, 1870-04-24
ARoMANcR OF TIE PEERAoE.
1.hs Child of muT Best

Some years ago gentleman Ia HIS travels
was stopping At ! small place On the Frenc1
side Of the Alps, waiting until oongeuiA
traveller should appear shat would SHARE a
mountains to Italy. and willie be vas lounging
Away hia morning snrvant CAME running L
appsaisa him th1t gentleman had arrived
Who was going post-ha to, Venice, and
would be very glad to have his company il hi
% snsly found himself rattliug along with r YER,
.gsecahla companion, who proved to be ii
eminent London solicitor, Of tlr,u {Amous
for its success in bringing claims tt
dormant And eurpo1ed-to-be-e1tin
Icesagea to = auccesaful iesna- The lawyes
beguiled the journey with stories Of remarka
tle cases IL which, he Ind beea engaged, nnl
mentioned thAt be was now hurrying on tc
Venice with the view Of getting the Last link
in = chain Of eyiaenre. No cIaes OF cases hare
contained features more cuaous and interest
ing than these Peerage claims The history oi
that successfully established By poor half
nay Lieutenant to the Ex1liom Of Huntington
lie third on the roll Of Earls, reaaa like i
ROMANCE, aud no drama could need i much
more effective Hituation than the scene in the
Ttaccy case when, to the nston,shment of the
Pectr, Al eminent stone1nAson proved that tase
venerable Erave.tone, upon which 80 much re.
,iance WIS risced, was merely composition
ard gave further evidence, which led to The
discovery Of the man who manufactured sucl
axticiea TO order.
We fancy. however, that even tho skilled and
experienced lawyer to whom We have alluded
would scarcely have been able to instance
case more extraordinary than that which las
lately 80 lope occupied the time Of the House
Of Lotdr, arising out Of the claim Of the Ear
of Wicklow to vote At the election OF I11ah
representative Peers, which IL, III fact, simply
u means Of estabiaHmng his right to the title.
house ot Howard settled In Ireland. II aubse,
4nently became possessed OF beautiful seat
shelton Abbey, and large estate in The loyeIy
SSana,nsy Ssl, 81 w.eHiow, md, iu l'7s, was emo
Tie Late Earl had ro sou, but he was 40 un-
fortunate al 10 be afflicted Wiz: a dissolute,
tixre,.utable ne,,hew, one William Gaosce How
ard, who was heir to tho title and estates.
Ihis persons nAnae was long familiar TO the
English public. inatmuct a. it genesaus
cropped up severnl times year in connection
ings in the iueolscnt courts: he wss, in fact,
. thorough -'ne'er do weel,' and his family
bad long since been compelled 70 give ozer
all hope Of his reclamation Towards the
close Of 1854 he dle.l; the family no doubt
congratulated themselves upon this tteltver-
auce, aud hoped to have no further trouble
about him.
However, he was destincd to proye tast
.sthe evil which men do lives after them. y
although there was very little good inferred
with lsa hones;, Before long rerson ap-
cla1ing thst The deceased AIr. Howard had
been lawfully naatE,ed to her.
She further stated herself 10 be the mother
Of i ron by the said William Howard. which
son was consequently heir to tho Earldon.
No doubt various circumstances IN regard to
this lhty and her 1ntecedents were aach as to
raise, from the first, sefous doubts IN tho late
Lord Wicklow's s mind as to the truth uf ler
statements however, after d little time, he
communicated with her Through hit solicitors,
who, By Lis directions, wrote letter, which
WAS Eead inttle cour5e Of tho trial III the House
of Lorts, Is Offering TO Investigate Ter son.s i.
offer, and alleging, as tue ground of her re-
fusal, that l.e had publicly cast imputatiuns
upon her and hor sum- and further, that she
would not accept aid from tlosc WHO Lad
treated her husband 70 hsdly. Everyone
case Knows fuI veil low difficult It
it 10 to obtain evidence in regard to mat
ter long past. AND 70 doubt the lady had this
fully in Sicw When SHE declined All inquiry
However, as it proved. the tlial wss not dcs-
tined to be very long delayed. for Lonl WirS-
low econ after ditsi, and this cve;.t brought
tho matter to crisis On the death OF t:,ia
robleuan. Charles Fraucis Howard. younger
hslf-hsushet Of W{lliana George, assumed tho
title, With tlar consent anu approval of all tho
Howard family.
Tue claim presently preferred l,r him, to
vote It elections of representative Peers, com
PEELED her to conc forward and assert the
rights Of her sou- 3{rn. HO~asI'n elain,
against which tho Lorsls have Just .lecitlcd,
proved TO be o,le Of the most ingenious ti-
sues OF deceit and fraud which ever came
before tribunal
It seenas tLat her husband hal among his
low acquaintances one Of tie name Of I,o E}or~
denare, designing scoui,lrel. whn has esi-
lently inspired the whole plot This fp!low
lived III the sa1no house With Mza. Howard,
and, u the evidence sufficiently proved, was
upon terms Of the very closest intimacy with
her during her husbands lifetime. On tho
18th of May, 1861. Mrs. Howard, it il alleged,
expressed her intention OF leaving London,
and went OF to railway station but present.
