“Her father was a clergyman of high standing in the English Church, and had a pastoral charge in England, in which he continued until circumstances rendered it necessary for him to leave that country, and seek a residence in America. At a very early age, this young lady had lost her mother, and had almost been entirely educated by her father, whose talents, attainments, and moral excellence admirably fitted him for this important duty. When she had attained her eighteenth year, an attachment was formed between her and a young barrister of great promise and respectability. This attachment soon resulted in a matrimonial engagement. Shortly after the engagement she began unaccountably to decline in health; there was a manifest change in her habits; she was no longer fond of society; its pleasures ceased to allure and prove attractive; the friends whom she had caressed with all the warmth of a sister’s love, now became objects of indifference; in a word she was a changed being—her personal appearance exhibited alterations evident to the most superficial observer; her abdomen enlarged, the breasts fuller than usual, the face pale and careworn, and the appetite capricious, with much gastric derangement. Many were the efforts made to account for this change in the conduct and appearance of the young lady in question. Speculation was at work, and numerous were the surmises of her friends. The rumor soon spread that she was the victim of seduction, and her altered appearance the result of pregnancy. “The barrister to whom she was affianced heard of these reports, and instead of being the first to stand forth as her protector, and draw nearer to his heart this lovely and injured girl thus measurably assuaging the intensity of grief with which she was overwhelmed, addressed a letter to her father requesting to be released from his engagement. This was, of course, assented to without hesitation. The daughter, conscious of her own innocence, knowing better than anyone else, her own immaculate character, and relying on heaven to guide her in this her hour of tribulation, requested that a physician should be sent for, in order that the nature of her case might be clearly ascertained. A medical man visited her, and after an investigation of her symptoms, informed the father that she was undoubtedly pregnant, and suggested that means should be taken to keep the unpleasant matter secret. The father, indignant at this cruel imputation against the honor of his child, requested an additional consultation. This resulted (as usual) in a confirmation of the opinion previously expressed, and the feelings of that parent can be better appreciated than portrayed.