The Argosy — page 261: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

244 Court Netherleigh. “Yes; to him, and no other. I see how surprised you are. The world will feel surprise also.” ‘But Mr. Grubb is so rich!—he does not want Court Nether- leigh,” debated the Rector: not that he had any wish to cavil with the decree; he simply spoke out the thought that occurred to him. ‘Were Mr. Grubb in possession of all the wealth of the Indies, he would still inherit Court Netherleigh,” said she, looking across at her listener. “T see. Hes a favourite of yours; and most deservedly so.” ‘Cast your thoughts outwards, Mr. Cleveland, to the circle known to you and to me,” she continued: “can you point out one single individual of 1t who has any abstract right to succeed to Court Netherleigh ? ” ‘No, I cannot,” he said, after a pause. ‘It is only because I have been accustomed to think it would become Lord Acorn’s that— that I feel surprise.” “Lord Acorn would only make ducks and drakes of it; we all know that. And, to return to the subject of right, or claim, he does not possess so much of that as does Mr. Grubb.” Mr. Cleveland waited. He could not quite understand. “Listen,” said Miss Upton. ‘We three girls—you know whom I mean—were the only relatives Sir Francis Netherleigh had in the world. The other two married; I was left; and, after my mother’s death, I came to live here entirely. One day, during his fatal illness —it was the very last day he ever came down stairs—he bade me put aside my work and listen to him. It was a lovely summer’s afternoon, and we were sitting in the blue drawing-room, at the open window, he in his easy chair. Uncle Francis—as we three girls had always called him, though, as you know, he was no uncle of ours— began speaking to me for the first time of his approaching death. I burst into tears, and that did not please him: he could be impatient at times. ‘I want you to listen to me rationally, Margery, not to cry,’ he said; ‘and you must have known for some time that I was going.’ So I dried my tears as well as I could, and he went on to tell me that it was I who would succeed to Court Netherleigh. I was indeed surprised! I could not believe it ; just as you did not believe me now, when I told you I had bequeathed it to Francis Grubb; and I said something about not taking it—that 7 was not of sufficient consequence to be the mistress of Court Netherleigh. That put him out—little things did so at the last—and he testily asked me who else there was to take it. ‘I have neither son nor nephew, more’s the pity,’ he went on, ‘no relative of any kind, except you three girls. Had Catherine Grant not married she would have had Court Nether- leigh,’ he continued, ‘but she put herself out of the pale. Betsy Cleveland has done the same; and there’s only you.’ He then passed on to say how he should wish the plac to be kept up; that I COMIC DOO; KS, EO)