little miss austin

Alice wondered, how did he know that she liked him?He always talks to himself.

Continue to the next letter.

I didn't say anything about Ivo, but about himself, about his studies at Oxford University, what courses he took, and how this helped him become an explorer; looking forward to the near future, he ended up studying in the UK After studying, a team will be recruited to return to the United States for a great western adventure;

Speaking of the indulgent life of other students in Oxford University, I think it is very boring: drinking, just in moderation; smoking, very fashionable, he has now learned how to distinguish good tobacco from inferior tobacco; He doesn’t like those who are not beautiful enough. There are not many beautiful, knowledgeable, thoughtful and educated girls. The girl he likes understands him enough and can even become his travel partner. That’s the best. ;

He described to her the landscape of the United States, the voyage on the sea, the boundless sea can reshape a person, so that you can realize how small a "person" is, and the eternal nature is eternal; he wants to discover As a "discoverer" rather than an "invader" of those territories that are not yet known on this earth.

Alice found it interesting to talk if Grant wasn't so domineering.American boys are indeed different from British boys. Perhaps this is the difference in vision and ideological realm. People in the new world have more courageous characteristics. The Temple family has the courage to venture into the world since the old Temple. In exchange for wealth, it is absolutely impossible for old Temple to become relatives with the baron if he still stays in England.

William also became a happy father this year. Sally gave birth to a healthy boy in August. William and the baron were very happy.William's elder brother already has 8 daughters, but has no son yet. Maybe William's son will inherit the title in the future.

Mrs. Temple is still in the UK and has seen the birth of her grandson. She loves the baby very much, but she has stayed in the UK for too long and must go back to South Carolina. There is a husband, eldest son, and young second daughter waiting for her at home. go home.

In general, Grant's letter is not as proud as before, "you must obey me in everything", he changed his way of speaking in a gentle and easy-to-accept way, probably because he finally realized in Oxford University, His family's little money is nothing, there are plenty of boys in Oxford who are richer than his family and smarter than him.He also mentioned that what some students said was often very meaningful, and he couldn't understand what they were talking about, and his self-confidence was a little frustrated.

Mother and Cathy were busy making clothes for little Diana all day long. Children grow up fast, and a piece of clothing is often just finished, and it will be small within half a month after wearing it. Jane and her maids can't do it at all.Mother tried to get Alice to start sewing again, but she always managed to get away, leaving her work to sisters Sidney and Kate.

Cathy persuaded her mother to stop competing with Alice, "She doesn't like needlework, so let her go, you teach Kate more, she can calm down and learn, and she is willing to learn."

Kate on the side raised her head and smiled shyly.

Mom sighed, "Although she doesn't need to make the whole family's clothes by herself after she gets married, she can't be good at all, right?" It's really worrying.Needlework is not the whole test of a girl's ladylike self-cultivation, but it is also an important factor. She does not want Alice's mother-in-law to pick on her in the future.

Both Cathy and Jane can calm down and do needlework, and they do very well, but when they reach Alice, they hit a wall. Sometimes she complains to Pastor George, why he agreed to let Alice go to Daylesford, Alice It was unladylike for Seth to learn how to play cricket, ride horses, and hunt in Daylesford when she should have learned her needlework at home.

"It's not like she can't." Cathy picked up the semi-finished money bag that Alice made at the beginning of the year. "Isn't it very well done? She just doesn't want to spend time on it."

My mother was helpless, "Look, I haven't finished making a purse for a year."

"Didn't she go on a trip? If she stayed at home, she must have finished it long ago. "

Kate said: "Miss Alice said it was too cold and her hands were cold so she didn't want to do her needlework."

In winter, she does needlework in front of the fireplace, and it is not very cold, so she is still looking for excuses.

Oliver stayed in London for a week, came to Austin's house twice, and soon went to Newton Manor. His family is not in London for Christmas this year.

Grant came a few times, too, and then was taken away by Mrs Temple, who spent Christmas this year with William's family, who had bought a new cottage in Kent.

George Byron spends Christmas at Gordon's, but since Ivo is invited to come to Austin's for Christmas Eve, he urges them to come along.

Ivo came to Austin's house almost every day, staying from morning to afternoon after dinner.Mrs. Austen left them alone most of the time, usually in the study, sometimes in the drawing room, or in the game room.

