A few lines only, till calmer spirits and quieter fingers be granted me,
and till I can get over the shock which your intelligence has given me--
to acquaint you--that your kind long letter of Wednesday, and, as I may
say, of Thursday morning, is come safe to my hands. On receipt of your's
by my messenger to you, I sent for it from Wilson's. There, thank
Heaven! it lay. May that Heaven reward you for all your past, and for
all your intended goodness to
Your for-ever obliged,
CL. HARLOWE.
***
I took great pains in writing this. It cannot, I hope, be suspected.
Her hand is so very delicate. Yet her's is written less beautifully than
she usually writes: and I hope Miss Howe will allow somewhat for hurry of
spirits, and unsteady fingers.
My consideration for Miss Howe's ease of mind extended still farther than
to the instance I have mentioned.
That this billet might be with her as soon as possible, (and before it
could have reached Hickman by the post,) I dispatched it away by a
servant of Mowbray's. Miss Howe, had there been any failure or delay,
might, as thou wilt think, have communicated her anxieties to her
fugitive friend; and she to me perhaps in a way I should not have been
pleased with.
Once more wilt thou wonderingly question--All this pains for a single
girl?
Yes, Jack--But is not this girl a CLARISSA?--And who knows, but kind
fortune, as a reward for my perseverance, may toss me in her charming
friend? Less likely things have come to pass, Belford. And to be sure I
shall have her, if I resolve upon it.