Letter #4

Tuesday 20 September 2011
Letter #4, To Cassandra, from Rowling, "Since I wrote last, we have been very near returning to Steventon so early as next week. Such, for a day or two, was our dear brother Henry's scheme, but at present matters are restored, not to what they were, for my absence seems likely to be lengthened still farther. I am sorry for it, but what can I do?" - Jane Austen, Thursday 1 September 1796

St. Nicholas Church in Steventon



front view of Steventon Rectory by Anna LeFroy



back view of Steventon rectory by Anna LeFroy

 In Chapter Five today of Jane Austen, Her Homes and Her Friends, by Constance Hill we are entertained by a description of what the parsonage at Steventon might have been like; very sweet.



Inside St. Nicholas Church in Steventon



This is a link to a blog page about Steventon. It has very interesting information about what happened to Steventon rectory and current information about the house Edward built to replace it.
http://janeausteninvermont.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/the-saga-of-the-steventon-parsonage/

Letter #4



The Abbey School in Reading or Northanger Abbey?

 Sunday 18 September 2011
Letter #4, To Cassandra, from Rowling, "My Dearest Cassandra, The letter which I have this moment received from you has diverted me beyond moderation. I could die of laughter at it, as they used to say at school. You are indeed the finest comic writer of the present age." - Jane Austen, Thursday September 1 1796.

When Jane was seven years old, she and Cassandra went away to school in Oxford with Mrs. Cawley. She was a widow and said to have been a "stiff-mannered person." During the time of Jane and Cassandra's schooling, Mrs. Cawley moved to Southampton where Jane and Cassandra came down with a putrid fever. Jane almost died.

Not too long after this Jane and Cassandra were sent away to school at the Abbey School at Reading, "Not because she was thought old enough to profit much by the instruction there imparted, but because she would have been miserable without her sister". Mrs. Austen said, "If Cassandra were going to have her head cut off, Jane would insist on sharing her fate."

Mrs. Sherwood, in her Autobiography, Life and Times of Mrs. Sherwood, talks about the school-house at Reading, "or rather the abbey itself, was exceedingly interesting, ... the ancient building... consisted of a gateway with rooms above, and on each side of it a vast staircase, of which the balustrades had originally been gilt... The best part of the house was encompassed by a beautiful, old-fashioned garden where the young ladies were allowed to wander under tall trees in hot summer evenings." Inspiration for the abbey in Northanger Abbey and Mrs. Goddard's school in Emma?

Anyway, Jane was finished with formal schooling by the ripe-old age of nine.

I would love to be able to read Cassandra's letters to Jane.

Today, chapter four, the chapter in Jane Auster, Her Homes and Her Friends, by Constance Hill is on the Abbey School. I wrote the first part of this post on Jane and Cassandra's schooling before I went to the chapter. This was a happy surprise. I like that they also made the connection to Northanger Abbey.

Letter #3

Saturday 17 September 2011

Letter #3, To Cassandra, from Cork Street, London, "I hope you are all alive after our melancholy parting yesterday, and that you pursued your intended avocation with success. God bless you! I must leave off, for we are going out.

Yours very affectionately,

J. AUSTEN
Everybody's love." Tuesday morning, 23 August 1796

So, today we finished Letter #3. On to Rowling.

Last night, for dinner I made a recipe from The Jane Austen Cookbook, by Maggie Black and Deirdre Le Faye. Actually, I should say I made something similiar to a  recipe in The Jane Austen Cookbook. This cookbook contains some recipes from a cookbook which was written by Martha Lloyd. A close friend, and future sister-in-law to the Austen's. She lived with Mrs. Austen, Cassandra and Jane and married Frank Austen in 1828.

She must have cooked if she kept recipies. There are also recipies given to her by other family members and people Jane Austen mentions in her letters. This book is a good one for the home library; it is fun and full of Austen info.

This is how Martha Lloyd Austen wrote the recipe out:
Swiss Soup Meagre
Take four Cabbage Lettuces, 1 Endive, Sorrel Spinnage, Cherville, Chives, Onions, Parsley, Beet leaves, Cucumbers sliced, Peas or Asparagus; let all these herbs be cut fine & no stalks put in, then put a quarter of a pd. of Butter in a Stew pan, shake over your herbs when they are in the Butter a small spoonful of flour & let them stew some time then pour in a quart of boiling Water & let it stew on till near dinner time; then add the yolks of three Eggs in a tea Cup of Cream & a Roll if you like it. Broth is better than so much water if you have it. If you have not all the vegetables above mention'd, it will be very good with what you have & a little Seville Orange juice if you like. (M.L., page 78.)

