I HOPE, you will pardon this freedom
in a poor old woman, who is almo&longs;t broken
hearted, at an accident which has distracted
the whole family. I hardly know
how to tell you, becau&longs;e I know you loved
and valued my dear young lady; and &longs;o
indeed mu&longs;t every one who knew her merits,
tho' &longs;ince &longs;he has returned from France, I
have heard her ridiculed for virtues which

[figure description] Page 054.[end figure description]

few, if any, endeavoured to imitate; and
have &longs;een her drawn into errors, by tho&longs;e
who, envying the &longs;uperior qualities of her
heart, endeavoured to bring her more on a
level with them&longs;elves. She &longs;hewed me the
la&longs;t letter &longs;he wrote to you; for it was only
on condition of &longs;eeing all &longs;he wrote, that I
&longs;upplied her with the means of following
her favourite amu&longs;ement. The &longs;ternne&longs;s of
her mother &longs;till continued; and the poor
young lady was abridged of the plea&longs;ure of
even walking beyond the limits of her father's
garden. Mr. Howard's conduct,
towards the dear girl, was altogether unaccountable,
&longs;ometimes har&longs;h, unfeelingly
reproaching her for her intended error;
a method, in my poor humble opinion, by no
means calculated to lead her to renounce the
attachment, which hurried her to &longs;o improper
a &longs;tep. At other times, he turned the
whole affair into ridicule, and conver&longs;ed with
his daughter in a gay familiar manner; but
tho' &longs;he trembled at his anger, &longs;he never expressed
any &longs;atisfaction in his company when
good humoured; but rather wi&longs;hed to indulge
in &longs;olitude and &longs;tudy. About ten days
&longs;ince my mi&longs;tre&longs;s was &longs;ent for, into Effex, to
a relation, who was extremely ill. Mr.
Howard did not accompany her: &longs;he &longs;et off
in the afternoon, and he having procured a
chai&longs;e took Mi&longs;s Meriel out for a ride, an

[figure description] Page 055.[end figure description]

indulgence &longs;he had never experienced &longs;ince
her re&longs;idence at this place. When &longs;he returned
&longs;he &longs;eemed very melancholy, and &longs;aid
her &longs;pirits were much oppre&longs;&longs;ed, and her
mind harra&longs;&longs;ed with terrors, for which &longs;he
could by no means account. She &longs;upped
with her father and retired at her u&longs;ual
hour. Mr. Howard &longs;at up much later than
common, and to my great &longs;urpri&longs;e, when I
carried in his candle, he &longs;eemed intoxicated,
tho' he had been alone and &longs;eldom gave way
to exce&longs;&longs;ive drinking, unle&longs;s he had been
led into it by company. I heard him go into
his apartment, and then went to bed myself,
where the fatigue of the day &longs;oon made
me fall a&longs;leep. About two o'clock I was
awakened by Mi&longs;s. Howard, who in a shivering
voice a&longs;ked me if I had not heard a noi&longs;e
in her chamber, &longs;aid, &longs;he was greatly
frightened, and would, if I plea&longs;ed, &longs;tay the
remainder of the night with me. I helped
her into bed; &longs;he was cold as death, trembled
exce&longs;&longs;ivly, and &longs;oonfell into a convul&longs;ive
hy&longs;teric fit. Greatly alarmed, I called up
one of my fellow &longs;ervants, and by repeated
applications of hart&longs;horn, vinegar, &c.
brought her to her&longs;elf; &longs;he would give no
account of the cau&longs;e of her fright; but seemed
to mourn &longs;ome heavy misfortune, and repeatedly
wi&longs;hed her&longs;elf with you in the convent
again. She re&longs;ted but little all night,

[figure description] Page 056.[end figure description]

