TURNS OF FORTUNE. 35

dence with the testator for twenty years; he
died abroad, and the will was sent to England
_ after his death. Would any one there do a
gratuitous service to persons they had never
seen? Where could be the reason—the motive?
How is it, that, till now, Alfred Bond urged no
claim. There are reasons,” she continued,
‘‘ reasons to give the world. But I have within
me, what passes all reason—a feeling, a con-
viction, a true positive knowledge, that my father
was incapable of being a party to such a crime.
He was a stern man, loving money—I grant
that—but honest in heart and soul. The only
creature he ever wronged was himself. He did
that, 1 know. He despoiled himself of peace
and comfort, of rest and repose. In that he
sinned against God’s dispensation, who gives
that we may give, not merely to others, but law-
fully to ourselves. After all, it would have
been but a small thing for him to have been
without this property, for it gave him no one
additional luxury. I wonder, Mr. Cramp, that
you, as a man, have courage to stand before me,
a poor unprotected woman, and dare to say,
that will is forged.” ,
While she spoke, Sarah Bond stood forth a
new creature in the astonished eyes of the sleek
attorney. He absolutely quailed before the ve-
hemence and fervour of the usually mild woman.
He assured her she was mistaken; that he had
not yielded to the point that the will was a for-