The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1892-11-11

the important event. just "A week be
fore Alice's birthday / had dug that
grave by the side of the path where
that tall monument stands. / finished
the digging just before night, for the
borial was To take place early the next
forenoon.
During the night we had a heavy
thunder shower, and in the morning
when 1 came down everything looked
unusually bright in the clear, mornin
sunlight / came up the path ami
started back in astoniahmcnt TO sec a
man lying in the bottom Of the grave.
On close examination it proved TO bc
EdwaId d-dead. lie had probably wan
dered aside from the path in the dark
ness, aud, fall ng, his head had struck
the opposite side of the grave, break
ing his neck.
Il hurried down TO the village for
help; and there / found great excite
ment prevailing. Squire Edmund's
mansion had ben struck by lightning
the night before, and both the old gen
tlcman and his invalid wife had been
killed. One chimney was demolished
and the end of the mansion badly shat
tered, but no fire was discovered.
I'VE carried Edward home, and the
three bodies lay in state till the day Of
the funeral, when all were buried in
the lot over there on the hill
AT the funeral Alice was accom-
panied by "a fine-looking young man
who was a stranger To all the towns
people. Many conjectures were made
a. to who this stranger might bc, cs-
pecially as he rode home with Alice la
the Edmunds carriage.
Alice received a note from the law
yer summoning her 70 call At his Office.
Good morning, Miss Eimunds,'
said Lawyer Atwood. a. Alice APP
peared in answer To hIs summons: i
beg pardon for intrudIng in the midst
of your sorrow; but there Is a ruattcr
of business which must be attended 10
very soon. | believe your twenty-firSt
birthday will occur next Monday, viii
il not?"
4" Yes, sir, answered Alice.
And / suppose you understand that
the desire of both your father and your
uncle was that you and your cousin Ed
ward should lie married and so keep
the property in the family?'
- i do Alice replied.
Now continued the lawyer, your
Uncle Roberts will provides that Ed
ward shall inherit all his fathers prop
erty at the age of twenty-one. In case
he died before that age il should come
into your possession on your twent
first birthday. That gives your unclc's
half of all the property TO you next
Monday. But your fathers share
stands in a peculiar manner. In case
Of your death before the age Of twenty
one il vas To 20 TO Edward; that part
of the will is clear; but knowing that
the objection to the union was all on
your part, and wishing 10 make this
union sure, your father intended to
make provisions that if you passed your
twenty-firSt birt hday without marry
ing L lya-d the property should pass
into his hands OF all this you are
aware, but your father also willed that
at Edwards death your portion of the
property which he had inherited should
go TO the town TO found a hospital and
public library.
According TO these provisions yOu
would inherit your uncle's part of the
property next Monday and your fathers
part would go TO the town"
Here the lawyer hesitated moment
and then continued:
- j don't like this way of forcing
young people 70 marry against their
will, and l don't think promise wrung
from one at such time as your promise
was made should be binding. ! have
studied your fathers will carefully,
and fiEd that the language used in the
document leaves, by techuicality, one
chance for you to acquire the whole
property.
- The will provides that if you pass
your twcnty-trst birthday without
marrying" the property shall 60 to your
cousin. Now, by slight oversight, it
does not specify whom you shall
marry
And with pleasant good morning
the lawyer bowed Miss Alice out.
The next Sunday there was a quiet
wedding at the mansion on the hill, and
it then transpired that the young
stranger was Richard Trescott, Jr.
And so the property was kept to-
gether, and Richard and Alice lived in
the old house surrounded 10y a family
of boys and girls"
Here the sexton paused and appeared
wrapped in memory. At length broke
his rcverie with the question:
And so the new grave is for Alicc?''
Yes" he answered, for Alice; dear
Alice. 1t was her last request of me
that / should dig her grave myself"
"And what became of the gardener"
| asked.
''Oh! yes, yes, the gardener" " he said.
as if he but half understood my qucs
ton. And then rousing himself. he
said: The gardener; well, You see
Richard went to college and then my
wife died, and / couldn't bear 10 bc
alone, and so / came back and became
sexton of the town. Here ] could be
near the old home, and Alice always
came TO see me often, and my life was
happy, until Richard came TO live in
the old mansion and could call Alice
daughter. and then had the old house
again. But / could never give up the
care of the cemetery"
As the old sexton ceased speaking
the sun burst ont again, and. bidding
him good day, / sauntercd forth on my
ramble over the old town where / was
passing my summer vacation.-David
q. Davidson, in Boston Budget.
\ Texas woman's Great Ranch.
Richard Harding Davis thus writes OF
n lady who runs a Texas ranch: when
ladies go To call on Mrs Richard King,
after they have reached the front gate
they have To drive ten miles up the
walk To the front door. But the baker,
when he wants TO get At the kitchen
must drive thirty miles from the back
gate. Mrs. King lives on her ranch,
forty-five miles south Of Corpus Christi.
Over her acres roam one hundred thou
sand head of cattle. These are attend
ed 10y three hundred cowboys and
twelve hundred ponies. When there
comes an order from Chicago butcher
for one thousand head of cattle, it is
but short work to round them up and
send them on their way. Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob would find this life
ideally patriarchal. And none the less
so by reason of the modern improve
ments of the home and house parties Of