rom the coach, and receiving this information, they were
ushered into the drawing-room, and presently joined by a clergyman who
had been the chaplain of the deceased, who acquainted our adventurer of
the death of his parent--that by will he was entitled ~40~~to 10,000L.
per annum, and a handsome estate in Wiltshire. This sudden reverse
of fortune to Sparkle--the change from confinement to liberty, from
indigence to affluence--awakened sensations more easily to be conceived
than described. He wept, (perhaps the first tears of sincerity in his
life; ) his heart was subdued by an overwhelming flood of affection for
that unknown being, whom he now found had been his constant guardian
angel, alternately taking Orford and the reverend Divine by the hand,
and hiding his head in the bosom of his reputed father. At length they
led him to the room in which were the remains of his lamented parent.

There are perhaps few circumstances better calculated to impress awe
on the youthful mind than the contemplation of those features in death
which have been respected and revered while living. Such respect had
ever been entertained by Charles Sparkle for the supposed friend of
Mr. Orford, from whom he had several times received the most kind and
affectionate advice; and his sensations upon discovering that friend
to be no other than his own father, may be more easily conceived than
described--he was at once exalted and humbled, delighted and afflicted.
He threw himself in an agony of feeling by the bed-side, fell on his
knees, in which he was joined by the clergyman and Orford, where he
remained some time.

After the first paroxysms of grief had subsided, young Sparkle, who had
already felt the strongest impression that could possibly be made on
a naturally good heart, gave orders for the funeral of his deceased
father, and then proceeded to make other arrangements suitable to
the character he was hereafter to sustain through life, went down
to Wiltshire, and took possession of his estate, where for a time he
secluded himself, and devoted his attention to the perusal of the
best authors in the English, French, and Italian language, under the
superintendence of the reverend Divine, who had been a resident for many
years with his father.

But a life in the country could not long have superior charms for a
young man who had already seen much to admire, as well as much to avoid,
in the metropolis. The combination however of theoretical inf