hat
were not as rich as herself, and hated every one who was superior or
equal to her in fortune. Tormented inwardly with her own ill-nature, she
was incapable of any satisfaction but what arose from teasing others;
nothing could dispel the frown on her brow, except the satisfaction she
felt when she had the good fortune to give pain to any of her
dependants; a horrid grin then distorted her features, and her before
lifeless eyes glistened with malice and rancorous joy. She had read
just enough to make her pedantic, and too little to give her any
improving knowledge. Her understanding was naturally small, and her
self-conceit great. In her person she was tall and meagre, her hair
black, and her complexion of the darkest brown, with an additional
sallowness at her temples and round her eyes, which were dark, very
large and prominent, and entirely without lustre; they had but one look,
which was that of gloomy stupid ill-nature, except, as I have already
said, when they were enlivened by the supreme satisfaction of having
made somebody uneasy, then what before was but disagreeable became
horrible. To complete the description of her face, she had a broad flat
nose, a wide mouth, furnished with the worst set of teeth I ever saw,
and her chin was long and pointed. She had heard primness so often
mentioned as the characteristic of an old maid, that to avoid wearing
that appearance she was slatternly and dirty to an excess; besides she
had great addition of filthiness, from a load of Spanish snuff with
which her whole dress was covered, as if, by her profusion in that
particular, she thought to compensate for her general parsimony.

This lady Mrs Morgan found in possession of her house, and was received
by her with that air of superiority to which Miss Susanna thought
herself entitled by her age and fortune. Mrs Morgan's charms, though
drooping like a blighted flower, excited much envy in Susanna's breast,
and she soon congratulated her on her extraordinary happiness in having
captivated a gentleman of so large a fortune when her own was at present
so very small.

At first she commended her for not being elated with so great an
acquisition, but in a little time taxed her with ungrateful
insensibility to so prodigious a blessing. She continually criticized
her economy, accusing her of indolence; representing, how she used every
morning to rouse the servants from their idleness, by giving each such a
scold, as quickened their