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

Mr.. William Biacs, the popular
novelist, tells au amusing story Of
now he was pslSi>t'utiy taken for
somebody else, and has never leeu
able % convince the persons con
CeTuci That he j. reilly himself and
not the other man.
Some considerable time ago The
wrote recently ia Mcssrs. TiliOlsun's
| Syndicate Of Provincial NcWsYaYeTs1
/ received a letter from q Mrs. Mac
", informing me that certain
| people and incidents IN particular
novel Of mine were known only to
herself and 10 a nephew 81 hers,
ThU was thought 10 have been
drowned NJ STA some years Lefure,
and that. vas must necessarily be
that uephen, II was incumbent on
me % come forward and resume my
own name and recognize my rrla-
tive, Der eli first Of all. i paid little
| hee ]: lut IS year after year went by.
/ found from the repeated letters
she sent mc-SOme OF them quite
plaintive in their aPpeals-that this
was no Temporary halluciuatiOn. but
4 veritab!e belief; and that the poor
old lady was deeply distressed by
| my uudutitul con luct. Then | set
20 work totry 10 uudeCcive her. /
pointed out that I should bc glad 10
| take the name Of M1cN-. II had
any right {, it, seeing that that is 4
much more distinguished name than
my own, which in certain districts
in the south ui Scotland and i'm the
| Western Highlands is as common
IS Smith : IN England. I asked
her what motive / could have for
eoucealing my ideEtity-why 1
should refuse 90 recognize her rs my
aunt, If size were my aunt. / had
meanwhile made sure that there
was no cieem0-ynary purpose in the
old danes piteOus cry; on the con-
4 traTy, she had promised that If !
| would only admit that / was Neil
] NlacN--she would at once get for
mt some jewellery and other things
left for me by my mother, who. it
| seems, was n native Of skye Well,
| argument was OF 30 avail. Then |
sent friends 70 assure her that she
vas mistaken; no usg. | asked her
/ 10 write 10 4 L. y. Minister who
mad known me all my life-I thought
l she would have confidence in him,
/ II Ia anybody short OF archaugei-
but She iarkly limited that it was
| easy 10 get friends 10 cOnuive when
cluCealmeut was the object. 30
time passed; the TeYr0achful re-
| mJusiancCs, the piOus counsel. the
| hope that ! would see the Inhumau
ingrltitude Of my ways ere il was
/ too late Fer me 10 make atonement.
were repeated in every letter; and
/ could not but admire the compOsure
! Of countenance ON the part Of the
! hall-l0rter at the -- Club. for there
/ was not n trace Of consciousness on
his face - he handed me those
l missives, each Of which had salias
| Neil MlcN-'' on the evelOpc.
Then, rs It CHANGED, | was IN q
small fishing town in the West
! Highlands; and word was brought
/ me that Mrs. Macy and a niece
! II hers had come from some con.
siderable distance in the hope that |
/ would 20 and see them. | went at
once, for I thought thi. would prove
decisive. / found al the post Office.
which was the place Of rendezvous,
a most respec.able-ioJiSing, serious,
calm, and courteous old Highland
/ woman, along with 4 very pretty
and smari-looking young lady ifOl
the moment deeply regretted I wa.
| not NeilMacN-, there bcing Ger
tain small c0usingly greetings that
one might fairly and naturally have
claimed under the circumstancesl
and forthwith assumed that now,
at least, they would see was moi
the relative they bad lost. But
was mistaken. The old lady asked
me to show her the forefiuger o
my right hand. | did 30.
"Ah." said she, ''the mark is not
there now; but MARKS like that ofteu
get worn of"
! Then I turned 10 the pretty young
iady-with confidence; was sur,
she could not shaFs In this dc
lgsion.
why" l said, ''if your cousin
J had not been drowned at sea-if he