ess.

"You are, then, hereby informed, that he, Charles Holland, has,
much earlier than he ought to have done, returned to England, and
that the object of his return is to contract a marriage into a
family in every way objectionable, and with a girl who is highly
objectionable.

"You, admiral, are his nearest and almost his only relative in
the world; you are the guardian of his property, and, therefore,
it becomes a duty on your part to interfere to save him from the
ruinous consequences of a marriage, which is sure to bring ruin
and distress upon himself and all who take an interest in his
welfare.

"The family he wishes to marry into is named Bannerworth, and the
young lady's name is Flora Bannerworth. When, however, I inform
you that a vampyre is in that family, and that if he marries into
it, he marries a vampyre, and will have vampyres for children, I
trust I have said enough to warn you upon the subject, and to
induce you to lose no time in repairing to the spot.

"If you stop at the Nelson's Arms at Uxotter, you will hear of
me. I can be sent for, when I will tell you more.

"Yours, very obediently and humbly,

"JOSIAH CRINKLES."

"P.S. I enclose you Dr. Johnson's definition of a vampyre, which
is as follows:

"VAMPYRE (a German blood-sucker)--by which you perceive how many
vampyres, from time immemorial, must have been well entertained
at the expense of John Bull, at the court of St. James, where no
thing hardly is to be met with but German blood-suckers."

[Illustration]

* * * * *

The lawyer ceased to read, and the amazed look with which he glanced at
the face of Admiral Bell would, under any other circumstances, have much
amused him. His mind, however, was by far too much engrossed with a
consideration of the danger of Charles Holland, his nephew, to be amused
at anything; so, when he found that the little lawyer said nothing, he
bellowed out,--

"Well, sir?"

"We--we--well," said the attorney.

"I've sent for you, and here you are, and here I am, and here's Jack
Pringle. What have you got to say?"

"Just this much," said Mr. Crinkles, recovering himself a little, "just
this much, sir, that I never saw that letter before in all my life."

"You--never--saw--it?"

"Never."

"Didn't you write it?"

"On my solemn word of