OCR Text |
Show A COilrllUJiiSS. How a Case of Fresumption Finally Final-ly liladotl. 'British consulate? Yes, sir. Take the first to the left, and the third to the riirlit, and go on till you come to a druukea sailor that's the .British consulate." con-sulate." I am told that the above direction was once actually given, aud really the ' threshold of H. M. D. 's consul is often marked with human wreckage. One bright May morning- at St. Gumbo Sir Martin Itehan, accompanied by his pretty daughter Sybil, found this official offi-cial in conversation with a case of distress, dis-tress, which had not been asked into his private room. They drew back and overheard this conversation: "Have you been to the St. George's society?" "Yes and they do not believe my story." "Well, it w rather suppose, now, somebody else had told it to you; would 3ou believe if?" "A year ag-o I would nflt," said the man, frankly. Xo well set-up scarecrow scare-crow v. otild have ehangvd clothes w ith him, and there was just a hop. that his emaciated condition was due to starvation and not lo fever. "So you can do nothing for me?" he asked. "It is the hardest part of my day's wcrk to answer such questions," the consul replied. "Officially I must not, privately l-Sfch Sir -Martin! biwk again so soon? Come in," The case of distress dis-tress stepped aside and the door closed against him. "Tired of Florida already?" . "Xo, I should have liked to spend another fortnight there, and Sybil was delighted with the glimpse she got of the Everglades; but I received a telegram tele-gram which calls me home without delay. de-lay. Have you any letters for us?" The bell was sounded, and a ready clerk appeared with their "mail" some of it for the baronet, more for his daughter, and a lot of newspapers for both. "Can vre catch Wednesday's steamer?" steam-er?" "Hardly. Have you :r wired for berths?"' "Not yet." . - .- "I'll do so for you at once. All the boats are very full at this season. Which do you prefer Cunard, White, Star, lnmau?" "Anything that's first and fastest," said Sir Martin. "Sybil is a good sailor, sail-or, and can rough it." The answer came that there was no tii-t-elass corner ;-.:i'l !;:-: -err -.-antly wiih ouM Iv . -v -e-.iv-- lii.n? most fastidious men iu L-en:;-n! In the meantime the l'.chan will case, with two Q. Cs. on each side, and a whole row of juuiors representing the various Interests affected, had its first day in court, and a rare tilting of wits was displayed. The actual plaintiff plain-tiff was the lady named as "( iara" the wife of Capt. Maurice Yin'r.;.;," who claimed as heir and next-of-kin to her shipwrecked son. The actual defendant de-fendant was Sir Martin. It suited one side to expedite the death of the testatrix, testa-trix, and prolong the other life. The opposition fought hard to show that the former lived for several hours alter half past nine o'clock, and that the latter was sucked down with his ship aud drowned instanter. All this trouble trou-ble was caused by the words "living at the time of my death." the consequences consequen-ces of which tlie old lady had not foreseen. fore-seen. Her intention was to benefit Mrs. Yining throuyh some tie of r children, fearing, perhaps, that a direct gift would not be welcome on account of their quarrel, and now if the presumptions pre-sumptions relied upon on behalf of Sir Martin should prevail she would get nothing. I'.ut the will had to speak for itself. As the case proceede-.l, the diiforence of time between the liua.l sinking of the ship and the actual demise de-mise of the iestutvijf was reduced, according ac-cording to the balance ui es-idenoo, to half-an-hour: and, at the rising of the court, the judge suggested a compro- "You will have oil to-morrow," he said, "to think about it." As soon as the Sunday crawler landed land-ed Sir Martin ir. London, he left Sybil in charge of their impedimenta, and rm.hfid to the private residence of Ids solicitor. ( "Compromise? Ridiculous!" he btus- ! tcred. "The board of trade report is official io i-ou understand me, sir? 'Vi! ti!.' You should have protested against any attempt to dispute it. The ship sank at seven o'clock." Then, for the firsf time, he learned the name of his opponent in the cause, which in their correspondence had boon always entitled "re lielian," or "Behan's Will." It was the same as "that scoundrel" bore DcMauriac! "By. the Lord!" he exclaimed, "this may be another Tich-borne Tich-borne ease, but I'll fight it to the bitter end." The bitter end came on Monday morning, when Mrs. Do JLauriac appeared ap-peared in court no longer, as before, in deep mourning and accompanied by a gentlema;;, who was immediately put into the v.itness-br.y. II is story had the hall-marks of truth all over ft. He was Hugh De Mauriac. When the SS. "Magnolia" was settling down he seized the first thing at hand, a hencoop, hen-coop, and jumped overboard witli it. He was picked np the next day but one by a Norwegian bark, bound for Buenos Ayres. There he 'was laid up with fever for six weeks. Thence he w orked his passage as a coal trimmer to Rio, and thence to St. Gumbo. Having Hav-ing failed to obtain any assistance there, not even a chance to shovel coal, he felt himself beateu at last; but as he left the consulate homeless, hope" less, penniless; not knowing which way to turn and starve he ran against a friend; a man to whom lie had once done a good turn and w ho remembered it. Than.ks to him, he was able lo reappear re-appear as a gentleman, and return to his home. Why had he not written to his mother moth-er from any of the places he !iad