Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1876-05-25

reason for his decision and, indeed, his nerves
were so shaken as to affect his whole system
and render the change necessary. Before HI
left home, however, the chest was privately
buried in the orchard his children being
informed of as much of its history as it wa
expedient for them to know, in order tina
their natural curiosity and wonderment nigh
be set at rest.
Taking the manuscript with him, he jour
neyed to Suffolk, and sought out the gentle
men he desired to see. Mr.. Sludge, the junior
partner of the firm was absent; but Mr.. Grims
BY was in his Office, and received the visitor
with politeness He was quaint, kindly ole
man, with shrewd but pleasant face, and
pair of keen gray eyes that twinkled will
something like amusement as the clergyman
made known to him the nature of his er
rand.
"That box, sir, has given world of trouble
in its time," he remarked. "People have
nearly lost their wits over it; it's altogether
such remarkable affair"
II am sure nearly lost NINE" said Mr.
Lyndon. "Pray, can you inform me why L
or rather my brother-should have been Sc
lected as the recipient of such an uncomfor
table and entirely useless legacy"
ENTIRELY useless, as you say-and very
disappointing, it has always been found by
the legatees," rejoined the lawyer. "1shoule
never have sent it over to America, my dea
sir, had I been allowed to take my own way
but ones clients, you know, have to be hu
mored. We have been the family solicitors
for generations past-that is to say, our firm
has-and we find it expedient, Of course, tt
keep on good terms. But an eccentric race
they have always been. This last barone
was queer man, very morbid, and tainted
with the hereditary superstition. He dareo
not depart from the established custom of tht
house, and put an end to the matter, by dis
posing at once in some summary way OF tht
wretched old box, as it would have been sen
sble to do. He was, as you are probably
aware, only cousin Of Col. Robert Lyndon
who inherited it from Mr. Charles Lyndon
the first legatee."
81 don't keep the run of the family con
nection very clearly" said the clergyman
"Can you explain to me why it was provist
of Sir Henry's will that the box should moi
be opened for ten years7"
"I cannot, indeed. 1t was proviso of tht
original will, and made precedent for al
succeeding ones. Merely piece of eccen
tricity, suppose, on par with all the rest
But it does seem striking illustration of the
extent to which human weakness can be car
ried, to mark how first one and then another
of family, in sound mind, have yielded
themselves to so singular vagary, all ir
consequence of the mere invention of a dis
eased mind !"
"You don't mean to say" cried Mr.. Lyn
don; stzftfsgs ths 'wn5Is tnfihg Wig
hoax ?"
The lawyer shrugged his shc:,lders. "WhJ
no, not precisely hoax, my dear sir; but il
was delusion-a mere melancholy delusior
on Mr.. Phillip Lyndon's part. He was long
monomaniac on the subject. He nevel
committed murder, either by accident or de
sign but he was firmly convinced that hi
had done 80, and the conviction caused hin
to live and die in misery. He was violen
man, and once, I believe, did fire at his broth
er in jealous fit, without ipjuring him; bu
he certainly did not kill his wife. His mar
riage was an unhappy one, and the dsap
pointment it caused him unsettled his mind.
"And whose bones are those in the chest?'
"Well, they are supposed to be those Of hi
wife. Nobody could swear to it. A nice com
panion that chest-full of bones must bav
made him, night and day Sir Henry KEEP
'em in an outhouse. He might as we'll,
think, have put 'ern underground, eh2 I an
truly sorry you have been put to so much in
convenience in regard to the matter. Blu
now, hope, the peregrinations of the ches
are at end, and with them all the trouble i
has cost. You, 1 take it for granted, are to'
sensible man to saddle it as an inherit
ance upon anybody else when you die"
"God forbid that I should !" calculated th'
clergyman, with fervor. Il have been to-
greatly disturbed myself by its presence tt
entail such discomfort upon any one | carr
for. 1t is covered with four feet Of eartl
now, and underground it may stay until th
day of judgment, as far as I am concerned
But think it is pity that the poor laey'
remains could not have been permitted to res
at peace among those of her own house
hold"
In farther conversation with the lawyer, HI
was told that the old family estate in Devon
shire, had long ago passed into the hands O
strangers, the Suffolk property alone being
retained. Its present owner, the widow of tht
late baronet, lived there now with her only
child, a daughter, who was shortly to wed al
Irish peer. On the death of Lady Lyndon
the family name, in the English branch, woulc
become extinct, and its only remaining repre-
sentatives be those on the other side of tht
Atlantic. Mr.. Lyndon also learned now, fol
the first time, that there was prospect of thi
Suffolk property eventually coming into hi
hands. But the knowledge of the fact, so fal
from gratifying him, actually gave him 6
pang, so bitter lesson had experience taugh
him, of the evil fruits of allowing the antici
patton to dwell upon wealth to be gained BY
stepping into dead mems Shoes"
After pleasant visit, which was prolonged
beyond his expectation, and during which
much hospitality and kindness we're showr
him, Mr.. Lyndon returned home, greatly i'm