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`How do you do, Mr. Dalton? How is cousin Appollonia?' was the salutation
of the threadbare scholar to the rich India merchant, as, doubtful
whether to turn about and run away or enter his counting-room, he stood
hesitating upon its threshold.

Now, to a man so purse-proud, and who was at all times so solicitous to
`cut' poor relations, whether his own or his wife's, as Peter Dalton, this was
a familiarity of address, coupled, as it was, with the levelling word `cousin,
' which was exceedingly distasteful to his pride and self-respect. Looking
furtively round to see if his clerks had overheard the word, he seemed
relieved to observe that they were all busy. He then, without replying,
stepped back towards the outer door, and beckoned Henry Decker to him.
This person slightly smiled and obeyed the sign, well understanding its
motive. Mr. Decker was now a pale, intellectual-looking man, about thirty-eight
years of age. Born of poor parents, educated as a beneficiary, he
was, up to this time, poor. He had studied the law, keeping a school at
the same time, after quitting college, but a natural diffidence and sensitiveness
deterred him from ever practising at the bar. He, therefore, continued
to keep school, and had now for sixteen years been teacher of the
academy in his native village. His income was small and afforded him few
luxuries of life; but these to him were books, in selecting a library of which
he expended every dollar his sustenance and wardrobe did not necessarily
lay claim to. Fond of study, and happy in his profession as a teacher, this
poor but respectable person passed his life without care, and commanding
the respect of all whose regard was of any value. Though, like Peter Dalton,
of an obscure family, education, as it ever does, had refined his manners
and made him a gentleman intuitively.

As he now appeared before the rich merchant, there was nothing in his
appearance that Peter need be ashamed of. It is true he looked like a decayed
gentleman, but GENTLEMAN he evidently was to every eye but Peter's.
But Mr. Dalton knew him to be poor; and as poverty in any one, much
more in a relation, was unpardonable in his eyes, he believed all others
would look upon him just as he did, and that their contempt for him would
be reflected upon himself. He therefore resolved to get rid of him as speedily
as possible. So, after glancing his eye over his neat but well worn and

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often patched attire, he said in a pompous tone, as if a man's gold should
make him superior to him who possesses a mine of intellect which eternity
will ever be working and never exhaust.

`So, Mr. Decker, you have come to Boston again. I should suppose for
a poor man a trip from Framingham to Boston so often would be expensive.
'

`It is something so, cousin,' said Mr. Decker, with an emphasis on the
last word; for he was not blind to Peter's failing, and having a vein of quiet
humor in his composition, he was willing to indulge it; `but I cannot be
said to come often, as this is but the fourth time in twelve years. I am glad
to find you looking so well and are prospering.'

`Humph!' ejaculated Peter to himself; `he thinks I am prospering for
the benefit of his pocket. But he'll get no money of me.' And he involuntarily
buttoned up his coat, and looked a whole Board of Bank Directors
refusing to discount paper for a man they suspect not to be `good.'

Henry Decker smiled, for he plainly read his thought: and Peter replied
aloud,

`Hard times, sir! no money! Banks refuse to discount! Pray excuse
me, sir, I have to see a broker on 'Change, and I am five minutes past the
hour;' he added, taking out and displaying, ostentatiously, a massive gold
watch, loaded with seals.

`I—I am sorry to detain you, cousin, but I have a small favor to ask of
you.'

`I thought so,' growled the merchant in an under tone. Poor relations
are natural beggars—born to annoy and disgrace people. `I have no time!'
he said gruffly.

`But, it may be for your interest to listen to me a moment,' said Mr. Decker,
unmoved. `But, if you are now so busy, I will call another time.'

`The word `interest,' coupled with the individual personal pronoun, when
aimed at Peter's ears, never failed to penetrate. He stopped, and said in a
tone less caustic—`Oh, if it be a matter of business, Mr. Decker, that alters
the case,' and at the same time he wondered what could be the nature
of any business which the schoolmaster could have with him. `I will let
the broker wait, if you will be expeditious.'

