the morning after the funeral tristrem received a letter from mrs. raritan, and a little later a small package by express. the letter was not long, and its transcription is unnecessary. it was to the effect that on maturer consideration viola had decided that the engagement into which she had entered was untenable. to this decision mrs. raritan felt herself reluctantly obliged to concur. it was not that mr. varick was one whom she would be unwilling to welcome as her daughter's husband. on the contrary, he was in many respects precisely what she most desired. but viola was young; she felt that she had a vocation to which marriage would be an obstacle, and in the circumstances viola was the better judge. in any event, mr. varick was requested to consider the decision as irrevocable. then followed a few words of sympathy and a line of condolence expressive of mrs. raritan's regret that the breaking of the engagement should occur at a time when tristrem was in grievous affliction.
in the package were the jewels.
tristrem read the letter as though he were reading some accusation of felony levelled at him in the public press. if it had been a meteor which had fallen at his feet he could not have wondered more. indeed, it was surprise that he felt. it was not anger or indignation; they were after-comers. for the moment he was merely bewildered. it seemed to him incredible that such a thing could be. he read the letter again, and even examined the post-mark. at first he was for starting at once for narragansett. if he could but see viola! the excuse about a vocation was nonsense. had he not told her that if she insisted on going on the stage, he would sit in the stalls and applaud. no, it was not that; it was because—after all, it was his own fault; if he had been unable to make himself beloved, why should the engagement continue? but had an opportunity been given him? he had not had speech with her since that evening when she had drawn his face to hers. no, it could not be that.
he bowed his head, and then anger came and sat at his side. what had he done to destiny that he should be to it the play-thing that he was? but she; she was more voracious even than fate. no, it was damnable. why should she take his heart and torment it? why, having given love, should she take it away? he was contented enough until he saw her. why had she come to him as the one woman in the world, luring him on; yes, for she had lured him on? why had she made him love her as he could never love again, and just when she placed her hand in his,—a mist, a phantom, a reproach? why had she done so? why was the engagement untenable? untenable, indeed, why was it untenable? why—why—why? and in the increasing exasperation of the moment, tristrem did a thing that, with him, was unusual. he rang the bell, and bade the servant bring him drink.
it was on the afternoon of that day that he learned the tenor of his father's will. it affected him as a chill affects a man smitten with fever. he accepted it as a matter of course. it was not even the last drop; the cup was full as it stood. what was it to him that he had missed being one of the richest men in new york in comparison to the knowledge that even had he the mines of ormuz and of ind, the revenue would be as useless to him as the hands of the dead? was she to be bought? had she not taken herself away before the contents of the will were reported? he might be able to call the world his own, and it would avail him nothing.
the will left him strangely insensible, though, after all, one may wonder whether winter is severer than autumn to a flower once dead.
but if the will affected tristrem but little, it stirred dirck van norden to paroxysms of wrath. "he ought to have his ghost kicked," he said, in confidential allusion to erastus varick. "it's a thing that cries out to heaven. and don't you tell me, sir, that nothing can be done."
the lawyer with whom he happened to be in consultation said there were many things that could be done. indeed, he was reassuringly fecund in resources. in the first place, the will was holographic. that, of course, mattered nothing; it only pointed a moral. laymen should not draw up their own wills. for that matter, even professionals should be as wary of so doing as physicians are of doctoring themselves. and the lawyer instanced legal luminaries, judges whose obiter dicta and opinions in banco were cited and received with the greatest respect, and yet through whose wills, drawn up, mark you, by their own skilled hands, coaches and tandems had been driven full speed. in regard to the will of the deceased there was this to be said, it would not hold water. chapter 360, laws of 1860, declares that no person having a husband, wife, child, or parent, shall by his or her last will and testament, devise or bequeath to any benevolent, charitable, scientific, literary, religious, or missionary society, association, or corporation, in trust or otherwise, more than one-half part of his or her estate.
"but he devised the whole."
"yes, so he did; but in devising it he overlooked that very wise law. my opinion in the matter is this. when, may i ask, was your grandson born?"
"he was born on the 10th of june, 1859."
"exactly. the late mr. varick determined, on the birth of your grandson, that the property should go over. his reasons for so determining are immaterial. rufus k. taintor, the ablest man, sir, that ever sat on the bench or addressed it, drew up the will at that time in accordance with instructions received. some years later, taintor died of apoplexy, and he died, too, as you doubtless remember, after the delivery of that famous speech in the besalul divorce case. well, sir, what i make of the matter is this. the late mr. varick, relying on taintor's ability, and possessing possibly some smattering of law of his own, recopied the will every time the fancy took him to make minor alterations in the general distribution of the trust. consequently his last will and testament, having been made since the passage of the law of 1860, is nugatory and void as to one-half the bequest, and your grandson may still come in for a very pretty sum."
"he ought to have it all," said mr. van norden, decidedly.
"i don't dispute that, sir, in the least—and my opinion is that he will get it. this will is dated five days previous to mr. varick's demise. now, according to the law of 1848, chapter 319, and, if i remember rightly, section 6, no such bequest as the deceased's is valid in any will which shall not have been made and executed at least two months before the death of the testator. that, sir, i consider an extremely wise bit of legislation. the law of 1860, which i quoted, vitiates the will as to one-half the bequest; the law of 1848 does away with the will altogether. practically speaking, your son-in-law might just as well have died intestate. though, between ourselves, if mr. varick had not been ignorant of these laws, and had not, in consequence of his ignorance, made a disposition of certain private documents the contents of which are easily guessed, your grandson would have merely a prima facie right to have the will set aside; for, if you remember, these laws were passed only to provide for the possible interests of a surviving husband, wife, or child."
he emphasized the last word, and, as his meaning grew clear to mr. van norden, that gentleman got very red in the face. he rang the bell.
"thank you, sir," he said. "i shall be indebted if you will send me your account. and i shall be particularly indebted if you will send it at your very earliest convenience. henry, get this—this—get this gentleman his hat and see him to the street."
unfortunately for those that practise, there are a great many more lawyers in new york than one. and before the last will and testament of erastus varick came up for probate, mr. van norden experienced slight difficulty in retaining another attorney to defend tristrem's interests. the matter, of course, was set down for a hearing, and came up on the calendar three months later.
of the result of that hearing the reader has been already informed, and then it was that tristrem was taxed with old-world folly.
