She denied it with such evident sincerity that I could not for a moment suspect her of deceiving me. Whatever the cause of her distress might be, it was plain that she had her own reasons for keeping it a secret. Her French books were on the table. I tried a little allusion to her lessons. "I hope you will go on regularly with your studies," I said. "I will do my best, sir--without you to help me." She said it so sadly that I proposed--purely from the wish to encourage her--a continuation of our lessons through the post. "Send your exercises to me once a week," I suggested; "and I will return them corrected." She thanked me in low tones, with a shyness of manner which I had never noticed in her before. I had done my best to cheer her--and I was conscious, as we shook hands at parting, that I had failed. A feeling of disappointment overcomes me when I see young people out of spirits. I was sorry for Susan. THIRD EPOCH. ONE of my faults (which has not been included in the list set forth by my valet) is a disinclination to occupy myself with my own domestic affairs. The proceedings of my footman, while I had been away from home, left me no alternative but to dismiss him on my return. With this exertion of authority my interference as chief of the household came to an end. I left it to my excellent housekeeper, Mrs. Mozeen, to find a sober successor to the drunken vagabond who had been sent away. She discovered a respectable young man--tall, plump, and rosy--whose name was Joseph, and whose character was beyond reproach. I have but one excuse for noticing such a trifling event as this. It took its place, at a later period, in the chain which was slowly winding itself round me. My uncle had asked me to prolong my visit and I should probably have consented, but for anxiety on the subject of a near and dear relative--my sister. Her health had been failing since the death of her husband, to whom she was tenderly attached. I heard news of her while I was in Sussex, which hurried me back to town. In a month more, her death deprived me of my last living relation. She left no children; and my two brothers had both died unmarried while they were still young men. This affliction placed me in a position of serious embarrassment, in regard to the disposal of my property after my death.