The Sun.
London, England, 1848-09-12 00:00:00

ROMANCE OF LIFE.

A lady of Stockport died a few months ago, leaving
a great number of legacies to relatives and friends,
and amongst them was one to a female named Smith,
a daughter of a person of that name who was, eighteen
or twenty years ago, a sergeant in the 33d Regiment.
The executors had punctually discharged all the duties
imposed upon them by the will of the deceased, ex-
cept that of paying this legacy, and they gave up that
as a matter almost too wild and impracticable to be
thought of, insomuch as it seemed so little likely they
could ever properly trace out the legatee ; for the lady
who had left the legacy had left no address of the
party, bad herself never seen her, and when she did
hear of her it was eighteen years and a half ago, and
only eighteen months after the child's birth ! There
seamed to be little hope of success by applying to the
regiment, for Sergeant Smith was dead—died in the
regiment, eighteen years ago ; and it might be more
than possible that even his name might be buried in
the memories of his companions in arms, if not in
their coffins; for they had seen foreign service, and
part of the regiment had but lately come from
Canada. The 33d Regiment of 1848, might be an-
other generation of men to that serving in 1828,
after hard foreign service in the affairs of Caubul, or
amongst the agues and fevers of Canada. But even
if remembered, what of his widow and child. Would
they have continued followers of the " tented field ?"
Nothing was more unlikely ; especially when it was
recollected that Smith was degraded from his rank of
sergeant for some breach of discipline a short time
before his death, and his widow might be supposed
to have lost even sympathy with those who had
treated him, to her mind perhaps, harshly, and have
been too glad to quit and forget them. Besides,
Smith was a common name. How many James
Smiths, and even Sergeant James Smiths, might
there not have been in the service ? What more
likely than that the mother, too, should now be dead ?
It seemed almost chimerical to pursue such an inves-
tigation, and so thought the executors. One of these
gentlemen, Mr. B. Wheeler, of this city, the news-
agent, a &w weeks ago was with a party at Southport,
when taking up a Manchester paper,he read of the move-
ment of troops in various directions about the country,
in consequence of the apprehended disturbances, and
atnongstother things perceived that a few companies
of the 33(1 Regiment had come to Manchester, and
were going to encamp on Kersall Moor. " Now or
never," thought he; there is but little probability of
success, but we ought not to lose such an opportu-
nity, at all events. So taking " the rail," he came
to Manchester, and took an early opportunity to
visit the Moor. He advanced towards the camp, but
was held at bay by the sentinel. The sentinel, he
perceived, was of the 33d, but was a young man,
however; so he inquired from him if there was an
officer with these companies who had been in the
regiment twenty years ? " Yes," said the sentinel
promptly, "that gentleman you see coming this way,
the Captain (Captain Gough) has been in the regi-
ment more than twenty years." Mr. Wheeler ad-
vanced to meet the captain, and communicated, as
briefly as possible, the object of his visit, exhibiting
at the same time two letters, the last Sergeant Smith
had written to the testatrix. " Sergeant Smith ?" re-
peated the captain, musing, " Sergeant Smith ?
Yes, I recollect him very well, and his widow is
in the regiment yet." Here was encouragement
thought Mr. Wheeler " But," continued the
captain, " she married again." " And could
you give me the name of her present hus-
band r was the next inquiry. " Why," rejoined
the captain, smiling, "he's Sergeant Smith too 1 But
they are not here—they are in Canada." " Well,"
said Mr. Wheeler, it is not the mother I want, but
the chili—the daughter." " Oh, the daughter—well,
we have the daughter too—she's on the Moor, bu
she's married." "And married also into the regimen

inquired Mr. Wheeler, "as well as the mother !"
"Married into the regiment also," rejoined the cap-
tain, laughing—"and she, also is married to a ser-
geant 1" The facts seemed so striking and the
coincidences so unlikely, that the inquirer might
have been excustd a little incredulity had he not been
talking to one not likely to romance, and on a less
serious subject; but so true were they, thst in a
quarter of an hour from his arrival on the Moor, Mr.
Wheeler was in the presence of the legatee herself—
was next day in possession of documents from the
regitter of the regiment, by the courtesy of Captain
Gough, showing when Sergeant Smith enlisted, when
his daughter was born, her name, when the sergeant
died, when the widow was re-married, and regis-
trating also the marriage of the daughter, with every
other particular important to give the child a legal
title to a legacy left her by a person she could never
have known, had never heard of, and, more singular
still, whose name she had never so much as heard

mentioned, even by her mother. We have only to
add, that the executors, rejoiced at being so unex-
pectedly enabled to complete the task imposed upon
them, lost no time in fulfilling the requirements of the
law, and something more than a week ago paid over
the legacy.