LETTER 2nd
LAURA to ISABEL

Altho' I cannot agree with you in supposing that I shall never
again be exposed to Misfortunes as unmerited as those I have
already experienced, yet to avoid the imputation of Obstinacy or
ill-nature, I will gratify the curiosity of your daughter; and
may the fortitude with which I have suffered the many afflictions
of my past Life, prove to her a useful lesson for the support of
those which may befall her in her own.
Laura



LETTER 3rd
LAURA to MARIANNE

As the Daughter of my most intimate freind I think you entitled
to that knowledge of my unhappy story, which your Mother has so
often solicited me to give you.

My Father was a native of Ireland and an inhabitant of Wales; my
Mother was the natural Daughter of a Scotch Peer by an italian
Opera-girl--I was born in Spain and received my Education at a
Convent in France.

When I had reached my eighteenth Year I was recalled by my
Parents to my paternal roof in Wales. Our mansion was situated
in one of the most romantic parts of the Vale of Uske. Tho' my
Charms are now considerably softened and somewhat impaired by the