WAustenLeigh, regular-black  sister, Cassandra, in 1844, to her niece (and my Aunt) Caroline Mary Craven Austen, younger daughter of the Rev. James Austen of Steventon Rectory, Hants, and sister of the Rev. James EdwardAusten Leigh — My Aunt bequeathed it to me,and it has never left my possession.

W. Austen Leigh

Accompanying this manuscript are letters from members of Jane Austen's family relating to it, in which it is stated that "The Watsons"first appeared under the title of "Lady Susan," in the second edition of "Memoirs of Jane Austen" by Austen Leigh, published in 1871.

The manuscript has no date, but Mr Austen Leigh says: —

"On a close inspection of the original manuscript, the water-marks of 1803 and 1804 were found in the paper on which it was written. It is, therefore, probable, that it was composed at Bath, before she ceased to reside there in 1805. This would place the datea few years later than the composition, but earlier than the publication of "Sense and Sensibility" and "Pride and Prejudice."

The manuscript was bequeathed by Jane Austen's sister Cassandra, in 1844, to her niece, Caroline Mary Craven Austen, younger daughter of the Rev. James Austen of Steventon Rectory, Hants, and sister of the Rev. James Edward Austen Leigh, and bequeathed by Caroline Mary CravenAusten to W. Austen Leigh, who was a late owner.

Mr W Austen Leigh states in one letter: —

As the MSS. of all the novels finished and published by Jane Austen have perished, these pages furnish an almost unique oppor-tunity for observing her method of working."

Since publishing this portion, Messrs Sawyer have endeavoured to locate the remainder of the manuscript, and learn from Miss Dorothy AustenLeigh that it is the joint property of four present-day members of the family, and that "we have no intention of selling it."

It can, therefore, be readily appreciated that manuscript material of Jane Austen is of the utmost rarity, and the above is probably the only ex-ample that is ever likely to be offered for sale.

Portion of the original manuscript of the unfinishednovel, written c.1805.

These MS. pages contain the beginning of the story, com-prising the first 5 pages as printed for the first time in J. E. Austen-Leigh's "Memoir of Jane Austen", Edition 2. Lond.Bentley, 1871.

The printed version begins on p.297 and the MS. closely follows this text to the third paragraph of p.306. The por-tion of the MS. extant, but not the property of The Pierpont Morgan Library, continues for 58 pages of printed text, thelast page being 362.

unknown3, regular-black See letters & notes ofMr. W. Austen Leigh — laid in atend of manuscript.