AFTER MANY YEARS

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 161, 1 April 1908, Page 5

AFTER MANY YEARS

;■ r —7—v./,; • ; \ ROMANCE IN REAL LIFE. A STORX ■ WITH A HAPPY ENDING. [fcr TELEGH.irn.—SrECIAI. COKEESrONDENT.] ; Auckland, March. 30. . ■ A" strange romance 111 real lifo has just been unearthed by the "Herald." Recently, in:'the supplement.' of tliafc paper appeared a. letter'from'a Mrs. E. Uinns, who wroto from' AVcst Hartlepool, Durham, England! seeking' 1 information ■ of her . parents, whom / she nSunccK as Grubb. She stated that 50; ■ years ago they left her at Homo in charge of' friends,-; and. sho had lost all trace of them. . The publication of this letter re-. 1 gulted'in a jcommunication from-the Thames as;tb'a'Mrs. Grubb residing thero being identical with the mother of Mrs. Binns. A representative of the-"Herald" was sent to the ~ Thames/: and found this to be actually the case..-- Tho; result of his investigations - there appears to-day in the.-shape of-an uu- • ' ■ usually.- interesting..narrative. In tho course -of it ithorwriter.. says. -\ . . The Cold. Rush Days. , < . , • , In-'tho -year, J856 or thereabouts tho late Richard'. : James : Grjibb, ' >moro i-familiarly known .m-tho-old Nelson gold rush days and " later-at tho Thames as "Dick" Grubb,.then residing un'thc Old Country-with his wife and -thrqo little girls, -was smitten with tho go!d:fover dreams of,fabulous- .-wealth to be picked - up- by • tho venturesome, at -Nelson, : New Zealand. He and his wife, thereupon toolupassages for-themselves. and/family for this country. - Two ..-or three . da}S before t their .vessel it so fell . out that tho eldest -child, "Emma Louisa -who,- according to the'fly leif- of .an ancient anl-well-worn Bible that-was shown to the writer, was bom on-September 24, ,1851, and was therefore - about five .years old-.at-jtho timc r con- : traded the measles, and on-that illness her whole tato hinged. It bccanio a. serious . - question for her; parents what, to do. If they "stayed to nurso the little-Emma back to health thoy-would have to: lose the-monoy paid', for all:thoir passages. - This sacrifice ' were-not so plentifully endowed with riches •as to bo able-to-make. On the other hand, it was pointed out, to them that to take the"'child with them ill' as sho was might'bo to-cause.hor death. Tho long sea voyage,-friends said,, would certainly at the best'impede her recovery. ■ In tho meantime the hour for sailing drew near and the little * - girl-gTew worse, - and an old friend of * the ■ mother offered, to - keep and nurse thc little one. It seemed -the best thing . to'do, and Dick Grubbiand his. wife'embarked for- New /• Zealand,.with, theirUwo '. youngest .- children only; - -Little; thought . they as " they kissed tlioir ailing eldest-born the father at least. - would-'nerer/seo'her.face'.- again.. -.It .was in- . deed for *him;-good-bye. , . ' ,

