Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-09-15
CHAPTER ",


climes. Cartoons open letter, with Its
enclosure, is upon her lap. Mrs. Leland
has brushed out the long hair, put slip
pers on the little feet, and exchanged
the dinner dress for rO6e dc chdmOrc,
and after sundry other little loving du-
ties has left her mistress alone. Tina
had thought the afternoon would ncUer
pass, but she was alone at last, with no
human eye upon her. Eagerly she
opens her letter, and this Is what she
reads:
"My Darling.-I enclose you my
fathers letter, written when ne was dy-
ing. II after reading and thinking over
it you bid me discontinue my search If
YOU bid me take for my motto Mercy ,
instead of Judgment will obey you.
| have been so miserable from constant
thinking that my head Is almost turned.
If YOU think my thirst for vengeance
unusual or far-fetched, remember that L
worshipped my beautiful young mother,
ana | used to wonder to see her 30 often
weeping and looking so sad and i'll, but
when my fathers letter told me lcho II
was who had killed both parents with
grief and left me an orphan at SIX years
OF age with All inheritance OF -, 600 IN
stead of two hundred thousand. you will
not think it strange that l wish iudg-
ment TO fall where il is due. My dear
love, await your decision. Good-by. -
Many times did the young cir. press
this letter to her lips ere she took up an
old faded paper and read:
only boy-my only child-many
would deem it both useless and wrong
for me to write what | DO here, but rs |
look at you standing by your mothers
grave, your black eyes, which never I'M
til now held anything but laughter, deep
with tears, and think Of him who laid
her there and left yoH On orphan, l feel
that j must here by your mothers grave
write you al. After you have read
Judge for yourself. If you have formed
ties which render your duty otherwise
burn it and never think Of 1t more.
But. oh | should die in peace If ! could
only think that the villain who had killed
your mother and blasted your fathers
happiness was made TO disgorge-that
my only son had come into his own.
10 enable you to understand perfectly
] will have TO go back little. Your
mothers parents died ere she was three
years old, and she was adopted by dis
tant cousin, Sir Charles Grandson. He
was a man of immense wealth. Report
said that he had loved the mother Of the
child he adopted devotedly and had
almost lost his reason when she married
poor clergyman. However that may
be, no father ever idOlized a daughter
more than he did your mother. When
l fell in love with her I was but a strug-
Cling young merchant with few thou
sand pounds. But when Sir Charles
found that the heart Of his adopted
daughter and acknowledged heiress was
set upon me he gave his consent on one
condition, which was that We were to live
with him at Grandson Hail and that
was to give up trade. There you were
born, and for three years We were as
happy as mortals get in this world.
When you were q year old Sir Charles
was thrown from his horse while bunting
and was brought home only to live an
hour. His very last words were The
will in the ebony cabinet. You're all
right, my darling, you and little Erie,
glancing up at your mother, in whose
arms he died. Your mother was very
much Frustrated by the shock Of grief
and could not hear the will read for some
time. But imagine our CONSERVATION
when on looking into the ebony cabinet
10 will was TO befound. No; not there
nor anywhere else The estates passed
into the hands oil a distant cousin in Scot
land, a man whom we did not even
know. This Colonel Creighton was a
perfect bugbear to Sir Charles-injeei
J had repeatedly heard him say that ho
would rather his estates would pass Into
the hands of an utter stranger than 10 4
manso dishonorable as Ronald Creighton.
The family lawyer WAS under the impress
sion that there certainly was viii, even
had we not Sir Charless and the house
keepers word for it. My dear wife
never recovered from the shock, but died
of rapid consumption brought on by
Grief over our fallen fortunes her con-
tinual cry being 'Oh, 10 think my boy
should be cut out OF his inheritance by
that villain, for he and no one else stole
the will. 70 make You understand to
what she alluded / must tell you that
Sir Charles Grandson had private Sc
cretary, a handsome young fellow, Lieu
tenant Ashburton by lame. Ho had
been in the army, but many tales were
told of his wildness, and some said he
had been disgracefully dismissed. How
ever that may be, he WAS the most gen
tlemanly and intelligent Of all the appli-
cants for the position, and being rather
taken with the young fellow persuaded
Sn Charles to take him. When he
first came down TO the hall my wife
was greatly put out. 1t seemed she
had met Lieutenant AshburtOn at
q ball Just before our marriage and had
thought him rather presumptnous, fol-
lowing her about the whole evening, and
at last asking to call on her, NC. Sir
Charles and myself laughed at her and
told her she should not be so vain, &C.,
and finding the young fellow so humble
and keeping his place so well, she, who
was the Endest of women, began to
notice him a little sometimes and say q
word or two in passing. One day. after
the secretary had been with Us about G
year, came home from hunting earlier
than usual. my horse falling dead lame.
Nearing the house / heard excited voices
proceeding from the library. AS 1 en-
tered the nall [ heard Il mans voice say
angrily, You will rue the day when
you scorned me so. BY Heaven ! 1 Will
find vengeance / burst open the
door, but the first thing my eyes rested
on wes your mother in strong Mysteries.
Il was some time before she could speak
and tell me what it all meant. 1t seems
that Lieutenant Ashburton had fallen in
love with your mother at the ball before
mentioned, and while vainly striving to
find some acquaintance intimate enough
with the family to take the liberty of call
ing with him he heard of our marriage.
About five months after he CHANGED to
see her again at the opera, and his love
was so inhamed by this that he sought
Der from place to place, never, however.
daring 10 speak to her. About this time
he happened TO see Sir Charles's adyer-
tisement for a secretary, aud his for