the beneficiare whom you would create is a near kinswoman of
my own. That, in truth, is my real difficulty. I have undertaken a
trust made by an honourable lady on behalf of her only son--son of a
man of stainless honour, and a dear friend of my own, and whose son
has a rich heritage of honour from both parents, and who will, I am
sure, like to look back on his whole life as worthy of his parents,
and of those whom his parents trusted. You will see, I am sure, that
whatsoever I might grant regarding anyone else, my hands are tied in
this matter.

And now let me say, my dear boy, that your letter has given me the
most intense pleasure. It is an unspeakable delight to me to find in
the son of your father--a man whom I loved, and a boy whom I
love--the same generosity of spirit which endeared your father to all
his comrades, old as well as young. Come what may, I shall always be
proud of you; and if the sword of an old soldier--it is all I
have--can ever serve you in any way, it and its master's life are,
and shall be, whilst life remains to him, yours.

It grieves me to think that Janet cannot, through my act, be given
that ease and tranquillity of spirit which come from competence.
But, my dear Rupert, you will be of full age in seven years more.
Then, if you are in the same mind--and I am sure you will not
change--you, being your own master, can do freely as you will. In
the meantime, to secure, so far as I can, my dear Janet against any
malign stroke of fortune, I have given orders to my factor to remit
semi-annually to Janet one full half of such income as may be derived
in any form from my estate of Croom. It is, I am sorry to say,
heavily mortgaged; but of such as is--or may be, free from such
charge as the mortgage entails--something at least will, I trust,
remain to her. And, my dear boy, I can frankly say that it is to me
a real pleasure that you and I can be linked in one more bond in this
association of purpose. I have always held you in my heart as though
you were my own son. Let me tell you now that you have acted as I
should have liked a son of my own, had I been blessed with one, to
have acted. God bless you, my dear.

Yours ever,
COLIN ALEX. MACKELPIE.