A MILLIONAIRE'S SEARCH.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14002, 7 September 1907, Page 2

A MILLIONAIRE'S SEARCH.

' • ' ROMANTIC STORY. Ah American millionaire' is searching throughout the length and breadlh of the. British Isles for a beautiful young English girl,. with whom lie fell in love at first sight when he met her in a railway carriage between Newhaven and London. The millionaire, who is connected with a flourishing commercial enterprise in Georgia, U.S.A., desires to keep, his name a secret for obvious •> reasons, but of his earnestness in tho search for a. lovely face there if} no doubt. The romance is over a year old for it, ■ was on April 16, 1906,.that, tho millionaire, with two ladies and a gentleman, travelled

from Paris to London, via Dioppo and Newhavon. They left tho French capital by tho 9 a.m. train after an extended European tour. At Nowhaven, when, with tho members of lu's party, he was taking train for London, two young ladies, evidently sisters, entered tho carriage. For a time they read,' but presently conversation bccamo general, and the newcomers stated that they .wero returning from Malta, where they had been spending the winter. Tho millionaire was greatly charmed by the graeo and beauty of tlio youflger of tlio two sisters, and although lie saw her for so short a time—for at. Victoria the two parties bade each other good-bye, and have ■never met rince—sho has never ceased to occupy his thoughts, and his agents are now ■ searching . throughout, the United Kingdom to ascertain her address. The search is made difficult by tho fact that thero are practically no clues ,to tho lady's identity. " I oan give but a noor description of this girl wlio fascinated me so," says tli& millionaire in a letter published by tho Daily Express. " That is to be accounted for by tho fact that I was not aware of tho fascination until we were about to part. THE PRETTIEST EVES. "To tho twist of my recollection she was about sft. 6in hiffli; woisfhod, I Ghould think, about 1251b;' dark brown hair; beautiful dark bluo eyes. I am not certain as to the colour of her eyes, but they were of the prettiest, type, and so I con- ' elude they must have been blue. I think hor dress was a .cheekcd grey travelling suii. Both sisters wero dressed alike. "I recall quito a little merriment, ■" lie proceeds, "as during our conversation in tho train wo began lo compare travel in Europe with American travel, and tho young lady asked about tho cow-catcheffi (pilots is a more eorreot name for them) attached to our engines. She wanted to know if tho cow-catcher caught up the cow and carried it in safety to the noxt station. "As \yo neared London one of the ladies in our party asked them if they wore going to stop in London. One of tho girls-re-pliod: 'Oh, no. We aro going to Blaekheath to-night.' ' ' "At Victoria wo left the girls standing near to tlie eompa-rtment from whioh wo alighted. A littlo later, while near the Ijaggago-car identifying our baggage, thoy came olose to us again. Hero I had an opportunity to look at a violin case ' tho' young lady was carrying, and read the iiame, 'Ireno Walker,' with , some address scratched out. However, I could read through tho scratches tho word ' Malta.'_ "So wo left them still watching for their b&xpjago. Miss Irene had a beautiful, bright complexion,- regular features, a pretty mouth, and lovely white teeth. " And thus wo met and thus wo parted— my hoait heating quito a tempest and wondering what it all meant, and if we should ever meet afrain. Perhaps -so. But will sho ever again seem to mo as she •did on that night ae the darkness of London ssparated us—■ ono of tho purest, sweetest, most attractive creatures that God has ever blessed this old earth with? FAMOUS DETECTIVE AT WOnK. Every plan that the minds of tho most expert investigators could devise has been adopted to try to twee the girl with whom tho millionaire became so strangely and ovorpoweringly .fascinated. So far, how-' ever, tli'cso efforts have boon ontirely fruit-, less. Tho rase has lieen placed in the hands of Mr Jolin Sweeney, formerly ono of the most expert detectives at Scotland Yard. So far as the millionaire can remember, the girl would havo been about 18 or 19 years old. Mr Sweeney has accordingly searched tho registers at Somerset House, and obtained birth certificates of all the Irene Walkers who were born between 15 and 30 years ago, The tracing of these had led the investigators a romantic chase all over tho United Kingdom. A titled lady' with a daughter named Ireno was found near London. She answered very closolv to the millionaire's description, but lior mother, who was greatly amused at the story, declared that she was not travelling on the day in question. What seemed a likely clue was discovered in Devonshire, where two sisters were found, ono of whom was named Tvene, who had been travelling on the Continent about April of last year. Her parents were diplomatically approached, when tho disoovory was made that this Irene Walker was just about to be married. She was much interested, in tho story, of the millionaires fascination, but stated that she had no recollection of any such incident. Now that all other efforts have failed, the millionaire's agents in England have decided to resort to publicity in the hopo. that the facts of the case will bo read by tho girl herself, and that- when she knows of the deep admiration she . inspired in the heart, of tho millionaire she may communicate with him through the press. "All this procedure," the millionaire statC3 in a letter to his brother-in-law, " makss mo feel a littlo foolish, especially , when I consider that perhaps after all tho girl may not bo what I thought sho was. Nevertheless I guessy.it's worth the effort-, and tho romantic part of it all appeals to