Rensselaer Standard, Volume 1, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 August 1879 — UNCLE’S WILL. [ARTICLE]

UNCLE’S WILL.

BY E. J. BRETT.

“Well. I declare!” Maid Mins Chirrup in a shrill whisper. ‘•Did you ever?” replied MissChirk, in another. It was Ihdiin West’s will that the two were discussing. <"■ It was very brief and explicit. “I bequeath my entirelestqte, real and personal, to my niece, Ruth Morgan,” with date, signature, and attestation, was all there was of it. The Misses Chirrup arid Chirk were too distantly related to the testator to have entertained any considerable hopes on their own account. A trifling reminder, In deference to family etiquette, was as much as either had a right to expect. . * But that Rollln West should have left his whole fortune to one of his nieces, to the exclusion of the other, i whom everybody had supposed to be bis favorite, took more than the Misses Chirrup and Chirk by surprise. Mr. West bad been, for many years, i a wi<k>wer. His children had all died in iofaney, i and a couple of orphan nieces, cousins to each other, and reared under roof, constituted Ids household. * That his large fortune would be left 1 to them equally was a point people! took for granted; hut should any nix- j crimination be made between them nobody would have hesitated to say it would be lu favor of Millie Granger, , her uncle’s pet, whose blithesome! smiles be had been wont to call the sunlight of his life. Millie’s loving heart was too full of sorrow at her uncle’s death, and of gratitude for his kindues.-'ss in bygone ' years, to leave room for any feeling of i reproach at his last unaccountable act, ; which the Misses Chirrup and Chirk so earnestly protested against. An elderly maiden aunt came to live witn the two young ladies, and ti.e household qpmaioed unbroken. Except the changes caused by the va- ; cancy in their home, the lives of Ruth and Millie continued as before. It was not until the cousins had re- ■ sumed their place in society that Millie ' began to uotice the difference made by her alteredJiroepeets. • It was Ruth now, and not herself, } that was the center of attraction. To be rid of the common herd of fope, and to be no longer pestered by ! their silly flattery, Millie felt was a! thing to be tbankrul for. . But when Orville Ryors turned . his back upon her, and' joined the ranks of her cousin’s admirers, she must have been other than a woman j not to have .felt the slight. Mr. Ryors was the pet beau of Bil- j lingdale. Handsome in person,"accomplished j in manners, and of fascinating address, he was not one whose attentions were likely to prove distasteful in anv quarter, and when they were directed toward Millie Granger in a manner sufficiently marked to excite no degree of envy, we need not be surprised if, instead of repelling, she just a little encouraged them. It would have required a closer analysis than Millie had ever made'of her feelings to show henhow little she real-, / ly cared for Mr. Ryors, and how much she cared for Arthur Warren, whom she had known aud liked since they had played, and sometimes quarreled, together in childhood. Rpt Arthur’s seif-examination had gone deeper. He devotedly loved Millie, aud he knew it r > . [ * If he never said so outright, it was rom motives of delicacy .prompted by the difference of their positions. She was a prospective heiress; he was without fortuue, and void of expectations, Bave those precarious ones whose realisation depended upon himself. . * Having never spoken out, it may be that Arthur Warren hed no right to feel aggrieved at the attentions Mr. Ryors to Millie Granger. He should have remembered tb&t young gentlemen who havenothing to tiy for themselves are not privileged to stand in the way of others who have. But Arthur was not responsible. He was not even candid. • He quarreled with Miilieon the score of Orville Ryors, without a-word of explanation as to what concern it was of his if she married that geutlemau the next day. Now Millie was a girl of spirit. She did not only refuse to decline Mr. Ryore’ attentions at the unwarrantable dictation of Arthur, but received them *" with rather more encouragement than ever before. '■ People began to say it would be a match soon, and it might have been had not Millie’s unde died. i For Mr. Ryors, as we have said, was a very attractive person, and Millie had • not sufficiently scrutinized her heart

to b**ware that her chief interest in him sprang from the pleasure of having triumphed where so many others had and * disposition t* assert her own independence. When Arthur Warren left his native village without so much as calling to bid her good-by, Millie cried a little, without well knowing why. and that evening went to a ball with Orville Ryore, and was among the gayest of the gay. It was very likely she would then and there have accepted Mr. Ryore, had he said the word, just to show how little she cared for Arthur Warren. The grief that Millie felt at her uncle’s death for a season overshadowed all her thoughts. But when time, atlength, had so tempered her sorrowed heart that her life began again to flow in its aocustomed channel, It was with not a little chagrin that she beheld the man whose attentions had been lately so devoted to her that people began to couple their names significantly, turn aside and follow her fortune instead of herself. Millie knew now how little she had ever cared for Orville Ryore; but would others understand it? Would It not be said he had jilted her? The thought stung her past endurance. And the meanness of him who had thus humiliated her scarce exceeded, in her eyes, that of her cousin Ruth, who permitted, instead of spurning his advances.

