'The family who delight in the companionship of Jane Austen, and who
present this petition, are of English origin. Their ancestor held a
high rank among the first emigrants to New England, and his name and
character have been ably represented by his descendants in various
public stations of trust and responsibility to the present time in the
colony and state of Massachusetts. A letter addressed to Miss
Quincey, care of the Honble Josiah Quincey, Boston, Massachusetts,
would reach its destination.'

Sir Francis Austen returned a suitable reply to this application; and
sent a long letter of his sister's, which, no doubt, still occupies the
place of honour promised by the Quincey family.




CHAPTER X.


_Observations on the Novels_.

It is not the object of these memoirs to attempt a criticism on Jane
Austen's novels. Those particulars only have been noticed which could be
illustrated by the circumstances of her own life; but I now desire to
offer a few observations on them, and especially on one point, on which
my age renders me a competent witness--the fidelity with which they
represent the opinions and manners of the class of society in which the
author lived early in this century. They do this the more faithfully on
account of the very deficiency with which they have been sometimes
charged--namely, that they make no attempt to raise the standard of human