d been brought from
Midbranch by a colored man on a horse; the man had said there was no
answer, and had gone back to Howlett's, where he belonged.

The letter was for Mr Croft and from Miss March. Very much surprised
at receiving such a missive, Lawrence opened the envelope. His letter
to Miss March had not yet been sent, for the new state of affairs had
not only very much occupied his mind, but it also seemed to render
unnecessary any haste in the matter, and he had concluded to mail the
letter the next day. This, therefore, was not in answer to anything
from him; and why should she have written?

It was with a decidedly uneasy sensation that Lawrence began to read
the letter, Annie watching him anxiously as he did so. The letter was
a somewhat long one, and the purport of it was as follows: The writer
stated that, having received a most extraordinary and astounding
epistle from old Mrs Keswick, which had been sent by a special
messenger, she had thought it her duty to write immediately on the
subject to Mr Croft, and had detained the man that she might send this
letter by him. She did not pretend to understand the full purport of
what Mrs Keswick had written, but it was evident that the old lady
believed that an engagement of marriage existed between herself (Miss
March) and Mr Croft. That that gentleman had given such information
to Mrs Keswick she could hardly suppose, but, if he had, it must have
been in consequence of a message which, very much to her surprise and
grief, had been delivered to Mr Croft by Mr Keswick. In order that
this message might be understood, Miss March had determined to make a
full explanation of her line of conduct towards Mr Croft.

During the latter part of their pleasant intercourse at Midbranch
during the past summer, she had reason to believe that Mr Croft's
intentions in regard to her were becoming serious, but she had also
perceived that his impulses, however earnest they might have been,
were controlled by an extraordinary caution and prudence, which,
although it sometimes amused her, was not in the least degree
complimentary to her. She could not prevent herself from resenting
this somewhat peculiar action of Mr Croft, and this resentment grew
into a desire, which gradually became a very strong one, that she
might have an opportunity of declining a proposal from him. That
opportunity came while they were both at Mrs Keswick's, and she had
intended that what she said at her last