Page:Jane Austen (Sarah Fanny Malden 1889).djvu/221

 "In memory of Jane Austen, youngest daughter of the late Revd. George Austen, formerly rector of Steventon in this County. She departed this life on July 18, 1817, aged 41, after a long illness, supported with the patience and hope of a Christian. The benevolence of her hearty the sweetness of her temper, and the extraordinary endowments of her mind obtained the regard of all who knew her, and the warmest love of her immediate connections. Their grief is in proportion to their affection; they know their loss to be irreparable, but in their deepest affliction they are consoled by a firm, though humble, hope that her charity, devotion, faith, and purity have rendered her soul acceptable in the sight of her Redeemer."

It is quite possible that when this inscription first appeared, few strangers who read it had any idea how extraordinary the endowments of Jane Austen's mind had been, and they probably considered the expression as an illustration of family partiality; but in years to come the public woke to the perception that there was, in good truth, something "particular about that lady," and it was then found desirable to mark her resting-place differently. Her nephew, Mr. Austen Leigh, inserted a brass in the wall near her grave to—

"Jane Austen, known to many by her writings, endeared to her family by the varied charms of her character, and ennobled by Christian faith and piety.

"She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness."

Her family were quite satisfied with these notices of her whom they had so dearly loved; and though we may feel as if some more national tribute to her, genius would have been fitting, still her fame is of the