Excerpt from The Man of Fortune, and Other Tales, Vol. 1 of 3 It is probable that, had the splendid property of Sir Giles Cressingham been entailed, a vast dif ference would have been operated in his character. As a life enjoyment, he would have prized his fortune only as he prized the food that ministered to his hunger, or the garments that preserved him from the cold. But absolute power creates the absolute prince. To dispose of Stoke Paddocks and his other fine estates after his death, had been the grand consideration of his life - the great object of his reveries under the beech-tree and by the fire-side. Had it formed an agreeable object, this would not have signified. But unluckily it was a source of pain and anguish to the narrow minded Sir Giles. In addition to the usual jealousy of his successor, he was disturbed by peculiar misgivings and antipathies in his choice. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.