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which I fancy Mr. Livingston's letter proves she had not; besides, she could have no authority to seize and open letters addressed to me under any circumstances. The letter was, however, delivered to Mr. Kirkcaldie; but before I called at the store it was taken back by Postmaster Hoggard in person. When told of this I went to the post-office and asked for it. Mr. Hoggard, instead of returning it to me, turned to Mr. Eose, who was there, and said, "This concerns you." Mr. Eose said, "It is all right." I did not know what lam now told—that this is the greatest breach of rules an officer in the Post Office could commit. When Mrs. Eose heard that I knew of the existence of the letter or parcel she came down and read parts of it while 1 was in a state of mind that unfitted me to understand what was read, but, from what I recollect, and what I learned in a curious manner since, I believe that £400 was placed in the savings-bank in my name, and that another £400 was left to my dear friend Miss Warburton, who is expected to return from a pleasure-trip to Europe about .the end of March. This seems likely, from the fact that Mr. Livingston shcjwed Miss W. (who was on a visit) fifteen hundred sovereigns in the post-office safe at Blenheim, and, as there were but 680 found, the £800 would make up the fifteen hundred within £20. I tried yesterday to get my letter, but, after putting me off in various ways, she said Mr. Eose had the letter, and she could do nothing until he came "home. Finally, she said she would not give it up until Mr. Warburton, jun., and Miss Warburton return from their trip. If I ever get the letter I shall again thank you for it, and, if our own, only hope it may exist, and, in any case, once the envelope is illegally broken, one can never be certain that all its contents are delivered. It was only yesterday that I disobeyed Mrs. Eose's order of silence, and told Mr. and Mrs. Warburton, sen., of the above, and of more astounding things still, and Mr. Warburton says if it was his case he should write to Mr. Hoggard demanding the letter, and threatening, in case delivery was delayed, to lay the whole case before the Postmaster-General, and, if that officer did not do his duty, before Parliament. If you can by any means throw light upon these surprising occurrences you will confer a further favour upon—Yours, &c, Ida M. Piunce." 535. What did you mean by £400 being placed to your credit and £400 to Miss Warburton's, in the first instance ? —I wanted to know where the money had gone. 535 a. This letter was written to you by Mr. Salmon ?■—Yes ; I read it. Letter put in, as follows : — "Blenheim, 26th February, 1889.—Dear Miss Prince, —I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter (undated). I had indeed given up any idea of receiving any reply to mine, and, as there was nothing in my letter requiring a reply, I took no further heed of the matter. I regret exceedingly to hear that you have been so ill. I had heard from Mrs. Eose that you had been very ill, and, indeed, our old friend Mr. Livingston had often talked about the matter, but I had trusted that you were getting well and strong again. From your letter you do not appear to know any of the facts of the case, and, I will endeavour to put you right on two or three points. Some time previous to Mr. Liviugston's death he had given me a written order to take charge of his letters, &c, and had given me also more extended verbal orders on same subject, and, in obedience to these orders, I took charge of all of his private letters and papers then in his office, and dealt with them as follows : All of your letters to him (which, I believe, he always kept in the office, and none at his home), and of which there were a fair number, I burnt. Knowing full well your handwriting, I had no need to examine them, except to ascertain that there was no other letters inside. There was one thing, however, I had not the heart to burn, and that was a photo of yourself, which I took the liberty of appropriating, as it was the only thing I had as a relic of our friend. There was nothing handed to Miss Combs from among his private papers at the office except what may have belonged or referred in some way to the estate. All his private letters were, in accordance with his oft-reiterated wish, burnt by myself, except some from Mrs. Eose, which I handed back to her. Now, as to this letter and savings-bank book, there was not so much as you appear to imagine. There was originally £100, and this he made up to £500 about six months ago, and in a note enclosed in this savings-bank book addressed to yourself, and in which he said by the time you received it he would be dead and gone, and that of this £500 £400 belonged to Miss Warburton, and that you were to consult with her. This note, together with a letter from myself, and which, I thought, might interest you, and also the savings-bank book, I put into an ordinary official letter and posted to you, care of Mr. Kirkcaldie. The next day, however, when talking with Mrs. Eose on Mr. Livingston's affairs, it was deemed advisable to recall this letter, or, rather, to delay delivery of it, owing to your state of health at that time ; and it was I, not Mrs. Eose, who actually stopped the delivery of the letter, though, of course, on Mrs. Eose's strong recommendation; and, as you were then under her charge, and in a delicate state of health, it was only a reasonable request to ask Mr. Hoggard to deliver it to Mr. Eose for you. I cannot, I confess, understand all that you say, but I have no doubt whatever but that Mr. and Mrs. Eose acted, and are acting, in the best possible manner for every one concerned. As to the amount left in sovereigns in post-office safe here, there can be no mistake about that, as it was very carefully counted and put down in writing by three people at the same time. He did take some out to make the £500, as I recollect the deposit for that purpose being nearly all in gold. There was no other document or letter in this envelope than those I mention. Mrs. Eose did not exactly.overhaul Mr. Livingston's private papers. I asked her, knowing the great friendship and esteem our late friend had for her, to go through with me and to help me in fixing up the remainder of his private letters and papers in the office that I had not already dealt with; and I certainly would not have allowed, so far as I could help, any letters, &c, from you to get into Miss Combs's hands,"as I knew full well that this would have been decidedly contrary to Mr. Livingston's wishes. I think this fully answers your letter in all respects. I hear Mr. James and Miss Warburton are expected home about the middle of next month, and I trust everything will be made clear and satisfactorily explained to you then, if not before. In the meantime, perhaps you will see your way to repose a little further confidence in Mr. and Mrs. Eose until the arrival of Mr. and Miss Warburton, but it is difficult for me to advise you in any way. Unfor-