of the park, the look of the house, as Elizabeth surveyed it from the opposite side of the ravine above which it stood, the relative positions of the lawns, stables, and woods. Anybody with a turn that way could sketch it with ease, and yet there is no effort, no intention to describe, nothing but a clear and vivid imagination working with that self-restraint, that concentration, which is the larger half of style. This self-restraint indeed is her important, her determining quality. In other ways she has great deficiencies. For fine instances of the qualities of expansion we must go elsewhere than to Jane Austen. Emotion, inspiration, glow, and passion are not hers; she is a small, thin classic. But classic she is; for her work is a typical English embodiment of those drier and more bracing elements of style in which French literature has always been rich, and our own perhaps comparatively poor."

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September 14, 2021 - September 14, 2021.

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AN EXCERPT FROM

Memoirs of John Murray

by Samuel Smiles (1891)

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Murray published works of Jane Austen, after first two, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice, had been published by Egerton.

Here there is correspondence relating to publication of Emma, between Murray and the people he wrote to ask for an article on Emma.

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September 15, 2021 - September 15, 2021.

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LETTERS TO DEAD AUTHORS

by Andrew Lang (1892)

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Beautiful, delicious response to all detractors of Jane Austen, written in form of a letter to Jane Austen, a letter written in the beautiful style with rectitude and propriety that would suit a letter to Jane Austen written by a gentleman, of her times with education and courteous demeanour.

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"Madam — If to the enjoyments of your present state be lacking a view of the minor infirmities or foibles of men, I cannot but think (were the thought permitted) that your pleasures are yet incomplete. Moreover, it is certain that a woman of parts who has once meddled with literature will never wholly lose her love for the discussion of that delicious topic, nor cease to relish what (in the cant of our new age) is styled "literary shop." For these reasons I attempt to convey to you some inkling of the present state of that agreeable art which you, madam, raised to its highest pitch of perfection.

""As to your own works (immortal, as I believe), I have but little that is wholly cheering to tell one who, among women of letters, was almost alone in her freedom from a lettered vanity. You are not a very popular author: your volumes are not found in gaudy covers on every bookstall; or, if found, are not perused with avidity by the Emmas and Catherines of our generation. 'Tis not long since a blow was dealt (in the estimation of the unreasoning) at your character as an author by the publication of your familiar letters. The editor of these epistles, unfortunately, did not always take your witticisms, and he added others which were too unmistakably his own. While the injudicious were disappointed by the absence of your exquisite style and humour, the wiser sort were the more convinced of your wisdom. In your letters (knowing your correspondents) you gave but the small personal talk of the hour, for them sufficient; for your books you reserved matter and expression which are imperishable. Your admirers, if not very numerous, include all persons of taste, who, in your favour, are apt somewhat to abate the rule, or shake off the habit, which commonly confines them to but temperate laudation.

"'Tis the fault of all art to seem antiquated and faded in the eyes of the succeeding generation. The manners of your age were not the manners of today, and young gentlemen and ladies who think Scott "slow," think Miss Austen "prim" and "dreary." Yet, even could you return among us, I scarcely believe that, speaking the language of the hour, as you might, and versed in its habits, you would win the general admiration. For how tame, madam, are your characters, especially your favourite heroines! How limited the life which you knew and described! How narrow the range of your incidents! How correct your grammar!

"As heroines, for example, you chose ladies like Emma, and Elizabeth, and Catherine; women remarkable neither for the brilliance nor for the degradation of their birth; women wrapped up in their own and the parish's concerns, ignorant of evil, as it seems, and unacquainted with vain yearnings and interesting doubts. Who can engage his fancy with their match-makings and the conduct of their affections, when so many daring and dazzling heroines approach and solicit his regard?

"Here are princesses dressed in white velvet stamped with golden fleurs-de-lys – ladies with hearts of ice and lips of fire, who count their roubles by the million, their lovers by the score, and even their husbands, very often, in figures of some arithmetical importance. With these are the immaculate daughters of itinerant Italian musicians – maids whose souls are unsoiled amidst the contaminations of our streets, and whose acquaintance with the art of Phidias and Praxiteles, of Daedalus and Scopas, is the more admirable, because entirely derived from loving study of the inexpensive collections vended by the plaster-of-Paris man round the corner. When such heroines are wooed by the nephews of dukes, where are your Emmas and Elizabeths? Your volumes neither excite nor satisfy the curiosities provoked by that modern and scientific fiction, which is greatly admired, I learn, in the United States, as well as in France and at home.

