The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1886-08-06

Of them, and, as the days passed, and my
search met with no success, i would fain
have shrunk even from the accidental ac-
quaintances had made In the hotel 1t was
only at the dinner table, indeed, or in the
smoking room late at night. that ever ex-
changed a word with fellow creature.
All round me, however, there was enough,
and more than enough, of noisy talk to hide
my sulen and self-absorbed silence. Nor
could shut my mind TO a knowledge of the
fact that all Scarborough was just then
buzzing with excitement over new topic of
interesting gossip
1t was one of the society journals which
had set the story, about which all were now
talking, afioat. The gay watering place had,
it seemed, received, among its many summer
guests, one who was exceptionally distin-
guished. 1t was not that he was of high rank
or ofgreat genius Rank and genius are novel
ties to be found at times even at Scarbor-
ough but they do not appear to make any
great impression upon the ordinary fire.
quenters of the place. That which set every
body talking about Mr.. Mauleverer, the
gentleman whose presence in Scarborough
had been chronicled in the society journal in
question, was his enormous wealth. People
talked of ii, speculated upon it, gloated over
it; and men and women alike were wild
with anxiety to be brought into c.ose con-
tact with one whose riches were said to be
fabulous in their amount.
Mr. Mauleverer, discovered from what
saw in the newspapers and heard from those
around me- was a millionaire of the new
style. He was supposed to be some distant
connection of the old Lancashire family of
the same name But though English in
blood and name, he was not English either
by birth or upbringing He was colonist,
and had been born and had spent all his life
in Australia. The scandal-oving throng with
| whom mixed in the hotel or on the prone
made made light of his origin. There were
some indeed, some who professed to know
on that "best authority" which tho tale
bearer always has at his command, that he
was the son of a convict man who had
disgraced his family in the early part Of the
present century, and who had expated his
sins by transportation. There were Others
who even limited that he himself was not
free from reproach. But upon two points
there was no doubt in the mind of any body
The first was, that the man was enormously
rich-rich beyond the dreams of avarice-
and the other, that he was a bachelor Of
something more than middle age.
As to the manner in which he had made
the five millions sterling with the possession
| of which he was credited, all sorts of stories
were told. 1t was of course in keeping with
the way OF the world that some of these
stories should be anything but creditable to
the millionaire himself. But, young as was,
l had learned enough to know that it does
not do to believe all the evil that is spoken of
ones fellows, and for my part l inclined to
the more charitable theory which alleged
that Mauleverer's wealth had been accumu-
lated by the simplest and most natural of all
processes-the enormous increase which had
taken place in the value of land in the colony
! in which he had been born. Starting life in
the days when Australia was still in its in
fancy as the owner of vast tracts of country,
then comparatively valueless, he had seen
his great sheep-walks, and the barren
stretches of sandy soil which he owned in the
neighborhood of the little ports that, had
since developed into fiourshing cities, turned
literally into gold without any effort on his
own part
Give millions, if it is pennyi' This was
what young barrster named Harding,
whose acquaintance had made in the hotel
smoking ROOM was never tired of saying.
give millions, and not an encumbrance o.
any kind, or chick or child to whom to
| leave it."
any dear fellow" responded feebly, for
felt but little interested in this all-absorb
ing topic, "what does it matter to you or to
me how much the man is WORTH We shall
never reap any benefit from his gold. "
"Ah, you are young" said my lively COM
! panon, who was really no older than my
SELL "You don't understand the world yet,
Fenton. Haven't you seen how all the dow
ayers in the hotel here are laying their plans
! to capture the unfortunate wretch as soon as
he makes his appearance among them!
When you have lived little longer you will
begin to realize the power of gold tell
you, sir, that there isn't woman in this
place at this moment who wouldn't sell her
daughter in marriage to this man Maulever-
err, though he were old as Msthusaleh and as
wicked as Satan And there isn't girl in
| tho place, either, who wouldn't cheerfully
say yes to the bargain if it were proposed
to her. Five millionsl Why, the man who
owns it can do anything
"Why do you talk such nonsensep l said,
angrily. "You cannot mean what you say.
| You wish to make all women out to be as
bad as a few men are"
] was hot with Indignation Why hardly
| knew myself. had no near female relations
| of my own-none for whom l cared. But,
somehow or other, when Harding talked in
this style, sneering at all womankind as
though all alike were bad, the face of the
girl had met in the train rose before my
eyes, and 1 felt constrained to do battle with
him. if it were only upon her account.
He laughed laz1y.
"You excite yourself, my good fellow,
unnecessarily" he said. "Of course am not
even limiting at the possibility of there being
any mercenary persons among the ladies
of your acquaintance No doubt there are
exceptions to every rule; but for my part l
have not yet seen the woman whom five mil
lions would not fetch. Wait and SEQ for
yourself, when the great man deigns to put
in an appearance at the morning parade"
81 thought he had already done So" l re-
piled, feeling a certain amount of compunc-
ton at the anger l had shown. al, has
been in Scarborough for some time has he
not9"
"He is in this hotel at the present moment;
but he Is laid up with some ilness-gout,
sup pose, as it is the rich mans special all
ment-and has never been out Of doors since
his arrival, two weeks ago."
This was only one of the innumerable &C.
casions on which Mauleverer and his mil
lions we're dinned into my ears, until l grew
to bata tho very sound of the mans mama