Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1900-08-04
The Altered Will
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES

ABBOTT Gc ScrllInN never fcIt MS ncafL
throb one beat the faster for the opposite
sex; not indeed that he was an enemy
to marriage, but he wanted to make II
good bargain when he entered the scri-
Gus contract. And there was quite nat
ural reason for this desire on his part;
the brilliant lieutenant had for his sole
fortune his appearance.
He had lately, as last cXpedicnt,
almost sold his beautiful young sister
who had Il most passionate attachment
for him, to an old, iniirm husband of 60
NJ. de IaGardc, however, was cOloSSally
rich, and all Albcrt's fine show was kept
up at his expense,
After having thrown sufficient dust in
the eyes of the world of V, at the
end of about two years the Lieutenant
de Srlrigny thought it was time to
change from his cool Indifference toward
the feminine element. The daughter Of
the general was his selection.
The general was Il widOwcr an old AZ
rican campaiSncr, frank and brusquc.
Scrrigly began the siege in military
fashion.
General. | love Mile. Jeanne. VIII
you give your consent to my marriage
with hcr?'
you love her very sincerely, truly?'
"With all my heart, general, | swear
to you.'
"Thcn give me your hand, lieutenant.
You can be my son-in-law as soon as you
| like"
"As to fortune, general" continued De
Scrrigny, Il know how much money
| adds to happiness, and | would never
| have thought of Mile. Jeanne if / had not
enough to keep her in n state BETTING
her rank"
Enough, lieutcnant; you are n gentle
man. | understand all that"
Thanks to the complaiSance of an I'M
| scrupulous notary and the cOnnivanCe of
| his sister, Nine. de Tacardc, Albert was
| able to arrange Il contract showing an in
come of f16,00O, four of which he made
| as q settlement on his young wife. Two
months after himself and his young wife
were spending their honeymoon under the
blue sky of Provence.
Albert apparently was wildly gay and
happy. Nevertheless he was not without
subjects of preoccupation. The future
was shadowe1 by clouds, debts pressing
| everywhere around, and for the present
no possible means of paying them. For
| Nine. de Lagarde, to satisfy the exigen-
cies Of the marriage of her brother, had
exhausted all her resources, even every
| possible prCtcnSe of obtaining money
| from her husband.
The lieutenant's last demand for money
had been without the least result, and on
receipt of his sisters excuses he had re-
! piled by letter full of vindictiveness and
| bitterness, containing, among other
things, the following suggestion:
You would not put end to the old
monkey faced mtser. Then might do as we
| liked with his money.
Then one night at Nice on his return
from the thcater Serrigny found a tclc-
gram which had been forwarded from
| Cannes:
Husband died suddenly at o'clock. Come at
once HENRIETTE
1t was an unexpected piece of news,
but not too hard to be borne.
Albert, without n change of expression,
passed the telegram to his wife and as
she seemed very much surprised and sad
| dcned said, with n sigh, as full of relief
as of regret:
'What can we do, my darling? 1t is
very hard on Ienrette, to be sure, but
when Il couple are so very badly assorted
such premature separations must be eX-
pectcd."
The next day while travelling husband
and wife thought vaguely now and again
TERED, but that was all.
Albert was irreproachable in the man.
ner with which he performed the last du-
ties fer his brotherin-Iaw. Then, the
distressing functions over he went back
to V with his sister, presumably to
! distract her from the contemplation of
her sorrow, in reality to wait feverishly,
nervously, for the opening of the will.
For there was Il will. NJ Onesime
Gaudarcy. notary, had announced it on
the day of the funeral, adding that after
the usual conventional delay he would
| make known its contents to those inter-
| eStcd.
The important day came at last Ser
! ri%ny, becoming more and more anxious,
got permission to remain away from pa
rade in order to have the news at the
earliest possible moment.
At 3 o'clock Nine. de Lagarde was
with her brother. telling in n few words
the terrible details of the will.
NJ. Lagarde left to his widow an in
come of 5000 francs, which could neither
be transferred nor negotiated. The re-
maindcr Of his immense fortune was left
to distant relatives and public charities.
And, detail most overwhelming of all.
attached to the will was n certain letter
of Albert de Serrigny's which ended in
these words:
You would not even put an end to the old
monkey faced mser; then might do we
liked with his money.
Across the letter in red ink was writ
ten
This is the only reason for my present will.
Were it not for this letter my wife would have
had all | possess.
1t was the husband who had received
the letter, and he took good care never to
show it to Nine. de LaGardc.
The Niscomte de Serrigny was obliged
to quit the army, and while his wife is
seeking Il divorce from him it is still his
sister, who. touched with pity, gives him
a home and secures him from want
Spare Moments.
Surgeons Clothes and Tools.
Nothing in modern surgery has made
20 rapid strides as diSinfcction. When
the operator arrives at his hospital, he
exchanges his clothing for suit that has
been subjected to Il temperature of 800
degrees under high pressure in metal
cylinders. 1t has been found that this
i.