IN PARTNERSHIP.
IN PARTNERSHIP
STUDIES IN STORY-TELLING
BY BRANDER MATTHEWS AND H. C. BUNNER
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
1884
COPYRIGHT, 1884, BY
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
THE DOCUMENTS IN THE CASE 3
_By Brander Matthews and H. C. Bunner._
VENETIAN GLASS 48
_By Brander Matthews._
THE RED SILK HANDKERCHIEF 73
_By H. C. Bunner._
THE SEVEN CONVERSATIONS OF DEAR JONES AND BABY VAN RENSSELAER 115
_By Brander Matthews and H. C. Bunner._
THE RIVAL GHOSTS 139
_By Brander Matthews._
A LETTER AND A PARAGRAPH 165
_By H. C. Bunner._
PLAYING A PART 179
_By Brander Matthews._
LOVE IN OLD CLOATHES 196
_By H. C. Bunner._
THE DOCUMENTS IN THE CASE.
BY BRANDER MATTHEWS AND H. C. BUNNER.
PART FIRST.
Document No. 1.
_Paragraph from the “Illustrated London News,” published under the head of
“Obituary of Eminent Persons,” in the issue of January 4th, 1879:_
SIR WILLIAM BEAUVOIR, BART.
Sir William Beauvoir, Bart., whose lamented death has just occurred at
Brighton, on December 28th, was the head and representative of the junior
branch of the very ancient and honourable family of Beauvoir, and was the
only son of the late General Sir William Beauvoir, Bart., by his wife
Anne, daughter of Colonel Doyle, of Chelsworth Cottage, Suffolk. He was
born in 1805, and was educated at Eton and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He
was M. P. for Lancashire from 1837 to 1847, and was appointed a Gentleman
of the Privy Chamber in 1843. Sir William married, in 1826, Henrietta
Georgiana, fourth daughter of the Right Honourable Adolphus Liddell, Q.
C., by whom he had two sons, William Beauvoir and Oliver Liddell Beauvoir.
The latter was with his lamented parent when he died. Of the former
nothing has been heard for nearly thirty years, about which time he left
England suddenly for America. It is supposed that he went to California,
shortly after the discovery of gold. Much forgotten gossip will now in
all probability be revived, for the will of the lamented baronet has been
proved, on the 2d inst., and the personalty sworn under £70,000. The two
sons are appointed executors. The estate in Lancashire is left to the
elder, and the rest is divided between the brothers. The doubt as to the
career of Sir William’s eldest son must now of course be cleared up.
This family of Beauvoirs is of Norman descent, and of great antiquity.
This is the younger branch, founded in the last century by Sir William
Beauvoir, Bart., who was Chief Justice of the Canadas, whence he was
granted the punning arms and motto now borne by his descendants--a beaver
sable rampant on a field gules; motto, “Damno.”
PART SECOND.
Document No. 2.
_Promises to pay, put forth by William Beauvoir, junior, at various times
in 1848:_
+----------------------------------+
| |
| _I. O. U._ |
| |
| _£105. 0. 0._ |
| |
| _April 10th, 1848._ |
| |
| _William Beauvoir, junr._ |
| |
+----------------------------------+
Document No. 3.
_The same._
+----------------------------------+
| |
| _I. O. U._ |
| |
| _£250. 0. 0._ |
| |
| _April 22d, 1848._ |
| |
| _William Beauvoir, junr._ |
| |
+----------------------------------+
Document No. 4.
_The same._
+----------------------------------+
| |
| _I. O. U._ |
| |
| _£600. 0. 0._ |
| |
| _May 10th, 1848._ |
| |
| _William Beauvoir, junr._ |
| |
+----------------------------------+
Document No. 5.
_Extract from the “Sunday Satirist”, a journal of high-life, published in
London, May 13th, 1848:_
Are not our hereditary lawmakers and the members of our old families the
guardians of the honour of this realm? One would not think so to see the
reckless gait at which some of them go down the road to ruin. The D----e
of D----m and the E----l of B----n and L----d Y----g,--are not these
pretty guardians of a nation’s name? _Quis custodiet?_ etc. Guardians,
forsooth, _parce qu’ils se sont donnés la peine de naître_! Some of the
gentry make the running as well as their betters. Young W----m B----r, son
of old Sir W----m B----r, late M.P. for L----e, is a truly model young
man. He comes of a good old county family--his mother was a daughter of
the Right Honourable A----s L----l, and he himself is old enough to know
better. But we hear of his escapades night after night, and day after day.
He bets all day and he plays all night, and poor tired nature has to make
the best of it. And his poor worn purse gets the worst of it. He has duns
by the score. His I.O.U.’s are held by every Jew in the city. He is not
content with a little gentlemanlike game of whist or _écarté_, but he must
needs revive for his special use and behoof the dangerous and well-nigh
forgotten _pharaoh_. As luck would have it, he had lost as much at this
game of brute chance as ever he would at any game of skill. His judgment
of horseflesh is no better than his luck at cards. He came a cropper over
the “Two Thousand Guineas.” The victory of the favourite cost him to the
tune of over six thousand pounds. We learn that he hopes to recoup himself
on the Derby, by backing Shylock for nearly nine thousand pounds; one bet
was twelve hundred guineas.
