Transcriber’s Note:
The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
In presenting the following pagesto the Public, I conceive it to beincumbent on me to say, that MissCowley’s letters to her friend willbe found to contain nearly the wholeof a narrative, from which, I trust,my readers may draw a lesson ofmorality, as well as of gratification tothat curiosity which a new Novel oftenexcites, but sometimes disappoints.My claims to candour are consequentlyfew; for as the Editor, ratherthan the Author, I beg leave toobserve, that with the materialsbefore me, I have balanced, prettyequally as I think, my hopes of myreaders’ favour, with my fears of theirfrowns; and I stand chargeable withivno more than an error in judgment,or too much partiality for MissCowley’s talents, in having preferredher pen to my own.
It is, however, indispensably necessary,that I should prepare the wayfor her appearance as a candidatefor public notice; and with as muchof brevity as of fidelity, do I intendto make my first chapter useful tothis purpose, by detailing such particularsof her family, birth, andcircumstances of fortune, as are requisitefor the better knowledge andillustration of those occurrenceswhich engaged her time and attention,and furnished the principalsubjects for her pen.
Mr. Cowley, father of Miss Cowley,was, at an early age, left an orphan,with an ample inheritance in Jamaica,the place of his birth. He was consignedby the will of his father, who had survivedhis mother, to the guardianship ofa gentleman who resided in London, andwho, in his commercial concerns, had fora course of years evinced an integrity,founded on the liberal principles of anenlightened mind and a cultivated understanding.The care of his estate wasleft in the hands of a friend, not less2qualified for this more subordinate office.He lived on the spot; and was enrichedby the vigilance and