of
uncertainty may be considered as over, and the two countries may be
looked upon as at war. I have reason to congratulate myself upon
having followed the advice of my correspondent, and of having laid
in a very large supply of Spanish wine; from which I shall, under
the circumstances, reap considerable profits. I have naturally been
debating, with myself, whether to send for Bob to return to
England; or to proceed to Lisbon, and thence to Oporto, to the care
of my correspondent there. I have consulted in this matter my
junior partner, Mr. Medlin, who is staying with me here for a few
days; and I am glad to say that his opinion coincides with that at
which I had finally arrived--namely, to allow him to remain with
you.

"His conduct when with me, and the perseverance with which--as you
report--he is pursuing his studies, has shown me that he will not
be found wanting in business qualities, when he enters the firm. I
am, therefore, all the more willing that he should use the
intervening time in qualifying himself, generally, for a good
position in the city of London; especially for that of the head of
a firm in the wine trade, in which an acquaintance with the world,
and the manners of a gentleman, if not of a man of fashion--a
matter in which my firm has been very deficient, heretofore--are
specially valuable. It is probable, from what I hear, that
Gibraltar will be besieged; and the event is likely to be a
memorable one. It will be of advantage to him, and give him a
certain standing, to have been present on such an occasion.

"And if he evinces any desire to place any services he is able to
render, either as a volunteer or otherwise, at the disposal of the
military authorities--and I learn, from Mr. Medlin, that it is by
no means unusual for the civil inhabitants of a besieged town to be
called upon, to aid in its defence--I should recommend that you
should place no obstacle in his way. As a lad of spirit, he would
naturally be glad of any opportunity to distinguish himself. I
gathered, from him, that one of his schoolfellows was serving as a
midshipman in a ship of war that would, not improbably, be
stationed at Gibraltar; and Bob would naturally dislike remaining
inactive, when his schoolfellow, and many other lads of the same
age, were playing men's parts in an historical event of such
importance. Therefore you will fully understand that you have my
sanction, beforehand, to agree with any desire he should exp