little miss austin

Grant and his sister Sally were in the living room, and when Alice and some young men entered together, both siblings stood up.

Cathy also stood up, "Alice, Miss Temple is looking for you."

"Hello, Miss Temple, Mr. Temple." Alice bowed to the Temple siblings.

The siblings returned the gift.

"This is my friend in Gloucestershire, Lord Bundfield, Mr. Gordon, Lord Byron. This is Lord Kingsley's fiancée, Miss Temple, and her brother, Mr. Temple, from America Come." Byron actually inherited the title of Baron Baron at the age of 10, but he is usually called "Lord"

Several people saluted each other.

Sally and Grant already knew that under what circumstances a man would be called "Lord", there must be a title in the family, non-title heirs can also be called "Lord", and heirs can still be called "Lord" , If you know that a person is a nobleman or his father is a nobleman, but you are not sure what the title is, you should always use "Lord" to call it. Although it is not rigorous, it is not wrong.

Baroness Kingsley has been teaching Sally and Grant about British titles for the past few days, and both siblings feel overwhelmed.

Alice sat down next to Cathy, and Ivo sat next to her very naturally. The couch was full, Byron sat on the armchair next to the couch, and Oliver had to sit next to Grant.

Alice ordered the maid to bring pudding and raspberry jam.Jacob, propping his hands on a linen napkin, brought out a large cube of ice on a silver platter.

The maid brought two silver table knives and two fruit knives, and seven glass bowls.

Ivo was busy scraping the ice with a silver table knife, and Byron was thinking about the novel that Alice had just mentioned, but he didn't rush to ask because the Temple sisters were around.

Grant watched Ivo's busy work for a long time before scraping off a little bit of ice, and asked him, "What are you doing?"

"Ice chipping," said Alice, "it might be nice to scrape off fine chips of ice and put them on top of pudding. Have you ever had any?"

"Pudding?"

"No, smoothie, smoothie juice."

"This is not difficult, is it? The blade is fast enough." Grant did not know where to take out a small knife with a sheath. The blade is not long, and the handle is only about 6 inches. The blade is extremely sharp and quickly scraped off the big ice. Half a bowl of ice chips.

"Wow!" Alice exclaimed, "What a fast knife!"

Grant was very proud, "William gave it to me." Carefully put the knife into the scabbard, "The scabbard is said to be made of sharkskin. Tell me, should I inlay a few gems on the handle? I see rubies are pretty good."

"Are you afraid that others will not know that you have money? Be low-key and keep your wealth secret." Alice stretched out her hand, and Grant put the knife in her palm.

Alice carefully pulled out the knife and waved it a few times, "This knife is very good, William didn't even say give it to me."

Cathy was terrified, "Be careful!"

She put the knife back into its sheath, looked at it again and again for a while, and then gave it back to Grant.

Sally scolded her younger brother for taking out such a sharp knife in a low voice, Grant smiled and said indifferently, "I'm not stupid enough to cut myself, and neither will Alice."

Oliver, who was beside him, was really worried that Alice would accidentally scratch himself.In fact, since she was a child, she was not as fussy and flustered as ordinary children. She has always been quite calm and pays attention to safety.But for some reason, he was always worried about her.

It was a little strange, he thought.

Raspberry jam is just like Alice said, sweet, but not particularly sweet, the sweetness is just right, poured on the pudding, the pudding tastes tender and smooth, and the jam is sweet, it is very suitable as a dessert with tea.

After tea and refreshments, Reverend George left them after dinner.

Ivo asked Alice to play the piano to pass the time, but Alice refused.

"I haven't heard you play the piano a few times. How do you learn it? Is it because you are not good at learning, so you don't want to play the piano?" Ivo asked.

"No, I just don't want to play." Playing the piano and singing is a skill that only girls need to learn, and boys don't need to learn it.Moreover, the vast majority of girls learn to play the piano and sing to increase their bargaining chips, to show that they are versatile bride candidates, not because they really like music so much.If it wasn't for self-entertainment, she wouldn't want to play the piano and sing in front of these boys.

"Then how do we pass the time before dinner?"

"If you want to play pool, I can play for a while."

Ivo jumped up, "Then let's play billiards!"

Austin's house, which doesn't have a dance hall, has a large game room with a pool table.Billiards was a man's game, but Alice was good at it, and Reverend George sometimes played with her,

At this time, there were not many balls on the billiard table, and it was not a competition event. The rules of the game were chaotic and not fixed. Each country had its own rules.Most of the ball tables are made of hardwood, and the slate table is just beginning to rise.Austin's pool table is a slate table, covered with a layer of velveteen cloth, the cue ball is an ivory ball dyed red, and the target balls are 4 white ivory balls.

Alice and Ivo were playing billiards. Cathy, Sally, Grant, and Byron played whist. Oliver took the order and watched Alice play billiards.

