Soon after I had closed my last letter to you we were visited by Mrs. Dickens and her sister-in-law, Mrs. Bertie, the wife of a lately-made Admiral. Mrs. F. A I believe, was their first object, but they put up with us very kindly, and Mrs. D., finding in Miss Lloyd a friend of Mrs. Dundas, had another motive for the acquaintance. She seems a really agreeable woman -- that is, her manners are gentle, and she knows a great many of our connections in West Kent. Mrs. Bertie lives in the Polygon, and was out when we returned her visit, which are her two virtues.

The Polygon was planned as a 22-acre development in which a twelve-sided polygon included houses, hotels, assembly rooms and a tavern. The architect, Jacob Leroux, saw it as Southampton's answer to Bath's Royal Crescent. The project went bankrupt after the construction of the hotel and three houses. The hotel, however, opened in 1773.

So, Jane Austen got to see it, but did not have to visit Mrs. Bertie. Apparently, a good thing.