daughter is a maid-servant at Woodbourne? I knew Miss Mannering in
India, and, though I am at present in an inferior rank of life, I have
great reason to hope she would interest herself in my favour. I had a
quarrel unfortunately with her father, who was my commanding officer, and
I am sure the young lady would endeavour to reconcile him to me. Perhaps
your daughter could deliver a letter to her upon the subject, without
making mischief between her father and her?'

The old man, a friend to smuggling of every kind, readily answered for
the letter's being faithfully and secretly delivered; and, accordingly,
as soon as they arrived at Allonby Brown wrote to Miss Mannering, stating
the utmost contrition for what had happened through his rashness, and
conjuring her to let him have an opportunity of pleading his own cause,
and obtaining forgiveness for his indiscretion. He did not judge it safe
to go into any detail concerning the circumstances by which he had been
misled, and upon the whole endeavoured to express himself with such
ambiguity that, if the letter should fall into wrong hands, it would be
difficult either to understand its real purport or to trace the writer.
This letter the old man undertook faithfully to deliver to his daughter
at Woodbourne; and, as his trade would speedily again bring him or his
boat to Allonby, he promised farther to take charge of any answer with
which the young lady might entrust him.

And now our persecuted traveller landed at Allonby, and sought for such
accommodations as might at once suit his temporary poverty and his desire
of remaining as much unobserved as possible. With this view he assumed
the name and profession of his friend Dudley, having command enough of
the pencil to verify his pretended character to his host of Allonby. His
baggage he pretended to expect from Wigton; and keeping himself as much
within doors as possible, awaited the return of the letters which he had
sent to his agent, to Delaserre, and to his lieutenant-colonel. From the
first he requested a supply of money; he conjured Delaserre, if possible,
to join him in Scotland; and from the lieutenant-colonel he required such
testimony of his rank and conduct in the regiment as should place his
character as a gentleman and officer beyond the power of question. The
inconvenience of being run short in his finances struck him so strongly
that he wrote to Dinmont on that subject, requesting a small temporary
loan, havi