Fortune.Smlles, :: I'/Th'e .mother: and father duly, arrived in : 'VV;elHngt6n' ; ' : :and »;then ,:hastened to Nelson-, > and. theraVfortuno smiled -upon: them at the i: oiitseti--;ln,tKe first- blushiit seemed that.all ...v. theiridreaiils-of affluence were l to.be realised. Mrsi .Grubb; hefself was > wont to dig nug- : ■ of ] gold . arid •' specimen. quartz outiof the ; barilts' :of; the; Slate: River- with a penrkmfe. : :Spmei>6f.':.the /riuggetst'she; possesses-.to -.this day. .-^Whilst'-material .matters; wore. so- rosy, an' .aspcct'thc .mother- and. father never. : dreamed • but: that in a comparatively short ■: t'imevthej••would.'beable -to return Home. ihey!';liad.-nßyer; intended Now. ' ' Zeilaiid/ ~ . That; . being.: so, .what. need to bother, about Sending for -little-.Emma. .Thoy. -: .'yk^w^s^eS-T^sVln. good i-hands. • They- had only; to. sta'y.-a; while un' this viand of promise, mate-their,; fortuhes,'. and., return ■: to - her.. ' Arid^scivthey-'stayed'- on, and ttlio father had 1 : tho' : digger ! s'iyarting luck,-> and tho: mother • and added to her .store .timo went, ( on; Iny the course, few- years.the: fortune. was as .far off ias before.: CGold; was - not so. plentiful ih : .reality. as: in dreams, 'and what was obtained - had ; ,-to be" toiled- for. > Still Emma'.wrotev.to say^ihow,.kind.--her. guardians were, to her. Theyt had practically, adopted vLer, . and had bought 'her' a. piano ■ and watch and ; chain.. They.were good, and she*was;happy. -Eventually "Dick" Grubb -left Nelson-- and removed with his family for a while /to ; Papakura. 1 Here he took-part in the Waikato \war.- : Then tho Thames goldfields were opened; •> and tho ' Grubbs, ; ; selling - their were - amongst the first •in : the', earliest rush, to that field, .living in tents'-and -working hard there. -Once moro tho gold 'fover ran its- course, and. the;.results once more - failed to - quite .fulfil expec- : tations,. though '■; were times , - wnen : '.'Dick" would ■ come-ihome\with a eandle- ■■■■'! box full of specimens,-and on the whole ho - prospered, l atid was ablo to rear, a family of ninoior'ten^ohildren-in-comfort; hut some-dreamed-offortuno was : illusive,' and the voyage-Homo /was-never taken. .

Communication: Interrupted. ' r ■ In i'the meantime what- had • become of Emma?,. Correspondence wo aro:all more or loss -apt ■ to- neglect, ■ and the Grubbs,- away ■ out in the,bush, did not find.it easy to keep up." "After a • timo the letters that, passed :, between the .child and ' her parents grew less frequent.Once-,- some nuggets of , gold— bless you, they could pick, up plenty more— and a.letter, were entrusted: to an acquaintance to take Homo to Emma. How her.eyes ■■ would sparkle - when sho saw. the-former and knew-they represented-the . path .that was to re-unite her. with her mother and her father: \ And itho letter 1 How doubly interesting to • receive (-it; from tho hands of one who had -

actually been m- contact with her parents! I But it - so. happened that the messenger: was a: man -m whom-there was no .. sentimentwhatever. He did not .go/Home, and some timo • afterwards, ?he happehed to he bragging . - rather ;, y iloudly' in a mining camp •mv another . district. about the smart v.-way ,in .which .ho had ■ "done . old Dick'Grubb." • He: had "stuck to" the nuggots ;and -torn >-up-'the letter... .Unfortunately -for -the .boaster i ho ;• was - overheard .by an -, old friend • of : tho :man he, had > robbed.This■ friend politely invited the thiefto step ■v aside,-and . thereupon-gave him :a thorough . good', "hiding."-, -He ■ then■ notified "Dick"Grubb. of-.whati he.had.'learned., ■: i ' ■ Thom-ithere .came the-' -letters , thati wero posted', to -Emma- reniained unanswored.■.'sit was■:supposed, after, fruitloss ... efforts-.-had-'been Topeatedly: made to restore , communication with her, that her- guardians ;• had; moved to another-address: 'It finally beoamo useless to write, and ten years.or so after'.leaving their sick child • at Home -in England: blank, mystery as to her. where- . abouts..stared tho distracted-parents in tho .''-''; W;.'-';vj; : i' A Happy Ending. 1 The , .writer . then -goes :on ;to describe how the, chance .-paragraph m tho '.'Herald" has brought about a happy ending to -ths'-story after tho.ilapse of half; a-century ; ■ how < tho father,died eleven years ago;'and how the ■ mother ' has' constantly l ' fretted., for • her daughter. The. :romantio •• tale:', has created I immense mterest here.' ''■ ..