Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1911-05-05

AN and interesting entries
AZ31se \ than those relating to
FXNM the celebrated Ashley
MTx0 case. BY virtue of the
uNH)1u story teller's ON l s.
NkA cience we are enabled
to transcribe these
u M5% notes, weaving there
WIN from the following
0zkE11zA0 terse narrative concern
ing one Of the cleverest attempted I'M
pastures of recent times. Perhapsitwili
help the clarity Of the story If we allow
Callister to be his own narrator, sim
ply promising that while as gen.
eral rule he seldom went out ION
case" himself, yet in matters of mo-
ment or of special emergency he oc-
casionally did so, and usually with
signal success--for he was one Of the
cleverest secret agents Of Bullivants
Limited-the leading investigating
agency Of its day and generation. So.
without further preamble, Darrell Cal
lister tells the story.
Tn the lOlu Vi Juucs 1oOc, :" as SAS
ting in our King William street office.
II was near closing time anyway, and
business being dull, was about to
close my desk and betake myself to
Croydon, wife, and babies, with per-
haps a tour of the links before din
ner, when the postman on his final
round for the day dropped a letter In
the box.
The envelope was large, square,
and OF heavy texture; the flap bore
a coronet, and it was addressed to me
personally, care of Bullivants. With
IN was a double sheet of coroneted
paper on which in an exceedingly
clerkly hand were the following lines:
Darrell CaIlister. Esq.-My Dear Sir:
Could you do me the favor to call at II
Kensington Gardens this afternoon about
four, according to your convenience
wish to consult you personally on a most
urgent and distressing family affair.
Yours obediently,
of one of the best-known names In
the English peerage-Viscount Ashley,
Baron Scarlet, and don't know how
many more titles, belonging 70 one
of the half-dozen oldest earldoms.
Some inkling of the trouble also
had come to me through the Morning
Post though SO far in the most
guarded manner, since the impending
scandal in high life was not yet com
mon property.
Briefly / ran over the known facts
TO freshen my memory before starting
to keep the appointment with his
lordship. Some six years earlier the
title had come to him as the nephew
of the tenth Viscount Ashley, who
had presumably died without issue
I use the term presumably" for want
of better. The old nobleman once
had son, ne'er-do-well, who had
disappeared 20 years before and
was long since given up as dead BY
all save his mother, the dowager Wis
countess, now an old woman of seven
ty and over.
But an old woman's fond fancie
could not be allowed to stand in tn
way Of the heir-atlaw, and whel
Lionel Ashley failed to appear. thougl
his fathers demise was widely her
aided, the law assumed that he wa
dead, the nephew. Gerald, succeeded
was confirmed in the title and estate
by the house Of lords. since enjoyinI
undisturbed possession.
However, about six months before
came into the case on that June after
noon, claimant" had appeared Il
the person OF a fellow who asserte
that he was Lionel Ashley and tn
rightful heir-as of course he wa
n his proofs were good. But a
though the claimant bore a stron
physical resemblance to the missin
heir and was in fact acknowledged a
her long-missing son by the dowage
and sundry old family retainers; d,
spite the fact that he showed a r,
markable knowledge Of detail col
corning the family history and hi
own boyhood; and notwithstandin
that he told most specious tale a
70 HIS 2o-year wanderings, there wer
enough suspicious circumstances abot
the man and his tale to cause consi,
cradle doubt among those most inte
ested and who were unblinded
maternal love and unbiased throug
fancied old associations. Anon
these. naturally. was the present VII
count. my correspondent. although
Judged him too fair-minded and honor
able TO dispute Just claim properl
presented.
These. then. were the scanty fact
in my possession when closed m
desk, called hanson, and directe
the cabby to drive to Kensington Ca
dens. was too old hand to let m
mind be biased by mere newspape
talk, so was prepared to meet w
count Ashley on neutral ground, II. a
supposed. his family affair" col
cerned the claimant"
Nor was mistaken. was scare.
ly seated when my client plunged int
the matter nearest his heart-for {
course the case meant to him ever.
thing in the world-wealth. position
and political preferment