e found myself in my own
room and in bed.

As may be supposed, I slept but little for the remainder of the night;
and the next morning when the servants addressed me as "your lordship,"
I almost felt as if they were mocking me; indeed, I was not a little
annoyed by the constant repetition of the expression. At length I
begged my uncle to come with me to the study, giving directions to the
servants that we should be left alone. However, we were soon
interrupted by persons who came to take orders for the funeral, and I
found myself at once with numberless responsibilities on my shoulders.
The first moment of quiet I could find I sat down to write to Emily, and
to send messages to our kind friends. Mr Sedgwick undertook to come
back as soon as various necessary arrangements were made, and to bring
her to Heatherly Hall. I begged that he would invite Grace to accompany
her, requesting that, after the funeral, Captain and Mrs Davenport
would come also.

I will pass over the account of the funeral, which was attended, I am
sorry to say, with very few real mourners, though all the families in
the neighbourhood sent their carriages, and a few gentlemen who had been
more intimately acquainted with the late lord came themselves.

In a short time another claimant appeared; but as I had been
acknowledged in the presence of sufficient witnesses by the late lord,
he soon withdrew his claim, and I was left in undisputed possession of
the title and property. I remembered Lord Heatherly's remarks with
regard to the responsibilities of my position, and I considered well
what they were. He acknowledged that he had reaped but poor enjoyment
from his wealth. "That also may be my case," I said to myself; "but one
thing I will do, I will pray for guidance from above, and will endeavour
to fulfil to the best of my power the responsibilities cast on me." My
uncle had an old friend, a clever and honest lawyer, whose services I
immediately engaged; and with his aid, and that of the steward of the
estate, I set to work to ascertain what incumbrances existed, and what
was most required to be done on the property. The cottages of the poor
tenants were in a sadly dilapidated state. My first care was to have a
number built in a style best suited to their wants, with four or more
rooms in each, and with various conveniences for their comfort. They
were well drained, and had an ample supply of good water. For their
spiritual wants I engag