s me
there will be no difficulty whatever about."

The squire's was a very cordial letter, and he, too, enclosed notes for
a hundred pounds.

"Mr. Wilks tells me," he said, "that you do not like the thought of
doctoring. I am not surprised, and I think that a young fellow, of such
spirit and courage as you have shown, ought to be fitted for something
better than administering pills and draughts to the old women of
Sidmouth. Tell me frankly, when you write, what you would like. You
are, of course, too old for the royal navy. If you like to enter the
merchant service, I have no doubt I could arrange with some shipping
firm in Bristol, and would take care that, by the time you get to be
captain, you should also be part owner of the ship. If, on the other
hand, you would like to enter the army--and it seems to me that there
are stirring times approaching--I think that, through one or other of
my friends in London, I could obtain a commission for you. If there is
anything else you would like better than this, you may command my best
services. I never forget how much I am indebted to you for my present
happiness, and, whatever I can do for you, still shall feel myself
deeply your debtor."

The old soldier wrote a characteristic letter. In the first place, he
told James that he regarded him as a fool, for mixing up in an affair
in which he had no concern whatever. Then he congratulated him on the
fact that circumstances had broken the chain from which he would never
otherwise have freed himself.

"You must not be angry with me," he said, "for having betrayed your
confidence, and told the truth to your mother. I did it in order to
console her, by showing her that things were, after all, for the best;
and I must say that madam took my news in the very best spirit, and I
am sure you will see this by her letter to you. There is no one I
honour and esteem more than I do her, and I was sure, all along, that
you were making a mistake in not telling her frankly what your wishes
were. Now you have got a roving commission for a time, and it will be
your own fault if you don't make the best of it. There is likely to be
an exciting time in the colonies, and you are not the lad I take you
for, if you dawdle away your time in the towns, instead of seeing what
is going on in the forest."

These letters filled James with delight, and, without an hour's delay,
he sat down to answer them. In his letter to the squire he thanked him
most w