`As this is a personal family matter, perhaps it would be as well to be
where we could be uninterrupted for a few moments,' said Henry Decker
in a quiet way; for hitherto they had been standing in the door in front,
and through which busy people were continually hurrying.

The rich man stared at the boldness of such a suggestion from a poor relation,
but his acquisitiveness being awakened by the word `interest,' he
said, apologetically for his supreme condescension, as he led the way to an
inner connting room—

`This must be some extraordinary matter, Mr. Decker, to require this
privacy;' and then the idea came over him that he wanted to borrow some

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money of him; but it occuring very reasonably to his mind that such an
operation could not be mutually for their interest, he rejected the suspicion
and closing the door as he was wont to do in consultation with men of business,
he waited with a serene eye for the schoolmaster's communication.
To a spectator too distant to detect the threadbare condition of his black
suit, Mr. Decker was the gentleman of the store, and Peter some vulgar
fellow in his employ, dressed up in a Sunday coat, for Peter always wore
shining broadcloth, as well he might; it was all the gentleman he could lay
claim to.

`You are aware, Mr. Dalton,' said Henry Decker, after he had taken the
chair Peter directed him with his eye to occupy, `that my cousin, Appollonia—
'

Here the wealthy India Merchant gravely interrupted him:

`Mr. Decker, it might be very well, perhaps, if you were a brother, even
in your humble situation, to make use of the term signifying the relationship;
but for one who is but a cousin to Mrs. Dalton, and in such a different
condition in society, to be constantly dragging in his cousinship by the
ears and tail, is going a little too far.'

`I beg your pardon, sir, and that of Mrs. Dalton,' said Henry Decker,
successfully assuming the look of a man who felt the reproof; `I trust I
shall not so far forget myself a second time.'

`I hope not. You know riches kills, or ought to, all relationship. I
would not acknowledge my own father, if he were alive and should come
into my counting room in open day, and any body was in it.'

`No? I have heard your father was poor and humble, but I did not
know before that he was such a very low fellow.' said Henry dryly, and
with the keenest irony, yet looking as simple as a child.

The merchant colored, and tried, though not very successfully, to correct
the impression made by his unlucky speech. He felt deeply the sarcasm of
the poor scholar, and for a moment there was an awkward silence, during
which the student pulled from his coat pocket a well-worn newspaper,
which after opening, and laying his finger on a paragraph, he said,

`As I began to remark, you are aware Mr. Dalton, that your wife and
myself are cousins-german.'

`I need not be reminded of it, sir,' replied the merchant freezingly.

`She is the daughter of Ira Bulley, and I, the son of Ann Bulley, his sister
who was married to Edward Decker, a sea-captain.'

`No doubt your genealogy is very interesting to yourself, Mr. Decker,'
said Peter coldly, `but I beg to remind you that a merchant's time is his
money. You were to show me something for my interest.'

`And if you will be patient, Mr. Dalton I will redeem my pledge,' said
Henry Decker quietly. `Ira Bulley, who is now deceased, and my mother
who is with God, were the only children of James Bulley, who was the
only child of Andrew Brown Bulley, who was an officer of the customs

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under the colonial government. His father was Thomas Bulley an English—
'

Here Peter sprung from his chair with indignant contempt.

`What are your Tom Bulls and your Brown Bulls, and your English
Bulls to me sir? If you have nothing better to entertain yourself with
this folly, I beg leave to bid you a very good morning!' and Mr. Dalton
made three decided strides towards the door and laid his hand upon the
knob. Henry Decker did not move, but looked as if he expected to be
heard out. Peter saw his manner was imposing as if something did really
lie at the bottom of all this, and resuming his chair with a force that nearly
dislocated it, said peevishly:

`If you have anything to say of importance to me, pray out with it.'

`If you had not interrupted me, I should now have got through.'

