It would not do.--Not all that the
whole Parker race could say among
themselves, c^d produce a happier catastrophe
than that the Family from
Surry & the Family from Camberwell
were one & the same.--The rich Westindians,
& the young Ladies Seminary
had all entered Sanditon in those two
Hack chaises. The M^{rs} G. who in her
friend M^{rs} Darling’s hands, had wavered
as to coming & been unequal to the
Journey, was the very same M^{rs} G.
whose plans were at the same period
(under another representation) perfectly
decided, & who was without
fears or difficulties.--All that had the
( 150 )
appearance of Incongruity in the reports
of the two, might very fairly be
placed to the account of the Vanity,
the Ignorance, or the blunders of the
many engaged in the cause by the
vigilance & caution of Miss Diana P--.
_Her_ intimate friends must be officious
like herself, & the subject had supplied
Letters & Extracts & Messages enough
to make everything appear what it
was not. Miss D. probably felt a little
awkward on being first obliged to
admit her mistake. A long Journey
from Hampshire taken for nothing--
a Brother disappointed--an expensive
House on her hands for a week, must
have been some of her immediate
reflections--& much worse than all
the rest, must have been the sort of
sensation of being less clear-sighted &
infallible than she had beleived herself.
--No part of it however seemed
( 151 )
to trouble her long. There were so
many to share in the shame & the
blame, that probably when she had
divided out their proper portions to
M^{rs} Darling, Miss Capper, Fanny
Noyce, M^{rs} C. Dupuis & M^{rs} C. D’s
Neighbour, there might be a mere
trifle of reproach remaining for herself.
--At any rate, she was seen all
the following morn^g walking about
after Lodgings with M^{rs} G.-- as alert
as ever.--M^{rs} G. was a very well-
behaved, genteel kind of Woman, who
supported herself by receiving such
great girls & young Ladies, as wanted
either Masters for finishing their
Education, or a home for beginning
their Displays.--She had several more
under her care than the three who were
now come to Sanditon, but the others
all happened to be absent.--Of these
three, & indeed of all, Miss Lambe was
( 152 )
beyond comparison the most important
& precious, as she paid in proportion
to her fortune.--She was about 17,
half Mulatto, chilly & tender, had a
maid of her own, was to have the best
room in the Lodgings, & was always of
the first consequence in every plan
of M^{rs} G.--The other Girls, two Miss
Beauforts were just such young Ladies
as may be met with, in at least one
family out of three, throughout the
Kingdom; they had tolerable complexions,
shewey figures, an upright
decided carriage & an assured Look;--
they were very accomplished & very
Ignorant, their time being divided
between such pursuits as might attract
admiration, & those Labours & Expedients
of dexterous Ingenuity, by
which they could dress in a stile much
beyond what they _ought_ to have
afforded; they were some of the first
( 153 )
in every change of fashion--& the
object of all, was to captivate some
Man of much better fortune than their
own.--M^{rs} G. had preferred a small,
retired place, like Sanditon, on Miss
Lambe’s account--and the Miss Bs--,
though naturally preferring any thing
to Smallness & Retirement, yet having
in the course of the Spring been involved
in the inevitable expence of
six new Dresses each for a three days
visit, were constrained to be satisfied
with Sanditon also, till their circumstances
were retreived. There, with
the hire of a Harp for one, & the
purchase of some Drawing paper for
the other & all the finery they could
already command, they meant to be
very economical, very elegant & very
secluded; with the hope on Miss Beaufort’s
side, of praise & celebrity from
all who walked within the sound of
( 154 )
her Instrument, & on Miss Letitia’s,
of curiosity & rapture in all who came
near her while she sketched--and to
Both, the consolation of meaning to be
the most stylish Girls in the Place.--
The particular introduction of M^{rs} G.
to Miss Diana Parker, secured them
immediately an acquaintance with the
Trafalgar House-family, & with the
Denhams;--and the Miss Beauforts
were soon satisfied with “the Circle in
which they moved in Sanditon” to
use a proper phrase, for every body
must now “move in a Circle”,--to the
prevalence of which rototory Motion,
is perhaps to be attributed the Giddiness
& false steps of many.--Lady
Denham had other motives for calling
on M^{rs} G. besides attention to the
Parkers.--In Miss Lambe, here was
the very young Lady, sickly & rich,
whom she had been asking for; & she
( 155 )
made the acquaintance for Sir Edward’s
sake, & the sake of her Milch
asses. How it might answer with
regard to the Baronet, remained to be
proved, but as to the Animals, she
soon found that all her calculations of
Profit w^d be vain. M^{rs} G. would not
allow Miss L. to have the smallest
symptom of a Decline, or any complaint
which Asses milk c^d possibly
releive. “Miss L. was under the constant
care of an experienced Physician;
--and his Prescriptions must be their
rule”--and except in favour of some
Tonic Pills, which a Cousin of her own
had a Property in, M^{rs} G. did never
deviate from the strict Medecinal page.
--The corner house of the Terrace was
the one in which Miss D. P. had the
pleasure of settling her new friends, &
considering that it commanded in front
the favourite Lounge of all the Visitors
( 156 )
at Sanditon, & on one side, whatever
might be going on at the Hotel, there
c^d not have been a more favourable
spot for the seclusions of the Miss
Beauforts. And accordingly, long
before they had suited themselves
with an Instrument, or with Drawing
paper, they had, by the frequency of
their appearance at the low Windows
upstairs, in order to close the blinds,
or open the Blinds, to arrange a flower
pot on the Balcony, or look at nothing
through a Telescope, attracted many
an eye upwards, & made many a
Gazer gaze again.--A little Novelty
has a great effect in so small a place;
the Miss Beauforts, who w^d have been
nothing at Brighton, could not move
here without notice;--and even M^r
Arthur Parker, though little disposed
for supernumerary exertion, always
quitted the Terrace, in his way to his
( 157 )
Brothers by this corner House, for the
sake of a glimpse of the Miss Bs--,
though it was ½ a q^r of a mile round
about, & added two steps to the ascent
of the Hill.
( 159 )