It is said that two people are alone, but in fact, apart from the study room, there are always people in the living room, sometimes the Reverend George or Mrs. Austin, sometimes the servants come and go; there are also servants in the game room, and my niece Anna , nephew Henry Jr., and niece Helena come in and out.

Anna is only 3 and a half years younger than Alice, and now she is 13 and a half years old, and she is also a slim girl.She is also studying lady education with Mrs. Becker, and it also takes three years to study, and she will be 3 and a half years old after finishing the study.

Little Henry was 9 and a half years old. Henry sent him to a nearby church school and planned to go through formal adoption procedures when he was 12 years old. Little Henry had already changed his name to Uncle Henry as his father.

Little William is a little over 1 year old, and he is still not very stable in walking.The little guy combines the advantages of his parents. He is very cute and well-raised. He is chubby and cute.

Helena is about to turn 5 years old, she is very beautiful, she is the darling of her grandmother, and her status is unshakable.

As for Diana, who was only more than three months old, she was still a milk baby who could only lie in the cradle.

Eliza and Henry are still living in the cottage and are planning to move back to London next spring when the weather warms up.

There are still many children in the Austin family, many people, and it is a lively big family.

Byron also loved to run to Austin's house.

He is an only child, there are no brothers and sisters in the family, and he has never lived with his half-sister. He envies that Alice's family is so lively, and the brothers and sisters are friendly, and the family atmosphere is very good.

But he believes that an overly comfortable life may reduce Alice's desire to create.

"You are so happy. Happy people don't need to express their emotions with poetry or novels. You don't have so many worries or pains that you need to use words to declare war on the world. This is your fatal flaw."

"I can't agree with that. Shakespeare didn't have any pain to express, and still wrote many popular plays."

"That's different—"

"Different? Because Shakespeare is a man and I am a woman?"

"—no! Besides, who said Shakespeare had no pain? He lost his only son!"

"Oh—that's fine. But it is a false proposition that a comfortable life will lose the desire to create. Let me tell you first, what is your creation for?"

"Passion."

"What is 'passion'?"

"It's motivation. Life needs passion, and one cannot live without passion."

"I'm asking, what exactly is it?"

After thinking about it, Byron realized that it was not easy to explain clearly.

"For example—broken love;"

——But she and Ivo have a very good relationship, and the two of them are sweet and greasy. It is impossible for her to experience what it means to be "broken in love".

"Or, bereavement;"

——But her parents are both present, and her brothers and sisters are all good, and she has never experienced it.

It's really enviable.

"Or, ideals, things you want to fight for."

"What you said is not accurate. It should be that creation requires passion, not because of 'passion'. There are various reasons for creation. Some people have something to say to others, and some are purely because of money."

"how about you?"

"Me? Both. Creation is a lonely thing, it's taking power from your mind, your heart, or elements, or whatever you want to call it, and you cram it into some sentences, or In some stories, the text may be too heavy, but every author must have what he wants to say, the thought he wants to express, and does not necessarily need some cosmic truth. Pain can indeed make you condense gorgeous sentences, you loudly Crying out and wanting to be heard is because we all need to 'confide' in essence, and it has nothing to do with whether your life is painful or not, so the false proposition that a comfortable life will kill the desire to create is definitely wrong."

Byron bowed his head and thought for a while, "You're right, this is indeed a false proposition." Then he was a little confused, "Is it because we need to 'confide'?"

"Everyone in this world needs to talk, but most people can only 'listen'. Talented people are extremely rare, and those who know they are talented should not waste their talent."

Byron blushed a little, "But I also did it to experience a different level of life."

Then Ivo said: "Come, don't make excuses for your absurdity! Father has been very dissatisfied with you lately, saying that you spend too much money, and that the rent at Newstead Park is not enough to cover your expenses. Aunt Catherine wrote Complain that you can't stay at home for a few days in a summer vacation."

Byron pursed his lips and said nothing.

"Has Lady Catherine been ill again?" asked Alice.

"She is always like this. When I first came home, she was very happy and treated me very well, but within a few days she started crying and nagging. If I brought my classmates home, she would not be happy; but I If she said a few words to some girl at the ball, she would still be upset. I don’t know what she wants me to do.” No matter how talented Byron is, he is now a big boy under the age of 19.

Alice thought, this behavior is not hysterical, but a typical behavior of a controlling mother.Mrs. Catherine has always been dependent on her son. She only has such a child, and of course she puts all her attention on him. "Belongs to her", of course she couldn't accept it.

