Mr. Arkley's Will.

Hawke's Bay Times, Issue 1613, 22 September 1874, Page 365

Mr. Arkley's Will.

FROM CHAMBERS' JOURNAL. IN JOUR CHAPTERS. CHAPTER IV. The funeral is over. It is a ceremonial which brings strongly to view the reality of grief where it exists, and its mockery where true grief is not. The mourners are gathered together, and Mr Tompkins reads the will in a otrong clear voice. He takes off his spectacles, wipes them leisurely, and looks about him. There are not many persons present, but most of them manifest more or less of surprise. The late Mr Arkley had so notoriously preferred George Arkley to Frederick Teesdale, that one or two friends of the former immediately requested to examine the will. It was handed to them with much politeness, and they scrutinised it narrowly. George himself was undoubtedly astonished and pained. The document was not even according to the draft which had been completed before his eyes ; and the extreme kindness of his uncle's mariner at the close of his life had naturally engendered the idea that that draft bad been, tampered with, and the signature to the will subsequently obtained by artifice. Yet presently he saw the will returned to Mr Tompkins, and heard the latter say: " It is attested, you see, gentlemen, by our clerk, and also by the deceased's own ssrvant. You will admit all is in order, I think." Somebody bowed on behalf of the malcontents, and the party adjourned to luncheon, where a conversation ensued on the cultivation of asparagus, which lasted pretty well until the. dispersion of the Borrowing band. When George Arkley rose to leave he was surprised by a message from Frederick Teesdale, who had quitted the table some minutes previously, that he, Frederick, was unwell, and was going to his lodgings, but he would call and see his cousin next day. It was unquestionably in a gloomy and perplexed state of mind that George departed. Here was a mystery, but solution there was none. The dead could never return, and the reason of this most unexpected distribution of his uncle's property could never be known. There, however, was the fact—Teesdale was now rich, and he, George, in pecuniary means, greatly his inferior. How would this affect Emmeline Waveley, between whom and George there existed an implied engagement of marriage ! George had his misgivings, and they were soon realized. After an interval of an hour or so, he paid a visit to the young lady. He thought to be the first to communicate the news of the will; but he was Wrong. Miss Emmeline candidly told him that, through a channel not mentioned, she was already informed thereof ; and there was ne doubt as to the tone and manner in which Miss Waveley spoke. There was a wide difference between the styles of yesterday and to-day; scarcely any phrases too endearing a few hours ago; scarcely any too chilling now. But this was not all} George was about to force an explanation, when Mr Frederick Teesdale was announced. It was manifest that Teesdale came to see and to conquer. He who had been so openly discarded, was now as openly received back into favor, vice Arkley dismissed. Without a word, George hastened from the house. With his brain in a whirl, he hurried along the streets. He had become calm over the disappointment of the will, but he could not brook the loss of Emmeline Waveley. What an absurdity ? This upright, clear-headed, good-hearted man, of thirty years, utterly infatuated with an avowed, unprincipled coquette! Can anybody explain inconsistencies of this kind? < That will—it was certainly a very curious affair—was it not worth while tojjlook a little closer into it ? Yes. Straight to Tompkins and Sharpe's went George. As the executor, he obtained not only a copy of the will, but also of the 'letter which accompanied the draft. And then he had a good look at the draft itself. Humph ! This was not the draft he had Been on the Well-remembered night. No erasures here \ no " George Arkley " struck through, and " County Hospital" inserted, and then the hospital in its turn obliterated, and so forth. All was fair and flowing. Arkley .detected nothing amiss. The simple, almost boyish hand of his uncle had no peculiarities, and none were visible here. Away to see the witnesses to the will. But first to Dr. Bromley. The doctor was in a rage. Where was the legacy that Teesdale had alleged to be set out in his favor ? Nowhere I So the doctor told George enough to satisfy him that, in all likelihood, Mr Arkley had signed the will Without duly knowing its contents. This was very, important. And now he was ready for the witnesses. And here some hopes, which had begun to flutter within

