The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1912-07-23

the transfer. She replied that she was
positive the marquis had said it was
In a tin box in the safe.
When NJ. Villaret was apprised Of
the fact that Victor must gain posses
sion Of the estate as heir-at-law through
the courts, that a suit for it had al
ready been commenced by Victor's
cousins, he refused to give his consent
to the marriage. Natalie would have
been willing to wait till the inheritance
was decided, but suits in chancery are
long drawn out, and unless the estate
involved is a very large one it is usu-
ally eaten up in litigation Victor was
too honorable to permit her to remain
tied to him with so desperate a pros
pect before him.
But the love between Victor and Ma
tahe was too strong to be broken,
though their union was given up. The
courts permitted the young marquis to
retain temporary possession Of the
family residence in the Faubourg st.
German, and Victor spent many an
hour in his fathers cabinet trying to
conJure up some reason for the non
appearance of the missing paper which
his father had evidently mislaid in
stead Of putting sway in the box, as
he had supposed he had done.
The old world has not, or at least
had not at that time, done away with
many Of its ancient usages. The La
Ferriere residence was very Old one.
In the cabinet was a huge fireplace
with one of those enormous chimneys
requiring to be cleaned at stated times.
The chimney sweep, with his smock
frock and sooty face, even TO this day,
Is an institution in parts Of Europe.
Victor was sitting in his cabinet one
day when his major domo ushered in
sweep and told him to clean the Chin
ney
So wrapt was Victor in trying to
solve the problem Of the missing pa
per that he was unconscious of any
one having entered the room. Gddden-
ly he looked up to be confronted by
the black face and white eyes Of the
sweep, who stood before nm with
outstretched hand, in which there was
something yellow and black. Victor
took a crumpled paper from the sweep,
smoothed it out and at glance recog-
nized the paper for which he had been
hunting.
When, few moments later, he ran
out of the cabinet, meeting the major
domo in the hall, the latter thought
some accident had happened to his mas
ter, for Victor's face and shirt bosom
were covered with SCOT He had en-
braced the sweep. He was seizing his
hat to go to inform Natalie of the find
when the servant held him and begged
him to look in a mirror before leaving
the house. He did SO and saw that
he must delay to wash the SCOT of bis
face and put on clean linen.
There was rejoicing In the two
families at the recovery. It's possess
sion forced Victor's opponents to with
draw their claims as heirs Of his
father and begin all over again as
heirs of the late marquis grandfather.
Discouraged, they were ready to listen
to a proposition Victor made them to
pay the costs of the suit, which had
already become considerable.
When Maitre Joussieur was informed
of the recovery of the transfer he had
executed he remembered that when
he opened the door to leave the late
marquis cabinet a draft had swept
the papers off the table. His theory
was that the paper the marquis had
just signed had been carried into the
chimney, where it had lodged in a
crevlce. Fortunately no fire had been
made there since. The chimney was
being cleaned preparatory to its use
In the approaching winter. The mar
quis who was greatly agitated at the
time, had doubtless supposed the In
strument was among the papers he
had picked up off the floor. Those In
terested were obliged to be content
with this explanation since the mar
quis was alone when he replaced the
scattered papers and was the only
person who could have given any &C.
count Of the matter.
AS soon as the suit against Victors
estate had been withdrawn M. VII
laret settled hundred thousand
francs on his daughter, and the nup-
tails with the young marquis were
celebrated