Final day in the Reading Room at CHL

Sigh...it has come to an end. I loved my little table overlooking the gardens and the grounds, I loved my bins of antiquarian books, the foam supports to cradle elderly books, and the strings of covered beads to hold books open (to prevent the oils from one's fingers seeping onto the pages). All of these things, unfamiliar as I was with them a month ago, have become part of the daily routine.

I found two more fantastic books today that really added to my search. One of them, Heberden's (1802) Commentaries on the history and cure of diseases, of which it was a delight to read the introduction with sentences like this one (speaking about food choice):
"I never yet met with any person of common sense (except in acute illness) whom I did not think much fitter to choose for himself, than I was to determine for him."

Amen, Dr. Heberden! But then his writing progressed to tell about how much to bleed a person, or when emetics and purgatives were called for (quite a lot as it turns out!). The striking thing for me in this book was the first line of the first paragraph, about the link between diet and health. How I wish books for medical students started that way in this era, when nutrition is covered minimally, if at all, in medical schools. Granted, that's pretty much all they had to go on around 1800 as well as the ever present bloodletting, vomits, and purges, and that old standby...opium!  Nevertheless I LOVED and concurred with Heberden's views on listening to the person experiencing the illness and let him/her decide what is best for their condition (oh...and then haul out the lancet).

The other book in today's hurried tidy up of books still on my table was:

Campbell, R. (1757). The London Tradesman. Being an historical account of all the trades, professional arts, both liberal and mechanic, now practised in the Cities of London and Westminster. Calculated for the instruction of youth in their choice of business (3rd edition). London: T. Gardner.



This little gem had descriptors of all sorts of trades related to the cloth, haberdashery, and household goods trades. The wonderful Morwenna procured me copies of the pages I needed and agreed to hold it over for me when I return for a few hours on the afternoon of August 9.

Kathryn Ibin, the JASNA International Visitor, Sarah Parry, CHL's Education Officer, and I had an informal debrief/discussion about our research progress over the month we have been here. It was a delight especially when the seeming disparity between what I have studied and Kathryn's studies in music in the Austen households resulted in the three of us making all sorts of connections and suggesting additional sources to consult. We kept Sarah here long past her time and were grateful for her spending time with us to learn about our work here and our plans to move our findings forward.

Then a bite of dinner, trying to get through the remaining grocery items....and then, when I was about to go to my room to pack, Kathryn began playing the piano . Mendelsohn. So... what could I do but grab another glass of wine (yes, 'another'), pick up Persuasion to read the last two wondeful chapters that were written just down the road from here , and sit in the parlour to enjoy a bit of bliss! 

A perfect way to end my visit to Chawton. But lucky me...I get to return for a tiny visit before heading back to Canada. Tomorrow the train to Leamington Spa!

Sorry, no pictures today...didn't take a one of my final day in the Reading Room!