LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2640, 22 September 1882, Page 4

LITERATURE.

A STRIKING LEGACY,

( Concluded.) Here Mr Parkin, the lawyer, intervened: —’ Ladies and gentlemen, if you a r e ready,’ he said ; so the door was closed, and everybody sat down. Stephen Umberglowth took his piece at the head of the tabic at the solicitor's right band. Mr Pnrkin, who knew the contents of the will, had given him a bint that he was the heir, so Stephen felt ■eonre and jubilant, os the above conversation showed Mr Pnrkin broke the seals of the envelope that contained the will, and smoothed out that document amidst a dead silence. He was a prim, white-haired, little man, very formal in all hla ways, and he proceeded to read with a tuneful distinctness. After the customary preamble, the will continued aa follows :

* I bequeath to my slster-ln law, Lady Beakwell, the sum of £SOOO and a monrn’ng ring worth 100 guineas. To my nephew, Clement Gloam, £2OOO ; I altogether deprecate hla new-fangled Ritualist antler, or I should have left him more. To my nephew, Dennis CalHngolere, I leave £IO,OOO, and £6OO to hla wife to buy trinkets with ; they are a pleasant couple, but It would be folly to beqneath the whole of my estate to a pair of snob scattergoods.’ Then came a string of generous legacies to servants; £2OO to the rector c£ the parish, Dr. Brnth; £2OO to Dr, Grinning; and at last the past age that concerned Stephen Umberglowth ; 4 And I appoint my oonain, Stephen Umberglowth, to be my residuary legatee. 1 beqneath to him all my estates, personal property, geode and chattels, not heretofore devised; and this I do beeanse he is my nearest of kin. Bat I fetter this bequest with a condition. Stephen Umberglowth has a good opinion of himself which I have never shared. I have heard the dog speak blasphemcnsly of his Maker, and give tongue upon all sorts of subjects beyond his comprehension, like an 111-bred puppy. He Is a fool puffed np with his own folly, whom I have often itched to chastise ; and I have resolved that before he takes possession of an Income of £30.030, he mnat undergo a correction which shall imbue him with a proper humility of spirit, and remain to him as a men ento of nsy rebuke from the grave. I therefore order that, within twenty .four hoars after the reading of my will, Stephen Umberglowth shall kneel for an hour in the dioiug-room of Lumber Hall, with a fool’s cap upon his bead, and read three times in an audible voice, so that all who please to come into the room may hear him, the 19th and 25th chapters of the Book of Proverbs. Furthermore, I order that at the conclusion of his hoar’s penance Stephen Umberglowth shall receive a sound school-boy whipping of twelve cuts with a birch rod, from my coachman Doddlea; and I beqneath a fee of 50 guineas to Doddles (In addition to the legacy of £IOO already made him) to Inflict this punishment, and 50 guineas each to Dr. Brush Dr. Grinning, and Mr Purkia, to witness the punishment, end see that it is administered with conscientious smartness. I charge Doddles, If he have any affection for his old master, not to spare the rod, but to lay it on with vigor. It case, however, Stephen Umberglowth shall decline submitting to pena' oe and stripes; I desire that my estate shall bo deposed cf as follows ’

And the will went on to soy that in the event of Stephen proving contumacious, he was to receive £IO,OOO only, and the property wss to be divided In equal parts between the other relatives already mentioned.

One may imagine how the raiding of the foregoing classes was received. Alice Oalliugolero and her husband could not refrain from a burst of laughter ; a gr'm smile hovered over the lips of Lady Beakwell. Mr Gloam emitted a pious chuckle, and Mrs Gloam blushed. As for the great Stephen Umlerglowth, he sat with his face crimson, and his eyeballs starting, speechless with dismay and indignation.

‘ Pooh, pooh I what preposterous staff! ’ he blurted out, aa soon as he could tpeak ; ‘any court of law will set those provisions aside,’

‘Certsinly, Mr Umbc glowth,' said the lawyer, in apologetic tone, aa though to beg parden for what he had read ; ‘ I told your cousin so when he had the will drawn up,’ ‘ But why did you allow him to draw up auoh a will at all, air ? It is *n Insult to common sensa 7 ’

‘ I did my best to dissuade him,’ answered Mr Parkin, 4 orly a fortnight ago, when he was on his bed, 1 returned to the Hall to ask whether he would not cancel those clauses, bat he declared that he would not remit yonr—your punishment.’ 4 Come, uncle Stephen, a whipping won’t hurt yon,’ remarked Alloa Callingide, maliciously. .* And you will find those two chapters In Proverbs well worth your attention, ’ observed Mr Gloam, pensively. • I am ia no humor for jesting,’ cried Stephen, wb h a fnrlous et mp of his foot; 4 these insulting clauses must be set aside, they are a disgrace to the msn who wrote them.’