mentioned? men-tioned? He did. He wrote her five letters in all, but, as hard luck would have it, she went abroad on hearing of his (svpposed) death, and left no ad-dress? ad-dress? By this time all presumptions were upset, and the question became one of identity. -Sir Martin's Q. Cs. "made a gallant fight, but had to give in. The dead letter office brought the missing correspondence to life. A dozen unimpeachable unim-peachable witnesses recognized "dear old Hugh," and poor Sophy Eehan had her will in every sense of the "wrd. There had been a romance in her life, but "that is another story." You will therefore be surprised to hear that after all the ease was compromised, com-promised, and this was done in such a manner that the heirs of Sir Martin Behan became also the heirs of Hugh De Mauriac, simply because Sybil was their mother. Albany De Fonbianque in Black and White. "chance for neuncsday, as the passengers passen-gers could not reaoh New York in time; but they might go by the City of Paris," which was to sail on Saturday Satur-day at 11:15 a. m. Sir jMurtin and his daughter were m mourning for a distant relative from whom they had great expectations until un-til she died, and her will was read. Then a hitch came. The question was one of survivorship, and j-ou wTould not care for the legal points on which it arose. Shortly it came to this. The widow 0 Singleton Pohan died of old age on the SJ of February, 13SS, leaving leav-ing the bulk of her property to "tho ol-ii-t or only son of my once dear friend, i'Uivti, wife of Capt. Maurice Yining, who may be living at the time . of my death, and his heirs, etc., as part reparation for a wrong I did his mother." The "remainder man," or next in order, was "my cousin, Sir Martin Mar-tin Pchan, his heirs, administrators, executors and assigns." Capt. Yining died many years ago. His widow married mar-ried again, and had one son who sailed from Madeira on the 20th of January, 1SS. aiivl Iti ship the ''Magnolia," ' was lost at sea on the 3d of February. Hid lie d:Q before the testatrix, or did ! she die first? All depended on that, i The old lady passed, away so quietly ' that opinions differed as to exactly at what moment life became extinct. It might have been at any time between half-past nine and eleven o'clock a. 01. As nothing could be done for her, no doctor was present. Clara's son's ship was seen on her i beam ends, about to founder, at seven j fifteen a. m., in such a. storm that noth-, noth-, ing could be done to save those on j board. Might he, strong swimmer as j lie was known to be, hold out for three Eiours and forty-five minutes in that raring sea? If he did if he outlived his benefactress for any fraction of time the estates were his, aud would goto his hoir. If he died lirst, then Sir M-2V-in came in. The ''City of Paris" made a pleasant and speedy trip, and Sybil an agreeable agreea-ble acquaintance in the person of a slrik'ingJy handsome man, who sat next to Im'V at table, and was very attentive all l;iy. His name on the passenger list was Hugh De Mauriac. 'T don't like the fellow," growled Sir Martin. "I've seen his face before somewhere." One reason for this dislike dis-like was that Sybil seemed to like him very much, and all the father was up 1 in arms against a possible adventurer. "We've met before," he said, 'gruffly one day. "YVheie was it?" "At the British consulate, St Gumbo. I was in a bad fix then." ! Sir"Martin turned away with an indignant in-dignant snort, and found his daughter. I knew it!" he,said. "The fellow is an imposter! He is that dirty tramp we saw at Consul Fountaine's door, begging. How could he get the money to pay for a first-class passage, and good clothes, and cigars and wine? Stole it, of course. l)e Mauriac, indeed! in-deed! Just the sort of name euch a rascal would take." "Oh, papa! He might haye found some friends." 'Fellows who go begging to consulates con-sulates and St. George's societies have no friends. How dare he speak to you! Y'ou must cut him dead from this moment." "That would be unkind, perhaps unjust," un-just," Sybil replied, sadly. "We shall be at Queenstown to-morrow. Please, dear papa, do not make me hurt his feelings. I will avoid him as much as possible. Ilemember that whatever he may be now, he was eyklently once a gentleman." "I ll save you any qualms about it," paid her tatlier, decisively; and he kept his word. There was a storm that day in Sir Martin's cabin, after which Mr. He Mauriac changed his place at the table, and Sybil lost her appetite. Her father had an uneasy feeling that he did not get quite the best of it; and was heard to say that of all the cool, insolent scoundrels he had ever encountered, the fellow who called himself Do Mauriac was the worst, lie was not pleased to find on landing land-ing at Liverpool that the case otiicially entitled "In the matter of the goods of Sophia Behan, deceased," had been commenced that very day, and the consolation offered by his solicitor, to the eiT.-et that he could not be of any assistance, made him very angry. He got into a temper with the customs' oiiicers, aud Utis did not expedite the passing of his luggage. He became furious when "that scoundrel" (as he accustomed himself to call De Mauriac) passed and lifted his hat to Sj'bil, who stood behind her father in the agony which daughters feel when they see the authors of .their being making fools of themselves in public, These delays cost him his train the last for that day and the morrow was Sunday!' As the fatal "Too late, sir," was spoken and the carriage rolled by he caught a glimpse. of "tb'at scoundrel" seated in a |