path: root/74233-0.txt

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 74233 ***





                       Transcriber's Note

Italic font is indicated by _underscores_.

Superscripted letters are indicated thus: M^r, M^{rs}.




                            FRAGMENT
                              OF A
                              NOVEL

                         By JANE AUSTEN


                    _Second Impression 1925_




                            FRAGMENT
                              OF A
                              NOVEL

                           WRITTEN BY
                           JANE AUSTEN

                       January-March 1817


                         [Illustration]


                     NOW FIRST PRINTED FROM
                         THE MANUSCRIPT


                         [Illustration]


                             OXFORD
                     AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
                              1925




                     Oxford University Press

        _London_   _Edinburgh_   _Glasgow_   _Copenhagen_
       _New York_   _Toronto_   _Melbourne_   _Cape Town_
          _Bombay_   _Calcutta_   _Madras_   _Shanghai_

          Humphrey Milford Publisher to the University


                       Printed in England




                             PREFACE


The fragment of a novel, written by Jane Austen in the first three
months of the year in which she died, has no name; but it has long
been known to members of her family as _Sanditon_.

The manuscript passed into the possession of Jane Austen’s
niece Anna (Mrs. Ben Lefroy); and it was known to Mrs. Lefroy’s
half-brother, James Edward Austen-Leigh, the author of the _Memoir
of Jane Austen_ first published in 1870. In the second edition
(1871) Mr. Austen-Leigh added the cancelled chapter of _Persuasion_,
the fragment called _The Watsons_, and _Lady Susan_, and in his
concluding chapter gave an account of ‘The Last Work’.

  Such an unfinished fragment cannot be presented to the public;
  but I am persuaded that some of Jane Austen’s admirers will be
  glad to learn something about the latest creations which were
  forming themselves in her mind; and therefore, as some of the
  principal characters were already sketched in with a vigorous
  hand, I will try to give an idea of them, illustrated by extracts
  from the work.

In the account which follows, the fragment is described in some
detail; the _verbatim_ quotations amount to perhaps twenty pages of
this edition. The present owner[1] of the manuscript has reached
the conclusion that, since so much has long been before the public,
it is right that the whole should no longer be withheld.

  [Footnote 1: A grand-daughter of Anna Lefroy.]

Some explanation may be thought necessary of the way in which the
fragment is printed. It approximates to the manner of 1817, and
the result is somewhat less in bulk than one of the three volumes
in which Mr. Egerton or Mr. Murray would doubtless have issued the
work if it had been completed for publication. The printer, however,
would have made certain departures from his copy: he would have
expanded the contractions; he would have broken up the chapters
into paragraphs; and he would, in a greater or less degree, have
regularized the spelling and the punctuation. It has seemed best not
to do this in 1925, but to print the author’s manuscript as nearly
as possible in the last form it attained. It may be thought pedantic
to reproduce irregularities which the author would not have wished
to retain; but it seemed more important to avoid another danger.
To have smoothed out the manuscript into a specious semblance of
finality would have been to prejudice, in some degree, the question
how far it did, in fact, represent the author’s final intention.
This edition, printed as it is, is open to no such objection. It
is, for critical purposes, virtually a facsimile of all that Miss
Austen wrote and did not erase.

It will be seen from the textual notes, printed at the end of the
volume, that the manuscript contains a very large number of erasures
and interlineations. It is so neat, and so uniformly spaced, that
it is almost everywhere possible to distinguish what was first
written from what was added, or substituted, between the lines. These
corrections are not such as could have resulted from subsequent
revision of a fair copy previously made. In very many places the
author has changed her mind _currente calamo_; has begun a sentence
in one form and finished it in another. The number and nature of
such changes create a presumption, at least, that we are dealing
with a first draft.


The manuscript consists of three quires. The first and second, which
are sewn together, are of 16 and 24 leaves respectively, measuring
7½ in. × 4¹¹⁄₁₆ in. The watermark, which occurs several times in
both quires, is KENT 1812.

The first quire contains Chapters 1-3. The third chapter appears to
end, on f. 16^v, with an incomplete sentence; but the concluding
words, _that Loveliness was complete_, were written at the foot of
f. 1^r. The second quire contains Chapters 4-8 and part of Chapter
9.

The third quire (marked 2 on the first page) is of 40 leaves, 6⅜
in. × 4 in. It bears a large ornamental watermark, and also the
name JOSEPH COLES and the date 1815. Folios 21-40, i. e. the latter
half of the quire, are blank; a fact which suggests that no part
of the manuscript is lost. This quire contains the remainder of
Chapter 9 (beginning with the words _with a thousand regrets_--p.
117 of this edition) and Chapters 10-12.

The dates added by Miss Austen are:

(1) at the top of the first page of the first quire, _Jan: 27.-1817_

(2) at the top of the first page of the third quire, _March 1^{st}_

(3) at the end of the last sentence (the last page of the third
      quire), _March 18_.

Part of the second quire was originally written in pencil, and
afterwards inked over. The passage so written is that printed on
pp. 99-101 of this edition (from _cried Lady D--_ to _so seriously
that Charlotte_). The author of the _Memoir_ writes, on this point:

  The chief part of this manuscript is written in her usual firm
  and neat hand, but some of the latter pages seem to have been
  first traced in pencil, probably when she was too weak to sit
  long at her desk, and written over in ink afterwards.

But the manuscript as such does not bear out this implication of
a progressive decline. The place at which pencil was used is in
fact not much later than the middle; and the latter part of the
manuscript shows no change in legibility or in accuracy.




           FRAGMENT
             OF A
            NOVEL




          CHAPTER 1.


 A Gentleman & Lady travelling from
 Tunbridge towards that part of the
 Sussex Coast which lies between Hastings
 & E. Bourne, being induced by
 Business to quit the high road, &
 attempt a very rough Lane, were overturned
 in toiling up it’s long ascent
 half rock, half sand.--The accident
 happened just beyond the only Gentleman’s
 House near the Lane--a House,
 which their Driver on being first required
 to take that direction, had conceived
 to be necessarily their object,
 & had with most unwilling Looks been
 constrained to pass by--. He had


              ( 2 )

 grumbled & shaken his shoulders so
 much indeed, and pitied & cut his
 Horses so sharply, that he might have
 been open to the suspicion of overturning
 them on purpose (especially as
 the Carriage was not his Masters own)
 if the road had not indisputably become
 considerably worse than before,
 as soon as the premises of the said
 House were left behind--expressing
 with a most intelligent portentous
 countenance that beyond it no wheels
 but cart wheels could safely proceed.
 The severity of the fall was broken by
 their slow pace & the narrowness of
 the Lane, & the Gentleman having
 scrambled out & helped out his companion,
 they neither of them at first
 felt more than shaken & bruised. But
 the Gentleman had in the course of the
 extrication sprained his foot--& soon
 becoming sensible of it, was obliged in


              ( 3 )

 a few moments to cut short, both his
 remonstrance to the Driver & his congratulations
 to his wife & himself--&
 sit down on the bank, unable to stand.
 --“There is something wrong here,
 said he--putting his hand to his ancle--
 But never mind, my Dear--(looking up
 at her with a smile)--It c^d not have
 happened, you know, in a better place.--Good
 out of Evil--. The very thing
 perhaps to be wished for. We shall
 soon get releif.-- _There_, I fancy lies
 my cure”--pointing to the neat-looking
 end of a Cottage, which was seen
 romantically situated among wood on
 a high Eminence at some little Distance
 --“Does not _that_ promise to be
 the very place?”--His wife fervently
 hoped it was--but stood, terrified &
 anxious, neither able to do or suggest
 anything--& receiving her first real
 comfort from the sight of several persons


              ( 4 )

 now coming to their assistance.
 The accident had been discerned from
 a Hayfield adjoining the House they
 had passed--& the persons who approached,
 were a well-looking Hale,
 Gentlemanlike Man, of middle age, the
 Proprietor of the Place, who happened
 to be among his Haymakers at the
 time, & three or four of the ablest of
 them summoned to attend their Master
 --to say nothing of all the rest of the
 field, Men, Women & Children--not
 very far off.--M^r Heywood, such was
 the name of the said Proprietor, advanced
 with a very civil salutation--
 much concern for the accident--some
 surprise at any body’s attempting that
 road in a Carriage--& ready offers of
 assistance. His courtesies were received
 with Goodbreeding & gratitude & while
 one or two of the Men lent their help
 to the Driver in getting the Carriage


              ( 5 )

 upright again, the Travellor said--
 “You are extremely obliging Sir, &
 I take you at your word.--The injury
 to my Leg is I dare say very trifling,
 but it is always best in these cases to
 have a surgeon’s opinion without loss
 of time; and as the road does not seem
 at present in a favourable state for
 my getting up to his house myself, I will
 thank you to send off one of these good
 People for the Surgeon.” “The Surgeon
 Sir!--replied M^r Heywood--I am
 afraid you will find no surgeon at hand
 here, but I dare say we shall do very
 well without him.”--“Nay Sir, if _he_ is
 not in the way, his Partner will do
 just as well--or rather better--. I w^d
 rather see his Partner indeed--I would
 prefer the attendance of his Partner.
 --One of these good people can be with
 him in three minutes I am sure. I need
 not ask whether I see the House;


              ( 6 )

 (looking towards the Cottage) for excepting
 your own, we have passed none
 in this place, which can be the abode
 of a Gentleman.”--M^r H. looked very
 much astonished--& replied--“What
 Sir! are you expecting to find a Surgeon
 in that Cottage?--We have neither
 Surgeon nor Partner in the Parish I
 assure you.”--“Excuse me Sir--replied
 the other. I am sorry to have the
 appearance of contradicting you--but
 though from the extent of the Parish
 or some other cause you may not be
 aware of the fact;--stay--Can I be
 mistaken in the place?--Am I not in
 Willingden?--Is not this Willingden?”
 “Yes Sir, this is certainly Willingden.”
 “Then Sir, I can bring proof of your
 having a Surgeon in the Parish--
 whether you may know it or not. Here
 Sir--(taking out his Pocket book--)
 if you will do me the favour of casting


              ( 7 )

 your eye over these advertisements,
 which I cut out myself from the Morning
 Post & the Kentish Gazette, only
 yesterday morn^g in London--I think
 you will be convinced that I am not
 speaking at random. You will find it
 an advertisement Sir, of the dissolution
 of a Partnership in the Medical Line--
 in your own Parish--extensive Business
 --undeniable Character--respectable
 references--wishing to form a
 separate Establishment--You will find
 it at full length Sir”--offering him the
 two little oblong extracts.--“Sir--said
 M^r Heywood with a good humoured
 smile--if you were to shew me all the
 Newspapers that are printed in one
 week throughout the Kingdom, you
 w^d not persuade me of there being a
 Surgeon in Willingden,--for having
 lived here ever since I was born,
 Man & Boy 57 years, I think I must


              ( 8 )

 have _known_ of such a person, at least
 I may venture to say that he has not
 _much Business_--To be sure, if Gentlemen
 were to be often attempting this
 Lane in Post-chaises, it might not be
 a bad speculation for a Surgeon to get
 a House at the top of the Hill.--But
 as to that Cottage, I can assure you
 Sir that it is in fact--(in spite of its
 spruce air at this distance--) as indifferent
 a double Tenement as any in
 the Parish, and that my Shepherd lives
 at one end, & three old women at the
 other.” He took the peices of paper
 as he spoke--& having looked them
 over, added--“I beleive I can explain
 it Sir.--Your mistake is in the place.--
 There are two Willingdens in this
 Country--& your advertisements refer
 to the other--which is Great Willingden,
 or Willingden Abbots, & lies 7
 miles off, on the other side of Battel


              ( 9 )

 --quite down in the Weald. And _we_
 Sir--(speaking rather proudly) are not
 in the Weald.”--“Not _down_ in the
 Weald I am sure Sir, replied the
 Traveller, pleasantly. It took us half
 an hour to climb your Hill.--Well Sir
 --I dare say it is as you say, & I have
 made an abominably stupid Blunder.--
 All done in a moment;--the advertisements
 did not catch my eye till the last
 half hour of our being in Town;--
 when everything was in the hurry &
 confusion which always attend a short
 stay there--One is never able to
 complete anything in the way of Business
 you know till the Carriage is at
 the door--and accordingly satisfying
 myself with a breif enquiry, & finding
 we were actually to pass within a mile
 or two of a _Willingden_, I sought no
 farther ... My Dear--(to his wife)
 I am very sorry to have brought you


             ( 10 )

 into this Scrape. But do not be alarmed
 about my Leg. It gives me no pain
 while I am quiet,--and as soon as these
 good people have succeeded in setting
 the Car^{ge} to rights & turning the
 Horses round, the best thing we can
 do will be to measure back our steps
 into the Turnpike road & proceed to
 Hailsham, & so Home, without attempting
 anything farther.--Two hours take
 us home, from Hailsham--and when
 once at home, we have our remedy at
 hand you know.--A little of our own
 Bracing Sea air will soon set me on
 my feet again.--Depend upon it my
 Dear, it is exactly a case for the Sea.
 Saline air & immersion will be the very
 thing.--My sensations tell me so already.”
 --In a most friendly manner
 M^r Heywood here interposed, entreating
 them not to think of proceeding
 till the ancle had been examined, &


             ( 11 )

 some refreshment taken, & very cordially
 pressing them to make use of
 his House for both purposes.--“We
 are always well stocked, said he, with
 all the common remedies for Sprains
 & Bruises--& I will answer for the
 pleasure it will give my Wife & daughters
 to be of service to you & this
 Lady in every way in their power.”--
 A twinge or two, in trying to move his
 foot disposed the Travellor to think
 rather more as he had done at first of
 the benefit of immediate assistance--
 & consulting his wife in the few words
 of “Well my Dear, I beleive it will be
 better for us.”--turned again to M^r
 H-- & said--“Before we accept your
 Hospitality Sir,--& in order to do
 away any unfavourable impression
 which the sort of wild goose-chace you
 find me in, may have given rise to--
 allow me to tell you who we are. My


             ( 12 )

 name is Parker.--M^r Parker of Sanditon;
 --this Lady, my wife M^{rs} Parker.
 --We are on our road home from
 London;--_My_ name perhaps--tho’ I
 am by no means the first of my Family,
 holding Landed Property in the Parish
 of Sanditon, may be unknown at this
 distance from the Coast--but Sanditon
 itself--everybody has heard of Sanditon,
 --the favourite--for a young &
 rising Bathing-place, certainly the
 favourite spot of all that are to be
 found along the coast of Sussex;--the
 most favoured by Nature, & promising
 to be the most chosen by Man.”--
 “Yes--I have heard of Sanditon. replied
 M^r H.--Every five years, one
 hears of some new place or other
 starting up by the Sea, & growing the
 fashion.--How they can half of them
 be filled, is the wonder! _Where_ People
 can be found with Money or Time to


             ( 13 )

 go to them!--Bad things for a Country;
 --sure to raise the price of Provisions
 & make the Poor good for nothing--as
 I dare say you find, Sir.” “Not at
 all Sir, not at all--cried M^r Parker
 eagerly. Quite the contrary I assure
 you.--A common idea--but a mistaken
 one. It may apply to your
 large, overgrown Places, like Brighton,
 or Worthing, or East Bourne--but _not_
 to a small village like Sanditon, precluded
 by its size from experiencing
 any of the evils of Civilization, while
 the growth of the place, the Buildings,
 the Nursery Grounds, the demand for
 every thing, & the sure resort of the
 very best Company, those regular,
 steady, private Families of thorough
 Gentility & Character, who are a blessing
 everywhere, excite the industry of
 the Poor and diffuse comfort & improvement
 among them of every sort.--


             ( 14 )

 No Sir, I assure you, Sanditon is not
 a place----” “I do not mean to take
 exceptions to _any_ place in particular
 Sir, answered M^r H.--I only think our
 Coast is too full of them altogether--
 But had we not better try to get you”
 ----“Our Coast too full”--repeated
 M^r P.--On that point perhaps we
 may not totally disagree;--at least
 there are _enough_. Our Coast is abundant
 enough; it demands no more.--
 Every body’s Taste & every body’s
 finances may be suited--And those
 good people who are trying to add
 to the number, are in my opinion
 excessively absurd, & must soon find
 themselves the Dupes of their own
 fallacious Calculations.--Such a place
 as Sanditon Sir, I may say was
 wanted, was called for.--Nature had
 marked it out--had spoken in most
 intelligible Characters--The finest,


             ( 15 )

 purest Sea Breeze on the Coast--
 acknowledged to be so--Excellent
 Bathing--fine hard sand--Deep Water
 10 yards from the Shore--no Mud--
 no Weeds--no shiney rocks--Never
 was there a place more palpably designed
 by Nature for the resort of the
 Invalid--the very Spot which Thousands
 seemed in need of.--The most
 desirable distance from London! One
 complete, measured mile nearer than
 East Bourne. Only conceive Sir, the
 advantage of saving a whole Mile, in
 a long Journey. But Brinshore Sir,
 which I dare say you have in your
 eye--the attempts of two or three
 speculating People about Brinshore,
 this last Year, to raise that paltry
 Hamlet, lying, as it does between
 a stagnant marsh, a bleak Moor &
 the constant effluvia of a ridge
 of putrifying sea weed, can end in


             ( 16 )

 nothing but their own Disappointment.
 What in the name of Common
 Sense is to _recommend_ Brinshore?--
 A most insalubrious Air--Roads proverbially
 detestable--Water Brackish
 beyond example, impossible to get a
 good dish of Tea within 3 miles of the
 place--& as for the Soil--it is so cold &
 ungrateful that it can hardly be made
 to yeild a Cabbage.--Depend upon it
 Sir, that this is a faithful Description
 of Brinshore--not in the smallest degree
 exaggerated--& if you have heard it
 differently spoken of----” “Sir, I
 never heard it spoken of in my Life
 before, said M^r Heywood. I did not
 know there was such a place in the
 World.”--“You did not!--There my
 Dear--(turning with exultation to his
 Wife)--you see how it is. So much
 for the Celebrity of Brinshore!--This
 Gentleman did not know there was


             ( 17 )

 such a place in the World.--Why, in
 truth Sir, I fancy we may apply to
 Brinshore, that line of the Poet Cowper
 in his description of the religious Cottager,
 as opposed to Voltaire--“_She_,
 never heard of half a mile from home.”
 --“With all my Heart Sir--Apply any
 Verses you like to it--But I want to
 see something applied to your Leg--
 & I am sure by your Lady’s countenance
 that she is quite of my opinion
 & thinks it a pity to lose any more
 time--And here come my Girls to
 speak for themselves & their Mother.
 (two or three genteel looking young
 Women followed by as many Maid
 servants, were now seen issueing from
 the House)--I began to wonder the
 Bustle should not have reached _them_.--
 A thing of this kind soon makes a Stir
 in a lonely place like ours.--Now Sir,
 let us see how you can be best conveyed


             ( 18 )

 into the House.”--The young
 Ladies approached & said every thing
 that was proper to recommend their
 Father’s offers; & in an unaffected
 manner calculated to make the Strangers
 easy--and as M^{rs} P-- was
 exceedingly anxious for relief--and
 her Husband by this time, not much
 less disposed for it--a very few civil
 scruples were enough--especially as the
 Carriage being now set up, was discovered
 to have received such Injury
 on the fallen side as to be unfit for
 present use.--M^r Parker was therefore
 carried into the House, and his Carriage
 wheeled off to a vacant Barn.--




             ( 19 )

           CHAPTER 2.


