Left, therefore,
as he imagined, to his own inventions, he sat down, and produced
the following morceau, which was transmitted to Miss Appleby, before
his sister and counsellor had the least intimation of the affair:--
"Miss Sally Appleby.
"Madam,--Understanding you have a parcel of heart, warranted
sound, to be disposed of, shall be pleased to treat for said
commodity, on reasonable terms; doubt not, shall agree for
same; shall wait on you for further information, when and where
you shall appoint. This the needful from--Yours, etc.
"Gam. Pickle."
This laconic epistle, simple and unadorned as it was, met with as
cordial a reception from the person to whom it was addressed, as
if it had been couched in the most elegant terms that delicacy of
passion and cultivated genius could supply; nay, I believe, was the
more welcome on account of its mercantile plainness; because when
an advantageous match is in view, a sensible woman often considers
the flowery professions and rapturous exclamations of love as
ensnaring ambiguities, or, at best, impertinent preliminaries, that
retard the treaty they are designed to promote; whereas Mr.
Pages:
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53