THE 500 MILLIONS OF THE BEGUM.
, X
" She left the town of Bar-le-duc in the year
1807, with your grandfather, John Sarassin,
whom she married in the year 1799. They es-
tablished themselves at Melun as tinsmiths, and
remained there until the year 1811, the date of
the death of Julia Langévol, the wife of Saras-
sin. They had but one child, Isidore Sarassin,
your father. From that time the son is lost to
view, except that the date of his death was
found in Paris."
" I can trace the son," said the doctor, drawn
on, without knowing it, by the mathemat-
ical precision of his interlocutor. " My
grandfather came to Paris for the educa-
tion of his son who was destined for the
medical profession. He died in the year 1872,
at Palaiseau, near Versailles, where my father
practiced his profession, and where I was born
in the year 1822."
" You are my man," replied Mr. Sharp.
" No brothers or sisters?"
"No; I was an only son, and my mother
died two years after my birth.    But tell me, I
beg of vou------"
Mr. Sharp here rose and said:
"Sir Bryah Iowahir Mothooranath," pro-
nouncing the name with that respect which the
English profess for noble titles, " I am happy
to have discovered you, and to be the first to
pay you homage. "
"The man is insane," thought the doctor.
" It is a disease which is very frequent among
'dead-heads.' "
The solicitor read this diagnostic in his eyes.
" I am not the least insane," hecalmly replied,
"You are at this moment actually the only
known heir to the title of baronet, granted on the
recommendation of the Governor General of
the Province of Bengal to John James Langé-
vol, an English subject, naturalized in the
year 1819, the widower of the Begum Gokool,
and tenant of the lands, who died in the year
1841, leaving only one child, who died insane,
and without issue, and intestate, in the year
1869. The succession dates back nearly thirty
years, and was then worth at least five million
pounds sterling. She remained a sequestrator
and under guardianship, and the interest on
the capital increased during the life of the in-
sane son of John James Langévol. This suc-
cession was valued in the year 1870 at the round
figure of nearly twenty-one million pounds
sterling, or five hundred and twenty-five mill-
ions of francs. On the execution of a judg-
ment, issued by the tribunal of Agra and con-
firmed by the court at Delhi, and ratified by
the Privy Council, all the lands were sold, and
realized that sum total, which has been placed
cm deposit in the Bank of England.
" lt is actually five hundred and twenty-seven
million of francs which you can draw by a
simple check, after you have proved your gen-
ealogy in the Court of Chancery, and on which
I offer to advance you to-day through Messrs.
Trollop, Smith & Co., the bankers, as much, as
you may require."
Dr. Sarassin was astonished. He remained a
few moments unable to say a word and unable
to accept as a fact this dream of " Aladdin and
the Wonderful Lamp."   He replied:
"But, sir; what proof can you give me of
this story, and how did you find me out?"
" The proofs are here," replied Mr. Sharp,
touching his leather valise. "As to the man-
ner in which I found you out, it is very natural.
It is now five years since I began to search for
you. The contrivance we possess to discover
heirs or 'next of kin,' as we say in English
law, to the numerous disinherited successions
which are registered every year in the British
possessions, is a specialty of our house. The
special inheritance or estate of the Bégum Go-
kool, has called into play all our activity for the
last five years. We carried our investigations
into all quarters, passing in review one hundred
families named Sarassin without being able to
find the issue of Isidore. I had almost reached
the conviction that there was not another Sa-
rassin in France, when I was struck yesterday
morning on taking up the Daily News, to read
in an account of the 'Hygienic Congress,' the
name of a doctor who was unknown to me.
I immediately referred to my memoranda and
to the thousand manuscripts which I have gath-
ered together in connection with this succes-
sion, and I was astonished to find that the town
of Douay had escaped my attention. I im-
mediately put myself in readiness, and took
the train to Brighton, and seeing you coming
out of the meeting I became convinced that I
was on the track.    You are the living picture
of your great uncle Langévol, as he is repre-
sented in a photograph of him which we pos-
sess, and which has been touched up by an In-
dian painter named Saranoni."
Mr. Sharp drew from his pocket-book a photo-
graph, and passed it over to Dr. Sarassin.
This photograph represented a tall man with
a splendid beard, wearing a turban, and having
on a brocaded dressing-gown trimmed with
green colored lace; he was in that particular at-
titude so often seen in historical portraits of a
general who is in the act of signing an order of
attack, but who, before doing so, attentively re-
gards the spectators. In the distance might be
seen, very vaguely, the smoke of battle and a
charge of cavalry.
" This will speak for itself better than I can,
replied Mr. Sharp.    " I will now leave you, and
return in two hours, if you will allow me, when
I shall be happy to receive your orders."
Saying this, Mr. Sharp drew from the bottom
of his valise a half dozen files of law papers,
some in print and others in manuscript, placed
them on the table, and backing himself out,
murmured:
" Sir Bryah Iowahir Mothooranath, I have
the honor to salute you."
Half believing, and half skeptical, the doctor
took the files of law papers, and commenced to
look over them.
A rapid examination sufficed to show him
that the history was perfectly true, and to dis-
sipate any doubts he might have had. Why
should he hesitate in the presence of a printed
document under such a title as this:
"A Report of the Right Honorable Lords of
the Privy Council of her Majesty the Queen,
made on the 5th of January, 1870, concerning
the succession of the Bégum Gokool, of Rag-
ginahra, in the Province of Bengal. "
Here was a report of lands, together with pal-
aces and buildings used in works of agriculture ;
whole villages; movable objects, treasures
arms, etc. ; and proving the succession of the
Begum Gokool, of Ragginahra. Also accounts
submitted to the Tribunal of Agra, and to the
Superior Court of Delhi, which showed that in
the year 1819, the Bégum Gokool, widow of the
Rajah Luekmissur, and proprietor in her own
right of considerable wealth, had married a
stranger of French origin, named John James
Langévol.
