one through the ceremony of marriage in those names, and on
this occasion the wedding was celebrated in a Roman Catholic chapel.
By applying to Mr. Gibbes, Mr. Mackenzie then discovered that the
Claimant, before leaving Australia, had given instructions for a will,
which was subsequently drawn up and executed by him, in which he
pretended to dispose of the Tichborne estates, and described
properties in various counties, all of which were purely fictitious.
The Tichborne family had not, and never had, any such estates as were
there elaborately set forth, nor did any such estates exist; and the
will contained no bequest, nor indeed any allusion to a solitary
member of Roger's family except his mother, whom it described as Lady
"Hannah Frances Tichborne," though her Christian names were, in fact,
"Henriette Felicite." Mr. Gibbes explained that it was the knowledge
which this document seemed to display of the Tichborne estates and
family which induced him to advance money, and that the Dowager Lady
Tichborne's letters being merely signed "H.F. Tichborne," he had
inserted the Christian names, "Hannah Frances," on the authority of
his client. Lastly, Mr. Mackenzie learnt that there had been a butcher
in Wagga-Wagga named Schottler, and that Higgins's slaughter-man, known
as Tom Castro, had once told some one that he had known Schottler's
family, and lived very near their house when he was a boy. Schottler
had disappeared, but he was believed to have originally come from
London. This information was slight, but it appeared to the shrewd Mr.
Mackenzie to be valuable. If the Schottlers were known to Tom Castro
as neighbours when he was a boy in London, it would seem to be only
necessary to find the Schottler family in order to discover who the
Claimant to the Tichborne estates really was. After much trouble,
though Schottler was not discovered, a clue was found. The solicitor
to the defendants in the Chancery suits obtained old directories of
London, and discovered that there was one Schottler, who had kept a
public-house, called The Ship and Punchbowl, in High Street, Wapping.
In that direction, therefore, inquiries were instituted. The
Schottlers had, it was found, gone and left no trace, but it was easy
to instruct a detective to inquire after old neighbours, to show them
a portrait of the Claimant, and to ask if any one in that locality
recognised the features. At last the man prosecuting inquiries found
himself in the Globe