 The acquaintance, thus oddly begun,
 was neither short nor unimportant.
 For a whole fortnight the Travellors
 were fixed at Willingden; Mr. P.’s
 sprain proving too serious for him to
 move sooner.--He had fallen into very
 good hands. The Heywoods were a
 thoroughly respectable family, & every
 possible attention was paid in the
 kindest & most unpretending manner,
 to both Husband & wife. _He_ was
 waited on & nursed, & _she_ cheered &
 comforted with unremitting kindness--
 and as every office of Hospitality &
 friendliness was received as it ought--
 as there was not more good will on one


             ( 20 )

 side than Gratitude on the other--nor
 any deficiency of generally pleasant
 manners on either, they grew to like
 each other in the course of that fortnight,
 exceedingly well.--M^r Parker’s
 Character & History were soon unfolded.
 All that he understood of himself,
 he readily told, for he was very
 openhearted;--& where he might be
 himself in the dark, his conversation
 was still giving information, to such of
 the Heywoods as could observe.--By
 such he was perceived to be an Enthusiast;
 --on the subject of Sanditon,
 a complete Enthusiast.--Sanditon,--
 the success of Sanditon as a small,
 fashionable Bathing Place was the
 object, for which he seemed to live.
 A very few years ago, & it had been
 a quiet Village of no pretensions; but
 some natural advantages in its position
 & some accidental circumstances having


             ( 21 )

 suggested to himself, & the other
 principal Land Holder, the probability
 of it’s becoming a profitable Speculation,
 they had engaged in it, & planned
 & built, & praised & puffed, & raised
 it to a something of young Renown--
 and M^r. Parker could now think of very
 little besides.--The Facts, which in
 more direct communication, he laid
 before them were that he was about
 5 & 30--had been married,--very
 happily married 7 years--& had 4 sweet
 Children at home;--that he was of
 a respectable Family, & easy though
 not large fortune;--no Profession--
 succeeding as eldest son to the Property
 which 2 or 3 Generations had
 been holding & accumulating before
 him;--that he had 2 Brothers & 2
 Sisters--all single & all independant--
 the eldest of the two former indeed, by
 collateral Inheritance, quite as well


             ( 22 )

 provided for as himself.--His object in
 quitting the high road, to hunt for an
 advertising Surgeon, was also plainly
 stated;--it had not proceeded from
 any intention of spraining his ancle
 or doing himself any other Injury
 for the good of such Surgeon--nor (as
 M^r H. had been apt to suppose) from
 any design of entering into Partnership
 with him--; it was merely in consequence
 of a wish to establish some
 medical Man at Sanditon, which the
 nature of the Advertisement induced
 him to expect to accomplish in Willingden.
 --He was convinced that the advantage
 of a medical Man at hand w^d
 very materially promote the rise &
 prosperity of the Place--w^d in fact
 tend to bring a prodigious influx;--
 nothing else was wanting. He had
 _strong_ reason to beleive that _one_ family
 had been deterred last year from trying


             ( 23 )

 Sanditon on that account--& probably
 very many more--and his own Sisters
 who were sad Invalids, & whom he was
 very anxious to get to Sanditon this
 Summer, could hardly be expected to
 hazard themselves in a place where
 they could not have immediate medical
 advice.--Upon the whole, M^r P. was
 evidently an amiable, family-man, fond
 of Wife, Child^n, Brothers & Sisters--
 & generally kind-hearted;--Liberal,
 gentlemanlike, easy to please;--of a
 sanguine turn of mind, with more
 Imagination than Judgement. And
 M^{rs} P. was as evidently a gentle,
 amiable, sweet tempered Woman, the
 properest wife in the World for a Man
 of strong Understanding, but not of
 capacity to supply the cooler reflection
 which her own Husband sometimes
 needed, & so entirely waiting to be
 guided on every occasion, that whether


             ( 24 )

 he were risking his Fortune or spraining
 his Ancle, she remained equally useless.
 --Sanditon was a second Wife &
 4 Children to him--hardly less Dear--
 & certainly more engrossing.--He could
 talk of it for ever.--It had indeed the
 highest claims;--not only those of
 Birthplace, Property, and Home,--it
 was his Mine, his Lottery, his Speculation
 & his Hobby Horse; his Occupation
 his Hope & his Futurity.--He
 was extremely desirous of drawing his
 good friends at Willingden thither;
 and his endeavours in the cause, were
 as grateful & disinterested, as they
 were warm.--He wanted to secure the
 promise of a visit--to get as many of
 the Family as his own house w^d contain,
 to follow him to Sanditon as soon
 as possible--and healthy as they all
 undeniably were--foresaw that every
 one of them w^d be benefited by the


             ( 25 )

 sea.--He held it indeed as certain, that
 no person c^d be really well, no person,
 (however upheld for the present by
 fortuitous aids of exercise & spirits in
 a semblance of Health) could be really
 in a state of secure & permanent Health
 without spending at least 6 weeks by
 the Sea every year.--The Sea air & Sea
 Bathing together were nearly infallible,
 one or the other of them being a match
 for every Disorder, of the Stomach,
 the Lungs or the Blood; They were
 anti-spasmodic, anti-pulmonary, anti-sceptic,
 anti-bilious & anti-rheumatic.
 Nobody could catch cold by the Sea,
 Nobody wanted appetite by the Sea,
 Nobody wanted Spirits, Nobody wanted
 Strength.--They were healing, softing,
 relaxing--fortifying & bracing--seemingly
 just as was wanted--sometimes
 one, sometimes the other.--If the Sea
 breeze failed, the Sea-Bath was the


             ( 26 )

 certain corrective;--& where Bathing
 disagreed, the Sea Breeze alone was
 evidently designed by Nature for the
 cure.--His eloquence however could
 not prevail. M^r & M^{rs} H-- never
 left home. Marrying early & having
 a very numerous Family, their movements
 had been long limitted to one
 small circle; & they were older in
 Habits than in Age.--Excepting two
 Journeys to London in the year, to
 receive his Dividends, M^r H. went no
 farther than his feet or his well-tried
 old Horse could carry him, and M^{rs}
 Heywood’s Adventurings were only
 now & then to visit her Neighbours,
 in the old Coach which had been new
 when they married & fresh lined on
 their eldest son’s coming of age 10
 years ago.--They had very pretty
 Property--enough, had their family
 been of reasonable Limits to have


             ( 27 )

 allowed them a very gentlemanlike
 share of Luxuries & Change--enough
 for them to have indulged in a new
 Carriage & better roads, an occasional
 month at Tunbridge Wells, & symptoms
 of the Gout and a Winter at
 Bath;--but the maintenance, Education
 & fitting out of 14 Children demanded
 a very quiet, settled, careful
 course of Life--& obliged them to be
 stationary & healthy at Willingden.
 What Prudence had at first enjoined,
 was now rendered pleasant by Habit.
 They never left home, & they had
 a gratification in saying so.--But very
 far from wishing their Children to do
 the same, they were glad to promote
 _their_ getting out into the World, as
 much as possible. _They_ staid at home,
 that their Children _might_ get out;--
 and while making that home extremely
 comfortable, welcomed every change


             ( 28 )

 from it which could give useful connections
 or respectable acquaintance
 to Sons or Daughters. When M^r &
 M^{rs} Parker therefore ceased from soliciting
 a family-visit, and bounded their
 veiws to carrying back one Daughter
 with them, no difficulties were started.
 It was general pleasure & consent.--
 Their invitation was to Miss Charlotte
 Heywood, a very pleasing young woman
 of two and twenty, the eldest of the
 Daughters at home, & the one, who
 under her Mother’s directions had been
 particularly useful & obliging to them;
 who had attended them most, & knew
 them best.--Charlotte was to go,--
 with excellent health, to bathe & be
 better if she could--to receive every
 possible pleasure which Sanditon could
 be made to supply by the gratitude of
 those she went with--& to buy new
 Parasols, new Gloves, & new Broches,


             ( 29 )

 for her sisters & herself at the Library,
 which M^r P. was anxiously wishing to
 support.--All that M^r Heywood himself
 could be persuaded to promise was,
 that he would send everyone to Sanditon,
 who asked his advice, & that
 nothing should ever induce him (as far
 <as> the future could be answered for)
 to spend even 5 shillings at Brinshore.--




             ( 31 )

           CHAPTER 3.


 Every Neighbourhood should have a
 great Lady.--The great Lady of Sanditon,
 was Lady Denham; & in their
 Journey from Willingden to the Coast,
 M^r Parker gave Charlotte a more
 detailed account of her, than had been
 called for before.--She had been necessarily
 often mentioned at Willingden,--
 for being his Colleague in Speculation,
 Sanditon itself could not be talked of
 long, without the introduction of Lady
 Denham & that she was a very rich old
 Lady, who had buried two Husbands,
 who knew the value of Money, was very
 much looked up to & had a poor Cousin
 living with her, were facts already


             ( 32 )

 well known, but some further particulars
 of her history & her Character
 served to lighten the tediousness of
 a long Hill, or a heavy bit of road, and
 to give the visiting Young Lady a suitable
 Knowledge of the Person with
 whom she might now expect to be
 daily associating.--Lady D. had been
 a rich Miss Brereton, born to Wealth
 but not to Education. Her first Husband
 had been a M^r Hollis, a man of
 considerable Property in the Country,
 of which a large share of the Parish of
 Sanditon, with Manor & Mansion House
 made a part. He had been an elderly
 Man when she married him;--her own
 age about 30.--Her motives for such
 a Match could be little understood at
 the distance of 40 years, but she had so
 well nursed & pleased M^r Hollis, that
 at his death he left her everything--
 all his Estates, & all at her Disposal.


             ( 33 )

 After a widowhood of some years, she
 had been induced to marry again.
 The late Sir Harry Denham, of Denham
 Park in the Neighbourhood of
 Sanditon had succeeded in removing
 her & her large Income to his own
 Domains, but he c^d not succeed in the
 veiws of permanently enriching his
 family, which were attributed to him.
 She had been too wary to put anything
 out of her own Power--and when on
 Sir Harry’s Decease she returned again
 to her own House at Sanditon, she was
 said to have made this boast to a
 friend “that though she had _got_
 nothing but her Title from the Family,
 still she had _given_ nothing for it.”--
 For the Title, it was to be supposed
 that she had married--& M^r P.
 acknowledged there being just such
 a degree of value for it apparent now,
 as to give her conduct that natural


             ( 34 )

 explanation. “There is at times said
 he--a little self-importance--but it is
 not offensive;--& there are moments,
 there are points, when her Love of
 Money is carried greatly too far. But
 she is a goodnatured Woman, a very
 goodnatured Woman,--a very obliging,
 friendly Neighbour; a chearful, independant,
 valuable character.--and her
 faults may be entirely imputed to her
 want of Education. She has good
 natural Sense, but quite uncultivated.
 --She has a fine active mind, as well
 as a fine healthy frame for a Woman of
 70, & enters into the improvement of
 Sanditon with a spirit truly admirable
 --though now & then, a Littleness _will_
 appear. She cannot look forward quite
 as I would have her--& takes alarm at
 a trifling present expence, without
 considering what returns it _will_ make
 her in a year or two. That is--we


             ( 35 )

 think _differently_, we now & then, see
 things _differently_, Miss H.--Those who
 tell their own Story you know must be
 listened to with Caution.--When you
 see us in contact, you will judge for
 yourself.”--Lady D. was indeed a great
 Lady beyond the common wants of
 Society--for she had many Thousands
 a year to bequeath, & three distinct
 sets of People to be courted by; her
 own relations, who might very reasonably
 wish for her Original Thirty Thousand
 Pounds among them, the legal
 Heirs of M^r Hollis, who must hope to
 be more endebted to _her_ sense of
 Justice than he had allowed them to
 be to _his_, and those Members of the
 Denham Family, whom her 2^d Husband
 had hoped to make a good Bargain for.
 --By all of these, or by Branches of
 them, she had no doubt been long, &
 still continued to be, well attacked;--


             ( 36 )

 and of these three divisions, M^r P. did
 not hesitate to say that M^r Hollis’
 Kindred were the _least_ in favour & Sir
 Harry Denham’s the _most_.--The former
 he beleived, had done themselves irremediable
 harm by expressions of very
 unwise & unjustifiable resentment at
 the time of Mr. Hollis’s death;--the
 Latter, to the advantage of being the
 remnant of a Connection which she
 certainly valued, joined those of having
 been known to her from their Childhood,
 & of being always at hand to
 preserve their interest by reasonable
 attention. Sir Edward, the present
 Baronet, nephew to Sir Harry, resided
 constantly at Denham Park; & M^r P--
 had little doubt, that he & his Sister
 Miss D-- who lived with him, w^d be
 principally remembered in her Will.
 He sincerely hoped it.--Miss Denham
 had a very small provision--& her


             ( 37 )

 Brother was a poor Man for his rank
 in Society. “He is a warm friend to
 Sanditon--said M^r Parker--& his hand
 w^d be as liberal as his heart, had he
 the Power.--He would be a noble Coadjutor!
 --As it is, he does what he can
 --& is running up a tasteful little
 Cottage Ornèe, on a strip of Waste
 Ground Lady D. has granted him,
 which I have no doubt we shall have
 many a Candidate for, before the end
 even of _this_ Season.” Till within the
 last twelvemonth, M^r P. had considered
 Sir Edw: as standing without
 a rival, as having the fairest chance of
 succeeding to the greater part of all
 that she had to give--but there was
 now another person’s claims to be
 taken into the account, those of the
 young female relation, whom Lady D.
 had been induced to receive into her
 Family. After having always protested


             ( 38 )

 against any such Addition, and
 long & often enjoyed the repeated
 defeats she had given to every attempt
 of her relations to introduce this young
 Lady, or that young Lady as a Companion
 at Sanditon House, she had
 brought back with her from London
 last Michaelmas a Miss Brereton, who
 bid fair by her Merits to vie in favour
 with Sir Edward, and to secure for
 herself & her family that share of the
 accumulated Property which they had
 certainly the best right to inherit.--
 M^r Parker spoke warmly of Clara
 Brereton, & the interest of his story
 increased very much with the introduction
 of such a Character. Charlotte
 listened with more than amusement
 now;--it was solicitude & Enjoyment,
 as she heard her described to be lovely,
 amiable, gentle, unassuming, conducting
 herself uniformly with great good


             ( 39 )

 sense, & evidently gaining by her innate
 worth, on the affections of her Patroness.
 --Beauty, Sweetness, Poverty &
 Dependance, do not want the imagination
 of a Man to operate upon. With
 due exceptions--Woman feels for
 Woman very promptly & compassionately.
 He gave the particulars which
 had led to Clara’s admission at Sanditon,
 as no bad exemplification of
 that mixture of Character, that union
 of Littleness with Kindness with Good
 Sence with even Liberality which he saw
 in Lady D.-- After having avoided
 London for many years, principally
 on account of these very Cousins,
 who were continually writing, inviting
 & tormenting her, & whom she was
 determined to keep at a distance, she
 had been obliged to go there last
 Michaelmas with the certainty of being
 detained at least a fortnight.--She had


             ( 40 )

 gone to an Hotel--living by her own
 account as prudently as possible, to
 defy the reputed expensiveness of such
 a home, & at the end of three Days
 calling for her Bill, that she might
 judge of her state.--It’s amount was
 such as determined her on staying not
 another hour in the House, & she was
 preparing in all the anger & perturbation
 which a beleif of very gross imposition
 _there_, & an ignorance of where to
 go for better usage, to leave the Hotel
 at all hazards, when the Cousins, the
 politic & lucky Cousins, who seemed
 always to have a spy on her, introduced
 themselves at this important
 moment, & learning her situation, persuaded
 her to accept such a home for
 the rest of her stay as their humbler
 house in a very inferior part of London,
 c^d offer.--She went; was delighted
 with her welcome & the hospitality &


             ( 41 )

 attention she received from every body
 --found her good Cousins the B----
 beyond her expectation worthy people
 --& finally was impelled by a personal
 knowledge of their narrow Income &
 pecuniary difficulties, to invite one of
 the girls of the family to pass the
 Winter with her. The invitation was
 to _one_, for six months--with the probability
 of another being then to take
 her place;--but in _selecting_ the one,
 Lady D. had shewn the good part of
 her Character--for passing by the
 actual _daughters_ of the House, she had
 chosen Clara, a Neice--, more helpless
 & more pitiable of course than any--
 a dependant on Poverty--an additional
 Burthen on an encumbered Circle--&
 one, who had been so low in every
 worldly veiw, as with all her natural
 endowments & powers, to have been
 preparing for a situation little better


             ( 42 )

 than a Nursery Maid.--Clara had returned
 with her--& by her good sence
 & merit had now, to all appearance
 secured a very strong hold in Lady D.’s
 regard. The six months had long been
 over--& not a syllable was breathed of
 any change, or exchange.--She was
 a general favourite;--the influence of
 her steady conduct & mild, gentle
 Temper was felt by everybody. The
 prejudices which had met her at first
 in some quarters, were all dissipated.
 She was felt to be worthy of Trust--to
 be the very companion who w^d guide
 & soften Lady D-- who w^d enlarge
 her mind & open her hand.--She was
 as thoroughly amiable as she was lovely
 --& since having had the advantage
 of their Sanditon Breezes, that Loveliness
 was complete.




             ( 43 )

           CHAPTER 4.


 “And whose very snug-looking Place
 is this?”--said Charlotte, as in a
 sheltered Dip within 2 miles of the
 Sea, they passed close by a moderate-
 sized house, well fenced & planted, &
 rich in the Garden, Orchard & Meadows
 which are the best embellishments of
 such a Dwelling. “It seems to have
 as many comforts about it as Willingden.”
 --“Ah!--said M^r P.--This is my
 old House--the house of my Forefathers
 --the house where I & all my
 Brothers & Sisters were born & bred--
 & where my own 3 eldest Children
 were born--where M^{rs} P. & I lived till
 within the last 2 years--till our new


             ( 44 )

 House was finished.--I am glad you
 are pleased with it.--It is an honest
 old Place--and Hillier keeps it in very
 good order. I have given it up you
 know to the Man who occupies the
 cheif of my Land. _He_ gets a better
 House by it--& I, a rather better
 situation!--one other Hill brings us
 to Sanditon--modern Sanditon--a
 beautiful Spot.--Our Ancestors, you
 know always built in a hole.--Here
 were we, pent down in this little contracted
 Nook, without Air or Veiw,
 only one mile & 3 q^{rs} from the noblest
 expanse of Ocean between the South
 foreland & the Land’s end, & without
 the smallest advantage from it. You
 will not think I have made a bad
 exchange, when we reach Trafalgar
 House--which by the bye, I almost
 wish I had not named Trafalgar--for
 Waterloo is more the thing now. However,


             ( 45 )

 Waterloo is in reserve--& if we
 have encouragement enough this year
 for a little Crescent to be ventured on
 --(as I trust we shall) then, we shall
 be able to call it Waterloo Crescent--
 & the name joined to the form of the
 Building, which always takes, will give
 us the command of Lodgers--. In a
 good Season we sh^d have more applications
 than we could attend to.”--“It
 was always a very comfortable House--
 said M^{rs} Parker--looking at it through
 the back window with something like
 the fondness of regret.--And such a
 nice Garden--such an excellent Garden.”
 “Yes, my Love, but _that_ we
 may be said to carry with us.--_It_
 supplies us, as before, with all the fruit
 & vegetables we want; & we have in
 fact all the comfort of an excellent
 Kitchen Garden, without the constant
 Eyesore of its formalities; or


             ( 46 )

 the yearly nuisance of its decaying vegetation.
 --Who can endure a Cabbage
 Bed in October”? “Oh! dear--
 yes.--We are quite as well off for
 Gardenstuff as ever we were--for if it
 is forgot to be brought at any time,
 we can always buy what we want at
 Sanditon-House.--The Gardiner there,
 is glad enough to supply us--. But it
 was a nice place for the Children to run
 about in. So shady in Summer!”
 “My dear, we shall have shade enough
 on the Hill & more than enough in the
 course of a very few years;--The
 Growth of my Plantations is a general
 astonishment. In the mean while we
 have the Canvas Awning, which gives
 us the most complete comfort within
 doors--& you can get a Parasol at
 Whitby’s for little Mary at any time,
 or a large Bonnet at Jebb’s--and as
 for the Boys, I must say I w^d rather


             ( 47 )

 _them_ run about in the Sunshine than
 not. I am sure we agree my dear, in
 wishing our Boys to be as hardy as
 possible.”--“Yes indeed, I am sure
 we do--& I will get Mary a little
 Parasol, which will make her as proud
 as can be. How Grave she will walk
 about with it, and fancy herself quite
 a little Woman.--Oh! I have not the
 smallest doubt of our being a great
 deal better off where we are now. If
 we any of us want to bathe, we have
 not a q^r of a mile to go.--But you
 know, (still looking back) one loves to
 look at an old friend, at a place where
 one has been happy.--The Hilliers
 did not seem to feel the Storms last
 Winter at all.--I remember seeing
 M^{rs} Hillier after one of those dreadful
 Nights, when _we_ had been literally
 rocked in our bed, and she did not
 seem at all aware of the Wind being


             ( 48 )

 anything more than common.” “Yes,
 yes--that’s likely enough. _We_ have
 all the Grandeur of the Storm, with
 less real danger, because the Wind
 meeting with nothing to oppose or
 confine it around our House, simply
 rages & passes on--while down in this
 Gutter--nothing is known of the state
 of the Air, below the Tops of the Trees
 --and the Inhabitants may be taken
 totally unawares, by one of those
 dreadful Currents which do more mischief
 in a Valley, when they _do_ arise
 than an open Country ever experiences
 in the heaviest Gale.--But my dear
 Love--as to Gardenstuff;--you were
 saying that any accidental omission is
 supplied in a moment by Ly D.’s
 Gardiner--but it occurs to me that
 we ought to go elsewhere upon such
 occasions--& that old Stringer & his
 son have a higher claim. I encouraged


             ( 49 )

 him to set up--& am afraid he does
 not do very well--that is, there has
 not been time enough yet.--He _will_
 do very well beyond a doubt--but at
 first it is Uphill work; and therefore
 we must give him what Help we can--
 & when any Vegetables or fruit happen
 to be wanted--& it will not be amiss
 to have them often wanted, to have
 something or other forgotten most
 days;--Just to have a nominal supply
 you know, that poor old Andrew may
 not lose his daily Job--but in fact to
 buy the cheif of our consumption of
 the Stringers.--” “Very well my
 Love, that can be easily done--& Cook
 will be satisfied--which will be a great
 comfort, for she is always complaining
 of old Andrew now, & says he never
 brings her what she wants.--There--
 now the old House is quite left behind.
 --What is it, your Brother Sidney says


             ( 50 )

 about it’s being a Hospital?” “Oh!
 my dear Mary, merely a Joke of his.
 He pretends to advise me to make
 a Hospital of it. He pretends to laugh
 at my Improvements. Sidney says
 any thing you know. He has always
 said what he chose of & to us, all.
 Most Families have such a member
 among them I beleive Miss Heywood.
 --There is a someone in most
 families privileged by superior abilities
 or spirits to say anything.--In ours, it is
 Sidney; who is a very clever Young Man,
 --and with great powers of pleasing.--
 He lives too much in the World to be
 settled; that is his only fault.--He is
 here & there & every where. I wish
 we may get him to Sanditon. I should
 like to have you acquainted with him.
 --And it would be a fine thing for the
 Place!--Such a young Man as Sidney,
 with his neat equipage & fashionable


             ( 51 )

 air,--You & I Mary, know what effect
 it might have: Many a respectable
 Family, many a careful Mother, many
 a pretty Daughter, might it secure us,
 to the prejudice of E. Bourne &
 Hastings.”--They were now approaching
 the Church & neat village of
 Sanditon, which stood at the foot of
 the Hill they were afterwards to ascend
 --a Hill, whose side was covered with
 the Woods & enclosures of Sanditon
 House and whose Height ended in an
 open Down where the new Build^{gs}
 might soon be looked for. A branch
 only, of the Valley, winding more
 obliquely towards the Sea, gave a
 passage to an inconsiderable Stream,
 & formed at its mouth, a 3^d Habitable
 Division, in a small cluster of Fisherman’s
 Houses.--The Village contained
 little more than Cottages, but the
 Spirit of the day had been caught, as


             ( 52 )

