Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers - J. H. Hubback (novels for students txt) 📗

convoying small vessels backwards and forwards, great events were going on all round. The southern shores of the Baltic were included this year in the great arena of the battles which preceded the downfall of Napoleon.

Napoleon’s day was now nearly over. The retreat, in 1812, from Moscow had shaken his reputation, and Prussia no longer attempted to keep up the disguise of friendly relations with France. The revolt of the Prussian regiments of Napoleon’s army gave the signal for a national organisation, and the whole country turned openly against France. The garrisons left in the fortified towns, conquered seven years earlier, were the only remnants of French dominion. Marshal Bernadotte, who had fought for his Emperor at Grezlaw and Wagram, had lately been selected to be Crown Prince of Sweden. His interests were now centred in Sweden, and his great desire was to conquer Norway. That kingdom was ceded in 1814, in exchange for Rugen and the Pomeranian territories, and has been, almost from that date, a source of increasing difficulty to the Crown of Sweden. Bernadotte had asked help towards his project from Napoleon, at the same time promising to give him reinforcements for the Russian invasion. This offer was refused, and Bernadotte remained neutral until he saw that matters were going against his former sovereign. Now, in 1813, he declared himself an ally of the Russians and Austrians, and brought across the Baltic into Swedish Pomerania a contingent of 12,000 men, of whom a considerable number were convoyed by English men-of-war.

In the log for May 28, 1813, we read “Sailed the Princess Caroline and several of the brigs, with a large fleet of transports, for the Sound. The transports have 4900 Swedish troops on board, to be landed in Swedish Pomerania.” These soldiers assisted in the defeat of Marshal Oudinot, and were among the force which drove back Napoleon from Leipzig in the next October, just at the same time that Wellington had completed the liberation of Spain and was leading his army through the passes of the Pyrenees.

It is scarcely remarkable that the signal asking for news should be so frequently made from the Elephant when such events were in progress.

A letter from Jane to her brother, written while all this was going on, must have been truly refreshing, with its talk of hayfields, and abundance of cheerful gossip about nothing in particular:

“CHAWTON, July 3, 1813.

“My DEAREST FRANK,—Behold me going to write you as handsome a letter as I can! Wish me good luck. We have had the pleasure of hearing from you lately through Mary, who sent us some of the particulars of yours of June 18 (I think), written off Rugen, and we enter into the delight of your having so good a pilot. Why are you like Queen Elizabeth? Because you know how to chuse wise ministers. Does not this prove you as great a Captain as she was a Queen? This may serve as a riddle for you to put forth among your officers, by way of increasing your proper consequence. It must be a real enjoyment to you, since you are obliged to leave England, to be where you are, seeing something of a new country and one which has been so distinguished as Sweden. You must have great pleasure in it. I hope you may have gone to Carlscroon. Your profession has its douceurs to recompense for some of its privations ; to an enquiring and observing mind like yours such douceurs must be considerable. Gustavus Vasa, and Charles XII., and Cristina and Linneus. Do their ghosts rise up before you? I have a great respect for former Sweden, so zealous as it was for Protestantism. And I have always fancied it more like England than other countries; and, according to the map, many of the names have a strong resemblance to the English. July begins unpleasantly with us, cold and showery, but it is often a baddish month. We had some fine dry weather preceding it, which was very acceptable to the Holders of Hay, and the Masters of Meadows. In general it must have been a good hay-making season. Edward has got in all his in excellent order; I speak only of Chawton, but here he has better luck than Mr. Middleton ever had in the five years that he was tenant. Good encouragement for him to come again, and I really hope he will do so another year. The pleasure to us of having them here is so great that if we were not the best creatures in the world we should not deserve it. We go on in the most comfortable way, very frequently dining together, and always meeting in some part of every day. Edward is very well, and enjoys himself as thoroughly as any Hampshire-born Austen can desire. Chawton is not thrown away upon him. He talks of making a new garden; the present is a bad one and ill-situated, near Mr. Papillon’s. He means to have the new at the top of the lawn behind his own house. We like to have him proving and strengthening his attachment to the place by making it better. He will soon have all his children about him. Edward, George and Charles are collected already, and another week brings Henry and William. It is the custom at Winchester for Georges to come away a fortnight before the holidays, when they are not to return any more; for fear they should overstudy themselves just at last, I suppose. Really it is a piece of dishonourable accommodation to the Master. We are in hopes of another visit from our true lawful Henry very soon; he is to be our guest this time. He is quite well, I am happy to say, and does not leave it to my pen, I am sure, to communicate to you the joyful news of his being Deputy Receiver no longer. It is a promotion which he thoroughly enjoys, as well he may; the work of his own mind. He sends you all his own plans of course. The scheme for Scotland we think an excellent one both for himself and his nephew. Upon the whole his spirits are very much recovered. If I may so express myself his mind is not a mind for affliction; he is too busy, too active, too sanguine. Sincerely as he was attached to poor Eliza moreover, and excellently as he behaved to her, he was always so used to be away from her at times, that her loss is not felt as that of many a beloved wife might be, especially when all the circumstances of her long and dreadful illness are taken into the account. He very long knew that she must die, and it was indeed a release at last. Our mourning for her is not over, or we should be putting it on again for Mr. Thomas Leigh, who has just closed a good life at the age of seventy-nine, and must have died the possessor of one of the finest estates in England, and of more worthless nephews and nieces than any other private man in the United Kingdom. We are very anxious to know who will have the living of Adlestrop, and where his excellent sister will find a home for the remainder of her days. As yet she bears his loss with fortitude, but she has always seemed so wrapped up in him that I fear she must feel it dreadfully when the fever of business is over. There is another female sufferer on the occasion to be pitied. Poor Mrs. L. P. (Leigh Perrot) who would now have been mistress of Stoneleigh had there been none of the vile compromise, which in good truth has never been allowed to be of much use to them. It will be a hard trial. Charles’ little girls were with us about a month, and had so endeared themselves that we were quite sorry to have them go. They are now all at South End together. Why do I mention that? As if Charles did not write himself. I hate to be spending my time so needlessly, encroaching too upon the rights of others. I wonder whether you happened to see Mr. Blackall’s marriage in the papers last January. We did. He was married at Clifton to a Miss Lewis, whose father had been late of Antigua. I should very much like to know what sort of a woman she is. He was a piece of perfection—noisy perfection—himself, which I always recollect with regard. We had noticed a few months before his succeeding to a College living, the very living which we recollected his talking of, and wishing for; an exceeding good one, Great Cadbury in Somersetshire. I would wish Miss Lewis to be of a silent turn and rather ignorant, but naturally intelligent and wishing to learn, fond of cold veal pies, green tea in the afternoon, and a green window blind at night.

