Hi, Ardith Hinton!
I read your message from 12.06.2022 23:00

  ak>>  I was born in the year 18xx to a large fortune,
  ak>>  endowed besides with excellent parts, inclined
  ak>>  by nature to industry, fond of the respect of
  ak>>  the wise and good among my fellow men, and thus,
  ak>>  as might have been supposed, with every guarantee
  ak>>  of an honourouble and distinguished future.
  ak>>  "endowed besides with excellent parts" -- what does
  ak>>  it mean?
  AH>            In bygone days, an adult male with numerous talents
  AH> &/or abilities was often described as "a man of many
  AH> parts".  The expression is no longer in common use but may
  AH> still be found in some dictionaries.            As to "endowed
  AH> with"... while this individual's family could afford to pay for the
  AH> best education available at the time, he feels he was born with 
what we
  AH> might call a "gift" or a "knack" for a variety of pursuits.
  AH> I guess if he was "inclined to industry" he did his homework too.
  AH> :-)

BTW, it was a book by Kaplan International, for learners. ;) The main 
feature of the novel it contains an abundance of new words. It is a 
method of teaching. A book from Kaplan is small and contains a very 
intrigue story. A pupil must gather all his industry to read it to the 
end. ;-)

Bye, Ardith!
Alexander Koryagin
fido.english_tutor,local.cc.ak 2022
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