Star.
London, England, 1824-10-22 00:00:00

,atAf 'MIL .Y.b AR .ALEntalt, It e
kz4s as v:11 10-tispoev.
' ls(Ciechoilediesii tidsiirsdiallesssirdsy.r- •
• Mr. Vletclier dclaysisissoennipthe.lettar till thi..54114
July, and then addresses to hfissitlieh the f allowing leetlere
4- maw-4 Tyke?. As. Aft insinalet et die lader,ithemeoley*
similar to my last, as it Mit tp.ree4 by those erlssiAAke 3 iesp,ia-
terest inzeur welfare; your owp goat" sena wig see the P=tl
71 'of this. t4ore, skid since,' sent yoti die last titelanchdy
ateasks4.ll End die truth:of these lines—. • •s: ' • 1,. -
.fti, As.systimhs ebte surmise rae,;...Oß u:-17 v
. ;I; ' So man, the childpf "Mew,. ;1 3i
..:(
Is doomed to endless caressitod'it .i ,T
• Through all lits life &dote!'
" 'Me eleritoo or my' duns to theinionded reistioo Was tr6itt
never dreamed of, particularly after a lapse of tet. yew*. Were fhb
aversion confined to one or two, it might be entinred; but when I
find it 'has extended to. nearly the, whok, I ma inexpressibly dis-
tressed. Could I persuade myself to botterliling to be iiparated from
them for life, and that yorl'ind I etntld be happy together with inch
a orparatiod befote rear eyeli-'—could my regard to Toil destroy my
fraternal affection to them, or could I bring myself the length, of
disregardingbotn their friendship and their reefing', I would at. once,
wen now, enter into the connexion—bail rOnaot. llr.. Pine has
dime infinite injury to my sisters hnt. In the overwhelming ardour
of bee mind, instead of attempting mteconeile,thens to the object
of our wishes, she has woended and afflicted then} toe degree
almost incredible. In addition, file. Pine has written to my too-
ther-in-lasii, Mr. Mirrone, in a fond which has increased, and not
lessened the evil. If you have any desire that the event should
ever take place, beseech Mrs. Pine to abandon her interference;
she has even laid the matter before my managers, andhas given,
forgive me, a disgusting publicity to that which should have been
held secret in the most sacred concealment. Even bliss Helen's
letter else has banded sheik &Om one manager to another. Peon-
mem is &owning on all she bat done, while I. allow that In pan
she has acted from good intentions. Situated as I am present, I
cannot visit Scotland this season. You are put in possession of a
knowledge of circumstances which t Would willingly have kept
from you,if duty bad not compelled me to reveal them. If I had
, concealed then, and heeeght you to London, lot the emergencies of
!my situatioo, you would have justly reproached me for the most
!unwarrantable cruelty. I have given you my sentiments, dictated
!as much by affection, as by prudence'and necessity. Be so kind as-
:to write to me 'by ratan of post Tout exact sentiments and old/
nion uporythe ease, and express them as freely and • eandidly as
have expressed mine. I cease not to commend you to the care o
• Hut who careth for you, and is able (0 that he were willing) to
command the dark and troubled clouds of our tempestuous sky to
be dispeliedrivirensain your's, &e.
'in (Signed) ALEXANDER FLETCHER.
" Londois,Jely 3, 1823."

Miss Dick herself was unable to write an answer to
this letter from the distress and agitation into which
she was thrown, and Dr. Dick was thus called upon
to interfere; he did so, and wrote the letter which is here
Wl,' 4-7-
. ci Glasgow, July 7,1823.
"Dims SMA.When your first letter arrived, we sympathized
Intith'peis'iii letionot of your brother, but could not avoid feeling
Alois siipski OM akar having written to Eliza to so alarming sod
MSedoff a isomoti Mother letter should not have speedily fol.
, a a different strain ; but now, it seems, there is a different
, easing from the same quarter which terminated your foes
mer engagement.l
" I am enable to conceive that your sisten can have any objets.l
doh to your merrier: with my daughter, which they would nee I
have ageism your marriage with any other young Lady, who was is
every respect year equal and theirs; but as I know nothing about
them, I shall not at present attempt to discover their motives. In
affairs of this kind the will of parents has been frequently regarded ;
but sisters have no right to interpose their negative, and no man of
honour and spirit would consider their opposition as a sufficient
reason for breaking off so solemn an engagement. What have
they to do with the future happiness of his life? And is their plea-
pure to be consulted at the expense of violating the most sacred obit.
