Martin Pole Author:John Saunders General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1863 Original Publisher: Tinsley Subjects: Fiction / Classics Fiction / Literary History / General Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typo... more »s or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: SEVEN MINUTES PAST SEVEN. When I had finished, and just as Mr. James was getting ready to make some cutting-up remark about my puzzle, Mistress Sicklemore rose, and said she had heard the gate-bell ring twice while I had been speaking, and she had no doubt but what we should find lawyer Ferrers waiting in the next room. She went out, and in a minute came back with not only the lawyer, but old Mr. Cheriton, our curate. While he and Mistress Sicklemore were paying one another their usual string of compliments, and curtseys, and bows, I managed to say to lawyer Ferrers -- " Have you got it, sir ? " He nodded, and tapped his pocket, and whilehe went and spoke to Mr. James and Martin, I whispered to Mr. Cheriton -- "He's not to know I asked you to come, please, sir." I then drew the table to the bedside and laid all that they could want on it; and, while Mr. James kept on beseeching of his brother not to trouble about it on such a day, the housekeeper and I came out and left them making the will. It was about an hour after, and when we were getting tea together in her little room, that we heard both our names called by Mr. Ferrers from Martin's bedroom door. " Matthew," said the lawyer when we went in, " I want you to send me up two of your fellow servants to witness the signing of the will. No, thank you, you two won't do." I wondered for the moment whether he knew I couldn't write. But presently he said, " Well, well, I cannot help givi...« less