The Press., 1885-01-22
fFor the Press M.ARIAN'S DAUGHTER.
BY DELLA ADALArpE.

was trying to reconcile some abstruse point of law, and taking letter from his father's hand, re ad as follows ::
 s.Mister Armitage--Seein' your notice in the pest, askin' fer information conc eernin' Marian Brooks or her kln, write this to tell ye that thirty year ago, an englishman, named Richard Brooks and his darter Marian, lived at Brook House, in Preston, Clare Go for further information address Simeon Dunlap, New York.
 After a careful per,,sal, Philip folded the paper, and hallding it back to his father, he said:
 elf that is the rlght party, the mans information IS worth something, and he knows it.
 ssOf course, I understand that, ;" replied his father, ssthe question is, stall we avail ourselves of his knvnwleIge, or inessigate quietly, the clue he has already furnished us."
 ''We can do both. Though think we had better zee the man. Possibly We may get some points which will i'r. of M,lvnnt- age," rep sd Phil,p
 'sV.ly well, I w:il tell him [ ',',ll at the office at eleven tom. IT .~. ll th cider Armi.age, taral,,-, t. il s','-s, ann busy ing himself for i'll 'nt .l.i&ln wrlrIing.
 Punctnailv ii tsr- .n.- ,t p"infrd, the door If the eff s7s. li,=.i auri iii much past his prime aud esl>t .nt;y from the lower walks nf life, eut-,rd and advancing to the tahi.. he laid the h,t- wrltten the day before, by Mir. Afmltage upon 1t, asking abruptly, "Which on ye writ that?"
 'sI did sir, , replied Mir. Armitage. s'You are MT. Simeon Dunlap J presume"
 ssThat's the handle answer to. Never heerd nothin agin It did yer ?" replied the man with grin. Certainly not. Will you be seated? Your note of yesterday gave us to understand that you were ac- quainted with Marian Brooks. Do you know where she or any of her descendants are at the present time? ?''
 "Wall, Square," replied the man, ''the fust thing to find out IS, whether the Ma rian Brooks know Is the one you wan'ter find And tho I haint much doubt on't, p'raps you wont hev any objection to tell in me whose gal it is you're lookin' arter, an what you want on her arter she's found. ''
 Philip looked amused, while with a scarcely suppressed smile MT. Armitage drew towards hlm a bundle of papers, and taking one he read Marian Brooks, only child of Richard Brooks and his wife La dy Marian St. Albans, of Monmouthshire, Eng. The lady would be nearly forty years old, and is entitled through her mother to large possessions in Eng land. Do you recognize anything familiar about it ?" .i.--
 "Wall, square, thet's a booty likely sort of a story, you've jest read to me, and mebbe I've got one that'll match it. %
 ''You say thare's right smart sprink- lin O money in it, and sposein' put you rirhf kronH hnxu T,onohpn ho m share, eh ?" ,ss-,>.- -,---S'-. ----.-'.' .-- ..
 "I shall be better able to answer you after I have heard your story. Ii it is of any practical value to us, you shall be lib orally dealt with. That is all I eau say now" replied MT Armitage.
 1 'Wall," said Dunlap, after pause of some moments, 'I don't spose kin do any better than to trust ye, tho I wuz hopin' you c'ud ha' gin me a little suthin down. need it bad, I tell ye. But how somever, one thing want ye to promise, Elf what tell yer puts ye on side track ! arter suthin' else, ye shan't betray me. I've alters thought there was suthin crooked about it, but never raaly knew what twas. What dye say? Is it a bar gain ?''
 MT. Armitage and his son exchanged glances, as much as to say ''This is get ting serious and laying down his news paper, which he had been ostensibly read ing, Philip said:
 ssMr. Dunlap, we will promise that if in the communication you are about to make, you are not personally criminal, we will make no use of our knowledge, thns obtained. to your disadvantage. You know best, whether you are safe to trust us with it, or not. , ,..sa >r. .ss.
 "Wall, youngster, them's powerf ul string O big words fer an or'nerary chap like me ter swaller. But guess ye can't hurt me, so drive ahead with yer lingo. What is it, ye want ter know?"
 "When and where did you first know Marian Brooks ?" " @
 ''Twenty year ago, as nigh as kin re- member, I was with a squad O lumhermen up booty nigh the Canada line, and got hurt by log rollin' onto me. lay thare in the cabin, most all winter, bout as help less es 8 baby, and es soon es I cud crawl, I started out. Fer ye see, warn't no use thare, and the rest on em warn't anxious ter keep me. I travelled along kinder easy like, till the third day, when my leg clean gin out, and was obliged to stop so'he very fnst house cum to, I made bold to go in an tell 'em my trouble, an ask em to keep me till got ested enuff to go on. Thet hense, sir, was Brook House, an it belonged to Richard Brooks, an it wus .thare I fust. see Miss Marian said Dunlap 8'S S-'~ '"h 'kf
 f'How old was the young lady at this time, was the next question.
 fI should say she wa Int twenty, though putty nigh it. Harnsum es pictur, SIT, and sing !-beats all creation how that gal would sing. Larks an nightin' gales war'nt no-whar ,'longside O her !" said Dunlap, enthusiastically. Escg
 Ibid you see Richard Brooks wife, the mother of this young lady ?''
 Richard Brooks hadn't ary wife, sir. wl,euI knew him. But he he'd sharp JOS. d, hatchet-faeed old harridan of a a"tlstkeeper, an she had one O Satan's
 WEI imps fer larter An between lem ";,, they led Miss M .rian a dogs life, .nI killed her at last, jest es true es I'm a sinner.!' exclaimed the man, earnt stly, bringing his clenched hand forcibly down upon the table, with a thump that made his companions start, lawyers though they were
 t.Ah, how was that?" asked MT. Armit- age, qnietly, wh le n shade of disappoint- ment passed ovt his features
 "WAll, I'll tell yer. Yer see, MT. Rich ard, he set st ore by his wife, Miss Marian's mother, an when she dled, he got kinder low spirited, au' didn't seem to take ID in- tersst in nothin' Twas jest abont this t;r5 fhok O l,,t n, fallora o,, -, ,,. r. r.