THE REAL TICHBORONE.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9344, 13 January 1909, Page 6

THE REAL TICHBORONE.

STORY OF HIS FATE. From amongst many curious stories and incidents recorded by Mr Henry W. Lucy in Sixty Years in the Wilderness in the Cornhill Magazine for November, the following may be quoted. It describes the death of the real Roger Tiohborne, Mr Lucy telling ns how a Captain Oates, on© ot the last men to see Tiohborne alive, ga v e him the particulars in the course of a drive from Dover to Dungeness:—

“I was at the time,” Captain Oates said, “in charge of the John Biddy, laying at Rio, waiting for a cargo. The Bella lay alongside, and as her owners and mine were connected in business arrangements, Captain Birkett and 1 were often together, and used to talk our affairs over. One day. he came to me and said, ‘Oates, there is a young fellow been over to see about taking a passage in the Bella to New York.’ ‘Well,’ I said, ‘von have a berth, and may as well make a dollar or two for the ship.’ ’Xaotly,’ said he; ‘but the.fact is, the young fellow has got no money: he says he is well connected, has plenty of rich friends in England, and that a letter of credit is waiting for him in New York. But he has ran through all his money here, is heavily in debt r and wants to get quietly away. ’’ ‘ Well,’ 1 said, that’s another sort of thing, Birkett,’l says. ‘You know well enough what the passage money to be paid at the other end usually comes to. However, bring the yonng; fellow over to breakfast in the morning, and we’ll have a look at him.’ So next morning Birkett and theyoung fellow came over to breakfast; with me and he told his story. It was impossible to be in his company five minutes without knowing: that he was of gentleman stock, and after he was gone I said to Birkett, ‘Let him have the passage. If he pays it will be all right and if he don’t it will be only another plate of sole on the table daring the voyage, and the owners need not know anything about it.’ Birkett took my word and let the young fellow come aboard. The authorities at Rio were very strict at the time, and it was necessary for everyone leaving the city to have a passport. Tiohborne, owing money all’about, could uot, of course, get his passport, and we bad to smuggle him aboard. He oame off in a boat the. night before, and when the Custom-house officers were within sight next day, for the last look round, we put him down in a hole in the cabin floor, underneath the table. >The Custom-house officer came aboard, mustered the crew, and found them all right, ‘Anyone else aboard, Captain Birkett?” says he. ‘No,’ says Birkett; ‘but come down in the cabin and take a cup of coffee before you go. ’ The officer oame down and sat at the table with bis feet on the plank which covered young Tiohborne. When he had finished bis coffee be and I put off. The Bella made sail, and I never saw or heard anything about the ship till a few days later a bit of stern, and a portion of the poop floated ashore, and told ns she had foundered.”