The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-01-13

TsE ELLSWORTH WlLI~--AwFUI INDIGNATION
or CpavALIEn WEBp-It was one of the many
excellent maxims Of St Paul, that a man wis
neglected t. provide for his own household wss
verse than an .jnfdcl This comprehensive plat
form, 60 briefly and tersely expressed, has been
held good in law, equity, religion, morality ami
politics until yesterday, wren Chevalier Webb
came out and demolished it altogether. The
particular cause Of the ChevalieS's storm Of III
dgDstion may be found in the comments of the
journals that have mildly suggested that II would
have been better for ali parties had the late Mr.
Ellsworth provided more literally for his widow
and children, instead of leaving the greater par!
Of his fortune to an educational institution. The
Chevalier is evidently in bad temper He
calls the offending journalists % blow lics," and
describes them as dining upon the bodies OF
dead heroes. They are "rapacious and watchfal
creatures" grossly impertinent, and more to the
same purpose, Gays the Chevalier. They should
have more respect for wealthy men, dead or
alive, sane or insane, and should duly venerate
go old and rich corporation as Yale College,
which has done great deal of good one way
and another, though the Chevalier does not tell
us exactly how. Then there is grand puff for
Yale and it's sacred elms, far more redolent Of
the aroma Of learning than the academic
groves of Athens herself and a farewell dash at
the 'paltry slurs Of the paltry minds" that do
not agree with the Chevalier The indignation
of the Courier is awful, but it is tempered in
some degree by an extract in another part Of
the paper from Western journal, the editor Of
which says that he intended to be very indignant
at Mr.. Ellsworth for leaving his wife only a
small annuity, but he suppressed his rising
choler on finding that she was the fourth wife of
the testator, and had only been married a few
months-a conclusion which is amusingly absurd.
According to Western logic it would seem that
widow loses her legal rights in exact proper
ton to the time that she has been married, and
the place that she has on the roll of her late
husbands partners. 1t is, in fact, carrying the
army rule of promotion by seniority into pri-
vate life and Mrs. Ellsworth can console herself
with an arithmetical calculation of how much
she would have had in the event of her having
been little higher on the list and little older
| in the service. The Western editor thinks it is
all right and the Chevalier agrees with him, and
desires to know how anybody has been informed
that the bereaved relatives do not acquiesce in
the will. That's the question which provides the
| Chevalier's sheetanchor, and which would really
make everything comfortable were it not for q
| few lines in the Journal Of C0nanerce-we like to
quote from weighty authorities the effect that
the will is to be contested on the ground that for
several years the mind of the testator "has not
been sufficiently strong to enable him to trans
act business without add So all the
Chevalier's Indignation amounts to no.
thing, and he must start something new
to relieve his mind, which is doubtless in a
bad state on account of the meagre lookout for
the lobby at Washington. As for the will itself,
we will leave it to the lawyers, who will proba7
bly, make good thing of it before they finish
We have no desire TO exploit family secrets; but
when wills are printed, it seems to us that they
are public property, and that public journals are
doing no more than their duty in making such
comments upon them as may seem proper If,
in calling attention to the extraordinary wills of
The day, we have unwittingly incurred the wrath
of our amiable Wall street Chevalier, we are ex-
ceedngly sorry; but the poignancy of our grief
is somewhat modified by the reflection that this
is not the first time, nor will it probably be the
asst, that we have had the misfortune to disagree
with the valiant warrior of the Courier and the
regular army"