Of his brother Mountjoy,—­or Captain Scarborough, as he came to be known at an early period of his life,—­the stories which were told in the world at large were much too remarkable to be altogether true.  But it was only too true that he lived as though the wealth at his command were without limit.  For some few years his father bore with him patiently, doubling his allowance, and paying his bills for him again and again.  He made up his mind,—­with many regrets,—­that enough had been done for his younger son, who would surely by his intellect be able to do much for himself.  But then it became necessary to encroach on the funds already put by, and at last there came the final blow, when he discovered that Captain Scarborough had raised large sums on post-obits from the Jews.  The Jews simply requested the father to pay the money or some portion of it, which if at once paid would satisfy them, explaining to him that otherwise the whole property would at his death fall into their hands.  It need not here be explained how, through one sad year, these negotiations were prolonged; but at last there came a time in which Mr. Scarborough, sitting in his chambers in the Albany, boldly declared his purpose.  He sent for his own lawyer, Mr. Grey, and greatly astonished that gentleman by declaring to him that Captain Scarborough was illegitimate.

At first Mr. Grey refused altogether to believe the assertion made to him.  He had been very conversant with the affairs of the family, and had even dealt with marriage settlements on behalf of the lady in question.  He knew Mr. Scarborough well,—­or rather had not known him, but had heard much of him,—­and therefore suspected him.  Mr. Grey was a thoroughly respectable man, and Mr. Scarborough, though upright and honorable in many dealings, had not been thoroughly respectable.  He had lived with his wife off and on, as people say.  Though he had saved much of his money for the purpose above described, he had also spent much of it in a manner which did not approve itself to Mr. Grey.  Mr. Grey had thoroughly disliked the eldest son, and had, in fact, been afraid of him.  The captain, in the few interviews that had been necessary between them, had attempted to domineer over the lawyer, till there had at last sprung up a quarrel, in which, to tell the truth, the father took the part of the son.  Mr. Grey had for a while been so offended as to find it necessary to desire Mr. Scarborough to employ another lawyer.  He had not, however, done so, and the breach had never become absolute.  In these circumstances Mr. Scarborough had sent for Mr. Grey to come to him at the Albany, and had there, from his bed, declared that his eldest son was illegitimate.  Mr. Grey had at first refused to accept the assertion as being worth anything, and had by no means confined himself to polite language in expressing his belief.  “I would much rather have nothing to do with it,” he had said when Mr. Scarborough insisted on the truth of his statement.