The Forsyte Saga - Volume 1

It was not--by George--as he (Down-by-the-starn) would have him know,

for a whippersnapper of a young fellow like him, to come down to that

office, and think that he was God Almighty. He (Down-by-the-starn) had

been head of that office for more years than a boy like him could count,

and if he thought that when he had finished all his work, he could sit

there doing nothing, he did not know him, Hemmings (Down-by-the-starn),

and so forth.

On the other side of the green baize door old Jolyon sat at the

long, mahogany-and-leather board table, his thick, loose-jointed,

tortoiseshell eye-glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, his gold

pencil moving down the clauses of his Will.

It was a simple affair, for there were none of those vexatious little

legacies and donations to charities, which fritter away a man's

possessions, and damage the majestic effect of that little paragraph in

the morning papers accorded to Forsytes who die with a hundred thousand

pounds.

A simple affair. Just a bequest to his son of twenty thousand, and

'as to the residue of my property of whatsoever kind whether realty or

personalty, or partaking of the nature of either--upon trust to pay the

proceeds rents annual produce dividends or interest thereof and thereon

to my said grand-daughter June Forsyte or her assigns during her life to

be for her sole use and benefit and without, etc... and from and after

her death or decease upon trust to convey assign transfer or make over

the said last-mentioned lands hereditaments premises trust moneys stocks

funds investments and securities or such as shall then stand for and

represent the same unto such person or persons whether one or more for

such intents purposes and uses and generally in such manner way and form

in all respects as the said June Forsyte notwithstanding coverture shall

by her last Will and Testament or any writing or writings in the nature

of a Will testament or testamentary disposition to be by her duly made

signed and published direct appoint or make over give and dispose of

the same And in default etc.... Provided always...' and so on, in seven

folios of brief and simple phraseology.

The Will had been drawn by James in his palmy days. He had foreseen

almost every contingency.

Old Jolyon sat a long time reading this Will; at last he took half a

sheet of paper from the rack, and made a prolonged pencil note; then

buttoning up the Will, he caused a cab to be called and drove to the

offices of Paramor and Herring, in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Jack Herring

was dead, but his nephew was still in the firm, and old Jolyon was

closeted with him for half an hour.