him, received aheavy blow; for the legacy to James, the man-servant, was not a fiction, but a reality, and James stood up for the will vehemently; not only so, but the female servant—the witness —did the same; and both put the doctor in such a light before Arkley, that the latter felt Bromley's testimony to be worse than useless. Back to Tompkins and Sharpe's. Mr Tarsey was not at all indignant at being questioned, but he did not encourage his examiner. Everything had been properly and precisely done. The will had been read over with the utmost care, and Mr Arkley had thoroughly understood its contents. George felt .the case against the will which he had been framing in his mind, was rapidly dying out. There was still one thing to be done, however, and in furtherance of it, ho wrote briefly to his cousin, stating that next day he should examine their late uncle's private papers. There was no need to write thus, for George was sole executor; but with his particular object, he felt he should rather like Teesdale to be present than otherwise. Next day, then at the hour appointed, George was busy in the old room. Inexpressibly painful work it is to look over the papers and letters of loved ones gone. You find many a letter received from yourself, some trifling affair which you never thought of after it went to the post; but there it is, put away in a corner, locked up as a cherished thing. There are the little presents you gave on birthdays long ago, reminiscences of many happy hours, bright and cheerful times for ever gone ! Again the sun lights up the glorious country scenery through which you travelled on some well-remembered day, and again you seem to sit. by the winter fireside, and to rejoice in a presence to be known no more. It is a custom to speak of a dead friend as " poor." I do not like the expression. " Heaven help the living," I say. No pang of separation troubles those who gently sleep; but where are the words which shall describe the emotion produced in the living by the upturning of the old faded letters, the little gifts so well preserved, the likeness sent when you were far away ? George waded through a mass of papers and letters, and then he came upon something which he opened with no small anxiety. It was labelled, " Dft of my will," and dated the same day as the letter to Tompkins and Sharpe, a copy of which he had in his pocket. This draft proved the same -which George had seen on the night when he and his uncle had conversed about Miss Emmeline Waveley. There was the alteration just as his uncle had made it, but there was a further alteration, as the reader knows, in George's favor. It may well be understood how this document excited Arkley. His mind rapidly took in all the circumstances, and soon arrived at very near the truth, This was no doubt the real draft, and it differed from that forwarded to Tompkins and Sharpe in a part which might very easily have been added by the hand of an expert imitator; and his cousin was with his uncle on the very night when the draftwill was forwarded to the solicitors, the night of the old gentleman's first seizure. Doubtless there had been an opportunity, and advantage had been taken of it, to alter the fair copy sent for engrossment. But, unfortunately, wh at did all this amount to, when there was no getting over the fact of the due execution of the will ? There were two apparently disinterested witnesses in favor of the will, and where was the chance of upsetting it ? As George stood pondering, a mocking voice came over his shoulder: " One would think George Arkley was reading a loveletter." Frederick Teesdale was the Bpeaker. He spoke in this jaunty fashion, but he was very pale, for he had seen the paper George was reading, and he, too, had rapidly viewed the situation, and scanned the chances of a battle if George should show fight. " What do you think of that, Frederick ?" George inquired quietly, putting the draftwill into the hands of the latter. Frederick ran his eye over it. " You cannot expect me to say I like it better than the will actually made," he replied. "Frederick, my uncle, in the true sense, never made that will, and you know it." Teesdale stepped back. " Is this a deliberate insult, Arkley ? " Before replying, George rapidly put back into the drawers the papers he had been examining, locked them up, and then turning to Teesdale, said : " Keep your wealth while you can, and your other prize which you have robbed me of, still I say, while you can. Better to be that crossing-sweeper who stands at the door in the pouring rain, hatless and shoeless, than Frederick Teesdale." And before Teesdale could recover from the bitter speech Arkley was gone. Teesdale sat down, and looked, and really was stunned. Arkley saw it, then, understood the whole case, perceived that he (Teesdale) was a forger, and that instead of being the possessor of some twenty thousand pounds, he ought to stand in a felon's dock. Perhaps he might have to stand there even yet. What was the meaning of his uncle having had the will to look at, and yet having returned it unaltered, and without comment ? Suppose there should be some link wanting ! suppose light should unexpectedly come on the transaction in some wholly unforseen way, in what an awful position he would be placed I He almost fainted at the bare thought. But he rallied. The thing was done, and could not be undone, and (though there was a mystery) the will remained, and it was idle to sit there frightening himself with shadows. He had secured twenty thousand pounds, and Emmeline Waveley. Had he ?,. As regards Miss Emmeline, she was wide awake. She had misgivings about this will, and for a little while she thought the see-saw system would be the best. Lovers were plentiful just now. There was Brailsby in a state of desperation, aud Brailsby' was eligible. Unfortunately, Brailsby was also practical. Flirtation in plenty she could get from" him, but at present nothing else. And there were sundry others of Brailsby's stamp, men who became distracted (in appearancg) at balls and club windows, and so forth, but whose conversation respecting her (behind her . back) {was slightly disrespectful. Then

