"Devotedly attached to the virtuous and beautiful lady whom he had wisely chosen for his mate, the whole study of his life was to please her, and keep alive the tender affections of the noble heart he had secured. "They loved, as few modern couples love; and Sir Alexander's friends, and he had many, deeply sympathized in his happiness. "Two beings alone upon his estate viewed his felicity with jealous and malignant eyes--two beings, who, from their lowly and dependent situations, would have been thought incapable of marring the happiness which excited their envy. Dinah North had been reconciled to her daughter, and they occupied the huntsman's lodge, a beautiful cottage within the precincts of the park. Dinah had secretly vowed vengeance on the man who, from principle, had saved her child from the splendid shame the avaricious mother coveted. She was among the first to offer her services, and those of her daughter, to Lady Moncton. The pretty young wife of the huntsman attracted the attention of the lady of the Hall, and she employed her constantly about her person, while in cases of sickness, for she was very fragile, Dinah officiated as nurse. "A year passed away, and the lady of the manor and the wife of the lowly huntsman were both looking forward with anxious expectation to the birth of their first-born. "At midnight, on the 10th of October, 1804, an heir was given to the proud house of Moncton; a weak, delicate, puny babe, who nearly cost his mother her life. At the same hour, in the humble cottage at the entrance of that rich domain, your poor friend, George Harrison (or Philip Mornington, which is my real name) was launched upon the stormy ocean of life." At this part of Harrison's narrative I fell back upon my pillow and groaned heavily. George flew to my assistance, raising me in his arms and sprinkling my face with water. "Are you ill, dear Geoffrey?" "Not ill, George, but grieved: sick at heart, that you should be grandson to that dreadful old hag." "We cannot choose our parentage," said George, sorrowfully. "The station in which we are born, constitutes fate in this world; it is the only thing pertaining to man over which his will has no control. We can destroy our own lives, but our birth is entirely in the hands of Providence. Could I have ordered it otherwise, I certainly should have chosen a different mother." He smiled mournfully, and bidding me to lie down and keep quiet, resumed his tale.