And this is the sort of man who may be chosen at any time by force of
family interest to make laws for the toiling millions of Great Britain!
Document No. 6.
_Extract from “Bell’s Life” of May 19th, 1848_:
THE DERBY DAY.
WEDNESDAY.--This day, like its predecessor, opened with a cloudless sky,
and the throng which crowded the avenues leading to the grand scene of
attraction was, as we have elsewhere remarked, incalculable.
THE DERBY.
The Derby Stakes of 50 sovs. each, h. ft. for three-year-olds; colts, 8
st. 7 lb., fillies, 8 st. 2 lb.; the second to receive 100 sovs., and the
winner to pay 100 sovs. towards police, etc.; mile and a half on the new
Derby course; 215 subs.
Lord Clifden’s b. c. _Surplice_, by Touchstone 1
Mr. Bowe’s b. c. _Springy Jack_, by Hetman 2
Mr. B. Green’s br. c. _Shylock_, by Simoon 3
Mr. Payne’s b. c. _Glendower_, by Slane 0
Mr. J. P. Day’s b. c. _Nil Desperandum_, by Venison 0
Document No. 7.
_Paragraph of Shipping Intelligence from the “Liverpool Courier” of June
21st, 1848_:
The bark _Euterpe_, Captain Riding, belonging to the Transatlantic
Clipper Line of Messrs. Judkins & Cooke, left the Mersey yesterday
afternoon, bound for New York. She took out the usual complement of
steerage passengers. The first officer’s cabin is occupied by Professor
Titus Peebles, M.R.C.S., M.R.G.S., lately instructor in metallurgy at the
University of Edinburgh, and Mr. William Beauvoir. Professor Peebles, we
are informed, has an important scientific mission in the States, and will
not return for six months.
Document No. 8.
_Paragraph from the “N. Y. Herald” of September 9th, 1848._
While we well know that the record of vice and dissipation can never
be pleasing to the refined tastes of the cultivated denizens of the
only morally pure metropolis on the face of the earth, yet it may be of
interest to those who enjoy the fascinating study of human folly and
frailty to “point a moral or adorn a tale” from the events transpiring
in our very midst. Such as these will view with alarm the sad example
afforded the youth of our city by the dissolute career of a young lump of
aristocratic affectation and patrician profligacy, recently arrived in
this city. This young _gentleman’s_ (save the mark!) name is Lord William
F. Beauvoir, the latest scion of a venerable and wealthy English family.
We print the full name of this beautiful exemplar of “haughty Albion,”
although he first appeared among our citizens under the alias of Beaver,
by which name he is now generally known, although recorded on the books
of the Astor House by the name which our enterprise first gives to the
public. Lord Beauvoir’s career since his arrival here has been one of
unexampled extravagance and mad immorality. His days and nights have been
passed in the gilded palaces of the fickle goddess, Fortune, in Thomas
Street and College Place, where he has squandered fabulous sums, by some
stated to amount to over £78,000 sterling. It is satisfactory to know
that retribution has at last overtaken him. His enormous income has been
exhausted to the ultimate farthing, and at latest accounts he had quit the
city, leaving behind him, it is shrewdly suspected, a large hotel bill,
though no such admission can be extorted from his last landlord, who is
evidently a sycophantic adulator of British “aristocracy.”
Document No. 9.
_Certificate of deposit, vulgarly known as a pawn-ticket, issued by one
Simpson to William Beauvoir, December 2d, 1848._
-------------------------------------------------------
John Simpson,
Loan Office,
36 Bowery,
New York.
-------------------------------------------------------
_Dec. 2d, 1848._
----------------------------------------+--------+-----
| Dolls. | Cts.
_One Gold Hunting-case Watch and Chain, | |
William Beauvoir._ | _150_ | _00_
----------------------------------------+--------+-----
Not accountable in case of fire, damage, moth, robbery,
breakage, &c.
25% per ann. Good for 1 year only.
-------------------------------------------------------
Document No. 10.
_Letter from the late John Phœnix, found among the posthumous papers
of the late John P. Squibob, and promptly published in the “San Diego
Herald.”_
OFF THE COAST OF FLORIDA, Jan. 3, 1849.
MY DEAR SQUIB:--I imagine your pathetic inquiry as to my
whereabouts--pathetic, not to say hypothetic--for I am now where I cannot
hear the dulcet strains of your voice. I am on board ship. I am half seas
over. I am bound for California by way of the Isthmus. I am going for the
gold, my boy, the gold. In the mean time I am lying around loose on the
deck of this magnificent vessel, the _Mercy G. Tarbox_, of Nantucket,
bred by _Noah’s Ark_ out of _Pilot-boat_, dam by _Mudscow_ out of _Raging
Canawl_. The _Mercy G. Tarbox_ is one of the best boats of Nantucket, and
Captain Clearstarch is one of the best captains all along shore--although,
friend Squibob, I feel sure that you are about to observe that a captain
with a name like that would give anyone the blues. But don’t do it, Squib!
