yish
years were tainted with secret envy of my brother, an envy that
grew with my growth, till, as we reached years of maturity, the
consciousness that he, my senior by only a few hours, was yet to
take precedence over me--to possess all that I coveted--became
a thorn in my side whose rankling presence I never for a single
waking hour forgot; it embittered my enjoyment of the present,
my hopes and plans for the future.

"But of this deadly undercurrent flowing far beneath the surface
neither he nor others dreamed, till, one day, a woman's face--cold,
cruel, false, but beautiful, bewitchingly, entrancingly beautiful,--came
between us, and from that hour all semblance of friendship
was at an end. With me it was an infatuation; with him it was love,
a love ready to make any sacrifice for its idol. So when our father
threatened to disinherit and disown either or both of us, and the
false, fickle heart of a woman was laid in the balances against the
ancestral estates, I saw my opportunity for seizing the long coveted
prize. We each made his choice; my brother sold his birthright for
a mess of pottage; his rights were transferred to me, and my
ambition was at last gratified.

"Between three and four years later, on the night of November
seventeenth, within a few hours preceding his death, my father made
a will, revoking the will by which he had disinherited his elder
son, and restoring him again to his full right and title to the
estate. This was not unexpected to me. Though no words on the
subject had passed between us and my brother's name was never
mentioned, I had realized for more than a year that my father was
gradually relenting towards the son who had ever been his favorite,
and on the last day that he was able to leave his room, I had come
upon him unaware in the old picture gallery, standing before the
portrait of his elder son, silent and stern, but with the tears
coursing down his pallid cheeks. When, therefore, on the night
preceding his death, my father demanded that an attorney be
summoned, my feelings can be imagined. Just as the prize which I
had so long regarded as mine was almost within my grasp, should I
permit it to elude me for the gratification of a dying man's whim?
Never! In my rage I could have throttled him then and there without
a qualm; fear of the law alone held me back. I tried to dissuade
him, but it was useless. I then bribed the servant sent to bring
the attorney to report that