Page:The Poor Rich Man, and the Rich Poor Man.djvu/71

Rh it's got a red wafer; and besides, Harry writ it himself. Give it to me—no, I have broken my spectacles—you read it, Lottie."

"Yes, so do, Lottie," said Susan; "I want to see if my iron is hot."

"That beats the Dutch," said Uncle Phil; "if I had twenty irons in the fire I should let them burn to hear news from Harry."

Poor Susan! we hope our readers will excuse her for giving a false gloss once in her life. "I can bear any thing," so she thought, "if I am alone with Lottie, and she first sees it." Her sister soon followed her with the open letter.

"Bad news, Susy," she said, "but not what we expected."

"Then it can't be very bad," exclaimed Susan, the clouds vanishing from her face; she seized the letter, and read as follows:—

"—It is a long time since I have written to you; but I have been in much perplexity and anxiety, and have been waiting to see daylight. We have failed, Finley and I, as might have been expected; neither of us having any experience in the business we undertook. As soon as I found we could not meet our notes, I made a thorough examination into our affairs, and found we could just pay our debts and no more. So to-morrow we close the concern. I have many times regretted I did not take Charlotte's advice, and not enter into a business for which I was not qualified. I would now gladly return to my trade, but confinement to business, and anxiety, have had an unfavourable effect on my health, and I am more