Chapter V: Testamentary and Kindred Miscellany (2)

“It is not with the intention of showing an egregious sentimentality that I say I find it impossible to give you a complete and satisfactory inventory of the estate of Lundy H. Harris. The part that I give is so small that it is insignificant and misleading.

“At the time of his death he had $2.35 in his purse, $116.00 in the Union Bank & Trust Company of this city, about four hundred books, and the coffin in which he was buried, which cost $85.00.

“The major part of his estate was invested in heavenly securities, the values of which have been variously declared in this world, and highly taxed by the various churches, but never realized. He invested every year not less (usually more) than $1200. in charity, so secretly, so inoffensively and so honestly that he was never suspected of being a philanthropist, and never praised for his generosity. He pensioned an old outcast woman in Barton County, an old soldier in Nashville; he sent two little negro boys to school and supported for three years a family of five who could not support themselves. He contributed anonymously to every charity in Nashville, every old maid interested in a ‘benevolent’ object received his aid, every child he knew exacted and received penny tolls from his tenderness. He supported the heart of every man who confided in him with encouragement and affection. He literally did forgive his enemies and suffered martyrdom on Sept. 18th, 1910, after enduring three years of persecution without complaint. He considered himself one of the Chief of Survivors and was ever recognized as one of the largest bondholders in Heaven.

“You can see how large this estate was and how difficult it would be to compute its value so as to furnish you the inventory you require for record on your books. I have given you faithfully such items as have come within my knowledge.

“Sincerely yours,

“CORRA W. HARRIS, Admx.”

AN UNUSUAL CONDITION

On April 15, 1910, there was an announcement in the newspapers of how a wealthy and well-known lady in St. Louis died, leaving her entire fortune to her husband; the remainder to their children; but in the event he remarries, the estate to pass immediately to their children. This is the second instance we have known of such a provision in a will. A learned legal writer of San Francisco states in his work on wills that he had never met with such an instance.

WILL OF EARL OF PEMBROKE

The will of William, Earl of Pembroke, written July 27, 1469, among other clauses, says: “ ... And wyfe ye remember your promise to me to take the ordre of wydowhood as ye may be the better mastre of your owne to performe my wylle....” And in a codicil he adds: “ ... I will that Maud my daughter be wedded to the Lord Henry of Richmond; Ann to Lord Powys; and Jane to Edmund Malafaul.”

TO PAY NATIONAL DEBTS

In the year 1784 there was probated in England, the last will and testament of one, M. Fortune Ricard, a teacher of arithmetic. It seems that in his eighth year, his grandparent had given him a small sum of money, and directed him to add the interest to the principal each year, and at his death to employ the result in good works for the repose of their souls. The testator was in his seventy-first year at the time of his death. He divided the fund into five parts. At the end of one hundred years, one part was to be given for the best theological dissertation proving the lawfulness of putting money out at interest. At the end of two hundred years, the second part was to be expended for prizes for distinguished, virtuous actions, literature and other purposes. At the end of three hundred years, the third part was to be used in establishing five hundred patriotic banks in France, lending money without interest. At the end of four hundred years, the fourth part was to be expended in the building of a hundred towns to accommodate the people of France. At the end of five hundred years, the fifth part was to be used in paying off the national debts of England and France.

The will concludes with a hope for the success of these enterprises, above all, that his example would enkindle the emulation of patriots, princes and public bodies, and cause them to give attention to this new and most powerful and invaluable means of serving posterity.

THE NOBEL PRIZES

Alfred Bernard Nobel, a Swedish inventor and philanthropist, was born at Stockholm in 1833, and died in 1896. He was a student of the distinguished John Ericsson: he was educated in St. Petersburg, and studied mechanical engineering in the United States: he was granted patents by the United States on nitroglycerin and dynamite: his patents were very numerous, there being filed in Great Britain one hundred and twenty-nine. In 1875, he controlled fifteen dynamite factories in different parts of the world. He is best known by his will in which he founded the Nobel Prize Fund of $9,200,000, reduced by taxation to $8,400,000, the interest on which is annually divided into five equal parts, and awarded as prizes to the person who shall have made, (1) the most important invention or discovery in the domain of physics, (2) in chemistry, (3) in physiology or medicine, (4) who shall have produced in the field of literature the most distinguished work of an idealistic tendency, and, (5) who shall have most or best promoted the interest of universal peace.

The first four prizes are awarded by the academies of Sweden, and the fifth by the Norwegian Storthing (Parliament). The value of each prize is about $38,000; the right to make nominations is bestowed upon members of corresponding academies of other countries, professors holding proper chairs in Scandinavian and foreign universities, recipients of Nobel prizes, and other persons of distinction. The plan of award is that the prizes shall go to those persons who shall have contributed most materially to benefit mankind during the year immediately preceding. The stipulation that the award should be for achievements of the preceding year has been, to a large extent, disregarded, and in many instances the award is the result of the life work of the recipient.

