Love and Friendship, and Other Early Works - Jane Austen (ebook offline reader .TXT) 📗
- Author: Jane Austen
- Performer: 0704338238
Book online «Love and Friendship, and Other Early Works - Jane Austen (ebook offline reader .TXT) 📗». Author Jane Austen
Monday se’night Matilda and I accompanied Lady Lesley to a Rout
at the Honourable Mrs Kickabout’s; we were escorted by Mr
Fitzgerald who is a very amiable young Man in the main, tho’
perhaps a little singular in his Taste—He is in love with
Matilda—. We had scarcely paid our Compliments to the Lady of
the House and curtseyed to half a score different people when my
Attention was attracted by the appearance of a Young Man the most
lovely of his Sex, who at that moment entered the Room with
another Gentleman and Lady. From the first moment I beheld him,
I was certain that on him depended the future Happiness of my
Life. Imagine my surprise when he was introduced to me by the
name of Cleveland—I instantly recognised him as the Brother of
Mrs Marlowe, and the acquaintance of my Charlotte at Bristol. Mr
and Mrs M. were the gentleman and Lady who accompanied him. (You
do not think Mrs Marlowe handsome?) The elegant address of Mr
Cleveland, his polished Manners and Delightful Bow, at once
confirmed my attachment. He did not speak; but I can imagine
everything he would have said, had he opened his Mouth. I can
picture to myself the cultivated Understanding, the Noble
sentiments, and elegant Language which would have shone so
conspicuous in the conversation of Mr Cleveland. The approach of
Sir James Gower (one of my too numerous admirers) prevented the
Discovery of any such Powers, by putting an end to a Conversation
we had never commenced, and by attracting my attention to
himself. But oh! how inferior are the accomplishments of Sir
James to those of his so greatly envied Rival! Sir James is one
of the most frequent of our Visitors, and is almost always of our
Parties. We have since often met Mr and Mrs Marlowe but no
Cleveland—he is always engaged some where else. Mrs Marlowe
fatigues me to Death every time I see her by her tiresome
Conversations about you and Eloisa. She is so stupid! I live in
the hope of seeing her irrisistable Brother to night, as we are
going to Lady Flambeaus, who is I know intimate with the
Marlowes. Our party will be Lady Lesley, Matilda, Fitzgerald,
Sir James Gower, and myself. We see little of Sir George, who is
almost always at the gaming-table. Ah! my poor Fortune where art
thou by this time? We see more of Lady L. who always makes her
appearance (highly rouged) at Dinner-time. Alas! what Delightful
Jewels will she be decked in this evening at Lady Flambeau’s!
Yet I wonder how she can herself delight in wearing them; surely
she must be sensible of the ridiculous impropriety of loading her
little diminutive figure with such superfluous ornaments; is it
possible that she can not know how greatly superior an elegant
simplicity is to the most studied apparel? Would she but Present
them to Matilda and me, how greatly should we be obliged to her,
How becoming would Diamonds be on our fine majestic figures! And
how surprising it is that such an Idea should never have occurred
to HER. I am sure if I have reflected in this manner once, I
have fifty times. Whenever I see Lady Lesley dressed in them
such reflections immediately come across me. My own Mother’s
Jewels too! But I will say no more on so melancholy a subject
—let me entertain you with something more pleasing—Matilda had
a letter this morning from Lesley, by which we have the pleasure
of finding that he is at Naples has turned Roman-Catholic,
obtained one of the Pope’s Bulls for annulling his 1st Marriage
and has since actually married a Neapolitan Lady of great Rank
and Fortune. He tells us moreover that much the same sort of
affair has befallen his first wife the worthless Louisa who is
likewise at Naples had turned Roman-catholic, and is soon to be
married to a Neapolitan Nobleman of great and Distinguished
merit. He says, that they are at present very good Freinds, have
quite forgiven all past errors and intend in future to be very
good Neighbours. He invites Matilda and me to pay him a visit to
Italy and to bring him his little Louisa whom both her Mother,
Step-mother, and himself are equally desirous of beholding. As
to our accepting his invitation, it is at Present very uncertain;
Lady Lesley advises us to go without loss of time; Fitzgerald
offers to escort us there, but Matilda has some doubts of the
Propriety of such a scheme—she owns it would be very agreable.
I am certain she likes the Fellow. My Father desires us not to
be in a hurry, as perhaps if we wait a few months both he and
Lady Lesley will do themselves the pleasure of attending us.
Lady Lesley says no, that nothing will ever tempt her to forego
the Amusements of Brighthelmstone for a Journey to Italy merely
to see our Brother. “No (says the disagreable Woman) I have once
in my life been fool enough to travel I dont know how many
hundred Miles to see two of the Family, and I found it did not
answer, so Deuce take me, if ever I am so foolish again.“So says
her Ladyship, but Sir George still Perseveres in saying that
perhaps in a month or two, they may accompany us.
Adeiu my Dear Charlotte
Yrs faithful Margaret Lesley.
*
THE HISTORY OF ENGLANDFROM THE REIGN OF HENRY THE 4TH TO THE DEATH OF CHARLES THE 1ST
BY A PARTIAL, PREJUDICED, AND IGNORANT HISTORIAN.
