was a man more deservedly beloved; all human help, however, proved vain and fruitless, for he expired in less than two hours. Upon the first shout of victory, a messenger had been dispatched to Calcutta, with intelligence of the commander of the expedition's safety and health; for of so slight a nature did my father consider the wound which proved mortal, that he did not even mention it. Judge then of my ill-fated mother's feelings, when a second messenger was sent, conveying the melancholy and unexpected information of my ever-to-be-lamented father's death! Her situation at that period rendered such a shock peculiarly afflictive: I had scarcely completed my second year, and in a few weeks she expected to give birth to another helpless mortal, whom fate had never destined to receive a father's protecting care. Scarcely had my distracted mother heard the appaling intelligence of her beloved husband's death, than she declared her resolution of going immediately to the camp. In vain did her brother urge her to relinquish a resolution which could answer no other purpose that that of giving an additional shock to her feelings; and in vain did her friends persuade her to be guided by his opinion; she was inflexible even to obstinacy, and she returned with the messenger who had been sent. Accompanied by her brother, and attended by a faithful female do'mestic, my mother set out for the scene of victory and death; but the appaling objects which every where met her eye-sight as she drew near the camp, so completely distressed her feelings, that she fell into a succession of fainting fits, from which she was as repeatedly roused by the acuteness of bodily suffering, as the anguish of her mind brought on the pangs of child-bearing. How to act in this dreadful situation my uncle knew not; however, her increasing tortures demanded immediate attention, and, upon arriving at the camp, she was conveyed, almost lifeless, into the first tent that afforded re lief and succour. Surgeons of course were numerous, and the most eminent instantly sent for; when, after enduring for fortyeight hours the most exquisite tortures, she was delivered of a still-born child. That fond affectionate mother was no sooner made acquainted with that circumstance, than she returned the Almighty thanks, exclaiming, I bless thee, O my God! for this mark of thy mercy! I shall soon join the spirits of my husband and infant in the realms of eternal bliss! My boy, that dear pledge of conjugal affection,' continued she, I leave, my dearest brother, to your fatherly care; inspire him with veneration for his father's virtues; but do not encourage in his youthful bosom a desire of glory, or a propensity for ....' Here a sudden fainthess overwhelmed her, and her spotless spirit took it's flight. Grief and horror so completely annihilated my respected uncle's faculties, that he was unable to make any exertion for some hours; but, as soon as reason regained her empire, he gave orders for a shell immediately to be prepared, and the bodies of my hapless mother and her infant were removed to my brave father's tent. A scene so 'tragically affecting could not fail making an impression upon every mind; and the amiable woman, who had fallen a victim to conjugal tenderness, was entombed with the object of her affection, in honor's grave. The last sad ceremony paid to the memory of a soldier always carries with it an affecting appeal to the sympathetic heart; but there was something peculiarly impressive to the spectators who witnessed the interment of my venerated parents. My father, as has been observed, previous to his taking command of the post of danger, had arranged all his temporal concerns, and by that arrangement had left me under the protection of my mother and uncle by the sudden death of my amiable mother, my uncle of course became sole guardian of my infancy, and for some years he scrupulously fulfilled the important trust. I had just completed my fifth year, when the ill health of my uncle compelled him to try the effects of his native air, though he had previously resolved to send me to England, for the superior advantages of education. Nothing material occurred during our voyage, except that my uncle, or father, as I always termed him, found a material alteration in his health, even before he reached England; and a two months residence in Bath immediately after his arrival perfectly re-established it. Industry and application, united to good abilities, had enabled my uncle to realize what might be termed a princely fortune; and, as fame generally augments the gifts of that goddess, he was reputed to be worth an immense sum. Bath is a general focus both for needy and dashing ad venturers, and of the latter description was the honorable Mrs. S, the widow of the youngest son of a nobleman, whose husband had died insolvent. Mrs. S, however, had contrived to preserve her jointure in spite of law and lawyers; and what was stillmore surprising, contrived to support five children and a dashing equipage with six hundred a-year! The Hon. Mrs. Shad, just laid aside her first mourning, when my uncle opportunely ar rived at Bath, and, as fame soon magnified his ample fortune, she resolved to commence an