, 1888-08-19

aloft the jar, made me utter uncon-
sciously an exclamation of surprise.
Though she was dressed in the coarsest
homespun and wore neither shoes nor
stockings, 1 forgot altogether the homeli-
ness Of her apparel in the grace of her
movements, the exquisite contour of her
figure, and the beauty of her expressive
face, which was now mantling with
bushes. A small dog, apparently a self
constituted protector, barked at me fu-
riously MS / advanced, hat in hand; for
intuitively 1 knew this must be my client.
My client it was. I lost no time in
explaining the object of my visit. She
was very much surprised; but after a
moments hesitation said, with dignity
Come up to the house, please. I will
consult my aunt. Down, Tip-down,
SIR"
The dog ceased barking at this COM
mand, and trotted quietly ahead. I Of
fered to take the jar, but she declined
with h composure of a queen.
When she had introduced me to Mrs.
Benham and said, '"This gentleman,
aunt, has something very strange to
tell you, and I will leave you with him
for a moment" she disappeared, return
ing some quarter of an hour later dressed
in a becoming suit of blue muslin and
with the daintiest of slippers on her
pretty feet. I had meantime produced
the will and given details of the manner
In which 1t was found.
Not to dwell too long on this prelude
to my story, l will say briefly that my
client and 1 started the next morning for
Kent, and were met at the depot by
Bowles and his daughter, who relieved
NInn 81 rnv Nhn.ro ,rLu- . -
boarding house for supper and thence to
my room.
Next day 1 filed the document in the
Office of the county clerk and gave no
tice to Skaggs that on the following
Monday 1 should move that it be adj
mitted to probate.
But here a new difficulty presented it.
self. In our anxiety to find the claimant
we had utterly overlooked the attesting
witnesses.
l Immediately went to Bowles and
stated the difficulty.
"Ahl' said he, "why have we not
thought of this before7"
ID you know these witnesses?'' said /.
Eyes, l know them. Tom Jones lived
as a tenant on the old mans farm at the
time Of his death. Ho now lives about
ten miles out on the Lancaster road.
And, as certain as I'm a sinno, squire,
this other witness is dead. William
Jackson2 Yes-I remember him. He
o to Texas and died q year ago."
"Then it's all up. We can't get along
without both witnesses. Are you sure
that jackson Is dead?''
81 am certain sure. He has a brother
living in this town who received a letter
from the family In Texas at the time of
his DEATH There Is no doubt about it."
h we may as well drop the mat
ter at nee. The law of this state re-
quires the evidence of two witnesses, and
makes no provision for the death of one"
at does look rather ugly, if that's the
case" said Bowles. 'But let's make n
fight of it-something may turn up in
our favor"
My fears proved correct, however. We
madea gallant struggle, but it was in
vain. My speech, 1 was told afterwards,
was a~pplauded privately by the Judge,
though In his official capacity he felt
compelled to decide against me. I re-
member that 1 spoke from a full heart
of the injustice of refusing to receive a
will which everybody knew to be that of
Morgan merely because one of the wit
nesses died.
at is the law we are called on to ad-
minister here" said the judge from the
bench, ''not what you or l may think,
Nh. Attorney, Is equity. And you know
as well as l do, for you are a good law
yer, that it takes two witnesses to prove
q will"
But the case was not without its bene-
fit to me professionally. My speech had
made an impression on the public, and
business now began to pour In.
My fair client still remained at my
friend Bowles'. 'My eldest daughter
has come to love her as n sister, " he
said. Bessie, as you must have seen,
is unusually intelligent. She had re-
ceived quite a good education, too, be-
fore old Mr.. Morgan died. The cheer
full in which she bore her subse-
quent poverty is, as Mr.. Benham says, q
proof of IN unusually noble character.
Now, we have invented an excuse that
we want a nursery governess, for she is
too proud to stay as a mere pensioner,
and her aunt has consented to tho ar
rangement, saying that it is n sin to bury
Bessie among the hills"
Almost every week 1 dropped in for an
hour or 81 of an evening at the Bowles',
and as / became better acquainted with
Bessie l more than endorsed my old
friends encomiums. In short, / was as
much charmed with her attractions of
mind and rs l had been at first
by her sylvan grace and beauty. Very
soon 1 found myself in love; and when
some six months later I told her of it,
1 was overjoyed 10 hear her confess that
my passion was returned.
I wns now the happiest man in the
county. Out of my defeat had come the
elements of success. By 1t 1 had won a
reputation and a love-oh, the purest,
the sweetest, the bestl I pictured to
myself a home, humble and poor, but so
bright and coy, the abode of content and
happiness.
One day In the following summer 1
wa In the clerks office searching some
old records, when / came upon a page
that almost took my breath away After
reading 1t carefully I closed the book and
returned to my office.
Tho next day Simon Skaggs was served
with q to answer a suit of
ejeotment, in the name of Elizabeth
Morgan, for all the real property held by
him, which he claimed as heir-at-law of
the late James Morgan; and great was
the excitement In the village when Il was