SPITEFUL WILLS

Mr. Russell, in his work, “Seeing and Hearing,” says: “Wills which, by rehearsing and revoking previous bequests, mortify the survivors when the testator is no longer in a position to do so _viva voce_, form a very curious branch of the subject. Lord Kew was a very wealthy peer of strict principles and peculiarly acrid temper, and, having no wife or children to annoy, he ‘took it out,’ as the saying is, on his brothers, nephews, and other expectant kinsfolk. One gem from his collection I recall, in some such words as these: ‘By a previous will I had left fifty thousand pounds to my brother John; but, as he has sent his son to Oxford instead of Cambridge, contrary to my expressed wish, I reduce the legacy to five hundred pounds.’ May the earth lie light on that benevolent old despot!”

A JILTED LOVER’S WILL

Dr. Forbes (Benignus) Winslow, though of New England stock, was born in London. He studied medicine in New York and afterward at the Royal College of Surgeons. He made a specialty of the treatment of insanity after locating in London, and became noted as an alienist and was at one time President of the Medical Society of London. He reports the following very singular will:

“A certain individual, who having been crossed in love, concluded to end an unhappy and disappointing life, ordered his body to be boiled down, and all the fat to be extracted therefrom to be used in making a candle, which was to be presented to the object of his affections, together with a letter containing his adieus and expressions of undying love. The time chosen for the delivery of the candle and the letter was at night, in order that the lady might read the touching lines by this veritable ‘Corpse Candle.’” The will, the learned Dr. Winslow tells us, was literally carried out.

WILL OF FREDERIC GEBHARD

Frederic Gebhard, once the favorite of the stage and of society, with an income of $100,000 a year, a private car, and blooded horses and dogs, left an estate valued at less than $10,000. His will, making no mention of his widow, was filed September 21st, 1910, in the Surrogate’s office of New York.

Gebhard died at Garden City on September 8th last. His will provides that his entire estate shall be given to his sister, Mrs. Mary Isabel Neilson, who is the mother-in-law of Reginald Vanderbilt.

The will is dated June 21, 1905, some time prior to his marriage to his last wife, formerly Marie Wilson, one of the original Florodora Sextette girls. They were wedded early in 1906, but were reported to have separated. Mrs. Gebhard returned to him some time before he died.

Gebhard attracted public attention over twenty years ago as an admirer of Lily Langtry, who came to this country as a stage beauty. Gebhard accompanied her about the country, and purchased a ranch adjoining her ranch in California. Later she returned to England to become Mrs. Hugo de Bathe, and Gebhard wedded Lulu Morris. She divorced him, and became Mrs. Henry Clews, Jr.

IN COLONIAL DAYS

The will of William Farrar of colonial times, related to many St. Louisans, was probated in 1677 in Henrico County, Virginia. This document and the inventory portray the customs of those days. There passed under this will, “one Indian boy named Will, and another named Jack”; there is a recital that the “Hoggs being out and uncertain, and one young mare, are left undivided.” The valuations are in tobacco, the Indian boys being worth 2800 pounds each. This is rather a novel association of the Indian with tobacco.

FIVE DRAWERS TO BE OPENED

A few years ago, there died a wealthy English gentleman who directed that the five drawers in his desk be opened on the five consecutive anniversaries of his death. That was all; not a word about the disposition of his large fortune. When the fourth drawer was reached, a sealed letter contained this message: “Have faith and hope, and you will attain unto the fruition of all your desires.” When on the fifth anniversary the last drawer was opened, a properly executed will was found, leaving the property to those who had expected it.

ANTICIPATING MARRIAGE

There is a strong tendency on the part of men to draw up their wills in favor of the ladies to whom they are affianced. By thus anticipating what they would probably do after marriage, they not only take duty by the forelock, so to speak, but reap a present reward in the increased ardor of the adored ones.

DIFFICULT TASK FOR THE JUDGE

The will of Mrs. Sophia Striewe, of St. Louis, was filed in the Probate Court in November, 1910. Six-fourteenths of the residuary part of her estate, amounting to seven thousand dollars, it was directed should go the one who did the most for her during her last days. The Probate Judge will probably decline to pass on so delicate a matter.

DENTAL SAFEGUARDS

Quite recently, a Boston philanthropist provided a fund by means of which the school children of that city were insured the proper care of their teeth. Dental statistics show that this act must be considered as far more worthy than any gift of a like nature in the field of philanthropy for many years; it cannot be doubted that the state of the health depends to a very large degree on the condition of the teeth, and actual figures show that only one child in thirty-five has sound teeth, and much of the sickness of the country can be thus accounted for in this impairment of one of nature’s equipments.