 M^r P. observed with delight to Charlotte,
 & two or three of the best of
 them were smartened up with a white
 Curtain & “Lodgings to let”--, and
 farther on, in the little Green Court of
 an old Farm House, two Females in
 elegant white were actually to be seen
 with their books & camp stools--and
 in turning the corner of the Baker’s
 shop, the sound of a Harp might be
 heard through the upper Casement.--
 Such sights & sounds were highly Blissful
 to M^r P.--Not that he had any
 personal concern in the success of the
 Village itself; for considering it as too
 remote from the Beach, he had done
 nothing there--but it was a most valuable
 proof of the increasing fashion of
 the place altogether. If the _Village_
 could attract, the Hill might be nearly
 full.--He anticipated an amazing Season.
 --At the same time last year, (late


             ( 53 )

 in July) there had not been a single
 Lodger in the Village!--nor did he
 remember any during the whole
 Summer, excepting one family of children
 who came from London for sea
 air after the hooping Cough, and whose
 Mother would not let them be nearer
 the shore for fear of their tumbling in.
 --“Civilization, Civilization indeed!--
 cried M^r P--, delighted--. Look my
 dear Mary--Look at William Heeley’s
 windows.--Blue Shoes, & nankin
 Boots!--Who w^d have expected such
 a sight at a Shoemaker’s in old Sanditon!
 --This is new within the Month.
 There was no blue Shoe when we passed
 this way a month ago.--Glorious indeed!
 --Well, I think I _have_ done
 something in my Day.--Now, for our
 Hill, our health-breathing Hill.--” In
 ascending, they passed the Lodge-
 Gates of Sanditon House, & saw the


             ( 54 )

 top of the House itself among its
 Groves. It was the last Building of
 former Days in that line of the Parish.
 A little higher up, the Modern began;
 & in crossing the Down, a Prospect
 House, a Bellevue Cottage, & a Denham
 Place were to be looked at by
 Charlotte with the calmness of amused
 Curiosity, & by M^r P. with the eager
 eye which hoped to see scarcely any
 empty houses.--More Bills at the Window
 than he had calculated on;--and
 a smaller shew of company on the Hill
 --Fewer Carriages, fewer Walkers. He
 had fancied it just the time of day for
 them to be all returning from their
 Airings to dinner--But the Sands &
 the Terrace always attracted some--.
 and the Tide must be flowing--about
 half-Tide now.--He longed to be on
 the Sands, the Cliffs, at his own House,
 & everywhere out of his House at


             ( 55 )

 once. His Spirits rose with the very
 sight of the Sea & he c^d almost feel his
 Ancle getting stronger already.--Trafalgar
 House, on the most elevated
 spot on the Down was a light elegant
 Building, standing in a small Lawn
 with a very young plantation round it,
 about an hundred yards from the brow
 of a steep, but not very lofty Cliff--
 and the nearest to it, of every Building,
 excepting one short row of smart-
 looking Houses, called the Terrace,
 with a broad walk in front, aspiring to
 be the Mall of the Place. In this row
 were the best Milliner’s shop & the
 Library--a little detached from it, the
 Hotel & Billiard Room--Here began
 the Descent to the Beach, & to the
 Bathing Machines--& this was therefore
 the favourite spot for Beauty &
 Fashion.--At Trafalgar House, rising
 at a little distance behind the Terrace,


             ( 56 )

 the Travellers were safely set down,
 & all was happiness & Joy between
 Papa & Mama & their Children; while
 Charlotte having received possession
 of her apartment, found amusement
 enough in standing at her ample,
 Venetian window, & looking over the
 miscellaneous foreground of unfinished
 Buildings, waving Linen, & tops of
 Houses, to the Sea, dancing & sparkling
 in Sunshine & Freshness.--




             ( 57 )

           CHAPTER 5.


 When they met before dinner, M^r P.
 was looking over Letters.--“Not a
 Line from Sidney!--said he.--He is
 an idle fellow.--I sent him an account
 of my accident from Willingden, &
 thought he would have vouchsafed me
 an Answer.--But perhaps it implies
 that he is coming himself.--I trust it
 may.--But here is a Letter from one
 of my Sisters. _They_ never fail me.--
 Women are the only Correspondents to
 be depended on.--Now Mary, (smiling
 at his Wife)--before I open it, what
 shall we guess as to the state of health
 of those it comes from--or rather what
 w^d Sidney say if he were here?--Sidney


             ( 58 )

 is a saucy fellow, Miss H.--And you
 must know, he will have it there is
 a good deal of Imagination in my two
 Sisters’ complaints--but it really is
 not so--or very little--They have
 wretched health, as you have heard
 us say frequently, & are subject to
 a variety of very serious Disorders.--
 Indeed, I do not beleive they know
 what a day’s health is;--& at the
 same time, they are such excellent
 useful Women & have so much energy
 of Character that, where any Good is
 to be done, they force themselves on
 exertions which to those who do not
 thoroughly know them, have an extraordinary
 appearance.--But there is
 really no affectation about them. They
 have only weaker constitutions &
 stronger minds than are often met
 with, either separate or together.--
 And our Youngest B^r--who lives with


             ( 59 )

 them, & who is not much above 20,
 I am sorry to say, is almost as great
 an Invalid as themselves.--He is so
 delicate that he can engage in no Profession.
 --Sidney laughs at him--but
 it really is no Joke--tho’ Sidney often
 makes me laugh at them all in spite of
 myself.--Now, if he were here, I know
 he w^d be offering odds that either
 Susan Diana or Arthur w^d appear by
 this letter to have been at the point of
 death within the last month.”--Having
 run his eye over the Letter, he shook his
 head & began--“No chance of seeing
 them at Sanditon I am sorry to say.--
 A very indifferent account of them
 indeed. Seriously, a very indifferent
 account.--Mary, you will be quite sorry
 to hear how ill they have been & are.--
 Miss H., if you will give me leave, I will
 read Diana’s Letter aloud.--I like to
 have my friends acquainted with each


             ( 60 )

 other--& I am afraid this is the only
 sort of acquaintance I shall have the
 means of accomplishing between you.
 --And I can have no scruple on
 Diana’s account--for her Letters shew
 her exactly as she is, the most active,
 friendly, warm hearted Being in existence,
 & therefore must give a good
 impression.” He read.--“My dear
 Tom, We were all much greived at
 your accident, & if you had not
 described yourself as fallen into such
 very good hands, I sh^d have been with
 you at all hazards the day after the
 rec^{pt} of your Letter, though it found
 me suffering under a more severe attack
 than usual of my old greivance, Spasmodic
 Bile & hardly able to crawl
 from my Bed to the Sofa.--But how
 were you treated?--Send me more
 Particulars in your next.--If indeed a
 simple Sprain, as you denominate it,


             ( 61 )

 nothing w^d have been so judicious as
 Friction, Friction by the hand alone,
 supposing it could be applied _instantly_.
 --Two years ago I happened to be
 calling on M^{rs} Sheldon when her
 Coachman sprained his foot as he was
 cleaning the Carriage & c^d hardly limp
 into the House--but by the immediate
 use of Friction alone, steadily persevered
 in, (& I rubbed his Ancle with
 my own hand for six Hours without
 Intermission)--he was well in three
 days.--Many Thanks my dear Tom for
 the kindness with respect to us, which
 had so large a share in bringing on
 your accident--But pray never run
 into Peril again, in looking for an
 Apothecary on our account, for had
 you the most experienced Man in his
 Line settled at Sanditon, it w^d be no
 recommendation to us. We have
 entirely done with the whole Medical


             ( 62 )

 Tribe. We have consulted Physician
 after Phy^n in vain, till we are quite
 convinced that they can do nothing for
 us & that we must trust to our own
 knowledge of our own wretched Constitutions
 for any releif.--But if you
 think it advisable for the interest of
 the _Place_, to get a Medical Man there,
 I will undertake the commission with
 pleasure, & have no doubt of succeeding.
 --I could soon put the necessary
 Irons in the fire.--As for getting to
 Sanditon myself, it is quite an Impossibility.
 I greive to say that I dare not
 attempt it, but my feelings tell me too
 plainly that in my present state, the
 Sea air w^d probably be the death of
 me.--And neither of my dear Companions
 will leave me, or I w^d promote
 their going down to you for a fortnight.
 But in truth, I doubt whether
 Susan’s nerves w^d be equal to the effort.


             ( 63 )

 She has been suffering much from the
 Headache and Six Leaches a day for
 10 days together releived her so little
 that we thought it right to change our
 measures--and being convinced on
 examination that much of the Evil
 lay in her Gum, I persuaded her to
 attack the disorder there. She has
 accordingly had 3 Teeth drawn, & is
 decidedly better, but her Nerves are
 a good deal deranged. She can only
 speak in a whisper--and fainted away
 twice this morning on poor Arthur’s
 trying to suppress a cough. He, I am
 happy to say is tolerably well--tho’
 more languid than I like--& I fear
 for his Liver.--I have heard nothing
 of Sidney since your being together in
 Town, but conclude his scheme to the
 I. of Wight has not taken place, or we
 should have seen him in his way.--
 Most sincerely do we wish you a good


             ( 64 )

 Season at Sanditon, & though we
 cannot contribute to your Beau Monde
 in person, we are doing our utmost to
 send you Company worth having; &
 think we may safely reckon on securing
 you two large Families, one a rich
 West Indian from Surry, the other, a
 most respectable Girls Boarding School,
 or Academy, from Camberwell.--I will
 not tell you how many People I have
 employed in the business--Wheel within
 wheel.--But Success more than repays.
 --Yours most affec^{ly}--&c” “Well--
 said M^r P.--as he finished. Though
 I dare say Sidney might find something
 extremely entertaining in this
 Letter & make us laugh for half an
 hour together I declare _I_ by myself,
 can see nothing in it but what is either
 very pitiable or very creditable.--With
 all their sufferings, you perceive how
 much they are occupied in promoting


             ( 65 )

 the Good of others!--So anxious for
 Sanditon! Two large Families--One,
 for Prospect House probably, the other,
 for N^o 2. Denham Place--or the end
 house of the Terrace,--& extra Beds
 at the Hotel.--I told you my Sisters
 were excellent Women, Miss H----.”
 “And I am sure they must be very
 extraordinary ones.--said Charlotte.
 I am astonished at the chearful style
 of the Letter, considering the state in
 which both Sisters appear to be.--
 Three Teeth drawn at once!--frightful!
 --Your Sister Diana seems almost
 as ill as possible, but those 3 Teeth of
 your Sister Susan’s, are more distressing
 than all the rest.--” “Oh!--
 they are so used to the operation--to
 every operation--& have such Fortitude!--”
 “Your Sisters know what
 they are about, I dare say, but their
 Measures seem to touch on Extremes.


             ( 66 )

 --I feel that in any illness, _I_ should be
 so anxious for Professional advice, so
 very little venturesome for myself, or
 any body I loved!--But then, _we_ have
 been so healthy a family, that I can
 be no Judge of what the habit of self-
 doctoring may do.--” “Why to own
 the truth, said M^{rs} P.--I _do_ think the
 Miss Parkers carry it too far sometimes--&
 so do you my Love, you know.--
 You often think they w^d be better, if
 they w^d leave themselves more alone--&
 especially Arthur. I know you think
 it a great pity they sh^d give _him_ such
 a turn for being ill.--” “Well, well--
 my dear Mary--I grant you, it _is_ unfortunate
 for poor Arthur, that, at his
 time of Life he sh^d be encouraged to
 give way to Indisposition. It _is_ bad;
 --it _is_ bad that he should be fancying
 himself too sickly for any Profession--
 & sit down at 1 & 20, on the interest


             ( 67 )

 of his own little Fortune, without any
 idea of attempting to improve it, or
 of engaging in any occupation that
 may be of use to himself or others.--
 But let us talk of pleasanter things.--
 These two large Families are just what
 we wanted--But--here is something
 at hand, pleasanter still--Morgan, with
 his “Dinner on Table.”--




             ( 69 )

           CHAPTER 6.


 The Party were very soon moving
 after Dinner. M^r P. could not be
 satisfied without an early visit to the
 Library, & the Library Subscription
 book, & Charlotte was glad to see as
 much, & as quickly as possible, where
 all was new. They were out in the very
 quietest part of a Watering-place Day,
 when the important Business of Dinner
 or of sitting after Dinner was going on
 in almost every inhabited Lodging;--
 here & there a solitary Elderly Man
 might be seen, who was forced to move
 early & walk for health--but in general,
 it was a thorough pause of Company,
 it was Emptiness & Tranquillity on the


             ( 70 )

 Terrace, the Cliffs, & the Sands.--The
 Shops were deserted--the Straw Hats
 & pendant Lace seemed left to their
 fate both within the House & without,
 and M^{rs} Whitby at the Library was
 sitting in her inner room, reading one
 of her own Novels, for want of Employment.--The
 List of Subscribers was
 but commonplace. The Lady Denham,
 Miss Brereton, M^r & M^{rs} P----
 Sir Edw: Denham & Miss Denham,
 whose names might be said to lead off
 the Season, were followed by nothing
 better than--M^{rs} Mathews--Miss
 Mathews, Miss E. Mathews, Miss H.
 Mathews.--D^r & M^{rs} Brown--M^r
 Richard Pratt.--Lieut: Smith R.N.
 Capt: Little,--Limehouse.--M^{rs} Jane
 Fisher. Miss Fisher. Miss Scroggs.--
 Rev: M^r Hanking. M^r Beard--Solicitor,
 Grays Inn.--M^{rs} Davis. & Miss Merryweather.
 --M^r P. could not but feel that


             ( 71 )

 the List was not only without Distinction,
 but less numerous than he had
 hoped. It was but July however, &
 August & September were the Months;
 --And besides, the promised large
 Families from Surry & Camberwell,
 were an ever-ready consolation.--M^{rs}
 Whitby came forward without delay
 from her Literary recess, delighted to
 see M^r Parker again, whose manners
 recommended him to every body, &
 they were fully occupied in their
 various Civilities & Communications,
 while Charlotte having added her name
 to the List as the first offering to the
 success of the Season, was busy in
 some immediate purchases for the
 further good of Every body, as soon as
 Miss Whitby could be hurried down
 from her Toilette, with all her glossy
 curls & smart Trinkets to wait on her.
 --The Library of course, afforded every


             ( 72 )

 thing; all the useless things in the
 World that c^d not be done without,
 & among so many pretty Temptations,
 & with so much good will for M^r P.
 to encourage Expenditure, Charlotte
 began to feel that she must check
 herself--or rather she reflected that at
 two & Twenty there c^d be no excuse
 for her doing otherwise--& that it w^d
 not do for her to be spending all her
 Money the very first Evening. She
 took up a Book; it happened to be a
 vol: of _Camilla_. She had not _Camilla_’s
 Youth, & had no intention of having
 her Distress,--so, she turned from the
 Drawers of rings & Broches repressed
 farther solicitation & paid for what she
 bought.--For her particular gratification,
 they were then to take a Turn on
 the Cliff--but as they quitted the
 Library they were met by two Ladies
 whose arrival made an alteration necessary,


             ( 73 )

 Lady Denham & Miss Brereton.
 --They had been to Trafalgar House,
 & been directed thence to the Library,
 & though Lady D. was a great deal too
 active to regard the walk of a mile as
 any thing requiring rest, & talked of
 going home again directly, the Parkers
 knew that to be pressed into their
 House, & obliged to take her Tea with
 them, would suit her best,--& therefore
 the stroll on the Cliff gave way to
 an immediate return home.--“No, no,
 said her Ladyship--I will not have
 you hurry your Tea on my account.--
 I know you like your Tea late.--My
 early hours are not to put my Neighbours
 to inconvenience. No, no, Miss
 Clara & I will get back to our own
 Tea.--We came out with no other
 Thought.--We wanted just to see you
 & make sure of your being really
 come--, but we get back to our own


             ( 74 )

 Tea.”--She went on however towards
 Trafalgar House & took possession of
 the Drawing room very quietly--without
 seeming to hear a word of M^{rs} P.’s
 orders to the Servant as they entered,
 to bring Tea directly. Charlotte was
 fully consoled for the loss of her walk,
 by finding herself in company with
 those, whom the conversation of the
 morn^g had given her a great curiosity
 to see. She observed them well.--
 Lady D. was of middle height, stout,
 upright & alert in her motions, with a
 shrewd eye, & self-satisfied air--but
 not an unagreable Countenance--&
 tho’ her manner was rather downright
 & abrupt, as of a person who valued
 herself on being free-spoken, there was
 a good humour & cordiality about her
 --a civility & readiness to be acquainted
 with Charlotte herself, & a heartiness
 of welcome towards her old friends,


             ( 75 )

 which was inspiring the Good will, she
 seemed to feel;--And as for Miss
 Brereton, her appearance so completely
 justified M^r P.’s praise that Charlotte
 thought she had never beheld a more
 lovely, or more Interesting young
 Woman.--Elegantly tall, regularly
 handsome, with great delicacy of complexion
 & soft Blue eyes, a sweetly
 modest & yet naturally graceful Address,
 Charlotte could see in her only
 the most perfect representation of
 whatever Heroine might be most
 beautiful & bewitching, in all the
 numerous vol:^s they had left behind
 them on M^{rs} Whitby’s shelves.--Perhaps
 it might be partly oweing to her
 having just issued from a Circulating
 Library--but she c^d not separate the
 idea of a complete Heroine from Clara
 Brereton. Her situation with Lady
 Denham so very much in favour of it!


             ( 76 )

 --She seemed placed with her on purpose
 to be ill-used. Such Poverty &
 Dependance joined to such Beauty
 & Merit, seemed to leave no choice in
 the business.--These feelings were not
 the result of any spirit of Romance in
 Charlotte herself. No, she was a very
 sober-minded young Lady, sufficiently
 well-read in Novels to supply her
 Imagination with amusement, but not
 at all unreasonably influenced by them;
 & while she pleased herself the first
 5 minutes with fancying the Persecutions
 which _ought_ to be the Lot of the
 interesting Clara, especially in the form
 of the most barbarous conduct on Lady
 Denham’s side, she found no reluctance
 to admit from subsequent observation,
 that they appeared to be on very comfortable
 Terms.--She c^d see nothing
 worse in Lady Denham, than the sort
 of oldfashioned formality of always


             ( 77 )

 calling her _Miss Clara_--nor anything
 objectionable in the degree of observance
 & attention which Clara paid.--
 On one side it seemed protecting kindness,
 on the other grateful & affectionate
 respect.--The Conversation
 turned entirely upon Sanditon, its
 present number of Visitants & the
 Chances of a good Season. It was
 evident that Lady D. had more anxiety,
 more fears of loss, than her Coadjutor.
 She wanted to have the Place fill
 faster, & seemed to have many harassing
 apprehensions of the Lodgings
 being in some instances underlet.--
 Miss Diana Parker’s two large Families
 were not forgotten. “Very good, very
 good, said her Ladyship.--A West Indy
 Family & a school. That sounds well.
 That will bring Money.”--“No people
 spend more freely, I beleive, than W.
 Indians.” observed M^r Parker.--“Aye


             ( 78 )

 --so I have heard--and because they
 have full Purses, fancy themselves
 equal, may be, to your old Country
 Families. But then, they who scatter
 their Money so freely, never think of
 whether they may not be doing mischeif
 by raising the price of Things--
 And I have heard that’s very much
 the case with your West-injines--and
 if they come among us to raise the
 price of our necessaries of Life, we
 shall not much thank them M^r Parker.”
 --“My dear Madam, They can only
 raise the price of consumeable Articles,
 by such an extraordinary Demand for
 them & such a diffusion of Money
 among us, as must do us more Good
 than harm.--Our Butchers & Bakers
 & Traders in general cannot get rich
 without bringing Prosperity to _us_.--If
 _they_ do not gain, our rents must be
 insecure--& in proportion to their


             ( 79 )

 profit must be ours eventually in the
 increased value of our Houses.” “Oh!
 --well.--But I should not like to have
 Butcher’s meat raised, though--& I
 shall keep it down as long as I can.--
 Aye--that young Lady smiles I see;
 --I dare say she thinks me an odd sort
 of a Creature,--but _she_ will come to
 care about such matters herself in
 time. Yes, Yes, my Dear, depend upon
 it, you will be thinking of the price of
 Butcher’s meat in time--tho’ you may
 not happen to have quite such a Servants
 Hall full to feed, as I have.--
 And I do beleive _those_ are best off, that
 have fewest Servants.--I am not a
 Woman of Parade, as all the World
 knows, & if it was not for what I owe
 to poor M^r Hollis’s memory, I should
 never keep up Sanditon House as I do;
 --it is not for my own pleasure.--Well
 M^r Parker--and the other is a Boarding


             ( 80 )

 school, a French Boarding School,
 is it?--No harm in that.--They’ll stay
 their six weeks.--And out of such a
 number, who knows but some may be
 consumptive & want Asses milk--&
 I have two Milch asses at this present
 time.--But perhaps the little Misses
 may hurt the Furniture.--I hope they
 will have a good sharp Governess to
 look after them.--” Poor M^r Parker
 got no more credit from Lady D. than
 he had from his Sisters, for the Object
 which had taken him to Willingden.
 “Lord! my dear Sir, she cried, how
 could you think of such a thing?
 I am very sorry you met with your
 accident, but upon my word you deserved
 it.--Going after a Doctor!--
 Why, what sh^d we do with a Doctor
 here? It w^d be only encouraging our
 Servants & the Poor to fancy themselves
 ill, if there was a D^r at hand.--


             ( 81 )

 Oh! pray, let us have none of the Tribe
 at Sanditon. We go on very well as we
 are. There is the Sea & the Downs &
 my Milch-asses--& I have told M^{rs}
 Whitby that if any body enquires for
 a Chamber-House, they may be supplied
 at a fair rate--(poor M^r Hollis’s
 Chamber-House, as good as new)--
 and what can People want for more?--
 Here have I lived 70 good years in the
 world & never took Physic above twice
 --and never saw the face of a Doctor
 in all my Life, on my _own_ account.--
 And I verily beleive if my poor dear
 Sir Harry had never seen one neither,
 he w^d have been alive now.--Ten fees,
 one after another, did the Man take
 who sent _him_ out of the World.--
 I beseech you M^r Parker, no Doctors
 here.”--The Tea things were brought
 in.--“Oh! my dear M^{rs} Parker--you
 should not indeed--why would you do


             ( 82 )

 so? I was just upon the point of
 wishing you good Evening. But since
 you are so very neighbourly, I beleive
 Miss Clara & I must stay.”----




             ( 83 )

           CHAPTER 7.


