Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1915-03-16
NUMBER II

lover. she TO retain her residence with
Mrs. Herrick. The marriage was per
formed by clergyman and with wit
nesses to whom the bride was person
ally unknown. for she would trust no
one EXCEPT her lover with secret OH
which so much depended.
Kate concluded TO receive her prop
,rty rnder her maiden name. though
she had been advised that property
left her as spinster was equally hers
~ 4 married woman. She went alone
TO the surrogate. who showed her tho
will. She read that all Mrs. Herricks
property was hers and breathed sigh
Of relief. Then she read on and saw
that provided she married the will was
void.
She uttered Il suppressed cry.
All that she had sinned for. all tnat
she had waited for during i've years.
was lost. But was ii lost: One VINO
had ruined another by forgery was
not incapable Of signing lie. Might
she not receive the property as an un'
married womani
The surrogate obliged her before ac-
knowledain. her right to the property
to sign statement under oath that
she was not married. This was
more serious matter than forging a
letter She did not dare sign without
consultation or ut least dcliberation.
She went to lawyer and stated her
Ease alphabetically. He Informed her
that n married woman under the CIR
cumstances signing a statement that
she was not and had not been married
would commit Il felony and was Liable
to Imprisonment.
In her perplcxity she Informed her
husband what she was obliged to DO
to secure the property they had been
waiting for. He saw at once that II
could be secured only by the perpetra-
ton Of crime and told her SO. A
quarrel resulted between them. and he
left ber.
The fear of prison kept the bench
ciary Of the will from signing a raise
hood. and after much delay she was
forced to admit to the attorney wh"
had had charge Of the Herrick proper
ty that she was married woman and
had no claim on the property. che
lawyer before notifying the heirs-at-
law that Mrs. Herrick had died with
out a valid will made search among
the family papers to be sure that there
was no prior will. He found one that
had been made in favor OF Julia An
drews soon after she had gone to i've
with the Herricks.
One morning Julia Andrews received
a letter informing her that she had In
herited an estate worth S3OO,OOo. Julla
believed there was some mistake. She
called on the lawyer who had sent the
notification. and he told her that Kate
Armitage, who had taken her place IN
the Herrick household, had been left
the property, but with a proviso which
had nullified the will
Julia had known that her uncle and
aunt had supplied her place. but knew
little or nothing about the person VINO
had taken 1t. II she accepted this prop
erty she would take advantage OF
technicality to secure an inheritance
that was not rightfully hers. sne
thought the matter over. then asked
for an appointment to meet the person
whom she considered the rightful heir.
The two women met at the lawyers
office and were left alone In a private
room. Julia was as calm as a summer
sky. Kate was pale as n ghost.
81 presume" said Julia. that you
went to live with my uncle and aunt
with the understanding that you were
to inherit their property"
81 did," said Kate in faint voice.
How came it that my aunt put the
provision In her will that II you mar
ried you should lose your inheritance|
81 don't know. never knew OF
such provision"
"You completed your part Of the con-
tract / belleve-you remained with my
aunt so long as she lived"
"I did"
"Then the property rightfully belongs
to you"
Kate made no reply to this. She hung
her head to conceal her features. which
showed the workings Of conscience.
There was a long silence, at the end
of which Julia continued:
81 cannot accept this property for
two reasons. The first is that my aunt
did not intend to leave It to me; there
fore It is not mine. In the second
place, when I was wrongfully accused
by means of a forged letter my aunt
believed the forgery instead OF my de-
NAL, and I am too proud to take 1t on
this account. am ready to turn 10
over to you"
No police inspector could have ap-
piled the third degree to a criminal
more effectively. Kate broke down
and confessed that she was the author
Of the forgery.
Because Of her repentance julia
granted her an allowance as long a.
she lived.