“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:

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:

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 1s.” 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 6s. 8d. 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,

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.

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:

CHAPTER VI

WILLS OF FAMOUS FOREIGNERS

“Art. IV.—I leave to M. de Boissey, my blessing, to compensate him for the curses which M. Pasquier heaped upon him every day. May it be of use to him on the judgment-day.”

“Art. VII.—I withdraw from M. A ..., and M ... x the sums I had left them by a former will; they have so often proclaimed that I am a man who would cut a farthing in four, that I would on no account oblige them to change their opinion.”

“Art. IX.—I advise Madame de Pomereu, or those she may authorize, to pay to the charcutiers of Paris the sum of 10,000 francs in remembrance of their predecessors, who before the Revolution dealt for their ham and other smoked meats at the Hôtel d’Aligre, Rue St. Honoré.

“Art. X.—I leave 20,000 francs a-year to the invalide who, being on guard on the Pont des Arts in 1839, and, judging from the shabbiness of my dress that I was in distress, paid for me the five centimes toll.”

“Art. XIII.—Considering that virtue ought to be encouraged, I consecrate 100,000 francs yearly to the formation of fifty dowries of 2000 francs in favour of fifty Rosières. The Mayor of Nanterre, who finds these maidens every year, will be good enough to undertake the distribution. If by chance his commune should not furnish him the necessary contingent, he is authorized to address himself to the Gymnase Theatre.

“Art. XIV.—I leave 200,000 francs a-year to the ‘Phalansterians’; but they are only to receive this sum on the day on which they shall have transformed the ocean into orangeade, and gratified mankind with that appendage he needs to make him equal to the gibbon.”

“Art. XVI.—Taking compassion on the poor of the first arrondissement, I desire that the value of the cereals harvested on my land at the next harvest shall be distributed to them in its entirety.

“Art. XX.—Finally, I leave to my relatives, oblivion; to my friends, ingratitude; to God, my soul. As for my body, it belongs to my family vault.”

The brother of the testator was put into the will for a legacy so absurdly disproportionate to what he considered he had a right to expect that the following not very maturely considered observation thereon appeared in a newspaper of the date (1847):

“The celebrated Crœsus who has just died has revealed in his will certain little peculiarities of which few suspected him. He was a great protector of rats; and on the day but one before that of his death he was at the races with four of these animals in his calêche. He had a brother who gave him very good advice on this subject, like the Cléante of ‘Tartuffe,’ to whom he replied by a little posthumous epigram, indicative of his churlish disposition; he has left him, out of his large fortune, a dole of 20,000 francs per annum. There is no revenge so hard and bitter as that of an old man. There are, we venture to think, many brothers, all the same, who would be very glad of a fraternal legacy of eight hundred a-year, and, moreover, we know nothing of the provocation that may have been given; like Lord Campbell, ‘we should like to hear the dog’s story.’”

Possibly the old Marquis felt the separation he contemplated between himself and the fortune he had amassed, but if he entertained any malicious sentiments against those to whom he was obliged to leave what he could not take away with him, he seems to have been fully justified in the somewhat severe animadversions he has passed on some of his legatees.

To a lady relative, who had been full of attentions for him, he left a broken cup, jeering her with the taunt that while she thought she was taking him in he was laughing in his sleeve at the grimace she would make when she found that it was he who had got all her little gifts, her smiles and favors out of her, knowing all the while that he had no intention of repaying them as she expected.

“As for you,” he says at the end of the will, “you, my good and admirable valet, who have so long taken me for your dupe, you will now learn that it is you who have been mine; when at the conclusion of my dinner you thought I was applauding your economy and your zeal, in carefully putting together the remains of bottles of wine and keeping them for the next meal, it never occurred to you that I was well aware you took for your own use whole bottles. When you came with tearful eyes and coaxing voice to wait on me the moment I was suffering from any trifling indisposition, presenting to me my tisanes with an assumed air of condolence and anxiety, you little thought how my instinct, following you into the servants’ hall, guessed the language in which you expressed yourself there. ‘The old fellow,’ you used to say, ‘can’t last much longer, and then I shall come in for my hard-earned legacy.’

“Well, my dear fellow, I am sorry to tell you this was all a mistake, and you have got to learn that masters are not always so much stupider as you suppose than their servants.

“As for you, my relatives, who have been so long spelling upon this fortune, on which ‘I had concentrated all my affections,’ you are not going to touch a penny of it, and not one of you will be able to boast that you have squandered the millions which the old Marquis d’Aligre had taken so many years to hoard up.”

