Page 972 - vanity-fair

his son, for the key of the box in which he kept them was
also in his pocket, and it was found the seals and envelopes
had been broken—very likely on the night before the sei-
zure—when the butler had taken him tea into his study, and
found him reading in the great red family Bible.
When the will was opened, it was found that half the
property was left to George, and the remainder between the
two sisters. Mr. Bullock to continue, for their joint bene-
fit, the affairs of the commercial house, or to go out, as he
thought fit. An annuity of five hundred pounds, chargeable
on George’s property, was left to his mother, ‘the widow of
my beloved son, George Osborne,’ who was to resume the
guardianship of the boy.
‘Major William Dobbin, my beloved son’s friend,’ was
appointed executor; ‘and as out of his kindness and bounty,
and with his own private funds, he maintained my grand-
son and my son’s widow, when they were otherwise without
means of support’ (the testator went on to say) ‘I hereby
thank him heartily for his love and regard for them, and
beseech him to accept such a sum as may be sufficient to
purchase his commission as a Lieutenant-Colonel, or to be
disposed of in any way he may think fit.’
When Amelia heard that her father-in-law was recon-
ciled to her, her heart melted, and she was grateful for the
fortune left to her. But when she heard how Georgy was re-
stored to her, and knew how and by whom, and how it was
William’s bounty that supported her in poverty, how it was
William who gave her her husband and her son—oh, then
she sank on her knees, and prayed for blessings on that con-

972 Vanity Fair