The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-03-19
A HYPOCRITE UNMASKED.
BY A. II. b,

|frequcntcd town of Broadstalrs there is yer
lquiet hamlet the legends Of which date 10
many centuries back
This place is Kingsgatc. The castle Their
is known to have once sheltered the uniOrti
nate Charles |. for a night, during which h
hoped to escape to France.
The sloop, however, which was to conva
him to those shores was either intercepted b.
Cardinal Mazarin or prevented by stress o
weather. That matters little now,
At any rate, the vessel aid not make her ap
pearance, and the King, after vainly waiting
twenty four hours for her to do SO, was at las
compelled to retrace his steps instead.
But the chalk cutting IN the cliffs, dowr
which he was to descend from the castle to tn
sea beach, still exists, and gave TO the LITTLE
hamlet the title of Kings Gate.
Kingsgatc, however, existed and hourlshet
| long before Charles |. was born. Ii was ,
place of some note as far back as the wv airs O
the Roses" but, like Sandwich, Deal, Margate
Sandgate, KiEgstown and many other ole
Kentish towns, it has legends dating as faI
back as the times of the Saxon kings, into
which legends it Is not our province to enter
No county in England Is so prolific In ira
ditions as in Kent, and it may be styled the
antiquary's county par excellence. Ethelbert
King of Kent, 1t IS well known, had par
TALLY for Kingsgate and some persons go SC
tar as to say that it was from him, and not
from Charles /. that the place derived its
name.
BE tins as it may, in modern days Kingsgate
does as its neighbors Ramsgate Margate, and
Broadstairs dot, or, al least Its inhabitants
let lodgings in "the season" TO such OF the
smoke dried Londoners as run down there for
a week or two's enjoyment Of the sea breczes.
Not far from the castle, and In the hollow of
the little town, facing the bay, is the prevent.
i've statlOn-Kingsgate was always notorious
place for smnggllng-and hard by the pre-
ventIve station are certain small houses of
some professions, which pride themselves In
letting out to visitors "genteel" lodgings
In one of the "genteel" cottages alluded to
were residing q retired naval officer and his
daughter. Having but his scanty pension,
eked out by his leutenancy Of the coastguard,
Joseph Furnival was exceedingly glad to add
a few pounds to his Income during the "sea.
side season. by letting furnished apartments"
to respectable visitors.
At the time of which we write his apart
ments we're occupied by widow lady and
her grown.up son and daughter.
Mrs. Merriton was CHEEKY parsonage, Dor
dering upon fifty, with an independence
left to her by her late husband, who had been
a wine merchant in a very extensive way of
business.
Algernon Merriton, her son, was a hand
some, likely young fellow of five and twenty,
who had adopted the bar rs his profession, and
Leila Merrton, his sister, pretty, timid,
"nanby pamby' sort OF girl just
Ot age.
The verdict usually passed on Leila by most
Of those who first saw her was, very pretty,
but nothing in her." Others limited that still
waters are deep"-that the still SOW sucks all
The broth" You would have said that Leila
Merriton was pretty, yet you could not for
your life have defined where her beauty lay.
Her hair was OF no particular color, and her
features of no particular cast. Tone of char
lcter she appeared to have none. And yet her
buxom, honest-hearted mother and her broad
'houldered, outspoken brother both deferred
% her opinion, and, IN tact, almost seemed to
stand IN awe of her.
Well, the trio--that is the Merritons-were
sitting at breakfast, when suddenly the servant
If the house rushed in, exclaming:
"a wrcck-a wreck, ladies''
The Northern Belle, United States vessel,
laden with mahogany and wheat, had lust
gone ashore on the white Ness" The little,
fint'buiit ivy-grown inn, the
Digby Castle was thrOnged with customers.
The lifeboats had gone out amidst billOwy
sea of ioaming waters. Lieutenant Joseph
Furnival was there at the head of the voun.
leers, directing, scolding praising, all in one
breath. HIS daughter Adelaide was not one
whit behind her father in energy and resolu'
ton.
After seeing him to the beach-she was
verltablc Grace Darling-she went home, got
beds ready, hot water bottles provided, bricks
at hand, and, in short, everything that could
contribute to the restoration Of the partially
drowned
At the Digby Castle, said countryman
with a wedge of bread and cold boiled pork
sons at his side
She'll never weather this storm"
She did weather the storm, and afterwards
stuck on the Ness for fifteen weeks.
Meantime the scene was most narrowing.
Four lifcboats, one from Margate, one from
and two from Ramsgate, had put
forth
Seventeen souls were saved from the barque
But the captaln-who made the eighteenth,
and who, besides being captain of the vessel,
was It's owner-would not leave his ship, and
had to be carried into the life boat by main
force.
HIS dog, also, would not leave his master
until compelled. Yet, so strange is the chap.
ter OF accidents III TINS lies cVentlul history,
that although the dog IL long since dead, his
master is an old and respected citizen in Bos-
ton to the very day on which this is written.
Well the little Digby Castle was thronged
with customers, and whilst the bread-and'
cheese cutting and beer drawing went on, said
a sturdy man among the rescued
Governor, do you know a Miss Leila Merrl.
ton about here?"
Lieutenant Furnival, who had Just come in,
replied, shaking the wet from his coat
~ do. She and her mother and brother are
my dodgers"
"Ah, sir-was she not-was she not
II can't stop can't stop" pushing the
qucslioner aside.
"Sir, you must stop
Must And why?'
Because demand IT,"
Demands"
YES"
IL do not see what my dodgers daughter can