Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1880-02-25
Told in the freight.

sitting on the rug, Fred Nesting close to
mamma, and /, as usual, at Aunt Edith's
right side. It was wild November night,
with the rain beating pitilessly against the
closely-curtained windows, the wind whist
ling shrilly through the leafless elms outside,
and playing mad FRANKS with the tall, red
chimnevs Of "Garrick House." as our home
was called ever since Mr. Garrick, the ia
nous player, paid our greatgrandpa visit.
IL was exactly the sort of night to make
us all gather round the wide, old-fashioned
hearth, where the logs were blazing merrily,
and to cause us to feel grateful for the bless
ings we enjoyed, and involuntarily to pity
those who were less fortunate. The wind
coming down the chimney in fitful gusts
made the candles flare and flicker so weirdly
that Jessie proposed putting them out and
sitting costly by the freight. Books and
work were neglected, the chess-board put
aside, and pussy was making sad havoc Of
mammals knitting without any one interfer.
ing. In fact, we were all in delightfully."-
comfortable, indolent, medtative mood, and
it only wanted story TO complete our
happiness. But Aunt Edith, was silent
and grave. Papa seemed grave, too, and
| even our dear, merry mother seemed TO be
thinking of something melancholy. We
children, with that instructive feeling of awe
we sometimes experience. we scarcely know
why. glanced at each other in mute wonde,
| and curiosity. expectinp something to han
pen every moment. The day had been dnl
and oppressive. and the afternoon had been
threatening a storm, when a loud peal OF
| thunder seemed To shake the house TO its
yery foundation.
at was inst such n nirht as this, Robert, >
said aunt TO papa, with a little SILVER.
Exactlv." renlied mana tboughtfully
"and the same time of year, too"
"Suppose YOU tell the children all about
| it," mamma said. quietly; "they look as il
they wanted TO know yery much"
"Well, since il is perhaps time they
knew, will tell YOU how Aunt Edith saved
my life," continued papa, turning to Edgar
| the eldest of us "long ago, long before yor
were born. nv bow
"Aunt Edith and were only brother anc
sister; ever so much greater cronies thar
you and Edgar are. Jessie, not only becaus,
we had each other to love, but because W,
had to make common cause against an enemy
Jeffrey Lawson, our step.mother's son by
previous marriage. We lost our own dea
mother when we were babies. jeff was tel
years older than was and after our father
death, which happened when was eigh
and Edith six, we would have had poo
| time of il but for Dame Turtle, our dear oil,
nurse. She looked after our interests an,
| fought all our own battles valiantly, whethe
we were in the right or the wrong. On
step.mother was so wrapped up in jeff tina
she bestowed little trouble upon us. | espe
cialy was no favorite, but she got a sill,
idea into her head that stood between Jei
and the property of Garrjck. He was fine
handsome fellow. as | remember when wa
| fifteen and he fye-and-twenty. strong an,
daring. haughtv in disposition and hast
in temper.
"Our motber-we called her 80. thong
she was little more than kin and less tha
nd"-resented it, too, and looked f1rwar,
| with very bitter feelings to the time whel
would be twenty.one: for then, according
to o,P fathers will she was to leave Gal
rick. and reside in a little cottage he owne
in Wales. 1t would be a different position
to her, as she had but small iointur
and by some inexplicable chain of woman
reasoning, she had blamed me for what sh
WAS pleased to call her uumerited misfol
tunes. Each year that passed made matter
worse between us. ASH grew older man
things in the management of the propert
struck me as very unjust The best of tn
timber was being cut down and the hous
| allowed To fall into state bordering on ruin
because nv mother would not spend none,
on repairs which alone was to eni,y tn
benefit of. Jeffrey chose his mothers lega
adviser, and neither Edith or knew wher
to look for advice or assistance Things r.
manned yery much in this state till | wa
nearly twenty, when one dav jeff entere
nv room in a state of wild excitement, an
showed me will that he had discovered i
some out-of-the-way corner 1t was dated
few days before my fathers death, and e,
cept that it beaueathed to Jeffrey the sum G
FIVE thousand pounds and the reverson @
Garrick if died without heirs, it was sui
stantially the same as the one already in e,
istence.
al had nv doubts about the validity of tn
document, but I passed no comment; bot
the witnesses were dead, and had not
shadow of proof to advance. Suspicion i
such a case goes for nothing, so held IN
peace, the more especially as Judson, on
old steward, was prepared to swear to m
fathers signature. So Jeff Lawson had hi
five thousand pounds.
"On the night of which I am going to te
YOU there was large part of the money
the house. Jeff was going 10 London tn
next morning; and as he meant to stal
early, he said goodbye to us over night, an
went up TO his room first carving the none
with him. Edith and remained in th
diping-room little longer. chatting on di
ferept matters; amongst Others, of Jeff's d.
parture. of n strange restlessuess had oil
served In his manner of late of the possibl
date of his return. and somehow, quite uni
tentionallv, | let fall a hint Of nv suspicion
about the will, aud discovered that they co
responded exactly with Edith's. At las
when the fire had burned quite out and Ii
candles we're getting low In their socket
we went nm stairs together. II was a will
November night. with lust such angry. in
pa,ient pusts of wind and vagrant thunde
clans as this. occunied the west room
your amt the one adjoining. and Jeff in III
east room AT the other end of the corrido
while his mother had her apartments in IL
south wing. As babe Edith good.nigh
the clock on the stairs struck twelve, au
she merrily wished me many happy return
pof the day. for had lust entered nv twe
tieth birthday. In a few minutes nv ligl
was extinpuisbed, and | was costly wra
. ned nm. In less than half an hour | W,
sound asleep. Not SO Aunt Edith. ST
was, she told me afterwards, restless an
nervous. two most unusual things with he
All her efforts 10 sleep were upayailiDg, az
she gave nm the attempt at last. and risir
from he'd. sat down by the FIRE TO rea
0 Twice she fancied she heard footsteps
the corridor and onened her door to liste
Twice she threw herself ON couc
With tho intention If resting since slumb