St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1881-12-10

income of ESQ, 900 he must undergo q
correction which shall Undue him with
a proper humility of spirit and remain
to him as a memento of my rebuke from
the grave. | therefore order that
within twenty-four hours after the
reading of my will Stephen TIMBER
glowth shall kneel for an hour in the
dining-room of Lumber Hall, with a
FOOLS cap upon his head, and read three
times in an audible voice, so that all
who please to come into the room may
hear him, the 10th and 25th chapters
of the Book Of Proverbs. Furthermore,
l order that at the conclusion of his
hours penance Stephen Umberglowth
shall receive a sound schoolboy whip
ping of twelve cuts with birch from
coachman, Doddles; and | bequeath a
fee of fifty guineas to Doddles Gin addi-
ton to the legacy of f1O0 already made
him) to inflict this punishment, and
fifty guineas each to DR.. Brush, DIR.
Grinning and Mr. Purkin to witness
the punishment and see that it is ad-
ministered with conscientious smart
ness. l charge Doddles, if he have any
affection for his old master, not to spare
the rod, but to lay on with vigor. In
case, however, Stephen Umberglowth
should decline submitting to penance
and stripes, l desire that my estate
shall be disposed of as follows. :"
And the will went on to say that in the
event of Stephen proving contumacious
! he was to receive 100000 only, and the
property was to be divided in equal
part between the other relatives al
ready mentioned.
One may imagine how the reading of
! the foregoing clauses was received. Alice
Callingclere and her husband could not
refrain from burst of laughter; a grim
smile lowered over the lips of Lady
Beakwell; Mr.. Gloam emitted q pious
chuckle, and Mrs Gloam blushed. AS
for the great Stephen Underground, he
sat with his face crimson and his eye
balls staring, speeches. with dismay
and Indignation.
"Pooh, pooh ! what preposterous
stuff - he blurted out, as soon he could
speak. "Any court of law will set these
provisions aside"
Certainly, Mr., Underground, y said
the lawyer, in an apologize tone, as
though to beg pardon for what he had
read. | told your cousin so when the
will was drawn up"
but why did you allow him to draw
up such will at all, sir? Its an insult
to common sense"
II did my best to dissuade him." an.
swered Mr.. Purkin. "Only a fortnight
ago, when he was on his death-b bed,
returned to the Hall to ask whether he
would not cancel those clauses; but he
declared that he would not remit your
your punishment.
Come, Uncle Stephen, a whipping
won't hurt you remarked Alice Call
ingclere, maliciously.
.'And you will find those two chap
tiers in Proverbs well worth your atten-
tion," observed Mr.. Gloam, pensively
Il am in no humor for jesting," cried
Stephen, with furious stamp of his
foot. .Those insulting clauses must be
set aside-they are a disgrace to the
man who wrote them"
well, Cousin Stephen, it is not ou1
interest to advise you to be whipped, y
laughed Lady Blackwell, dryly. eve
have more to gain by your attacking
the will and getting it set aside"
1.-The whole of it must stand or fall
together" remarked Dennis Calm
clere.
1T is the will of mailman" howled
Stephen, unguardedly.
''Oh, Uncle, how can you pretend
that??" expostulated Alice, with twink
ling eyes.
"Why, only half an hour ago yor
were saying how sensible your cousin
was, and such an accurate Judge O
character, too"
MIR. Umberglowth glared at his niece
and marched out of the room. Wher
he was gone Alice had another uncon
trollable fit of laughter, which soor
proved contagious, for all the Others
joined in it.
Meanwhile the great Stephen wa:
pacing up and down his room like &
hyena of the non-laughing sort. He
was practical man, and examined hi
position by the help of that far-famet
common sense of his. IF he attacked
the will its provisions would be quoted
in all the newspapers, and he shoulo
become the ughing-stock to an un
feeling community; in all likelihood
too, the will would be set aside and the
property would be divided equally
among the deceased's. relatives. Wa:
it wise to incur such a riskp An hours
penance tor ESQ, 900 year was not toe
much. To be sure, there was the whip
ping, but that would not take long
Mr.. Umberglowth tried to recollect the
sensations of his lasS corporal punish
,,,onf Of roboo1 h,,t 70 lection convinced
him that the more he thought upon the
stripes the less he would like them, ane
that if he meant to 60 through the pen
ance he had better get the business ove1
at once. So with sudden impulse III
ran down stairs and informed his smil
ing relatives that he intended to submit
to the ordeal.
The poor wretch even endeaYored t