9 January 1796 – Saturday – from Steventon

[to Cassandra]

In the first place I hope you will live twenty-three years longer.  Mr Tom Lefroy’s birthday was yesterday, so that you are very near of an age.  After this necessary preamble I shall proceed to inform you that we had an exceeding good ball last night, and that I was very much disappointed at not seeing Charles Fowle of the party, as I had previously heard of his being invited.  In addition to our set at the Harwoods’ ball, we had the Grants, St Johns, Lady Rivers, her three daughters and a son, Mr and Miss Heathcote, Mrs Lefevre, two Mr Watkins, Mr J. Portal, Miss Deanes, two Miss Ledgers, and a tall clergyman who came with them, whose name Mary would never have guessed.  We were so terrible good as to take James in our carriage, though there were three of us before; but indeed he deserves encouragement for the very great improvement which has lately taken place in his dancing.  Miss Heathcote is pretty, but not near so handsome as I expected.  Mr H. began with Elizabeth, and afterwards danced with her again; but they do not know how to be particular.  I flatter myself, however, that they will profit by the three successive lessons which I have given them.

You scold me so much in the nice long letter which I have this moment received from you, that I am almost afraid to tell you how much my Irish friend and I behaved.  Imagine to yourself everything most profligate and shocking in the way of dancing and sitting down together.  I can expose myself, however, only once more, because he leaves the country soon after next Friday, on which we are to have a dance at Ashe after all.  He is a very gentlemanlike, good-looking, pleasant young man, I assure you.  But as to our having ever met, except at the three last balls, I cannot say much; for he is so excessively laughed at about me at Ashe, that he is ashamed of coming to Steventon, and ran away when we called on Mrs Lefroy a few days ago.

We left Warren at Dean Gate, in our way home last night, and he is now on his road to town.  He left his love, &c., to you, and I will deliver it when we meet. Henry goes to Harden to-day in his way to his Master’s degree.  We shall feel the loss of these two most agreeable young men exceedingly, and shall have nothing to console us till the arrival of the Coopers on Tuesday.  As they will stay here till the Monday following, perhaps Caroline will go to the Ashe ball with me, though I dare say she will not.  I danced twice with Warren last night, and once with Mr Charles Watkins, and, to my inexpressible astonishment, I entirely escaped John Lyford.  I was forced to fight hard for it, however.  We had a very good supper, and the greenhouse was illuminated in a very elegant manner.

We had a visit yesterday morning from Mr Benjamin Portal, whose eyes are as handsome as ever.  Everybody is extremely anxious for your return, but as you cannot come home by the Ashe ball, I am glad that I have not fed them with false hopes.  James danced with Alethea, and cut up the turkey last night with great perseverance.

You say nothing of the silk stockings; I flatter myself, therefore, that Charles has not purchased any, as I cannot very well afford to pay for them; all my money is spent in buying white gloves and pink persian.  I wish Charles had been at Manydown, because he would have given you some description of my friend, and I think you must be impatient to hear something about him.  Henry is still hankering after the Regulars, and as his project of purchasing the adjutancy of the Oxfordshire is now over, he has got a scheme in his head about getting a lieutenancy and adjutancy in the 86th, a new-raised regiment, which he fancies will be ordered to the Cape of Good Hope.  I heartily hope that he will, as usual, be disappointed in this scheme.

We have trimmed up and given away all the old paper hats of Mamma’s manufacture; I hope you will not regret the loss of yours.  After I had written the above, we received a visit from Mr Tom Lefroy and his cousin George.  The latter is really very well-behaved now, and as for the other, he has but one fault, which time will, I trust, entirely remove–it is that his morning coat is a great deal too light.  He is a very great admirer of Tom Jones, and therefore wears the same coloured clothes, I imagine, which he did when he was wounded.

[A short addendum to this letter was added on the following day, 10th January]