Page:Jane Austen (Sarah Fanny Malden 1889).djvu/167

 in person; perhaps this could hardly have been expected; but she was received with great cordiality by the librarian, Mr. Clarke, and during the visit he told her that, if she cared to do so, the Prince would be happy to accept the dedication of any future novel of hers. The idea of such a dedication strikes us now as half pathetic, half ludicrous. Perhaps it so struck Jane, for she wrote shortly after to make sure that the Regent really wished it. The answer she got fully confirmed the fact; and Mr. Clarke, who would seem to have been an amiable and well-read man, but deficient in a sense of humour, seized the opportunity of making her a very curious suggestion.

"Carlton House,

",

"It is certainly not incumbent on you to dedicate your work now in the press to His Royal Highness; but if you wish to do the Regent that honour, either now or at any future period, I am happy to send you that permission which need not require any more trouble or solicitation on your part.

"Your late works, Madam, and, in particular, Mansfield Park, reflect the highest honour on your genius and your principles. In every new work your mind seems to increase its energy and power of discrimination. The Regent has read and admired all your publications.

"Accept my best thanks for the pleasure your volumes have given me. In the perusal of them I felt a great inclination to write and say so. And I also, dear Madam, wished to be allowed to ask you to delineate in some future work the habits of life, and character, and enthusiasm of a clergyman, who should