books at all but from fifteen to seventeen she was in training for a heroine she read all such works as must read to supply their memories with those which are so serviceable and so soothing in the of their lives from pope she learnt to censure those who bear about the mockery of woe from gray that � many a flower is born to blush unseen and waste its fragrance on the desert air from that � it is a delightful task to teach the young idea how to shoot and from she gained a great store of information amongst the rest that � trifles light as air are to the jealous confirmation strong as proofs of holy writ that the poor which we tread upon in feels a pang as great as when a giant dies and that a young woman in love always looks like patience on a monument smiling at grief so far her improvement was sufficient and in many other points she came on exceedingly well for though she could not write she brought herself to read them and though there seemed no chance of her throwing a whole party into by a on the piano of her own composition she could listen to abbey other people s performance with very little fatigue her greatest deficiency was in the pencil � she had no notion of drawing � not enough even to attempt a sketch of her lover s that she might be detected in the design there she fell miserably short of the true heroic height at present she did not know her own poverty for she had no lover to she had reached the age of seventeen without having seen one amiable youth who could call forth her sensibility without having inspired one real passion and without having excited even any admiration but what was very moderate and very transient this was strange but strange things may be generally accounted for if their cause be fairly searched out there was not one lord in the neighbourhood no not even a there was not one family among their acquaintance who had reared and supported a boy accidentally found at their door not one young man whose origin was unknown her father had no ward and the squire of the parish no children but when a young lady is to be a heroine the of forty surrounding families cannot prevent her something must and will happen to throw a hero in her way mr who owned the chief of the property about the village in where the lived was ordered to bath for the benefit of a constitution and his lady a good humoured woman fond of miss and probably aware that if adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village she must seek them abroad invited her to go with them mr and mrs were all compliance and all happiness abbey in addition to what has been already said of s personal and mental when about to be launched into all the difficulties and dangers of a six weeks residence in bath it may be stated for the reader s more certain information lest the following pages should otherwise fail of giving any idea of what her character is meant to be that her heart was affectionate her disposition cheerful and open without conceit or affectation of any kind her manners just removed from the awkwardness and shyness of a girl her person pleasing and when in good looks pretty and her mind about as ignorant and as the female mind at seventeen usually is when the hour of departure drew near tlie maternal anxiety of mrs will be naturally supposed to be most severe a thousand alarming of evil to her beloved from this terrific separation must her heart with sadness and drown her in tears for the last day or two of their being together and advice of the most important and nature must of course flow from her wise lips in their parting conference in her closet against the violence of such and as delight in forcing young ladies away to some remote farm house must at such a moment relieve the fulness of her heart who would not think so but mrs knew so little of lords and that she entertained no notion of their general and was wholly of danger to her daughter from their her were confined to the following points i beg you will always wrap yourself up very warm about the throat when you come from the rooms at night and i wish you would try to keep some account of the abbey money you spend i will give you this little book on purpose sally or rather for what young lady of common will reach uie age of sixteen without her name as far as she can must from situation be at time the intimate friend and of her sister it is remarkable however that she neither insisted on s writing by every post nor her promise of die character of every new acquaintance nor a detail of every interesting conversation that might produce everything indeed relative to this important journey was done on the part of the with a degree of moderation and composure which seemed rather consistent with the common feelings of common life than with the refined � the tender emotions which the first separation of a heroine from her family ought always to excite her father instead of giving her an unlimited order on his banker or even putting an hundred pounds bank bill into her hands gave her only ten guineas and promised her more when she wanted it under these the parting took place and the journey began it was with suitable and safety neither robbers nor them nor one lucky to introduce them to the hero nothing more alarming occurred than a fear on mrs s side of having once left her behind her at 