This Matthew married at fifty-three years of age, and died a year after his marriage, leaving one son, who afterwards became the reverend intestate; with whom, according to the evidence at present before me, ends the direct line of the Haygarths." The lawyer paused, turned over two or three papers, and then resumed his explanation.

"The sanctimonious grocer, Jonathan Haygarth, had one other child besides the son--a daughter called Ruth, who married a certain Peter Judson, and became the mother of a string of sons and daughters; and it is amongst the descendants of these Judsons that we may have to look for our heir at law, unless we find him nearer home.

Now my idea is that we _shall_ find him nearer home." "What reason have you for forming that idea ?" asked Valentine.
"I will tell you.

This Matthew Haygarth is known to have been a wild fellow.

I obtained a good deal of fragmentary information about him from an old man in some almshouses at Ullerton, whose grandfather was a schoolfellow of Matthew's.