I have been in town above a week; but
could not command an hour to devote
to friend&longs;hip and Celia. Indeed, I have
been &longs;o taken up with mantua-makers, milliners
and toymen, I hardly know what account
to give of the la&longs;t &longs;even days; then
what with here and there a particular friend,
who reque&longs;ted to be admitted, before my
appearance at court gave the &longs;ignal for the
whole town to come and pa&longs;s their opinion
on my hou&longs;e-furniture, &c. I have been
wearied to death with a con&longs;tant &longs;ucce&longs;&longs;ion
of impertinant vi&longs;itors, who are thus over
polite, for no other rea&longs;on than the eager desire
they have to report the di&longs;coveries they
make in regard to my per&longs;on, dre&longs;s and

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

manner, to the whole circle of their acquaintance;
but in this they have been &longs;adly disappointed,
for I have received them all in
a &longs;mall back drawing-room, and have never
yet varied my dre&longs;s from a neat di&longs;habille.

I am now &longs;ummoned to the drawing
room: &longs;ome new &longs;et of inqui&longs;itives, I suppose,
well, I mu&longs;t attend; for people of
fa&longs;hion live not for them&longs;elves, but others.
They are afraid to perform any action, if
unfa&longs;hionable, though ever &longs;o right, lea&longs;t
they &longs;hould be laughed at: and for the very
&longs;ame cau&longs;e dare not refu&longs;e to do any thing to
which fa&longs;hion gives a &longs;anction, though reason
tells them it is wrong, and &longs;hould be
avoided.

I mu&longs;t leave you Celia.

And who do you imagine my vi&longs;itors were?
Now would I venture to lay a con&longs;iderable
wager, your mind would glance over the
whole circle of my acquaintance, without
being able to gue&longs;s the right. So to &longs;ave
you the trouble of conjecture, I will at once
inform you. They were no other than my
kind aunt Mo&longs;&longs;opand her two amiable daughters.
I do declare, Celia, when I &longs;aw them
in the drawing room I ab&longs;olutely blu&longs;hed for

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

them. However, they did not &longs;eem to experience
any embarra&longs;&longs;ment; but paid their
compliments with the &longs;ame ea&longs;y air, as if
nothing had ever interrupted our intimacy;
only with this difference, their language and
manner was more re&longs;pectful.

“You have been very &longs;ly, my dear,” &longs;aid
my aunt, “never to let us know where you
were all this time, and then to blaze upon
us all at once a &longs;plendid bride.”

“I thought, madam, after the death of
my father, you would feel but little interested
about the fate of his daughter, for
whom you never appeared to have any great
degree of partiality.”

“Ble&longs;s me, Mrs. Rook&longs;by, you are vastly
mi&longs;taken. I was always extremely partial
to you, and I am &longs;ure He&longs;ter and Su&longs;an have
talked of you many times, &longs;ince la&longs;t we had
the plea&longs;ure of &longs;eeing you. We wondered
what had become of you.”

“I have &longs;een a variety of &longs;cenes,” &longs;aid I,
“nor would it have been in the lea&longs;t probable
&longs;hould meet with &longs;o advantageous a settlement
as I have, had it not been for the
friend&longs;hip of a young lady, whom I have
once or twice &longs;een at your hou&longs;e, and who

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

at pre&longs;ent does me the honour to make one
of my family.” I then rang the bell, and
de&longs;ired the &longs;ervant to inform Mi&longs;s Sidney
we reque&longs;ted the favour of her company.
I &longs;aw my cou&longs;ins look at each other when
Amelia's name was mentioned, Mrs. Mo&longs;&longs;op
changed countenance. “Ble&longs;s me,” &longs;aid Hester,
“I was thinking of Mi&longs;s Sidney, the other
day: but we have been in town &longs;o very little
while, we have &longs;een nobody—this is positively
the fir&longs;t vi&longs;it we have made.” When
Amelia entered the room, I &longs;aw &longs;he was
a&longs;toni&longs;hed: I al&longs;o &longs;aw the con&longs;traint and
confu&longs;ion which my vi&longs;itors vainly endeavoured
to hide under the ma&longs;k of extreme
plea&longs;ure at the accidental meeting. However,
as I imagined, my cou&longs;ins courted my
notice merely in the hope of &longs;ometimes being
of my parties, and throwing themselves
in the way of men of rank and fortune,
I gave them a general invitation
to my hou&longs;e, and I &longs;incerely wi&longs;h the event
may an&longs;wer their &longs;anguine expectations, as
it would give me great &longs;atisfaction to &longs;ee
them married to worthy men, po&longs;&longs;e&longs;&longs;ed of
fortunes capable of &longs;upporting them in the
manner to which they have been accu&longs;tomed,
and which I fear they could not continue,
was their father to die before they are settled;
as he could not leave them a large
fortune, having in general lived up to the

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

extent of his income. Young Mo&longs;&longs;op is, I
find, in the We&longs;t-Indies.—Is it not &longs;trange,
my dear Celia, that I have heard nothing of
my brother the&longs;e two years pa&longs;t. However
he has forgot me. I often think of him; I
pray for his health and pro&longs;perity, and &longs;hould
rejoice to &longs;ee him return with an independence
&longs;ufficient to place him in a respectable
&longs;ituation.—Oh Celia, this continual
round of vi&longs;itors, by no means &longs;uits the
ta&longs;te of your friend. I am called away again.