All her crying, all her dissatisfaction, is actually only one problem, she doesn't want Byron to leave her.

So Byron didn't want to go home even more, not even for Christmas.

"You should slow down the speed of spending money, save some money, become independent, and go back to see her several times a year, but the time should not be too long."

Byron sighed, "I also know that I should stay away from her, but if she writes that she is sick, I still don't trust her."

Alice said nothing.Pretending to be sick is indeed the fastest method, but this method cannot be used too much.As far as she was concerned, Lady Catherine was completely idle, and it might be better for her to be busy.Like Mrs. Austen, how busy she is!The grandchildren and grandchildren are busy every day just making clothes. If they live a more fulfilling life, their children will not be so tired.

She feels more and more that the Austin family is really a model of a good family. Children like Ivo who have a happy family don't have a deep understanding of it. It's not surprising that Susan, Byron, and even Oliver all like the atmosphere of her family.

Ivo asked Byron again how much money he owed outside, but Byron couldn't figure it out, and said it was about 2000 pounds, which scared Ivo and said, what did you do to spend so much money!

Alice's attention was attracted by this debt, "Aren't you spending money too fast! Oliver has 1000 pounds a year in pocket money, but he only spends 4 pounds at most. I gave you about 500 pounds; Ivo only has 100 pounds of pocket money a year, and 500 pounds is given to you, tell me, neither of them spend as much as you, where did you spend it?"

Byron was about to cry, "I don't know either! Someone always lends me money. I never know how much money I have. Anyway, if I have money, I will use it up."

Alice was surprised, "Are they sure you can afford it?"

Ivo rolled his eyes, "Sure. If he really has no money to pay off his debts, he can sell Newstead Manor."

Alice thought for a while, "Well, I'll give you 200 pounds a year. If you want to publish any poetry anthology in the future, Austin Publishing House should have the priority. If Austin Publishing House doesn't want to publish it, you can take it. Give it to another publishing house." She thought about Byron's poetry collection and didn't know whether it would make money or not, but his talent was unquestionable, as long as he didn't drink alcohol to his brain, or was knocked on the head, those glorious poems would last for a few years. Then it will shake out from his mind, and he will be called a genius.Binding him in advance won't hurt him, and it might even be a good thing.

Byron was a little shy now, "I don't want your money."

"Really? Why didn't you say that when I settled the sake bill for you?"

Ivo immediately kicked Byron.

Byron quickly slipped away, "I'm going to see what snacks are in the kitchen."

Ivo muttered, "Don't help him pay off his debts, my father is so angry that he doesn't want to give him money anymore."

"How much does Mr. Gordon pay him a year?"

"About £100 to £200."

This is a lot of money, after all, the three married daughters of the Gordon family don't have much annuity a year.Mrs. Gordon expected to have another quarrel with her husband over it.

"Aren't you jealous?"

"Why are you jealous? It's my father's money, and he can give it to whoever he wants. Besides, George is a little..." He frowned, "Is it because he went to college and no one restrained him, so he couldn't control himself ?”

"It has something to do with temperament. University actually tests a person's self-control ability. People who don't have self-control are either stupid or geniuses, because geniuses don't bother with vulgar things like money. If you have money, you need to spend it, but if you don't have it You also need to spend, the key is to look good.”

"Then I'm just a layman. I think that what should be spent must not be saved, and what should not be spent should not be spent."

Alice agrees, "That's the way it should be," but then wonders, "Do you know when it's time to spend money?"

Ivo felt aggrieved, "Why do you always think I'm still a child?"

"do not you?"

"I'm 3 years older than you, and I'm already 20 years old!" He puffed out his chest, as if to indicate that he was already an "adult" in the standard sense.His birthday was in early December, just past his 12th birthday.

She didn't speak, just looked at him.

A 20-year-old young man, with a tender face, still looks like he is only 17 or 8 years old, probably because he is very favored at home, and his expression always has a childish innocence.He's cute, but maybe... and because of that, he always feels a little immature.But innocence is rare in this world, she really doesn't want him to grow up quickly.

"It's good if you do this." The study room and the library are combined into one, with desks inside, and comfortable low sofas in front of the windows, double and single.

They sat side by side on a loveseat, legs touching legs, knees touching knees.

