The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-07-18 00:00:00

[ALL RIGATS RESERVED.]
STRIVE AND THRIVE.

,
J CHAPTER XXXIV.
~.e
I3kD TIKES FOR COLONEL MINK. /
3,11t)t and Grace knew all on the next day, for Eda
Teuld have no secrets from such friends asichese.
But when Howard came, Grace found that she had
1 ether cause for joy besides that a mere sympathy
With her friend. Me. Belmont invited her to accom-
Pally Miss Walwceth to Jamaica, and to spend the
Winter there with them; and so earnestly did he urge
This invitation, end so pleadingly did Eda second it,
, That Grace only waited the consent and approval of
41er sister to give it her joyolm acceptance.
These were 'not long withheld, for Sally could not
'fail to see -.le advantage Grace must derive from
%eh assoeietions, and refieeted with gratitude on the
Tigoal manner in which their hospitality to the home-
'tess Edated been already rewarded.
The happy party embarked on the next day—but of
'their voyage, though marked by many incidents of
iaterest, we will not stay to speak.
~, Let the imagination rather pass to that blissful
u,aY, when, in the quiet town of Montego, the home-
Pelt father, unconscious of the joy in store for him,
.looked anxiously upon a vessel entering the harbour
'tl:ena Havana, with the faint hope that it might bring
Val letters from home. Home! alas, what home had
except that prison-house in which his beloved
,raughter toiled uncomplainingly for others, and suf.
'
Lred daily unmerited rebuke? Yet it would be some-
'Lling to hear that she was well and hopeful, and
,
that dear Frariley's young heart was yet unclouded by
'eare,
But, oh, blissful change! What words shall suffi-
'elently depict it? His children themselves have
',collie ! They are in his arms. They are pressed to
tuis heart, and that heart is full, even before he learns
uy what magic this astounding result has been effected.
„_gis long-lost friend, whose memory he has ever
Lerlderly cherished, is also before him. A man of
Wealth and rank, yet lie has come to solicit a boon,
Precious and inestimable, at the poor man's hands.
Ile learns it all speedily, for part he of course
'BllsPeets ; and Eda quickly, blushingly, confesses the
l'est.
Was Theodore Walworth happy? Oh, man of
Wealth, ever basking in the sunshine of prosperity,
he certain that thy heart never felt joy like his; and
Uilless thou first descend deep into the vale of ad-
'versity, it never can!
It was well for the invalid that his sojourn in
J'alnaica, had already abated the force of his disease,
'and had added to his strength, before it was tried by so
sadden and severe an excitement.
It was now December, and the Christmas holidays
'being close at hand, Howard made thorn a pretext for
Ifil.gliag a speedy marriage, in order that the wedding
estivities might mingle with those of the Christmas
'season,
There was no good reason for delay, and on Christ-
eve, in the village church, beneath bending
estoons wreathed for the great festival, Eda breathed
forth her vows, responsive to those which promised to
her, before high heaven, a live-long love, honour, and
Protection.
„A, party followed at the bridegroom's residence
~.,"er. Howard had taken a furnished house for the
triter)! and although the guests were not numerous,
e:ere were enough for a very respectable merry-
elaling.
In the month of February Mr. Belmont received
iatell'
e Igence of the serious illness of his brother, and
`..teeided to return at once to New York, and embark
la the first steamer for England.
kr. Walworth, whose health had visibly improved,
Was now too well provided with medical and other
„
"itendance to require the aid of his daughter, and
could not complain that he must surrender her society
elle who had acquired a stronger claim upon it.
e But Howard, who well knew Eda's strong affection
40r her father, exacted a promise from him that he
aed
Pranley would follow them across the ocean in
summer, and would at least make them a long
bs.'sit, if Mr. Walworth did not, as he hoped, decide to
m'ake his future home in England.
. Grace Sibbald, whom Eda continued to love as a
8
I,lster, returned with the bride and bridegroom to
1
tew York, and would doubtlesi have accompanied
h
e. elni also to England, but for some remarkable
ell:earnstances which occurred shortly after their
errival in the city, and which must now be briefly
telated.
I‘lr. Belmont took rooms at a fashionable hotel,
Wherethough,
Eda received many calls from his friends,
of course, not any from the family of Colonel
Mink, who were compelled to hear from all quarters, o
tbf
7° extraordinary charms of the bride, and also
21
_the rumours which were very prevalent, though
4 little premature, that Belmont was already a
Peer.
.E,cla wee, of course, frequently at the Sibbalds, and
d,„
„"i'ng one of her visits there, when the conversation
li"raed upon the extraordinary event that had led to
....er acquaintance with Howard, Sally spoke in a
':._elirnful yet resigned way of her own bereavements
7al neisteetunes, as owing to the very cause which
had., produced her friend's happiness.
taking believe you have never seen this," she said,
out of Sight. f.rent her neck a locket, which she usually wore
t
"I can no longer bear to open it, and I
il.iii.rec Ishigahvt.
e not done so twice in the last six months.
-,.,' is sWeet little Arthur's face. We have no picture of
'er Poor brother."
Eda took the locket with some kindly expressions
of
el sYrnpathy. ; but when she had opened it she gazed
7 .nloment at the face with an air of perplexity
and astonishment, which soon found expression in
Words.
b," Why !" she exclaimed, "surely this—this is not a
"eness of your nephew !"
2;1; A most faithful and accurate likeness," replied
~ y, startled by the language of Eda, ye t utterly un-
'Vicious of its meaning.
y, "I cannot be mistaken in this face," lesumed Mrs.
`'ennont, earnestly, while her trembling finger rested
Qlti, the daguerreotype. "Every feature of it was in-
6,tclelihlY impressed upon my memory when we
riclt99led together in the water! Jr IS TRH cneen
A
12,-'r WAS SAVED! This very coral cross, pictured
ol\v,ea its little neck; here is the original upon my
It was forgotten when the child was hurriedly
1 eS
a , ' sed for the impatient woman who called for it, and
6-1111°rwards she could not be found at the address
it.he gave me, and where I went myself to deliver

