Mr. Force stared at the speaker, but did not reply. “Why, Force! You look as if you knew the fellow also! You look as if you ‘could a tale reveal.’ What is it?” “I know the man. But I know him as Angus Anglesea, Esq., of Anglewood Manor, late colonel in the East India Service.” “What, Force! That fellow! He is not Anglesea! He never was in the army in all his life. He was in the navy, and kicked out for disgracing it. Is he the man you have known to your grief as Anglesea?” “He is.” “Then, Force, the mystery that puzzled me is solved. The inconsistency that distressed me is reconciled. I never could understand how you could accuse my friend Angus Anglesea, the Christian gentleman and renowned soldier, of the base and cowardly crimes committed by your persecutor! How could I associate theft, forgery and bigamy with such a character as that of Angus Anglesea? Though they are very consistent with the career of Byrne Stukely.” “Who is this man? And how is it that he could take the name and style of an officer and a gentleman, and deceive us all, even my wife, who had known Col. Anglesea in his youth?” demanded the squire. The earl shrugged his shoulders and then replied: “The fellow is a near relation of Anglesea, and bears a strong personal resemblance to him. In their youth and early manhood they were counterparts of each other; but as they have grown older they have diverged in appearance, so that now no one could mistake the one for the other. The reason is this—both boys inherited the same form, features and expression from the same remote ancestor; but they inherited different dispositions, and have had different trainings. Each has grown old ‘in the likeness of his love,’ and so they have now grown apart. Angus Anglesea is of medium size, as well as of medium height; his features are clean cut, his complexion clear and pale; his expression grave, sweet, thoughtful, benevolent, intellectual. Stukely is, as you see, overgrown, with an obese form, bloated features, red face, and a brutal, sensual, and sometimes ferocious expression.” “Yes,” replied Abel Force, “and the last three years of lawless life has made him even more brutal than ever.” “He was in his earlier life a protégé of Anglesea’s. It was his influence that got him into the royal navy. But he is and has been for years a sharp thorn in the side of Angus, taking advantage of his personal resemblance to his cousin, using his knowledge of his relative’s affairs and his skill in imitating his handwriting to swindle every one everywhere who came under his notice. This was the adventurer who tried to marry your daughter, Force. It is well the marriage was stopped at the altar, though the California woman, poor soul, had no right to interfere.” “Why?” demanded Abel Force. “Because Stukely has a wife and five children living near Anglewood on the charity of Angus Anglesea.”