Lady Susan
been in terms of more extraordinary praise; and yesterday he actually
said that he could not be surprised at any effect produced on the heart
of man by such loveliness and such abilities; and when I lamented, in
reply, the badness of her disposition, he observed that whatever might
have been her errors they were to be imputed to her neglected education
and early marriage, and that she was altogether a wonderful woman. This
tendency to excuse her conduct or to forget it, in the warmth of
admiration, vexes me; and if I did not know that Reginald is too much
at home at Churchhill to need an invitation for lengthening his visit,
I should regret Mr. Vernon’s giving him any. Lady Susan’s intentions
are of course those of absolute coquetry, or a desire of universal
admiration; I cannot for a moment imagine that she has anything more
serious in view; but it mortifies me to see a young man of Reginald’s
sense duped by her at all.
I am, &c.,
CATHERINE VERNON.
IX
_Mrs. Johnson to Lady S. Vernon._
Edward Street.
My dearest Friend,—I congratulate you on Mr. De Courcy’s arrival, and I
advise you by all means to marry him; his father’s estate is, we know,
considerable, and I believe certainly entailed. Sir Reginald is very
infirm, and not likely to stand in your way long. I hear the young man
well spoken of; and though no one can really deserve you, my dearest
Susan, Mr. De Courcy may be worth having. Mainwaring will storm of
course, but you easily pacify him; besides, the most scrupulous point
of honour could not require you to wait for _his_ emancipation. I have
seen Sir James; he came to town for a few days last week, and called
several times in Edward Street. I talked to him about you and your
daughter, and he is so far from having forgotten you, that I am sure he
would marry either of you with pleasure. I gave him hopes of
Frederica’s relenting, and told him a great deal of her improvements. I
scolded him for making love to Maria Mainwaring; he protested that he
had been only in joke, and we both laughed heartily at her
disappointment; and, in short, were very agreeable. He is as silly as
ever.
Yours faithfully,
ALICIA.
X
_Lady Susan Vernon to Mrs. Johnson._
Churchhill.
I am much obliged to you, my dear Friend, for your advice respecting
Mr. De Courcy, which I know was given with the full conviction of its
expediency, though I am not quite determined on following it. I cannot
easily resolve on anything so serious as marriage; especially as I am
not at present in want of money, and might perhaps, till the old
gentleman’s death, be very little benefited by the match. It is true
that I am vain enough to believe it within my reach. I have made him
sensible of my power, and can now enjoy the pleasure of triumphing over
a mind prepared to dislike me, and prejudiced against all my past
actions. His sister, too, is, I hope, convinced how little the
ungenerous representations of anyone to the disadvantage of another
will avail when opposed by the immediate influence of intellect and
manner. I see plainly that she is uneasy at my progress in the good
opinion of her brother, and conclude that nothing will be wanting on
her part to counteract me; but having once made him doubt the justice
of her opinion of me, I think I may defy her. It has been delightful to
me to watch his advances towards intimacy, especially to observe his
altered manner in consequence of my repressing by the cool dignity of
my deportment his insolent approach to direct familiarity. My conduct
has been equally guarded from the first, and I never behaved less like
a coquette in the whole course of my life, though perhaps my desire of
dominion was never more decided. I have subdued him entirely by
sentiment and serious conversation, and made him, I may venture to say,
at least half in love with me, without the semblance of the most
commonplace flirtation. Mrs. Vernon’s consciousness of deserving every
sort of revenge that it can be in my power to inflict for her
ill-offices could alone enable her to perceive that I am actuated by
any design in behaviour so gentle and unpretending. Let her think and
act as she chooses, however. I have never yet found that the advice of
a sister could prevent a young man’s being in love if he chose. We are
advancing now to some kind of confidence, and in short are likely to be
engaged in a sort of platonic friendship. On my side you may be sure of
its never being more, for if I were not attached to another person as
much as I can be to anyone, I should make a point of not bestowing my
affection on a man who had dared to think so meanly of me. Reginald has
a good figure and is not unworthy the praise you have heard given him,
but is still greatly inferior to our friend at Langford. He is less
polished, less insinuating than Mainwaring, and is comparatively
deficient in the power of saying those delightful things which put one
in good humour with oneself and all the world. He is quite agreeable
enough, however, to afford me amusement, and to make many of those
hours pass very pleasantly which would otherwise be spent in
endeavouring to overcome my sister-in-law’s reserve, and listening to
the insipid talk of her husband. Your account of Sir James is most
satisfactory, and I mean to give Miss Frederica a hint of my intentions
very soon.
