Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1897-07-29

ten thousand dollars, be turned into
money and put out at compound in
terest for two hundred years. At
the end of that period the whole
sum is to be safely invested, and the
interest applied to the relief of suf-
1erlng and poverty. Count Hard
egg, who recently died, left three
hundred thousand dollars to the Uni
Versity of Vienna, on condition that
1T should be put out at compound in
terest for ono hundred years, at the
end Of which period he estimated
that his bequest would have in
creased to eighteen million dollars.
instances are inuumerable where
legatees are compelled to wait long
term OF years for the property de.
Vlsed to them, simply because of
some whim or caprice of the testa-
tor.
Not many years ago queer old ma
tive of Finland devised all his prop
erty to the devil, and the State at
once took possession of it, without
attempting to establish its identity
with the parsonage named i'm the
will. There is tendency in Eng
land, on the part of engaged men, to
draw up wills in favor of the ladies
to whom they arc engaged. BY
thus anticipating what they would
probably do after marriage, they not
only take duty by the forelock, so
to speak, but reap a present reward
in the increased ardor of the adored
one.
Merely to catalogue the eccentric
Wills that have been made in the
United States would fill a volume.
Some of these wills betray that gro
tesque sense of humor that i'm so
many other things characterizes the
American people, while other reveal
a peVerSe crankinesss on the part of
the testators, which, to say the least,
Is not pleasant to contemplate. In
one Of the widest gorges of the
Blue Ridge in Western North Caro-
lima, there lived a few years ago
man who was q most ferociOus inf
del. When he died it was discov-
cred that in his will he directed that
he should be buried on the summit
of one Of the loftiest peaks of the
Blue Ridge, and that his epitaph
should disclose that he died reviling
Christianity. IuStead of carrying
out his wishes, however, his rela-
tives buried him in a Christian GEM
etery, and on the spot where he de-
sired to be buried placed large
white cross. There are probably
few who Will criticiSe them for their
action in the matter. One finds it
difficult not to think harshly of the
man recently deceased in this State,
says the ". Y. Tribune, who in his
will left his property to "the wo-
man who lives with me-" meaning
by that his true and lawful wife,
Not long ago Boston man died,
whose will left his wife peuniless
unless she married again within five
years, the reason given for this pro-
viso being that he wanted somebody
else to find out how hard it was to
live with her-truly monstrous
revelation of post-mortem spite, and
one that any decent court ought to
set aside.
But such wills are rare; it is much
more common to find testamentary
provisions against wives marrying
again. If report speaks truly, such
prohibitions do not strike the grief
stricken widow as wise or proper.
Wills cutting off some prOdigal
son with shilling are too familiar
In English life to excite any special
remark, and in that country, where
a mans last will and testament is re-
garded as a very sacred thing, the
prodigal son generally has to take
the shilling and say nothing. But
in this country there is strong,
though, perhaps, latent, sentiment
in favor of setting aside provisions
In will that are manifestly absurd
or unjust. This largely explains
why there are so many attempts in
the United States to set aside wills,
and why so many of these attempts
are successful. The fact that a man
is never absolutely certain that the
provisions of his will will be carried
out has suggested to many the pro-
priety of disposing of their prop
erty during their lifetime. But there
are objections to that course. Not
long ago a man in this city turned
over all his property to his wife,
No sooner did he do so than she
turned him out in the street, and not
long afterward he died pauper.
Perhaps the most remarkable wills
are those which aim to promote vir-
tue and discourage vice. Not long
ago very wealthy gentleman of
Long Island died, who provided
that none of his heirs should inherit
unless they could show that they led
life of almost angelic virtue
Among the conditions mentioned in
the will were these: That they should
not smoke nor drink that they
should rise every morning and break
fast at a certain hour, and be in the
house every evening at certain
hour; that they should be industri-
Gus and strictly moral in their lives
that they should never enter a bar.
room, and should not get married
before the age of twenty-five. The
heirs were thunderstruck at these
provisions, as they practically disin-
herited all but one of them.
Recently cynical old man i'm a
| Western town died, who in his will
devised all his property to that man
in the town who could prove that
he was Christian and then a def.
milton of Christian was given
which would exclude every one who
has lived on earth except the Sa.
viour himself; and in the opinion OF
many it would have excluded ever
Him. In this case the court
promptly set the will aside and gave
the property 10 the legal heir.