Tom Lefroy Quote of the Week - Week 12

This quote jumped out at me this week. It is taken from page 243 of the memoir (part 6)- a letter written on 22nd February 1848.
The newspapers are full of stories of horrific crimes and it does make me feel very sick to think of the evil capabilities of some people.
I think Tom Lefroy was very accurate in this statement - "despair is no remedy", we should all be striving to do our duty to make this world a better place to live in and also for the sake of future generations. I fear that it is a sense of duty that has been lost.

"I confess I scarcely feel adequate to address you, for the heart sickens and the spirit flags at the contemplation of the apparently hopeless state of things which is presented to us by the amount of crime that it records, and the sadly demoralised state of your county which it exhibits.
But gentlemen, despair is no remedy for these evils; the only means by which they can be prevented is by every man in society doing his duty, and by a firm administration of justice. Emphatically, I say, gentlemen, that the state of your county demands that every man shall be found doing his duty, for that is the only way by which you can expect to remedy the evils which now press upon you."

I dont want this to appear as a negative quote, quite the opposite, I think it should be seen as some encouragement to work against some of the negative forces which exist.
I hope you all have a happy day.

Pic: Judges gavel

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 171 by Linda

I wish to bring your attention once again to James Austen's periodical "The Loiterer" where we find in No. 36 a letter from a Lady named Mary Simple. I will go out on a limb and fanaticize that there is a possibility that it was written by our own dear Jane. She begins her letter thusly:

Dear Sir,

I HAVE always considered a Periodical Work, as a very useful, and necessary publication. For to omit all the amusement it dispenses, and all the morality it contains, I look upon the Author of it as a confidential friend, to whom we Women in particular can entrust our trifling narratives, whose advise we can demand on any occasion, and to whom we may unburden all those little griefs and complaints, which though not sufficiently important to awaken the attention of the public, are yet of too much consequence to be entirely concealed. With this view, Mr. Loiterer, I write to You; and after the recital, though you may not call my situation unhappy, at least you will allow it to be distressing.

Mary goes on to "unburden" her "little grief and complaint" which is entertaining though not earth shattering. To me, the letter sounds so much like our Jane's writing. You may wish to take a moment to read the entire No. 36 of The Loiterer HERE:

Yrs aff'ly,
Linda the Librarian

Pic: The Loiterer, currently being sold in Amazon! Linda, do you want to buy this copy?

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 170

Australian and New Zealand readers, please forgive the rather late instalment for quote of the week. I have just returned from half a day tour de island where I live, and it would have been a quicker tour had we not experienced a mechanical trouble (flat, and I mean flat, battery!). Anyway, the tour was still pleasant, and my partner and I went out of the hustle and bustle of the southern part of the island, and clean and beautiful hills, mountains and beaches. Because I was still in travelling mode, this rather late quote is taken from Pride & Prejudice again (Chapter 42), when Elizabeth was about to go to Derbyshire.

The time fixed for the beginning of their Northern tour was now fast approaching; and a fortnight only was wanting of it, when a letter arrived from Mrs. Gardiner, which at once delayed its commencement and curtailed its extent. Mr. Gardiner would be prevented by business from setting out till a fortnight later in July, and must be in London again within a month; and as that left too short a period for them to go so far, and see so much as they had proposed, or at least to see it with the leisure and comfort they had built on, they were obliged to give up the Lakes, and substitute a more contracted tour; and, according to the present plan, were to go no farther northward than Derbyshire. In that county, there was enough to be seen to occupy the chief of their three weeks; and to Mrs. Gardiner it had a peculiarly strong attraction. The town where she had formerly passed some years of her life, and where they were now to spend a few days, was probably as great an object of her curiosity, as all the celebrated beauties of Matlock, Chatsworth, Dovedale, or the Peak.

Elizabeth was excessively disappointed; she had set her heart on seeing the Lakes; and still thought there might have been time enough. But it was her business to be satisfied—and certainly her temper to be happy; and all was soon right again.

I was a bit disappointed too today when the car broke down. The thing is, the car had already broken down yesterday, and we had fixed it. But apparently, the mechanic was not thorough enough and left the battery uncharged. Reminded me of the PP 2005 scene where Elizabeth and the Gardiners had to wait for the cart wheels to be repaired.

Still, it was a pleasant weekend after all. The time we took to repair the car had given us idea to go half-circling the island, hence we saw prettier sceneries than what we would have encountered in our original route.

What about you Ladies and Gents? Any recent trips that went a bit wrong, then it turned out to be another pleasant one in the end?

Pic: Keira Knightley as Lizzy Bennet viewing The Peak in PP 2005

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 169

I decided on a funny quote this week. One of the characters I always have held with high regard is Mr Bennet for his wit and gentile nature.

This quote is from chapter 3 of Pride and Prejudice when Mrs Bennet and the girls have returned from the ball where Mr Bingley danced with Jane, and Mr Darcy and Elizabeth first set sights on one another.

"Oh! my dear Mr. Bennet,'' as she entered the room, "we have had a most delightful evening, a most excellent ball. I wish you had been there. Jane was so admired, nothing could be like it. Every body said how well she looked; and Mr. Bingley thought her quite beautiful, and danced with her twice. Only think of that my dear; he actually danced with her twice; and she was the only creature in the room that he asked a second time. First of all, he asked Miss Lucas. I was so vexed to see him stand up with her; but, however, he did not admire her at all: indeed, nobody can, you know; and he seemed quite struck with Jane as she was going down the dance. So, he enquired who she was, and got introduced, and asked her for the two next. Then, the two third he danced with Miss King, and the two fourth with Maria Lucas, and the two fifth with Jane again, and the two sixth with Lizzy, and the Boulanger --''

"If he had had any compassion for me,'' cried her husband impatiently, "he would not have danced half so much! For God's sake, say no more of his partners. Oh! that he had sprained his ancle in the first dance!''

What a fantastic father he was!

Pic: Mr Bennet and family

Tom Lefroy Quote - Week 11

Our focus this week is on Tom Lefroy, so for a very interesting discussion of our Tom and Jane Austen, let me direct your attention to an essay written by my late friend Ashton Dennis which is posted on the "Male Voices in Praise of Jane Austen" web site that I maintain. He begins:

I wish to discuss a letter written by Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra on November 17 of 1798. This is the eleventh letter in the most recent edition of Jane Austen's letters published by Deirdre Le Faye (1997) and the tenth in the first collection of her letters published by her grand-nephew (Lord Brabourne, 1884). The latter reference is available on line at the Brabourne Collection . You won't need that link in this particular case, because I reproduce the entire letter for you at the end of this posting.

You are kindly invited to read the entire essay here: Jane Austen's Eleventh Letter

Ashton covers a lot of areas where Tom and Jane are concerned. I do hope you have a moment or two to read the entire page. It is in depth and will surely pull at your heart strings. Enjoy.

Yrs aff'ly,


Linda the Librarian

Pic: James McAvoy blog