Spare me this once.
But as a matter of fact this ultramarine joke of yours is about east. It
was blue on the _Mercy G._--mighty blue, too. And it needed the inspiring
hope of the gold I was soon to pick up in nuggets to stiffen my backbone
to a respectable degree of rigidity. I was about ready to wilt. But I
discovered two Englishmen on board, and now I get along all right. We
have formed a little temperance society--just we three, you know--to see
if we cannot, by a course of sampling and severe study, discover which of
the captain’s liquors is most dangerous, so that we can take the pledge
not to touch it. One of them is a chemist or a metallurgist, or something
scientific. The other is a gentleman.
The chemist or metallurgist or something scientific is Professor Titus
Peebles, who is going out to prospect for gold. He feels sure that his
professional training will give him the inside track in the gulches and
gold mines. He is a smart chap. He invented the celebrated “William Riley
Baking Powder”--bound to rise up every time.
And here I must tell you a little circumstance. As I was coming down
to the dock in New York, to go aboard the _Mercy G._, a small boy was
walloping a boy still smaller; so I made peace, and walloped them both.
And then they both began heaving rocks at me--one of which I caught
dexterously in the dexter hand. Yesterday, as I was pacing the deck with
the professor, I put my hand in my pocket and found this stone. So I asked
the professor what it was.
He looked at it and said it was gneiss.
“Is it?” said I. “Well, if a small but energetic youth had taken you on
the back of the head with it, you would not think it so nice!”
And then, O Squib, he set out to explain that he meant “gneiss,” not
“nice!” The ignorance of these English about a joke is really wonderful.
It is easy to see that they have never been brought up on them. But
perhaps there was some excuse for the professor that day, for he was the
president _pro tem._ of our projected temperance society, and as such he
had been making a quantitative and qualitative analysis of another kind of
quartz.
So much for the chemist or metallurgist or something scientific. The
gentleman and I get on better. His name is Beaver, which he persists in
spelling Beauvoir. Ridiculous, isn’t it? How easy it is to see that the
English have never had the advantage of a good common-school education--so
few of them can spell. Here’s a man don’t know how to spell his own
name. And this shows how the race over there on the little island is
degenerating. It was not so in other days. Shakspere, for instance, not
only knew how to spell his own name, but--and this is another proof of
his superiority to his contemporaries--he could spell it in half a dozen
different ways.
This Beaver is a clever fellow, and we get on first rate together. He
is going to California for gold--like the rest of us. But I think he
has had his share--and spent it. At any rate he has not much now. I
have been teaching him poker, and I am afraid he won’t have any soon. I
have an idea he has been going pretty fast--and mostly down hill. But
he has his good points. He is a gentleman all through, as you can see.
Yes, friend Squibob, even you could see right through him. We are all
going to California together, and I wonder which one of the three will
turn up trumps first--Beaver, or the chemist, metallurgist or something
scientific, or
Yours respectfully, JOHN PHŒNIX.
P. S.--You think this a stupid letter, perhaps, and not interesting. Just
reflect on my surroundings. Besides, the interest will accumulate a good
while before you get the missive. And I don’t know how you ever are to get
it, for there is no post-office near here, and on the Isthmus the mails
are as uncertain as the females are everywhere. (I am informed that there
is no postage on old jokes--so I let that stand.)
J. P.
Document No. 11.
_Extract from the “Bone Gulch Palladium,” June 3d, 1850_:
Our readers may remember hovv frequeñtly vve have declared our firm belief
iñ the future uñexampled prosperity of Boñe Gulch. VVe savv it iñ the
immediate future the metropolis of the Pacific Slope, as it vvas iñteñded
by ñature to be. VVe poiñted out repeatedly that a time vvould come vvheñ
Boñe Gulch vvould be añ emporium of the arts añd scieñces añd of the best
society, eveñ more thañ it is ñovv. VVe foresavv the time vvheñ the best
meñ from the old cities of the East vvould come flockiñg to us, passiñg
vvith coñtempt the puñy settlemeñt of Deadhorse. But eveñ vve did ñot
so sooñ see that members of the aristocracy of the effete moñarchies of
despotic Europe vvould ackñovvledge the uñdeñiable advañtages of Boñe
Gulch, añd come here to stay permañeñtly añd forever. VVithiñ the past
vveek vve have received here Hoñ. VVilliam Beaver, oñe of the first meñ
of Great Britaiñ añd Irelañd, a statesmañ, añ orator, a soldier, añd añ
exteñsive traveller. He has come to Boñe Gulch as the best spot oñ the
face of the everlastiñg uñiverse. It is ñeedless to say that our promiñeñt
citizeñs have received him vvith great cordiality. Boñe Gulch is ñot like
Deadhorse. VVe kñovv a geñtlemañ vvheñ vve see oñe.
