When they met before dinner, M^r P.
was looking over Letters.--“Not a
Line from Sidney!--said he.--He is
an idle fellow.--I sent him an account
of my accident from Willingden, &
thought he would have vouchsafed me
an Answer.--But perhaps it implies
that he is coming himself.--I trust it
may.--But here is a Letter from one
of my Sisters. _They_ never fail me.--
Women are the only Correspondents to
be depended on.--Now Mary, (smiling
at his Wife)--before I open it, what
shall we guess as to the state of health
of those it comes from--or rather what
w^d Sidney say if he were here?--Sidney
( 58 )
is a saucy fellow, Miss H.--And you
must know, he will have it there is
a good deal of Imagination in my two
Sisters’ complaints--but it really is
not so--or very little--They have
wretched health, as you have heard
us say frequently, & are subject to
a variety of very serious Disorders.--
Indeed, I do not beleive they know
what a day’s health is;--& at the
same time, they are such excellent
useful Women & have so much energy
of Character that, where any Good is
to be done, they force themselves on
exertions which to those who do not
thoroughly know them, have an extraordinary
appearance.--But there is
really no affectation about them. They
have only weaker constitutions &
stronger minds than are often met
with, either separate or together.--
And our Youngest B^r--who lives with
( 59 )
them, & who is not much above 20,
I am sorry to say, is almost as great
an Invalid as themselves.--He is so
delicate that he can engage in no Profession.
--Sidney laughs at him--but
it really is no Joke--tho’ Sidney often
makes me laugh at them all in spite of
myself.--Now, if he were here, I know
he w^d be offering odds that either
Susan Diana or Arthur w^d appear by
this letter to have been at the point of
death within the last month.”--Having
run his eye over the Letter, he shook his
head & began--“No chance of seeing
them at Sanditon I am sorry to say.--
A very indifferent account of them
indeed. Seriously, a very indifferent
account.--Mary, you will be quite sorry
to hear how ill they have been & are.--
Miss H., if you will give me leave, I will
read Diana’s Letter aloud.--I like to
have my friends acquainted with each
( 60 )
other--& I am afraid this is the only
sort of acquaintance I shall have the
means of accomplishing between you.
--And I can have no scruple on
Diana’s account--for her Letters shew
her exactly as she is, the most active,
friendly, warm hearted Being in existence,
& therefore must give a good
impression.” He read.--“My dear
Tom, We were all much greived at
your accident, & if you had not
described yourself as fallen into such
very good hands, I sh^d have been with
you at all hazards the day after the
rec^{pt} of your Letter, though it found
me suffering under a more severe attack
than usual of my old greivance, Spasmodic
Bile & hardly able to crawl
from my Bed to the Sofa.--But how
were you treated?--Send me more
Particulars in your next.--If indeed a
simple Sprain, as you denominate it,
( 61 )
nothing w^d have been so judicious as
Friction, Friction by the hand alone,
supposing it could be applied _instantly_.
--Two years ago I happened to be
calling on M^{rs} Sheldon when her
Coachman sprained his foot as he was
cleaning the Carriage & c^d hardly limp
into the House--but by the immediate
use of Friction alone, steadily persevered
in, (& I rubbed his Ancle with
my own hand for six Hours without
Intermission)--he was well in three
days.--Many Thanks my dear Tom for
the kindness with respect to us, which
had so large a share in bringing on
your accident--But pray never run
into Peril again, in looking for an
Apothecary on our account, for had
you the most experienced Man in his
Line settled at Sanditon, it w^d be no
recommendation to us. We have
entirely done with the whole Medical
( 62 )
Tribe. We have consulted Physician
after Phy^n in vain, till we are quite
convinced that they can do nothing for
us & that we must trust to our own
knowledge of our own wretched Constitutions
for any releif.--But if you
think it advisable for the interest of
the _Place_, to get a Medical Man there,
I will undertake the commission with
pleasure, & have no doubt of succeeding.
