‘Magnesia’ ~ A Possible Book Citation in Jane Austen’s Letters?

In doing some research a few months ago on Austen’s reading [a lifetime adventure…], I discovered a reference that might be something new in Austen scholarship – if this has appeared anywhere else that you have seen, please let me know. My source is Deirdre Le Faye, without whose research and knowledge we would not have the in-depth detail of Austen’s life and writings that we do.

I am always surprised to see how often new things are discovered: books or letters showing up at auctions or a bookseller’s catalogue not seen before, such as these Chris Hammond illustrations for Sense and Sensibility that appeared out of someone’s attic – we can only hope for a new Jane Austen letter or two to be found! That would be worthy of a clarion trumpet call – this is small in comparison, but I do want to share as I do wonder if it has been noted before…

Looking at Jane Austen’s letter to Cassandra of Thursday 21 – Friday 22 May 1801 [Letter 37 in Le Faye 4^th ed.] – she is writing from the Paragon in Bath to Kintbury, where Cassandra is staying [the letter is now at the Morgan Library]:

The Austens have moved to Bath; Jane and her mother are staying with the James Leigh Perrots at the Paragon and have begun a search for permanent lodgings. Mr. Austen and Cassandra are to follow and they arrive in Bath on June 1^st.  Jane writes the following:

“Mr. Bent seems bent upon being very detestable, for he values the books at only 70£. The whole World is in a conspiracy to enrich one part of our family at the expense of another. – Ten shillings for Dodsley’s Poems however please me to the quick, & I do not care how often I sell them for as much. When Mrs. Bramston has read them through I will sell them again. – I suppose you hear nothing of your Magnesia.”       

Le Faye annotates this passage as follows (with pages cited):

Robert Dodsley (1703-64). A Collection of Poems in Six Volumes by Several Hands (1758) (391).

“your Magnesia”: Hydrated magnesium carbonate, a white powder used medicinally as an antacid and laxative; perhaps CEA had ordered some medicine containing magnesium which had not yet arrived, or else which had been left behind when the family left the rectory (391).

Mr. Bent: presumably an employee of Benjamin Stroud of Newbury, the auctioneer who conducted the clearance of Steventon Rectory. See. Vick, R. “The Sale of Steventon Parsonage” Collected Reports IV 295-8 (496).

Mrs. Bramston – family at Oakley Hall: Mr. Wither Bramston married Mary Chute [she liked MP]; her sister-in-law, ‘Mrs.’ Augusta Bramston found JA’s first 3 novels boring and nonsensical (499).

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My concern is with the “your Magnesia” reference in the letter and Le Faye’s annotation.

The paragraph is concerned with books, the books in George Austen’s library of 500 volumes and apparently some of Jane’s own books [her Dodsley perhaps?] that had been auctioned off early that May. So why is the reference to the capitalized “your Magnesia” not also referring to a possible book owned by Cassandra Austen and not to a magnesium medicine as Le Faye surmises?

In searching “Magnesia” I come up with the following sources:

1. An Account Of The Medicinal Virtues Of Magnesia Alba, More Particularly Of Calcined Magnesia; With Plain Directions For The Use Of Them. To Which Is Prefixed, A Concise Detail Of The Invention And Gradual Improvement Of These Medicines. By Thomas Henry, Apothecary, F. R. S.

London: Printed For J. Johnson, St. Paul’s Church-Yard, MDCCLXXV [1775].

OR, this, the earlier more detailed edition:     

  
2. Experiments and observations on the following subjects: 1. On the preparation, calcination, and medicinal uses of magnesia alba. 2. On the solvent qualities of calcined magnesia. 3. On the variety in the solvent powers of quick-lime, when used in different quantities. 4. On varioius absorbents, as promoting or retrading putrefaction. 5. On the comparative antiseptic powers of vegetable infusions prepared with lime, &c. 6. On the sweetening properties of fixed air. By Thomas Henry, apothecary

London: Printed for Joseph Johnson, No. 72, St. Paul’s Church-yard, London, MDCCLXXIII [1773].

A bit on the author:

Thomas Henry (1734-1816) was a surgeon-apothecary and chemist. Born in Wales, he later moved to Manchester and was appointed visiting apothecary to the Manchester Infirmary in 1789. He co-founded the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society in 1781 and became its president in 1807. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, and in 1786 he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.

In 1771, he invented a process for preparing magnesia alba and became known as “Magnesia” Henry. The first production of carbonated water is also attributed to him – he made it in 12-gallon barrels using an apparatus based on Joseph Priestley’s design.

It is also worth noting that Henry’s son, William Henry (1774-1836), was a chemist as well and is known for his study of gases, his formulation known as “Henry’s Law.” This gets us into physics, which I shall happily ignore much like Catherine Morland’s preference to avoid history – you can read all about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry%27s_law

[William was also quite handsome, tending toward Byron as you can see here…irrelevant I know but worth noting – it could make one almost want to take up chemistry…]

Talking about Magnesia might be, like politics in Northanger Abbey once again, “an easy step to silence,” but basically “magnesium oxide (MgO), or magnesia, is a white hygroscopic solid mineral that occurs naturally as periclase and is a source of magnesium” [wikipedia]. It has various uses, none of which I understand except as a fertilizer or its medical use that Le Faye suggests: Magnesium oxide is used for relief of heartburn and indigestion, as an antacid, magnesium supplement, and as a short-term laxative.

So, my belief is that Cassandra had one of these books by Thomas Henry, most likely the first one noted above on “Medicinal Uses,” and like so many of the other books in the Austen’s family possession, was sold off but not accounted for as an individual title, “your Magnesia” lost somewhere along the way. This could only be absolutely confirmed if such a title came up for auction with Cassandra Austen’s inscription…one can only hope…but in the meantime, we have another title to add to the wide-ranging reading list of the Austens.

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Notes:

Le Faye, Deirdre. Jane Austen’s Letters. 4th ed. Oxford UP, 2011 [pb ed. 2014].

Images:

• Thomas Henry: from Wikipedia – Edward Mansfield Brockbank, Sketches of the Lives and Work of The Honorary Medical Staff of the Manchester Infirmary 1752 to 1830. (University Press, Manchester 1904): 72. Date and artist unknown.
• William Henry: from Wikipedia – detail of an engraving by Henry Cousins after a portrait by James Lonsdale. British Museum.

The title pages:

1. Medicinal Virtues is 32 pages – if you are so-inclined, you can read the full-text at the Wellcome Collection website here: https://wellcomecollection.org/works/jd7je558/items

2. Experiments and Observations… is 180 pages, the full-text available at Internet Archive here: https://archive.org/details/experimentsobser00henr/page/n5/mode/2up

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