Cardinal Antonelli’s Will

The great wealth Cardinal Antonelli, who died in 1876, is reported to have left, has aroused special interest with regard to his will, and given rise to endless gossip, not only as to its contents, but concerning the document itself. At first it was reported that it could not be found; then, that it had disappeared in some remarkable manner; that it had been purposely destroyed; that the cardinal had made no will; and many other canards were circulated. Later, however, the Libertà announced that it was in the hands of the public notary in the Piazza San Claudio, where it could be seen, but that only those having a direct interest in its contents could be permitted to examine it. Subsequently the Popolo Romano published the document in extenso, together with the notary’s statement concerning it, as follows:

“REPERTORY NO. 187

“Reigning His Majesty Victor Emmanuel II., by the grace of God and the will of the nation, King of Italy.

“I, the undersigned, public notary, certify that among my acts under the hereafter-inscribed day is to be found the registered report of the deposit of the holograph testament of the defunct Most Eminent Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli, made at the instance of the illustrious advocate, Signor Antonio Bachetoni, to the following effect:

“The year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six on Thursday, the twenty-third day of the month of November, in Rome. Before me, Scipione Vici, public notary, having my office upon the Piazza San Claudio, No. 93, and inscribed in the Council of Notaries of the district of the Collegio di Roma, assisted by the undersigned witnesses, qualified according to law, and in the presence of the illustrious advocate Signor Enrico Simonetti, Prætor of my mandament, duly executed at his residence, situated in Via Gesù e Maria, No. 28, and of the Signori Jacopini Torollo, son of the late Giovanni Batta, of Arcidosso, in the Province of Grosseto, domiciled Via Orsoline No. 2, and Filippo Ciavambini, son of the late Petito, of Ascoli, domiciled Via de’ Specchi No. 3, both employés, has personally appeared the illustrious advocate Antonio Bachetoni, son of the late Giovanni, native of Spoleto, domiciled in Rome, in Via del Corso No. 509, of full age, being juridically qualified, and known to me, notary, who, in consequence of express instructions received from the noble Signori Conti Gregorio, Angelo, and Luigi Antonelli, brothers german, has applied to me to deposit with me notary, certain papers, which they assert contain the last testamentary dispositions of the aforesaid defunct Most Eminent and Most Reverend Signor Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli, who passed from among the living on the sixth day of the current November, as results from the certificate of the Board of Health, given the 22nd day of November, 1876, and which I insert (Appendix No. 1). Wherefore, in presence of the aforesaid Signor Prætor and of the aforesaid witnesses, he has consigned to me an open envelope, on the outside of which was found written, ‘Testament of Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli,’ and having examined the contents of the same, they were found to consist of two sheets of paper folded in quarto, and another small envelope, of which the requisite description will be made in its proper place. Opening the two sheets, it was found that they were in one handwriting and consisted of six pages written throughout, and the seventh upon the half only, followed by the date ‘Rome, January 18, 1871,’ and by the signature ‘G. Card. Antonelli.’ On the third page an interlineation of fifteen words was observed, and on the fifth and seventh pages the insertion of a word in each without any marginal note or erasure, as follows:

“‘WILL OF CARDINAL GIACOMO ANTONELLI

“‘Desiring to dispose of my property now that, by the grace of God, I find myself sane in mind and body, using the faculties which I have as Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, with this document, by me written and subscribed, I make herewith my last will and testament. Before everything else I recommend my poor soul to the infinite mercy of God, trusting that through the intercession of the Most Holy Immaculate Mary, and of my patron saints, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. James, and St. Louis, He may grant me remission of my sins, and make me worthy of the eternal glory of Paradise. I forbid the dissecting or embalming of my body after death in any way or for whatsoever motive, and order that it be interred in the burying-place of my chapel in the Church of Sta. Agata alia Suburra, near my good mother.

“‘The funeral shall be made according to custom in the church which it shall please the Holy Father to appoint. During the eight days following my death I order that a hundred masses a day be celebrated, with the alms of thirty sous for each mass.

