THE LEAVENWORTH MURDER

BY JLNXA Ka'IJIEBTNE GREEN,

Authoress of

"A Strange Disappearance" and

"The Sword of Damocles."

XXII,

PATCII-WOKK,

Come, give us a taato o£ your quality. —llamlkt.

Stahtino with the assumption that Mr Clarcring,in his conversationof tho morning, hail been giving me, with more or loss accuracy, a dotuiloil account o£ his own cxpcrieucc aud positioa regarding Kleanoro lioaTOiiworth, I linked myself what par ticular facti it would bo necessary for mo to establish in order to proro tho truth of this assumption, and found them to be :

I. That Mr Clavoring had not only boon ia this country »t tho timo designated, viz. : last July, but that he had been located for aomo littlu time at a watoriig-placo in New York StAto,

11. That this watering-place should correspond to that in which Miss Eleanoru Loarouworth whh to be found ut the same timo

HI. Tlmt they had been seen while then? to huM rao o or less c«mmunieiuion toother. IV. That they had both been absent from town at some ■ no time, long cuough to have gone through the ceremony of marringo at a point twenty milea or so away. V. That a M-HhodUt clergyman, who has since died, lived at that time within a radios of twenty milea of said watering place. I next asked myself how I was to es tablish those facts, Mr Covering's lifts was as yet too little known to me to offer me any assistance ; so leaving it for tho pre sent, I took up the thread of Eleunoie's history, when upon tracing it back to tho time give l. I found that sho was known to have been in 11 , a fashionable watering-place in this State. But if sho was there, and my theory was correct, lie must have been there also. To ascertain whether this win so. therefore, became my first business. 1 resolved to go to X—— —, on the morrow.

But before proceeding iv an under taking of such importance, I considered it expedient to mkc such inquiries and collect such facts as it should be possible for me to do in the few hours that lay before me. 1 went lir.st to dm house ot Mr Grycc.

I found him lying upon n hard Bofu in the hire sittiuß-room t have boforo men tioned, Bultcrins from a severe attack of rheumatism; with hi* hands done up in bandage* and his feet encased in multi pi cd folds of a dingy red .shawl that lookcl as if it. had been in ttio wars. Granting me with a Miort nod that was both a welcome and an apology.B ho dovotcd a 'few words to an explanation o£ hi« unwonted position, and then without further preliminaries rushed into the subject that was uppermost in both our minds, by inquiring iv a slightly sarcastic way, if I wns very much surprised to find my bird had ilowu when I returned to the Ilofl'mau House that afternoon.

'■ I -was astonished to fiud that you allowed him to ily at this timo," replica 1. " From the manner in which you requested me to mako his acquaintance I supposed that you had reasons for considering him an important character in the tragedy which has just hecn enacted" " And wlmt makes you think I hadn't? O, thc>ct that I let him go off so easily ? That's no proof. One docs not put on tho brakes till one is going down hill. But let that pass for the present; Mr Clavering, then, did not explain himself before «olDg ?" "Thatis a question," said I, after due thought, "which 1 find it exceedingly difficult to answor. Constrained by circum stances), I cannot at present speak with the directness which is your duo, but what I can say, I will- Know then, that in my opinion, Mr Clavcring did explain himself irt an interview with me tilts morning. But it was done in so blind a way, thai it will be necessary for me to mako a tew investiga tions before I shall feel sufficiently sure of my ground to t >ke you into my confidence. He has given me <i possible clue—" " Wat." said Mr Grycc; " does ho know this? Was it done intentionally and with •mister motive, or unconsciously and ia plain good faith ?" " In good faith, I should say." Mr Grvce remaiued for a moment eilctit. " It is vtry unfortunate thai you cannot ex plain yourself v little more definitely," he said at lat. "1 am almost afraid to trust you to make mvcatigations.a* you call them, on. your own hook. You are not used to the business and will loco time, to ' say nothing of running upon false scents and using up your strength on unprofitable details." "You should have thought of that when you admitted mo into partnership." " And you absolutely insist npon working this mine alone?" "Mr Grycc," said I, " the matter stands just here. Mr Clavering, for all I know, is a gentleman of untaruished reputation. I am not even awate for what purpose you set me upon his trail. I only know that in thus following it, I have come upon certain facts that seem worthy of inquire." 41 Well, well," said he, "you know best. But the days are slipping by. Something must be done and soon. The public are ■becoming clamorous " " I know it, aud for that reason I have come to yo\i for such assistance as you c<m give me at this stage of tho proceedings. You are in possession of certain facts re lating to this man which it concerns me to know, or your conduct in reference to him has been 'purposeless, Now, frankly, will you make mo master of tll.n?e facts :in short, tell me all you knowofMrClavcriDg ■without requiring an immediate return of confidence on my part'!" " That isjasking a great deal of a pro fessional detective." "I know it, aud under any other circum stances should hesitat.elongbefore preferring such a request; but as things are, I don't nee how I am to proceed in tho matter, without somu such concession on your part. At all events—" " Wait a moment! Is not Mr Clavcring tho lover oE oue of these young ladies ?" Anxious as I was to preserve the secret of my interest in that gentleman, I could not prevent the blush from rising to my face, at the suddenness of this question. " I thought as inucb," he went on. " Being neither a relative nor ncknowledgee ftiend, I took it for granted that he_ must occupy some such position as that ia the iamily."

