gone, and laughed off the accident as quite trivial. Let us hope his wrath will have passed away before
Miss Crawleys departure. I hope so, for Miss Roses sake, I am sure. What a charming reconciler and
peacemaker money is! Another admirable effect of Miss Crawley and her seventy thousand pounds
is to be seen in the conduct of the two brothers Crawley. I mean the baronet and the rector, not our
brothersbut the former, who hate each other all the year round, become quite loving at Christmas.
I wrote to you last year how the abominable horse-racing rector was in the habit of preaching clumsy
sermons at us at church, and how Sir Pitt snored in answer. When Miss Crawley arrives there is no
such thing as quarrelling heard ofthe Hall visits the Rectory, and vice versâthe parson and the Baronet
talk about the pigs and the poachers, and the county business, in the most affable manner, and without
quarrelling in their cups, I believeindeed Miss Crawley wont hear of their quarrelling, and vows that
she will leave her money to the Shropshire Crawleys if they offend her. If they were clever people, those
Shropshire Crawleys, they might have it all, I think; but the Shropshire Crawley is a clergyman like his
Hampshire cousin, and mortally offended Miss Crawley (who had fled thither in a fit of rage against her
impracticable brethren) by some strait-laced notions of morality. He would have prayers in the house, I
believe. Our sermon books are shut up when Miss Crawley arrives, and Mr. Pitt, whom she abominates,
finds it convenient to go to town. On the other hand, the young dandyblood, I believe, is the termCaptain
Crawley makes his appearance, and I suppose you will like to know what sort of a person he
is. Well, he is a very large young dandy. He is six feet high, and speaks with a great voice; and swears
a great deal; and orders about the servants, who all adore him nevertheless; for he is very generous
of his money, and the domestics will do anything for him. Last week the keepers almost killed a bailiff
and his man who came down from London to arrest the Captain, and who were found lurking about the
Park wallthey beat them, ducked them, and were going to shoot them for poachers, but the baronet
interfered. The Captain has a hearty contempt for his father, I can see, and calls him an old put, an old
snob, an old chaw-bacon, and numberless other pretty names. He has a dreadful reputation among
the ladies. He brings his hunters home with him, lives with the Squires of the county, asks whom he
pleases to dinner, and Sir Pitt dares not say no, for fear of offending Miss Crawley, and missing his legacy
when she dies of her apoplexy. Shall I tell you a compliment the Captain paid me? I must, it is so pretty.
One evening we actually had a dance; there was Sir Huddleston Fuddleston and his family, Sir Giles
Wapshot and his young ladies, and I dont know how many more. Well, I heard him say By Jove,
shes a neat little filly! meaning your humble servant; and he did me the honour to dance two country-
dances with me. He gets on pretty gaily with the young Squires, with whom he drinks, bets, rides, and
talks about hunting and shooting; but he says the country girls are bores; indeed, I dont think he is far
wrong. You should see the contempt with which they look down on poor me! When they dance I sit and
play the piano very demurely; but the other night, coming in rather flushed from the dining-room, and
seeing me employed in this way, he swore out loud that I was the best dancer in the room, and took a
great oath that he would have the fiddlers from Mudbury. Ill go and play a country-dance, said Mrs.
Bute Crawley, very readily (she is a little, black-faced old woman in a turban, rather crooked, and with
very twinkling eyes); and after the Captain and your poor little Rebecca had performed a dance together,
do you know she actually did me the honour to compliment me upon my steps! Such a thing was never
heard of before; the proud Mrs. Bute Crawley, first cousin to the Earl of Tiptoff, who wont condescend
to visit Lady Crawley, except when her sister is in the country. Poor Lady Crawley! during most part
of these gaieties, she is upstairs taking pills. Mrs. Bute has all of a sudden taken a great fancy to me.
My dear Miss Sharp, she says, why not bring over your girls to the Rectory?their cousins will be so
happy to see them. I know what she means. Signor Clementi did not teach us the piano for nothing; at
which price Mrs. Bute hopes to get a professor for her children. I can see through her schemes, as
though she told them to me; but I shall go, as I am determined to make myself agreeableis it not a
poor governesss duty, who has not a friend or protector in the world? The Rectors wife paid me a score
of compliments about the progress my pupils made, and thought, no doubt, to touch my heartpoor,
simple, country soul!as if I cared a fig about my pupils! Your India muslin and your pink silk, dearest
Amelia, are said to become me very well. They are a good deal worn now; but, you know, we poor girls