Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1885-10-09
SMART Mr.. FOX.

Mr.. James Fox was the junior part
ner III the firm of Plumley & Fox, the
principal solicitors in the somewhat
dead-alive old Cathedral town Of Slum-
borough. He was smart, well set-up
young man, of two or three and thirty,
with carefully trimmed black whlskers,
| a silken manner, and an unlimited flow
of more or less entertaining small talk.
Hence it came to pass that he was an
exceedingly popular man among the Ia
dies of Scarborough, both old anu
young, and had his views lain in the di-
rection of matrimony he would have
had small difficulty in inducing any
bashful damsel or frisky widow to share
| his lot. But tie handsome solicitor was
ambitious; his share in the business did
not at present bring him in more than
a moderate income, and he had long
ago determined thatuwhen he married
he must consider not only beauty, but
| more solid advantages.
Heiresses, however, were not plenti-
full in Scarborough, and so, although
Mr.. Fox's attentions frequently futter-
| ed virgin bosom, he was careful not
to commit himself too far, and not even
the local gossips could fairly say of him
that he had compromised a reputation
or knowingly raised false hopes. There
| was, indeed, one young lady who had
made deep impression upon the solicit
tors heart, but she was the daughter of
a country magnate with whom poor
Mr.. Fox was not even on visiting termS.
| He had met her at the annual hunt ball,
she had danced twice with him, for Mr..
Fox was an excellent waltzer; but her
mother had doubtless warned her
against him, for when next they met,
some six weeks afterwards, Miss La
querton passed the unfortunate man
without so much as a bow. Miss La
querton, however, was lovely and rich,
and Mr.. Fox was not man to be easily
discouraged. He knew that if he could
only afford to cut the office and blossom
into landed proprietor, he would have
just as good a chance with her as any
| body else, so he waited patiently in the
hopes of one day discovering the road
which leads to fortune and success.
The firm of Plumley & Fox was
highly respectable and old-fashioned
concern, which avoided litigation and
kept almost entirely to family business.
Plumley was fairly good lawyer, but
Fox's legal knowledge was of the most
limited character, and he was much too
lazy to take the trouble to increase it.
So it came to be understood between
them that while Plumley did the office
work, Fox kept the clients in good hu-
NOR by calling on them apropos of moth
ing, and amusing them with his jokes
and stories. This business was techni-
cally termed "keeping the connection
together" and it suited Mr.. Fox very
we'll. indeed. 1t was while he was thus
keeping the connection together that
Mr.. Fox made the acquaintance of GER
tain rich old widow lady, named Mrs.
johnson, and so well did he play his
cards that before long Plumley & Fox
became Mrs. Johnson's family solici-
tors, land agents and confidential ad-
visers. The firm made pretty good
thing out Of Mrs. johnson. In accord
ance with the usual arrangement Plum
lev transacted the business and Fox
became a constant visitor at her house,
and worked his way into her good graceS
by his wonderful powers of amusing
conversation. There was yet another
accomplishment which stood our solici-
tor in very good stead, and this was an
accurate knowledge of chemistry and
medicine, which he had picked up as a
boy in the shop Of his uncle, the chem
ist. The horrible smells young Fox had
created in his experiments and the ugly
stains he had made on his hands deter
mined him to forsake medicine for the
law, but he never entirely forgot his
early experiences. He could talk flu
emily about every known drug and dis
ease, and about a great many which
had not yet been discovered; he dag
nosed Mrs. Johnson's symptoms at least
as accurately as MacBolus, the Scotch
doctor, and even would have prescribed
for her had not the stalwart Scot angri-
ly threatened to kick him If he did so.
But he retained a very prominent place
in the old lady's affections, and it be-
gan to be whispered about that he hac
an excellent chance Of succeeding to
her very considerable property.
The disposal of Mrs. Johnson's mon
ey was a matter which had long fur
nished speculation of unfailing interest
to the town of Scarborough, and filled
many a yawning gap in conversation at
afternoon teas. Mrs. johnson had bat
one relative in the world, Miss Lizzie
Roberts, the daughter of her late sister.
This young lady, however, it was
agreed, had not the slightest chance OF
being mentioned in her aunt's will. A
handsome, well bred girl, she was left
at her parents death to make her own
way in the world, inheriting nothing
bu: the battle of life and the dislike Of
Mrs. Johnson, who had not seen the
child since it quilted its baby-cloihes.
This strange antipathy was traceable,
as some people said, to times long gone
by, when Mr.. Roberts, Lizzie's father,
then. renowned for his manly beauty,
! had been an assiduous visitor at the