"You erred, it cannot be denied, with your eyes open. Knowing Lydia and Kitty so intimately as you did, why did you make of them almost insignificant characters? With Lydia for a heroine you might have gone far; and, had you devoted three volumes, and the chief of your time, to the passions of Kitty, you might have held your own, even now, in the circulating library. How Lyddy, perched on a corner of the roof, first beheld her Wickham; how, on her challenge, he climbed up by a ladder to her side; how they kissed, caressed, swung on gates together, met at odd seasons, in strange places, and finally eloped: all this might have been put in the mouth of a jealous elder sister, say Elizabeth, and you would not have been less popular than several favourites of our time. Had you cast the whole narrative into the present tense, and lingered lovingly over the thickness of Mary's legs and the softness of Kitty's cheeks, and the blonde fluffiness of Wickham's whiskers, you would have left a romance still dear to young ladies."

"Or, again, you might entrance fair students still, had you concentrated your attention on Mrs. Rushworth, who eloped with Henry Crawford. These should have been the chief figures of "Mansfield Park." But you timidly decline to tackle passion. “Let other pens," you write, "dwell on guilt and misery. I quit such odious subjects as soon as I can." Ah, there is the secret of your failure! Need I add that the vulgarity and narrowness of the social circles you describe impair your popularity? I scarce remember more than one lady of title, and but very few lords (and these unessential) in all your tales. Now, when we all wish to be in society, we demand plenty of titles in our novels, at any rate, and we get lords (and very queer lords) even from republican authors, born in a country which in your time was not renowned for its literature. ... "

Oh, what a satisfactory slap to the likes of Firkins, whose aspersions cast on the dead Jane Austen, not only against her works alone, but her person as well, were so much of a torture to her loving and loyal relatives, especially all the more so because they were baseless and false, with no other objective than gain of a name for oneself by using name of someone who couldn't respond, because she wasn't only a lady, she was also resting in her final resting place in her tomb in Winchester cathedral.

And he continues.

" ... I have heard a critic remark, with a decided air of fashion, on the brevity of the notice which your characters give each other when they offer invitations to dinner. "An invitation to dinner next day was despatched," and this demonstrates that your acquaintance "went out" very little, and had but few engagements. How vulgar, too, is one of your heroines, who bids Mr. Darcy "keep his breath to cool his porridge." I blush for Elizabeth! It were superfluous to add that your characters are debased by being invariably mere members of the Church of England as by law established. The dissenting enthusiast, the open soul that glides from esoteric Buddhism to the Salvation Army, and from the higher pantheism to the higher paganism, we look for in vain among your studies of character. Nay, the very words I employ are of unknown sound to you; so how can you help us in the stress of the soul's travailings?

"You may say that the soul's travailings are no affair of yours; proving thereby that you have indeed but a lowly conception of the duty of the novelist. I only remember one reference, in all your works, to that controversy which occupies the chief of our attention – the great controversy on creation or evolution. Your Jane Bennet cries: "I have no idea of there being so much design in the world as some persons imagine." Nor do you touch on our mighty social question, the land laws, save when Mrs. Bennet appears as a land reformer, and rails bitterly against the cruelty "of settling an estate away from a family of five daughters, in favour of a man whom nobody cared anything about." There, madam, in that cruelly unjust performance, what a text you had for a tendenz-romanz. Nay, you can allow Kitty to report that a private had been flogged, without introducing a chapter on flogging in the army. But you formally declined to stretch your matter out, here and there, "with solemn specious nonsense about something unconnected with the story." No "padding" for Miss Austen! In fact, madam, as you were born before analysis came in, or passion, or realism, or naturalism, or irreverence, or religious open-mindedness, you really cannot hope to rival your literary sisters in the minds of a perplexed generation. ... I think one prefers them so, and that English women should be more like Anne Elliot than Maggie Tulliver. "All the privilege I claim for my own sex is that of loving longest when existence or when hope is gone," said Anne; perhaps she insisted on a monopoly that neither sex has all to itself. ... "

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September 15, 2021 - September 15, 2021.

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A GIRL'S OPINION ON JANE AUSTEN

by Edith Edlmann (1892)

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Very well said.

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"It has been said that the literature of a nation finds a place in the heart of men proportionately as it is able to reveal the deeper meaning—the inner heart, which lies beneath the apparent trivialities of daily life.

"To become a permanent inheritance, we know that it must reflect mankind simply and truly in ordinary garb and varying mood. Do the works of Jane Austen fulfil these requirements? In part, we must allow they do. Writing in an age when literature was forced and unnatural, when fiction was encumbered with the artificial mannerisms, the stilted rhetoric, the far-fetched plot and incidents of the romantic school and contaminated by the evil influence of effeted French Court taste, it is to the enduring merit of three English-women, Miss Ferrier, Miss Edgeworth, but above all to Miss Austen, that public taste was led into simpler and purer channels. What Wordsworth was to poetry, Miss Austen was to fiction—the pioneer of a reformation. The novel in her hands became a means of enjoyment to people of taste and intelligence; something that it was neither a shame to have written nor to have read. Miss Lydia Languish need no longer throw her book under the sofa or behind the spinnet when she heard approaching footsteps.

