ng it, I did so,
as it might contain matters which concerned their son. And so it
proved. The letter read:

"22 _Jan'y_ 1760.

Dear Lucy,--I send this, trusting to the courtesy of General
Murray that it may reach your hands safely. I was so suddenly
called away that there was much left unsaid when we parted, and
there has been no time for personal matters since. In the event
of anything happening to me, I wish you to impress on Christopher
that Mr. Drummond, the banker of Charing Cross, holds in trust
a small sum deposited there for me by my cousin, the late Lady
Jane Drummond. I have placed my will in the hands of M. de
Vaudreuil, and whichever way things fall out, this will serve
as a receipt, and insure its delivery. I would be glad to know
of your well-being.

Hugh Maxwell."

I sent for Christopher, who was not with us but stationed at the
General Hospital with others of his regiment, and made known the
matter to him, and through the general he sent to his father his
acknowledgments and the news of Lucy's death.

I was pleased at the consideration of which the letter was proof,
and it was a satisfaction to hear Archie's acknowledgment of Hugh's
charm; but beyond this the letter awoke in me no farther feeling,
and I was surprised to find I could look at his writing and read
his words with so little emotion. The truth is, I was living in a
new world; the discovery of my brother's love, the revelation of
Mme. de Sarennes's affection towards me, had gone far to fill the
hunger and emptiness of my life, and the old spell which had so
long dominated every thought and aspiration was no longer paramount.
Then, too, the long strain of feverish hope and unrest, the
disappointments and dangers, through which I had passed, had rendered
me peculiarly sensible to the charm of the quiet convent life by
which I was surrounded. Therein I found work into which I threw
myself with ardour, and was encouraged by the Superior towards that
way of peace upon which the convent doors gave entrance. Could I
once determine to cut myself free from the unrest and struggle of
the world, I felt that before me opened a life of usefulness which
promised amends for all suffering and atonement for all error. My
life had so far been lived for myself alone, and I saw about me
women who had attained happiness through a complete sacrifice of
self. Could I only be sure I had the strength, was not the same
rew