Alice's billiard level is slightly better, and Ivo loses a game quickly.But his mind was not on playing, and he didn't care.

Many questions were asked, such as, "Miss Temple is from the United States. After she gets married, will she stay in the United Kingdom or return to the United States?"

"It's funny what you said, of course you stayed in England."

"Where is Mr. Temple?"

"He's staying in England to go to university."

"Go to university? Have you decided which university to go to?" Ivo looked up at Oliver.The universities in England are either Oxford or Cambridge anyway, so it is unlikely that he will go to the University of Glasgow.

"Not sure, but William is an Oxford graduate, so he's probably going to Oxford."

Ivo raised his eyebrows, "Let him go to Oxford, I will guide him well."

Alice gave him a suspicious look, and then asked Grant, "Mr. Temple, have you decided which university to go to?"

Sure enough, Grant said, "Oxford."

"That's just right. Mr. Gordon went to Oxford this year, and he will be your senior at that time."

Grant looked at Ivo and narrowed his eyes slightly: This guy!

At the end of a whist game, Grant stood up, "Sorry, I'll go away." Putting down the cards in his hand, he made a gesture to indicate whether Oliver wanted to continue playing.

Oliver sat down at the card table.

Grant went to the bathroom, ran to the pool table when he came back, and asked Ivo modestly, what is Oxford like now, what majors he studies, and what courses he has.It has been several years since William graduated, and he is not very familiar with the current situation of Oxford University.

They are only 1 year apart in age, both born at the end of the year, Grant just turned 17, and Ivo turned 18 in a few days.Both boys were of the much-loved boyish nature, haughty but not obnoxious, Grant the more sociable and talkative; Ivo the less sociable, but better brought up and more Be reserved.

In this era of England, the communication methods of decent men and women are very limited. It is inappropriate for a girl to date a suitor alone without the company of her family. A man can visit a woman's home alone, but if he wants to invite a girl to his home, He couldn't make an invitation by himself, he had to ask a female relative to do so, so Grant came with his sister today to ask Sally to invite Alice to be a guest in another villa of the Kingsley family where they live now.

At tea just now, Sally had already invited Alice, and Alice had already agreed, so Grant felt very happy, even a little elated.

Ivo suffers because his sisters are not in London. He and Byron temporarily live in the house of Baron Bundfield; Oliver has no mother and no sisters. He is also at a disadvantage. He cannot invite Alice to his house alone. If he wants to invite , must be invited together with Cathy.When Alice lived in Daylesford, they didn't pay much attention to these etiquettes because they were still young, and it was usually Oliver and the others who came to play with her, so the issue of etiquette was not too prominent.

Ivo was very jealous, secretly thinking about how to invite Alice to be a guest.It would be better if Oliver opened his mouth to invite, and it would be better to invite Henry Austin, and then let Henry take Alice to go, but this is a bit troublesome, what if Henry Austin didn't understand the correct meaning?The baron is not in London, so they can't invite Reverend George directly. As a father, Reverend George would take his daughter to go out as a guest.

This question stumped Ivo.

After leaving Austin's house, Ivo complained in the carriage, "I want to invite Alice to play on Charles Street, but none of us have sisters in London." Charles Street is the street where Baron Bundfield's villa is located.

Oliver was also thinking about this question, "I don't have any sisters in my family, so there's nothing I can do. Which of your sisters lives closest?"

"Elena. She will be in London these days, and then take me back to Winchester."

"You wrote to ask her to come two days early. Where will she live?"

"I live in my villa, but it's a bit far away." Ivo hesitated.

Byron said suddenly: "My sister is in London."

Ivo was surprised, "Your sister? Do you have a sister?"

Byron said calmly: "You seem to have forgotten that my mother is not my father's first wife. His ex-wife has a daughter, my sister Augusta."

Ivo suddenly said, "Oh!" He really didn't take this matter to heart.Byron's mother, Catherine Gordon, was his second cousin, and George Byron, his third cousin.

"She lives with relatives, but she can also come and stay with us for a few days," Byron added.

"That's great!"

Augusta Byron was approaching twenty-two, a good-looking young woman.She replied briskly mocking her brother, and promised to help.So the Byrons visited the Austins' house and extended an invitation to Alice, after the Temple's invitation.

On the appointed day, Cathy took Alice to Temple's house.

Cathy and Sally stayed in the living room, and Grant took Alice to the library with a few words.

But in the home of a person of some status, there must be a library, and the books in it may not have been read since they were bought.Grant's mind was not on collecting books, but on talking to Alice.

"I heard from William that both of your older brothers graduated from Oxford University."

"Hmm." Alice glanced at the spine of the books on the bookshelf, trying to find some interesting books that she hadn't read.

"I haven't met your other brothers yet."

