Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-04-27

house in which we resided, neither was it | mine; and the money which supported it I came not from my own resources. will l briefly describe the peculiar nature of my private affairs.
 My father, for some years of his life an op- | ulent man, lost his fortune when I was V cry young, partly through the treachery of a | friend, partly through unwise speculation,
 and from the day of his ruin was dependent | upon his wife's brother, gentleman of great wealth.
 MT. Wilmot was at once generous and ec, | centric. He never had any great idea of my l fathers business capacities; and 1t is doing
 him no injustice to say that he was self.willed l and obstinate, and that he entertained the l idea that he should be not only 8 law unto | himself. but to other people as we'll. It was
 through his assistance that my father extri-
 cated himself honorably from his business difficulties. and when they were settled my | uncle refused to re-establish him. ''You shall have a life of ease and happi- | ness," said MT. Wilmot' land shall run no moro risks"
 To this end he promised my father an in- come sufficiently large to maintain the social standing to which he had been accustomed. The promise was faithfully kept. At the end of every six months sum was placed in the l bank to my fathers credit, in fulfllment Of the arrangement; and MT. Wilmot, who was I and who remained bachelor, gave us to un- derstand that at his death we should inherit 1 the whole of his wealth. Neither of my par. | ents lived long enough to enjoy the life of
 luxurious ease for which MT. Wilmot's gener- osity provided, and I, their only child, re- | mained the sole recipient of his kindness. He paid literally for my support and educa- tion and it was with his concurrence that became engaged to the lady I married. On that occasion he purchased the little estate in Sevenoaks, to which took my wife, and devised it to me in his will, which made me also his sole heir. Therefore, as will be seen, was entirely dependent upon him during his lifetime.
 There are men who would have found the position irksome; probably my father did, confess that did not. No fears disturbed me that by some freak on the part of my uncle, or by displeasing him, might find myself suddenly beggared-for to this condi- ton it was in MT. Wilmot's power to reduce me by stroke of his pen.
 At the time of my daughters engagement MT. Wilmot was absent from England, and had no means of placing myself in communi- cation with him. His habits of life were a sufficient indication of the eceentricity of his character. He lived life of absolute seclu- sion, so far as we were concerned, who would have gladly welcomed him in our home, and rejoiced to receive long and frequent visits from him. We owed all we possessed to him i; and the unselfshness of his generosity tn- l surcd for him the highest need of respeca and esteem. But we saw him very seldom | and, indeed, for the last three years had seen him not at all. He was passionately fond of
 travel, and was in the habit of making long
 disappearances. During these periods 1t | was his whim to be troubled by no corre- spondenoe whatever, either from his friends
 or business agents. He wrote to them from ] time to time, but never gave an address, nor | would he consent to receive replies from
 them except upon matters he deemed of the | highest private importance. All letters for
 him were addressed, by request, to firm of
 lawyers in London who conducted his affairs. l and there they accumulated until his return home.