little miss austin

Susan sighed, "I think his main purpose is to actually see the families of my suitors. You know, there are many people who are already in debt, but they can still pretend to be rich in London society." look."

"Isn't this normal? You don't need money, but you must not lose that rich man's demeanor."

Susan was disdainful, "Didn't they think that they would always be found to be so poor that they didn't even have a pound in their pocket?"

"Tomorrow will be worrying about tomorrow, just let today go. Besides, if I can marry you, won't I have a lot of money?"

"Do I want to get married that much?"

"I don't look like it. You should play more, and you can get married when you are 24 or 5 years old."

"Play more?" Susan smirked meaningfully, "What do you mean?"

"It's just for fun. Where do you want to go? First go to England, then to Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and then to Europe. It will take 3 or 4 years." This Susan has very impure thoughts!

"Father may not be willing to accompany me. It would be fine if we were only in England, but to Europe," Susan shook her head, "it's too far away."

"He has no government position or business. Your family's plantation is in Jamaica. It's far away, and he doesn't need to take care of the business himself. Isn't he collecting art all the time? Why don't we go around Europe, we can accompany you He went to buy art."

Susan was moved and nodded repeatedly, "It's a good idea! I'll ask him when I go back."

The two girls eagerly discussed which country they wanted to go to. Alice wanted to go to France, Spain and Italy, Susan wanted to go to Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and both of them wanted to go to Russia.

"If I have time, I would like to go to the United States, but there is nothing interesting in the United States now." Alice said.

"America is too far away."

"Distance is not a problem. It's safe to go by boat now. The main reason is that there are Indians who like to scalp white people. They will kill all white men and take white women back to give birth to them."

Susan was dubious, "Didn't everyone say that the savages there are 'noble savages'?"

"Oh! You are so naive! Think about it, if you are living well in your hometown, some people from far away suddenly come, plant a flag and announce that this is their territory, and then open up plantations in your hometown , mining gold and silver mines, and brought smallpox, killing most of your relatives and friends, don’t you want to kill these outsiders?”

Susan froze, "What?"

Alice asked back, "Haven't you read those books?"

"what book?"

""The Letter History of the Conquest of New Spain" and "A Brief Introduction to the Destruction of the West Indies". After reading these two books, you can almost understand what the "good things" the Spanish "conquistadors" did in Central and South America. If you finish reading If you want to know more about the history of Indians in Central America, you can read "Review of the Inca Royal Family."

"I'll write it down." Susan hurriedly took out a small notebook and wrote it down, "What about smallpox?"

"The American continent is very far away from Europe, and no one has had smallpox there, so when more and more Spaniards, Portuguese, French, and British people came, they also brought a lot of diseases, such as influenza, smallpox, and Indians. People have no immunity to smallpox. About 80% of the Indians died of smallpox. Many small tribes almost wiped out the entire tribe. It is like a terrible disease that suddenly spreads in places like Fengshan or Steventon. Within a few months, the entire village was wiped out."

Just imagining it made Susan feel terrible.At the same time, I was very impressed, "How do you know so much!"

"Read more books."

"My father doesn't like me reading a lot of books. He said that the more I know, the more painful life will be. He hopes that I can be as happy as possible. But he doesn't restrict you to read more books. It's not fair!"

"That's because I'm not his daughter."

"So are you happy now?"

"Very happy. I have everything I want, no reason not to be happy."

Susan pouted, "It's also very unfair! You have... so many brothers and sisters, and everyone loves you very much. And Ivo, a little fool, I have long seen that he loves you. Tell me quickly, What does it feel like to kiss you and him?"

"I can't tell you that." Alice made a face at her.

The plan of travel through England was very well approved by Mrs. Austen.William Beckford wrote a letter to the Austen couple, inviting Alice to accompany him to visit relatives and friends in several counties as Susan's companion.

It is very common to visit relatives and friends. Some people can come and go at relatives’ homes for a whole year or even several years. It is especially suitable for families with a little money but not too rich. Rich relatives can sometimes even cover your travel expenses. It's all covered.Of course, Beckford didn't go to a relative's house to eat, eat, and live. Mrs. Austin also thought that he was probably going to investigate candidates for a future son-in-law.

In early June, the Beckfords and Alice set off for London.

Rich people travel with many people.Alice still took Jacob and Sidney with her. Jacob's other sister, Kate, is also working as a maid in Austin's house. This is the first time she goes out with the little master.

