little miss austin

This is why when Alice lives in London, she must be accompanied by an adult before she is allowed to go out.Even children who are well-born by their clothes and manners will inevitably be kidnapped. The police’s handling of cases is backward. Even if they can find the kidnappers, the children are often taken away or killed by this time. There are very few children. be rescued in time.

Alice was stunned: "Is London so dangerous!"

"That's why rich people have so many servants, and they always have to follow many people when they go out, so as to ensure maximum safety." This is really not just for ostentation.

Alice couldn't help asking, "What about Fleming?"

Henry sighed, "Of course his life will not be easy, and he will blame himself for the rest of his life."

"You can't blame him, can you? He also wanted to take his younger brother out to play, and he never thought that this kind of thing would happen." After all, he was only 16 years old, and he was just a freshman in high school in later generations, and he was still a child.But the mother tends to prefer the younger son, and the relationship between mother and son seems to be boundless.

Eliza shook her head, "For a mother, this is the most painful situation. Fleming's existence is to remind her that the child she lost will never come back—Henry, really Is there no way to get it back?" She thought of her son, Little Hastings. Children around the age of 10 are most likely to be kidnapped. Little Hastings is 14 and a half years old this year, but it does not mean that there is no danger. After all, no one in this world is absolutely safe, even the king, who sometimes encounters assassination .

Henry shook his head.

Jane’s face was also pale.

If this kind of thing didn't happen to someone I'm familiar with, I always feel that I'm far away from myself, so I don't need to worry about it at all, but——

Jane hugged Alice, and whispered in her ear, telling her that no matter whether she was in London or Bath, she must bring at least three or four servants before going out. The child cannot guarantee her safety.

Alice nodded repeatedly.

Little Hastings, who was listening, was also frightened, with a sad look on his face.

He had been sent to bed early last night by Eliza on the grounds that it was a conversation between women and he was a man not to get involved, but he also knew it was a serious matter.He doesn't go out very often now, because he decided to go to Cambridge University or Oxford University at the age of 17. Now his tutor is teaching him at home, and his curriculum is also very tight, so he doesn't have much time to go out for fun.

London is a big city, and it can't be compared with the countryside like Steventon and Daylesford. In rural villages, everyone is familiar with each other, and a strange face will be very eye-catching, and there is no danger at all.Big cities are different, especially London. After the industrial revolution, that is, in the past 50 years, a large number of rural idlers have poured into London, and many of them are criminals. For the evil group of people, women become prostitutes, and men become thieves, corpse thieves, murderers, and thugs.The children of whores go on to become whores and thieves, and the children of thieves go on to become whores and rascals.It's a vicious cycle with no prospect of breaking it.

Since it was decided that both husband and wife would go to Bath, it was impossible to leave little Hastings at home alone, and he would go to Bath together.

So, after breakfast, the three of Henry's family took Alice, boarded the carriage, and headed for Bath.

In addition to looking after the company, Tom also had to stay in London to continue inquiring about little Thomas. Even if he couldn't find a living person, he had to see a dead body to die. There must be a whereabouts.

Jane was sad and scared, and developed a high fever that night, and it took almost a month for her to recover from her illness.

Alice didn't sleep well at night, and after the carriage drove out of downtown London, she felt drowsy.

Eliza, who had been sitting with Henry, changed seats with little Hastings when she saw that she was sleepy, and held Alice so that she could take a nap.

Henry and his stepson whispered to him, to the effect that he should pay attention to safety and stop sneaking out to play. It was too dangerous. London is not like Steventon or Daylesford. He can go anywhere in the country to play, but in London no.When you get to Bath, don't go out casually, you must take the servants; and Alice, he must learn to take care of Alice.

Little Hastings obediently agreed.

That night, they arrived at Steventon and stayed at their original home.Henry told his elder brother James what had happened to Thomas Jr., and the James couple also sighed, confirming once again that there is no better place than Steventon.

Alice still lives in her room.Only her and Cathy's rooms remain in the parsonage, Jane's room is now occupied by her niece Anna, and Henry's room is occupied by her nephew James.

Alice was lying on her own bed, but the mattresses, sheets, and pillows on the bed had all been changed, and she was a little uncomfortable for a while.

The home—the former home—has changed a lot. A new housewife has moved in, new furniture and wallpaper have been put on. It is hard to say that it is still a familiar home.

The upright piano at home was also sold. The piano was considered simple, and I couldn’t take it with me when I moved. I sold it to someone nearby for 8 guineas.Jane bought a new piano at her new home in London, costing £50, a big upgrade.

