than he
had ever experienced before; and, after being the prey to a series of
mental convulsions, at a late hour of the night he retired, not to
sleep, but to a further meditation in a horizontal position. The morning
dawned without any alleviation of his miseries, and, on the impulse of
his natural impetuosity, he formed those plans which entirely altered
the course of his subsequent prospects and career.

The Australian colonies, at this time, were attracting public attention,
and John Ferguson determined to escape from his thraldom and misery, by
chalking out a home for himself at the antipodes; his fancy lending its
aid to picture the realisation of a fortune, and the oblivion of his
misplaced affection. This resolution once formed, he determined to
carry it out in such a way as to preclude the possibility of being
deterred by any undue influence; and without acquainting any of his
friends of his designs, he took his departure, merely writing to his
mother the cause of his sudden flight. In this letter to his parent, as
may be imagined, he expatiated on the beauty, grace, accomplishments,
and virtues of the unwitting instrument of his expatriation; confessed
his undying love with his usual enthusiasm, and expressed his belief in
her perfect indifference to his sufferings. He also stated that the lady
had accepted the addresses of another; and while he deprecated his
inability, through the disparity of their positions, to make any formal
advances or obtain a footing of equality with his more favoured rival,
he declared his decision, rather than submit to the torture he was
enduring, to leave the country and constitute himself in a distant land
the architect of his own fortune. He concluded by breathing the
tenderest affection for his parents, and entreating their forgiveness
for his seeming neglect, in parting from them in so cold and
unceremonious a manner.

The surprise and consternation of the young man's friends, occasioned by
the receipt of this letter, may well be imagined; and if John Ferguson
had not been bordering on insanity when he made his rash resolve, he
would have hesitated ere he had been the cause of that anguish, which,
in his calmer moments, he well knew would be felt. But the past was
irrevocable; and the remorse he felt for his neglect and inconsideracy,
as his native land receded from his view, still further embittered a
spirit surcharged with grief.

The painful throes of his mother's heart