Captain Sinclair on his return to Fort Frontignac reported to the
Colonel the successful result of the expedition, and was warmly
congratulated upon it, as the Colonel had been made acquainted with the
engagement between him and Mary Percival. The Young Otter, who had
remained in confinement during Captain Sinclair's absence, was now set
at liberty; and the Colonel, who was aware that Captain Sinclair must be
very anxious to remain at the settlement for a short time after what had
occurred, very kindly offered him leave for a few days, which it may be
supposed Captain Sinclair did not fail to avail himself of. The Colonel
at the same time sent a message to Mr Campbell, stating that as soon as
the _bateaux_ should arrive from Montreal, he would bring any letters or
newspapers that might arrive for them, and take that opportunity of
offering in person his congratulations.
Captain Sinclair did not, however, return for two or three days, as he
had many letters to write in answer to those which had arrived during
his absence. On his return to the settlement, he found them all well
and happy; Mary quite recovered from her fatigue, and everything going
on in the same quiet order and method as if the expedition had never
taken place, and had never been necessary. Indeed, nothing appeared now
wanting to the happiness of the whole party, and their affairs were
prospering. The emigrants who had joined Mr Campbell were industrious
and intelligent, very civil, and very useful. They paid the greatest
respect to Mr and Mrs Campbell, who were certainly very liberal and
kind to them, assisting them in every way in their power. Although the
farm had been so much increased, the labour was light, from the quantity
of hands they could command; the stock had increased very fast; old
Graves had taken charge of the mill during the absence of Alfred and
Martin, and had expressed his wish to continue in that employment, which
Alfred gladly gave up. In short, peace and plenty reigned in the
settlement, and Alfred's words when he recommended his father to go to
Canada, had every prospect of becoming true--that his father would be
independent, if not rich, and leave his children the same. In three
days Captain Sinclair arrived; he was received with great warmth by all
the party, and after dinner was over, Mr Campbell addressed the family
as follows:--
"My dear children, your mother and I have had some conversation on one
or two points, and we have come to the decision that having so much to
thank God for, in His kindness and mercies shewn towards us, it would be
selfish on our parts if we did not consult the happiness of others. We
are now independent, and with every prospect of being more so every day;
we are no longer isolated, but surrounded by those who are attached to
us, and will protect us should there be any occasion. In short, we are
living in comfort and security, and we trust to Providence that we shall
continue so to do. You, my dear Alfred, generously abandoned your
profession to which you were so partial, to come and protect us in the
wilderness, and we knew too well the value of your services not to
accept them, although we were fully aware of the sacrifice which you
made; but we are no longer in a wilderness, and no longer require your
strong arm and bold heart. We have therefore decided that it is our
duty no longer to keep you from the profession to which you belong, but,
on the contrary, to recommend you now to rejoin and follow up your
career, which we trust in God may prove as prosperous as we are
convinced it will be honourable. Take our best thanks, my dear boy, for
your kindness to us, and now consider yourself at liberty to return to
England, and rejoin the service as soon as you please.
"And now I must address you, my dear Mary; you and your sister
accompanied us here, and since you have been with us, have cheered us
during our stay by your attentions and unwearied cheerfulness under all
the privations which we at first had to encounter. You have engaged the
affections of an honourable and deserving man, but at the same time have
never shewn the least disposition to leave us; indeed, we know what your
determination has been, but your aunt and I consider it our present duty
to say, that much as we shall regret to part with one so dear, you must
no longer sacrifice yourself for us, but make him happy who so well
deserves you. That you will remain here is of course out of the
question; your husband's connections and fortune require that he should
return to England, and not bury himself in the woods of Canada. You
have therefore our full permission, and I may say, it will be most
pleasing to us, if you no longer delay your union with Captain Sinclair
and follow your husband; whenever and wherever you go, you will have our
blessings and our prayers, and the satisfaction of knowing that you have
been to us as a dutiful daughter, and that we love you as dearly as it
is possible for parents to do. Take her, Captain Sinclair, from my
hands, and take with her our blessings and best wishes for your
happiness, which I do not doubt will be as great as we can expect in
this chequered world; for a dutiful daughter will always become a good
wife."
Mary, who was sitting between Mrs Campbell and Captain Sinclair, fell
upon her aunt's neck and wept; Mr Campbell extended his hand to Captain
Sinclair, who expressed in return his warmest thanks and gratitude.
Alfred, who had said nothing more, went up to his mother and kissed her.
"I wish you to go, Alfred," said his mother; "I wish you to rejoin a
service to which you are a credit. Do not believe otherwise, or that I
shall grieve too much at your departure."
"Go, my son," said Mr Campbell, shaking him by the hand, "and let me
see you a post-captain before I die."
Mrs Campbell now took Mary Percival into the next room, that she might
compose herself, and Captain Sinclair ventured to follow. Everyone
appeared happy at this announcement of Mr Campbell's except Emma, who
looked unusually serious. Alfred, perceiving it, said to her, "Emma,
you are very grave at the idea of losing Mary, and I do not wonder at
it, but you will have one consolation--you will lose me too, and I shall
no longer plague you as you continually complain that I do."
"I never thought of that," replied Emma, half angry; "well, you _are_ a
great plague, and the sooner you go--"
Emma did not, however, finish her speech, but left the room, to join her
sister.
Now that Mr Campbell had announced his wishes, the subject of Mary's
marriage and Alfred's return to the service was, for a few days, the
continual subject of discussion. It was decided that Mary should be
married in a month, by the chaplain of the fort, who had returned, and
that Captain Sinclair, with his wife and Alfred, should leave the
settlement at the end of September, so as to arrive at Quebec in good
time for sailing before the winter should set in. It was now the last
week in August, so that there was not much time to pass away previous to
their departure. Captain Sinclair returned to the fort, to make the
Colonel acquainted with what had passed, and to take the necessary steps
for leave of absence, and his return to England. This, from his
interest with the Governor, he was sure to obtain, and when in England
it would be time sufficient to decide whether he should leave that
service, or exchange into some regiment at home. As every prospect of
war or disturbance in Canada was now over, he could take either step
without any censure being laid upon him.
A week afterwards, the _bateaux_ arrived from Montreal, and the Colonel
and Captain Sinclair, made their appearance at the settlement, bringing
with them the letters and papers from England.
Having received the congratulations of the Colonel, Mr and Mrs
Campbell, with his permission, opened their letters, for all the family
were present, and all, as usual, anxious to hear the news. The first
letter Mr Campbell opened, to the surprise of all, produced an
immediate change in his countenance. He read it a second time, and
laying it down on his knee, appeared to remain in a state of complete
abstraction.
"No bad news, I hope, Campbell?" said his wife anxiously, as all the
rest looked upon him with astonishment.
"No, my dear Emily, no bad news, but most unexpected news; such as it
has been my fortune in life to receive once before this time. You
remember, although years have since passed, the letter that was brought
to us in our little parlour--"
"Which put you in possession of Wexton Hall, Campbell."
"Yes, I did refer to that; but I will not keep you all in longer
suspense. This is but a counterpart of the former letter."