This is how Maggie Black and Deirdre Le Faye updated it. I did not make it exactly the way they listed it, so I will list the changes beside in ( ).

Serves 6
10 oz. varied salad leaves (I used 1 cabbage head and 4 romaine lettuce leaves)
8 oz. cucumber (1 med. cucumber)
2 medium onions
1/2 cup butter, chopped
3/4 cup shelled fresh young peas or frozen petits pois (I completely forgot the peas until we were already eating.)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1/2 tablespoon dried mixed herbs (I used McCormick Perfect Pinch, Original All-Purpose Seasoning)
1 tablespoon flour
7 1/2 cups vegetable stock (I used 7 1/2 Cups water and 3 tablespoons chicken soup base)
2 tablespoon soft white breadcrumbs, made without crust (I used 1/2 slice of white bread without the crust, tore unto very small pieces)
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup single (light) cream (I used half and half)
salt and pepper

Snip any tough stalks off the salad leaves, and shred any large leaves. Peel the cucumber, halve lengthways and slice. Peel the onions and chop them finely. Melt the chopped butter in a stew-pan, add the onions and cook gently for a couple of minutes. Add the cucumber, peas and all the leaves and herbs, and toss with a wooden spoon for a few moments. Sprinkle the flour over the greens, cover the pan and allow to simmer gently for 10 minutes, checking often that they are not burning. Add the stock and breadcrumbs, and continue cooking over low heat for another 20 minutes.

While cooking, whisk the egg yolks into the cream, and season with salt and pepper. When the soup is ready, take it off the heat, cool it for 2-3 minutes, then stir the cream mixture into it below the boil. Keep on the side of the stove until ready to serve.

Good with hot, dry toast or anchovy whets (page 66) - and not so very 'meagre'!

This soup was very good. We enjoyed it. We had the leftovers tonight. I boiled 5 potatoes until soft, cut into bite-size pieces, added the leftover soup, 1 tablespoon of chicken soup base, 1/2 cup half and half, and cooked it just to a boil. Served it with garlic bread.

I really was surprised at how good this soup was. I had no idea that you could cook cucumbers. I had only had them in salads or with salt on them.

I hope you try this. I have been surprised looking through this cookbook. Jane Austen, maybe, did not eat so differently than we do. There is even a recipe for macaroni and cheese.

Now, on to chapter three of Jane Austen, Her Homes and Her Friends by Constance Hill. Today we are still in Steventon. Miss Hill makes a connection between authoress Mary Russell Mitford and author Gilbert White who were both from the same area as Jane Austen and make references to the area in their writings. There are also personal recollections from Anna Austen. Worth the time.

Letter #3

Friday 16 September 2011
Letter #3, To Cassandra, from Cork Street, London, "Edward has heard from Henry this morning. He has not been at the Races, at all, unless his [ p. 2] driving Miss Pearson over to Rowling one day can be so called. We shall find him there on Thursday." - Jane Austen, Tuesday 23 August 1796, Tuesday morning.

More to come about Miss Pearson for sure! She was Henry's intended at this time and Jane gives her opinion of her in a later letter.

Henry-Thomas Austen, (8 June 1771 to 12 March 1850), the fourth child and said to be Jane's favorite brother and the most like her.

I am thinking it will be easier to understand who all of these people are if I make a seperate page for each person. So, it is, possibly, a goal.

In the meantime, I have started reading Jane Austen, Her Homes and Her Friends, by Constance Hill, first published in 1902. Constance Hill and her sister traveled to all of the places Jane Austen lived and wrote about it. I have read the first two chapters, one-a-day - just like the vitamins ;). Yesterday we arrived at Dean, today Steventon. This book is charming and this is the link to read it on-line. Take a look if you have the time.