This stranger, after having served, up to the
year 1815, in the French army, where he held
the grade of a non-commissioned officer (drum
major in the 36th Light Foot), had sailed from
Nantes as supercargo in a merchant ship. He
reached Calcutta, advanced into tlie interior of
the country, and soon obtained employment as
a drill-sergeant in the little army which the
Rajah Luekmissur was authorized to keep up.
From this grade it was not long before he ad-
vanced to be the commander-in-chief, and on
the death of the rajah he married his widow.
Many political and colonial considerations, and
important services rendered, under circum-
stances of a perilous nature, to Europeans, by
John James Langévol, who had been natural-
ized as a British subject, led the Governor-Gen-
eral of the Province of Bengal to demand and
obtain for the husband of the begum the title
of baronet. The begum had died in the year
1839, leaving the use and profits of the property
to Langévol, who followed her to the tomb two
years later. The fruit of this marriage was an
only son, who was an imbecile from his birth,
and who was immediately placed under guard-
ianship. His estates and interest in the immense
property were faithfully looked after until his
death, which occurred in the year 1869. There
were no known heirs to this immense succes-
The Tribunal of Agra and the Court of Delhi
having ordered the property to be sold at auc-
tion, at the request of the local government,
who were acting in the name of the State, the
Right Honorable Lords of the Privy Council
were authorized to confirm all the acts.
Here followed the signatures.
Two certified copies of the judgment of the
courts of Agra and Delhi, the deeds of sale, the
orders to have the njoney deposited in the Bank
of England, the history of the searches made
in France, in order to discover the Langévol
heirs, and an imposing mass of documents of
the same kind, did not allow Dr. Sarassin to
hesitate a moment as to their correctness. He
was, in fact, truly the " next of kin," and the
successor of the begum. Between him and the
five hundred and twenty-seven millions now on
deposit in the vaults of the Bank of England
there was nothing but a mere form to be under-
gone—the simple production of the authenticity
of births and deaths.
A similar stroke of fortune would have upset
the calmness of mind of any person, and the
good doctor did not altogether escape the emo-
tion which such an unexpected event would be
sure to cause. His emotion, however, was of
very short duration, and it was only shown by
some rapid strides which he made for some
minutes across the room.
He soon regained his self-possession, re-
proached himself for the passing weakness, and
throwing himself into his arm-chair, remained
for some time absorbed in profound reflection.
He suddenly rose up and paced his room
aeain ; but this time his eyes burnt with a brill-
iant fire, and one could see that a generous and
noble idea had taken possession of his soul. He
encouraged, nursed it, and finally adopted it.
At this moment Mr. Sharp, who had return-
ed, rapped at his door
"1 beg your pardon for doubting you, said
the doctor, cordially, on seeing him. "I am
now convinced, and owe you a thousand thanks
for the pains which you have taken in this
matter."                                                              .
" Not at all; it is a very simple matter. ¦ lt is
my business," replied Mr. Sharp, " and I hope
that Sir Bryah will continue to be my client."
"Without a doubt; and I will place the
whole affair in your hands. I must merely ask
you to cease giving me that absurd title."
"Absurd !—a title that is worth twenty-one
millions sterling?" replied Mr. Sharp. But he
was too good a flatterer not to yield. ' ' As you
wish; you are the master," he answered. "I
will take the train to London, and will await
your orders."
"Can I keep these documents?' asked the
doctor.
" Certainly; we have copies of them.
Dr. Sarassin was now alone. He sat down
at his desk, took a sheet of letter-paper, and
after reflecting for a few moments, he wrote.
the following letter:
"Bsi&hton, 28th October, 1871.
"My dear Child—We are in receipt of an
enormous fortune. Do not believe that I have
lost my senses; but read the two or three
printed papers which I inclose in this letter.
You will clearly see that I find myself the heir
to the title of an English, or rather an Indian
baronet, and to an estate which is more than
half a billion of francs, now on actual deposit
in the Bank of England. I do not doubt the
feelings, my dear Octave, with which you will
receive this news. You will understand as
well as 1 do the new duties wliich such a fort-
une will impose on us, and the dangers which
we run in acquiring it. It is now but an hour
since I learnt the fact, and already the weight
of the responsibility has affected me, but I am
relieved in thinking that now all uncertainty
about your future will be removed. Perchance
this change may be fatal to our destiny. As
modest pioneers of science, we were happy in
our obscurity. Will we be so in the future?'
Perhaps not. I dare not speak to you of an
after thought which has occurred to me—that
our fortune may become in our hands a new
and powerful aid to science, and of prodigious
use to civilization. We will speak of this
again. Write to me, and tell me what impres-
sion this great news has made upon you. Tell
your mother about it; but I feel assured that a
woman as sensible as she is will receive the
news with calmness and tranquillity. As to
your sister, she is yet too young for any such
good fortune to turn her head. Yet you can
let her understand the possible consequences
which may ensue from the news which I com-
municate to you; but I feel certain that she
will be the one who will feel the change in our
position the least.
"Give Mureel a good shake of the hand for
me. He is never absent from my mind in all
my future prospects.
" Your affectionate father,
" Fr. Sarassin,
"D. M. P."
This letter was placed in an envelope with a
few of the most important papers, and ad-
dressed " Monsieur Octave Sarassin, student at
the School of Arts and Manufactures, No. 32
Rue du Roi-de-Sicile, Paris."
The doctor took his hat, put on his overcoat,
and went to the Congress. A quarter of an
hour later this excellent man had forgotten all
about his millions.