advice, sent on shore
for letters. The messenger returned with one letter only, and the
writer of it proved to be the former mistress of Thorpe Ambrose--Mrs.
Blanchard.

"You ought to be informed, I think, of the contents of this letter, for
it has seriously influenced Allan's plans. He loses everything, sooner
or later, as you know, and he has lost the letter already. So I must
give you the substance of what Mrs. Blanchard wrote to him, as plainly
as I can.

"The first page announced the departure of the ladies from Thorpe
Ambrose. They left on the day before yesterday, the thirteenth, having,
after much hesitation, finally decided on going abroad, to visit some
old friends settled in Italy, in the neighborhood of Florence. It
appears to be quite possible that Mrs. Blanchard and her niece may
settle there, too, if they can find a suitable house and grounds to let.
They both like the Italian country and the Italian people, and they are
well enough off to please themselves. The elder lady has her jointure,
and the younger is in possession of all her father's fortune.

"The next page of the letter was, in Allan's opinion, far from a
pleasant page to read.

"After referring, in the most grateful terms, to the kindness which had
left her niece and herself free to leave their old home at their own
time, Mrs. Blanchard added that Allan's considerate conduct had produced
such a strongly favorable impression among the friends and dependents of
the family that they were desirous of giving him a public reception
on his arrival among them. A preliminary meeting of the tenants on the
estate and the principal persons in the neighboring town had already
been held to discuss the arrangements, and a letter might be expected
shortly from the clergyman inquiring when it would suit Mr. Armadale's
convenience to take possession personally and publicly of his estates in
Norfolk.

"You will now be able to guess the cause of our sudden departure from
the Isle of Man. The first and foremost idea in your old pupil's mind,
as soon as he had read Mrs. Blanchard's account of the proceedings at
the meeting, was the idea of escaping the public reception, and the one
certain way he could see of avoiding it was to start for Thorpe Ambrose
before the clergyman's letter could reach him.

"I tried hard to make him think a little before he acted on his first
impulse in this matter; but he only went on packing his portmanteau in
his own impenetrab