Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-12-06

sDaoa, a pos1rlre statement that she and
| the sailors had lived for a fortnight upon
the broiled remains of Mr. Meeson. One
interviewer, being a small man, and,
therefore, unable to kick and fight his way
through the ring which surrounded Au-
gusta and Mrs. Thomas, seized upon little
Dick, and commenced to chirp and snap
| his fingers at him in the intervals Of ask
| ing him such questions as he thought suit
able to his years.
| Dick, dreadfully alarmed, fed with a
| howl; but this did not prevent column
and half of matter, headed, ''The In
| fant's Tale of Vice." from appearing that
| very day in a journal noted for the accur-
acy and unsensational character of its
communications. Nor was the army of
| interviewers the only terror that they had
to face. Little girls gave them bouquets;
an old lady, whose brain was permeated
with the idea that shipwrecked people
went about in condition of undre..- for
much longer than was necessary aftel he
event, arrived with an armful of unc.e1-
| clothing streaming on the breeze; and
! last, but not least, a tall gentleman, with
| beautiful mustache, thrust into Angus
| ta's hand note hastily written in pencil,
which, when opened, proved to be an offer
| of marriage,
However, at last they found themselves
| in first-class carriage, ready to start, or
rather starting The interviewing gentle
men, two of whom had their heads damned
| through the window, were forcibly torn
| away, still asking questions, by the Of
1cials of the company-the tall gentleman
with the mouStachioS, who was lowering
| in the background, smiled soft farewell,
in which modesty struggled visibly with
hope, the station master took off his cap,
and in another minute they were rolling
cut of Southampton Station.
Augusta sank back with a sigh of relief,
and then burst out laughing at the thought
of the gentleman with the fair moustach-
los. On the seat opposite to her somebody
had thoughtfully placed number of the
days papers. She took up the first that
came to hand and glanced at it idly with
the idea Of trying to pick up the thread of
| events. Her eyes fell Instantly upon the
name of Mr.. Gladstone printed all over
the sheet in type Of varying size, and she
sighed. Life On the ocean wave had been
perilous and disagreeable enough, but at
any rate she had been free from Mr. Glad
stone and his doings Whatever evil
might be said of him, he was not an old
man of the sea. Turning the paper over
| impatiently she came upon the reports of
the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Di-
vision of the High Court. The first report
ran thus:
'BEFoRE THE RIGHT HONORABLE THE
PRESIDENT. IN THE MATTER OF
NELSON, DECEASED.
"This was an application arising out of
the loss of the R. NJ. S. Kangaroo on the
| eighteenth OF December last. 1t will be
remembered that out of about thousand
souls on board that vessel the occupants of
one boat only-twenty- five people in all
r-ere saved. Among the drowned were Mr..
| MeeSOn, the head of the Well-known Biz
mingham publishing company of Meeson,
Addison, and Roscoe, and Co. Gimited),
who was at the time on a visit to New Zea-
| land and Australia in connection with the
business of the company.
'Mr. Fiddlestick, Q. c., who with Mr.
Pearl appeared for the applicants land
| who was somewhat imperfectly heard),
stated that the facts connected with the
| sinking of the Kangaroo would probably
still be so fresh in his Lordship's mind
that it would not be necessary for him to
detail them, although he had them upon
affidavit before him. His Lordship would
remember that but one boatload of people
had survived from this, perhaps the most
terrible shipwreck of the generation.
Among the drowned was Mr.. Meeson: and
this application was on behalf of the Ex-
ecutors of his will for leave to presume his
death. The property which passed under
the WILL was very large indeed; amounting
III all, Mr.. FiddlesticK understood, to about
two millions sterling, which, perhaps,
might incline lbs Lordship to proceed very
carefully in allowing probate to issue.
''The President: Well, the amount Of
the property has got nothing to do with
the principles on which the Court acts with
regard to the presumption of death, Mr..
Fiddlestick
''Quite SO, my Lord, and I think that in
this case your Lordship will be satisfied
that there is no reason why probate should
not issue. 1t is, humanity speaking, i'm
possible that Mr.. Meeson can have escaped
the general destruction.
''The President: Have you any affidavit
from anybody who saw Mr.. Meeson in the
water?
mo, my Lord; have an affidavit from
sailor named Okers, the only man who
was picked up in the water after the Kan
CARGO foundered, which states that he be-
neveS that lie saw Mr.. MeeSon spring from
the ship into tbs water, but the affidavit
does not carry the matter further He
cannot swear that it was Mr. Meeson
1.-The Presidents Well, | think that that
will do. The Court is necessarily adverse
to allowing the presumption of death eX-
cept on evidence of the most satisfactory
nature. STILL considering that nearly four
months have now passed since the foun-
dering of the kangaroo under circum-
stances which make it exceedingly i'm
probable that there were any other sur
vivors, think that it may fairly presume
that Mr.. Meeson shared the fate of the
other passengers.
''Mr. Fiddlestick: The death to be pre-.
sumed from the eighteenth Of December?
THE President Yes, from the eigh-
teenth.
'Mr. Fiddlestick: If your Lordship
pleases."
Augusta put down the paper with
gasp. There was she, safe and sound,
with the true last will of Mr. Meeson tat
tooed upon her own shoulders; and ''pro-
bate had issued"-whatever that mysteri-
Gus formula might mean--to another will,
not the real last will 1t meant Gas she in
her ignorance supposed that her viii was
no good, that she had endured that abom-
Unable tattooing to no purpose, and was to
no purpose SCARED for life.
1t was too much; and. in fit of vexa-
ton, she flung the Times out of the win
dow and cast herself back on the cushions,
feeling very much inclined to cry.
CHAPTER XIII-EUSTACE BUYS A PAPER.
In due course the train that bore Au-
gusta and her fortunes, timed to reach
Waterloo at 504 p NJ, rolled into the sta
ton. The train was a fast one, but the
telegraph had been faster. All the even
| ing papers had come out with accounts,
more or less accurate, of their escape, and
most of them had added that the two sur
vivors would reach Waterloo by the 5:04
train. The consequence was, that when
the train drew up at the platform, Angus
ia, on looking out, was Mortified to see
dense mass of human beings being kept in