The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-04-09
THE KxPATRIATED TWIN.
An Aristocrat's Prayer too Abundant
~ Answered and What Came of 1t.

AN ArlStocrat's Prayer too Abundant
ly Answered and What Came of 1t.
From the chicago Tribune.
BOSTON, March 27.-An old Boston law
yer tells curious story of an older Boston
family which illustrates the material for
fiction that is always aioat 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 family had an especially
strong hold upon the imaginations of a
certain class, as it came later to have upon
the Vanderbilts and the Astors, there lived
IN Boston wealthy merchant who had no
children. He was possessed of the notion
of the grandeur of standing in history as
the founder of distinguished line, but the
difficulty of assuming this role when there
was not even an heir to hand down his
name was a severe blow. 1t was when he
was already well advanced in life that the
joyful fact that he might expect child at
last came TO fill to the brim his cup of Joy,
already well filed 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 a boy. The new
conner was to bear the name of his grand
father, and from the start was to be re-
garded as the prospective head of the bust
ness house and heir apparent, to whom
could not be paid too much honor In course
of time the child was born; it was indeed a
boy, but with him there was another boy.
The mother, who was already a woman of
| middle age, died within a week after the
birth of the twins
The merchant was man accustomed to
having his will respected, and he could not
be reconciled to this whimsical trick of fate,
whereby she gave him not only what he
asked, but so much more. He seemed al
| most 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,
| aud in one of his finest vessels sailed for
Europe, then, of course, good deal farther
| from America than it is at present. At the
| end of six months he returned with a new
| nurse, and only the elder of the twins, the
other having died, he said, i'll France.
In the course of time the merchant sent
| for his lawyer, the father of my informant
| and made his will. He confided to the
| lawyer that his other son 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 ex
| tinction of the family imminent He also
put into the hands of the lawyer certain
| funds in trust of which the income was t.
be RENTED annually to a 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 hi
fathers, and his son, by this time young
| man, reigned in his stead.
Things went ON undisturbed until the
death of the lawyer, when his son, who tells
| the story, came into possession of the facts
as 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 a man of
middle age, with family of his own. The
latter was not unnaturally startled to be
told that he had a brother alive on the other
side of the world, but he set out to Europe
to find him. He followed up the cews
given him by the lawyer, and ON his return
be conffded to the latter that he had found
the missing twin.
"He does not know that he is not French. !"
he said. HE is perfectly contented, and he
has all that be needs. 1t is too late to undo
what my father did. / have invested in his
name funds enough to make him comforta-
Bile for the rest of his life Now we will
burn the papers and forget that he ever
existed"
So said, and. as fa- as possible, SO done.
The merchant died long ago, and the LAWYER
who tells the tale says he is careful there
shall be no chance of Identification. The
present generation are absolutely ignorant
of the existence of al uncle in the world or
out of it. and very likely do not even re-
member that their father was born a twin.
the fact being one which the grandfather
took pains to have kept out of sight