"State the conditions, therefore, to your nephew, as if they were your
own. Let him think they have been suggested to your mind by the new
responsibilities imposed on you as a man of property, by your
position in my will, and by your consequent anxiety to provide for the
perpetuation of the family name. If these reasons are not sufficient to
satisfy him, there can be no objection to your referring him, for any
further explanations which he may desire, to his wedding-day.
"I have done. My last wishes are now confided to you, in implicit
reliance on your honor, and on your tender regard for the memory of your
friend. Of the miserable circumstances which compel me to write as I
have written here, I say nothing. You will hear of them, if my life is
spared, from my own lips--for you will be the first friend whom I shall
consult in my difficulty and distress. Keep this letter strictly secret,
and strictly in your own possession, until my requests are complied
with. Let no human being but yourself know where it is, on any pretense
whatever.
"Believe me, dear Admiral Bartram, affectionately yours,
"NOEL VANSTONE."
"Have you signed, sir?" asked Mrs.
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