----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- I have a friend who is an Austen expert and has written a series of "Jane Austen Mystery" novels, and she provided the following tidbit: "The fixed incomes were derived from money invested in the Government Funds--essentially bonds that paid a fixed four percent per annum. Thus, a yearly income of 10K a year probably represented the four percent interest Darcy derived from his investments, not the rents from his estates. His actual inheritance/net worth would have been far more vast. When a man in his position could easily spend 700 guineas on a good hunter (the guinea at the time being a pound plus one shilling), and probably kept a stable of several, he'd need a bit of blunt." Steve Medema ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]