w would be complete and satisfactory to
herself.

Among her numerous friends was the widow of a captain of hussars, who
had been in the same regiment with Bucholz, but who had died a short
time before, leaving his sorrow-stricken wife without sufficient
income for her support, and with the care of an only son who had been
born to them in their brief married life. To this lady William's aunt
immediately offered her house as a home, and promised to take care of
her child's education and provide for its future. This offer was
gratefully accepted by the bereaved and impecunious widow, who, with
her child, soon became domiciled beneath the roof of the uncle and
the socially abused aunt.

As the boy grew into years he displayed so many traits of a noble,
manly character and of a fond and loving disposition, that the hearts
of the aged couple instinctively warmed towards him with an abiding
affection, and the mother dying soon after, he was formally adopted
by them.

The uncle continued, however, to supply the wants of his prodigal and
degenerate nephew, but they increased so enormously that he was
forced to remonstrate with the young man upon the recklessness of his
conduct. His remonstrances were met with a spirit of impertinence and
defiance that angered the old gentleman to such an extent that he
declined at once to pay any further debts of his nephew's
contracting, and limited his allowance to a sum which, while
sufficiently large to provide for his actual needs, afforded no
opportunities for lavish outlays or indiscreet dissipations.

This action excited the ire of William and his family, who did not
hesitate to ascribe it to the promptings of the wife, whom they had
so consistently ignored, and whose feelings they had so frequently
outraged.

The relations between the brothers ceased to be friendly, and an
estrangement took place which was increased by the family of Bucholz,
who spoke every where in the most disrespectful terms of the wife of
the brother.

While matters were in this position the uncle was suddenly attacked
with a malady which resulted in his death. After the funeral the will
was opened, and it was found, to the mortification and disappointment
of his relatives, that instead of leaving to them the bulk of his
large fortune, he had bequeathed the major portion to his adopted
son, and had only left the sum of twenty thousand dollars to be
divided equally among the six children of his brother.

I