sister was married to my ancestor at the time of the duel."

Admiral Cunningham, the hardy old salt who brought from Japan the
sword used by a Samurai to commit _hari-kara_, or suicide by
disembowelling, commanded the British vessels of the combined
squadron which sailed up the Bay of Yedo on July 6, 1853, to
intimidate the Mikado.

He narrowly escaped assassination at the hands of a two-sword man,
who was knocked down by a sailor and soundly kicked, after being
disarmed.

The Admiral brought home the two weapons taken from his assailant,
and the larger sword was still to be seen in the armoury at Glen
Tochan.

The three brothers, of whom the writer alone survived, quarrelled
over money matters about eight years before the murder of the
fifth baronet. The youngest, Charles, had entangled himself in a
disastrous speculation in the city, and bitterly reproached Alan
and David (the narrator) because they would not come to his
assistance.

The old gentleman laboured through many pages to explain the reasons which
actuated this decision, but Brett skipped all of them.

Finally, he suspected no one of committing the crime itself, which was
utterly inexplicable.

At Stowmarket the barrister sought a few minutes' conversation with the