Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 May 1889 — A FOX CAUGHT. [ARTICLE]

A FOX CAUGHT.

Mr. Junes Fox was the junior partner j B the firm of Piumley * Fox, the principal senators in the somewhat deadalive old cathedral town Slumborough. He was a smart, well-eet-up young man ol two or three and thirty, withcarefully tritnpaed black whiskers, a silken manner, apd'an unlimited flow of moke or less entertaining small talk. Hence it came to pass that-he was an exceedingly popular young man among the ladies of Slumborough. both old and young, and, had his views lain in j the direction of matrimony, he would have had small difficulty in. inducing any bashful damsel or frisky widow to ahate his lot. Bat the handsome solicitor was ambitious; his share in the bnsiness did not at present bring him in more than a moderate income, and he had long ago determined that when he married he most consider not only beauty bat more solid advantages. Heiresses, however,’were not plentiful in Slumborough, and so, although Mr. Fox!* attentions frequently flattered a virgin bosom, he was careful not to commit himself too far, and not even the local gossips could fairly say of him that he had compromised a repufjation or knowingly raised false hopes. There was, indeed, one young lady who had made a deep impression upon the solicitor’s heart, but she was the daughter of a county magnate with whom poor Mr. Fox was not even on visiting terms. He had met her at the Annual Hunt Ball. She had danced twice with him, for Mr. For was an excellent waltzer; but her mother had doubtless warned her against him, for when next thev .met, some weeks afterward, Miss Laquerton passed the unfortunate man without so much as a bow. Miss Laquerton, however, was lovely and rich, and Mr. Fox wa9 not a man to be easily discouraged. Heknew that if he could afford to eat the office and blossom into a lauded proprietor, he would have just as good a chance with her as anybody else; so he waited patiently in the hopes of one day discovering the road which leads to fortune and success 1 _ The firm of Piumley & box was, a highly respectable and old-fashioned concern, which avoided litigation and kept almost entirely in family business. Piumley was a fairly good lawyer, hut Fox’s legal knowledge was of the most limited character, and he was much too lazy to take the trouble to increase it. So it came to be understood between them that while Piumley did the office work Fox kept the clients in good hnmor by calling upon them apropos of nothing and amusing them his jokes and stories. The business was technically termed "keeping the connection together,” and it suited Mr. Fox very well, indeed. It was while he was thus keeping the connection together that Mr. Fox made the acquaintance of a certain rich old lady named Mrs. Johnson, and so well did he play his cards that before long Piumley & Fox became Mrs. Johnson’s family solicitous, land agents and confidential advisers. The firm made a pretty good thing out of Mrs. Johnson. T n accordance with the usual arrangement, Plumley transacted the business and Fox became a constant visitor at her house, and worked his way into her good graces by his wonderful powers of amusing conversation. There was yet another accomplishment which stood our solicitor in very good stead, and this was an accurate knowledge as chemistry and medicine, which he had picked up as a boy in the shop of his uncle, the chemist. The horrible smells young Fox had created in his experiments and She ugly stains he had made on his hands determined him to forsake medifine for the law, but he never entirely forgot his early experiences. He could talk fluently about every known drug and disease, and about a great many which had not yet been discovered; He diagnosed Mrs. Johnson’s symptoms at least as accurately as Mac Bolus, the Bcotch doctor, and would even have prescribed for her had not the stalwart Scot angriiy threatened to kick him if he did so. But he retained a very prominent place in the old lady’s affections, and it began to be whispered about that he had an excellent chance of succeeding to her very considerable property. The disposal of Mrs. Johnson’s money was a matter which bad long furnished speculation of unfailing interest to the town of Slnmborough, and filled many * yawning gap in conversation at afterternoon teas. Mrs. Johnson had but one relative in the world, Miss Lizzie Roberts, the daughter of her late sister. This vonng lady, however, it was agreed had not the slightest chance ot being mentioned in her aunt’s ■yvill. A handsome. well-bred girl, she was left at her parents’ death to make her own way in the world, inheriting nothing but the battle nT life and the dislike of Mrs. who had not seen the child sincejft quitted its baby clethes. This straDge Antipathy was traceable, as some people Skid, to times gone by, when Mr. Robertaj Llsxie’a father, then renowned for hip mgnly beauty, had been an aeeiduooii Visitor at the house of Mrs. Johnson's parents. She being the elder •daughter, and taking all his attention ior Jherttlf, had felt it keenly as 4 personal insult when her sister dared “to •natch him away;” and even later on, Sifter hiving made mbsh more ■ brilliant fnatchlienelf, she never eould forgive this early defeat. Death even had not

