108 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER 



for a real country life, and disliked its mono- 

 tonous occupations. For some time, however, we 

 lived happily, till I lost my kind, indulgent father, 

 who was succeeded in his honours and estates 

 by my brother ; and as I perceived that my ex- 

 pensive improvements could not well be conti- 

 nued, now that I had no longer my father's 

 wealth to support them, I took that opportunity 

 to indulge my wife in a visit to the continent. 



" On our return to England, my mother was 

 apparently in health, but in a few weeks she was 

 suddenly seized with a severe illness, and died 

 before she could collect her thoughts sufficiently 

 to arrange her affairs. Forgetful of the uncer- 

 tainty of life, she had made no will ; and her 

 estate, which 1 had long considered as my own, 

 was inherited by my brother as heir at law. 



" What was now to become of us ? My father, 

 anxious to preserve the wealth of the head of the 

 family, and knowing that Strath-morton was to 

 be mine, had left me but a very small property ; 

 and as my brother was not sufficiently convinced 

 of what had been my mother's intentions, he re- 

 tained her estate. My wife's fortune had been 

 small. In short, we were suddenly reduced from 

 the thoughtlessness of affluence, to absolute po- 

 verty. I might, perhaps, have obtained some 

 employment, which would have just enabled us 

 to live ; but I was not much inclined to take up 



