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I see how it is, upon my word! I am to be so absolutely popular among you all, that I am never to have a disengaged day. I thought it would be that way; I told Mr. E., when Mrs. Birchall awoke us, that this was treating me as ought to be done, as I am the chaperon of the party. Diana is a sweet girl, and knows very well what is due to Me; but I very much fear that she is nobody at all, herself – a mere Newbie. I cannot find that she has been on this list since before Thanksgiving, whereas I have been here since 1814. She does not even pretend to have ever been acquainted with The Creator. There is a note in The Letters that Miss Austen – dear Jane – did know a Robert Birchall, but he was a mere music-publisher in New Bond Street, and even if poor Diana’s husband is a descendant of his (which I very much doubt), they would not be people one could visit, you know. And there is no saying who she was before her marriage, though much, to be sure, may be suspected. However, I must not cavil at the person who has brought me back, for I have lived long enough in the world to know its worth, and I do not chuse to leave it again. That Miss Moody, though, is not quite the thing. She is more Miss Woodhouse’s friend than I could like.
Augusta
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