Country life -- England -- Fiction; Pastoral fiction; Villages -- England -- Fiction
My comrade in this homely equipage was a young lady of high family
and higher endowments, to whom the novelty of the thing, and her own
naturalness of character and simplicity of taste, gave an unspeakable
enjoyment. She danced the little chaise up and down as she got into it,
and laughed for very glee like a child, Lizzy herself could not have
been more delighted. She praised the horse and the driver, and the roads
and the scenery, and gave herself fully up to the enchantment of a rural
excursion in the sweetest weather of this sweet season. I enjoyed all
this too; for the road was pleasant to every sense, winding through
narrow lanes, under high elms, and between hedges garlanded with
woodbine and rose trees, whilst the air was scented with the delicious
fragrance of blossomed beans. I enjoyed it all,--but, I believe, my
principal pleasure was derived from my companion herself.
Emily I. is a person whom it is a privilege to know. She is quite like
a creation of the older poets, and might pass for one of Shakspeare's
or Fletcher's women stepped into life; just as tender, as playful, as
gentle, and as kind. She is clever too, and has all the knowledge and
accomplishments that a carefully-conducted education, acting on a mind
of singular clearness and ductility, matured and improved by the very
best company, can bestow. But one never thinks of her acquirements. It
is the charming artless character, the bewitching sweetness of manner,
the real and universal sympathy, the quick taste and the ardent feeling,
that one loves in Emily. She is Irish by birth, and has in perfection
the melting voice and soft caressing accent by which her fair
countrywomen are distinguished. Moreover she is pretty--I think her
beautiful, and so do all who have heard as well as seen her,--but
pretty, very pretty, all the world must confess; and perhaps that is a
distinction more enviable, because less envied, than the 'palmy state'
of beauty. Her prettiness is of the prettiest kind--that of which the
chief character is youthfulness. A short but pleasing figure, all
grace and symmetry, a fair blooming face, beaming with intelligence
and good-humour; the prettiest little feet and the whitest hands in the
world;--such is Emily I.
She resides with her maternal grandmother, a venerable old lady,
slightly shaken with the palsy; and when together (and they are so
fondly attached to each other that they are seldom parted), it is one of
the loveliest combinations of youth and age ever witnessed. There is
no seeing them without feeling an increase of respect and affection for
both grandmother and granddaughter--always one of the tenderest and most
beautiful of natural connections--as Richardson knew when he made such
exquisite use of it in his matchless book. I fancy that grandmamma
Shirley must have been just such another venerable lady as Mrs. S., and
our sweet Emily--Oh no! Harriet Byron is not half good enough for her!
There is nothing like her in the whole seven volumes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account