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CHAPTER XXXII |
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THE RETURN TO CLIFF HOUSE
On our way to Cliff House I asked Emily to tell us her own story, and give us some account of her shipwreck. She was lively enough, and made no difficulty. She told us that she was born in India, of English parents, and that her father was a colonel, named Sir Edward Montrose. He lost his wife only three years after his marriage ; and all his affections centred in their only child. He was lucky enough to obtain a command in an English colony, so that he need not be separated from her. He educated her himself, teaching her outdoor sports as well as book-work. At the age of eighteen, she managed a rifle as well as a needle, and was as much at home in the saddle as on her feet.
Colonel Montrose was then ordered to return with his regiment to England. This circumstance
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