and the next morning was &longs;o indi&longs;po&longs;ed
as to be unable to ri&longs;e, and was confined to
her room for &longs;everal &longs;ucceeding days. One
day after &longs;he had ventured down &longs;tairs; I
a&longs;ked leave to go a few miles, on &longs;ome particular
bu&longs;ine&longs;s, where I was detained all
night, by rea&longs;on of a violent &longs;torm. Ri&longs;ing
early in the morning, and walking home before
any of the family but the hou&longs;e maids
was &longs;tirring, I went up immediately to &longs;ee
how my dear Mi&longs;s Meriel was, for I had
been very unea&longs;y about her all night, knowing
&longs;he was terrified at thunder, and would
not dare to expre&longs;s her fears to her father,
who would only have ridiculed them. On
entering the room I was alarmed to find the
bed in great di&longs;order; many of her cloaths
laying about the floor, the window open,
and my beloved Mi&longs;s Howard gone. Observing
the &longs;heets fa&longs;tened to the bed-po&longs;t, I
naturally imagined &longs;he mu&longs;t have &longs;lid by
them into the garden, and looking out at
the window I &longs;aw one of her &longs;hoes lay on
the ground. Convinced now, of what before
I had only conjectured, I gave a
&longs;cream of terror which alarmed my ma&longs;ter,
who came half dre&longs;&longs;ed, pale and trembling
into the room, exclaiming, “for God's &longs;ake
what is the noi&longs;e about.” “My young lady,
&longs;ir,” &longs;aid I, pointing to the window. “Eloped,”
&longs;aid he, “with that villain, Pringle; but

[figure description] Page 057.[end figure description]

here I &longs;ware never again to &longs;uffer”—“Oh,
&longs;ir!” cried I eagerly, “do not &longs;ware to renounce
her; I'd venture my life upon her
innocence; I am &longs;ure &longs;ome vile means have
been u&longs;ed to draw her thus from her duty.”

“She is a little hypocrite, nur&longs;e,” &longs;aid he,
“and will make her&longs;elf friends wherever &longs;he
goes, till &longs;he is found out. I &longs;uppo&longs;e &longs;he will
trump up &longs;ome fine &longs;tory about ill u&longs;age, or
&longs;ome devili&longs;h thing or other. I wi&longs;h to my
&longs;oul &longs;he had never left the convent; this will
go near to break her mother's heart.”

About noon Mrs. Howard returned. It is
impo&longs;&longs;ible to de&longs;cribe her angui&longs;h when informed
of her daughter's ab&longs;ence (I will not
&longs;ay elopement) becau&longs;e I am &longs;ure, if the truth
was known, it would not de&longs;erve &longs;o har&longs;h an
appellation. She &longs;ent immediately to Mrs.
Pringle's, where &longs;he heard that the young
gentleman went away, as he &longs;aid, to join his
regiment the afternoon before. Thus does
this unlucky circum&longs;tance tend to make it
univer&longs;ally believed, that Mi&longs;s Howard and
Mr. Pringle are together; but, indeed Mi&longs;s,
I do not think that is the ca&longs;e; for, certain I
am, that a purer heart never inhabited a human
bo&longs;om, and that &longs;he never would have
thought of eloping with a married man: besides,
I am convinced &longs;he was not greatly attached
to him. He was the fir&longs;t man who had

[figure description] Page 058.[end figure description]

ever addre&longs;&longs;ed her; &longs;he is the pure child of undisguised
nature, and being plea&longs;ed with his
attentions which had the charm of novelty
to recommend them; &longs;he fancied her&longs;elf in
love; but after her conduct had been placed
in a proper light, by her mother, &longs;he &longs;eemed
perfectly convinced of her error, and often
u&longs;ed to &longs;ay, &longs;he wondered how &longs;he could
imagine &longs;he loved a man, of whom &longs;he knew
&longs;o little. “I &longs;hould think, nur&longs;e,” &longs;aid &longs;he one
day, “that this unfortunate affair in the end
would be greatly beneficial to me, as it will
make me, in future, di&longs;tru&longs;t the emotions of
my heart, and be upon my guard again&longs;t its
deceptions; but I fear it has irreparably injured
me in the opinion of my mother; but
I mu&longs;t endeavour, by my future conduct, to
regain her confidence, and in the mean time,
&longs;ubmit with patience to that di&longs;plea&longs;ure I am
certain I have in a great mea&longs;ure de&longs;erved.”
Such &longs;entiments as the&longs;e, madam, do not argue
a depravity of heart. Oh! no, my &longs;weet
Meriel is at this moment as free from guilt as
an angel. Three days are now elap&longs;ed
&longs;ince her departure, during which time no
tidings can be gained concerning her. Oh!
Mi&longs;s, I fear we &longs;hall never &longs;ee the dear
creature again: &longs;ome dreadful my&longs;tery is
certainly concealed by her thus abruptly
leaving her father's hou&longs;e. Would to heaven
I had the means of clearing it up, and

[figure description] Page 059.[end figure description]

at the &longs;ame time removing the cloud which
at pre&longs;ent ob&longs;cures the reputation of the mo&longs;t
innocent young lady that ever exi&longs;ted. I
will not fini&longs;h this letter till to-morrow. If
we hear no tidings then, I &longs;hall give her up
as lo&longs;t forever.

