Through some curious misunderstanding of this little episode has arisen another far more romantic story about Jane Austen, which has only lately been given to the world. Sir Francis Doyle, in his brilliant and amusing Reminiscences, says that a friend of his once made acquaintance with a niece of Jane Austen, who gave her many particulars of her aunt's life. According to her, Jane Austen was once actually engaged to a young naval officer, and after the peace of 1802 she went abroad with her father, sister, and fiancé to visit Switzerland. They travelled in company for some time till at length the Austens settled to go on to their next stage by diligence, while the young man started to walk over the mountains, intending to join them at Chamouni. They arrived there in due time, but waited for him in vain, at first unsuspicious of misfortune, then surprised and uneasy, finally in terrible alarm, until the news of his death came to confirm their worst fears. The story adds that the young officer had overwalked himself, and became so alarmingly ill on his way that he had been carried to a cottage, where he lay for many days between life and death, incapable of communicating with the outer world until just before his death, when he rallied sufficiently to give the Austens' address to those who were nursing him, and thus they heard the news. Sir Francis builds upon this story (which, of course, only came to him third hand) a graceful little theory about Persuasion, which was not published until after Jane's death, and which has often been remarked upon as softer and tenderer in tone than her earlier novels. He thinks that this is explained by the tragic romance through which she had passed before writing Persuasion; but this theory will hardly hold good in face of