"Walter Bagehot, in one of his literary studies, speaks of the keen enjoyment of novel-reading as the prerogative of youth. No doubt our love for many authors is a youthful and passing taste, but in the instance of Miss Austen the case seems to be reversed. Here we find a girl writing of girls, whose warmest admirers for nearly one hundred years are found, not so much among other young people, as among savants and men of letters. The youthful enthusiasms of the many are not poured out over her as over Scott and Dickens, but the constant affection of the few and cultured still keeps her in her niche of the temple of fame.

"Jane Austen is known today as the "critic's novelist." By her purity and simplicity of style she has been capable of fascinating such men as Scott, Macaulay, Tennyson, Sydney Smith, Whately, Whewell, Coleridge, Southey, Spedding, Leslie Stephen, and many more; a style considered by Cardinal Newman to be so perfect that, to improve his own, he at one time read her works through yearly. She delights them with her perfect manner of treating commonplace matter, charms them with the descriptions of the daily lives of our great-grandmothers, whose occupations, feelings, ways, and manners are given with the "minuteness of a miniature painter"—or as they tell us, like a master of the Flemish school. The subject is ordinary enough and oft repeated, the skill lies in the wonderful accuracy of the artist's hand and eye.

" ... Every occurrence is reproduced with the truthfulness of a girl who described things as she saw them, and not as they were drawn in the artificial light of her day. Our admiration is the more aroused when we consider how very young that girl was. Before we read many pages of her work, we become aware that all she describes is familiar. We have assisted at such scenes as she depicts; those small pleasures, those small mortifications of which we read, have touched the surface of our lives. We, ourselves, have taken part in drawing-room, dining-room, ball-room scenes such as she paints, we have met such people as inhabit her world repeatedly. There is the merit of much good-natured gossip, but no scandal in her pages, for hers is a wit that laughs, but does not know how to sneer; at times it is so Addisonian that we wonder she has no better word for the Spectator."

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" ... "It is a universally acknowledged truth that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." These words commence her best novel and form the keynote of all. Had she added, "and the average mother with several daughters considers it her mission in life to fill that want," we should be possessed of the entire situation. In fact, if it were not for the bulkiness of the volume, and the size of the family party, all her characters and plots might be contained under one cover. For in these pages we meet with nothing more harrowing or exciting than the hopes and fears, the managements and heart-burnings, which arise before the music of the wedding-bells and consumption of the wedding-cake. That any other destination should await her heroine is—to Miss Austen—evidently an impossibility. Richardson may give us a Clarissa, and "make the eyes of a Scott weep and his heart ache." Miss Austen only gives us Emmas, Fannys, Elizas, all happily married in the last chapter to the most delightfully amiable and moral young men, of modest demeanour and more than modest fortune. If, by chance, providence has happened to forget ways and means before, she now makes amends by dropping a comfortable rectory into the happy young man's lap, or, more correctly speaking, by dropping the happy young man into the comfortable rectory, where he is conspicuously fitted by his extreme youth to inspire his flock with the wisdom of his precepts, and guide them through the wealth of his inexperience.

"If, however, her plots are wanting in variety they have other merits which cannot be overlooked. The extreme naturalness with which all the small complications are invested, the easy transition from incident to incident, the compactness of design, the charming way details dovetail and apparently chance remarks connect situations delight us as we watch the unfolding story. The skill with which the numerous young people are steered past shoals and quicksands into the matrimonial haven elicits our admiration and rivals in temerity that of a writer in our own day, Miss Charlotte Yonge, who brings equally large families to an equally successful anchorage."

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"In character painting she stands unrivalled. No writer has a happier knack of presenting character in so few words, so rapidly, so graphically. When she tells us that "Darcy possesses all the goodness, and Wickham all the appearance of it," the moral character of those two men is before us in a nutshell ... "

""Miss Bates enjoyed a most uncommon degree of popularity for a woman neither young, handsome, rich, or married. She stood in the worst predicament in the world for having much of the public favour; and she had no intellectual superiority to make atonement to herself, or frighten those who might hate her, into outward respect. She had never boasted either beauty or cleverness. Her youth had passed without distinction, and her middle life was devoted to the care of a failing mother, and the endeavour to make a small income go as far as possible. And yet she was a happy woman, and a woman whom no one named without goodwill. It was her own universal goodwill and contented temper which worked such wonders. She loved everybody, was interested in everybody's happiness, quick-sighted to everybody's merits... The simplicity and cheerfulness of her nature, her contented and grateful spirit, were a recommendation to everybody, and a mine of felicity to herself. She was a great talker on little matters... full of trivial communications and harmless gossip.""