--I could soon put the necessary
Irons in the fire.--As for getting to
Sanditon myself, it is quite an Impossibility.
I greive to say that I dare not
attempt it, but my feelings tell me too
plainly that in my present state, the
Sea air w^d probably be the death of
me.--And neither of my dear Companions
will leave me, or I w^d promote
their going down to you for a fortnight.
But in truth, I doubt whether
Susan’s nerves w^d be equal to the effort.
( 63 )
She has been suffering much from the
Headache and Six Leaches a day for
10 days together releived her so little
that we thought it right to change our
measures--and being convinced on
examination that much of the Evil
lay in her Gum, I persuaded her to
attack the disorder there. She has
accordingly had 3 Teeth drawn, & is
decidedly better, but her Nerves are
a good deal deranged. She can only
speak in a whisper--and fainted away
twice this morning on poor Arthur’s
trying to suppress a cough. He, I am
happy to say is tolerably well--tho’
more languid than I like--& I fear
for his Liver.--I have heard nothing
of Sidney since your being together in
Town, but conclude his scheme to the
I. of Wight has not taken place, or we
should have seen him in his way.--
Most sincerely do we wish you a good
( 64 )
Season at Sanditon, & though we
cannot contribute to your Beau Monde
in person, we are doing our utmost to
send you Company worth having; &
think we may safely reckon on securing
you two large Families, one a rich
West Indian from Surry, the other, a
most respectable Girls Boarding School,
or Academy, from Camberwell.--I will
not tell you how many People I have
employed in the business--Wheel within
wheel.--But Success more than repays.
--Yours most affec^{ly}--&c” “Well--
said M^r P.--as he finished. Though
I dare say Sidney might find something
extremely entertaining in this
Letter & make us laugh for half an
hour together I declare _I_ by myself,
can see nothing in it but what is either
very pitiable or very creditable.--With
all their sufferings, you perceive how
much they are occupied in promoting
( 65 )
the Good of others!--So anxious for
Sanditon! Two large Families--One,
for Prospect House probably, the other,
for N^o 2. Denham Place--or the end
house of the Terrace,--& extra Beds
at the Hotel.--I told you my Sisters
were excellent Women, Miss H----.”
“And I am sure they must be very
extraordinary ones.--said Charlotte.
I am astonished at the chearful style
of the Letter, considering the state in
which both Sisters appear to be.--
Three Teeth drawn at once!--frightful!
--Your Sister Diana seems almost
as ill as possible, but those 3 Teeth of
your Sister Susan’s, are more distressing
than all the rest.--” “Oh!--
they are so used to the operation--to
every operation--& have such Fortitude!--”
“Your Sisters know what
they are about, I dare say, but their
Measures seem to touch on Extremes.
( 66 )
--I feel that in any illness, _I_ should be
so anxious for Professional advice, so
very little venturesome for myself, or
any body I loved!--But then, _we_ have
been so healthy a family, that I can
be no Judge of what the habit of self-
doctoring may do.--” “Why to own
the truth, said M^{rs} P.--I _do_ think the
Miss Parkers carry it too far sometimes--&
so do you my Love, you know.--
You often think they w^d be better, if
they w^d leave themselves more alone--&
especially Arthur. I know you think
it a great pity they sh^d give _him_ such
a turn for being ill.--” “Well, well--
my dear Mary--I grant you, it _is_ unfortunate
for poor Arthur, that, at his
time of Life he sh^d be encouraged to
give way to Indisposition. It _is_ bad;
--it _is_ bad that he should be fancying
himself too sickly for any Profession--
& sit down at 1 & 20, on the interest
( 67 )
of his own little Fortune, without any
idea of attempting to improve it, or
of engaging in any occupation that
may be of use to himself or others.--
But let us talk of pleasanter things.--
These two large Families are just what
we wanted--But--here is something
at hand, pleasanter still--Morgan, with
his “Dinner on Table.”--
( 69 )