I love finding glimpses of personality in lines of letters, and today’s makes me chuckle for the competitive streak in Jane Austen.  In this letter from 21st May 1801 from Bath, she describes a walk taken with an acquaintance who was quite robust about it all — particularly in climbing a hill — but our author friend kept pace with difficulty as she “would not flinch for the World.”  [Perhaps I enjoy reading this because I can so easily identify with having done the same.]

21st May 1801 – from Paragon, Bath