Hoñ. Mr. Beaver is oñe of ñature’s ñoblemeñ; he is also related to the
Royal Family of Eñglañd. He is a secoñd cousiñ of the Queeñ, añd boards at
the Tovver of Loñdoñ vvith her vvheñ at home. VVe are iñformed that he has
frequeñtly takeñ the Priñce of VVales out for a ride iñ his baby-vvagoñ.
VVe take great pleasure iñ coñgratulatiñg Boñe Gulch oñ its latest
acquisitioñ. Añd vve kñovv Hoñ. Mr. Beaver is sure to get aloñg all right
here uñder the best climate iñ the vvorld añd vvith the ñoblest meñ the
suñ ever shoñe oñ.
Document No. 12.
_Extract from the Dead Horse “Gazette and Courier of Civilization” of
August 26th, 1850_:
BONEGULCH’S BRITISHER.
Bonegulch sits in sackcloth and ashes and cools her mammoth cheek in the
breezes of Colorado canyon. The self-styled Emporium of the West has lost
her British darling, Beaver Bill, the big swell who was first cousin to
the Marquis of Buckingham and own grandmother to the Emperor of China, the
man with the biled shirt and low-necked shoes. This curled darling of the
Bonegulch aristocrat-worshippers passed through Deadhorse yesterday, clean
bust. Those who remember how the four-fingered editor of the Bonegulch
“Palladium” pricked up his ears and lifted up his falsetto crow when this
lovely specimen of the British snob first honored him by striking him for
a $ will appreciate the point of the joke.
It is said that the “Palladium” is going to come out, when it makes its
next semi-occasional appearance, in full mourning, with turned rules. For
this festive occasion we offer Brother B. the use of our late retired
Spanish font, which we have discarded for the new and elegant dress
in which we appear to-day, and to which we have elsewhere called the
attention of our readers. It will be a change for the “Palladium’s” eleven
unhappy readers, who are getting very tired of the old type cast for the
Concha Mission in 1811, which tries to make up for its lack of w’s by a
plentiful superfluity of greaser u’s. How are you, Brother Biles?
“We don’t know a gent when we see him.” Oh no (?)!
Document No. 13.
_Paragraph from “Police Court Notes,” in the New Centreville [late Dead
Horse] “Evening Gazette,” January 2d, 1858_:
HYMENEAL HIGH JINKS.
William Beaver, better known ten years ago as “Beaver Bill,” is now
a quiet and prosperous agriculturalist in the Steal Valley. He was,
however, a pioneer in the 1849 movement, and a vivid memory of this fact
at times moves him to quit his bucolic labors and come in town for a
real old-fashioned tare. He arrived in New Centreville during Christmas
week; and got married suddenly, but not unexpectedly, yesterday morning.
His friends took it upon themselves to celebrate the joyful occasion,
rare in the experience of at least one of the parties, by getting very
high on Irish Ike’s whiskey and serenading the newly-married couple with
fish-horns, horse-fiddles, and other improvised musical instruments.
Six of the participators in this epithalamial serenade, namely, José
Tanco, Hiram Scuttles, John P. Jones, Hermann Bumgardner, Jean Durant
(“Frenchy”), and Bernard McGinnis (“Big Barney”), were taken in tow by
the police force, assisted by citizens, and locked up over night, to cool
their generous enthusiasm in the gloomy dungeons of Justice Skinner’s
calaboose. This morning all were discharged with a reprimand, except Big
Barney and José Tanco, who, being still drunk, were allotted ten days in
default of $10. The bridal pair left this noon for the bridegroom’s ranch.
Document No. 14.
_Extract from “The New York Herald” for June 23d, 1861_:
THE RED SKINS.
A BORDER WAR AT LAST!
INDIAN INSURRECTION.
RED DEVILS RISING!
WOMEN AND CHILDREN SEEKING SAFETY IN THE LARGER TOWNS.
HORRIBLE HOLOCAUSTS ANTICIPATED.
BURYING THE HATCHET--IN THE WHITE MAN’S HEAD.
[SPECIAL DESPATCH TO THE NEW YORK HERALD.]
CHICAGO, June 22, 1861.
Great uneasiness exists all along the Indian frontier. Nearly all the
regular troops have been withdrawn from the West for service in the South.
With the return of the warm weather it seems certain that the red skins
will take advantage of the opportunity thus offered, and inaugurate a
bitter and vindictive fight against the whites. Rumors come from the
agencies that the Indians are leaving in numbers. A feverish excitement
among them has been easily to be detected. Their ponies are now in good
condition, and forage can soon be had in abundance on the prairie, if it
is not already. Everything points toward a sudden and startling outbreak
of hostilities.