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/hill/austen/homes.html

This is a link to a little more information about Steventon.
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/austen/deane-parsonage/steventon-village.htm

Wednesday 23 March 2011
Letter #3, To Cassandra, from Cork Street, London
"We are to be at Astley's to night, which I am glad of." - Jane Austen, Tuesday morning 23 August 1796

Astley's was Astley's Amphitheatre, an equestrian circus opened in London by Philip Astley in 1773.
This blog has a very nice page on Astley's Amphitheatre:
http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/astleys-amphitheatre/

Jane Austen mentions Astley's Amphitheatre in Emma. Mr. Knightly is discussing with Emma the fact that Mr. Martin and Harriet Smith are now engaged and he gives these details:

"'It is a very simple story. He went to town on business three days ago, and I got him to take charge of some papers which I was wanting to send to John.- He delivered these papers to John, at his chambers, and was asked by him to join their party the same evening to Astley's. They were going to take the two eldest boys to Astley's. The party was to be our brother and sister, Henry, John - and Miss Smith. My friend Robert could not resist..." Emma, chapter 54

Astley's Amphithreatre

Tuesday 22 March 2011

Letter #3, To Cassandra, From Cork Street, London

"Edward & Frank are both gone out to seek their fortunes; the latter is to return soon & help us seek ours. The former we shall never see again." - Jane Austen, Tuesday morning 23 August 1796

Edward must have been going on without them, perhaps on to Rowling.

It sound as though there is someone there with her, but I do not know who that would be. There is a letter or letters missing in between this one and the next. The fourth letter is written from Rowling, so there is no clue.

Edward Austen Knight (7 December 1767 to 19 November 1852), third in line. He was adopted by Thomas Knight II in 1783. Thomas Knight was a distant cousin to the Austens. Mr. Knight and his wife did not have children. At the time of this writing Edward would have been twenty-eight years old. He was married to Elizabeth Bridges on 27 December 1791. They had eleven children; but at the time of this writing only Fanny-Catherine (1793), Edward (1794), and George-Thomas (1795) were born. They lived at Rowling, Kent which was this groups destination.

Francis-William 'Frank' Austen (23 April 1774 to 10 August 1865), the sixth child. He would have been twenty-two at the writing of this letter. He was not yet married, but he was a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy. I believe he was serving on the HMS Lark in 1796.

This story makes me happy! Click on this link:
http://www.janeaustensoci.freeuk.com/pages/portrait.htm

Edward Austen Knight's life size portrait, thought to be done in Rome in 1788

It seems appropriate that Edward is back at Chawton.

Monday 21 March 2011

Letter #3, To Cassandra, From Cork Street, London

"We set off again this morning at seven o'clock & had a very pleasant Drive, as the morning was cloudy & perfectly cool - I came all the way in the Chaise from Hertford Bridge. -" - Jane Austen, Tuesday 23 August 1796, Tuesday morning

A chaise as described in the Encyclopedia Britannica
post chaise, four-wheeled, closed carriage, containing one seat for two or three passengers, that was popular in 18th-century England. The body was of the coupé type, appearing as if the front had been cut away. Because the driver rode one of the horses, it was possible to have windows in front as well as at the sides. At the post chaise’s front end, in place of the coach box, was a luggage platform. The carriage was built for long-distance travel, and so horses were changed at intervals at posts (stations).


In England, public post chaises were painted yellow and could be hired, along with the driver and two horses, for about a shilling a mile. The post chaise is descended from the 17th-century two-wheeled French chaise.

She refers to Hertford Bridge here. As far as I can tell she must have meant Hartford Bridge. There is a Hertford Bridge at Oxford College but it was not completed until 1914, so she could not have been referring to this one. There is also a Hertford, England but the distance between Hertford and London is 26.9 to 31.1 miles. It would add another day or two to their journey to go from Staines to Hertford and then Hertford to London, so it cannot be Hertford, England. This leaves only Hartford Bridge, which is 10 miles NW of Basingstoke on the route to Staines. The post station at Hartford Bridge was called the White Lion Inn. Today it is an antique store, but they have taken care to preserve the original features.

Here is a link:
http://www.whitelionantiques.co.uk/


White Lion Antiques which in Jane Austen's time was the White Lion Inn. She would have stopped here on her way to Basingstoke and then on to Staines.

Sunday 20 March 2011
Letter #3, To Cassandra, From Cork Street, London, Tuesday 23 August 1796

"We reached Staines yesterday I donot [know omitted] when, without suffering so much from the Heat as I had hoped to do." - Jane Austen, Tuesday 23 August 1796

This is a description of Staines according to the Encyclopedia Britannica;
Staines, town in Spelthorne borough, administrative county of Surrey, historic county of Middlesex, England, on the left bank of the River Thames. A residential community on the western fringe of Greater London, Staines marks a crossing of the Thames used since Roman times by the major road from London to the southwest of Britain. Nearby are large reservoirs where Thames water is pumped, purified, and stored for London’s Metropolitan Water Board. Pop. (2001) 50,538.

