Mr. Quirk, dressed in black, with knee breeches and silk stockings, immediately bustled up to him, shook him cordially by the hand, and led him up to the assembled guests. “My daughter—Miss Quirk; Mrs. Alderman Addlehead; Mrs. Deputy Diddledaddle; Mrs. Alias, my sister;— Mr. Alderman Addlehead; Mr. Deputy Diddle-daddle; Mr. Bluster; Mr. Slang; Mr. Hug; Mr. Flaw; Mr. Viper; Mr. Ghastly; Mr. Gammon you know.”

“Grilston, January 6th, 18—.

Honored Miss,

"Hoping No Offence Will Be Taken where None is meant,
(which am Sure of,) This I send To say Who I Am which,
Is the Right And True Owner of Yatton which You Enjoy
Amongst You All At This present (Till The Law Give it to
Me) Which It quickly Will, and No Mistake, And which It
Ought to Have done When I were First born And Before Y^r
Respect^e. Family ever Came into it, And All which Y^r hon^d.
Brother Have so unlawfully Got Possession Of must Come Back
to Them Whose Due It is w^h Is myself as will be Soon prov^d.
And w^h am most truely Sorry Of on your own Acc^t. (Meaning
(hon^d. Miss) you Alone) as Sure As Yatton is Intirely Mine
So My Heart Is yours and No Longer my Own Ever since I
Saw You first as Can Easily prove but w^h doubtless You Have
forgot Seeing You Never New, because (as Mr. Gammon, My
Solliciter And a Very Great Lawyer, says) Cases Alter Circumstances,
what Can I say More Than that I Love you Most Amazing

Such As Never Thought Myself Capable of Doing Before
and w^h cannot help Ever Since I First saw your most Lovely
and Divine and striking Face w^h have Stuck In my Mind Ever
Since Day and Night Sleeping and Waking I will Take my
Oath Never Of Having Lov’d Any one Else, Though (must
Say) have Had a Wonderful Many Offers From Females of The
Highest Rank Since my Truely Wonderful Good fortune got
Talked About every Where but have Refused Them All for y^r

sake, And Would All the World But you. When I Saw You on
Horseback It was All my Sudden confusion In Seeing you (the
Other Gent. was One of my Resp^e Solicitors) w^h Threw Me off
in that Ridiculous Way w^h was a Great Mortification And made
My brute Of A horse go on so, For I Remembered You and was
Wonderful struck with Your Improv’d Appearance (As that Same
Gent. can Testify) And you was (Hon^d. Miss) Quite Wrong

To Night when You Spoke so Uncommon Angry To Me, seeing
If I Had Only Known What Female It Was (meaning yourself
which I respect So) out so Late Alone I should Have spoke
quite Different So hope You Will think Nothing More Of that
Truely Unpleasant Event Now (Hon^d. Madam) What I have to
say Is if You will Please to Condescend To Yield To My Desire
We Can Live Most uncommon Comfortable at Yatton Together
w^h Place shall Have Great Pleasure (if you please) in

Marrying You From and I may (perhaps) Do Something handsome
for y^r. respectable Brother and Family, w^h can Often Come
to see us And Live in the Neighborhood, if You Refuse me,
Will not say What shall Happen to Those which (am Told)
Owe me a Precious Long Figure w^h May (perhaps) Make a Handsome
Abatement in, if You And I Hit it.

"Hoping You Will Forget What Have So Much Griev^d. me,
And Write p^t. return of Post,

"Am,

"hon^d. Miss

"Y^r. most Loving & Devoted Servant

”(Till Death)

Tittlebat Titmouse.

“Particular Private.”

For to fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise, without being wise: for it is to think we know what we do not know. For anything that men can tell, death might be the greatest good that can happen to them: but they fear it as if they knew quite well that it was the greatest of all evils.