| My name is Helen Woodruff. I am but 18 and still unmarried. My father, Col. Henry Woodruff, is an officer in the Royal Navy, but his seafaring days are over, and he fortunately spends most of his days at our house in Wickerton now. My esteemed mother has long since departed from this world, but I have had the good fortune to have two elder sisters, Julia and Catherine, and they have cared for me much as if they were my mothers. I also have an elder brother, named Henry for my father, who has followed his father into the Navy. Henry is often gone asea, but he always returns with such delightful stories of the places he has seen. I long to travel as Henry has, but I have not been further than the coast of England, where my family spends holiday. My talents and whims, you will soon discover. |
