When they arrived,
they had made every inquiry for me without success; they knew that I had
been tried by a court-martial, and dismissed my ship, but after that, no
clue could be found for my discovery.
Celeste, who was fearful that some dreadful accident had occurred to me,
had suffered very much in health; and General O'Brien, perceiving how
much his daughter's happiness depended upon her attachment for me, had
made up his mind that if I were found we should be united. I hardly need
say how delighted he was when he discovered me, though in a situation so
little to be envied.
The story of my incarceration, of the action to be brought against my
uncle, and the reports of foul play relative to the succession, had in
the meantime been widely circulated among the nobility; and I found that
every attention was paid me, and I was repeatedly invited out as an
object of curiosity and speculation. The loss of my sister also was a
subject of much interest, and many people, from goodwill, made every
inquiry to discover her. I had returned one day from the solicitor's,
who had advertised for her in the newspapers without success, when I
found a letter for me on the table, in an Admiralty enclosure. I opened
it--the enclosure was one from O'Brien, who had just cast anchor at
Spithead, and who had requested that the letter should be forwarded to
me, if any one could tell my address. I tore it open.
"My dear Peter,--Where are, and what has become of, you? I have
received no letters for these two years, and I have fretted myself to
death.
Pages:
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685