LITMIR.BIZ

      PART I.

      A letter from Mrs. Purcell, of Bombay, to Miss Slarge, of Casterwell, England:--

      "29th of May, 189--.

      "My Dear Sister,

      "By this time you will have received my previous epistle, in which I announced the apoplectic seizure and subsequent demise of my beloved husband, Joshua Ezekiel Purcell, lately a faithful and distinguished servant in the Indian Civil Service of her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen and Empress. As over a month has elapsed since my lifelong companion joined the angelic choir, I am now becoming more resigned to my widowed condition, and I begin to contemplate with equanimity the prospect of a solitary future, enlivened, I trust, by the acceptable companionship of sympathizing friends. In thus submitting myself to the inevitable, I have obeyed the inspired advice of the great lexicographer, as expressed in his masterly ethic poem 'The Vanity of Human Wishes':--

      'Pour forth thy fervours for a healthful mind,

       Obedient passions, and a will resigned.'

      Thus in some measure I may emulate, as a Christian gentlewoman should, the philosophic composure of the sage Doctor Johnson.

      "Passing to more mundane considerations, I may mention that the late partner of my joys and sorrows has left me fairly well endowed with worldly wealth. Notwithstanding his elegant hospitality, and the regrettable depreciation of the rupee, he contrived to save and invest considerable sums of money, the interest on which has been assured for life to his mourning widow by a generous and provident testament.

      "On entering into the necessary details with my worldly adviser--Mr. Deson, the lawyer--I find that my income will slightly exceed the yearly sum of two thousand pounds sterling, an amount which will amply suffice to maintain me in the dignified and easy position to which I have hitherto been accustomed. On my decease these moneys will be divided amongst the relatives of my late husband. Thus I shall be unable to devise any personal property by will other than that which I save or become possessed of during my widowhood.

      "This consideration troubles me but in a minor degree, for, as you--my sole surviving relative--are in no need of pecuniary aid, it is only just that, after I have done with earthly vanities, my late husband's riches should benefit those of his blood who deserve well of his generosity.

      "My position being thus assured, I have decided to leave the 'gorgeous pd home of my youth, to lay in due time my bones with those of my kindred in the family vault at Casterwell. But, prior to my departure from this torrid clime, it is my dutiful intention to erect over the remains of the most beloved and generous of men a monument of stainless marble, inscribed with an appropriate tribute to his excellent qualities, and an explanatory inscription of his widow's grief.

      "And now--to touch on lighter topics, and thus relieve my mournful mind--let me inquire, my dearest sister, about your health, and concerning your interesting attempt to prove that the Romish Church is the inheritrix of the Babylonian superstitions so frequently condemned by the Hebrew prophets. Also, I must not omit to request special information regarding your charge, Olive, the daughter of my dear, but, alas! departed friend, Mr. Bellairs. I trust that the girl, who was singularly controllable, if I remember rightly, is growing in beauty and wisdom, and that she is beginning to reflect on the responsibilities of wealth and position which the near approach of her twenty-first birthday will shortly render it incumbent upon her to assume. With such a companion as you, my dear Rubina, and with so admirable and conscientious a guardian as the rector of Casterwell, I feel satisfied that our beloved Olive has become possessed of those elegant and necessary accomplishments which should embellish the character of a young gentlewoman.

      "The moral Mr. Brock, in his double capacity of clergyman and adviser, must also have succeeded in impressing on her plastic mind the sacred precepts of the Established Church, and the needful principles for the guidance of her conduct towards virtue and discretion.

      "When I meet her again--if an over-ruling Providence should permit the occurrence of so much-desired an event--I shall expect to find Miss Olive Bellairs the model and paragon of our sex. Do not let us forget, my dear Rubina, that as a twig is bent so does the tree grow, and that early moral training in a refined and Christian circle is invariably productive of a happy result in those fortunate enough to have been placed by their Maker is so enviable a position.

      "The mention of Olive leads me by an obvious sequence of thought to speak of Mr. Angus Carson, to whom--by a family arrangement--she has been engaged since her early childhood. I have lately had the gratification of a somewhat lengthy interview with that young gentleman, and I made use of my opportunity to observe and question him closely, so that I might transmit to you an accurate estimate of his character. He informed me that his respected father lately departed this life, and that he--young Mr. Carson--was passing through Bombay on his way to England by the Peninsular and Oriental steamship Pharaoh. It is his declared intention to complete the family arrangement, spoken of above, entered into so many years ago between Mr. Bellairs and Dr. Carson, both now deceased.

      "As it is not improbable that in your arduous studies you may have forgotten the precise details of this matrimonial scheme which concerns so nearly your charge, and thereby yourself, I think it advisable to recapitulate the same, that it may be freshly impressed upon your mind. This long and explicit letter is mainly written with this object in view, and I beg that, for your own sake, and for the sake of Olive, you will give your whole attention to the details which I am about to recount concerning the physical and mental attributes of Angus Carson. We are informed by a very excellent proverb that 'forewarned is forearmed,' therefore my communication--if read with due care--will place you in the position of knowing Mr. Carson, so to speak, before you make his personal acquaintance.

      "The benefit of such knowledge--having regard to the fact that neither one of this engaged pair has seen the other--will be of incalculable value to you, their well-wisher and supervisor. This being the case, I shall proceed to relate, firstly, the details of the domestic contract entered into between the parents of our young friends; and, secondly, the impressions

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