The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1880-08-24
TEMPTED TO MURDER.

L WClC " lCli Opu Ihob JOu oiS "
i potential murderer, you would not
even be angry with me-you would
simply smile at such an absolutely pre-
posterous notion. And 80, in the face
of such an accusation, should 1 have
smiled-once upon time.
Judge for yourself if should not have
had the right to smile. My name, by
the way, is Alfred Lambourn, and l
consider my name as of some conse-
quence to my argument, because I hap
pen to be one of family which can
carry back its history for an exception
able number of generations, and without
being able to name single member of
it who was not perfectly respectable and
perfectly sane-not taking into account
certain hereditary tendency to let our
selves be imposed on and our money
slip unaccountably through our fingers
in the most contented manner.
My friend was Sir Reginald Gervase-
of course you must allow just as much
accuracy to my proper names as you
please. He had one of the largest
estates in Foamshire, and lived mostly
at st. Moor's, splendid place near
Spendrith, which is on the widest and
rockiest part of that grand and magnifi-
cent coast, as all the world knows. My
description of him is short-he was,
literally, the best and finest fellow in
the whole world Were Lady Gervase
writing this story, have no doubt she
would say great. deal more of him;
mine must be mans praise of a man.
He had not single fault that 1 could
ever discover, and yet was as far from
being prig as the South is from the
North Pole. He was nearly my match
which is saying something-in point
of chest and biceps, and infinitely more
than mine, or most mems, in brains;
and his heart was larger still. I some
times used to think it his single mis-
fortune that he was so rich and so
happy and so full of sense of all the
duties that his birthright had thrown
upon him. Had the fortune left him the
struggling barrister that he was when
/ first met him in London, he would
have made himself great man, instead
of merely growing into something much
greater. For he had by no means been
born to Baronetcy and the ownership
of ST. Moor's. He unexpectedly inher-
tied it from cousin of about his own
age, and apparently as strong and as
healthy as himself, who had been struck
down by death when hardly thirty
years old. 1t was change to turn most
mems brains, and to send half of them
to the devil. Sir Reginald took his
wealth and his position with less elation
than he had taken his first brief, went
abroad for while, and then came back
to settle down for good at St. Moor's.
The first thing he did-which was in an
hour or two-was to become first favor
lite of the whole country, and that
among his poorer, even more than
among his richer, neighbors. The next
was to send for me, then managing
clerk to London firm, to be his friend
and counselor. The next was to marry
as wisely as man ever did in this world.
He had fallen over head and ears In love
with the best girl in all England, and
she with him. BEFORE long they had a
family Of two boys and two girls, and
were fortunate in them all. The eldest
was called Reginald, of course, being a
first-born Gervase. The next was called
Marion, after her mother. Then came
my own god-son, Alfred, and then Nora.
Their names have nothing to do in the
matter, but 1t is pleasant for myself to
write them. 1t Is hardly more to the
purpose than to say that I, too, was on