The little Thomas incident is just one of countless tragedies that have happened in this world. Relatives and friends will mourn for him for a while, but then they will gradually forget him. Only his parents and brothers and sisters can remember him for a long time.There is a hole in the heart of this family that can never be filled.

After walking for two more days, I finally reached Bath after dark on the third day.

Maxwell Gardens was brightly lit. Reverend George and mother Cassandra were very surprised that the Henry family also came to Bath, because they had not delivered the letter before.Henry made a temporary decision and left in a hurry, so he thought that there was no need to write a letter in advance, and the mail from the post station might not have arrived when he arrived in Bath.

The servants were busy, boiling hot water for the guests to wash.

Alice was hungry, so she drank chicken soup and ate two drumsticks before taking a bath and going to bed.

Henry sent little Hastings to wash up and go to bed, and then, together with Eliza, told his parents and sister about little Thomas.

My mother is a very emotional person, and I cried with Cathy, thinking about what a lovely child Thomas is, how could such a thing happen?He gritted his teeth and cursed that those bad guys would be punished and only deserved to go to hell.

Pastor George and his wife and children read prayers for little Thomas, hoping that he could go home soon. If he really couldn't, then, I hope his young and pure heart can rest in peace.

Christmas at Austin's family was a bit dark because of this.

If Alice wants to go to the hot springs, it must be taken by her mother or Cathy and Eliza, and Mellie and the housemaid must be brought along, and at least 3 adults must accompany her.The same goes for little Hastings, who needs at least 3 adults to go to the hot tub with him.If there is a social dance in the evening, leave someone at home, or take them both together.

Although Bath is not as large as London and does not have so many people, it also has a large floating population, and the security problem is not very good. The security in high-end residential areas and commercial areas is not bad, but those who work live in civilian areas and slums Not so much.

Maxwell Gardens is in a high-end residential area, which is relatively good. There will be patrols at night. If so, my mother is also in a hurry, and she will panic when she doesn't see Alice for a while.She also grew up in the country since she was a child, and has lived in the country since she got married. She has never lived in London for more than two weeks. She has never known such terrible crimes in the dark areas of a big city.It can be regarded as frightening her!

Both the Reverend George and Henry wrote separately to Mr. Hastings concerning the matter.Mr. Hastings wrote back that he had indeed been negligent in letting Alice take two of them to London.When Alice returns to Daylesford, he will send a carriage to pick her up. In addition to the coachman, he will also arrange three servants to accompany the carriage to ensure Alice's safety.

I received letters from Tom one after another, saying that Thomas Jr. had never heard from him, and he didn't know whether he was sent to London to sell, or was killed and sold to medical students.Mary was nearly insane, and Fleming couldn't stay at home. He couldn't spend Christmas Eve at home, and went to Southampton early.

Alice felt sorry for little Thomas, and also felt sorry for Fleming, but she had no way to reverse what had happened, she could only lament that the world was impermanent and human life was worthless.

Henry frightened her and asked her if she still dared to say that she wanted to travel.Her mother acted like she would faint if she dared to say that she still wanted to travel. Alice had no choice but to say depressedly that if she didn't go out, she wouldn't want to go abroad without a regiment of soldiers.

This year, her 11th birthday was not as usual, neither the joy of Christmas nor the joy of being a year older.

Wesley and William's letter followed Tom's letter to Bath.Wesley wrote formally to Reverend George, expressing his condolences.William wrote to Alice. This kind of thing is not an isolated case. Even rich families have children who were kidnapped and disappeared. I hope she will not be too scared. Remember to bring enough servants and learn how to shoot well. , take a gun with you, and protect yourself.

Alice pondered, there seems to be no such thing as social survey reports in this era, very few people pay attention to these social phenomena, very few people pay attention to the living conditions of the people at the bottom, and there is no exposure to child labor, human trafficking, corpse digging and selling, etc. Not to mention the perspectives of the living conditions of women at the bottom.This is not surprising. After all, newspapers are still a new thing. There is no such thing as a "journalist" at all, let alone the profession of an "investigative reporter".

Speaking of newspapers, Tom published a missing person notice in the "Times" on the day they left London, saying that if someone sent back little Thomas, he would pay 1000 pounds as a reward-someone sent someone of a similar age. A child of similar type, but not her own, Mary, a mother, could tell at a glance.The police blamed Tom for publishing missing person notices indiscriminately, which made it more difficult to find the child.

Christmas passed, New Years passed, and in 1801, there was still no news from Thomas Jr.

