Oxford World’s Classics

by Jane Austen

  Emmeline: see note to p. 129, on ‘Delamere’, hero of Smith’s first novel, Emmeline, and among the ‘first of Men’ listed in JA’s ‘History of England’.

  Ethelinde is so long: like Kitty, JA may not have minded how long a well-written book was, but she joked about the protracted nature of multi-volume works such as Smith’s novels. In one letter to Cassandra, alluding to a character in Burney’s five-volume novel Camilla, she passes on her love to ‘Mary Harrison, & tell her I wish whenever she is attached to a young Man, some respectable Dr Marchmont may keep them apart for five Volumes’ (Letters, 9).

  Descriptions of Grasmere … the Lakes: Smith’s Ethelinde begins with descriptions of ‘the small but beautiful lake called Grasmere Water’ (i, 1), a popular destination in the Lake District for tourists in search of picturesque and sublime landscapes. Elizabeth Bennet and the Gardiners plan a ‘tour of pleasure’ in the region (P&P, ch. 27).

  174 Sir Henry Devereux: Devereux is a name with Elizabethan associations (see ‘The History of England’, note to p. 127); a Sir Francis Devereux and his daughters appear in Smith’s Emmeline (i, 59). JA’s niece Anna Lefroy used the name Devereux Forester for a character in her unpublished novel Which is the Heroine?, on which she was working in 1814.

  travelling Dress: a woman’s ‘travelling dress’ usually consisted of a riding habit (a tailored jacket with a long skirt); this could be worn as a practical and durable everyday dress, not only for travelling or riding. In Beatrice, or the Inconstant. A Tragic Novel (1788), Charlotte gets married in a travelling dress, ‘the model of simple elegance’ (ii, 43); JA’s mother, Cassandra Leigh, wore her red riding habit when she married George Austen in Bath in 1764.

  Matlock or Scarborough: Matlock is in the Peak District of Derbyshire; Scarborough is on the east Yorkshire coast and on the opposite side of England from the Lakes, indicating Camilla’s uncertain command of geography.

  175 such a horrid Creature: Camilla’s language resembles that of Isabella Thorpe in NA (and, to a lesser extent, that of Catherine Morland); ‘horrid’, as applied to thrilling books and tedious people, is a favourite adjective (chs. 6, 10, 12, 21).

  the whole race of Mankind were degenerating: cf. Henry Mackenzie, The Lounger, no. 19 (11 June 1785): ‘There are a set of cynical old men, who are perpetually dinning our ears with the praises of times past, who are fond of drawing comparisons between the ancients and moderns, much to the disparagement of the latter, and who take a misanthropical delight in representing mankind as degenerating from age to age, both in mental and corporeal endowments’. The Lounger, 3 vols., 3rd edn (1786), i, 73–6 (at 73).

  all order was destroyed over the face of the World: hyperbolic language recalling that of Edmund Burke in his Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), in which he warned of the dangers posed by the French Revolution: ‘The usurpation which, in order to subvert antient institutions, has destroyed antient principles, will hold power by arts similar to those by which it has acquired it’; ‘destroying at their pleasure the whole original fabric of their society; hazarding to leave to those who come after them, a ruin instead of an habitation’ (Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. In a Letter intended to have been sent to a Gentleman in Paris ([1790]), 116, 141).

  said her Neice: here and later in the story, Kitty’s replies have subsequently been toned down by selective deletion (see Textual Notes, p. 238).

  if she were to come again … she did before: Kitty’s alarm at the prospect of a resurrected Elizabeth I echoes JA’s verdict on that queen, who died at the age of 69, in ‘The History of England’.

  176 Harpsichord: see ‘Lesley-Castle’, note to p. 112.

  sweetest Creature in the world: comparable saccharine overstatements appear in The Loiterer, no. 52 (7) and NA (ch. 6), in which Isabella Thorpe describes ‘a particular friend of mine’ as ‘a sweet girl, one of the sweetest creatures in the world’.

  in Public: that is, in places of public assembly; see ‘Lesley-Castle’, note to p. 111.

  177 Brook Street: see ‘Sir William Mountague’, note to p. 35.

  find her in Cloathes: supply her with clothes; a phrase applied to servants and impoverished dependants. In The History of Emily Willis, a Natural Daughter, 2 vols. (1768), Mrs Languish tells the heroine, who has applied to be her companion, ‘I must find you in Clothes and Pocket-Money, but I shan’t fix any particular Sum, till I see whether you will suit me’ (ii, 14).

  two or three Curacies: a clergyman might have more than one ‘living’, or curacy, and employ curates on low wages to carry out his clerical duties; see ‘The Visit’, note to p. 44.