WHAT COMMODORE VANDERBILT SAID

When Commodore Vanderbilt was on his death-bed, he was visited by his nephew, Samuel Barton. “Sammy,” he said, “I’ve been thinking all day about Alexander Stewart’s will. I can’t explain it. I can’t understand how the greatest merchant in this country, who began with nothing and made a fortune of millions, who was always clear-headed in business matters--how was it possible for a man of that kind to make such an utter damn fool of himself when he came to write his will?”

“ONE CLOVER BLOSSOM”

A poetic nature and a love for clover blossoms are at once shown by a Michigan testator who devised land to his native village for park purposes; the only rental being “one clover blossom per annum,” which is to be picked on the premises and delivered to his heirs or descendants. No provision seems to have been made for substitute rental in the event of a failure of the clover crop.

“ONE RED ROSE IN THE MONTH OF JUNE”

Baron Heinrich Wilhelm Stiegel was born in Germany near Manheim, Baden, of a noble and wealthy family, in 1730. Before he was twenty years of age, he ventured into the New World with a fortune of $200,000: he located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, after having built a home in Philadelphia. He was a man of great note, establishing iron and glass works and other industries, and built an elegant mansion at Manheim, in Lancaster County; the old Lutheran Church in Manheim, built in 1770, was located on ground now occupied by a modern church of the same denomination, built in 1891. Stiegel, by will or an instrument of kindred nature, gave the lot on which the church stands, for a consideration of five shillings and “the annual rental of one red rose in the month of June forever.” The payment of the rose occurs on the first Sunday in June, and is an annual ceremony of great interest; the church officers bear the rose to the altar on a costly tray, and a descendant of the testator comes forward at the request of the minister to receive it. An extended account of Stiegel appears in the proceedings of the Lancaster County Historical Association for September 4th, 1896.

DESIRED BURIAL ON MOUNTAINS

Robert Louis Stevenson, in his directions for his burial, selected the apex of a mountain in the Samoan Islands; it was necessary to employ a great many natives to clear the way to the mountain top. There, in the midst of singing birds, the blooming of flowers, and the tonic of the sea breeze, one may read his epitaph, written by himself, but for another:

“Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig my grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.

“This be the verse you grave for me,
Here he lies where he longed to be,
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.”

* * * * *

Cecil John Rhodes admired the grandeur of the Matoppo Hills in Rhodesia, and directed in his will that he be buried there in a square to be cut out of the rock on the top of a hill at a point which commanded a magnificent view of the surrounding country.

* * * * *

Helen Hunt Jackson, the authoress, was buried at her direction, on Cheyenne Mountain, near the top of Seven Falls, a short distance from Colorado Springs, Colorado; she desired this for her last resting place, on account of her love for the surroundings, which are of rare beauty, and which no doubt gave her inspiration for her literary productions.

* * * * *

Thomas Jefferson, his wife and two daughters are buried near the crest of Monticello, “Little Mountain.”

Monticello, the home of Jefferson, is beautifully situated, and commands a view of the town of Charlottesville, the University of Virginia, and the neighboring country. It has long been known as one of the most picturesque spots in the South. For many years, a monument bearing the following inscription from his own pen marked Jefferson’s grave:

HERE WAS BURIED
THOMAS JEFFERSON
AUTHOR
OF THE DECLARATION OF
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
OF
THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA
FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, AND
FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY
OF VIRGINIA
BORN APRIL 2D
1743 O.S.
DIED [JULY 4]
[1826]

The old monument was removed about fifteen years ago, and now stands on the campus of the University of Missouri, at Columbia, Missouri, and a more imposing one was erected in its place.

NO TRIPS TO EUROPE

Mr. Jefferson G. James, an old and prominent citizen of San Francisco, died in May, 1910; he was a pioneer cattle dealer and politician; he left a large estate to be disposed of under his will, which was written with his own hand and is an eccentric document. One provision in the nature of advice to the distributees reads as follows:

“Don’t be mean. Don’t pay my employes more than is being paid them now. No outside speculations. No expensive trips to Europe. Spend your money in this country. Buy or build nice residences and live and enjoy yourselves among people you know. The dividends to the small stockholders will assist in the support of a family.”

In a codicil, he recurs to the subject of European travel, which seems to have been a pet aversion; he again says, “No trips to Europe.”

RIGHTS OF AN UXORICIDE DENIED

An appeal from a decision of Vice-Chancellor Malins, of London, questioning the rights of M. de Tourville to inherit under his wife’s will, was decided against him.

M. de Tourville was found guilty of murdering his wife by flinging her down a precipice while travelling with her near Botzen, Austria, in July, 1876. The marriage took place in November, 1875, and the lady was a widow possessed of large property. The day after the marriage she made a will, leaving her property to trustees for the benefit of her children, should there be any, but in default of such, she gave the whole to her husband, the husband being cognizant of this arrangement, and thereby, as alleged by the wife’s relations, instigated to commit the crime of which he was subsequently convicted and sentenced to death by the Austrian courts. Having appealed, however, his sentence was commuted to imprisonment for eighteen years.

