Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1880-09-22
From the Pcn.)
THE COLD HAND OF MORBECK.
By 8. NJ. RANKING.

| tell this tale as nearly as possible
in the words Of my friend, the Rev. John
Chalmers, sometime rector If Gill
th~aite' in \ the county Of Durham.
Did ever tell you the history of Lucy
Gedge? All we'll, it is sad one, but
strangely interesting for all that; 50 stir
the fire, my boy-the nights get colder,
this spring, instead of warmer-anu light
your pipe, and YOU shall hear it.
Poor Lucy! If you had seen her even
rs l last saw her you would have said
that she was just the girl to make an
honest man happy, and to live out
placid, honorable life of wife and moth
erhood without any great trouble or even
excitement to disturb it; she was such
Al innocent, pretty lass. It was not ut all
the sort of face that a man would dream
Of as being connected with a tragedy, but
[ doubt if you ever heard of bitterer
tragedy than that I have to tell you.
Do you remember Morbeck Hall, the
great house you exclaimed at when we
were driving yesterday, though you
could only get glimpse Of it in the dis
lance through the trees? That was
Lucy's home, and it has been on my
mind to tell you about her ever since.
She was my niece on the mothers side,
for the last of the Gedges of Morbeck, as
old family as any between Tweed and
Trent, married my youngest sister; it
was lovely fact to be sure, for she had
not silver, though you know, lad, the
Chalmers are as good line as any in
the countryside; and they were happy
couple, God rest them But there was
never but one child, my niece and grand
daughter Lucy, and her dear mother was
taken when she was but little bit of a
thing; so she grew up her fathers pet
and plaything, and his chief companion;
for he would not put any other woman
in my dead sister Marian's place-aud
the older she grew the BONNER she be-
came, till what with her beauty, and
what with the tales of her fathers wealth,
the heads of half the young men in the
country were turned by the heiress of
N1orbeck.
Well, SO it fell out that, just before
she grew to nineteen, old John Gedge
died, and when his will came to be read.
it was found that Lucy, as was just,
would inherit everything when she came
of age, saving few legacies to old ser
wants and the like; but meanwhile she
was left under the joint guardianship of
myself and her fathers sister, Mrs. Pos
tlethwayte, and could not marry without
our joint consent Of course the child
could not come to the rectory here, with
no companion but an old bachelor like
me; besides it seemed wrong that the
hall should be shut up SO long as there
was one of the race to live in it, SO it was
arranged that this aunt of hers should
come and live there with her, rs chapc-
ron and what not. She made great talk.
did Aunt Postlethwayte, about the sac
ritice she was making for the sake of her
family, in burying herself in such an out
of-the-way corner of the world; but for
my part I thought she was the luck Of
It, to be living at rack and manager at
Morbeck Hall, with such a companion
as my dear lassie, instead of eking out
her widows jointure amongst lot Of old
tabbies in some stuffy London street
But to do her justice, think the woman
meant well, and she was kind to Lucy
after fashion Of her own, for 1 do be-
hcve she loved the poor child as much
as she could love any one but herself.
After all, she WAS q Gedge of Morbeck,
and noblesse oblige you know, my boy.
She was just one OF those women-I dare
say yon have seen plenty of them in Lon
don-who can't forget at fifty that they
were beauties at half the age, and who
have managed by hook and by crook to
get their own way all their lives. sup
pose her husband knocked under for
peace and quietness' sake, and she never
had any children to worry, SO she came
to domineer over Lucy with all the de-
light of having found new pastime. I
remember one time when she was i'll,
and, like the obstinate fool she was,
wouldn't obey the doctor; she said she
had had her own way all her life and was
not going to be contradicted at her time
of life! I thought should have chokcd
when that slipped out; but it was no
laughing matter, lad, the mischief she
made through that sway" of hers.
Well, to make long story short, the
aunt had firmly determined that her
niece should marry some scrapegrace of
fellow whose name I don't remember.
and don't want to- never saw him:
his chief recommendations were. q bro
Ken constitution, an empty purse, a dis
tant relationship to the late Tom Pos
tlethwayte, and an old title. So madame
had settled that bonnie Lucy Gedqe
should be my lady, and bolster up nv
lords fallen fortunes with the broad