Wolf and Ewe Lamb.

Observer, Volume 4, Issue 102, 26 August 1882, Page 370

Wolf and Ewe Lamb.

EXTKAOEDIXAEY CoiIBESPONDENCE. — SEIZTJEE K of a Dead Woman's Effects. — The Om> : Hr Man and the Pretty Hottsekeepeb. ,B

One of tlie most extraordinary and sensational Hg correspondences we have ever read lias beeoH handed to us for publication. The letters show flf the remarkable lengths to which an old mann went to compel a rather attractive young woman iii to become his housekeeper. The" partielin this Bt extraordinary affair are a rather eccentric old M man, possessed of some property, who leads affi lonely life in one of the suburbs, two young Hladies, and their legal guardian. Soine 'seven, Hyeara ago a young lady, named Minnie® , came out from England in an cmi- i| grant ship, consigned by her father to the care, S of her uncle, an old'settler in the Colony, if Haying resided with this relative for some years. B the girl sought a situation, and succeeded in m securing one as a housekeeper to an old man, who '|| had lived entirely alone in a quiet neighbourhood/ m Some time after taking up her quarters in the |§ house she fell sick, and he sbnt her to the Hos- W pital for treatment. Meantime, a sister of M,'s,;g whom we will call E., was on her way out front M Home to join her, bringing a letter, dated Feb. 11 22nd, 1882, from her father to the uncle. The M letter stated that the family were much concerned m about the illness of M., and had sent out the M second daughter in the hope that she would be a M comfort and help to the sick girl. The fathor of the': || two girls also thanked their uncle and his family 1 8 for tho very great kindness they had shown to M., M and expressed his belief that they would be equally || pleased to welcome her, and meet her on arrival,, if and provide her with a home. ||

It soeras, however, that the old man, in ■whose service Miss M. had been as housekeeper, had set his heart on filling her place with her sister, Miss E. Eor reasons, which we need not eater into here, her uncle, to whose guardianship she was assigned, strongly disapproved of the proposed arrangement, and determined that Miss E. should take up her residence with his own family. But I before the arrival of the emigrant sl-ip in which | Miss E. was a- passenger, her sister (Miss M.) had ■ I died in the Hospital, and Mr W., the old man in ' whose employ she had been as housekeeper, seized I whatever clothing and effects she possessed, I roughly estimated to be worth £40 'or £50. i Mr W. and the uncle kept a sharp look-out for ■ the arrival of the emigrant vessel, and the uncle ■ having got first on board, made ..arrangements to s remove : the niece to his house. . Meantime, Mr i W,. found that he had been, forestalled, and wrote a letter to the girl, expressing Ids disappointment at having missed the vessel, ami promising to be on board by 9.30 the next morning. The letter went on to say— "-You must bear up, •my dear 1 friend, and do not grieve too much brer it. You J

iJtfSoe^B^s'tay. here quietly unv 11 / ou S^> M t* Btlei and^ fchen it will be . time -to ™*«" iSngements-for your future. :Mrs *?• will ?■ •' c .you to, nay house this afternoon."

l ! fe 'reply fc o this letter,, the 'young lady wrote;-— §r|jj#e quite made up my mind that I will' stay S^ir uncle's. ' Will you please send Minnie's fe£'.: a na things to me here. — Yours, etc., E." ISeipt of this letter, Mr W., who had by -Viariie determined to use any means in order to f%etlie ghi- as successor in the position of ?usekeeper to her sister, wrote "as follows to the ■i^j o .L_ lt Dea.r sir, — Having ascertained through S^;|j r ' g hesitation in accepting my proffered !! iSction and home, in accordance with her ?| tber's and- late sister's special request, through which • seriously reflect upon f : i -you will, perhaps ,*fk>d it expedient to meet f'd'on.board the — - — to-morrow at 10 a.m., and : 'ttoeEit your, imputations in her presence before 'listing the same in my solicitor's hands."

