Litchfield enquirer., 1874-01-29
The Hardin Estate.
APPEARANCE OF AN HrrR.

The San Francisco Chronicle of Decem- Der 27 relates the following
 A short time ago the commanding ofh- cer of man-of-man lying at this station was informed that one of the old salts be- longing to his ship wished to speak to him on the quarter-deck. The captain promptly appeared, and as he stepped from his cabin 8 venerable looking man. of-wars man, with eyes like ferrets ,and face as rough as nutmeg grater, drew himself up and touched his cap with the precision of an Algerine soldier. The old salt was dressed in clean blue muster ing suit; carried jack-knife fastened to a snow-white lanyard, and had slowed in his starboard cheek something less than quarter of pound of tobacco.
 ''Well, my lad, what do you want 2" asked the Gap ain. The old sailor hauled off his cap, slowed thunder his, arm and then hauled out from inside his shirt a letter covered with foreign postage stamps and domestic dirt.
 ':Pd like to go ashore, sir, to see about this letter, he said, in reply.
 ''Let's see, your name is Hardin, isn't it? The last time you went ashore you got drunk, and we had to pay ten dollars to get you out of the lookup" and the
 
 man forward, when something in the ap- pearance of the letter in the mans hand made hesitate.
 What's your letter about? Let me see it, ," he asked. The letter was ad- dressed to Henry Hardin, United States ship, Mare Island, California It was an ristocratic-looklng epistle, having a coat of arms in blue and gold, and deli cate water-lines across the sheet. The en- velope was square and also bore the same heraldic device in flaming eolors. The handwriting was neat and beautiful in style, and as the Captain glanced at it he thought it was written by a woman.
 The letter was from his sister Henrietta and announced the death of his uncle George in New York city, giving details of the controversy about his estate with which the public are familiar, and advising him to go to New York and meet his cousin Robert Hardin.
 The Captain directed the old sailor to answer the letter, which he did in Q bold hand. His letter ended as follows:
 ''l am happy to say that I am so situa- and meet Cousin Robert, as you suggest at a days notice. I fear we shall have trouble with the woman who calls herself Uncle Georges widow. However, nous VeITons. intend to follow your sugges- tion, so urgently put forward, about go- ing to the land of my fathers. I have been rover for thirty years and more, and must confess that the greatest joy that could come to me would be the an choring of my worn and weary old hulk in dear old Armagh
 Your affectionate brother, HENRY"
 The Captain read this letter over care fully, and said, "Why Hardin, I don't be- ieve any one here thought you could write such letter."
 ''No, I suppose not, said the old man, ''I'm pretty rough and l admit l drink rum and don't allus study my speech, but when l git pen in my hand, l never | forget old Trinity, at Doublin-God bless her? There's where I went to school, Cap'n. morn fifty year ago. Weel, weel, times has changed with me, and don't s'pose can ever be 8 gentleman again." "Well, said the Captain, II will dis charge you Hardin, if you want to go."
 Wall, l guess I'll go. Faint no use O stayin' here. It takes all the money I can earn now to pay fines in the Vallejo police court. I git drunk every time go ashore and they allus arrest me"
 ''So, & few weeks ago old Henry Har- din was discharged from the Navy Yard and started for New York, where it is to be hoped that the money he will get from the great Hardin estate will be sufficient to pay his fines in the police courts for years to come