troy the one in Miss Nelly’s favor. Then two day’s neglect on the part of Mr. Fox, and a constant supply of hot tea at the hands of Miss Nell, again reinstated this lady in Mrs. Johnson’s good graces. Mr. Fox, therefore, had good cause for anxiety as to what would be the exact state of affairs w hen the old lady was “ With such an old woman,” he said to himself, “who 1b ready to make a new will any day and to burn it the next, been suddenly summoned to draw, up a new will; so slight an annoyance as a cold cup of tea having caused her to deshuried the grudge, which not unnaturally passed from mother to child. How far this saying may have been true or not, one thing is certain; poor Lizzie had not the ghost of a chance of ever seeing a single penny from her aunt’s money-box;. her were clearly quite out of "the question. There remained, then, only Miss Nelly Brown, Mrs. Johnson’s lady companion, and Mr. James Fox. Mr. James Fox knew from his partner, who had cautioned him in a friendly way, that Mrs. Johnson was not going to divide her fortune,, out would leave the whole of it to her “truest friend,” though she had evidently not yet made her mind up as to who deserved that title. More than once had Mr. Piumley there is no dependence. One’s future hangs upon a whim; a remedy must be found. The safest thing would of course be to make love to Miss Nelly; she is rather ‘thirtyish,’ and not altogether attractive; still, if she were to get all the money, she would be anything but undesirable.”

• So Mr. James Fox set to work at once to make himself agreeable to Mias Brown, yet without going too far; for lie had by no means forgotten Miss Laquerton, but he felt it was bettor to have two strings to his bow. and therefore he determined to do bis best to keep Miss Nelly in good humor. This lady, however, was not eo easiiy satisfied as the solicitor expected, for now lie had once begun to pay her attentions, she wanted a decided offer of marriage, and not being able to.get_it,-shetook refuge in a stratagem. This consisted in suddenly making the discovery that Mrs. Johnson’s health was in absolute want of recreation. She was at once, therefore, taken by Miss Nellie to a German watering place.

Mr. Fox emboldened by - the happy result of his experiments, became at once the most tender and zealous correspondent any woman could wish for. His letteis, in fact, overflowed with promises of everlasting devotion. Miss Nellie beamed with joy, for she was now convinced how true and unselfish was the attachment of her admirer. Under such circumstances it was not surprising that the German waters speedily did Mrs. Johnson so much good that her careful nurse considered that the cure could be shortened, and accordingly the couple returned to England much earlier than had been expected. _ Whether, however, the waters had really disagreeed with the old lady, or something else had upset her, was never quite clear, but soon after their return to England her health and strength began seriously to tail. She complained bitterly that Miss Nelly had induced her to undertake an unnecessary and useless journey, and ever since she had neglected her altogether. The end of it was that one day, in the height of her anger, she hurntthe then existing will, and made Mr. James Fox sole heir to everything she possessed. This decision seeiqpd to have exhausted her remaining energy, for she died not many days after.

