sits to his old friend
Stuart as being the happiest hours of his life. Some little time after
the sham burial Mrs. Annie May Druce came to Mrs. Hamilton's father's
house, and was introduced to Mrs. Hamilton as "Mrs. Druce." Another
statement was made by Mrs. F. M. Wright, nee Robinson, nee Weatherell,
who said that when she was 20 years of age she lived near the
Baker-street Bazaar, owned by Mr. T.C. Druce, and frequently saw that
gentleman. After the supposed death and burial of Mr. Druce she saw him
often, and in her mind he was identical with the Duke of Portland. As to
her knowledge of the Duke her father was in the service of his Grace
when she was a young girl, and she was familiar with his features. Mr.
Druce had a large bump on the left side of his forehead, which appeared
to have been caused by a blow. The Duke also had a bump, and in her
opinion this resemblance was evidence that the owner of the Baker-street
Bazaar and the Duke were one and the same person. While these statements
were causing some amount of public interest there was a new development
in this extraordinary case. The legal proceedings commenced by Mrs.
Druce were widely reported in the Press and accounts of them reached
Australia, where they were read by a man pursuing the calling of a
miner. His name is Mr. George Hollamby Druce, who put forward a prior
claim to the Dukedom than that urged by Mrs. Druce on behalf of her son.

His contention is that the Duke, as T.C. Druce, married in October,
1816, Miss Elizabeth Crickmer, of Bury St. Edmunds, by whom he had a son
named George. This youth took to a sea-faring life and eventually
settled in Australia, where he had a son, namely Mr. George Hollamby
Druce, whose claim to the title takes precedence of that set up by Mrs.
Druce for the offspring of the second marriage with Annie May Berkeley.

The question of the exhumation of the body appears to be involved in
legal technicalities as to the ownership of the vault. At one time it
was vested in the son of Mrs. Druce who commenced the litigation. Then
there appeared this other claimant, Mr. George Hollamby Druce, and it is
said that the present owner of the vault, Mr. Herbert Druce, is not in
favour of complying with Mr. G.H. Druce's wish to open it, therefore the
secret of the grave remains unrevealed.

THE END

* * * * *

_The Anchor Press, Ltd., Tiptree Heath, Essex._

End of Project Gutenberg's The Por