little miss austin

"Has he... changed to you?"

Alice smiled, "If he meets other lovely young ladies, he can pursue them too, and it's impossible for me to stop him."

"Oh!" sighed Jane. "After all, you still don't love anyone. If you really love him, you will never let him have the opportunity to meet other girls. Don't look at me like that, you think Tom is in Dublin Is there no way for me to know if he has gone out to play? He has not, I just need to take care of his wallet."

Alice couldn't stop laughing: Although Jane is a romantic love brain, she is very clear about the essence of all problems being economic problems.

"Is it funny?" Jane scratched her waist.

"It's funny--oh, no, I was wrong, Jane, you're so brilliant!"

Alice never mentioned Wesley in front of Jane.

Jane has never liked Wesley, and has no good feelings at all. The uninterested suitor is not a pride but an annoyance to her.There is nothing unfair about it, the young Wesley paid for his love by mistake, it can only be regarded as unrequited love.

So it's meaningless to mention him, and it's impossible for Jane to think about him and say, why is he not married yet.In this respect, Jane is also quite cold.

After visiting Jane and her niece, Alice went to see Brother Henry the next day with her completed "In the Name of the Father" and Byron's "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage".

Henry had just turned 40 and looked much more mature with a mustache.

Alice made a fuss about her brother's beard, Henry smiled and said, "Do I look like a big entrepreneur?"

"He was a big entrepreneur." Alice nodded repeatedly.

The big boss has to manage a lot of things every day. Henry has 4 companies under his name, and he is very busy every day.He mainly manages the printing press company, and the typewriter company is now run by cousin Thomas. Tom Lefroy's brother Christopher was a salesman in the typewriter company at the time, and has now been promoted to the distribution manager of Ireland, resident in Dublin.

Speaking of the Lefroy brothers, let’s talk about Henry Lefroy, the youngest son of the Lefroy family. Henry Lefroy studied law at Oxford University. After graduation, he will go to Lincoln’s Law School where his elder brother studied. .Ordinary civil lawyers do not seem to be the best in the Austin family, but if they will become a barrister who will become a judge in the future, then it will be fine.If there is no accident, Lefroy Jr. will choose to be a member of parliament or a judge just like his elder brother, and the two professions can coexist.

British people don't pay much attention to seniority, so Mrs. Austin also wanted to see if Henry Lefroy would like Fanny, so Henry must invite Henry Lefroy.

Oxford University is on vacation and Henry Lefroy is in London.

Henry flipped through "In the Name of the Father" first, "Not bad, but—"

"'But' what?"

"Hopefully there will be no episodes that make Rome unhappy."

"What the hell! We're not Catholics."

Henry smiled, and opened "Child Harold's Travels" again.After reading only one page, he asked, "Is this written by Byron?" He turned back and looked at the cover typed out by the typewriter.

"Correct."

"That's nice, I mean, he's good at poetry. Has he written poetry before?"

"I wrote it, but I haven't read it."

"I know he wrote a pamphlet the year before last, and he was scolded miserably." Henry smiled and shook his head, "He is very talented, but such a blow is a big deal, and he offended many people."

"He's just so proud of his talent, which is always the case with talented people."

"He is young and frivolous."

"Isn't it the same with you and James back then?"

Henry smiled immediately, "Yeah, it's great to be young! Do you want to publish this collection of poems here?"

"Do you think you can get out?"

"Okay, so we haven't published a collection of poetry yet. I'll have to go through all the manuscripts and see when we have a slot this year."

"As soon as possible."

"All right. Where's Byron?"

"He's home. Lady Catherine is ill."

Henry suddenly said: "So you came back early? You originally said that you would not go home until October."

"Correct."

"You and Byron—"

"Always friends."

"Okay." Henry put away the manuscripts and poems, "It will take - two weeks to reply to you, but I will arrange it as soon as possible."

In this era, there is no need to apply for a publication number, and there is no need to review in advance, but if any untimely articles or novels are published, the end will be banned, withdrawn, destroyed, and then punished by the publishing house and newspaper, so sometimes some The article has long been given to the publisher, but the publisher has been reluctant to publish it.

