Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters: A Family RecordAusten-Leigh, William
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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
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 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superseded in time.
* * * * *
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.
I _shall_ be able to send this to the post to-day,
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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