“‘A part of these masses shall be caused to be celebrated by the Mendicant Friars. I humbly beg the Holy Father to accept the respectful offering I make him of the crucifix standing on my writing-table, having the cross inlaid with lapis-lazuli, and at the base the kneeling Magdalene, within the centre of said base a bas-relief, representing the Addolorata, and other ornaments in silver. I pray him to accept with paternal goodness this object as a homage from the most devoted and faithful of his subjects, who dies tranquil in the conscience of never having failed in duty towards his sacred person, and the conviction of having always with all earnestness and honesty served him in the true interests of the Church and of the State. Before proceeding to dispose of my private fortune, I declare that I do not possess any other capital beyond that which came from the heritage of my excellent father, or which I have been able to acquire through the means left me by him. I protest, therefore, against all the calumnies which on that and on any other account whatsoever have been in so many ways circulated through the world, before God who is to judge me, and before Him I forgive from my heart all those who have tried to do me evil.

“‘If, in doing my duty, I may have caused displeasure to anyone, I have the conscience of never having had even the intention of injuring anyone whomsoever. I direct my heirs to consign to the persons whom I have thought it my duty to remember some memoranda which I shall leave written in a sealed paper by me subscribed.

“‘I leave to the Hospital of Santo Spirito, for one time only, twenty-five francs, and other twenty-five francs to the Holy Places of Jerusalem.

“‘To my Titular Church of Santa Maria in Via Lata, I leave my white tonacella. The red one I leave to the Church of Sta. Agata alla Suburra, the commenda of which I hold. The violet pianeta I leave to the monastery of St. Marta, of which I am protector.

“‘The sacred hangings and altar-plate of my private chapel I desire may be preserved for the chapel of my house on the Quirinal, and they shall belong to the heir to whom I assign the said house.

“‘I institute as universal proprietary heirs my dearest brothers, Filippo, Gregorio, Luigi, and Angelo, my nephew, Agostino, son of Gregory, and my other nephew, Paolo, son of Luigi, to each of whom, as I shall say afterwards, I assign and determine such portion of the property and of the objects as I will they may possess, and I will that each of them may bear the respective legacy-duty according to the value of the share falling to him.

“‘All my possessions, furniture, gold, silver, precious objects, titles, and effects whatsoever, the credits, and the little money that may be found in my possession at the time of my death, except the collection of stones and other things of which I shall dispose hereinafter, I assign to my brothers as above, Filippo, Gregorio, Luigi, and Angelo, and I pray them to accept this my disposition as a proof of the sincere affection which I have always borne them equally, and as an attestation of the gratitude I have always entertained towards them for the affection which they have shown me under all circumstances.

“‘I assign to my nephew Agostino, heir as above, my house in Rome, situate near the Quirinal, bought from Conte Vimercati, with everything which is in the said house at the moment of writing this present will; so that, if at the moment of my death any objects of whatsoever kind be found there which are now in my apartment at the Vatican these I declare to belong to my brothers as above. I assign also to my aforesaid nephew the altar-furniture of my private chapel at the Vatican. I assign him also the collection of marbles, with the cabinets containing them, exactly as they are in my apartment at the Vatican.

“‘I declare, however, that in the aforesaid collection I do not mean to comprehend the rock crystals and other objects which are kept in three other separate cabinets, one of which contains medals, which I declare to belong to my brothers as above. I assign to my nephew, Paolo, son of my brother, Luigi, heir as above, all the property I possess in the territory of Ceccano and adjoining territories, with all that is to be found in it, nothing excluded, with the following conditions—that is, that my brother, Angelo, having had the patience to occupy himself always with the administration of my possessions in Ceccano and adjoining territories, I ordain that neither my said nephew nor any other person have any right or title whatsoever to take him to account for the aforesaid administration, he having always done everything with my full understanding and having always regularly transmitted to me all the rents of the aforesaid properties.

“‘I dispose, moreover, that all that shall exist at the time of my death of products or rents, as well natural as civil, from the said properties as above, for two seasons following the same, including that in which my death shall happen, shall be freely enjoyed by him as legatee, continuing to hold the administration as he did during my lifetime, exonerating him again from any rendering of account whatsoever. I dispose also that the heir shall not enter into possession of the aforesaid property until after two seasons as aforesaid after my death.

“‘I leave besides, as a legacy to my said brother, Angelo, the two large silver vases with bas-reliefs on their bowls which are to be found in my writing-room of my apartment in the Vatican, and I request my said brother to accept and preserve them as an attestation of my affection and a recognition of all the affectionate regards he has shown towards me during my life. And I also request of all my heirs that all the legacies of furniture, pictures, and other objects may be preserved and used in their respective families, avoiding under any circumstances that any portion of them be sold by public auction.

