"To be sure, sir, and a very proper attitude. I plunge, then, into the middle of affairs. You will doubtless remember Silvanus Tellworthy, younger brother of the late Sir Jabez Tellworthy whose virtues recently ceased to adorn this neighbourhood."
"Perfectly."
"His conscience led him to exchange this country, in the thirty-fifth year of his age, for a soil more amical to his religious opinions."
"I have heard 'twas for fear of the attentions of a widow in Harwich; but proceed."
"After amassing a considerable fortune he died, sir, of a paralytical stroke, upon the 12th of November last."
"I am sorry to hear it."
"That was the common expression of Boston at the time. Dismissing for a more leisurely occasion the consideration of his civic virtues, I may say that I had the honour to possess his confidence in the double capacity of friend and legal adviser. It fell to me to draw up his will, some few years before his decease; and now I am left to the task of giving it effect. He was a childless man, and, with the exception of some trifling legacies to the town of Boston and a few private friends, bequeathed his wealth to his only niece, Margaret, daughter of the Sir Jabez Tellworthy already mentioned, and her heirs."
Captain Runacles uncrossed his legs and addressed Dr. Beckerleg.
"Doctor, haven't you brought this gentleman to the wrong pavilion?"
"Wait a moment."