The Jane Austen Handbook (6 page)
Read The Jane Austen Handbook Online
Authors: Margaret C. Sullivan
•
Join a gentleman in an open carriage
. Young men sometimes drive sporty, fast-moving, two-wheeled open carriages drawn by one horse (called a gig) or two (called a curricle). Taking a ride can lead to a pleasant afternoon in the country, but as these vehicles only seat two, you will need another couple in a second equipage to travel with you or you risk having your reputation compromised. Bear in mind that a clean gown quickly soils on the dusty roads, and if it rains, you will be soaked.
•
Travel by private carriage
. Whether the carriage is a four-wheeled phaeton suitable for a woman to drive or a six-seated barouche with a driver, private carriages offer the ideal method for traveling in all cases. Keeping one’s own carriage is an expensive proposition, as horse feed and stabling is costly, but any family with pretensions to gentility will keep their own carriage and two to four horses to pull it.
•
Hire a hack
. A carriage and horses can be hired from the local livery stable to transport one to a particular event, such as a ball. However, this is a poor substitute for having your own carriage, as it will give your neighbors an excuse to patronize you.
• Hire a post-chaise. A four-wheeled closed carriage drawn by two to four horses is the fastest, easiest, and most comfortable method of traveling long distances—and the most expensive. The cost depends upon the distance traveled. The chaise will stop regularly to change horses, so you will not be delayed while the horses are fed and watered. While traveling, young ladies should be accompanied by a family member or a servant; a maidservant may ride inside, or a manservant can ride beside the chaise. If a young lady is going home from a country house, she should be offered the escort of a manservant for part of her journey, and it is to be hoped that her parents will send their own servant to meet her and escort her the rest of the way. To expect a well-bred young girl to travel alone is a serious breach of propriety.
•
Journey by private carriage
. Long-distance travel in one’s own carriage offers the benefit of setting the schedule, the comfort of one’s own vehicle, and the confidence inspired by one’s own driver. However, long distances using one’s own horses can be slower than hiring a post-chaise, as the horses will need to stop regularly to rest. One might rent a set of fresh horses for the next leg of the trip and send back a groom to return them and fetch your own horses, but doing so creates additional expense and annoyance.
•
Catch a ride with the mail
. For a small fee, one might ride along on a Royal Mail coach, as long as one is traveling on a scheduled route. This is a good way to travel between large cities, but might have to be combined with a post-chaise to reach far-flung destinations. Young ladies should not ride on the mail coach unescorted.
•
Travel by
stagecoach
. This is the cheapest and slowest way to travel. On a stagecoach one will pay for the privilege of an interminably slow ride on a nobleman’s castoff conveyance, crammed next to all the ragtag and bobtail of the kingdom. Avoid this type of travel except as an absolute last resort, and never take the trip unaccompanied!
“It is a pleasure to see a lady with such a good heart for riding!” said he. “I never see one sit a horse better. She did not seem to have a thought of fear. Very different from you, miss, when you first began, six years ago come next Easter. Lord bless you! how you did tremble when Sir Thomas first had you put on!”
—
COACHMAN IN
M
ANSFIELD
P
ARK
Ladies ride sidesaddle not only because riding astride in a gown would be scandalous, but because it is safer, especially for petite women. If you are not very athletic and do not have strong legs, it is quite difficult to hang onto a horse while riding astride. Proper use of the sidesaddle will enable you to stay safely on the horse’s back and enjoy riding even at a fast trot. Before starting, be sure you are dressed properly (see “
How to Dress
”) and that your horse is trained for sidesaddle riding.
1. Saddle the horse. Ask the groom to strap the saddle on your horse. Check that it is snugly fastened and that the bridle is properly buckled. The bit should rest comfortably in the horse’s mouth.
2. Approach the mounting block. The groom will lead the horse to the mounting block, or he or a gentleman friend with whom you are riding will lace his fingers together to give you a step up. Do not attempt to mount the horse from the ground, as it will be both immodest and exceedingly undignified. Lead the horse to a fence or large rock if you are out in a field with no one around—but a well-bred young lady would
never
find herself in such a position.
3. Mount the horse. Hold the pommel of the saddle with your right hand and place your left hand on the shoulder of your gentleman friend. Place your left foot in the stirrup. Your gentleman friend will then place his hands on your waist. Press on his shoulder as he lifts you into the saddle.
