“October 14.—A letter from Wrotham yesterday offering an early visit here, and Mr. and Mrs. Moore and one child are to come on Monday for ten days. I hope Charles and Fanny may not fix the same time, but if they come at all in October they must. What is the use of hoping? The two parties of children is the chief evil.”
“To be sure, here we are; the very thing has happened, or rather worse—a letter from Charles this very morning, which gives us reason to suppose they may come here to-day. It depends upon the weather, and the weather now is very fine. No difficulties are made, however, and, indeed, there will be no want of room; but I wish there was no Wigrams and Lushingtons in the way to fill up the table, and make us such a motley set. I cannot spare Mr. Lushington either because of his frank, but Mr. Wigram does no good to anybody. I cannot imagine how a man can have the impudence to come into a family party for three days, where he is quite a stranger, unless he knows himself to be agreeable on undoubted authority. I shall be most happy to see dear Charles.”
“Friday, October 15.—They came last night at about seven. We had given them up, but I still expected them to come. Dessert was nearly over; a better time for arriving than an hour and a half earlier. They were late because they did not set out earlier, and did not allow time enough. Charles did not aim at more than reaching Sittingbourne by three, which could not have brought them here by dinner-time. They had a very rough passage; he would not have ventured if he had known how bad it would be.
“However, here they are, safe and well, just like their own nice selves, Fanny looking as neat and white this morning as possible, and dear Charles all affectionate, placid, quiet, cheerful good humour. They are both looking well, but poor little Cassy is grown extremely thin and looks poorly. I hope a week’s country air and exercise may do her good. I am sorry to say it can be but a week. The baby does not appear so large in proportion as she was, nor quite so pretty, but I have seen very little of her. Cassy was too tired and bewildered just at first to seem to know anybody. We met them in the hall, the women and girl part of us, but before we reached the library she kissed me very affectionately, and has since seemed to recollect me in the same way. It was quite an evening of confusion, as you may suppose. At first we were all walking about from one part of the house to the other, then came a fresh dinner in the breakfast-room for Charles and his wife, which Fanny and I attended. Then we moved into the library, were joined by the dining-room people, were introduced, and so forth; and then we had tea and coffee, which was not over till past ten. Billiards again drew all the odd ones away, and Edward, Charles, the two Fannies, and I sat snugly talking. I shall be glad to have our numbers a little reduced, and by the time you receive this we shall be only a family, though a large family, party.
MRS. CHARLES AUSTEN
“I talked to Cassy about Chawton (Cassandra wished to have her there for the winter). She remembers much, but does not volunteer on the subject. Papa and mamma have not yet made up their minds as to parting with her or not; the chief, indeed the only difficulty with mamma is a very reasonable one, the child’s being very unwilling to leave them. When it was mentioned to her she did not like the idea of it at all. At the same time she has been suffering so much lately from sea-sickness that her mamma cannot bear to have her much on board this winter. Charles is less inclined to part with her. I do not know how it will end, or what is to determine it. He desires best love to you, and has not written because he has not been able to decide. They are both very sensible of your kindness on the occasion. I have made Charles furnish me with something to say about young Kendall. He is going on very well. When he first joined the Namur my brother did not find him forward enough to be what they call put in the office, and therefore placed him under the schoolmaster, and he is very much improved, and goes into the office now every afternoon, still attending school in the morning.”
This is interesting as an example of the way in which the young men learnt their work as midshipmen.
The domestic side of Charles’ character is always rather inclined to obtrude itself. Perhaps it was of him that Jane was thinking when Admiral Croft sums up James Benwick in the words, “An excellent, good-hearted fellow I assure you, a very active, zealous officer, too, which is more than you would think for perhaps, for that soft sort of manner does not do him justice;” and when later on she protests against the “too common idea of spirit and gentleness being incompatible with each other.” Nevertheless, we have ample proof that both sisters thought his domesticity somewhat overdone, though it is hardly fair to quote even friendly criticism of such an intimate nature. One sentence from a letter on October 18 gives the hint of what seems to have been Charles’ one defect in the eyes of his sisters.
“I think I have just done a good deed—extracted Charles from his wife and children upstairs, and made him get ready to go out shooting, and not keep Mr. Moore waiting any longer.”