" I do not see why you should draw such an inference," said. I, anxious to determine how much lie knew abmit him. "Mr Clavcting is a strauacr in town ; has not eve.n been in this country loog ; has indeed hnd n.i time to establish himself upon auy such footing as you intimate." " This is not tho ouly timo Mr Clavcnng has been in New York. Ho was hero a year ago to my certain knowledge.' " How much more do you know ? Can it be possible that I ai« groping blindly about for facts which arc already in your possession ? I pray you listen to my en treaties, Mr Gryce, and acquaint me at once with wl'iat I want to krnw. You will not regret it. I have no selfish motive in this matter. If I succeed, the glory shall be yours; if I fail, the sliarne of the defeat shall he mine." "That is fnir," he muttered. Aim how about tin- reward ? " " My reward will bo to free an innocent woman from the imputation ©f crime whiah hangs over her." This assurance denied to entisfy him. His voice and nppearanco changed ; for a moment lie locked unite confidential. " Well, well," said he, "and what is it you want to know t" "I would lirst Kirn how your suspicions came to lig'it on him at all. What reason had you tor tui'iking a gentleman ot his bearing and position, w;is in any way con nected with thiß affair ? " "That i- a question you ought not to be obliged to put" ha returned. "IIowsi?" . "Simply because tho opportunity of answering it was in your hands, before ever it came iut'> mine." " What do you menu? " " Don't you remember the letter mailed in your presoncu by Miss M:iry Leaven, worth during your drive from her horns to that of her friend in Thirty-seventh street! " " On the afternoon of the inquest? "Yes." "Ortainly, but—" !' You never thought to look at its snper scriptiou before it was dropped into the box." " I had neither opportunity nor npht to do so." " Was it not written in your presence ? " It was." "Aud you never regarded the affair as worth your attoution ?" " Whatever 1 may have regarded i!, I did not see how it Miss Loavenworth cho-e to drop a letter into a box with her own hands I could iv any way prevent her."

"That is becm-c you are a. gentleman. Well, it has its dwulYantage.'," he muttered broodingly. "Butyou,'-said I; "how came you to know of it! Ah, I see," remembering that tho carriage in which we were riding at the time had been procured for us by him. " The niau on the h->x was in your pay and informed, as you call it." Mr Uryce winked at bin muffled toes mysteriously. "That is not to tho point," ho said. '• Enough that I hoard that a let ter which might reasonably prove »o be of some interest to me, was dropped at such an hour into the box on the corner of a certain streot. Timt coiuciiiing in the opinion of my informant, I telegraphed to tho station connected with that box, to take note of the address of a suspicious louking letter about to pass through their hands on tho way to the General Post Oflice, and following up the telegram in person, found that a curious epistle addressed in lead pencil aud sealed with a stamp, had just arrived, tho address of which I was allowed to see—"

" And which was?"

'•Ilpnryii. Clavcring, Hoffman House, New York."

I drew a deep breath. " And bo that is how your attention first came to be directed to this man ?" "Yes."

