The herald., 1896-04-08
A PARSONS Story.

A PARSONS STORY.
u was while liRss,vicar of StaChad's s.
Manchester, that ths, ,ntoaf. trying antpain-
Ill episode of my life o6curred;. and there
ase times evena powxwhsp ! shudder to
- mo-. o. ~ v.r vNou ~ oes Il uSdo,Ss oes ~'
One in6inine asha6SS 4 yoIpk fSllos, who
3uuksd = typical ne'tf do wshs, called OH
mo 70 :bsg. ( ha0 great difaoultT in recog-
nising him as Ronald Emmenton, the only
eon Of wealthy corn factor who had been
one Of my churchwardens at Weymouth
On questioning him l found that he had
squahdered his wealth by the most riotous
uving and for tho last two years had been
earning a nreoafitus living as hanger on
at race courses and professional tipster,
and, fear, ~, other employments more
shady still l'did alljI could for him, for
his fathers sdES9ffohnd him respectable
lodgings ana got Business friend'of mine
to take him into his office But. as fear
Cd, my friend had to dismiss him in less
than month, and 1 lost sight Of him.
What his gratitude was like was to know
few weeks later.
morning, the first week In December, pre-
pairing lecture was to deliver to our lit
erary society when was handed the card
Of q visitor who wished to see me. The
namo was "SIr. L. Pridson,' and for the
moment could not recall any such person
to my mind But when he was shown in
Instantly recognized him as the cashier
Of the Manchester City bank. He was q
portly and rather pompous man, but now
he looked decidedly nervous.
"Good morning, Mr.. Pridson," said.
"A wretchod morning, is it not9 Take
seat, please
He sat down. but made no response TO
my greeting, ana waited for him to speak.
Mr.. Adalnson. he sai6. / have call
Cd upon very unpleasant business. 1t will
be great relief to us all if you can clear
yourself. sir
"Clear myself Why, Mr.. Pridson,
what do you mean?"
ION the afternoon Of the Sd of Novem.
Der, Mr.. Adamson, you came to the bank
and requested US to cash check for ESQ,
drawn in your favor and signed by Sir
James Garel. This ing the check was
returned by Sir James with the intimation
that 1t was forgery. On minutely ex-
amining the signature this morning we
found that, though o clever imitation, Sir
James was right. You will admit this is
q serious business, sir."
''very serious" / said, "bpt it does not
concern me. I simply know nothing
about the check"
''Mr Adamsonp' he exclaimed, with
severity.
"Mr. Pridson" 1 said, little heated.
He shook his head impatiently. "Mr.
Adamson, about 8:45 on the afternoon of
Nov. 8 you came to the bank mufled up,
on account of the fog you said, and young
Siddell attended to you. You produced
this check, which you had Endorsed, and
asked him to cash it. Siddell brought the
check to me, and came and spoke to you.
"A largo amount, Mr.. Adamson, said.
YES, you REPLIED it represents Sir
James princely generosity to our restora-
tion and poor funds. l will take the ESQ
In 260 or 9100 notes and the odd ESQ in
gold OF course under the circumstances,
never questioned the genuineness of the
check nor your representations. In the
ordinary course Of business the check came
before Sir James yesterday, and this
morning 1t was returned to us, as I have
said. There is no doubt it is forgery
saw that there had been roguery some
where, and that was in an unpleasant
position, but my conscience was quite
clear. "Mr. Pridson," said, "you are
under delusion. never had a check of
Sir James Garel's. and never brought it
to the bank to cash it. l have never seen
such check from first to last
He took the document from his pocket
book and held it between his fingers. 1t
panied me to see that he would not trust
1t into my hands. Here is the check,
and,'' turning it over, ''is not that your
signaturc."
scrutinized it closely. "It certainly
looks like it, but it is forgery. 1 know
nothing about that check, I tell you once
again"
''Mr. Adamson, he said solemnly, II
make one last appeal to you. With my
own hands 1 handed the money over to
you. For your own sake confess that you
were tempted and fell. Sir James will be
merciful, and can answer for our direct
ors. In fact, am empowered to say So
MT. Pridson, you mean to be kind,
am sure, l said, speaking steadily,
though my limbs blod, but your ap-
peal Is an insult"
.You know what it will mean-prose-
oution. Think agair of your position,
your wife,"
~ have told you the truth" replied,
and he left, truly sorry for me, believe.
/ called My wife in and as gently as /
eould told her the whole business. l knew
what terrible thing it was for her, but,
thank God, she has ever shown the noblest
courage and subliniest faith In the worst
extremities.
"What shall you do, my dear?" she ask
cd.
I'm all probability I shall be arrested
ahoftly. / am going to see Fells at once
"God help you my DEAR she said sim
ply as kissed her.
Mr.. Fclls was one of the best known So
lioitors in Manchester, and man l was
proud to call a personal friend found
him In his Office and told him the whole
story
He looked at me keenly when I had
done, then said, "It may be an insult,
Adamson, but ask you as a legal adviser,
Do you know anything about this check?"
Nothing" said.
"Thank you. Then, of course it is a
double forgery your name and Sir
James"
"But Pridson persists 1t was he saw" I"
''Or \ counterfeit Of you. Depend upon
it, 1t was not the work of fool. We must
ind him, and You must prove where you
were at that hour. Come, I'll walk home
with you"
We were few yards from my own door
when Dab drove up and two plain clothes
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