Extract from chapter 15
1783 : Southampton
While the girls were at school in Oxford, a worrying measles epidemic swept through the university town. Mrs Cawley thought it wise to move her young charges far away and settle instead in Southampton. The thought of living by the sea on the south coast of England was far more appealing than staying in an infected city inland.
Southampton was an amusing place to be, where tall ships sailed by every day from the naval base in Portsmouth. But even the open blue sea had its dangers when sailors brought back unwanted diseases from their voyages. The lice they carried slipped into overcrowded houses and their tiny bites spread typhus.
Photo: HMS Victory, Portsmouth Historic Dockyards, Portsmouth.
Photo: Brockhampton Manor House, Herefordshire
All the girls succumbed to the disease one after another, with a headache, high fever and a rash. Mrs Cawley and her servants took on the duties of nursemaids until Jane Cooper and Cassandra improved. But seven-year-old Jane Austen got it bad and her fever continued to rage.
“When will our mothers come?” Cassandra asked Mrs Cawley, with all the politeness she could muster. At nearly eleven years of age, she had the wisdom to know this was serious and the knowledge to know she was scared.
“There’s no need to worry them,” cajoled Mrs Cawley. “I see no cause to alarm them. Your sister will be as right as rain in no time.”
Jane Cooper, at thirteen, was not so sure about this advice. She could not stand by and do nothing when Cassandra sobbed constantly over her barely conscious sister, holding the wash bowl under her chin whenever she was sick. It was time to act.
Photo: 1 Royal Crescent Museum, Bath
Photo: Jane Austen's House, Chawton, Hampshire
Jane Cooper wrote a note to her mother and slipped it out with an errand boy she had befriended. She gave him some coins from her purse and instructed him to take the letter to the post. It was vital, she assured him, that it be dispatched urgently to Bath.
Thanks be to God, the errand boy did as he was bid. He ran straight to the coaching inn, where the letter was loaded onto the evening mail coach and by the next morning it was in Mrs Cooper’s hand. She showed it to her husband and no time was lost in swiftly packing a bag and dispatching the family carriage. Within two hours of the notification, she was speeding her way towards Steventon to break the news to her sister.
Photo: Arlington Court, Barnstaple, Devon.
Mrs Austen was working on the vegetable patch when the visitor arrived and ran across the drive to greet her. “Sister? I thought it was your carriage. Whatever is the matter? What on earth has happened?”
Mrs Cooper was woozy and weak with distress, causing the gardener to come across and offer his hand. Mr Austen came out of his schoolroom, as baffled as his wife regarding this unexpected visit, but they were not kept in suspense for long.
“Oh Sister, I have had a letter from Jane. The girls are all ill and your little Jane is at death’s door! My Jane begs that we go there immediately to collect them. We must make haste. We must get there before it’s too late.”
Mr Austen called for a drink for the visitor and sat her down in a chair.
With an uncontrollable flow of curses, Mrs Austen ran upstairs to collect some things for the journey. The boys came out of the schoolroom, eager to offer their assistance and some went out to help with the horses.
Cook took some bread and boiled some eggs, then prepared a jug of small beer; she placed them carefully in a basket and tucked them in with a piece of white muslin. The boys placed the basket inside the carriage ready for later, when it would be needed.
Photo: Jane Austen's House, Chawton, Hampshire
Photo: Arlington Court Carriage Museum, Barnstaple, Devon.
Mr Cooper had sent a note via his wife to inform Mr Austen of the preparations he had already made that morning. He had engaged two of the best coachmen from Bath to drive the ladies. Both drivers were carrying pistols, which would enable them to travel on the shortest route to Southampton. They had been supplied with an adequate supply of coins to hire the fastest horses en route and pay whatever turnpikes were necessary. Everything had been thought of and there was no time for talk other than to wish the two women well and pray that they would reach their destination in time.
The coach eventually pulled in at The Dolphin - the coaching inn that signified the end of their journey. One of the coachmen went inside to seek a guide to take the women to Mrs Cawley’s address. The other coachman informed the ladies that he would stay there to await further instructions. He promised them the horses would be ready whenever he received word.
Photo: The Dolphin Hotel, Southampton.
Photo: Bargate, Southampton.
It was not far to Mrs Cawley’s lodgings and the women followed their guide hastily past the merchants who were opening their shops, towards Bargate and on to the house. The sea breeze that ruffled their hair and displaced their bonnets was far from refreshing. It brought with it a pungent smell of raw sewage and rotten fish and the guide gagged as much as the women. Mrs Cooper had never felt so wretched in her life.
She thanked the guide for his kindness and handed him a coin while Mrs Austen knocked on the door. She knocked twice and still, there was no answer but looking up at the windows she saw a curtain pull back and a little pale face peer out.
“Cassy? Is that you?”
Footsteps came running down the stairs and a bolt was released. Jane Cooper sank into her mother’s arms and wept with relief.
“Oh Mama, we have been so worried! Thank heavens you are here. I knew you would come. I knew you would make everything right.”
Photo: Trim Street, Bath.
Photo: Chawton House, Chawton, Hampshire.
“And my little Jane?” asked Mrs Austen, placing far too much responsibility on the poor girl’s shoulders than was appropriate for her age.
“She’s upstairs. Cassandra has been up with her all night. Oh! Thank heavens you’re here!”
The women made their way up the shabby wooden staircase that smelled of damp and mould. The bedroom smelled terrible. The chamber pots had not been emptied and vomit covered the floor.
“Open the window,” commanded Mrs Cooper, although in all honesty the smells coming in were no better than those they were trying to let out.