Under these circumstances, the wife’s relations claimed a declaration that De Tourville was incapable of taking any interest under his wife’s will, and argued that the property belonged to Madame de Tourville’s next of kin.

The Vice-Chancellor refused the application for a commission, on the ground that the question of law should first be determined whether, in his position, De Tourville should lose the benefits conferred on him by the will, and directed an amendment of the pleadings for that purpose.

The case was further complicated by the fact that, previous to his conviction, De Tourville had (not perhaps so cleverly as he thought) assigned his interest under the will to another person.

The Master of the Rolls and Lords Justices James and Bramwell, however, reversed the decision of the Vice-Chancellor, and granted the application for a commission, the Master of the Rolls remarking that he was at a loss to understand why the application should have been refused.

HE ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS

About the year 1875, “Scotch” John Wilson, a native of Scotland, then living near Tecumseh, Nebraska, drove from his home his son, John Wilson, and told him never to darken the doors again. The son had graduated from an Iowa law school and wanted to practise law; the father wanted the son to stay on the farm; they disagreed and this resulted in the son’s being driven from home. He rode away on a circus train and never saw his parents again.

A few years ago, the elder Wilson died, leaving an estate valued at thirty thousand dollars. By his will, he directed that this estate be turned over to any claimant who might appear and say he was the missing son, and who could answer thirty questions. These thirty questions dealt largely with family history, dates, and other matters which were peculiarly within the knowledge of the son.

The son appeared, after an absence of thirty-five years, and answering satisfactorily the thirty questions before the Probate Court, was awarded the estate. After the decision in his favor, he began crying and remarked, “I would have preferred to have seen my mother rather than to take this money.”

FROM UNDER THE SEA

On April 15th, 1910, while manœuvering off Kura in Hiroshima Bay, Submarine No. 6 of the Royal Japanese Navy was sunk: her commander, Lieutenant Saguma, and fourteen men were lost. When the vessel was raised two days after the catastrophe, a document written by him was discovered; it is a remarkable instrument and may be regarded as a testamentary log. This paper, written when the commander was slowly choking to death from the gases generated as the submarine lay helpless at the bottom of the sea, is a striking instance of the spirit of silent sacrifice and immolation found in the Japanese character. It reads as follows:

“I have no excuse or apology for having sunk His Majesty’s No. 6
submarine by my carelessness, but the crew of the boat bravely and
calmly discharged their duties. We now die for the sake of our
country, but we regret that the future development of submarines
will receive a heavy blow as the result of this disaster. It is,
therefore, my hope that you will engage in deeper study of the
submarine without any misapprehension of disasters. If you do this,
we shall feel no regret at our deaths. We were making a gasoline
dive when the submarine sank lower than was intended, and we tried
to close the sluice valve, when the chain unfortunately snapped. I
therefore closed the valve with my own hands, but it was too late
to avert disaster, and the boat sank with a list of 25 degrees. The
boat sank at 10 A.M., and it is now 11.45 A.M. The depth of the
water is about ten fathoms. I always expect death when away from
home. My will is therefore prepared and in the locker, and I hope
Mr. Taguchi will send it with this paper to my father.”

There were numerous other requests, one to the Emperor, an earnest appeal to supply the means of livelihood to the poor families of the crew.

WRITTEN BY ENTOMBED MINERS

In November, 1909, over three hundred miners were entombed for a period of ten days in a mine at Cherry, near Spring Valley, Illinois. The living were imprisoned with the dead. At the end of ten days, twenty-two miners were rescued; those saved had kept themselves free from fatal gas by building a barricade. Saved from death by suffocation, they were threatened with death by thirst. Two of these men, self-constituted leaders, gave orders for the protection of the community; they conducted religious services and cared for the sick and exhausted, and their directions were strictly carried out.

Two of the miners wrote wills while so imprisoned; they are pathetic documents. The writer of the following will, Joe Pegati, was rescued:

“This is the 4th day that we have been down here. That’s what I
think, but our watches stopped. I am writing this in the dark
because we have been eating the wax from our safety lamps. I also
have eaten a plug of tobacco, some bark and some of my shoe. I
could only chew it. I hope you can read this. I am not afraid to
die. O Holy Virgin, have mercy on me.

“I think my time has come. You know what my property is. We worked
for it together and it is all yours. This is my will, and you must
keep it. You have been a good wife. May the Holy Virgin guard you.
I hope this reaches you some time, and you can read it. It has been
very quiet down here and I wonder what has become of our comrades.

“Good-by until heaven shall bring us together.

“Joe Pegati.”