"Why do you want to see my brothers?"

"Isn't it all like this? You have met my mother and sister, and I have also met your brothers and sisters in London. Shouldn't you also meet your other brothers?"

"You are so strange. It is impossible for them to come to London specially for you to meet."

"When are you going to visit your brothers? I can go too."

"Is this a strange custom among you Americans?"

"Maybe."

"Charles came back once last year, and Francis hasn't been back for several years. They are both on the warship, and there is no telling when they will come back."

"A naval officer?"

"Yes, they are all lieutenants now, Francis may have been promoted to captain, and my father hopes to have a letter from them before Christmas. You know that England has always had a very unstable relationship with France, and their warships may be at sea with French warships." Let's have a fight."

"Are not you afraid?"

"Afraid? What are you afraid of?"

"Your brothers may not come back."

Alice thought for a while, "But this is a career risk, and I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about it. I want them all to retire and go home, but they don't want to."

Grant can understand her brothers very well, "I also thought about joining the army and becoming an officer, but my mother firmly disagreed. She said, who knows if the United States will go to war with Britain? Someone in my family has already died on the battlefield for the country , she didn't want me to die too." He sighed, "What do you think?"

"What do I think? That's not my family's business. If you want to go, no matter how much Mrs. Temple stops you, she can't stop you."

Grant made a grimace, and said with a grin: "For things like defending the country, maybe there will be another war, and I will get hot-headed and run to the battlefield. Alice," he suddenly asked, "Do you want to go to the United States to see?" ?"

"what?"

"When we started from Savannah, we heard that someone was going west of the Mississippi River, trying to find a waterway through the continental United States. Have you thought about it? Maybe we can go all the way west along the Mississippi River, as long as you don't Afraid of the Indians."

Alice looked at him with a look of caring for the mentally retarded, "You may be crazy. Mrs. Temple won't even let you join the army. How dare you say you are going to take an adventure on the Mississippi River?"

"Is it because I'm too young?" He touched his chin. "Do you think being an explorer is a ridiculous thing?"

"I didn't say that." She took a book from the shelf, flipped through it unconsciously, and didn't look to see what book it was. "You want to go on an adventure? A real kind of adventure?"

"I like unknown things, because there will be a kind of uncertainty, and it will be very exciting!"

"You're really different from British boys. Boys I know," she smiled, "think going to London's red-light district is their biggest adventure. Are there many American boys like you? I mean, you're Is your hometown a special boy too?"

"When I was a child, my father and mother thought that my idea was just a child's whimsy, and they didn't take it seriously. When I grew up, they thought I was a little lunatic."

"The legs grow on your body, and your life is your own. As long as you think about it and are prepared, I don't think there is anything wrong with it." She wondered if this was the restlessness in a man's nature?Among the well-known and unknown explorers who have emerged since the age of discovery, some are for fame, more are for profit, and a small number are people who are truly adventurous.They explored the ocean, confirmed the fact that "the earth is round", and then began to explore areas on land that were unknown to the civilized world, and they did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives for this - explorers are more dangerous professions than soldiers in this era , the death rate is extremely high.

"Then would you like to come with me?"

"No." Alice flatly refused.

"Why? I thought you would be very adventurous." Grant muttered dissatisfied.

"Did I say so?"

"you said before."

"Oh, then I may not have expressed clearly, I only like adventure stories told by others, I don't want to go to places full of mosquitoes, poisonous snakes, swamps, and America has savages who can scalp people, don't you imagine them It's wonderful. There's no such thing as a 'noble savage' race."

"I know. So I want to go to university in the UK, learn the knowledge I need, and go when I'm ready."

Alice couldn't help comparing him with other boys: Oliver has a good temper, but he may be used to suppressing himself, too sensible, but his vision is not high, he will be his heir in a proper manner, and he will marry and have children in the future. Inheriting the title, he would not have too many thoughts, traveling to Europe for a year or two at most was his limit;

Julian, a brat, has limited troubles, and at most he will be a man like William Kingsley in the future;

Ivo, his personality should be more lively, but his vision is also very limited, and he will be similar to Oliver;

Byron, I already know that this is a very troublesome man, if he didn't die so early, maybe he would really become an even more remarkable person;

Evan, who ran off to study philosophy, might become a priest of a certain parish under the barony in the future, and his future is limited.

So it seems that the boy from the United States is the most unusual one.

The next day, Cathy took Alice to visit the Byron siblings again.

Augusta borrowed the villa of Baron Bondfield's family to entertain the Austin sisters.

In terms of familiarity, Ivo felt that he had played with Alice for several years and knew her very well; the Gordons were also very familiar with the female students at Daylesford House, and Alice’s family background and upbringing were all right. , can be regarded as the right match.

In fact, Ivo didn't think too much, but felt that it was too troublesome to invite her out to play now.

