- pany of his niece, the captain had another
reason which, without mentioning to her, he communicated to his brother. Sir Edward Hamden, though by his wound unable to follow Miss Mortimer to London, had declared to her father and uncle, that the first use he should make of his recovery, would be to throw himself at her feet. Sir Edward's wound, though never dangerous, had been more serious than was first apprehended, and the cure was tedious, procrastinated perhaps by the irritation of his impatience, and January arrived before he was able to reach London. Hamilton earnestly entreated Maria to consent to his undeceiving the captain, her father, and Sir Edward, and to become immediately his. But she so strongly represented the effect which such a disappointment might have on Hamden, in his unconfirmed state of health, that he, however reluctantly, sus-