“‘Finally, I direct that all my said heirs shall amicably divide my heritage among themselves in the portions according as I have assigned them, making of them a simple familiar description for their own guidance. I also leave to all my servants for their natural lives; to those in my service at the time of my death, and who have served me for more than twenty-five years, the full monthly wages they received when I was alive; to those who have served me for more than fifteen years I leave two-thirds of their monthly wages; and to those who have served me for less than ten years, one-third of their monthly wages. In the enjoyment of this disposition, notwithstanding that it is unnecessary to declare it, I intend that the two ecclesiastics who form part of my household shall be comprised. I expressly prohibit that any of the aforesaid shall, for whatsoever reason, effect mortgages upon the property which constitutes my heritage or upon that of my heirs for the purpose of securing any assignments I have left them, and I declare that I have made the said assignments solely under the express condition that they do not affect any such mortgage; and if any or all of them should think fit to do so, then I declare that ipso facto they are excluded from the prescription of the said assignment, which is none other than a gratuitous liberality, and I give them instead one hundred scudi for once only.

“‘G. Cardinale Antonelli.

“‘Rome, 18th January, 1871.’

“The small envelope enclosed with the above bears on the outside the following inscription: ‘For my heirs.’ The contents, being taken out, consisted of a small sheet of paper written evenly in the same handwriting, on the first two pages throughout, and a part of the third, and at bottom the date—Rome, 18th of January, 1871, and the signature, ‘G. Card. Antonelli.’ There are neither erasures nor marginal notes, interlineations nor additions. The tenor of this little sheet is as follows:

“‘My heirs are to pay the following legacies:

“‘To my good sister Rosalia, married Sanguigni, 5000 francs.

“‘To my niece Anna Sanguigni, married to Count Pocci, 5000 francs.

“‘To my niece Lucia Antonelli, 5000 francs.

“‘To my niece Teresa Antonelli, 5000 francs.

“‘To my niece Innocenza, married Bornana, the bénitier with silver bas-relief representing the Nativity, which stands near my bed.

“‘To my nephew Agostino, the watch which stands on the little table, with the arms of the Holy Father, given me by His Holiness on occasion of the Centenary of St. Peter.

“‘To my nephew Domenico, the other pocket-watch, with my arms.

“‘To my nephew Paolo, the watch, with gold chain, which I wear every day, with my arms on one side and my cipher on the other.

“‘To my nephew Pietro, twelve silver couverts of those which I use daily.

“‘To my sister-in-law Mariana, one of my pair of great silver lamps, whichever she chooses. The other I leave to my sister-in-law Peppina.

“‘To my sister-in-law Mimma, I leave my triangular silver inkstand which stands upon my best writing-table, together with one of the two little boxes of Florentine mosaic which are in the same room.

“‘To my sister-in-law Vittoria, I leave the silver basin and vase of English work which are in the case. To my niece Emma, wife of Agostino, I leave all my lace. To her good mother, Contessa Garcia, I leave the little service of silver-gilt, consisting of tray, coffee-pot, cream-jug, sugar-bowl, and cups, with spoons, requesting her to accept them as a remembrance of one who is grateful to her for all the kindness she used towards him while he was in this world, and who prays her to make use of the said objects for her déjeûner.

“‘G. Card. Antonelli.

“‘Rome, January 18th, 1871.’”

Then follow the attestation of the notary and the signatures of Cardinal Antonelli’s lawyer, of the Prætor, and of the witnesses, and the note of expenses of registration.

Will of Matthew Arnold

The estate of Matthew Arnold amounted to £1041. His will is in his own handwriting, and is one of the shortest that ever came under probate: “I leave everything of which I die possessed to my wife, Frances.”

Will of Jean Baptiste Robert Auger

Jean Baptiste Robert Auger, Baron de Montyon, was born in 1733 and died in 1820; he was a French economist and philanthropist, and a friend of Franklin. The Baron was a member of the King’s Government just before the Revolution. Although by birth and social position an aristocrat, all his heart was with the poor and suffering of the land.

In 1783 he founded several prizes, the chief one being a prize for the most remarkably virtuous act on the part of any poor French citizen. By his will he left a large sum of money for the purpose of “aiding virtue,” as he said. “The doers of the actions honored,” the will stipulated, “shall not be of a station above the middle classes of humanity.” The annual award of these prizes is made by the French Academy.

As years have passed, other rich philanthropists have added to the original sum, until to-day the income is sufficient to award every year a large number of prizes that are really of substantial aid to those who receive them.