Italians? If your sisters expect that their opposition will a setood
time induce Eliza to give up her claims on you. they win find
themselves mistaken. Your correspondence with her is not a 's-
ent ; preparations have been made for the marriage, and our friends
'spree it to take plam at the time Axed by yourself. lam autho-
h Eliza to say, that she insists that you shall
• fulfil your en-
t. It would surprise no person that she should do act who
a bow avarsoany young woman would be to betake disap-
pointed in the most important affairof her life, and twice held up
to the pity and scorn of the public. You are called to perform
year promise by your honour as a man, and by your character as a
minister of religion. What would you think of a man who had
twice abandoned the woman whose affection he had solicited and
gained, because his sisters did not approve of the connexion, while
they could say nothing against her character? If you are at a loss,
put the question, I would not say to a Christian friend, bur to a man
of the world. It would be easy to give his answer; but I shall
leave it to your own meditations.
" Your declining to come to Scotland will serve to make the
matter mire public, and, as you specify no other time, gives ground
for suspecting that you will ultimately draw back. Hitherto I
have not Interfered in the business, but now I am called to come
forward, and to tell you plainly, that I will not allow the honour
of my diughter and my family to be trilled with again. With
your Knees I have nothing to do; but I have to do with your
solemn engagement, and I insist that it shall be fulfilled. You will
yourself be convinced.- I trust, that everything honourable aid
seared requires you to do so. If lam disappointed in this expec-
tation, the affair will not end as it did formerly : for I am deter.
mined to take every measure to vindicate the honour of my daughter,
and to expose to the public a train of conduct, of which there will
be few examples upon record.
" I expect to hoar from you in course; and if you wish to act i
wisely and honourably, it will not be till I shall see you.-1 ant,
Sir, your's truly, (Signed) " J. DICK.
" On looking over your letter again, I observe that you say that
in the present state et your feelings, you cannot enter into the con-
nexion. Your feelings seem to incline far too much to one side.
Has my daughter no feelings? Are you under no obligation to
respect them? And have you said one word in your two letters
to relieve her? Is she to be cruelly harassed, and yoer sisters to
be soothed and gratified? lam almost tempted to exclaim, is the
man sincere in his professions of love who can thus treat the woman
of his choice? I advise you to consider well what you are doing,
and to beware of being again influenced to shuffle, and then retract, as
the consequences will be much more serious than you seem to ap-
prehend. You complain of the conduct of one or Mu individuals
who are your real friends, and seem to know what biome emus&
front you. Learn from them what will be tbe tedgment of the
public if you should ever stand before its tribunal.
' Mr. Fletcher sould receive the letter on the 10th of,
July, but he did not write any reply till the 17th, re-
gardless of the suspense and anxiety he might be
causing; and when be did write, he addressed, not Dr.
Dick, -but passing him over in the most contemptuous
and scornful manner, he writes 'to Miss Dick the fol-
lowing letter :
- - a July 17th, 1823.
" Miss t D.—With surprise I readied your father's letter, and
with astonishment and distress I reed it. That he should ave
stepped forward in this stage of the business, in an attitude so for-
midable, repulsive, and threatening, confounds me. If you bad
bees brought to the altar itself and then abandoned, greater severity
el expression could not have been employed. The language of Pao-
emetics to me in that letter is,' pause.' Though kis written in the
style of authoritative command, sad of ominous and prophetic
Warning, yet the language of Peoweesics to me in that letter is.
0 ?
myDtlety:ittrothieflettear befortieveltawai
ersennit?unDbide ygoivuenr fa-
met0e....,....... I seat you a discreet letter. Why did you
if Perk yourself ? My two last ;cum were dictstvd by eve.uts
t"which have surrounded we on all sides, and which,
like the bilkers of the raging sea, are beyarsedzicr tontrouL They
were not stratagem', but they have been t as seek. They
were not the contrivances of unhallowed invention, but they have
been treated as such. They required sympathy, but they have ea-
deed nothing but the rankling agitation uf. haughty indignation. b
it possible that your father has read my tiro last letter., sod writ-
ten me as he has done? Or, if he has not mid them, hew could he.
have written me as he has done? In dine two letters lam "con-
scious that 1 have done nothing inconsistent with that print:4A' of,
honour on which your father lays such stress. Ile thinks otbeawise ;
tad has threatened me that he will push matters to the most violent
extremities. This is a development to me which I dare not ewers.
Had I deserved it, little logic would have skews mu the danger and
rashness of such threatening.; but conscious, I kw. not merited it,''
the business is berried into a labyrinth of tenfold perplexity. •
" In the present heart-rending state of my unfortunate brothers
lam not onty authorised but compelled.to pause ; and with itipitt,
to the friendship of the most valuable of my out* 'Madras( k
ought not certainly to be rashly ant seatempettemly abatklilweC
PJy plans for securing this friendship, in connekion with. other {lii 1