The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1889-11-20

AHlc0-huhuTeu anu slNJy-SeVep dol
lars and thirty light cents" continued
the lawyer, with his most gracious smile.
"But-" he added, gravely adjusting his
spectacles.
"Ah, there is butG" said the heir,
starting up quickly.
eyes, sir. And it will cost YOU CON
siderable"
"How much2"
''Just half of your inheritance"
''Then am not the sole heirl"
Pardon me. That does not prevent
you from having colegatee."
''And who is he2n
"Your uncle himself"
Solomon Lyon seemed stupefed.
'What do you say7"
''I say, your uncle himself. l willex-
plain; by the terms of the will which is
in my hands, Mr.. Grasper makes you his
heir, but on the condition that YOU
transfer to him one-half of the for
tune"
'But how?"
"By putting it with him into his
coffin"
Mr.. Grasper's heir opened his eyes
wide.
"And the clause is formal, sir" con
tinued the lawyer "Your deceased
uncle has expressly stipulated that if you
fail to respect his wishes, you shall be
deprived of all your rights to the in
heritance. In that case, his entire for
tune is left to the poor of the town, to
whom the deceased confesses, with
sincerity that does him honor, that he
never gave a cent during his lifetime"
'But, cried young Solomon, ''this is
absolute folly, my dear sir"
"No, Er, it is not folly. The case is
a very simple one. Mr.. Grasper was so
miserly as to astonish everybody when he
died from disease rather than from the
perpetual fast which he seemed to inhict
upon himself. And it would ill become
you to complain, since it is in conse-
| quence of this stinginess that he sue
ceeded in amassing, cent by cent, the
fortune which he has Just left you. Now
you must be aware that the greatest tor
ture of miser is the thought that after
his death he will have none of the money
whose possession was the sole JOY of his
life. Thanks to the obligation which he
imposes upon you, he assures to his re-
mains the enjoyment of posthumous
fortune. Even when dead he will have
portion of the money which was the de-
light of his eager eyes and avaricious fin
gers. OF course he will only have half;
but if he had demanded the whole, he
could not have found an heir who would
be an accomplice, obliged for self-pro-
tprtinn tn nut fba xxichac nf Ia
testator. It is to this reason alone, you
may be sure, sir, that you owe the for
tune which has been left to you. Other
wise"
"Oh, " interrupted Soloman, "that is
plain enough" "
"Well, sir, do you accept2"
81 should think so. Half is better
than nothing"
"Well reasoned. Be so kind as to
sign this paper. Now let us attend to a
few details at once. There are some
bills which must be paid tomorrow, es-
pecially the funeral expenses. Have you
plenty of money!"
"I2 1 have dollar and seventy-five
cents"
"That is not enough; but the matter
can easily be arranged. A week before |
his death, your uncle, distrusting every
body, deposited all his money in the bank. |
Here is a check book which you can use.
Please draw a check for two hundred dol
lars; that will be enough for the funeral |
and for your immediate needs"
"What, said the surprised artist, twill |
they give me two hundred dollars on my
simple signatureW
eyes, and twenty thousand whenever
you like"
"Why this is admirable, sir"
Solomon Lyon, the landscape painter, |
after returning to the hotel, passed the
night in state of agreeable insomnia,
swelling with pride at the idea that his
name written on a piece of paper was
worth more than the names of a dozen
members of the Academy signed upon
hundred feet of canvas, even when the |
latter were embellished by gilded frames.
One thought, nevertheless, troubled his |
pleasure; the necessity of deposithg in
his uncles coffin half the fortune which
he had received so unexpectedly. And
as he lay between dreaming and waking,
he wondered whether the recent events
were realities or hallucinations.
The next morning he sprung out of
bed, continuing his reflections, and after
washing himself in a tub of cold water,
prepared to complete the painful sacrifice
Taking a seat, he drew the check-book
from his pocket, and made ready to write
the check for the money which he was to
draw from the bank for the purpose,
alas of placing in his'uncle's last resting
place. He reflected a moment before
putting pen to paper, and suddenly his
eyes frightened and a smile appeared
upon his lips.
''Ha, my boy" said he, sour uncle
didn't think of that"
Two hours later, lawyer Potter, sur
prised at not receiving visit from his
client, entered the room, found the
young gentleman in company with a fat
fowl properly cooked, and was welcomed
with an air of beatitude free from clouds.
81 have found the weak spot" cried
the heir, as soon as the man of law ap-
peared upon the threshold of the cham
Der.
''What weak spot2"