master that he rather later on offered her another idea. Prince Leopold, who was on the eve of his marriage to Princess Charlotte, had appointed Mr. Clarke his private secretary and librarian, and the well-meaning man then wrote to suggest to Jane Austen that "an historical romance, illustrative of the august house of Cobourg, would just now be very interesting," and that she might dedicate it to the royal bridegroom. It must have taxed all Jane's powers of politeness to reply with such grave courtesy as she did in the following letter:—
"My Dear Sir,
"I am honoured by the Prince's thanks and very much obliged to yourself for the kind manner in which you mention the work. I have also to acknowledge a former letter forwarded to me from Hans Place. I assure you I felt very grateful for the friendly tenor of it, and hope my silence will have been considered, as it was truly meant, to proceed only from an unwillingness to tax your time with idle thanks. Under every interesting circumstance which your own talents and literary labours have placed you in, or the favour of the Regent bestowed, you have my best wishes. Your recent appointments, I hope, are a step to something still better. In my opinion, the service of a Court can hardly be too well paid, for immense must be the sacrifice of time and feeling required by it. You are very kind in your hints as to the sort of composition which might recommend me at present, and I am fully sensible that an historical romance founded on the House of Saxe Cobourg, might be much more to the purpose of profit and popularity than such pictures of domestic life in country villages
