He questioned, therefore, strongly whether he had any right
longer to retain them.
"When he consulted me on the subject, he alluded to the fact that, by
the laws of the Bible, persons who bought lands were bound to return
the land to its former possessors, at the end of seven times seven
years. He had already, then, made up his mind to leave that portion
of his property to you, when you rendered him that great service, and
at the same time it became, alas! but too evident to him that his son
was hopelessly bad, and that any money whatever left to him would
assuredly be spent in evil courses, and would do evil rather than
good. Therefore, when I came in the morning to him he said,--
"'My will must be made immediately. Not one penny is to go to my son.
I may be carried off to-morrow by the Plague, or my son may renew his
attempt with success. So I must will it away from him at once. For
the moment, therefore, make a short will bequeathing the estate of
Upmead to Sir Cyril Shenstone, all my other possessions to my wife
for her lifetime, and at her death also to Sir Cyril Shenstone.
"'I may alter this later on,' he said, 'but for the present I desire
chiefly to place them beyond my son's reach. Please draw up the
document at once, for no one can say what half an hour may bring
forth to either of us. Get the document in form by this evening, when
some friends will be here to witness it. Pray bring your two clerks
also!'
"A few days later he called upon me again.
Pages:
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393