Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 July 1876 — MY AUNT’S LEGACY. [ARTICLE]

MY AUNT’S LEGACY.

My father is a farmer, in sufficiently easy though not exactly affluent circumstance*; and he, with my mother and brothers, live in the house where all of us, except my mother, first saw the light. At the time when the event here recorded took place I lived with them, but I have been away from home for many a year now. The house is a large, rambling building, constructed of red bricks, and abounding in numerous long, low rooms. We are simple, primitive people, and general-, ly sit and take our meals in a room leading out of the kitchen. But we have two state parlors, which, in our eyes at least, are very grand, and which we use on those rare occasions when we wish to make a show in the eyes of the world; or rather in the eyes of those few and isolatedmembers of it who, at long Intervals, come our way. My name is Sebastian Gregg Felton, and I am one of a family of five, all boys, in which I occupy the generally unenviable position of being in the middle. I say generally unenviable, because, as a rule, the eldest and youngest of a family get the best of it, and the others rather go to the wall. But in my case I had nothing to complain of, as I happened to be my mother’s prime favorite. Several reasons conspired to produce this result. To .begin with, I had been a very delicate child and great doubts had been entertained as to the possibility of rearing me. Children that cause most anxiety are generally liked best, and, as I had rewarded my mother for all the care bestowed upon me by growing into a tall, broad-shouldered fellow, who seemed quite to have forgotten what ill-health was, she naturally felt grateful to me and inclined to think me a very meritorious character. Another thing that disposed her in my favor was that I had been infinitely more troublesome than all her other boys put together, as, whenever my health allowed it, I had been from my earliest . infancy in some mischief or other; though, to do myself justice, I had never been guilty of anything mean or underhanded. There was one ojher circumstance that made me looked upon with favor, not only by my mother, but by the whole family as well, and that was that I was considered to have expectations. In other words, I was thought to have a very good chance of being heir to an aunt of my father’s, who had a very comfortable little fortune of her own. But I will talk of this by and by when I have told the reader a little more about myself. At the time of this story I was one and twenty years old, six feet high, broadly built enough to match my height and —my native modesty recoils from writing thievery good-looking. In disposition I was lighthearted and fond of fun, my former leaning toward mischief having by no means deserted me. Though but one-and-twenty, I had for some years been engaged to Claribel Myer, the daughter of a well-to-do miller who lived not very far from us. She was a pretty, lively little being, with dark hair and eyes, a roguish smile and a sweet figure, and she was a great pet with eveiybody. But to proceed to the more important part of my tale. One evening, as we were all sitting at tea, the postman came to the door—in itself so unusual an event that it caused quite an excitement. There was a general < rush to see what he had got , and L being nearest, was out first and obtained the letter. It was addressed to my mother, and everybody was much interested in the opening and reading of it. It turned out to be from the aunt from whom I was sup- . posed to hare my expectations, and after whom I received my beautiful second name -us Gregg. Here let me stop for a moment to inform the reader that our notion as to my chance was by no tne'ans unfounded. It did not arise from a general feeling of covetousness on our part, or from the idea that seems common in some families that every one is bound to leave them property. Shortly before I was born Miss Gregg wrote to my fattier, saying that, should the expected child prove a boy, she wouid be much complimented if he would give it her name, and concluded with certain dark and somewhat mysterious hints which it seemed to him could bear but one interpretation, f need hardly observe that when I appeared, and turned out to he a boy, I was duly christened according to my aunt’s wishes. She had never set eyes upon me, or, indeed, taken the slightest notice of me from that moment to this; but still the hope of expectations, if K burned rather dimly sometimes, never went out.

When it was discovered from whom the letter t ame the excitement naturally Increased greatly, and, my mother’s spectacles not being forthcotaingquiekly enough to suh the impatience of the company, as I waa considered to hare the -greatest interest in the matter and waa also believed to be the beat scholar in the family, the epistle waa put into my hands With an ex bortation to read it akiud. I did ao, and read as follows t Duab MAOAJt -Tour son, who besrs my asms, must by this dm* be pretty well, U not quite, grown up, uadi huva • fsney to so* vrhst he Is Use. with your permission I shall, therefore come to your boo*# on Wliflext, and. al«o with your per initiation, wUI remain the fight. I ami Sear limiam, your, truly, 6RK(K} ', When I had finished die perusal, silence reigned for some time; everybody was too much astonished to speak. When they recovered themselves they all turned to me. “Well, Sebastian,” said nay father, ** this is a chauce for you; mind you make the best of it.” “ You know, Sebastian,” chimed in one of my brothers, ‘ you have a very pleasant way with old ladies when you choose, and now is the time for showing it.” “Yes, indeed, remarked ipy eldest brother; “it will all depend upon your pleaaipg honor not, whether yon come in for the money.” “Of course Sebastian will please her,” retorted my mother, taking my part against them. Then, not wishing to lose the opportunity of a little advice on her own account, she went on: “But do mind, Sebastian, that you are particularly nice to her, and very attentive and differential, and ” “ Oh, please don’t give me any more directions, mother,” I answered, stopping my ears. “ I shall get so confused I shan’t know what to do at all.” So saying I left the room and wqnt to tell Claribei what was about to happen. This important letter had come on a Wednesday. The day intervening between its arrival and my aunt’s was spent by my mother in thoroughly cleaning our already thoroughly clean rooms, and m preparing all sorts of nice things for the expected guest. In looking back now upon all these preparations and remembering why they were so very carefully attended to, I can’t help thinking that we ware rather of the nature of toadies; but still it happened, and in my character of faithful historian I must tell the truth. At last the time when the important visitor might be looked for had come, and we were all in a flutter of expectation. My mother had put on her best areas, a steelgray silk, and a cap trimmed witii cherrycolored ribbons, that was supposed to suit her better than anything else she had. I had yielded to the advice and entreaties of my surroundings and had dressed myself very carefully in a new suit I had just had made.

