Fowle's New Hampshire Gazette And General Advertiser

BOSTON, August 25.

The following singular affair, we are assured by a correspondent, is fact, and lately occurred within a few miles of the city of London. An old gentleman, formerly a considerable trader in the metropolis, but who had retired for some years past, generously left a profitable trade, with the aid of a considerable part of his capital, to his three servants, whom our correspondent calls Peter, Charles and James. He imagined this triumvirate (though in no degree related to him) had formed large expectations from his death; his intentions were kind towards them, but he had a great desire to make a trial how far they were deserving of his favour. To prove this, he made a will, took to his bed, and ordered his house-keeper (who was entirely in his confidence) to write to his old servants, first that he was very ill, and by the next post that he was dead. Down they came in the post chaise and four, but with different feelings: Peter and Charles could not conceal the joy of their hearts, which shone through the affected sorrow of their countenances:—Poor James loved his old master, and felt what his companions counterfeited. The house-keeper met them with tears in her eyes (for women when they list can cry) and, as he imagined, they would choose to see the will, before they wept over the corpse, produced it to them. There they found four thousand pounds given to Peter, two thousand to Charles, and to poor James nothing at all:—Now for the effect:—Peter fell into a violent passion, and said, "You are to observe, he has used me very ill, in not giving me thrice as much, and in fact I won't go into mourning for him."—Charles said "I do not think myself at all obliged to him, I deserved a great deal more." Poor James sighed—"We had none of us any right to a shilling, said he; in his life time he was very good to us all, but one thousand pounds would have made me quite happy." The supposed corpse had heard enough, out he jumped from a closet tweaked Peter by the nose, kicked Charles's breech and with the assistance of the house-keeper, cuffed them out of the house; then caught James in his arms and said, "My boy, thou deservedst, and shall have encouragement; those fawning sycophants ought to be restored to their primitive nothing, from which I raised them: but men of their disposition are sure to be miserable in every station:—Thou hast a good heart, and shall find I have a liberal hand:" The honest old man made good his words; by an immediate absolute present of ten thousand pounds.