144

wished that I poſseſsed as little personal Beauty as you do; that my figure were as inelegant;my face as unlovely; and my Appearance as unpleasing as yours! But Ah! what littlechance is there of so desirable an Event; Ihave had the Small-pox, and must thereforesubmit to my unhappy fate.

I am now going to intrust you my dear Charlotte with a secret which haslong disturbed the tranquillityity1 of my days, and which is of a kind to require the most in::violable Secrecy from you. On lLast2 Mondayse'nightight sen'nit3 Matilda & I accompanied Lady Lesleyto a Rout at the Honourable Mrs Kickabout's;we were escorted by Mr Fitzgerald who is a

Footnotes

1.
'ity' written over erased letters, possibly 'lity' ('tranquillity'). Back to context...
2.
Lower-case 'l' overwritten with upper-case 'L'. Back to context...
3.
Pencilled letters 'ight' added between inline deletion and superlinear insertion. Back to context...
Image for page: 144 of manuscript: blvolsecond