[Birds of Prey by M. E. Braddon]@TWC D-Link bookBirds of Prey CHAPTER III 9/15
"Judson of Judson and Grinder is Thomas Haygarth Judson.
He's a member of our tradesman's club, and worth a hundred thousand pounds, if he's worth a sixpence." I have observed, by the way, that a wealthy tradesman in a country town is never accredited with less than a hundred thousand; there seems a natural hankering in the human mind for round numbers. "There's J.H.Judson of St.Gamaliel," continued my landlord--"he's James Haygarth Judson; and young Judson the attorney's son puts 'Haygarth Judson' on his card, and gets people to call him Haygarth Judson when they will--which in a general way they won't, on account of his giving himself airs, which you may see him any summer evening walking down Ferrygate as if the place belonged to him, and he didn't set much value on it.
They _do_ say his father's heir-at-law to a million of money left by the last of the Haygarths, and that he and the son are trying to work up a claim to the property against the Crown. But I have heard young Judson deny it in our room when he was spoken to about it, and I don't suppose there's much ground for people's talk." I was sorry to discover there was any ground for such talk; Mr.Judson the lawyer would be no insignificant opponent.
I felt that I must give a very wide berth to Mr.Theodore Judson the attorney, and his stuck-up son, unless circumstances should so shape themselves as to oblige us to work with him.
In the meanwhile any move I made amongst the other Judsons would be likely, I thought, to come to the knowledge of these particular members of the family. "Are the Judson family very friendly with one another ?" I artfully inquired. "Well, you see, some of 'em are, and some of 'em ain't.
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