"I think, sir, you have a son whose name is Walter?"
"I have a son, and his name is Walter," said the Colonel, stiffly.
"I think, sir," said musical Monckton, "that he left your house about
fourteen years ago, and you lost sight of him for a time?"
"That is so, sir."
"He entered the service of a Mr. Robert Bartley as a merchant's clerk."
"I doubt that, sir."
"I fear, sir," sighed Monckton, musically, "that is not the only
thing he did which has been withheld from you. He married a lady
called Lucy Muller."
"Who told you that?" cried the Colonel. "It's a lie!"
"I am afraid not," said the meek and tuneful ecclesiastic. "I am
acquainted with the lady, a most respectable person, and she has shown me
the certificate of marriage."
"The certificate of marriage!" cried the Colonel, all aghast.
"Yes, sir, and this is not the first time I have given this information
in confidence. Mrs. Walter Clifford, who is a kind-hearted woman, and has
long ceased to suffer bitterly from her husband's desertion, requested me
to warn a young lady, whose name was Miss Mary Bartley, of this fact.
Pages:
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461