but you must bear the disappointment, or rather you must
forget it; regret for what cannot be obtained is not only unavailing,
but, I may say, it is sinful. You have much to thank God for."

"I have indeed, sir," replied I, as I kissed his daughter; "and I will
not repine. I will take your name when you give me Minnie, and I will
think no more about that of Delmar."

After this conversation, the subject was not renewed. I felt too happy
with Minnie's love to care much about anything else; my ambition melted
away before it, and I looked forward to the time when I might embrace
her as my own.

My wound healed rapidly; I had been a month at Hamburg, and was able to
limp about a little, when one day Cross came in with a packet of letters
from England.

There was one from the Admiralty, acknowledging the receipt of my two
letters, one announcing the loss of the Circe, and the other my
subsequent adventures, desiring me to come home as soon as my wound
would permit me, to have the cause of the loss of the Circe investigated
by a court-martial; that of course: one from my mother, thanking Heaven
that I had escaped so many dangers with only a bullet in my leg, and
stating her intention of going up to town to see me as soon as she heard
of my arrival; the third was a voluminous epistle from Mr Warden, which
I shall give to the reader in his own words.

"MY DEAR CAPTAIN KEENE:--

"I received your two letters, the first, acquainting me with your
miraculous preservation after the loss of your frigate, and the other
with your subsequent adventures on _terra firma_. You appear to me to
have a charmed life! and as there is now every prospect of a speedy
termination to this long and devastating war, I hope you will live
many days. I did not enter into many particulars as to Lord de
Versely's death, as it was so sudden; the property left you is not
perhaps of so much value in itself, as it is as a mark of his regard
and esteem. Nevertheless, if ever you sit down quietly and take a
wife, you will find that it will save you a few thousands in
furnishing and decorating; the plate, pictures, and objects _de
vertu_, as they are termed, are really valuable, and I know that you
will not part with them, bequeathed as they have been by your friend
and patron.

"I must now refer to particulars of more consequence. You know that,
as a legal adviser, my lips are supposed to be sealed, and they would