Carla, the Orphan Heiress--From the Secret of Ravelston, a Novel

This brief discourse may seem by all means fantastic, but it was true. This young woman, once, at the tender age of twelve, was left a lonely orphan in this world, and the sole heir to eight hundred thousand acres of rich and fertile land, eight humble hamlets, two towns of consequence, four great and ancient halls, five noble ghosts, three of the largest rivers in the land, two lofty peaks, and a holy abbey of barefoot nuns. In this immense area of land worked thousands of living, breathing, feeling human beings, each one helping to create for this single person a wealth so enormous that its measure remained a mystery, yet was carefully and daily overseen by an army of managers, accountants, and esquires.