The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, 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 and friends, and amongst them
was one to a woman named Smith, a daughter of a per-
son of that name who was, 18 or 20 years ago, a sergeant
in the 33d Regiment. The executors had punctually dis-
charged all the duties imposed upon them by the will of
the deceased, except that of paying this legacy, and they
gave up that as a matter almost too wild and impractica-
ble 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, and herself never seen her, and when she did hear
of her it was 18 years and a half ago, and only 18 months
after the child's birth ! There seemed to be little hope
of success by applying to the regiment, for Sergeant Smith
was dead—died in the regiment, 18 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 loreign service, and
part of the regiment had but lately come from Canada.
The Regiment of 1848 might be another generation of
men to that serving in 1828, after hard foreign service in
the affairs of Cabul or amongst the agues and fevers of
Canada! but even if remembered, what of his widow and
child ? Would they have continued followers to 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 com-
mon name ; how many James Smiths, and 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 investigation, and so thought the executors. One of
these gentlemen, Mr. B. Wheeler, the news agent, of
Manchester, a few weeks ago was with a party at South-
port, when taking up a Manchester paper, he read of the
movements of troops in various directions about the coun-
try in consequence of the apprehended disturbances, and
amongst other things perceived that a few companies of
the 33d Regiment had come to Manchester, and were
gone to encamp on Kersal-moor. " Now or never,"
thought he ; " there is but little probability of success,
but we ought not to lose such an opportunity 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 20 years? '` Yes," said the sentinel
promptly, " that gentleman you see coming this way, the
captain (Captain Gough), has been in the regiment 20
years." Mr. Wheeler advanced 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 ?"
repeated 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 has married again."
" And could you give me the name of her present hus-
band ?" was the next inquiry. " Why," rejoined the
captain, smiling, " he's Sergeant Smith, too ; but they
are not here—they are in Canada." " Well," said Mr.
Wheeler, " it is not the mother I want, but the child—the
daughter." "Oh, the daughter; well, we have the
daughter, too—she's on the moor, but she's married."
" And married also into the regiment," inquired Mr.
Wheeler, "as well as the mother ? " Married into the
regiment, also," rejoined the captain, laughing ; " and she,
also, is married to a sergeant." The facts seemed so
striking, and the coincidences so unlikely, that the inquirer
might have been excused 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, that 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 register of the regi-
ment, 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 registering 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 unexpectedly
enabled to complete the task imposed upon them, lost no
time in fulfilling the requirements of the law, and some-
thing more than a week ago paid over the legacy.