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THIRD SERIES.

LETTER I.

FROM A. B. TO C. D.

ASHFORD HALL, February, 1865.

My dear Friend, and make no apologies for abruptness. The uncle with whom I lived has died of apoplexy; and, to augment my grief, my artful cousin inherits the property, and I am reduced from a state of affluence to a small allowance. It is an awful and appalling event. No one was in attendance upon my uncle, except his constant attendant Andrew. But no aid would have availed. My uncle was as abstemious as an ancient ascetic or an anchorite. He had once been athletic, but latterly he was much attenuated. One day, he forgot abstinence, and ate some anchovies, and the doctors allege this as the cause of his death. I, however, attribute it to the fact, that he had long been ailing, and had lately suffered much from asthma and an aguish fever, and also from an abscess, the agony of which nothing could allay. All anodynes failed. Taken all together, these ailments made him altogether miserable. He lived, besides, in apprehension of accidents; but his chief dread was aneurism of the heart, of which many of his ancestors had died. He was devoted to arts and artists, espe

I write with an aching heart,

cially the Royal Academicians; and he had himself great abilities, and had won high academic honors at Cambridge. I think his death was accelerated by the labor of writing a book on the Accidence of the English language, particularly the use of the auxiliary verbs, and the different modes of accentuation. The accuracy of this book is remarkable. It has been abridged, and I will send you the abridgment. I feel deeply aggrieved, and cast into an abyss of sorrow by this event. I am not avaricious; I have no desire for aggrandizement, and no artificial wants. I have an abundance of acquaintances, and many appointments are open to my acceptance. I should have liked the artillery service, but I am too old for it; and I would rather be an artisan than an attorney: the law is not in accordance with my feelings, and has no attractions for me. I must accommodate myself to my new life by degrees. Perhaps I may take an agency: but at present I feel an abhorrence of this place, and long to make myself an absentee, or even an alien; yet I am not really alienated at heart, and could never give up my allegiance to the Queen. If report speaks aright, the furniture will be sold by auction, and the auctioneer has already had orders about it. I pine for adventures and an adventurous life, and am ashamed to acknowledge that the natural acerbity of my temper is aggravated by the sight of the ancestral home, not an acre of which will ever be mine. I should like to achieve fame by entering the army; but the opportunities of warlike achievements are rare; and to

accoutre myself is impossible, the cost of accoutrements being so great. I detest all abstruse studies except astronomy, and have long since abjured commerce. To ascend Mont Blanc, or wander amidst the aborigines of America, will alone assuage my regret. In fact, I am inclined to anathematize certain persons, and feel an absolute antipathy to every one but yourself. Our tastes have always assimilated, and you have often administered true consolation in affliction. Adieu.

A. B.

I have been asked the derivation of andiron; can you give it me?

LETTER II.

FROM C. D. TO A. B.

LONDON, February, 1865.

My dear Friend,—I am aghast at your announcement, and could not give my assent to your departure, even though you were an adept in travelling, and could make the ascent of Mount Ararat or Mount Atlas. Are your expectations quite annihilated? Have you not even an annuity? Your uncle had amassed wealth. I am amazed that, with your agreeable and amiable disposition, and your extreme affability, which he so greatly applauded, he has left you none. Some wrong agency has been at work. Did you ever affront him? Could any person have been animated or actuated by feelings of secret animosity against you? Had you no open adversary? I cannot acquiesce quietly in the idea, that nothing of what has so long been your home

me.

now appertains to you. The idea is apparently an impossibility, almost an absurdity; for you always had your uncle's approval. There is some ambiguity in your letter. To what do you allude, when you speak angrily of certain persons? Pray answer With your abilities, is there no alternative but that of absconding, as it were, abandoning your country and going abroad? You might find some advantageous opening by means of an advertisement, or you might make application to some ambassador or alderman. Apart from my wishes, I fear it will not agree with you. My anxiety will be great durind your absence. Whether afloat or ashore, any storm will affright me for you. You must have some one to advise you, and you must take advice. Circumstances may seem adverse now, but they will alter. If I could think of aught that would aid you, I should rejoice. But you ought not to absent yourself I am sure. As soon as the ship had parted from its anchorage and weighed anchor you would regret it, unless a friend could accompany you. If I could go with you myself, I should have attained the acme of happiness. I have nothing to tell you, except that London swarms like an ant-hill, and that my aunt's son is now an accomptant in Mr. Alexander's office. He was ill, but has been cured by aconite. If he would only give up alcohol he would do well; but this habit produces many ailments: he loses his taste for natural aliments, his brains become addled, he cannot add up a sum in addition, or tell what are the aliquot parts of a

pound. Adieu. Send me your address in London. Yours, affectionately,

C. D.

P.S.- Have you seen Annesley's book on the antediluvian history of the earth, and the anti-Christian spirit of the age? It proves that the aspersions cast upon him are groundless, and I feel sure no one will attempt to asperse his character again, or to assail with abuse a man who is not assailable. Arthur Agar's volume on annular eclipses is also interesting; and there is a book, I forget by whom, about alligators and amphibious animals, and the animalculæ connected with them, which would be an acquisition to your travelling library. Send me home an acanthus leaf, if you come across the plant. Remember when you write not to use abbreviations. It is an affectation which makes me feel atrabilarious,

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My dear Friend,

The attraction of the American prairies, as well as of the alluvial deposits of Egypt, has been overcome by the azure skies of Italy, and the antiquities of Roman amphitheatres. My delight in the antique, especially in architecture, and my fondness for architectural and archæological studies, approximate to a passion. The sight of the Claudian aqueduct will make amends for the anguish I have lately suffered. The atmosphere of Italy, and its associations, will soothe me: I look

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