The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1905-10-19

had Travelled on foot less than 4 fort
nigh: before. Here was the church,
yonder the SchoolhoU>e, and up there
on our left were the cottages on the
! ridge.
There IS your house. said the sur
! vcloy, pointing 10 the rear Of the lars-
| est and finest Of the cottages on the
| ridge and that is your barn on this
! side of il. Your ground extends from
| cne street to the other. and this street
| is the rear because the house fronts on
| the other. up OH the ridge, which is
higher and better ground
Yes. it was perfectly plain. 1 had
seen this Identical place Il short time
| before. but I had not recognized it rs
DIV own. because did not then know
that was the owner OF 4 new house
| with q tenant in it. and barn, sta
bic and shed. OH my deSpised country
acre: and all these improvements. be-
| ing permanent in their nature and af-
fixed to my soil without my consent,
were in law my property.
Arrived at the house. l observed 4
! pretty front fence newly painted, and
Il weli-!aid brick pavement leading
from the front gate to the front piazza;
in the piazza were hung at intervals
baskets of ferns ard flowers. and on
the lawn were numerous hoWer beds.
! =. ~, arrangement: G.. which ny tenant
had. displayed much taste. and IN the
choice CT flowers 4 nice discrimination.
The house itself was Il three-story
structure, quite ornamental in style,
and the whole premises We're very new.
In answer to the bell appeared a moth
erly lady who ushered US into the par
lor, which was we'll, even luxuriously,
furnished. 4 soft carpet covered the
floor. handsome pictures adorned the
walls, piano occupied CHEEKY COR,
ner. and everything in and about the
place indicated that 1 had secured
tenant who would undoubtedly take
good care of the premises and was
abundantly able to pay the rent
The conversation which ensued was
positively painful. 1t appeared that
the lady before us was widow; that
her husband had died in the previous
summer, leaving her few thousand
dollars, which were all she had; that
she desired to purchase small place
in the country where she might end
her days, and she had been recon-
mended to this neighborhood: that
some friend had inquired about the
price of the surrounding property, and
at his suggestion, during the winter,
she had invested a few hundreds OF
dollars in a lot OH which, as she sup
posed, she had built all these improve
ments this spring; that at about the
time of their completion she had
learned in some way that she had built,
not on the property which she had
bought, but on the land adjoining; and
that ever since the discovery OF her
mistake she had been in the greatest
distress of mind imaginable, because
she feared that the owner Of the
ground on which she had built would
take measures to deprive her of the
improvements she had made. and thus
sweep away nearly all that she pos
sessed in the world. She was not in
the least surprised when l announced
myself as the person she had so much
dreaded to see.
"While the law would undoubtedly
give me all the improvements which
you have affixed to my soil without any
consent on my part" I began, with
considerable embarra you
shall continue to own them. My dear
madam, do not think that would do
you the wrong of appropriating them"
"Oh, it is terrible, sir" murmured
the much agitated little widow, with
an evident lump in her pretty throat.
"You are very generous, sir-but-oh,
how will it all end? I can not let you
do it. Either you must let me buy your
ground or you must buy my house and
improvements
I hastened to assure her that would
do anything in reason.
AS the Improvements were OF mucn
more value than the ground, and as
she had selected the place for home
While had bought merely on specula-
ton, I suggested that she should pur-
chase the ground. During the course
of the conversation she gradually lost
all sense Of uneasiness, as it became
evident to her that I did not intend to
take undue advantage of her error, and
when I finally offered her the ground
she put a purchase price upon it which
I accepted at once. In less than
week she received deed from me
conveying the her the entire premises
with all the improvements thereon"
$50 ran the decd in fee simple: had
in exchange more than double the
amount of money which I had paid
for the property less than six months
before; the poor little acre which for
more than two years I could not sell
to anybody at any price suddenly
| found a most eager buyer, at fancy
price of her OWL naming; and l was
| put to the necessity of planting posts
- 4ho .or,ore of coma o+hpr real pS.