The next morning, she was found dead in her bed." IV "Keen observers, who read these lines, will remark that I have said nothing about the male members of my family, and that I have even passed over my father with the briefest possible allusion to his death.
"This curious reticence on my part, is simply attributable to pure ignorance.

Until affliction lay heavy on me, my father, my uncle, and my grandfather were hardly better known to me, in their true characters, than if they had been strangers passing in the street.

How I contrived to become more intimately acquainted with my ancestors, I am now to reveal.
"In the absence of any instructions to guide me, after my mother's death, I was left to use my own discretion in examining the papers which she had left behind her.

Reading her letters carefully, before I decided what to keep and what to destroy, I discovered a packet, protected by an unbroken seal, and bearing an inscription, addressed abruptly to my mother in these words: 'For fear of accidents, my dear, we will mention no names in this place.
The sight of my handwriting will remind you of my devotion to your interests in the past, and will satisfy you that I am to be trusted in the service that I now offer to my good sister-friend.

In the fewest words, let me tell you that I have heard of the circumstances under which your marriage has taken place.