"For her older men, like Darcy and Knightley, we have nothing but praise. Their unobtrusive goodness of heart, their unselfishness and thought for others, delight us. But her younger heroes ... With the exception of Captain Wentworth and William Price, in the later works, there is nothing strong or manly about them. So unlike the young men of today are they, that we are tempted to think they must be drawn from imagination rather than observation. It is hard to believe that such types represent Englishmen of not more than a century ago. Athletics, cricket, boating, golf, steeple-chasing are unknown pastimes to her country gentlemen."

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"Before leaving our subject we cannot pass unnoticed Miss Austen's merits as a contemporary, though unconscious, historian. The material is not such as Dr. Bright might use, but rather such as would delight a Macaulay. From her pages we gain a clear insight into the manners and customs of the middle-class provincial life of the last century, and gather a plain idea of the position and importance of landowners, of the state of church and church patronage, of class distinctions at that period. We read of days of franked letters and of a twopenny London post, of times when umbrellas were not universal, but when mail coaches and post-chaises were. Then writing was considered a fine art, then sailors were rich, and farmers and landowners prosperous. Then at balls country dances with innumerable steps were danced, and furious polkas and kitchen lancers lay undreamt of in the future ; then the card table was a nightly institution for dowagers and old gentlemen, and then people with any pretence at "elegance" or "gentility" dined at five o'clock. We learn also that managing mothers and garrison girls are not the exclusive product of the nineteenth century. But in no respect is the difference between the past and present more distinctly marked than in the position of the clergy, and in the prevailing ideas of the responsibilities of a parish priest."

" ... Crawford offers to rent Edmund Bertram's rectory on the supposition that Edmund will wish to live at home and will use the income of £700 a year for personal pleasure, considering the sum total of the sacrifice of taking orders to be a sermon at Christmas or Easter. Not that it was even necessary to write the discourse, as Blair, it is suggested, could always be made to supply original deficiencies. As there was no distinction between the dress of a clergyman and that of an ordinary gentleman, Mr. Tilney's coat with many capes was much admired by his lady friends. He spent two days a week in his parish, when not at Bath; this act was considered by them to show extreme, if not unnecessary, devotion to his calling."

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September 15, 2021 - September 15, 2021.

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A JANE AUSTEN LETTER

by M. A. De Wolfe Howe (1925)

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To someone who's loved reading Jane Austen, is familiar with England and has called Boston home for a while, this is a delight.

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"On July 18, 1917, there would doubtless have been a fitting celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the death of Jane Austen if at that moment the civilised world had not been battling for its life. Instead of waiting for another century to pass, it is well to recall the fact that Jane Austen was born December 16, 1775, and, since a centennial acknowledgement of the world's debt to her was impracticable, to remind the multitudes who recognise this debt that the sesquicentenary of her birth may be celebrated on December 16, 1925.

"But for the approach of this anniversary, I should hardly have been led—as I have been recently—to look into an old collection of autographs which illustrates conspicuously the wisdom of not throwing too many private papers away and of preserving in some degree of order those that are spared. It was after the turning of many pages that I came upon the autograph letter of Jane Austen's which there was reason to hope the collection might contain. If that had been all, it would have been a pleasant but relatively unimportant discovery, for the greater part of the letter may be found in print in the second edition of J.E. Austen Leigh's "Memoir" of his aunt. In both the first and the second edition the letter to Jane Austen's brother, Admiral Sir Francis William Austen, which caused the "a.l.s." to be sent to America, is printed ... "

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The author quotes the letter from Miss Quincy, Boston, Massachusetts, to Francis Austen, asking if he or a member of his family could consent to be received by her many fans in Boston, and could get them an autograph from her.

"To this letter from Miss Eliza Susan Quincy, one of the five daughters of Josiah Quincy, President of Harvard University from 1829 to 1845, and a collaborator with her father in much of his writing, Admiral Austen made reply in the following letter, hitherto unprinted. This brother, born in 1774, one year before Jane Austen, and seventy-eight years old in 1852, died at ninety-one in 1865, as Admiral of the Fleet, the officer of highest rank in the British Navy. Early in his distinguished career he had borne an important part in the naval warfare of the Napoleonic period, especially as captain of the Canopus in the battle of St. Domingo.

"Portsdown Lodge

"Ports. Jany. 31st 1852

"Madam,

"Altho' a letter I lately received dated "Boston Massachusetts Jany. 6th 1852" bears no signature, yet I can hardly be mistaken in attributing it to the Lady to whom I am requested to address my reply.

