ONE FARTHING DAMAGES.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 739, 13 March 1877, Page 5 (Supplement)

ONE FARTHING DAMAGES.

■...- Chapter I. •, | In a darkened chamber, a weejnng girl knelt by a. bedside, her face bent over the nerveless hand which lay upon the coverlet, arid which she held as though by thjat ■convulsive clasp 'she. could hold her father ! still to life. Ihe doctor and nurse stood quietly aside, as having done their part and waiting for the inevitable end. At a table covered With papers and writing materials, sat the dying mail's solicitor, preparating his will. The instructions were short and simple. Bernard Hope had .but one near relative, his daughter Mary, now kneeling by his bedside, and to her, he desired jto leave his few possessions. ; The attbrney inquired m a harsh, unpleasant voice : " What names shall I insert as trustees ? You should have two at least." The dying man paused ere he replied with an effort : " Geoffrey Howard, Major 111 th, now m India. I have no other friends." . "In that case may I venture to offermy humble service, subject to the .usual proviso. I should bo delighted to be useful to Miss Hope; and if your friend is abroad there may be difficulties." " True, Slythorpe, I thank you. Make yourself trustee; then, with Major Howard. Legacy, £200 for your trouble." " Nay, my dear sir, quite unnecessary. I really " . But again the ready pen travelled over the paper ; and a quarter of an hour later Mr. Slythorpe announced that the document was ready for execution, and m a low mechanical monotone, read over the provisions. ■■■-„ ■ "Yes, that will do. Give me the pen," he said ; and with a shaking hand affixed his signature, and with eager eyes watcbJed the doctor and nurse as they added their owji as witnesses, after which he sank back exhausted on his pillow. "Thank God, that's safe !' he gasped. " Mary, my child, you and Geoffrey — you and Geoffrey. What was I saying ? God bless you, my darling ! God bless " These were the last words Bernard Hope ever spoke. Another quarter of an hour passed — a quarter of an hour which seemed an age to the anxious watchers — and the doctor laid down the thin white hand and tenderly touching the head of the orphaned girl, and said : "My dear, the Lord gave and the Lordhas taken away. Your father has passed to a better world." Chapter 11. A year had passed away since Bernard Hope's death, and Mary still showed m face and figure the tokens of the fiery trial though which she had passed. Her slight form looked slighter still m her soft black drapery and the shadow of an unforgotten sorrow still rested on her delicate features. Mary Hope had been her father's constant companion ; and she sorely missed the hapj>y hours m which, his powerful intellect and varied experience had been unfolded for her benefit. But she had, too, another trouble — none the less hard to bear because it was one m which she could have but few confidants. Major Howard, of whom mention has already been made, was not only her father's most valued friend, but had insensibly grown very dear to herself ; and when, six months before, Bernard Hope's death, he was summoned with his regiment to India, he left Mary his promised bride. Twice he had writteu within the few weeks of his departure, since which time there had been a terrible silence ; and m the same week which left Mary fatherless a second blow fell upon her. The 111 th had been engaged m a smart skirmish, the number of dead and wounded being considerable. Major Geoffrey Howard wasreported among the fallen, and Mary had to mourn at once her lover and her father. The. death of Major Howard left Mr. Slythorpe sole trustee of Mr. Hope's will! This to Mary was a matter of the most perfect indifference. Suspecting evil of no one, she was as willing that her little fortune, amounting to some five or six thousand pounds, should rest m Mr. Slythbrpe's hands as m those of any other person. But of late the attorney had begun to persecute her with attentions which; under existing circumstances, would have been distasteful from any one, but where doubly so from a person whom she could not help regarding with instinctive