altered, and it was but too evident that his
constitution was broken. In the summer of 1834 he had to deplore the
loss of his second son (Thomas), who died on the 4th of July, on which
mournful occasion he wrote the following letter to his son.

In the heavy affliction with which it has pleased the Almighty
to visit us, he has not left us without consolation; and our
confidence in the Divine mercy, and the hope that your beloved
brother is removed to a better world, in the enjoyment of the
blessed, through the precious merits of our dear Redeemer, must
tend to assuage our sorrow, and induce us to submit with due
resignation to the divine will. It will be to me a source of
the greatest consolation, as it must be to us all, my dear
James, to have witnessed his meek and patient resignation
during his severe illness. It has been to me, as yourself and
your dear Mary will readily believe, a most distressing and
truly painful trial; but it has pleased God to support me
through the whole of this sorrowful time far beyond what I
could ever have thought myself to have been equal to, and I
trust that your dear mother and beloved brother and sister will
continue resigned to the will of Providence.

Lord de Saumarez's amiable disposition afforded him support under
severe and unexpected losses of every description, of which the
following anecdote is a proof. In the spring of 1834 he met with a
loss on his journey to visit Sir John Orde at Beckingham, which we
will venture to say would have been borne in a very different way by
many of his brother officers. His own carriage being under repair, he
had borrowed one from the coachmaker, which could only take one trunk
behind; in this trunk the female servant, who had lived a long time in
the family, had deposited his valuable diamond star of the Order of
the Bath, together with some costly jewels and trinkets belonging to
Lady de Saumarez and her daughter. On their arrival at Sir John's
mansion at Beckingham, it was discovered, to their utter
consternation, that the trunk had been cut off by thieves and carried
away with its contents, the value of which amounted to near 1000_l._
Sir James bore the loss with the most philosophic coolness; for,
instead of finding fault with the servant for placing such valuable
articles in so hazardous a situation, with his true habitual kindness,
he used his utmost endeavo