which are placed upon the hatchments; and these mottoes,
when he considered them as apt, he was very apt to quote. We left
Jonathan standing at the door; he had closed it, and the handle still
remained in his hand. "Jonathan," said Mr Witherington, after a long
pause--"I wish to look at the last letter from New York, you will find
it on my dressing-table."

Jonathan quitted the room without reply, and made his reappearance with
the letter.

"It is a long time that I have been expecting this vessel, Jonathan,"
observed Mr Witherington, unfolding the letter.

"Yes, sir, a long while; _tempus fugit_," replied the butler in a low
tone, half shutting his eyes.

"I hope to God no accident has happened," continued Mr Witherington:
"my poor little cousin and her twins e'en now that I speak, they may be
all at the bottom of the sea."

"Yes, sir," replied the butler; "the sea defrauds many an honest
undertaker of his profits."

"By the blood of the Witheringtons! I may be left without an heir, and
shall be obliged to marry, which would be very uncomfortable."

"Very little comfort," echoed Jonathan--"my wife is dead. In caelo
quies."

"Well, we must hope for the best; but this suspense is anything but
comfortable," observed Mr Witherington, after looking over the contents
of the letter for at least the twentieth time.

"That will do, Jonathan; I'll ring for coffee presently;" and Mr
Witherington was again alone and with his eyes fixed upon the ceiling.

A cousin of Mr Witherington, and a very great favourite (for Mr
Witherington, having a large fortune, and not having anything to do with
business, was courted by his relations), had, to a certain degree,
committed herself; that is to say, that, notwithstanding the injunctions
of her parents, she had fallen in love with a young lieutenant in a
marching regiment, whose pedigree was but respectable, and whose fortune
was anything but respectable, consisting merely of a subaltern's pay.
Poor men, unfortunately, always make love better than those who are
rich, because, having less to care about, and not being puffed up with
their own consequence, they are not so selfish and think much more of
the lady than of themselves. Young ladies, also, who fall in love,
never consider whether there is sufficient "to make the pot boil"--
probably because young ladies in love lose their appetites, and, not
feeling inclined to eat at that time, they imagine that love will always
sup