small thing that kindles his passion. In short, London is not a
place to come to hear the tidings of salvation preeched,--no that I

mean to deny that there is not herine more than five righteous
persons in it, and I trust the cornal's hagent is one; for if he is

not, we are undone, having been obligated to take on already more
than a hundred pounds of debt, to the account of our living, and the

legacy yet in the dead thraws. But as I mean this for a spiritual
letter, I will say no more about the root of all evil, as it is

called in the words of truth and holiness; so referring you to what
I have told Miss Mally Glencairn about the legacy and other things

nearest my heart, I remain, my dear Mrs. Glibbans, your fellou
Christian and sinner, JANET PRINGLE.

Mrs. Glibbans received this letter between the preachings, and it
was observed by all her acquaintance during the afternoon service,

that she was a laden woman. Instead of standing up at the prayers,
as her wont was, she kept her seat, sitting with downcast eyes, and

ever and anon her left hand, which was laid over her book on the
reading-board of the pew, was raised and allowed to drop with a

particular moral emphasis, bespeaking the mournful cogitations of
her spirit. On leaving the church, somebody whispered to the

minister, that surely Mrs. Glibbans had heard some sore news; upon
which that meek, mild, and modest good soul hastened towards her,

and inquired, with more than his usual kindness, How she was? Her
answer was brief and mysterious; and she shook her head in such a

manner that showed him all was not right. "Have you heard lately of
your friends the Pringles?" said he, in his sedate manner--"when do

they think of leaving London?'
"I wish they may ever get out o't," was the agitated reply of the

afflicted lady.
"I am very sorry to hear you say so," responded the minister. "I

thought all was in a fair way to an issue of the settlement. I'm
very sorry to hear this."

"Oh, sir," said the mourner, "don't think that I am grieved for them
and their legacy--filthy lucre--no, sir; but I have had a letter

that has made my hair stand on end. Be none surprised if you hear
of the earth opening, and London swallowed up, and a voice crying in

the wilderness, 'Woe, woe.'"
The gentle priest was much surprised by this information; it was

evident that Mrs. Glibbans had received a terrible account of the
wickedness of London; and that the weight upon her pious spirit was

owing to that cause. He, therefore, accompanied her home, and
administered all the consolation he was able to give; assuring her,

that it was in the power of Omnipotence to convert the stony heart
into one of flesh and tenderness, and to raise the British

metropolis out of the miry clay, and place it on a hill, as a city
that could not be hid; which Mrs. Glibbans was so thankful to hear,

that, as soon as he had left her, she took her tea in a satisfactory
frame of mind, and went the same night to Miss Mally Glencairn to

hear what Mrs. Pringle had said to her. No visit ever happened more
opportunely; for just as Mrs. Glibbans knocked at the door, Miss

Isabella Tod made her appearance. She had also received a letter
from Rachel, in which it will be seen that reference was made

likewise to Mrs. Pringle's epistle to Miss Mally.
LETTER XIX

Miss Rachel Pringle to Miss Isabella Tod--LONDON.
My Dear Bell--How delusive are the flatteries of fortune! The

wealth that has been showered upon us, beyond all our hopes, has
brought no pleasure to my heart, and I pour my unavailing sighs for

your absence, when I would communicate the cause of my unhappiness.
Captain Sabre has been most assiduous in his attentions, and I must

confess to your sympathising bosom, that I do begin to find that he
has an interest in mine. But my mother will not listen to his

proposals, nor allow me to give him any encouragement, till the
fatal legacy is settled. What can be her motive for this, I am

unable to divine; for the captain's fortune is far beyond what I
could ever have expected without the legacy, and equal to all I

could hope for with it. If, therefore, there is any doubt of the
legacy being paid, she should allow me to accept him; and if there

is none, what can I do better? In the meantime, we are going about
seeing the sights; but the general mourning is a great drawback on

the splendour of gaiety. It ends, however, next Sunday; and then
the ladies, like the spring flowers, will be all in full blossom. I

was with the Argents at the opera on Saturday last, and it far
surpassed my ideas of grandeur. But the singing was not good--I

never could make out the end or the beginning of a song, and it was
drowned with the violins; the scenery, however, was lovely; but I

must not say a word about the dancers, only that the females behaved
in a manner so shocking, that I could scarcely believe it was

possible for the delicacy of our sex to do. They are, however, all
foreigners, who are, you know, naturally of a licentious character,

especially the French women.
We have taken an elegant house in Baker Street, where we go on

Monday next, and our own new carriage is to be home in the course of
the week. All this, which has been done by the advice of Mrs.

Argent, gives my mother great uneasiness, in case anything should
yet happen to the legacy. My brother, however, who knows the law

better than her, only laughs at her fears, and my father has found
such a wonderful deal to do in religion here, that he is quite

delighted, and is busy from morning to night in writing letters, and
giving charitable donations. I am soon to be no less busy, but in

another manner. Mrs. Argent has advised us to get in accomplished
masters for me, so that, as soon as we are removed into our own

local habitation, I am to begin with drawing and music, and the
foreign languages. I am not, however, to learn much of the piano;

Mrs. A. thinks it would take up more time than I can now afford; but
I am to be cultivated in my singing, and she is to try if the master

that taught Miss Stephens has an hour to spare--and to use her
influence to persuade him to give it to me, although he only

receives pupils for perfectioning, except they belong to families of
distinction.

My brother had a hankering to be made a member of Parliament, and
got Mr. Charles Argent to speak to my father about it, but neither

he nor my mother would hear of such a thing, which I was very sorry
for, as it would have been so convenient to me for getting franks;

and I wonder my mother did not think of that, as she grudges nothing
so much as the price of postage. But nothing do I grudge so little,

especially when it is a letter from you. Why do you not write me
oftener, and tell me what is saying about us, particularly by that

spiteful toad, Becky Glibbans, who never could hear of any good
happening to her acquaintance, without being as angry as if it was

obtained at her own expense?
I do not like Miss Argent so well on acquaintance as I did at first;

not that she is not a very fine lassie, but she gives herself such
airs at the harp and piano--because she can play every sort of music

at the first sight, and sing, by looking at the notes, any song,
although she never heard it, which may be very well in a play-actor,

or a governess, that has to win her bread by music; but I think the
education of a modest young lady might have been better conducted.

Through the civility of the Argents, we have been introduced to a
great number of families, and been much invited; but all the parties

are so ceremonious, that I am never at my ease, which my brother
says is owing to my rustic education, which I cannot understand;

for, although the people are finer dressed, and the dinners and
rooms grander than what I have seen, either at Irvine or Kilmarnock,

the company are no wiser; and I have not met with a single literary
character among them. And what are ladies and gentlemen without

mind, but a well-dressed mob! It is to mind alone that I am at all
disposed to pay the homage of diffidence.

The acquaintance of the Argents are all of the first circle, and we
have got an invitation to a route from the Countess of J-y, in

consequence of meeting her with them. She is a charming woman, and