The mountain Democrat., 1864-05-07
ly. u Hey~. GO Ctevr reason what.


But it's not his name,' remarked the
white cravated gentlemaH, eo1Sas1+' J. -
His name is Tommy, and has been such
10Y these forty yeats; he is denominated
Tommy in the codicil | am sure Fiddle
would have been very unhappy at the no
ton of his being called Dick. You must
not encourage the bird in such senseless
extraVagances. The wishes Of the de-
parted should be consulted as though he
were actually alive We have nothing.
however, to complain of in your custody
of the bird, Mr.. Wilson; quite the reverse.
Indeed, poor Mrs. Hubble Informed us
that she knew Of nobody to whom we
could intrust the faithful creature with
greater confidence when we have called
upon her by accident, and not at the spc-
clfcd time, we understood that you had
poor Tommy in keeping for the benefit If
bis health; and certainly You always sent
han -6dc>S to Pin sttceT'in higa fuaiffti=:-
Now that Mrs. Hubble is dead (dii YOU
not hear Of it? Yes; the sad event took
place more than ten days ago) we do not
know anybody filter than yourself to
! whom 10 transfer this sacred charge We
came here to-day merely 10 identify the
bird. In future, we shall visit you every
t 18th OF August-it was the poor generals
whltcst day in the year, major, and aptlv
chosen; even Paradise can be hardly a
more charming spot to him than Was bis
! P,rthahire moor. We wish you a very
good morning, Mr.. Wilson Permit me
/ to congratulate you upon this firstinstaIl
Incnt Of what | trust may Ge u long anhui
ty TO you and yours
! lie pressed an envelope into my hand,
and then he ard his starche1 companion
took their deliberate departure. watch
ed them walking slowly up the street, -
They were cviichtly not in the least ap-
prehensive of being followed and seized
as madmtn. One presently called cab,
aid bade goodbye to the other in a studi-
o"Slv courteous manner, just as though
they had been about some business which
! br"nght them together periodically and
made them acquaintanccS without their
ever becoming intimate friends. Ia the
meantl &, my wife was within sob or
two Of mysteries, while remained stand.
ing Tith the envelope in my hand, and a
crossed Chrquc inside Of it for a hundred
gdincaS, payable to myself or bearer!
/ Nothing out Of the Arabian Nights,
, where purses Of sequius are flung about
with such reckless prodigahty, was to be
compared to this adventure
w hats o'clock?' cried the parrot. as,
torshcd at the stupeficd silence into
which his nnSter had been plunged.
/ Excellent Bird returned |, your
D.. I L., ,f l.,
! 'a'f past two, ard the M,s>ys Cilld close
at three o'clock; there is not a moment
to lose arrived at the banking house
/" time t" present the cheque and it was
cashld without the least hesitation. |
took my way back with more money in
my poch ct than had ever before pos, So
ed in my life. My possession Of it was d
little mysterious, certainly; but then had
not my father forCtold that Dicks legacy
would prove blessing to US, and bade
me mark bis words. | was inclined to
accept everything in the past and in the
future with a graf, full heart, that was not
, disposed tor question or analysis. ltwaS
Il saving If my revcred narcul, when oar
cousin, the brewer cltik, u>, d to Schd Us
kildcrkin Of rather inferior ale at ChIi~t.
mas time, that YOU should never look
giitca>k in the bunghole. Ii | had found
Il queen messenger waiting for ne at
nome with pateit Of nobility made out
in the name Of Wilson, by reason Of my
proprietnrShip in that inoomDarahic l'ack
parrot, think should have taken it as
matter of course. dill not, however,
/ tihd queens mcSSenger, Lut on'the cun.
Wary. Il porter from Fnrnivals Inn, who
had brought letter with him, aud de-
cline1 to leave the house withuut seeing
me; Tie contents were as follows:
"DEAR SIR: | wholly forgot, when
Major M"rdaX and myself called upon von
this afternoon with the first inS,alineut OF
your annuity, to ask for your Signature to
the inr!oSrd receipt; which please to sign
and return by bearer. Yours truly,
NATHANIEL PouNCET.'
The receipt was in the same envelope
Received of Mathew Mordax, ESQ,
and Nathaniel Pouneet solicitor, exccu.
tors of the late General Sir Fiddle Paddle,
the sum Of one hundred guincas, being
The annual stipend left by tie will OF the
said General for the maintenance of his
black parrot Tommy
These dreadful words revealed at once
the dark source of our prosperity, as the
poHreman's lantern flashes on the imple.
mcnts of the burglar. | accompanied Tie
messenger at once to Furnival's Inn with
the depressing consciousness that had
got to refund my liuie property. 1t
seemed to be very hard and g,icvous that
my vested rights, for such they already
seemed, should be thus inGingcd | at
once, however, set forth every crcum-
stance connected with the affair before
Mr. Nathaniel Pouncct, and had the sat
i>farti2n Of prrceivine that was at least
believed. You are not to blame in this
affair at all, Mr.. Wilson, said he far
from It. But for your honesty, it is like
ly enough we should have paid you a
hundred guincaS year for life. The late
Mrs Hubble must have cheated us out OF
that amount for fifteen years-evcr since
she hired your parrot to represent the de-
ceased favorte Of the poor general. 1t
WAS housekceper, too, | think, who
kept bishop alive, to all appearance, for
six months after death, and drove some
ding like him every day through his own
cathedral town, in order that She might
receive the half.ycarly revenue of his see
really don't know which was the worse
case; except that in the bishops here
the lawyer smiled - there seems to have
bcen-no necessity for a substitute, and
therefore the fraud was rather more mega
tive or passive. You will not, of course,
have to repay the sums, Mr.. Wilson,
which this woman remitted to you on
false pretenSes, but which you did not,
am sure, suspect to be false. OF course,
must receive the one hundred guineas;
1.