st ZiAa had spoken rapidly, and her listeners stood like
'lles, eagerly swallowing her words, which carried
Itant conviction to their hearts.
eniyhseir emotions overpowered them, and for a while
heir feelings.
incoherent exclamatior s gave expression to
%lir feelings. Suspicion, approaching to a sense of
aza,thaoi_riltY at nee fell upon Colonel Mink, as the
de, foul deed, whic. had resulted in his sue-
rig to to the wealth of which the unconscious infant
8 rightful heir.
111,1314 'where was the beloved child? Did he yet
4„e, and if so where, and in what state of suffering
Privation ?
ese were the first questions the excited sisters
and which they could not but see the seeming
tlessness of all attempts to solve.
thout other facts soon came to light, which assisted
eteral to ferret out the painful mystery. The strange
had no sooner reached Belmont's ears than it
ferived the memory of events which he had well-nigh
Diefetten, but which, in connection with these sus-
kenos, assumed a vast importance, and no longer
De room for doubt that a stupendous fraud had been
rPetrated
With •
fare;,. one or these facts the reader is already
s'lar—the recognition of the infant, both by
0...._ kairard and his servant, in the doorway of Mrs.
o °Nv' house, through the wonderful sagacity of the
hich had acted so noble a part in its rescue.
tei tie other event had occurred on the prairies, when
rriont was on his return from the Rocky Mountains.
arks Parts had reached, at about the close of the day,
—inpment of one of those long trains of mi.-
, ,
"Q Wagons, which traverse the prairies at intervals
the ("Pany, for the benefit of mutual protection from
,:v,arious perils incident to the wilds. Having had
'Ws time some rough experience of Western life, he
tett ,not unwilling to accept the additional protec-
Plol,,:er the night which the presence of these hardy
be ers afforded, and gladly ordered his own tents to
ft.Zhed in' their neighbourhood.
Porth"as not yet dark, and Howard, who lost no op•
litY of informing himself of the ideas and habits
rtittiV different classes of society with which lie
tker,d3d, Passed around amongst the wagons, chatted
tl,lle,e'., With their occupants, and asked nearly as many
h,:iris about their destination and designs, as if
tta himself been a Green Mountain boy, born with
ericluiringl turn of mind."
•-traerW it so happened—or rather let us say it was so
irigd by that Providence which is constantly guicl-
lkiei„ e affairs of men—that amorng this goodly corn-
Was long Jaram Popple and his family, including,
ttlil•se, the rescued infant; and here again a reeog-
-41141 took place.
strialt gh ArCann was, in this instance, the first to
b e the
,uscovery, which was confirmed, as far as
s(;) tOtirnony could go, by Carl; while Howard
°light himself sure of the child's identity, until
4,71714 fit'iTiallt_denial of the pretended parents staggered
i
4t4bl' 4rid persuaded him that t was only a Q3,-
e ease of resemblance.
t averred that he had never lived in
11;1 te ut stated that he had i
passed through
k in the summer, and that his delay n cross-
or the Prairies had been occasioned by long waiting
telt,B4rting of the caravan.
-men,
lq;qting, of course, had tAen no interest in pro-
Poppltieenquiry ; and giging full credence to
4tatightz e-z story, he dismissed the subject from his
tlees e, °Ilk? to be revived nom; when other circum-
sttah:ciar'lit_ sO. much significance.tils:iacient-T•iun-t.bered Popple's name, and could give
wriat ueseription of his remarkable person to
e °
ee assist S-intelligent seeker in him.
41lee 41rIle d
11
Nvaa on thend e -that a messenger be dispatched at
quest;Wellj for the destination of the caravan
ho `Lonbt 4,7wn to be Santa Fe and from there he did
b4le. e tall Yankee could be traced to his new
tht)line
t •tiit t b legal e; counsel were at once engaged, and,
geri
',lad Inadv,the utmost secrecy was main-
to the discovery which had been
tql,'"Ln le Lae most thorough measures were at
4 for recovery a the child. aNd for