The Beckfords and their daughters each brought a valet, a valet, and another 6 valets, 3 maids, a 1-year-old errand boy, 15 coachmen, a total of three carriages, 3 horses, and a lot luggage.

Sam, the servant in charge of Jacob and the Beckford family, followed the carriage on horseback. If the master ordered, he could run back and forth at any time to deal with it; the Beckford father and daughter and Alice rode in a four-wheeled double-sided open carriage , this kind of carriage is called Landau, and when the weather is cool in the morning and evening, the carriage can be opened for ventilation; the three maids of the Beckford family and Mr. Beckford's personal servant ride in an ordinary carriage, and the personal servants of Sidney, Kate and Susan The maid and servant took the third carriage, three of the five male servants sat next to the coachman, and the other two male servants sat behind the carriage of the master's carriage.

6 horse-drawn carts, Jacob and Sam each ride a horse, and bring two other horses to replace them.

There are a lot of people, cars, and luggage, so they walk slowly, and they are not in a hurry. After leaving London, they first go from the Kent side, from east to southeast, then from southeast to Southampton in the southwest, and then to the farther Exeter, Devon, during which Ivo was on vacation, and ran to Southampton to join them; from Devon up, through Somerset, to Bath, and stayed in Bath for two weeks; Then continue up to Gloucestershire in the northwest, and visit Warren Hastings in Daylesford; the Gordon family spent the summer here, so they also stayed at the Gordon's house for a few days.

William Beckford was smart and well-read since he was a child. He has the common problem of rich people and is particularly freewheeling, and also has the unique instinct of smart people who can see through the essence.

Along the way, he explained to his young students the ways of the world, local customs, astronomy, geography, humanities and economics. He understands almost every field, and some of them specialize.Susan is very smart, but because she doesn't read much, what she learns is very limited, and she can't absorb it as fast as Alice; Ivo is also very smart, but Beckford's knowledge is too extensive, and he can only partially keep up with it. .

Beckford privately disliked Ivo for not being smart enough to be worthy of Alice.

"You were very right to learn from Mr. Hastings. He can teach you things that I can't teach you. But you have to know that in this world, smart people are often the most painful because they know too much , saw too much."

"However, if you don't learn and don't know, you are too ignorant. Even if you are in pain, you don't know where your pain or the pain of this era comes from."

"All the pain in this age comes from desire."

Alice lowered her head, thought for a while, and agreed, "Indeed, people's desires are endless. Desires are like a deep ditch, and you will never be able to fill this deep ditch."

"That's right! The desire for money, the pursuit of art, and even the most basic desire for the body are endless. Human nature is greedy. In order to pursue these desires, you have to Will fight, scramble, and plunder, and this is the driving force for human progress, isn't it a bit ridiculous?"

"Is this—the inevitability of the historical process? The history of human development is the history of war and plunder, for example—"

"It's like the history of the American Conquest, isn't it?"

Alice smiled a little embarrassedly: The property of the Beckford family was built on "plunder".

"This is really contradictory. On the one hand, as an individual, if it weren't for my great-grandfather's economic acumen and tough methods, the Beckford family could not have accumulated huge wealth in just three generations, and I, without wealth, no matter how smart I am , the future is also limited, and I may have died long ago, but then again, if I hadn’t inherited such a huge inheritance, no one would ruin my reputation for money.” Beckford sneered, “So look, the world Things in life go hand in hand. Money allows me to live the life I want to live, but money also brings me endless troubles.

"On the other hand, what I learned made me realize how cruel, cruel, and unfair the world is. This is a pain that transcends personal feelings. I actually don't know what to do. A person How insignificant is your power!"

"So, you don't let Susan read too many books?"

"In this era, it is also painful for women," Beckford said sadly: "I could have married another wife. Even after so many years, some people still try to introduce me to possible wife candidates, but I think Why bother? It may not be a good thing for that woman to put my surname on. I know that the other party is more likely to look at my money than me. Susan doesn't have to live in such pain as me, I I will give her a dowry rich enough so that she can marry whoever she wants, but as for love, it is not necessarily necessary."

For a father, there was nothing wrong with what Beckford did.

It is true that the more knowledge human beings have, the more painful they are. The people of primitive tribes in the Amazon rainforest may only need to think about eating and having children for the rest of their lives. They don’t know or care about what it looks like outside the rainforest, whether the earth is round or not. How people live in other places, ignorance is often easier to be happy.

