Delaware State journal and statesman., 1865-01-27
be Optning of Girard'u Will-saturna-
lia Among the Heirs,

qhe Optning of Girard's Will-Saturna
lia Among the Heirs
The January number of the North
american Review contains an interest
ior article on Stephen CiirNrd, and his
coilcge, in which the following graphic
mount is given Of what took place when
hs will was read The people of Phila-
aslphia will he amused to learn how his
H,fectionatc relatives" rec eivcd the in
l6nigence that hc had given his estate to
i1a orphans and the poor, rather than to
thtm:
Dealh having dissolved the powerful
an1ll presence which few men had been
~ e to resist, II was to be seen how far
ht Viii would be Obeyed, now that ho
w@ no longer able, personally, to enforce
h. The old man lay dead in his house in
Mater street, While the public out of
doDrs, were curious enough to learn what
hohad done with his money, there was
srsalIer number within the house, the
kndred OF the deceased, in whom this
otiosity ragged as a mania They invad.
ed the cellars of the house by bringing
up bottles OF the old mans choice wine,
ana kept up continual carouse. Sur
f6bnding Mr. Duane, who had been pre-.
nebt at Mr. Girard's death, and remained
10 direct his funeral, they demanded to
nov il there was VIII To silence
iheir indecent clamor he told them that
lhsro was, and that he was one of the
aecutors. On hearing this, the desire
lolearn its contents rose almost to fury.
ain the executors reminded them that
dosency required that the Will should not
bd opened till after the funeral. They
eg6n threatened legal proceedings If the
Will was not instantly produced and,
at|ength to avoid public scandal, the
extcutors consented TO have it read |
Ttkse allec,ionate relatives being as
ne3bled in paror of the house in which
lhe body of their heneiactor lay, the Will
Hlf taken from the iron safe by one of
The executors,
1 hen he had opened it, and was about |
to begin to read, he Glanced to look over
iht top oithc document at the company
seated before him. No artist that ever
hA|h brush could depict the passion of
cufosity, the frenzy Of expectation, ex-
&scd in that group of pNlid faces.
Esery individual among them expected
70 cave the apartment the conscious
o1sessor OF millions; for no one had
dnamcd Of the probability OF his leaving
lhab bulk of his estate 10 the public. If
th6 had ever heard Of his saying that
no Cne should be gentleman upon his
money, they had forgotten or disbelieved |
il The opening paragraphs of the Will
sItending to confirm their hopes, since
tha bequests to existing institutions were
ofimall amount. But the reader soon
reached the part Of the Will which assign
ed 70 ladies aud gentlemen present such |
tyifing sums MS live thousand dollars, ten
ihapsand, twenty thousand and he ar
rived ere loug at the sections which dis
posed Of millions for the benefit of great
elHes and poor children Some of them
made not the slightest attempt to conceal
shclr disappointment and disgust. Men
wee there who had married with view
70 lhare the wealth OF Girard, and had
bsen waiting for years for his death.
Wemsn were there who had looked to
lhat event as the beginning of their en-
lq5ment of life. The imagination of the
rAder must supply the details of scene
Shich we might think dshonored human
nature, if we could believe that human
neturc was subject to such strain.