1 CHAP. III. 1 Why, I can smile, and murder while I smile; And cry content to that which grieves my heart; Aud frame my face to all occasions. IT may be thought necessary by some to give the history of Mr. Melford. We shall therefore do it as briefly as possible, as the veneration, in which we hold the character of Mr. Howard, makes us unwilling to dwell long on the bad pro. pensities of any one claiming affinity with him; for though the virtues of the father, or head of a family, may influence the conduct of those who have the benefit of their example, yet it does not al ways extend its benign effects to every branch of the same stock. This was the case with regard to Mr. Melford. He was the only son of a sister of Mr. Howard's, who married, when very young, a man of mean family, but large property, which had been acquired in one of the West India settlements. At an early age he had the misfortune to lose his mother, who was an amiable, accomplished woman. His father, who still applied assiduously to business, thought he performed his duty religiously, if he paid liberally for the education of his son at a reputable school, where he was treated with kindness, and taught the mere forms of good breeding, as well as the rudiments of learning. He did not wish his son, he said, to be a scholar; he had never known any good come of it "Let him be able to write an intelligible letter, and cast accounts," said his father, "and I shall be satisfied: I never knew inore myself, and am now one of the richest men upon 'change. But once make him a scholar, and away goes every desire to be a rich man." But though this lover of money and despiser of learning extolled the advantages of the one, and depreciated the possessors of the other, he did not recommend the practice of those virtues which have the power to exalt the heart, by softening it to the woes of others. The morals of his son were never once thought of; nor was the master, under whom Charles Melford was placed, remarkable either for his attention to the religious duties of his pupils, or for the neglect of them. It is true, they all went regularly to church every Sunday, and when there, they were obliged to behave orderly and pay attention: but when they have no other instruction given them than what they receive at church, which boys pay so little regard to, not much good can be expected from them except they are, as it were, by nature addicted to virtue. Unfortunately, Charles Melford was not so disposed: the seeds of every vice appeared early to have taken root in his mind. The hand of a skilful cultivator of the youthful heart might have extirpated them, and in their place have implanted the more valuable ones of knowledge and virtue; but he had not that advantage: left in a manner to his own guidance, the baneful passions of extravagance, oppression, pride, and deceit, Grew with his growth, and strengthen'd with his strength : and when at the age of eighteen he was left the uncontrouled master of a plentiful fortune, he launched out into every species of dissipation and folly. Mr. Howard had frequently expressed a wish to have the direction of his nephew's education; but this 'was precisely what his father objected to. No very cordial intimacy had ever subsisted between him and his brother-in-law, as their pursuits were so diametrically opposite; and Mr. Melford frequently declared he would rather keep his son in total ignorance than permit him to be educated by his uncle, who would make him as learned and romantic as himself. Mr. Howard, therefore, seldom saw either Mr. Melford or his son: and when, on the death of the former, he wrote to young Melford, condoling with him on his loss, and giving him the most tender and friendly advice relative to his future conduct; his condolements were treated with indifference, and his advice with contempt. Several years rolled on, and each suceeeding one brought renewed pain to the heart of Mr. Howard for the profligacy of his nephew, At length he heard that the immense fortune left him by his fond father was nearly dissipated; and |