The writer of the second will, Samuel D. Howard, aged twenty-one, died in the mine; his will in part is in these words:

“Alive at 10.30 o’clock yet. Sam D. Howard and Brother Alfred is
with me yet. A good many dead mules and men. I tried to save some,
but came almost losing myself. If I am dead give my diamond ring to
Mamie Robinson. The ring is coming to the Post Office. Henry can
have the ring I have in my good clothes. The only thing I regret is
that my brother could not help mother after I am dead and gone.

* * * * *

“To keep me from thinking I thought I would write these few lines.
There is rock falling all over. We have our buckets full of water,
seep water, and we drink it and bathe our heads in it.

* * * * *

“Seven fifty o’clock in the morning. This is Sunday. There is no
air. We have fanned ourselves with the lids of our buckets. Twenty
five after 9 and black damp coming both ways. Twenty five after 10
we gave up all hope. We have done all we could. The fan had better
start above soon. Twenty five after 10 A.M. Sunday. We are still
alive, the only hope is the fan.

“I think I won’t have strength to write pretty soon. Fifteen after
12 o’clock Sunday. If they can’t give us air, we will make fans
ourselves. We take turns at the fan. We have three of them going.
Twenty seven to 3 P.M. and the black damp is coming in on us.

“Only for the fans we would be dead. Eleven to 4 P.M. dying for want of air. We have six fans moving. One after another fifteen feet apart. We all had to come back. We can’t move front or backward. We can stand it with our fans until Monday morning.

“Fifteen after 2 A.M. Monday. Am still alive. We are cold, hungry, weak, sick and everything else. Alfred Howard is still alive. 9.15 A.M.

“Monday morning, still breathing. Something better must turn up or we will soon be gone. Eleven fifteen A.M. still alive at this time. Sixteen to 1 P.M. Monday, we are still getting weak, Alfred Howard as well as the rest of us.”

THE TOWN CRIER

Doctor Roland Williams was an author of considerable distinction; he was, at one time, professor in the College of St. David’s, Lampeter, South Wales, but had difficulty with the faculty of that institution. He exiled himself to a neighboring town, where he died, leaving in his will fifty pounds to the town of Lampeter, one-third of the income of which is perpetually to be given to the town crier, “for making proclamation once a year, about midsummer, on a market day, that he, Roland Williams, never consented to the election of George Lewellin to a scholarship in this college, but in this and other things he was foully slandered by men in high places; because he loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore, he died in exile; but while unjust men permitted this, he both kept the needy student by his right, and defended the alms of the altar of God.”

CURLL’S COLLECTION OF WILLS

A very curious and now rare collection of wills was made about 1720, by Edmund Curll, who, according to Pope and Swift, possessed himself surreptitiously of these as well as of many anecdotes of the private lives of some of his contemporary celebrities, and published them anonymously, garbling and altering in a scurrilous manner many of the facts he had obtained, so that Arbuthnot observed to Swift that “Curll was one of the new terrors of death;” and the author of “The Man of Taste” wrote:

“Long live old Curll! he ne’er to publish fears,
The verses, speeches, and last wills of Peers.”

Besides the memoirs and will of “Alderman John Barber,” of “Peter Le Neve, Esq., Norroy King-at-Arms,” and that of “Anthony Collins, Esq.,” he issued thirty-one pamphlets containing the “Life, Correspondence, and last Will and Testament” of each of the following worthies. The list of them is to be found on the last leaf of the said life of Alderman Barber, and is as follows:

“1. Archbishop Tillotson.

2. Bishop Atterbury (Dean of Ch. Ch.).

3. Bishop Barnes.

4. Bishop Curll.

5. Earl of Halifax.

6. Lord Carpenter.

7. Lord Chancellor Talbot.

8. Lord Chancellor Pengelly.

9. Judge Price.

10. Rev. Mr. George Kelly.

11. Mr. Wright of Newington.

12. Wm. Congreve, Esq.

13. Mr. Addison.

14. Mr. Prior.

15. Mr. Locke (with his letters and memoirs).

16. Matthew Tindall, LL.D.

17. Mr. Nelson.

18. Dr. Radcliffe.

19. Dr. Williams.

20. Dr. South (2 vols., with his posthumous works).

21. Dr. Hickes.

22. Dr. Burnet (of the Charterhouse).

23. Mr. W. Partridge (the Astrologer).

24. Mr. Mahomet (Servant to his late Majesty).

25. Mr. John Guy.

26. Mr. Wills (the Comedian).

27. Elias Ashmore, Esq.

28. Arthur Maynwaring, Esq.

29. Walter Moule, Esq.

30. Wm. King, LL.D.

31. Mr. Manley (Author of the ‘Atlantis’).”

Indeed, Curll seems to have had an itching hand for seizing on everybody’s will; for, among other of the singular productions he put before the public, is a satirical work called “Pylades and Corinna: Memoirs of the Lives, Letters, and Adventures of two Lovers, Richard Grinnett, Esq., of Great Shurdington in Gloucestershire, and Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas Jenner of Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, together with all the Incidents of their Sixteen Years’ Courtship, and two complete Copies of their last Wills and Testaments;” and yet more extraordinary, he invented a will for the Evil One, which he styled: “Satan turned Moralist; or, The Devil’s last Will and Testament. Price 1_s_.” A copy of this rare book, worthless though it may be as far as it might afford entertainment to any reader of the present day, would, we fancy, command a good many shillings now.