Mr. Fox, who had been apprised of the state affairs by his partner and friend, almost lost his senses with jo}; still his excitement did not prevent him investing some money in hatbands and crape, and looking as mournful as if the sorrow of the whole world rested upon his shoulders. Miss Nelly, too, almost melted away in tears, and could only be comforted by “her Jamie,” as she now called M»\ Fox. But the latter seemed to have turned quite dull with grief. He did not appear to understand her at all, and day by day she became more demonstrative and he grew less affectionate. The afternoon before- the funeral Miss Nelly was extremely broken-hearted, and amid her sobs remarked how comfortably and happy she had always been with ner late dear friend. To her astonishment Mr. Fox attempted to comfort her by saying, with cool civility: “I hope yon may soon meet again with such a happy home as you have had here till now.” On hearing this Miss Nelly’s tears suddenly dried up, and with eyes dilated with astonishment and anger, she cried: “It is you whom I expect to make in e this happy home!” Mr. F.ox, however; Birr. ply shrugged his shoulders, saying: “I do not deny that I may have once had such ideas; but of late I have grown wiser. Everything alters in this world; why, then, should our opinions not do the same? That is what we call progress.” Upon this he bowed and left Miss Nelly cry ing and fainting in an arm chair. He did not hear anything of her till a few days later, when a gentleman called upon him saying that he had been intrusted with Miss Nelly Brown’s affairs and suggested that perhaps Mr. Fox, before they went further, would prefer

making some private arrangement about his breach of promise of marriage with his client. “And what proof of that promise has Miss Brown except her saying 'so?” asked Mr. Fox. “Oh,” answered the young man, "I have seen a box -full of letters ffom TOO.” “Have you read them?” continued Mr. Fox sarcastically. ? “Not yet,” replied the other,, “but I have seen the box.” “Well, yon had better go* and rtaii them first before you take any further steps, and if yon can find a single line from me to Miss Brown, I am quite willing to let her have ample damages without their being awarded by a "court of law.”

There was something so diabolical about Mr. F<ax.ihat the young defender of innocence found it best to retire far present, leaving his opponent to rub'his hands triumphantly and build castles in the air aboui the country seat and the horses and carriages he was going to buy in order to dazzle Miss Laquerton, whom he felt justified in seriously thinking about now. Miss Nelly had meanwhile been informed of the conversation at Mr. Fox’s office, and, with an indignant exclamation about “such incredible untruths,” she went to fetch her letter box. There, sure enough, were the letters, all in little packets, neatly tied up with blue and pink ribbons; but, strange to say, she could not see an address; and, oh, heavens! when she undid the packets they contained nothing but paper—all -white paper, without a single word on it. The wily lawyer had evidently deceived her by somsT deuionTacat trick!

_ The shock was so great to the poor lovesick lady that she had scarcely the courage to show herself when the will was to be read; but she rallied at last, hoping against hepei that it might.still. be in her favor, when she could treat with scorn and contempt her faithless lover and his paltry damage. Mr. Fox, although he considered himself already master of the nouse and everthing in it, felt considerably excited on the morning of the day appointed for the reading of the will, and when Mr. Piumley, as chief executor, sat down and slowly got his spectacles out, his junior partner came over so faint and his heart fluttered to such an extent, that he fancied all hjs hopes and beautiful castles in the air were crumbling away as in a dream. Why did not his old friend at once read the document? Why did he make the suspense so unbearably long? Why did he continue to stare first at the paper in his hand, then at. those around him, and then once more at the paper without uttering a single word; and then at last, when he did speak, why did he stammer, “I —I do not know; I see nothing—in fact, it is the same paper, but—j-?” Could it be? Yes, sure enough there was the paper on whieh the will had been made out, but there was nothing upon it bow; it was merely a blank, a white sheet! “Good heavens! With what Ink did

you write out that will?” burst out at ast Mr. Fox. “With what ink?” repeated ‘he old gentleman, indignantly, “with your ink. As I found the ink stand upstairs dry, and the old lady was in such a deadly hurry, I rushed down myself to get some, and seeing yoqr bag in the hall, I took;from it the little inkstand whieh you atwsya carry about.” —Mr. Fox turned deadly pale, and without saying another word vanished, like his ink, before anybody had found time to ask for an explanation. When the rest of the company had composed themselves again, Mr. Piumley said: “I know that the testatrix has destroyed all former wills, so that there is noueatallin existence, and, by law, therefore the property will go to the next of kin. I know, also, that Mrs, Jonson had no relatives whatever except Miss Lizzie Roberts. She is consequently sole heiress.”