Barford Abbey

Barford Abbey

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Barford Abbey, by Susannah Minific
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Title: Barford Abbey
Author: Susannah Minific Gunning
Release Date: August 28, 2004 [EBook #13314]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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ABBEY ***

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BARFORD ABBEY,
A NOVEL:
IN A
SERIES of LETTERS.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
Printed for T. CADELL, (Successor to Mr. MILLAR) in the Strand;
and J. PAYNE, in Pasternoster-Row.
MDCCLXVIII.

BARFORD ABBEY.

LETTER I.
Lady MARY SUTTON, at the German Spaw, to Miss WARLEY, in
England.
How distressing, how heart-rending, is my dear Fanny's mournful
detail!--It lies before me; I weep over it!--I weep not for the departed
saint: no; it is for you, myself, for all who have experienced her
god-like virtues!--Was she not an honour to her sex? Did she not merit
rewards too great for this world to bestow?--Could the world repay her
innocence, her piety, her resignation? Wipe away, my best love, the
mark of sorrow from your cheek. Perhaps she may be permitted to look
down: if so, will she smile on those that grieve at her entering into the
fullness of joy?--Here a sudden death cannot be called dreadful. A life
like hers wanted not the admonitions of a sick-bed;--her bosom
accounts always clear, always ready for inspection, day by day were
they held up to the throne of mercy.--Apply those beautiful lines in the
Spectator to her; lines you have so often admir'd.--How silent thy
passage; how private thy journey; how glorious thy end! Many have I
known more famous, some more knowing, not one so innocent.--Hope
is a noble support to the drooping head of sorrow.--Though a deceiver,
court her, I counsel you;--she leads to happiness;--we shall bless her
deceptions:--baffling our enjoyments here, she teaches us to look up
where every thing is permanent, even bliss most exquisite.
Mr. Whitmore you never knew, otherwise would have wonder'd how
his amiable wife loiter'd so long behind.--Often she has wish'd to be
reunited to him, but ever avoided the subject in your presence.
Keep not from me her rich bequest:--rich indeed,--her most valuable
treasure.--That I could fold you to my arms!--But hear me at a
distance;--hear me call you my beloved daughter,--and suppose what
my transports will be when I embrace an only child:--yes, you are mine,
till I deliver you up to a superior affection.
Lay aside, I conjure you, your fears of crossing the sea.--Mr. and Mrs.
Smith intend spending part of this winter at Montpelier: trust yourself
with them; I shall be there to receive you at the Hôtel de Spence.
The season for the Spaw is almost at an end. My physicians forbid my

return to England till next autumn, else I would fly to comfort,--to
console my dearest Fanny,--We shall be happy together in France:--I
can love you the same in all places.
My banker has orders to remit you three hundred pounds;--but your
power is unlimited; it is impossible to say, my dear, how much I am in
your debt.--I have wrote my housekeeper to get every thing ready for
your reception:--consider her, and all my other servants, as your
own.--I shall be much disappointed if you do not move to the Lodge
immediately.--You shall not,--must not,--continue in a house where
every thing in and about it reminds you of so great a loss.--Miss West,
Miss Gardner, Miss Conway, will, at my request, accompany you
thither.--The Menagerie,--plantations, and other places of amusement,
will naturally draw them out;--you will follow mechanically, and by
that means be kept from indulging melancholy.--Go an-airing every
day, unless you intend I shall find my horses unfit for service:--why
have you let them live so long idle?
I revere honest Jenkings--he is faithful,--he will assist you with his
advice on all occasions.--Can there be a better resource to fly to, than a
heart governed by principles of honour and humanity?
Write, my dear, to Mrs. Smith, and let me know if the time is fixed for
their coming over.--Say you will comply with the request my heart is
so much set on;--say you will be one of the party.
My health and spirits are better:--the latter I support for your
sake;--who else do I live for?--Endeavour to do the same, not only for
me, but others, that one day will be as dear to you as you are to
Your truly affectionate,
M. SUTTON.

LETTER II.
Miss