Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-06-08

whose father had purchased the estate Of
Outram from the trustees in bankruptcy. ,
''Indeedi'' said Leonard.
shortly afterward, went on the law
yer, Mr.. Cohen, or rather Sir Jonas
Cohen, succeeded to the estate on the
death of his father. Two years ago hG
died, leaving all his property, real ano
personal, to his only child, daughter
named Jane, with revcrsion to his widow
in fec simple. Within month of hi.
death the child Jane died also, and nine
1 months later her mother, Lady Cohen
nee Jane Beach, followed her to the grave. :
Yes, said Leonard in dull voice
| and hiding his face i'll his hand; ''go on,
sir"
Lady Cohen made somewhat peculiar
will. Under the terms of that will she be
| queaths the mansion house aud estates oil
| Outram, together with most of her person
| alproperty, amounting in all to something
! over s100, 600, to her old friend, Leonard
| Outram, and the heirs of his body, with
reyersion to her brother. This will has not
been disputed. Therefore, if you are Mr.
! Leonard Outram, l may congratulate you
upon being once more the owner of your
ancestral estate and considerable fortune
! in cash.
For awhile Leonard was too agitated tc
speak.
Il will prove to you," he said at last,
that l am this person-thaG is, l will
| prove 1t prima facie. Afterward you can
satisfy yourself of the truth of my state.
ments by the usual methods And he
proceeded to adduce variety of evidence
as to his identity, which need not be set
out here The lawyer listened in silence,
/ taking note from time to time.
- think, he said when Leonard had
| finished, that, subject to those inquiries
of which you yourself have pointed out
| the necessity in so grave matter, | may
accept it as proved that you are none other
| than Mr. Leonard Outram, or rather, - he
| added, correcting himself, IF, as l under.
| stand, your elder brother, Thomas, is dead,
| then Sir Leonard Outram. Indeed you
have SO entirely convinced me that this is
the case that have no hesitation in plac-
| ing in your hands letter addressed to you
by the late Lady Cohen and deposited with
me, together with the executed will,
though when you have read it shall re-
quest you TO leave that letter with me for
| the present. By the way, it may interest
| you to learn Mr.. Turner added as he
went to safe built into the wall and I'M
locked its iron door, that we have been
| hunting for you for year or more. We
even sent r@sn to South Africa, and he
| tracked you to a spot in some mountains
| somewhere north of Delagoa bay, where it
was reported that you, with your brother
Thomas and two friends, were digging for
gold. He reached the spot on the 9th of
May"
Tho very day that left it," broke in
Leonard.
And found the site of your camp and
three graves. At first our representative
thought that you were all dead but after
ward he fell in with u native, who APP
peared to have deserted from your service,
and who told him that one of the brothers
was dying when he left the camp, but one
was still in good health, though he did
not know where he had gone. J."
My brother Thomas died on the LIST of
May, this day year" said Leonard.
After that all trace of you was lost,
| but still kept on advertising for missing
people have a wonderful way Of turning
up to claim fortunes, and you see the re-
suit. Here is the letter, Sir Leonard -
| Leonard took the document and looked
at it, while strange feelings crowded his
mind. This was the first letter that he
had ever received from Jane Beach; also it
was the last that he ever could receive.
Before / open this, Mr.. Turner" he
said, Il may as well ask you, for my own
/ satisfaction, to compare the handwriting
of the address with another specimen of it
that chances to be in my possession" and
he produced the worn prayer book from
| his pocket-Jane' IS parting gift-and open
| ing it at the fly leaf pointed out the in
scription to the lawyer, placing the en-
yelope beside it.
Mr.. Turner took reading glass and ex-
amincd first one and then the other
These words appear to have been writ
| ten by the same hand, +" he said presently
Lady Cohen's writing was peculiar, and
it is difficult to be mistaken ON the point,
though 1 am no expert. To free you from
responsibility, with your consent l myself
will open this letter" and he slit the en-
vclopc at the top with an ivory paper knife,
and drawing out its contents handed them
to Leonard. They ran thus:
My DEAREST LEoNARD-For SO l, who am
no longer a wife, may call you without shame,
seeing that you are, in truth, the dearest TO
my heart whether you be still living or dead
like my husband and my child.
| The will which am going to sign tomorrow
Will prove 10 you, II you IRE yeb awe, us ne
lieve to be the case, how deep is my anxiety
that you should re-enter into possession Of the
| ancestral home of which fortune has deprived
| you. 1t is with the greatest pleasure that l
| make you this bequest, and can do SO with u
clear conscience, for my late husband has left
every thing at my absolute disposal being him
| self without near relations, in the sad event
which has occurred of the death of his daueh
ter, our only child.
May you live long to enjoy the lands and for
tune which 1 am thus enabled to return to
| your family, and may your children and their
descendants sit at Outram for many genera
ton to come.
And now l will talk no more of this matter
for have an explanation to make and u par
don to ask
1t may well be, Leonard, that when your
eyes fall upon these lines you will have forgot
ten me-mcst deservedly-and have found
some other woman to love you No, as | set
this down feel that it is not true. You will
never altogether forget me, Leonard your
| first love-and no other woman will ever be
quite the same to you as have been or at
least so believe in my foolishness and vanity.
You will ask what explanation is possible
after the way in which have treated you and
the outrage that l have done to my own love.
Such as it is, however, l offer it to you.
! was driven into this marriage, Leonard, by
my late father, who could be very cruel when
|
of weakness SO be it. have never concealed
from myself that l am weak. Yet, believe me
struggled while l could. Iwrote TO you even
but they intercepted my letter. told all the
truth to Mr. Cohen, but he was self willed
and passionate and would take 10 heed Of my
pleading And SO l married him, Leonard.
and fairly happy with him, for he was
kindness itself to me, but from that hour / be
gan to die.
| And now more than six years have passed
since the night Of our parting in the snow. and
tho end is at hand, for l really dying. 1t
has pleased God to take my little daughter.
/. and this last shock proved more than can
bear, and so GO to join her and TO wait with
her till such time as shall once more see your
unforgotten face.
This is all that have to say, dear Leonard
| Pardon nc. and, am selfish enough to add,
/ do not forget me- JANE.
Leonard put down the letter on the ia
! Bile and again covered his face with his
hand to hide his emotion, for his feelings
/ overcame him as q sense of the depth and
purity Of this dead woman's undying love
sank into his heart.
May read that letter, Leonardo asked
Juanna in q quiet voice.
Yes, l suppose so, If you like, he an
swered, feeling duly that it was better to
mako a clean breast of the matter at once,
and thus prevent future misunderstood
ings.
Juanna took the letter and perused it
twice, by which time she knew it as well
as she did the Lords Prayer, nor did she
ever forget n single word of it. Then she
handed it back to the lawyer, saying moth
ing,
Il understand" said Mr. Turner break
ing in on silence which he felt to be
painful, that you will lie able to produce