CHAPTER VII.


In no long time after the disclosure Mr. Falkland had made, Mr.
Forester, his elder brother by the mother's side, came to reside for a
short period in our family. This was a circumstance peculiarly adverse
to my patron's habits and inclinations. He had broken off, as I have
already said, all intercourse of visiting with his neighbours. He
debarred himself every kind of amusement and relaxation. He shrunk from
the society of his fellows, and thought he could never be sufficiently
buried in obscurity and solitude. This principle was, in most cases, of
no difficult execution to a man of firmness. But Mr. Falkland knew not
how to avoid the visit of Mr. Forester. This gentleman was just returned
from a residence of several years upon the continent; and his demand of
an apartment in the house of his half-brother, till his own house at the
distance of thirty miles should be prepared for his reception, was made
with an air of confidence that scarcely admitted of a refusal. Mr.
Falkland could only allege, that the state of his health and spirits was
such, that lie feared a residence at his house would be little agreeable
to his kinsman; and Mr. Forester conceived that this was a
disqualification which would always augment in proportion as it was
tolerated, and hoped that his society, by inducing Mr. Falkland to
suspend his habits of seclusion, would be the means of essential
benefit. Mr. Falkland opposed him no further. He would have been sorry
to be thought unkind to a kinsman for whom he had a particular esteem;
and the consciousness of not daring to assign the true reason, made him
cautious of adhering to his objection.

The character of Mr. Forester was, in many respects, the reverse of that
of my master. His very appearance indicated the singularity of his