The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-10-16
LEANDER'S LEGACY.
HIS WIFE DIED RICH, BUT HER
HEART WAS TR UE TO POLL.

The Pathetic Story OF a Slice OF Whter-
melon "A Pen Picture of Christ-A
Marble Bust of the ex-President's
Wife.
Leander married Sophia Merrick,
Deacon Merrick's oldest daughter. A
rich old aunt, after whom Sophia had
been named, died and left $40, 900 to
Sophia; so, as you will agree, Sophia
vas as eligible a young woman as
ever started in upon a patchwork
quilt.
When Leander saw Sophia's pretty
face, when (perchance) the magma
tive faculties of his mind grappled
and dallied with the pleasing circum-
stance that Sophia had $4,000 in her
own right-then, ah, then, Leande
allowed, not secretly, but openly and
boldly, that Sophia was the ikeliest
girl in the township, and outside OF
the township Leander's acquaintance
extended not.
In spite, therefore of the malicious
libels of the other women folks Lean
der kept paying attention to Sophia
and this sort of thing eliminated only
and naturally in a wedding. at which
the brides mother wept copiously and
the brides father became s~candalOusly
hilarious W. a dipperful of hard
cider. The day before the wedding
Leander made a modest effort to lind
out what portion OF her $40, 900 Sophia
meant to allot to him as a dover, but
at the mere suggestion Sophia went
into Mysteries and had to be cupped
by the doctor before she vas brought
out all right.
1t took Leander just six months to
find out that what folks had said
about Sophia's temper was not a libel.
Sophia was a shrew. The most NOR
tifying phase of the situation, how
ever, was that Sophia hung on to her
$50, 000-yes, she guarded and hung to
that $40, 900 as only an Argus-eyed,
Briarean-handed woman can guard
and cling.
They had been married about six
years when they moved to Worcester.
Sophia had tired of country life; she
pinned for the noise, the hustle and
the excitement of the city. So they
moved to Worcester, where they are
six trains a day each way. They had
no children, but Sophia, having
drawn a dividend on her Fitchburg
stock one spring, bought a parrot for
81, and about this callow bird of song
did the tendrils of her heart gradually
entwine themselves. 1t was a gaudy
but solemn bird, was the parrot. For
hours would it sit in the gilt ring in
it's capacious zinc cage, staring duly
into space and uttering no sound
whatsoever. Sophia called it Dinkety
surely d most frivolous name for so
circumspect a bird!
They had been married going on
eight years when Sophia up and died.
Leander buried her and marked her
grave with a simple marble slab bear
ing the ambiguous legend, ''At rest"
1t transpired that Sophia had left a
will. 1t wa rather OF a surprise to
Leander. Lawyer Beebe filed it and
proved it up in the Probate Court.
1t was a simple document. 1t left
Sophia's entire fortune to Leander in
trust for the parrot, and in the event
of the parrots death from natural
causes the fortune was to pass without
reserve to Leander. Lawyer Beebe
was appointed executor of the will
and guardian of the parrot, without
bonds. Testatrix confded in Beebe
because once upon a time he had
given her some legal advice without
exacting a fee.
Meanwhile Leander plotted against
the life of the bird. Naturally enough
he chafed under the conditions pre-
scribed by Sophia's will. Why should
he, a human being, suffer his peace
and dignity to be imperilled by a
vulgar, u~nthinking bird? The muir
derous passion waxed and grew in
Leander's bosom until presently it
became paramount and all-absorbing.
''Psittacus delendus estn-this was, in
effect, the sentiment which Leander
borrowed from the ancient Romans.
But how was this righteous end to be
achieved?
The emergency seemed to call for
the practice of extraordinary finesse.
so Leander importuned the advice of
a trusted friend, Mr.. Babbitt, a bar
Der. Mr.. Babbitt had worked in
New York. Having shaved Alder
men in the Aston House he was prop
erly regarded as a versatile and ripe
scholar in the occult sciences. MIR.
Babbitt told Leander that parrots
would eat meat, and that meat fed to
parrots regularly would duly induce
epilepsy, from which malady the vic
tim would ultimately and surely die.
This vas good news, great news.
Leander began TO dole out meat in
preposterous quantities to the parrot.
Dinkety. The parrot relished the
change of diet and was happy,
too.
Lawyer Beebe was, as we have said,
the parrots guardian. He came
around one day to visit his ward and
found the pampered bird devouring
a highly spiced curry of veal. Sus-
pecting foul play, the vigilant attor-
ney laid the matter before the Probate
Court, and after taking a vast mount
of expert testimony the Court repri-
manded Leander and ordered the
parrots diet changed back again to
soda crackers and cuttlefish. This
seemed to discourage the parrot a
good deal, but think of what Lean
der's feelings must have been.-Cha-
cago Meas.
Why He Stole.
go away from here" growled q
grocer to a boy who came up and
stood near a shelf where several slices
of watermelons were lying; you've
got your eye OH this melon. Go away,
clear outl"
mister, give me one of them slices, y