" Strange. But go on—whai next ?" " Why, next I followed up the clue, of course, by going to the Hoffman House and instituting inquiries. [ learned that Mr Clavering was a rrgular guest st the hotel. That he had come there direct from the Liverpool steamer about threo months shuc, ana registering his name as Ileury It. Clavering.Esq., London, had engaged a first-class room which he had kept ever since. That although nothing definite was known concernine him, he had boon seen with various highly respeclablo people, both of his own nation and ours, by all of whom ho was treated with respec'. And lastly, that while not liberal, he had given many evidences of being a man of means. So much done, I entered the office and waited tor him to come in, in the hopes of having an opportunity to observe his man. ner when the elerkhanded him that strange looking letter from Mary Leavenworth." " And did jou succtcd ?" "No; an awkward gawk of a fellow stepped between U3 just ut the critical mo ment and I missed seeing what I wanted to. But I heard cdoukli that evening (rom the clerk and servant*, of the agitation which had been observed ia him ever since he received it. to convince mo I was npon a trail worth following. I accordingly put on my men. and for two days Mr Clavering was subjected to the most rigid watch a man ever walked under. But nothing \va* gained by it; his ioterest in the murder, if iuterest at all, was a secret one, and though he walked the streets, studied the papers, and haunted tho vicinity of the house in Fifth Avenue, ho not only refrained from actually approaching it, but made no attempt to communicate with any of the family. Meanwhile you crossed my path, and with your determination incited me to renewed effort. Convinced from Mr Clavering's bearing and the gosfip I had by this time gathered in regard to him, that no one short of a gentleman and a friend, could succeed in getting at the clue of his connection with this family, I handed him over to you and—" "Found me rather an unmanagable colleague." . Mr Gryce smiled very much as he might have done if a sour plum had been put in his mouth, but made no reply; and a mo mentaiy pause ensued. "Did you think to inquire," I asked at last, " If anyone knew where Mr Claver ing had spent the evening of the murder? " " Yes : but with no good result. That he was out during the evening, they all agreed upon; also that he wns iv his bed in the morniig when the servant came in to. make his lire ; but further than this no one seemed to know.' "So that in fact you gleaned nothing that would in any way connect this man with the murder, except his marked any agitated interest in it, and the fact that a niece of the murdered man had written a letter to him ?" " That is all." "Another question; did you hear.' in what manner and at what_ timo ho pro cured a newspaper that evening ? " " No; I only learned that he was observed by moie than one, to hasten out of the dining-room with the 'Post.' in his hand and go immediately to his room without touching his dinner." "Humph ! that docs not look—" "If Mr Clavering had had a, guilty knowledge of the crime, be. woul<j either never have ordered dinner before opening the paper, or having ordered it, he would have eaten it,"

