Tom Lefroy paid his last respects to Jane Austen

Once more, our dearest librarian Linda has proven herself worthy of the title (she didn’t realise she handed me gold!). She just posted me the link of a web that contained the now de-functioned website of Carrigglas Manor (the house of Tom Lefroy and his family). Thank you Linda, and also to the person who saved the entire web into "The Wayback Machine", for now we can read about the Carrigglas Manor in the link here. This is the excerpt of the web section ‘Family History’:

'The Lefroy family originally came from the town of Cambrai in North Western corner of France. They were affiliated to the House of Souastres, and Monstrelet's Chronicles (written in the fifteenth century) allude to the death of the then head of the family, the Lord L'Offroy, at the battle of Agincourt in 1415 (fighting on the French side, of course!). In 1585 the family had to flee religious persecution in France, and as refugees were not allowed to leave France with any property Jeffry's nine-greats grandfather, Antoine, converted the family money into five diamonds which he sewed into the pockets of his young son Esaie (shown on the left below, in a portrait from 1614) and escaped with his wife Marie (shown on the right below, in a portrait from 1600) to England.'

Ah… so their original name was L’Offroy. Lovely… Battle of Agincourt, eh? James McAvoy’s character (Brian Jackson) in Starter for Ten (2006) was once asked about Battle of Agincourt by Rebecca, his friend. What a weird coincidence. Anyway, now the cream and ganache:

'Thomas Lefroy, Anthony's son, was born in 1776 and after graduating from Trinity College, Dublin in 1796 went to stay with his relations in Hampshire whilst undergoing pupillage at the Lincoln's Inn Bar. There he met and enjoyed a brief romance with Parson Austen's daughter Jane; indeed Jane wrote in a letter to her sister Cassandra 'I am almost afraid to tell you how my Irish friend and I behaved... He is a very gentlemanlike, good-looking, pleasant young man... Imagine to yourself everything most profligate and shocking in the way of dancing and sitting down together.'(!) However, his aunt forbade the relationship and Thomas was sent back to Ireland forthwith. Jane based the character of Mr. Darcy, the hero of Pride and Prejudice on him, and on learning of her death Thomas traveled the considerable distance to England to pay his respects and at an auction of her effects bought a publisher's rejection letter - for Pride and Prejudice. (The family connection survives as Jane's niece married Thomas' cousin, Ben Lefroy). Thomas married Mary Paul, daughter of Sir Jeffry Paul, in 1799 and after a long and distinguished career was made a Baron of the Exchequer in 1841 as Lord Lefroy and in 1852 invested as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.'

Let me say it again: on learning of her death Thomas traveled the considerable distance to England to pay his respects and at an auction of her effects bought a publisher's rejection letter - for Pride and Prejudice.

I never knew that Tom paid his respect… traveling from Ireland to England to give his last respect to Jane! I imagine that this was done after Jane’s funeral. But why no one mentioned it? Not in the Memoir of Jane Austen either. I don’t claim to read all JA-related books at all, but I never heard of this one. And this information was written in a Lefroy website! Remind me of Cranfield’s ‘From Ireland to Western Australia’ where Jane Austen was mentioned several times in a book of Lefroy.

And Tom Lefroy bought the Cadell letter? I thought it was Thomas Edward Preston Lefroy who bought it! See the excerpt of Caroline Austen’s letter dated April 1^st, 1869:

'I enclose a copy of Mr. Austen’s letter to Cadell – I do not know which novel he would have sent – The letter does not do much credit to the tact or courtesy of our good Grandfather for Cadell was a great man in his day, and it is not surprising that he should have refused the favour so offered from an unknown – but the circumstance may be worth noting, especially as we have so few incidents to produce. At a sale of Cadell’s papers &c Tom Lefroy picked up the original letter – and Jemima copied it for me –' [bolded sentence by Icha]

The novel Cadell was refused in that particular letter was the early version of Pride & Prejudice (originally titled First Impression), rejected in 1797. This is Mr. Austen's letter to Cadell dated 1st November 1797 from the Memoir of Jane Austen (1871, p. 105):

‘Sir, - I have in my possession a manuscript novel, comprising 3 vols., about the length of Miss Burney’s “Evelina.” As I am well aware of what consequence it is that a work of this sort shd make its first appearance under a respectable name, I apply to you. I shall be much obliged therefore if you will inform me whether you choose to be concerned in it, what will be the expense of publishing it at the author’s risk, and what you will venture to advance for the property of it, if on perusal it is approved of. Should you give any encouragement, I will send you the work.

I am, Sir, your humble Servant,
‘George Austen.

Steventon, near Overton, Hants,
1^st Nov, 1797’

Most importantly to me, the Carrigglas website suggested that the Tom Lefroy who bought back the letter, the person Caroline was talking about, was Thomas Langlois Lefroy (!), the original Tom Lefroy. I was a bit expecting this Tom to be our Tom Lefroy, but then I thought Caroline would not address the Chief Justice Lefroy as only ‘Tom Lefroy’. If it is true that the original Tom Lefroy purchased the Cadell letter after Jane’s death (perhaps immediately during his stay in London?), he would then keep it and handed it over to TEPL later on, who gave it to Caroline for reference. I sincerely hope that was the case.

Oh, wait! How did Tom Lefroy learn of the Cadell rejection? If the buyer of the letter was indeed the Thomas Langlois Lefroy, would he not learn of the rejection from Jane Austen herself circa November-December 1797? In another word, would it not imply that both were still in good communication in 1797?

Anyway, now I can sleep better, knowing that Tom Lefroy did care so much for Jane Austen, that when he was older, he did pay her a visit, even though a bit late, after her death… Oh… now I want to cry!

PS 3:30pm:

I'm not sure what happens to Carrigglas Manor now, whether it is still under the Lefroys or already handed over to the Irish government or County Longford. However, Jeffry Lefroy (the owner, or previous owner of Carrigglas) became one of the extras in Becoming Jane. I think he is the key person we should talk to about the veracity of the information.

Pic 1: Carrigglas Manor drawing room, Longford, Ireland

Pic 2: the young Tom Lefroy, from the Carrigglas site