 The popularity of the Parkers brought
 them some visitors the very next morning;
 --amongst them, Sir Edw^d Denham
 & his Sister, who having been at
 Sanditon H-- drove on to pay their
 Compliments; & the duty of Letter-
 writing being accomplished, Charlotte
 was settled with M^{rs} P.-- in the Drawing
 room in time to see them all.--The
 Denhams were the only ones to excite
 particular attention. Charlotte was
 glad to complete her knowledge of the
 family by an introduction to them, &
 found them, the better half at least--
 (for while single, the _Gentleman_ may
 sometimes be thought the better half,


             ( 84 )

 of the pair)--not unworthy notice.--
 Miss D. was a fine young woman, but
 cold & reserved, giving the idea of one
 who felt her consequence with Pride
 & her Poverty with Discontent, & who
 was immediately gnawed by the want
 of an handsomer Equipage than the
 simple Gig in which they travelled,
 & which their Groom was leading about
 still in her sight.--Sir Edw^d was much
 her superior in air & manner;--certainly
 handsome, but yet more to be
 remarked for his very good address
 & wish of paying attention & giving
 pleasure.--He came into the room remarkably
 well, talked much--& very
 much to Charlotte, by whom he chanced
 to be placed--& she soon perceived
 that he had a fine Countenance, a most
 pleasing gentleness of Voice, & a great
 deal of Conversation. She liked him.--
 Sober-minded as she was, she thought


             ( 85 )

 him agreable, & did not quarrel with
 the suspicion of his finding her equally
 so, which _would_ arise from his evidently
 disregarding his Sister’s motion to go,
 & persisting in his station & his discourse.
 --I make no apologies for my
 Heroine’s vanity.--If there are young
 Ladies in the World at her time of
 Life, more dull of Fancy & more careless
 of pleasing, I know them not, &
 never wish to know them.--At last,
 from the low French windows of the
 Drawing room which commanded the
 road & all the Paths across the Down,
 Charlotte & Sir Edw: as they sat,
 could not but observe Lady D. & Miss
 B. walking by--& there was instantly
 a slight change in Sir Edw:’s countenance
 --with an anxious glance after
 them as they proceeded--followed by
 an early proposal to his Sister--not
 merely for moving, but for walking


             ( 86 )

 on together to the Terrace--which
 altogether gave an hasty turn to
 Charlotte’s fancy, cured her of her
 halfhour’s fever, & placed her in
 a more capable state of judging, when
 Sir Edw: was gone, of _how_ agreable
 he had actually been.--“Perhaps there
 was a good deal in his Air & Address;
 And his Title did him no harm.” She
 was very soon in his company again.
 The first object of the Parkers, when
 their House was cleared of morn^g
 visitors was to get out themselves;--
 the Terrace was the attraction to
 all;--Every body who walked, must
 begin with the Terrace, & there, seated
 on one of the two Green Benches by
 the Gravel walk, they found the united
 Denham Party;--but though united in
 the Gross, very distinctly divided again
 --the two superior Ladies being at one
 end of the bench, & Sir Edw: & Miss B.


             ( 87 )

 at the other.--Charlotte’s first glance
 told her that Sir Edw:’s air was that
 of a Lover.--There could be no doubt
 of his Devotion to Clara.--How Clara
 received it, was less obvious--but she
 was inclined to think not very favourably;
 for tho’ sitting thus apart with
 him (which probably she might not
 have been able to prevent) her air was
 calm & grave.--That the young Lady
 at the other end of the Bench was
 doing Penance, was indubitable. The
 difference in Miss Denham’s countenance,
 the change from Miss Denham
 sitting in cold Grandeur in M^{rs} Parker’s
 Draw^g-room to be kept from silence by
 the efforts of others, to Miss D. at
 Lady D.’s Elbow, listening & talking
 with smiling attention or solicitous
 eagerness, was very striking--and very
 amusing--or very melancholy, just as
 Satire or Morality might prevail.--


             ( 88 )

 Miss Denham’s Character was pretty
 well decided with Charlotte. Sir
 Edward’s required longer Observation.
 He surprised her by quitting
 Clara immediately on their all joining
 & agreeing to walk, & by addressing
 his attentions entirely to herself.--
 Stationing himself close by her, he
 seemed to mean to detach her as much
 as possible from the rest of the Party
 & to give her the whole of his Conversation.
 He began, in a tone of
 great Taste & Feeling, to talk of the
 Sea & the Sea shore--& ran with
 Energy through all the usual Phrases
 employed in praise of their Sublimity,
 & descriptive of the _undescribable_ Emotions
 they excite in the Mind of Sensibility.
 --The terrific Grandeur of the
 Ocean in a Storm, its glassy surface in
 a calm, it’s Gulls & its Samphire, & the
 deep fathoms of it’s Abysses, it’s quick


             ( 89 )

 vicissitudes, it’s direful Deceptions, it’s
 Mariners tempting it in Sunshine &
 overwhelmed by the sudden Tempest,
 All were eagerly & fluently touched;--
 rather commonplace perhaps--but
 doing very well from the Lips of a handsome
 Sir Edward,--and she c^d not but
 think him a Man of Feeling--till he
 began to stagger her by the number of
 his Quotations, & the bewilderment of
 some of his sentences.--“Do you remember,
 said he, Scott’s beautiful Lines
 on the Sea?--Oh! what a description
 they convey!--They are never out of
 my Thoughts when I walk here.--
 That Man who can read them unmoved
 must have the nerves of an Assassin!--
 Heaven defend me from meeting such
 a Man un-armed.”--“What description
 do you mean?--said Charlotte. I remember
 none at this moment, of the
 Sea, in either of Scott’s Poems.”--


             ( 90 )

 “Do not you indeed?--Nor can I
 exactly recall the beginning at this
 moment--But--you cannot have forgotten
 his description of Woman.--

     “Oh! Woman in our Hours of
        Ease--”

 Delicious! Delicious!--Had he written
 nothing more, he w^d have been Immortal.
 And then again, that unequalled,
 unrivalled address to Parental
 affection--

     “Some feelings are to Mortals given
      With less of Earth in them than
        Heaven” &c

 But while we are on the subject of
 Poetry, what think you Miss H. of
 Burns Lines to his Mary?”--
 “Oh! there is Pathos to madden one!
 --If ever there was a Man who _felt_, it
 was Burns.--Montgomery has all the
 Fire of Poetry, Wordsworth has the true
 soul of it--Campbell in his pleasures


             ( 91 )

 of Hope has touched the extreme of
 our Sensations--“Like Angel’s visits,
 few & far between.” Can you conceive
 any thing more subduing, more melting,
 more fraught with the deep Sublime
 than that Line?--But Burns--I
 confess my sence of his Pre-eminence
 Miss H.--If Scott _has_ a fault, it is the
 want of Passion.--Tender, Elegant,
 Descriptive--but _Tame_.--The Man
 who cannot do justice to the attributes
 of Woman is my contempt.--Sometimes
 indeed a flash of feeling seems to
 irradiate him--as in the Lines we were
 speaking of--“Oh! Woman in our
 hours of Ease”--. But Burns is always
 on fire.--His Soul was the Altar in
 which lovely Woman sat enshrined,
 his Spirit truly breathed the immortal
 Incence which is her Due.--” “I
 have read several of Burn’s Poems with
 great delight, said Charlotte as soon as


             ( 92 )

 she had time to speak, but I am not
 poetic enough to separate a Man’s
 Poetry entirely from his Character;--
 & poor Burns’s known Irregularities,
 greatly interrupt my enjoyment of his
 Lines.--I have difficulty, in depending
 on the _Truth_ of his Feelings as a Lover.
 I have not faith in the _sincerity_ of the
 affections of a Man of his Description.
 He felt & he wrote & he forgot.” “Oh!
 no no--exclaimed Sir Edw: in an
 extasy. He was all ardour & Truth!
 --His Genius & his Susceptibilities
 might lead him into some Aberrations
 --But who is perfect?--It were Hyper-
 criticism, it were Pseudo-philosophy to
 expect from the soul of high toned
 Genius, the grovellings of a common
 mind.--The Coruscations of Talent,
 elicited by impassioned feeling in the
 breast of Man, are perhaps incompatible
 with some of the prosaic


             ( 93 )

 Decencies of Life;--nor can you, loveliest
 Miss Heywood--(speaking with
 an air of deep sentiment)--nor can
 any Woman be a fair Judge of what
 a Man may be propelled to say, write
 or do, by the sovereign impulses of
 illimitable Ardour.” This was very
 fine;--but if Charlotte understood it at
 all, not very moral--& being moreover
 by no means pleased with his extraordinary
 stile of compliment, she
 gravely answered “I really know nothing
 of the matter.--This is a charming
 day. The Wind I fancy must
 be Southerly.” “Happy, happy
 Wind, to engage Miss Heywood’s
 Thoughts!--” She began to think
 him downright silly.--His chusing to
 walk with her, she had learnt to understand.
 It was done to pique Miss
 Brereton. She had read it, in an
 anxious glance or two on his side--


             ( 94 )

 but why he sh^d talk so much Nonsense,
 unless he could do no better, was unintelligible.
 --He seemed very sentimental,
 very full of some Feelings or
 other, & very much addicted to all the
 newest-fashioned hard words--had not
 a very clear Brain she presumed, &
 talked a good deal by rote.--The
 Future might explain him further--
 but when there was a proposition for
 going into the Library she felt that she
 had had quite enough of Sir Edw: for
 one morn^g, & very gladly accepted
 Lady D.’s invitation of remaining on
 the Terrace with her.--The others all
 left them, Sir Edw: with looks of very
 gallant despair in tearing himself away,
 & they united their agreableness--that
 is, Lady Denham like a true great
 Lady, talked & talked only of her own
 concerns, & Charlotte listened--amused
 in considering the contrast between


             ( 95 )

 her two companions.--Certainly, there
 was no strain of doubtful Sentiment,
 nor any phrase of difficult interpretation
 in Lady D’s discourse. Taking
 hold of Charlotte’s arm with the ease
 of one who felt that any notice from
 her was an Honour, & communicative,
 from the influence of the same conscious
 Importance or a natural love of
 talking, she immediately said in a tone
 of great satisfaction--& with a look of
 arch sagacity--“Miss Esther wants me
 to invite her & her Brother to spend
 a week with me at Sanditon House, as
 I did last Summer--But I shan’t.--
 She has been trying to get round me
 every way, with her praise of this, &
 her praise of that; but I saw what she
 was about.--I saw through it all.--
 I am not very easily taken-in my
 Dear.” Charlotte c^d think of nothing
 more harmless to be said, than the


             ( 96 )

 simple enquiry of--“Sir Edward &
 Miss Denham?”--“Yes, my Dear.
 _My young Folks_, as I call them sometimes,
 for I take them very much by
 the hand. I had them with me last
 Summer about this time, for a week;
 from Monday to Monday; and very
 delighted & thankful they were.--For
 they are very good young People my
 Dear. I w^d not have you think that I
 _only_ notice them, for poor dear Sir
 Harry’s sake. No, no; they are very
 deserving themselves, or trust me, they
 w^d not be so much in _my_ Company.--I
 am not the Woman to help any body
 blindfold.--I always take care to know
 what I am about & who I have to deal
 with, before I stir a finger.--I do not
 think I was ever over-reached in my
 Life; & That is a good deal for a
 Woman to say that has been married
 twice.--Poor dear Sir Harry (between


             ( 97 )

 ourselves) thought at first to have got
 more.--But (with a bit of a sigh) He
 is gone, & we must not find fault with
 the Dead. Nobody could live happier
 together than us--& he was a very
 honourable Man, quite the Gentleman
 of ancient Family.--And when he died,
 I gave Sir Edw^d his Gold Watch.--”
 She said this with a look at her Companion
 which implied it’s right to produce
 a great Impression--& seeing no
 rapturous astonishment in Charlottes
 countenance, added quickly--“He did
 not bequeath it to his Nephew, my
 dear--It was no bequest. It was not
 in the Will. He only told me, & _that_
 but once, that he sh^d wish his Nephew
 to have his Watch; but it need not
 have been binding, if I had not chose
 it.--” “Very kind indeed! very
 Handsome!”--said Charlotte, absolutely
 forced to affect admiration.--


             ( 98 )

 “Yes, my dear--& it is not the _only_
 kind thing I have done by him.--I have
 been a very liberal friend to Sir Edw^d.
 And poor young Man, he needs it bad
 enough;--For though I am _only_ the
 _Dowager_ my Dear, & he is the _Heir_,
 things do not stand between us in the
 way they commonly do between those
 two parties.--Not a shilling do I receive
 from the Denham Estate. Sir
 Edw: has no Payments to make _me_.
 He don’t stand uppermost, beleive me.--It
 is _I_ that help _him_.” “Indeed!--
 He is a very fine young Man;--particularly
 Elegant in his Address.”--
 This was said cheifly for the sake
 of saying something--but Charlotte
 directly saw that it was laying her open
 to suspicion by Lady D’s giving a
 shrewd glance at her & replying--
 “Yes, yes, he is very well to look at
 --& it is to be hoped some Lady of


             ( 99 )

 large fortune will think so--for Sir
 Edw^d _must_ marry for Money.--He &
 I often talk that matter over.--A handsome
 young fellow like him, will go
 smirking & smiling about & paying
 girls compliments, but he knows he
 _must_ marry for Money.--And Sir Edw:
 is a very steady young Man in the main,
 & has got very good notions.” “Sir
 Edw: Denham, said Charlotte, with
 such personal Advantages may be
 almost sure of getting a Woman of
 fortune, if he chuses it.”--This glorious
 sentiment seemed quite to remove suspicion.
 “Aye my Dear--That’s very
 sensibly said cried Lady D-- And if
 we c^d but get a young Heiress to S!
 But Heiresses are monstrous scarce!
 I do not think we have had an Heiress
 here, or even a Co--since Sanditon
 has been a public place. Families
 come after Families, but as far as


             ( 100 )

 I can learn, it is not one in an hundred
 of them that have any real Property,
 Landed or Funded.--An Income perhaps,
 but no Property. Clergymen
 may be, or Lawyers from Town, or
 Half pay officers, or Widows with only
 a Jointure. And what good can such
 people do anybody?--except just as
 they take our empty Houses--and
 (between ourselves) I think they are
 great fools for not staying at home.
 Now, if we could get a young Heiress
 to be sent here for her health--(and if
 she was ordered to drink asses milk
 I could supply her)--and as soon as
 she got well, have her fall in love with
 Sir Edward!”--“That would be very
 fortunate indeed.” “And Miss Esther
 must marry somebody of fortune too--
 She must get a rich Husband. Ah!
 young Ladies that have no Money are
 very much to be pitied!--But--after


             ( 101 )

 a short pause--if Miss Esther thinks
 to talk me into inviting them to come
 & stay at Sanditon House, she will find
 herself mistaken.--Matters are altered
 with me since last Summer you know--.
 I have Miss Clara with me now, which
 makes a great difference.” She spoke
 this so seriously that Charlotte instantly
 saw in it the evidence of real
 penetration & prepared for some fuller
 remarks--but it was followed only by--
 “I have no fancy for having my House
 as full as an Hotel. I should not chuse
 to have my 2 Housemaids Time taken
 up all the morn^g, in dusting out Bed
 rooms.--They have Miss Clara’s room
 to put to rights as well as my own
 every day.--If they had hard Places,
 they would want Higher Wages.--”
 For objections of this Nature, Charlotte
 was not prepared, & she found it
 so impossible even to affect simpathy,


             ( 102 )

 that she c^d say nothing.--Lady D.
 soon added, with great glee--“And
 besides all this my Dear, am I to be
 filling my House to the prejudice of
 Sanditon?--If People want to be by
 the Sea, why dont they take Lodgings?
 --Here are a great many empty Houses
 --3 on this very Terrace; no fewer
 than three Lodging Papers staring me
 in the face at this very moment, Numbers
 3, 4 & 8. 8, the Corner House
 may be too large for them, but either
 of the two others are nice little snug
 Houses, very fit for a young Gentleman
 & his sister--And so, my dear, the
 next time Miss Esther begins talking
 about the Dampness of Denham Park,
 & the Good Bathing always does her,
 I shall advise them to come & take
 one of these Lodgings for a fortnight.--
 Don’t you think that will be very fair?
 --Charity begins at home you know.”--


             ( 103 )

 Charlotte’s feelings were divided between
 amusement & indignation--but
 indignation had the larger & the increasing
 share.--She kept her Countenance
 & she kept a civil Silence. She
 could not carry her forbearance farther;
 but without attempting to listen longer,
 & only conscious that Lady D. was still
 talking on in the same way, allowed
 her Thoughts to form themselves into
 such a Meditation as this.--“She is
 thoroughly mean. I had not expected
 any thing so bad.--Mr. P. spoke too
 mildly of her.--His Judgement is
 evidently not to be trusted.--His own
 Goodnature misleads him. He is too
 kind hearted to see clearly.--I must
 judge for myself.--And their very _connection_
 prejudices him.--He has persuaded
 her to engage in the same
 Speculation--& because their object in
 that Line is the same, he fancies she


             ( 104 )

 feels like him in others.--But she is
 very, very mean.--I can see no Good
 in her.--Poor Miss Brereton!--And she
 makes every body mean about her.--
 This poor Sir Edward & his Sister,--
 how far Nature meant them to be
 respectable I cannot tell,--but they
 are _obliged_ to be Mean in their Servility
 to her.--And I am Mean too, in giving
 her my attention, with the appearance
 of coinciding with her.--Thus it is,
 when Rich People are Sordid.”--




             ( 105 )

           CHAPTER 8.


 The two Ladies continued walking
 together till rejoined by the others,
 who as they issued from the Library
 were followed by a young Whitby
 running off with 5 vols. under his arm
 to Sir Edward’s Gig--and Sir Edw:
 approaching Charlotte, said “You may
 perceive what has been our Occupation.
 My Sister wanted my Counsel in the
 selection of some books.--We have
 many leisure hours, & read a great
 deal.--I am no indiscriminate Novel-
 Reader. The mere Trash of the
 common Circulating Library, I hold
 in the highest contempt. You will
 never hear me advocating those puerile
 Emanations which detail nothing but


             ( 106 )

 discordant Principles incapable of
 Amalgamation, or those vapid tissues
 of ordinary Occurrences from which no
 useful Deductions can be drawn.--In
 vain may we put them into a literary
 Alembic;--we distil nothing which can
 add to Science.--You understand me
 I am sure?” “I am not quite certain
 that I do.--But if you will describe the
 sort of Novels which you _do_ approve,
 I dare say it will give me a clearer idea.”
 “Most willingly, Fair Questioner.--
 The Novels which I approve are such
 as display Human Nature with Grandeur
 --such as shew her in the Sublimities
 of intense Feeling--such as exhibit
 the progress of strong Passion from
 the first Germ of incipient Susceptibility
 to the utmost Energies of Reason
 half-dethroned,--where we see the
 strong spark of Woman’s Captivations
 elicit such Fire in the Soul of Man as


             ( 107 )

 leads him--(though at the risk of some
 Aberration from the strict line of Primitive
 Obligations)--to hazard all, dare
 all, atcheive all, to obtain her.--Such
 are the Works which I peruse with
 delight, & I hope I may say, with
 amelioration. They hold forth the
 most splendid Portraitures of high
 Conceptions, Unbounded Veiws, illimitable
 Ardour, indomptible Decision--
 and even when the Event is mainly
 anti-prosperous to the high-toned
 Machinations of the prime Character,
 the potent, pervading Hero of the
 Story, it leaves us full of Generous
 Emotions for him;--our Hearts are
 paralized--. T’were Pseudo-Philosophy
 to assert that we do not feel more
 enwraped by the brilliancy of his
 Career, than by the tranquil & morbid
 Virtues of any opposing Character.
 Our approbation of the Latter is but


             ( 108 )

 Eleemosynary.--These are the Novels
 which enlarge the primitive Capabilities
 of the Heart, & which it cannot impugn
 the Sense or be any Dereliction of the
 character, of the most anti-puerile
 Man, to be conversant with.”--“If
 I understand you aright--said Charlotte
 --our taste in Novels is not at all
 the same.” And here they were obliged
 to part--Miss D. being too much tired
 of them all, to stay any longer.--The
 truth was that Sir Edw: whom circumstances
 had confined very much to one
 spot had read more sentimental Novels
 than agreed with him. His fancy had
 been early caught by all the impassioned,
 & most exceptionable parts of
 Richardsons; & such Authors as have
 since appeared to tread in Richardson’s
 steps, so far as Man’s determined
 pursuit of Woman in defiance of every
 opposition of feeling & convenience is


             ( 109 )

 concerned, had since occupied the
 greater part of his literary hours, &
 formed his Character.--With a perversity
 of Judgement, which must be
 attributed to his not having by Nature
 a very strong head, the Graces, the
 Spirit, the Sagacity, & the Perseverance,
 of the Villain of the Story outweighed
 all his absurdities & all his
 Atrocities with Sir Edward. With him,
 such Conduct was Genius, Fire & Feeling.
 --It interested & inflamed him;
 & he was always more anxious for its
 Success & mourned over its Discomfitures
 with more Tenderness than c^d
 ever have been contemplated by the
 Authors.--Though he owed many of
 his ideas to this sort of reading, it were
 unjust to say that he read nothing
 else, or that his Language were not
 formed on a more general Knowledge of
 modern Literature.--He read all the


             ( 110 )

 Essays, Letters, Tours & Criticisms of
 the day--& with the same ill-luck
 which made him derive only false Principles
 from Lessons of Morality, &
 incentives to Vice from the History of
 it’s Overthrow, he gathered only hard
 words & involved sentences from the
 style of our most approved Writers.--

 Sir Edw:’s great object in life was
 to be seductive.--With such personal
 advantages as he knew himself to possess,
 & such Talents as he did also give
 himself credit for, he regarded it as his
 Duty.--He felt that he was formed to
 be a dangerous Man--quite in the line
 of the Lovelaces.--The very name of
 Sir Edward he thought, carried some
 degree of fascination with it.--To be
 generally gallant & assiduous about
 the fair, to make fine speeches to every
 pretty Girl, was but the inferior part
 of the Character he had to play.--


             ( 111 )

 Miss Heywood, or any other young
 Woman with any pretensions to Beauty,
 he was entitled (according to his own
 veiws of Society) to approach with
 high Compliment & Rhapsody on the
 slightest acquaintance; but it was
 Clara alone on whom he had serious
 designs; it was Clara whom he meant
 to seduce.--Her seduction was quite
 determined on. Her Situation in every
 way called for it. She was his rival in
 Lady D.’s favour, she was young,
 lovely & dependant.--He had very
 early seen the necessity of the case,
 & had now been long trying with
 cautious assiduity to make an impression
 on her heart, and to undermine
 her Principles.--Clara saw through
 him, & had not the least intention of
 being seduced--but she bore with him
 patiently enough to confirm the sort
 of attachment which her personal


             ( 112 )

 Charms had raised.--A greater degree
 of discouragement indeed would not
 have affected Sir Edw:--. He was
 armed against the highest pitch of
 Disdain or Aversion.--If she could not
 be won by affection, he must carry her
 off. He knew his Business.--Already
 had he had many Musings on the Subject.
 If he _were_ constrained so to act,
 he must naturally wish to strike out
 something new, to exceed those who
 had gone before him--and he felt a
 strong curiosity to ascertain whether
 the Neighbourhood of Tombuctoo
 might not afford some solitary House
 adapted for Clara’s reception;--but
 the Expence alas! of Measures in that
 masterly style was ill-suited to his
 Purse, & Prudence obliged him to
 prefer the quietest sort of ruin & disgrace
 for the object of his Affections,
 to the more renowned.--




             ( 113 )

           CHAPTER 9.


