Jane Austen Quote of the Week 289

The late Mollie Sugden (1922-2009) who played Mrs Goddard in Emma 1972

This quote is taken from Emma, Chapter 3:

Mrs. Goddard was the mistress of a School -- not of a seminary, or an establishment, or any thing which professed, in long sentences of refined nonsense, to combine liberal acquirements with elegant morality upon new principles and new systems -- and where young ladies for enormous pay might be screwed out of health and into vanity -- but a real, honest, old-fashioned Boarding-school, where a reasonable quantity of accomplishments were sold at a reasonable price, and where girls might be sent to be out of the way and scramble themselves into a little education, without any danger of coming back prodigies. Mrs. Goddard's school was in high repute -- and very deservedly; for Highbury was reckoned a particularly healthy spot: she had an ample house and garden, gave the children plenty of wholesome food, let them run about a great deal in the summer, and in winter dressed their chilblains with her own hands. It was no wonder that a train of twenty young couple now walked after her to church. She was a plain, motherly kind of woman, who had worked hard in her youth, and now thought herself entitled to the occasional holiday of a tea-visit; and having formerly owed much to Mr. Woodhouse's kindness, felt his particular claim on her to leave her neat parlour hung round with fancy-work whenever she could, and win or lose a few sixpences by his fireside.

Pardon the long quote, but I could not help but love the description of Mrs. Goddard and even she must have a "holiday" even if it is only for a tea visit.  The way I found this "holiday" mention was because I wanted to see Jane use the word in some context.  So, I am happy now that Jane did have "Holidays".  Hope everyone had a lovely Holiday Season.

Yrs aff'ly,

Linda the Librarian