England -- Social life and customs -- 18th century -- Fiction; Epistolary fiction; Essays
“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 had
been the only reason of his having so long concealed the violence of
his affection for Janetta, on receiving this Billet flew on the wings
of Love to Macdonald-Hall, and so powerfully pleaded his Attachment to
her who inspired it, that after a few more private interveiws, Sophia
and I experienced the satisfaction of seeing them depart for
Gretna-Green, which they chose for the celebration of their Nuptials,
in preference to any other place although it was at a considerable
distance from Macdonald-Hall.
Adeiu
Laura.
LETTER the 13th
LAURA in continuation
They had been gone nearly a couple of Hours, before either Macdonald or
Graham had entertained any suspicion of the affair. And they might not
even then have suspected it, but for the following little Accident.
Sophia happening one day to open a private Drawer in Macdonald’s
Library with one of her own keys, discovered that it was the Place
where he kept his Papers of consequence and amongst them some bank
notes of considerable amount. This discovery she imparted to me; and
having agreed together that it would be a proper treatment of so vile a
Wretch as Macdonald to deprive him of money, perhaps dishonestly
gained, it was determined that the next time we should either of us
happen to go that way, we would take one or more of the Bank notes from
the drawer. This well meant Plan we had often successfully put in
Execution; but alas! on the very day of Janetta’s Escape, as Sophia was
majestically removing the 5th Bank-note from the Drawer to her own
purse, she was suddenly most impertinently interrupted in her
employment by the entrance of Macdonald himself, in a most abrupt and
precipitate Manner. Sophia (who though naturally all winning sweetness
could when occasions demanded it call forth the Dignity of her sex)
instantly put on a most forbidding look, and darting an angry frown on
the undaunted culprit, demanded in a haughty tone of voice “Wherefore
her retirement was thus insolently broken in on?” The unblushing
Macdonald, without even endeavouring to exculpate himself from the
crime he was charged with, meanly endeavoured to reproach Sophia with
ignobly defrauding him of his money... The dignity of Sophia was
wounded; “Wretch (exclaimed she, hastily replacing the Bank-note in the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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