"I can have no hesitation in assuring you that it was most gratifying to me to receive such a testimonial to the merits of my late sister's works, and thereby to learn that their celebrity had reached across the Atlantic.

"With reference to the wish of obtaining more information relative to the life of Jane Austen, than is given in the brief memorial affixed to her latest work, I can only say, that there is little I could add to it of a nature to be interesting to strangers. Passing the greater part of her life if not in absolute retirement, yet so much out of what is commonly meant by the world, rarely mixing with any but intimate friends and near relations, that it would be a matter of some difficulty to recall any circumstance worth relating.

"Of the liveliness of her imagination and playfulness of her fancy, as also of the truthfulness of her description of character and deep knowledge of the human mind, there are sufficient evidence in her works; and it has been a matter of surprise to those who knew her best, how she could at a very early age and with apparently limited means of observation, have been capable of nicely discriminating and portraying such varieties of the human character as are introduced in her works.—In her temper she was cheerful and not easily irritated, and tho' rather reserved to strangers so as to have been by some accused of haughtiness and manner, yet in the company of those she loved the native benevolence of her heart and kindliness of her disposition were forcibly displayed. On such occasions she was a most agreeable companion and by the lively sallies of her wit and good-humoured drollery seldom failed of exciting the mirth and hilarity of the party. She was fond of children and a favourite with them. Her nephews and nieces of whom there were many could not have a greater treat than crowding around and listening to Aunt Jane's stories. I have in my possession several of her letters written to an intimate friend, who subsequently became my wife and is now deceased. From these I select one to forward herewith in the confident belief that no improper use will be made of it. It will be at once a specimen of her hand-writing and of the playfulness of her mind. The incidents to which it adverts could be interesting only to those acquainted with the parties. All mentioned in it are dead with the exception of the one named "Charles." There is no date of year affixed, but from collateral circumstances it must have been written as early as 1798 or 99. I scarcely need observe that there never was the remotest idea of its being published.—I shall be glad to know that my letter arrives safely at its destination.

"Have the honour to be Madam

"Yours very truly

"Francis Wm Austen"

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The author now quotes the letter from Jane Austen, a delight in it's humour.

"The letter of Jane Austen's which her brother sent, with this communication, to Miss Quincy appears in the "Memoir" with several small omissions and lacking entirely the postscripts written on the same page—the last of the four—with the address. It should be said that Miss Martha Lloyd and Miss Austen's brother Francis were not married until 1828, when she became his second wife.

"Jane Austen to Miss Lloyd, Up-Hurstbourne, Andover.

"Steventon, Wednesday Eveng. Nov:r 12th [1800].

"My dear Martha,

"I did not receive your note yesterday till after Charlotte had left Deane, or I would have sent my answer by her, instead of being the means, as I now must be, of lessening the elegance of your new dress for the Hurstbourne ball by the value of 3d. You are very good in wishing to see me at Ibthorp so soon, and I am equally good in wishing to come to you; I believe our merit in that respect is much upon a par, our self-denial mutually strong. Having paid this tribute of praise to the virtue of both, I shall have done with panegyric and proceed to plain matter of fact.—In about a fortnight's time I hope to be with you; I have two reasons for not being able to come before; I wish so to arrange my visit as to spend some days with you after your mother's return, in the first place that I may have the pleasure of seeing her, and in the second, that I may have a better chance of bringing you back with me.—Your promise in my favour was not quite absolute, but if your will is not perverse, you and I will do all in our power to overcome your scruples of conscience.—I hope we shall meet next week to talk all this over, till we have tired ourselves with the very idea of my visit, before my visit begins.—Our invitations for the 19th are arrived, and very curiously are they worded. ... "

"Mary has heard from Cassandra today; she is now gone with Edward and Elizabeth to the Cages for two or three nights.—You distress me cruelly by your request about books; I cannot think of any to bring with me, nor have I any idea of our wanting them. I come to you to be talked to, not to read or hear reading. I can do that at home; and indeed I am now laying in a stock of intelligence to pour out on you as my share of conversation.—I am reading Henry's History of England, which I will repeat to you in any manner you may prefer, either in a loose, desultory, unconnected strain, or dividing my recital as the historian divides it himself, into seven parts, The Civil and Military—Religion—Constitution—Learning and Learned Men—Arts and Sciences—Commerce, Coins and Shipping—and Manners;—So that for every evening of the week there will be a different subject; The Friday's lot, Commerce, Coins and Shipping. You will find the least entertaining; but the next evenings portion will make amends.—With such a provision on my part, if you will do yours by repeating the French grammar, and Mrs. Stent will now and then ejaculate some wonder about the cocks and hens, what can we want?—Farewell for a short time—you are to dine here on Tuesday to meet James Digweed, whom you must wish to see before he goes into Kent.—We all united in best love, & I am

"Yr very affecte JA.—

"It is reported at Portsmouth that Sir T. Williams is going to be married—it has been reported indeed twenty times before, but Charles is inclined to give some credit to it now, as they hardly ever see him on board, and he looks very much like a lover.—

"Thursday.—The Harwoods have received a much better account of Earle this morning; and Charles, from whom I have just had a letter, has been assured by the hospital surgeon that the wound is in as favourable a state as can be."