" Then you do not believe, from what you lave learned, that Mr Clavering is the guilty party?'! , Mr Gryce shifted uneasily, glanced at the papers protruding from my coat pocket and exclaimed, "I am ready to be con vinced, from what you have learned, tuat he That sentence recalled me to the business in hand. Without appearing to notice the look he had given me, I recurred to my questions. " How came you to know that Mr CiaYer ing was in this city last summer? Did you learn that, too, at the Hoffman Hou=>c ?" "No ; I ascertained that in quite another way. In short, I have had a communica tion from Lor>doii iv regard to too matter." "From London?" "Yes; I've a friend there in my own line-of-business, who sometimes aa.ists me with a bit of information, whan requested." "Bin how? You have not bad time to write to London, and receive an answer Bines the murder." "It is not necessar> to write. It is enough for me to telegraph him the name of a person, for him to understand that i want to know everything he can gather iv a reasonable time about that person." "And you sent the name of Mr Claver ing to him ?" •' Ye*, in cipher." " And have received a reply ?" "This morning." I looked towards his desk. " It is not there," he said, "if you will be kind enough to feel in my breast pocket you will find a. letter—" It was in my hand before he had fini-hed his sentence. "Excuse my eagerno-*," I said, "This kind of busiuessisnew tome, you know." Me smiled indulgently at a very old and faded picture that hung on the wall before him. " Eagerness is not a fault, only the betrayal of it. But road out what you have there. Let us h'-ar what my friend Brown lias to tell us of Mr Henry Ivitcbie Claver iun, of l'ortlandll'lace, London." i took the paper to the light and read as follows : — Henry Ritchie Clavering, Gentleman, aged 43. liornin—(Hertfordshire England. His father was (Jhas. Clavering, for a short time in the army. Mother was Helen Kit cliie, of Dumfriesshire, Scotland ; she is still iiving. Home with 11. R, C. in Portland Place, London. H. K. C. is a bachelor, G ft. high, squarely built, weight about 12 stone. Dark complexion, regular features. Eyes dark brown; nose straight. Called ft handsome man ; walks erect and rapidly. In society is considi ml a good fellow; rather a favourite, espcci illy with indies. Is liberal, not extravagant; reported to be worth about £5000 per year, and appearances give color to this statement. Property consists of a small: estate in Hertfordshire, Hud some funds, amount not known. Since writing this much, a corres pondent scuds the following in regard tohiw history. la '46 went from uncle's house to Eton.' From Eton went to Oxford, graduat ing in's6. Scholarship good. In 1555 his uncle died and hi* father mccceded to the estate*. Father died in '57 by a fall from his hor»c or a similar accident. Within a very nhort time H. R. C. took his mother to London, to the residence named, whero they have lived to the present time. Travelled considerably iD 1SG0; part of the time was with ,of Munich ; a'so in partof Vandcrvorts from New Yo-k ; went an far enstas Cairo. Went to America in 1875 alone, but at end of threo months returned on account of mother's illness, Jsothing is known of. his moYetnenta while in America, From servants, lcam that he was always a furourite from a boy. More recently lias become somewhat taciturn. Toward last of hi* stay, watcned tlm po*t carefully, especi ally foreign ones. Posted scarcely any thin" but newspapers. Has written to Munich. Have seen from waste-paper basket, torn envelope directed to Amy Belden, no address. American correspond ents mostly in Boston ; two in New X'ork. Name* not known, but supposed to be bankers. Brought home considerable luggasre and fitted up part of huusc as for a lady. This was closed soon afterwards. Left for America two months since. Has been, I understand, travelling in the South. Has telegraphed twice to Portland Place. His friends hear from him but rarely. Let ters reed recently, posted in New York. On« by last steamer posted in. F , N. Y. Business here conducted by .In ttio country, of has cliarge of the pro perty. "BKOWU." The document fell from my hands. F N, Y. was a small town near It . "Your friend is a trimp," I declared. " He tells me just what I wanted most to know." And taking out my book I made memoranda of the facts which had most forcibly struck me during my perusal of the communication before me. " With the aid of what he tells me," I cried, "I shall ferret out the mystery of Henry Clavering in a week; see if I do not." "And how soon," inquired Mr Gryce, "may I expect to be allowed to take a hand in the game?" "As soon as 1 am reasonably assured that I am upon the right tack," " But what will it take to assure you of that ?" " Not much; a certain point settled and -" "Hold on; who knows but what i can do that for you?" And looking towards tho desk which stood iv the corner, Mr Gryce asked me if I would open the top drawer and bring him the bits of partly burned paper which I would find there. Hastily complying, I bi ought three or four strips of ragged paper and laid them on the table at bis side. " another result of Fobbs's researches under the coal on the first day of the in quest," shortly exclaimed Mr ■ Gryce. "You thought the key was all he found. Well it wasn't. A second turning over of the coal brought these to light, and vory interesting are they too." I immediately bent over the totn &nd dis coloured scraps with great anxiety. They were four in number, and ap peared at first glance to be the mere remnant? of a sheet of writing paper, torn lengthwise into strips and twisted up into lighters; but upon closer inspection, they showed traces of wiiting up»n one side, and v. hat was more important still, the presence 6f oiie or more drops of spattered blood. This latter discovery was horrible to me, and so overc-mio me for the moment that I put tbe scraps down, and turning towards Mr Gryce inquired, " What do you make of them?" " That is just what I was going to inquire of you.'1 Swallowing my disgust I took them up again. " They appear to be the remnants of some old letter." "They have that appearance," returned Mr Gryce, a little grimly. "A letter which from the drop of blood observable on the written side, must have been lying face up on Mr Loavenworth's table at the time of the murder—" "Just so." " And from the uniformity in width of each of these pieces as well as their tendency to curl up when left alone, been first torn in'o even strips, and then severally rolled

up, before being tossed into the grate where they were afterwards found." " That is all good," said Mr Gryce, " go

"The writing.in as far as it is discernible, is that of a cultivated gentleman ; it is not that of Mr Leavenworth. for 1 have studied his chirography top much lately not to know it at a glance; but it may bs— Hold? I suddenly exclaimed, "have you any mucilage handy ? I think that if I could paste these strips down upon a piece of paper, ao that it would remain flat, I should be able to tell you what I think of them more easily." " There is mucilage on the desk, replied Mr Gryce. , , Procuring it, I prodeeded to consult the scraps once more for evidence to guide me in their arrangement. Those were more marked than I expected ; the longer and best preserved strip with, its "Mr Hor" at the top showing itself at first blush to be the left hand margin of the letter, while the machine-cut edge ■of the next in length, presented tokens full as conclusive of ita being tho right hand margin of tho same. .Selecting these, then, I pasted th?m down on a piece of paper at just the distance they would occupy, if the sheet from which they were torn was of ordinary commercial note size. Immediately it became apparent.first th»t it would take two other strips of the same width to fill up the space between them ; and secondly, that the writing did not terminate at the foot of the sheet but was carried on to another page. Taking up the third strip, I looked at its edge ; it was machipe-cat at the tnp and showed by the arrangement of its words that it was the margin strip of a second leaf. Pasting that down then by it'elf, I scrutinised the fourth, and -finding it also machine-cut at the top but not on the side, endeavoured to fit it to the piece already patted down, but the words would not match. Moving it along then to the position which- it would hold it it were the third strip, I fastened it down; the whole presenting, when completed, the appearance as is shown underneath.