  Cheltenham: like Bath, a fashionable spa resort in the west of England.

  sent to Sea: subsequently changed to ‘got into the Army’ (see Textual Notes, p. 239). The author of this alteration forgets it later in the tale, when Kitty again refers to the bishop sending ‘Charles Wynne to sea’ (see Textual Notes, p. 239). On the choice between these professions, cf. ‘Mr Harley’, note to p. 33.

  School somewhere in Wales: Welsh schools were cheaper and less highly regarded than their English counterparts; because they were relatively remote from England, many wealthy patrons liked to send their dependent charges there. In Agnes Maria Bennett’s The Beggar Girl and her Benefactors, 7 vols. (1797), Horace Littleton, ‘the object of Sir Solomon Mushroom’s charity’, is ‘got rid of for a few years at a free grammar school in Wales’ (i, 222).

  178 Ranelagh: Ranelagh Gardens in Chelsea, a more expensive and upmarket version of Vauxhall Gardens (see ‘Lesley-Castle’, note to p. 111). Like Vauxhall, Ranelagh features in Burney’s Evelina.

  Bengal or Barbadoes: an alliterative pairing that makes little geographical sense; Miss Wynne has been sent to Bengal in the East Indies. Barbados was another British colony, but in the West Indies.

  179 extremely nice: that is, betraying a ‘culpable delicacy’; ‘Fastidious; squeamish’ ( Johnson’s Dictionary).

  Draws in Oils: sketches or draws in oil paint rather than in watercolour or crayon; considered to be a technically superior accomplishment.

  180 Gold Net: a fashionable cap, with a hairnet woven from golden thread.

  181 receipt book: a book containing both culinary and medical recipes, including prescriptions for common ailments such as toothache. Martha Lloyd’s handwritten receipt book, owned by the Jane Austen House Museum, Chawton, Hampshire, is a compilation of remedies and recipes made in a stationer’s quarto notebook akin to that of JA’s Volume the Second.

  Mortality: ‘Mortals collectively; mankind’ (OED).

  182 have a tooth drawn: have a tooth extracted, without the aid of anaesthetic.

  183 Pierrot: ‘A kind of sleeved, close-fitting jacket or bodice, worn by women in the late 18th cent., having a low neck and basques extending slightly below the waist’ (OED). A later insertion of ‘Regency walking dress’ was made after Feb, 1811, when the Prince of Wales was proclaimed regent in place of his incapacitated father, George III (see Textual Notes, p. 240). A walking dress had a shorter hem than an evening dress, making it more practical for everyday and outdoor wear.

  a Jacket and petticoat: later revised to ‘Bonnet and Pelisse’; a pelisse is ‘A woman’s long cloak, with armhole slits and a shoulder cape or hood, often made of a rich fabric; (later also) a long fitted coat of similar style’ (OED). See Textual Notes, p. 240.

  183–184 Kingdom … flourishing & prosperous a state: Mr Stanley, a member of William Pitt the Younger’s Whig government, voices a general mood of optimism about Pitt’s leadership, at least during his first decade as Prime Minister. Pitt took up office in 1783 and proved far more popular than his predecessor, Lord North, who was the first British Prime Minister to be forced out of office by a motion of no confidence (on account of a British defeat at Yorktown, Virginia, in the American War of Independence).

  184 at sixes & sevens: ‘in confusion, commonly said of a roo
m, where the furniture &c. is scattered about, or of a business left unsettled’ (Classical Dictionary). In the revised 4th edition of his Dictionary (1773), Johnson refers to it as ‘A ludicrous expression that has been long in use’.

  scotch Steps: in Elizabeth Pinchard’s Dramatic Dialogues, For the Use of Young Persons, 2 vols. ([1792]), Matilda and Harriot also practise their ‘scotch Steps’ and Matilda exclaims ‘I love the Scotch reels, and they are very fashionable now’ (ii, 13). Scottish reels and quicksteps were indeed a popular feature of public dances in the 1790s, but they were not entirely proper (in P&P, Elizabeth assumes that Darcy’s invitation to dance a reel is made in order to mock her bad taste (ch. 10)). On the fashion for all things Scottish, cf. ‘Lesley-Castle’, note to p. 107.