................................................................................................

"Monday

"Dear Susan,

"I am quite excited at the idea of the Austen letter which Papa has described,—not exactly in the style of Miss Bates,—but still the facts that you have received a letter from the admiral and have actually in your possession one written by the very hand to which we owe so much, quite carries me off my feet!—Mr Wm Jennings delight at the idea of Col. Brandon's marrying Elinor is nothing to it! I can hardly resist rushing up instanter to behold them, and nothing but being obliged to remain at home this evening prevents me.—Dear Admiral Austen I think he must have been like Capt Wentworth when he was young,—and just like what Capt Wentworth would be at his age.—He has replied with true naval promptness, and evidently deserves to be Miss Austen's brother. Robert desires to add his sincere congratulations and thinks you most fortunate in such an autograph.—I never expected we should get so near Miss Austen in this world, tho' I have always hoped to find some "little coterie in Heaven" where I might catch a glimpse of her.—

"I have had a nice visit from Papa.—With love to all and congratulations to all true lovers of Miss Austen

"I am ever thine

"Anna.

"— If the house catches fire tonight,—please save the letter. I cannot die without the sight.

................................................................................................

"In the trial following the "Boston Massacre," John Adams and Miss Quincy's grandfather, Josiah Quincy, Jr., appeared in defence of the British Captain Preston and his soldiers. It is apparently to this trial that Admiral Austen refers in the third paragraph.

"Admiral Austen to Miss Quincy

"Portsdown Lodge

"March 29th 1852

"Dear Madam,

"I have great pleasure in acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 2nd inst. and desire to assure you of the high gratification the perusal of it afforded me, the members of my family and some intimate friends to whom it has been shown. They were all delighted with the enthusiasm displayed by yourself and friends on the occasion of your receiving my letter with its enclosure, and are satisfied that the autograph of my late sister could not have been placed in any hands where it would have been more highly appreciated.

"I presume we all have vanity. Mine could not but be gratified, perhaps I ought to say flattered, by the warm and complimentary expressions used by your sister in her note. I do not know whether in the character of Capt. Wentworth the authoress meant in any degree to delineate that of her brother. Perhaps she might, but I rather think parts of Capt. Harville's were drawn from myself; at least the description of his domestic habits, tastes and occupations bear a considerable resemblance to mine. Though I had not previously met with the lines you have quoted from Lord Morpeth, yet I find they were well known to some of my children, and having been published in one of the annals are easily procurable. It would therefore be taxing your kindness needlessly to give you the trouble of transcribing them, but my sincere thanks are due for the obliging offer. I have not the honour of Lord Carlisle's acquaintance, but am well aware of the high estimation in which he held my sister's works; as a proof of it, a report has been circulated that on one occasion while absorbed in the perusal of Pride and Prejudice his lordship was summoned to attend a Cabinet Council, but unable or unwilling to lay down the book, he did not reach the Council-chamber in time to escape a sharp rebuke from the minister for his tardiness.

"I feel greatly obliged by the particulars you have communicated relative to your own family. They could not be otherwise than interesting. It is always gratifying to hear of the conduct and acts of public men, which bespeak a noble and generous mind, and doubtless they are never more striking than when exercised in behalf of an enemy in distress. Perhaps you can inform me if there is any published account in existence of the trial to which you have referred, and if so how or where it could be procured. I should much like to see it. I accept with much thankfulness your very kind offer of the panoramic view of Boston, if you can send it without inconvenience. It may be addressed to the care of my son, Henry E. Austen Esqr. Barrister No 7, New Square, Lincoln's Inn.

"Shortly after sending off my former letter I discovered that the manuscript I forwarded with it was written in 1800; the day of the week and month agree therewith.—I was in London last week and showed your letter to a very intimate female friend who had known my sister she mentioned that some years ago she met at the house of a Mrs. Coxe, a young lady of the name of Anna Quincy a native of the U.S.—if your sister was ever in England perhaps she was the person. My friend's maiden name was Cushing, but she married first a Capt. Hore of the navy, and secondly Mr. Bedford, whose widow she now is. I must not omit to thank you for the kind wish of making acquaintance with any of my family who may chance to visit Boston. I am not aware that such an occurrence is at all probable, but should it be so, I feel assured any one of them would be delighted to profit by the very friendly feelings you have evinced towards the name of Austen. I may as well mention two small mistakes you made in the direction of your letter—the first is that my second name is William, tho' I can well believe my signature is as likely to be read M. as W.—the other is that I am not a vice admiral, having for the last 3 years attained the higher rank of admiral. I wish I could believe that in the change of rank I had left every vice behind me.

