The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-06

1 ing sueceeded at iast sn selling her land. But poor Mrs. Brough was a bad manager. and instead of carrying mat | ters with a high hand burst into tears and kneeled to Mrs. Hoggarty, be- | seechlng her to save poor John. Mrs. Hoggarty immediately sent for her attorney. called her nephew heartless cheat and swindler and de- manded that he return to her the fS,- | 900 which she had invested already. l A week afterward Mir. Titmarsh vas arrested for debt on the suit of his tailor. Mir. Trough had fled to France. | and Titmarsh, though arrested nom | inally for his personal debts. was ar- | rested in reality to answer to the 1 shareholders of the Independent West Diddlesex Fire and Life Insurance Company for the footing of that great organization.
 He was greatly admired by the of- foers who took him, and found himself qute lion In the house to which he was taken. "A deep file" said the sheriffs officer, winking at another | gentleman who winked back and said: T sh ould say so! Only three and twen- ty and Brough's right-hAnd man, and in for three hundred thousand pound!" Their opinion fell sadly when Tit- marsh told them that he did not have
 
 their house of detention, but would have to go to the Fleet. And to the Fleet he went, through a crowd of | idlers, with his wife hanging trustfully to his arm and smiling like Heaven into his face--and taking Heaven into the Fleet prison with him. He had loved her before, when all was sun shine; but now that he was unhappy he knew what it was to be loved by ! down Holborn to the prison ha kissed her. little minding the saiIiff who sat opposite; kissed her and cried with her; but before the ride vas over her tears were dried up and she stepped, blushing and happy, out of tho couch at the prison door, as if she were a princess going to the Queens drawing room.
 The failure of the great Diddlesex company became the theme of all the newspapers. Brough, 1t was said had gone off with a million pounds. al- though the truth was that he was iiv- Ing fin a garret in Boulogna without a shilling and only Mrs. Brough, like a good brave woman. faithful to him.
 MT. Titmarsh, said the papers, had managed to secrete 100000 pounds and only waited to pass through the court In order to be a rich man for the rest of his days. A great hubbub greeted him when he was taken to the Bank ruptcy Court to be examined. Ruined shareholders tried to assault him, and everywhere arose cries of ''scoundreI!" and "villain!" The faithful Gus stay ed valiantly by his side. however, and on his other side sat Mary. pale as death, looking anxiousiy Into his face,
 He spoke up manfully and answered all questions so frankly and honestly that none could doubt his entire truth HVNIW been given the commissioner said that 1t was clear indeed that he had been deceived as grossly as everybody else and that he evidently was innocent of all guilt. They went back to prison, he and his young wife. and lived through long days that passed as In a dreadful fever. Mary was not well, and the misery and foul air and gloomy sights told on her. But though Tit marsh tried hard to get sureties for the detainers against him, so that he might at least live outside of the pris- on in the comparative freedom of the Rules of the Fleet" he could find none to offer 1t.
 Ills aunt had removed her furniture (and most of Samuers and Mary's pos- sessions during the process) as soon as he was arrested and in reply to his appeal she wrote him that she had de- stroyed her will in which her fortune
  with the postscript: "I took a viper in my bosom and 1t stung me" Mary's grandfather the lieutenant. had noth- ing but his half pay. Samuers mother had lost almost all through the fail- ure. and neither Mary nor he would let her know of his plight. They seemed quite forsaken.
 Then Gus Hoskins came to the front. He brought hls father. and that kind. fat gentleman brought his kind, fat wife, and being a man of weight in the Skinners' Company and soon to be an Alderman, he obtained leave for MT. Titmarsh to leave the prison and lodge outside.
 As soon as he was freed from all responsibility for the ruin and dehts of the company he bestirred himself to make an arrangements with his pri- vate creditors, who. he knew. were few and held but small claims against him. But he discovered that his aunt had written to all the tradesmen warning them that he was a swindler and that all the goods he ordered in her name had really been ordered by Ihim. Even the wedding dresses and other gifts that he, had ordered in London were in- cluded in this; for his aunt, as he now found, never had paid these bills.