little miss austin

The butler came over and invited Henry and Alice into the house.

Warren Hastings received his young guest in the drawing room.

After his acquittal last year, Henry, then in the militia, wrote him an impassioned letter congratulating him on finally getting rid of a nasty charge and praising his kindness to a young man.At that time, Warren Hastings was restricted from going out in London and was under house arrest in his own property. Only some people who supported him went to visit him, among them Henry.

Both Henry and Alice respectfully saluted the hale and hearty old man.

Warren Hastings was very fond of Henry and kept him for two days.

Alice lived next door to Cousin Eliza.

The host allowed the guests to visit Daylesford House at will, and Eliza took her cousins ​​up and down to see it around.

The main house has 3 floors, and the overall shape is like a lying capital "I". The main building is brick and stone, and the interior is brick and wood. There is a sloping road leading to the main road; the back door is a semi-circular glass foyer, and there is a large lawn from the back door.

The interior decoration of the main house has a strong Indian style, using red and gold in a large area, which is magnificent. In addition to the portraits of the ancestors of the Hastings family, there are also some Indian cities, villages, and port landscapes on the walls. , portraits of Warren Hastings and his wife at the time in India, portraits of the Hancock family; all rooms are covered with Indian carpets, and many Indian furniture, art flats, handicrafts, etc. Including Chinese porcelain popular in the UK, Yuan Dynasty vases, dinner plates, small jewelry boxes and more.

In addition to the traditional set of silver tableware, the tableware at home also has a set of Chinese porcelain tableware. Because porcelain is easily damaged during transportation, a whole ship of Chinese porcelain is often shipped. When it arrives in the store in London, there may be only one-third of it left. , which also led to the high price of Chinese porcelain.Not to mention those porcelains that can be regarded as antiques in themselves.

One side of the main house is an open-air garden, it is still early spring, the weather is still cold, and there are no flowering plants.There is a rather large glass greenhouse a little far away, where peacocks live.There are stables on the other side of the main house, with some good horses; there are also carports, where several carriages for different purposes are parked, there are four-horse carriages with family emblems, simple light carriages, and only seats without cars. Top of the summer buggy.

Of course Henry could ride a horse, and he rode very well. He had a service horse in the militia, but it was not his personal property, it was government property.He took Alice out for a ride, put her in front of him, and told her to hold on to the rein so that she wouldn't fall off.

Alice likes riding a horse very much. Without him, there is no car in this era, and riding a horse is the fastest way to move, and there is no other way of exercise that can replace the thrill of bumping up and down until you want to vomit.

When she came back from a round of riding, Alice's little face was already pale from the cold wind, but she was still very happy, "Henry, I want my own pony."

"That's not cheap," Henry picked her up, handed her to the underground servant, and then dismounted himself. "Father may not have the money, but I can help you pay attention. If there is a suitable one, I will buy it first."

"How much will it cost?"

"A riding pony is around £20. If you don't ask too much, you can get a decent farm pony for £10 to £12, so you don't have to ride when you grow up, or you can afford a replacement." A better riding horse, and he can do the work for the family."

Alice thought that even if she wanted to ride a horse, it was unlikely that she could run too fast. No matter what breed of pony, it would not be able to reach the full running speed of an adult war horse, so the breed was not too important, and farm horses were also acceptable.

"Okay, anyway, you can figure it out, as long as it suits me for riding a horse."

Hastings Foyd offered a treasure at the side, "I have it, I have it! Mr. Hastings specially bought me a riding pony, Alice, you can ride my horse."

Alice ignored him and just smiled at him.

Henry left Daylesford on the last day of his holiday.

Alice reluctantly said goodbye to her brother.

Cousin Eliza took her hand and said goodbye to Henry together.

"Okay, he will come to see us off when we go back to Steventon. Come on, let's go in, it's really cold today!" Eliza touched Alice's little face, "Come in, I'm The servants have been ordered to build the fireplace."

Warren Hastings was reading in the living room when he heard them come in, looked up at them, and said with a smile, "Come and sit down."

Alice sat down beside him, "What are you looking at?"

Warren Hastings turned the cover over: it was a Sanskrit book.

"Sanskrit? Can you read Sanskrit directly?"

"Do you know which country's text this is?"

"India. Paleo. Am I right?"

"exactly!"

"I think this kind of writing is very beautiful, ancient and elegant."

"As it happens, I think so too. Do you want to learn?"

"I want to learn!" Alice nodded happily.

Eliza looked at them with a smile on the side, thinking that her little cousin really knew how to please a knowledgeable and leisurely old man.However, what she didn't expect was that Alice was really a child who loved learning in the true sense.

During the short two weeks at Daylesford House, Alice learned the basics of Sanskrit with Warren Hastings.Warren Hastings translated and published the Sanskrit "Bhagavad Gita" into English a few years ago. "Bhagavad Gita" is part of the Indian epic "Mahabharata", an important classic of Hinduism, and a A wonderful work of literature.

Warren Hastings is not only a businessman, a politician, but also a scholar. His teaching quality is very high, and he explains ancient Indian myths and legends and ancient classics simultaneously. Some military operations and political events after India, I didn’t think she couldn’t understand it because she was a 6-year-old girl, but of course I was surprised that Alice could keep up with his teaching progress, and I was very relieved.

