but wild and wayward in his acts, and hasty under the control of his toolish parents. As is generally the case, money was too lavishly bestowed upon him in his early years, which he, not knowing the value and blessing in possessing, squandered away among a set of dissipated wretches, the pestilence of the town in which we resided. His poor mother now began to see the ill effects of her education; and our daughter, following the same giddy ways as her brother, gradually, but surely, destroyed the soundness of her mind; and to their wild behaviour am I to fix the loss of my poor Jane.

Previous to the dissolution of my wife, our old farm-house had been the resort of all the neighbouring squires' sons round about for miles; the beauty of my poor Eliza, and the gay disposition of my son, kept alive the numerous convivial parties which were weekly at our house; and it was, as I feared, often, very often, when my poor dame and myself had retired to our chamber, have the dice been rattling on the tables below.

were,

Expostulation was in vain-my son always found an able defender in his sister, and neither of us could withstand her powerful and affectionate vindication of his follies; but the usual termination to her discourses "all fashionable people do so." Among the numerous companions of my son Edward, one, a volatile and handsome youth, the son of the lord of the manor, paid his attentions to my daughter; and I was extremely sorry to see they were met on her part with such a willingness. Oh! his was a honied tongue, that would have wooed an angel unto evil; but the education and silliness of my poor Eliza made her an almost unresisting victim; and it was no wonder that a girl of her high ambition, yet weak principle, should fall a prey to the arts of this youthful libertine.

My suspicions were at length aroused, and I taxed her with her guilt, but she denied, strenuously denied it; and I, with a father's affection, willing to make allowances for my too penetrating eyes, believed her.

One morning I had slept later than was usual: the night previous I had been unwell, my mind had been worried by the dissipation which I saw was eating its way into my little domestic circle. On entering our parlour to partake of my breakfast, I observed my boy's face overshadowed with clouds that portended no good, and on perceiving me he endeavoured to conceal some letter which he held in his hand. I asked him the reason of his trouble, and his reply was, 66 Do not ask me, father; you will learn it too soon.' After some battling with himself he gave me the note, saying, “Read it, father, read it, and see what my unthinking folly has occasioned; for, bad as I am, I could not have deserted thee!"

At first I thought that my old eyes belied the power of sight, but I looked again, and again; still the characters were the same; nor would the sense of the letter beam a happier expression. She was gone! my Eliza had left me for the smiles and fascination of a villain! I have it about me now, nor will I ever lose sight of this last document of my daughter's love. Listen

"Father! I leave you for ever! yes, for ever! I am certain I shall never behold you again. Forget me; cease to remember such a being ever existed; efface from your heart the recollection of your daughter! Yet, I could not part from you without one last kiss from your parental lips; and I stole into your chamber in the night, and the moon only was the witness of the deed. I kissed you, and my tears wetted your face; and then my heart misgave me. But the voice of called upon me to descend, and I left you with my tears still jewelled on your cheek. Think of me no more! ELIZA." "Think of her no more!" exclaimed my son, and his hands were clenched; "think of her no more! But I will; and I will behold her betrayer face to facehand to hand-and we will see whether he shall insult our family with impunity."

He left me to go in search of his infatuated, de

ceived sister. I gave him all the money I possessedI did not tell him that. Days and weeks flew by, and I received no tidings of my son. Bad news arrived from London, and said that my boy had become a professed black-leg. I would not, I did not believe it. I hurried to town, accompanied with his cousin, his intended bride. Having learnt the number of the house (a notorious gaming-house) where he was to be found, we flew up stairs, and never shall I forget the sight I beheld! Providence was great, or my intellects would then have been deranged. On opening the door of the apartment, I saw my Edward, seated in a chair, writhing under the greatest torture, blaspheming and blessing in a breath: one hand was pressed to his aching brow, while the other was thrown from him, clenched with hysterical agony; cards, dice, &c. laid at his feet, and he alternately grew red and pale. In the interior of the next room was a party of gamblers, rioting away their fortunes and their health. My Edward was horror-struck at the sight of myself and his agonized bride; and, snatching up his hat, hurried us both down stairs, exclaiming, as he went, "Hell! I am thy victim!"

