Love and Friendship, and Other Early Works, Jane Austen [bts books to read txt] 📗

of Town, it was not long e’er we arrived

there, and no sooner had we entered Holboun than letting down one

of the Front Glasses I enquired of every decent-looking Person

that we passed “If they had seen my Edward?”

 

But as we drove too rapidly to allow them to answer my repeated

Enquiries, I gained little, or indeed, no information concerning

him. “Where am I to drive?” said the Postilion. “To Newgate

Gentle Youth (replied I), to see Augustus.” “Oh! no, no,

(exclaimed Sophia) I cannot go to Newgate; I shall not be able to

support the sight of my Augustus in so cruel a confinement—my

feelings are sufficiently shocked by the RECITAL, of his

Distress, but to behold it will overpower my Sensibility.” As I

perfectly agreed with her in the Justice of her Sentiments the

Postilion was instantly directed to return into the Country. You

may perhaps have been somewhat surprised my Dearest Marianne,

that in the Distress I then endured, destitute of any support,

and unprovided with any Habitation, I should never once have

remembered my Father and Mother or my paternal Cottage in the

Vale of Uske. To account for this seeming forgetfullness I must

inform you of a trifling circumstance concerning them which I

have as yet never mentioned. The death of my Parents a few weeks

after my Departure, is the circumstance I allude to. By their

decease I became the lawfull Inheritress of their House and

Fortune. But alas! the House had never been their own and their

Fortune had only been an Annuity on their own Lives. Such is the

Depravity of the World! To your Mother I should have returned

with Pleasure, should have been happy to have introduced to her,

my charming Sophia and should with Chearfullness have passed the

remainder of my Life in their dear Society in the Vale of Uske,

had not one obstacle to the execution of so agreable a scheme,

intervened; which was the Marriage and Removal of your Mother to

a distant part of Ireland.

Adeiu

Laura.

 

LETTER 11th

LAURA in continuation

 

“I have a Relation in Scotland (said Sophia to me as we left

London) who I am certain would not hesitate in receiving me.”

“Shall I order the Boy to drive there?” said I—but instantly

recollecting myself, exclaimed, “Alas I fear it will be too long

a Journey for the Horses.” Unwilling however to act only from my

own inadequate Knowledge of the Strength and Abilities of Horses,

I consulted the Postilion, who was entirely of my Opinion

concerning the Affair. We therefore determined to change Horses

at the next Town and to travel Post the remainder of the Journey

—. When we arrived at the last Inn we were to stop at, which

was but a few miles from the House of Sophia’s Relation,

unwilling to intrude our Society on him unexpected and unthought

of, we wrote a very elegant and well penned Note to him

containing an account of our Destitute and melancholy Situation,

and of our intention to spend some months with him in Scotland.

As soon as we had dispatched this Letter, we immediately prepared

to follow it in person and were stepping into the Carriage for

that Purpose when our attention was attracted by the Entrance of

a coroneted Coach and 4 into the Inn-yard. A Gentleman

considerably advanced in years descended from it. At his first

Appearance my Sensibility was wonderfully affected and e’er I had

gazed at him a 2d time, an instinctive sympathy whispered to my

Heart, that he was my Grandfather. Convinced that I could not be

mistaken in my conjecture I instantly sprang from the Carriage I

had just entered, and following the Venerable Stranger into the

Room he had been shewn to, I threw myself on my knees before him

and besought him to acknowledge me as his Grand Child. He

started, and having attentively examined my features, raised me

from the Ground and throwing his Grandfatherly arms around my

Neck, exclaimed, “Acknowledge thee! Yes dear resemblance of my

Laurina and Laurina’s Daughter, sweet image of my Claudia and my

Claudia’s Mother, I do acknowledge thee as the Daughter of the

one and the Grandaughter of the other.” While he was thus

tenderly embracing me, Sophia astonished at my precipitate

Departure, entered the Room in search of me. No sooner had she

caught the eye of the venerable Peer, than he exclaimed with

every mark of Astonishment —“Another Grandaughter! Yes, yes, I

see you are the Daughter of my Laurina’s eldest Girl; your

resemblance to the beauteous Matilda sufficiently proclaims it.

“Oh!” replied Sophia, “when I first beheld you the instinct of

Nature whispered me that we were in some degree related—But

whether Grandfathers, or Grandmothers, I could not pretend to

determine.” He folded her in his arms, and whilst they were

tenderly embracing, the Door of the Apartment opened and a most

beautifull young Man appeared. On perceiving him Lord St. Clair

started and retreating back a few paces, with uplifted Hands,

said, “Another Grand-child! What an unexpected Happiness is

this! to discover in the space of 3 minutes, as many of my

Descendants! This I am certain is Philander the son of my

Laurina’s 3d girl the amiable Bertha; there wants now but the

presence of Gustavus to compleat the Union of my Laurina’s Grand-Children.”

 

“And here he is; (said a Gracefull Youth who that instant entered

the room) here is the Gustavus you desire to see. I am the son

of Agatha your Laurina’s 4th and youngest Daughter,” “I see you

are indeed; replied Lord St. Clair—But tell me (continued he

looking fearfully towards the Door) tell me, have I any other

Grand-children in the House.” “None my Lord.” “Then I will

provide for you all without farther delay—Here are 4 Banknotes

of 50L each—Take them and remember I have done the Duty of a

Grandfather.” He instantly left the Room and immediately

afterwards the House.

