The record-union., 1896-08-02
MICHAEL DARCY'S HEIRBSS.

NnAOAA1A OA1lO " A04llOnN. :.
Nov for it," SAID to myself as un-
! did the twine binding my precious vol
umes together and prepared to examine
them more carefully than l had time
to do since | unearthed them from the
| little, dark second hand book-shop that
afternoon. There was nothing remark
| able about them; no rare editions of
well-known classics, no long-forgotten
| books, valuable from them their very
| obscurlty; merely a few bound volumes
of old magazines, and a couple of the
novels which had delighted me as a
boy, and which from old association
were more precious in their original type
and polished leather binding than in
the spruce modern editions. Best of all
was copy of Dickens Master Hum
phrey's Clock" with the woodcuts that
cannot now be reproduced. AS l turned
| them over, became boy again, sitting
ing in the old apple tree at the end Of
the garden ait home, devouring the thin,
paper-covered installments of the
stories, laughing and sometimes crying
over them, as the present-day school
amined students of literature as they
are, are too critical to do. l adjusted
my reading lamp, drew my chair closer
to the fire, and forgetting alike the cup
of coffee ait my side and the patient
whose unusual symptoms had worried
me all day, lost myself in the company
| of Nell and her grandfather, Mrs. Jar
ley, Miss Brass and the MarchioneSs,
seeing them with the boys eyes, and
adding to the pen and pencil sketches a
roundness and completeness of detail
drawn from my imagination Of fifty
years ago, and utterly lacking to my
reading of later life.
When l had gone more than half
through the second volume, came upon
large sheet of thin paper covered with
neat, cramped writing. / took it out
and looked at it. A moments inspection
showed me that it was a will, written
throughout in the handwriting of the
| testatCr, Michael Darcy, and dated two
years before. II left interest in the farm
of Carrignalea, with stock and imple-
ents,totestator's brother, Patrick Dar-
! cy, who was also named residuary leg
atee, while the sum of f3, 900 in railway
queathed to my late wife's niece, Anas-
tasia Ffrench." 1t was, as far as
could judge, and I had had some expe-
rience in matters of the kind, properly
executed, signed and witnessed.
1t was odd to find an important docu-
ment of this sort hidden away between
the leaves of a book. Had Patrick
Darcy and Anastasia Ffrench been left
without their inheritance in conse-
quence, l wondered. And a picture rose
| up In my mind of helpless elderly
woman ending her days in poverty be-
| cause the paper which would have Sc
cured her independence was not to be
| found
What an old fool I was, to be sure.
For all l knew Michael Darcy might be
s.lll alive, and live TO make a, half dozen
fresh wills. Or even If he We're dead,
the chances were that this was an old
viii, revoked by the existence of a later
one, and of no more account than any
other Slip of paper used to mark book
Why had 1 not thought of so obvious
an explanation before? 1 would make
some inquiries about the matter next
day, however; it would be easy to find
nSiea. Meantime, the will could remain
between the leaves of Master Hum
phrey's Clock"
But the morrow found me flying along
by express train to the bedside of my
only son, who had met with dangerous
accident. And for many weeks 1 could
think of nothing but him, and of the best
means of snatching him from the ex-
tended arms of death. And when, by
Gods mercy, he was once more as safe
from those clutches as any one Of us can
ever be, Michael Darcy, his will, heirs,
and executors, had faded out Of my mind
as completely as if they had never en-
tered it, and the will was resting undis-
turbed in its hiding place among my
books
Some twelve months later I went in
regular course of my practice to visit
an old friend, who was suffering from
all acute attack of pneumonia She
was an elderly lady, living alone some
two or three miles outside the city
Her servants were faithful and at
tached, but in the absence of relatives
l thought it better TO insist on the SER
vices of a trained nurse. I therefore
d
dressed to the matron of a nursing in
stitutiOn in the city, asking her to send
me, if possible, one CT two nurses whom
| named; or, if this was out of her
power, to send some one on whom she
could thoroughly rely. On my return
next morning / found not indeed one
of my old friends, but bright capable
looking young woman, whose manner
of answering my questions and taking
my directions impressed me favorably.
She told me that she had not long re-
turned from her course of training in
one of the London hospitals, and that
this was the first serious case of which
she had had sole charge AS the case.
though serious enough, was q simple
one, | had no hesitation in leaving the
nursing Of 1t in her hands. and a few
days observation showed me that even
had it been far more complicated /
should have been fully justified in so
doing. She was an excellent nurse
alert and watchful, knowing exactly
what to do, and doing it with the quiet
ease that comes of long practice. AS
the patient grew better. and l had time
| to notice less important details, I per-
ceived that Sister Anna, besides being
an excellent nurse, was a very attract
| i've young woman. She had pretty
brown hair with golden lights in it way-
ing and ripping all over a we'll shaped.
wei set head; her eyes were dark
brown, and her complexion, though pale
| clear and healthy looking She was
| fairly tall. and very Well built with q