“Yarra Bend Asylum,
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“Strictly private and confidential

“Sir,—­You are hereby ordered to take possession of and detain every vessel arriving at Port Albert.  You will immediately proceed on board each of them, and place the broad arrow abaft the foremast six feet above the deck.  You will thus cut off all communication with the British Empire.  I may state that I am the lawful heir to the title and estates of a Scottish dukedom, and am deprived of the possession and enjoyment of my rightful station and wealth by the machinations of a band of conspirators, who have found means to detain me in this prison in order to enjoy my patrimony.  You will particularly observe that you are to hold no communication whatever with the Governor of this colony, as he is the paid agent of the conspirators, and will endeavour to frustrate all efforts to obtain my rights.  You will also be most careful to withhold all information from the Duke of Dunsinane, who is a member of the junior branch of my family, and at the head of the conspiracy.  You will proceed as soon as possible to enrol a body of men for the purpose of effecting my deliverance by force of arms.  As these men will require payment for their services, you will enter the Bank of Victoria at Port Albert, and seize all the money you will find there, the amount of which I estimate at ten thousand pounds, which will be sufficient for preliminary expenses.  You will give, in my name, to the manager of the bank, a guarantee in writing for repayment of the money, with current rate of interest added, when I recover the dukedom and estates.  Be careful to explain to him that you take the money only as a loan, and that will prevent the bank from laying any criminal charge against you.  Should anything of the kind be in contemplation, you will be good enough to report progress to me as soon as possible, and I will give you all necessary instructions as to your future proceedings.

“I may mention that in seeking to obtain my title and estates, I am influenced by no mean or mercenary considerations; my sole desire is to benefit the human race.  I have been employing all my leisure hours during the last nine years in perfecting a system of philosophy entirely new, and applicable to all times, to all nations, and to all individuals.  I have discovered the true foundation for it, which, like all great inventions, is so simple that it will surprise the world it was never thought of before.  It is this:  “Posito impossibili sequitur quidlibet.”  My philosophy is founded on the firm basis of the Impossible; on that you can build anything and everything.  My great work is methodical, divided into sections and chapters, perfect in style, and so lucid in argument that he who runs may read and be enlightened.  I have counted the words, and they number so far seven hundred and two thousand five hundred and seventy-eight (702,578).  Five years more will be required to complete the