Life And Letters Of Maria Edgeworth/Volume 1/Letter 61

MRS. EDGEWORTH to MISS SOPHY RUXTON.

EDGEWORTHSTOWN, April 3, 1806.

We were at Gaybrook when your letter came, and when the good news of Miss Pakenham's happiness arrived: it was announced there in a very pleasant, sprightly letter from your friend Miss Fortescue. Your account of the whole affair is really admirable, and is one of those tales of real life in which the romance is far superior to the generality of fictions. I hope the imaginations of this hero and heroine have not been too much exalted, and that they may not find the enjoyment of a happiness so long wished for inferior to what they expected. Pray tell dear good Lady Elizabeth we are so delighted with the news, and so engrossed by it, that, waking or sleeping, the image of Miss Pakenham swims before our eyes. To make the romance perfect we want two material documents&mdash;a description of the person of Sir Arthur, and a knowledge of the time when the interview after his return took place.