Acknowledgment

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“IT may be a Tale of Truth, for it is not unnatural, and
it is a tale of real di&longs;tre&longs;s—Charlotte, by the artifice of a
teacher, recommended to a &longs;chool, from humanity rather
than a conviction of her integrity, or the regularity of her
former conduct, is enticed from her governe&longs;s, and accompanies
a young officer to America.—The marriage ceremony,
if not forgotten, is po&longs;tponed, and Charlotte dies
a martyr to the incon&longs;tancy of her lover and treachery of
his friend.—The &longs;ituations are artle&longs;s and affecting—the
de&longs;criptions natural and pathetic; we &longs;hould feel for Charlotte,
if &longs;uch a per&longs;on ever exi&longs;ted, who, for one error,
&longs;carcely, perhaps, de&longs;erved &longs;o &longs;evere a puni&longs;hment. If it is
a fiction, poetic ju&longs;tice is not, we think, properly distributed.”—
Crit. Review, April 1791, page 468.

PREFACE.

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FOR the peru&longs;al of the young and thoughtle&longs;s of
the fair &longs;ex, this Tale of Truth is de&longs;igned;
and I could wi&longs;h my fair readers to con&longs;ider it as
not merely the effu&longs;ion of Fancy, but as a reality.
The circum&longs;tances on which I have founded this novel
were related to me &longs;ome little time &longs;ince by an
old lady who had per&longs;onally known Charlotte,
though &longs;he concealed the real names of the characters,
and like wife the place where the unfortunate
&longs;cenes were acted: yet as it was impo&longs;&longs;ible to offer
a relation to the public in &longs;uch an imperfect &longs;tate, I
have thrown over the whole a &longs;light veil of fiction,
and &longs;ub&longs;tituted names and places according to my
own fancy. The principal characters in this little
tale are now con&longs;igned to the &longs;ilent tomb: it can
therefore hurt the feelings of no one; and may, I
flatter my&longs;elf, be of &longs;ervice to &longs;ome who are &longs;o unfortunate
as to have neither friends to advi&longs;e, or understanding
to direct them, through the various and
unexpected evils that attend a young and unprotected
woman in her fir&longs;t entrance into life.

While the tear of compa&longs;&longs;ion &longs;till trembled in my
eye for the fate of the unhappy Charlotte, I may
have children of my own, &longs;aid I, to whom this

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recital may be of u&longs;e, and if to your own children, &longs;aid
Benevolence, why not to the many daughters of
Misfortune who, deprived of natural friends, or
&longs;poilt by a mi&longs;taken education, are thrown on an
unfeeling world without the lea&longs;t power to defend
them&longs;elves from the &longs;nares not only of the other &longs;ex,
but from the more dangerous arts of the profligate
of their own.

Sen&longs;ible as I am that a novel writer, at a time
when &longs;uch a variety of works are u&longs;hered into the
world under that name, &longs;tands but a poor chance
for &longs;ame in the annals of literature, but con&longs;cious
that I wrote with a mind anxious for the happine&longs;s
of that &longs;ex who&longs;e morals and conduct have &longs;o powerful
an influence on mankind in general; and convinced
that I have not wrote a line that conveys a
wrong idea to the head or a corrupt wi&longs;h to the
heart, I &longs;hall re&longs;t &longs;atisfied in the purity of my own
intentions, and if I merit not applau&longs;e, I feel that I
dread not cen&longs;ure.

If the following tale &longs;hould &longs;ave one haple&longs;s fair
one from the errors which ruined poor Charlotte,
or re&longs;cue from impending mi&longs;ery the heart of one
anxious parent, I &longs;hall feel a much higher gratification
in reflecting on this trifling performance, than
could po&longs;&longs;ibly re&longs;ult from the applau&longs;e which might
attend the mo&longs;t elegant fini&longs;hed piece of literature
who&longs;e tendency might deprave the heart or mi&longs;lead
the under&longs;tanding.