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

me

here, and from some unaccountable Delay, has but this instant

reached me—. I return you many thanks for the account it

contains of Lesley’s acquaintance, Love and Marriage with Louisa,

which has not the less entertained me for having often been

repeated to me before.

 

I have the satisfaction of informing you that we have every

reason to imagine our pantry is by this time nearly cleared, as

we left Particular orders with the servants to eat as hard as

they possibly could, and to call in a couple of Chairwomen to

assist them. We brought a cold Pigeon pye, a cold turkey, a cold

tongue, and half a dozen Jellies with us, which we were lucky

enough with the help of our Landlady, her husband, and their

three children, to get rid of, in less than two days after our

arrival. Poor Eloisa is still so very indifferent both in Health

and Spirits, that I very much fear, the air of the Bristol downs,

healthy as it is, has not been able to drive poor Henry from her

remembrance.

 

You ask me whether your new Mother in law is handsome and

amiable—I will now give you an exact description of her bodily

and mental charms. She is short, and extremely well made; is

naturally pale, but rouges a good deal; has fine eyes, and fine

teeth, as she will take care to let you know as soon as she sees

you, and is altogether very pretty. She is remarkably good-tempered when she has her own way, and very lively when she is

not out of humour. She is naturally extravagant and not very

affected; she never reads anything but the letters she receives

from me, and never writes anything but her answers to them. She

plays, sings and Dances, but has no taste for either, and excells

in none, tho’ she says she is passionately fond of all. Perhaps

you may flatter me so far as to be surprised that one of whom I

speak with so little affection should be my particular freind;

but to tell you the truth, our freindship arose rather from

Caprice on her side than Esteem on mine. We spent two or three

days together with a Lady in Berkshire with whom we both happened

to be connected—. During our visit, the Weather being

remarkably bad, and our party particularly stupid, she was so

good as to conceive a violent partiality for me, which very soon

settled in a downright Freindship and ended in an established

correspondence. She is probably by this time as tired of me, as

I am of her; but as she is too Polite and I am too civil to say

so, our letters are still as frequent and affectionate as ever,

and our Attachment as firm and sincere as when it first

commenced. As she had a great taste for the pleasures of London,

and of Brighthelmstone, she will I dare say find some difficulty

in prevailing on herself even to satisfy the curiosity I dare say

she feels of beholding you, at the expence of quitting those

favourite haunts of Dissipation, for the melancholy tho’

venerable gloom of the castle you inhabit. Perhaps however if she

finds her health impaired by too much amusement, she may acquire

fortitude sufficient to undertake a Journey to Scotland in the

hope of its Proving at least beneficial to her health, if not

conducive to her happiness. Your fears I am sorry to say,

concerning your father’s extravagance, your own fortunes, your

Mothers Jewels and your Sister’s consequence, I should suppose

are but too well founded. My freind herself has four thousand

pounds, and will probably spend nearly as much every year in

Dress and Public places, if she can get it—she will certainly

not endeavour to reclaim Sir George from the manner of living to

which he has been so long accustomed, and there is therefore some

reason to fear that you will be very well off, if you get any

fortune at all. The Jewels I should imagine too will undoubtedly

be hers, and there is too much reason to think that she will

preside at her Husbands table in preference to his Daughter. But

as so melancholy a subject must necessarily extremely distress

you, I will no longer dwell on it—.

 

Eloisa’s indisposition has brought us to Bristol at so

unfashionable a season of the year, that we have actually seen

but one genteel family since we came. Mr and Mrs Marlowe are

very agreable people; the ill health of their little boy

occasioned their arrival here; you may imagine that being the

only family with whom we can converse, we are of course on a

footing of intimacy with them; we see them indeed almost every

day, and dined with them yesterday. We spent a very pleasant

Day, and had a very good Dinner, tho’ to be sure the Veal was

terribly underdone, and the Curry had no seasoning. I could not

help wishing all dinner-time that I had been at the dressing

it—. A brother of Mrs Marlowe, Mr Cleveland is with them at

present; he is a good-looking young Man, and seems to have a good

deal to say for himself. I tell Eloisa that she should set her

cap at him, but she does not at all seem to relish the proposal.

I should like to see the girl married and Cleveland has a very

good estate. Perhaps you may wonder that I do not consider

myself as well as my Sister in my matrimonial Projects; but to

tell you the truth I never wish to act a more principal part at a

Wedding than the superintending and directing the Dinner, and

therefore while I can get any of my acquaintance to marry for me,

I shall never think of doing it myself, as I very much suspect

that I should not have so much time for dressing my own Wedding-dinner, as for dressing that of my freinds.