For a number of years after the Government had received the bequest, it did not make any awards. During the Revolution the convention voted that it did not approve of awarding any such prizes; so the principal was allowed to accumulate. But during the reign of Napoleon it was turned over to the newly restored Academy as the most capable and impartial tribunal in the land, and the Academy, which is composed of forty foremost men of letters in France, has had charge of the constantly increasing fund ever since.

The award of prizes is made with much ceremony at a public meeting of the Academy on a certain fixed day every year. One of the most eloquent members of the Academy is chosen to tell in an “oration” to whom, and why, the prizes for that year have been awarded. If all these “orations” could be collected and published, they would make one of the most inspiring books ever written.

Part of each bequest is set aside to employ investigators to make thorough inquiries about each request for a reward. Such requests are never permitted to come from the person to be rewarded, nor from his family. Generally, the people in a small town or village send a joint petition to the Academy, requesting the reward for one of their members.

Among the recent rewards is the characteristic case of Laurentine Armenjon, a girl from the mountains of Savoy. She is eighth in a family of fifteen children. When nine years old, her youngest sister was carried away by gypsies, and from grief and distress over this, the mother lost her reason. Ever since, now ten years ago, Laurentine has had charge of the brothers and sisters, older as well as younger; and of the bedridden demented mother besides, while the father is away in the fields toiling for his scanty living.

A gift of one thousand francs was sent to one of the most remote islands of the South Pacific, to three nuns who are surely among the most heroic of living creatures. The Island of Mangareva, where they live, is a leper colony. It is not likely that one of these women will ever leave this lonely desolate spot, so far away from the land of their families and friends that news from home comes only once in six months. The nearest civilization lies forty days’ journey over the ocean. Many nuns have gone before these three to voluntary exile on this island, but they have all succumbed within a few years; one or two were driven insane by the very loneliness and desolation of the life. Though they knew this in advance, yet these three women from Brittany have consecrated the rest of their lives, be they long or short, to God’s service there.

No prize is ever granted for one act of heroism; but every award is made to a person who has devoted years of patient service to some good cause. Moreover, the awards are rather aids than prizes, granted in order to enable the person awarded to carry on some good work to even greater usefulness.

Will of Lord Bacon

Lord Bacon in 1625, bequeathed his soul and body to God, while his name and memory he left to men’s charitable speeches and to foreign nations and the next ages.

Will of the Duke of Brunswick

“To-day, the 5th of March, 1871, Hôtel de la Metropole, Geneva.

“This is our Will or Testament,—We, Charles Frederic Auguste William, by the Grace of God Duke Sovereign of Brunswick and of Luneburg, &c., being in good health of body and mind, declare—

“1. That we revoke by the present all testaments or writings prior to this one. 2. We wish that after our death our executors here named shall cause our body to be examined by five of the most celebrated physicians and surgeons in order to make sure that we have not been poisoned, and to make an exact report in writing, signed by them, of the cause of our death. 3. We wish that our body be embalmed, and if better for its preservation, petrified, according to the printed method adjoined. We wish our funeral to be conducted with all the ceremony and splendour due to our rank of Sovereign Duke. 4. We wish our body to be deposed in a mausoleum above the ground, which shall be erected by our executors at Geneva, in a dignified and prominent position. The monument shall be surmounted by an equestrian statue and surrounded by those of our father and grandfather of glorious memory, after the design attached to this testament in imitation of that of the Scaglieri at Verona; our executors shall construct the said monument ad libitum of the millions of our succession, in bronze and marble, by the most celebrated artists. 5. We make the condition that our testamentary executors shall not enter into any sort of compromise with our unnatural relations—Prince William of Brunswick, the ex-King of Hanover, his son, the Duke of Cambridge, or any one else of our pretended family, their servitors, their agents, or any other person whatever. 6. We wish our testamentary executors to use every means to put themselves in possession of our fortune remaining in our Duchy of Brunswick, in Hanover, in Prussia, in America, or elsewhere. 7. We make as a condition that our executors respect and execute all the codicils and legacies which we have the intention to make in favour of our surroundings. 8. We declare that we leave and bequeath our fortune—that is, our chateaux, domains, forests, estates, mines, saltworks, hotels, houses, parks, libraries, gardens, quarries, diamonds, jewels, silver, pictures, horses, carriages, porcelain, furniture, cash, bonds, public funds, bank-notes, and particularly that important part of our fortune which has been taken from us by force and kept since 1830, with all the interests in our Duchy of Brunswick, to the city of Geneva. 9. We leave to Mr. George Thomas Smith, of No. 228, King’s Road, Chelsea, in England, administrator-general, grand treasurer of our fortune, 1,000,000f., and we nominate him executor in chief of this testament. We likewise appoint M. Ferdininant Cherbuliez, advocate at Genoa. This testament is entirely written and signed by our hand, and sealed with our arms.

