Mittens Sporting his Venice Hat

I brought this hat back from Venice when we were living in Florence a few years ago.  I know – it's more of a Henry James than a Jane Austen thing.  Mittens has that world-weary look of the perpetual traveler.  Maybe it's Mr. Wickham on one of his post-marital sojourns while Lydia visits Pemberley.  Jane Austen mentions London and Bath but he could have taken a quick jaunt to Venice. He definitely looks like he may have had too much of a good thing.

"My dear Charlotte and I have but one mind and one way of thinking"

Photo by Deborah Guyol

Charlotte (behind Mr. Collins) looks a bit bewildered here.  And we know that Charlotte was anything but bewildered.  She was, in fact, "an active, useful sort of person, not brought up high, but able to make a small income go a good way."  Perhaps this is Charlotte wondering if Lady Catherine will detect Mr. and Mrs. Collins' housemaid in negligence or discover that their joints of meat are too large for their family.