This is Henry's publishing house office. There are several rows of bookshelves by the wall. Some publications are not neatly placed on the bookshelves, including their own publications, as well as novels and poetry collections from other publishing houses.Alice casually flipped through the bookshelf, first looked at the novels published by Austin Publishing House in the past two years, and then found a thin booklet among a pile of thick novels.

"What's this?" She looked at the cover, "They of Atheism (the inevitability of atheism), interesting. Why is there no author's signature?"

"The author is Percy Shelley, a former Oxford student."

"Shelley?" Alice was surprised.

"Have you heard of him?"

"Lefroy mentioned him, I mean, Henry. Huh? Isn't he at Oxford?"

"Yeah, even though he didn't sign his name, he was still found. He was called to the dean's office and asked him to clarify the problem. You know how the university handles the problem. He just needs to deny it. The manuscript is sent again. Not him, they knew it was him, but there was no evidence that it was him—thanks to our typewriter, he typed out the manuscript, and there was no way to identify who the author was.”

"He certainly won't deny it."

Henry just laughed, "Yes, this kind of people are like this, and they are extremely proud. If you can't find an author, you are an idiot. If I find one, I will admit it, and I will never frown."

"So he was fired?"

"no way."

Alice shook her head, "He is so naive, and also very reckless." Atheism is a scourge. Alice admired Shelley for daring to write articles about atheism at a young age, and also admired the publishers who dared to publish.

"and then?"

Henry said: "Then? Of course it was retracted and destroyed. It was sent to me by his publisher. I think even if I don't agree with the views in this pamphlet, I don't want to destroy it. The truth is more and more debated. Clear."

Alice could only nod.

Their father was a pastor, and they grew up going to church every Sunday, rain or shine.The bible was their earliest reading material, and bible stories were the earliest literary creation they came into contact with. Alice did not dare to write any pamphlets promoting atheism.

She put the booklet back on the bookshelf, "Put it away, don't lose it, it might be very valuable in the future."

Henry started talking to her about other things.Her last book "Summer of the Rose" was published in September 1808, and it was banned in March 9, and she went abroad in June; Summer" was lifted, and the sales volume reached 1809 copies that month. This is an amazing sales volume for a novel. Everyone wants to see what the story of this banned book tells. The name Alice Leigh has also become a popular author, and everyone wants to see her next book, and also wants to know the author's real name.

"To maintain a sense of mystery, the author's real name cannot be revealed too early."

"But sooner or later people will find out."

"Then make up a false identity for her."

"Don't be so troublesome?" Henry expressed doubts.

"Let's talk about it later." The identities of her and Jane have not been revealed until now, and they have not been suspected by the staff of the publishing house because they are the younger sisters of the big boss. The best writers sold by the publishing house are the sisters of the big boss.

Percy Byssie Shelley isn't having a great time these days!

Since he was expelled from Oxford University, his father, Baron Timothy Shelley, was furious and asked him to give up his atheism and be a good son-of course the wayward and proud boy refused!

As a result, Shelley and his son quarreled several times. In the end, Baron Shelley was not willing to beat up his eldest son, but just cut off his source of income and stopped giving him pocket money.

Shelley's family lives near Horsham in West Sussex, a village called Warnum, 50 kilometers away from London. There are 6 children in the family. The eldest son Percy is 19 years old, and the following are 4 girls, Elizabeth, Mary , Helen, Margaret, the youngest boy John is only 5 years old.Last year he met Henry Yate Westbrook, a classmate of his sister Helen in the girls' boarding school. Henry Yate was 15 years old at the time and is only 16 years old this year.

Henry Yate liked the beautiful boy Shelley very much, and wrote many letters to him, telling how much she loved him.

Shelley also wrote back to Henry Yate, but relatively calmly.

Henry Yate said that she was very unhappy at school, the girls were cruel and often laughed at her, but she didn't know why she was being laughed at; she also said that she was unhappy at home, and the financial situation of the Westbrook family It was fine, but she always felt that her father didn't like her very much, and she felt treated with indifference.She said in the letter that she wanted to commit suicide, and she would be free after death, regardless of whether he was against the doctrine!

Young Shelley felt compelled to rescue the distressed girl.

Henry Austin's ball was held on one day in July.

Alice's male companion was Grant Temple, and William Kingsley and Sally were also there.

Alice asked Wesley on the way, and asked which lady he was engaged to. William said in surprise, "He is engaged? Why haven't I heard of it?"

