Dear Father,
I have a favor to ask of you. The reason for this is a great misfortune that just happened at the seminary. It really opened my eyes to the harsh reality.
You remember my friend Sarah Crewe and her father's investment, the diamond mines?
Where I wanted to push you so hard before I realized how foolish that was?
Sarah's father died before the investment could turn a profit, and because he went into debt, Sarah now has nothing.
Sarah was almost thrown out on the street on her birthday with next to nothing and is now employed as a housemaid by Miss Minchi to pay off her debts.
Poor Sarah! She has been confronted with the harshest realities of life without any preparation.
She's looked half dead the last few days, I think it's all hit her so hard.
And that got me thinking. After all, my situation is no different to Sarah's. I'm also the only child of a single father. If something were to happen to you, I would be just as abandoned as Sarah. Of course, I'm sure that you would never make such a risky deal because of your experience in financial matters, but fate can always strike.
For this reason, I would ask you to do two things.
Firstly, I would ask you to set up a reserve for me. Sarah's fate and the realization that it could happen to me have made me want to have a safeguard for myself. Something like a trust fund or a hidden reserve seems best to me, so that the money can't be touched by creditors in an emergency.
My second request is directly related to the first, because just because I would have money in case of doubt doesn't mean I could handle it. I would be reliant on the help of others and could easily fall foul of a fraudster. For this reason, I would like to ask that I can acquire the necessary knowledge of economics through self-study alongside my work in the seminar. This knowledge would be extremely useful in later life, even without an emergency, so it would be more than a precautionary measure. I would need your permission and a recommendation on which books would be good to study.
Please allow me to do these things, Father. The fate of my friend has hit me hard and I would sleep peacefully if I knew that I was protected against something similar.
Your daughter Lavinia,
London, September 18, 1869
Dear Lavinia,
I am sorry that your friend has met such a fate.
Although I am skeptical about the actual help provided by the measures you have requested and am generally not convinced of their usefulness, I can hardly dismiss their usefulness, especially in light of the events you have experienced.
What you are proposing is sensitive and entirely appropriate to the situation.
However, you are getting lost in fantasies again. It is extremely difficult to legally withhold funds in the event of seizure due to debt. And what exactly is a trust fund?
Something American?
But unlike in your penultimate letter, all this is less due to a vain fantasy than to a lack of knowledge in financial matters. This is precisely why it seems sensible to me to grant your second request. It can only be beneficial for you to acquire certain knowledge, regardless of what this implies for the future.
I will send you the relevant books and book recommendations in a package soon.
You can pursue the studies alongside your seminary assignments, but I don't think I need to remind you that if your performance suffers, I will withdraw my permission.
But I have every confidence that you will be up to the task. After all, I have every confidence in my daughter.
However, there is still something we need to discuss. Yesterday, a young woman by the name of Marinette came to me to answer a specific ad for a ladys-maid. According to my research, the ad was placed by you. I sent the girl away for now and told her not to come back for a few days.
Could you please explain what this is all about?
Your father,
John H. Herbert
London, September 21, 1869
Dear Father,
I must apologize for the surprise. I meant to mention it in my last letter, but in all the excitement it slipped my mind. I apologize very much.
The young woman, Marinette, is the former maid of Sarah Crewe. After Sarah's misfortune, she was dismissed without reference or her own things by Miss Minchi, and I felt that someone with her expertise shouldn't just disappear on the town.
However, I didn't want to approach her straight after her dismissal and offer a job, that would have been very inconsiderate. So I had placed a specific ad with the nearest agency in the hope that she would look for work there and be referred directly to us.
I know you said I'm not old enough for a personal maid yet, but the opportunity to hire someone I know knows her stuff.
So I would suggest hiring her as a simple maid in the house until I am old enough.
This is not only a question of craftsmanship, but also of trust. A personal maid must be able to keep certain secrets from a lady. I would have to test this with a new maid first. I already know from Marinette that she certainly doesn't tell others things about her mistress, as things about Sarah have certainly never appeared in the general gossip of the seminary.
I hope that explains the circumstances to your satisfaction.
Your daughter,
Lavinia Herbert
London, September 25, 1869