Essays on Life 



Mrs. Newton's, been carefully erased, but I 

 have collected that they were written by the 

 two servants of a single lady who resided at 

 no great distance from London, to two nieces 

 of the said lady who lived in London itself. 

 The aunt never writes, but always gets one 

 of the servants to do so for her. She appears 

 either as " your aunt " or as " She " ; her name 

 is not given, but she is evidently looked upon 

 with a good deal of awe by all who had to do 

 with her. 



The letters almost all of them relate to 

 visits either of the aunt to London, or of the 

 nieces to the aunt's home, which, from occa- 

 sional allusions to hopping, I gather to have 

 been in Kent, Sussex, or Surrey. I have 

 arranged them to the best of my power, and 

 take the following to be the earliest. It has 

 no signature, but is not in the handwriting of 

 the servant who styles herself Elizabeth, or 

 Mrs. Newton. It runs : 



" MADAM, Your Aunt Wishes me to in- 

 form you she will be glad if you will let hir 



know if you think of coming To hir House 



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