st be still more painful, or
rather I should say must have been, for probably she is dead long before
this, or if not dead, she must be a woman advanced in life; indeed, as
you may observe in the account given by the traveler in the paragraph
you have read, it speaks only of the _descendants_ of those who were
lost in the _Grosvenor_. The idea of my grandchildren having returned to
a state of barbarism is painful enough; I wish it were possible that I
could discover the truth, for it is the uncertainty which so much
distresses me. I have but a few years to live, Alexander; I am a very
old man, as you know, and may be summoned to-morrow or to-night, for we
know not what a day may bring forth. If I were only certain that my
child had died, miserable as her death must have been, it would be
happiness, to the idea that she was one of those whose descendants they
speak of. If you knew how for the last thirty years this has preyed upon
my mind, you would comprehend my anxiety on this account; but God's will
be done. Do not let me detain you longer, Alexander; I should prefer
being alone."

Alexander, at this intimation, took the proffered hand of his
grand-uncle in a reverential and feeling manner, and, without saying any
more, quitted the room.

CHAPTER II.

The conversation which he had had with his grand-uncle made a very
forcible impression upon Alexander Wilmot; it occasioned him to pass a
very sleepless night, and he remained till nearly four o'clock turning
it over in his mind. The loss of the _Grosvenor_ Indiaman had occurred
long before he was born; he was acquainted with the outline of what had
taken place, and had been told, when a child, that a relation of his
family had perished; but although the narrative had, at the time, made
some impression upon his young mind, he had seldom, if ever, heard it
spoken of since, and may have been said to have almost forgotten it. He
was therefore not a little surprised when he found how great an
influence it had upon his grand-uncle, who had never mentioned it to him
before; indeed it had escaped Alexander's memory that it was his
grand-uncle's only surviving daughter who had been lost in the vessel.

Alexander Wilmot was warmly attached to the old gentleman; indeed he
would have been very ungrateful if he had not been, for it was
impossible that any one could have been treated with more kindness and
liberality than he was by Sir Charles. It was but the week before,