'' A letter from her executors accompanied
the packet, mentioning that they had found in
her will a bequest to me of a painting of some
value, which she stated would just fit the space
above my cupboard, and fifty guineas to buy a ring.
And thus I separated, with all the kindness which
we had maintained for many years, from a friend,
who, though old enough to have been the companion
of my mother, was yet, in gaiety of spirits, and
admirable sweetness of temper, capable of being
agreeable, and even animating society, for those
who write themselves in the vaward of youth; an
advantage which I have lost for these five-and-thirty
years. The contents of the packet I had no difficulty
in guessing, and have partly hinted at them
in the last chapter. But to instruct the reader in
the particulars, and at the same time to indulge
myself with recalling the virtues and agreeable
qualities of my late friend, I will give a short sketch
of her manners and habits.
Mrs Martha Bethune Baliol was a person of
quality and fortune, as these are esteemed in Scotland.
Her family was ancient, and her connexions
honourable. She was not fond of specially indicating
her exact age, but her juvenile recollections
stretched backwards till before the eventful year
1745; and she remembered the Highland clans
being in possession of the Scottish capital, though
probably only as an indistinct vision.
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