“Duke of Brunswick.”

Will of Lord Bulwer-Lytton

The will of the late Lord Bulwer-Lytton, who died in 1873, contained special directions as to the examination of his body, in order to provide against the possibility of his being buried whilst in a trance, which appeared to be an apprehension of his. The will further provided that the funeral expenses should be limited to what was usual, simply, in the interment of a private gentleman; and that any epitaph which might be intended for his tomb should be written in the English language.

Will of Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke is believed to have been born in Dublin on the 12th day of January, 1729; he died on the 8th day of July, 1797. His gifts of oratory impressed the people of his time, and have remained models ever since; he must ever be held in affectionate esteem by Americans, for his speeches on “American Taxation” and “Conciliation with America” are regarded as the most brilliant examples of his eloquence and statesmanship. Had his counsels been adopted, the War of Independence would have been averted. Burke left strict injunctions that his burial should be private, and in spite of a great demand for his interment in Westminster Abbey, he was laid to rest in the little church at Beaconsfield, a few miles from Windsor.

His will remains on file at Somerset House, London, and the testament is here given as it there literally appears:

“If my dear Son & friend had survived me, any Will would have been unnecessary but since it has pleased God to call him to himself before his Father, my duty calls upon me to make such a disposition of my worldly affairs as seems to my best Judgment most Equitable and reasonable; therefore, I, Edmund Burke, of the parish of Saint James, Westminster, though suffering under sore and inexpressible affliction being of sound and disposing Mind and not affected by any bodily infirmity, do make my last will and Testament, in manner following; First, according to the Ancient good and laudable Custom of which my Heart & understanding recognizes the propriety, I bequeath my soul to God, hoping for his Mercy thro’ the only Merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; my Body I desire, if I should die in any place very convenient for its Transport thither (but not otherwise), to be buried in the Church at Beaconsfield near to the Bodies of my dearest Brother & my dearest Son, in all Humility praying that as we have lived in perfect Amity together we may together have a part in the Resurrection of the Just; I wish my Funeral to be (without any Punctiliousness in that respect) the same as that of my brother and to exceed it as little as possible in point of Charge, whether on Account of my Family or of any others who would go to a greater expence, & I desire in the same manner and with the same Qualifications that no Monument beyond a Middle sized Tablet with a small and simple inscription on the Church Wall or on the Flagstone be erected; I say this because I know the Partial kindness to me of some of my Friends, but I have had in my life time but too much of noise and compliment: as to the rest it is uncertain what I shall leave after the Discharge of my Debts which when I write this are very great. Be that as it may, my Will concerning my worldly substance is short. As my entirely beloved, Faithful & affectionate Wife did during the whole time in which I lived most happily with her take on her the charge & Management of my affairs, assisted by her son, whilst God was pleased to lend him to us, did conduct them (often in a state of much derangement and embarrassment) with a patience and prudence which probably have no example, & thereby left my Mind free to prosecute my publick duty or my Studies or to indulge in my relaxations or to cultivate my friends at my pleasure; so on my Death I wish things to continue as substantially they have always been. I therefore by this my last and only Will devise, leave & bequeath to my entirely beloved and incomparable Wife, Jane Mary Burke, the whole real Estate of which I shall die seized, whether Lands, Rents or Houses, in absolute Fee simple; as also all my Personal Estate, whether Stock, Furniture, Plate, Money or Securities for Money Annuities for lives or Years, be the said Estate of what nature, Quality, extent or description it may be, to her sole uncontrolled Possession & disposal, as her property in any manner which may seem proper to her to possess or to dispose of the same (whether it be real Estate or Personal Estate) by her last will or otherwise; it being my intention that she may have as clear