Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1874-07-09

ceeded to force the lock of the from,
door. There was strong iron bolt in.
| side; and the entrance was effected with
| some difficulty. Nothing was found in
| the first room but parrot, which seemed
to be delighted to see the newcomers
Poor Jacques!" it said, poor Jacques!'
| Then, on seeing two or three boys in the
crowd, the bird screamed, bad BOYS
! poor Jacquesl Bad boys; poor ,Jacques!"
For minute or two there was pro-
found silence; not a stir or whisper broke
the Stiffness. The officers then APP
preached the chamber, the door of which
was slightly aiar. 1t was pushed open
and eagerly the crowd ga2ed into the
room There was the old man kneeling
in front of great iron chest, his head
bent forward and one hand on the edge
of the box, while the other grasped an
old, brown-looking piece of paper. Then
the authorities were sent for, an investi-
CATION made, and process Derbdl drawn up
to the effect that the defunct had come
to his death by heart disease.
The paper he held was a very old doc
ument and so faded that it was scarcely
legiblc The deceased had, apparently,
taken il out to examine 1t; and he had
written down at the close of the will
for such it was-the amount of his prop
erty and the manner in which it was in
vested
The officer who directed the proceed
ings was a man far advanced in years.
He had been a comrade of Jacques in
their boyhood, but had lost sight of him
for many years There were tears in the
old mans eyes as he held up the instru-
ment and said, in a shrill and broken
voice, to the motley group which had as
sembled: My friends and townsmcn,
here lies the body of man whom the
city ridiculed and despsed as heartless
miser. The boys hooted at him in the
streets, and pelted him with dirt and
stones People taught their very dogs to
bark at him as he passed. The poor up
braided him, and the rich sneercd and
pointed the finger of scorn at him as they
rode by in their coaches. Let me read
you his will"
He paused to wipe his spectaclcs, and
then began in a measured tone
"MARsEuLEs, Aug. I. 1775.
when was child fell i'll of q fever and dur
ing my recovery suffered intensely from thirst,
There had been II severe drought for months :;
and the water, always poor in quality, war almost
wholly exhausted At that time my mother told
in the same way. She also told me that my father
and many Others had lost their property by fire.
chiefly because there was an insufficient supply OF
water 10 exinguish the flames. For these reasons
bequeath all my property of every kind. after the
payment of my just debts and Of my funeral eX-
penses to my native city of Marseillcs for the pur
pose ofproviding water works which shall supply
the entire community free of expense.
JACQUES GuYor."
After slight pause, the officer con-
tinued; This is the original document,
and is much faded. What | shall now
read was apparently written on the day
Of his death, and is very brief:
Z" AUG. I, 1925.
by economy and industry | have acquired a
fortune of more than four million francs; and
hereby give and bequeath the same to the object
above named. JACQUES GUYoT."
Such is the pathetic story of Jacques
Guyot, the miser of Marseilles.--J H.,
Temple, IN Old and Ne,o for Juhe.