He muttered: "It's not easy for you to go out now. Or—do you want to see a stage play? There is a new play at the Goliath Theater in the West End. Do you want to see it?"

"I can't go out alone." If Alice didn't have a deep understanding of this situation before, it was because in Daylesford, Mr. Hastings did not fully require that all invitations and contacts be in accordance with etiquette.But now that she is back with her parents, she has to follow the normal rules.

Ivo sighed, "Then I'll book a few more tickets, and ask Miss Austin to go with me, and then bring George."

"Where's Oliver?"

"He's out on errands, and he won't be back until dinner time. Tell me, do you want to go to the stage play together?"

"Well, but it's almost Christmas, and if it snows, I'm not going out."

"Okay, if I send a carriage over there, then you go out. If the weather is bad, I won't send a carriage over there." Ivo was elated.

Byron was still thinking about the novel she talked about that day, and asked her, "Did you finish the outline of the novel you talked about last time?"

"Half done."

"What story do you want to write this time?"

"It's still adventure and horror stories." Gothic novels are still very popular, and "English Horror Stories" does not get as much attention in newspapers as "Pride and Prejudice", but there are always a group of loyal readers.The newspaper uses letters from readers to calculate the popularity of the novel's serialization, and also uses several issues to test the reader's reaction.

Austin and Ferrero are planning to publish the first volume of "Horror Stories of England" as a stand-alone book, adding several new short stories, pre-Christmas prime-time pre-advertising in newspapers, including a pre-Christmas release The booklet of Pride and Prejudice.

Jane's last novel, "Sense and Sensibility," was published in 1801. It was reprinted once in 1802 with 1 copies, and an additional 1500 copies were printed at the beginning of this year. The first printing of the first edition of "Pride and Prejudice" is considerable There are 300 copies, and the sales outlets have been distributed to the capitals of various counties. Distributors have also been found in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. Advertising and marketing are booming.

Jane has a manuscript fee income every year. As the number of novels she publishes increases, the manuscript fee will also be a cumulative process. In terms of her personal income, it can be compared with Tom Lefroy's inheritance. After all, the inheritance There is only one sum, but the manuscript fee can continue in a steady stream.

Life is carefree, her husband is amiable and lovely, and her daughter is lively and smart. Jane's life now is very happy.

She allocates her spare time outside of housework to her daughter and writing. According to Alice, she must insist on writing every day, even if she only writes 500 words, to maintain the continuity of her creation.After getting used to this kind of writing intensity, it was easy for her to write 1000 words a day, and she finished writing 3 more novels at the rate of one book a year.

The author has something to say:

*Last time I talked about Shelley, today I will talk about his good friend Byron.Indebted and ill-tempered, Byron's father married twice, the first bringing him a daughter, Augusta, and his second, Catherine Gordon, who gave birth to George Byron.Catherine used her own money to repay her husband's debts, so that she and her son lived a relatively poor life. It was not until Byron was 10 years old that he inherited his uncle's title and estate that the economy improved.

Byron was born with equinus, with the soles of the feet turned inwards. It is not clear whether it is one or two feet, and it is not clear whether it has been treated.Byron was very concerned about his foot disease, which may have caused him to be discriminated against and ridiculed at Harrow School, and he developed a very violent temper.

Byron was so precocious that he fell in love with his distant relative Mary Chaworth at the age of 15, so he didn't even want to go to Harrow.But Mary Chaworth turned him down.It is said that this year, he met his half-sister Augusta.

At the age of 17, Byron entered Trinity College, Cambridge University, where he was infected with the vices of all college students and was heavily in debt.Like women, also like men, Harrow and Cambridge have very good male classmates.

In 1813, Byron had an incest scandal with his sister Augusta, who was married at the time. It is said that Augusta's daughter Elizabeth Medora, who was born in 1814, was Byron's daughter.Byron then married Annabelle Millbank in January 1815. They had a daughter, Augusta Ada. The judge upheld Annabelle's claim, and Byron left England in April 1, never to return to England.

After Byron left England, he went to Switzerland, met Shelley, and hooked up with Claire, who gave birth to Byron's illegitimate daughter Allegra in 1817.

Then Byron went to Italy, where he had several mistresses.

In 1818, Byron met the 19-year-old Countess Teresa Gamba Guiccioli, and Teresa became his mistress. Byron had a good relationship with Teresa's father and brother, and their relationship may have remained until his death.

Byron liked Greece very much. In order to support Greek independence, he formed an army to participate in the Greek War of Independence. However, he died of illness in 1824, and his ambitions were not fulfilled.The body was brought back to England, and a request to be buried in Westminster Abbey was rejected, and it was later buried in the family grave in the estate of the Byron family. (His good friend Shelley was also rejected by Westminster Abbey.)