THE ROMANCE OF CHESLYN HALL. ii 



came back to their office, and their whole business came 

 to an end. I believe the poor widow received about ^s. 

 in the £ ; Mr. Cheslyn Hall had appropriated ^icoo of 

 her fortune to stave off some pressing claims, and had 

 kept the remainder for his own uses. 



If it had not been for this disgraceful transaction 

 some sort of sympathy would have been felt for the 

 Halls, as it was discovered that at the death of their 

 father the estate was already hopelessly insolvent. 

 After the utter wreck of the firm the brothers went 

 abroad, and were maintained by the subscriptions of 

 their old friends and ,;by the former recipients of their 

 bounty and hospitality. The Hon. R. Grimston sent 

 Cheslyn many a five-pound note, and Mr. Sam Baker^ 

 who himself had been shamefully treated by his friend, 

 supported him for some time. At last it was found that 

 this reckless lawyer was living on his wits somewhere 

 on the sea-coast of Devonshire ; that his easy, agreeable 

 manners, his good looks, and the peculiar faculty he had 

 of ingratiating himself with all with whom he came in 

 contact, gave him the entree into such society as he 

 could find there. Amongst others, the captain of the 

 Coastguard service became his patron, introduced him 

 to his friends, and a right good time Cheslyn Hall had, 

 till at last one and the other began to compare notes, 

 when it was found that he had borrowed money of his 

 new friends all round — from some £^, some £\0, and 

 from others one or two sovereigns at a time — and the 

 captain was desired to inform him that they must part 

 friends, and that he had better remove to another sphere. 

 Cheslyn Hall had been lodging in a snug little cottage. 



