The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-07-22
(Continued.)


 many on 'em."
 "Oh, it does not matter. ohis hof a dozen. You can get them OH the man who stands at the corner or the top of Chancery Lane.
 "An right" she said, taking the sfxpence he gave her.
 Throughout the rest of the day he sat alone, still thinking and brood ing. When evening came he looked impafiently at his watch. He was anxious to see the evening newspa- pers.
 The old woman did not come till seven o'clock.
 Here are the papers," said said; anything you want me to do?"
 ssYes, go out and buy chop, and then bring it back and grill it"
 The woman took the money for the chop, nodded, and went away without word. Leicester opened one of the newspapers eagerly.
 He had no need to search long for what he wanted to find. Almost the first paragraph which caught his eye was about himself. He laughed aloud as he read it. Truly. it was a grim joke.
 "This morning, at early dawn, as police constable was passing over Blackfriars Bridge, he looked over the parapet and saw something which appeared to him as a strange-looktng object lying on one of the steps which lead down to the river. on going nearer, he found it was the body of a dead man, which to all appearance had been in the river some time, and had been carried to the steps by the outgoing tide, and left stranded there. The constable whistled, and was immediately join- ed by two others. The body was taken to the mortuary. On examination, two proofs of the mans identity were found. The first was letter. and the other handker- chief bearing the deceased's name in the corner. But for these two things if would have been impossible to identify him, as the face is distorted and swollen beyond all recognition. It is with great regret that we have to state that both the letter and the handkerchief bore the name of Rad- ford Leicester. Many of our readers will have known MT. Radford Lei cester by repute. After brilliant career at Oxford, he eventually be- came Parliamentary candidate for Taviton, and many prophesied that his splendid abilities would take him high in the councils of the nation. He became engaged to a charming young lady of wealth and position, but although the wedding day was fixed, the marriage never took place. Whatever the reason for this, it is be- lieved that it unhinged the late gen. tleman's mind. Since the sad cir eumstances which took place in Tav- iton, and which were recorded in the d-iy press some time ago, Mir. Lei cester has not. been seen, and until the sad discovery of this morning, no abouts. The deceased gentleman was 2 man of few friends, and until his engagement lived very much the life of a recluse. It is with great sorrow that we record the above, as it was fully hoped and believed that he would not only have a very distin- guished future, but that he would have been of great value to his coun- try"
 Leice ster threw down the paper.
 Good" he said; everything is turning out exactly as thought"
 He read the other papers. and found that each gave very nearly the same version. One moralized at some length on the sad end of the de- ceased, and enlarged on the evils of drinking.
 It was a strange experience, this reading of his own obituary notices, but it agreed with his mood. He had not enjoyed himself so much for a long time.
 He did not leave the house. He determined to do nothing which might shake any ones belief in the farce that was being played. He would see the mockery out to the bitter end. This was not long in coming. The inquest was held with out delay. and the early impressions were confirmed. It was a case of circumstantial evidence. Radford Leicester had hinted at suicide to the proprietor of the Red Lion Hotel, Taviton. Since that time he had not been seen alive by any who had prev iously known him. He had also left Taviton in disgrace, his political career being blighted, while it was commonly believed that Miss Castle maine had refused to marry him be- cause she had discovered something disgraceful in his life. His drinking habits were known to many There fore, when body was discovered, and on it two proofs of it's identity. the jury could come to no other con- clusion than they did.
 Moreover, a strange coincidence
 f~rx