Jane’s beautiful handwriting

One regret that I have about the advancement in technology is that beautiful handwriting will become a thing of the past.

I have noticed the many hand-lettering services which have sprung up for wedding invitations and such, and I do appreciate that people with beautiful handwriting are getting some notice.

Here is letter from Jane to Cassandra, dated 1800, courtesy of the British library. Note the beautiful, even script–written with pen and ink, no less. No splotches or spills.

And if you are wondering whether this is upside down–it is both upside down and right-side up! Writers used to turn their letters and write in between the lines in order to save paper and postage. If you wrote very neatly, it was legible.

I have taken the liberty of including the transcript of the letter below. It is mostly gossip, what a surprise!

Steventon Saturday Even[ing] Nov[ember] 8

in want only of the Chiffoniere, which is neither finished nor come. – So much for that subject; I now come to another, of a very different nature, as other subjects are very apt to be. – Earle Harwood has been again giving uneasiness to his family, & Talk to the Neighbourhood; – in the present in-stance however he is only unfortunate & not in fault. – About ten days ago, in cocking a pistol in the guard-room at Marcau, he accidentally shot himself through the Thigh. Two young Scotch Surgeons in the Island were polite enough to propose taking off the Thigh at once, but to that he would not consent; & accordingly in his wounded state was put on board a Cutter & conveyed to Haslar Hospital at Gosport; where the bullet was extracted, & where he now is I hope in a fair way of doing well. – The surgeon of the Hospital wrote to the family on the occasion, & John Harwood went down to him immediately, attended by James, whose object in going was to be the means of bringing back the earliest Intelligence to M^r & M^rs Harwood, whose anxious sufferings particularly those of the latter, have of course been dreadful. They went down on tuesday, & James came back the next day, bringing such favourable accounts as greatly to lessen the distress of the family at Deane, tho’ it will probably be a long while before M^rs Harwood can be quite at ease. – One most material comfort however they have; the as-surance of it’s being really an accidental wound, which is not only positively declared by Earle himself, but is likewise testified by the particular direction of the bullet. Such a wound could not have been received in a duel. – At present he is going on very well, but the Surgeon will not declare him to be in no danger. – John Harwood came back last night, & will probably go to him again soon. James had not time at Gosport to take any other steps towards seeing Charles, than the very few which conducted

him to the door of the assembly room in the Inn, where there happened to be a Ball on the night of their arrival. A likely spot enough for the discovery of a Charles; but I am glad to say that he was not of the party, for it was in general a very ungenteel one, & there was hardly a pretty girl in the room. – I cannot possibly oblige you by not wearing my gown, because I have it made up on purpose to wear it a great deal, & as the discredit will be my own, I feel the less regret. – You must learn to like ^ ^it yourself & make it up at Godmersham; it may easily be done; it is only protesting it to be very beautiful, & you will soon think it so. – Yesterday was a day of great business with me; Mary drove one all ^ ⁱⁿ the rain to Ba-singstoke, & still more all in the rain back again because it rained harder; & soon after our return to Dean a sudden invitation & our own posthchais[e] took us to Ash Park, to dine tete a tete with M^r Holden, M^r Gauntlett & James Digweed; but our tete a tete was cruelly reduced by the non-attendance of the two latter – . We had a very quiet evening, I believe Mary found it dull, but I thought it very pleasant. To sit in idleness over a good fire in a well-proportioned room is a luxurious sen-sation. – Sometimes we talked & sometimes we were quite silent; I said two or three amusing things, & M^r Holder made a few infamous puns. – I have had a most affectionate letter from Bulles; I was afraid he would oppress me by his happiness ^ ^felicity & his love for his wife, but this is not the case; he calls her simply Anna without any angelic em-bellishments, for which I respect & wish him happy – and throughout the whole of his letter indeed he seems more in- grossed by his feelings towards our family, than towards her, which you know cannot give any one disgust. – He is very pressing in his invitation to us all to come & see him at Colyton, & my father is very much inclined to go there next summer. –

It is a circumstance that may considerably assist the Dawlish scheme. – Buller has desired me to write again, to give him more particulars of us all. – M^r Heathcote met with a genteel little accident the other day in hunting; he got off to lead his horse over a hedge or a house or a something, & his horse in his haste trod upon his leg, or rather ancle I believe, & it is not certain whether the small bone is not broke. – Harris seems still in a poor way, from his bad habit of body; his hand bled again a little the other day, & D^r Littlehales has been with him lately. Martha has accepted Mary’s invitation for L[ord] Portsmouth’s Ball. – he has not yet sent out his own invitations, but that does

not signify, Martha comes, & a Ball there must be. – I think it will be too early in her Mother’s absence for me to return with her. M^r Holden told W[illiam] Portal a few days ago that Edward objected to the narrowness of the path which his plantation has left in one part of the Rookery – W[illiam] Portal has since examined it himself, acknowledges it to be much too narrow, & promises to have it altered. He wishes to avoid the necessity of removing the end of his plantation with its newly-planted Quick &c, but if a proper foot path cannot be made by poking away the bank on the other side, he will not spare the former. – I have finished this on sunday morning & am yours ever J.A. You spend your time just as quietly & comfortably as I supposed you would. We have all seen & admired Fanny’s letter to her Aunt. -The Endymion sailed on a cruize last friday.

63   4

Nov[ember] 1800

Miss Austen
Godmersham Park
Faversham
Kent

OVERTON [this appears to be a stamp]