With this sage and logical exposition the lawyer took forth the key, and tried it in the drawers of the library table. It fitted exactly. But as nothing which one seeks was ever yet found in the first drawer one opens, the drawer which the lawyer tried was found empty. The second, however, afforded a rich harvest; for in it were found more than a dozen papers, of different kinds; the one at the top was endorsed in the hand of Sir Francis Tyrrell himself,--"Codicil to my last will and testament." Two or three of minor interest intervened, and then came another "codicil to my last will and testament;" and immediately beneath the last will and testament itself.
As few of those persons present expected to derive any benefit from the will of Sir Francis Tyrrell, the passion which was principally stirred among them was curiosity. Mr. Driesen, however, felt a little anxious, as we may well believe, when he found that there were two codicils to the will, when he had imagined that there was only one. His anxiety was soon relieved, however; for though the lawyer spent as much time as possible in reading the first will and the first codicil, yet, as the will only went to bequeath a few legacies, leaving the whole bulk of his property to go to the natural heirs, and the first codicil merely referred to the disposal of a sum amounting to one hundred and ten pounds, thirteen shillings. They were neither of them very lengthy.
When the second codicil was read, it was found to be dated a few days before the death of the deceased, and conveyed to Mr. Driesen everything of every description which could be separated from the entailed estates.
The reading of this codicil produced upon the minds of the great bulk of the hearers a twofold effect; the first was wonderful--the second, miraculous. In the first place, there was not a single individual in the room who did not feel perfectly convinced that he had divined, years before, that Mr. Driesen would ultimately be the heir of all that Sir Francis could leave him. They had seen it--they had known it--they had been sure of it. The second effect was, that, in the estimation of forty honest and independent men, by the reading of less than forty cabalistic lines, written on a sheet of bath paper, and called a codicil, Mr. Driesen was in one moment transformed, transmuted, and metamorphosed, from an unprincipled vagabond and a sneering infidel, into a highly respectable, worthy, and well-meaning man.
In the meantime, however, the subject of this wonderful transformation, though not thinking at all of those who surrounded him, was conscious of a sudden and extraordinary change in himself, but of a very different kind from that which was going on in his favour in the estimation of others. He, who, through life, had scoffed at everything like the display of feeling or sentiment--he, who had considered a tear as a proof of weakness, and agitation, under any circumstances, as a minor kind of idiocy, was now moved to the very heart, and agitated beyond all restraint. He trembled while the codicil was reading; his countenance became pale, and when one of the persons present, who was slightly acquainted with him, came up to shake hands with him, and congratulate him on the vast accession of fortune which had fallen to him, he struggled in vain for a reply, and ended by bursting into tears.
"It is too much," he said, "it is too much," and without waiting for any more, he turned away abruptly, sought his own room, and shut himself up there for several hours.
When he came forth he had recovered his composure. He conferred with the lawyers, and sent them off to London, charged with his especial business. He wrote several letters in great haste; and he then sent to request permission to wait upon Lady Tyrrell. This, however, she declined, saying she was unfit to receive anybody; but begging that he would make any communication which he thought of importance, by letter. He immediately sat down, and wrote to her the following note, which must not be omitted in tracing the character of one whom we have had to speak of somewhat unfavorably. It was to the following effect:--
"Dear Madan,
"Mr. Morrison has doubtless communicated to you the nature of the will, and codicils thereunto attached, which have been read this day, and I cannot help concluding that that communication must have been extremely disagreeable and painful to you, well knowing, both that I do not stand so high in your esteem as I did in that of your late husband, and that I had no title whatsoever to expect the generosity which he has displayed toward me.
"To alleviate, as far as possible, the pain which you may feel on account of the loss sustained by your son, in consequence of this will, I beg to inform you, that I have immediately made my own will, leaving to Charles, who, I trust, and feel sure, will be able to clear himself before many days are over, the whole of the property left to me by his father, together with the little patrimony which I myself possess.