herself, being in the secret. He declared it to
be in accordance with all received experience
of human nature, that one or more of those
other persons must have spoken of the
secret either from malice or from want of
caution, and that the consequent exposure
of the truth must, in the course of
so long a period as twenty-two years, have
come to the knowledge of some among the
many people in the West of England as well
as in London, who knew the Treverton
family personally or by reputation. From
this objection he passed to another which
admitted the possible genuineness of the
letter, as a written document, but which
pleaded the probability of its having been
produced under the influence of some mental
delusion on Mrs. Treverton's part, which her
maid might have had an interest in humouring
at the time, though she might have
hesitated, after her mistress's death, at risking the
possible consequences of attempting to profit
by the imposture. Having stated this theory,
as one which not only explained the writing
of the letter but the hiding of it also, Mr.
Nixon further observed in reference to Mrs.
Jazeph, that any evidence she might give
was of little or no value in a legal point of
view, from the difficulty—  or, he might say,
the impossibility—  of satisfactorily identifying
the infant mentioned in the letter, with the
lady whom he now had the honour of
addressing as Mrs. Frankland, and whom no
unsubstantiated document in existence should
induce him to believe to be any other than
the daughter of his old friend and client
Captain Treverton.

Having heard the lawyer's objections to
the end, Leonard admitted their ingenuity,
but acknowledged, at the same time, that
they had produced no alteration in his
impressions on the subject of the letter, or in
his convictions as to the course of duty
which he felt bund to follow.  He would
wait, he said, for Mrs, Jazeph's testimony
before he acted decisively; but if that testimony
were of such a nature, as to satisfy him that his
wife had no moral right to the fortune that
she possessed, he would restore it at once
to the person who had—Mr. Andrew
Treverton.

Finding that no fresh arguments of
suggestions could shake Mr Frankland's
resolution, and that no separate appeal to
Rosamund had the slightest effect in stimulating
her to use her influence for the purpose of
inducing her husband to alter his
determination; and feeling convinced, moreover,
from all that he had heard, that Mr, Frankland
would, if he was opposed by many more
objections, either employ another professional
adviser, or risk committing some fatal legal
error by acting for himself in the matter of
restoring the money; Mr. Nixon at last
consented, under protest, to give his client what
help he needed in case it became necessary to
hold communication with Andrew Treverton.
He listened with polite resignation to
Leonard's brief statement of the questions
that he intended to put to Mrs. Jazeph; and
said, with the slightest possible dash of
sarcasm, when it came to his turn to speak, that
they were excellent questions in a moral
point of view, and would doubtless produce
answers which would be full of interest of
the most romantic kind. "But," he added,
"as you have one child already, Mr. Frankland,
and as you may, perhaps, if I may
venture of suggesting such a thing, have
more in the course of years; and as those
children, when they grow up, may hear of
the loss of their mother's fortune, and may
wish to know why it was sacrificed, I should
recommend—resting the matter on family
grounds alone, and not going further to make
a legal point of it also—  that you procure
from Mrs. Jazeph, besides the vivâ voce
evidence you propose to extract (against the
admissibility of which, in this case, I again
protest), a written declaration, which you
may leave behind you at your death, and
which may justify you in the eyes of your
children in case the necessity for such
justification should arise at some future
period."

This advice was too plainly valuable to be
neglected. At Leonard's request, Mr. Nixon
drew out at once a form of declaration,
affirming the genuineness of the letter
addressed by the late Mrs. Treverton, on her
death-bed, to her husband, since also deceased,
and bearing witness to the truth of the statements
therein contained, both as regarded the
fraud practised on Captain Treverton and
the asserted parentage of the child. Telling
Mr. Frankland that he would do well to
have Mrs. Jazeph's signature of this document
attested by the names of two competent
witnesses, Mr. Nixon handed the declaration
to Rosamond to read aloud to her husband,
and, finding that no objection was made to
any part of it, and that he could be of no
further use in the present early state of the
proceedings, rose to take his leave.  Leonard
engaged to communicate with him again, in
the course of the day, if necessary; and he
retired, reiterating his protest to the last,
and declaring that he had never met with
such an extraordinary case and such a self-
willed client before in the whole course of his
practice.

Nearly an hour elapsed after the departure
of the lawyer before any second visitor
was announced. At the expiration of that
time, the welcome sound of footsteps was
heard approaching the door, and Uncle
Joseph entered the room.

Rosamond's observation, stimulated by
anxiety, detected a change in his look and
manner, the moment he appeared. His face
was harassed and fatigued, and his gait, as
he advanced into the room, had lost the
briskness and activity which so quaintly