During the few days of staying at Gordon's house, the Beckfords and their daughter left a deep impression on the Gordon couple.

If Beckford is willing to socialize well, there is nothing wrong with it at all, and the etiquette is perfect; Susan is also a girl who can pretend to be a lady, and she is beautiful, with the appearance of a typical gentle beauty in England .

For a moment Mrs. Gordon was so delusional that she wished Ivo could marry Susan.

Mr. Gordon quickly dismissed his wife's idea.Marriage should be well-matched. The Gordon family is neither rich nor noble. Even if Susan fell in love with Ivo, Beckford would never agree.

That's all for Mrs. Gordon.

Alice had no idea of ​​Mrs. Gordon's sudden whims.She also lived in Gordon's house for a few days before, but she was still young at that time, and now she is Ivo's girlfriend, and the feeling of living is different.

The servants of the Gordon family understood from the first day that the young master would marry Miss Austin in the future, and they served them very warmly and thoughtfully.Offending the future hostess is definitely not a good thing, unless you don't want to do this business anymore; even if you want to change jobs, you have to ask for a letter of recommendation from the previous host before you can find another job.

Ivo didn't expect his mother to have a whim.

He had been very happy these few days. Alice had lived in his house a few years ago, when he was still young, and all he could think about was a few people having fun together.Now, it is still "playing", but because I changed from a playmate to a lover, I feel that the memories of that year are so beautiful.

They got up early in the morning and rode out to the places they had played before. Because of the memories of their teenage years, those places were shining with golden sunshine, beautiful and unforgettable.

Breakfast is also eaten outside.Ask the maid to pack a picnic basket, put bread, fruit, and milk in it, and bring a picnic blanket, find a lawn at random, Ivo will tie the horse, Alice spreads the picnic blanket, and the two enjoy a happy two-person time.

It was against the rules, but they all pretended not to know it.

Ivo is not very good at taking care of people. This is the case for a boy with 6 older sisters. The older sisters usually help him to take care of everything, and the specific things are done by the servants. He is used to being taken care of. Know how to take care of your girlfriend, especially if you don't bring a servant out.

Fortunately, Alice doesn't mind this too much, he can't think of it, she can think of it, and the advantage of Ivo is that he has a good temper, as long as you tell him, he will obediently do it.

These are small things, but big things about the future.

Many places in this area belong to the Gordon family. His family has many properties in Gloucestershire and Hampshire. The properties in the city are mainly in Winchester and London. The Faraday Manor in Gloucestershire is the ancestral property. .

Ivo asked, "Would you like it here, or Winchester, or London."

"London. London is a big city, and it's very convenient to buy everything."

"Then we can live in London for a long time in the future, and occasionally come to live for a few days. My father prefers Faraday Manor, and my mother likes Winchester Mansion."

"Us?" Alice was surprised.

"you and me."

She didn't speak.

"Are you okay?" Ivo asked in a low voice.

"What's good?"

"You live with me in London, so it's very close to your house."

"It's too early for you to think about it."

"It's getting late. Look, I still have two years to graduate." Ivo didn't realize it at all, and immediately revised the plan, "When I graduate, a few years later—" He felt as if something was wrong No, he stopped hesitantly.

After a few minutes, he asked in confusion, "Is it time for me to propose to you?"

Alice simply laughed, "I don't know."

"Others may need to get to know each other before getting married, but we have known each other for several years, can we skip this step?"

"Maybe."

"Then you—would you consider marrying me?" He asked cautiously.

"I haven't thought about it."

"What didn't you think about?"

"I never thought about getting married."

The answer surprised him greatly. "What do you mean?"

"I'm only 16 years old, 16 and a half years old, how can I think about getting married now?" She said confidently: "You are not yet 20 years old, maybe you will meet other cute girls soon, Then you will regret it."

"I don't understand." He continued to be confused. "Are you unwilling to marry, like—like Cathy, or are you unwilling to marry me?"

"I think it's better for us to maintain the current state for a few more years, what do you think?"

Ivo suddenly got angry and jumped up, "You're lying! You—have you found out that you like Oliver a little more now? Or, did you meet other, other men at those balls?!"

Alice looked puzzled: "What does this have to do with Oliver?"

Then she suddenly realized: "You are jealous of Oliver!"

Ivo blushed quickly, "That's not it!"