"I must offer my best respects and good wishes to all your family, and assure you how sincerely I am your obliged and faithful friend and humble Servant

"Francis Wm Austen."

................................................................................................

"The two ensuing letters relate to a visit paid by Miss Quincy's sister, Mrs. Waterston, with her husband and daughter, to Admiral Austen in 1856."

In the midst of our Civil War the correspondence between Admiral Austen and Miss Quincy was resumed. This letter, written as he was approaching ninety, is the last from him that is found in the book of autographs. The allusions to the Prince Consort, the Prince of Wales, and the war between the North and South explain themselves. There can be little doubt that "Mr. Quincy's speech," to which Admiral Austen refers, was the vigorous patriotic address delivered by Josiah Quincy before the Union Club of Boston, on February 29, 1863, when he had just passed his ninety-first birthday. In 1864, he died."

"With the death of Admiral Austen the correspondence with his family did not come to an end. Five years after his death his nephew, the Rev. J. E. Austen Leigh, a nineteenth-century Vicar of Bray, having produced the first edition of his "Memoir" of Jane Austen, and planning for the second, wrote to Miss Quincy, received the copy of the letter of November 12, 1800, to Martha Lloyd which he used in that volume, and expressed his thanks for this piece of co-operation."

................................................................................................

"It remains only to be added that had the Vicar of Bray accepted Miss Quincy's offer of copies of the admiral's letters, the fragments of information and of sidelight upon Miss Austen and her brother which have waited all these years for publication might have become accessible to her host of lovers more than half a century ago."

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September 15, 2021 - September 15, 2021.

................................................

................................................................................................

................................................

1970 - February 2016 -

December 31, 2020 - January 01, 2021.

August 26, 2021- September 15, 2021.

Kindle Edition

Published April 21st 2013

by Bourville Publishing

(first published 1989)

ASIN:- B00CH82ACY

................................................

................................................................................................

Jane Austen

................................................................................................

December 31, 2020 - January , 2021.

................................................................................................

January 01, 2021, 3.

................................................................................................

Contents (from book)

MAJOR NOVELS

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (1811)

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1813)

MANSFIELD PARK (1814)

EMMA (1816)

NORTHANGER ABBEY (1818)

PERSUASION (1818)

................................................................................................

MINOR AND UNFINISHED NOVELS

THE WATSONS (1793-1795)

PLAN OF A NOVEL (1816)

SANDITON (1817)

LADY SUSAN (1871)

................................................................................................

JUVENILIA

INTRODUCTION

JUVENILIA I

FREDERIC AND ELFRIDA (1787-1793)

JACK AND ALICE (1787-1793)

EDGAR AND EMMA (1787-1793)

HENRY AND ELIZA (1787-1793)

THE ADVENTURES OF MR. HARLEY (1787-1793)

SIR WILLIAM MOUNTAGUE (1787-1793)

MEMOIRS OF MR. CLIFFORD (1787-1793)

THE BEAUTIFUL CASSANDRA (1787-1793)

AMELIA WEBSTER (1787-1793)

THE VISIT (1797-1793)

THE MYSTERY (1787-1793)

THE THREE SISTERS (1787-1793)

DETACHED PIECES (1787-1793)

JUVENILIA II

LOVE AND FREINDSHIP (1787-1793)

LESLEY CASTLE (1787-1793)

THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND (1787-1793)

A COLLECTION OF LETTERS (1787-1793)

SCRAPS (1787-1793)

JUVENILIA III

EVELYN (1787-1793)

CATHARINE (1787-1793)

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PLAYS

SIR CHARLES GRANDISON OR THE HAPPY MAN (1793)

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POEMS and PRAYERS

POEMS (1796-1817)

PRAYERS (1796-1817)

................................................................................................

LETTERS

THE LETTERS OF JANE AUSTEN (1908)

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EXTRAS

................................................................................................

–EXTRAS: Biographical–

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE (by Henry Austen) (1816)

JANE AUSTEN (by Samuel Stillman Conant) (1870)

MEMOIR OF JANE AUSTEN (by James Edward Austen-Leigh) (1871)

MORE VIEWS OF JANE AUSTEN (by George Barnett Smith) (1895)

JANE AUSTEN AND HER TIMES (by Geraldine Edith Mitton) (1905)

JANE AUSTEN (by William Lyon Phelps) (1906)

JANE AUSTEN, HER LIFE AND LETTERS: A Family Record (by W. Austen-Leigh and R. A. Austen-Leigh) (1913)

JANE AUSTEN by O.W. Firkins (1823)

AUSTEN, JANE from Encyclopaedia Britannica (1910-1911)

................................................................................................