 One day, soon after Charlotte’s arrival
 at Sanditon, she had the pleasure of
 seeing just as she ascended from the
 Sands to the Terrace, a Gentleman’s
 Carriage with Post Horses standing at
 the door of the Hotel, as very lately
 arrived, & by the quantity of Luggage
 taking off, bringing it might be hoped,
 some respectable family determined on
 a long residence.--Delighted to have
 such good news for M^r & M^{rs} P., who
 had both gone home some time before,
 she proceeded for Trafalgar House with
 as much alacrity as could remain, after
 having been contending for the last
 2 hours with a very fine wind blowing


             ( 114 )

 directly on shore; but she had not
 reached the little Lawn, when she saw
 a Lady walking nimbly behind her at
 no great distance; and convinced that
 it could be no acquaintance of her
 own, she resolved to hurry on & get
 into the House if possible before her.
 But the Stranger’s pace did not allow
 this to be accomplished;--Charlotte
 was on the steps & had rung, but the
 door was not opened, when the other
 crossed the Lawn;--and when the
 Servant appeared, they were just
 equally ready for entering the House.
 --The ease of the Lady, her “How do
 you do Morgan?--” & Morgan’s Looks
 on seeing her, were a moment’s astonishment
 --but another moment brought
 M^r P. into the Hall to welcome the
 Sister he had seen from the Draw^g
 room, and she was soon introduced to
 Miss Diana Parker. There was a great


             ( 115 )

 deal of surprise but still more pleasure
 in seeing her.--Nothing c^d be kinder
 than her reception from both Husband
 and Wife. “How did she come? & with
 whom?--And they were so glad to find
 her equal to the Journey!--And that
 she was to belong to _them_, was a thing
 of course.” Miss Diana P. was about
 4 & 30, of middling height & slender;--
 delicate looking rather than sickly;
 with an agreable face, & a very animated
 eye;--her manners resembling
 her Brother’s in their ease & frankness,
 though with more decision & less mildness
 in her Tone. She began an account
 of herself without delay.--Thanking
 them for their Invitation, but “_that_
 was quite out of the question, for they
 were all three come, & meant to get
 into Lodgings & make some stay.”--
 “All three come!--What!--Susan &
 Arthur!--Susan able to come too!--


             ( 116 )

 This was better & better.” “Yes--
 we are actually all come. Quite unavoidable.
 --Nothing else to be done.
 --You shall hear all about it.--But
 my dear Mary, send for the Children;--
 I long to see them.”--“And how
 has Susan born the Journey?--& how
 is Arthur?--& why do not we see him
 here with you?”--“Susan has born
 it wonderfully. She had not a wink
 of sleep either the night before we set
 out, or last night at Chichester, and as
 this is not so common with her as with
 _me_, I have had a thousand fears for
 her--but she has kept up wonderfully.
 --had no Hysterics of consequence
 till we came within sight of poor old
 Sanditon--and the attack was not very
 violent--nearly over by the time we
 reached your Hotel--so that we got
 her out of the Carriage extremely well,
 with only M^r Woodcock’s assistance--


             ( 117 )

 & when I left her she was directing the
 Disposal of the Luggage, & helping old
 Sam uncord the Trunks.--She desired
 her best Love, with a thousand regrets
 at being so poor a Creature that she
 c^d not come with me. And as for poor
 Arthur, he w^d not have been unwilling
 himself, but there is so much Wind
 that I did not think he c^d safely
 venture,--for I am _sure_ there is Lumbago
 hanging about him--and so I
 helped him on with his great Coat
 & sent him off to the Terrace, to take
 us Lodgings.--Miss Heywood must
 have seen our Carriage standing at
 the Hotel.--I knew Miss Heywood the
 moment I saw her before me on the
 Down.--My dear Tom I am glad to
 see you walk so well. Let me feel
 your Ancle.--That’s right; all right
 & clean. The play of your Sinews a
 _very_ little affected:--barely perceptible.


             ( 118 )

 --Well--now for the explanation
 of my being here.--I told you in my
 Letter, of the two considerable Families,
 I was hoping to secure for you--
 the West Indians, & the Seminary.--”
 Here M^r P. drew his Chair still nearer
 to his Sister, & took her hand again
 most affectionately as he answered
 “Yes, Yes;--How active & how
 kind you have been!”--“The Westindians,
 she continued, whom I look
 upon as the _most_ desirable of the two
 --as the Best of the Good--prove to
 be a M^{rs} Griffiths & her family. I know
 them only through others.--You must
 have heard me mention Miss Capper,
 the particular friend of _my_ very particular
 friend Fanny Noyce;--now,
 Miss Capper is extremely intimate with
 a M^{rs} Darling, who is on terms of constant
 correspondence with M^{rs} Griffiths
 herself.--Only a _short_ chain, you see,


             ( 119 )

 between us, & not a Link wanting.
 M^{rs} G. meant to go to the Sea, for her
 Young People’s benefit--had fixed on
 the coast of Sussex, but was undecided
 as to the where, wanted something
 Private, & wrote to ask the opinion of
 her friend M^{rs} Darling.--Miss Capper
 happened to be staying with M^{rs} D.
 when M^{rs} G.’s Letter arrived, & was
 consulted on the question; _she_ wrote
 the same day to Fanny Noyce and
 mentioned it to her--& Fanny all alive
 for _us_, instantly took up her pen &
 forwarded the circumstance to me--
 except as to _Names_--which have but
 lately transpired.--There was but _one_
 thing for _me_ to do.--I answered
 Fanny’s Letter by the same Post &
 pressed for the recommendation of
 Sanditon. Fanny had feared your
 having no house large enough to receive
 such a Family.--But I seem to be


             ( 120 )

 spinning out my story to an endless
 length.--You see how it was all
 managed. I had the pleasure of hearing
 soon afterwards by the same simple
 link of connection that Sanditon _had
 been_ recommended by M^{rs} Darling, &
 that the Westindians were very much
 disposed to go thither.--This was the
 state of the case when I wrote to you;
 --but two days ago;--yes, the day
 before yesterday--I heard again from
 Fanny Noyce, saying that _she_ had
 heard from Miss Capper, who by a
 Letter from M^{rs} Darling understood
 that M^{rs} G.-- has expressed herself in
 a letter to M^{rs} D. more doubtingly on
 the subject of Sanditon.--Am I clear?
 --I would be anything rather than not
 clear.”--“Oh! perfectly, perfectly.
 Well?”--“The reason of this hesitation,
 was her having no connections in
 the place, & no means of ascertaining


             ( 121 )

 that she should have good accomodations
 on arriving there;--and she was
 particularly careful & scrupulous on all
 those matters more on account of a
 certain Miss Lambe a young Lady
 (probably a Neice) under her care, than
 on her own account or her Daughters.
 --Miss Lambe has an immense fortune
 --richer than all the rest--& very
 delicate health.--One sees clearly
 enough by all this, the _sort_ of Woman
 M^{rs} G. must be--as helpless & indolent,
 as Wealth & a Hot Climate are apt to
 make us. But we are not all born to
 equal Energy.--What was to be done?
 --I had a few moments indecision;--
 Whether to offer to write to _you_,--or
 to M^{rs} Whitby to secure them a House?
 --but neither pleased me.--I hate to
 employ others, when I am equal to act
 myself--and my conscience told me
 that this was an occasion which called


             ( 122 )

 for me. Here was a family of helpless
 Invalides whom I might essentially
 serve.--I sounded Susan--the same
 Thought had occurred to her.--Arthur
 made no difficulties--our plan was
 arranged immediately, we were off
 yesterday morn^g at 6--, left Chichester
 at the same hour today--& here we
 are.--” “Excellent!--Excellent!--
 cried M^r Parker.--Diana, you are unequal’d
 in serving your friends & doing
 Good to all the World.--I know nobody
 like you.--Mary, my Love, is not she
 a wonderful Creature?--Well--and
 now, what House do you design to
 engage for them?--What is the size
 of their family?--” “I do not at all
 know--replied his Sister--have not the
 least idea;--never heard any particulars;
 --but I am very sure that the
 largest house at Sanditon cannot be
 _too_ large. They are more likely to


             ( 123 )

 want a second.--I shall take only one
 however, & that, but for a week certain.
 --Miss Heywood, I astonish you.--
 You hardly know what to make of me.
 --I see by your Looks, that you are
 not used to such quick measures.”--
 The words “Unaccountable Officiousness!
 --Activity run mad!”--had just
 passed through Charlotte’s mind--but
 a civil answer was easy. “I dare say
 I do look surprised, said she--because
 these are very great exertions, & I know
 what Invalides both you & your Sister
 are.” “Invalides indeed.--I trust there
 are not three People in England who
 have so sad a right to that appellation!
 --But my dear Miss Heywood, we are
 sent into this World to be as extensively
 useful as possible, & where some
 degree of Strength of Mind is given, it
 is not a feeble body which will excuse
 us--or incline us to excuse ourselves.--


             ( 124 )

 The World is pretty much divided
 between the Weak of Mind & the Strong
 --between those who can act & those
 who can not, & it is the bounden Duty
 of the Capable to let no opportunity of
 being useful escape them.--My Sister’s
 Complaints & mine are happily not
 often of a Nature, to threaten Existence
 _immediately_--& as long as we _can_
 exert ourselves to be of use of others,
 I am convinced that the Body is the
 better, for the refreshment the Mind
 receives in doing it’s Duty.--While
 I have been travelling, with this object
 in veiw, I have been perfectly well.”--
 The entrance of the Children ended this
 little panegyric on her own Disposition
 --& after having noticed & caressed
 them all,--she prepared to go.--“Cannot
 you dine with us?--Is not it
 possible to prevail on you to dine
 with us?” was then the cry; and _that_


             ( 125 )

 being absolutely negatived, it was
 “And when shall we see you again?
 and how can we be of use to you?”--
 and M^r P. warmly offered his assistance
 in taking the house for M^{rs} G.--“I
 will come to you the moment I have
 dined, said he, & we will go about
 together.”--But this was immediately
 declined.--“No, my dear Tom, upon
 no account in the World, shall you stir
 a step on any business of mine.--Your
 Ancle wants rest. I see by the position
 of your foot, that you have used it too
 much already.--No, I shall go about
 my House-taking directly. Our Dinner
 is not ordered till six--& by that time
 I hope to have completed it. It is
 now only ½ past 4.--As to seeing _me_
 again today--I cannot answer for it;
 the others will be at the Hotel all the
 Even^g, & delighted to see you at any
 time, but as soon as I get back I shall


             ( 126 )

 hear what Arthur has done about our
 own Lodgings, & probably the moment
 Dinner is over, shall be out again on
 business relative to them, for we
 hope to get into some Lodgings or
 other & be settled after breakfast to-
 morrow.--I have not much confidence
 in poor Arthur’s skill for Lodging-
 taking, but he seemed to like the commission.--”
 “I think you are doing
 too much, said M^r P. You will knock
 yourself up. You sh^d not move again
 after Dinner.” “No, indeed you should
 not. cried his wife, for Dinner is such
 a mere _name_ with you all, that it can
 do you no good.--I know what your
 appetites are.--” “My appetite is
 very much mended I assure you lately.
 I have been taking some Bitters of my
 own decocting, which have done wonders.
 Susan never eats I grant you--
 & just at present _I_ shall want nothing;


             ( 127 )

 I never eat for about a week after
 a Journey--but as for Arthur, he is
 only too much disposed for Food. We
 are often obliged to check him.”--
 “But you have not told me any thing
 of the _other_ Family coming to Sanditon,
 said M^r P. as he walked with her to the
 door of the House--the Camberwell
 Seminary; have we a good chance of
 _them_?” “Oh! Certain--quite certain.
 --I had forgotten them for the
 moment, but I had a letter 3 days ago
 from my friend M^{rs} Charles Dupuis
 which assured me of Camberwell. Camberwell
 will be here to a certainty, &
 very soon.--_That_ good Woman (I do
 not know her name) not being so
 wealthy & independant as M^{rs} G.--
 can travel & chuse for herself.--I will
 tell you how I got at _her_. M^{rs} Charles
 Dupuis lives almost next door to a
 Lady, who has a relation lately settled


             ( 128 )

 at Clapham, who actually attends the
 Seminary and gives lessons on Eloquence
 and Belles Lettres to some of
 the Girls.--I got that Man a Hare
 from one of Sidney’s friends--and
 he recommended Sanditon;--Without
 _my_ appearing however--M^{rs} Charles
 Dupuis managed it all.--”




             ( 129 )

           CHAPTER 10.


 It was not a week, since Miss Diana
 Parker had been told by her feelings,
 that the Sea Air w^d probably in her
 present state, be the death of her, and
 now she was at Sanditon, intending to
 make some Stay, & without appearing
 to have the slightest recollection of
 having written or felt any such thing.--
 It was impossible for Charlotte not to
 suspect a good deal of fancy in such
 an extraordinary state of health.--Disorders
 & Recoveries so very much out
 of the common way, seemed more like
 the amusement of eager Minds in want
 of employment than of actual afflictions
 & releif. The Parkers, were no


             ( 130 )

 doubt a family of Imagination & quick
 feelings--and while the eldest Brother
 found vent for his superfluity of sensation
 as a Projector, the Sisters were
 perhaps driven to dissipate theirs in
 the invention of odd complaints.--
 The _whole_ of their mental vivacity was
 evidently not so employed; Part was
 laid out in a Zeal for being useful.--
 It should seem that they must either
 be very busy for the Good of others,
 or else extremely ill themselves. Some
 natural delicacy of Constitution in fact,
 with an unfortunate turn for Medecine,
 especially quack Medecine, had given
 them an early tendency at various
 times, to various Disorders;--the rest
 of their sufferings was from Fancy,
 the love of Distinction & the love of
 the Wonderful.--They had Charitable
 hearts & many amiable feelings--but
 a spirit of restless activity, & the glory


             ( 131 )

 of doing more than anybody else, had
 their share in every exertion of Benevolence
 --and there was Vanity in all
 they did, as well as in all they endured.
 --M^r & M^{rs} P. spent a great part of
 the Even^g at the Hotel; but Charlotte
 had only two or three veiws of Miss
 Diana posting over the Down after
 a House for this Lady whom she had
 never seen, & who had never employed
 her. She was not made acquainted
 with the others till the following day,
 when, being removed into Lodgings &
 all the party continuing quite well,
 their Brother & Sister & herself were
 entreated to drink tea with them.--
 They were in one of the Terrace Houses
 --& she found them arranged for the
 Even^g in a small neat Drawing room,
 with a beautiful veiw of the Sea if they
 had chosen it,--but though it had been
 a very fair English Summer-day,--not


             ( 132 )

 only was there no open window, but
 the Sopha & the Table, & the Establishment
 in general was all at the other
 end of the room by a brisk fire.--
 Miss P-- whom, remembering the three
 Teeth drawn in one day, Charlotte
 approached with a peculiar degree of
 respectful Compassion, was not very
 unlike her Sister in person or manner
 --tho’ more thin & worn by Illness &
 Medecine, more relaxed in air, & more
 subdued in voice. She talked however,
 the whole Evening as incessantly
 as Diana--& excepting that she sat
 with salts in her hand, took Drops two
 or three times from one, out of the
 several Phials already at home on the
 Mantlepeice,--& made a great many
 odd faces & contortions, Charlotte could
 perceive no symptoms of illness which
 she, in the boldness of her own good
 health, w^d not have undertaken to


             ( 133 )

 cure, by putting out the fire, opening
 the Window, & disposing of the Drops
 & the salts by means of one or the
 other. She had had considerable curiosity
 to see M^r Arthur Parker; & having
 fancied him a very puny, delicate-
 looking young Man, the smallest very
 materially of not a robust Family,
 was astonished to find him quite as
 tall as his Brother & a great deal
 Stouter--Broad made & Lusty--and
 with no other look of an Invalide, than
 a sodden complexion.--Diana was evidently
 the cheif of the family; principal
 Mover & Actor;--she had been
 on her Feet the whole Morning, on
 M^{rs} G.’s business or their own, & was
 still the most alert of the three.--
 Susan had only superintended their
 final removal from the Hotel, bringing
 two heavy Boxes herself, & Arthur had
 found the air so cold that he had


             ( 134 )

 merely walked from one House to the
 other as nimbly as he could,--& boasted
 much of sitting by the fire till he had
 cooked up a very good one.--Diana,
 whose exercise had been too domestic
 to admit of calculation, but who, by
 her own account, had not once sat
 down during the space of seven hours,
 confessed herself a little tired. She
 had been too successful however for
 much fatigue; for not only had she
 by walking & talking down a thousand
 difficulties at last secured a proper
 House at 8^g p^r week for M^{rs} G.--;
 she had also opened so many Treaties
 with Cooks, Housemaids, Washerwomen
 & Bathing Women, that M^{rs} G.
 would have little more to do on her
 arrival, than to wave her hand &
 collect them around her for choice.--
 Her concluding effort in the cause, had
 been a few polite lines of Information


             ( 135 )

 to M^{rs} G. herself--time not allowing
 for the circuitous train of intelligence
 which had been hitherto kept up,--
 and she was now regaling in the delight
 of opening the first Trenches of an
 acquaintance with such a powerful discharge
 of unexpected Obligation. M^r
 & M^{rs} P.-- & Charlotte had seen two
 Post chaises crossing the Down to the
 Hotel as they were setting off,--a joyful
 sight--& full of speculation.--The
 Miss Ps-- & Arthur had also seen
 something;--they could distinguish
 from their window that there _was_ an
 arrival at the Hotel, but not its amount.
 Their Visitors answered for two Hack-
 Chaises.--Could it be the Camberwell
 Seminary?--No--No.--Had there been
 a 3^d carriage, perhaps it might; but
 it was very generally agreed that two
 Hack chaises could never contain a
 Seminary.--M^r P. was confident of


             ( 136 )

 another new Family.--When they were
 all finally seated, after some removals
 to look at the Sea & the Hotel, Charlotte’s
 place was by Arthur, who was
 sitting next to the Fire with a degree
 of Enjoyment which gave a good deal
 of merit to his civility in wishing her
 to take his Chair.--There was nothing
 dubious in her manner of declining it,
 and he sat down again with much
 satisfaction. She drew back her Chair
 to have all the advantage of his Person
 as a screen, & was very thankful for
 every inch of Back & Shoulders beyond
 her pre-conceived idea. Arthur was
 heavy in Eye as well as figure, but by
 no means indisposed to talk;--and
 while the other 4 were cheifly engaged
 together, he evidently felt it no penance
 to have a fine young Woman next to
 him, requiring in common Politeness
 some attention--as his B^r, who felt


             ( 137 )

 the decided want of some motive for
 action, some Powerful object of animation
 for him, observed with considerable
 pleasure.--Such was the influence of
 Youth & Bloom that he began even to
 make a sort of apology for having a
 Fire. “We sh^d not have one at home,
 said he, but the Sea air is always
 damp. I am not afraid of any thing so
 much as Damp.--” “I am so fortunate,
 said C. as never to know whether
 the air is damp or dry. It has always
 some property that is wholesome &
 invigorating to me.--” “_I_ like the
 Air too, as well as any body can;
 replied Arthur, I am very fond of
 standing at an open Window when
 there is no Wind--but unluckily a
 Damp air does not like _me_.--It gives
 me the Rheumatism.--You are not
 rheumatic I suppose?--” “Not at
 all.” “That’s a great blessing.--But


