The Van Buren press., 1869-06-01
with whom it would have been enter tain.


ed
When that gentleman, therefore, re
ported at headquarters, and implored tn
paternal sanction of his suit. he received
no such thing; g on the contrary, quite
the reverse" Indeed, he only escaped
being kicked out of doors, by a speedy
voluntary departure.
When Efile tried to talk her father over,
for the first time in his life, he flew in a
passion with her, and she dared not re-
new the subject.
But love, the little pagan, pays no re-
spect to the fifth commandment. The
otlicous interference OF parents and
guardians only renders him the more i'm
patient and unruly; and the present in
stance was no exception Clandestine
interviews were arranged; accidental
meetings took place at the houses OF
mutual friends, till the whole ended in
the gentleman proposing an clopemcnt
Eflie, after protestinGshe couldn't pos
sibly think Of such = thing, and after
many vain -t.empts to conjecture what
people would say, at last, with graceful
hesitancy consented. .-
Rage, frenzy, despair, are weak words
to describe the emotions Of John An
drews, when he found his house had been
robbed of its chiefcst treasure. His first
impulse was pursuit. it was night when
he set out accompanied by a trusty
Scotchman, long in his employ and con-
fidence AS the two galloped along, Mr..
Andrews horse stumbled, precipitating
his rider to the ground, and falling heav-
lily upon him. He was taken up insens-
ble, and carried to the nearest house. A
physician was called, who pronounced
the injuries Of most serious, ofnot nee
essarily fatal character.
AS soon as consciousness returned, he
dispatched messenger for a nephew of
his, a lawyer Of not very good repute, re
siding in neighboring town.
When Mr. Jackson, the newhew, arriv-
ed, he was left alone with his uncle, at
the latter's request. At the end Of an
hour the doctor was summoned, and re
quested by Mr.. Andrews to note his sig
nature to paper, to which he then a6ix
cd his name, declaring it to be his will,
and asking the doctor to subscribe it as
a witness, which was done.
On his ncphew's suggestion that
another witness was requisite, Mr. An
drcws named MACPHERSON, the Scotch
man, and requested the doctor to send
him in
MACPHERSON, it seems, had been sent
on some Grand; but as soon as he re-
turned, the doctor communicated Mr..
Andrews message, and went himself to
attend sick call in the neighborhood,
not deeming his presence there immedl-
atcly necessary.
When he came back, he was astonish-
ed to find his patient dead. Such result
Assd aqat. iRased aesllnsnaptisipatsa, bat
BY Mr. Andrews will, which was pub
lished some days after his death, the en-
tirety Of his property was devised to his
nephew, who had attended him in his last
moments. Everything was in due form.
True, MacPherson, one oftho witnesses,
pursuant to previous intenti on, had sail
ed for Scotland shortly after the funeral,
and was not present before the Judge OF
Probate. But his handwriting was prov
ed, and the evidence OF the remaining
witness was quite satisfactory. He had
seen the testator append his signature,
had heard him declare that the paper was
his will, and was positive that, at the
time. he was sound Of mind and memory.
Poor Ehss grief, when she received
the intelligence Of her fathers death, was
too profound to be decpened by the news
of her own disinherison. E.s
Under all the circumstances one would
have thought that the young husband
would have been unremitting in terder-
ness and sympathy toward his sorrowing
bride, who had sacrificed so much for his
sake. And so he would had he devoted
ly loved her, but he did not .t
The fact is, his whole heart and soul
and mind were occupied with previous
attachment-not from another; the far
thest possible from that-its object was
himself. This affection, which was ofthc
most ardent description, had met with a
blighting disappointment in his wife's
loss Of fortune; and with her unceaslng
grief and continual self accusation--shc
offered no reproaches to him-he had
but little patience, and soon gave her to
understand as much, The man who, a
month before, would have been ready to
put on mourning had she lost her favor
ito canary, turned his back upon her In
the hour Of real afiiction.
When at length he was found dead in
his bed one morning, after night of ca
rousal, the coroner's jury said it was "the
act Of God"--his blessing, you will call
it.
Enle's cousin, instead OF making any
provision for her whose rights he had
most unriehtcously supplanted, left her
wholly dependent on others, and had she
not found home in the house of an old
and tried friend Of her father, she might
have gone forth shelterlcss wandcrcr.
Tom Mansfield, who had casually
made the acquaintance of the young wild
ow, became warmly interested in her
cause, and guided probably moro by
sympathy than judgment had commenced
an action to contest the will made under
the circumstances just related.
And this was the case in which he
wishod my assistance.
We sat up nearly all night in consulta-
ton. There was point which we both
thought beautiful" one. and we de-
voted our principal efforts to strengthen
ing it.
Ours was the first cause on in the