In the bitterness of her heart, Millie | resolved to quit her cousin’s abode, and make her way to the city, trustiug j that where so many live, there must be many ways of living, some of which she would And open to her. She has been liberally supplied with tnouey during her uncle’s li etime, and had husbauded enough to meet the expenses of her Journey, and, for a time, defray the expenses of living. . So one day, with out a word to any one, she secretly packed her trunk, caused it to be conveyed to the railway station, and took the train for London. The day and night her journey lasted was one of alternate hopes and misgivings. At times she would faiuhave turned back; but when she thought of the Jeering tongues behind, her eyes would Hash through her tears, and though her lips quivered, her heart would again become firm and resolute. Millie had never seen the city before Its din and bustle confused her. She found her self at last, without her own volition, seated in a carriage, whose driver undertook to drive her to the best hotel in the city, he assured her, though it had not a very inviting look, Millie thought, as the carriage stopped in front of it. “Yeur fore, miss,” said the driver, jumping down; "6s, you know.” It was not the extortionate demand that brought a troubled look over the girl l s face. '■ • . Putting her hand into her p< cket, she found her money had disappeared, . She searched everywhere, but in vain. r • She had doubtless been robbed in the crowd after leaving the train. A feeling of helpless terror overcame her at the thoughtof being there, a total stranger, without a penny In the world. In a trembling voice Millie explained her situation. ‘‘That dodge won’t do!” said the driver.

* No, it won’t do!” added a frowzylooking man, who made his appearance just them “We can’t take people at our house that have uo money, you know.” “It’s a r.tnk swindle, and I’ll call a p’lieeman!” exclaimed the driver. A cr» w 1 began to collect. The frightened girl sobbed and glanced appealingly from one coarse face to auother without encountering a single look of sympathy. At this instant the driver and the waiter, wuo stood together close to the carriage door, found themselvs simultaneously collared and thrust a considerable dig‘a nee asunder by a right aud left shove from a pair qf lusty arms. “Millie Granger!’, exclaimed a voice that brought the blood back to the maiden's blanched cheeks. “Arthur Warren!” was all she could answer. “Weil, I declare?” uttered a shrill volee, none other than Miss Chirrup’s, who, without Millie’s knowledge, had come to live in the city, and who chanced to be nassiDg at the time. Matters were soon explained, and Miss Chirrup, who had the kindest of ' hearts, invited her relative home with her; and Arthur, haviug paid the driver his just due, called another cab, and escorted the ladies to their destination. He called that evening, and spoke his i mind to Millie. And Millie found out she had always loved him. And Arthur explained that it was only the difference in their former prospects that had kept him silent. And Millie said she would not care to be rich if it was not for his sake. . Arthur said he was glad she was not rich, and added that he was earning a salary that two could live on comfortably. And, in short, the two lovers were as happy as heart could desire. Ruth Morgan ’b anxiety at Millie’s sudden disappearance had been relieved by intelligence of her safety,- and Ruth was in high spirits when Mr. Ryors called, determined, this time, to bring matters to a crisis. He had more than once tried the plan of gradual approaches. On this occasion he resolved to come directly to the point, and had actually got half way on his knees, when Ruth said quietly: “Don’t be too hasty, Mr. Ryors; you may regret it,” “mere is but one thing I qan regret —your refusal.” “My uude’s will ” Ruth began. “I know it left you all he had!” interrupted the gentleman, “but that is nothing to me.” . “And quite as little, I assure you, to me,” said Ruth. “When his will took effect, my uncle bad nothing to leave.” The kneeling process was suspended midway, and Mr. Ryors remained in a very uneasy, and not altogether graceful posture, while Ruth continued: “My uncle had, some time before, made a deed, you see, conveying his i entire estate in trust for the benefit of my cousin Millie, reserving only a life : interest to himself.*’ *

The hinges of Mr. Ryoris knees suddenly uncrooked. . “Good—good morning, Miss MorfluanumwE —■ “Good morning, sin,** said Ruth, bursting Into a ringing laugh when the when she and Ruth met a few days later. “Your claims on our uncle were as good as mine, and the property shall be egually divided. 4 ’ • “Don’t trouble yourself, little one,” said Ruth. “Before Uncle Rollin provided for you, our aunt, by an understanding between them, settled her fortune on me. Won't it console Mr. Ryore to hear it!” f “But that will of uncle's ” “Was made to save you from a for-tune-bunting husband.” replied Ruth.