370 LETTERS RECEIVED. 



third mate was kept chasing us in his boat from 

 nightfall until three o'clock iu the morning, when, 

 giving up the pursuit as hopeless, he went aboard the 

 Messenger, and, with his wearied crew, turned in. 



On the letters being brought forth, I found that I 

 had four; one of August, 1855, left here by a ship 

 that had carried it about the ocean for years — 

 the other three were of May, July, and November, 

 1858 ; this last was inexpressibly welcome to rae, as 

 it brought everything down to a comparatively late 

 date, assuring me of a warm welcome home when- 

 ever I did arrive. Of this, however unworthy, I had 

 never doubted ; but it is a weakness of our nature 

 to take delight in the rehearsal of pleasant facts. 

 The chief topic of interest, after being assured of the 

 welfare of my connections, and one that astonished 

 and, to some extent, perplexed me, was the birth of 

 a niece, a child of my younger brother. This was 

 the first intelligence I had of his marriage, which, 

 however, w^as not unexpected ; I had looked forward 

 to it as a matter of course; but that he should be 

 blessed with issue ere I returned, never once crossed 

 my mind — though why, I know not. At first, I could 

 scarce believe it; but there it was, in black and 

 white, the plainness of the chirography forbidding a 

 doubt of its authenticity ; so there was nothing left 

 for me to do but to sit down and acknowledge myself 

 taken all aback by the intelligence. After a few 

 minutes reflection, I could not but laugh at my 

 stupidity, or inadvertency, in never having made a 

 provision in my mind for such a contingency; how- 

 ever, so wags the world ; improbable events are 