‘ Well, cousin Stephen, it is not our into’. est to advise you to bo whipped,’ laughed Lady Beakwell, drily; ‘we have more to gain by your attacking the will and getting it set aside.’

* The whole of it must stand or fall together,’ remarked Dennis Oalllngeolere. ‘lt la the will of a madman,’ howled Stephen, nngasr oily. 4 Oh, uncle, how can you pretend that 7 ’ expostn’ated Alice, with twinkling eyee, 4 why, only half an hour ago you wore saying how sensible your cousiu was, and such an “accurate judge af character,” too ! ’ Mr Umberglowth glared at his niece and marched out of the room. 'When he was gone Alice had another uncontrollable fit of laughter, which soon proved contagious, for all the otheis joined In it. Meanwhile the great Stephen was pacing np and down his room like a hyena of the con-laughing sort. He was a practical man, and examined his position by the help of that far famed common sense of his. If he attacked the will its provisions would be quoted in all the newspapers, and he would become the laughing-stock to an unfeeling community ; in all likelihood, too, the will would be set aside, and the property would be divided equally am ng the deoeased 4 B relatives.

Was It wise to in car such a rlikp An hour's penance for £30,000 a year was not much. To bs sure, there was the whipping, but that would not take long. Mr Umberglowth tried to recollect the sonsst'ons of bis last corporal panishment at school, but reflection convinced him that the more ho thought upon the stripes the less be would like them, and that if he meant to go through the penance be had better get the business over at once.

So with a sadden impulse he ran downstairs, and informed his smiling relatives that he intended to submit to the ordeal. The poor wretoh even endeavored to be jocular, hoping thereby to appear less ridiculous.

He oaugbt up a newspaper and made him. self a fool’s cap ; then he called lor a Bible, plumped down on bis knees, and began to read aloud. It must be owned, however, that he looked more than ever like a hyena as he growled out—‘Judgments are prepared for Boomers and stripes for the backs of fools.'

Kven the demure Mrs Gloam had to stuff her handkerchief into her month and retire precipitately from the room. The great, but now discomfited, Stephen, continued to read, under the sustaining reflection that he was earning £SOO a-year per minute, and no Interroptlon arose until towards the end of the hour, when Daddies, the coachman, entered with a newly-made rod of large size and evident suppleness. Mr Parkin had just read the will, and the worthy fellow was quite moved.

•Trust me, sir, I’ll lay it on properly,’ he exclaimed, as he rolled up his shirtsleeves, • there Isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my old master’s sake.’

• Hold your tongue, you idiot/ roared Mr Umberg’owth, and he gave an anticipatory wriggle as he spoke. ‘ JBeg pardon, sir, no offence was meant,’ said Doddles, ‘ I’ll wait till you’re ready.’ * 1 think the honr is np now, ’ remarked the lawyer, timidly, as he looked at his watch ; ‘ perhaps—h’m—the ladles would like to withdraw.’

The ladles did withdraw, and so did the gentlemen who had not heen deputed to witness the execution. They went into the next room, and waited in silence. Soon the sounds that fallen their ears convinced them that Coddles was laboring diligently to deserve his fee.

The punishment was over. The great and plump Stephen had borne it stoically—or, at all events, without bawling. Bat a few momenta afterwards a sudden shout of const arnat'oa and anger arose. It drew Dennis Callingclere to the door, and made all the others troop la after him, as soon as they were told that they oould Intrude with propriety. What had happened was this: When Doddles had discharged his task (which trnly seemed to have been a labor of love to him), he draw from his pocket-a folded paper, saying to the heir whom he. chastened,— ‘ Beg pardon, sir, as I wss overhauling the canlage when we had returned from the funeral, 1 found this In one of the poskets.’ • Why Its another will I ’ shrieked Stephen, forgetting the nnholy smart of his stripes in the sense of this new shook.

‘I daresay, sir. My master must have put It there the last time he went for an airing, ten days ago. He had told me to drive to Mr Parkin's, but half way he felt so bad that we had to drive back ; and he was uooonscloos when we lifted him out of the carriage.’ ‘Confusion and curses!’ bellowed Stephen Umberglowth, as he opened the document, and scrutinised Its contents ; ’ why—why, this will divides the property among us In four equal parts. Then—then, I have submitted to tfals indignity—this monstrous indignity—for nothing !’ He olenohed his fists and strode towards Daddies, as if he would have pulverised him; but his niece, A' ice, laid a soothing hand on bis arm. ‘ Never mind, Uncle Stephen, yon will have got something more by the will than any of us, after all.’