We took him home, and quieted his disordered faculties; and ultimately learnt from him, with regard to my lost Eliza, that she was married, but that her husband had introduced him to various gaming establishments, where, infatuated with the vice, he had become its victim, and in the delirium of the fever had forgotten every tie in the world. My boy gained strength, and seemed to be better for the experience he had received.

'One day, while seated at our meals, he received a post letter. On opening it he immediately said, "Father, this is business of importance, which demands my appearance in town: you shall hear from me when it is settled; till then, do not be alarmed :" and, so saying, he rushed from the parlour.

'Well, sir, a month elapsed, and I received a letter, saying that every thing was settled to his satisfaction,

and that another week would set him free from all his former associates. So we began to make preparations for his wedding with his cousin, and the marriage only waited for the fixing of the day. I happened, by mere chance, to take up one of the London newspapersthey were things I seldom cared to look at--and, in glancing my eyes over the list of felons in Newgate, I beheld my son's name-it was for murder !'

The poor old man, with all his woes renewed, arose in agitation, but immediately sank back upon his chair, as if he had bid farewell to this world. On recovering his speech, we begged him to defer the remainder of the history till his mind became more placid. 'No,' said he, 'it little imports. Judge of the horror of my situation; I endeavoured to conceal it from his wife, and I believe I succeeded. Well, sir, I managed, somehow or other, to get up to London: it was a Saturday night when I started; I arrived in town about seven o'clock on the Monday morning. On returning from the inn, through Newgate-street, and passing the top of the Old Bailey, I observed an unusual crowd of persons assembled, and on looking to see the cause that interested them, I beheld the gallows erected for the execution of some unfortunate

creature.

Never having witnessed this awful ceremony, I entered among the crowd, and stood till the melancholy hour arrived for the termination of the miseries of the felon. The bell began tolling about a quarter before eight: as the clock struck, the dreaded procession entered upon the scaffold; my blood chilled, and I nearly sank under the feet of the mob, but an unnatural power seemed to uphold me. At last the prisoner came up-his back was towards me-the prayers for the dead commençed: he turned to take a parting look at the crowd, and, livid and changed as he was, I beheld in him my son! my Edward! I could not take my eyes off from him. I attempted to scream, but my tongue was parched: the cap was drawn over his eyes-the rope was adjusted-the handkerchief dropped from the hands of the minister: a

film came over my eyes, I tottered, and fell senseless into the arms of a by-stander.

Do not prevent me from continuing my fatal history: it is the only alleviation to my mind. I was informed, that, after the sudden fit which came over me at the horrible sight, I was borne to an adjoining public-house, where, administering cordials to me, I was suffered to remain for some weeks in a state of raging madness. In settling the debts I had contracted in my distress, I expended my little all; but, poor and wretched as I was, I endeavoured to obtain the body of my unfortunate boy, but was told he was already interred.

The cause which led to this miserable result was the betrayal of his sister's honour. Poor Eliza ! Deeply has she suffered for the warmth of her too confiding heart. The cowardice of Eliza's seducer had alike deceived his victim and her brother by a fictitious marriage; till, satiated with her charms, the destroyer of my daughter's peace thrust her from his threshold, to seek a precarious life on the highway: there she was found dead one night by the watch, with the letter my Edward received in her bosom, directed for him. In this, she had proclaimed her wrongs to her brother; who, burning with revenge, sought, in this miserable abode of the vicious, the rascal who had caused her death. Edward knew the haunts of his victim well; where, intoxicated with wine, he challenged him to immediate combat, but the dishonourer smiled with contempt. This was too much for the heated brain of my Edward to endure:-he stabbed him to the heart. It is almost needless to say that he was secured, and, the session being sitting, he was hurried to trial; where, unprotected and unknown, he met his doom.

I had wandered about the town the day you met me, and had at last come to the determination of disposing of my coat, and with the little money I might get upon it return to my lonely habitation, to sink into my grave a broken-hearted man!'