`Then go on, and the better speed to it will make better welcome.'

`This Thomas Bulley, the GREAT grandsire of your wife and of myself,
(I beg pardon for this necessary conjunction of my name with hers) we
have been taught by an indistinct tradition, was the younger son of a nobleman,
but of what rank or name was not handed down.'

`Yes, yes, I have heard something of the relationship of my wife's to a
noble family,' said Peter trying to look indifferent to the honor, which it
was plain he hugged to his bosom: `but he is the true nobleman, sir, let
me tell you, who has made his own fortune, and inherited nothing from
posterity.'

`Ancestry, doubtless you mean,' said the school master dryly, `well sir,
this may be the opinion of some men, especially those who have been the
builders of their own name,—who like you have risen from obscurity and
the dregs of society.'

`Do you mean to insult me in my own counting room?' said Peter
angrily.

`I am but commenting upon your own text, and did not mean to give
offence. You were boasting of making your own name, and certainly did
but little while ago, give me to understand that your father was such a disreputable
person that you would not openly recognise him, were he living.
This was spoken so calmly, yet so firmly, that Peter could say nothing; and
Henry Decker having succeeded in his wish of humbling his purse-proud
relation, continued:

`My object in now coming to Boston is, as we are mutually interested, at
least in the honor of the annexion, to show you this paragraph, and consult
with you as to the steps necessary to be taken in the premises.'

Here Peter's eyes brightened up, and he began to show signs of being
interested, and the scholar read as follows from the newspaper, which
Peter saw to his surprise was a copy of the London Times.

`We learn that the recent decree of Lord Aylmer has left this ancient
title without any lineal representation, his lordship having died a bachelor.

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The vast estates and title of this Earldom will, therefore, have to pass collaterally.
It is not yet ascertained at the Herald's College who will inherit,
but it is certain the descent will be to a remote branch, of which we learn
there is no representation left in England. The family name is Bouillie,
the origin being Norman. The line failing in the person of the late Earl,
will have to reascend to a younger brother, five descents back, who, on account
of some difference of his elder brother with him, for marrying beneath
himself, quit England in disgust, and, it is known, went to the New
England Colony, where he died about the time of the revolutionary outbreak,
leaving heirs of his body. Some one descended from this Thomas
Bouillie; if any in the male line shall be found by the College of Heralds,
will succeed to the vacant Earldom. It is said the Lord Chancellor is pursuing
measures to have the true heir brought to light, and that the primary
steps usual in such cases, are already taken.'

Henry Decker having finished reading this announcement, cast his eyes
upon the merchant, who had listened with evident interest, and who when
he had done said,

`Let me see that paper, Mr. Decker. Ah, this name is spelled Bouille,'
he said with a look of disappointment; `your mother's was Bulley. At the
first I thought you and my wife might be interested in this business. But
the two names are very different.'

`In spelling, but not in sound. And nothing is more frequent than to
find the orthography of old English names changed after their importation
to this country.'

`Poh, poh! there is nothing in it,' said Peter, contemptuously. `But
where did you come by that London paper?' he asked, his commercial eye
running over the `Shipping' and `Price Currents.'

`In our village is an English gardener, a very intelligent and respectable
person, who has a London paper sent to him occasionally by a brother who
is living there. He has always been so civil as to send me the paper after
reading it; and last week as I was perusing this copy of the Times, my
eye lit upon this paragraph, the reading of which gave me no little surprise,
and excited in me some ambition to make an effort to climb to the
promised distinction—for I am the only male heir to Thomas Bulley.'

`If this should be so, of which I do not believe a word, and the descent
is in the male line, how, I want to know, my Lord Bulley, is my wife to
benefit by it.'

`By elevation of rank. She would become a countess by right I think
certainly in courtesy as being an Earl's sister! Besides, should I die without
an heir, your eldest son would succeed to the title!'

