_ Alas! my father! I didn't then know the difficulty of
obedience!
_Sir Philip._ Hear, then, the reasons why I demand compliance. You think
I hold these rich estates--Alas, the shadow only, not the substance.
_Miss B._ Explain, my father!
_Sir Philip._ When I left my native country, I left it with a heart
lacerated by every wound, that the falsehood of others, or my own
conscience, could inflict. Hateful to myself, I became the victim of
dissipation--I rushed to the gaming table, and soon became the dupe of
villains.--My ample fortune was lost; I detected one in the act of
fraud, and having brought him to my feet, he confessed a plan had been
laid for my ruin; that he was but an humble instrument; for that the
man, who, by his superior genius, stood possessed of all the mortgages
and securities I had given, was one Morrington.
_Miss B._ I have heard you name him before. Did you not know this
Morrington?
_Sir Philip._ No; he, like his deeds, avoided the light--Ever dark,
subtle, and mysterious. Collecting the scattered remnant of my fortune,
I wandered, wretched and desolate, till, in a peaceful village, I first
beheld thy mother, humble in birth, but exalted in virtue.
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