H. My mother dead!

S. Ah, poor lady! she never looked up, after it.

H. After what?

S. The loss of your father.

H. My father gone, too?

S. Yes, poor gentleman! he took to his bed as soon as he heard of it.

H. Heard of what?

S. The bad news, sir, and please your honor.

H. What! more miseries! more bad news!

S. Yes, sir; your bank has failed, and your credit is lost, and you are
not worth a shilling in the world. I made bold, sir, to wait on you about
it, for I thought you would like to hear the news.



XX. THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM.

Robert Southey (b. 1774, d. 1843) was born in Bristol, England. He entered
Balliol College, Oxford, in 1793. In 1804 he established himself
permanently at Greta Hall, near Keswick, Cumberland, in the "Lake
Country," where he enjoyed the friendship and society of Wordsworth and