Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1851-11-21
An Eccentric Testatress.

Some weeks ago. SAYS late Paris letter, a lady of
remarkable beauty but rather singular morals, died in
one of the suburbs of Paris She was known TO pos
sess large property, and there members of
her family within call, seals were placed upon her
furniture, and her house locked up, until the time
required by law should elapse. AT the expiration of
this period, the mayor took inventory of the de-
ceased adys personal property and ordered her libra
ry--whch was quite an extensive one-to be Gaia
ogued. The mayor discovered in the course of his
investigations, thai she had been married six years
BEFORE but had never lived with her husband and that
she enjoyed annual income of thirty thousand francs
In putting her books in order, paper found du
y witnessed and signed, which turned out to be her
will, by which she left all her property to officer of
huZZars. The mayor observed that the document in
question was dated some six years back, and being
himself married man, and considerably versed in the
subeties and eccentrictes of the female character
surmsed that it had probably been neuralized by
other of later date.
From volume of Rousseau dropped will No. 2, in
which the huZzar dished il favor of dancing
master. This instrument was dated two months later
than the preceding But the dancing master dis
inherited for lawyer, conformably TO the conditions
of will No. g. The principle of rotation in Office
systematically carried out, for the lawyer
cut off with shilling, and portrait painter made
the lady's universal egatee by authenticated docu
ment will No. f. Then came doctor, Dragon,
holy frar, banker, wine merchant, beet-sugar
manufacturer; all these individuals, representing all
the professions and all the grades of society,
sivey came in for the adyS worldly goods, each dispos
sessing his predecessor and in his being elimn
ated himself. At every attachment that took pos
session of this generous ladys heart she indicted
Their and another last will and testament The may
or became considerably interested in following out
this extraordinary sequence. He had some curiosity
to know who the last. if, in fact, there was
any end at all to the chain The thirty second will
found TO bear the date of July, about two months
before the ladys decease.
AS no thirty third could be found the gentleman
parcularsed in number thirty-two painter in pas,
tells, Informed by the mayor of his unexpected
good fortune. He congratulated himself upon having
been last, where person of ordinarily constituted
mind would have desired TO be first He spent his
wealth in Imagination, and set himself to work to
paint the image of his benefactress from memory
But his gratitude of short duration. The hus-
band suddenly doomed up from the obscurity that had
shrouded him for the last half dozen years, armed with
contract of marriage. This instrument of torture
bristed with signatures and legasaons, each of
which was legble 10 carry conviction 10 the most OBJ
durate intelligence. 1t seemed 10 have occupied its
long period of leisure in sproutng clots of sealing
wax in odd corners and out of the way places.
The gist of the matter was, that by the articles of
marriage, agreed that if either should die before
| the other-a highly probable contingency, by the way
! the survivor should succeed 10 the others right
thereto. 1t is impossible TO suppose, for instant,
that the lady was ignorant of this fatal clause In
stead, therefore, of occupying herself IN testamenary
labor the moment when her heart full of those
sweet emotions which would naturally be inspired by
nascent intercourse with beet-sugar grower, it was
probably at the very moment that she got tired of his
society, and thought of superseding him, that she
composed the document No. II. II was not meant as
a joyous appeal ringing the new year in, but as a
harsh, dolefu chant tolng the old year out But the
lady has at last been tolled out herself and it would
perhaps have been more charitable to have drawn a
curtain her fraes, than thus to have made
them aSsubject of comment and structure. shall abb
stain therefore from any further auson to her errors
and eccentrcities.