Morning journal and courier., 1890-04-18
THE RxPATRIATEB TWIN.

THE RXPATRIATEB TWIN.
A Boston Aristocrat's Prayer Too
Aoundansly Answered, and What
Came OFT.
[From the Chicago Tribuns.l
An old Boston lawyer tells a curious story
of an older Boston family which illustrates
the material for fiction that is always afloat
in a community. This story is to the effect
that in the early part of this century, at the
time when the idea of founding a family
had an especially strong hold upon the
imaginatioDs of certain claes, as 1t came
later to have upon the Vanderbilts and the
Astors, there lived in Boston wealthy mer-
chant who had no children. He was pos.
sessad of the notion of the grandeur of stand
ing in history as the founder of a distin-
guished line, but the difficulty of assuming
this role when there was not even an
heir to hand down his name was q severe
blow. It was whsn he was already well ad
vanced in life that the joyful fact that he
might expect child at last came to fill to
the brim his cup of joy, already we'll filled
by the turns made in speculations requiring
much financial shrewdness.
Great preparations were made for the ex-
pected infant, and the merchant declared to
his friends with the greatest confidence that
the child would be boy. The new-come,
was to bear the name of his grandfather and
father, and from the start was to be regarded
as the prospective head of the business house
and heir apparent, to whom could not be
paid too much honor. In course of time the
child was born; it was indeed . boy, but
with him there was another boy. The
mother, who was already woman of middle
age, died within q week after the birth of
the twins.
The merchant was man accustomed to
having his will respected, and he could not
l. IL q, q, taty NSf fntn
whereby she gave him not only what he
asked, but so much more. He seemed almost
as much disappointed at having two SONS as
he had been before at having none. A
month or two after the death of his wife he
took his two infant sons and their nurse,
and In one of his finest vessels sailed for
Europe, then, of course, good deal farther
from America than 1t is at present.At the end
of six months he returned with new nurse
and only the elder of the twins, the other
having died, ne said, in France.
In the course of time the merchant sent
for his lawyer, the father of my informant,
and made his will. He confded to the law
yer that his other con was alive in France,
and he placed in his hands the papers
necessary for tracing him in case the death
of the elder should render the extinction Of
the family imminent. He also put into the
hands of the lawyer certain funds In trust of
ally to O certain address in France. This
done, the merchant, whose conscience is not
reported to have troubled him in the least in
this matter, lived out his appointed time, and
was gathered to his fathers, and his son,
by this time young man, resigned In his
stead.
Things went on undisturbsd until the
death Of the lawyer, when his SOD, who tells
the story, came into possession of the facts
ss part of his legacy in the way of his fathers
business. He felt it his duty to tell the
whole to the head of the wealthy house
which the departed merchant had succeeded
in founding, the elder twin, now man of
middle age, with family of his own. The
latter was not unnaturslly startled to be told
that he had brother alive on the other side
of the world, but he set out out to Europe to
find him. He followed up the clews given
him by the lawyer, and on his return he con-
fided to the latter that he had found the mics
"He does not know that he is not French, !"
he said. .He is perfectly contented. and he
has all that he needs. 1t is too late to undo
what my father did. have invested in his
name funds enough to make him comfortable
for the rest of his life. Now We will burn
the papers and forget that he ever existed.
So said, and, as far as possible, SO done.
The merchants died long ago, and the lawyer
who tells the tale says he Ia careful there
| shall be no chance of Identification. The
present generation are absolutely ignorant of
the existence of an uncle in the world or out
of it, and very likely do not even remember
that their father was born twin, the fact
being one which the grandfather took pains
! TO have kept out Of sight.