The Letters of Jane Austen: Selected from the compilation of her great nephew, Edward, Lord BradbourneAusten, Jane
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The Letters of Jane Austen: Selected from the compilation of her great nephew, Edward, Lord Bradbourne
Austen, Jane
Austen, Cassandra, 1773-1845; Austen, Jane, 1775-1817 -- Correspondence; Novelists, English -- 19th century -- Correspondence
This post has brought me a letter from Miss Sharpe. Poor thing! she has
been suffering indeed, but is now in a comparative state of comfort. She
is at Sir W. P.'s, in Yorkshire, with the children, and there is no
appearance of her quitting them. Of course we lose the pleasure of
seeing her here. She writes highly of Sir Wm. I do so want him to marry
her. There is a Dow. Lady P. presiding there to make it all right. The
Man is the same; but she does not mention what he is by profession or
trade. She does not think Lady P. was privy to his scheme on her, but,
on being in his power, yielded. Oh, Sir Wm.! Sir Wm.! how I will love
you if you will love Miss Sharpe!
Mrs. Driver, etc., are off by Collier, but so near being too late that
she had not time to call and leave the keys herself. I have them,
however. I suppose one is the key of the linen-press, but I do not know
what to guess the other.
The coach was stopped at the blacksmith's, and they came running down
with Triggs and Browning, and trunks, and birdcages. Quite amusing.
My mother desires her love, and hopes to hear from you.
Yours very affectionately,
J. AUSTEN.
Frank and Mary are to have Mary Goodchild to help as _Under_ till they
can get a cook. She is delighted to go.
Best love at Streatham.
Miss AUSTEN, Henrietta St.
By favor of Mr. GRAY.
LVII.
23 HANS PLACE, Tuesday morning (August, 1814).
MY DEAR CASSANDRA,--I had a very good journey, not crowded, two of the
three taken up at Bentley being children, the others of a reasonable
size; and they were all very quiet and civil. We were late in London,
from being a great load, and from changing coaches at Farnham; it was
nearly four, I believe, when we reached Sloane Street. Henry himself met
me, and as soon as my trunk and basket could be routed out from all the
other trunks and baskets in the world, we were on our way to Hans Place
in the luxury of a nice, large, cool, dirty hackney coach.
There were four in the kitchen part of Yalden, and I was told fifteen at
top, among them Percy Benn. We met in the same room at Egham, but poor
Percy was not in his usual spirits. He would be more chatty, I dare say,
in his way from Woolwich. We took up a young Gibson at Holybourn, and,
in short, everybody either did come up by Yalden yesterday, or wanted to
come up. It put me in mind of my own coach between Edinburgh and
Stirling.
Henry is very well, and has given me an account of the Canterbury races,
which seem to have been as pleasant as one could wish. Everything went
well. Fanny had good partners, Mr. ---- was her second on Thursday, but
he did not dance with her any more.
This will content you for the present. I must just add, however, that
there were no Lady Charlottes, they were gone off to Kirby, and that
Mary Oxenden, instead of dying, is going to marry Wm. Hammond.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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