The Letters of Jane Austen: Selected from the compilation of her great nephew, Edward, Lord BradbourneAusten, Jane
General
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
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.
You feel more for John Bond than John Bond deserves. I am sorry to lower
his character, but he is not ashamed to own himself that he has no doubt
at all of getting a good place, and that he had even an offer many years
ago from a Farmer Paine of taking him into his service whenever he might
quit my father's.
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. Perhaps you may remember, or perhaps you may
forget, that Charles Street leads from the Queen Square Chapel to the
two Green Park Streets.
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. Her knowledge of it, however, is confined
only to the outside, and therefore she is equally uncertain of its being
really desirable as of its being to be had. In the mean time she assures
you that she will do everything in her power to avoid Trim Street,
although you have not expressed the fearful presentiment of it which was
rather expected.
We know that Mrs. Perrot will want to get us into Oxford Buildings, but
we all unite in particular dislike of that part of the town, and
therefore hope to escape. Upon all these different situations you and
Edward may confer together, and your opinion of each will be expected
with eagerness.
As to our pictures, the battle-piece, Mr. Nibbs, Sir William East, and
all the old heterogeneous, miscellany, manuscript, Scriptural pieces
dispersed over the house, are to be given to James. Your own drawings
will not cease to be your own, and the two paintings on tin will be at
your disposal. My mother says that the French agricultural prints in
the best bedroom were given by Edward to his two sisters. Do you or he
know anything about it?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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