spoons out of that. ... I leave to Parson Chevassie my big silver snuff-box as a small token of gratitude to him for taking my sister Maggie, whom no man of taste would have taken. ... I leave to John Caddell a silver teapot, to the end that he may drink tea therefrom to comfort him under the affliction of a slatternly wife. ... I leave my silver cup, with the sovereign in the bottom of it, to my sister , because she is an old maid, and pious, and therefore necessarily given to hoarding; and also my grand mother's snuff-box, as it looks decent to see an old maid take snuff." It was, no doubt, fortunate for this affectionate brother that he had left the scene of life before his sisters were made aware of the way in which he had remembered and characterfzed them, or there might have been some family hairpulling. The following very whimsical bequest is taken from a Scotch newspaper : Some years ago an English gentleman bequeathed to his two daughters their weight in £i bank notes. A finer pair of paper weights was never heard of, for the oldest got ¿51,200, and the younger,£57,344. Peculiarly worded wills have led to the waste of many a goodly patrimony. Heirs, executors, and beneficiaries seem to take a peculiar delight in squabbling over a testa tor's intentions. Montaigne, the celebrated philosopher, is stated to have got over any difficulties in the way of carrying out his tes tamentary intentions by the happy expedient of calling all the persons named in his will around his death-bed, and counting out to them severally the bequest he had made them. Many a whimsical testator might use fully follow Montaigne's example; but there is always a risk of the donor getting better, and finding himself penniless. I once heard of a case of this sort. A small farmer in Suffolk, England, being very ill, was advised by his affectionate relatives to distribute his money, and thus save legacy duty. He did so, but got well again. The relatives declined to return these sup
posed death-bed gifts, and left the poor old farmer to seek parish relief. In 1772, Edmunds, Esq., of Monmouth, Eng., bequeathed a fortune of up wards of .£20,000 to one Mills, a day-laborer, residing near Monmouth. Mr. Edmunds, who had so handsomely provided for this man, would not speak to or see him while he lived. Again, in 1775, a Mr. Henry Furstone, of Alton, Hampshire, Eng., died worth about .£7000 in funds, and, having no relations, he left this amount to " the first man of his name who shall produce a woman of the same name, to be paid them on the day of their marriage." Mr. John Innes, a well-to-do Lincolnshire (England) fanner, was of the opinion that a son having " expec tations " is far less energetic than one having none; for it is recorded that he for many years suffered his son to go to another farmer as a laborer, but by his will left his hard working son the handsome sum of .£15,000. In England it is not uncommon to hear of unmanageable sons and scapegrace nephews being cut off with a shilling; but the follow ing case of a wife being so treated is unique, to say the least: In 1772 a gentleman of Surrey, Eng., died; and his will, when opened, was found to contain this peculiar clause: "Whereas it was my misfortune to be made very uneasy by , my wife, for many years from our marriage, by her turbulent behavior, for she was not content with despising my admonitions, but she contrived every method to make me unhappy; she was so perverse to her nature that she would not be reclaimed, but seemed only to be born to be a plague to me; the strength of Samson, the knowledge of Homer, the prudence of Augustus, the cunning of Pyrrhus, the patience of Job, the subtlety of Hannibal, and the watchfulness of Hermogenes could not have been suffi cient to subdue her; for no skill or force in the world would make her good; and as we have lived separate and apart from each other eight years, and, she having perverted her son to leave and totally abandon me, there fore I give her a shilling." — Ex.