dislike. In truth Mr. Slythorpe was not precisely the person ■ to win a fair lady's fancy. But m Mr. S. Slythorpe's own opinion he was a gentleman of considerable personal advantages, and it was hi 3 constant endeavor to make the very best of them. In his habitual gorgeous array — indeed, if possible, looking even cleaner and newer than usual — Mr. Slythorpe this morning knocked at Mrs. Miirgatroyd's cloor. That .good .lady was at the 'inoinent 'engaged m *dus.tirig T Miss i Hope's room, and catching sight of his approach, eJcclaimed : "There's that nasty,! worriting lawyer again. Ido declare. indeed !: I'dSlythftrpQhbnf ;•; \ Mary, amll^d at trjQ good, ljidy's vehemonoo, > and ropliect ; "My dear Mrs. Murgatroyd, jroii rrj^Hy^ioilldn'fciip'o^ severe. Mr. Sly,u', .but I have no und you lttiowheis .VwiiV 1 juear, and I wish he y ouldn't be tvusteo to >:li|ui^atrp ; y.d,-you a,re Jf> 'Rinuhig m spite of

m question^andt/Mris. Murg&trpyd, passinjg ! hiiti , with^a ifinalisniff of - abhorrence, quiijtad the apartment. ' ' '' '"" '" ! •■• :: m: ! ' ( Vr~. j ; : - r :> ■• | r ' Mr. Slythdrpe, for once m his life, appeared ill at ease. He evidently had something on his mind— some piece of rascality, a physiognomist would have conjectured, which he, had recently prepetrated, or was about to prapetrate. ''My dear Miss Hope," he began, after the first greeting had been exchanged, "I grieve to be the bearer of very unpleasant intelligence." ' 'Mary looked up with quiet indifference, scarcely believing that, after all she had gone through, any news, good or bad, could have for her more than the most passing interest. Slythorpe. continued : " I am sure that you will believe I didit for the best ; but misfortunes will happen, you know, even with the utmost care and caution. lam sure I thought the investment was as safe as the bank ; but there's no trusting anything nowadays." i( What is the misfortune, Mr Slythorpe, for you haven' tyettoldme? N othing very serious, I hope." • ; "Only too serious, my dear Ma— " ho tried to say "Mary," but couldn't get lit out, and substituted "Miss Hope" — "nothing less than the loss, I fear, or the whole of your little fortune:" ! Mary turned very pale, but gave no other sign of emotion. ' ' How did it happen, " she said, with an effort. j •': " Your money was, as you know, inthriee per cents, where it produced' a miserable £160 a year. In the hope of doing, better for you, I sold out and. invested it m a new mining company, the Whcal Marina, which promised to pay a minimum dividend of ten per cent, and so would have jtist trebled your income. And this morning I am grieved to find from the " Times" that the company is an utter smash. The directors have bolted, and the shareholders will lose every penny of their money." i "Is it ali gone ? Nothing left ?" s " Not a sixpence, aud you remain liable for calls to the amount or about as much more." ■ Poor Mary's fortitude quite gave way. "Oh dear, what shall Ido ? I haven't; a friend m the world." " No, no, don't say that, Miss Mary," said Slythorpe, m a gently patronizing manner ; "it isn't as bad as that coniss to. I haven't disguised my own feelings towards you ; and though you've lost yojir money, you know, that needn't make any difference between you and me. My affection ain't of the mercenary sort ; m fact, as I got you into the mess (though with the best ofintentiona, mind you), it's only fair I should get you out of it." "Sir I am willing to believe you mean kindly, but your offer under such circumstances is an insult. Be good enough to leave me. " Slythorpe would have parleyed, but with the air of an outraged queen, Mary Hope rang the bell and ooedient to the summons, Mrs. Murgatroyd appeared. -' "Open, the door for Mr. Slythorpe, if you please.' v 'You will be sorry for this, you'll find Miss Hope,' said Slythorpe, as lie retired discomforted, Mrsi Murgatroyd holding the door fer hirci with aa expression of thorough enjoyment. As soon a sit w<ts closed upon him she bounced back to Mary's room and flung open the windows. 