[68] Miss Hill (following a family MS.) calls _him_ 'Blackall'; but it seems from what has been said above that the MS. confused two different men. Certainly Cassandra, in telling the story to her niece Caroline, did not give her that, or any other, name; for Caroline speaks of the tale as being--so far as she knew it--'nameless and dateless.' A possible alternative suggestion is that there were two Blackalls concerned: one being the Sam Blackall mentioned above, the other Jane Austen's admirer in the west of England. [69] The author of the _Memoir_ describes this gentleman as one who had the recommendations of good character and connexions and position in life--of everything, in fact, except the subtle power of touching her heart. CHAPTER VII AUTHORSHIP AND CORRESPONDENCE 1796-1798 The appearance of Jane Austen's name among the list of subscribers to Madame d'Arblay's _Camilla_, in 1796, marks the beginning of her literary career. Her father must have paid the necessary subscription for her: and he probably did so believing that his daughter's talent deserved encouragement. Jane's cousins, the Cookes of Bookham, were some of Madame d'Arblay's closest friends while the latter was living in that neighbourhood, from 1793 to 1797, and it is quite likely that they were active in getting subscribers. One likes to think that--as Miss Hill has suggested[70]--Jane may have met Madame d'Arblay when paying a visit to Bookham. 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. These disturbing causes all existed, and it is probable that each contributed its share to her unwillingness to write; but at present she enjoyed hope and happiness, the vigour and cheerfulness of youth among congenial companions, and a home as yet unvisited by any acute sorrows. 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.