His future spouse was to write out a little paper for his
signature; just a friendly little paper to be kept quite private
and confidential between themselves, stating that she was to do
no work outside of the house; that her pension was to be her own;
that she was to have five dollars in cash on the first of every
month in lieu of wages; and that in ease of his death occurring
first she was to have a third of his estate, and the whole of it
if at the time of his decease he was still pleased with his
bargain. The only points in this contract that the Deacon really
understood were that he was paying only five dollars a month for
a housekeeper to whom a judge had offered twelve; that, as he had
expected to pay at least eight, he could get a boy for the
remaining three, and so be none the worse in pocket; also, that
if he could keep his daughters from getting his money, he didn't
care a hang who had it, as he hated the whole human race with
entire impartiality. If Jane Tillman didn't behave herself, he
had pleasing visions of converting most of his fortune into cash
and having it dropped off the bridge some dark night, when the
doctor had given him up and proved to his satisfaction that death
would occur in the near future.
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