wham ye , one <foo wlio ieorn Hw low and Jut* am/ c4mi man ca aimjid, to cliaim > ihe in Jam jo I, convei. Aa'/icn. vtiu u>ic has ih lote ii no txccfidion ely ai ihc ii, cfvai hiidvi ai ihc ii, l halle, of <liamjiUn\ one who 4\ut4td j hcali a him 4o he owes a Iwnoui a ance. lid 4o t cuocl v face, wl whai ri Me mv yculi f gift chic

" Well 1" exclaimed Mr "Gryce, "that's business." Then as I held it up before ha eyes, " But don't show it to me. Study it yourself, and tell me what you tkink of it." f Well," said I, "'this much is certain, that it is a letter directed to MrLeavenworth from some House, and dated—let's see ; that is an h, isn't it." And I pointed to 1 the 000 letter just discernible on the lino ! under the word House. " I should think so, but don't ask me " "It must be an h. The year is 1875, and this is not the termination of either January or February. Dated then Match Ist, 1876. and signed- " Mr Gryce rolled his eyes in anticipatory ecstasy toward the ceiling. "By Henry Clavering," I announced without hesitation, Mr Gryce's eyes returned to his swathed fint!cr-end3. " Humph ! how do jou know that?" "Wait a moment and I will show yon;" and taking out of my pocket the card which Mr Clavering had handed me as an iutroduction at our late interview, I laid it underneath the last line of writing ou tbe second page, die glance was suificient. Henry Ritchie Clavering onthecard; H— —clue—in the same handwriting on the letter. "Clareringit is," said he, "without a duubt." But I saw he was not surprised. "And now," continued I. "for its gene ral tenor and meaning." And commencing at the beginning, I read aloud the words at they came, with pauses at the breaks some thing as follows. "Mr Bor—Dear—a niece whom yo—one too who see—the love and trus—any other man ci—fautiful, so char—s she in face fo—conversation, cry rose has its rose is no exception ely as she is, char—tender as she is,s pable of tranipliu one who trusted— heart— him to—he owes a honor ance. If—t believe—herto—cruel—face, -what is—ble serr—yours H tchie " It reads like a complaint against one of Mr Leavenworth's nieces," 1 said, and started at my own words. "What is it ?'* cried Mr Gryce; "what is the matter ?" "Why," said I, " the factis I have heard this very letter spoken of. It is a complaint agaiuat one of Mr Leavenworth's nieces,and was written by Mr Claverina." And I told him of Mr Harwell's communication in re gard to the matter. " Ah ! tlieu Mr Harwell has been ta]k insr, has he 2 I thought he was sworn off from gossip,"

