the death of her beloved one made the subject of such jests as these; and could such a one, I ask, be brought to think that there could be any excuse for speeches of such a cruel tendency?

"With regard to myself, if I reproved this kind of language in my husband, it was in such a careless, laughing manner, as rather encouraged than checked him; and, as he knew that I was as eager for promotion as himself, he took no pains to conceal from me his failings of the nature above mentioned.

"But promotion in the army was not the only interesting subject of discourse between myself and my husband: he was continually calculating the chances which I had of coming into my uncle's estate; and in this manner he would often express himself. Your uncle is old and paralytic; he has had two strokes already-a third is generally fatal. In case of his death, there is then only one life in your way, and that is your cousin Agnes's. She is not healthy; she always, I have heard you say, was of a consumptive habit.'

"Sometimes I would reply to this, 'She may have chil

dren.'

"He would then calculate upon the chance of this, remarking that she had been married two years or more, and had no prospect of the kind. We then, not unfrequently, proceeded to calculate the value of the estate, and to talk ourselves almost into the belief that we had it already in possession.

"Had we entered upon this kind of conversation in a serious manner, we might, perhaps, have been more easily aware of its horrible tendency. But it was all carried on in a gay, rattling style, and in a kind of cant language, such as is commonly used by young spendthrifts, and generally over a bottle. My husband was the chief speaker; but, although I did not join with him in the strange expressions which he used, and, indeed, often affected to reprove him, yet he was very well aware that my reproofs did not come from the heart, and, therefore, was not checked by them.

"The first event which seemed to bring me nearer to the desired estate, was the death of my uncle, which my husband announced to me with the utmost nonchalance, al

though he owed to this good man nearly all the comforts of his life.

"This circumstance was soon followed by the less welcome intelligence that Mrs. Fitzgerald was in expectation of an increase to her family. We were then in Ireland; and my husband was evidently in low spirits on the occasion for some weeks.

"The intelligence of the actual birth of the child, with an account of its well-doing and that of its mother, seemed to remove the desired estate to such a distance, that my husband began to murmur at the smallness of my fortune, and to rail at my uncle for not having named me in his will. He now never spoke of my uncle but in terms of disrespect.

"Soon after the birth of little George, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald, our regiment was ordered to England, and I received a kind invitation from my cousin to visit her.

"I found Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald in good health, strongly attached to each other, and living in perfect harmony and love. The little boy, whose existence I had so often deplored, was about half a year old, a lovely baby, possessing all that soft and amiable expression of countenance which rendered his mother so pleasing to every one who saw her with an unprejudiced eye.

"The babe was always dressed with that elegant nicety which is so frequently bestowed on a first child, and was the constant delight of his affectionate parents, who, when they had wearied his little tender frame with play, would sooth him to sleep in their arms, and afterwards, laying him on the cushion of the couch, would watch him till he awoke again.

"I can give you no account of my feelings during this visit, but that they were so wretched, that I did not dare to look into them. After a time, I returned to my husband, and was, soon after my return, followed by a very melancholy letter from my cousin. This letter contained an account of the sudden death of Mr. Fitzgerald, by a fall from his horse, and presented a lively picture of the distress of the afflicted widow.

"While I was yet considering whether this event tended towards the advancement of my prospects of the estate or

otherwise, (for all my feelings were now nearly swallowed up by ambition,) my husband came in, and I imparted the news to him. What I only thought upon the subject, he, with less delicacy, spoke, and said, Had it been Fitzgerald's wife instead of himself, it would have been a fine thing in your favour, my dear; but as it now stands, the widow may marry again, and then we shall be no nearer than we were before.'

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I had the decency to check him, and said, 'Why, my dear, should we, on this melancholy occasion, be thinking of ourselves?'

66 6 Because,' said he, 'it is natural so to do;' and he turned on his heel, and went out.

"Whether it was his roughness on the occasion—whether it was a recollection of the former circumstances which had taken place between myself and Mr. Fitzgerald, or the late scenes of happiness I had witnessed, which were now so cruelly and suddenly marred-I know not; but I burst into tears as soon as he was gone, and wept violently for a while, and thus eased my mind for a time with respect to the hardness of heart of which I now began to suspect myself.

