Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1872-10-31

Mrs. Movbray vas che only one In the
hoaseheld Who reusined calm and motion.
lss. Ths fsmily Was in the widest se,s~
Of sorrow. The three brothers With dia6-
cciss extricated The body from the win
dow. The authorities were notified, and
everything was kept ~ quiet a. possible.
The inquest was duly held. Mrs Now
bray vas fully exhonerated, aud the body
vss tenderly prepared for burisl. The
real story Eas tsown % few outside the
family and authorities. II wss believed
BY them that George. instead Of going to
Devonshire. had remaincd lurking in sbe
neighborhood. and had planned the rob-
bety and il need be the murder OF his
mother. He knew that she would be
alone that night, and that she had large
SUN Of money and valuable jewelry in ber
room. The old nurse who had held
George in her arms when he first saw the
light. took care of the body, and prepared
it for the tomb.
She.dwelt tenderly on the familiar marks
upon the limbs and face which she knew
so we'll, each Of which had a story Of
youthful daring or folly connected with i.
In due time the funeral took place. The
corpse was laid IN the family vault. Only
the family and one or two relatives attcn.
ded. Mrs. Mowbray spent the best part
Of each day BY the side of her dead son.
She showed externally no signs of emotion.
Before the lid was closed she kissed the
forehead ard cut of lock of his hair.
The day after the burial she gave d.
rections to her eldest son to pay all the
dead mans debts, which was done at once
so far As known. Gloom settled over the
ball. The wing Of the bc,laing in which
the tragedy occurred was closed up, and
Mrs. Mcwbray removed to a bedroom up
stairs.
On the 9Th day after the funeral post
chase drove up to the door Of Harwick
Hall. and from it stepped George Now
bray. looking better than he had looked
for many long day before he left home
The. servant who opened the hall door
started back. and almost dropped with
fright. His cxclamations caught the ears
Of Mrs. Mowbray and her sons, who SEEM
ed to be dumb-founded. George was As
much aston;shed as any of them. and gazed
from one to the otEer. perfectly lost in be-
wildered surprise. There was no doubt
oft. George Mowbfas. shcm everybody
believed dead and in his grave, wss living
and before them. -,
''Mother." said George. advancing to-
wards her, "what is the matter 2 Nv re-
turn is easily accounted for. On reach
ing Tawvale, found that my uncle's fam
lily had been Unexpectedly summoned to
London. as my eldest cousin, Sir John
Gray's wife. was thought 70 be dying. I
took nights rcpose. aud then started
home again, and here am"
Mrs. Mowbray walked up to him, gaxed
into his face, and then, without word :.
folded him in passionate embrace. Each
Of his brothers graspcd his hands and kis-
sed him. as they werc wont to do when he
was boy and the pet ef the family. The
sld nurse, aroused from her noon-dat f1um-
Der, embraced and wept over him. and the
servants gathered around with vet eyes
and congratulatory expressions.
All this time George knew nothing OF
the true reason for this singular reception.
Soon. however, the mystery was explained
to him. The effect upon him esunot be
described.
Measurcs were Immediately taken to
have the body Of tho man Who had been
buried as George Mowbray disinterred.-
This was done, and as the living George
stood beside the dead man. the resemblance
was seen to be most extraordinary. The
marks on the face and hands correspcnded
with those on Georges. tho scars on the
legs were similar, also, and the hair, eye
brows and fnger-nails we're fnarvelously
alike. Who the dead man was, was new
or s,certained. After Georges return,
however, inquiries we're made, such as II
was never deemed ncedful to make 90 long
as the dead man was supposed to be Mrs.
Mowbray's youngest con. ...
Those inquiries led to The discovery that
the day before the tragedy three men, sup.
posed to be from London, took up their
quarters at an inn in . neighboring vii.
lage, one Of them the lsrdlord thought he
recognized as having been in Mrs Nov.
brays service as a groom. The footsteps
Of three persons we're also discovered in
the garden, and some time after . rope
ladder and horse-trough, which had ap.
parently been used 10 lay upon the spikes
as the top of the garden. wall. were dis
covered in the neishboring espse; bu,
the name Of the dead man was never dis.
covered.
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