The Florida agriculturist., 1889-06-05


had graduated from college, and came
to New York to study medicine, living
meanwhile, at his fathers house. He
was young fellow of ability and agree
able manners, and was popular among
his fellows His father was proud of
him, and treated him with partiality 1t
soon became apparent that Jerrold was
rather inclined to dissipation; his sociable
nature had it's detrimental side This
was the more unfortunate. inasmuch
as he had a tendency to heart
disease, and was Of an excitable
temperament. AS this matter will
be dwelt on hereafter, it is enough
to say here that Jerrold died under tragic
circumstances in the second year Of his
medical studies His death, besides
bringing bitter grief to his father and
mother, led to legal proceedings against
a person supposed to have been instru-
mental in comprising his destruction
proceedings which led to no good re-
suits. and involved large expense. Mr..
Nolen never recovered from the shock
and disappointment of his eldest sons
sudden end; and in little more than a
year afterwards the morning papers con-
tanned respectful but brief notices OF his
decease.
His will was admitted to probate; it
devised twenty thousand dollars to his
son Percy Nolen when the latter should
come of age; the remainder was settled
upon Mrs. Nolen, with certain provisos
in the event of Pauline's marrying with
her mothers approval. Percy's bequest
was intended to start him in business, he
having shown tendency to take up
mining engineering as a pursuit. He
too was an intelligent boy, and left col
lege in good standing as to scholarship,
but his character resembled Jerrold's in
it's lack of frmness and persistent en-
ergy; while, unlike Jerrold, he was of
selfish disposition. After graduating
and coming into possession of his patri-
mony he announced his intention of
postponing for a while his professional
studies and seeing little of metropoli-
tan life. This made his mother anxious,
remembering the unhappy career of her
older son, but she interpreted Percy's de-
sign in the manner most favorable to
him, as simply wish to become prac-
tically familiar with the ways and man
ners of good society
Percys original purposes may, indeed,
have contemplated no more than that;
but that was far from being the limit of
what he actually did His advances to-
wards the best society were neither con-
siderable nor prolonged. For a few
months he went to dinners and recep-
tions and danced at balls. but it soon be-
came evident that he was getting init
mate with class of people who. by no
stretch of courtesy. could be counted
amongthe upper ten. These were chiefly
young men who dressed well, had dash
and assurance of manner and were COM
monty to be met with on fashionable
thoroughfares, in the corridors and bill
lard rooms of the best hotels, on base
ball grounds and race tracks. and, to-
wards the small hours of the night, at
certain restaurants and other places of
resort more remarkable for brilliance and
liveliness than for respectability in
which the company ceased to be ex-
clusively masculine and was yet not i'm
proved by the alteration Percy had his
choice, and this was the class with which
he chose more and more to associate
They were. as a class, not wealthy; nev-
ertheless to be with them was not neces-
sarily to be economical: neither did it
involve regular habits or early hours
Before long Percy was convinced that