Mrs Austen pulled out some fresh clothes from her bag and, after giving her eldest daughter a brief kiss and a hug, instructed her to get changed. “Bring back your soiled clothes and we will use them to clean this floor. Bring any water you can find.”
She rolled up her sleeves and sat on the bed next to little Jane.
“Mama?” Jane’s eyes rolled, but she was conscious at least. “Mama,” she said again and clung on to her so tightly that it was now the turn of Mrs Austen’s tears to flow fast and strong.
When Cassandra returned in her fresh clothes, carrying a jug of water and a bowl, Mrs Austen ripped up the old garments into rags. The two women and the two older girls wiped and cleaned and tidied as best they could and helped to release little Jane from her dirty bed sheets. They dressed her in a fresh nightgown and her mother reached for the bottle of laudanum that she always carried with her in her hidden pocket. She placed a drop on Jane’s tongue. “That will help you to feel more peaceful, my darling,” she whispered, attempting to stroke the tangled hair off her face.
Photo: HMS Victory, Portsmouth Historic Docks, Portsmouth.
“I must dispatch a message to George,” she spoke suddenly. “I must tell him we will need the physician as soon as we arrive back at the rectory. And we must get word to the coachmen. We cannot stay here any longer.”
“I can help,” assured Jane Cooper eagerly. “I know where to find an errand boy, he will make sure your word is sent. He was the one who took my letter yesterday, so you can be sure he is to be trusted.”
She turned towards the door to go, but Mrs Cooper pulled her back by the arm. “Here,” she said, wrapping three gold coins in a handkerchief. “Give these coins to your friend for his help. Thank God, he helped you when he did, or we may never have got here soon enough.”
Photo: No.1 Royal Crescent Museum, Bath.
Jane kissed her mother on the cheek and assured her she would soon be back.
Cassandra looked a little sprightlier for seeing her mother and packed her and Jane’s things into their trunk. She directed Mrs Cooper to where her cousin kept her belongings and everything needed for departure was soon collected and ready. No words were required to state that none of them ever wanted to return to this filthy place again.
“And where is Mrs Cawley all this time?” questioned Mrs Cooper, her anger rising to the surface now that she had a firmer grip on the situation. “How dare she leave you girls in such a state and all alone!”
“She often goes out in the morning,” Cassandra replied sheepishly. “But she will likely return soon with the apothecary, to check on Jane.”
“Do you mean to tell me that the apothecary has attended your sister before and no one thought to tell me?” Mrs Austen was fuming.
“I tried to make Mrs Cawley write to you, Mama,” pleaded Cassandra with tears in her eyes. “I promise you I did. But she told me not to worry you. She told me Jane would soon be well again.”
Photo: HMS Victory, Portsmouth Historic Docks, Portsmouth.
“Come here, my child.” Mrs Austen scooped Cassandra into her arms and kissed the top of her head. “I’m not angry with you, my precious girl. Not one little bit. And I’m so grateful for how you have looked after your sister. I think she may owe her life to you, my darling.”
Cassandra was somewhat pacified, but Mrs Austen realised she must choose her words more carefully to avoid alarming the young girls even further. “But if we had known how poorly you all were, we could have got here sooner to help you. And you would not have had to do this by yourselves. That’s the only reason I’m upset.”
Jane Cooper returned shortly after, having found the errand boy and paid him handsomely for his task. “He will stand under the window when he has delivered the letter and spoken with the coachman. Then we’ll know what time we can leave.”
Photo: Tredegar House, Newport, Wales.
Mrs Cawley eventually did return with the apothecary and was shocked to find the girls’ room occupied by their mothers. Mrs Austen barely gave her a look, preferring to focus her energy on her youngest daughter instead. She spoke with the medical man for reassurance and discussed a plan of care. In exchange for a little more gold coin, he reluctantly handed over the concoction that he had intended to dispense over the coming days.
On the other side of the room, Mrs Austen could hear the bitter exchange between her sister and Mrs Cawley. “But we are family, not some paying strangers! What if one of them had died? How can you possibly live with that on your conscience?”
Mrs Cawley tried to placate her in the same foolish way she had tried to placate her pupils, but Mrs Cooper was having none of it.
“Save your words for Edward. He will be furious when he learns how you have treated these girls. I have no doubt he will write to you directly when we are safely back home!”
Jane Cooper had been keeping a watch out of the window and left the room quietly when she spied the errand boy waiting with his message. “The coachman says to wait for ten more minutes while he secures the horses,” she repeated when she came back in. “He says we are not to attempt to leave until he arrives. He will come up himself to carry Jane down the stairs and settle her in the carriage. We will be off before the clock strikes mid-day,” she finished, the relief obvious in her breaking voice.
Photo: Tredegar House, Newport, Wales.
Photo: Lyme Park, Stockport, Cheshire.
“Let me get you some refreshments before you leave,” spoke Mrs Cawley harmoniously, trying to make amends.
“We want nothing more from you, I assure you,” spat Mrs Cooper. “I would be obliged if you could leave us now, to wait for our carriage in peace!”
The apothecary bowed and both ladies thanked him politely for his help in attending to their daughters. He looked as if he would like to stay and sympathise with their plight but knew only too well who paid his fees, and it was not worth upsetting his clients in Southampton, no matter how unworthy they were.
At long last, thanks to the excellent teamwork from all concerned, the carriage and horses were trotting out along the outskirts of the city when the church bells chimed mid-day. Jane Cooper and Cassandra snuggled up against Mrs Cooper on one side of the carriage, whilst little Jane Austen lay across her mother’s lap on the other.
The girls slept like babies almost all the way back home, whilst the mothers wearily contemplated what might have been.
Author's own photo.
Copyright Diane Jane Ball 2023