Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1886-06-10
UNlUCkY NED.
pY THE AUTHoR OF adde's HUSBAND"
''MADAME's DAUGHTER" DOCTOR
PALMER's PATIENT" &c. &c.


friend sat the next day I'm the coffee-room of
London hotel, porting over the London Dl-
TectOry.
NO George Willoughby In Euston Square?'
he repeated incredulously. mo George
Will'ughhy2 | can't understand i'll Iwon-
der Where he can have gone? Look. Irving,
at SOME other names. There were friends OF
theirs CLOSE blythe FerglISonS, the Harnly-
JOneseS, Doctor Abraham
mo Fergusons, Hanly-JoneseS, or Abra-
hams IN the square at present." said Irving
IarOnically.
NO? Where then can they have all dis
appeared?'
Gone West perhaps" suggested the other
sheerfully. People want change of air oc-
-dsiOnally."
But, look where they would the Directory
gave them no clue to the whereabouts OF the
vanished denizens of Euston Square.
Alice remember, had an aunt AT Bromp-
ton and some relatives out Bayswater way.
Let us look them up, said Heyland, at last.
They did so, without more success; the
cousins were nowhere 10 be found, and the
very road in which the Brompton aunt dwelt
had disappeared altogether.
''Why, feel regular Kip van Winklew
cried Hey land, looking in blank dismay at
his friend
Your father-in-law had some City friends,
had he not? Who were his solicitors?''
Heyland mentioned them.
Land at lastr' exclaimed Irving, after a
short silence. "llere we are Messrs. Cole
man x Son, solicitors, st. Mary's Lane, K. G.
The sharks are at anchor still. Now, Hey
land, here's the Times You just cast an
eye over il for an hour or two while l wend
my way TO ST MaTy's Lane. Keep cool
head on your shoulders, old fellow, and oc-
cupy your mind with the news"
Vain request! The moment Irving had
left the room Heyland threw the newspaper
from him and paced up and down in feverish
expectation. Three hours passed before his
friend, breathing uncomfOrtably from the
sitting effects of London fog, returned.
"Well-well? What have you heard? Is
abe alive? Is she well? Is she-oh, speak,
speak, man; can bear this suspense no"
Now, Heyland, this won't do; control
yourself, or I'll drop your case altogether,
and then where will you find yourself-ehP
Don't swear; it won't help me bit. tell
you don't know anything particular as yet"
you don't know anything as yet"'
"1mean that do not know where your wife
Is, or what her present circumstances are, l
saw Coleman-rather q venerable old sharp
and introduced myself as a friend of the
late departed Edward Heyland. / then
learned that your father-in-law is no more.
BE died more than six years ago, few
months after the news of your decease reach
ed him."
"Dead-old Willoughby deadl l never
thought of that. He seemed a man who
would live for ever. Deadl l can scarcely
realize IT,"
HE had rather bad time of II before he
went poor old boy, which helped to shorten
his life. He lost almost every penny OF his
many years savings through the failure of a
big City firm with which he was connected.
This shock brought on a stroke of paralysis,
from which he never rallied. When he was
gone, all his effects were sold by auction, the
house in the square was given up, and pit
lance was secured, believe, for his daugh-
ter, who went TO Hastings for the sake OF her
child, who was ailing. From that place Cole
man had a communication from her-the last
they ever had-about six years ago."
The last they ever had! You-you-don't
mean to say that they have never heard of
her or from her since%'
II unfortunately However l made
them ferret ont her address there; here it is
ings."
The next day found the two men at Hast
ings, where they remained several days seek
ing for traces of Miss Ramsden, who had
migrated some years before TO another water
ing-place along the coast After indefatiga-
BILE inquiries, they at last tracked her TO
Brighton, where they found her no longer a
humble lodging house-keeper, but mistress OF
1ourishing and very select clearinghouse.
1t was with great difficulty that Miss Rams
den could be got to recall so insignificant a
person as Mrs. Heyland; 1t was so many
years ago-so many persons had passed
through her establishment snce-she had
such an extensive connection-that ''really,
you know" much as she wished to oblige, il
was impossible. Sir George Penrose and her
ladyship and Mrs. Admiral McCallister, she
remembered, stayed with her at Victoria
Terrace; but u Mrs. Heyland-no, she really
could not say
Then suddenly, moved by the wistful ap-
peal of poor Highlands eyes, the good lady
consented to lay aside her languid dignity
and told them what she knew, which did not
amount to much. Mrs. Heyland, q young
widow with sckly little child, had occupied
apartments in her house for three months,
after which she had gone away, leaving no
address behind, and Miss Ramsden had new
er heard of her afterwards.
The two men went back to town, and the
following fortnight was spent i'm fruitless
pilgrimageS TO various corners of England In
search of some clue to the whereabouts of
the missing lady. They unearthed the
Brompton aunt at Cheltenham, but found her
an almost helpless imbecile. She knew moth
ing about her niece Alice Willoughby, except
that she had made wretched match with
some man of the name Of Hargrove-Har-
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS could not remember
exactly-who had TO ny the country-or was
transported-or something of the kind. That
was all they could extract from her.
Heyland after this fell into q state of
gloomy torpor from which his energetic COM
panion tried in vain to rouse him.
'Its OF no use, Irving" he would say bit
tcriy-"it's of no use. I know where my
poor darling is-she is beyond the help of
human hand, where my voice can never
reach her again. How could II be otherwise?
How could she struggle on alone, unprotect-
ed, penniless, burthened with dying child?
II could only find her bed and lay my luck
less head beside hers at least in death? My
--atty Alice! The first time saw her Jrv-
ing, was one winter morning just like this.
She was standing at the top of the dark old
stairs, wrapped up in furs. A ray Of cold
sunshine, coming from a side-window, sud-
denly lit up her smiling face, her golden
hair. was below, and she-she looked
down."
"IIeyland," interrupted Irving, who did
not seem so hear the half-whspered reminis-
cence. what dye say to tackling old Cole
man again before we try Scotland Yard and
the agony column of the Timesf He struck
-. - -, .o.lor n L,no,yino old blade Sim