mind. She had no tenderness or sympathy
for the weaknesses, or even for the affections,
of woman's nature and her demeanour
towards me was peremptory, and often even
harsh.

It is not to be supposed, then, that I
found in the society of my parents much to
supply the loss of my sister. About a year
after her marriage, we received letters from
Mr. Carew, containing accounts of my
sister's health, which, though not actually
alarming, were calculated to make us seriously
uneasy. The symptoms most dwelt
upon were loss of appetite and cough.

The letters concluded by intimating that
he would avail himself of my father and
mother's repeated invitation to spend some
time at Ashtown, particularly as the physician
who had been consulted as to my
sister's health had strongly advised a
removal to her native air.

There were added repeated assurances
that nothing serious was apprehended, as it
was supposed that a deranged state of the
liver was the only source of the symptoms
which at first had seemed to intimate
consumption.