Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1894-05-10

WY De1F L dul Ou Will perhaps
wonder that, from all those who have
equal claims upon me, have chosen
you as my heir. 1t Is not because you
are my nearest Of kin--there Is one
nearer than yourself. 1t is because l
loved your mother, Paul, All words
are weak to tell you how dearly loved
her. Fraud and treachery parted us
when We were young, and since then
| have loved no other woman--no other
face has ever charmed me, no other
voice has made music in my ears |
have been true TO her in life, and |
shall be true TO her in death; 80, have
left you all that have in this world,
because / loved your mother--loved
and lost her. You will be rich man, a
great and powerful man but always re-
member that your wealth, your rank,
and your position come from your
mother, not from me. You must be
grateful to her, not to me. have no
particular wishes to leave with you;
nothing has interested me much since
your mother died. Her picture hangs
In my room, and no day passes without
my locking at 1T. AS age creeps on me,
l like to sit and gaze at it, to imagine
to myself how the face | have loved so
we'll looks among the angels In heaven,
and to wonder If, when | am dying,
that same sweet face will be by my
side.
"The within seizo5 me to-day to write
this and place it in your mothers pic
ture. II you never find the letter 1t
will not matter but | have bel eff
that, when you-my heir-come 'home,'
there will be new and handsome
frame wanted for the picture, and that
1t will be taken from tho quiet room
where have spent so many hours, and
put in place OF honor, as BELTS the
portrait of the mother Of the heir.
Then you will meet with this, and you
will know that the 'morose old earl,
as they called me, spent his time in
faithfully loving one woman, and also
that you owe all yon have to your
mother, and not to me. Good-by, and
Heaven bless you, Paul Flemyng. You
will be Earl Of Charnleigh when you
read this. May heaven grant that you
may have happier love and happier
life than mine.
URIC CHARNLEGGH. "
Ethel Dacre st cd perfectly still with
the letter in her hand. What did it
mean? The lac earl wrote as though
he had left will, which was in favor
Of Captain Flemyng. II So where was
it? Why had it not Eeen found? She
was almost stupefed with the disclos-
ure-Paul the true heir, and not Leo
ME?
Where was the will? Her thoughts
were all in whirl of confusion. She
seemed almost incapable of forming
lucid ideas. Then she remembered
what Captain Flemyng had tod her
that they had sought high and low"
for a will, but could not find one. 1t
was in consequence of this failure that
the case came before the law courts,
and Leonie Rayner was declared next
of kin. Had any will been found of
course its instructions would have been
carried out.
Could it b. that Uric, Lord Charm
leigh, had intended to make will and
had died without doing SOL Even in
that case Paul was the right'ul heir.
Leonie would admit this, and of course,
when she had read the letter give up
all to him.
She turned to leave the room, taking
the letter with her, but she found that
her limbs trembled SO violently that
she would have fallen if she proceeded
just then. She was obliged to rest
herself and still the beating of her
heart. Presently she would 60 to
Leonie, and show her what she had
found.
Paul would be master of Crown
leighton after all! To Ethel so pure
ly, so strictly honorab!e-there came
no doubt of what Leonie would do. She
knew that, if she herself were placed
in similar position, she would at once
give up all she had--ehe would abso-
lutely refuse to lie p posses. ion. of
what it was never intended should be
hers.
That Leonie would offer the least
opposition never occurred to Ethel
She did not know how love of money
and Ct power, how pride of rank and
position could corrode even the noblest
of natures.
Then, as she went up the broad stair
case of that superb mansion, it sudd n
ly occurred to her that it would be
very hard for Leonie to renounce all
this state and splendOr. Hard indeed;
but then at the call of hon7r people
should be willing to lay down their
lives even. She inquired were Lady
Charnleigh was, and Florette told her
that she was in her own room. Ethel
went thither
ITO BE CONTINUED