'Nay (said Miss Dolly Friendly) I had rather have been old Trusty, with all the infirmities of age, following my Lord Hardy through the world, had his poverty and distress been ever so great, than have been the malicious Lady Brumpton, in the height of her beauty, surrounded by a crowd of lovers and flatterers.'
Miss Henny Fret then declared how glad she was that she had now no malice in her mind; though she could not always have said so, as she would inform them in the history of her past life.
THE DESCRIPTION OF MISS HENNY FRET.
Miss Henny Fret was turned of nine years old.She was very prettily made, and remarkably genteel.All her features were regular.She wasnot very fair, and looked pale.Her upper lip seemed rather shorter than it should be; for it was drawn up in such a manner, as to show her upper teeth; and though this was in some degree natural, yet it had been very much increased by her being continually on the fret for every trifling accident that offended her, or on every contradiction that was offered to her.When you came to examine her face, she had not one feature but what was pretty; yet, from that constant uneasiness which appeared in her countenance, it gave you so little pleasure to look at her, that she seldom had common justice done her, but had generally hitherto passed for a little insignificant plain girl, though her very face was so altered since she was grown good natured, and had got the better of that foolish fretfulness she used to be possessed of, that she appeared from her good-humoured smiles quite a different person; and, with a mild aspect, thus began her story:
THE LIFE OF MISS HENNY FRET.
'I had one brother,' said Miss Henny, 'as well as Miss Jenny Peace; but my manner of living with him was quite the reverse to that in which she lived with her brother.All my praise or blame was to arise from my being better or worse than my brother.If I was guilty of any fault, it was immediately said, "Oh! fie, miss! Master George (that was my brother's name) would not be guilty of such a thing for the world." If he was carried abroad, and I stayed at home, then I was bemoaned over, that poor Miss Henny was left at home, and her brother carried abroad.And then I was told, that I should go abroad one of these days, and my brother be left at home so that whenever I went abroad, my greatest joy was, that he was left at home; and I was pleased to see him come out to the coach-door with a melancholy air that he could not go too.If my brother happened to have any fruit given him, and was in a peevish humour, and would not give me as much as I desired, the servant that attended me was sure to bid me take care, when I had anything he waited, not to give him any.So that I thought, if I did not endeavour to be revenged of him, I should show a want of spirit, which was of all things what I dreaded most.I had a better memory than my brother, and whenever I learnt anything, my comfort was to laugh at him because he could not learn so fast; by whichmeans I got a good deal of learning, but never minded what I learnt, nor took any pains to keep it; so that what I was eager to learn one day, to show George how much I knew more than he, I forgot the next.And so I went on learning, and forgetting as fast as I learnt; and all the pains I took served only to show that I COULD learn.
