My heart bleeds for her. I should have held myself utterly inexcusable, had I accepted of your kindly intended dispensation, and come to town for three whole months, without repeating to her, by word of mouth, my love and my sympathizing concern for her. What merit does her patience add to her other merits! How has her calamity endeared her to me! If ever I shall be heavily af — flicted, (jod give me her amiable, her almost me — ritorious patience in sufferings!

To my cousin Iiolles’s, and all my other relations, friends, companions, make the affectionate compliments of your

HARRIET BYRON.

Letter V.

Miss Byron to Miss Selby.

Jan. 23. You rejoice me, my dear, in the hopes which, you tell me, Dr. Mitchell from London gives you in relation to our Nancy. May our incessant prayers for the restoration of her health be answered!

Three things my aunt Selby, and you, in the name of every one of my friends, injoined me at parting. The first, To write often, very often, were your words. This injunction was not needful: my heart is with you; and the good news you give me of my grandmamma’s health, and of our Nancy, enlarges that heart. The second, To give you a description of the persons and characters of the peo — ple 1 am likely to be conversant with in this great town. And, thirdly, Besides the general account which you all expected from me of the visits I made and received, you injoined me to acquaint you with the very beginnings of every address (and even of every silent and respectful distinction, were your words) that the girl whom you all so greatly favour, might receive on this excursion to town.

Don’t you remember what my uncle Selby an-swered to this? — I do: and will repeat it, to shew, that his correcting cautions shall not be forgotten.

The vanity of the sex, said he, will not suffer any thing of this sort to escape our Harriet. Wo-men make themselves so cheap at the public places in and about town, that new faces are more enquired after than even fine faces constantly seen. Harriet has an honest artless bloom in her cheeks; she may attract notice as a novice: but wherefore do you fill her head with an expectation of conquests? Wo-men, added he, offer themselves at every public place, in rows, as at a market. Because three or four silly fellows here in the country (like people at an auction, who raise the price upon each other above its value) have bid for her, you think she will not be able to set her foot out of doors, without increasing the number of her followers.

And then my uncle would have it, that my head would be unable to bear the consequence which the partiality of my other friends gave me.