“Thursday, April 16th, sailed from England for Holland. “18th, arrived at Rotterdam after a passage of fifty-two hours. “20th, left Rotterdam, took a carriage from thence to Antwerp, crossed to Williamstadt, slept at Breda. “21st, arrived at Antwerp. “22nd, arrived at Brussels. “23rd, left Brussels for Namur. “24th, arrived at Namur. “25th, left Dinant, passed through Givet, and the forest of Ardennes, and arrived at Mezieres. Friday, April 26th, hired another carriage to take us to Sedan, or to Verdun, in case of not meeting my beloved Brenton; but heaven allowed me to enjoy that supreme happiness, and I thought no more of the fatigues of the journey. Grant, O most merciful God, that I may never cease to feel a proper sense of Thy goodness, however impossible it must be for me to express half the gratitude I feel for Thy continued proofs of mercy, and favour, to myself and all dear to me. “Saturday, the 27th, slept at Stenay, and arrived at Verdun on Sunday the 28th.” These memoranda may appear unimportant, and irrelevant to the subject of our present biography; but yet they seem to justify Captain Brenton in having planned a journey, which, by those less deeply interested, might have been condemned as being too full of peril, and involving too much hardship to the object of his affection. His wife’s example may also serve to animate some drooping spirits placed under similar circumstances; and if it be true, as no member of the Church of England will deny, that matrimony was ordained for the mutual society, help, and comfort, that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity; we cannot but feel that the purposes of this merciful ordinance were singularly realised in the case before us. His own grateful reflections on the subject, are thus further expressed. “Our meeting was indeed one of pure, and unmixed felicity. My beloved wife forgot in a moment all her fatigue, and anxieties; and the recollection of captivity itself was instantly banished from my thoughts, or if I remembered it at all, it was as a blessing which brought me the happiness I enjoyed. I had been long impatiently expecting this joyful event, and the evening before had received a letter from my beloved wife, informing me of her arrival at Rotterdam. I was then living in the little village of Clermont, a few miles distant from Verdun. On this notice reaching me, I requested permission of the General to go as far as Sedan, to meet my family, which was kindly granted. On my road I was most anxiously examining every carriage as it approached. At sunset I had got within three miles of Sedan, and had begun to give up all hopes of seeing the object of my wishes; when I espied a travelling carriage, I felt a presentiment that it contained all I held most dear in the world, and was soon convinced of it.