For a moment Peter's head was giddy with the vision presented to his
ambition and pride. The idea that his wife might become a countess, and
his son a lord, dazzled him! But it was only while the titles were tinkling
in his ears. The schoolmaster, in his threadbare coat before him, had first

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to become an English Earl before these dazzling dreams would be realized;
and when he thought how little probability there was of that, he laughed
with a sardonic aspect, and said contemptuously—

`This is all very well to amuse children with, Mr. Decker, and you had
best go back and astonish your scholars with the tale. So long as Bulley
and Bouillie are two different names, Henry Decker and an English nobleman
will be two different personages.'

Thus speaking the merchant rose and was going out, when the scholar
detained him:

`I am positive the names are identical.'

`But how can you prove your title to the Lord Chancellor?' retorted Peter,
scornfully. `I will have nothing to do with it.'

`I shall have no difficulty if—' Here the schoolmaster hesitated.

`If what?' growled the merchant, half guessing what was coming. If,'
continued Henry Decker, without regarding his chilly manner, `if I could
obtain a loan of sufficient funds, say three hundred dollars, to enable me
to take passage to England and lay my proofs before the proper court.

`I would have sworn money was at the bottom after all!' snarled the
merchant; `but I have no money to spare, Mr. Decker, and if I had, I have
no faith in your pretensions.'

`But—'

`What security can you offer?' he demanded with a malicious sneer.

`None save that the chances of my success more than counterbalance
the risk!'

`I have no money to give away! If you want money you must go to
them as can afford to heave it away on fools. You have no more chance
of proving yourself heir to that dead lord than I have of being king of
Congo. I have trifled away too much time with you, or rather you have
trifled too much of it away with me, and I bid you a very good day my
lord.'

Thus addressing him, he threw open the door of the counting room and
stood by it until Mr. Decker came out. He then accompanied him to the
door and bade him good day, adding:

`I will not fail to remember your lordship to the countess at home, and
especially to my son the hopeful Lord Isaac.'

Henry Decker took all the rudeness of the rich man, with that quiet dignity
which consciousness of superiority made him feel, and without showing
anger or cringing fear, calmly left the store of the India merchant.

He took his way directly towards the Probate Court for the purpose of
examining its ancient records, where he was confident from the coincidence
of facts studied in the Times paper, he should find his mother's name
spelled differently from its present modern orthography.

He obtained access to the records he wished to examine, and after a long
search as far back as the year 1764, and to his delighted surprise, he found

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the name of Thomas Bouillie as the executor of a will. An e was wanting
to make the name similar to that in the Times. It now occurred to
him that if Thomas Bouillie was of sufficient condition and estate to be appointed
executor of a will, he might have had property, and left a will himself.
At length after a long and laborious search he found such a will and
appended to it in a good bold hand, the signature of Thomas Bouillie.
On reading it, he saw that the testator declared himself, `of Aylmershire,
England, Gent.'

`This is clear enough,' exclaimed the school-master. `This Thomas
Bouillie was that brother of Lord Aylmer named in the paragraph in the
newspaper. Now to prove myself his lineal descent. I am no lawyer,
and have little means to pay one, nevertheless I must consult one; for
though I am certainly his only living male descendant, I must prove the
fact before the Chancery Court of England, for which, I shall not certainly
apply to my purse-proud ignorant cousin!'

It so chanced that there was an eminent lawyer in Boston whose son
during a summer's visit at a relations in the country, had been a pupil of
Henry Decker. Of him he now thought, and knowing him to be as honest
and upright as he was learned and able, he determined to call on him and
lay the whole matter open before him. With this resolution, he left the
Court of Probate, taking with him a brief minute of what facts he there
gathered in relation to Thomas Bouillie, and was soon closeted with the
intelligent lawyer he had selected for his legal adviser.

The reader who is sufficiently interested in the progress of the events of
this narrative is refered for their result to the sequel of the present story,
which will be found in chapter III.

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