Of these, fifteen are still extant, and in the library of the British Museum, viz.: those numbered, in our list of Curll’s publications, respectively 2, 4, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 29; but it is no easy task to find them, even in the Catalogue.

A WEIRD CUSTOM

In one of Balzac’s best novels, “The Country Doctor,” he tells of a strange custom which prevails in some of the mountainous districts of France. It will be recalled that the Country Doctor leaves Paris and takes up his abode in a remote country district, the purpose being to make amends for a life which at the outset had not been blameless and had brought about remorse and contrition. He devotes a long and useful life to the unsophisticated country people among whom he locates.

The custom referred to is that upon the death of a husband the neighbors surround the bier and at intervals wail, “The master is gone! The master is gone! The master is gone!” The widow with her own hands cuts off her hair and places it in the hands of the corpse, as an evidence of devotion and constancy.

TO THE DEVIL

There is perhaps no sentiment, grateful or spiteful, or any phase of humor, good or bad, which has not been illustrated in testamentary documents.

Probably the legatee who stood the least chance of realizing was the Devil; an attempt was made to make him a land owner in Finland: a few years ago, a queer old native of that country devised all his property to the Devil without attempting to establish the identity of the devisee. The Devil’s claim was disregarded and the property went to the heirs of the testator. It was suggested by one writer that doubtless the testator desired to make a good impression on his Satanic Majesty with a view to conciliating him; another writer suggests that even the name of the Devil in a will is better than none, such omissions being frequently found in wills.

DEVISE TO AN IDOL

Within recent years, the Judiciary Committee of the Privy Council of Great Britain was called upon to pass on the validity of a testamentary devise made four hundred years prior to that time by a resident of India, conveying by will certain lands to the use of an idol, and, strange to say, this gift was sustained.

Mr. Justice Riddell, of the Supreme Court of Canada, recently called attention to this remarkable devise, in an address before the State Bar Association of Missouri.

It appears that one of the descendants of the original testator, after the lapse of four centuries, by a subsequent will, attempted to devise the same property which was formerly conveyed to the use of the idol. The Privy Council upheld the original gift, and the lands are still devoted to the use of the idol.

THE LOST DAUPHIN

It is said the Duchesse d’Angoulême, sister of the “Lost Dauphin,” was a cold-hearted woman who preferred the prospect of a throne to the calls of family affection. She died childless and in exile at Prague in 1845.

There is a story that on her deathbed she called to her side General la Rochejacquelein and whispered:

“General, I have a fact, a very solemn fact, to reveal to you. It is the testament of a dying woman. My brother is not dead; it has been the nightmare of my life. Promise me to take the necessary steps to trace him. France will not be happy nor at peace till he is on the throne of his fathers.”

The story is probably apocryphal; if true, it is a pity that the dying duchess left no documentary proof of her belief, even though it involved the awful confession that it was her selfishness that had cheated her brother out of a throne and rendered him a nameless outcast.

GEORGE SAND’S CURIOSITY

George Sand married in early life a coarse type of man, Casimir Dudevant. Their union was not a happy one. It happened that she found a packet in her husband’s desk, marked, “Not to be opened until after my death.” She wrote of this in her correspondence:

“I had not the patience to wait till widowhood. No one can be sure of surviving anybody. I assumed that my husband had died, and I was very glad to learn what he thought of me while he was alive. Since the package was addressed to me, it was not dishonorable for me to open it.”

And so she opened it. It proved to be his will, but containing, as a preamble, his curses on her, expressions of contempt, and all the vulgar outpouring of an evil temper and angry passion. At once she formed the great decision of her life.

She went to her husband as he was opening a bottle, and flung the document upon the table. He cowered at her glance, at her firmness, and at her cold hatred. He grumbled and argued and entreated; but all that his wife would say in answer was:

“I must have an allowance. I am going to Paris, and my children are to remain here at Nohant.”

She went into the Latin Quarter, and not only Paris but the world heard much of her. She wrote, “The proprieties are the guiding principle of people without soul or virtue,” and, as is well known, her life was in accord with this sentiment.

CHARLES DICKENS ON ELDERLY TESTATORS

When Dickens came to America in 1842, he visited the charitable institutions of Boston, Massachusetts, and of them wrote in his “American Notes”: “I sincerely believe that the Public Institutions and Charities of Boston are as nearly perfect, as the most considerate wisdom, benevolence, and humanity can make them. I never in my life was more affected by the contemplation of happiness, under circumstances of privation and bereavements, than in my visits to these establishments.”