  Nanny: this name was later changed to the more formal ‘Anne’, in line with the shift from ‘Kitty’ to ‘Catharine’ (see Introduction, pp. xxii-xxiii, and Textual Notes, p. 240).

  Lavender water: ‘A perfume compounded, with alcohol and ambergris, from the distilled flowers of lavender’ (OED); also used as a stimulant. (Later deleted; see Textual Notes, p. 240.)

  Chaise and four: a light, elegant carriage drawn by four horses; a fast and glamorous mode of transport.

  185 his hair is just done up: hair powdered, curled, and elaborately arranged to resemble a wig.

  Livery: ‘the characteristic uniform or insignia worn by a household’s retainers or servants (in later use largely restricted to footmen and other manservants), typically distinguished by colour and design’ (OED).

  hack horses: hackney horses, hired from a stable, implying a lower rank in those who hired them than that of a guest who arrived with his own horses and servants.

  187 go to the door … comes: answering the door was usually a servant’s responsibility.

  188 travelling apparel: for men, this would probably be a riding outfit with boots and an overcoat—highly inappropriate as formal wear for a ball.

  linen: that is, shirts and other items of clothing made of linen.

  powder & pomatum: items to assist Stanley in dressing his hair. There are ‘Patches, Powder, Pomatum and Paint’ in ‘Frederic & Elfrida’ (see p. 5 and note).

  189 monthly Ball: that is, a public ball, funded by subscription, rather than a private event.

  191 Hunter: ‘A horse used, or adapted for use, in hunting’ (OED) and therefore often an expensive thoroughbred.

  Express: a messenger sent on horseback to deliver news as quickly as possible.

  192 Brampton: a village in Cambridgeshire.

  led her to the top of the room: Stanley and Kitty have taken the place of honour, leading the way in the dance; neither of them has the rank or social standing to justify such an action.

  193 did not know who her grandfather had been: this was a ‘boast’ of Johnson’s, who said to Boswell ‘I can hardly tell who was my grandfather’ (Life of Johnson, i, 423 [9 May 1773]).

  only a tradesman: Kitty’s father, like Camilla’s, is in fact a merchant; Camilla, as an heiress, has the superior claim to ‘consequence’, but her birth is no more aristocratic than the heroine’s.

  Mr Pitt or the Lord Chancellor: William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806), Prime Minister (see note to pp. 183–4) and Lord Chancellor, who from 1778 to June 1792 was Lord Thurlow (1731–1806). His duties included presiding over the House of Lords and the judiciary.

  her partner during the greatest part of it: to dance with the same partner for more than two consecutive dances was a breach of etiquette.

  Address: ‘Manner of addressing another; as, we say, a man of an happy or a pleasing address; a man of an aukward address’ ( Johnson’s Dictionary).

  194 come out: see ‘Collection of Letters’, note to p. 134.

  196 impudent: ‘Wanting in shame or modesty; shameless, unblushing, immodest; indelicate’ (OED); a serious slur on female character.

  197 tremblingly alive: see ‘Love and Friendship’, note to p. 70.

  198 temper: ‘Calmness of mind; moderation’ ( Johnson’s Dictionary).

  Richard the 3d: Stanley’s warm defence of this monarch goes well beyond that of ‘The History of England’, where JA is ‘inclined to suppose him a very respectable Man’ (p. 124).

  199 Profligate: ‘Abandoned; lost to virtue and decency; shameless’ ( Johnson’s Dictionary).

  Blair’s Sermons: the Revd Hugh Blair (1718–1800), a Scottish minister of religion, author, and rhetorician, was best known for his Sermons (1777–1801), a five-volume guide to practical Christian morality, including strictures on the modesty and filial obedience of the young, and Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres (1783), a prescriptive guide on composition with which JA was also familiar.