4. Position yourself in the saddle. Set your right leg into the U-shaped horn, which should rest just above your knee. Then sit up straight, facing forward, with your weight on your right leg and your hips and shoulders square with the horse’s head.
5. Indicate the proper length as your gentleman friend adjusts the stirrup. If you are feeling daring, pull up your skirt a bit and give him a flash of ankle as he does so. Do not flash your ankle if the groom is performing this service! When he is finished, arrange your skirt, which might be slightly longer and fuller on the left side to modestly cover your legs and feet.
6. Take up the reins. Place one in each hand, weaving them under your little finger, over the next two fingers, and under your forefinger. Hold your riding crop loosely in your right hand, angled back to touch the horse’s side.
7. Pull back
gently
on the reins. Do not yank them or you will hurt and annoy the horse. The horse will pull forward on the bit, gently if she is well-trained. Once you have established contact, loosen the reins a bit.
8. Communicate to the horse with signals. To get the horse to walk, press your left leg against the horse’s side while pressing into its right side with your crop, substituting the feel of a rider’s right leg. To speed into a trot, loosen the reins a bit
and press once more with your left leg and crop. To stop the horse, pull back gently on the reins, press the horse’s sides with your left leg and your crop, and press down with your backside. Very well-trained horses might respond to verbal commands such as a tongue click. Do not go faster than a trot or jump the horse until you have a great deal of experience. Only the fast girls follow the hounds, anyway.
“Catherine would make a sad, heedless young
housekeeper to be sure,” was her mother’s foreboding remark; but quick was the consolation of there being nothing like practice
. —
N
ORTHANGER
A
BBEY
The mistress of a house is rather like the CEO of a major corporation. She oversees all operations: food service, personnel, training, procurement, budget, charitable contributions, interior design, and the day-to-day household activities. There are some ladies who delegate decision-making (and virtually all active involvement) to their housekeeper or a grown-up daughter, but one cannot imagine any of Jane Austen’s heroines doing so after their marriages. No doubt they would plan menus themselves and ensure that their children were cared for and educated, their husbands comfortable and well-fed, and their budget well in hand, all with a smile and a metaphorical The Buck Stops Here sign on their elegant Sheraton writing desks.
•
Develop a good relationship with your housekeeper
. It is likely that she came with the house, has been with the family for ages, and changed your husband’s diapers, so do not dismiss her out of hand. Tap into her institutional wisdom and follow her suggestions whenever practicable, but never let her forget that you are the mistress and she is the servant. It is best to make her your ally and not your enemy, for she can make you look like a superstar—or a slattern.
•
Work with your cook
. Help him or her to plan menus and purchase food for daily meals and dinner parties. Take care to stay within your budget on food. Large dinners for just the family are wasteful, especially since there is no dependable method of preserving food. Your husband will be satisfied with one well-prepared course for his dinner—save your big guns for dinner parties.
•
Oversee the servants
. Much of the daily interaction with the servants can be delegated to your housekeeper, but at the least you should know the name and function of each person working in your house (see “
Servants, By Duty & Rank
”).
•
Look after your less fortunate neighbors
. There might be a perfectly genteel family—the widow or unmarried daughter of your late vicar, for instance—who is having difficulty making ends meet. Do not insult them by offering them money, though they will welcome an occasional gift of a hindquarter of pork or bushel of apples. Pay a personal visit every week or two, even if their company is a trifle tiresome.
•
Take care of the poor and sick
. Visit them, deliver food, give advice, listen to their complaints. It is not fun, but it is your duty. The indigent have no other support system (and your visits offer a good way to get rid of leftovers).
•
Improve your interiors
. It is likely that your house is filled with heavy, gloomy furniture, dark paneling, and other old-fashioned, vulgar stuff inherited from previous generations. Refurnish your rooms with light, elegant furniture and colors. You live in a time of elegant style; take advantage of it!
•
Look after the family sewing
. Your dressmaker and your husband’s tailor will make most of the new clothing for the family, but repairs and some basic sewing are the responsibility of the lady of the house and any daughters old enough to assist. Do not forget the poor; ensure that new babies have clothes and that the poor are decently clad. Gifts of old gowns and new underwear are always appreciated.
•
Teach your children
. If they are too young for a governess, you can teach them their letters and numbers yourself. As your daughters get older, it is your responsibility to oversee their education: hire masters, ensure that they are acquiring the accomplishments that their husbands will expect, and train them to run their own houses. You do not want a bunch of spinsters left on your hands, do you?
