Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-10-24
THE FIRST FOLIO.'

Many have attributed my good fortune
simply to luck, but when | make known
ell the facts Of the case / think that re-
Elective readers will come to the conclu-
sion that my prosperity was not deter
mined by chance alone.
My uncle was rich. Ny cousins, though
neither saints nor perhaps even models of
propriety, were none Of them bad fellows.
One Of them was IN the foreign Office, an
other was making his way slowly at the
bar, and third was, like myself, O soldier.
The others possessed small private means,
sufficient to enable them to live decently,
and one Of them at least increased his in
come considerably by whist at his club
and by pigeon shooting. / had gone to an
army crammer's while only lad, and
after leaving Sandhurst went with nv
regiment to India, 80 that my uncle had
seen very little of me, which ultimately
proved q fortunate circumstance. The
first communication which | had with my
uncle was made By me with considerable
diftidence, and was not of kind to rec
Dmmend ne to him. I had lost two
chargers, and not possessing the means
to replace them, | wrote to my uncle
explaining the matter, and asking for
loan In reply he sent me check for
the sum required. ] was very grateful,
and economizing till | had saved the
money lent me repaid it to him. Soon
afterwards returned with my regiment
10 England, and on my arrival in London
had an invitation from my uncle asking
me to dine with him. l found him very
tactiturn and apparently unsociable.
During dinner l noticed that he fire.
nuently looked at me furtiVely, as though
he found in my appearance some cause for
surprise. When we reached the dessert,
however. the interest that he had been
manifesting in me was explained, for be
Bald. almost as if he were soliloquzing:
You were the last of my nephews to
borrow Of me, and you are the first who
has ever repaid loan"
After delivering this verdict, which ap-
peared to give his mind relief, my uncle
became quite talkative. and amused me
very much by relating the various
causes which had led to his disin-
heriting his different heirs While
he spoke. l could tell by his indig-
nant' snorts, and by the fire in his eyes.
that he must be terribly iras.ible old
fellow. The barrister, who was a convey
ANGER and equity draughtsn1an, had pro-
posed that he should examine all the title
deeds Of the real property, which he had
learnt he was some day to inherit, and,
when he had finished his investigation,
had limited that fee of hundred guineas
would be acceptable. This sum had been
handed to him. and his name forthwith
struck out OF the viii. Tho way in which
my uncle told this story was very conf
cal. My cousin who WAS the crack shot
had bored him, it seemed, one night by
telling of the forthcoming pigeon shooting
matches in which he was engaged, and
had afterwards won from him twenty
i've pounds at whist. What a fool
the fellow must have beenl Still
more foolish, if possible, had been
that cousin who, on seeing my
uncle's splendid collection of rare books
and first editions, had said that if
they were his he would soon turn them
into cash. Finally, he told me that his
niece was now his heiress, and could see
that he was not altogether satisfied with
this arrangement. After dinner my uncle
offered to show me his library, and l will
ingly assented. Apart from my desire to
crafty my host | had genuine interest
in rare books, and was eager to see his
collection, of which had often
heard, but had been too Young to appre-
ciate when, as q boy, had last been in
his house. My admiration on beholding
his treasures was not feigned, and my
uncle was sharp enough to understand
that. We spent the remainder of the
evening in the library, and so well did we
get on together that before | left the
house my uncle proposed that I should
u icCin,, o,,I 1aar,,,a IL.
secretary. | did not misunderstood the
full significance of this proposal; knew
that | was not asked to give up my pro-
fession without a better equivalent than
q private secretaryship being in store for
me was the only one of his nephews
whom he had never appointed his heir.
On the other hand, what guarantee had
that | should not meet the same fate as
my cousins, or rather a worse, seeing that
might be cast adrifu on the world with
out money or the means of earning live
lihood? Observing my hesitation, MY
uncle said:
Think over the matter till tomorrow,
and give me your answer then"
This | agreed to do, and then I baGe
him good night. l found myself face TO
face with very pulling dilemma. But
the stake | might win was big one, so Ide-
cided to run the risk. The result was that
E week later | was installed in my uncles
house as his secretary, and was also in
possession Of the comforting knowledge
that his viii had been altered in nv
favor. did feel many qualms. both Of
heart and conscience. on account of nv
pretty cousin, whom had supPlsnted, but
1t was not for me to interfere with my
uncle right to bequesth his property ss
he chose.
Ny uncle was very well read, and was
a man OF considerable refinement and cul-
ture. He was Sha- sperean scholar Of
great learning, and his collection of books
pertaining to the greatest Elizabethan
dramas was most extensive. AS his opin-
ion on the authorship of these PLAYS ought
to carry weight shall here state it.
lie thought that neither TO Shakespeare
nor to Lord Bacon was due the whole
credit of those sublime creations. but that
by each Of them the need Of honor had
been merited, Is they had worked in col /
liberation. Lord Bacon, he said. had /
supplied both the poetry 4
and philosophy, but that the stagecraft (
vas uanifestly that of an actor. and be- .
onged TO Shakespeare. The puns and 4
other verbal conceits. he affirmed, had /
.ither been inserted bv Shakespeare or
were the gagging interpretations Of the
actors who took part in the plays, because
Lord Bacon wss % incapable OF these /,
puerilisies as Shakespeare was Of the vast
learning and deep philosophy. he held
other singular opinions. and asserted that
If lord chancellor Of our own day took
1t into his head 10 write, say melodramas
for tho Adelphi. he would undoubtedly
collaborate with one of our leading play /.
Mr. Sims or Mr. Gruudy or Mr.. |