New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-07-03
DAILY CRESCENT
A PROFESSIONAL SCAR

by AZ OLD LAWT ER..
! Your kind letter, Henry, came duly to hand
and you will be surprised to learn that a care
less question of yours will draw forth enough to
cover sheet: s What caused that scar on my
| temple -
1t is professional scar, Harry one that |
have carried ever since my earliest practice;
and although / have now arrived Mt t0lerable
| old age, and have many, many intimate friends,
| it is most SINGULAR fact that you are the first
and only person that has inquired into its ori-
| gin. ! can tell you all about it, but must
avoid names and places, for the parties most in
terested in the incident are yet living, and ana
! under strong bonds of secresy
| IN the year -, after passing through a long
examination before grave judges and shrewd
barristers, was pronounced properly quail
fed person to appear before iur;es and courts
tor others as well as myself and at once pro-
eeeaed to large southern city, where BY a
modest little sign over the door Of modest lit-
tie Office announced my readiness to commence
the practice Of the law For three months
waited, but, alasi no business came, and ! sat
in my Office on dreaTy night, at about eleven
o'clock. in this very comfortable position: my
money was gone entirely my board bill was to
be paid in the morning, and my rent the day
following; and | absolutely feared to go to my
boarding house, and waited in what seemed the
iorlnrn hope that something in the way of fee
might appear, either dropping from the skies, or
suddenly appearing on my desk Outside no
step was heard; and as | occasionally glanced
through my window, the flame of the street
light. moved by the wind, would seemingly
move me homeward; but | would not go. A
tootstep sounded in my entry; a second, and a
third, and more, but so light that my heart
beating prevented my counting them: and then
a little delicate knock. | compelled myself to
say ''C0me in with q calm voice. although
expected 10 be instantly us a cis with q youne
woman the door opened, and | saw-an old
one
had only time to move toward chair before
she was in the centre of the room
g / have no time to sit. Young man. you are
Il lawyer; are you good for any thing;"
My insnlted dignity was controlled by an
effort and | answered that l fattered mysel
that possessed some talent for my profession
or | should not have chosen it,
''Well, well, no gas; can you draw paper J
Here again | ventured TO remark that it de
pended somewhat on its nature; but saw from
her impatient manner that she wanted no trl
fling. Before l finished the sentence, she inter
rupted me with fierceness of manner exceedin.
her former rough one, saying:
g want a will drawn; quick! hurriedly
but SO strong that all the devils in he'll cam
undo it! Can you do it =" and she fairly glaret
at me with impatience for my answer,
Nov you know, Harry, that my legal ednca
h. ton was obtained entirely in surrogates office
and you may presume that on the law anf
forms Of last wills and testaments ] felt nysel
= sufficiently posted up | therefore assured he
that could draw will which, although ! cOul
not warrant it to pass the ordeal which she men
toned, would, | was sure, be proof against til
efforts of all the lawyers in Christendom.
And now her 1nanper changed from the iferc
and bold to the anxious and hurried.
Come, then, quick quick young man, an
You shall pocket enc Thousand dollars for you
nights work !" she exclaimed.
And, amazed and bewdered as | was, foun
myself at the neighboring corner, stepping int
q hack, before the startling but Gumtortahl
words, .' one thousand dollars for your night
work. had ceased ringing in my ears. NJ
conductress followed me, and without order
We were ratified furiously along the streets t
: the - House, then the largest hotel in til
city. My visions Of the one thousand bright dol
lars kept my tongue bridlet, and l was led /
J silence up two flights of stairs into suit
rooms comprising parlGr and two bedrooms
The parlor, however, was occupied by a bed, j
which lay an old and, evidently, dying man. :
servant was with him, but he lett, upon mt
ton from the hand of my companion. who aI
preached the bed and said
4 have an attorney here, sir; shall lie PFC
k ceel ~
The old mans eyes frightened up, and afle
glarlng on me for a moment, he spoke:
If you can draw my will, do quick, nov
for must save my breath
I turned 10 the table, where ] found paper
pens, ink, and every thing necessary, and b
. the light Of two sperm candles IN heavy candle
sticks was soon husily engaged at the will.
will not trouble you with the details, no
in fact, do | remember them but it is enoue
to say that large amount Of property, re
and personal, bonds, mortgages, etc, were lei
. IN the words Of the will to my good n
faithful housekeeper, Angeline -, as tokt
of gratitude for her long, faithful, and mer
torious service But the concluding words
the will | shall never forget: and made n
shudder as l wro them. There is somethil
fearful-ycs, deYilish--in this deliberately i
corling, in what purports to be your last wri
ten wish curse upon your offspring. And
Ielt, as wrote it, an Involuntary desire to te'
the fragments, and to rush from the room, b'
the thousand dollars were like so many anchor
and | stayed and wrote:
9 / leave my daughter Dora all the satisfa
tion she can obtain from my hearty ours
When rags whip about her in her only home, tt
street, and dogs share with her the refuse of d
gutter. she may regret that she disobeyed hi
who once loved her, but who, dying, curs
her
There was something like a chuckle in Il
= direction Of Angeline rs the dying wretch di
tnted these fearful Words but rs | looked al
saw tIC Stffu lhce aS flSiu as IaTDles L GU
cluded [ must have been mistaken. | cou
not, however, diyest myself of a certain teelil
that all was wrong. rich old man, aceol
panied by housekeeper, and dying in
strange city; her anxiety to have the will
strong; the curse on his daughter and t
II large fee, all conspred to make me feel that
I'd was being instrumental in the accomplishing
of some vllainous object. Again | neditat
A. the destruction Of the paper, again my fee Al
my wants conquered. The viii was tiuisht
!. aud read it oser aloud, the cid man groanir
lg and the old woman looking an occasional asset
but when | read the terrible curse, new act
= appeared On the scene.
ls sol tear III tear it! Oh God, you kn
not what Jon To!
ly The pfainfiye tones of the voice touched
= heart, even before my eyes baheld Its owner
:. but when ! saw her, heavens and earth VII
rs an angel she was The language is yet und
be covered, Hurry that is competent to give y
= u description Of that face; the eyes danci
". with excitement, yet liquid with tears > I
mouth proud as Juno's yet compressed with a
: guish But why do l attempt description I
ld most rtajestic, Yet the sweetest counIehance
ever bcheld appealed to me, and not in vain;
= while the OH man, weak as he was, jumped fir
er his bed screaming, : Kill her. kill her."
+ tore the viii into fragments, mud We both fell
a the fuor lie dead, aud stunned by blow fr
- the heavy eandlestick welded by the old h;
:. Anunline