The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-10-25

ESTATES LEFT TO DOCS, cA1s,
PARRoTS AND MONKEYS.

Relation of the Age of Parents to the
Vitality of Children-A Genealogical
Sharp Treed-A Texas Girls TFous'
seau.
There died In Vienna, less than 9
year ago, a quiet, elderly gentleman,
retired from business with a comfort
able competency, who left the whole
of his property to a person whom he
had seen every day for years and yet
to whom he had never spoken. This
was a young lady who lived directly
opposite his own lodging. OF this
young lady the old gentleman knew
nothing whatever except her name,
and the grateful fact that for several
years, as he had passed to and fro,
she had greeted his coming and going
with a pleasant, friendly smile.
Soon after, a wealthy Englishman,
Lord Sackville, died, and left a large
slice of his property in a still stranger
manner, for he ~bequeathed a substan-
tial sum to each one of Queen Vic
toria's maids of honor. There was no
evidence that Lord Sackville had any
| special acquaintance with these high
born young ladies, or that he was
bound to them by any special relation,
and the mystery OF the bequest is, |
believe, a mystery still. The maids of
honor, who were as much astonished
as the rest of the world, declined
promptly the post-mortem bounty.
These instances reveal that curious
trait of human nature which now and
then induces men and women to make
strange wills. Often final bestowals
of worldly goods seem like cynical
jokes grimly played ON the community
from the bed of death itself. At other
times revenge plays its vindictive part
in cutting off expectant heirs, and
leaving riches to strangers or charities.
Many persons are fond of keeping
their wills secret until death overtakes
them, and couple their gifts with
strange and fantastic conditions,
which give scope to the writers of
plays, and employment for lawyers
practising in probate courts.
"The ruling passion strong in
death" has many a time betrayed
itself in wills. and in nc case more
notably than in those who are, or who
imagine themselves to be witty. In
these instances the testator will actu-
ally joke and make rhymes amid the
solemn formalities of bequsst. An
old Englishman, toward the close of
the last century, devised to my son
only one shilling; and that is for him
to hire a porter to carry away the next
badge and frame he steals Another
at about the same period left a GER
tain man and his wife ''sixpence each
to buy for each of them a halter, for
fear the sheriffs should not be pro-
vided.n
A learned man, one DIR. Bell, left a
very large sum of money to pay for a
eulogistic life of himself and not a
penny to his wife. Another gave
unto my wife, Mary barley, for pick
ing my pocket of sixty guiEeas, the
sum of one shilling One of the
Earls of Stafford revealed his feelings
toward his s~pouse-who had been a
great court belle in her day-in the
following passage in his Wilt give
to the worst of women, who is guilty
of all ills, whom l have unfor-
tunately married, five-and-forty
brass half-pence, which will buy her
a pullet for her supper-a greater sum
than her father can often make for
her,
Often, instead of b~equeathing prop
erty to their human friends, testators
will leave it to be devoted to the care
Of pet birds or dogs or other animals.
A Mr.. Hunter left ITO my beloved
parrot, the faithful companion of
twenty-five years, an annuity for it's
life of e200 to be paid half-yearly to
whomsoever may have the care OF it
and prove its IDENTIFY the parrot
was to be provided with "a
high, long and large cage
and was mot to be removed out
of England 1t may be taken for
granted that this lucky bird was never
afterward wanting in plenty of pains
taking friends. Another wealthy man
named Garland had the following
clause inscribed in his will:-sI be-
queath to my monkey, my dear and
amusing Jocko, the sum of $40, 900
per annum, to be employed for his
sole use and benefit; to my faithful
dog Shock, and my we'll beloved cat
lib, a pension of e5; and desire that,
in case of the death of either of the
three, the lapsed pension shall pass to
the other two, between whom it shall
be equally divided. '-Haape9'S Young
People.
Age of Parents and Vitality of Children.
Mr.. j.. Korosi, director of the Hun
garian bureau of statistics, recently
read a memoir before the Hungarian
Academy of Sciences upou the "Influ-
ence of the Age of Parents Upon the
Vitality of Children, and in which,
taking a. 900 cases as a basis, he
reaches the following conclusions:
Children whose father is less than