The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1874-11-10


now be of sacred value to her.
She reused at length from her painful
reverie, and, to the exertion Of all her
strength, applied as her uncle had directed,
the springs yielded, and the secret apart
ment lay open before her, revealing moth
ing but thickly folded paper, tied up with
piece ofrope-yarn,
"Just like uncle Ben = she thought,
with a smile---"a piece of funny advice, I'll
warrant ~
She united the rude string, and unfold
ing the paper, which appeared to contain
several closely written pages, her eye
caught, at the beginning, these words in
heavy hand,
ain the name of God, Amen "
This looked strange and mysterious, and
almost alarmed her, but, as she read on,
she found she was perusing the "Last
Will and Testament" Of her uncle, in
which he had bequeathed his entire estate
to his " beloved niece, Mary Curtis"
Almost bewildered at the discovery, and
in her simplicity hardly knowing its i'm
port, she returned silently to William, and
laid the paper on the table beside him. lie
commenced reading it with ordinary curl
osity, but soon his face flushed, his hand
trembled, and, turning suddenly around,
he exclaimed,
"Mary where did you get this?"
She brought the box, and told him its
singular history, and then asked him If the
paper was of any value.
William pointed to the seals and sigma
lures of the witnesses at the foot of the
document--the names of men whose hand
writing he we'll knew and he replied,
1T is of value no more or less than
this-from the humble position of poor
sowing-girl, it raises you to the possession
of an estate worth, at least, three hundred
thousand dollars; and more than this, it
brings justice to one whose whole life has
beena series of cruel sufferings "
He spoke with strong emotion, but as Ire
finished, his oountenance changed to an ex-
preston Of deep sadness, and he leaned
upon the table and covered his face with
his hands. Mary's quick sensibilities di-
vined the cause and STOPPING, she 'whis-
pered in his ear,
Remember Faithful under all cir
cumstances p-this piece of paper is of no
value TO me without you Shall tear
itf"
William raised his fearful eyes, and i'm
printed kiss upon those lips which had
hardly ever uttered an unholy thought.
At the time he met Mary in the street,
William had been in the city but q few
hours, and had not yet seen Mr.. Curtis nor
any other member of the firm but was on
his way to their place of business at the
moment of the startling adventure. 1t was
decided that he should keep his arrival un-
known till the necessary steps Of proving
the win were gone through.
As soon as this was accomplished, a note
was dispatched by aunt Rachel to Mr..
Curtis, requesting him 20 call at her house
the next morning, at eight O'Clock, with
out fail, eil business of the utmost impor-
tanee to himself. He obeyed the summons
tering the cottage, was introduced to two
OF three ladies and gentlemen who were
seated in the parlor. As soon as the salu-
tations of the morning were over, the door
ofthe adjoining room opened, and William
ard Mary entered, arm in arm, when one
of the gentlemen, who wore white cravat,
Immediately rose, and united them in the
holy bonds of matrimony.
Mr.. Curtis was astounded beyond meas
ure at this unexpected scene, but no less
delighted than astonished. He grasped
Williams hand with nervous hilarity,
and then affectionately embraced his niece
whom he always really loved-and con-
gratalatvd her on her good fortune in Sc
curing such a husband.
When the few guests had gone, William
and Mary asked a private interview with
Mr.. Curtis, in which the story Of the
Work-BoS was related to him from be-
ginning 10 end, concerning which he had
never before heard word. When they
came TO the will, and the document was
laid before him, be was thunder struck,
at first, and remained sometime silent
But he WAS man Of strict honor, and had
strong sense Of Justice and turned at
length TO Mary, no said, with smile,
1t is all right, Mary the property is
clearly yours. | Cbeerfallly resign II all.''
MARY, deeply affected, threw her arms
around his neck, and said,
"rhe possession of all the world would