The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1882-10-12
Old Peppls~sIis VIII

h,s house. keeper, certain Mrs. Drayco.
The woman had entered the old man
service oBly shout year before bis deail
aud II there had been anything remarkabl
10 her demeanor towards him Il consisie
In rather scan, courtesy and want Of faiier
ton. She had never apparently made th
slightest attempt 10 ingraiiate herself Wit
her master, who on his part had Away
seemed TO regard his attendant with CALI
Indifference. But Silas left doubly az
grieyei because his father had scrupnlous
ly concealed from him that he had made
will, leaving him to believe that he wa
bound to inherit every thing as next t
kin aud heir a, law.
Silas came across the will quite unerpect
edly in. looking at the.old mans papers few
hours after his decease. The documen
appeared to be perfectly legal and had eyi
nen,ly been prepared by solicitor, whose
name was appended as one Of the witnesses
to the tes,ator's signature. Except thu
Legacy TO the housekeeper it left every
thing to slias Popplewell and appointed
him sole executor, Considering that old
Joseph Popplewell was reputed to be
wealthy man, most persons in Silas' posit'
ion would not have suffered the unexpect.
cd legacy to disturb the equanimity. But
Silas was one OF those mean, grasping,
aysricious individuals who cannot bear the
thought OF losing anything. He consider
ed he was both legally and morally entitled
10 the whole OF his fathers property and
regarded the lgacy to Mrs. Draycott as a
fraud upon his just rights. he was there
fore, overwhelmed with rage and disap.
pointment and worked himself into per-
feet fever OF virtuous indignation.
In the midst of his tribulation itsudden-
" occurred to him that but for the sheet
Of paper he held in his hand he would be
a richer man by two thousand pounds ster-
ling. This eminently practical view of
the situation aroused his worst passions
and he soon found himself wondering what
would probably happen if the will were
not forthcoming. Suppoing for instance.
he were TO leave the document where he
found it and say nothing to nobody The
chances were, he thought, that the house
keeper would believe the testator had re.
yoked it, assuming she had been aware OF
its existence, while it was quite possible,
his fathers habitual reticence
cohcernlng his fathers affairs, that the wo-
man suspected nothing. 1.-THE worst hap
pened, and hue and cry raised, the will
could be conveniently found; or to declare
boldly that his father had deliberately
destroyed the will in his presence!
Such insidious reflections as these are
lpt to blunt mans moral perceptions,
specially when laboring under keen
'ense of injustice. Silas Popplewell's
standard OF morality was not high one,
md be would any day sooner have done
habby trick than lose a sixpence. The
was that after little hesita-
ion he yielded to an uncomfortable i'm.
,ulse and consigned the obnoxious will to
he flames.
When the paper was reduced to ashes,
,ilas tsuddenly woke to the fact that he
ad committed felony and rendered him
elf liable to penal servitude. He turned
eadly pale when he thought Of this dis
greeable contingency and for moment
'as inclined to repent Of what lie had done.
'ut when he reflected that his wicked act
ad not been witnessed by any mortal
yes, while the only evidence OF his guilt
the charred papers-was rapidly disap- |
earring up the chimney, soon recovered /
is spirits Having waited patiently until
lere was no longer any trace left even Of a
ie ashes of the will, he locked up the. I
rong box in which he had found it and /
# the room feeling tolerab ly easy in his :
ind.
Nothing occurred in the next few days a
arouse Silas Popplewell's apprehensions d
Id as he was not troubled with conscien- r
!, he began to congratulate himself upon e
Ie decisive step he had taken. The d
went about her duties as nsu il
and did not seem to trouble her head as
whether her master had left will or 7
It, from which Silas gathered with heart (,
1t satisfaction that she knew nothing e.
,out her legacy He could not refrain, D
,wever. from watching her furtively. o,
lowing what he did OF his fathers inten- r.
1ns toward her She was vulgar, illit- IL
ate, elderly woman, singularly devoid Of o,
.rsonal attraction and apparently not ',
assessed OF much intelligence. While "
riving in vain to account for his fathers
prediction for her as mani. o,
sted by his will, Silas was struck by ali y
preston OF determination on the wo. %
ans face which seemed TO indicate o
sperate character. He began to suspect As
at she had forged the will by the aid OF Ia
and was waiting with calmness
Q issue OF her Vaccinations. II so, she n
IS doomed to disappointment. thought ",
has, and be chuckled at the notion Of la
wing frustrated such an infamous hi
heme. IN
When the day Of the funeral arrived Silas de-
1 strangely nervous and uncomfortable. bl
, was very much upset by the uncrpect- liz
number OF monrners, the mere fact OF
wing to provide gloves and craps on such m,
extended scale being sufficient to cause -,
n serious veIsticn. Old Joseph Popple nm
II was man OF very humble origin, lo
wing, in fact commenced life as a com. W,
n laborer, and silas scarcely knew any an
his fathers relatives. Several OF these ON
ned up. however. without being inyit. IN
|, and Silas resented their presence very 10
Ich. no, only because he was not anxious IN,