In this connection he writes of the creation of such institutions through wills:

“The maxim that ‘out of evil cometh good,’ is strongly illustrated by these establishments at home; as the records of the Prerogative Office in Doctors’ Commons can abundantly prove. Some immensely rich old gentleman or lady, surrounded by needy relatives, makes, upon a low average, a will a-week. The old gentleman or lady, never very remarkable in the best of times for good temper, is full of aches and pains from head to foot; full of fancies and caprices; full of spleen, distrust, suspicion, and dislike. To cancel old wills, and invent new ones, is at last the sole business of such a testator’s existence; and relations and friends (some of whom have been bred up distinctly to inherit a large share of the property and have been, from their cradles, especially disqualified from devoting themselves to any useful pursuit, on that account) are so often and so unexpectedly and summarily cut off, and reinstated, and cut off again, that the whole family, down to the remotest cousin, is kept in a perpetual fever. At length it becomes plain that the old lady or gentleman has not long to live; and the plainer this becomes, the more clearly the old lady or gentleman perceives that everybody is in a conspiracy against their poor old dying relative; wherefore the old lady or gentleman makes another last will--positively the last this time--conceals the same in a china teapot, and expires next day. Then it turns out, that the whole of the real and personal estate is divided between half-a-dozen charities; and that the dead and gone testator has in pure spite helped to do a great deal of good at the cost of an immense amount of evil passion and misery.”

THE CLOAK AND EARRING OF CHARLES I.

On the morning of January 30th, 1649, Charles I. rose early and for some time remained in prayer and meditation; he was then taken to Whitehall for execution, accompanied by his faithful Confessor, William Juxon, Bishop of London. On the scaffold with him were Colonel Hacker, another officer, and two men disguised with masks; though heard by few, the King addressed the vast crowd in the following words: “For the people, truly, I desire their liberty and freedom as much as any body whosoever, but I must tell you that their liberty and their freedom consists in having of government those laws by which their life and their goods may be most their own. It is not for having share in Government, Sirs; that is nothing pertaining to them; a subject and a sovereign are clean different things, and therefore until you do that, I mean that you do put the people in that liberty as I say, certainly they will never enjoy themselves.”

He made a last profession of faith and gathered his hair under his cap; then took off his cloak and George and gave them to Bishop Juxon with one word, “Remember.” He then took from his left ear a large pearl earring and formally bequeathed it to one of his faithful followers; it is still preserved and is now owned by the Duke of Portland. It is pear-shaped, about five-eighths of an inch long and mounted with a gold top, and has a hook to pass through the ear. He then laid himself down on the block, breathed a short prayer, and stretched forth his hands, the appointed signal for the executioner, who performed his duty well, for the head of the King was severed by one blow and it was held up to the view of the crowd, which answered with a fearful groan.

Masculine earrings were formerly quite common: Sir Walter Raleigh wore one, and so did Horace Walpole, and the Earl of Southampton; Shakespeare indulged the same taste. In modern times such male finery has been largely relegated to sailors, gypsies and negroes.

EXHORTATION TO CONDEMNED PRISONERS

Robert Dowe of St. Sepulchre, London, in his lifetime, on the 8th of May, 1705, gave £50 to the end that the vicar and church-wardens of that parish should, forever, previously to every execution at Newgate, cause a bell to be tolled, and certain words to be delivered to the prisoners ordered for execution, in the form and manner specified in the terms of his gift, as set forth in the old will book.

An annual sum of £1 6_s._ 8_d._ in respect of this gift was charged upon the parish estate in West Smithfield; it was paid to the sexton, who employed a person to go to Newgate on the night previous to every execution, where he offered to perform the prescribed duty, which was always declined, as all needful services of that kind were performed within the prison.

Noorthouck, in his History of London, gives the words of the exhortation. He states that the sexton “comes at midnight, and after tolling his bell calls aloud,

‘You prisoners that are within,
Who for wickedness and sin,

after many mercies shewn you, are now appointed to die to-morrow in the forenoon, give ear and understand, that to-morrow morning the greatest bell of St. Sepulchre’s shall toll for you in form of and manner of a passing bell, as is used to be tolled for those that are at the point of death; to the end that all godly people hearing that bell, and knowing it is for you going to your deaths, may be stirred up heartily to pray to God to bestow his grace and mercy upon you whilst you live. I beseech you for Jesus Christ’s sake to keep this night in watching and prayer, to the salvation of your own souls, while there is yet time and place for mercy; as knowing to-morrow you must appear before the judgment seat of your Creator, there to give an account of things done in this life, and to suffer eternal torments for your sins committed against Him, unless upon your hearty and unfeigned repentance you find mercy through the merits, death, and passion of your only mediator and advocate Jesus Christ, who now sits at the right hand of God to make intercession for as many of you as penitently return to him.’

