The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-04

intellect in spite of what seemed dreary piety that selected everything that was least interesting and romantic in life and history. But his old clothes had smoky odor and she did not like to walk with him, because when people spoke to him he had a habit of pouring forth some re- factions about the traces of Divine gov ernment or about peculiar incident mar rated in the life of some famous dissenter or reformer.
 Esther sometimes fancied that she should have loved her mother better than she did her father, and she tried often to remember her; but she could not recol- lect only that her mother was French woman, with a very pretty face and small white hands. Her father had told her that her name had been Annette Ledru. More he would not tell. My Esther" said he when you are about to be mar ried we will speak of her, and l will deliver to you her ring and all that was hers; but without great command laid upon me I cannot pierce my heart by speaking of that which was and is not"
 His inability to speak came partly from dn lIllltl COnCtdAluCtlIs I1lo iilthA Alo6O " Annette Ledru had been the result of romantic episode. She was the daugh- ter of a French officer of high rank She had been married without the con- sent of her family to a young English man, Maurice Christian Bycliffe, who was then prisoner in France. Later he joined the Hanoverian army, and then went on to England to attend to what he said was important family business. He wrote to her to follow, and sent his London address She reached England with her baby, only to receive letter from him, written on his deathbed, asking her to return to France.
 She was almost penniless. In this con- dition she was found and succored by Mr. Lyon, who supported her out of his scanty income for more than year and at last married her. She died three years afterward, leaving him with the child, which he brought up as his own.
 The concealment always weighed heav- fly on his conscience, yet he could not bring himself to tell Esther.
 Accident spurred his indecision and led him to action that had consequences affecting persons who he did not dream could ever be interested in anything that a minister of a humble dissenting chapel could possibly do.
 MT. Christian, courier and factotum ir general to MT. Phillip Debarry, son of Sir Maximus Debarry, lost pocketbook of his master and also a memorandum book of his own. Felix Holt found them, and, not wishing to have dealings with the aristocratic family, delivered the articles to MT. Lyon.
 MT. Lyon was holding one of the arti- cles, an ornamental note book of pale leather stamped with gold, when from broken pocket formed by the cover there dropped a small gold chain with seals and other trifles attached to it.
 He lifted them close to his eyes with trembling hand. That night he unlocked a small box, took from it a small locket and compared it with one that hung on the chain. The name on the former was Maurice. The name engraved on the other was Annette. In each was lovers knot of hair exactly alike.
 Haggard and pale, MT. Lyon opened the
  rice Christian, half rubbed out, and saw that third name was entirely erased. The other leaves in the note book were new and had evidently been inserted re- gently.
 T will send for this Christian" said he to himself in the anguish of the long night after his discovery, as he sat awake before the dead fire. Let my path hence forth be simple-the more so since Esther had been showing tenderness and affec- tion in the past few days such as she had never shown before.
 1 His mind never had been quite free from suspicion as to his wife's first hus- band. Though he tried to put it away i from him, esteeming it sin to mistrust lis fellows the thought persisted in ars- ing again and again that Bycliffe had merely sent Annette the deathbed letter as a convenient way to desert her.
 And now he held In his hand what seemed proof. Yet this Christian, ser vant might have obtained the book and the chain from the real Bycliffe. The similarity of names might mean nothing. Resolutely he sent to the man, notifying IlllIl Ol tli0 icCONCiJ Ol tilC iOSb di lCicS and asking him to call for them in per son.
 Poor MT. Lyon was anything but dip lomat. MT. Christian was a man whose wits had been sharpened by forty years of living by them. He saw at a glance that the minister had secret. There fore, in answer to MT. Lyon's faltering questions, he confined himself rigidly to describing his property and demanding it. The minister gave it up helplessly.
 Christian left the house. muttering to himself, "The old fellow has got some secret in his head. It's not likely he can know anything about me. It must be about Bycliffe. But Bycliffe was gentle man. How should he ever have had any | thing to do with such seedy old ranter as that?
 Left alone, MT. Lyons bewilderment | and trouble grew to such a degree that l finally he resolved to resort to the wisdom of the serpent, which was his ingenious definition of the law. That evening saw him in close communication with MT. Matthew Jermyn, to whom he told the | whole story and MT. Jermyn promised to | ascertain for him, without scandal or 1 man Christian were really Annettes hus- band, who had been called Maurice Chris >tian Bycliffe.
 The theory that Destiny is blind is cer- l tainly incompatible at times with the won l derful combinations that she makes. If l MT. Lyon had searched the entire world