Romances of the old town of EdinburghLeighton, Alexander
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Romances of the old town of Edinburgh
Leighton, Alexander
Edinburgh (Scotland) -- Fiction; Short stories, English -- Scottish authors
“It appears to the Court that, in this very extraordinary case, we
never can get at the truth without testing, by proof, the statement
made by the second Helen in regard to the six toes, because if it is
really a fact that the testator carried this number on his left foot,
and by parity that that number carried him, it is impossible to get
quit of the presumption that the fact was communicated confidentially
when the operation of paring was resorted to; and as confidence
implies friendship, and friendship intimacy, we must assume that there
must have been such an amount of mutual liking on the part of these
individuals as would justify the legacy which is the subject-matter
of this multiplepoinding. The Court will therefore issue an order
for the exhumation of the body of Andrew Gebbie, for the purpose of
ascertaining whether the testator’s foot was formed in the manner
asserted by the claimant.”
The commission was accordingly issued. The body of the elder was
examined as it lay in the coffin, and the result of the examination, as
stated in the report, was: “That the left foot was furnished with six
toes, the sixth or supernumerary one being much smaller than the one
next to it. It also appeared that the toes of this foot were supplied
with a number of very hard corns, which bore the marks of having been
often pared by some very careful hand.”
Whereupon the case was again taken up, when judgment was given for the
second Helen, who was thus remarkably well paid for her attention to
the corns of the worthy elder. When the decision was reported to the
reverend executors, Father Tron shook his head with great gravity,
Tolbooth did the same, and so did Trinity: nay, they all shook their
heads at the same time: but what they intended to signify thereby was
never known, for the reason that it was never declared.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The Story of Mysie Craig.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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