Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-05-28

4 FOX CAUGHT IN HIS OWN TRAP

ner III the firm of Plumley & Fox,
the principal solicitors in the some,
what deadralive old cathedral town Of
Scarborough. He was q smart,
welliset>up young man of two or three
and thirty, with carefully trimmed
black whiskers, 4 silken manner. and
an unlimited flow of more or less en-
tertaining small talk Hence it came
10 pass that ne was an exceedingly
popular young man among the ladies
of Scarborough, both old and young,
and, had his views lain in the direct
ION of matrimony, he would have had
small difficulty in inducing any cash
full damsel or frisky widow to share
his lot. But the handsome solicitor
was ambitious; his share in the bust
ness did not at present bring him in
more than a moderate income, and he
had long ago determined that when
ne married he must consider not only
beauty, but more solid advantages.
Heiresses, however, we're not plenti-
full in Scarborough, and so, although
Mr.. Foxs attentions frequently hut-
tered 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, the
young lady who had made a deep inn
preston upon the solicitors heart,
but she was the daughter Of q county
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 hia, for when aext they
met. some six weeks afterward. Miss
Laquerton passed the unfortunate
man without so much as bow. Miss
Laquerton, however, was lovely and
rich, and Mr.. Fox was not a man to
be easily discouraged. He knew That
if he could only afford to cut the
office and blossom into a landed pro.
prietor, he would have just as good a
chance with her as anybody else; so
he waited patiently in the hopes Of
one day discovering the road which
leads to fortume and success,
The firm of Plumley q Fox was a
highly respectable and old fashioned
concern, WHICH avoided litigation and
kept almost entirely in family bust
ness. Plumley was fairly good law
yer, but Fox's legal knowledge was Of
the most limited character, and be was
much too lazy to take the trouble to
increase it, So it came to be under
stood between them that while Plum
ley did the Office work Fox kept the
clients in good numor by calling upon
them apropos Of nothing and amusing
them with his jokes and stories. The
business was technically termed
keeping the connection together, y
and it suited Mr. Fox very well indeed.
II was while he was thus keeping the
connection together that Mr.. Fox
made the acquaintance of a certain
rich old widowed lady, named Mrs.
Johnson, and SO well did he play his
cards that before long Plumley 81 Fox
became Mrs. JohnsOn's family solici-
tors, land agents, and confidential ad.
visers. The fra made a pretty good
thing out of Mrs. johnson. In &C
cordance with the usual arrangement,
Plumleg transacted the business and
Fox became constant visitor at her
house, and worked his way into hen
good graces by his wonderful powers
of amusing conversation. There was
yet another accomplishment which
stood our solicitor in very good stead
and this was an accurate knowledge
of chemistry and medicine, which Rt
had picked up as boy in the shop o.
his uncle, the chemist The horrible
smells young Fox had created in hl
experiments and the uggly stains h'
had made on his hands determined
hum to forsake medicine for the law
but he never entirely forgot his early
experiences He could talk huently
about every known drug and disease
and about a great many which hat
not vet been discovered; he diagnosed
Mrs. Johnsen's symptoms at least a
accurately as Mac Bolus, the Scotcl
doctor, and would even have prescrlb
ed for her had not the stalwart Sec
angerly threatened to kick him II h
did So But he retained a very prom
inent place in the old lady's affections
and it began to be whispered abou
that he had an excellent chance 0
SUN fCAAuS ~ DN' WY NeAA't~NN- - -
property.
The disposal of MIS-. johnson
money was q matter which had lon
furnished speculation of unfailing II
terest TO the town Of Scarborough
and filled many a yawning gap i
conversation at afternoon teas. Mrs
Johnson had but one relative IN TIA
world, Miss Lizzie Roberts, the daugh
ter of her late sister This youn
lady, however, it was agreed, had nc
the slightest chance of being mention
ed in her aunt's will. A handsome
we'll bred girl, she was left at he
parents death to make her own wa
IN the world inheriting nothing bu
the battle Of life and the dislike
Mrs. johnson, who had not seen tt
child since It quilted It's baby clotne
This strange an,ipathy was traceabl'
as some people said, to times gone o,
when Mr.. Roberts, Lzzie's fathe
then renowned for his manly beaut,
mad heen an assiduous visitor at IL