first highly displeased at so hasty and imprudent a connection;
but when he found that they did not mind it, he soon became
perfectly reconciled to the match. The Estate near Aberdeen
which my brother possesses by the bounty of his great Uncle
independant of Sir George, was entirely sufficient to support him
and my Sister in Elegance and Ease. For the first twelvemonth,
no one could be happier than Lesley, and no one more amiable to
appearance than Louisa, and so plausibly did she act and so
cautiously behave that tho’ Matilda and I often spent several
weeks together with them, yet we neither of us had any suspicion
of her real Disposition. After the birth of Louisa however,
which one would have thought would have strengthened her regard
for Lesley, the mask she had so long supported was by degrees
thrown aside, and as probably she then thought herself secure in
the affection of her Husband (which did indeed appear if possible
augmented by the birth of his Child) she seemed to take no pains
to prevent that affection from ever diminushing. Our visits
therefore to Dunbeath, were now less frequent and by far less
agreable than they used to be. Our absence was however never
either mentioned or lamented by Louisa who in the society of
young Danvers with whom she became acquainted at Aberdeen (he was
at one of the Universities there,) felt infinitely happier than
in that of Matilda and your freind, tho’ there certainly never
were pleasanter girls than we are. You know the sad end of all
Lesleys connubial happiness; I will not repeat it–. Adeiu my
dear Charlotte; although I have not yet mentioned anything of the
matter, I hope you will do me the justice to beleive that I THINK
and FEEL, a great deal for your Sisters affliction. I do not
doubt but that the healthy air of the Bristol downs will intirely
remove it, by erasing from her Mind the remembrance of Henry. I
am my dear Charlotte yrs ever
M. L.
LETTER the FOURTH
From Miss C. LUTTERELL to Miss M. LESLEY
Bristol February 27th
My Dear Peggy
I have but just received your letter, which being directed to
Sussex while I was at Bristol was obliged to be forwarded to 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