They were about the same height, Alice was slightly shorter by half a head, and could look at the head when sitting. She lowered her gaze slightly, looked at the light blue stubble on his chin, and carefully raised her hand to rub his chin with her fingertips.

He blushed immediately, and called her name in a low voice, "Alice—"

"Hush—" she put her slender fingers on his lips, "be quiet, so that no one can hear you."

He closed his eyes nervously, carefully feeling the touch of her soft tongue licking his lips.Speaking of it, although it has been a year since the confession before Christmas last year, the two of them don’t see each other much, that is, they travel together in summer and stay for more than a month, and there is always Susan, the troublemaker, by their side. Ghost, very few chances to kiss her well.

He was the one who took the initiative to kiss her before, but today... she suddenly took the initiative, which feels really good!She has been away for more than half a year, and she has changed a little bit. Apart from growing up a little bit, there is also a little-huh?Maybe this is what they keep talking about, a woman's flirting skills?They say that a woman who is good at flirting can make you so happy that you will never see anyone else except her in your heart, unless the love fades.

He thought that he would never change his love for her, and he also didn't want her to change her love for him.How logical it is that they should be together!

The sweet kiss, her small lips were as soft as rose petals, sweet as honey, he was dizzy and hot all over.

It wasn't until someone came in that they separated abruptly in panic.

Christmas Eve in 1806.

Ivo and Byron both lived at Austin's house.As usual, the Austin family celebrated Alice's birthday first, and then had a Christmas dinner. After the dinner, they went to unwrap presents under the Christmas tree.

The Christmas tree was a medium-sized fir that Tom and Ivo had cut down in the woods outside. Ten years ago, it was not popular in Britain to put Christmas trees in the living room. This custom came from the Germanic countries. The royal family of this country now belongs to the Hanoverian royal family of the Germanic family. German relatives brought all the fashionable things from them in time. Soon it was all the rage in London.

Alice loved to decorate the Christmas tree, and she got some sparkly baubles to hang on the branches, and some sweets tied with ribbons, which made the children very happy, and after Christmas dinner, Aunt Alice let them go Take those candies and eat them.

The lively atmosphere of Austin’s house seemed to Ivo to be okay. His family had many children, and Christmas Eve was always very lively, but George Byron was different. He rarely saw such a happy big family, and he was very envious. .

They both gave Alice birthday presents and Christmas presents, and Alice sent them Christmas presents in return.Ivo got a new purse, and Byron got a thick little notebook with a beautiful silk cover.

Ivo gleefully replaced the old money bag immediately, "Did you make it? I heard from Cathy that you can only make one money bag a year."

"Of course I did it, you should cherish it and don't lose it."

Byron hurriedly asked, "Did you do this yourself?"

"The notebook is custom-made, and I ordered a large box. I made the cover myself. Isn't it beautiful? The main reason is that they can't get a color printing machine now. A good color printing machine can perfectly reproduce an oil painting. It’s just that there’s no raised paint. There’s no color printing, so you have to use cloth as the envelope.”

"I love it, it's very chic."

Ivo's birthday present was a jeweled hairpin, and his Christmas present was two white crystal chess pieces.

Byron gave him a horsewhip for his birthday and a feather dip pen for Christmas.

Neither Alice nor Ivo knew what Byron meant by sending the horsewhip.

After opening the Christmas presents, Alice sat down in front of the piano and played a Christmas carol.

Most of the popular Christmas songs now are church hymns, and there are no Christmas songs in later popular songs, neither "Jingle Bells", nor "Winter Wonderland", "WewishyouaMerryChristmas" or "GodRestYeMerry", so she sang " Silent Night".

Silent night, holy night.

Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve.

Alliscalm, allisbright.

In the darkness, the brilliance shines.

The flickering candlelight reflected in her sparkling eyes, shining brightly like the stars in the sky.

The author has something to say:

*Speaking of Byron’s foreign debts, he owed more than 3 pounds in the end. After his mother died, he sold the manor for more than 9 pounds and paid off the debt in one fell swoop. There was still a lot left, so he was able to recruit the army later. go to greece.

*The cause of Byron’s death seems uncertain. Some people say that he died of malaria, but at that time there was a special medicine for malaria, Cinchona Cream, which greatly reduced the death rate; If the tools are not thoroughly sterilized, the infection will turn into sepsis. He became ill on February 1824, 2, and died on April 15, only two months before and after.