Restitution At Last

The truth of the oíd saying that fortune favors those who wait has again been illustrated in the case of Lal Wickland, au old man 63 years of age, and an employé of the IUinois Central railroad at McConnell, some fifty miles north of Milan, Tenn. The story reads like a romance. There rer ided in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, seventeen years ago a rich and prosperous jeweler, Mr. Lalland Wickhani, a man of family, which consisted of himself , his wife, three sons and three daughters. The name of the eldest son was John, and he was engaged to a young lady of his native city by the name of Craig, one of the foremost of the beautiftü Scotch maidens of Aberdeen. Their marriage was only deferred on account of some business transactions. One day Wickland burst into his wife's 'oom, greatly agitated, and exclaimed: ilMary, we are ruined- utterly ruined! The shop has been broken into and at least L12,000 worth of plate and jewelxy carried off. I have been with the detectives through all the holes in the city, but we fcund no trace of the thief or of the goods. The detectives think the goods will never be discovered, and we are ruined if it is so." When this robbery occurred John Wickland was in London, and he read the news in a London newspaper. He hurried home and found the family in the greatest distress. SEEKINQ A NEW FORTUNE. Formany days the Wicklands indulged themselves in the hope that some clew would be found to the robbers and their precious wealth be restored to them. These hopes were never realized. The robbery, as the pólice said, had been cleverly and cleanly done. No trace of the perpetrators or any part of the property was ever discovered. In the meanthne Wickland had paid all his outstanding debts, and found himself a pauper without a siipence. He might have urged the robbery as a plea for bankruptcy, but he was too tious ever to think of suoh a course, so he paid his debts to the last penny. The utter ruin which had overtaken the Wicklands postponed the proposed union between John and Miss Craig, and Mr. Wickland struggled on f or a few years, his son John assisting him all the while, but they conld not even make a living. It seemed tht fate was against him. About this time thousands of people were leaving the Ad countries of Europe and heading for America. Mr. Wickland caught the eniigration fever and longed to come to this country. He sold all his personal effects, and securing steerage passage for his family landed in New York. He had some money and it went f ast. He began to realize that he must find something to do. He left New York and went to St. Louis. When they arrived in that city, some fifteen years ago, they had very little left. The boys found employinent as hands on the railroad. In 1883 they came to Cairo, Ills., and the boys stayed. there, while the old gentleman secored a position furluer sonth, at McConnell, as track walker and keeper of the tanks in that vicinit)'. HAPPINESS AT LAST. For years they have battled with difficulties. During all this time John and Miss Craig kept up correspondenee until in November, 1890, Miss Craig was agreeably snrprised at the sudden and unexpected appearance in his native city of John Wickland, who bore the joyful intelligence that his family, their fortune restored, would soon be in their old home. How was it? This happy termination came out in this wise: A man named Johnson located himself at McConnell as a merchant, running a plantation and supply store. His wealth in ready inoney was the talk of the town. He sold goods rapidly and i made money hand over fist. He took ' great interest in the Wicklands and seemed to evince especial interest in the facto relating to their robbery and utter ruin. It finally came out that Johnson had been a prison bird and the cold shoulder was turned to him by Lucy I Wickland, to whom he was paying I tention. This seemed to nettle him, and he sent for the old gentleman to come to him. Their interview lasted two hours. At length Johnson confessed that it was he who had robbed Wickland of his wealth, and coming to this country had trebled his possessions. He gave the old man his check for $50,000. So soon as this happened the Wicklands decided to return to their native land. When Johnson heard of their determination he insisted on paying their passage back to ScoÜand. The strangest feature of the afEair was that Johnson immediately sold out all his belongings and went back to Seotland a month after the family of Wickland had returned, and a letter from him to a friend announcing his marriage to Miss Lucy "Wickland, eldest daughter of the man whom he had robbed, has been received