 very best and sincerest wishes waits in the mean time on worthy Mrs. Cathcart,

your good self, and every member of your amiable family, who am,
my dear Sir,
your most sincere and faithful friend, and obliged humble servant, TIMOTHY HEAVYLAND.
London, Jan. 30, 17—.
To this affectionate and sincere gentleman (whom my father had instantly obliged in dropping all thoughts of complying with Elphinstone's request,) he now wrote; and describing with great simplicity his present embarrassment, which he hoped would be only temporary, besought him to advance him five hundred pounds for the present demands of tradesmen, till remitances came in, and till he could obtain assistance from his other friends: to which be received the following answer—
SIR,
Your's is come to hand. Our house, on making up your book, find they

have already advanced you 216 . 18s. 2d / 4 above your credit. We hoped you would have made this up by payments forthwith, instead of asking a loan; are sorry it is not in our power to comply therewith. I cannot take upon myself to advise them thereto, as I find myself blamed for being the occasion of the present advance, and, that our house are uneasy at the non-payment thereof. Hope you will think immediately of replacing it; and will oblige thereby,
Sir,
your humble servant, TIMOTHY HEAVYLAND.
"The eyes of my poor father were now compleatly opened, and all the horrors of his fate were before him. Young Elphinstone, still sanguine as to his father's property and his father's honour, was on this occasion his great resource. He was indefatigable in stemming the torrent of illfortune thus brought upon us; and succeeded

so well by various expedients, as to support for a while the sinking credit of the house; but seeing my father become every day more and more anxious, and doubtful about the elder Mr. Elphinstone, he proposed to go over to Antigua himself; and to this proposal added, that of marrying me and taking me with him. My father, who found his health giving way under the accumulated calamities that had lately befallen him, now thought it better to accept this proposal, and by a union of families make it Mr. Elphinstone's interest to be just. We were married then, after a reluctant consent wrung from the haughty mother of my lover, and three weeks afterwards embarked for the West Indies.
"I was not yet old enough to consider the situation of our fortune with any great concern: but I parted from my own
