The weekly clarion., 1879-08-20
Her Character aS a Womau-The Leg
atee Nindicated from amy Im-
proper ACtion iu he
Natter.

. ing been called 10 q communication I'M your
paper dated New York, Iuly l1. relative 60 Mrs.
! Dorstys bequcst t0 Mr.. Davis, ] am induced bv
/ que many il.>slatemtN.- IS contains tu Fuf Nau
: u possession ol tho tact~ in i4c hope that tho.a
facts wIllSomuW lar Hhatc tuU rupacious rieh
and silence the slanderous tongue. 0i her
o diSaI pointed relatives.
Having known Mrs Dorsey from my chiId-
hood, and having been for several Years pre-
vious % her death her solicitor and legal ad-
: vi<er.I claim to speak with some degree OF au-
thority i'm the matter.
! Iu the FIRST place, Che extent OF Mrs por,ey'a
. estate has been enormously exaggerated lu-
; stead Of being quarter Nc % million, thirty
thousand dollars Is the extreme limit chat can
DE placed ou It's value. As far a- personally "a
; concerned, Mrs, Dorsey had comparatively
1 nothing. She owned uu stocks ur bonds OF any
: kind. She had no money lon bank except % few
hundred dollJrsA and none 40 interest Her
only source ut revenue was the rental oi her
plantations in the parish of Ieu,is, and this
amounted To about $500 % ytHr-hnrcIy sutiic-
&. lent 60 give her support. These plantations
&, were once valuable but like all properties ,it-
uated in the alluyial parishes, annually threat
eued with disastrous ovcrilows, they have de-
precatyd TO one-SiNth of what they worth before
the war, when the lrvcc system was perfect. and
the labor was tied 90 the soil hy the chain ot
slavery. ] should consider it q bad bargain %
, give 10000 for them now.
The lands i'm Arkansas may be set down as
absolutely worthless. They are uucultiyated
swamp lands, for which there is no market Gwen
at fifty cents an acre. Indeed, ID mistake not
they were all sold for taxes years ago.
The only property that Mrs Dorsey leaves i4
the house and grounds near Mississippi City,
known as "BcuuVoir.' Whatever value it has
was given il by Mrs. Dorsey, who purchased 10
some years ago Tor, think, about 5000. Sho
has improved il to some extent, but its present
value Is dependent upon So many contingencies
rs virtually To deprive it of a market price.
The disposition of Mrs. Dursey'S viii and tho
motives which induced her TO make it wcre
communicated to me by her own lips early ina
/ the year 1875 and very shortly after the viii
was written. These are the circumstances un-
der which this communication was made. Mrs.
/ Dorsey came to New Orleans with the intention
of undertaking "a severe surgical operation for
/ cancer, under which she expected To die, and
from the effects of which she finally did die.
She sent for me, told me of the viii, IFS contents
her motives for making it, her anticipatious of
death, and gave me directions as go what J.
should do in that event. The operation, by tho
4 advice of her physician, was postponed O. year.
/ She subsequently, brought the win to my office,
and left IL there to be deposited in the Canal
/ Bank, which deposit was made by my associate,
/ Mr.. +. ID. King.