There were so many books in the library that Alice thought she would never finish reading them in her lifetime. Among them, all kinds of Sanskrit classics brought back from India filled at least two rows of bookshelves, and there were some Chinese classics. However, Warren Hastings doesn't understand Chinese, so he probably picked it up by chance.

There was no mistress in the family. Warren Hastings was married twice. The first marriage brought him two children, a boy George and a girl Eliza. The girl died shortly after birth, and then his wife died of illness. The boy George was sent back to England and placed in the foster care of the newly married Rev. George, but George was weak and died of illness within a year.He later married again, but had no children.Later, the lady returned to Europe, but whether it was separation or divorce, Alice did not know.

So it's no surprise that Warren Hastings would have liked the goddaughter and the goddaughter's children, and the goddaughter's cousins.He has been in the East India Company for so many years, and he was able to become the first Governor of India, which shows that he is extremely intelligent, has means, and can still maintain a kind nature, which is very rare.Of course, how can a politician have no political opponents? In the complex colonial environment of India, people who are completely different from skin color to religion need great wisdom and tough skills, and it is impossible not to offend others.

When I was in London before, Tom Lefroy and Alice briefly explained the political case of Warren Hastings. Warren Hastings received the sympathy of most of the judges of the Supreme Court in London. There were many aristocrats and socialites who complained about him, and the case took an astonishing seven years, and public opinion became more and more biased towards Warren Hastings over time.

In the Daylesford House, Alice also roughly looked through a thick stack of Hastings case files that were taller than her.Warren Hastings' secretary accompanied her to look through the files, wondering why such a young girl would be interested in flipping through dull legal papers.

In Daylesford, Alice didn't have to pretend to be an ordinary child. She read books very quickly, and could write notes and thoughts while reading. There were many beautifully bound notebooks in the study, and the master could use them as she wished.The dip pen is cumbersome, but of excellent quality and writes smoothly.The ink is also the best writing ink you can buy in London. It doesn't bleed, doesn't smell bad, and the writing is clear, and it won't fade after many years.

By the time the two weeks had passed, Warren Hastings didn't even want her to go.

"I must write to your father and ask him what he plans for your future. Is he going to send you to some lady?"

"Father planned it this way, but he hasn't found a good teacher yet."

"How old are you?" Warren Hastings thought for a moment.

"Turned 12 last December."

"Six? You're so young!" exclaimed Warren Hastings. "Imagine what a lady you'd be at sixteen!"

Alice smiled, "There are a lot of things to learn to be a lady, and I haven't even started learning yet."

"Music, a must, for ladies and gentlemen alike. Dancing, a social necessity, also; and French, though I don't like the French very much—I don't mean you, Eliza."

Eliza said it didn't matter, she didn't think of herself as French.

"I will tell your father, let him find you the best teacher possible, please don't worry about the cost, I will pay your tuition and boarding fees, as well as the necessary living expenses. Dear little Alice, When you want to come, just write to me in advance."

"Thank you, sir." Alice was very pleasantly surprised.

----

*I found that some people are saying that there are too many characters on the scene, it is a little too much.Make a character list.All the characters without remarks are all historical real people.

——Characters who have appeared

Dad: Reverend George

Mom: Cassandra

The eldest brother James, the second brother George, the third brother Edward, the fourth brother Henry, the eldest sister Cassandra (Cathy), the fifth brother Francis, the second sister Jane, the sixth brother Charles, and the younger sister Alice (the heroine, fictional).

The above lives in Steventon. (Edward lived at the Goldmusham estate.)

Eliza: Cousin, daughter of Aunt Felidafia.

Hastings: Eliza's son.

The above lived in Lagrange Gardens.

Tom Lefroy: Jane's lover, Henry's friend.Live in London.

Warren Hastings: Eliza's godfather and friend of the Austin family.Live in Daylesford.

Lady Gresham: Neighbor, wealthy older woman. (from the movie "Becoming Jane")

Wesley: Lady Gresham's natal nephew, Jane's suitor. (from the movie "Becoming Jane")

The above lived at Gresham Manor.

Lady Anna: A distant relative of the mother's family, Alice's cousin. (imaginary)

Jacob: The carpenter's son, Alice's childhood friend. (imaginary)

The above lives near Oxford University in Oxfordshire.

Thomas: A relative of the Austin family, Alice's cousin.Wife Mary, daughter April.Live in London. (imaginary)

——The following only mentions the name and does not appear (or appears but has no dialogue)

Phrydafia: Eliza's mother, Alice's aunt, has passed away.

Tasle Hancock: Eliza's father, Warren Hastings' colleague in the East India Company, has died.

Knight Knight: Edward's adoptive father, a relative of the Austin family, has passed away.

Benjamin Langlois: Tom Lefroy's uncle, former MP, Tom's patron.

Mr. Lefroy: Tom Lefroy's uncle.

Mrs. Lefroy: Tom's aunt.

Lucy Lefroy: Tom's cousin.

The above lived in Ash.

The author has something to say:

*Daylesford House (Daylesford House) has been almost completely renovated in the 20th century, and it is impossible to know what it looked like at the end of the 18th century.It is now a manor hotel.

*The price of horses comes from "Cambridge European Economic History", which refers to the price of horses in 1850. The estimated value of agricultural horses is 20 pounds, and the underage ponies will be lower accordingly. Prices around 1800 should have been slightly lower than in 1850.

*Alice is going to start studying hard to enrich herself every day.