this suit? Was it possible that she might have
intervened in any way in it? And, last of all, would this lawyer,
whose name appeared in the proceedings, take compassion on my unhappy
condition, and aid me to discover where my mother was? I meditated
long over all this, and I ended by convincing myself that there are few
people in the world who are not well pleased to do a kind thing which
costs little in the doing; and so I resolved I would write to Mr.
Spanks, and address him at the court he practised in. I could not help
feeling that it was at a mere straw I was grasping; but nothing more
tangible lay within my "reach. I wrote thus:--

"Sir,--I am the son and only child of Sir Roger and Lady Norcott; and
seeing that you have lately conducted a suit against my father, I ask
you, as a great favor, to let me know where my mother is now living,
that I may write to her. I know that I am taking a great liberty in
obtruding this request upon you; but I am very friendless, and very
little versed in worldly knowledge. Will you let both these deficiencies
plead for me? and let me sign myself

"Your grateful servant,

"Digby Norcott.

"You can address me at the house of Hodnig and Oppovich, Fiume, Austria,
where I am living as a clerk, and under the name of Digby Owen,--Owen
being the name of my mother's family."

I was not very well pleased with the composition of this letter; but it
had one recommendation, which I chiefly sought for,--it was short, and
for this reason I hoped it might be favorably received. I read it over
and over, each time seeing some new fault, or some omission to correct;
and then I would turn again to the newspaper, and ponder over the few
words that meant so much and yet revealed so little. How my mother's
position would be affected--if at all--by this decision I could not
tell. Indeed, it was the mere accident of hearing divorce discussed
at my father's table that enabled me to know what the terms of the law
implied. And thus I turned from my letter to the newspaper, and back
again from the newspaper to my letter, so engrossed by the theme that
I forgot where I was, and utterly forgot all about that difficult task
Herr Ulrich had set me. Intense thought and weariness of mind, aided
by the unbroken stillness of the place, made me heavy and drowsy. From
poring over the paper, I gradually bent down till my head rested on it,
and I fell sound asleep.

I must have passed hours thus, for it was alread