Page:Fragment of a novel written by Jane Austen.pdf/14

 everywhere possible to distinguish what was first written from what was added, or substituted, between the lines. These corrections are not such as could have resulted from subsequent revision of a fair copy previously made. In very many places the author has changed her mind currente calamo; has begun a sentence in one form and finished it in another. The number and nature of such changes create a presumption, at least, that we are dealing with a first draft.

The manuscript consists of three quires. The first and second, which are sewn together, are of 16 and 24 leaves respectively, measuring 7$1⁄2$ in. x 4$11⁄16$ in. The watermark, which occurs several times in both quires, is.

The first quire contains Chapters 1-3. The third chapter appears to end, on f. 16v, with an incomplete sentence; but the concluding words, that Loveliness was complete,