MANUSCRIPT. [A hand-written 'coming-of-age' letter from a sister to her younger brother. N.p: 1790.] 36pp. manuscript, 8vo (183 x 100mm.) Unnumbered pages in a legible hand from a sister to her brother 'James' written one side of the leaf only, approximately 50 leaves blank to the rear. (Browning to pastedowns.) Contemporary calf (rubbed to extremities). Note: 'James' had been orphaned at a young age and taken in by the family, so the writer feels that as he reaches the age of twenty-one and might possibly 'be sent abroad' she should offer 'some admonitions for the regulation of your heart and the conduct of your actions'. At length she conveys the message that 'religion is the only safe conductor through life' while simultaneously being keen to emphasise that, while this might seem like the puritan advice of an elder, in fact, she felt the same even as a young woman. It is especially important to lead a virtuous life because death can strike at any time and 'so many diseases can carry us off in the midst of youth' and, if that were to happen, we may not have the time to redeem ourselves. In haste, her letter finishes, unsigned.