"I now pass over, in my narration, some months of my life, till the time when I received a summons from my cousin, (who had always believed me to be her most sincere friend,) begging me to come to her immediately, as her child, her only earthly stay and support, was dangerously ill.

"We were at breakfast when I received the letter, which was couched in terms expressive of the utmost affliction. I handed it over the table to my husband, and watched his countenance while he read it with the deepest attention.. His cheeks flushed high as he perused the letter, and when he had finished it, he broke out with an expression of exultation, and said, 'Upon my word, I believe we shall have it at last!'

"Have what? my dear,' said I, affecting hot to understand him.

66 6

Why, the estate, my girl! the estate!' he replied, springing from his chair. 'But you must go-you must go, on all accounts.'

"I did not dare to trust my lips with one word in-re

ply, for I was afraid that I should betray my feelings, whether willing or not so to do.

"I was soon prepared to undertake my journey, and, before the middle of the next day, found myself at the gate of the court of my late uncle's house.

"I was ushered in, and invited up stairs to the nursery, where the widowed mother was watching over her afflicted baby. She viewed me with a silent burst of tears, and led me to the side of the cradle.

"The baby was much changed. I have his little image still before me. He was become exceedingly pale; his eyes were half closed; and on his delicate wrist was a black patch, which was laid over a place where a vein had been opened. I saw death marked on his sweet face, and I saw it with a feeling of pleasure. I witnessed the anguish of his widowed mother, and I did not wish the cause removed!

"Here I pause for a moment, to ask if mine was a singular case? Are there many hearts, among those who desire to be exalted in this world, as hard and cruel as mine? Let every ambitious or covetous person ask himself what his feelings would have been on a like occasion; and if his conscience bring him in guilty, let him instantly apply to that Holy Spirit who only is able to cleanse him from those feelings which render man little less than diabolical.

"The baby died, and I assisted to lay out his tender limbs, now cold in death, and to place, for the last time, his flaxen curls around his marble brow.

"I strewed the fairest flowers upon his little corpse, and in each dimpled hand I placed a rose; and I did all this without feeling one regret at his early death, or forming one tender wish that it had not been so. I was glad, however, in the bustle of preparation for the funeral, to find some excuse for being absent from the mother, and was happy to devolve the task of comforting her upon another.

"The pious woman I have before spoken of, who had been my poor cousin's nurse, was still living with her, and she now became her only earthly consolation. I was, however, ostensibly, her best friend, and continued with her till, worn out by sorrow preying on a constitution naturally tender, she died, and left me in possession of that inheritance which I had long so ardently coveted.

"My cousin, I have reason to think, had been enabled, during her illness, to receive all the consolation which religion could give her, and her last address to me convinced me that she died in the most desirable state of mind-that is, with entire confidence in the death and merits of her Saviour.

"My husband was in such haste to take possession of the estate, that he could scarcely wait till the remains of the late owner were laid in the dust, before he began to form plans of alterations and improvements.

"I was now placed in that situation which I had ardently coveted for years. We established ourselves in a great style of magnificence, and our equipages, &c. were unrivalled by any in the country. A continued round of company and visitings occupied all my leisure time, and my husband provided himself with hounds and hunters, and entered most fully into all the delights of the chase.

"In the midst of all our pleasures, a prospect was held forth to me of speedily becoming a mother; an event which only, as I thought, was wanting to complete my felicity.

"In due time my boy was born, and was, at least in his mother's eyes, a very lovely infant. The old nurse, who still lived in the house, paid me the compliment of saying he was very like dear little Master George, who was now no more; and, as he advanced in age, the likeness became more apparent.

"On the day on which my little son was christened, the bells in all the neighbouring churches were set in motion; an ox was roasted whole in the park, and every kind of testimony of rejoicing displayed.

"In the midst of our gaieties, a shabby conveyance was seen driving through the park, from which two females alighted whom I had never seen before. These persons,

who, from their likeness, were evidently mother and daughter, had a thin and meagre appearance, and were not less shabby in their appearance than the carriage in which they had travelled.

"They soon made themselves known to me as the only surviving descendants of my grandfather, the elder being a daughter who had disgraced herself by a very improper marriage, and the younger the only child of that marriage.