_filius nullius_. Let
that be as it may; no bastard should lord it at Wychecombe; and rather
than the king; should get the lands, to bestow on some favourite, I
would give it to the half-blood."

"Can that be done without making a will, brother Thomas?"

"It cannot, Sir Wycherly; nor with a will, so long as an heir of entail
can be found."

"Is there no way of making Tom a _filius somebody_, so that _he_ can
succeed?"

"Not under our laws. By the civil law, such a thing might have been
done, and by the Scotch law; but not under the perfection of reason."

"I wish you knew this young Virginian! The lad bears both of my names,
Wycherly Wychecombe."

"He is not a _filius Wycherly_--is he, baronet?"

"Fie upon thee, brother Thomas! Do you think I have less candour than
thyself, that I would not acknowledge my own flesh and blood. I never
saw the youngster, until within the last six months, when he was landed
from the roadstead, and brought to Wychecombe, to be cured of his
wounds; nor ever heard of him before. When they told me his name was
Wycherly Wychecombe, I could do no less than call and see him. The poor
fellow lay at death's door for a fortnight; and it was while we had
little or no hope of saving him, that I got the few family anecdotes
from him. Now, that would be good evidence in law, I believe, Thomas."

"For certain things, had the lad really died. Surviving, he must be
heard on his _voire dire_, and under oath. But what was his tale?"

"A very short one. He told me his father was a Wycherly Wychecombe, and
that his grandfather had been a Virginia planter. This was all he seemed
to know of his ancestry."

"And probably all there was of them. My Tom is not the _filius nullius_
that has been among us, and this grandfather, if he has not actually
stolen the name, has got it by these doubtful means. As for the
Wycherly, it should pass for nothing. Learning that there is a line of
baronets of this name, every pretender to the family would be apt to
call a son Wycherly."

"The line will shortly be ended, brother," returned Sir Wycherly,
sighing. "I wish you might be mistaken; and, after all, Tom shouldn't
prove to be that _filius_ you call him."

Mr. Baron Wychecombe, as much from _esprit de corps_ as from moral
principle, was a man of strict integrity, in all things that related to
_meum_ and _tuum_. He was particularly rigid in his notions concerning
the transmission of real estate, and the rights of