attack. Nature had been very bountiful to me as a little fellow, and the heat of climate had not robbed me of that glow of health which added beauty to a set of features tolerably well formed. My uncle's partiality was so strong and truly parental, that he seldom permitted me to be out of his sight; yet he sometimes trusted me with a confidential domestic to play at trap-ball in some adjoining fields. With this circumstance Mrs. Ssoon made herself acquainted, and sent her youngest son Adolphus (a boy about two years older than myself), to play upon the same spot; and, as had been predicted, we soon formed an acquaintance, and soon afterwards my new friend invited me to his mother's house, Cakes, sweetmeats, oranges, &c. &c. were profusely bestowed upon me, and not in vain; for, when I returned home, I could neither talk nor think of any person but the honorable Mrs. S——, she was so sweet a lady pretty spoken and so kind to all her children, that, in the fulness of my heart, I entreated my father to accompany me in my so nest visit. Had I been in league with Mrs. S, I could not have promoted the success of her schemes more effectually than I did, by the artless effusions of a grateful heart; for never was a doating father more tenderly attached to the child of his old age, than my uncle was to me, his adopted son. Bath was not a place to trifle with interest or happiness. Mrs. Swas certain; and, she was resolved not to let a man of my supposed father's property slip through her fingers-I say supposed father, because he always introduced me as his offspring, and I was too young to retain any recollection of my real parent; the servants, likewise, had received orders never to mention him from the time my uncle had resolved to adopt me as his own. Mrs. S- heard from her son, that my uncle frequently walked into the field where we played trap-ball, and resolved to adopt that method of forming a personal acquaintance with him. Prepared to admire a being who had displayed so much disinterested kindness to the object of his affection, he accosted her with a mixture of politeness and gratitude; whilst the delighted Mrs. Sprotested I was the loveliest creature upon earth, and concluded her highfinished compliment, by protesting I was the image of my father. Not to fatigue my readers by a tedious recital of the artful widow's plans upon my uncle, I shall merely inform them that they ultimately succeeded, and that the Honorable Mrs. Sin a very short period became the wife of the affluent Mr. Melville. That she had five children has heen already mentioned, the eld est of whom was at Eton; a sel cond at a school of less consequence; two girls nuder the care of a private governess, and Adolphus, the boy who had actually paved the way to his mother's prosperous alliance. Though my reputed father had resided so many years in a country where pomp and ostentation are peculiarly displayed, yet he had a natural, antipathy to every species of parade. The wedding was consequently completely private, in compliance with the bridegroom's wishes; yet Mrs. Stook care her own servants should publish it, though she artfully pretended to condemn their prattling. On the following day, congratulation followed congratulation, and my poor, uncle was forced to submit to a form completely painful to him; in short, the bride's acquaintances, or rather friends, appeared so completely numerous, that he began to think their never would be an end to their visits. The attachment between the new-married pair had been carried on with such unwearied assiduity, that neither had time to converse upon their future destination, or domestic plans as love, all-powerful love, was the constant topic of conversation, and totally banished every other 'subject. My new mother's astonishment and embarrassment were therefore both excited, when my father, three days after their union, proposed immediately quitting Bath: For my dear Maria, said he, this eternal round of congratulation exhausts my spi rits, and interferes with all rational comfort; we will therefore, if you please, leave these curious friends of yours, and enjoy each other's society undisturbed: we will pass a fortnight at your house, and then make an excursion round the envirous of the metropolis, for the purpose of selecting the most desirable spot for our future residence.' At the bare mention of passing a fortnight at her house, my new relation felt an embarrassment she was wholly unable to conceal; for though with a jointure of six hundred per annum she had contrived to keep an equipage and support five children, it was done by a method of which my poor father had not the most remote idea. It is necessary, therefore, to inform my readers, that the comforts attached to a friendly residence the Honorable Mr. and Mrs. S had long been strangers before death provided the former with the confined dwelling he had inhabited about six months before the latter arrived in Bath; for they found it much more convenient to vary their spot of residence whenever inconmoded by those troublesome and obtrusive visitors, vulgarly denominated by the appeltation of duns. What the Honorable Mrs. S's motives were for adopting the same prudent plan her departed husband