horrible life of an aristocratic pauper; but his only son, my stepfather,

seeing that he must adapt himself to the new conditions, obtained an advance

from a relative, which enabled him to take a medical degree and went out to

Calcutta, where, by his professional skill and his force of character, he

established a large practice. In a fit of anger, however, caused by some

robberies which had been perpetrated in the house, he beat his native butler to

death and narrowly escaped a capital sentence. As it was, he suffered a long

term of imprisonment and afterwards returned to England a morose and

disappointed man.


“When Dr. Roylott was in India he married my mother, Mrs. Stoner, the

young widow of Major-General Stoner, of the Bengal Artillery. My sister Julia

and I were twins, and we were only two years old at the time of my

mother’s re-marriage. She had a considerable sum of money—not less

than £ 1000 a year—and this she bequeathed to Dr. Roylott entirely while

we resided with him, with a provision that a certain annual sum should be

allowed to each of us in the event of our marriage. Shortly after our return to

England my mother died—she was killed eight years ago in a railway

accident near Crewe. Dr. Roylott then abandoned his attempts to establish

himself in practice in London and took us to live with him in the old ancestral

house at Stoke Moran. The money which my mother had left was enough for all our

wants, and there seemed to be no obstacle to our happiness.


“But a terrible change came over our stepfather about this time. Instead

of making friends and exchanging visits with our neighbours, who had at first

been overjoyed to see a Roylott of Stoke Moran back in the old family seat, he

shut himself up in his house and seldom came out save to indulge in ferocious

quarrels with whoever might cross his path. Violence of temper approaching to

mania has been hereditary in the men of the family, and in my