Year: 1871

old friend Bayle; no one better. Some
of my friends here may have heard it
before, but it will bear hearing again.
T can't say I'm proud to tell it, because
it's too sad an ending, as far as he was
concerned, poor fellow, though I my
self had lucky escape.


James Bayle was avery peculiar man.
don't think any one understood him
except myself. He was certainly more
open with me than with any of his 9TH
er friends or acquaintances. It was
three years ago, in November, when he
this very house. He used to go out on
long walks by himself every day, and
I knew his object, for he had confided
to me the fact that he was going to
marry young girl somewhat below
him in station, and he was looking for
a hon Sc in London, as he intended to
work hard on two or three journals, to
the staff of which he had long been
attached.


The sort of house that he looked for
was, as you may believe, not very
dear one!.- He naturally wished for q
very quiet situation; and as he was q
man who had always lived in the coun
try, and was very fond of flowers, he
said he would put up with any incon-
venience so long as he could have a
piece of ground to himself He told me
the sort, of house he required, and I
told himthe districts in which he could
most probably find one. It was one
Wednesday, remember, four days af-
ter he had been with us, that he went
out rather earlier than usual. We never
expected him to return very early; but
when the dinner bell rang and we found
he had not come in, we felt little un,
easy. He was very shy man, as yon
know, and very particular; the last
thing he would be likely to do, was to
be purposely late for dinner, without
giving us any warning. We waited fo1
twcnty minutes, and then sat down
without him. He never came back all
that night, nor the next day, nor the
day after that; in fact, as you all know,
he never came back at all.


We vert to the police Office at once {;
and was very much amused at the
theories set up by the excellent detec-
tives, to account for his disappearance.
told them that I believed it very
likely that he had been looking for a
house, or, if not, that he had gone to
the British Museum but they got it
into their heads that he had been de.
coyed into the slums of St. Giles OF
Westminster, or had committed sui
eide; and nothing would dissuade
them at first from these two ingenious
theories.


They asked me if ne was not man
Of studious, solitary habits, and rather
eccentric.


answered.: eyes, certainly"


"Then depend upon it," said the
sergent, "he's in the Regents Canal OF
the Thames"


This reasoning was so unanswerable
that did not attempt to answer it,
but determined to test my own theory
first.


Hitherto we had been able to find
nobody who had seen him. He knew
very few people in London, and he was
not the sort OF man to attract attention.
[ began NY endeavors to trace his
movements in rather n novel manner.
started every morning from my Owl
house at the same hour as he had done
stood for about five minutes in the
street, and then I set out in whatever
direction chance suggested to me. Fol
| eight days walked almost fifteen miles
day, looking everywhere for any
| house to let which would have beer
likely to attract Bayle's attention, but
l did not get any clue. I found sew
eral which he had been to, but not on
the day upon which he disappeared
On the ninth day selected district
which 1 knew to contain one or two
houses such as he required.
walked on in the same unprecedented
manner, turning down any street az
chance led me. I was very much dis
pirited, SO much so that hau forgot
ten was hungry, when l found my
self III very quiet part of one of the
western suburbs. 1 was just going tc
try and find some place where coult
lunch, which promised to be no easy
matter, as there seemed no shop OF
public houses near, when my eye eau Ugh
a very crazy.looking board which wal
pe$fn,g over the dingy corner of dead
wall straight in front of me. I walked
IN to it and read: "This eligible vii
la to be let, unfurnished, with one acr'
of ground. Stabling, &c. Terms YER,
moder,te Inquire within"


could only see the top of the house
which seemed very low, and some lit
tie way from the road. The from
loo; ed on to Dudden's Grove; on on
side was Dissenting chapel, standing
on small piece OF ground, on the 9th
er, very quiet, lonely lane; there wa
it dcor evidently leading to the stabl
yard; it WAS bolted, and there was n
bell. tried to make them hear, am
failing, | returned to the front entrance
which | had not seen before, and ate
some little trouble, I found the bel
aEl rang it. Five minutes elapsed be
fore any one answered the summons
and then man opened the door an