The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-01-09 00:00:00

LORD ERSKINE'S WILL.

•
The last will and testament of the late Right IlOnonr;-
able Thomas Lord Erskine, was registered in the Preroga-
tive Court, in Doctors' Commons, on the ed instant ; letters
of administration of the same, and one codicil annexed,
having been committed to the Right Hon. David Montagu
Lord Erskine, the ion, one of the residuary legatees. The,
line Honourable Frances Erskine, the wife and sole exe-
cutor appointed, died in testator's
Thn_ willAidated the 16th November, 179 ff, and begin,
th nearly *me words :L-ef Being, from a sense of honour,
and not freni any motive of personal resentment or revengei
about to expose my life to great peril, it is a comfort to me
that I have so few duties to fulfil previous to an event
which may deprive me of every other opportunity of so
doing." It then proceeds to enumerate certain sums, con-1
stituting the amount of she testator's property, which is
stated to have been all acquired since his practice at the,
bar, and to,be 9,0001. consols, and about 1,0001. more in
bills. It is all left, with the highest expressions of confi-
dence and affection to his wife, for herself and children,
they to inherit it after her decease, in equal shares, as they
attain twenty-one years of age. But he provided, as on
account of her youth she might probably marry again, and
as such an event, though by no means deprecated by him,
might be incompatible with the interests of his children,
that upon such second marriage the property should be
transferred to his sister, Lady Anne Erskine, in trust for
them as above-mentioned.

A request is left to the testator's brother, the Earl of
Buchan, that its his propetty was not sufficient to en-
able Mr. Erskine to edncate his son David in a manner
suitable to his birth, he would make 4 such as they
both derived from their father, improved by his own talents
and experience.
He only excepted from the property left as above, the
ring and sleeve buttons set With his wife's hair, in which
he desired to be buried, as he usually wore them.
The codicil is dated " Carlton Hotel, Pall-mall, Oct.
2,1786," and was made only for the purpose of confirming
, the contents of the will, his property since its execution
having much accumulated, and for giving his children
since born, and those he might in future have, an equal
participation with the others in its provisions.
From their remote date it is not to be wondered at that
the papeas are somewhat defaced and mutilated ; and it will
be considered remarkable that such a lapse of time and
change of circumstances, should nut have induced a man of
legal awsinments to have left a more recent declaration of
his testamentary intentions.
The personals were sworn under I,oooh

PREVENTION OF COLDS IN VISITING AND
TRAVELLING.
Even the most robust and vigorous often, from want of
care, and oftener still from want of knowkilge, lay the
foundation of fatal disorders, in making a casual visit, or
~in jouxpeys and excursions. We shall therefore, for the
"Moor tech of oar mire& ri etpupod,
teach the cautions requisite for preserving health, And
preventing the visits of the draught-apothecary, and his
steady attendant-I)eath.
The most powerful of all preventives of colds and
coughs is the regular use of the cold bath, or cold sponging,
continued in the winter as well as summer. Sir Astley
Cooper boasts of having escaped colds by this means for
the last thirty years. It is scarcely safe. however, unless
the person be uncommonly healthy, to begin this practice
in all its extent in cold weather; but it may be commenced
pattially, even by the delicate, at any sAison. Take our
advice then : if you are mach exposed to visiting or tra-
velling, and are liable to colds, wash, lave, or sponge your
face, temples, neck, and bosom, with the coldest water,
both when you rise and when you go to bed. This may
also be extended with advantage to the feet and legs, as
well as the arms and shoulders. The only precaution re-
quisite is to do it quickly ; and instantly rub the parts
with a dry cloth, till they become warm and glowing. It
may be disagrauble for the first week you try it, as most
novel things ate, but if von persevere you will soon find it
pleasant, and will feet very uncomfortable when you
omit it. We know an old healthy clergyman of
ninety who continues the practice up to this hour, winter
and summer. _ _ _ _

......
Th:s will fortify the constitution against fatal attacks of
catarrh and consumptive coughs; but if you do not ob-
serve our former rules, you may suffer, though you have
the hardiest temperament. One of the most i ijurious cir-
cumstances to which visitors and travellers are exposed is
damp beds, and we shall therefore give you -
A Teat TO TRY DAM r De ns.—At inns, and also at the
houses of your friends, where you may visit, the bed which
falls to your lot may not have been in recent use, or from
other causes may be damp and dangerous to sleep in. At
inns, we are informed that this is frequently occasioned by
putting sheets which have been used by former guests to
the mangle, where they must be thoroughly damped, to
make them look fresh from the fold. We accordingly ad-
vise you, for the safety of your health, never to go into a
strange bed till you have used our test, which is always at
hand. Take your dressing mirror then, or your portable
shaving glass, and put it for a few minutes between the
sheets. If the bed be damp, the glass will soon be covered
with moisture; if well aired, the glass will be dry. It is
seminary tessestion that the glass must be cold, or the test
wiH fail. On this subject we must not omit the
HAD lgeyEers or IVaiimisio-Pass.—We join not in
the vulgar opinion of injuries occasioned by sulphureous
fumes from the charcoal, which, because it is offensive to
the smell, have been much over-rated. The carbonic gas
from the casts may prove suffocative if the bed-chamber
is very small and close, though this from a warming-pan
can seldom be injurious in quantity. The injury we attri-
bute to it is the concealing of the dampness and rawness of
the sheets; for the bad effects of damp will not be removed
but aggravated by heat, though the warmth will screen it
from observation. The *Dove test, however, will at once
unmask the evil.

_ .....
It is also of the utmost importance to observe, in going
into a strange bed, that no current or draught of air play
upon any part of it, as this will be no his injurious than
damp. 11I.ith topether will ensure you a bad cold, or an
attack of rheumatism or gout.
If you travel in a carriage, you must take particular
care that no current of wind blow upon you from the
window, or you will to a certainty have a bad cold or a
bed tooth-ache produced. Be sure, above all, to keep
your feet warm and dry, and your ears protected, and
you may brave the coldest blast of winter, and go harm-
lem.—Family Oracle.

EXPERIMENTS ON HOMAN Vauguelin, the
celebrated French chemist, discovered from some experi-
ments which lie made, that black hair is formed of nine
different substances, viz.: animal matter, a white concrete
oil, another greenish grey, one which is very abundant,
iron, some particles of oxide of inanganele, a phosphate of
lime, carbonate of lime, silex, and a considerable quantity
of sulphur. Red hair contains red oil in place of a green-
ish black kind; and white, or very light hair, differs from
all the others, as the oil is nearly colourless, and it con-
tains some phosphate of magunta, which is not fonnd
In the otters.—Register If the arts and Sciences.