Bridgeton pioneer., 1885-02-05

to say, whilst he was at Portland the
young lives went one after the other,
and there were really only five left when
he made that will. Now comes the ex-
traordinary part; fortnight ago three
of those lives perished in single steam
boat accident on the Clyde; that left
woman of eighty-two and man of
ninety between your husband and the
estate. The lady was related to the
persons who were drowned, and she has
since died; she had been long ailing ,and
it is believed that the shock was too
much for her. The survivor is the actual
proprietor, old Carruthers; but | am the
London agent to his solicitor, and he
was reported to me to be IN ertrenis
the very day before l left London to
join you. We shall run into a port near
the place, and you will not land; but 1
shall, and obtain precise information.
In the meantime, mind, your husbands
name is Carruthers. Any communica-
ton from me will be- to Mrs. .Carruthers,
and you will tell that man as much, or
as little, as you think proper; if you
make any disclosure, give yourself all
the credit you can: say you shall take
him to his own house under new
name, and shield him against all pur-
suers. AS for me, | tell you plainly. my
great hope is that he will not live long
enough to turn you adrift and disinherit
your boy"
To cut short for the present this ex-
traordinary part of our story, Lewis
Carruthers, ALIAS Leonard Monckton,
entered fine house and took posses
sion of eleven thousand acres of hilly
pasture, and the undivided moiety of a
lake brimful of fish. He accounted for
his change of name by the favors Car
cntbprC 6nonocn6 ho1 ch
Therein he did his best to lie, but his
present vein of luck tnrned it into the
truth. Old Carruthers had become so
peevish that all his relations disliked
him, and he disliked them. So he left
his personal estate to his heir-at-law
simply because he had never seen him.
The personality was very large. The
house was full of pictures, and China,
and cabinets, etc. There was large
balance at the bankers, a heavy fall of
timber not paid for, rents due, and as
many as two thousand four hundred
sheep upon that hill, which the old fel-
low had kept in his own hands. So,
when the new proprietor took possess
sion as CarrutherS, nobody was SurpriS-
ed, though many were furious. Lucy
installed him in grand suit of apart
ments as an invalid. and let nobody
come near him. Waddy was dismissed
with munificent present, and could be
trusted to hold his tongue. BY the ad-
vice of Middleton, not a single servant
was dismissed, and so no enemies were
made. The family lawyer and steward
were also retained, and. in short, all
conversation was avoided. In a month
OF two the new proprietor began to i'm
prove in health, and drive about his
own grounds. or be rowed on his lake,
lying on soft beds.
But in the fifth month of his resi-
dence, local pains seized him, and he
began to waste. For some time the
precise nature of the disorder was OBJ
scure; but at last a rising surgeon de-
clared it to be an abscess in the intes-
tines (caused, no doubt, by external
violence).
BY degrees the patient became unable
to take solid food, and the drain upon
his system was too great for mere
mucilaginous diet to sustain him.
Wasted to the bone, and yellow as a
guinea, he presented pitiable specta-
Gle, and would gladly have exchanged
his fine house and pictures, his heath
cry hills dotted with sheep, and his
CLASSY lake full of spotted trout, for a
ragged Irishman's bowl of potatoes and
his mug of buttermilk, and his stomach.