For God's sake come to the assistance of your affectionate
cousin,
EDWARD SEVERNE."
"The brother, a man of immense estates, is an old friend, and warmly
attached to me. If I could only, through your temporary assistance or
connivance, present my estate as clear, all would be well, and I could
repay you afterward."
To this letter he received an immediate reply:
"DEAR EDWARD--I thought you had forgotten my very existence. Yes, I owe
much to your father, and have always said so, and acted accordingly.
While you have been wandering abroad, deserting us all, I have improved
your estate. I have bought all the other mortgages, and of late the rent
has paid the interest, within a few pounds. I now make you an offer. Give
me a long lease of the two farms at three hundred pounds a year--they
will soon be vacant--and two thousand pounds out of hand, and I will
cancel all the mortgages, and give you a receipt for them, as paid in
full. This will be like paying you several thousand pounds for a
beneficial lease. The two thousand pounds I must insist on, in justice to
my own family.
"Your affectionate cousin,
"GEORGE SEVERNE.
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