We all hovered about near the door, trying to look unconcerned, but failing signally. After a time the sound of approaching wheels told us that the person for whom we were looking was near at hand. Another moment ana the omnibus which plied in the neighborhood drew up before our garden gate, and a lady, that I rightly supposed was my aunt, alighted. She was a small, spare woman, with a somewhat severe expression of face, and a sharp, piercing eye, that seemed at once to take stock of eveiythlng within a mile of her, and that had the effect of any thing in the world rather than that of setting you at your ease. It was with an inward trembling—by no means concealed from one another, if hidden from her eyes—that we went forward to receive our new-ly-arrived relative; but we managed it pretty well, and before long she was safely installed in the smaller parlor. Then after the interval of a few moments, my mother suggested that she might like to go to her room and remove her traveling dress, and as she at once took this suggestion the rest of us were left with a little breathing time. As far as I was concerned, however, this respite was a very short one. In drawing up a plan of the course of action to be pursued, which had been done in family conclave with the utmost amount of care and deliberation, it bad been arranged that as my aunt might like a private interview with me ; I should he, apparently by accident, in the best parlor when she name down stairs again, and that my mother should adroitly withdraw, of course also by accident, and leave us there together. | Accordingly, not long after the two ladies had gone up stairs, I went to the appointed spot ana assumed what seethed to me the position of a spider in a web looking for flies. The position was by no means a pleasant one to me, but T consoled myself with the reflectioa that on this occasion at least the fly was,by no means an unwary one. I had uot been waiting many minutes before the ladies came down aga|n. I went to the door of the room as gracefully as I could, and my mother, upon seeing me, remarked, witn an air of iinprohiptu that really did her credit: “Oh, here is Sebastian; will you excuse me for a few minutes if I leave you to him?” My aunt, little suspecting that this was part of a deep-laid plot, bowed witti-old-fashioned politeness, by no means want- , Inw Sn aiaiaUuaai Awes) jitvpitnrlnrtol ltsteaaAl# lug in BinicnziCoß) turn ouiiuiuucu iiubcix to my care. There was something in the solemnity of tho whole proceeding, coupled Jrith the knowledge of what designing bumbugs we all were, that made keeping .properly grave very difficult tome. But with an effort T managed to represithe smile that tried so hard to rise to my lips, and went forward to take possession of my aunt. On each side of the fire-place, which was filled at this moment with gailylcolored paper—for the time of the year prae summer—stood an armchair, very oldfashioned, like the rest of our fura%re, with thin, spindley legs and wide mats covered with chintz. As these were-the moat dignified looking objects in the room, I thought the best thing would! be to offer one of them to the lady to whom I was‘doing the honore. Accordingly Med her up to one of them, turned away #Hh the most courtly bow I could maa|ge t and going to the one oppoeite to down. But, oh horror! in the course of the rummage that had taken place in Jhls room to prepare it for the expected gpest the seats of these two chairs had beenktaken out, and, little as We suspected? It, mismatched. No sooner did my weight come upon it than the treacherous ftfindation on which I had hoped secure!# t 6 rej ose, gave w*7. the seat tilted up, imd in an Instint I found myself siting through the framework, my knees amfimy nose almost in contact, and utterly uolble to extricate myself. % It had happened so suddenly and fbnexpectedly that at first “I was too natch astonished to think of anything but |ny. self; but in an instant I rememberedjmy aunt and looked across at her. My pelings may be imagined when I distorted, that she was in exactly the same pospon as myself, as utterly unable to helpier-

