News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1894-08-23

~ v
81 fear, Captain Mdrtinddlc," remarked
the larger.
bequest will not prove so valuable Us
might have been the case some 20years
back, or even when drew up this in
strument 10 years ago"
| feared not also, for knew that my
uncle's stud, through a long run of i'll
luck and his own carelessness of ways
and means. rather than any diminution
of interest in his favorite pursuit, had
of late years dwindled almost to moth
ing, so that it was not likely l should
take much benefit from the bequest
Still was glad to have been remem-
bered. Dear old Uncle Geoff, warm
hearted and true, cheeriest friend of
my boyhood, had not forgotten his
! nephew. Little else had he to leave
I him beyond his beloved nags, remnant
of a once large and fairly successful
stable. His only personality besides
consisted of his household furniture,
which was left to my mother-his only
sister-with picture or two and some
antique chinaware of no great value.
What money he had ever possessed had
dong been spent, with that free handed
liberallty which had made Geoff Dakyn
while it lasted-aye, and even beyond.
let it be said, to the credit of tho sport
ing cOterie to which he belonged-most
popular of men. Even his racing plate
had gone to pay the interest of mort
gage ON his real estate, which, being
entailed, descended now to a second
cousin, one Richard Dakyn, who was
not greatly TO be enyied therefor, for
Stocbwood Lodge was fearfully out of
repair, and the bit of pasture land about
it heavily incunbered.
However, there was the legacy, such
as it was, and | must make the best |
could of it. The question of course
was, Should | sell the horses at once,
. or wait to see what could be made by
running them? The sporting instinct
which is present, even if undeveloped,
in most Englishmen inclined me to the
latter course, while my mother, who
had seen and indeed suffered much
from the indulgence of this instinct in
her own family, strenuously urged the
former-inGeed she would listen to
nothing else than the immediate dis
posal of the animals.
. If you had seen as much of it as
have, my dear boy" the mater said
sententiously, you would rather pack
them all off at once to the kennels than
have anything to do with horse rae
J. ing"
My sister Geraldine, on the other
hand, was all for having a run with
them and said | must give her a new
suit of furs for next winter out of my
first win.
If you ever get so much as a new
tennis racket, you will be a lucky girl,
Jill, rejoined, and indeed | thought
so, but / meant to decide for myself in
the matter all the same.
But there was some one whom | was
bound to consider before either mother
or sister What would Ella have to
say about it, and Elias people? My re-
lations with the Rev. Cholmondely-Dav
export, her father, were already some
what strained, and as l had fully
made up my mind to marry the daugh-
ter was naturally averse to anything
that would be likely to increase the
tension.
The Rev. Cholmondely and | had
never hit it off we'll together at all. |
tried to respect him as much as could
because Of his daughter and because
other people seemed to and because
there was nothing in the least unrespect-
able about him. So far from that, he
occupied an extremely good position.
He was rector of Rampington and magis-
trate and rural dean, and both ecclesias-
tically and socially held in first rate es-
timation in his own county. Still some
how | could not respect him. | am not
particularly religious or over squeamish
about such matters, and perhaps, being
only plain soldier, don't much un-
,lerstand them, but | do like a man to
be true to his colors, and this | did not
think the Rev. Cholmondely could be,
or why should he once week insist 50
strongly upon the absolute nothingness
of worldly possessions and social rank,
while upon all other occasions his visi-
BILE objects in life were to find the most
advantageous investments for his money
of which no had a great deal-and to
obtain the best settlements for his
daughters in marriage? Again, it seem
ed to me that man who really be-
lieved in the predestination of fear
fully large percentage of his fellow NOR
tails to an unhappy future ought to be
more concerned about it and not to be
sitting there in his handsomely appoint
ed dining room, slipping his port with
such a cOmplacent air, however well as
-sured of his own safety. am not much