The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-06-29

arms. The house had been broken into
and many articles Of value had been
taken. So the object of the kidlapers
appeared 10 be self evident. They had
stolen the child hoping to eXtort vast
sums from the merchant as a ransom.
The dying man was wild with grief.
He commanded the Jew, the medium
through whom he transacted all his
business, to use the most effective meas
ures for the immediate rescue Of his
darling, But, though much money was
expended and u vast amount Of work
performed every claim of u discovery
Of the missing one proved, when hunt
ed up, to be an imposture. The Jew had
an inlallible test Of which the world
knew nothing An accident had necessi-
tated the amputauon Of one Of the toes
Of the child's left foot.
THE merchants 5 hope that he might
still see his child kept him alive for
years, but the time came when the ply
sicians said that he must die. Some
weeks before his deceaSe he called his
lawyer, an old and trusted friend, to
ask his advice in most important mat
ter As the result Of that advice the
merchant for the third time altered his
will. The lawyer mistTusted the jew
but The merchant to the lao held blind
ly to his faith in his integrity. Still the
counselor persuaded him easily enough
to protect his child i'll the strongest
manner The will as then framed pro-
yided that twO-thirds Of his fortune
/ should 90 10 his widow, and the other
third, with the exception of a stated
sum, given to the faithful Jew, was to
be held in trust by the lawyer and other
honorable gentlemen for his daughter
Ethel If, at the end of 30 years, she
had not been heard from, her share Of
the property, which amounted to nearly
! 5000, 600, was to 90 to various Chari-
table institutions. This will was made
Oh April ii, 1875, signed and sealed in
| the presence Of witnesses. On April 2l
Of the same year the lawyer was hastily
summoned to attend Mr.. Forsythe, who
was dying, and who, apparently i'll per-
feCtly sane mind, told him that, having
! decided at the last moment again to al
ter the will, he had done SO III codicil,
which he only desired him to examine
as to its legality and force There could
be no doubt about that The codicil had
been added in the jews handwriting
and was countersigned by three servants
in the house, who, in the eye Of tho law,
were disintcrested witnesses. twas cCr-
tainly legal, bat the startling nature Of
the alteration alarmed the lawyer and
aroused his darkest suspicious 1t re-
yoked the provisions Of the previous
clause regarding his daughter legacy,
reduced the number Of years the money
was to be held for her from 30 to 10 and
made the provisional legatoe, in the
event Of her not being found at the ex-
piration Of that time, instead Of the
charitable institutions, the jew himself
The lawyer did not let this pass
J without remonstranCe but the dying
merchant refused to alter the testament.
/ owe everything to my good Felix,
he said, referring to the Jew. Why
should you envy him" But so certain
was the lawyer Of the exercise Of undue
influence upon the merchants mind
that after his death he hunted up dis
tant relative and persuaded him to dis
pute the will. The case was tried in
court and resulted i'll u triumph for the
Jew. The will held.
"ansel Forsythe died April %, 1875.
The cuurt decided i'll favor OF the legal
ity Of the will in October Of the follow.
ing year, and on that day the Jew dis
appeared personally from the field Of
war and transacted such business as it
was necessary to transact with reference
to the trust property in the hands Of
the executors through his solicitor. Mr.
Forsythe's old lawyer naturally drew u
sigh Of relief when matters assumed
this quiet state, from which they did
not seem likely to emerge for at least
10 years, But he drew this breath alto
! gethcr too soon. The moment the status
Of the will was settled by the court u
new complication arose. The same i'm
posters who had before appeared and
new ones who had come into the posses
sion Of the necessary facts begaH to i'm
personate the lost Ethel and to set up
successive claims to the property Most
Of them were 50 ridiculous on the face
that they did not merit sober considcra-
tiOn. Others were more shrewdly plan
ned and gave the executors much trou-
BILE. If false witnesses could have per-
jured their way to wealth, the property
would have been wrestcd from the exec
utors long ago, but fortunately the Jews
secret was secret still, locked up in
the breasts Of half dozen people whose
interests bade them not tospeak. When
the left foot Of the claimant was barred,
the chances Of sdccess vanished like
smoke before a high wind.
GA peculiarity said one, of this
child's ankle renders your claim defect
i've. The real child had q malformahon
which you do not possess. So they had
brought us cripples and joint diseases by
the score. Unfortunately for them, they
believed what we told them too implic-
lily After the examination by our ply
sician and the positive manner III which
he told them that there was no founda-
tion for their claims, there were few
who dared risk the penalties for perjury
by bringing the case to court. Our pri
vate tribunal generally settled the mat
ter. The few who dared to risk legal
trial have had the leisure to repent
their folly in prison. But all this took
time and work and was expensive. The
will expressly stipulated that the costs
of research and legal protection should
be taken from the trust property tself,
and in 10 years these expenses alone
have more than eaten up the interest on
the money, so that the trust property to-
day does not amount to quite $100, 900.
80 matters stood on the 91st day Of
! l.. L. A. IL