             ( 138 )

 perhaps you are nervous.” “No--
 I beleive not. I have no idea that I
 am.”--“_I_ am very nervous.--To say
 the truth Nerves are the worst part of
 my Complaints in _my_ opinion.--My
 Sisters think me Bilious, but I doubt
 it.--” “You are quite in the right, to
 doubt it as long as you possibly can,
 I am sure.--” “If I were Bilious, he
 continued, you know Wine w^d disagree
 with me, but it always does me good.--
 The more Wine I drink (in Moderation)
 the better I am.--I am always best of
 an Even^g.--If you had seen me today
 before Dinner, you w^d have thought
 me a very poor Creature.--” Charlotte
 could beleive it--. She kept her
 countenance however, & said--“As
 far as I can understand what nervous
 complaints are, I have a great idea of
 the efficacy of air & exercise for them:
 --daily, regular Exercise;--and I


             ( 139 )

 should recommend rather more of it
 to _you_ than I suspect you are in the
 habit of taking.”--“Oh! I am very
 fond of exercise myself--he replied--
 & mean to walk a great deal while I
 am here, if the Weather is temperate.
 I shall be out every morning before
 breakfast--& take several turns upon
 the Terrace, & you will often see me
 at Trafalgar House.”--“But you do
 not call a walk to Traf: H. much
 exercise?--” “Not, as to mere distance,
 but the Hill is so steep!--
 Walking up that Hill, in the middle of
 the day, would throw me into such a
 Perspiration!--You would see me all
 in a Bath by the time I got there!--
 I am very subject to Perspiration, and
 there cannot be a surer sign of Nervousness.--”
 They were now advancing so
 deep in Physics, that Charlotte veiwed
 the entrance of the Servant with the


             ( 140 )

 Tea things, as a very fortunate Interruption.
 --It produced a great & immediate
 change. The young Man’s
 attentions were instantly lost. He took
 his own Cocoa from the Tray,--which
 seemed provided with almost as many
 Teapots &c as there were persons in
 company, Miss P. drinking one sort of
 Herb-Tea & Miss Diana another, &
 turning completely to the Fire, sat
 coddling & cooking it to his own
 satisfaction & toasting some Slices of
 Bread, brought up ready-prepared in
 the Toast rack--and till it was all
 done, she heard nothing of his voice
 but the murmuring of a few broken
 sentences of self-approbation & success.
 --When his Toils were over however,
 he moved back his Chair into as gallant
 a Line as ever, & proved that he had
 not been working only for himself,
 by his earnest invitation to her to take


             ( 141 )

 both Cocoa & Toast.--She was already
 helped to Tea--which surprised him--
 so totally self-engrossed had he been.--
 “I thought I should have been in
 time, said he, but cocoa takes a great
 deal of Boiling.”--“I am much obliged
 to you, replied Charlotte--but I _prefer_
 Tea.” “Then I will help myself, said
 he.--A large Dish of rather weak Cocoa
 every evening, agrees with me better
 than any thing.”--It struck her however,
 as he poured out this rather weak
 Cocoa, that it came forth in a very
 fine, dark coloured stream--and at
 the same moment, his Sisters both
 crying out--“Oh! Arthur, you get
 your Cocoa stronger & stronger every
 Even^g”--, with Arthur’s somewhat
 conscious reply of “T_is_ rather stronger
 than it should be tonight”--convinced
 her that Arthur was by no means so
 fond of being starved as they could


             ( 142 )

 desire, or as he felt proper himself.--
 He was certainly very happy to turn
 the conversation on dry Toast, & hear
 no more of his sisters.--“I hope you
 will eat some of this Toast, said he,
 I reckon myself a very good Toaster;
 I never burn my Toasts--I never put
 them too near the Fire at first--& yet,
 you see, there is not a Corner but
 what is well browned.--I hope you
 like dry Toast.”--“With a reasonable
 quantity of Butter spread over it, very
 much--said Charlotte--but not otherwise.--”
 “No more do I--said he
 exceedingly pleased--We think quite
 alike there.--So far from dry Toast
 being wholesome, _I_ think it a very
 bad thing for the Stomach. Without
 a little butter to soften it, it hurts the
 Coats of the Stomach. I am sure it
 does.--I will have the pleasure of
 spreading some for you directly--&


             ( 143 )

 afterwards I will spread some for myself.
 --Very bad indeed for the Coats
 of the Stomach--but there is no convincing
 _some_ people.--It irritates &
 acts like a nutmeg grater.--” He could
 not get the command of the Butter
 however, without a struggle; His
 Sisters accusing him of eating a great
 deal too much, & declaring he was
 not to be trusted;--and he maintaining
 that he only eat enough to secure
 the Coats of his Stomach;--& besides,
 he only wanted it now for Miss Heywood.
 --Such a plea must prevail, he
 got the butter & spread away for her
 with an accuracy of Judgement which
 at least delighted himself; but when
 her Toast was done, & he took his own
 in hand, Charlotte c^d hardly contain
 herself as she saw him watching his
 sisters, while he scrupulously scraped
 off almost as much butter as he put


             ( 144 )

 on, & then seize an odd moment for
 adding a great dab just before it went
 into his Mouth.--Certainly, M^r Arthur
 P.’s enjoyments in Invalidism were
 very different from his sisters--by no
 means so spiritualized.--A good deal
 of Earthy Dross hung about him.
 Charlotte could not but suspect him
 of adopting that line of Life, principally
 for the indulgence of an indolent
 Temper--& to be determined on
 having no Disorders but such as called
 for warm rooms & good Nourishment.
 --In one particular however, she soon
 found that he had caught something
 from _them_.--“What! said he--Do you
 venture upon two dishes of strong
 Green Tea in one Even^g?--What
 Nerves you must have!--How I envy
 you.--Now, if _I_ were to swallow only
 one such dish--what do you think it’s
 effect would be upon me?--” “Keep


             ( 145 )

 you awake perhaps all night”--replied
 Charlotte, meaning to overthrow his
 attempts at Surprise, by the Grandeur
 of her own Conceptions.--“Oh! if
 that were all!--he exclaimed.--No--
 it acts on me like Poison and w^d
 entirely take away the use of my right
 side, before I had swallowed it 5
 minutes.--It sounds almost incredible
 --but it has happened to me so often
 that I cannot doubt it.--The use of
 my right Side is entirely taken away
 for several hours!” “It sounds rather
 odd to be sure--answered Charlotte
 coolly--but I dare say it would be
 proved to be the simplest thing in the
 World, by those who have studied
 right sides & Green Tea scientifically
 & thoroughly understand all the possibilities
 of their action on each other.”
 --Soon after Tea, a Letter was brought
 to Miss D. P-- from the Hotel.--


             ( 146 )

 “From M^{rs} Charles Dupuis--said she.
 --some private hand.”--And having
 read a few lines, exclaimed aloud
 “Well, this is very extraordinary!
 very extraordinary indeed!--That both
 should have the same name.--Two M^{rs}
 Griffiths!--This is a Letter of recommendation
 & introduction to me, of
 the Lady from Camberwell--& _her_
 name happens to be Griffiths too.--”
 A few lines more however, and the
 colour rushed into her Cheeks, & with
 much Perturbation she added--“The
 oddest thing that ever was!--a Miss
 Lambe too!--a young Westindian of
 large Fortune.--But it _cannot_ be the
 same.--Impossible that it should be
 the same.”--She read the Letter aloud
 for comfort.--It was merely to “introduce
 the Bearer, M^{rs} G.-- from Camberwell,
 & the three young Ladies
 under her care, to Miss D. P.’s notice.--


             ( 147 )

 M^{rs} G.-- being a stranger at Sanditon,
 was anxious for a respectable Introduction--
 & M^{rs} C. Dupuis therefore,
 at the instance of the intermediate
 friend, provided her with this Letter,
 knowing that she c^d not do her dear
 Diana a greater kindness than by
 giving her the means of being useful.--
 M^{rs} G.’s cheif solicitude w^d be for the
 accomodation & comfort of one of the
 young Ladies under her care, a Miss
 Lambe, a young W. Indian of large
 Fortune, in delicate health.”--“It was
 very strange!--very remarkable!--
 very extraordinary” but they were
 all agreed in determ<in>ing it to be
 _impossible_ that there should not be
 two Families; such a totally distinct
 set of people as were concerned in the
 reports of each made that matter quite
 certain. There _must_ be two Families.
 --Impossible to be otherwise. “Impossible”


             ( 148 )

 & “Impossible”, was repeated
 over & over again with great
 fervour.--An accidental resemblance
 of Names & circumstances, however
 striking at first, involved nothing really
 incredible--and so it was settled.--
 Miss Diana herself derived an immediate
 advantage to counterbalance her
 Perplexity. She must put her shawl
 over her shoulders, & be running about
 again. Tired as she was, she must
 instantly repair to the Hotel, to investigate
 the truth & offer her services.--




             ( 149 )

           CHAPTER 11


 It would not do.--Not all that the
 whole Parker race could say among
 themselves, c^d produce a happier catastrophe
 than that the Family from
 Surry & the Family from Camberwell
 were one & the same.--The rich Westindians,
 & the young Ladies Seminary
 had all entered Sanditon in those two
 Hack chaises. The M^{rs} G. who in her
 friend M^{rs} Darling’s hands, had wavered
 as to coming & been unequal to the
 Journey, was the very same M^{rs} G.
 whose plans were at the same period
 (under another representation) perfectly
 decided, & who was without
 fears or difficulties.--All that had the


             ( 150 )

 appearance of Incongruity in the reports
 of the two, might very fairly be
 placed to the account of the Vanity,
 the Ignorance, or the blunders of the
 many engaged in the cause by the
 vigilance & caution of Miss Diana P--.
 _Her_ intimate friends must be officious
 like herself, & the subject had supplied
 Letters & Extracts & Messages enough
 to make everything appear what it
 was not. Miss D. probably felt a little
 awkward on being first obliged to
 admit her mistake. A long Journey
 from Hampshire taken for nothing--
 a Brother disappointed--an expensive
 House on her hands for a week, must
 have been some of her immediate
 reflections--& much worse than all
 the rest, must have been the sort of
 sensation of being less clear-sighted &
 infallible than she had beleived herself.
 --No part of it however seemed


             ( 151 )

 to trouble her long. There were so
 many to share in the shame & the
 blame, that probably when she had
 divided out their proper portions to
 M^{rs} Darling, Miss Capper, Fanny
 Noyce, M^{rs} C. Dupuis & M^{rs} C. D’s
 Neighbour, there might be a mere
 trifle of reproach remaining for herself.
 --At any rate, she was seen all
 the following morn^g walking about
 after Lodgings with M^{rs} G.-- as alert
 as ever.--M^{rs} G. was a very well-
 behaved, genteel kind of Woman, who
 supported herself by receiving such
 great girls & young Ladies, as wanted
 either Masters for finishing their
 Education, or a home for beginning
 their Displays.--She had several more
 under her care than the three who were
 now come to Sanditon, but the others
 all happened to be absent.--Of these
 three, & indeed of all, Miss Lambe was


             ( 152 )

 beyond comparison the most important
 & precious, as she paid in proportion
 to her fortune.--She was about 17,
 half Mulatto, chilly & tender, had a
 maid of her own, was to have the best
 room in the Lodgings, & was always of
 the first consequence in every plan
 of M^{rs} G.--The other Girls, two Miss
 Beauforts were just such young Ladies
 as may be met with, in at least one
 family out of three, throughout the
 Kingdom; they had tolerable complexions,
 shewey figures, an upright
 decided carriage & an assured Look;--
 they were very accomplished & very
 Ignorant, their time being divided
 between such pursuits as might attract
 admiration, & those Labours & Expedients
 of dexterous Ingenuity, by
 which they could dress in a stile much
 beyond what they _ought_ to have
 afforded; they were some of the first


             ( 153 )

 in every change of fashion--& the
 object of all, was to captivate some
 Man of much better fortune than their
 own.--M^{rs} G. had preferred a small,
 retired place, like Sanditon, on Miss
 Lambe’s account--and the Miss Bs--,
 though naturally preferring any thing
 to Smallness & Retirement, yet having
 in the course of the Spring been involved
 in the inevitable expence of
 six new Dresses each for a three days
 visit, were constrained to be satisfied
 with Sanditon also, till their circumstances
 were retreived. There, with
 the hire of a Harp for one, & the
 purchase of some Drawing paper for
 the other & all the finery they could
 already command, they meant to be
 very economical, very elegant & very
 secluded; with the hope on Miss Beaufort’s
 side, of praise & celebrity from
 all who walked within the sound of


             ( 154 )

 her Instrument, & on Miss Letitia’s,
 of curiosity & rapture in all who came
 near her while she sketched--and to
 Both, the consolation of meaning to be
 the most stylish Girls in the Place.--
 The particular introduction of M^{rs} G.
 to Miss Diana Parker, secured them
 immediately an acquaintance with the
 Trafalgar House-family, & with the
 Denhams;--and the Miss Beauforts
 were soon satisfied with “the Circle in
 which they moved in Sanditon” to
 use a proper phrase, for every body
 must now “move in a Circle”,--to the
 prevalence of which rototory Motion,
 is perhaps to be attributed the Giddiness
 & false steps of many.--Lady
 Denham had other motives for calling
 on M^{rs} G. besides attention to the
 Parkers.--In Miss Lambe, here was
 the very young Lady, sickly & rich,
 whom she had been asking for; & she


             ( 155 )

 made the acquaintance for Sir Edward’s
 sake, & the sake of her Milch
 asses. How it might answer with
 regard to the Baronet, remained to be
 proved, but as to the Animals, she
 soon found that all her calculations of
 Profit w^d be vain. M^{rs} G. would not
 allow Miss L. to have the smallest
 symptom of a Decline, or any complaint
 which Asses milk c^d possibly
 releive. “Miss L. was under the constant
 care of an experienced Physician;
 --and his Prescriptions must be their
 rule”--and except in favour of some
 Tonic Pills, which a Cousin of her own
 had a Property in, M^{rs} G. did never
 deviate from the strict Medecinal page.
 --The corner house of the Terrace was
 the one in which Miss D. P. had the
 pleasure of settling her new friends, &
 considering that it commanded in front
 the favourite Lounge of all the Visitors


             ( 156 )

 at Sanditon, & on one side, whatever
 might be going on at the Hotel, there
 c^d not have been a more favourable
 spot for the seclusions of the Miss
 Beauforts. And accordingly, long
 before they had suited themselves
 with an Instrument, or with Drawing
 paper, they had, by the frequency of
 their appearance at the low Windows
 upstairs, in order to close the blinds,
 or open the Blinds, to arrange a flower
 pot on the Balcony, or look at nothing
 through a Telescope, attracted many
 an eye upwards, & made many a
 Gazer gaze again.--A little Novelty
 has a great effect in so small a place;
 the Miss Beauforts, who w^d have been
 nothing at Brighton, could not move
 here without notice;--and even M^r
 Arthur Parker, though little disposed
 for supernumerary exertion, always
 quitted the Terrace, in his way to his


             ( 157 )

 Brothers by this corner House, for the
 sake of a glimpse of the Miss Bs--,
 though it was ½ a q^r of a mile round
 about, & added two steps to the ascent
 of the Hill.




             ( 159 )

           CHAPTER 12.


 Charlotte had been 10 days at
 Sanditon without seeing Sanditon
 House, every attempt at calling on
 Lady D. having been defeated by
 meeting with her beforehand. But
 now it was to be more resolutely
 undertaken, at a more early hour,
 that nothing might be neglected of
 attention to Lady D. or amusement to
 Charlotte.--“And if you should find
 a favourable opening my Love, said
 M^r P. (who did not mean to go with
 them)--I think you had better mention
 the poor Mullins’s situation, &
 sound her Ladyship as to a Subscription
 for them. I am not fond of


             ( 160 )

 charitable subscriptions in a place of
 this kind--It is a sort of tax upon all
 that come--Yet as their distress is
 very great & I almost promised the
 poor Woman yesterday to get something
 done for her, I beleive we must
 set a subscription on foot--& therefore
 the sooner the better,--& Lady
 Denham’s name at the head of the
 List will be a very necessary beginning.
 --You will not dislike speaking to her
 about it, Mary?”--“I will do whatever
 you wish me, replied his Wife--
 but you would do it so much better
 yourself. I shall not know what to
 say.”--“My dear Mary, cried he, it is
 impossible you can be really at a loss.
 Nothing can be more simple. You
 have only to state the present afflicted
 situation of the family, their earnest
 application to me, & my being willing
 to promote a little subscription for


             ( 161 )

 their releif, provided it meet with her
 approbation.--” “The easiest thing
 in the World--cried Miss Diana Parker
 who happened to be calling on them
 at the moment--. All said & done, in
 less time than you have been talking
 of it now.--And while you are on the
 subject of subscriptions Mary, I will
 thank you to mention a very melancholy
 case to Lady D, which has been
 represented to me in the most affecting
 terms.--There is a poor Woman in
 Worcestershire, whom some friends of
 mine are exceedingly interested about,
 & I have undertaken to collect whatever
 I can for her. If you w^d mention
 the circumstance to Lady Denham!--
 Lady Denham _can_ give, if she is
 properly attacked--& I look upon her
 to be the sort of Person who, when
 once she is prevailed on to undraw her
 Purse, would as readily give 10^{Gs} as


             ( 162 )

 5.--And therefore, if you find her in
 a Giving mood, you might as well
 speak in favour of another Charity
 which I & a few more, have very
 much at heart--the establishment of
 a Charitable Repository at Burton on
 Trent.--And then,--there is the family
 of the poor Man who was hung last
 assizes at York, tho’ we really _have_
 raised the sum we wanted for putting
 them all out, yet if you _can_ get a
 Guinea from her on their behalf, it
 may as well be done.--” “My dear
 Diana! exclaimed M^{rs} P.-- I could no
 more mention these things to Lady
 D.-- than I c^d fly.”--“Where’s the
 difficulty?--I wish I could go with
 you myself--but in 5 minutes I must
 be at M^{rs} G.-- to encourage Miss
 Lambe in taking her first Dip. She is
 so frightened, poor Thing, that I promised
 to come & keep up her Spirits,


             ( 163 )

 & go in the Machine with her if she
 wished it--and as soon as that is over,
 I must hurry home, for Susan is to
 have Leaches at one oclock--which
 will be a three hours business,--therefore
 I really have not a moment to
 spare--besides that (between ourselves)
 I ought to be in bed myself
 at this present time, for I am hardly
 able to stand--and when the Leaches
 have done, I dare say we shall both
 go to our rooms for the rest of the
 day.”--“I am sorry to hear it, indeed;
 but if this is the case I hope Arthur
 will come to us.”--“If Arthur takes
 my advice, he will go to bed too, for
 if he stays up by himself, he will
 certainly eat & drink more than he
 ought;--but you see Mary, how impossible
 it is for me to go with you to
 Lady Denham’s.”--“Upon second
 thoughts Mary, said her husband, I


             ( 164 )

 will not trouble you to speak about
 the Mullins’s.--I will take an opportunity
 of seeing Lady D. myself.--_I_
 know how little it suits you to be
 pressing matters upon a Mind at all
 unwilling.”--_His_ application thus withdrawn,
 his sister could say no more in
 support of hers, which was his object,
 as he felt all their impropriety & all
 the certainty of their ill effect upon
 his own better claim.--M^{rs} P. was
 delighted at this release, & set off very
 happy with her friend & her little
 girl, on this walk to Sanditon House.
 --It was a close, misty morn^g, & when
 they reached the brow of the Hill,
 they could not for some time make out
 what sort of Carriage it was, which
 they saw coming up. It appeared
 at different moments to be everything
 from the Gig to the Pheaton,--from
 one horse to 4; & just as they were


             ( 165 )

 concluding in favour of a Tandem,
 little Mary’s young eyes distinguished
 the Coachman & she eagerly called
 out, “T’is Uncle Sidney Mama, it is
 indeed.” And so it proved.--M^r Sidney
 Parker driving his Servant in a very
 neat Carriage was soon opposite to
 them, & they all stopped for a few
 minutes. The manners of the Parkers
 were always pleasant among themselves
 --& it was a very friendly meeting
 between Sidney & his sister in law,
 who was most kindly taking it for
 granted that he was on his way to
 Trafalgar House. This he declined
 however. “He was just come from
 Eastbourne, proposing to spend two or
 three days, as it might happen, at
 Sanditon--but the Hotel must be his
 Quarters--He was expecting to be
 joined there by a friend or two.”--
 The rest was common enquiries &


             ( 166 )

 remarks, with kind notice of little
 Mary, & a very well-bred Bow &
 proper address to Miss Heywood on
 her being named to him--and they
 parted, to meet again within a few
 hours.--Sidney Parker was about 7 or
 8 & 20, very good-looking, with a
 decided air of Ease & Fashion, and
 a lively countenance.--This adventure
 afforded agreable discussion for some
 time. M^{rs} P. entered into all her
 Husband’s joy on the occasion, &
 exulted in the credit which Sidney’s
 arrival w^d give to the place. The
 road to Sanditon H. was a broad,
 handsome, planted approach, between
 fields, & conducting at the end of a
 q^r of a mile through second Gates
 into the Grounds, which though not
 extensive had all the Beauty & Respectability
 which an abundance of
 very fine Timber could give.--These


             ( 167 )

 Entrance Gates were so much in a
 corner of the Grounds or Paddock, so
 near one of its Boundaries, that an
 outside fence was at first almost pressing
 on the road--till an angle _here_,
 & a curve _there_ threw them to a
 better distance. The Fence was a
 proper Park paling in excellent condition;
 with clusters of fine Elms, or
 rows of old Thorns following its line
 almost every where.--_Almost_ must be
 stipulated--for there were vacant spaces
 --& through one of these, Charlotte as
 soon as they entered the Enclosure,
 caught a glimpse over the pales of
 something White & Womanish in the
 field on the other side;--it was a something
 which immediately brought Miss
 B. into her head--& stepping to the
 pales, she saw indeed--& very decidedly,
 in spite of the Mist; Miss B--
 seated, not far before her, at the foot


             ( 168 )

 of the bank which sloped down from
 the outside of the Paling & which a
 narrow Path seemed to skirt along;--
 Miss Brereton seated, apparently very
 composedly--& Sir E. D. by her side.--
 They were sitting so near each other
 & appeared so closely engaged in gentle
 conversation, that Ch. instantly felt she
 had nothing to do but to step back
 again, & say not a word.--Privacy
 was certainly their object.--It could
 not but strike her rather unfavourably
 with regard to Clara;--but hers
 was a situation which must not be
 judged with severity.--She was glad
 to perceive that nothing had been discerned
 by M^{rs} Parker; If Charlotte
 had not been considerably the tallest of
 the two, Miss B.’s white ribbons might
 not have fallen within the ken of _her_
 more observant eyes.--Among other
 points of moralising reflection which


             ( 169 )

 the sight of this Tete a Tete produced,
 Charlotte c^d not but think of the
 extreme difficulty which secret Lovers
 must have in finding a proper spot for
 their stolen Interveiws.--Here perhaps
 they had thought themselves so perfectly
 secure from observation!--the
 whole field open before them--a steep
 bank & Pales never crossed by the foot
 by Man at their back--and a great
 thickness of air, in aid.--Yet here, she
 had seen them. They were really ill-
 used.--The House was large & handsome;
 two Servants appeared, to
 admit them, & every thing had a
 suitable air of Property & Order.--
 Lady D. valued herself upon her liberal
 Establishment, & had great enjoyment
 in the order and the Importance of her
 style of living.--They were shewn into
 the usual sitting room, well-proportioned
 & well-furnished;--tho’ it saw


             ( 170 )

 Furniture rather originally good &
 extremely well kept, than new or
 shewey--and as Lady D. was not
 there, Charlotte had leisure to look
 about, & to be told by M^{rs} P. that the
 whole-length Portrait of a stately
 Gentleman, which placed over the
 Mantlepeice, caught the eye immediately,
 was the picture of Sir H. Denham
 --and that one among many
 Miniatures in another part of the
 room, little conspicuous, represented
 M^r Hollis.--Poor M^r Hollis!--It was
 impossible not to feel him hardly used;
 to be obliged to stand back in his own
 House & see the best place by the fire
 constantly occupied by Sir H. D.




