Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-05-19
THE MISTAKEN IDENTIFY OF
Mr.. WILLIAM BLACK.

.
novelist, tells an amusing story OF
how lie was persistentiy taken for
somebody else, and has never been
able 70 convince the persons con
cerned that he Is reilly himself and
not the other man.
Some considerable time ago The
wrote recently in Alessrs. TillOisun's
Syndicate Of Provincial NeVspapersl
I received 4 letter from a Mrs. Mac
| v, informing me that certain
| people and incidents in a particular
novel Of mine were known only to
herself and 10 a Evphew Of hers,
who was thought 10 have been
| drowned at sea some years before,
and that. was must necessarily be
l that nephew, IL was incumbent on
me 10 come forward and resume my
| own name and recognize my rela-
tiveS, her eli iirst Of all. i paid little
| heel: but rs year after year went by,
/ found from the repeated letters
she sent me-sOme OF them quite
plaintive in their aPpeals-that this
was no Temporary hallucination, but
n veritable belief; and that the poor
old lady was deeply distressed by
my uudutiful conduct. Then | set
20 work 10 try to uudeceive her. |
pointed out that | should be glad 10
/ take the name Of M1cN--, II | had
any right % II, seeing that that Is a
much more distinguished name than
my own, which in certain districts
i'm the south uf Scotland and in the
Western Highlands is as common
rs Smith j. IN England. I asked
her what motive / could have for
cOncealing my ideEtity-why |
should refuse 10 recognize her rs my
/ aunt. If size We're my aunt. ! had
meanwhile made sure that there
was no eleemOsynary purpose in the
old danes piteOus cry; on the con
traTy, she bad promised that If
would only admit that | was Neil
| MacN-she would at once get for
me some jewellery and other things
left for me by my mother, who, !!
seems, was n native Of skye Well,
| argument was OF no avail. Then
sent friends 20 assure her that she
vas mistaken; no USE. asked her
10 write 10 4 L. i. Minister who
had known me all my life-I thought
she would have confidence i'm him,
if in anybody short Of archangel-
but she darkly limited that il was
easy 10 get friends 20 cOnnive when
| cOncealment was the object &c
time passed; the reproachful re-
mousiances, the piOus counsel, the
! hope that | would see the inhumau
| ingrstitude Of my ways ere IL was
too late for NE to make atOnement,
We're repeated in every letter; and ]
could not but admire the compOsure
Of countenance on the part Of the
| hall-porter at the - Club. for there
was not n trace OF consciousness on
his face as he handed me those
missives, each Of which had 'alias
| Neil MacN-" on the evel0pe.
Then. rs Il CHANGED, / was IN 9
small fishing town in the West
Highlands; and word was brought
| me that Mrs. Macy and a meet
Of hers had come from some con.
siderable distance in the hope that !
| would 20 and see them. | went at
once, for 1 thought this would prove
| decisive. / found 1t the pOSt-Ofiice
which vas the place Of rendezvous
q most respeciable-iooising, serious,
calm, and courteous old Highland
woman. along with 4 very pretty
and smart-looking young lady tfOl
the moment l deeply regretted | wa,
not NeilMacN@, there being Ger.
tain small cousingly greetings thai
one might fairly and naturally hav,
claimed under the eircumstancesl
and forthwith assumed that now,
at least, they would see | was MOI
the relative they had lost. But
was mistaken. The old lady asked
me to show her the forefinger o
my right hand. | did 30.
"Ah. - said she, ''the mark is MOI
there now: but marks like that otter
get worn Off"
Then turned 10 the pretty yOuns
lady-wlth confidence; was sur
she could not SHARE ia this de
fusion.
"Why,D I said, ''if your eousif
] had not been drowned at sea-if M