October 1.—
All preliminaries are
settled. There has been a fuss with parchments
this week past. My mother has
carried her point in regard to the jointure;
and has made choice of that little
estate in Kent to be settled on me, as it
is a complete three hundred pounds a
year, detached intirely from the rest, and
has a pretty house on it. This was all
she would accept of, though, to do Mr.
Arnold justice, he would have been much
more liberal; but, my mother says, a
single woman, bred in retirement as I
have been, who cannot live on that, does
not deserve to live at all; adding, that as
the estate was already subject to one jointure,
and the widow so young a woman;
if it should be also my misfortune to become
one early, a great part of the fortune
would be swallowed by dowagers,
and the heir not have enough to support
his rank.
