August 14.—
You cannot expect, in
such a house as this is, my dear, that I
can be furnished with materials to give
you much variety. Indeed these four last
days have been so exactly the same in
every particular, excepting that the dishes
at dinner and supper were change, that
I had resolved to hang up my pen till I
quitted Grimston-hall, or at least resign
it to Patty, and let her plod on and tell you
how the wind blew such a day; what sort
of a mantua lady Grimston had on such
a day (though by the way it is always the
same, always ash-coloured tissue); what
the great dog barked at, at such an hour,
and what the old parrot said at such a
time; the house and the garden I have
exhausted my descriptive faculties on already,
though they are neither of them
worth describing; and I was beginning to
despair of matter to furnish out a quarter
of an hour's entertainment, when the
scene began to brighten a little this
auspicious day, by the arrival of a coach
full of visitors. These were a venerable
dean, who is the minister of our parish,
his lady and daughter, and a Mr. Arnold,
a gentleman who is a distant relation
of lady Grimston's. He has a
house in this neighbourhood, and is just
come to an estate by the death of his
elder brother.
This visit has given me hopes that I
may now-and-then have a chance for seeing
a human face, besides the antiques of
the family, and those which are depicted
on the arras. Though not to disparage
the people, they were all agreeable enough
in their different ways. The old dean is
good-humoured and polite; I mean the
true politeness, that of the heart, which
dictates the most obliging things in so frank
a manner, that they have not the least
appearance of flattery. Being very nearsighted,
he put on a pair of spectacles to
look at me, and turning to Mr. Arnold,
with a vivacity that would have become
five-and-twenty, he repeated,
(?)(?)
'With an air and a face,
'And a shape and a grace,&c.'
The young man smiled his assent, and
my mother looked so delighted, that the
good-natured dean's compliment pleased
me for her sake. Lady Grimston, who is
passionately fond of musick, has a very
pretty organ in one of her chambers;
Mr. Arnold was requested to give us a
lesson on it, which he very readily obliged
us with. He plays ravishingly; the creature
made me envious, he touched it so
admirably. I had taken a sort of dislike
to him when he first came in, I cannot
tell you why or wherefore; but this accomplishment
has reconciled me so to
him, that I am half in love with him. I
hope we shall see him often; he is really
excellent on this instrument, and you
know how fond I am of musick.