She froze for a moment, "Then I may have misremembered."

However, just like Jane agreed to Tom's marriage proposal, it was his choice. Whether to marry or not was a personal freedom, and she didn't have to worry about it.

The ball was very grand, there were probably more than 100 guests, a huge dance hall was rented, the band and the dance floor were huge.

Susan brought a young and handsome boy, whom she introduced as the eldest son of her uncle, the Earl of Aboyne, Charles Gordon, who was 19 years old this year.

"You saw him once, at my engagement party," said Susan.

"You introduced so many people to me that day, I can't remember everyone."

"But I thought you should always remember the good-looking boy."

Charles Gordon blushed.

Susan whispered to her cousin, "You're so shy, you have to pretend you're a man."

"Hasn't he been to the ball long ago?"

"He has participated in the ball, but he is too shy. Mrs. Gordon asked me to take him out to the ball more often."

"It's not a big deal, he will always become a dance master in the future." Alice said with a smile: "Lord Gordon, before the third dance song starts, you go over and invite me."

Charles Gordon nodded shyly.

Alice danced two dances with Grant, then two dances with Charles Gordon, and then introduced Gordon to Jane Austen Lefroy, and two nieces to Gordon.

The ball was very successful, and unmarried men and women met and flirted with each other. Once a man invited a lady to dance, it meant that he wanted to know more about it.Both Fanny and Anna met new and promising young men, and danced all evening.

Charles Gordon also danced half the time, and Susan felt that this was a big improvement and was very satisfied.

The younger sister of a budding entrepreneur, is of marriageable age, beautiful and elegant, Henry also hinted that her younger sister has an annuity of 2000 pounds, which makes Alice an excellent wife candidate, and she suddenly finds that the man who strikes up a conversation with her is really real Not a lot!Ages range from 40 to 20.

She thought it would be very difficult for Henry to find so many unmarried men with good conditions!Anyway, there are 3 daughters-to-be in the family, and it is good to have one successful.

After the ball, Grant sent her home.

Fanny and Anna were chatting about the people they met tonight in the opposite seats. They agreed that Lord Gordon was the most beautiful, but unfortunately he was too shy and too young to be a good husband candidate.

Grant listened for a while, then asked with a smile, "What about you? Do you know any good husband candidates?"

"Half of it is boring, and the other half is for my dowry." She said flatly, "Compared to that, I would rather dance a few more dances with you."

He shrugged. "So do I. To be honest, my mother wants me to marry a wife in England and bring them back to America, but I don't think I will find a suitable wife in time."

"Are you going back?"

"Yeah, I've been away from home for 7 years, my sister is about to grow up, but I don't even remember what she looks like."

"when are we leaving?"

"I'm leaving at the end of the month, and I've already booked a boat ticket. Alice, if I leave, I may not come to England again, or I will come back to see Sally and Charles when I am 50 years old. You will not remember then I."

"Oh! Don't think about things so far in the future. Who knows what will happen in the future? Maybe I will die very early."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

"Grant, if you find someone to go on an expedition, write to me and I can give you some sponsorship."

"Huh?" Grant was not surprised, she had said this before. "How much can I give?"

She thought for a while, "1 pounds."

Now Grant was surprised, "You have so much money yourself?"

"Yes, I brought 5000 pounds with me when I went abroad this time, and I haven't used it up. Let Henry give the rest. But you have to sign a publishing contract with him, and your adventure notes will be published by Austin Press."

He thought for a moment, "Yes."

This was the beginning of the 19th century, and most people had accepted the fact that "the earth is round." All the oceans on the earth were marked and named.Explorers from all over the world are still exploring those areas on land that are unknown to the civilized world: rainforests, rivers, and mountains. Many explorers will gain both fame and fortune after returning home and become popular celebrities.Some people do it for fame, some people do it for profit, no matter it is for fame or profit, there is nothing wrong with it, after all, they are all risking their own lives - and the lives of other team members - the explorers died unexpectedly or disappeared mysteriously There are many corpses, the most famous being the explorer Magellan, who died in a battle on the Philippine Islands where he miscalculated his strength. In the end, his crew fled back to the ship without even taking Magellan's body away.

Magellan was only 41 years old when he died. He named the Strait of Magellan at the top of South America after himself, and observed two extragalactic galaxies: the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud.

