The Grit-advocate., 1900-05-04

To obtain peers robes and coro-
net, a castle and all the state of first
class viscount is what John Gordon,
an English schoolmaster, is now striv-
ing for in the British House of Lords.
The story he tells dates back to the
early part Of the eighteenth century
and Is one of great interest.
When the "Old Pretender," the IA
ther of Bonnie Prince Charlie" made
his futile landing in Scotland In Ills
among those who Joined the royal
standard Of the Stuarts was the Wis
count of Kenmure. He was taken, with
many other knights and gentlemen,
and left his head on Tower Hill to
furnish an ornament for Temple Bar.
Now John Gordon, schoolmaster, tells
the following tale in his memorial to
the House Of Lords. The Scottish peer
who laid down his life for the exiled
race left two sons, both Of whom died
unmarried. He also left widow, and
this widow looms large and lurid in
the story. She was born Mary Dalziel.
and was strong, masterful and beau
tiful woman. Soon after her lords
death she married stalwart footman
OF her retinue, one John Lumsden.
The brother of the headless Wis
count, John Gordon, had succeeded
upon the decapitation of Mary Dal-
2iel's husband, to the titles and estates
and lived at Kenmure Castle. The
widow tried in various ways to oust
John from his heritage, and failing to
convince him by argument Of the error
One night, when she was paying
family overnight visit to her loving
brother-in-law she set fire to the cas-
tie. John, with his wife and child,
slept that night in the great Baliol
tower of the castle. The fire broke
out in the middle of the night, but,
thanks to the vigilance Of the servants,
which was always a necessary &C.
compartment to one of her ladyship's
visits, it was extinguished before it
had done much harm. The next
morning box containing deeds and
other papers, which the viscount care
lessly had neglected to take with him
to the Baliol tower, was missing. Ser
wants reported that they had seen
Mary Dalziel steal the box, but she
swore that it had been burned in tho
fire. To be safer. the viscount de-
cided to visit Paris. One night, in a
lonely part Of the city he was attacked
by two masked men. Being skilled
swordsman, he killed both of them.
They were bravoes, sent by Mary Dali
ziel to murder him. That lively lady,
after sending them, had crossed the
channel and ridden hard night and
day to the French capital with the
hope of being in time to be present
at her brother-in-law's funeral Dis
appointed in this, she made charges of
fraud against him. Her wit her
beauty, her strength of character and
the fact that she was the widow of a
man who had died for the Stuarts
while John Gordon had not drawn a
sword in defense of the race with
which were the sympathies of France,
gave to her great advantage over
the bedeviled John, and he was cast
into prison. She managed to keep
him there for eleven years. Finally
he was liberated and returned to
Scotland.
A great feast was given at the castle
in honor of his return and there ap-
peared among the guests Mary Dali
ziel. She made elaborate explanations
to her brother-in-law. She had made
that hard ride to Paris to warn him,
not to be in at his death. She had
been ill-advised when she consented to
his heinp Dlaced in nrison and now