nothing of it to me, till she was rising
in the morning early, resolving to return again at night. Had there been
more time for argumentation, to be sure I had not gone; but as it was,
there was a kind of necessity that my preparation to obey her, should,
in a manner, accompany her command.--A command so much out of the way,
on such a solemn occasion! And this I represented: but to no purpose:
There never was such a contradicting girl in the world--My wisdom
always made her a fool!--But she would be obliged this time, proper or
improper.

I have but one way of accounting for this sudden whim of my mother; and
that is this--She had a mind to accept of Mr. Hickman's offer to escort
her:--and I verily believe [I wish I were quite sure of it] had a mind
to oblige him with my company--as far as I know, to keep me out of
worse.

For, would you believe it?--as sure as you are alive, she is afraid for
her favourite Hickman, because of the long visit your Lovelace, though
so much by accident, made me in her absence, last time she was at the
same place. I hope, my dear, you are not jealous too. But indeed I
now-and-then, when she teases me with praises which Hickman cannot
deserve, in return fall to praising those qualities and personalities in
Lovelace, which the other never will have. Indeed I do love to tease a
little bit, that I do.--My mamma's girl--I had like to have said.

As you know she is as passionate, as I am pert, you will not wonder to
be told, that we generally fall out on these occasions. She flies from
me, at the long run. It would be undutiful in me to leave her first--and
then I get an opportunity to pursue our correspondence.

For, now I am rambling, let me tell you, that she does not much favour
that;--for two reasons, I believe:--One, that I don't shew her all that
passes between us; the other, that she thinks I harden your mind against
your duty, as it is called. And with her, for a reason at home, as I
have hinted more than once, parents cannot do wrong; children cannot
oppose, and be right. This obliges me now-and-then to steal an hour, as
I may say, and not let her know how I am employed.

You may guess from what I have written, how averse I was to comply with
such an unreasonable stretch of motherly authority. But it came to be a
test of duty; so I was obliged to yield, though with a full persuasion
of being in the right.

I have always your reproofs upon these occasions: in your late letters
st