LITERATURE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7701, 2 January 1905, Page 4

LITERATURE.

- PHItXiIS IS MY ONLY JOY. . . . and I hereby give and bequeath to my nephew, Walter Armitahe JlaiQhmont, the residue of my estate, after payment of the afortuuciitioitud boejuests, on the sole condition that lie does not marry l'hilli.s Thorne, the daughter of William Thotne. Should he do it is to revert to the Society for the l'n>|iagHtioD of Scientific Uewarch." | 'lbis, so far us 1 tan remember it, is tlv somewhat unusual will—or that much of it which concerns me—deft by my uncle Henry. As may be gucsefcd, I have shorn it cia iti'jrahly of its legal phraseology. Wh-n 1 hoaid it read !>y my uncle's solicitor, who had drawn it up for the exd man, it was qiritu explicit to me, though, I ixsrhaus, lmve rcudercd it somewhat more so. , X hai often heard of wills that left property to a girl and a man 011 condition that they m a rrkd. Foolish as these arrangements of the affairs of the living by the dead ale, my mice's will was even n.orc ridiculous, oiti there was no hope of upsetting it, as I knew, i It was out of 11 qucsticn to try to prove that Henry Marchti.ont w a s not in full possession of his s-.nses, ; though his will certainly did njt count muth "as evidence in favour of the fact. | A saner, more level headed, dogi matic, cross-grained old wretch never lived. To paraphrase Shakespeare, i v There was method in his sanity t" | Quite well I knew the reason for his unreusonablcss. Ho and Phi His Thorne's father had been at daggers drawn all their lives, rivals ut school, rivals in love, rivals in busi- , neaj ! An.l. knowiqg that Phillis and 1 were—well, more than friends, ho had ta&n this opportunity of frustrating our hopes even after his death. | from bis own lips I had heard ffiony times that did I murry Pliil- ' lis, Iks would cut me oC without ev!en the usual shilling. | "I am very sorry for you, Mr ( Marctomont," said my uncle's solici|tor ; "I tried by best to dissuade |my client from making so preposterous a will, but you knew fainj." I ivplitd with emphais that X did. j *■' Jt £s something like a hundred and twenty thousand, X .vitould think, anil " | I ritliier startled the solicitor with some unparliamentary language with reference to the money. I " What do you think of doing ? " JA? inquired. | " How do I know ? " T answered somewhat testily ; I will let you know when I lmve decided." j " Th; property remains in the [trustor's hand for live years, or until you marry." ) Thanks, ' I said ;" I gathered that. lvhen you read the will." | Then I escaped from one or two more expressions of condolence which !I could perceivo weix< bearing down upon me, and went out into the open air to think it all out. | Though Phillis- Ttioine and I , as I said, were more than friends, we .were not engaged. X had only known , her since my return from abroad, six months previous to my uncle's death. That I had been greatly at- ■ tractid Jjy her sweetness and beauty, jwaa on the face of it no secret to my uncle. For my own part, I own, I was madly in love with her, aJitl only my uncle's illness had prevented my ask ing her to I* my wife. Now—well, now. I was at my wits' end. How was I, a practically penniless man, to a sk her to marry mc, and let the Society for Research, whatevar it was, take tho money. X had wooed her as my uncle's heir, attaching little credence to his tiireats of disinheritance. Could I go to her now, and ask her to share my poverty ? Wou.'d her parents give their consent ? Would it jbo better to tell her the whole .story ? X Jelt that my position was punspeakably awkwaid. 1 '' I had about two hundred a year jof my own. WJiut was l that to marry a girl like Phillis upon ! Grimly I tried to pictuiV; her lather's face when I went to him for his consent ! I In my doubts any desparation 1 [went to the only leignl fricial 1 possessed, in th 1 vague hope that hemight find me a way t 0 escape. j ''Sorry to hear of your " he said at once. | Oh. shut up ! Don't say a word .until you have heard my story ! " I j exclaimed, and I poured the history joi affairs into his astonished ears .from beginning to end. I " What an old fool : " was the comment. j ■" Never mind him. Fine! me a way iout, Charlie, if you love mc." I "Ah,"- he s a id, oraculai'ly. "First of all, are you engaged to iliss .TKorae ? " " No, but I am in love with her, and I thintc she would accept me to-morrom." " And if you marry her you lose tho money."- . •" I do." •*' It's a high price to pay for a pretty wife, Walter, and there are as good fish in the sea, you know. ' M That will do," I answered. If • I do not marry l'tillis, I will die a j iJjaChelor." _ - —-«ase," said Charlie, and began to hum, Phillis is luy only joy."^ " You can say or sing what you Kke," I cnicd, hot'!y> " but X mean ■ it."T>icn ho began to see I was serious. " He has made it so confoundedly ?>la:n and straightforwanei," ho said, " that I da not so? any way out of it." He gave me a lengthly legal elisquisition on the matter which lasted long enough to almopt irritate mc to mailncss. At last I left him, nei Ix'tter off as regards hopes than ever. What should I do, X thought, and I kept thinking the same thought for a week, the longest, weariest, most horrible week X have ever endured. I kept out of everyone's way likely to know tho circumstances, for 1 was heartily suck of being condoled with, advised, counselled to do this oi that. At the end of th»t week I was in anything but a cheerful frame ol mind. Then I maijfc a sudden resolve ami acted upon it, as I told myself, o , hero. I went to see Phillis Thorne. I was lucky enough to find her at home and alone, ■" I never expected to see you 1 again," were her first words, nil they made my heart beat with c strange hope. She had, then, thought about me. She looked sweeter than ever, i| scorned to me, as sho came into the room with both hands held out tc me, and the smile that I lov.od tc \ see upon her t|uecnly face, and sympathy shining in her beautiful eve's. " Why not ?-" w a « all I coukl sev. ' I 1 You meist be very busy now," sne said, thus cva'ding a direct re ' f'y to my question. ' " No, not at all." ' lam so sorry for you " slu began, but I interrupted her. I was fearful of being interrupted bv othei " callers. * ■' I'hillis," I said, you know ] love yo<i. Will you many me ? " ' It was about the liluntest anei ' proposal, I .should imagine "*o a - t ever a man maide. Shy col- ' Ourta- a little. " XteaHj " i l I,u> ' I went on desperate ■; do you know of my uncle'; ■ will ? " ' X do ! " she ! m answer to your , (Nation n" - reply is no'" ' , ut ' Phillis, I know yejuStue i least > 1 havc iwlievee " l*leasß say no more." XJut I caught a falter in her sweel t vo.ce, and would have taken hei i J hand in mine had she not drawn a 11H fly from me. ' I (To be continued.)