We were at Gaybrook when your letter came, and when the good news of
Miss Pakenham's happiness arrived: [Footnote: Catherine, second daughter
of the second Lord Longford, married, 10th April 1806, Sir Arthur
Wellesley, afterwards the first and great Duke of Wellington. He had, at
this time, just returned from India, after a stay of eleven years.] it
was announced there in a very pleasant, sprightly letter from your
friend Miss Fortescue. Your account of the whole affair is really
admirable, and is one of those tales of real life in which the romance
is far superior to the generality of fictions. I hope the imaginations
of this hero and heroine have not been too much exalted, and that they
may not find the enjoyment of a happiness so long wished for inferior to
what they expected. Pray tell dear good Lady Elizabeth we are so
delighted with the news, and so engrossed by it, that, waking or
sleeping, the image of Miss Pakenham swims before our eyes. To make the
romance perfect we want two material documents--a description of the
person of Sir Arthur, and a knowledge of the time when the interview
after his return took place.
MARIA _to_ MRS. EDGEWORTH.