*
To Miss Austen, eldest daughter of the Rev. George Austen, this
work is inscribed with all due respect by
THE AUTHOR.
N.B. There will be very few Dates in this History.
THE HISTORY OF ENGLANDHENRY the 4th
Henry the 4th ascended the throne of England much to his own
satisfaction in the year 1399, after having prevailed on his
cousin and predecessor Richard the 2nd, to resign it to him, and
to retire for the rest of his life to Pomfret Castle, where he
happened to be murdered. It is to be supposed that Henry was
married, since he had certainly four sons, but it is not in my
power to inform the Reader who was his wife. Be this as it may,
he did not live for ever, but falling ill, his son the Prince of
Wales came and took away the crown; whereupon the King made a
long speech, for which I must refer the Reader to Shakespear’s
Plays, and the Prince made a still longer. Things being thus
settled between them the King died, and was succeeded by his son
Henry who had previously beat Sir William Gascoigne.
HENRY the 5th
This Prince after he succeeded to the throne grew quite reformed
and amiable, forsaking all his dissipated companions, and never
thrashing Sir William again. During his reign, Lord Cobham was
burnt alive, but I forget what for. His Majesty then turned his
thoughts to France, where he went and fought the famous Battle of
Agincourt. He afterwards married the King’s daughter Catherine,
a very agreable woman by Shakespear’s account. In spite of all
this however he died, and was succeeded by his son Henry.
HENRY the 6th
I cannot say much for this Monarch’s sense. Nor would I if I
could, for he was a Lancastrian. I suppose you know all about
the Wars between him and the Duke of York who was of the right
side; if you do not, you had better read some other History, for
I shall not be very diffuse in this, meaning by it only to vent
my spleen AGAINST, and shew my Hatred TO all those people whose
parties or principles do not suit with mine, and not to give
information. This King married Margaret of Anjou, a Woman whose
distresses and misfortunes were so great as almost to make me who
hate her, pity her. It was in this reign that Joan of Arc lived
and made such a ROW among the English. They should not have
burnt her —but they did. There were several Battles between the
Yorkists and Lancastrians, in which the former (as they ought)
usually conquered. At length they were entirely overcome; The
King was murdered—The Queen was sent home—and Edward the 4th
ascended the Throne.
EDWARD the 4th
This Monarch was famous only for his Beauty and his Courage, of
which the Picture we have here given of him, and his undaunted
Behaviour in marrying one Woman while he was engaged to another,
are sufficient proofs. His Wife was Elizabeth Woodville, a Widow
who, poor Woman! was afterwards confined in a Convent by that
Monster of Iniquity and Avarice Henry the 7th. One of Edward’s
Mistresses was Jane Shore, who has had a play written about her,
but it is a tragedy and therefore not worth reading. Having
performed all these noble actions, his Majesty died, and was
succeeded by his son.
EDWARD the 5th
This unfortunate Prince lived so little a while that nobody had
him to draw his picture. He was murdered by his Uncle’s
Contrivance, whose name was Richard the 3rd.
RICHARD the 3rd
The Character of this Prince has been in general very severely
treated by Historians, but as he was a YORK, I am rather inclined
to suppose him a very respectable Man. It has indeed been
confidently asserted that he killed his two Nephews and his Wife,
but it has also been declared that he did not kill his two
Nephews, which I am inclined to beleive true; and if this is the
case, it may also be affirmed that he did not kill his Wife, for
if Perkin Warbeck was really the Duke of York, why might not
Lambert Simnel be the Widow of Richard. Whether innocent or
guilty, he did not reign long in peace, for Henry Tudor E. of
Richmond as great a villain as ever lived, made a great fuss
about getting the Crown and having killed the King at the battle
of Bosworth, he succeeded to it.
HENRY the 7th
This Monarch soon after his accession married the Princess
Elizabeth of York, by which alliance he plainly proved that he
thought his own right inferior to hers, tho’ he pretended to the
contrary. By this Marriage he had two sons and two daughters,
the elder of which Daughters was married to the King of Scotland
and had the happiness of being grandmother to one of the first
Characters in the World. But of HER, I shall have occasion to
speak more at large in future. The youngest, Mary, married first
the King of France and secondly the D. of Suffolk, by whom she
had one daughter, afterwards the Mother of Lady Jane Grey, who
tho’ inferior to her lovely Cousin the Queen of Scots, was yet an
amiable young woman and famous for reading Greek while other
people were hunting. It was in the reign of Henry the 7th that
Perkin Warbeck and Lambert Simnel before mentioned made their
appearance, the former of whom was set in the stocks, took
shelter in Beaulieu Abbey, and was beheaded with the Earl of
Warwick, and the latter was taken into the Kings kitchen. His
Majesty died and was succeeded by his son Henry whose only merit
was his not being quite so bad as his daughter Elizabeth.
HENRY the 8th
It would be an affront to my Readers were I to suppose that they
were not as well acquainted with the particulars of this King’s
reign as I am myself. It will therefore be saving THEM the task
of reading again what they have read before, and MYSELF the
trouble of writing what I do not perfectly recollect,
Comments (0)