rse of the story was, as has
already been indicated, a heritage from the times of Gomberville, La
Calprenede, and the Scuderys when miscellaneous material of all sorts
from poetry to prosy conversations was habitually used to diversify the
narrative. Mrs. Haywood, however, employed the letter not to ornament
but to intensify. Her _billets-doux_ like the lyrics in a play represent
moments of supreme emotion. In seeking vividness she too often fell into
exaggeration, as in the following specimen of absolute passion.

"Torture--Distraction--Hell--what will become of me--I cannot--I will
not survive the Knowledge that you are mine no more--Yet this Suspence
is worse than all yet ever bore the Name of Horror--Let me not linger
in it, if you have Humanity--declare my Doom at once--be kind in
Cruelty at least, and let one Death conclude the thousand, thousand
Deaths which every Minute of Uncertainty brings with it, to

The Miserable, but
Still Adoring
Melantha.

P.S. I have order'd the Messenger to bring an Answer; if he comes
without, depend I will murder him, and then myself."[1]

Such remnants of the romantic tradition as the verses on "The
Unfortunate Camilla's Complaint to the Moon, for the Absence of her dear
Henricus Frankville" in "Love in Excess" were soon discarded, but the
letters, though they encumbered the progress of the narrative, made it
more realistic by giving an opportunity for the display of passion at
first hand. Their continued vogue was undoubtedly due in large measure
to the popularity of the celebrated "Letters of a Portuguese Nun"
(1669), which, with a note of sincerity till then unknown, aided the
return to naturalness.[2]

The "Lettres Nouvelles de Monsieur Boursault ... Avec Treize Lettres
Amoureuses d'une Dame a un Cavalier," loosely translated by Mrs. Haywood
as "Letters from a Lady of Quality to a Chevalier" (1721),[3] was one of
the numerous imitations of the Portuguese Letters. Like most of the
other imitations it echoed the mannerisms rather than the fervor of its
original. The lady's epistles do not reveal a story, but describe in
detail the doubts, disappointments, fears, jealousies, and raptures of a
married woman for a lover who in the last three letters has left France
for England. Except for this remove there is no change in the situation
of the characters. The lover