Mower County transcript., 1893-07-12

uOI. AS u Lu0GttT VI ldCG, uc41LeT
Dupont nor the child was in Baltimore
at the time of Hamilton Dupont's death,
although the published accounts of the
affair gave the impression that they
were there.
Gas you yourself told me, Mrs. May
nard, the poor young wife died soon
after of a broken heart; and little An
| ME, thus cast upon the cold charities Of
the world, found refuge and loving care
in an orphan asylum in that city. She
was received and registered there in
her own name, as I discovered few
days since on searching the records of
the institution. The date of this regis
try-I do not recall it at the moment,
but have a memorandum of it some
where-corresponds exactly with the
date furnished me through another
source; and thus it affords most salts
factory corroboration of my chief docu-
mentary evidence.
''Now, before the child had been in
the asylum three weeks, lady who
was then transient visitor in Charles
ton presented herself at the institution,
inquiring for Annie Dupont. She soon be-
came convinced that the child who was
entered by that name upon the books
was the Annie Dupont whom she was
seeking; and, that question settled, she
proceeded to declare her reasons for max
ing this inquiry. She had known Hamil-
ton Dupont and his wife intimately, and
was greatly attached to them both; and
for their sakes she felt an unusual in
terest in their infant daughter, who
was, am told, at that time a remarka-
bly, beautiful child-which 1 can very
easily believe, having seen for myself
what charming woman she has be-
come"
! AS he spoke these last words with the
same air of simple good faith that had
characterized all his previons state
ments, Mr.. Maynard glanced involun-
tarily at Miss Hilary, as if putting his
verdict to the critical test of her own
dispassionate judgment. Miss Hilary,
with eyes downcast, was unconscious of
the swift scrutiny, Smiling little as
he observed it, North continued:
''Thls lady furthermore stated that
she was slightly acquainted with Mrs.
Dunkirk, Hamilton Dupont's sister.
'Now'-this is in effect what she said
to the authorities at the asylum
Mrs, Dunkirk is wealthy widow,
and Annie, as her only living relative,
can dispute. But Mrs. Dunkirk is
cold, stern woman, utterly unfit to be
the guardian of tender child like
Annie. Let me adopt this little one and
rear her lovingly for her own and her
parents sakes. Lest Mrs. Dnnkirk
should discover her and try to take her
from me, will conceal her real name
and call her by my own; not even the
child herself shall ever know that am
not her own true mother until I shall
deem that the proper time has come to
| disclose the secret. will have all
necessary proofs of her identity at hand,
so that if her aunt should die leaving
her fortune to the next of kin, Annie's
claim can easily be established. All this
l promise and will fulfill; only let me
have the child to care for and love as
my own
''Well, to be brief about it, the lady
carried her point. The adoption papers
we're duly made out, and before an
other day had elapsed Annie Dupont
had left the orphan asylum, never to
enter it again. She was taken to the
home Of her new mother and given the
name of that lady-the name by which
she was ever after called; and she has
never known to this day, though I shall
marvel very greatly if she doesn't be-
gin to suspect it soon, that she ever was
Annie Dupont"
Again Mrs. Maynard's glance sought
Miss Hilary, this time to encounter
! Myra's eyes, full Of eager speculation.
1 If each had spoken the thought in her
own mind in that instant, the denoue-
ment of North's story would have been
materially hastened. But they both
held their peace and waited for him to
unfold the mystery in his own way.
Beyond this point" he went on,
catching up the narrative again after a
meditative little pause, II cannot in this
necessarily brief outline follow her his
tory step by step for the next fifteen or
twenty years. It is essential, however,
to note that the lady soon after en-
barked for Europe, where her husband
held some official position under our
governmeat-consul in some remote
foreign part. may as we'll add in
this connection that he died year
later, and his widow, now more than
ever devoted to her adopted daughter
and dreading a separation from her
more than anything in the world, re-
mained abroad for several years, drift
ing from one point of interest to an
other; thus Annie was nearly grown
to womanhood before she revisited her
native land. Owing to this fact, as
we'll as to the entire lack Of any definite
information to work on, and the multi
plicity Of false clews that were given
from time to time, the detectives whom
Mrs. Dunkirk at different periods en-
gagged in her search for her niece were
bafaed in all their attempts to find her.
Swallowed up in another name and
identity, Annie Dupont had practically
ceased to exist g..
And now I must digress just for a
moment NJ in order to bring to your