insulted, the very family coat of arms had been mocked, and he would not suffer it any longer. There had been, a few days before he came to me, a large gathering of the King family from all over the country. If I remember rightly, this was at New Haven, about the time of commencement at Yale College. The Kings of Georgia shook hands there with the Kings of New York and the Western States, and so on; and it was there that he learned how extensive had been the swindle. Some of the family had talked and laughed about it as a good joke, and poked fun at each other about it. But the old man considered that these were degenerate in spirit, and spoke of them with a degree of shame. Persons present at the gathering, with King blood in their veins, but bearing other than the King name,--the sons of King daughters, by men who rejoiced not in so royal a name,--made great sport of the swindle, and said that people high in position, like Kings, emperors, etc., were more subject to such things than people of undistinguished names and of low estate, and assured the King relatives that the latter ought to feel complimented by the deference that had been paid to them by the swindlers. The old man felt sore over this style of joking; felt that the name had been trifled with, and he was resolved to let the jokers "see that there was yet the 'true spirit' in the King blood to avenge an insult,"--and so he did at last. He was not particular about "terms." He was willing to pay abundantly, for he was rich,--rich on that day, at least,--and persuaded me to take hold of the matter by advancing me,--and insisting on my taking it,--double what I told him it might cost to make thorough work of the matter. I told him I had not a particle of hope, for I saw no prospect whatever of tracing out the perpetrators of this fraud in question months after it had been accomplished. But I took the matter in hand, and hearing his story in full, told him to call next day, for I might, on reflection, wish to consult him again. He left with me a letter, which a son of his had received--the man to whom I was indebted for my engagement in the matter. His son, and a partner of his in business at Utica, N. Y., had about a year before had occasion to engage my services in tracing out some forgers, who had been "speculating" a little upon them; and when he found his father, against his advice, was determined to do something about the matter in question, he told him he had better employ a regular detective, and so sent him to me. I kept this letter for a long time, and, indeed, had three or four copies of it, which I got, some from the Kings, and others from some persons by the name of Perkins, who had been victimized at the same time. I supposed I could readily find a copy now; but in the multitude of vicissitudes to which a detective's papers and "things sacred," as well as those of other people, are subjected, the letters have become misplaced or lost. But