[SPECIAL DESPATCH TO THE NEW YORK HERALD.]
ST. PAUL, June 22, 1861.
The Sioux near here are all in a ferment. Experienced Indian fighters say
the signs of a speedy going on the war-path are not to be mistaken. No one
can tell how soon the whole frontier may be in a bloody blaze. The women
and children are rapidly coming in from all exposed settlements. Nothing
overt as yet has transpired, but that the Indians will collide very soon
with the settlers is certain. All the troops have been withdrawn. In our
defenceless state there is no knowing how many lives may be lost before
the regiments of volunteers now organizing can take the field.
LATER.
THE WAR BEGUN.
FIRST BLOOD FOR THE INDIANS.
THE SCALPING KNIFE AND THE TOMAHAWK AT WORK AGAIN.
[SPECIAL DESPATCH TO THE NEW YORK HERALD.]
BLACK WING AGENCY, June 22, 1861.
The Indians made a sudden and unexpected attack on the town of Coyote
Hill, forty miles from here, last night, and did much damage before the
surprised settlers rallied and drove them off. The red skins met with
heavy losses. Among the whites killed are a man named William Beaver,
sometimes called Beaver Bill, and his wife. Their child, a beautiful
little girl of two, was carried off by the red rascals. A party has been
made up to pursue them. Owing to their taking their wounded with them, the
trail is very distinct.
Document No. 15.
_Letter from Mrs. Edgar Saville, in San Francisco, to Mr. Edgar Saville,
in Chicago._
[Illustration: CAL. JARDINE’S
MONSTER VARIETY AND DRAMATIC COMBINATION.
ON THE ROAD.]
_G. W. K. McCULLUM, Treasurer._
_HI. SAMUELS, Stage Manager._
_JNO. SHANKS, Advance._
_No dates filled except with first-class houses._
_Hall owners will please consider silence a polite negative._
SAN FRANCISCO, January 29, 1863.
MY DEAR OLD MAN!--Here we are in our second week at Frisco and you will
be glad to know playing to steadily increasing biz, having signed for two
weeks more, certain. I didn’t like to mention it when I wrote you last,
but things were very queer after we left Denver, and “Treasury” was a
mockery till we got to Bluefoot Springs, which is a mining town, where
we showed in the hotel dining-room. Then there was a strike just before
the curtain went up. The house was mostly miners in red shirts and very
exacting. The sinews were forthcoming very quick my dear, and after that
the ghost walked quite regular. So now everything is bright, and you won’t
have to worry if Chicago doesn’t do the right thing by you.
I don’t find this engagement half as disagreeable as I expected. Of course
it ain’t so very nice travelling in a combination with variety talent but
they keep to themselves and we regular professionals make a _happy family_
that Barnum would not be ashamed of and quite separate and comfortable.
We don’t associate with any of them only with The Unique Mulligans wife,
because he beats her. So when he is on a regular she sleeps with me.
And talking of liquor dear old man, if you knew how glad and proud I was
to see you writing so straight and steady and beautiful in your three last
letters. O, I’m sure my darling if the boys thought of the little wife
out on the road they wouldn’t plague you so with the Enemy. Tell Harry
Atkinson this from me, he has a good kind heart but he is the worst of
your friends. Every night when I am dressing I think of you at Chicago,
and pray you may never again go on the way you did that terrible night at
Rochester. Tell me dear, did you look handsome in Horatio? You ought to
have had Laertes instead of that duffing Merivale.
And now I have the queerest thing to tell you. Jardine is going in for
Indians and has secured six very ugly ones. I mean real Indians, not
professional. They are hostile Comanshies or something who have just laid
down their arms. They had an insurrection in the first year of the War,
when the troops went East, and they killed all the settlers and ranches
and destroyed the canyons somewhere out in Nevada, and when they were
brought here they had a wee little kid with them only four or five years
old, but _so sweet_. They stole her and killed her parents and brought her
up for their own in the cunningest little moccasins. She could not speak a
word of English except her own name which is Nina. She has blue eyes and
all her second teeth. The ladies here made a great fuss about her and sent
her flowers and worsted afgans, but they did not do anything else for her
and left her to us.
O dear old man you must let me have her! You never refused me a thing yet
and she is so like our Avonia Marie that my heart almost breaks when she
puts her arms around my neck--_she calls me mamma already_. I want to have
her with us when we get the little farm--and it must be near, that little
farm of ours--we have waited for it so long--and something tells me my
own old faker will make his hit soon and be great. You can’t tell how I
have loved it and hoped for it and how real every foot of that farm is to
me. And though I can never see my own darling’s face among the roses it
will make me so happy to see this poor dead mother’s pet get red and rosy
in the country air. And till the farm comes we shall always have enough
for her, without your ever having to black up again as you did for me the
winter I was sick my own poor boy!