Yours, &c.,
S. VERNON.
XI
_Mrs. Vernon to Lady De Courcy._
Churchhill
I really grow quite uneasy, my dearest mother, about Reginald, from
witnessing the very rapid increase of Lady Susan’s influence. They are
now on terms of the most particular friendship, frequently engaged in
long conversations together; and she has contrived by the most artful
coquetry to subdue his judgment to her own purposes. It is impossible
to see the intimacy between them so very soon established without some
alarm, though I can hardly suppose that Lady Susan’s plans extend to
marriage. I wish you could get Reginald home again on any plausible
pretence; he is not at all disposed to leave us, and I have given him
as many hints of my father’s precarious state of health as common
decency will allow me to do in my own house. Her power over him must
now be boundless, as she has entirely effaced all his former
ill-opinion, and persuaded him not merely to forget but to justify her
conduct. Mr. Smith’s account of her proceedings at Langford, where he
accused her of having made Mr. Mainwaring and a young man engaged to
Miss Mainwaring distractedly in love with her, which Reginald firmly
believed when he came here, is now, he is persuaded, only a scandalous
invention. He has told me so with a warmth of manner which spoke his
regret at having believed the contrary himself. How sincerely do I
grieve that she ever entered this house! I always looked forward to her
coming with uneasiness; but very far was it from originating in anxiety
for Reginald. I expected a most disagreeable companion for myself, but
could not imagine that my brother would be in the smallest danger of
being captivated by a woman with whose principles he was so well
acquainted, and whose character he so heartily despised. If you can get
him away it will be a good thing.
Yours, &c.,
CATHERINE VERNON.
XII
_Sir Reginald De Courcy to his Son._
Parklands.
I know that young men in general do not admit of any enquiry even from
their nearest relations into affairs of the heart, but I hope, my dear
Reginald, that you will be superior to such as allow nothing for a
father’s anxiety, and think themselves privileged to refuse him their
confidence and slight his advice. You must be sensible that as an only
son, and the representative of an ancient family, your conduct in life
is most interesting to your connections; and in the very important
concern of marriage especially, there is everything at stake—your own
happiness, that of your parents, and the credit of your name. I do not
suppose that you would deliberately form an absolute engagement of that
nature without acquainting your mother and myself, or at least, without
being convinced that we should approve of your choice; but I cannot
help fearing that you may be drawn in, by the lady who has lately
attached you, to a marriage which the whole of your family, far and
near, must highly reprobate. Lady Susan’s age is itself a material
objection, but her want of character is one so much more serious, that
the difference of even twelve years becomes in comparison of small
amount. Were you not blinded by a sort of fascination, it would be
ridiculous in me to repeat the instances of great misconduct on her
side so very generally known.
Her neglect of her husband, her encouragement of other men, her
extravagance and dissipation, were so gross and notorious that no one
could be ignorant of them at the time, nor can now have forgotten them.
To our family she has always been represented in softened colours by
the benevolence of Mr. Charles Vernon, and yet, in spite of his
generous endeavours to excuse her, we know that she did, from the most
selfish motives, take all possible pains to prevent his marriage with
Catherine.
My years and increasing infirmities make me very desirous of seeing you
settled in the world. To the fortune of a wife, the goodness of my own
will make me indifferent, but her family and character must be equally
unexceptionable. When your choice is fixed so that no objection can be
made to it, then I can promise you a ready and cheerful consent; but it
is my duty to oppose a match which deep art only could render possible,
and must in the end make wretched. It is possible her behaviour may
arise only from vanity, or the wish of gaining the admiration of a man
whom she must imagine to be particularly prejudiced against her; but it
is more likely that she should aim at something further. She is poor,
and may naturally seek an alliance which must be advantageous to
herself; you know your own rights, and that it is out of my power to
prevent your inheriting the family estate. My ability of distressing
you during my life would be a species of revenge to which I could
hardly stoop under any circumstances.
I honestly tell you my sentiments and intentions: I do not wish to work
on your fears, but on your sense and affection. It would destroy every
comfort of my life to know that you were married to Lady Susan Vernon;
it would be the death of that honest pride with which I have hitherto
considered my son; I should blush to see him, to hear of him, to think
of him. I may perhaps do no good but that of relieving my own mind by
this letter, but I felt it my duty to tell you that your partiality for
Lady Susan is no secret to your friends, and to warn you against her. I
should be glad to hear your reasons for disbelieving Mr. Smith’s
intelligence; you had no doubt of its authenticity a month ago. If you
can give me your assurance of having no design beyond enjoying the
conversation of a clever woman for a short period, and of yielding
admiration only to her beauty and abilities, without being blinded by
them to her faults, you will restore me to happiness; but, if you
cannot do this, explain to me, at least, what has occasioned so great
an alteration in your opinion of her.
I am, &c., &c,
REGINALD DE COURCY
XIII
_Lady De Courcy to Mrs. Vernon._
Parklands.
My dear Catherine,—Unluckily I was confined to my room when your last
letter came, by a cold which affected my eyes so much as to prevent my
reading it myself, so I could not refuse your father when he offered to
read it to me, by which means he became acquainted, to my great
vexation, with all your fears about your brother. I had intended to
write to Reginald myself as soon as my eyes would let me, to point out,