gether a little money, and made my way to England, and
came to that house--which you now call yours--and bearded that noble
nobleman--that father to be so proud of! He was getting on now in years,
and growing, perhaps, a little nervous, and my first appearance scared
him. He got no obeisance from me, you may be certain, but still I did
not revile him. I told him of my mother's state of mind, and the great
care she required, and demanded that, in common justice, he, having
brought her to this, should help her. But nothing would he promise, not
a sixpence even, in the way of regular allowance. Any thing of that sort
could only be arranged by means of his solicitors. He had so expensive a
son, with a very large and growing family, that he could not be pledged
to any yearly sum. But if I would take a draft for 100 pounds, and sign
an acquittance in full of all claims, I might have it, upon proving my
identity.

"What identity had I to prove? He had taken good care of that. I turned
my back on him and left the house, without even asking for his curse,
though as precious as a good man's blessing.

"It was a wild and windy night, but with a bright moon rising, and going
across this park--or whatever it is called--I met my brother. At a crest
of the road we met face to face, with the moon across our foreheads. We
had never met till now, nor even heard of one another; at least he had
never heard of me. He started back as if at his own ghost; but I had
nothing to be startled at, in this world or the other.

"I made his acquaintance, with deference, of course, and we got on
very well together. At one time it seemed good luck for him to have
illegitimate kindred; for I saved his life when he was tangled in the
weeds of this river while bathing. You owe me no thanks. I thought twice
about it, and if the name would have ended with him, I would never have
used my basket-knife. By trade I am a basket-maker, like many another
'love-child.'

"However, he was grateful, if ever any body was, for I ran some risk in
doing it; and he always did his very best for me, and encouraged me to
visit him. Not at his home--of course that would never do--but when
he was with his regiment. Short of money as he always was, through
his father's nature and his own, which in some points were the very
opposite, he was even desirous to give me some of that; but I never took
a farthing from him. If I had it at all, I would have it from the proper
one. And