–EXTRAS: Criticism–

THE NOVELS OF JANE AUSTEN (1859)

EXCERPT FROM Criticism and Fiction (1891)

THE PERFECTION OF THE NOVEL by William Edward Simonds (1894)

FROM FIELDING TO JANE AUSTEN by Williams James Dawson (1905)

JANE AUSTEN, AND THE NOVEL OF SOCIAL COMEDY by Williams James Dawson (1905)

MISS AUSTEN from the New Monthly Magazine (1852)

JANE AUSTEN by Anna Waterston (1863)

HUNTING FOR SNARKES AT LYME REGIS from Fanny Caroline Lefroy (1879)

IS IT JUST? from Fanny Caroline Lefroy (1883)

A BUNDLE OF LETTERS by Fanny Caroline Lefroy (1883)

MISS AUSTEN'S COUNTRY (1875)

STYLE AND MISS AUSTEN by Mary Augusta Ward (1884)

AN EXCERPT FROM Memoirs of John Murray by Samuel Smiles (1891)

LETTERS TO DEAD AUTHORS by Andrew Lang (1892)

A GIRL'S OPINION ON JANE AUSTEN by Edith Edlmann (1892)

A JANE AUSTEN LETTER by M. A. De Wolfe Howe (1925)

................................................................................................

................................................

1970 - February 2016 -

December 31, 2020 - January 01, 2021.

August 26, 2021- September 15, 2021.

Kindle Edition

Published April 21st 2013

by Bourville Publishing

(first published 1989)

ASIN:- B00CH82ACY

................................................

................................................................................................

Jane Austen

................................................................................................

December 31, 2020 - January , 2021.

................................................................................................

January 01, 2021, 3.

................................................................................................

Contents as given on Goodreads:-:

................................................................................................

Contents

................................................................................................

– The 6 NOVELS with introductions:

Sense and Sensibility • Pride and Prejudice • Mansfield Park • Emma • Northanger Abbey • Persuasion

– The 4 MINOR and UNFINISHED WORKS:

The Watsons • Plan of a Novel • Sanditon • Lady Susan

– The 20 JUVENILIA:

Frederic and Elfrida • Jack and Alice • Edgar and Emma • Henry and Eliza • The Adventures of Mr. Harley • Sir William Mountague • Memoirs of Mr. Clifford • The Beautiful Cassandra • Amelia Webster • The Visit • The Mystery • The Three Sisters • Detached Pieces • Love and Friendship • Lesley Castle • The History of England • A Collection of Letters • Scraps • Evelyn • Catharine

– The PLAY:

Sir Charles Grandison

– The 14 POEMS and PRAYERS

– 78 LETTERS of Jane Austen

– EXTRAS – Biographical:

Biographical Notice (by Henry Austen) (1816) • Jane Austen (by Samuel Stillman Conant) (1870) • Memoir of Jane Austen (by James Edward Austen-Leigh) (1871) • More Views of Jane Austen (by George Barnett Smith) (1895) • Jane Austen and Her Times (by Geraldine Edith Mitton) (1905) • Jane Austen (by William Lyon Phelps) (1906) • Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters: A Family Record (by W. Austen-Leigh and R. A. Austen-Leigh) (1913) • Jane Austen by O.W. Firkins (1823) • Jane Austen from Encyclopaedia Britannica (1910-1911)

– EXTRAS – Criticism:

The Novels of Jane Austen (1859) • Excerpt from Criticism and Fiction (1891) • The Perfection of The Novel by William Edward Simonds (1894) • From Fielding to Jane Austen by Williams James Dawson (1905) • Jane Austen, And the Novel of Social Comedy by Williams James Dawson (1905) • Miss Austen from the New Monthly Magazine (1852) • Jane Austen by Anna Waterston (1863) • Hunting For Snarkes at Lyme Regis from Fanny Caroline Lefroy (1879) • Is it just? From Fanny Caroline Lefroy (1883) • A Bundle of Letters by Fanny Caroline Lefroy (1883) • Miss Austen's Country (1875) • Style and Miss Austen by Mary Augusta Ward (1884) • An Excerpt from Memoirs of John Murray by Samuel Smiles (1891) • Letters to Dead Authors by Andrew Lang (1892)

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Thursday, September 16, 2021

Jane Austen: Complete Works + Extras - 83 titles (Annotated and illustrated) by Jane Austen.

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