The coaching inn at Staines in Jane Austen's time was The Bush. It remains today.



Jane Austen slept here, more than once. The Mercure Bush Hotel, Staines, England. This is just beautiful!
http://www.aboutbritain.com/hotels/hotel1930.asp

Staines Town Hall Square

Staines old town hall from the back

The following link is to a site with some very pretty pictures of Staines going to Windsor

http://www.thames-path.org.uk/thames_staines_windsor.html

It is 9 miles from Steventon to Basingstoke and 39.6 to 50.3 to Staines depending on which current day route you take.

In 1784 a mail stagecoach went 120 miles from London to Bristol in 17 hours, so, 17 x 60 = 1020, divide that by 120 miles and you get 8.5 miles an hour.

So, let's just say the trip from Steventon to Staines was 50 miles, at 8.5 miles an hour it would take almost six hours to get to Staines. This is probably a fast estimation, with the roads, horses and condition of the coaches maybe seven or eight hours? I am guessing.

What a difference to travel approximately 50 miles a day in Jane Austen's time and now. Well, I am quite sure we have missed a few flowers along the way.

Friday 18 March 2011
Letter #3, To Cassandra, From Cork Street, London
Tuesday 23 August 1796
"My dear Cassandra
Here I am once more in this Scene of Dissipation & vice, and I begin already to find my Morals corrupted. -" - Jane Austen, Tuesday 23 August 1796

Just a few words and so much to consider:
First, the address, Cork Street; Tom Lefroy's great-uncle, Benjamin Langlois lived on Cork Street. It is possible that the Austen's would have received an offer to stay with Mr. Langlois because of their family friendship with their neighbors, George and Anne Lefroy. Mr. George Lefroy was Mr. Langlois's nephew.

Tom Lefroy stayed with Mr. Langlois while he was pursuing his legal studies at Lincoln's Inn, London. I know people like to think that Jane and Tom saw each other during this time, but, according to Joan Klingel Ray in her essay, The One-Sided Romance of Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy, "Trinity term ended on June 15th and the next term, Michaelmas, would not start until November 6th. Irish students normally returned home to Ireland during the long break (Hutchings, 11 April 2006)." So, most likely, he was not there. Coupled with the fact that it was an over-night stay (they would be in Rowling by Thursday) and she was traveling with Edward and Frank and soon to catch-up with Henry, I do not believe her older brothers would take her into a situation that might possibly break her heart or even let her think that he would be there. I am sure they would know when the sessions would be in. So, no, I do not believe he was there and I am glad of it; less hurt for her. He had his chance and he blew it.
I will say, from the description of his character and from what he actually accomplished in his life, for Jane Austen to be writing through her tears at his leaving, she had a great ability to know a good man. Hence: Henry Tilney, Edward Ferrars, Mr. Darcy, Edmund Bertram, Mr. Knightly, and Captain Wentworth.

Okay, back to the address. There is a book out by Vera Quin titled Jane Austen Visits London , which is discussed in Jane Austen In Vermont. Here is a link:

http://janeausteninvermont.wordpress.com/2008/10/20/letter-no-3-scene-of-dissipation-and-vice/

In her book Vera Quin discusses Cork Street and states that Benjamin Langlois lived at 18 Cork Street. I have not been able to find an image of 18 Cork Street, (and trust me, if I lived in England I would try my darnedest to take one of my own), but I have found one of 19 and 20 Cork Street. They are both now galleries with great enterances.

http://www.browseanddarby.co.uk/default.aspx

19 Cork Street is Browse and Darby

20 Cork Street is the Redfern Gallery. The Redfern Gallery has a great history page on their site which states that the Fourth Earl of Sandwich lived at this address, a door down from Tom Lefroy's great-uncle. The Fourth Earl died in 1792 and Tom did not live on Cork Street until 1793, I believe; but, still, the Fourth Earl seemed to be quite a character. Check him out if you are interested.
http://www.redfern-gallery.com/pages/history.html

Second, she says she is "once more" in London. She has been there before and in her tone she seems happy to be there again; happy to be "in this scene of Dissipation and vice; happy to have her Morals corrupted." I am sure people who live in the country always consider the city a place to become tainted.