I found proof that
he sailed for New York, January 23, 1795. But that was not all. The old
Wickham mansion had stood for years unoccupied. I learned that after its
forfeiture to the crown the whole estate had been granted for life as a
reward to the young officer who had brought to the government the
evidence of its former owner's treason. By him it was occupied for some
thirty years; then he suddenly disappeared. After that the estate was
sold to an eccentric and wealthy bachelor, who built a superb residence
thereon, letting the old mansion remain closed. Very recently he had
died, leaving no will and no heirs, and the estate again escheated to
the crown.
"I was very anxious to search the old mansion, and readily obtained
permission to enter. It was built in the time of Elizabeth, and was a
large building, similar in architecture to many others built in the
sixteenth century in this part of England. As I entered the deserted
building a strange feeling of desolation took possession of me. Hardly a
human being had been within its walls for fifty years. The dust lay deep
on the bare oaken floor, and almost muffled the sound of my footsteps.
On one exquisitely carved panel appeared, in defiance of attempts to
destroy it, the Wickham coat-of-arms.
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