 Yes, my Lord, after a dismal lapse of time,

memory recalls your kindness, your paternal caresses, with a gratitude and chastened pleasure scarce inferior to that which they excited when I was indeed your child; and one of the most fervent wishes of my heart is, to be allowed to think I have a father, and gratified with the permission of asking on my knees his blessing.
That heart, my Lord, which, worn out with suffering and subdued by sorrow, looked around the universe and beheld no single remaining source of hope and consolation, has lately discovered, by the mercy of a gracious providence, one little spot of rest, one prop of support, that tells me I have not been bereft of all; and which bids me be grateful and resigned. The Almighty has vouchsafed me a tender bond of union, that binds me to life and connects me with mankind; He has granted me the tender interest of parental fondness, which with divine influence

heals the corroding remembrance of his less gracious dispensations, and presents me with a ray of satisfaction even in this world. Heaven has sent me two lovely and beloved daughters, dear to my soul and unrivalled in my admiration, and who claim the enthusiastic adoration of a parent's heart: yet by him alone, who enjoys a right to that sacred title, they are abandoned and disowned; to him the same healing benefit is offered; but he disdains its acceptance, he rejects the soothing comfort, and will not lay hold of those alleviations which a pitying Providence bestows.
What hidden and mysterious cause! what unaccountable and unmerited prepossessions, have banished the warm benevolence and misled the rectitude that formed the ruling principles of Lord Belmont's character? Ah! my Lord! whatever secret and malevolent enemy has poisoned your mind with doubts and prejudices,

be assured they have not the slightest foundation in truth. Some selfish and ungenerous motive must have prompted these misrepresentations. Give not credit to so base a lie. Consent but to behold your innocent, your amiable grandchildren, and every suspicion will be refuted, all mediation useless, and persuasion at an end. Subdued and enchanted, you will take them to your paternal bosom, you will desire to attach them to you by still closer ties, by the spontaneous bonds of gratitude and obligation. You will love them with the fondness of a father: you will love them perhaps as I love them: and their unremitting and affectionate duty will give additional interest to your existence, as it constitutes the sole blessing of mine.
The youngest of these valuable young women, has already disposed
