The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-12-11
AUNT TABIrHA's LEGACIEs.
How She Disposed OF Thsm While Yet
in the Land Of the Living.

AOW Ouo LSl5pO6S4 Vi AL%L44 w Liz ! ~
in the Land Of the Living.
From the Washington Star
Aunt Tebithe Bobbins had always said
that she didn't approve of the conventional
method OF giving legaoies.
my DEAR she used to say to one intim ate
friend or another, 81 can assure you that
will never give people an opportunity TO
fight for my little possessions after | am
dead. In nine cases out of ten when any,
body dies there Is more or less Of struggle
among the surviving relatives for whatever
personal belongings may be left behind TO
be divided up And inasmuch as the claim
ant with the least delicaoy of feeling makes
the first grab. the consequence usually is
that whatever is best falls into the
hands of the individual whom the defunct
would least have cared to benefit. My OBJ
servatlon has been that In such case there
is always u grabber ct hand to gobble
things, and the others are obliged to De con-
tent with whatever may be left. In my
own family there ia a woman who has al
ways made business of grabbing in this
fashion whenever a relation gave up the
ghost. On such occasions she has made it
a rule to be first on the scene, assisting with
the last ceremonies and incidentally gath
ering IN whatever was most valuable. As q
result she now owns practically all OF the
down through the Inheritance of genera
lions of our kin5folk."
Aunt Tabitha's plan for preventing such
a thing from happening in her own case was
a very simple one
when my time comes to die" she was
accustomed to remark, Il propose 30 ar
range things ia sensible manner before
hand, unless l should be taken away so
suddenly as to render preparation impos-
sible"
Precisely what method she intended to
adopt for accom- lishing this end nobody
was told, but the nature of it was recently
revealed. About month ago Miss Bobbins
fell Ill. She did not take kindly TO being
sick having always been an unusually
healthy woman. TO her physician she said
Indignantly: "Here ] have lived for more
than seventy years with hardly sick day
that can remember, and to be taken down
IL this way seems to me too bad!" Never
theless her indispositton progressed so alarm
ingly that at length the conviction forced
itself upon her that shess was on her death
bed. So she summoned all her relatives,
and. after delivering to them a short lecture
on the brevity OF life and the vanity Of
human efforts after happiness, she proceeded
TO divide her personal belongings among
them.
sin this way" she said, 'there can be no
dispute among you as to who shall have
what. My nepneW GeoiSe C1u nhNe my
silver teapot, sugar bowl and milk jug.
| They are coin, not sterling. To my niece
Eliza | give my hand-painted teacups and
eleven silver teaspoons. One OF the tea
Spoons was lost some time ago, and have
always suspected that hussy named Jones
who was my maid last winter of appropri-
ating it. To my cousin William bequeath
my portrait of my dear father, which is a
most admirable likeness and accurate in
every particular, even to the wart on his
nose. My sable cape and mutt, which are
as good as new except for one tail on the
! cape, which nasty dog chewed off, give
| to my cousin Maria. My cap with the vlo-
let ribbons and real lace my niece Belinda
can have. l advise her to begin wearing 1t
at once and TO give up pretending to De
| twenty years younger than she looks"
Following out this plan Aunt Tabitha gave
| away all her personal possessions Of value,