g. Edward Wollstonecraft at this period declared
he would do nothing more for his father. Prudent, and with none of his
sister's unselfishness, he grew tired of the drain upon his purse. There
was also difficulty about some money which Mary and her sisters
considered theirs by right, but which the eldest brother, with shameless
selfishness, refused to give up. What the exact circumstances were is not
certain; but it could have been no light tax upon Mary to contribute the
necessary amount for her father's support, and no small disappointment to
be deprived of money which she thought to be legally hers. Money cares
were to her what the Old Man of the Sea was to Sinbad. They were a burden
from which she was never free. When from forty pounds a year she had to
take half to pay her debts, and then give from the remainder to her
father, her share of her earnings was not large. And yet she counted upon
her savings to purchase her future release from a life of dependence.

Though she wrote to Mr. Johnson that she was almost entirely confined to
the society of children, she really did see much of the family, often
taking part in their amusements. Judging from the attractions and
conversational powers which made her a favorite in London society, it is
but natural to conclude that she was an addition to the household. She
seems at times to have exerted herself to be agreeable. Godwin records
the extreme discomfiture of a fine lady of quality, when, on one
occasion, after having singled her out and treated her with marked
friendliness, she discovered that she had been entertaining the
children's governess! Mary cared nothing for these people, but as they
were civil to her, she returned their politeness by showing them she was
well worth being polite to. Low-spirited as she was, she mustered up
sufficient courage to discuss the husband-hunts of the young ladies and
even to notice the dogs. This was, indeed, a concession. To Everina she
sent a bulletin--not untouched with humor--of her wonderful and
praiseworthy progress with the inmates of the castle:--

MITCHELSTOWN, Nov. 17, 1787.

... Confined to the society of a set of silly females, I have no
social converse, and their boisterous spirits and unmeaning
laughter exhaust me, not forgetting hourly domestic bickerings. The
topics of matrimony and dress take their turn, not in a very
sentimental style,--alas! poor sentiment, it has no residence here.