Doctor Melmoth, at the time when he is to be intro- duced to the reader, had borne the matrimonial yoke (and in his case it was no light burthen) nearly twenty years. The blessing of children, however, had been de- nied him, -- a circumstance which he was accustomed to consider as one of the sorest trials that chequered his path way; for he was a man of a kind and affectionate heart, that was continually seeking objects to rest itself upon.