that possession of the real will would be sufficient to reinstate me as the lawful heir.  The man of law smiled.  He inquired how I should be able to prove that the forgery which my uncle would in all probability produce was not the genuine testament; and as the date would inevitably be subsequent to the one I held, it would annul any former bequest.  As to my tale about burning the will, that might or might not be treated as a story trumped up for the occasion.  I had no witnesses to prove the fact; and though appearances were certainly in my favour, yet the case could only be decided according to evidence.  With great reluctance I consented to take a part in the scheme he chalked out for my guidance; and, on the third day from my arrival, I walked a few miles and returned to the town, that it might appear as if I had only just arrived.  On being set down at my uncle’s I had the satisfaction to find, as far as could be gathered from his manner, that he had no idea of my recent sojourn in the neighbourhood.  Of course the conversation turned on the death of my revered parents, and the way in which their property had been disposed of.

“I can only repeat,” continued he, “what I, as the only executor under your father’s will, was commissioned to inform you at his decease.  The property was heavily mortgaged before your departure; and its continued depression in value, arising from causes that could not have been foreseen, left the executor no other alternative but that of giving the creditors possession.  The will is here,” said he, taking out a paper, neatly folded and mounted with red tape, from a bureau.  “It is necessarily brief, and merely enumerates the names of the mortgagees and amounts owing.  I was unfortunately the principal creditor, having been a considerable loser from my wish to preserve the property inviolate.  For the credit of the family I paid off the remaining incumbrances, and the estate has lapsed to me as the lawful possessor.”

He placed the document in my hands.  I read in it a very technical tribute of testamentary gratitude to M——­ S——­, Esq., styled therein “beloved brother;” and a slight mention of my name, but no bequest, save that of recommending me to the kindness of my relative, in case it should please Heaven to send me once more to my native shores.  I was aware he would be on the watch; guarding, therefore, against any expression of my feelings, I eagerly perused the deed, and with a sigh, which he would naturally attribute to any cause but the real one, I returned it into his hands.

“I find,” said he, “from your letter received on the 23d current, that you are not making a long stay in this neighbourhood.  It is better, perhaps, that you should not.  The old house is sadly out of repair.  Three years ago next May, David Gidlow, the tenant under lease from me, left it, and I have not yet been able to meet with another occupant fully to my satisfaction; indeed, I have some intention of pulling down the house and disposing of the materials.”