CHAPTER V.
"Plutus appear'd, and said, 'Tis true,
In marriage, gold is all their view;
They seek no beauty, wit, or sense;
And love is seldom the pretence.
All offer incense at my shrine,
And I alone the bargain sign.
Doris was rich enough, 'tis true;
Her lord must give her title too:
And ev'ry man, or rich or poor,
A fortune asks, and asks no more."
Gay.
Immediately on returning home, highly satisfied with the result of his visit to Mrs. Belmour, Melliphant found on his table a letter from Sir Howard, over which he cast his eyes with precipitation. The first lines breathed bitter invective against his deceased uncle, for having disappointed his hopes. He next expatiated upon the money spent at various times, under the firm conviction of having it handsomely returned to him on the death of his uncle. He cursed the journey he had been led to take after what had proved but an ignis fatuus, deluded as he had been by false expectations; ending his epistle by saying, "that his uncle having doubtless lent his ear to some old woman's tales and backbiting, he did not choose to place his property in the hands of a spendthrift,
