XXVI. Mrs. Johnson to Lady Susan

by Jane Austen

　　Edward Street.I am gratified by your reference, and this is my advice: that you cometo town yourself, without loss of time, but that you leave Fredericabehind. It would surely be much more to the purpose to get yourself wellestablished by marrying Mr. De Courcy, than to irritate him and the rest ofhis family by making her marry Sir James. You should think more of yourselfand less of your daughter. She is not of a disposition to do you credit inthe world, and seems precisely in her proper place at Churchhill, with theVernons. But you are fitted for society, and it is shameful to have youexiled from it. Leave Frederica, therefore, to punish herself for theplague she has given you, by indulging that romantic tender-heartednesswhich will always ensure her misery enough, and come to London as soon asyou can. I have another reason for urging this: Mainwaring came to townlast week, and has contrived, in spite of Mr. Johnson, to makeopportunities of seeing me. He is absolutely miserable about you, andjealous to such a degree of De Courcy that it would be highly unadvisablefor them to meet at present. And yet, if you do not allow him to see youhere, I cannot answer for his not committing some great imprudence--such asgoing to Churchhill, for instance, which would be dreadful! Besides, if youtake my advice, and resolve to marry De Courcy, it will be indispensablynecessary to you to get Mainwaring out of the way; and you only can haveinfluence enough to send him back to his wife. I have still another motivefor your coming: Mr. Johnson leaves London next Tuesday; he is going forhis health to Bath, where, if the waters are favourable to his constitutionand my wishes, he will be laid up with the gout many weeks. During hisabsence we shall be able to chuse our own society, and to have trueenjoyment. I would ask you to Edward Street, but that once he forced fromme a kind of promise never to invite you to my house; nothing but my beingin the utmost distress for money should have extorted it from me. I can getyou, however, a nice drawing-room apartment in Upper Seymour Street, and wemay be always together there or here; for I consider my promise to Mr.Johnson as comprehending only (at least in his absence) your not sleepingin the house. Poor Mainwaring gives me such histories of his wife'sjealousy. Silly woman to expect constancy from so charming a man! but shealways was silly--intolerably so in marrying him at all, she the heiress ofa large fortune and he without a shilling: one title, I know, she mighthave had, besides baronets. Her folly in forming the connection was sogreat that, though Mr. Johnson was her guardian, and I do not in generalshare his feelings, I never can forgive her.Adieu. Yours ever,ALICIA.