THE RECOVERED SON. 
143 
to clasp him to her bosom. She had deposited several 
thousand pounds in the Calcutta bank for his use 
should he be discovered, and was inconsolable at his 
mysterious absence. Her affection never for a moment 
subsided : she had mourned for him as for one dead, 
though not without a hope of still meeting him, in 
spite of her long and bitter disappointment. 
This intelligence came like a light from heaven 
upon the friendless outcast. He could for the mo- 
ment scarcely believe so flattering a reality ; but 
it was indeed true that he who had for years been 
reduced to the hard necessity of trudging about the 
country with a hawker’s licence, abandoned by those 
relatives who should have protected him from such 
degradation, was destined to come into the possession 
of great '‘'wealth, which his former privations have 
taught him how to enjoy. His newly discovered 
friend furnished him with immediate letters to his 
agent in Calcutta. He secured a passage without delay, 
and after a prosperous voyage, reached the City of 
Palaces, whither his mother quickly repaired, with a 
large retinue, to receive and convey him to her own 
magnificent abode at Lucknow. Shortly after his ar- 
rival he sent to England for his wife, who followed in 
the first ship that sailed after the receipt of his letter. 
These latter transactions took place within the last 
three years. The parties are now at Lucknow, living 
in splendour and happiness. These few simple facts 
might furnish the groundwork of a romance of no or- 
dinary interest. Their authenticity may be relied on. 
