The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1896-04-08
LAMBERTvILLE, NJ. WEDNESDAY, 8 1896.


time and resumed. Here is the last
will of my dearly loved mother;
g i, the undersigned, Anne Gather
inc Geneyieve Mathilde de Croixluce,
lawful wife of Jean Leopold Joseph
Gontran de Courcils, being Of sound
mind and body, do hereby make my last
will.
g ! ask forgiveness Of God above,
and then of my dear son Rene, for what
am now going to do I think my
child is stout hearted enough to under
stand and to forgive me. Ihave suffered
all my life. was married from consid-
erations of advantage and was afterward
despised, disregarded, oppressed and de-
ceived increasingly by my husband.
I forgive him, but / owe him
nothing.
My elder sons have not loved me,
have not caressed me, have scarcely
treated me like mother.
. I have been TO them during my
life all should have been; after my
death no longer owe them anything.
The ties of blood do not continue with
ont the constant, sacred affection of each
day. An ungrateful son is less than a
stranger He is culprit, for he has not
the right to be Indifferent to his mother.
L have always trembled before
mankind, before their Ubiquitous laws,
their inhuman customs, their infamous
prejudices. Before God, / no longer
fear. Dead, 1 throw away from me that
shameful hypocrisy; dare to utter my
thoughts and to openly avow the secrets
Of my heart
Therefore l leave in trust the
whole of that part of my fortune Of
which the law permits me to dispose
to my dearly loved lover, Pierre Ger
mer Simon de Bourneval, afterward to
revert to our dear son Rene.
(This will has been drawn up i'll adj
dition, i'll a more formal manner, by q
notary.
'''And before the Supreme Judge, who
hears me, l declare that / should have
cursed heaven and my existence if had
not found the deep, devoted, tender, un-
shaken affection of my lover, if had
not learned in his arms that the Creator
has made human beings to love, to sus-
tain and to console each other and tC
weep together in hours of bitterness.
"'My two eldest sons are the chill.
dren of M. de Courcils. Rene alone owes
the Ruler of mankind and their desti
MES to place the father and son above
social prejudices, TO make them love
each other until their death, and love
me still in my grave.
"'Such are my last thoughts and my
last desire.
I'M. de Courcils had risen. He cried,
That is the will of a mad woman.
Then M. de Bourneval stepped forward
and declared in q loud and decisive
voice: i, Simon de Bourneval, declare
that this writing contains only the strict
truth. l am ready to prove it by letters
in my possession.
"Then NJ de Courcils walked to
ward him. thought they would seize
each other by the collar. There they
stood, both tall, the one stout, the 9th
er spare, quiyering. The husband o.
my mother stammeringly articulated,
You are a yillainl' The other said,
in dry, vigorous tone: We will meet
in another place, monsieur. | should
have affronted and provoked You long
time ago if / had not valued above all
else the tranquility during her life Of
the poor woman whom you have made
to suffer so much.
"Then he turned toward me: You
are my son. viii you come with meP
have not the right to take you away,
but will take you if you wish to accom-
pany me-
81 pressed his hand without answer
ing. Indeed, was almost overcome.
1.-TWO days later M. de Bourneval
killed NJ. de Courcils in duel. My
brothers. afraid of frightful scandal,
kept silence. / transferred TO them and
they accepted their share Of the fortune
left by my mother.
81 took the name Of my true father,
renouncing that which the law gave
and which was not mine.
an. de Bourneval died five years
ago. / have not yet found consolation
for my grief, !"
He rose, took several steps, and, plac-
ing himself in front Of me, said
well, say that my mothers will
was one Of the most beautiful, most
loyal, grandest things woman could
accomplish. Is not that your opinion?'
stretched out both hands to him,
Eyes, surely, my friend Guy de
Maupassant.