I am sorry, Sir, I cannot give you a better account of the young lady’s ‘prudence.’  But, what shall we say?

      ‘Uvaque conspecta livorem ducit ab uva,’

as Juvenal observeth.

One thing I am afraid of; which is, that Miss may be under ‘necessities’; and that this Belford (who, as Mrs. Smith owns, hath ‘offered her money,’ which she, ‘at the time,’ refused) may find an opportunity to ’take advantage’ of those ‘necessities’:  and it is well observed by that poet, that

’AEgre formosam poteris servare puellam: 
Nunc prece, nunc pretio, forma petita ruit.’

And this Belford (who is a ‘bold man,’ and hath, as they say, the ‘look’ of one) may make good that of Horace, (with whose writings you are so well acquainted; nobody better;)

’Audax omnia perpeti,
Gens humana ruit per vetitum nefas.’

Forgive me, Sir, for what I am going to write:  but if you could prevail upon the rest of your family to join in the scheme which ‘you,’ and her ‘virtuous sister,’ Miss Arabella, and the Archdeacon, and I, once talked of, (which is to persuade the unhappy young lady to go, in some ‘creditable’ manner, to some one of the foreign colonies,) it might not save only her ‘own credit’ and ‘reputation,’ but the ‘reputation’ and ‘credit’ of all her ‘family,’ and a great deal of ‘vexation’ moreover.  For it is my humble opinion, that you will hardly (any of you) enjoy yourselves while this (’once’ innocent) young lady is in the way of being so frequently heard of by you:  and this would put her ‘out of the way’ both of ‘this Belford’ and of ‘that Lovelace,’ and it might, peradventure, prevent as much ‘evil’ as ‘scandal.’

You will forgive me, Sir, for this my ‘plainness.’  Ovid pleadeth for me,

      ‘——­Adulator nullus amicus erit.’

And I have no view but that of approving myself a ‘zealous well-wisher’ to ‘all’ your worthy family, (whereto I owe a great number of obligations,) and very particularly, Sir,

Your obliged and humble servant,
Elias Brand.

WEDN.  Aug. 9.

P.S.  I shall give you ‘farther hints’ when I come down, (which will be in
      a few days;) and who my ‘informants’ were; but by ‘these’ you will
      see, that I have been very assiduous (for the time) in the task you
      set me upon.

The ‘length’ of my letter you will excuse:  for I need not tell you, Sir,
      what ‘narrative,’ ‘complex,’ and ‘conversation’ letters (such a one
      as ‘mine’) require.  Every one to his ‘talent.’  ‘Letter-writing’
      is mine.  I will be bold to say; and that my ‘correspondence’ was
      much coveted in the university, on that account, by ‘tyros,’ and
      by ‘sophs,’ when I was hardly a ‘soph’ myself.  But this I should
      not have taken upon myself to mention, but only in defence of the
      ‘length’ of my letter; for nobody writeth ‘shorter’