who, though poor, was of highly respectable birth, her father having been a curate of the Established Church.  She was, at the time of which I am speaking, an orphan, having lost both her parents, and supported herself by keeping a small school.  My attachment was returned, and we had pledged our vows, but my father, who could not reconcile himself to her lack of fortune, forbade our marriage in the most positive terms.  He was wrong, for she was a fortune in herself—­amiable and accomplished.  Oh!  I cannot tell you all she was—­” and here the old man drew his hand across his eyes.  “By the death of my father, the only obstacle to our happiness appeared to be removed.  We agreed, therefore, that our marriage should take place within the course of a year; and I forthwith commenced enlarging my house and getting my affairs in order.  Having been left in the easy circumstances which I have described, I determined to follow no business, but to pass my life in a strictly domestic manner, and to be very, very happy.  Amongst other property derived from my father were several horses, which I disposed of in this neighbourhood, with the exception of two remarkably fine ones, which I determined to take to the next fair at Horncastle, the only place where I expected to be able to obtain what I considered to be their full value.  At length the time arrived for the commencement of the fair, which was within three months of the period which my beloved and myself had fixed upon for the celebration of our nuptials.  To the fair I went, a couple of trusty men following me with the horses.  I soon found a purchaser for the animals, a portly, plausible person, of about forty, dressed in a blue riding coat, brown top boots, and leather breeches.  There was a strange-looking urchin with him, attired in nearly similar fashion, with a beam in one of his eyes, who called him father.  The man paid me for the purchase in bank-notes—­three fifty-pound notes for the two horses.  As we were about to take leave of each other, he suddenly produced another fifty-pound note, inquiring whether I could change it, complaining, at the same time, of the difficulty of procuring change in the fair.  As I happened to have plenty of small money in my possession, and as I felt obliged to him for having purchased my horses at what I considered to be a good price, I informed him that I should be very happy to accommodate him; so I changed him the note, and he, having taken possession of the horses, went his way, and I myself returned home.

“A month passed; during this time I paid away two of the notes which I had received at Horncastle from the dealer—­one of them in my immediate neighbourhood, and the other at a town about fifteen miles distant, to which I had repaired for the purpose of purchasing some furniture.  All things seemed to be going on most prosperously, and I felt quite happy, when one morning, as I was overlooking some workmen who were employed about my house, I was accosted