'Let's have a breath of fresh air, for goodness' sake, after that nasty, slimy, scented, serpent. I always feel as if the house wanted disin — what d'ye call it ? — with Condy's Seasalt or Tidman's Kestorer, or some of them deidolizers, whenever he's been m it. Why, my dear lamb, whatever is the matter V Poor Mary's overwrought nerves had at last given way, and she fell upon the sofa m a fit' of violent hysterics. Mrs. Murgatroyd with motherly instinct, let her emotion have its way, and she was soon so far recovered as to be able, Avith many tears, to tell the story of this new misfortune, finally crying herself to sleep on the good old woman's sympathizing bosom. : Chapter 111. Next day Mary Hope, sat with the "Times" before her, reading the advertisements. She was now seeking to procure a situation, eithe" as governess or companion, entering upon her tusk with a brave heart, though she well knew fhe trials to which such a position would probably expose her. She had answered three advertisements, and had folded and sealed her letters, and now, with her open desk before her, was counting her little store of ready money, and calculating how long she could at any rate subsist before she found employment. In replacing her purse her hand fell upon a portrait, which she took out and gazed at fondly. "Dear old Geoffrey, if you had lived, how different my future would have been ! I suppose I ought to say God's will be done, but oh, it's very, very hard !" A few moments she continued gazing through her tears at the portrait, when a sharp knock at the outer door startled her, aud she replaced it m the desk. She heard Mrs. Murgatroyd m conversation with some one, and then a quick, well-remembered voice said, "Where ? This room ?" And m another moment the door was flung open and Mary Hope was sobbing m her lost lover's arni9. After the blissful excitement of the first meeting had subsided, a season of mutual explanations followed. Geoffrey Howard had been dangerously wounded, aud had been a prisoner for the greater part of a year m an Indian dungeon, where for many weeks his life had hung on a thread by reason of an attack of malignant fever. His worn aud sallow features, his skin bronzed to Oriental swart-ness, and the scar of a deep saber cut across his cheek, scarce hidden by a rather ragged beard, bore eloquent witness to the perils he had passed ■through. He had landed m England but twelve hours previously, and had lost not a momont m seeking the presence of his darling aud her father, for he was, of course, ignorant of Bernard Hope's death. Mary, too, had much to tell, and nestling by Geoffrey's side, her little white fingers hid m the rugged brown hands of her lover, which held them as though they would never again let them go, she told him all she had gone through—Tthe loss of herf ather, the history- of the will, and lastly the loss of her little fortune. " I don't understand it," said Geoffrey. " The man has been playing some very deep game." "Perhaps he really wished to get me — morewhat do you call it ? — interest for my money. I dare say it was meant kindly enough, though it has happened so unfortunately." "I don't believe it, darling. If he had really had your interest at heart he would ■ regarded safety before all things. I strongly suspect that if everything had gone well you would have simply have received your three per centi and Mr Slythorpe wou^d hays pocketed the differences'," " 0 Geoffrey, Qeoffecy ! "I'm afraid you have come hom : e very uncharitable. Besides, •yyhat does it matter about a lot of stupid money, now I have got you back again? Unless indeed, you would bays liked, nic better for having the mousy, " ■ " There was only one possible answer to an 'accusation, and Major Howard made jt-^that is jo ?ay, he called Mary a little goose, kissed heTT-and fcho subject, having taken care, howey&y f '4fc*}> ascertain the address of Mr, Slythorpe aiuif ' the name of % sem^ny m which Mary's. njtonavr h«£ oeen los^ Ou le^ n£? h £ "j took a hansom cab and drove to, the offr of the liquidator of the company, when, h,is stating that he desired to make enqtr" on behalf of one of their shareholders,: Siythorpe, he was informed, to, hiß astoi tß«ni|, that there was not, ans||yßver , ;^J§Bn, any shareholder of th^t.i|ui^aQn.'

