Mexico Missouri message., 1901-07-25
RICH MISSOURIAN.
A Texas School Ma'am In
herits His Millions.


Doubleday, a pretty Texas girl,
was engaged in teaching Il country
school in order to support herself
and her widowed mother. Now
she could easily buy the whole
county in which she lived and
have million or more to spare.
This extraordinary change in the
fortunes of this young girl was
brought about by one of the most
peculiar little circumstances which
are often of such a puzzling nat
ure in their final import as to lead
philosophical observers to conclude
that they are not altogether the
work of chance.
While visiting friends near Bry-
an, in Brazos county, Miss Maxine
accidentally made the acquaintance
of several students of the \. and
NJ. college. One of these was Il
young man named Lee Payson,
who lived at CordOva, in the re-
public or Mexico. The two young
people were thrown together at n
picnic and while wandering about
under the shade of the trees Mr..
Payson remarked:
Yours is rather II peculiar
name, but it is familiar to me from
the fact that it is borne by one of
the wealthicSt Americans in my
country"
ut would be funny replied the
Texas girl, "if your rich country
man should turn out to be my long
lost uncle
"m that event." said the young
man, "a princess might envy You
your good fortune, for he was new
er married and he often grieves
because he has no heirs i'll Mexico
to inherit his vast estate"
my uncle" said Maxine, twas
captain in the Southern army.
His first name was Macmillan
and he was a MissOurian. | was
named after him"
did he go to Mexico with Gen.
Joe Shelby" Payson asked.
He certainly belonged to Gen.
Shelby's command" replied Miss
Maxine, "but my father never
beard from him after the war end
ed 1t has been supposed that he
was slain i'll battle
"It is the same man, aS sure as
fate" said Payson with much
earnestness. FL happen to know
the old man well, and there may
have been some cause for his con-
duct which was entirely unknown
to the relatives aud friends III
Missouri. For instance, an ailan
of the heart. Did you ever hear
of II girl with long curly tresses
and great dark eyes like your own,
who gave your uncle her picture
and lock of her hair and Il little
testament when hc marched away
from II town called Hannibal to
join Prices army?
1t was the young girls turn to
look amazed
Hear of hrr," she exclaimed
why she is my mother
Quickly unclasping little lock
ct from her throat, Miss Maxine
touched a spring and held it open
before the young man $ eyes.
mo further evidence is needed, "
sad he. "The rich man in Cor
dovu is certainly your uncle. He
has that same face on Il large can
vas in n costly frame, and it hangs
in his favOritc room.
Soon after this conversation oc-
curcd young payson was recalled
to Mexico and it is presumed that
he lost no time in breaking the
news of the discovery that he had
made to the rich man in COrdOva
Subsequent events have proved
that motives of II tender nature in
ilucnccd him to take deep inter
est in bringing the old man and
his pretty niece together,
Miss Maxine was now pretty
well convinced that she had dis
covered the long lost uncle whom
the whole family had mourned as
one who had reposed with the dead
for nearly forty years, but she is 4
plain country girl and her Imagin'
|, alton did not run riot building
, castles in the air. One evening
} not long afterward, while mothrl
/ and daughter We're seated unde