Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-07-26
SOME CURIOUS WILLS.
A Few Modern fnstaDoea of Tes.
 tanentary Eccen trieity.
Tsstators Who Left Legaclcs ih sa.e Shape of Portions of Their BotiIes--An Allow ance Bequeatllesl to a Cat-A
 Saddler's Trade Devotion.

Modern instances of testamentary eccen. tricity abound, and the United States in particular seems to be singularly prolific of curious wills, writes Sidney Scrope in Once Week. Some little time since MT. Solomon Sanborn, of Medford, Mass, left his body to the late Prof. Agassiz and Dr. O. w. Holmes, to be prepared by them in the most scientific manner known to anatomical art and placed in the museum of Harvard College. Two drum heads were to be made of the skin. Upon one was to be inscribed Alexander Pope's "Universal Prayer" on the other the "Declaration of Independence" and then they were to be presented to the testators distinguished friend," the drummer of Cohasset. This presentation was subject to the condition that on the 17th of June, at sunrise, every year, the drummer should beat upon the drumheads at the foot of Bunker's Hill the spirit-stirring strains of "Yankee Doodle" !"
 Another American, who died within the last few months, by way of revenge on his relations, who had neglected him, be- queathed to his brother his left arm and hand; to another brother his right arm and hand, to another his legs, nose, ears, etc. He also left ono thousand dollars for the dismembering of his body.
 Among other testators who have dis
  cies in the shape of portions of their bodies may be mentioned Jeremy Bentham, the English writer, who bequeathed his body to the University College Hospital, with instructions that his skeleton should be pre- pared and cleaned, and that it should pre- side at the meetings of the hospital directors. | Whether this provision was ever carried l out is doubtful, but it is certain that the l skeleton was preserved, and may be seen tSt t1sC loNv Sv,< <1>,h
 A wealthy German who died the other | day hequeathed his effects to a poor man | whom he greatly disliked on condition that | he always wore linen under clothes and | dressed in white, and short time ago Stanislaus Poltmarz, Q Hungarian, left the greater part of his fortune to notary named Lotz, forbiddipg him, however, to take possession until he had sung at La Scala Opera House, the parts of Verdis "Otello'' and Elvlra in "Somnambula; ;"while John Reed, the gas-lighter of the Walnut Street Theater, Philadelphia, directed that his head, after being duly prepared, should be employed to represent the skull of Yorick in "Hamlet.'
 | Lord Newborough, who died in November, 1888, directed that, after q certain period elapses, his body Is to be exhumed and re- inferred in Bardsey Island, which is reputed to have no fewer than twenty thousand saints buried in it's soil, and Mr. John Browne, of Rathbane County, Limerick re. quired that his son, Rev. Peter Browne, should under penalty of forfeiting q consid- erable estate, change his Christian name, "Peter," for either "Wiliam' or sJames, ,' the old gentleman having taken an inveter. ate dislike to his sons name, while rich saddler ordered in his will that his daughter should lose the whole of her fortune if she did not marry a saddler. It turned out however, that she married the Earl of Hali fax, who, in order to win the bride, actually served an apprenticeship of seven years te a saddler.
 Not long since MT. Harper settled hun dred q year on his ''young black cat,' the interest to be paid to his housekeeper, Mrs Hodges, as long as the cat remained alive and quite recently an old Parisian dame left fifteen hundred year to her butcher whom she had never seen; while one mar chalked his will on corn-bin; anC another inscribed his on a bed-post Both the corn-bin and the bed post are filed in the will office at Doctor. Commons, London. Tho whimsical will O the Scotch gentleman, who bequeathed tt each of his daughters her weight in one pound notes, has often been quoted. Mor' remarkable still Is the will of the Nev Yorker who directed that his one and seven ty pairs of trousers should be sold at public auction without being examined before hand. The sale was actually held, and thu seventy-one purchasers found in the right hand pocket the neat little sum ot thou sand dollars in cash.
 Another peculiar legacy was that O Colonel Nash, an English officer, who be queathed an annuity of fifty pounds to tn bell-ringers of Bath Abbey, on condition that they should muffle the clappers of tn bells of the Abbey, and ring them with dole full accentuation from eight a. m. to eight p m. on each anniversary of his wedding day while Mir. Luke, of Rotheringham, afte leaving penny to every child who shoul, attend his funeral, directed that forty doze1 loaves should be thrown down from tn parish church steeple at noon every Christ mas day forever.