The motives which Mrs Dorsey gave for
making Mr. Davis her lcgntec were iu substance
/ those set forth in the body Of the viii itself
given, however, more in detail and expressed
with that fine caruestncs- of manner that WIS
/ peculiar 10 herself She said tlat She was child
less that she had done ull for her relatives that
/ they deserved and that She felt bound to do
that the small fortune she possessed came 70
her from the bounty OF her husband, who had
also made provision for hIs own relations that
she was 20 daughter of tine South .hgr u1Ht dr
plume was Eiiaj aud loved Tits history it4
deeds and its c8usc-Vith oll the enthusiasm ol
[ her nature; that She regarded Mr.. Davis gs the
embodiment OF that cause Chat, Wall-Hed and
abused even by ms own people uuHssistch and
I in straitcuod circumstance, hc WAS dryouug
the remaining wears of his life To- the NIudicutiuu
/ through history of the South, that she Iu
intense sympathy with this work. the progress
/ of which she had watched day after day with
/ her own eyes, and towards which She had been
! graeiously permitted to coutubutewhat personal
/ aid she could give: that She md known, hou-
ored and loved Mr. Davis from her girirood
! with the affection of uughtcr, and That shn
did not know whore her property could be more
worthily bestowed than upon tine CN-Iresldcut
II Mrs. por-cys rclatiy.--ospecially the
Dahgrcn and Ellis brauchr--cNpvrtc 60 get
her property, they were waiting ior dead mems
/ shoes" in vain. Aside from the personal rrll-
tions that existed between thcm, ] speak Hu-
thortatively when say that her idea waste leave
/ il 10 some literary or scientific purpose. Pre-
vious to the formation Of this design oi leaving
il 10 Mr.. Davis, her intention wH4 % establish
and cndow in some American college chair OF
Sanscrit language, literature and reg0u-hcr
own profound studies having been turned in
that direction for many years, to such au extent,
that her friends would laughIugly accuse her of
being worshipper Of Erahm".
At the time of the couyof-atiou above alluded
to, jokiugly asked Mrs. Dorsey what would
become OF her protcseor-hlp ot ~an~crIt and
she answered that She wa. doing the greatest
service possible 20 her country and her people
in placing Mr.. DAVIS in % position where Uu-
pinchcd by the res aHgUsta doHjf, be could
finish his work and his life in peace and COM
fort
In the second place, wish 10 advert 10 the
grounds upon which H.. r proposed 10 attack
Mrs DOrscys will The testament being per
feet in form, the tcstatriX being capable of Civ
ing, it is said that DO viii hc attacked us
having been made through undue influence,
/ or on the ground that the tc-tatrE was insane.
Now Mrs Dorsey was citizen oi Louisiana
she died here, her win was prohated here and
the bulk Of her property H. here. Under our
benebccut system et law which -uppreSses uud
discountenances scandalous litigation Of nll
/ sorts no such contests over walls can take place
I s disgrace the surrogate courts Of New York.
Article /, 392 Of the civil Code provides that
'prOof Is not admitted Of the dispositions Oiu-
ter viyas and morts cousaI having been made
through hatred, anger, suggestion on capmtion,'
So much for the first ground. AS your article
states that the heirs are looking for contingent
fee lawyer, ] do not think any shark iu tho
prOfession-for contingent fee lawyers are gcu-
orally marine monsters of that specIcs-cau be
found who viii be fool enough to hurl himself
against the prohibition contained I'm article J.,
492.
But even if the law were otherwise, do not
hesitate 10 declare boldly from nay personal
knowledge Of the facts and the parties that an
statements and suggestions that Mr.. Davis
exercised "a particle Of influence over Mrs. Dor
sey 10 induce her 10 make him her legatee
are born Of greed and hate-the filthy pro-
geny OF the 0Ur1 sdrr6 J1U7es-and are uuqualI-
fedly false, malicious and contemplate.
To those who knew Mrs. Dorsey, this scuile
and juvenile bubble about undue influence rs
&
that she rendered incapable Of making 70
will by mental arrangement. She was "a woman
Of no ordinary type and Of more than e1raor-
dinary attainmcnts. An Omuivorpus reader and
an intense student her memory retained, and
her strong, clear mind digcsted what She read.
As conversati0nalist she appeared 90 better
advantage than "A wrter-a fact due to her cul-
tivatiOn Of the art of conversation. Although
she a strong advocate Of female suffrage
and Of women's rights, the last thing that came
from her pen petition 20 the Constitution
al Convention, written upon her dcath-l,vd,
asking that the women Of Louisiana be given
the right 10 vote. 4 more refined, "a more gentle,
more wOmanly woman never lived. And
while her friends can speak with admiration Of
the brilliancy Of her talents and the profuudity
Of her learning they can also say with heartfelt
emotion that her heart was golden.
Would to God that her lusrrous eyes could
wake from the lethargy OF the grave and pierce
with their scornful glanccs the foul ghoul- who,
under the guise Of relationship, seek To- blackeu
her noble reputation, and % dim the halo of
honor that shines around her name.
EDGAR HOWARD FARRAE.