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174 feelings had undergone in the short space of a few hours: that interchange of thought, hope, sentiment, and affection, he had indulged in with Oriana, which during his recent sorrow he had imagined flown for ever, he now saw not only renewed but strengthened, even confirmed, beyond what his most sanguine expectations could have conceived. He had endured a trial the most severe; but the termination of it had assured him, by the most unequivocal testimony, how ardently his affection was returned; the traces of which were not slightly, but deeply and indelibly imprinted on his heart.

In the midst of this happy conviction and enthusiasm of feeling, he was interrupted by the voice of the Doctor, who, as he descended to meet him, took from his pocket a letter, and said, "Philimore, I am the bearer of news to you; and from your father; if I mistake not, this handwriting is his."

It was as he supposed; and the eye of the son glanced rapidly over the contents of his father's letter; his fears were verified—it contained a mandate for his immediate return to London. The clergyman who had officiated during his absence, could not possibly, consistent with his other employments, renew his engagement.