Jane Austen Quote of the Week 186

My quote for Jane will be a melancholy remembrance because a very dear Aunt of mine passed away two days ago. I go to attend her funeral on Saturday, the 10th. I wanted to find something that affected Jane to reflect the way I am feeling now. So, in her letter dated Monday, January 21, 1805 she wrote the following to her brother Francis Austen:

"I have melancholy news to relate, & sincerely feel for your feelings under the shock of it. I wish I could better prepare you for it. But having said so much, your mind will already forestall the sort of event which I have to communicate. Our dear Father has closed his virtuous & happy life, in a death almost as free from suffering as his Children could have wished. ....... Heavy as is the blow, we can already feel that a thousand comforts remain to us to soften it. Next to that of the consciousness of his worth & constant preparation for another World, is the remembrance of his having suffered, comparatively speaking, nothing. Being quite insensible of his own state, he was spared all the pain of separation, & he went off almost in his Sleep. My Mother bears the Shock as well as possible; she was quite prepared for it, & feels all the blessing of his being spared a long Illness."

Jane's words also apply to my dear Aunt, which brings me some comfort. Also, please note the date, January 21, 1805 and remember that Jane had also lost a dear friend, Mrs. Anne Lefroy in December, 1804. My heart goes out to her.

Yrs aff'ly,
Linda the Librarian

Pic: George Austen, Jane's father