es:

• ~.„...;_.,,,,tAuti„"zucTo2.

teeur;ifik itrefitga:ble proof Of its identity and its ab:
dufztion. An experienced police-officer was engaged
to proceed to Santa Fe, and the resolute Sally,
though at firAt Intending to trust her brother to a>
company him., suddenly changed her mind, and re-
solved to go herself. She would take Tom along, she
said; lont as to depending upon such a slack fellow
in a matter of so much importance, she never could de
it.
Great as was the undertaking, Miss Sibbald did
not seem to regard it as extraordinary; yet her ad-
ventures on this long and perilous journey, the appa-
rently hopelessness, at times, of the search for an
,obscure emigrant, amidst the wilds of New Mexico,
her own unflagging perseverance, when both her
manly assistance counselled an abandonment of the
enterprise, and her final triumph and success, as re-
lated by herself, constitute a narrative of very great
interest. _ _ _

Belmont, it may be remembered, when the first
singular recognition of the child took place at Mrs.
Mallows' store, in New York, although not pursuing
the inquiry as to its parentage, had thought it worth
while to make a memorandum on his tablets of the
street and number where he had seen it, as well as of
the name upon the sign. This memorandum, of
course, had long since been effaced, but the singular
name had remained in his memory. With the aid of
Hugh M'Cann, he succeeded in finding the locality,
and, after many enquiries, in hearing of a Mrs.
Mallows, who had kept a store in the neighbour-
hood a few years before, but who had since gone to
England.
The men of the law here took up the inquiry, and
learned that the Mallows had left the country a few
weeks after the abduction of the child; that the
woman was a sempstress, who had been frequently in
the employ of Colonel Mink's family, and that her
character was under aspersion amongst her neigh-
bours for not a few fraudulent acts. Acquaintances
of the husband's were found who knew the quarter of
England from which he had emigrated, and to which
he was supposed to have returned; and an officer was
sent to look them up by the very vessel which bore
Belmont and his bride across the ocean.