Henry, Eliza, and little Hastings left Bath just after Christmas.

Pastor George, mother, Cathy, Alice, Mellie, Jacob, two servants, two maids, and a coachman live in Maxwell Gardens now. The house is not big, so it is quite crowded.

Bath is a city of convalescence, some people go home for Christmas and New Year, and some people come to Bath from home instead.

William Beckford brought his daughter Susan to Bath for Christmas and New Years. They lived in a villa on the outskirts of Bath with more than a dozen servants. They came and went in four-horse carriages, and the dance usually lasted until 2:3 in the morning. It's not over until [-] o'clock.

He was an eccentric man, very willful, and easily changed his mind. He often decided to hold a ball after dinner in the afternoon, so he sent servants to the city to invite guests from family to family with invitation cards.

Residents of Maxwell Gardens are also invited.

If the whole family is going to the prom, Alice must not be allowed to stay at home alone. Alice expressed that she also wanted to see what the Beckford family's prom was like, so she went.

It’s really different for the super rich to hold a dance party. In addition to fine wine, countless candles are lit inside and outside the dance hall, and fuel street lamps are lit from the pool in front of the villa and beside the garden. Clove powder is added to the lamp oil, and the aroma is fragrant after burning. ;

For the gentlemen there was good cut tobacco, as well as dry and wet snuff, all in fine Chinese glass snuff-boxes;

There are fragrant rose water, lemon water, and mountain spring water containing cloves for the female guests. Although there are no other fruits suitable for preservation in winter except citrus, there are more than 20 kinds of dried and preserved fruits from foreign countries, and there are also small The little creme cake, enough dance gap to temporarily fill the stomach.

Reverend George also tasted snuff, he liked dry snuff, and said it was probably a high-end foreign stuff, hard to get.Snuff is also made of tobacco leaves, but the manufacturing process is different from shredded tobacco, and spices are added in it. According to different spices, the price is also slightly different.

William Beckford was born in 1760 and is 40 years old this year. When he was young, he could be said to be a handsome young man. Now he can still be said to be a handsome middle-aged uncle with good looks in middle age.He doesn't appear often, and even when he appears, he basically doesn't dance with female guests. Most people despise his gay scandals, but they don't despise his gorgeous balls.

Robert Bridges was also in Bath, after Christmas.

Mother tried to persuade Cathy to dance with Major Bridges, but Cathy had no choice but to go.

Mom finally got rid of the influence of little Thomas incident these days, and began to worry about Cathy's marriage again.She watched Bridges dancing with Cathy and was very satisfied, "I just said that Robert has taken a fancy to my Cathy."

Alice held her forehead, "Mom!"

"Is it time for him to propose?" Mom asked Pastor George.

"First of all, he has to make sure that Cathy will agree to the proposal." Pastor George said.

"Cathy will definitely say yes!"

"Not always."

Mom glared at Pastor George, "Can't you say something nice?"

"It also depends on whether Cathy has taken a fancy to Mr. Bridges?" Alice whispered.

Cathy now has an annuity of 300 pounds a year, as well as dividends from the publishing house in the future. Naturally, she can choose others, but the range is indeed not too large, so her mother always thinks that it will be difficult for Cathy to miss Bridges. I have found a husband with such suitable conditions again.

It should be said that Cathy was single all her life because of financial reasons, or she didn't want to get acquainted with another man, but now she doesn't have to worry about financial problems, if she has the opportunity to enjoy love, she should enjoy it as soon as possible.

Although Pastor George felt that his wife was a little too hasty, if Cathy could also get married, it was still in line with his way of thinking.He felt that his daughter had no money to get married because he was incompetent as a father and could not provide enough dowry for his daughter, and he had been secretly blaming himself for this.If only things could turn around now.

Alice felt that the relationship between Cathy and Bridges seemed rather cold, and Bridges didn't know why he hadn't given up on Cathy until now.

In the ladies' lounge, there were some female guests who stopped to have a rest. There were some unmarried women, and there were also many married young women. Cathy was a little embarrassed among them. Her age should be a married young woman, but she was unmarried. Neither side can fit in.

Mother dragged Cathy to talk to others, Reverend George and Bridges went to the gentlemen's smoking room, and Alice stayed alone in the ladies' lounge for a while.

Her hair was beautiful, long golden brown hair, braided and then tied into a bun, revealing her fair and slender neck.Wearing a birthday present from Wesley, a sky-blue satin headband with a bow under the bun, it is very beautiful.