July 25th.

I ju&longs;t &longs;natch up my pen to inform you,
dear Mi&longs;s, that Mi&longs;s Howard is found, and
is at pre&longs;ent in her father's hou&longs;e; but in
&longs;uch a &longs;ituation that we have little hope of
her ever recovering her &longs;en&longs;es &longs;ufficient to
give any regular account of the cau&longs;e of her
flight, of this we are certain, &longs;he was not
with Mr. Pringle.

July 28th.

I am now &longs;itting by my poor young lady's
bed &longs;ide, who is ju&longs;t fallen into a &longs;weet refreshing
&longs;leep, and &longs;hall &longs;eize this opportunity
to inform you, in what manner &longs;he was
di&longs;covered and conducted home. A farmer
who lives about five miles from hence, at the
&longs;kirt of a wood, having occa&longs;ion for his hor&longs;e
to be brought from pa&longs;ture early in the
morning, ordered a lad who lived as a servant
with him, to go by four o'clock and
fetch it: the lad's way lay thro' the wood, and
when he returned he declared he had been

[figure description] Page 060.[end figure description]

frightened almo&longs;t to death by an apparition
of a woman, dre&longs;&longs;ed all in white, whom he &longs;aw
&longs;itting at the foot of a tree as he went; that
he heard her &longs;igh and groan, and &longs;aid he
&longs;uppo&longs;ed it was the &longs;pirit of Fanny Summers,
who hung her&longs;elf there la&longs;t autumn, and he
was the more po&longs;itive of this, as at his return,
he &longs;aw her walking too and fro with a child
in her arms and heard her talk to it. The
farmer laughed at the lad's tale, and rode
away without paying any farther attention to
it, but a young gentleman who has a lodgings
at the farmers, on account of an ill &longs;tate
of health, having over heard the boy's &longs;tory,
determined to ri&longs;e immediately and go to the
wood to inve&longs;tigate the matter farther, as
he &longs;uppo&longs;ed it might be &longs;ome unfortunate
human creature, rather than a &longs;upernatural
being; and determined, if in his power,
to re&longs;cue her from mi&longs;ery, and, what appeared
more than probable, a horrid and untimely
end. He had not penetrated far into
the wood before he di&longs;covered, at the foot of
an old oak, a female form &longs;tretched on the
ground, and by her &longs;ide a little &longs;paniel, who&longs;e
head lay on the woman's arm, and who at
frequent intervals &longs;eemed to make mo&longs;t pitious
moans. He approached and found the
unfortunate female was in a fit, he gently
rai&longs;ed her from the ground, &longs;upporting her in
his arms whil&longs;t he whil&longs;t her temples with

[figure description] Page 061.[end figure description]

volatiles, which, on account of his own weak
con&longs;titution, he always carried in his pocket.
While he was thus employed, the dog fawned
upon him licked his hand and &longs;hewed
every token of gratitude in his power; at
length the lady began to move, and her preserver
hearing the voices of labourers pa&longs;&longs;ing
through the wood, hallowed to them for assistance.
When they came near, the dog flew
from his mi&longs;tre&longs;s to one of them, leaping,
bounding and howling for joy. What Lubin,
&longs;aid the clown, how come you here,
then drawing nearer to help &longs;upport the
lady; he &longs;tarted back and cried, body
o'me, 'tis Mi&longs;s Meriel, poor dear &longs;oul, how
could &longs;he get here, as &longs;ure as any thing &longs;he
has been robbed and murdered. Almo&longs;t
&longs;miling at the fellow's &longs;tupidity, the young
gentleman bid him cea&longs;e his wonder and assist
in bearing her to the farm which was the
neare&longs;t hou&longs;e. The dear creaure never &longs;poke
during the whole time, indeed &longs;he &longs;eemed
totally incapable of uttering a word, when
they got her to the hou&longs;e &longs;he drank a few
&longs;poonfulls of milk, which &longs;omewhat revived
her, but her voice was &longs;till &longs;o weak they
were unable to di&longs;tingui&longs;h what &longs;he &longs;aid, and
her eyes too plainly indicated that her mind
was di&longs;turbed, the good woman of the hou&longs;e
had her put immediately to bed, and I&longs;aac
the labourer came home to let his ma&longs;ter and

[figure description] Page 062.[end figure description]

mi&longs;tre&longs;s know were their daughter was.
When he told the melancholy tale, Mrs.
Howard cla&longs;ped her hands and cried, my
child deprived of her &longs;en&longs;es! &longs;he had not
time for more, for Mr. Howard had fallen
on the floor in a fit. I cannot account for
this violent emotion in a man, who had never
&longs;hewn any great degree of tenderne&longs;s
towards his child, but I think I never &longs;aw
the fonde&longs;t parent more affected.

