I did not know the writing which was very clear and firm, for as it chanced, to the best of my recollection, I had never seen that of Lady Ragnall.

Here is a copy of the letter it contained: "My dear Mr.Quatermain,--Very strangely I have just seen at a meeting of the Horticultural Society, a gentleman who declares that a few days ago he sat next to you at some public dinner.
Indeed I do not think there can be any doubt for he showed me your card which he had in his purse with a Yorkshire address upon it.
"A dispute had arisen as to whether a certain variety of Crinum lily was first found in Africa, or Southern America.

This gentleman, an authority upon South American flora, made a speech saying that he had never met with it there, but that an acquaintance of his, Mr.Quatermain, to whom he had spoken on the subject, said that he had seen something of the sort in the interior of Africa." (This was quite true for I remembered the incident.) "At the tea which followed the meeting I spoke to this gentleman whose name I never caught, and to my astonishment learnt that he must have been referring to you whom I believed to be dead, for so we were told a long time ago.

This seemed certain, for in addition to the evidence of the name, he described your personal appearance and told me that you had come to live in England.
"My dear friend, I can assure you it is long since I heard anything which rejoiced me so much.

Oh! as I write all the past comes back, flowing in upon me like a pent-up flood of water, but I trust that of this I shall soon have an opportunity of talking to you.