The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1907-09-20

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of solicitors"
and did so. They began by trying t.
cross examine me, but that was ar
abject failure. Seeing that whatever
they had to say must stand on its owl
legs, they told me an extraordinary
story. 1t appears that at place called
the Hall, Beltham, Devon, lives an
elderly baronet named Sir Philip Nor.
land"
'Morland Philip Morlandv
'Ah, you remember the name! II
was given to young derelict who once
figured in the dock before you on q
charge Of being In unlawful posses
SION
'"The matter is not serious, then?"
''It is very serious. The real Philip
Morland is my uncle"
do you mean to say that you learn
ed this fact for the first time today
from Sharpe & Smith,"
Philip laughed. By this time they
We're seated at the table, and their talk
depended to q certain extent on the
comings and goings of servants. At q
dinner en- famille, the presence Of q
ponderous butler and solemn lackeys
was dispensed with.
"Oh, you lawyersv' he cried That's
a nice sort of leading question. But.
marvellous as 1t may seen to you,
must answer Yes My mothers maid
en- name was Morland. Her brother
was much older than she, and it APP
pears the dear woman married to
please herself, thereby MORALLY offend.
ing the baronet."
"Why the 'offense?"
Because my fathers social position
was not equal to that of the aristocrat-
ic Morlands. Moreover, her brother
had an accident in his youth which
rendered him irritable and morose
From being pleasant sort of man
which, indeed, he Must have been did
he share aught Of my mothers nature
he grew into a misanthrope and gavd
his life to the classification Of Exmoof
beetles. He treated my mother very
badly, so vilely that even she, dear
soul, during her married life held no
further communication with him and
never mentioned him to me by name.
Now, one day on Exmoor he found a
lady who also was devoted to beetles
at least she knew all that the Encyclo-
paedia Britannica could teach her. She
was a poor but handsome widow"
sAhw
ut is delightful to talk with you,
Abingdon. Your monosyllables help
the narrative along. Sir Philip mar
ried the widow. She brought him a
son, aged five. There were no children
born of my uncle's marriage"
"Ohr'
"When poverty overlook my dear one,
she so far obliterated cruel memory
as to appeal, not once, but many times,
to the human coleopterus of Exmoor,
but she was invariably frozen off either
by Lady Louisa Morland or by Messrs.
Sharpe & Smith"
did they admit thisw
"By no means. 1 am telling you the
facts. I am still on top of the Pyre-
nees."
"Then how did you ascertain the
factsT
81 have in my possession ever since
nv mothers death the letters they
wrote to her. They were fresh in my
memory when you and first met in
the Clerkenwell police court. That is
why the name of Philip Morland was
glib on my tongue"
$50 I have only heard historical
events-events prior to the last ten
searsY
exactly. My uncle Is now sixty
years of age. Lady Louisa Morland's
son Is twenty-four. Her ladyship's
whole aim in life has been to secure
him as the baronet's heir. The title, of
course. he cannot obtain. But, most
he has no penchant for
beetles. Indeed. Lady, Louisa's re-
searches have long since diminished In
ardor. Her sons interests are divided
between the Sports club and the cory
pbees of the latest musical comedy.
Moths sre mora in his line apparently.