Write me yes--you will be glad when you see her. And now love and regards
to Mrs. Barry and all friends. Tell the Worst of Managers that he knows
where to find his leading juvenile for next season. Think how funny it
would be for us to play together next year--we haven’t done it since
’57--the third year we were married. That was my first season higher than
walking--and now I’m quite an old woman--most thirty dear!
Write me soon a letter like that last one--and send a kiss to Nina--_our
Nina_.
Your own girl,
MARY.
P. S. He has not worried me since.
[Illustration]
Nina drew this herself she says it is a horse so that you can get here
soon.
PART THIRD.
Document No. 16.
_Letter from Messrs. Throstlethwaite, Throstlethwaite, and Dick,
Solicitors, Lincoln’s Inn, London, England, to Messrs. Hitchcock and Van
Rensselaer, Attorneys and Counsellors at Law, 76 Broadway, New York, U. S.
A._
January 8, 1879.
MESSRS. HITCHCOCK & VAN RENSSELAER:
GENTLEMEN: On the death of our late client, Sir William Beauvoir, Bart.,
and after the reading of the deceased gentleman’s will, drawn up nearly
forty years ago by our Mr. Dick, we were requested by Oliver Beauvoir,
Esq., the second son of the late Sir William, to assist him in discovering
and communicating with his elder brother, the present Sir William
Beauvoir, of whose domicile we have little or no information.
After a consultation between Mr. Oliver Beauvoir and our Mr. Dick, it was
seen that the sole knowledge in our possession amounted substantially to
this: Thirty years ago the elder son of the late baronet, after indulging
in dissipation in every possible form, much to the sorrow of his respected
parent, who frequently expressed as much to our Mr. Dick, disappeared,
leaving behind him bills and debts of all descriptions, which we, under
instructions from Sir William, examined, audited, and paid. Sir William
Beauvoir would allow no search to be made for his erring son and would
listen to no mention of his name. Current gossip declared that he had
gone to New York, where he probably arrived about midsummer, 1848. Mr.
Oliver Beauvoir thinks that he crossed to the States in company with a
distinguished scientific gentleman, Professor Titus Peebles. Within a
year after his departure news came that he had gone to California with
Professor Peebles; this was about the time gold was discovered in the
States. That the present Sir William Beauvoir did about this time actually
arrive on the Pacific Coast in company with the distinguished scientific
man above mentioned, we have every reason to believe: we have even direct
evidence on the subject. A former junior clerk, who had left us at about
the same period as the disappearance of the elder son of our late client,
accosted our Mr. Dick when the latter was in Paris last summer, and
informed him (our Mr. Dick) that he (the former junior clerk) was now a
resident of Nevada and a member of Congress for that county, and in the
course of conversation he mentioned that he had seen Professor Peebles
and the son of our late client in San Francisco, nearly thirty years ago.
Other information we have none. It ought not to be difficult to discover
Professor Peebles, whose scientific attainments have doubtless ere this
been duly recognized by the U. S. government. As our late client leaves
the valuable family estate in Lancashire to his elder son and divides the
remainder equally between his two sons, you will readily see why we invoke
your assistance in discovering the present domicile of the late baronet’s
elder son, or, in default thereof, in placing in our hand such proof of
his death as may be necessary to establish that lamentable fact in our
probate court.
We have the honour to remain, as ever, your most humble and obedient
servants,
THROSTLETHWAITE, THROSTLETHWAITE, & DICK.
P. S.--Our late client’s grandson, Mr. William Beauvoir, the only child
of Oliver Beauvoir, Esq., is now in the States, in Chicago or Nebraska or
somewhere in the West. We shall be pleased if you can keep him informed
as to the progress of your investigations. Our Mr. Dick has requested Mr.
Oliver Beauvoir to give his son your address, and to suggest his calling
on you as he passes through New York on his way home.
T. T. & D.
Document No. 17.
_Letter from Messrs. Hitchcock and Van Rensselaer, New York, to Messrs.
Pixley and Sutton, Attorneys and Counsellors at Law, 98 California Street,
San Francisco, California._
Law Offices of Hitchcock & Van Rensselaer,
76 Broadway, New York.
P. O. Box 4076.
Jan. 22, 1879.
MESSRS. PIXLEY AND SUTTON:
GENTLEMEN: We have just received from our London correspondents, Messrs.
Throstlethwaite, Throstlethwaite, and Dick, of Lincoln’s Inn, London,
the letter, a copy of which is herewith enclosed, to which we invite
your attention. We request that you will do all in your power to aid
us in the search for the missing Englishman. From the letter of Messrs.
Throstlethwaite, Throstlethwaite, and Dick, it seems extremely probable,
not to say certain, that Mr. Beauvoir arrived in your city about 1849, in
company with a distinguished English scientist, Professor Titus Peebles,
whose professional attainments were such that he is probably well known,
if not in California, at least in some other of the mining States. The
first thing to be done, therefore, it seems to us, is to ascertain the
whereabouts of the professor, and to interview him at once. It may be that
he has no knowledge of the present domicile of Mr. William Beauvoir, in
which case we shall rely on you to take such steps as, in your judgment,
will best conduce to a satisfactory solution of the mystery. In any event,
please look up Professor Peebles, and interview him at once.
