Louisa Musgrove

Her pleasure in the walk must arise from the exercise and the day, from the view of the last smiles of the year upon the tawny leaves and withered hedges, and from repeating to herself some few of the thousand poetical descriptions extant of autumn, that season of peculiar and inexhaustible influence on the mind of taste and tenderness, that season which had drawn from every poet worthy of being read some attempt at description or some lines of feeling." Later in the walk, they near Winthrop, and Henrietta goes to call on her cousin, Charles Hayter.

While she is gone, Anne painfully overhears a conversation between Louisa and Captain Wentworth, in which both protest vehemently against those who are easily persuaded by others to do something that they have set their heart upon.

"'And so I made her go.

I could not bear that she should be frightened from the visit by such nonsense.

Not a puncture, not a weak spot anywhere.

This nut,' he continued, with playful solemnity, 'while so many of his brethren have fallen and been trodden under foot, is still in possession of all the happiness that a hazel nut can be supposed capable of.' Then returning to his former earnest tone, 'My first wish for all whom I am interested in, is that they should be firm.

If Louisa Musgrove would be beautiful and happy in her November of life, she will cherish all her present powers of mind." [piano music] Later in the novel, the young people visit Lyme.

It is November, out of season, and Anne enjoys the wild beauty of the beach and the sea, and the pleasure of being somewhere new.

Anne is staying with the Musgroves at the big house as Charles and Mary are both still at Lyme.

Everyone is waiting for news of Louisa's improvements, but there aren't many.

Anne, as always, is a great help.

First, she sends Louisa's childhood nursemaid to Lyme, then she convinces everyone left at Uppercross to go, too.

They'll feel better if they're closer.

This is taken up as a great idea, and Anne helps them pack and get ready.

There is an intense hour in which Anne is left alone in the great house, and she feels totally alone.

It is raining, and she thinks to herself that if Louisa wakes up, Wentworth is definitely gonna propose.

But in Persuasion, the feeling in this respect, as in all others, is more delicate, and only in the chapter which Jane Austen afterwards canceled can we see the quickness of Mrs. Croft’s perceptions where her brother was concerned.

For so long as she supposes him to be on the brink of marrying Louisa Musgrove, sympathy is no doubt somewhat difficult to force, but prompt welcome is given to Anne as Captain Wentworth’s chosen wife, and with some knowledge of Mrs. Croft, we know that the particularly friendly manner hid a warmth of feeling which would fully satisfy even Frederick’s notions of the love which Anne deserved.

But it is in Mansfield Park that brothers and sisters play the strongest part.

No one can possibly doubt the very lively affection of Mary and Henry Crawford.

But in Persuasion, the feeling in this respect, as in all others, is more delicate, and only in the chapter which Jane Austen afterwards cancelled can we see the quickness of Mrs. Croft's perceptions where her brother was concerned.

For so long as she supposes him to be on the brink of marrying Louisa Musgrove, sympathy is no doubt somewhat difficult to force, but prompt welcome is given to Anne as Captain Wentworth's chosen wife.

And with some knowledge of Mrs. Croft, we know that the particularly friendly manner hid a warmth of feeling which would fully satisfy even Frederick's notions of the love which Anne deserved.

But it is in Mansfield Park that brothers and sisters play the strongest part.

But most striking of all, to our thinking, is that paid to Miss Austen by Lord Tennyson, when in some visit to Lyme not many years since, those with him pointed out this and the other feature of the place, only to be interrupted with, Never mind all that.

Show me the exact spot where Louisa Musgrove fell.

Could non-historical verisimilitude go farther or mean more? S.C.W.

Newport, June 1892 End of preface.

But most striking of all, to our thinking, is that paid to Miss Austen by Lord Tennyson, when in some visit to Lyme not many years since, those with him pointed out this and the other feature of the place, only to be interrupted with, Never mind all that.

Show me the exact spot where Louisa Musgrove fell.

Could non-historical verisimilitude go farther, or mean more? S.C.W.

Newport, June 1892 End of preface.