had, is uncertain; but certain it is that she had no house; for, after the irreparable loss she had sustained, fashionable society would have been insupportable; she therefore retired to a small and humble lodging, hear Paddington, where, by a frugality bordering upon parsimony, she "was enabled to save a sufficient sum to put a premeditated plan in practice, of cutting a dashing figure at Bath. A hired carriage, which had once been the property of her father-in-law, gave addi tional consequence to her appearance from the family arms; and nature having furnished her with a fertile imagination, she practised a variety of other artifices to produce a similar effect. My father, therefore, having made the proposal of quitting the gay city, and enjoying the society of his beloved Maria in her friendly abode, remained silent some moments waiting a reply to the proposal. Upon fixing his expressive eyes upon her, he saw something in her countenance he was at a loss to account for: Surely, my beloved,' said he, you have not deceived me! Surely you are not one of those fashionable females who exist but in the vortex of pleasure! and who ridicule all those tender enjoyments which are derived from loving and being loved.' At the conclusion of this speech my mother began to regain her faculties; for at the commenceinent of it, she actually thought her husband by some incomprehensible means become acquainted with her plans, and casting upon him one of those irrisistible smiles which give additional charm to beauty, she replied, "What can have induced you, my dearest Mel'ville, to entertain such an erronious opinion? All my pleasures are centered in the prospect of your society, and even a desert would become a paradise, in company with you-blame me not, för that silence so cruelly misconstrued; but when "heaven took from me the man whose name I ouce held dear, it at the same time decreed me other trials, for the house I then inhabited became the property of his creditors; and I, every way distressed and afflicted, sought relief in retirement and solitude. My partial friends at length discovered my secluded solitude; they found me the perfect shadow of my former self; they forced me to Bath, compelled me to drink the waters, and Oh, my adored Melville! they have proved Lethean springs! A new scene of delight presents itself to my imagination-and from Bath 'shall I ever date the era of hap`piness.' Angelic creature!' exclaimed the enraptured bridegroom, pardon a surmise so unworthy of thy spotless soul! be mine then the delight of placing thee in a mansion the frown of adverse fortune never can wrest from you!-we will at any rate, my beloved, leave this place for the present, and in the society of each other, enjoy the perfection of human bliss.' My new relation was too politic to object to this proposal; and on the following day we quitted Bath, the governess, or rather upper servant, was sent with the two girls and Adolphus to the lodgings formerly inhabited at Paddington, but I remained with the loving pair. As the weather was peculiarly favorable for traveling, my father proposed making an excursion along his native coast, and as Mrs. Melville's mind was of that cast which requires successive change to keep it occupied, no plan could have been proposed more agreeable to her wishes. We traveled in a style completely , comfortable; and stopped at every place worthy travelers attention; and young as I then was, so completey was I gratified, that every thing I saw, made an impression. A variety of different seats to be disposed of, attracted my father's attention; but discovering Mrs. Melville was desirous of fixing in, or near the metropolis, he determined to purchase an estate from within ten to twenty miles' distance of it. Though my inother, as I. was desired to call her, for several weeks continued to pay me unbounded attention, yet even during that period she would frequently in my presence urge the necessity of my being sent to school; adding, that nature had endowed me with such superior abilities, that I ought to have every advantage education could bestow. Mine, however, had by no means been uncultivated; for the kind being who supplied the place of father to me, appeared to derive gratification from improving my mind, and at the age I was, I learned more, from his rational remarks upon those books I was capable of reading, than I could have done, from the instruction of the most able masters. Two hours after breakfast were regularly devoted to my improvement, and one generally every evening; but my father soon discovered that Mrs. Melville began to consider the latter, infringed upon those attentions she thought due to herself; and young as I was, I could not help remarking displeasure visible upon her countenance, on those occasions. In about three months after these (to me) inauspicious nuptials, I was placed under the care of a clergyman who prepared boys for Eton; and who resided within a few miles of that celebrated school. Twelve boys composed the number, which the reverend Mr. Fadmitted under his paternal roof; and the attention paid to our health and morals, could only be equaled by the unremitting pain's bestowed upon our education. Two motives in |