Pray keep us fully informed by telegraph of your movements.
Yr obt serv’ts,
HITCHCOCK & VAN RENSSELAER.
Document No. 18.
_Telegram from Messrs. Pixley and Sutton, Attorneys and Counsellors at
Law, 98 California Street, San Francisco, California, to Messrs. Hitchcock
and Van Rensselaer, Attorneys and Counsellors at Law, 76 Broadway, New
York._
SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., Jan. 30.
Tite Peebles well known frisco not professor keeps faro bank.
PIXLEY & SUTTON. (D. H. 919.)
Document No. 19.
_Telegram from Messrs. Hitchcock and Van Rensselaer to Messrs. Pixley and
Sutton, in answer to the preceding._
NEW YORK, Jan. 30.
Must be mistake Titus Peebles distinguished scientist.
HITCHCOCK & VAN RENSSELAER
(Free. Answer to D. H.)
Document No. 20.
_Telegram from Messrs. Pixley and Sutton to Messrs. Hitchcock and Van
Rensselaer, in reply to the preceding._
SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., Jan. 30.
No mistake distinguished faro banker suspected skin game shall we
interview.
PIXLEY & SUTTON. (D. H. 919.)
Document No. 21.
_Telegram from Messrs. Hitchcock and Van Rensselaer to Messrs. Pixley and
Sutton, in reply to the preceding._
NEW YORK, Jan. 30.
Must be mistake interview anyway.
HITCHCOCK & VAN RENSSELAER.
(Free. Answer to D. H.)
Document No. 22.
_Telegram from Messrs. Pixley & Sutton to Messrs. Hitchcock and Van
Rensselaer, in reply to the preceding._
SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., Jan. 30.
Peebles out of town have written him.
PIXLEY & SUTTON. (D. H. 919.)
Document No. 23.
_Letter from Tite W. Peebles, delegate to the California Constitutional
Convention, Sacramento, to Messrs. Pixley and Sutton, 98 California
Street, San Francisco, California._
SACRAMENTO, Feb. 2, ’79.
MESSRS. PIXLEY & SUTTON: San Francisco.
GENTLEMEN: Your favor of the 31st ult., forwarded me from San Francisco,
has been duly rec’d, and contents thereof noted.
My time is at present so fully occupied by my duties as a delegate to the
Constitutional Convention that I can only jot down a brief report of my
recollections on this head. When I return to S. F., I shall be happy to
give you any further information that may be in my possession.
The person concerning whom you inquire was my fellow passenger on my first
voyage to this State on board the _Mercy G. Tarbox_, in the latter part
of the year. He was then known as Mr. William Beauvoir. I was acquainted
with his history, of which the details escape me at this writing. He was
a countryman of mine; a member of an important county family--Devonian, I
believe--and had left England on account of large gambling debts, of which
he confided to me the exact figure. I believe they totted up something
like £14,500.
I had at no time a very intimate acquaintance with Mr. Beauvoir; during
our sojourn on the _Tarbox_ he was the chosen associate of a depraved and
vicious character named Phœnix. I am not averse from saying that I was
then a member of a profession rather different to my present one, being,
in fact, professor of metallurgy, and I saw much less, at that period, of
Mr. B. than I probably should now.
Directly we landed at S. F., the object of your inquiries set out for the
gold region, without adequate preparation, like so many others did at that
time, and, I heard, fared very ill.
I encountered him some six months later; I have forgotten precisely in
what locality, though I have a faint impression that his then habitat was
some cañon or ravine deriving its name from certain osseous deposits.
Here he had engaged in the business of gold-mining, without, perhaps,
sufficient grounds for any confident hope of ultimate success. I have his
I. O. U. for the amount of my fee for assaying several specimens from his
claim, said specimens being all iron pyrites.
This is all I am able to call to mind at present in the matter of Mr.
Beauvoir. I trust his subsequent career was of a nature better calculated
to be satisfactory to himself; but his mineralogical knowledge was but
superficial; and his character was sadly deformed by a fatal taste for low
associates.
I remain, gentlemen, your very humble and obd’t servant,
TITUS W. PEEBLES.
P. S.--Private.
MY DEAR PIX: If you don’t feel inclined to pony up that little sum you are
out on the bay gelding, drop down to my place when I get back and I’ll
give you another chance for your life at the pasteboards. Constitution
going through.
Yours,
TITE.
PART FOURTH.
Document No. 24.
