Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1881-08-18
Select Story.
HUGH KENRICK'S WILL,
or,
THE STORY OF A PoSY RING.
BY MARGARET HUNT.

AutaOr Of "7hs Ledden Cdsket;." "7lorni-
crofrS Kodel;:" dc. dc.
"Now have done itw cried that lady
to her husband. when she had signed her
name. 81 have written letter that will
plant dagger at every turn! l am so
glad"
"You have written letter which will
show Merivale most clearly that your
poor little sister was very much attached
to him.
sand won't that he the biggest dagger
of them all? But of course l don't want
him to think SO, and l don't think that he
will"
81 am sure he will"
81 can't help it, then. After all, he won't
show my letter! 1t puts him in such a
ridiculous position! Philin am proud
of it."
'Does it strike you as lady-likc, dcar!"
81 don't want to be lady-like-I want to
be disagreeable! He will be ready to kill
himself with vexation when he reads it
You see he may spend his whole life in
paying court to his uncle, and the old man
may leave him nothing after all, whereas
if he had been true to his love for Lucy,
he would have had all this money now.-
1t is splendid"
"He will try to get her to forgive him"
"There won't be much difficulty in per-
suading her to do that"
"Lettice!"
"Forgiving him is not marrying him!
am convinced that nothing will eyer in
duce her to do thatr'
All Mrs. Mostyn said was true; Lucy
Ilderton was now a rich lady, and her
wealth came from the odd old gentleman
with whom she had travelled three months
before. When she opened the lawyers
letter which had been forwarded to her
by Aunt Esther, she learned this astound-
ing fact and had hardly recovered her
surprise when she reached home The
lawyers letter was a catalogue of riches
and wealth. Lucy had handsome fur
nished house in Chester Square, contain
ing gallery of ancient masters, folios of
drawings and engravings, cabinets of Ve-
netian glass and china, and stores of fine
old plate. She had horses and carriages
large estate in Cumberland, and yacht
lying at Cowes. Mr.. Kenrick had left her
all he had, and had written her a letter
which touched her inexpressibly. 1t was
dated just two weeks before he died. and
was as follows:-
MY DEAR CuILD:-I am i'll, and begin to
see that shall not be able to keep my appoint
ment with you, but that it is much more likely
that before the 18th of September | shall have
set out on my long journey from which no
traveller returns. l have made my will; 1 have
left you all that possess. have done this be-
cause you are to me the living representative
of my dear wife that was to have been. You
are like her in face, form, and manner and 1
think also that youarc as good and sweet as she
was. 1t pcases me to know that when I am
gone, that one who resembles her so nearly will
live in my old home, see the things which
gathered together for my pleasure and instrrlc-
ton and, l hope, enjoy them as have done
wish you never at any time to part with any
of the land l leave you, or any of the houses,
or any of the pictures, cngravings, or books, or
china. beg you not to discharge any of my
old servants, unless grave misconduct on their
part should make such Il step absolutely neces-
sary, and of this they are incapable. If you do
part with any of them provide for them hand
somely, and see that they are always safe
frOmawant.
81 entreat you to be kind and indulgent
mistress to men and women who have been
treated more as friends than as servants I
wish you to take the surname of Clavering.
You can guess whose name it was. If YOU
ever marry, | make the condition that your
husband takes my name, SO that after all, q
Clavering and Kenrick may marry and live
happily together in the houses which have seen
such sorrow. All these things are stated, and
properly provided for in my WILL but think
you will like to hear what Iwish in letter to
yourself. have heard a little about you lately
dear child, from some one who knows Litch-
field and its neighborhood well. He says young
Merivale is paying you great atattention. Should
you become engaged 1 wish you every hap
piness. Should any difficulty arise on the score
of your want of fortune, exhort you on no
account whatever to renew the affair when you
become rich. His hesitation will prove him
to be unworthy of you. Any man possessed of
youth, health, and education can carve out
way to provide for the girl he loves, if only he
loves her enough to work for her, and both love
each other enough to bear little privation.
Ii he has in any way drawn back, give him up;
and If he renew his suit when he hears your
circumstances have changed for the better give
him up still more. If you are content with half
heartedness, or are soft-hearted and take him,
you will regret it all your life. advise you to
live in your London house at once, and not to
go to Calderwater until next April. Take pos
session in Chester Square as soon as those slow
folks the lawyers will permit you, and stay
there quietly oil the winter. l wish you to take
lessons in music, drawing, painting, languages,
Or whatsoever you fancy, and to work really
hard at whatever you decide to study. You
may be great proficient in these things al
ready, but something remains for everyone to
learn. l desireyou to spend two hours daily
in reading books likely to do you good, not po-
etry, and not novels. Buy what you read do
not subscribe to lbraries-that weakens the
mind-but buy what you want, and take pride
q" adding works to NV lihrarv TO which those