Love and Friendship

Laura, in continuation
83

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84
Accordingly, I entered and whilst the rest of
the party was devouring green tea and buttered
toast, we feasted ourselves in a more refined
and sentimental manner through a confidential
Conversation. I informed them of everything
which had befallen me during my life, and at
my request, they related to me every incident of
theirs.
“We are the sons as you already know, of the
two youngest Daughters which Lord St Clair
had by Laurina an Italian opera girl. Our
mothers could neither of them exactly ascertain
who were our Father, though it is generally
believed that Philander, is the son of one Philip
Jones a Bricklayer, and that my Father was one
Gregory Staves a Stay maker of Edinburgh.
This is however of little consequence for as
our Mothers

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85
were certainly never married to either of them
it reflects no Dishonor on our Blood,
“We are the sons as you already know, of the
two youngest Daughters which Lord St Clair
had by Laurina an Italian opera girl. Our
mothers could neither of them exactly ascertain
who were our Father, though it is generally
believed that Philander, is the son of one Philip
Jones a Bricklayer, and that my Father was one
Gregory Staves a Stay maker of Edinburgh.
This is however of little consequence for as
our Mothers which is of a most ancient and
unpolluted kind. Bertha (the Mother of
Philander) and Agatha (my Mother) always
lived together. They were neither of them very
rich; their united fortunes had originally
amounted to nine thousand Pounds, but as
they had 

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86
always lived on the principle of it when we were
fifteen it was diminished to nine Hundred. This
nine
Hundred they always kept in a Drawer in one
of the Tables which stood in our common
sitting Parlour, for the convenience of having it
always at Hand. Whether it was from this
circumstance, of its being easily taken, or from
a wish of being independent, or from an excess
of sensibility (for which we were always
remarkable) I cannot now determine, but
certain it is that when we had reached our 15th
year, we took the nine Hundred Pounds and
ran away. Having obtained this prize we were
determined to manage it with economy and not
to spend it either with folly or Extravagance. To
this purpose, we, therefore, divided it into nine
parcels, one of which we devoted to Victuals,
the 2nd to drink,

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87
the 3rd to Housekeeping, the 4th to Carriages,
the 5th to Horses, the 6th to Servants, the 7th to
Amusements, the 8th to Cloths and the 9th to
Silver Buckles. Having thus arranged our
Expenses for two months (for we expected to
make the nine Hundred Pounds last as long) we
hastened to London and had the good luck to
spend it in 7 weeks and a Day which was 6
Days sooner than we had intended. As soon as
we had thus happily disencumbered ourselves
from the weight of so much money, we began to
think of returning to our Mothers, but
accidentally hearing that they were both starved
to death, we gave over the design and
determined to engage ourselves in some
strolling company of players, as we had always
a turn for the Stage.
Accordingly, we offered our services to one
and were accepted; 

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88
our company was indeed rather small, as it
consisted only of the Manager his wife and
ourselves, but there were fewer to pay and the
only inconvenience attending it was the Scarcity
of Plays which for want of people to fill the
characters, we could perform. We did not mind
trifles, however--. One of our most admired
Performances was MACBETH, in which we
were truly great. The Manager always played
BANQUO himself, and his Wife my LADY
MACBETH. I did the THREE WITCHES and
Philander acted ALL THE REST. To say the
truth this tragedy was not only the Best, but the
only Play that we ever performed; and after
having acted it all over England, and Wales, we
came to Scotland to exhibit it over the
remainder of Great Britain. We happened to be
quartered in that very Town, where you came
and met your Grandfather--. We were in the
Inn-yard when his Carriage entered and 

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89
perceiving by the arms to whom it belonged, and
knowing that Lord St Clair was our Grandfather,
we agreed to endeavor to get something from him
by discovering the Relationship--. You know how
well it succeeded--. Having obtained the two
Hundred Pounds, we instantly left the Town,
leaving our Manager and his Wife to act
MACBETH by themselves, and took the road to
Sterling, where we spent our little fortune with
great ECLAT. We are now returning to
Edinburgh to get some preferment in the Acting
way, and such my Dear Cousin is our History.”
I thanked the amiable Youth for his
entertaining narration, and after expressing my
wishes for their Welfare and Happiness, left
them in their little Habitation and returned to
my other Friends who impatiently expected me.
My adventures are now drawing to a close my
dearest Marianne; at least for the present. 

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90
When we arrived at Edinburgh Sir Edward told
me that as the Widow of his son, he
desired I would accept from his Hands of four
Hundred a year. I graciously promised that I
would, but could not help observing that the
unsympathetic Baronet offered it more on
account of my being the Widow of Edward than
in being the refined and amiable Laura.
I took up my Residence in a Romantic Village
in the Highlands of Scotland where I have ever
since continued, and where I can uninterrupted by
unmeaning Visits, indulge in a melancholy
solitude, my unceasing Lamentations for the
Death of my Father, my Mother, my Husband,
and my Friend.
Adieu my Dearest Marianne,
Laura.