Adeiu,

Laura.

 

LETTER the 12th

LAURA in continuation

 

You may imagine how greatly we were surprised by the sudden

departure of Lord St Clair. “Ignoble Grand-sire!” exclaimed

Sophia. “Unworthy Grandfather!” said I, and instantly fainted in

each other’s arms. How long we remained in this situation I know

not; but when we recovered we found ourselves alone, without

either Gustavus, Philander, or the Banknotes. As we were

deploring our unhappy fate, the Door of the Apartment opened and

“Macdonald” was announced. He was Sophia’s cousin. The haste

with which he came to our releif so soon after the receipt of our

Note, spoke so greatly in his favour that I hesitated not to

pronounce him at first sight, a tender and simpathetic Freind.

Alas! he little deserved the name—for though he told us that he

was much concerned at our Misfortunes, yet by his own account it

appeared that the perusal of them, had neither drawn from him a

single sigh, nor induced him to bestow one curse on our

vindictive stars—. He told Sophia that his Daughter depended on

her returning with him to Macdonald-Hall, and that as his

Cousin’s freind he should be happy to see me there also. To

Macdonald-Hall, therefore we went, and were received with great

kindness by Janetta the Daughter of Macdonald, and the Mistress

of the Mansion. Janetta was then only fifteen; naturally well

disposed, endowed with a susceptible Heart, and a simpathetic

Disposition, she might, had these amiable qualities been properly

encouraged, have been an ornament to human Nature; but

unfortunately her Father possessed not a soul sufficiently

exalted to admire so promising a Disposition, and had endeavoured

by every means on his power to prevent it encreasing with her

Years. He had actually so far extinguished the natural noble

Sensibility of her Heart, as to prevail on her to accept an offer

from a young Man of his Recommendation. They were to be married

in a few months, and Graham, was in the House when we arrived.

WE soon saw through his character. He was just such a Man as one

might have expected to be the choice of Macdonald. They said he

was Sensible, well-informed, and Agreable; we did not pretend to

Judge of such trifles, but as we were convinced he had no soul,

that he had never read the sorrows of Werter, and that his Hair

bore not the least resemblance to auburn, we were certain that

Janetta could feel no affection for him, or at least that she

ought to feel none. The very circumstance of his being her

father’s choice too, was so much in his disfavour, that had he

been deserving her, in every other respect yet THAT of itself

ought to have been a sufficient reason in the Eyes of Janetta for

rejecting him. These considerations we were determined to

represent to her in their proper light and doubted not of meeting

with the desired success from one naturally so well disposed;

whose errors in the affair had only arisen from a want of proper

confidence in her own opinion, and a suitable contempt of her

father’s. We found her indeed all that our warmest wishes could

have hoped for; we had no difficulty to convince her that it was

impossible she could love Graham, or that it was her Duty to

disobey her Father; the only thing at which she rather seemed to

hesitate was our assertion that she must be attached to some

other Person. For some time, she persevered in declaring that

she knew no other young man for whom she had the the smallest

Affection; but upon explaining the impossibility of such a thing

she said that she beleived she DID LIKE Captain M’Kenrie better

than any one she knew besides. This confession satisfied us and

after having enumerated the good Qualities of M’Kenrie and

assured her that she was violently in love with him, we desired

to know whether he had ever in any wise declared his affection to

her.

 

“So far from having ever declared it, I have no reason to imagine

that he has ever felt any for me.” said Janetta. “That he

certainly adores you (replied Sophia) there can be no doubt—.

The Attachment must be reciprocal. Did he never gaze on you with

admiration—tenderly press your hand—drop an involantary tear—

and leave the room abruptly?” “Never (replied she) that I

remember—he has always left the room indeed when his visit has

been ended, but has never gone away particularly abruptly or

without making a bow.” Indeed my Love (said I) you must be

mistaken—for it is absolutely impossible that he should ever

have left you but with Confusion, Despair, and Precipitation.

Consider but for a moment Janetta, and you must be convinced how

absurd it is to suppose that he could ever make a Bow, or behave

like any other Person.” Having settled this Point to our

satisfaction, the next we took into consideration was, to

determine in what manner we should inform M’Kenrie of the

favourable Opinion Janetta entertained of him… . We at

length agreed to acquaint him with it by an anonymous Letter

which Sophia drew up in the following manner.

 

“Oh! happy Lover of the beautifull Janetta, oh! amiable

Possessor of HER Heart whose hand is destined to another, why do

you thus delay a confession of your attachment to the amiable

Object of it? Oh! consider that a few weeks will at once put an

end to every flattering Hope that you may now entertain, by

uniting the unfortunate Victim of her father’s Cruelty to the

execrable and detested Graham.”

 

“Alas! why do you thus so cruelly connive at the projected

Misery of her and of yourself by delaying to communicate that

scheme which had doubtless long possessed your imagination? A

secret Union will at once secure the felicity of both.”

 

The amiable M’Kenrie, whose modesty as he afterwards assured us