CHAPTER XIV. THE CANON OF WINDSOR.
Turn, gentle hermit of the dale.--GOLDSMITH.
"My child, will you do me a favour?" said Mr. Belamour the next
evening, in a tone no longer formal, but paternal. "Take this
packet" (he put one into the girl's hand) "to the light and inform
me what is the superscription."
It was a thick letter, with a large red wax seal, bearing the well
known arms of Belamour and Delavie, and the address was
To AMYAS BELAMOUR, ESQ., K.C.,
OF THE INNER TEMPLE, LONDON.
To be opened after my death.]
JOVIAN BELAMOUR.
Dec. 14th, 1727.
"I thought so," said Mr. Belamour, when she returned to him with
intelligence. "Little did my poor brother guess how long it would
be unopened! Will my gentle friend confer another obligation on
me?"
Aurelia made her ready assent, hoping to be asked to read the letter,
when he continued, "I cannot read this myself. Even could I bear the
light, the attempt to fix my eyes sends darts shooting through my
brain, which would take away my very power of comprehension. But,"
he continued, "there are only two men living to whom I could entrust
my brother's last words to me. One, your own good father, is out of
reach; the other has frequently proffered his good offices and has
been rejected.
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