“You will be glad to hear that every copy of S. and S. is sold, and that it has brought me ���140, besides the copyright, if that should ever be of any value. I have now, therefore, written myself into ���250, which only makes me long for more. I have something in hand which I hope the credit of P. and P. will sell well, though not half so entertaining, and by the bye shall you object to my mentioning the Elephant in it, and two or three other old ships? I have done it, but it shall not stay to make you angry. They are only just mentioned.

“July 6.—I have kept open my letter on the chance of what Tuesday’s post might furnish in addition, and it furnishes the likelihood of our keeping our neighbours at the Great House some weeks longer than we expected. Mr. Scudamore, to whom my brother referred, is very decided as to Godmersham not being fit to be inhabited at present. He talks even of two months being necessary to sweeten it, but if we have warm weather I daresay less will do. My brother will probably go down and sniff at it himself, and receive his rents. The rent-day has been postponed already.

“We shall be gainers by their stay, but the young people in general are disappointed, and therefore could wish it otherwise. Our cousins, Colonel Thomas Austen and Margaretta, are going as aide-de-camps to Ireland; and Lord Whitworth goes in their train as Lord-Lieutenant; good appointments for each. I hope you continue well and brush your hair, but not all off.

“Yours very affectionately,

“J. A.”

The “something in hand” in this letter was “Mansfield Park.” The mentions of ships occur in one of the scenes at Portsmouth, when the whole of the Price family are full of the Thrush going out of harbour, and have no eyes or ears for Fanny, who has just come home after an absence of seven or eight years. The scene is worth quoting almost in extenso.

“Fanny was all agitation and flutter—all hope and apprehension. The moment they stopped, a trollopy-looking maid-servant, seemingly in waiting for them at the door, stepped forward, and, more intent on telling the news than giving them any help, immediately began with—‘The Thrush is gone out of harbour, please, sir, and one of the officers has been to—’ She was interrupted by a fine tall boy of eleven years old, who, rushing out of the house, pushed the maid aside, and while William was opening the chaise-door himself, called out, ‘You are just in time. We have been looking for you this half-hour. The Thrush went out of harbour this morning. I saw her. It was a beautiful sight. And they think she will have her orders in a day or two. And Mr. Campbell was here at four o’clock to ask for