The Governess; Or, The Little Female AcademyFielding, Sarah
General
The Governess; Or, The Little Female Academy
Fielding, Sarah
Didactic fiction; Girls' schools -- Fiction; Governesses -- Fiction; School children -- Fiction; Schools -- Fiction
my ill health, has preyed upon my very vitals, and will now bring me to
my Grave.”
‘In a few days after this confession she died; and her words and death
made such a strong impression on my mind, that I could not help sending
you this relation; and begging you, my dear Sukey, to remember how
careful we ought to be to curb in our minds the very first risings of a
passion so detestable, and so fatal, as this proved to poor Mrs. Dison.
I know I have no particular reason for giving you this caution; for I
never saw anything in you, but what deserved the love and esteem of
‘Your very affectionate cousin,
‘M. SMITH.’
As soon as Miss Sukey had finished her letter, Miss Patty Lockit rose
up, and, flying to Miss Jenny Peace, embraced her, and said, ‘What
thanks can I give you, my dear friend, for having put me into a way of
examining my heart, and reflecting on my own actions; by which you have
saved me, perhaps, from a life as miserable as that of the poor woman
in Miss Sukey’s letter!’ Miss Jenny did not thoroughly understand her
meaning; but imagining it might be something relating to her past life,
desired her to explain herself; which she said she would do, telling
now, in her turn, all that had hitherto happened to her.
THE DESCRIPTION OF MISS PATTY LOCKIT.
Miss Patty Lockit was but ten years old; tall, inclined to fat. Her
neck was short; and she was not in the least genteel. Her face was very
handsome; for all her features were extremely good. She had large blue
eyes; was exceeding fair; and had a great bloom on her cheeks. Her hair
was the very first degree of light brown; was bright and shining; and
hung in ringlets half way down her back. Her mouth was rather too large;
but she had such fine teeth, and looked so agreeably when she smiled,
that you was not sensible of any fault in it.
This was the person of Miss Patty Lockit, who was slow to relate her
past life; which she did, in the following manner:
THE LIFE OF MISS PATTY LOCKIT.
I lived, till I was six years old, in a very large family; for I had
four sisters, all older than myself, and three brothers. We played
together, and passed our time much in the common way: sometimes we
quarrelled, and sometimes agreed, just as accident would have it. Our
parents had no partiality to any of us; so we had no cause to envy one
another on that account; and we lived tolerably well together.
‘When I was six years old, my grandmother by my father’s side (and
who was also my godmother) offering to take me to live with her, and
promising to look upon me as her own child, and entirely to provide
for me, my father and mother, as they had a large family, very readily
accepted her offer, and sent me directly to her house.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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