_Extract from the New Centreville [late Dead Horse] “Gazette and Courier
of Civilization,” December 20th, 1878_:
“Miss Nina Saville appeared last night at the Mendocino Grand Opera
House, in her unrivalled specialty of _Winona, the Child of the
Prairies_; supported by Tompkins and Frobisher’s Grand Stellar
Constellation. Although Miss Saville has long been known as one of
the most promising of California’s younger tragediennes, we feel
safe in saying that the impression she produced upon the large
and cultured audience gathered to greet her last night stamped
her as one of the greatest and most phenomenal geniuses of our
own or other times. Her marvellous beauty of form and feature,
added to her wonderful artistic power, and her perfect mastery
of the difficult science of clog-dancing, won her an immediate
place in the hearts of our citizens, and confirmed the belief
that California need no longer look to Europe or Chicago for
dramatic talent of the highest order. The sylph-like beauty, the
harmonious and ever-varying grace, the vivacity and the power of
the young artist who made her maiden effort among us last night,
prove conclusively that the virgin soil of California teems with
yet undiscovered fires of genius. The drama of _Winona, the Child
of the Prairies_, is a pure, refined, and thoroughly absorbing
entertainment, and has been pronounced by the entire press of
the country equal to if not superior to the fascinating _Lady of
Lyons_. It introduces all the favorites of the company in new
and original characters, and with its original music, which is a
prominent feature, has already received over 200 representations
in the principal cities in the country. It abounds in effective
situations, striking tableaux, and a most quaint and original
concert entitled ‘The Mule Fling,’ which alone is worth the price
of admission. As this is the first presentation in this city, the
theatre will no doubt be crowded, and seats should be secured early
in the day. The drama will be preceded by that prince of humorists,
Mr. Billy Barker, in his humorous sketches and pictures from life.”
We quote the above from our esteemed contemporary, the Mendocino
_Gazette_, at the request of Mr. Zeke Kilburn, Miss Saville’s advance
agent, who has still further appealed to us, not only on the ground of
our common humanity, but as the only appreciative and thoroughly informed
critics on the Pacific Slope to “endorse” this rather vivid expression of
opinion. Nothing will give us greater pleasure. Allowing for the habitual
enthusiasm of our northern neighbor, and for the well-known chaste aridity
of Mendocino in respect of female beauty, we have no doubt that Miss Nina
Saville is all that the fancy, peculiarly opulent and active even for an
advance agent, of Mr. Kilburn has painted her, and is quite such a vision
of youth, beauty, and artistic phenomenality as will make the stars of
Paris and Illinois pale their ineffectual fires.
Miss Saville will appear in her “unrivalled specialty” at Hank’s New
Centreville Opera House, to-morrow night, as may be gathered, in a
general way, from an advertisement in another column.
We should not omit to mention that Mr. Zeke Kilburn, Miss Saville’s
advance agent, is a gentleman of imposing presence, elegant manners, and
complete knowledge of his business. This information may be relied upon as
at least authentic, having been derived from Mr. Kilburn himself, to which
we can add, as our own contribution, the statement that Mr. Kilburn is a
gentleman of marked liberality in his ideas of spirituous refreshments,
and of equal originality in his conception of the uses, objects and
personal susceptibilities of the journalistic profession.
Document No. 25.
_Local item from the “New Centreville Standard,” December 20th, 1878_:
Hon. William Beauvoir has registered at the United States Hotel. Mr.
Beauvoir is a young English gentleman of great wealth, now engaged in
investigating the gigantic resources of this great country. We welcome him
to New Centreville.
Document No. 26.
_Programme of the performance given in the Centreville Theatre, Dec. 21st,
1878_:
HANKS’ NEW CENTREVILLE OPERA HOUSE.
A. JACKSON HANKS Sole Proprietor and Manager.
FIRST APPEARANCE IN THIS CITY OF
TOMPKINS & FROBISHER’S
GRAND STELLAR CONSTELLATION,
Supporting California’s favorite daughter, the young American
Tragedienne,
MISS NINA SAVILLE,
Who will appear in Her Unrivalled Specialty,
“WINONA, THE CHILD OF THE PRAIRIE.”
THIS EVENING, December 21st, 1878,
Will be presented, with the following phenomenal cast, the accepted
American Drama,
WINONA, THE CHILD OF THE PRAIRIE.
WINONA }
MISS FLORA MACMADISON }
BIDDY FLAHERTY }
OLD AUNT DINAH (with Song, “Don’t Get Weary”) } Miss NINA
SALLY HOSKINS (with the old-time melody, } SAVILLE.
“Bobbin’ Around”) }
POOR JOE (with Song) }
FRAULINE LINA BOOBENSTEIN (with stammering }
Song, “I yoost landet”) }
SIR EDMOND BENNETT (specially engaged) E. C. GRAINGER
WALTON TRAVERS G. W. PARSONS
GIPSY JOE M. ISAACS
’ANNABLE ’ORACE ’IGGINS BILLY BARKER
TOMMY TIPPER MISS MAMIE SMITH
PETE, the Man on the Dock SI HANCOCK
MRS. MALONE, the Old Woman in the Little House MRS. K. Y. BOOTH
ROBERT BENNETT (aged 5) LITTLE ANNIE WATSON
Act I.--The Old Home.