of the cause he
advocated, besides which, certain mercantile speculations into which he
had entered had been unsuccessful, so that when deprived of Eversden he
had no means remaining for his support. The hope, which he probably
entertained, that his son Roger would be Colonel Tregellen's heir, was
somewhat damped when Mistress Alice was adopted as his daughter--not
that he felt any jealousy of her in consequence,--indeed, he might
possibly have entertained the idea that she would marry Roger, and that,
should she become the Colonel's heiress, the property would thus be
restored to the family. Had the subject, however, been spoken of to
him, he would very likely have replied that he did not wish his thoughts
to dwell on such sublunary matters, that, all being ordered for the
best, he would leave them in the hands of Providence, without attempting
to interfere. Still, as Alice grew up into a sweet and engaging girl,
he could not help wishing, as he looked at her, that she would some day
become his son's wife. It is certain, however, that such thought had
never for a moment crossed Roger's mind, nor that of the young lady
either. She would have laughed heartily if the subject had been
mentioned to her, and declared that she should as soon have thought of
marrying old Mr Willoughby himself, whom she always called her uncle.
Fortunately no one had ever been silly enough to talk to her about the
matter, and she and Roger had never had what might prove a barrier to
their friendship placed between them.

Roger's thoughts were generally occupied with his grand idea to go
abroad to the Indies, or to America, or to the plantations, to make a
fortune, and to restore the family to its former position. He did not
consider that his father was dependent on the Colonel, but he saw that
the latter himself had but limited means; for the estate, although of
considerable extent, yielded but a poor income. Its owner had nothing
else to depend on, so that he was unable to repair the house or to make
improvements on the land. The King on his Restoration had promised to
give him a lucrative post as soon as he could find one suited to his
talents, but year after year passed by, and he received no appointment;
at length he went up to London--a journey not easily performed in those
days,--and after waiting for a considerable time, through the interest
of an old friend he obtained an interview with the Merry Monarch.

"Gadzooks, man!" excl