He had been several years at sea, and had, in the course of those

removals to which all midshipmen are liable, and especially such

midshipmen as every captain wishes to get rid of, been six months on

board Captain Frederick Wentworth's frigate, the Laconia; and from the

Laconia he had, under the influence of his captain, written the only

two letters which his father and mother had ever received from him

during the whole of his absence; that is to say, the only two

disinterested letters; all the rest had been mere applications for

money.

In each letter he had spoken well of his captain; but yet, so little

were they in the habit of attending to such matters, so unobservant and

incurious were they as to the names of men or ships, that it had made

scarcely any impression at the time; and that Mrs Musgrove should have

been suddenly struck, this very day, with a recollection of the name of

Wentworth, as connected with her son, seemed one of those extraordinary

bursts of mind which do sometimes occur.

She had gone to her letters, and found it all as she supposed; and the

re-perusal of these letters, after so long an interval, her poor son

gone for ever, and all the strength of his faults forgotten, had

affected her spirits exceedingly, and thrown her into greater grief for

him than she had known on first hearing of his death. Mr Musgrove was,

in a lesser degree, affected likewise; and when they reached the

cottage, they were evidently in want, first, of being listened to anew

on this subject, and afterwards, of all the relief which cheerful

companions could give them.

To hear them talking so much of Captain Wentworth, repeating his name

so often, puzzling over past years, and at last ascertaining that it

might, that it probably would, turn out to be the very same Captain

Wentworth whom they recollected meeting, once or twice, after their

coming back from Clifton--a very fine young man--but they could not say

whether it was seven or eight years ago, was a new sort of trial to

Anne's nerves. She found, however, that it was one to which she must

inure herself. Since he actually was expected in the country, she must

teach herself to be insensible on such points. And not only did it

appear that he was expected, and speedily, but the Musgroves, in their

warm gratitude for the kindness he had shewn poor Dick, and very high

respect for his character, stamped as it was by poor Dick's having been

six months under his care, and mentioning him in strong, though not

perfectly well-spelt praise, as "a fine dashing felow, only two

perticular about the schoolmaster," were bent on introducing

themselves, and seeking his acquaintance, as soon as they could hear of

his arrival.




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