your writing to me, and that minutely, as if
this prohibition had not been laid.

It is not from humour, from perverseness, that I insist upon this. I
cannot express how much my heart is in your concerns. And you must, in
short, allow me to think, that if I can do you service by writing, I
shall be better justified in continuing to write, than my mother is in
her prohibition.

But yet, to satisfy you all I can, I will as seldom return answers,
while the interdict lasts, as may be consistent with my notions of
friendship, and with the service I owe you, and can do you.

As to your expedient of writing by Hickman [and now, my dear, your
modest man comes in: and as you love modesty in that sex, I will do
my endeavour, by holding him at a proper distance, to keep him in your
favour] I know what you mean by it, my sweet friend. It is to make that
man significant with me. As to the correspondence, THAT shall go on,
I do assure you, be as scrupulous as you please--so that that will not
suffer if I do not close with your proposal as to him.

I must tell you, that I think it will be honour enough for him to have
his name made use of so frequently betwixt us. This, of itself, is
placing a confidence in him, that will make him walk bolt upright, and
display his white hand, and his fine diamond ring; and most mightily lay
down his services, and his pride to oblige, and his diligence, and his
fidelity, and his contrivances to keep our secret, and his excuses,
and his evasions to my mother, when challenged by her; with fifty ana's
beside: and will it not moreover give him pretence and excuse oftener
than ever to pad-nag it hither to good Mrs. Howe's fair daughter?

But to admit him into my company tete-a-tete, and into my closet, as
often as I would wish to write to you, I only dictate to his pen--my
mother all the time supposing that I was going to be heartily in love
with him--to make him master of my sentiments, and of my heart, as I may
say, when I write to you--indeed, my dear, I won't. Nor, were I married
to the best HE in England, would I honour him with the communication of
my correspondences.

No, my dear, it is sufficient, surely, for him to parade in the
character of our letter-conveyor, and to be honoured in a cover, and
never fear but, modest as you think him, he will make enough of that.

You are always blaming me for want of generosity to this man, and for
abuse of power. But I profess, my dear, I cannot tell ho