Page:Jane Austen (Sarah Fanny Malden 1889).djvu/29

 which Lord Brabourne has published show us how the intense attachment between the two sisters never waned throughout their lives. The letters are almost in one way uninteresting to a third person; they are so full of the details of everyday life. Every particular is related, every plan discussed in them; they are the kind that could only pass between two people who knew that nothing which interested the one could fail to interest the other, and to open them is almost like intruding upon a confidential tête-à-tête: yet they are full of attraction for those who can read Jane's own character between the lines. All her warmth of heart and devotion to her family shine out in them, as well as her quick perception of character; and they sparkle throughout with quiet fun, and with humour which is never ill-natured, while from first to last there is not a line written for effect, nor an atom of egotism or self-consciousness. It is characteristic both of Jane's self-abnegation and of her complete faith in her sister that, even after she was a successful authoress, she always gave Cassandra's opinion first to anyone consulting her on literary matters, and if it differed from her own she mentioned the fact almost apologetically, and merely as if she felt bound to do so.

If she did not actually pine for her sister's presence after she was grown up, she certainly missed her, even in a short time, far more than most sisters, however affectionate, would do. At twenty she is eager to give up a ball to which she had been looking forward, merely that Cassandra may return from a visit two days earlier than she otherwise could, and writes, "I shall be extremely impatient to hear from you again, that I may know when you are to return." At another time she reproaches her for staying away