there were many who " dangled," and a few who were sincere. From these she selected such as were either useful or ornamental, sending the others to the right-about. These last said tremendous things, which reaching the ears of the " sincere " squad, stopped their advances considerably. Still, Miss Emmeline had always a very respectable following (as regards quantity) ; and by alternating encouragements and chills in skilful proportions, she managed to keep the little army, spite of small rebellions now and then, in a state of loyalty. A week passed. No hitch, no return of the horrors, when, one morning, Mr Manton was announced. If the servant had said—"'Jack Ketch is ready, sir, and the prison authorities are waiting to conduct you to the scaffold," Teesdale could scarcely have gasped more painfully. Mr Manton entered—a quiet, good-na-tured benevolent old gentleman, but yet evidently firm of purpose. He glanced at Teesdale's pale face and restless frame, and seemed to give a little nod to himself, as much as to say—" Of course." Frederick pointed to a chair. Mr Manton took it leisurely, placed some papers on the table, and then said quietly —"Mr Teesdale, you know what I've come about." This was straight to the point with a vengeance ! Frederick tried to look surprised and fierce, but the effort was very shaky. "Thedev" " Not exactly." " Are you a detective officer, sir, and do you take me for a murderer ? " "Notexactly." . " Not exactly! What, a burglar, perhaps?" " No: nor that. Suppose I say I look on you as an ' improver of wills.'" It was coming. Teesdale saw it. "In Heaven's name, out with it, Mr Manton, whatever you've got to say." Mr Manton's manner changed. He had accomplished his object. As executioner, he would give as little pain as possible. "Mr Teesdale,"'he said, "lam a solicitor living very many miles away. After being years abroad, I returned to England a short time since, and came by invitation, one evening, to see my friend George Arkley, your late uncle, and dined with him. In the course of the evening, he told me he had made his will, and its contents ; but he added he thought he had not been quite kind to you. He very highly disapproved of certain proceedings of yours (which were known to him, though you were not aware of it); nevertheless, a will which left you nothing, he thought, was wrong. I thought so too ; and early that evening the will was fetched from Tompkins and Sharpe's. The excitement occasioned to my f riendby reading it was fearful. Now it happened the draft was sent inside the will; perhaps that is a practice at Tompkins & Sharpe's; and when my poor friend's horror and agitation had a little subsided (I quite thought I should have lost him then and there), we both examined carefully the draft, my friend telling me the circumstances (which he well remembered) under which he made it; how it was on the table the night of his seizure, and when you were his But I spare you. Well, Mr Teesdale, our conclusion, as regards that part of the story, was clear and immediate ; and although it remained, and still remains, rather a mystery how the actual will came subsequently to be signed, there are one or two ways of accounting for it, which we perceived, but did not care to investigate. The course we quickly determined on was this; not to cancel the will, for that would involve wonderment and disturbance, which I was most anxious to save my dear invalid friend, but to return the document quietly to its former place,; saying not a syllable to anybody, and to draw a fresh will, revoking the former, and putting matters on the same footing as intended. It was soon done. In' ten minutes a fresh will was prepared and executed in my presence, aud in the presence of another witness I specially procured. Here it is, and it differs from the former deed in these respects, that to George Arkley is left the twenty thousand pounds, while you are residuary legatee." "I left residuary legatee !" " Yes. Your poor uncle still felt he had wronged you in the will he had intended to make, and he took into consideration the mortified feeling you no doubt experienced on finding yourself wholly passed over. And now, Mr Teesdale, I fulfil your uncle's request, and keep silence in this matter. I shall go to Tompkins and Sharpe's, who, I take it, will offer no opposition to the latter will. You will comehr for some four thousand pounds; and, with all my heart and soul, I trust a better career is yet before you. Goodbye." It is a fact that Frederick Teesdale felt happier when an hour or two 4iad pased than he had done for a long, long time. He breathed freely again. No more horrors, no more heart-shakings. But how about Emmeline Waveley? There was not much doubt how this altered condition of things would influence her. No, there certainly was not. Frederick met her a day or two afterwards, and she cut him in the most absolute fashion. But Teesdale .had his revenge. He saw her meet George Arkley the next minute and bestow upon him one of her most fascinating smiles. But George might have been stone blind, for any sign of recognition he gave. Miss" Emmeline turned pale and red by turns. Never mind, there was Brailsby. What! Brailsby looking straight another way ! Were people out of their mind this fine morning ? But the devoted Manvers was at hand, the handsome captain she carried by storm at the last ball. He could not throw himself at her feet exactly just now, for she was riding in Kotten Bow, but how delighted he would be to see her ! Would he ? He stared in her face, and* yet he didn't see her! This was too much 1 Never mind, revenge would come. Here was old Stivers. " How do you do, Mr Stivers ?" Gracious ! Was Stivers deaf? He heard not, he spoke not, he looked not, and his cob jogged on. This could not be Hyde Park! That could not be the sun, nor those things trees! Miss Emmeline went home, and to bed ; and Dr. Bromley being called in, shook his head gravely, and said thoro was a " complication."