Barford Abbey | Page 3

what was become of you, fearing
your Oxfordshire friends had stolen you from us;--but you have made
up for your long absence, if this is the young lady, bowing to me, your
wife told us was to return with you.--A politeness so unexpected,--so
deliver'd,--visibly affected me:--I sat silent, listening for the reply Mr.
Jenkings would make.
Pardon me, my Lady! pardon me, Miss Warley! said the good man,--I
am a stranger to punctilio;--I see my error:--I should have acquainted
your Ladyship before with the name of this dear young Lady; I should
have said she is an honour to her friends.--Need I tell Miss Warley, Sir
James and Lady Powis are present:--I hope the deportment of their
servant has confirmed it;--I hope it has.
Sir James kindly took his hand, and, turning to me, said, Don't believe
him, Madam, he is not our servant;--he has been our friend forty years;
we flatter ourselves he deems not that servitude.
Not your _servant!_--not your _dependant!_--not your servant, Sir
James!--and was running on when her Ladyship interrupted him.
Don't make me angry, Jenkings;--don't pain me;--hear the favour I have
to ask, and be my advocate:--it is with Miss Warley I want you to be
my advocate.--Then addressing herself to me, Will you, Madam, give
me the pleasure of your company often at the Abbey?--I mean, will you
come there as if it was your home?--Mr. and Mrs. Jenkings have
comforts, I have not,--at least that I can enjoy.--Here she sigh'd
deeply;--so deep, that I declare it pierced through my heart;--I felt as if
turn'd into stone;--what I suppose I was a true emblem of.--The silent
friends that trickled down my cheeks brought me back from that
inanimate state,--and I found myself in the embraces of Lady Powis,
tenderly affectionate, as when in the arms of Mrs. Whitmore.--Judge
not, Madam, said I, from my present stupidity, that I am so wanting in
my head or heart, to be insensible of this undeserv'd goodness.--With
Mr. and Mrs. Jenkings's permission, I am devoted to your Ladyship's

service.--Our approbation! Miss Warley, return'd the former;--_yes,
that_ you have:--her Ladyship cannot conceive how happy she has
made us.--Sir James seconded his Lady with a warmth perfectly
condescending:--no excuse would be taken; I must spend the next day
at the Abbey; their coach was to attend me.
Our amiable guests did not move till summoned by the dinner-bell,
which is plainly to be heard there.--I thought I should have shed tears to
see them going.--I long'd to walk part of the way, but was afraid to
propose it, lest I should appear presumptuous.--Her Ladyship perceiv'd
my inclinations,--look'd delighted,--and requested my company; on
which Mr. Jenkings offer'd his service to escort me back.
How was I surpris'd at ascending the hill!--My feet seem'd leading me
to the first garden--the sweet abode of innocence!--Ten thousand
beauties broke on my sight;--ten thousand pleasures, before unknown,
danced through my heart.--Behold me on the summit;--behold me full
of surprise,--full of admiration!--How enchanting the park! how clear
the river that winds through it!--What taste,--what elegance, in the
plantations!--How charmingly are Nature's beauties rang'd by art!--The
trees,--the shrubs,--the flowers,--hold up their heads, as if proud of the
spot they grow on!--Then the noble old structure,--the magnificent
mansion of this ancient family, how does it fire the beholder with
veneration and delight! The very walls seem'd to speak; at least there
was something that inform'd me, native dignity, and virtues hereditary,
dwelt within them.
The sight of a chaise and four, standing at the entrance, hurried me
from the charming pair of this paradise, after many good days ecchoed
to me, and thanks respectful return'd them by the same messenger.
Mr. Jenkings, in our return, entertain'd me with an account of the
family for a century past. A few foibles excepted in the character of Sir
James, I find he possesses all the good qualities of his ancestors.
Nothing could be more pleasing than the encomiums bestow'd on Lady
Powis; but she is not exempt from trouble: the good and the bad the
great and the little, at some time or other, feel Misfortune's touch.
Happy such a rod hangs over us! Were we to glide on smoothly, our

affections would be fixed here, and here only.
I could love Lady Powis with a warmth not to be
express'd;--but--forgive me, my dear lady--I pine to know why your
intimacy was interrupted.--Of _Lady Mary's_ steadiness and integrity I
am convinc'd;--of Lady Powis I have had only a transitory
view.--Heaven forbid she should be like such people as from my heart I
despise, whose regards are agueish! Appearances promise the
reverse;--but what is appearance? For the generality a mere cheat, a
gaudy curtain.
Pardon me, dear Lady Powis--I am distress'd,--I am perplex'd; but I do
not think ill of you;--indeed I cannot,--unless