The Red Cloud chief., 1882-01-19
A STRIKING LEGACY.


A STRIKING LEGACY.
The persons assembled at Lumber
Hall TO hear the hearing of old Mr.. I'm
b~crglowth's will after his funeral in
cluded all the nearest relatives of the
deceased, and they happened 10 be in
dividuals so diverse in their pursuits
and characters that il was only in such
Il place and for such a purpose that they
could rave met at all. But all were
equally interested in the circumstance
that had brought them together, for
MIR. Umbcrglowth had died a childless
widower and his large property was I'M
cntailcd- He had been n cold, stern,
unsociablc old man, living much alone.
and had never favored q soul with any
hint a. 10 how he should dispose of his
wealth. except that he had once said
that his money should 90 10 his
kin, not TO public charities or "any
nonsense of that kind
Ii was generally anticipated that his
cousin, Mr.. Stephen Umbcrglowth,
would be found TO have inherited the
bulk of the property; and Stephen was
OF this hopeful opinion himself. He
had been received at the Hall as the
presumed heir. and had taken upon
himself 10 do the honorS of the place TO
his relatives. These were Lady Beak-
well, the deccased'S sistcr-in-law; the
Rev. Clement Gloam and Mr.. Dennis
Callingclerc. sons of his two sisters who
were dead.
Mrs. Gloam and Mrs. Callingclcre
had both come with their husbands 10
Il - - H.. .-,-a ~,
present II hear the will read DIR. Grin
nlng, the deceasedS physician, and DIR.
Brush. Vicar of the parish. These two
had bccn invited bv Mr.. Purkin, the
solicitor who had the Will in his keep
ing.
II has been said that Mr.. TIMBER
glowth's relations Were dissimilar in
their character; they were SO much so,
indeed, that during the two days they
had spent nj Lumber Hall they had
found little TO say toOne another. Lady
Blackwell was n widow of forty-five,
with 4 snug jointure OF $4,000 n year,
who went a good deal into society and
consorted only with people of the high
est rank. \ very well dressed, selfish
gentlewoman she was, with excellent
manners, a Shrcwd mind and sarcastic
tongue. She passed for I wit, though
she set up no pretentlonS 10 that char
actcr by saving smart things ri random,
which would have been 4 yulgarity de-
spicablc in her sight. She simply
pecked a; people and things obnoxious
to her when they camefn her way. The
Rev. Clement Gloam, Vicar of ST. Cap
ercuyt'S, Pimlico, was tall. lank-halred,
with a sad voice and UnctouS ways. lie
wore a casSock and Gloucester hat and
was noted both for the rigidity of his
tcnetS and for his eloquencc in the pull
pit. lie had a private income of e.
GOA, besides what he drew from his
church, and he was happy in the pos
session of a wife who was as strict as
himself, who always dressed in black
Denny Callingclere and his wife Alice
were two very different people and lit
lie better than heather in the sight of
Mr.. and Mrs. Gloam. They had IN in
come of 81. 800 and spent every penny
of it in enjoying themselves n race
meetings and in the hunting field. They
always rode together; they both betied;
they whiled ava their autumn and
winter in rounds of visits TO country
houses, where they were ever welcome,
and they were the gayeSt, brightest,
most attached couple You could find.
They had com down to Lumber hop
ing Uncle Umberglowth had remem'
bered them for "a thou or two" which
would help them 10 pay OIL outstanding
ticks but they were less concerned
about their chances than ANYBODY pres
eut, and had no intention of pulling
faces al Uncle Stephen if the latter
should get the whole inheritance TO his
own cheek.
Stephen Umberglowth was Just the
man whom the world in its discretion
would rave fastened upon rs n fiji heir,
for was he not the great Mr.. TIMBER.
glowth whom everybody kncw-the
statiStician, politician and general critic
of other mems .'ism>?' lie Was n tall,
pompouS, red-eared. bald person, with
full lips ALWAYS protrud ne, As if they
were going 10 say ''pooh-pooh." The
bump of veneration is wanting on his
pate. but sclf-csteem WAS largely deyel'
oped. He was a practical man. who
cowed and scoffed and said ''tut tut
and deiied mankind 10 oppose any ar.
gumcntS to his common-senSe view OF
things. He had twice tried TO get into
Parliament and had nearly succeeded
both times; il was thought ne would
get in bcfore long. and he himself talked
of the idea of his being beaten a third
time as "preposterouS." Stephen I'm.
berglowth was married, but kept his
wife in the background as an inferior
creature, inapt for rational argument
and he had two sons still at school. who
by his orders were undergoing a prac.
ti~caleducation in mathematics. geology,
natural science and modern languages
with as little Latin and Greek ant
"other fooleries" as possible.
Just before the will vas opened
Stephen U~mberglowth thought goot
10 sing the praises of his deceased
cousin by way of a change. for he sci
dom praised living people He ha'
also observed that his kinsfolk scenes
TO have no lively appreciation of TIT
deceased's character.
"A man of great shrewdneUS he was
i assure you." said he, with \ knowing
wag of the head. Il used sometimes
TO run down and see him. He and
were of opposite opinions on all con
ceivable subjects. but l tiatter myself
that I talked him over