The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-06-25
copyr!sa. ,sss By Roszar B,xxrss sozs.

YIEC~--C
copyrisa, isas By h
CHAPTER !.
THE BROTHERS.
"well. II had determined to 60 to
perdition I would not elect to travel
via the workhouse."
I had been closely observing my un-
Gle for more than two hours, and dill
Sently noting his words and gestures.
when his utterance Of this remarkable
sentence confirmed the dislike Of him
which I had conceived at our first
meeting. With only q brief and mar
row experience Of men and manners,
the words impressed me as harsh. not
70 say brutal. for q rich man to ad-
dress to an only brother whom he had
not seen for twenty years. and who
was comparatively poor.
II have made no such deteTmina-
kon." said my father. "As for the
workhouse. my income IL still some
700 pounds q year more than nothing.
and don't anticipate becoming q bur-
den to anybody. not even"-turning
his face toward me and smilinS-"my
own son."
"Seven hundred poundsr' exclaimed
my uncle Sam. eontemptuously. "seven
hundred pounds" And what win that
pitiful sum do toward maintah ing q
-~nsY~r,nn %. $,vo1yo uoop$ha9 Whv
there are four Of the men in my pay
who each earn $500 more than your
entire incomes But how's this! Hol-
denhurst used not to be such q beg.
carly property. or my memory is worse
khan-I thought It was"
While my father II occupied with the
melancholy recital Of the causes. nat
nral and political. Of the enormous de-
probation Of agricultural values In
England-which IN ten years had re-
duced his income by rather more than
half-I win furnish the reader with
brief history Of the men thus engaged.
When little more than ten years old
my father. Robert Truman. had sue
eeeded to an estate Of 1000 acres, con-
sisting Of two entire parishes. Holden
hurst Major and Holdenhurst Minor.
situate q few miles from Bury st. Ed.
mund's, In Suffolk. On his coming Of
age Robert Truman found himself the
possessor Of a rent roll Of f1500.
lump sum of about $4,000. which had
accumulated during his minority, and
q large nondescript manor house Of
which no archaeologist could deter
mime the date or order. It had been 80
much altered and added TO at various
periods. The estate, which had
formed part Of the immense posses
sions Of the rich abbots Of Bury, was.
upon the dissolution Of the abbey there.
settled by Henry VIII. in perpetuity
npon the first member Of my family
Of whom there exists any record.
With but one relation in the world
his brother Samuel. two years his ju.
nior-undoubtedly my father entered
upon the business Of life under condi.
tions more prosperous than attend the
vast majority Of mankind. But that
balance which men adjust where for
tune has shown more favor to one
than to another. themselves making
che tale Of human happiness and ruis-
cry nearly the same in all cases. was
soon made apparent BY the two broth
ers. The affections Of these young
men centred upon one girl. Samuel
was the favored lover. But women
had few rights and many wrongs in
agricultural East Anglia in IS. and
% the beauty Of Holdenhurst became
the wife Of Robert Truman; her faith
er. small farmer ambitious Of form.
ing Q family connection with the
Squire" having SO commanded her.
Before the marriage my uncle Sam
left England for America with the ex-
pressed intention Of never again Wis.
iting his native land. In less than a
year my father had lost by death the
wife he had thus acquired; loss
which, tEAugh 1t deeply affected him.
was patiently borne for the sake Of
the infant boy who was ut once the
cause Of his sorrow and his hope.
In American Samuel Truman had
entered In commercial speculations and
fourished exceedingly. On the death
OF my mother he had written to my
father a few lines expressing his SYM
pathy-his first communication with
his brother after his departure from
England. After that his letters had
been brief and infrequent. but reports
reached Holdenhurst from time to
time Of his extraordinary success in
trading. Of his ever-increasing wealth
and influence. Of his shrewdness, his
penetration, his singleness Of purpose.
Through all the days Of my boyhood I
Semember no variation In the accounts
OF the steady and continued decline in
value Of M fathers property. and Of
the rapid increase Of my uncle's
wealth. Neither Of these circum-
stances, however. interested me until.
In my nineteenth year-the week be.
fore this history opens-my father re-
ceived q letter from his brother in
New York stating that he had been
married for three years to an Ameri-
can lady. and that be and his wife in.
tended to visit Holdenhurst, and might
be expected to arrive in about ten
days.
1t was almost Immediately after the
arrival OF my uncle a; Holdenhurst.
thus intimated, that the conversation