It would certainly not be objective to say that Grant has no desire to become famous, but how many people are willing to devote time and energy, money and health to pursue this glory—and danger?Compared with other professions, the profession of explorer is definitely unpopular.

Alice thought she might have known a little too many people in obscure jobs.

A few days later Charles Gordon came to visit Alice.

Alice was not very happy. She was sorting out materials and travel notes in the study, and sat with him in the living room for a while before trying to drive him away.

Charles Gordon glanced hesitantly at Cousin Anna, who was almost invisible beside him, and looked down.

He asked, "Did I say something wrong?"

"I have something to do today. You can come to me again in a few days. I am going to buy a new horse. My original horse is left in Gibraltar."

"I'll go shopping with you, I know how to pick a horse." He said hastily.

"Okay. When I am free, I will send someone to deliver the letter to you."

Charles Gordon went away rejoicing.

Cousin Anna was a wonderful chaperone.She doesn't talk much and doesn't matter much. When someone comes to visit Alice, as long as she is at home, she will dutifully be an invisible person next to her. Alice is still willing to pretend to be demure in front of outsiders, but if she says a few words, she will start to be cold , Cousin Anna will interrupt the conversation in a timely manner and send the visitor away.

Alice was very comfortable living with Cousin Anna.She is also a very good host, she doesn't talk too much, Anna is not short of money, but she has never collected rent, Anna and her adopted daughter Claire only eat, and they don't spend 100 pounds a year, and other expenses are not big, such as making clothes and The money to buy cosmetics does not belong to her.

At the beginning of August, she finally filed and sorted out all the clips, exercises, and notes written during the trip, and planned to write the travel notes in the next two months, plus the previous travel notes in the UK, and organize and publish them.

She took the time to buy a new horse, and Charles Gordon accompanied her. Sure enough, this kind of noble young master would learn how to choose a good horse from an early age, and helped her choose a white horse—she insisted on buying a white horse this time. Give her a sorrel stallion.

Charles Gordon is very shy, and it is strange that he can be so shy after a year of university at Cambridge University.It can be seen that the first is due to personality, and the second is that it is too well protected.Like many big boys who are between boys and men, he doesn't like Fanny and Anna, who are one year younger than him, but likes older girls who are between girls and women.

He was fascinated by how lovely Alice smiled, and how wonderfully she spoke, and how well-informed and knowledgeable she was.

He felt himself in love.

It took Jacob one month after another to finally deal with the family affairs.

Alice guessed right at the time. Jacob's father was indeed addicted to gambling. Except for the real estate certificate, which Jacob's mother firmly collected, all the family money was thrown on the gaming table, and even almost sold. youngest daughter.After Jacob came home, he had a big fight with his father first, and then the father and son had a fight. How could Jacob's father beat his young and vigorous son, so he was punished.

After that, Jacob went back to his hometown of Camborne, knocked down his old house and built a new one. Before the house was built, he sent his parents back to his hometown with his two younger brothers who were apprentice carpenters.There were no casinos in the Camborn country, no source of temptation, and no salary for his children, so he had nowhere to play.

The house on the outskirts of London has also been transferred to Jacob's name, and now several younger siblings live in it, and a farmer's wife is hired to take care of them.

Alice thinks Jacob has handled it well.

A lot happens in August.

First, it was a letter from Newstead Manor in Nottinghamshire. Byron’s mother, Lady Catherine, passed away on August 8. Byron was very sad and asked Alice to go to Newstead Manor as soon as possible;

Then Julian Bundfield returned from Hanover with his young wife Maria;

In the second week of August, the "London Morning News" released this year's investigation report on its second page: "Investigation Report on the Current Situation of Corpse Trafficking, Kidnapping and Murder in London and England".

After Alice received the letter from Newstead Manor, she hesitated for a few minutes before asking Sidney to pack her luggage.

She wasn't good at comforting people, and Byron would probably have to drink again, and when he was drunk he would say some very secret things.The way the mother and son got along was not normal since they were young. Byron was very conflicted about his mother. He looked down on her and wanted to avoid her, but he couldn't do without her.

she arrived in newstead

After the manor, a man named Lucy

The very beautiful maid took her to meet Byron.Alice thought, this should be the Lucy.