t, about a mile from the town,
a beautiful specimen--one of the only three remaining--of the crosses
which a king of England raised to commemorate the places where his
beloved wife's body rested on her last journey to Westminster. It lay
one night at the abbey, and, whilst that is almost obliterated, the
cross remains almost perfect after centuries have elapsed, and served
mainly as the model for that which has recently been erected close to
Charing Cross, where formerly another of these memorials marked the
last halt of the royal funereal cortege.

Mr. Edward Bouverie had several sons, and on the marriage of
the eldest Delapre Abbey and the estates attached to it were, in
conformity to common usage in England, settled upon the children of
this marriage, and, failing issue, on the general's younger brothers
and their sons in succession. The general's marriage proved childless,
his next brother also left no issue, and at length no son remained but
a certain somewhat ne'er-do-weel, Frank.

Frank was an officer in the army. Whilst quartered in the north of
Ireland he had fallen in love with a girl beneath him in station, and,
greatly to the disgust of his family, married her. His father, who was
deeply imbued with aristocratic prejudices, ceased to hold intercourse
with him, and except that occasional communications passed between
him and his mother, his relations with his family ceased. At length
he died, and as it became evident that his brothers would never
have children, Frank's son was obviously the heir. Under these
circumstances the family offered terms to the mother if she would
give up her son altogether and consent to his being bred a Protestant.
These overtures she declined. The advice of leading lawyers was then
sought, but they declared that the settlement of the property could
not by any possibility be set aside. Meanwhile the case suddenly
assumed a new aspect.

About twelve years ago a lady of prodigious energy and perseverance
made her appearance in the law courts of London, who was bent on
proving the legitimacy of her grandfather. By "much wearying" she
prevailed upon Lord Brougham to introduce a bill which became known as
the "Legitimacy Declaration Act." By the provisions of this measure
a person who believes himself heir to a property may cite all persons
interested to come in at once and show cause why he should not be
adjudged rightful heir and representative of a given person and
estate.

Fra