Answered m the $^tfya 'j&teriy' bewildered, hrtove'W^r^Slyijltorpe'soißcb. , Mr. Slythprpo was at home and he mepdijy ■ found himself ' \WiM attdrney's^preskficp. Mr. Slythorpe was p, little nervous. He was always a little nervous with strangers till he knew their business; and Major Howard's announcement that he had called on behalf of Miss Mary Hope did not tend to increase his confidence. He was, however far from suspecting' Major Howard's indentity, but jumped to the conclusion that he was a hostile solicitor employed by Miss Hope to call Mm to account. Major Howard's next remark tended to confirm that impression. "You stated to Miss Hope, I think, a coxiple of days ago, that the property bequeathed to her by her father's will, had been invested m the Wheal Marina Company, which has just come to grief. You are of course aware that an investment upon such rotten security was a gross breach of trust, for which you are liable." " Not at all ; the, power of investment is unlimited. Indeed, shares of companies are specially included." , ■ "You are certain of that ?" " Quite so. I drew the will myself." "Very good. The shares stood,, l suppose m your own name. " " Ye-es ; mmy name, of course, as sole trustee." "Then pray how is it, Mr. Slythorpe, that I don t find your name among the list of shareholders of the company ?" Mr. Slytliorpe's countenance fell. "Because— because — I may as well make a clean breast of it — to tell you the truth, the money never was m that company at all. It was only a false alarm, sir, a false alarm." " Then where on earth is the money, sir? And what do you mean by a false alarm." "I'll telljyou, if you'll have little patience. As a brother solicitor, I'm sure you won't press harder onme than you're quite obliged. Miss Hope's money is m the Wheal Mary Ann, one of the most flourishing companies going, and her shares are worth just double what I gave for them.' "Then what on earth induced you — " "I'll tell you. Between ourselves, I have taken an uncommon fancy to Miss Hope, and I had made up my mind to make her Mrs. S. ; but somehow she didn't take to me quite as kindly as I could have wished. Now, the other morning Avhen I took up the " Times " almost, the first thing I caught sight of was the smash of the Wheal Marina, and the similarity of name gave me quite a turn, for just at the first moment I thought it was the Wheal Mary Ann. And then the thought struck me, if itpnly had been, my lady, you'd have been glad enough to say ' ' Yes "to Samuel Slythorpe. And then I thought I'd try it. It was merely a little innocent practical joke— a roose d'amour, sir ; a mere roose d'amour. " And Mr Slythorpe smiled. " You atrocious scoundrel !" There was a sudden blow, a heavy crash., and Mr. S. Slythorpe measured his length on the floor. The clerk outside hearing the downfall^popped his head into the room, but seeing the state of tilings discreetly retired again, remarking : " Beg pardon ; thought you rang, sir." Meanwhile Maj or Howard, having knock r ed Slythorpe down, proceeded to knock him up again ; and with his own daikly cane, Avhich stdod by the side of the fireplace, gave him one of the most tremendous thrashings ever recorded m the pages of history. And the clerk m the outer office, who owed. Slythorpe many a grudge for acts of netty tyranny, listened, at the door, smiling pleasantly at each "swish" of the cane, and finally indulging m a war dance expressive of triumph and exultation round the office stool. A fortnight later Major Howard, looking wonderfully better m health and. strength, stood before the altar of a quiet City church, with a graceful little figure by his side. And with no pomp or ceremony, no breakfast, no speeches, no wedding guests/ with only good Mrs Murgatroyd for bridesmaid, the two true lovers were, made one. And six months afterwards, m the Court of Queen's Bench, the great assault case of Slythorpe v. Howard was tried. And when the lawyers on both sides had had their say, the presiding judge said : " Gentlemen of the jury, it is not disputed that a very violent assault was committed on the.plaintiff, and lie is therefore entitled to your verdict. But, m assessing the damages, gentlemen, you will consider the general merits of the case, and give the plaintiff ouly such compensation as you think he fairly deserves. And the jury, m awarding one farthing by way of damages, expressed their unanimous regret that there wasn't a smaller coin.