Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1905-08-24

only child Of your mother and therefore
his only nephew. He sets forth the
dates of your mothers marriage, of
your birth, Of the death of Robert
Brewster and of Mrs. Brewster. He
also was aware of the fact that old
Edwin Peter Brewster intended to be-
queath a large fortune to you, and
thereby hangs a tale. Sedgwick was
proud. When he lived in New York he
was regarded as the kind of man who
never forgave the person who touched
roughly upon his pride You know, of
course, that your father married Miss
Sedgwick in the face of the most BIT
ter opposition on the part of Edwin
Brewster. The latter refused to recOg-
nlze her as his daughter, practically
disowned his son and heaped the harsh
est kind of calumny upon the Sedg-
wicks. 1t was commonly believed about
town that Jim Sedgwlck left the coun-
! try three or four years after this mar
| riage for the sole reason that he and
/ Edwin Brewster could not live in the
I same place. So deep was his hatred
of the old man that he fed to escape
killing him. 1t was known that upon
one occasion he visited the Office OF his
sisters enemy for the purpose Of STAY
ing him. but something prevented. He
carried that hatred to the grave, as
you will see"
Montgomery Brewster was trying to
gather himself together from within
the fog which made himself and the
world unreal
Il believe I'd like to have you read
this eXtraor-the will, Mr.. Grant" he
said. with an effort to hold his nerves
In leash.
Mr.. Grant cleared his throat and be.
gan In his still voice. Once he looked
mp to find his listener eager and again
to find him grown Indifferent He won
hered dimly If this were pose
In brief, the last will of James It.
Sedgwick bequeathed everything. real
and personal, OF which he died DOS
Sessed to his only nephew, Montgomery
Brewster of New York. son of Robert
and Louise Sedgwick Brewster SUP
plementing this all important clause
there was set Of conditions govern
Ing the final disposition of the estate
The most extraordinary of these con-
ditions was the one which required
the heir to be absolutely penniless upon
the twenty-sixth anniversary of his
birth, Sept %
The instrument went into detail In
respect to this supreme condition. 1t
set forth that Montgomery Brewster
was to have no other worldly oosses-
sion than the clothes which covered
him on the September day named. He
was to begin that day without a penny
to his name, without single article
OF jewelry, furniture or finance that
he could call his own or could there
after reclaim. At 8 O'Clock, New York
time, on the morning of Sept. % the
executor, under the provisions OF the
will, was to make over and transfer
to Montgomery Brewster all Of the
moneys, lands, bonds and interests |
mentioned in the inventory which ac-
the will. In the event that |
Brewster had not In every |
particular complied with the require
ments of the will to the full satisfac-
ton Of the said executor, Swearengen |
Jones, the estate was to be distributed |
among certain institutions of charity
designated In the instrument. Under
lying this imperative injunction of |
James Sedgwick was plainly discerni-
Bile the motive that prompted it. In |
almost so many words he declared that |
bis heir should not receive the fortune |
II he possessed single penny that had
come to him In any shape or form
from the man he hated, Edwin Peter
Brewster. While Sedgwick could not
have known at the time Of his death |
that the banker had bequeathed ST. |
100000 to his grandson, it was more
than apparent that he expected the
young man to be enriched literally by |
his enemy. 1t was TO preclude any
possible chance of the mingling of his
fortune with the smallest portion Of
Edwin p. Brewster's that James Sedg-
wick on his deathbed put his hand to
this astonishing instrument
There was also clause In which he
undertook to dictate the conduct of
Brewster during the year
leading up to his twenty-sixth anniver-
sary. He required that the young man
should give satisfactory evidence TO
the executor that he was capable of
his affairs shrewdly and
wisely; that he possessed the ability
to add to the fortune through his own
that he should come to his
twenty anniversary with a fair
name and a record free from anything
worse than mild forms of dissipation:
that his habits be temperate; that he
possess nothing at the end of the year
which might be regarded as a visible
Or invisible asset" that he make no
endowments; that he give sparingly to
charity; that he neither lend nor give
away money. for fear that 1t might be
to him later; that he live on
the principle which inspires man to
get his moneys WORTH" be the ex-
Denditure great or small. As these
conditions were prescribed for but
single year In the life Of the heir. 1t
was evident that Mr.. Sedgwick did not