The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-09-21
SOME CURIOUS WILLS.
Eccentricities and Whimsicalities Of
TeStatOrs.

'Cutting OF With Shilling" Favorite
PIan-Leaving Parts of the Body to Doc
tors-some Wills Are Humorous, and
Others Are Noticeable For Their Brevity.
There is refreshing quaintness about
some old requests. Walter le Taillour,
for instance, in 1906, according to the
will recorded in the city of London court
of busting, left Ito Richard, his son, the
reversion of a tenement held by Richard
le Bakere for life, receiving yearly imme-
diately after the testator's death a rent of
half mark and weekly a penny tart in
respect of the said tenement" He also
left fourpence to London bridge. There is,
however, spirit of geniality about this
will which is very different from that of
the man who left his son-in-law lone
penny to buy him whistle.
The single shilling has of course been
left in a large number of cases, but we do
not often hear of receipt being given for
the money. Yet in 1899 Richard Harring-
ton Of Guided Morden, in Cambridgeshire,
left his daughter, Mary Martin, and her
husband shilling each, and his executrix
paid it and got the receipt, still in exist
ence, dated March II, 100 There was
a man who in 1871 left his wife shilling
to be paid to her within six months after
his death. and as his reason for doing so
remarked, Seeing that 1 have had the
misfortune to be married to the aforesaid
Elizabeth, who ever since our union has
tormented me in every possible way"
A good many single shillings have been
left as a cheap advertisement with the OBJ
ject of keeping the testator's name alive,
much in the style of the man at Wath
who left, among other ct ceteras shil-
ling to every poor woman in the parish, a
guinea to seven navvies for pudding
him up in his grave" guinea to the old
woman who had tucked him up in his
bed'' and $40 dozen penny loaves to be
thrown from the church roof at noon ev-
cry Christmas day forever" Of this kind
of thing there are many examples but
most of the shillings, sixpences, pennies
and penny buns have to be displayed in
all their glory on the testators tombstone.
One man leaves his money to his son
"on condition that he shave off his mus
tache;" another leaves his to his nephews
ION condition that they rise at O'Clock
in the summer and s O'Clock in the win
ter" another leaves his to friend t'on
condition that he always wears black"
another that the fortunate man should
wear a mourning ring There was John
Reed. who left his head .sto be prepared
SO as to be used as the skull Of Yorick in
the play of sHamlet' by Shakespeare
having evidently felt the inconvenience of
not having an article of the kind in stock.
There was DIR. Wagner who left his lambs
to different friends for dissecting mgr
poses There was DR. Ellerby. who left bix
heart to one man. his lungs to another.
and his brain TO another to he nreserved
from decomposition. and pleasantly add
ed, eff either of the gentlemen named
fail to execute this. / will come and tor
ment them until thew shall comnlv. Tins
reminding us of the Mr.. Zimmerman who
desired in 1910 to be buried plainly and
in q decent manner. stand if this he NOT
done will come again-that is. if canl,'
One gentleman. cremationist before his
time, wishes his body to be placed in one
of the gas retorts of the Imperial Gas COM
pany. Another, desiring his body to be
converted to useful PURPOSES. supeests
lenses as being the forms in which he