Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1881-01-28

could see from these scraps that il must
have been the will that Matthew
Stokes destroyed, for II read
My real and personal -
- Henry CfunSOn --- --
--- - The tcStator i'll --
- his presenc, and
iii
Il compared the scraps OF paper
with the copy found in the trunk, and
il was without doubt the same hand
writing | would have turned 10 the
clerk, " hose name stood first rs 4 Wit
ness, hut he was dead; or ~ the one
who had written and witnessed the or
iginal will, and who, nj this moment,
| felt sure must know something otthis
fraud, hut he had gone To drink year
or two before, and had been reluet.
autly obliged to part with him ask
ed ii any one had his address, and hy II
strange coincidence i letter had come
from him that very day To one OF my
clerks, asking him e call for he was
very I'LL The moment got that |
started OH for Peters lodgings in cab.
! | found him in bed, evidently in rap
id consumption, and had only to hold
up the forged Viii and say Significantly,
how ON earth did you come 10 do this9'
10 make the blood leave his face He
would not confess, however, until |
gave him a pledge that he would not
hc punished for his share in'thc forge
| and that was more than could take
upon me 10 promise, So left him. and
made my way to the miserable home
the MorclevS i'll Golden lame BY
miserable l don't mean unhappy. but
lpoor. When | was admitted to the
house found they occupied two
rooms On the second floor. The heir
eSS Of stokes large fortune was busy
ON her knees before the fire, toaSting
bread for her husbands tea, and her
own ROSY checks III the same time and
Merely himself seated in Il corner Of
the room writing with II swift hand NJ
the law papers he spent his evenings
III copying Mrs. Moreley was quite i
young thing, and So sood-looking that |
could scarcely believe her the daughter
Of my deceased client
when told them of the death OF
old Matthew Stokes amy one would have
thought they had lost their kindcst
| friend. His daughter was overcome
with grief assured her that from
what ! had heard, her father had for
given her, and that If he had known
their address he certainly would have
sent TO them. Both listened brcathlcss-
| ~ 10 my story, and then, when gave
my opinion that nothing new could
stand IN the way of her inheriting her
fathers wealth, she simply Went up TO
her husband, claSped him III her arms
and kissed him, and then burst into
tears. But when spoke of prosecute
ing her fathers cousin She, with the
true tenderness and tact Of woman
said No, my poor father would not
have diSgraced n relative. even though
he deserved it, Perhaps il YOU wrote
to him telling him what you have dis
covered he will trouble us no more.
1T was hard to let the rascal slip,
but | wrote to Gunson accordingly, and
if my pen had been dipped in acid,
could not have written stronger. liz
needed no second dose, Without even
having the poitcness To reply, he was
off to America by the quickest
route, fearing every inch Of the
way, | expect that the police were
III his wake got the whole
details of the plot out Of Peter
Chips, from which il appeared that
Gunson no sooner discovered that his
cousin had really burned the will form
crly executed in his favor, then lie
sought out my late clerk rs fitting
tool toproduce Il duplicate from the
draft The price given was 4 mere
triile-somc f5 or &c; but Peter had
resolved to bleed his employer by mcanr
of the forged document Peter was dy-
ing when he made the confession, bu,
Mrs. Morley was at his house next day
and took the poor fellows breath away
by telling him she would see that his
wife and children were well cared for
The stricken man stared mt her SOME
moments in dead silence, and then he
fcebly snatchcd at her hand and burst
into tears. He couldn'tspeak, but tho
simple gesture said more than 4
thousand words would have conveyed
Mrs. Morley has not been spoilcc
by her good fortune. She was tn,
same loving and gcnerous-hcartcC
woman that She was ii
poverty She declares to this day tina
she is not whit more happy in he
grand house than she was in the two
pair back in Golden lane. And be
lieve she speaks the truth.