When the family became tolerably composed,
it was propo&longs;ed that I &longs;hould take a
chai&longs;e and proceed to the farm, when if Mi&longs;s
Howard was able to bear the motion of the
carriage, I was to conduct her home; if
not, to remain with her; and her mother
would come to her in the morning. When
I arrived at the farm, and was &longs;hewn into the
room where my dear young lady was; my
agitation was &longs;o great I thought I &longs;hould
have died; &longs;he had on being fir&longs;t put to bed
fallen into a little doze, but &longs;oon &longs;tarted and
awoke in great terror, and finding her&longs;elf
undre&longs;&longs;ed, &longs;creamed out, “oh heavens! I
am betrayed, I am lo&longs;t, he is here; I know
he is here, and I will not &longs;tay another moment.”
She then in&longs;i&longs;ted on being dre&longs;&longs;ed.
The neighbouring apothecary had been previously
&longs;ent for; he felt her pul&longs;e and declared
that the di&longs;order lay entirely on her

[figure description] Page 063.[end figure description]

&longs;pirits; that every nerve &longs;eemed convul&longs;ed,
and &longs;he al&longs;o appeared to be greatly weakened
for want of proper &longs;u&longs;tenance. She was
prevailed on to eat a bit of bread, and drink
a little weak wine and water; after which
&longs;he became a little more compo&longs;ed, and
had &longs;unk into a profound &longs;leep on the &longs;ide
of the bed. In this &longs;ituation I found her;
the faithful Lubin laying on a chair that
&longs;tood by the bed &longs;ide, his head &longs;tretched out
to the pillow of his mi&longs;tre&longs;s, whom he had
not quitted for a moment &longs;ince her entrance
into the hou&longs;e. This dog had been mi&longs;&longs;ing
ever &longs;ince Mi&longs;s Howard's ab&longs;ence, but our
minds had been occupied by thoughts of &longs;o
much more di&longs;tre&longs;&longs;ing a nature that Lubin
was hardly remembered; he was greatly attached
to her from her fir&longs;t return, and &longs;he
remarkably fond of him. I &longs;at down silently
on the &longs;ide of the bed, and looked at her
dear countenance which &longs;o lately wore the
bloom of youth and the &longs;mile of innocent
chearfulne&longs;s: alas! how changed, deadly
pale where her cheeks and lips, and only
that I percieved &longs;he breathed, I &longs;hould have
thought &longs;he was no longer an inhabitant of
this world; my tears flowed plentifully.
Her &longs;leep, tho' apparantly found, was not of
long continuance; &longs;he &longs;hrieked, awoke, and
immediately &longs;tarted off the bed; I caught her
hand, &longs;he turned ha&longs;tily round. “Oh! it is

[figure description] Page 064.[end figure description]

you Deborah, is it, well now we will go. If
you will accompany me, &longs;ay &longs;o at once, if not
I mu&longs;t go without you; for I cannot &longs;tay
here another moment. But where is he
now,” looking wildly round her, “Who
are you talking of my dear,” &longs;aid I, tenderly.
“Ah! there is the thing now, I thought
you would want to know his name, but I
cannot tell you nur&longs;e, &longs;o do not a&longs;k me; I
have made a vow, a &longs;olemn &longs;acred vow, never
to wound the peace of my dear, adored,
mother.” “But my dear creature you have
almo&longs;t broken her heart by thus flying from
her protection and your father.” “Father,”
&longs;aid &longs;he, “have I a father? Oh! that I
had never been born.” She then began to
rave in a mo&longs;t incoherent manner, and declared
&longs;he would not &longs;tay another moment
in the hou&longs;e. I took this opportunity with
the permi&longs;&longs;ion of the apothecary to convey
her home: when the chai&longs;e &longs;topped at the
door &longs;he looked out, and clapping her hand
to her forehead, cried “yes I &longs;ee how it is,
well, well, it will not be long before I am
relea&longs;ed, and till then, I mu&longs;t be patient.” I
a&longs;&longs;i&longs;ted her in alighting, &longs;he leaned on my
arm and walked &longs;lowly into the hou&longs;e; Mrs.
Howard was &longs;o overcome &longs;he was unable
to ri&longs;e from her &longs;eat. Meriel looked for
a moment at her attentively, then &longs;haking
her head in a mo&longs;t &longs;orrowful manner, &longs;he

