upon the great number of letters there. At my instigation--made, of
course, in jest--he applied at the General Delivery for letters for
himself. He received one bearing the Toronto post-mark. He was
naturally very much surprised at receiving it, and was not less so at
its contents. After reading it he handed it to me, and I also read it
carefully. I cannot recollect it word for word, but it professed to
come from 'his affectionate uncle, Richard Yardington.' It expressed
pleasure at his coming home sooner than had been anticipated, and
hinted in rather vague terms at some calamity. He referred to a lady
called Alice, and stated that she had not been informed of Mr.
Furlong's intended arrival. There was something too, about his
presence at home being a recompense to her for recent grief which she
had sustained. It also expressed the writer's intention to meet his
nephew at the Toronto railway station upon his arrival, and stated that
no telegram need be sent. This, as nearly as I can remember, was about
all there was in the letter. Mr. Furlong professed to recognise the
handwriting as his uncle's. It was a cramped hand, not easy to read,
and the signature was so peculiarly formed that I was hardly able to
decipher it. The peculiarity consisted of the extreme irregularity in
the formation of the letters, no two of which were of equal size; and
capitals were interspersed promiscuously, more especially throughout
the surname.

"Mr. Furlong was much agitated by the contents of the letter, and was
anxious for the arrival of the time of his departure. He left by the B.
& A. train at 11.30. This is really all I know about the matter, and I
have been anxiously expecting to hear from him ever since he left. I
confess that I feel curious, and should be glad to hear from him--that
is, of course, unless something is involved which it would be
impertinent for a comparative stranger to pry into.