He walked back and forth angrily, "I knew Oliver liked you a long time ago, but he is an idiot, he dared not tell you. He has graduated now, right there," he raised his hand and pointed randomly , not in the direction of Newton Manor at all, "He's over there, go find him!"

Angrily, he whipped the wildly growing alfalfa in the field with a horsewhip, causing the green juice to splash, and soon a small piece of alfalfa was messed up.

Alice found it amused to watch him go crazy.

After a while, he felt that this kind of behavior was childish and boring. Alice would probably laugh at him, so he stopped and turned to look at her, "Alice."

He hesitated for a few seconds, walked back, knelt down on the picnic blanket, wiped the plant juice splashed on her face with a handkerchief, "You are always so calm, when you are 12 years old, you are like 18 years old, 16 years old When you were 25 years old. Do you think I'm ridiculous?" He shyly lowered his eyes.

"No, you're cute." Alice couldn't help laughing, "but it's kind of ridiculous. You'll have to grow up a little bit."

"Then you must promise me that before I go to your house to ask Mr. Austin's consent, before I formally propose to you, you will not give anyone else a chance to propose, or permission, or hint, even--even Oliver No way." A cute girl is always likable, and now she has her own income, at least 1 to 2000 pounds a year in royalties. Although few people know about it, if she wants to get married, it can be said that the choice is very good. Great, she has far more options than Susan.

"Don't worry, I won't agree to anyone who proposes, because I don't even think about getting married now."

Ivo felt that her answer seemed really wrong, but the meaning of this sentence can also be understood as, she does not want to get married now, but it does not mean that she will not get married in the future, as long as she promises not to accept other people's marriage proposals, it will be fine. He didn't believe that anyone could understand her better than him and be more suitable for her.

"You really don't like Oliver?"

"Oliver is very nice, good-looking and tall, but he's too boring to be as cute as you."

He pouted dissatisfiedly, "What do you mean by that? That is, you think I'm not good-looking?"

"I didn't say, you're pretty too, but you two are different."

"Huh? Really? What's different? Tell me."

Ivo quickly forgot the unhappiness just now, and whispered to her tiredly.

Oliver is indeed not far away, at Newton Manor.

He just graduated from Cambridge University this year and decided to continue his master's degree for a year.Anyway, I have nothing to do, so I might as well stay in school.

He, of course, already knew that the Beckfords and Alice were in nearby Daylesford.Then, they lived in the Faraday Manor of the Gordon family.

Obviously, the Beckfords are all about Alice.

He was so jealous that he didn't know what to do.

Julian mocked him all day long for failing to keep an eye on the girl he grew up with. Although his father didn't say anything, he suddenly held dances very frequently, probably because he wanted him to meet the girl he recognized as soon as possible.

Since there is a dance party, it is natural to invite the neighbors.

Mr. and Mrs. Gordon came with their three unmarried daughters, so did the Beckfords, and Alice came with Ivo.

Originally, Mrs. Gordon wanted one of her three unmarried daughters to be the future mistress of Newton Manor, but although they were about the same age as Oliver, they just didn't call.The daughters like Oliver very much. Who wouldn't like a well-educated and beautiful young man who will have a title in the future?But Oliver had no intention of flirting with them, and they remained friendly neighbors.

Girls are sensitive, and the Miss Gordons, as well as Susan, soon see that Alice is the one Oliver likes.The sisters immediately came to an agreement that Oliver should not be given the opportunity to dance alone with Alice.Oliver's problem was that he was so well-bred that it was hard for him to say no to girls who suggested he should ask them to dance.

Instead, Julian found the opportunity to invite Alice.

Alice immediately declined.

Julian didn't force it, and stood beside her, "Do you really like the idiot Ivo?"

What are you talking about!

Alice looked sideways.

The author has something to say:

*"Letter History of the Conquest of New Spain" was written by a Spanish soldier who participated in the war of conquest of Central America in the 16th century. New Spain is now Mexico.

"A Brief Description of the Destruction of the West Indies" was written by a Spanish Dominican priest in the 15th century. Peninsula), South America (parts of Colombia, parts of Peru) and other regions.

The authors of both books recounted firsthand the atrocities committed by European conquerors in the Americas, all of which were blatantly motivated by money.

*The author of "Commentary on the Inka Royal Family" is the descendant of the Inca royal family collateral princess and the Spanish colonists. The book has 9 volumes, starting from the origin of the Inca Empire and continuing to the arrival of the white conquerors.