Widnes Examiner. — 1893-09-09 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

LXIV. NOT TILE WOMAN. Mr. Inspector Craft was standing in the morning4oom in a waiting attitude When Lord Chilton entered. The detective officer was a small, sandyhaired man, with eyes keen as a ferret's, yet .of a I. peculiarly quiet and unobtrusive mien. The young viscount had never seen him, and lie was conscious of a sense of disappointment. Was this the famed detective who had unearthed a dozen celebrated mysteries, who had disentangled certain enigmas which had puzzled all England, and discovered and hunted down, despite all his precautions and dis. guises, the principal in the noted Prior murder 'case? The inspector smiled faintly. He read the via. count's thoughts. - , "1 am Lord Chilton," said our hero, quietly. "Are you come to tell me, Mr. Inspector, that the task I have set you is toe hard? lam well aware of all the difficulties in the way. .So many years I having elapsed, it must be well-nigh impossible to discover the identity of that ill-fated woman." " I have harder tasks, my-lord," said the inspector, "though I do not deny that the lapse of years made this difficult. I have completed my work. have discovered the name Of the woman who Is buried in Penistone churchyard, and I am provided with proofs of her identity." . Lord Chilton's heart seemed almost to stand still. An indefinable dread came upon him. Who was she—this mother of Gwen—the poor young creature who had perished so miserably on the Yorkshire wastes so many years ago? He was conscious of a wish that he had made no effort to discover her name. "At the coroner's inquest at the time her body was discovered," said Mr. Craft, "a complete description of her person and apparent age were recorded in the coroner's register. Also a description of her clothing, such -as it was. I copied these descriptions at the outset. One or two 'personal peculiarities of the deceased woman greatly simplified my task. It was recorded that one joint of the first finger of her ?eft hand was absent. Also that two incisor, teeth in her upper jaw were missing. Also that her collar-bone had once been broken, and that, probably through lack of care at the period of its fracture,. there remained and was seen upon her person a protuberance as of the end of a broken bone. With this data I set to work." "Every person has some personal peculiarity. Nearly every person has lost teeth: The marks appear to have been too trifling to assist in identification." " Nothing is too trifling for the consideration of men in my line of business, my lord. A straw is sufficient to show which way the wind blows.. It is not necessary that I should describe to you my mode of operation. I have, of course' many resources and aids known only to myself. You desire to know the result of my work, not the manner in which the work was accomplished," said the detective officer. "I will say, however, that I advertised freely throughout the kingdom. I searched the files of old newspapers, old police records— everything that could possibly aseist me. And it was through an old newspaper that I obtained a clue to the mystery." ' " How so "In an old Manchester newspaper, bearing date February 3rd, 1857,1 found an advertisement; but here is the newspaper. Read the notice for yourself, my lord." . The detective handed to Lord Chilton itn ancient newspaper, yellowed by time, and slightly defaced with use. A notice in an advertising column, outlined by pencil marks, had been folded in plain view. Lord Chilton took the paper and read as follows : "ilO