t\fia xmcle disregarded this peremptory sumsons f?om a person who, having no relationship iitb or legal claim to the girl (especially as she Vasover twenty-five years of age), and treated tithing as a- piece of meddlesome impertinence : (a ly worthy of contempt. On the same day, howler W. wrote accusing Miss E. of giving heed jo Aei' ■ uncle's slanderous misrepresentations, ■jciich had poisoned her mind against the -writer, .0 opposition to the wishes of her father and her [ieadsister. He went on to say : "If at your age ■fijucannot detect the sordid motives, I cannot ■farther assist you.. I, must only ask you to appeal heart whether your present feelings .faiiaa perfectly unknown uncle (except by rep illation),- and who is already bringing further jumble on your poor, young, inexperienced head, s'so powerfully predominant with you (as in the ; «mrso of a few short hours to so completely smother every particle of natural love and affection to the memory of your poor dead sister as to si totally disregard and offensively and deliberstelj violate her very dying wishes and requests regarding you). The results will, I fear, only fco soon become apparent to you, poor girl, and jUthis by way of gratitude in return for all my iindness and fatherly care of her for the fifteen of the happiest months of her life (as she often fold people) since leaving her own father's roof, ,&A my sincere and truly and unselfish offer to tontinue it to you also, and when I first saw you, I most ardently wished to, owing to your very dose resemblance to poor Minnie (in person only Ipinsfc sorrowfully now admit). Your uncle's wrardly conduct I need not refer to here, being sntirely a matter for legal intervention hereafter. [must (and do) most deeply regret implicating pu in such very unpleasant proceedings as a lawsit to welcome your immediate arrival in the Colony. P.S.— This letter I took on board to lire you on Saturday, when you failed to meet ,ae."

.This letter was also treated with, the same con--Bmj)t as the others. But the writer still pursued her. Five days later he wrote another letter to &e girl, in. which he spoke of "the ill-advised ffld ruinous steps "she had taken in refusing to koine his housekeeper. He accused her of f-grossly deceitful and dishonourable conduct, fiefiieditated and deliberate falsehood," in order iiscrefcn her uncle "from the serious consequences jSiat would (and still will) follow," by avoiding a Meting on board the emigrant vessel. He fkracterised her conduct as " crimes which nery right-minded and honourable girl would fee recoiled from with horror. He called her side, a "poor imbecile," who had shrunk "through sheer conscious guilt from the ordeal i meeting him ; threatened to write to her Slier, and vaguely denounced some " confenptible and ignorant co-informant, whose truly addling, mischievous, sycophantic propensities SB" as well and widely known as the Town Clock * Auckland," but who had been speaking of him 8"a complete devil, a perfect terror," etc., '♦hick," he went on to say, "coming from the Barters it does, I trust may not seriously affect tt beyond paying' me the compliment of an early Ncution." He expressed his belief that " the wteniptible malice and subtle sordid lies and srices " would either bring her poor father to a ifln&ture grave with a broken heart, or would «ttße "your immediate withdrawal from your fesent location (the latterly most devoutly to be *ped for) for both your sakes. Your request It your prompter's) to send your sister's effects Ijour uncle's house will never be accomplished Siay.life time, and if you read on you will see $y. Extract from a certified copy of poor Annie's repeated and last dying injunctions to ?«. as her legal executor, in preseuce of three Besses :— First (verbatimj ; "Dear , 'ktever you . do don't let "my things go to my Sole's house on any account, for not one of them Wd ever reach home." Second: "You proaise'm^ -^ , to take care of my sister no and especially not to let her go to dele's house, or any house except your own."

f"I then kissed your poor sister, saying ' Minnie, fej I kiss you for your father and sisters,' rushed jptu the room, ' Mrs Bryce weeping by her beds 6. She wavedmeback with her hand, and almost "fcudibly repeated her wishes (in gasps), three *urs after she breathed her last." The writer f 6'ufc on to accuse the girl and her uncle of ■toutal and unnatural acts of sacrilege to the *W sister's memory," and continued " not even 'ftteet of paper or a pin belonging to her will I ??r. allow- to be so utterly desecrated- by sending fybur •.uncle's house (under existing revolting fyumstarices) . Had you even produced the pessary power -from your father for their de!T»y - you. could have got none without my Action. I hold, a lien or claim on your late Stor's estate for the sum of £10 175.,.f0r monies fended by me for' h'or sole use during her ill??s in the, Hospital (beyond Vhat small means I |d of hers)l ' This;'cilaim I shall' now most unr sestionatily levy.",.. He .next expressed Ms fear Sfc'.the girL had' 'reduced.., her life, to -one of' [iidgery andineeXsaht. toil, by refusing to live fe nisroo'f. .;.'' Yquwillyery soon find out in |s country " ho went on to say " that; the offer

