Letter #10, Post #24

Monday 28 May 2012
To Cassandra, from Steventon, "Earle Harwood has been to Deane lately, as I think Mary wrote us word; & his family then told him that they would receive his wife, if she continued to behave well for another Year.-He was very grateful, as well he might; their behaviour throughout the whole affair has been particularly kind.-Earle and his wife live in the most private manner imaginable at Portsmouth, without keeping a servant of any kind.-What a prodigious innate love of virtue she must have, to marry under such circumstances!-." - Jane Austen, Saturday 27-Sunday 28 October 1798

Earle Harwood was born in 1773 and was the son of John Harwood VI and Anne. He joined the Royal Marines and became a Lieutenant in 1796. He married Sarah Scott on 2 August 1797 at Stoke Damerel, Devon. He was appointed to the prison ship HMS Prothee on 27 December 1798 and the HMS Gladiator in 1800. He served in the West Indies and took part in the capture of Curacao in 1805. In 1807 he was the commanding Officer of Fort Amsterdam and returned to England in 1809. At the time of his death in 1811 he was Captain of the Woolwich Division of Marines. He was buried at Deane. He and Sarah did not have any children.

The following link is to a discussion in 2001 about, among other things, this subject. There are some interesting observations.
http://lists.mcgill.ca/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind1102b&L=austen-l&P=2001

One thing is obvious, Earle Harwood was very successful in his career. While he was humbly asking his family to accept his wife, for whatever reason they had shunned her, his father was busy taking on so much debt that when he died in 1813 it seemed as though the estate could scarcely pay it's own liabilites.

Earle's oldest brother, Reverend John Harwood VII spent the rest of his life struggling to pay off his father's debt just to retain the family property and support his dependants. He could not even afford to marry; although that may have been a blessing in disguise. He had wanted to marry Elizabeth Bigg, but she married Reverend William Heathcote in 1802 instead. After Reverend William Heathcote died, it became understood amongst their friends that she would marry Reverend John Harwood VII once he came into his inheritance. I am not too sure how happy a circumstance that would have been.

As far as Sarah Scott Harwood goes, her virtue must have been at fault, why else would Jane Austen make this statement "What a prodigious innate love of virtue she must have". It sounds sarcastic does it not? Especially following the previous sentence, "Earle and his wife live in the most private manner imaginable at Portsmouth, without keeping a servant of any kind."

Perhaps they did not have any servants because they wanted privacy. Perhaps they were tired of the gossips. Do you remember Mrs. Smith's nurse in Persuasion? She knew everything that went on in Bath because she worked with the servants; just watch Downton Abby;) (Soon I hope!)

In any case, it seems to me that both Earle Harwood and his brother, Reverend John Harwood VII, had great honor in their character; Earle because he married Sarah no matter what her disapproving quality was and John for taking on the family debt and caring for his family at the expense of his own happiness.

I hope you enjoyed your day today and don't forget to "Ring the Bells for 1812"!

Terrie