Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1870-04-28
Selefteo Miscellamu.
THE STORY OF TOW SOPER,s WILL.

THE STORY OF TOM SOPER'S WILL
What induced him to do itY was tn,
question.
Heaven knowsi' was the answer.
But the long and short of the matter wa
this:
MIR. Tom Soper, an attorney by profes
sion, had established himself, MANY wear,
ago, IN the little town of Cogswell, under
the patronage of old Lady Dudgeon, who
was distant cousin of his; and, being 8
man of agreeable manners, he became sc
great a favorite with that lady that not only
was the management of all her affairs placed
IN his hands, but it was generally supposed
that she had, In q manner, adopted him
ne being an unfortunate orphan, of about
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS intended to endow him
with all her worldly possessions, when she
should require them no longer herself -
But Mr.. Tom Soper was an ambitious man,
he was an impatient man, and was not con-
tent to look forward to q happy future, but
wanted happy present as well; and, in
seeking that happine 8, which with him
assumed the shape OF money, he permitted
himself so to manage his relatives affairs
that portion of her income found its way
into his own purse. Lady Dudgeon dis
covered these proceedings, and there was
hot quarrel. Mr.. Soper was forthwith
dis-adopted, and was sent about his busi-
ness; he had killed the goose that laid the
golden eggs, and went about declaring that
1t had only died to spite him, that any real
sonable bird would have lived through the
operation and been all the better for it-a
little gentle bleeding for the good of its
health Lady Dudgeon, however, refused
to look upon it in that light, and forthwith
installed another distant cousin, q young
lady this time, in the position of first favor
tie. People said that Nh. Soper's ingrati-
tude had broken Lady Dudgeon's heart and
FASTENED her death; but, as she survived
that little episode some ten years, and was
eighty EIGHT when she did die, perhaps old
age had as much to do with it as ANYTHING
else.
Mr.. Soper, on receiving the melancholy
tidings, put on his hat and went up 10 the
house OF mourning; for, said he, noswith-
standing certain unpleasant misunderstand-
lngs that had arisen between him and the
deceased he had ever regarded her with
unlimited affection. and all difference were
forgotten IN the grave, and moreover, as
next of kin, it was his melancholy privilege
to take the management of affairs into his
own hands This claim of being next of
kin startled everybody, but nevertheless
was Just claim; Lady Dudgeon had out
lived all her nearer relatives, and no one
had given a thought to the matter except
the party most Interested that be was
interested to very great extent was soon
proved by the discovery that there was no
will. No, poor little Miss Champion had
to pick mp her things and go home again
and after ten years of expectation and sec
lusion with old Lady Dudgeon this was
hard; but there was no help for it, so home
she went, and became in due time q gov
ernOss.
As inheritor of Lady Dudgeon's wealth.
Mr.. Tom Soper retired from business
and became a popular man-popular
from mere dint of money; he spent
profusely, built schools, erected a
pump, gave stained glass window to the
church, and Christmas dinners to the poor,
and, what was more than all, he founded
a literary and scientific institution, which
was to do wonders in the way of elevating
the masses; and as 20 those who were not
of the masses, there was no fortelling to
what height they might be exalted: it
was only to be hoped that the Cog swellians
would not get a severe fall through pride.
All this, you will understand, is by way
of introduction, simply necessary for the
understanding of what shall follow
1t had been determined to open the in
stitution with great splsndor. ALI the
neighboring gentry were to be invited;
there was to be q scientific address by a
professor brought expressly from London;
there were to be mineralogical specimens,
and geological specimens, and other won-
ders oI a like nature; telescopes. micros-
copes, stethescopes-that is to say, stereo-
scopes; and the proceedings were to con-
cert in the great room of the "Black Lion,
adjoining the institution; and, save that
the weather was as bad az bad could be,
the affair was as successful as could be de-
sired A particular success-as the fore
runner Of Cogswellian enlightenment was
the professors address. He was little
quick man, who, with the aid Of glass of
water, undertook to discourse for half an
hour on the indes:ructibility of matter.
Everybody considered him very affable for
q man OF learning, and he had the pleas
antest way of imparting knowledge that
you can imagine.
''Now," he began. abruptly, "you no
doubt often think you have destroyed some
thing"
Mr.. Soper was sitting in the very centre
of the first row of cane-bottom chairs, and
on him the professor fixed his sharp eyes
when he spoke; naturally. perhaps, but Mr..
"A bit of paper, for instance" said the
professor NJ. Soper begun to fidget
In his chair-''you put it on the fire, we
will say, it burns, and then-it is destroy
ed? No such thIngr'
'sWhat do you loeanY" said Mr.. Soper.
II mean, my dear SIR, mean, ladies nd
gentlemen, that it is simply altered, not
destroyed; il was was once paper, rov 1t
Is so much tinder so much vapor You
will understand, before have finished my
address, that what once has Leen. always
will be; and that what is, always has been
under some shape or other. Perhaps at
the present moment"-here he took q sip
Of vater-.I am imbibing portion of q
love-letter written one hundred years ago. !"
Mr. Sor u allowed the professor to con-
ciude his discourse without further inter.
suption, leaning back to his chair thought
fully, and paying no heed to the words of
knowledge. lie complained of not being
very we'll; and when the frst part of the
entertainment--the scientific part-came
to close, and the dancing and feasting
was about to begin, he excused himself
from further attendance. He was an old
man now. he said, and would leave that
sort Of thing % the young people; so he
went round to the "Black Lion, and or
dered them to put his horse to, while he
fortified himself with a strong glass of
hrsndy-and- water, the night being parti-
culariy nasty one, and on top of that he
had another glass, still stronger, and then,
pulling his coat well up about his ears. and
his hat well down over his nose. he got
into his gig, and went rattling down the
street.
There was no mistake about the rain; il
was tha logged, downright rain that evi-
IDENTIFY means to make night of it, and yet
was not of that steady description that may
: 2 cfrcumyented by an umbrella, or parti-
sculas Inclination Of the body. Mol it was
in league with the wind, which was bowl
ing with the force of forty lunatic asylums
let loose and blown hither and thither in
a wild, disorderly manner the was no
guarding against: and then the horse, in
stead of running straight ahead, ss horse
should do in the experienced hands of Mr..
Soper, insisted on q zig-zag course. as
though with the idea that, if he could bat
make flank march. h. would get behind
tAs wind and be al rigat. ~ = - -
ThereI it was decided at last. It had