1 page, 16mo (125 x 103 mm). Written recto in sepia ink in the hand of Jane Austen and signed in full (“Jane Austen”), comprising four stanzas of four lines each, and written verso in sepia ink in the hand of Cassandra Austen and signed (“C. Austen”); some staining to verso, Cassandra’s text trimmed.

“I've a pain in my head”
Said the suffering Beckford;
To her Doctor so dread.
“Oh! what shall I take for't?”

Said her Doctor so dread
Whose name it was Newnham.
“For this pain in your head
Ah! What can you do Ma'am?”

Said Miss Beckford, “Suppose
If you think there's no risk,
I take a good Dose
Of calomel brisk.”

“What a praise worthy Notion!”
Replied Mr. Newnham.
“You shall have such a potion,
And so will I too Ma'am.”

This short, playful poem—untitled here, but now commonly known as “Lines on Maria Beckford”—was composed around the time that Sense and Sensibility was published. In 1811, Austen accompanied her friend, Maria Beckford, who was suffering from a headache (and probably an array of other ailments), to see Dr. Newnham, an apothecary in Alton. Maria Beckford had a family relation in Chawton, which is most likely how she and Jane Austen became acquainted. Beckford is mentioned in Austen’s letters numerous times, along with other residents of the village.

“Poor Miss B. has been suffering again from her old complaint, & looks thinner than ever,” Jane wrote to Cassandra on 25 April 1811. “She certainly goes to Cheltenham the beginning of June.”

While Maria Beckford may have suffered from a weak constitution, calomel, mentioned in the fourth line of the third stanza, was a highly toxic substance. It was used medicinally from the 16th to early 20th century, though it frequently caused mercury poisoning. During the 19th century, it was regarded as a panacea, and used to treat every ailment under the sun including syphilis, cholera, gout, ingrown toenails, and cancer (among many other afflictions).

It is in the fourth stanza—as Newnham prescribes himself the suggested cure—that Austen’s humor is most apparent. It is evident that these final lines in particular are meant to slight the apothecary, who may have held a precarious position in the Austen family. Based at 74 High Street, Newnham was known to the Austens well before this poem was composed. In 1808 and 1809, Edward Austen-Knight paid Newnham £10 per year to give “medical attendance on the poor of Chawton.” But by 1810, Newnham was dropped from Austen-Knight’s account book.

Austen manuscript material is scarce on the market in any form, even more so when signed in full.

PROVENANCE:
Sotheby’s London, 14 December 1931, lot 715 (Item #7556)