Yours sincerely

C. L.

 

LETTER the FIFTH

Miss MARGARET LESLEY to Miss CHARLOTTE LUTTERELL

Lesley-Castle March 18th

 

On the same day that I received your last kind letter, Matilda

received one from Sir George which was dated from Edinburgh, and

informed us that he should do himself the pleasure of introducing

Lady Lesley to us on the following evening. This as you may

suppose considerably surprised us, particularly as your account

of her Ladyship had given us reason to imagine there was little

chance of her visiting Scotland at a time that London must be so

gay. As it was our business however to be delighted at such a

mark of condescension as a visit from Sir George and Lady Lesley,

we prepared to return them an answer expressive of the happiness

we enjoyed in expectation of such a Blessing, when luckily

recollecting that as they were to reach the Castle the next

Evening, it would be impossible for my father to receive it

before he left Edinburgh, we contented ourselves with leaving

them to suppose that we were as happy as we ought to be. At nine

in the Evening on the following day, they came, accompanied by

one of Lady Lesleys brothers. Her Ladyship perfectly answers the

description you sent me of her, except that I do not think her so

pretty as you seem to consider her. She has not a bad face, but

there is something so extremely unmajestic in her little

diminutive figure, as to render her in comparison with the

elegant height of Matilda and Myself, an insignificant Dwarf.

Her curiosity to see us (which must have been great to bring her

more than four hundred miles) being now perfectly gratified, she

already begins to mention their return to town, and has desired

us to accompany her. We cannot refuse her request since it is

seconded by the commands of our Father, and thirded by the

entreaties of Mr. Fitzgerald who is certainly one of the most

pleasing young Men, I ever beheld. It is not yet determined when

we are to go, but when ever we do we shall certainly take our

little Louisa with us. Adeiu my dear Charlotte; Matilda unites in

best wishes to you, and Eloisa, with yours ever

M. L.

 

LETTER the SIXTH

LADY LESLEY to Miss CHARLOTTE LUTTERELL

Lesley-Castle March 20th

 

We arrived here my sweet Freind about a fortnight ago, and I

already heartily repent that I ever left our charming House in

Portman-square for such a dismal old weather-beaten Castle as

this. You can form no idea sufficiently hideous, of its dungeon-like form. It is actually perched upon a Rock to appearance so

totally inaccessible, that I expected to have been pulled up by a

rope; and sincerely repented having gratified my curiosity to

behold my Daughters at the expence of being obliged to enter

their prison in so dangerous and ridiculous a manner. But as

soon as I once found myself safely arrived in the inside of this

tremendous building, I comforted myself with the hope of having

my spirits revived, by the sight of two beautifull girls, such as

the Miss Lesleys had been represented to me, at Edinburgh. But

here again, I met with nothing but Disappointment and Surprise.

Matilda and Margaret Lesley are two great, tall, out of the way,

over-grown, girls, just of a proper size to inhabit a Castle

almost as large in comparison as themselves. I wish my dear

Charlotte that you could but behold these Scotch giants; I am

sure they would frighten you out of your wits. They will do very

well as foils to myself, so I have invited them to accompany me

to London where I hope to be in the course of a fortnight.

Besides these two fair Damsels, I found a little humoured Brat

here who I beleive is some relation to them, they told me who she

was, and gave me a long rigmerole story of her father and a Miss

SOMEBODY which I have entirely forgot. I hate scandal and detest

Children. I have been plagued ever since I came here with

tiresome visits from a parcel of Scotch wretches, with terrible

hard-names; they were so civil, gave me so many invitations, and

talked of coming again so soon, that I could not help affronting

them. I suppose I shall not see them any more, and yet as a

family party we are so stupid, that I do not know what to do with

myself. These girls have no Music, but Scotch airs, no Drawings

but Scotch Mountains, and no Books but Scotch Poems—and I hate

everything Scotch. In general I can spend half the Day at my

toilett with a great deal of pleasure, but why should I dress

here, since there is not a creature in the House whom I have any

wish to please. I have just had a conversation with my Brother in

which he has greatly offended me, and which as I have nothing

more entertaining to send you I will gave you the particulars of.

You must know that I have for these 4 or 5 Days past strongly

suspected William of entertaining a partiality to my eldest

Daughter. I own indeed that had I been inclined to fall in love

with any woman, I should not have made choice of Matilda Lesley

for the object of my passion; for there is nothing I hate so much

as a tall Woman: but however there is no accounting for some

men’s taste and as William is himself nearly six feet high, it is

not wonderful that he should be partial to that height. Now as I

have a very great affection for my Brother and should be

extremely sorry to see him unhappy, which I suppose he means to

be if he cannot marry Matilda, as moreover I know that his

circumstances will not allow