Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1900-04-26

Hon. Duncan was shown ceremonious-
ly to the door. Added to all of which,
he next day had the happiness of hear
ing that his ex-chum and present un-
doer, Hadley- Benton, had again pro-
posed to Miss Butler-this time sue
cessfully. The marriage, said the So
ciety papers, would take place within
80 days.
From this time commences the
downfall of the Hon. Duncan Dudley.
No mans downfall was ever more ar
tistically complete and finished. He
was at the bottom of degradation s
hill, an outcast and disowned by his
family, when an old uncle, from whom
he had expected to inherit, sent for
him and offered him his choice be-
tween pistol and travelling expenses
to Australia. Dudley chose the trav-
cling expenses, promising to take the
next steamer, under an assumed name,
for Melbourne. Two days later he
purchased instead, under the name of
John Simpson, ticket for Panama.
And with that purchase ends the career
OF the Hon. Duncan Dudley, SO far as
Great Britain is concerned; ends, also,
our interest in Miss Aileen Butler, who
soon afterward became the unhappy
and unloving wife of Mr.. Richard
Hadley- Benton = with which latter
parsonage we have not yet finished.
Regarding Mr.. John Simpson, Sec
ond- class passenger from Liverpool on
the British South American and Pan
anna s. s. liner Paloma, it would be an
impossible feat to follow his fortunes
and 1nisfortunes through the next ten
years. He had logged on the Amazon,
dug for gold (which, like Rachael's
children, twas not'') in the Guianas,
gambled unsuccessfully in Panama, and
at last, in desperation, had drifted to
the Mexican border. There he had
the,fortune Tor misfortune) to save the
life of a Mexican girl, the only daugh-
ter of ranchero, who owned ranches
and mine OF two in the western part
of Mexico, just then in process of de-
velopment by various English and
American syndicates.
This girl, Anita by name, was rather
pretty, though dark and chubby, as
Mexican girls often are. But she was
she let Simpson see that she cared for
him, and would marry him ii he SO de-
sired. Strange to say, he did desire;
his life had been such that the pure
and unself:sh love of even a Mexican
girl meant much to him, and he swore
that he would reform, once married to
Anita Not that he loved her. Love,
Mr. Simpson had killed with his own
hands ten years ago and more. But
some men cannot live up to much of a
standard without good woman's s
he'll. Simpson was of this ilk. Where
fore he married Anita, sobered up in
a manner that astounded even himsels,
refused to accept help from his some
what grumpy fatherin-law, and found
Job as assistant assayer in the Mey-
lean mining town of Palma Sola, in
the very centre of the gold and silver
mining district which English and
| American capital was in process OF
| exploiting.
In the course of time Simpsons en-
! ployer died, and Simpson continued
the assay office on his own account,
for be had learned the business dur
ing his five years apprenticeship, and
chemical knowledge gained by him
while at Oxford also stood him in good
stead. Besides which he had learned
great deal about mines and mining,
and knew what was ore and what was
not. You may not realize it, but this
last is great attainment. Also, in
addition to his assay Office, he now
had small ore buying agency and was,
in fact, making money hand over fist.
Anita, though now very fat and
mustached, had nevertheless proved a
good and faithful wife and mother, and
Simpsons lines had not been cast in
the most unfortunate places after all.
He had totally reformed and lived a
contented life, forgetful of his old es-
tate and old love, straight and honest
in business, devoted to his only child
and kind to his wife. Few men in
Palma Sola were more respected than
John Simpson, assayer and ore buyer.
Just about this time rumors got
aAoat in Palma Sola that some pro-
moters had at last doomed the "Es-
peranza" gold prospect near by on
the London market; that one Of the
biggest -broking concerns there
had keen favorably impressed-so ia
vorably impressed, in fact, that the
head of the concern, very rich man
and member of Parliament, was him
self on the way to make personal in
yestigation of the mine. If it ''panned
OUT as represented, the Englishmen
intended to buy it and erect costly
stamp mills for working the ore, with
cyanide plants for treatment of the
tailings.
In due time the rich Englishman
arrived. Simpson at once recognized
in the puffy, pompous member of Par
lament, who represented the greatest
combination of mining capital in Grea,
Britain, his old chum and deadly en-.
envy, Hadley Benton. Needless tc
say the latter did net recognize in
Simpson, assayer and ore buyer, the
Duncan Dudley of Ii years agoue. In