self, and evidently m much astonished as I was. Just as I caught sight of her, however, her self -possession seamed to return, and, in angry accents, rendered somewhat uncertain by the inconvenient poature in which ahe was, she said :r 7 “ So, Mr. Sebastian! this is the way In which ydu treat your relations tWIT I have all my life, been possessed of a very keen sense of the ludicrous. Whether that possession he an advantage or not I have nev<er quite boon able to determine, there is so much to be said on both sides. The position in which wo now were, and which, indeed, was funny enough to have, tickled the gravest of mankind, amused me so irresistibly that, regardless >of the consequences, I burst into a hearty peal of laughter. u ; ‘< 1 • \ Of course the madness of this proceeding became apparent to me at once, and, piaking a desperate effort to check my mirth and to speak gravely , I began s \“ I assure you, Aunt Gregg ——” “ There’s no good in assuring me anything,” interrupted my aunt. “If you were to go ou assuring me from now till the last moment of my life, I should not believe you.” “ But, my dear aunt ” “Don’t dear aunt met Do you think I’m capable of putting two and two together and makiug fourT And When I find you alone in a room, and then find myself in such a position as this, do you suppose that I am going to believe that you didn’t do it on purpose ?” Evidently my aunt had no strong perception of what was funny, or she would never have spoken of what had happened jn this way. Her gravity tickled me even more than the accident itself, and I had to bite my lip nearly through before I could get out: “ But do try to believe ” ‘* I shan’t try to do anything of the kind I Is your behavior likely to make me belieye in your innocence f If you are sorry for what has happened, why dont you come and help me out, instead of stopping there laughing like an idiot!” “ I really can’t move. I would get out if I could,” I answered, struggling faintly. “But lam fixed tight, and can do nothing.” And again I was nearly choked by my e Sorts to swallow my laughter. “ Nonsense!” Miss Gregg returned, in a tone of increased severity; “people of your age are never helpless unless they choose to be so.” And thereupon she relapsed into dignified silence, leaving me to feel more ridiculous than I had ever done in my life before. We were not left many moments In this most unenviable situation before the door of the room opened and my mother came in. With surprise and horror she perceived the plight in which we were placed, and, running to my aunt, helped her up, apologizing to the worthy lady enough, as it seemed to me, to have excused the most dire injury. Miss Gregg once more began to express her opinion that I had done it on purpose, when my mother thought it better to Join with her and abuse me soundly. My assurances that the misfortune was a pure accident convinced her of my innocence, though they had quite failed to convince my aunt, and she came over to my side at once, and tried, with all the eloquence of which she was possessed, to win the irate old lady; but in vain. Miss Gregg was most fully persuaded that I had intention-* ally offered to her dignity the insult it had recently received, and she continued to express her hostile sentiments in the most indignant terms. We proceeded for some time to talk in the most persuasive and convincing manner at our command, but to no purpose. My aunt would not listen to what we had to say in my defense, and declared persistently and in the most emphatic terms that she would go home at once dad never enter our house again. We knew too well what effect such conduct would have upon us, that it would be the end of all otyr hopes; and we were getting more and more * into despair, when suddenly a bright idea came to me. I would go and fetch Clarlbel. I had the utmost belief in her fiower of soothing people.

My mother soon understood from the signs I made her what I thought of doing, and as she evidently approved my idea I left her trying to pacify my auat and persuade her of my innocence, and started off. It did not take me long to get over the ground between our house ana Mr. Myer’s, ■ or to explain what had happened to his daughter; and in a very short time Claribel and I returned together. It turned out just as I expected. Although my aunt was still very angry, and at first Would not even look at the intended mediator, before long she had given in to her pretty, coaxing ways—who, indeed, could help giving in when Claribel set to work to make them ?—and was sitting at the dinner table in our best parlor on my father’s right hand, with my dear girl on the other side of her. Of course, after this there was no good in pretending to keep up her resentful feelings, and my aunt spent the rest of the day and the succeeding night under our roof as she had originally intended. I did my very best during mat time to cancel, by constant attention, the bad impaession that had been made upon her. And I suppose I in great measure succeeded, for, as rite was going away, tod as I was standing at the door of the coach in which she was seated, waiting for It to start, she put her, hand upon mine an(l said: “ I believe that you did not intentionally insult, me, after all, Sebastian.” Another moment and the coach had driven off, and I had seen my aunt for the last time.

It is now some years since this memorable event happened. I have become a fanner on my own account, and am settled not far from the place in which Mr. Myer and my father still live. Claribel has changed from a lively girl into a sweet, contented woman, rad we are surrounded by numerous rosy-cheeked, healthy-looking children. Not very long after her visit to our house,my aunt died rad left me her heir. The property was enough to enable me to purchase the farm I now possess, rad to marry Claribel at once. We are very happy, rad never forget to associate the memory of Mias Gregg with our happiness. But even at this distance of time we can never think without a smile of the accident that so nearly made shipwreck of all our hopes. And of all the stories I tell iriy children as we sit round the fire of a winter’s evening, the one they like best to hear is the history of how I nearly lost my aunt’s legacy.— London Argosy. A Thektoh editor makes the statement for the good of correspondents, that they need not commence their communications, “ I take my pen in hand,” as he don’t case whether they write with their toes or with the pen in their mouth, so they send the news Nkyhb let any man have It to say, “ I have dragged you up.”