To Let by John Galsworthy (bookstand for reading .TXT) 📕

She Cried While Timothy Was Being Prepared, And They All Had Sherry

Afterwards Out Of     The     Yearly Christmas Bottle, Which Would Not Be

Needed Now. Ah! Dear! She Had Been There Five-And-Forty Years And

Smither Nine-And-Thirty! And Now They Would Be Going To A Tiny House In

Tooting, To Live On Their Savings And What Miss Hester Had So Kindly

Left Them--For To Take Fresh Service After The     Glorious Past--No! But

They Would Like Just To See Mr. Soames Again, And Mrs. Dartie, And Miss

Francie, And Miss Euphemia. And Even If They Had To Take Their Own Cab,

They Felt They Must Go To The     Funeral. For Six Years Mr. Timothy Had

Been Their Baby, Getting Younger And Younger Every Day, Till At Last He

Had Been Too Young To Live.

 They Spent The     Regulation Hours Of     Waiting In Polishing And Dusting, In

Catching The     One Mouse Left, And Asphyxiating The     Last Beetle, So As To

Leave It Nice, Discussing With Each Other What They Would Buy At The

Sale. Miss Ann's Work-Box; Miss Juley's (That Is Mrs. Julia's) Seaweed

Album; The     Fire-Screen Miss Hester Had Crewelled; And Mr. Timothy's

Hair--Little Golden Curls, Glued Into A Black Frame. Oh! They Must Have

Those--Only The     Price Of     Things Had Gone Up So!

It Fell To Soames To Issue Invitations For The     Funeral. He Had Them

Drawn Up By Gradman In His Office--Only Blood Relations, And No

Flowers. Six Carriages Were Ordered. The     Will Would Be Read Afterwards

At The     House.

He Arrived At Eleven O'clock To See That All Was Ready. At A Quarter

Past Old Gradman Came In Black Gloves And Crape On His Hat. He And

Soames Stood In The     Drawing-Room Waiting. At Half-Past Eleven The

Carriages Drew Up In A Long Row. But No One Else Appeared. Gradman Said:

"It Surprises Me, Mr. Soames. I Posted Them Myself."

"I Don't Know," Said Soames; "He'd Lost Touch With The     Family."

Soames Had Often Noticed In Old Days How Much More Neighbourly His

Family Were To The     Dead Than To The     Living.

But, Now, The     Way They Had

Flocked To Fleur's Wedding And Abstained From Timothy's Funeral, Seemed

To Show Some Vital Change. There Might, Of     Course, Be Another Reason;

For Soames Felt That If He Had Not Known The     Contents Of     Timothy's

Will, He Might Have Stayed Away Himself Through Delicacy. Timothy Had

Left A Lot Of     Money, With Nobody In Particular To Leave It To. They

Mightn't Like To Seem To Expect Something.

At Twelve O'clock The     Procession Left The     Door; Timothy Alone In The

First Carriage Under Glass. Then Soames Alone; Then Gradman Alone; Then

Cook And Smither Together. They Started At A Walk, But Were Soon

Trotting Under A Bright Sky. At The     Entrance To Highgate Cemetery They

Were Delayed By Service In The     Chapel. Soames Would Have Liked To Stay

Outside In The     Sunshine. He Didn't Believe A Word Of     It; On The     Other

Hand, It Was A Form Of     Insurance Which Could Not Safely Be Neglected,

In Case There Might Be Something In It After All.

They Walked Up Two And Two--He And Gradman, Cook And Smither--To The

Family Vault. It Was Not Very Distinguished For The     Funeral Of     The     Last

Old Forsyte.

He Took Gradman Into His Carriage On The     Way Back To The     Bayswater Road

With A Certain Glow In His Heart. He Had A Surprise In Pickle For The

Old Chap Who Had Served The     Forsytes Four-And-Fifty Years--A Treat That

Was Entirely His Doing. How Well He Remembered Saying To Timothy The

Day After Aunt Hester's Funeral: "Well, Uncle Timothy, There's Gradman.

He's Taken A Lot Of     Trouble For The     Family. What Do You Say To Leaving

Him Five Thousand?" And His Surprise, Seeing The     Difficulty There Had

Been In Getting Timothy To Leave Anything, When Timothy Had Nodded. And

Now The     Old Chap Would Be As Pleased As Punch, For Mrs. Gradman, He

Knew, Had A Weak Heart, And Their Son Had Lost A Leg In The     War. It Was

Extraordinarily Gratifying To Soames To Have Left Him Five Thousand

Pounds Of     Timothy's Money. They Sat Down Together In The     Little

Drawing-Room, Whose Walls--Like A Vision Of     Heaven--Were Sky-Blue And

Gold, With Every Picture-Frame Unnaturally Bright, And Every Speck Of

Dust Removed From Every Piece Of     Furniture, To Read That Little

Masterpiece,--The Will Of     Timothy.