She took some almonds and ate them. Suddenly, someone came from behind her and pulled off her hair tie, messing up her hair.

"Hello!" Alice stared at the man dissatisfied: it was a thin girl who looked about 12 or 3 years old.She is not tall, but she is very beautiful, her eyes are not too big, because her nose, mouth and ears are small, she is a very delicate little beauty.

"Hey what? Haven't you seen me?"

"No, who are you? Give me back my hair tie."

"I'm Susan Beckford, and Mr. Beckford is my father." Susan held a sky blue hair tie in her hand, "Your hair tie is very beautiful, can you give it to me?"

"No." Alice quickly took back the hair tie, "This is a birthday present from someone else, I can't give it to others."

"That's a pity!" Susan sighed, "I wanted to exchange this with you." Her tiny fingers hooked the pearl necklace around her neck.

"I don't like pearl necklaces." Alice rolled her eyes: she has a string of pearl necklaces herself, so she won't look at other people's pearl necklaces.

Susan giggled, "You're different from others. If it was another girl, she would agree to change with me."

Alice asked suspiciously: "Would you really trade someone for a hair tie worth only a few pearls?"

Susan made a face, "No. If you agree to change it, I will take your headband and tell my father that you stole my necklace."

Alice wanted to touch her forehead: This little girl is really a bad boy!

According to Beckford's temperament, he would either let Susan go his own way and only let the governess control her, or he would spoil the heavens and not care if he knew she was lying.Or both, in short, the kind where money can do whatever it wants.

After Alice took back the hair tie, she put it in her handbag and tidied her hair casually. There was no mirror, so she didn't know what it was like.

Mom and Cathy came back, "Alice, is this your new friend?"

"Hi, I'm Susan Beckford." Susan saluted Mrs. Austin with a perfectly trained smile.

Alice didn't deny it, but she didn't admit it either.

"Alice," her mother urged her.

"I am Alice Austen. This is my mother, Mrs. Austen. My sister, Cassandra Austen."

"Hello, Mrs. Austen, Miss Austen. I hope you enjoy your stay at my house. Alice, may I visit you at your house?"

"No." Alice immediately refused.

"Alice!" Mom gave her a look.

Before the dance was over, the Austen family took their leave, the reason being, of course, that Alice had to go home early and go to bed.

As the little master, Susan sent the Austin family outside the door and watched the carriage leave.

Cathy asked, "Alice, why don't you like Miss Susan?"

"She's a little liar and I don't like her."

"What's up with her?"

"She broke my hair tie." She opened the tie bag hanging from her wrist and took out the hair tie.Cathy took the headband and examined it.

"Isn't it all right, undamaged. But she pulled your hair tie off? That's why your hair is all messed up, isn't it?"

Alice nodded.

Cathy frowned. "That's not flattering. Did she bully you?"

Alice thought for a while, "Except for this, it's not bullying me. But she is spoiled, I don't know if she will become very annoying if she comes to the house as a guest."

Cathy smiled, "probably not. She will always do superficial work and won't do anything to you in our house. If she wants to visit, let her come. I will accompany you, don't be afraid .”

That's true.Susan was going out as a guest, so she wouldn't be talking nonsense, but it would be hard to say if she was at her house.Although Alice was not afraid of her playing tricks, she had never met such a cunning little girl in Austin's house all these years.

Let’s just talk about Evan Holmes, he’s just an ordinary and annoying middle school boy, as long as he’s ignored, he won’t be able to writhe, and if he doesn’t, he can still beat him up.But if your enemy is a girl who is beautiful and rich, and her father has a temper as he pleases, then it will be really troublesome!

Alice thought that she would be leaving Bath in a few weeks. Susan wouldn't visit her every day, would she?Two or three visits at most is considered too much. Thinking about it this way, there is nothing to worry about.

The author has something to say:

*About London's body-snatching phenomenon, see the second episode of the first season of the BBC documentary "History Cold Case".The security issue in London has not been very good. The subsequent Jack the Ripper happened in 1888 (the Whitechapel murder), and the British themselves made many films and TV dramas about Jack the Ripper.

So Conan Doyle always ridiculed Scotland Yard as a big idiot in his novels. At that time, the police's means of solving crimes were too limited.Modern police detection technology should have started from the establishment of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. It pays attention to on-site details, scientific and technological means and scientific analysis.

*I tweeted photos of Jane's 4 brothers and Eliza; photos of Warren Hastings in his old age; photos of William Beckford in his middle age; and photos of Fengshan Manor.Those who are interested can go and have a look.My Weibo is Michael_Mee