                               NOTES


                              Page 1

  4. being induced by Business to quit the high road, & (toil
       _erased_) attempt a very rough Lane, were overturned
       _substituted for_  were on quitting the high road, & toiling
       up a very long steep hill through a rough Lane, overturned

  8. half rock, half sand  _added above the line_

 10. a House  _for_  the House

 11. first required to take that direction  _for_  required to turn
       that way

 15. to pass by  _for_  to pass two minutes before

     He had grumbled & shaken his shoulders so much indeed, and
       pitied & cut his Horses so sharply  _for_  grumbling so much
       indeed, & looking so black, & pitying & cutting his Horses
       so much


                              Page 2

  6. not his Masters  _written above_  not the Gentleman’s own (_but
       only_  not  _is erased_)

  7. had  _added above line_

     indisputably become considerably worse  _for_  indisputably &
       evidently become much worse

 10. passed  _erased before_  left behind

     expressing (saying  _erased_) with a most intelligent (and
       seeming  _erased_) portentous countenance  _written over_  as
       Bad as it had been before the Change seemed to say

 13. could safely proceed  _for_  had ever thought of proceeding

 16. Travellors beleived found themselves at first only shaken &
       bruised  _erased before_  Gentleman

 18. at first  _added above line_

 21. soon  _added above line_

 22. in a few moments  _erased after_  of it  _and added above line
       after_  obliged


                              Page 3

  2. self  _erased before_  congratulations  _and_  to his wife &
       himself  _added above line_

 13. the  _for_  a  _before_  neat-looking

 14. appearing  _erased after_  Cottage

 15. peeping out from among wood, and  _erased before_  romantically

     among wood  _added above line_

 20. neither  _over_  & not  _erased_


                              Page 4

  1. from  _erased after_  coming

  2. had  _for_  having

 15. & very  _erased after_  salutation

 19. assistance  _for_  service in any way

 21. one or two of  _added above line_


                              Page 5

  5. best  _over_  better to  _erased_

  8. a favourable  _for_  the best possible

 15. him  _for_  any

     his Partner  _erased before_  if he

 17. rather  _added above line_

     would prefer the attendance of his Partner  _for_  would have
       his Partner by preference (_Miss Austen neglected to alter_
       would  _to_  should)

 20. can be with him  _for_  will be there


                              Page 6

  1. for  _added above line before_  Excepting

 12. though  _over_  either  _erased_

 14. stay  _added above line_

 20. whether you may know it or not  _added above line_


                              Page 7

  3. only yesterday morn^g in London  _added above line_

  8. a  _added above line before_  Partnership

 15. with a good humoured smile  _added above line_

 20. this Parish  _erased before_  Willingden

     for having (I have  _erased_)  _over_  having  _erased_

 21. Sir  _added above line, and erased, after_  lived here

 22. Sir  _erased after_  Man & Boy

     I think I must have  _known_  of such a person, at least I may
       venture ] without ever hearing (and never heard before  _written
       above line and erased_) of the existence of such a person
       before. I think I may venture (therefore  _added above line
       and erased_) at least (at least  _added a second time, above
       line, and erased_)--_all cancelled_


                              Page 8

  3. To be sure  _for_  Though to be sure

  9. Sir  _added above line_

 12. and that  _added above line before_  My Shepherd

 14. peices  _for_  bits


                              Page 9

 10. last  _added above line_

 12. when  _added above line_

     was (being  _erased_) in the  _over_  in  _erased_

 14. One is never able to be complete anything (be  _inadvertently
       not erased_)  _for_  Nothing able to be completed

 16. you know  _added above line_

 17. and accordingly satisfying  _for_  I satisfied

 20. I  _added above line_


                             Page 10

  1. Scrape  _for_  awkward Predicament

 13. you know  _added above line_

     own  _added above line_

 17. air &  _added above line before_  immersion


                             Page 11

  8. service to you & this Lady  _over_  use to service  _erased_

 15. it will be better for us  _for_  we had better accept this kind
       offer

 16. he  _erased before_  turned

 18. in order  _added above line_

 21. rise to  _added above line_


                             Page 12

  3. home  _added above line_

  5. my  _for_  the

  9. itself  _added above line_

 11. the favourite spot  _for_  the most favourite

 13. favourite  _erased before_  coast

 14. promising to be the most chosen  _for_  consequently the most
       likely to be chosen

 21. the wonder!  _for_  amazing to me!

 22. or Time  _for_  & Time


                             Page 13

  1. a Country  _for_  any Country

  2. sure to  _added above line_

  3. as I dare say you find  _for_  I dare say you find it so

 12. experiencing  _for_  feeling

 15. Nursery Grounds  _for_  laying out Gardens

 17. those regular  _for_  the regular

 19. who are a blessing everywhere, excite  _for_  excite not only

 21. and diffuse  _for_  but diffuse

 22. sort  _for_  kind


                             Page 14

  3. one  _erased before_  place

  9. totally  _added above line_

 16. must soon find themselves  _for_  I have no doubt will find
       themselves in the end


                             Page 15

 10. One complete, measured  _for_  a measured

 13. saving a whole Mile  _for_  that

 19. lying, as it does  _for_  situated

 20. a bleak Moor  _added above line_


                             Page 16

 10. (pro  _erased_) yeild  _over_  grow  _erased_


                             Page 17

  1. Why, in truth Sir, I fancy  _for_  I fancy, Sir

  3. that line  _for_  those lines

 11. is quite of my opinion & thinks  _for_  quite agrees with me in
       thinking

 15. (turning round towards  _erased before_  (two

 16. (who  _erased_) followed  _over_  attended  _erased_

 17. now seen  _added above line_


                             Page 18

  2. every thing that was proper  _for_  & did what was proper

  3. recommend  _for_  enforce

 10. the Carriage being now set up, was discovered to have received
       such Injury  _for_  it was now ascertained that the Carriage
       was so much injured

 14. therefore  _added above line_


                             Page 19

  3. For a whole fortnight the Travellors were fixed at Willingden
       _for_  The Parkers were the Guests of the Heywoods a fortnight

  4. M^r P.’s sprain proving (being  _erased_) too serious for him
       to move sooner  _for_  The sprain was too serious for M^r
       Parker to be sooner able to move sooner

 13. equal goodwill  _erased before_  unremitting

 14. act &  _erased before_  office


                             Page 20

  3. on either  _for_  in either

  6. unfolded  _for_  made known

  8. for he was (being  _erased_)  _over_  was he was  _erased_

 10. his conversation  _for_  he

 11. unconsciously  _erased after_  information

 14. on  _for_  in

 20. quiet (simple  _erased_)  _added above line_

     interesting only  _erased after_  Village

     consideration inhabited by one Family of consequence, his own,
       of secondary  _erased before_  pretensions

 22. some  _before_  accidental  _erased, and restored above line_


                             Page 21

  2. Land Holder  _for_  Proprietor of the Land

  3. becoming  _for_  being

  6. note  _erased before_  young

     Renown  _for_  notoriety

 13. of a respectable  _over_  no Profession  _erased_

 21. former indeed  _for_  Brothers in fact


                             Page 22

  5. his ancle  _for_  an ancle

 19. prodigious  _for_  great

 22. last year  _added above line_


                             Page 24

  2. remained  _for_  was

  7. not only those of  _added above line_

  8. and  _added above line before_  Home

  9. also  _erased before_  his Mine

 10. his Occupation  _added above line_

 14. and  _added above line before_  his endeavours

 18. own  _added above line before_  House


                             Page 25

  1. air  _erased after_  sea

  4. _bracket erased after_  spirits

  9. nearly  _for_  almost

     in every disorder  _erased after_  infallible

 11. In cases  _erased after_  Disorder

 12. they were equally sovereign  _erased after_  Blood

     They were  _erased, and restored above line_

 14. anti-bilious  _added above line_

 17. Nobody wanted Spirits, Nobody wanted Strength  _for_  nor c^d
       the most obstinate Cougher retain a cough there 4 & 20 hours

 19. seemingly  _added above line_

 20. each (?)  _erased before_  was wanted


                             Page 26

  3. evidently  _for_  palpably

  7. they  _erased before_  their

  8. long  _over_  very long  _erased_

 14. could carry  _for_  conveyed

 17. old  _over_  ol  _erased_

 19. eldest  _added above line_


                             Page 27

  4. an occasional month  _for_  a Summer occasionally

  5. a  _erased before_  symptoms

  6. and  _over_  to make  _erased_

 10. forbidding  _erased before_  obliged


                             Page 28

  1. give useful connections or  _over_  lead them into respectable
       Company  _erased_

  6. Daughter  _for_  young Lady

 13. under her Mother’s directions  _for_  in acting for her Mother

 15. &  _erased before_  who

 20. gratitude  _for_  grateful feelings


                             Page 29

  1. for her sisters &  _over_  & everything else that  _erased_

     there  _erased after_  Library

  5. send  _for_  recommend

     get try (?)  _added above line before_  Sanditon  _and erased_

  8. as  _omitted_

  9. 5 shillings  _for_  one night


                             Page 31

 16. facts  _added above line_


                             Page 32

  2. her history & her Character  _for_  names & places, & some hints
       of Character

     (though given with the light touch of a very friendly hand)
       _erased after_  Character

  3. were  _erased before_  served

  4. Hill  _for_  Pull

  6. who  _erased before_  with whom

 15. quite  _erased before_  an elderly


                             Page 33

 22. her conduct  _for_  it


                             Page 34

  5. greatly  _for_  much

  8. a chearful, independant, valuable character  _over_  to us
       _erased_

 10. may be entirely  _for_  are to be cheifly

     her want  _for_  the want

 16. truly admirable  _for_  which one admires


                             Page 35

  1. now & then, see things differently  _for_  see things differently
       now & then

  3. you know  _added above line_

  7. wants of Society  _for_  Social order

 16. he had allowed them to be  _for_  they c^d be


                             Page 36

  1. these  _for_  the

  3. Cous  _erased before_  Kindred

 13. at hand to preserve their  _over_  able by their vicinity, to
       _erased_

 19. always  _erased before_  lived

 20. very  _erased before_  principally


                             Page 37

  4. had he  _for_  if he had

  9. Lady D. has granted him  _for_  he holds under Lady D--

 10. we shall  _over_  will  _erased_

 15. being  _erased before_  having

     the fairest  _for_  a very fair


                             Page 38

  1. and long & often enjoyed ] deprecating the idea of a Companion,
       defying & I enjoying  _erased_

  4. on that head, she had been  _erased after_  relations

  6. House  _for_  Hall

 10. secure  _for_  restore

 17. Character  _for_  young Woman

 20. described  _for_  delineated

     (and not with  _erased after_  described


                             Page 39

  7. promptly &  _added above line_

 15. being in  _erased before_  London

     principally  _added above line_

 16. very  _added above line_

     there resident there  _erased after_  Cousins

 18. & whom she was determined to keep at a distance, she had  _over_
       she had  _erased_

 20. there  _erased and restored above line_


                             Page 40

  3. reputed  _for_  proverbial

  5. calling  _for_  called

  7. not  _added above line_

  9. all the  _over_  great  _erased_

 10. which  _is left ‘hanging’_

 15. a  _added above line before_  spy

 17. persuaded  _for_  induced

 18. for the rest of her stay  _added above line after_  home  _and
       erased after_  offer

 20. a  _added above line before_  very


                             Page 41

  3. beyond her expectation  _over_  were  _erased_

 22. a  _added above line before_  situation


                             Page 42

  3. merit (sweetness  _erased_)  _over_  unpretending manners  _erased_

  9. steady conduct  _for_  good Judgement

     unassuming  _erased before_  gentle

 18. having  _for_  she had

 19. she was become  _erased before_  that Loveliness


                             Page 43

  4. close by  _for_  in front of

  6. Orchard & Meadows  _for_  Ground & Orchards

  8. such a  _over_  such any  _erased_

 11. old  _added above line_


                             Page 44

  4. you know  _added above line_

  8. Hill  _for_  ascent

  9. the heart of  _erased before_  Sanditon

     modern Sanditon  _added above line_

     we shall soon catch the roof of my new house; my real home
       _erased before_  a beautiful Spot

 16. &  _added above line before_  without


                             Page 45

  3. a little  _for_  the little

  4. & a Crescent is a building that always takes  _erased after_  we
       shall

  6. very  _erased before_  name

     joined to the  _over_  will give us choice of Lodgers  _erased_

  8. In a good Season  _added above line before_  We

 12. at it  _added above line_

 13. a great deal of  _erased before_  something

 19. in fact  _added above line_

 21. having  _erased after_  without

     the constant Eyesore of  _added above line, and_  as an Eyesore
       _erased after_  formalities

     formalities  _for_  formality

 22. or the yearly nuisance of its  _for_  or its occasional


                             Page 46

  4. and  _added above line before_  We  _and erased_

     now (_or_  here)  _erased after_  well off

  5. as ever we were  _for_  as we used to be

 13. on the Hill  _added above line_

     about us  _erased before_  in the course

 14. The Growth of my Plantations is a general astonishment  _for_
       My Plantations astonish everybody by their Growth


                             Page 47

  6. as proud as can be  _for_  so proud

  7. How Grave she will walk about with it, and  _for_  It will be
       delightful to see her walking about with it, so gravely.--She
       will

 12. now  _erased after_  bathe

 18. at all  _for_  as we did

 19. those  _for_  our


                             Page 48

  5. with  _added above line_

  7. this Gutter  _for_  this Pit

 11. by (any  _erased_) one  _over_  if one  _erased_

 12. which do more mischief in a  _over_  should pour through the
       _erased_

 13. when they do arise  _over_  which do more mischeif  _erased_

 14. experiences  _for_  knows

 20. get (deal with  _erased_) all our  _erased before_  go

 21. Stringer  _for_  Salmon


                             Page 49

  4. beyond a doubt  _added above line_

  6. Help  _for_  encouragement

  9. often wanted  _for_  forgotten

 15. old  _erased before_  the Stringers

 16. be  _added above line before_  easily

 17. I hope  _erased after_  satisfied

 19. & says  _added above line_

 21. out of  _erased before_  left


                             Page 50

  3. He pretends to advise ... Improvements  _added between lines_

  7. of & to us, all  _for_  of his eldest B^r--& to his Eldest B^r &

  8. Most Families ... to say anything  _for_  A young Man of
       Abilities & Address, & general ease of manner Miss H.-- who
       says anything

 12. In ours, it is Sidney; who is a  _over_  Sidney is  _erased_

 14. and with great powers ... only fault  _for_  very lively, very
       pleasant--living very much in the World--& liked by every
       body

 16. I wish we may (I should  _above line, erased_)  _erased before_
       He is here

 20. fine thing for  _for_  credit to


                             Page 51

  7. neat  _added above line_

  8. original  _erased before_  Sanditon

  9. Hill  _for_  Down

 12. and whose Height ended in  _for_  but whose Top was

 13. overlooking the Sea  _erased after_  Down

     where ... looked for  _added above line_

 15. winding more obliquely  _for_  wound

 16. gave  _for_  giving

 18. formed  _for_  forming


                             Page 52

  1. delight  _for_  great pleasure

  6. were actually  _erased before_  two Females

 11. through the upper  _for_  from the open

 12. Blissful  _for_  exhilarating

 20. might  _for_  must


                             Page 53

  3. during  _added above line_

  4. Summer  _for_  Season

  6. and  _for_  but

  7. would not let them be  _for_  c^d not bear to have them

  8. the shore  _added above line_

 11. William  _for_  old

 14. at a Shoemaker’s  _added above line_

 15. This is new ... a month ago  _added between lines_


                             Page 54

  3. former Days  _for_  old erection

  9. (to be watched  _above line_) by M^r Parker their d  _erased
       before_  by M^r P.

 12. calculated  _for_  reckoned

     fewer  _erased before_  and a smaller

 17. --but there were the Sands  _erased after_  dinner

     But  _added above line_

     & the Terrace  _added above line_

 19. and the  _added above line before_  Tide

 20. half-Tide now  _for_  half in

 21. at  _added above line before_  his own

 22. at once  _added above line_


                             Page 55

  2. he  _added above line before_  c^d almost

  5. on the Down  _for_  of any

     was a light  _for_  was an

  6. standing in a  _for_  separated from the Down only by a

  7. a very young plantation round it  _for_  very young plantations
       over it

  8. about  _for_  not

  9. the Cliff--which was  _erased after_  brow of very  _added above
       line before_  lofty

 11. short  _added above line_

 16. a little  _for_  a small space

 18. to  _added above line before_  the Bathing


                             Page 56

  6. ample, Venetian  _added above line_

 11. in Sunshine & Freshness  _for_  under a Sunshiny Breeze


                             Page 57

  7. But  _added above line before_  Perhaps

  8. I trust it may  _for_  Not unlikely

 16. say  _for_  guess


                             Page 58

  3. two  _added above line_

  7. frequently  _added above line_

     subject to a variety of very serious  _for_  at times Martyrs to
       very dreadful


                             Page 59

  1. much  _added above line_

     20  _for_  22

  5. which is most unfortunate  _erased after_  Profession

 10. w^d appear by this letter to have been  _for_  had been

 14. began  _for_  observed


                             Page 60

  3. accomplishing between you  _for_  bringing about

  5. shew  _for_  describe

 10. at  _for_  by  _before_  your accident

 16. hardly able to crawl from the (my  _erased_) Bed to the Sofa
       _erased after_  found me

     suffering  _added above line_

 18. & hardly ... Sofa  _added above line_


                             Page 61

  9. use  _for_  application

     steadily  _for_  well

 11. six  _for_  4


                             Page 62

  6. to be obtained  _erased after_  releif

 11. know where to apply  _erased before_  could soon


                             Page 63

  2. and  _added before_  Six

  3. 10 days together  _over_  the last week have  _erased_

     so little  _for_  a little

  4. we  _for_  I

  9. accordingly  _erased after_  drawn  _and added above line_

 14. trying to suppress (coughing  _erased_) a cough  _for_  sneezing


                             Page 64

  4. &  _for_  --

  6. one  _for_  that of

  8. Girls  _added above line_

 12. But  _added above line_

 14. as he (concluded  _erased_) finished (it  _erased_)  _for_  having
       finished & refolded his Letter

     Though I dare say  _over_  I suppose if  _erased_

 15. w^d  _erased after_  Sidney

 16. extremely entertaining  _for_  very amusing (to laugh at  _above
       line erased_)

 17. & make us ... together  _added above line_

 18. by (_possibly_  for) myself, can see nothing (either  _erased_)
       in  _for_  can see nothing in

 19. either  _added above line before_  very

 22. in (advancing  _erased_) promoting  _for_  for


                             Page 65

  5. extra  _added above line_

 10. quite  _erased before_  astonished

 13. It is really  _erased before_  frightful

 16. more  _for_  most

 17. to one’s imagination  _erased after_  distressing


                             Page 66

  7. own  _for_  say

 13. p (_i.e._ poor?)  _erased before_  Arthur

 22. idle & indolent  _erased after_  20


                             Page 67

  3. any prospect  _and_  (_above line_) the slightest plan  _erased
       before_  of engaging


                             Page 69

  6. &  _added above line before_  as quickly

  9. Business  _added above line_

 12. Elderly  _added above line_


                             Page 70

  1. &  _added above line before_  the Sands

  4. the House  _added above line_

  6. her inner room  _for_  the little inner parlour

  7. Employment  _for_  something better to do

 14. such as these  _erased after_  than

 16. Brown  _for_  Henderson

 17. M  _erased before_  Lieut:


                             Page 71

  1. the List was not only  _for_  it was not only a List

  7. were an ever-ready consolation  _for_  was an ever-present source
       of Joy

  8. without delay  _for_  immediately

 15. with all becoming alacrity  _erased after_  List

 16. busy in  _for_  proceeding to

 18. further  _added above line_

 21. smart Trinkets  _for_  ornamented Combs


                             Page 72

  7. she reflected  _for_  began to feel

  9. for her  _added above line_

 11. the very first Evening  _for_  the first Evening of her arrival

     She took up a Book; it happened to be a vol: of Camilla  _for_
       A vol: of Camilla happened to lie on the Counter

 15. so, she turned from the Drawers of rings & Broches  _for_  The
       (Gl  _erased_) Drawers of rings & Broches must be resisted


                             Page 73

  3. & (had  _erased_) been directed thence  _for_  whence they were
       directed

  4. her having walked a good mile was  _erased before_  Lady D.

