"NO STORY."

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 201, 25 August 1919, Page 7

"NO STORY."

SEARCH FOR AN AUCKLAND ! EARL. THEY DON'T GROW HERE. An ancient earldom and a young Auck- ' lander's belief that he was the rightful '■ heir to it provided a member of the "Star" reporting staff to-day with what looked at lirst like a "story"' such as would gladden the heart of Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett, that well-known weaver of peerage romances. The tale, as originally propounded, was that a young man, following a humble occupation in the city. had received authentic information that he was the missing heir to a famous earldom, and that only a few formalities were required before he might go home |to England, don a robe and coronet, and settle down upon fat and spacious ancestral estates, now without an owner. It was also reporfid that certain newspaper clippings had arrived from England, and that the young man's companions.in the. office where he worked had presented him with a semi humorous address of congratulation. , The particulars were explicit, and the reporter had no trouble in running Ihe ■ young man to earth. lie was modest about the matter, said that he had heard something of an earldom going begging in the family, but blamed some of his relations for, as he put it. keeping him in the dark about Ihe good fortune that was in stoic for him. The reporter naturally wanted to know what title the young man claimed, and in answer to his I question was given the name of an earlI dom three or four hundred years old at least. Apart from this, the expectant heir was decidedly vague, but said that he had found out the family crest and was having a suitable signet ring made. Also he had written to I'jiglaiid. He referred the newspaper man to an uncle of bis, living in cue of the nearer suburbs. This uncle. he said. was friendly, and knew more about it than anyone else. The uncle, when unearthed with some difficulty in a back street of a rather unfashionable neighbourhood, proved to he a loquacious old gentleman, with blue epeetaeles and- ;) great fund of reminiscence- of tiie W'aikato War. which he hail evidently watched from the out..kirts of the crowd. He quite agreed that he was a distant relative of -the earl, but didn't seem to be worried by the reflected glory. It was a rather dim reflection, apparently. He thought his father was the earl's cousin, but anyway, he knew that there was a whole 'string of heirs in England. Yes, it was quirt- true that he had told his | nephew something about it. "I thought lit would be good for tile boy." he explained, with something very like a j wink. --I didn't want him to think he lea from a gutter family, you knew. He hasn't got an earthly chance. Still, I it'll do him good." The reporter sidestepped some moic W'aikato War reminiscences, and departed amid a fusil- ■ lade of the old gentleman's speculation* ! about the good time he'd have if he had .i* much wraith as tl arl. Obviou-ly. "l'.urkc" and "Hebre-tt" were the next objectives. These ponI dennis work- of reference bore out ev--1 uetlv what the old gentleman had said. The'earl had a ID year-old son and two i younger brothers. bo;.h of whom were shown to be married, and were presumably father- of families. Into the bar • •■am, ihe noble earl had no less than three daughter., and live sisters-—some j married and some not. Alas for hopes for Ihe young man's I hope-; of wealth and fame and so also j for the rcpoitc-Cs hopes of a "scoop!"