begging for acceptance by a very long vfnj^ This is indeed an unprecedented, sad, and suicidal commencement of. your colonial calmer, 'It is very well in theory to say you can get you.? living Anywhere, but it behoves you to give this subject a little. reflection before you find out when too late tb.o jnistake and the immense , difference between theoretical assertions and practical proofs, especially in delicate constitutions like yours. I most strongly urge you to get a situation or home elsewhere as soon as erer it is possible to do so. My worst wish is you mtjy'never regret the fatal error you have adopted in this, the turning point in your young but peculiai'ly deficient and inexperienced ways of the world. My poor misguided young friend, you will live to regret this false step only once, and that will be for your lifo. Had you received my first letter, you would have seen my intention, of erecting a headstone and , rails on poor Minnie's grave (to which I frequently, wonder if you have yet ventured to go near fearing your poor sister's reproaches should, ascend from her very coffin). Your poor sister's grave has been so cruelly profaned by all these acts of sacrilege to her memory and wishes that if I could i do so now I would remove her poor body out of it, her memory, thank God, I can and will, for i with, the Bishop's permission I am going to place j a marble tablet (in memoriam) in Parnell church, J the inscription of which, I sincerely trust, will furnish both you and those who have aided you j in so sacreligiously violating her every dying wish, with ample scope for reflection during the rest of their natural lives. has been speaking to me about the money you borrowed from Mrs H-, I know you have no money, can I pay it for you ? Your uncle's most insulting and disgraceful efforts, and asking me, through the medium of one of his sons to trample under foot and deliberately violate the sanctity of those most sacred and imperative promises I lionoxirably pledged to ,the last death-bed requests of an almost friendless (locally) and dying girl are positively incredible ! ! and his still further and abominable and cruel instigation and success in urging you a young and totally, inexperienced girl in the world to do likewise, is simply deserving of Capital Puuishvient ! ! ! and for which I cannot withhold my deepest sympathy and compassion still for you, and it almost freezes my blood to write it both poor girls his own brother's flesh and blood ! ! ! whilst her dead body lay positively unburied in its coffin — still — cold-— and in death in our very presence in the House (Great God) who and what can he possibly be !!) Do not forget, my poor misguided young friend, where it is said " I the Lord will avenge") or in other words — cause to be avenged) your uncle's time is nigh at hand. Can we reasonably hope or expect this hideous phantom combined with the present undeserved troubles he has already been so cruelly instrumental in inflicting on your young inexperienced head will not be even haunting and reviling him on his own death-bed, or that his own miserably ill-spent life may procure as ample pardon from his Maker ! as that incomparably better and far nobler one of your true and affectionate deceased sister, poor, honest noble-minded Minnie. One manly and honest

heart, however, stood by her lifeless body to the last, and with his life would (and still will) have guarded and most indignantly repelled any such inhuman and almost unprecedented Sacrilege. P.S. Should want ever overtake you, you know where relief will never be refused you. In consequence of the distorted lies and slanders in circulation in reference to this matter, this letter is going into type for general perusal."

' Let it be borne in mind that this incoherent and passionate rigmarole, which reads more like the maunderings of a lunatic than anything else, was called forth by the simple refusal of the girl to be coerced into becoming the housekeeper of a man of whom personally she absolutely knew nothing, who stood neither in the relation of a relative or guardian, and who produced not a single tittle of evidence, beyond his own assertions, of the pretended dying wishes and testamentary instructions of the dead sister. The debt to Mrs H. alluded to in the letter quoted above, was some two or three shillings, which were repaid almost immediately after arrival. No notice having been taken of this last letter, the persecutor of the uncle and his niece wrote another letter threatening legal proceedings, and requesting to be furnished with the name of the solicitor retained for the defence ! The uncle at once took legal advice with a view bf adopting some steps to restrain his persecutor from sending those threatening and insulting letters, and as a preliminary step inquiry was made at the Kegistrar's Office in order to ascertain if any will had been ' proved which entitled the man to retain possession of the effects of the deceased sister. There being no recoi'd of any will, the matter was reported to Mr T. Macffarlane, Public Trustee in the Estate of Deceased Persons, who is now taking measures to secure the delivery of the property to him. There the matter rests for the present, but the public are likely to hear more of it.