" she returned, profeasing to feel very u, and
went to bed. When Mr. Moor, tho landlord OF
the hotse. came home, his wife dispatched him
for doctor; bnt before either he or Noor
came back child was born. To tIis Mrs.
Floor and her sister positively sworc, with
ssss1s,csi.. ss1s,a isnezs = .nd pe5ei1se!t filled hat had
not the other evidence against A1rs. Howard
been overwhelming he certainly si,ontd hare
been Disposed to believe them. Il WIS stated
that ! physician did subsequently, attend Mrs,
OF Justice, he il dead On tho other hand,
very strong evidence waA sdluced to show that
I his child never existed. For some inexplica-
bic reason its birth was never registered. and
was kept profound secret, except from Mrs.
Bloos, Miss Day. her sister, Jane Richardson,
its mothers sister. and th- Lady Dc lor.le-
mare. When the Lords hcara thai the last had
had the qualification Of gazing upon tho YOUTH
full heir to the honors Of The home Of Mick
low, the. naturally wished 10 Aaye = Eisni
lar qualification in respect to De Dorde-
naro himself, bnt tha. astnte pcrsonagc
thought it prudent, no doubt for divers, aun-
dry, and sufficient reasuns, to "make tracks"
1t was further found that a tressmaker who
had measured Mrs. Howard for a dress shortly
before tic time OF the alleged birth saw no
signs whatever Of that lady being in a conai-
.i9n such y tb9te are supposed io wish to be
don surgeon depoael to having sttcndol pro-
feasicnally I person whom lie identified Is
Mrs. Howard, ard 10 have discovered circum-
stances entirely dsrroving the assertion ~ to
her confinement; and an attempt to prove
that he had mistaken her for her sister sig
nA3ly failea.
Such was the state Of the case When Sir
Roundell Palmer. counsel for Lord Wicklow,
said it WAS his duty to make to their ior1shipa
1 strange statement, Which had been hitherto
withheld. Facts had lately come 10 the
knowledge Of those engaged for the Easl Of
we're made at Liverpool. It WAS ascertaiued
that, at the workhottse there, q custom pre-
vailed OF allowing paupcr children born in
the workhouse TO DO adopted with the con-
sent Of their parente. On August 10
1864. pau1cr woman namnl Mary Best gave
About week after, two ladies' applied 10 the
u,istrers Of the workhouse, Mrs. Higcinson,
stating that they wished to adopt male child
having b1uo eyes aud fair hair. These ladics
saw several children. and ultimately selected
the child Of Mary Dest- After sorne diaicrlss
the ladies' persuaded Mary to part with her
child, aud On August 81 the tadies left tue
wozkhouse With the child in their possession.
It vas proposed now. with their lor,l-hips'
Permission, to call AZ witnesses Mary Best,
Mrs. HigGinson. and some nurses at the Liv-
erpoo1 Wo1khouse. who would prove that MIs.
Howard xas one Of the ladies' who took the
child in the manner above described. Mary
Best Lad lad a number Of photographs.
among them that Of Mrs. Howard. shown
to hes, and without hesitation said that
she was convinced that Mrs. Howard
WIS the lady who induced her TO part with her
child. Sir Il. Palmer added thar perhaps It
would be convenient to csu Mrs. Howard aud
cross-e1atuiue her on the abose facts. He ur-
defssooA she WAS pzsaent III the house MEs.
Howard waa then sent for.
unfortunately. however, although you mas
bring b horse 70 water, Fou can't make hin
drink; md, notwithstanding tho cntreaties Of
her counsel and attorney, aia = severe lecture
from tho Lord Chancellor, Mrs. Howard ze-
fused to be sworL, and WAS ultimately COM
mitted for contempt. aud removed In custody
u Black Rcd
Bu., before she was p1aeed in durance Of that
officer, Ma1y Eeat identified he1 As the child
buyer Of the Liverpool Workhouse; and the
recognition VAS confirmed by the evidence o{
the monthly nutse, who had been in attend~
ance on Best, who stated tllas Mrs. Howard had
said that tho child would be rich man and
well educated.
But now the case, which. - Lord Chelms-
ford formerly 20 we'll known as Sir Frederick
ThtEsEef} fRid, "b1oke cut il u.oEr places"
than any he hid ever known. began to show
another singular eruption. In the course Of
Msty Eest's croese1aminadon il came out that
shc had brought child out Of the Liverpool
Norkhouse--wheze the :. Guardians seem to