Jane Austen’s First Love Read Online Free PDF

Mary, thank you,” said my father with affection and appreciation; and turning to my mother, added, “It seems our friends have made it possible for you to go away after all, Mrs. Austen. What say you? Have you any more reservations?”
    “Well—I do not like the idea of being parted from you for so many weeks, Mr. Austen, or travelling all that way without you.”
    “You will be so occupied every day in Kent, you will not even miss me,” replied Papa dismissively, “and as you will be conveyed there in the Knights’ own coach, you will be perfectly safe and comfortable.”
    “How can you vouch for our comfort and safety?” cried she. “We are to have the benefit of a private carriage in one direction only; and
they
are as prone to accident and overturns as any other vehicle. The roads in this country are very bad; the turnpikes—as they have the assurance to call them—are such a disgrace, it is a crime to make one pay for them! Some are full of stones as big as one’s horses, and abominable ruts and holes that threaten to swallow one up, particularly at the end of spring, after a hard rain, when they are floating with mud. And there are constant other dangers: highwaymen are everywhere on the long stretches of country-side. Have you forgotten? Did not we read just the other day about a post-chaise which was stopped by a vile criminal, and its passengers robbed of their watches and rings and all their money? Not to mention how prone I am to sickness while travelling—it is such a long journey, I do not know if I should survive it—and the inconvenience of stopping the night at inns which will no doubt be drafty, dirty, have hard beds, and serve bad food.”
    During this speech, my sister and friends sat with lowered gazes over their work, but the look on their countenances echoed my own silent amusement and impatience.
    My father, whose eyes conveyed similar feelings, adopted a grave expression, and said, “My dear, everything you say is true. It sounds to me as if you have talked yourself out of going.”
    “Oh! But I want to go! My heart is set upon it!”
    “Well then, if that is so—I cannot guarantee that your journey will be free of incident or mishap—but these are the risks you must be willing to take.”
    My mother frowned, then let out a sigh. “All right, then.”
    Thrilled, I cried, “Do you mean it? We can go? Oh, Mamma! Papa!”
    “Jane,” interrupted my mother, “do not get too excited. Just because I have agreed to go to Kent, do not imagine that I will allow you or your brother to attend every party they mean to hold, particularly that ball.”
    A crushing disappointment washed over me. “Not attend the ball? But Mamma—”
    “Lady Bridges, it seems to me, has some very strange notions,” continued my mother. “To include
children
at such events—to allow one’s daughters such liberties before they are out—I know that
some
people do it, but I cannot approve. Girls should not mix with general company until they are of age.”
    “Oh! Mamma!” Tears started in my eyes.
    Cassandra, glancing at me, and seeming to gather her courage, said:
    “You held me back in just such a way, Mamma, and I cannot think that it did me good.”
    “Whatever can you mean?”
    “I mean that—for a young lady to be immediately required on the day of coming out to be accomplished at everything, and to converse openly with strangers, when all the years before she was either kept at home or told never to speak—I found it very difficult, and would not wish the same for Jane.”
    Silently, I cheered my sister’s remarks, and gave her a grateful look.
    My mother looked very surprised. “Well, this is an opinion I have not heard from you before, Cassandra.”
    “I never really questioned it before, Mamma; it is just the way things were. But looking back, I think it was too much to expect.”
    My mother went quiet for a moment, as she seemed to turn over the matter in her mind. “What do you