They were easily discovered, and Mrs. Mallows,
frightened by threats, and assured of protection,
proved capable of being honest for a consideratiork,
especially as her upright husband freely and bluntly
revealed all he knew of the story, and Colonel Mink's
liberality had not equalled her expectations. She
longed also for an opportunity to return to her
native land; and having made a full confession, con-
sented to return with the officer, and emfirm it in
court, if necessary.
It did not prove necessary. The able counsel who
had the Sibbalds' cause in charge, had so matured
their plans before the first inkling of them was suf-
fered to leak out, that there was no chance to resist
eithor the civil action or the criminal proceedings,
with which double-barrelled blunderbuss of the law
the wretched Mink found himself suddenly con-
fronted, just as he was on the eve of setting out on
his European travels.
The news came upon him and his family like a
clap of thunder out of a clear sky, and though he
rallied for awhile, talked loudly of a conspiracy,
gave large bail on the criminal charge, and retained
eminent counsel, his courage did not permit of his
standing a trial. When he learned that the lost heir
was actually recovered, and was in the custody of his
relations, that Mrs. Mallows had confessed, and was
'also in their keeping, as he supposed the whole family
of the Popples were, or soon would be, he endeavoured
to escape from the country. He took passage with
his wife and daughter, under assumed names, on a
sailing-vessel for Valparaiso, taking with him about
ten thousand pounds, and believing that the readiness
with which he abandoned the great bulk of the
estate to its rightful owner would exempt him from
any very vigilant pursuit.
He was mistaken. He had been closely watched
by a brace of detectives, and was brought back and
placed in close confinement, without further privilege
of bail. His attempt at escape, he knew, would itself
be one of the strongest proofs against him on his
trial; and his counsel, though not deserting him,
warned him that he had closed the door of hope upon
himself.

Before the day appointed for his trial, his distress
had brought him to a state of bodily and mental
imbecility which afforded a pretex for its postpone-
ment to another term. Ere that arrived, Ebenezer
Mink was dead; and though not a few believed that
he had voluntarily ended his life by poison, no means
were taken to settle a question of Eo little interest.
His wife and daughter disappeared from the city,
not, it is supposed, without some fragments of the
great wealth in which they had so long luxuriated,
but certainly without any considerable sum.
The Sibbald family were at once raised to a state of
comparative affluence; for Sally and Thomas were ap-
pointed joint guardians of the infant heir, and the
management of the great estate passed without con-
troversy into their hands. Tom re-opened a law-office
in the city, and secured an active and industrious
partner in Charles Marberry, a rising man, whose
example was not without its effects upon his indolent
nature

Charley Marberry had declared a thousand times
that he would never marry—that he was wedded to
the law, and meant to pay exclusive attention to a
mistress who was so richly rewarding his devotion.
He avoided female society, sometimes railed against
the sex, but oftener made them the target for a great
deal of sparkling satire.
But when he saw Grace Sibbald, he said that
44 circumstances alter,cases,l that "all rules had their
exceptions," that "a bad resolution was better broken
than kept," and that "for a man to change his mind
was only to admit that he was wiser to-day than he
was yesterday."
In short, he married the beautiful Grace, and
blessed the day when he became acquainted with
her.
Eda Behnont's happiness had been rendered nearly
perfect by the possession of Howard's hand and heart;
and it would be hazarding something to say that it
received any real augmentation when she became a
titled lady, which happened about six months after her
marriage.
With her husband, she truly mourned the death of
the late lord, who was a most affectionate friend and
brother. But when the memory of the grief wore
away from Howard's heart, and when she saw how
Wghly he prized his exalted station, and how care-
fully he prepared himself for the due discharge of its
duties, she learned to value a rank which otherwise
would have been an object of indifference to her.
Mr. Walworth's health, though improved, was
never wholly restored; and being unfitted for busi-
ness, and without any ties, beyond those of patriot-
ism to bind him to his native land, he yielded to
the urgent solicitations of his daughter, and of
Lord Belmont, and took up his residence with
them.
Eda's love for her father and Frank was second
only to that which she entertained for her husband;
and though the revolving years brought other and
more tender claimants to contest the supremacy in her
heart, her filial and sisterly love never seemed to
suffer diminution. She. kept alive the memory of her
days of adversity, and the gratitude she felt for
Heaven's bounty she exhibited less in words than by
an extended and practical charity, which raised many
a wretched heart from despair, and, in a thousand
ways, worked out its beneficent results.

THE END.