Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters: A Family RecordAusten-Leigh, William
General
Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters: A Family Record
Austen-Leigh, William
Austen, Jane, 1775-1817; Austen, Jane, 1775-1817 -- Family; Novelists, English -- 19th century -- Family relationships
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.[25]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account