"Mi Harwell and I have seen each other almost daily for the last two weeks," re plied I; " i;. would be strange it he had nothing to tell mo." "And he fays that he has read a letter written to Mr Lcavenworth by. Mr Claver n?' Y*s; but whose particular words he has now forgotten." . ... " These few hero may assist mm in re calling tho re 4." . " I would rather not admit to mm knowledge of the existence of this piece of evidence. I don't believe in letting anyone into our conQdence whom it is possible to keep out." . • "I see you don't," drily responded Air Gryce. , „, Not appearing to notice the fling con veyed by these words, I took up the letter once more, and began pointing out such half-formed words in it as I thought we might venture to complete, as the Hor—, yo—, see—utiful , char , for ——, tramplin , pable , serv . This done I next proposed the introduc tion of such others as seemed necessary to the sense, as Lcavenioorth after Horatio; Sir after Dear; have with a possible you before a niece j thorn after itsin the phrase roue has iti; on after trampling; whom after to ; debt after a ; you after If; me ask after believe ; beautiful after crtwl. IMwcen the columns of words thus fur- Dished, I interposed a phrase or two, here and there, the whole reading when, done a» follows: House March Ist, 1876, Mr. Horatio Leavenirorth. Dear Sir .' (You) have a niece whom you one too who seems worthy the love and trust of any other manca ao beautiful, so charming is she in face, form and conversation. But every rose has its thorn and (this) rose is no> exception lovely as she is, cliar ming (as she is,) tender as she is, she is capable of trampling on one who trusted her heart a him to whom she owes a debt of honour si ance If you don't believe me ask her to her cfU-1 beautiful face what is (her) humble servant yours : Henry Kitchie Clavering. " I think that will do," said Mr Grycc, "we have got the general tenor of it, and that is all we want at this time." " The whole tone of it is anything but complimentary to the lady it inveighs against," I returned.' "He must have bad,, or imagined he had, some desperate griev ance, to provoke him to tbc, use of such' plain language in regard to one he can still characterise as tender, charming, beautiful." " Grievances are apt to lie at the back of myscerious crimes." "I think I know what this one wa»," I said, '"but—" seeing himjlook up, ''must decline to commuuica'e my suspicion to you for the present. A»y tueory stands un skaken and in some degree confirmed, and that is all I can say." "Then this letter does not supply the link yon wanted?" " No; it is a valuable bit of evidence, but n«t the link I am in search of just now." ' " Yet it must be an important clue, or Eleanore Leavenworch would not have been to such pains, first to take it in the way »he did from her uncle's table, and second- ■ ly—" "Wait," I said; "what makes you think this is the paper she took or jwas be- ■• lieved to havetakou from Mr Leavenworth's table oa th»t fatal morning?" " why, tbe fact that it was found toge ther with the key, which we know she drop ped int'n the prate, and that there are drops of blood on it." I shook ».y head ;• she told me the paper ■ which she had taken at that tinie, was i destroyed, though to beture she might have so considered it. 1' Why do you shake your head ?" asked Mr Gryce. "Uec-iuse lam not satisfied with your reason for believing this to be the paper taken by her from Mr Leavenworth'c . table." "And why ?" "Wei," said I, "first, because Fobbs does not speak of seeing any paper in her hand, when she bent over the fire, leaving us to conclude tbat these piece's were in the scuttle of coal she threw upon it, which, surely, you must acknowledge to be a strange place for her to haTo put a paper-, she took such pains to gain possession of;.. and secondly, for tne reason that these ' i craps were twisted as if they had been used for curl papers or something of that , kind; a fact hard to explain by your hypothesis." The detective's eye stole in the direction of my necktie, which was as near as be ever came to n face, with an expression of great interest. " You are a bright one," said he, ■ " a very bright one; I quite admire jou,. Mr Raymond." A little surprised, and not altogether • pleased with this unexpected compliment, I regarded him doubtfully for a moment and then, aakid, 4' What is your opinion upon the matter ?" "o,y ou know I have no opinion. I ga»e up everything of that kind when I put the - affair into your hands," "Still-" " That the letter of which the*e scraps • are the remnant, was on Mr Leavenworth's table at tbc time of the murder is believed. That upon the body being removed, a paper was taken from the table by Miss Eleanore - Leavenworth, is also believed. That when she found her action had been noticed and . attention called to this paper and the key, she resorted to subterfuge ■ in ordtr to escape the vigilance of the watch that had been set over her, and . partially succeeding in her endeavour, flung the key into the fire from which these same scraps were afterwards recovered, is also k» own. The conclusion I leave to your judgment." . "Very well theo," said I rising," "we will let conclusions go for the present. My ' mind must be settled in regard to the truth or falsity of a certain theory of mmt1, in order that my judgment may be worth much nn thia or any matter connected^with the affair." . * And only waiting to get the address of . his snhoidinate, Q, in case I should need assistance in my investigation*, I left Mr Gryce and proceeded immediately to .the house of Mr Vccley. (To be continued). |

A Moral Lesson. — A.t the conclusion of a festival, last summer, an excellent teacher, desirous of administe-ing a trifling moral lesso'i, inquired of the boys if they had on joyed the repast. AVitli the ingenuous mo desty of youtH they all tesponded, "Yes, sir." "Then.,".asked thn excellent teacher, "if you had slipped into my garden and picked those strawberries without my leav, would they have tasted as good as now ?" Every small boy in that stained and stidcy company shrieked "No. sir!" "Why not!" "Cause," paid little Thomas •with the cheerfulness of conscious virtue, "tn'ettw« shouldn't have had sugar and cream with cm'!"

m^ SATURDAY SUPPLEMENT, AUGUST 26, 1882.