and uncontrolled a right and Title thereto and therein as I possess myself as to the use, expenditure, Sale or devise. I hope these Words are sufficient to express the absolute and unconditioned, unlimited right of compleat Ownership. I mean to give to her the said Lands and Goods and I trust that no words of surplusage or ambiguity may vitiate this my clear intention; there are no persons who have a right or I believe a disposition to complain of this bequest which I have only weighed and made on a proper consideration of my Duties and the relations in which I stand. I also make my wife, Jane Mary Burke, aforesaid, my sole Executrix of this my last Will, knowing that she will receive advice and assistance from her and my excellent Friends D^r. Walker King & D^r. Lawrence, to whom I recommend her & her concerns, though that perhaps is needless, as they are as much attached to her as they are to me. I do it only to mark my special Confidence in their affection, Skill and Industry. I wish that my Dear Wife may, as soon after my Decease as Possible (which after what has happened she will see with Constancy and resignation), make her last will with the advice and assistance of the two persons I have named; but it is my wish also that she will not think herself so bound up by any bequests she may make in the said Will & which whilst she lives can be only intentions, as not during her life to use her property with all the Liberty I have given her over it, just as if she had written no Will at all but in everything to follow the directions of her own Equitable and Charitable Mind and her own prudent and measured understanding. Having thus committed every thing to her Discretion I recommend (subject always to that Discretion) that if I should not during my life give or secure to my Dear Niece, Mary C. Hairland, wife of my worthy Friend, Captⁿ Hairland, the sum of a thousand pound or an Annuity equivalent to it, that she would bestow upon her that Sum of Money or Annuity Conditioned and limited in such manner as she, my Wife aforesaid, may think proper by a Devise in her Will or otherwise, as she may find most convenient to the situation of her affairs without pressure upon her during her life; my Wife put me in Mind of this which I now recommend to her; I certainly some years ago gave my Niece reason to expect it but I was not able to execute my intentions. If I do this in my life time this recommendation goes for nothing. As to my other Friends, Relations, and Companions through Life, and especially to the Friends and Companions of my Son, who were the dearest of mine, I am not unmindful of what I owe them, if I do not name them all here and mark them with tokens of my Remembrance I hope they will not attribute it to unkindness or to a want of a due Sense of their Merits towards me. My old Friend and Faithful Companion, Will. Burke, knows his place in my heart. I do not mention him as Executor or Assistant. I know that he will attend to my Wife, but I chose the two I have mentioned as from their time of Life of greater activity. I recommend him to them. In the Political World I have made many connections and some of them amongst persons of high rank; their Friendship from political became personal to me and they have shewn it in a manner more than to satisfie the utmost demands that could be made from my love & sincere attachment to them. They are the worthiest people in the Kingdom; their intentions are excellent, and I wish them every kind of success. I bequeath my brother in law, John Nugent, & the friends in my poor Sons list, which is in his Mother’s hands, to their protection as to them & to the rest of my Companions who constantly Honoured and Cheered our House as our Inmates I have put down their names in a list that my Wife should send them the usual remembrance of little Mourning Rings as a token of my remembrance. In speaking of my Friends to whom I owe so many obligations I ought to name specially Lord Fitzwilliam, the Duke of Portland and the Lord Cavendishes with the D. of Devonshire the worthy head of that Family. If the intimacy which I have had with others has been broken off by a Political Difference on great Questions concerning the State of things existing and impending, I hope they will forgive whatever of general human Infirmity or of my own particular Infirmity has entered into that contention. I heartily entreat their forgiveness. I have nothing Further to say. Signed & Sealed as my last Will and Testament this 11^th. day of August, 1794 being written all with my own hand. Edm. Burke—in the presence of—Dupont—William—Webster—Walker & King.