 20. you & make sure of your  _for_  our good Neighbours, & be sure
       of their


                             Page 74

  3. very quietly  _over_  without any other species of opposition
       _erased_

 11. She observed them well  _added above line_

 14. &  _for_  a  _after_  eye

 18. being free-spoken  _for_  free-speaking

 19. about her  _for_  in it

 22. of welcome  _for_  and interest


                             Page 75

  1. was  _for_  was was

  9. a sweetly modest & yet naturally graceful  _for_  a sweet modesty
       yet natural gracefulness of

 11. in  _added above line after_  see

 12. the  _for_  as (?)  _after_  only

 13. whatever Heroine might be most beautiful & bewitching  _for_
       all the most beautiful & bewitching Heroines

 16. on  _for_  in  _before_  Mrs. Whitby’s

 17. was from  _erased before_  might


                             Page 76

 2, 3. Such  _added above line before_  Poverty  _and_  such  _before_
       Beauty

 12. in  _erased after_  herself

     first  _added above line before_  5

 14. be the Lot of  _for_  await

 21. Denham  _for_  Denham’s


                             Page 77

 17. very  _erased after_  Very

 21. spend  _over_  are said  _erased_


                             Page 78

  2. fancy  _for_  think

  4. But  _for_  And

     about  _erased after_  scatter


                             Page 79

  6. at me  _erased after_  smiles

  7. I dare say  _added above line_

  8. may be  _erased after_  Creature

 17. as  _added above line before_  all


                             Page 80

 11. credit  _for_  thanks


                             Page 81

 6 & 8. _There is no doubt that Miss Austen wrote_  Chamber-House
       _though it was printed_  Chamber-Horse  _in the_  Memoir

 14. my  _added above line before_  poor


                             Page 82

  4. & I  _added above line_


                             Page 83

  3. them  _for_  others

  8. settled with M^{rs} P.-- in  _for_  in

  9. when they came  _erased after_  Drawing room


                             Page 84

 13. very good  _for_  pleasing

 19. very  _erased before_  fine

 21. She  _for_  Charlotte


                             Page 85

  1. very  _erased before_  agreable

  2. suspicion  _for_  notion

  3. would arise  _for_  might be implied

  9. (simple  _erased_) dull of Fancy  _for_  Dull of Mind

     ind  _erased before_  careless

 20. and  _erased before_  followed

 22. merely  _for_  only


                             Page 86

  2. altogether  _added above line_

  9. did him no harm  _for_  did not hurt him

 15. th  _erased before_  all


                             Page 88

  6. devoting himself entirely  _erased after_  walk &

     by  _added above line before_  addressing

  8. Stationing himself  _added above line before_  Close

     side  _erased after_  by her

 11. to  _added above line before_  give


                             Page 90

 18. there is  _added above line_

     to madden  _for_  that maddens


                             Page 91

 14. him  _for_  Scott

 19. truly  _added above line before_  breathed


                             Page 92

 20. of  _erased before_  elicited


                             Page 93

 19. had learnt to understand  _for_  could comprehend

 21. had  _for_  could

 22. or two on his side  _over_  of two of Sir Edwards  _erased_


                             Page 94

 10. for  _for_  of  _before_  going

 16. some  _erased before_  looks

 18. were to  _erased before_  united

 21. amused in considering  _for_  deriving considerable amusement
       from

 22. between  _for_  of


                             Page 95

  2. strain of  _added above line_

  4. discourse  _for_  manner of talking

  5. immediately  _erased after_  arm

  6. felt (herself doing  _erased_) that any notice from her was an
       Honour  _over_  had been long used to consider her honour
       (_sic_) by any Notice she bestowed  _erased_

  9. or a natural  _for_  & a

 17. every way  _added above line_


                             Page 96

  5. with me  _added above line_


                             Page 97

  3. find fault with  _for_  rip up the faults of

  4. Nobody could live happier together than us  _for_  We lived
       perfectly happy together

 12. Charlottes  _for_  her

 15. legal  _erased before_  bequest

 16. had  _erased before_  only

 18. it  _for_  that


                             Page 98

  4. bad  _added above line_

 14. a  _added above line before_  very fine

 15. in his  _added above line before_  Address

 18. directly saw that  _for_  imagined


                             Page 99

 14. to  _repeated inadvertently_

     quite  _added above line after_  seemed


                            Page 100

  2. real  _and_  Landed or Funded  _added above line_

  7. And  _for_  Now

 12. get  _written twice, one erased_


                            Page 101

 10. was  _erased before_  prepared

 15. out  _for_  the  _before_  Bed rooms


                            Page 102

 12. 3 or 4  _erased before_  either


                            Page 103

  7. but  _for_  &  _before_  without

  8. & only conscious that Lady D. was still talking  _for_  while
       Lady D. still talked

 12. thoroughly mean. I had not expected any thing so bad  _for_  much
       worse than I expected--meaner--a great deal meaner. She is
       very mean

 14. His own kind Disposition makes him judge too well of others
       _erased before_  His Judgement

 15. always  _added above line before_  to be trusted  _and erased_

     in his opinion of others  _erased after_  trusted

 16. in judging of others  _erased after_  misleads him

 22. Line  _for_  respect


                            Page 104

  7. not  _added above line before_  tell


                            Page 105

  2. till  _for_  by

  8. has been our Occupation  _for_  we have been doing


                            Page 106

  9. But  _added above line before_  If

 11. I dare say it will  _for_  it will probably

 18. incipient  _added above line_


                            Page 107

  2. aberration  _for_  aberrations

  4. atcheive  _for_  encounter

  6. delight  _for_  ardour

 10. indomptible  _for_  unconquerable

 12. high-toned Machinations of the  _added above line_

 21. any opposing Character  _for_  his Rival

 22. but  _added above line before_  Eleemosynary


                            Page 108

  5. anti-puerile  _for_  sagacious

 12. whom circumstances ... spot  _added above line_

 19. since  _added above line before_  appeared

 22. opposition of feeling & convenience  _for_  thing


                            Page 109

  8. of the  _erased and restored above line_

     which were the usual  _erased before_  Villain

 13. was always more anxious for its  _for_  always wished it better

 14. than it c^d ever have  _erased after_  success

 19. owed his  _erased before_  read nothing

 20. were  _for_  was (_an interesting change_)


                            Page 110

  8. our  _replaced by_  the  _and restored_

 14. He felt that  _added above line before_  He

 16. The very name ... fascination with it  _added between lines_


                            Page 111

  2. any  _for_  some  _before_  pretensions

  4. mistaken  _erased before_  veiws

  7. alone  _added above line after_  Clara


                            Page 112

 12. w^d have  _erased before_  felt

     a strong  _for_  some

 13. ascertain  _for_  know

 15. desola (?)  _erased before_  solitary

 20. st (_i.e._ stile?)  _erased before_  sort


                            Page 113

 15. having been  _for_  being


                            Page 114

  5. could be  _for_  was

  7. if possible before her  _for_  before her if possible

  8. did not allow  _for_  was too brisk for

 11. when  _for_  as

 17. a moment’s astonishment  _for_  beginning to astonish Charlotte

 22. a great deal of  _above line_, great astonis (?)  _and_  much
       (_word illegible_)  _erased_


                            Page 115

  1. but still more  _for_  & great

  2. Nothing c^d be ... wife  _added between lines_

  4. How  _erased and restored_ (_orig._  How had?)

  6. that  _added above line before_  she was

  9. middling  _for_  middle

 10. delicate looking rather than sickly  _for_  but rather delicate
       than absolutely sickly

 11. in her  _erased before_  with an agreable

 12. her manners resembling  _for_  and her manners resembled

 14. with  _for_  there was  _before_  more decision

 16. without delay  _for_  as soon as they were in the Drawing room


                            Page 116

  1. better & better  _for_  a great increase of the Happiness!

  2. come  _for_  here

  3. Nothing else to be done  _for_  A case of Necessity

 12. which we spent  _erased after_  night

     and as  _for_  but

 13. so  _added above line before_  common

     that  _erased before_  as

 15. wonderfully  _for_  charmingly

 16. She  _erased_ (_probably_)  _before_  had no Hysterics

     had  _for_  and

 17. within sight of  _for_  to

 18. the attack was not very violent--(quite over  _erased_) nearly
       over  _for_  they were quite subsided

 22. M^r Woodcock’s assistance  _for_  young Woodcock’s help


                            Page 117

  1. the Disposal of the Luggage  _for_  where all the Luggage sh^d be
       carried

  3. Sam  _for_  Hannah

     unp (?)  _erased before_  uncord

  5. her  _erased before_  being so poor

  7. unwilling  _for_  afraid for

 11. about  _for_  over

     so I  _for_  therefore

 13. the Terrace, to  _added above line_

 16. I am sure  _erased after_  Hotel

 17. on the Down  _for_  in the field

 22. affected  _for_  stiffened


                            Page 118

 13. the Good  _for_  two Excellent

 14. know them only  _for_  have only heard of them

 15. You must  _over_  My friend Fanny Noyce I dare say you  _erased_

 22. Only  _for_  But


                            Page 119

  5. where  _for_  Spot

 10. on  _for_  as to  _before_  the question

 15. th  _erased before_  Names

 16. There  _over_  The  _erased_

 21. to receive  _for_  for


                            Page 120

  4. simple link of connection  _for_  connecting link

  9. case  _for_  question

 10. but  _for_  But  _before_  two days


                            Page 121

  2. there  _added above line after_  arriving

  7. than  _erased after_  account

 11. all  _added above line before_  this

 14. us  _for_  the English  _after_  to make

 17. By  _erased before_  Whether

     or  _added above line before_  to M^{rs}

 18. to  _over_  But  _erased_

 20. am equal  _for_  ought


                            Page 122

  1. me  _for_  my Exertions

  7. left Chichester  _added above line_

 11. & doing ... World  _added above line_


                            Page 123

  6. quick  _for_  hasty

     The part of the story which was really (most  _above line_)
       astonishing (to  _above line_) Charlotte most, she could not
       (_something above line, not legible_) noticed, she had just
       given (?) it to herself  _erased after_  measures

  7. The words  _for_  the words of

  8. had just passed through Charlotte’s (brain  _erased_) mind (and
       collecting her Thoughts, she replied--“I dare say I _look_
       surprised, for I feel so  _erased_)--_all written over_  but
       she could only give one explanation of the Amazement which she
       c^d easily beleive to be painted in her face  _erased_

 10. that  _erased before_  a civil

 11. do  _added above line before_  look

 13. what Invalides ... are  _for_  that both you & your Sister are
       sad sufferers (Invalides  _above line_) as to Health

 16. appellation  _for_  name

 22. which will  _erased before_  incline


                            Page 124

  1. Howe (?)  _erased before_  The World

  4. not  _for_  act

  5. no opportunity of (doing  _erased_) being useful (Good  _erased_)
       escape them  _for_  none of their faculties be wasted

 10. of use of  _sic_


                            Page 125

  4. warmly offered his assistance  _for_  particularly urged for

 11. of mine  _added above line after_  business

 19. today  _for_  this Even^g


                            Page 126

  5. some (other  _erased_) Lodgings or other  _for_  them

  9. the commission  _for_  to undertake it

 13. No, indeed ... mere name  _for_  Oh! as to your Sisters Dinner
       cried his wife, that’s never any thing more than a name

 21. I grant you  _added above line_


                            Page 127

  3. is only too much disposed for Food. We are often  _over_  is much
       more likely to eat too much than too little we  _erased_  (eats
       enormously. We  _above line, erased_)

 18. so  _erased before_  independant


                            Page 128

  1. who actually attends ... Eloquence and  _for_  & attends some of
       the girls of the Seminary, to give them lessons in Botany &

  7. however  _added above line after_  appearing


                            Page 129

  1. ago  _erased before_  since


                            Page 130

  4. in  _erased after_  sensation

  6. for themselves  _erased after_  complaints

  9. a Zeal for  _for_  the love of

 11. or  _written inadvertently for_  of  _before_  others

 16. an early  _for_  a

     at  _over_  to  _erased_

 18. their sufferings  _added above line_

 20. Charitable  _for_  benevolent

 22. a spirit of restless activity  _for_  the disease of activity


                            Page 131

  2. Benevolence  _for_  Health, as well as in every inaction of
       Sickness

 10. who  _for_  whose  _before_  had never

 18. she found them  _added above line_

 21. it had been  _added above line_


                            Page 132

  2. the  _added above line before_  Table

  7. a peculiar degree  _over_  the sort  _erased_

 14. excepting  _for_  except

 16. the several  _for_  many

 17. at home  _for_  domesticated

 20. symptoms  _for_  signs


                            Page 133

  3. the  _added above line before_  salts

  4. considerable  _for_  great

  6. him  _added above line after_  fancied

 12. excepting  _erased before_  with


                            Page 134

  3. much  _for_  most

  8. during  _for_  for

 15. also  _added above line before_  opened


                            Page 135

  3. been  _added above line before_  hitherto

  5. what she had done  _erased before_  opening

 12. seen something  _for_  distinguished something of the matter

 13. from their window  _erased before_  they could  _and added above
       line after_  distinguish

 15. its amount  _for_  the amount of it


                            Page 136

  2. some removals to look  _for_  looking

  5. next  _for_  close

  7. civility in wishing her to take his  _over_  polite civil offer
       offering her his own  _erased_

 10. much  _for_  great

 12. his Person as  _for_  him for

 15. Arthur was ... no means  _for_  He had in every respect a heavy
       Look.--Yet was not

 18. cheifly  _for_  very much

 19. he  _added above line before_  evidently

 20. a fine young Woman  _for_  a good-looking Girl (well (_word
       illegible_) agreable  _above line, erased_)

 22. observed with much (gr.  _above line, erased_) pleasure  _erased
       after_  B^r


                            Page 137

  1. decided  _for_  great

  2. of  _erased before_  some

     Powerful object  _over_  thing source  _erased_

  3. him  _for_  Arthur

     considerable  _for_  no inconsiderable

  5. began even to make  _for_  made

 13. & invigorating to  _for_  for

 15. well  _for_  much  _before_  as anybody


                            Page 138

  3. To say the truth  _for_  In my own opinion

  5. in my (own  _erased_) opinion  _added above line_

 15. thought  _replaced by_  found  _and restored above line_


                            Page 139

  5. walk  _for_  take

 12. as to  _for_  in

 13. the Hill is so steep  _for_  there is such a steep Hill to get
       up to it

 18. which  _erased after_  Perspiration

 21. th  _erased before_  veiwed


                            Page 140

  5. Pot  _erased after_  Cocoa

 13. brought up  _added above line_

 16. the murmuring of a few broken sentences of self-approbation &
       success  _for_  in a faint murmur, & a few broken sentences of
       approbation of his own Doings & prosperity

 19. into as gallant a Line as ever  _for_  with quite as much
       Gallantry as before


                            Page 141

  9. rather  _added above line after_  Dish of

 13. very  _added above line before_  fine

 21. by no means  _for_  not


                            Page 142

  2. certainly  _for_  evidently

  4. of  _for_  from  _before_  his sisters

 15. exceedingly pleased  _for_  very much obliged

 16. there  _for_  upon that subject

 17. a very bad thing  _for_  is very bad


                            Page 143

  5. It was rather amusing to see  _erased after_  nutmeg grater

  6. Glass  _added above line after_  Butter  _and erased_

  8. accusing ... declaring ... maintaining  _for_  accused ...
       declared ... maintained

 10. and  _added above line after_  trusted

 18. her Toast  _for_  that

     Toast  _erased after_  own

 20. herself  _for_  himself

 22. almost  _added above line after_  scraped off


                            Page 144

  7. Earthy Dross  _for_  Earth

  8. Charlotte could not but suspect him of adopting  _over_  He
       seemed of having (_originally_  to have) chosen  _erased_

  9. principally  _for_  cheifly


                            Page 145

  6. acts on me like Poison and  _added above line_

  9. sounds almost incredible  _for_  is a sort of thing hardly to be
       beleived

 10. so often that I cannot doubt it  _for_  three (several (?)  _above
       line_) times

 21. Soon  _for_  Very soon


                            Page 146

 11. and the colour rushed  _for_  brought the colour

 13. much  _for_  a good deal of


                            Page 147

 16. determing  _sic_

 18. totally seperate & distinct  _erased after_  Families

 20. each  _for_  them


                            Page 148

  8. advantage  _for_  Good


                            Page 149

  2. race  _for_  family

  4. that  _added above line before_  the Family

  6. were  _for_  being

 13. period  _for_  time

 14. another representation  _for_  other representations


                            Page 150

  4. blunders  _for_  mistakes

     of some  _erased before_  of the many

 10. make everything appear what it was not  _for_  throw everything
       into confusion

 15. expensive  _added above line before_  House

 21. beleived herself  _for_  supposed


                            Page 151

  6. M^{rs} C. D’s  _for_  her

  7. mere  _for_  very  _before_  trifle

  8. of reproach  _added above line_

  9. all the following  _for_  the next

 14. receiving such  _for_  giving a home to

 15. as  _for_  who


                            Page 152

 17. such pursuits as  _for_  the pursuit of what

 18. general  _erased before_  admiration


                            Page 153

  8. Smallness &  _added above line before_  Retirement

     yet  _added above line before_  having

  9. in the course of the Spring  _added above line_

 10. some  _erased before_  the inevitable

 11. each  _added above line after_  Dresses

 20. secluded  _for_  retired

 21. from  _for_  with  _after_  celebrity


                            Page 154

 12. in Sanditon  _added above line_

 14. to  _added above line before_  the prevalence

 22. been asking for  _for_  wanted


                            Page 155

  6. soon  _added above line before_  found

  7. be vain  _for_  fail her

  9. to have  _erased before_  any complaint

 12. & if M^{rs} G ever (_word illegible_) (could therefore  _above
       line_)  _erased after_  Physician


                            Page 156

  5. accordingly  _for_  indeed

  7. with  _added above line before_  Drawing paper

 14. an  _added above line before_  eye

 19. notice  _for_  being noticed

 20. by habit  _erased after_  disposed

 22. quitted  _over_  went out at this end of  _erased_

     way  _for_  walk

     his Brothers  _for_  Trafalgar H.


                            Page 157

  3. round  _added above line before_  about


                            Page 159

 13. better  _added above line before_  mention


                            Page 160

  7. for them  _erased after_  foot

 17. be really at a loss  _for_  really be at any loss

 18. more  _added above line before_  simple

 20. earnest  _added above line_


                            Page 161

  6. that  _written inadvertently for_  than

 20. the  _added above line before_  sort

 21. is  _for_  can be


                            Page 162

  7. as to  _erased before_  then

 11. all  _added above line before_  out


                            Page 163

  2. all  _erased before_  over

  4. at one oclock  _for_  today

  7. besides  _erased before_  between

 13. to hear it  _for_  for this

 14. if this is the case  _added above line_


                            Page 164

  9. their impropriety  _for_  the impropriety of them

 17. not  _added above line after_  they could

 19. it  _erased after_  up


                            Page 165

 11. it was  _over_  in the p  _erased_

 13. most kindly  _added above line_


                            Page 166

  7. with a decided air of Ease & Fashion, and a  _over_  with a &
       very much the Man of fashion in his air  _erased_

 15. road  _for_  approach

     at first only (by  _above line_)  _erased before_  a broad

 16. approach  _for_  road

 17. (of about a q^r of a mile’s length  _erased_) & conducting at
       the end of a q^r of a mile through second Gates  _over_  but
       ending in about a q^r of a mile  _erased_

 19. into  _for_  in

     not  _added above line before_  extensive

 20. were  _erased before_  had

 22. These Entrance Gates ... Boundaries  _for_  They were so narrow
       at the Entrance


                            Page 167

  3. an outside  _for_  one outside

  5. here, & a curve there threw  _for_  in one, & a curve in the
       other gave

  6. to  _added above line after_  them

  9. clusters (rows  _erased_) of fine Elms, or rows of old Thorns
       _for_  vigorous Elms, or old Thorns & Hollies

 10. line  _for_  course

 12. vacant spaces  _for_  intervals

 16. over the pales  _erased after_  Womanish  _and added above line
       after_  glimpse

 20. decidedly  _for_  distinctly

 21. in spite of the Mist  _for_  though at some distance before her


                            Page 168

  1. sloping  _erased before_  bank

  2. at (?)  _erased after_  Paling &

  3. Path  _for_  track

  8. that  _erased after_  felt

 12. her  _added above line after_  strike

 14. must not  _for_  ought not to

 16. of it  _erased after_  nothing

     discerned  _for_  seen

 17. If Charlotte had not been  _over_  she was  _erased_

 19. or  _erased after_  the two


                            Page 169

  6. perfectly  _added above line before_  secure

 10. by Man  _perhaps inadvertently for_  of Man

     at their back  _for_  behind them

 12. by her  _erased after_  ill-used

 19. order & the (?)  _added above line before_  Importance


                            Page 170

  6. stately  _for_  portly

 12. represented  _for_  was

 15. own House  _for_  room


                       PRINTED IN ENGLAND

                 AT THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS




                       Transcriber's Note


In this plain-text file the pagination and line breaks within the
novel have been retained, except that single words broken across
lines have been rejoined.

In the Notes to Page 21, Line 21, "Brothers in faet" has been changed
to "Brothers in fact".

No other changes have been made to spelling or punctuation.



*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 74233 ***