The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1900-03-13

Thus / began under unfavorable
auspices. / had all the notoriety at
taching to distinguished connection,
with none Of its advantages, for was
poor as church mouse. Ny comrades
pointed me out to their friends, saying:
Hes old Teleky's cousin, you know.
He'll have pile when the old boy pegs
out"
This sort of thing worried me. There
was one compensation, however. MY
name and presumptive wealth procur-
ed me the favor of young ladies and
their mammals, and for several seasons
I basked in the smiles Of beauty.
My whole family, with all its branch
es-there must have been score Of
persons all told-had, like myself, been
waiting for the future dead mans
shoes until they had become almost
barefoot. Ny cousin in the beginning
had been nearly as poor as the rest.
He owed his advancement and his
wealth to his rare political abilities.
He had been a professional politician
all his life. Now he was called a
statesman.
He gave evidence Of his talent ia
boyhood. The neighbors' boys used to
rob his fathers orchard. One day my
cousin armed himself with knife and
q big medicine bottle with poison
label He went to the orchard, where,
| in full view of some of the suspected
pilferers, he made small incisions in a
number Of the most tempting apples
and poured a few drops from the bot
tie into each incision. Some OF the
boys asked him what he was doing.
He responded that whoever ate those
| apples wouldn't care for apples there
after. Thenceforth the apples remain
ed undisturbed.
The bulk OF his wealth came to him
through lucky chance while he was
private secretary to a certain high
functionary.
A rich banker applied to the official
for concession, backing his applica-
| ton with arguments of the most
weighty and convincing character
But the law, unfortunately, stipulat-
ed that the holder of the concession
must be a Hungarian, which the bank
er was not
ut can be arranged" said the dis
penser Of patronage. 'You have a
| daughter, believer
EYES,
swell, all you have to do is to marry
her to Hungarian as soon as posi-
BILE. Then you can take the concession
| in her name-that is, in her husbands"
At that moment my cousin entered.
'sHere is the man for you" said his
| chief my secretary is Hungarian
Of good family and amenable to reason.
[ Teleky, allow me to present you to
your future father-in-law."
| The banker looked at the handsome
young Hungarian, and the bargain was
struck, the lady interposing no objec-
| ton.
We never profted one silver by my
Cousins greatness. In late years in
| deed he had shown the greatest ami
mostly toward the whole family. Some
of the affiliated branches who were
poorer and prouder than the Telekys
themselves murmured loudly, and it
was their complaints, the Telekys In
sisted, that had hardened the great
mans heart On the other hand, these
relatives insisted that it was all our
fault, and SO family dissension was
added to our other notifications.
But in Hungary everything can be
converted into cash-even expectations.
| We had no legal claim on our cousins
estate, but we found plenty of usurers
| willing to take long chances
This was carried on to such an ex-
tent that the wit of the family said he
hoped "the old man" would never die,
as things were going on most COM
fortably as they were, and when the
| crash should come it would take the
assets Of Rothschild to meet the out
standing liabilities.
The old man did die, however. while
| I was still at the university. He was
Ill for long time, and the newspapers
were full of reports regarding him.
They said. among other things, that
| the bulk Of his immense fortune would
60 to the Budapest almshouse, but that
every relative who should appear at
Tie luuCldA WVul0 lCCCAtC O 1C0RCNSo-
BILE bequest. And, as matter of fact,
on the day after the old mans death
/ received a formal invitation to the
funeral from his confidential factotum,
who added hint that my future fnan-
cial welfare would depend largely up
on my presence or absence.
OF course went 1t was my first
s<xfk h. AoI f,1rk ho r1n dif15-
Guilty In finding my late cousins town
residence, which was in large apart
ment house.
A hearse and carriage stood before
the door when arrived, and great
crowd Of idlers had collected to see
what they could Of the distinguished
mans funeral saw none of my rela-
lives among the few people who were
entering, and blamed myself for be-
ing the last to arrive.
Just then two ladies entered. They
were richly dressed, but entirely in
black, and they held handkerchiefs to
their eyes. from which tears were
streaming. / followed them to an
apartment on the second floor, where
VIC lOuu0 q SOO0AJ tOAAPeAA3J "a Ae~~lASo
and gentlemen, many Of whom seemed
as deeply affected as the two ladies
who had just arrived.
There could be no doubt Of the genu
ineness of their grief Their eyes
were red and swollen, as If from pro-
Ionged weeping, and their handker-
chiefs were used constantly.
Still saw none of my numerous rel
atiyes. Evidently they were all in the
inner room, where the funeral no
doubt was already in progress, while
I was cooling my heels with the out
siders In the anteroom.
A sad faced domestic, clad wholly in
black, stood at the door leading to the
inner room. approached him and en-
deayored to explain my connection
with the dead man, but he cut me
short at the first word.
mot yet" he said. 1T is not yet
time. You must wait"
/ waited. After time one OF my
companions rose and approached the
inner door, which was opened obse-
quiously by the flunky. In q little
while another did the same. When
three or four thus had passed behind
the mysterious door, made the at
tempt myself. but was waved back