  Seccar’s explanation of the Catechism: Archbishop Thomas Secker’s popular and influential Lectures on the Catechism of the Church of England (1769) were published after his death. In his Liberal Education: or, A Practical Treatise on the Methods of Acquiring Useful and Polite Learning ([1781]), the Revd Vicesimus Knox noted that: ‘The number of books written on purpose to introduce young people to religious knowledge, is infinite: I would confine the attention of the scholar to the Catechism, Secker’s Lectures, and the Bible’ (316). The reference to Secker was later updated to Coelebs in Search of a Wife, Hannah More’s didactic novel of 1809 (see also Letters, 179). See Introduction, p. xxiii, and Textual Notes, p. 242.

  my own Library: this may refer to a bookcase or to a private room full of books.

  overthrow the establishment of the kingdom: see note to p. 175 (‘all order was destroyed over the face of the World’); JA again alludes here to the perceived threats to England resulting from the French Revolution, and employs the language of Edmund Burke and his supporters. See e.g. Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France: ‘instead of quarrelling with establishments, as some do, who have made a philosophy and a religion of their hostility to such institutions, we cleave closely to them. We are resolved to keep an established church, an established monarchy, an established aristocracy, and an established democracy, each in the degree it exists, and in no greater’ (135–6)); John Bowles, Farther Reflections submitted to the Consideration of the Combined Powers ([1794]): ‘It is the nature of this Revolution not merely to subvert all Government, but to overthrow every establishment, civil and religious’ (3). For such writers, female modesty and chastity were bound up with resistance to sudden and violent political change.

  202 Oh! what a silly Thing is Woman! How vain, how unreasonable!: a parodic debasement of Hamlet’s celebrated speech, ‘What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculties’ (act 2, scene 2); another instance of gender-switching in JA’s teenage writing.

  203 nice: not in the sense of ‘extremely nice’ (for which see note to p. 179), but in the emerging sense of the word, as deplored by Henry Tilney: ‘Oh! it is a very nice word indeed!—it does for every thing. Originally perhaps it was applied only to express neatness, propriety, delicacy, or refinement … But now every commendation on every subject is comprised in that one word’ (NA, ch. 14).

  [Family Continuations to VOLUME THE THIRD]

  [Continuation of Evelyn, by James Edward Austen]

  205 Family … Austen: for the relation of the various ‘continuations’ to the main body of JA’s notebook see Textual Notes, p. 243.

  he rang the housebell … as little success: this scenario—a protracted description of someone’s failure to have the door answered—echoes a comic interlude, narrated from the other side of the threshold, in ‘Love and Friendship’ (pp. 71–2).

  observing the dining parlour window open he leapt in: on characters leaping in and out of windows, see ‘Frederic & Elfrida’, note to p. 5; ‘Henry & Eliza’, note to p. 30.

  Maria’s Dressingroom … the servants assembled at tea: for servants to assemble for tea in their mistress’s dressing-room is comically and startlingly inappropriate, as is registered in Mr Gower’s extreme reaction. On JA’s dressing rooms, see ‘Fr
ederic & Elfrida’, note to p. 4.

  Hungary water: a restorative named after the Queen of Hungary, ‘made of Rosemary Flowers infus’d some Days in rectify’d Spirit of Wine, and thus distill’d’ (Ephraim Chambers, Cyclopædia; or, An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, 2 vols. (1728)).

  the order of the procession: Mr Gower arranges the funeral procession so as to exclude himself from it, a highly irregular move for the chief mourner.

  to give vent to his sorrow in the bosom of his family: novelistic cant; see e.g. The History of Miss Melmoth: ‘Lady Evelin tenderly pressed her to her maternal bosom … She went, I believe, to give vent to a sorrow which I observed rising to her eyes’ (iii, 250, letter 91).

  saved her from sinking to the ground: this conduct and language echo ‘Frederic & Elfrida’, ‘A beautifull description of the different effects of Sensibility on different Minds’, and ‘Love and Friendship’, all of which feature sinking and fainting heroines.

  ——Castle: a comic reference to the convention in 18th-century novels of abbreviating or withholding the names of locations and characters (and sometimes dates), as if they were real, a practice mockingly echoed in JA’s ‘The three Sisters’, ‘Henry & Eliza’, and ‘Love and Friendship’.

  offering me his hand … married yesterday: for other precipitate and probably invalid unions, see ‘Henry & Eliza’ and ‘Sir William Mountague’.

  206 a pot of beer: sinking beneath the conduct expected of a man of his social station, Mr Gower is drinking a tankard of beer in a public house.

  more grateful to him than Nectar: ‘grateful’ here means ‘pleasing’ or ‘welcome’ (OED); nectar is, in classical mythology, the drink of the gods.

  an offer of his hand & heart … condescended to accept: an echo of ‘Jack & Alice’: ‘offering him with great tenderness my hand & heart’ (p. 17); on condescension in the teenage writings, see ‘Frederic & Elfrida’, note to p. 6.