“On the morning of execution, as the condemned criminals pass by St. Sepulchre’s churchyard to Tyburn, he tolls his bell again and the cart stopping, he adds, ‘All good people pray heartily unto God for these poor sinners, who are now going to their death, for whom this great bell doth toll. You that are condemned to die, repent with lamentable tears; ask mercy of the Lord for the salvation of your own souls, through the merits, death, and passion of Jesus Christ, who now sits at the right hand of God, to make intercession for as many of you as penitently return unto Him.

‘Lord have mercy upon you!
Christ have mercy upon you!
Lord have mercy upon you!
Christ have mercy upon you!’”

THE PARDONED POET’S FAREWELL

“John Carter,” the convict whose poems brought him pardon, did not leave his Minnesota prison without a farewell message to his friends within its walls. This “last will and testament” was first printed in the weekly _Prison Mirror_, published in the penitentiary. The St. Paul _Dispatch_ quotes it as follows:

“This is the last will and testament of me, Anglicus. I hereby give and bequeath my collection of books (amounting to some 6000 volumes) to Mr. Van D., in memory of the not altogether unpleasant hours we spent together, hours marked by no shadow of animosity at any time. We could not be happy, but we were as happy as we could be. To Dr. Van D. I leave my mantle of originality, and what remains of the _veuve cliquot_, in memory of encouragement when I most needed it.

“To the editor I leave my space on this journal and the best of good wishes in memory of his unfailing courtesy and forbearance.

“To Uncle John and to Sinbad go my heartiest wishes that we may meet soon in some brighter clime.

“To Mr. Helgrams, my best dhudeen and the light of hope.

“To young Steady and to Mr. D. M., my poetic laurels, which they are to share in equal measure.

“To the boys in the printing-office, the consolation of not being obliged to set up my excruciating copy.

“To the tailors (and to the boss tailor in particular, ‘Little Italy,’) my very best pair of pants.

“To Jim of the laundry,--but nothing seems good enough for Jim, the best soul that ever walked.

“To Portfiro Alexio Gonzolio, a grip of the hand.

“To Davie, pie, pie again, and yet more pie.

“To the band boys--why, here’s to ’em! May they blow loose.

“To my fellow pedagogues, ‘More light,’ as Goethe put it, more fellowship; it would be impossible to wise them. They know where I stand and I know where they stand.

“Lawdy! lawdy! If I hadn’t forgotten Otto and his assistant. Here’s all kinds of luck to ’em, and no mistake about it.

“Finally to all those not included hereinbefore (for various reasons), here’s to our next merry meeting. To those in authority, thanks for a square deal. To mine enemy--but I mustn’t bulcon him.

“Gentlemen, I go, but I leave, I hope I leave my reputation behind me.

“ANGLICUS.”

PROBATES HIS OWN WILL

Judge R. B. Tappan, of Alameda, California, in July, 1910, practically probated his own will. He filed in the Recorder’s Office, of Alameda County, a document which makes the Alameda Lodge of Elks his beneficiary. He provides that if he dies or becomes insane his property is to go to the Elks. Throughout the legal phraseology of the instrument Judge Tappan has made many unique observations, among which he states that he trusts that no one will inspect him too closely for signs of dementia. He says:

“I hope that such things as leading a horse over a hill while I am hatless and coatless and wearing a bandana handkerchief over my head or wearing moccasins in the city will not be considered evidence of insanity sufficient to revoke the terms of this trust.”

On Judge Tappan’s death he directs that such property as he has transferred to the trust shall immediately be put to the uses of the Elks lodge after paying his funeral expenses, which, he says, should not be over $75. He remarks in the document that he has already paid $10 for a redwood box to convey his remains to the crematory. In regard to the document, Judge Tappan said:

“I have the consent of the directors of my lodge of Elks to keep for me in their possession during my life my property now in their possession, and any property which I may place in their custody hereafter will be similarly held. I have made provisions in the declaration which will pass the trust fund to the Elks lodge in the event of my death or in the event of my becoming insane. The question of insanity is left to the officers of my lodge. There may arise an occasion where some meddlesome person or persons would lodge a contest, and perhaps my wishes concerning the disposition of what belongs to R. B. Tappan would not be complied with. I have a right to do what I see fit with what is mine without consulting any one else, and it is a great satisfaction to me to-day to know just where my property will go in the event of the happening of either one of the conditions referred to. This proposition involves a large sum of money and securities which are as good as gold coin, and the matter is no joke. The officers realize this, or else they would not have accepted the trust. I never speculate or gamble in any form; hence my trust is not likely to shrink much.”

TRUST COMPANIES AS EXECUTORS

The Trust Companies of the United States and other countries have, in recent years, proved themselves the best mediums for administering wills; such an institution located in Melbourne, Australia, in pointing out its merits and stability, quite uniquely, we think, quoted Tennyson’s lines:

“ ... Men may come,
And men may go,
But I go on for ever.”