With His Back To The     Light In Aunt

Hester's Chair, Soames Faced Gradman With His Face To The     Light On Aunt

Ann's Sofa; And, Crossing His Legs, Began:

"This Is The     Last Will And Testament Of     Me Timothy Forsyte Of     The     Bower

Bayswater Road London I Appoint My Nephew Soames Forsyte Of     The     Shelter

Mapledurham And Thomas Gradman Of     159 Folly Road Highgate (Hereinafter

Called My Trustees) To Be The     Trustees And Executors Of     This My Will.

To The     Said Soames Forsyte I Leave The     Sum Of     One Thousand Pounds Free

Of Legacy Duty And To The     Said Thomas Gradman I Leave The     Sum Of     Five

Thousand Pounds Free Of     Legacy Duty."

Soames Paused. Old Gradman Was Leaning Forward, Convulsively Gripping A

Stout Black Knee With Each Of     His Thick Hands; His Mouth Had Fallen

Open So That The     Gold Fillings Of     Three Teeth Gleamed; His Eyes Were

Blinking; Two Tears Rolled Slowly Out Of     Them. Soames Read Hastily On.

"All The     Rest Of     My Property Of     Whatsoever Description I Bequeath To My

Trustees Upon Trust To Convert And Hold The     Same Upon The     Following

Trusts Namely. To Pay Thereout All My Debts Funeral Expenses And

Outgoings Of     Any Kind In Connection With My Will And To Hold The

Residue Thereof In Trust For That Male Lineal Descendant Of     My Father

Jolyon Forsyte By His Marriage With Ann Pierce Who After The     Decease Of

All Lineal Descendants Whether Male Or Female Of     My Said Father By His

Said Marriage In Being At The     Time Of     My Death Shall Last Attain The

Age Of     Twenty-One Years Absolutely It Being My Desire That My Property

Shall Be Nursed To The     Extreme Limit Permitted By The     Laws Of     England

For The     Benefit Of     Such Male Lineal Descendant As Aforesaid."

Soames Read The     Investment And Attestation Clauses, And, Ceasing,

Looked At Gradman. The     Old Fellow Was Wiping His Brow With A Large

Handkerchief, Whose Brilliant Colour Supplied A Sudden Festive Tinge To

The Proceedings.

"My Word, Mr. Soames!" He Said, And It Was Clear That The     Lawyer In Him

Had Utterly Wiped Out The     Man: "My Word! Why, There Are Two Babies Now,

And Some Quite Young Children--If One Of     Them Lives To Be Eighty--It's

Not A Great Age--And Add Twenty-One--That's A Hundred Years; And Mr.

Timothy Worth A Hundred And Fifty Thousand Pound If He's Worth A Penny.

Compound Interest At Five Per Cent Doubles You In Fourteen Years. In

Fourteen Years Three Hundred Thousand--Six Hundred Thousand In

Twenty-Eight--Twelve Hundred Thousand In Forty-Two--Twenty-Four Hundred

Thousand In Fifty-Six--Four Million Eight Hundred Thousand In

Seventy--Nine Million Six Hundred Thousand In Eighty-Four--Why, In A

Hundred Years It'll Be Twenty Million! And We Shan't Live To See It! It

Is A Will!"

Soames Said Dryly: "Anything May Happen. The     State Might Take The     Lot;

They're Capable Of     Anything In These Days."

"And Carry Five," Said Gradman To Himself. "I Forgot--Mr. Timothy's In

Consols; We Shan't Get More Than Two Per Cent With This Income Tax. To

Be On The     Safe Side, Say Seven Million. Still, That's A Pretty Penny."

Soames Rose And Handed Him The     Will. "You're Going Into The     City. Take

Care Of     That, And Do What's Necessary. Advertise; But There Are No

Debts. When's The     Sale?"

"Tuesday Week," Said Gradman. "Life Or Lives In Bein' And Twenty-One

Years Afterwards--It's A Long Way Off. But I'm Glad He's Left It In The

Family." ...

The Sale--Not At Jobson's, In View Of     The     Victorian Nature Of     The

Effects--Was Far More Freely Attended Than The     Funeral, Though Not By

Cook And Smither, For Soames Had Taken It On Himself To Give Them Their

Hearts' Desires. Winifred Was Present, Euphemia, And Francie, And

Eustace Had Come In His Car. The     Miniatures, Barbizons, And J. R.

Drawings Had Been Bought In By Soames; And Relics Of     No Marketable

Value Were Set Aside In An Off-Room For Members Of     The     Family Who Cared

To Have Mementos.

These Were The     Only Restrictions Upon Bidding

Characterised By An Almost Tragic Langour. Not One Piece Of     Furniture,

No Picture Or Porcelain Figure Appealed To Modern Taste. The

Humming-Birds Had Fallen Like Autumn Leaves When Taken From Where They

Had Not Hummed For Sixty Years. It Was Painful To Soames To See The

Chairs His Aunts Had Sat On, The     Little Grand Piano They Had

Practically Never Played, The     Books Whose Outsides They Had Gazed At,

The China They Had Dusted, The     Curtains They Had Drawn, The     Hearth-Rug

Which