[figure description] Page 065.[end figure description]

cried, “oh! I &longs;ee I have afflicted you, but, alas!
my own heart is overwhelmed with &longs;orrow;
and then when I think for a moment, there
are &longs;ome remembrances which mu&longs;t be ever
buried in my heart, that torture me &longs;o, my
brain &longs;eems on fire.” Mrs. Howard attempted
to &longs;peak, but unequal to the ta&longs;k, &longs;he
cla&longs;ped her hands in an agony, and &longs;obbed
aloud: Meriel &longs;unk on her knees before
her, took both her hands, put them fir&longs;t to
her head and then to her heart; and breathing
a deep &longs;igh, fell lifele&longs;s on the floor. We
had her immediately conveyed to bed, where
&longs;he &longs;oon recovered; but a violent fever
come on, and &longs;he continued raving all night.
Mr. Howard has not yet &longs;een her, he &longs;ays if
the girl's &longs;pirits are in &longs;uch perturbation, the
&longs;ight of him, whom &longs;he mu&longs;t be con&longs;cious
&longs;he has offended, would only irritate them
more, when &longs;he is better I will &longs;ee her, &longs;aid
he, and forgive her, that will calm and comfort
her.

A phy&longs;ician was &longs;ent for; he &longs;aid quiet
and tenderne&longs;s from tho&longs;e about her are the
chief things requi&longs;ite to re&longs;tore her. In the
mean time, my dear madam, &longs;aid he, I will
&longs;end her a compo&longs;ing draught; if when &longs;he
recovers the u&longs;e of her rea&longs;on, you can prevail
with her to unburthen her mind, which,
I am certain labours with &longs;ome painful

[figure description] Page 066.[end figure description]

secret, it would greatly a&longs;&longs;i&longs;t and ha&longs;ten her
recovery.

Thus far, my dear Mi&longs;s, have I given you
an account of this my&longs;terious affair. What
to think of her &longs;udden departure, and being
found in &longs;uch a &longs;hocking &longs;ituation, we are
all totally at a lo&longs;s. It appears &longs;he has been
terrified and extremely ill u&longs;ed by &longs;omebody;
but even in the mo&longs;t violent paroxi&longs;ms of
her delirium, &longs;he has never mentioned his
name. I have one thought that haunts me
continually; but that is &longs;o horrible I dare
not commit it to paper. Indeed, it is too
dreadful, too &longs;hocking to human nature, to
wear even the face of probability.

The medicines pre&longs;cribed have taken the
de&longs;ired effect, and &longs;he has been in a compo&longs;ed
&longs;leep above three hours. I will not conclude
till I can inform you how &longs;he appears on
awaking, as I know your affection for her
will make you extremely anxious.

She awoke tolerably calm, in&longs;tantly recollected
where &longs;he was, but did not &longs;eem to
retain any idea of the late unhappy events.
“It is late, nur&longs;e,” &longs;aid &longs;he, addre&longs;&longs;ing herself
to me “is it not time to get up,” then
pau&longs;ing a moment, “I have had &longs;uch a horrid
dream. Oh! I would not pa&longs;s &longs;uch

[figure description] Page 067.[end figure description]

another night:” &longs;he then attempted to ri&longs;e;
but finding her&longs;elf extremely weak, &longs;he continued,
“what is the matter; have I been
ill?” “Yes, my love,” &longs;aid I, “you have
been very ill, and are far from well now.”
“Then perhaps it was not a dream,” &longs;aid &longs;he,
putting her hand to her forehead, as if trying
to recollect; &longs;he was &longs;ilent for a few moments,
then caught hold my hand, and
bur&longs;ting into tears, &longs;he cried, “alas! it was
all a reality.”

I did not attempt to &longs;top her tears, as I
thought they would relieve her. She a&longs;ked
for her mother; &longs;eemed plea&longs;ed to &longs;ee her, but
was too weak to talk much. The phy&longs;ician
has ju&longs;t &longs;een her, and declares her in a fair
way to do well. I hope, Mi&longs;s, you will
excu&longs;e all errors in this long letter, as I
thought you would be anxious to know
all the particulars, I have dwelt on the subject
more than perhaps was nece&longs;&longs;ary, but
will now no longer intrude.

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