“In reading over the above Will I have nothing to add or essentially to alter but one point may want to be perfected & explained. In leaving my Lands and Heredits to my wife I find that I have omitted the Words which in Deeds Create an Inheritance in Law. Now tho’ I think them hardly necessary in a Will yet to obviate all doubts I explain the matter in a Codicil which is annexed to this—(sic) 22 1797.—Edm. Burke.

“I Edm. Burke of the parish of Beaconsfield, in the county of Bucks, being of sound and disposing Judgment and Memory, make this my last will and testament, in no sort revoking but explaining & confirming a Will made by me and dated the eleventh of August, in which will I have left, Devised and Bequeathed all my estate of whatever nature and Quality the same may be, Whether lands, Tenements, Houses, Freehold or Leasehold, Interests, Pensions for lives or years, Arrears of the same, Legacies or other debts due to me; Plate, Household Stuff, Books, Stock in Cattle & Horses & utensils of Farming & all other my Goods and Chattels to my dear Wife I: M: Burke in as full & perfect manner as the same might be Devised, Conveyed or transferred to her by any Act or Instrument whatsoever; with such recommendations as in my Will aforesaid are made & with a wish that in the discharge of my Debts the course hitherto pursued may be as nearly as possible observed, Sensible however that in payment of Debt no exact rule can be preserved; the same is therefore left to her Discretion, with the advice of our Friends whom she will naturally Consult. The reason of my making this will or Codicil to my former Will is from my having omitted in devising by that Will my Lands and Heredits to my Wife aforesaid, the full and absolute Property thereof & therein I have omitted the legal Words of Inheritance. Now tho’ I think those words however necessary in a Deed are not so in a Will, yet to prevent all Question, I do hereby devise all my Lands Tenements and Heredits as well as all other property that may be subject to a strict Rule of Law in Deeds & which would pass if left undevised to my Heirs. I say I do devise the same Lands tenements and Hereditaments to my Wife, Jane Mary Burke, and her Heirs for ever in pure absolute and unconditional Fee simple. I have now only to recommend to the kindness of my Lord Chancellor L^d. Loughborough, to his Grace the Duke of Portland, to the most Honorable the Marquiss of Buckingham, to the R^t_. Hoñble W^m. Windham & to D^r. Lawrence of the Commons and Member of Parliament, that they will after my death continue their Protection and favour to the Emigrant School at Penn & will entreat, with a weight on which I dare not presume, the R^t. Hon. W^m. Pitt to continue the necessary allowances which he has so generously and charitably Provided for those unhappy Children of Meritorious Parents; that they will superintend the same, which I wish to be under the more Immediate care and direction of D^r. King and D^r. Lawrence, & that they will be pleased to exert their influence to place the said young Persons in some Military Corps or other Service as may best suit their dispositions & Capacities, Praying God to bless their endeavours. Signed and sealed as a Codicil to my Will or a Confirmation and Explanation thereof agreeably to the Note which some days ago I put to the end of it. This 29^th. January 1797. Edm: Burke, in the presence of—Walker King—Rich^d. Bourke—Ed: Nagle.”

Will of Queen Caroline

The will of Queen Caroline was drawn up by her directions on Sunday, the 5th day of August, 1821, within a few days of her death. It appears that on this same day she sent for the undertaker, by name Busch, to measure her for her coffin. Finding he did not come, she, a second time, ordered a servant to go for him, and then gave precise orders desiring it might be made of cedar-wood, and that it should bear this inscription:

CAROLINE OF BRUNSWICK,

Born 17th May, 1768,
Died 7th August, 1821.
Aged 54.

The outraged Queen of England.

This desire she again mentioned by a special codicil to her will.

As the remains of this princess were to be buried at Brunswick, on the arrival of the coffin at Colchester, it was deposited in the chapel for the night, with a guard of honor to watch it. During this time, it appears, the executors, and some others who formed the cortège in attendance—Lord Hood, Sir Robert Wilson, Count Vassali, Messrs. Lushington, Wilde, and others—managed to introduce themselves into the chapel by night, and caused the plate in question to be nailed on.

On the following morning, however, much to the discomfiture of these gentlemen, and notwithstanding their protestations, this was removed and was replaced by the following, drawn up by an heraldic council and approved by the Government:

“Depositum serenissimæ principissæ Carolinæ Ameliæ Elizabethæ, Dei gratiâ reginæ consortis augustissimæ, potentissimi monarchæ Georgii quarti, Dei gratiâ Britanniarum regis, fidei defensoris, regis Hanovriæ ac Brunsvici et Luneburgi ducis. Obiit vii. die mensis Augusti, Anno Domini mdcccxxi. ætatis liv.”

And it so remains.

Will of Lord Chesterfield

One of the most prominent of those whose wills were proved in 1773 was the “great” Lord Chesterfield, the arbiter on all matters of politeness, whose famous “Advice to his Son” was so summarily criticised by Dr. Johnson. This “first gentleman in Europe” of his day, left the bulk of his property to his godson, Philip Stanhope, with a very unfashionable and unpalatable restriction: “The several devises and bequests hereinbefore and hereinafter given by me to and in favour of my said godson Philip Stanhope, shall be subject to the condition and restriction hereinafter mentioned; that is to say, that, in case my said godson Philip Stanhope shall at any time hereafter keep, or be concerned in the keeping of, any race-horse or race-horses, or pack or packs of hounds, or reside one night at Newmarket, that infamous seminary of iniquity and ill-manners during the course of the races there, or shall resort to the said races, or shall lose in any one day at any game or bet whatsoever the sum of £500, then, and in any of the cases aforesaid, it is my express Will, that he my said godson shall forfeit and pay out of my estate the sum of £5000 to and for the use of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, for every such offence or misdemeanour as is above specified, to be recovered by action for debt in any of his Majesty’s Courts of Record at Westminster.”