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

Some one has said that great living
makes great dying. But it is no
only in dying that mon reveal 1heil
true character; they reveal it per
haps more strongly in making their
Wills. 1t is true that there is moth
ing especially noteworthy about ar
average will, but that is because
there is nothing noteworthy abou,
the average man; and even in such
wills, therefore, there is an uncon.
scious revelation of character.
But an immense number of wills
Indicate much more than this. In
them may be read, sometimes i'm
black and white, and sometimes be-
tween the lines, rarely interesting
life stories, sometimes tragical,
sometimes comical, and sometimes
suggestive of nothing more than
vanity, eccentricity or CAPRICE
Wills belonging to the latter class
are by far the most picturesque.
Story writers have made an abun-
dant use of such wills. Everybody
has read of the old lady and the old
gentleman who keep string of rela-
tives dancing attendance on them
for years, and who i'm their wills de-
wise all their property to the Home
for the INDECENT and Disabled Black
Cats. Or the old curmudgeon whose
relatives pamper him for years, and
who in his will declares that he has
nothing to leave them but his bless
ing; or the old lady who is treated
with contumely by all her relatives
but the angel heroine, because she
declares herself to be pauper, and
who in her will leaves a large
boarded fortune to the aforesaid an
gel heroine. Or the queer old party
who leaves to his heir nothing but
the family Bible, which is finally
discovered to contain number of
marked passages that when put to-
gether tell where an immense hid
den fortune may be found. All these
and scores Of other variations of the
story may be found in the current
novels of the day, testifying to the
prominent place Of the will in litera-
ture.
Newspapers are constantly chron-
icling stories of wills just as surpris.
ing and eccentric. Years ago there
died wealthy English gentleman
who directed that the five drawers
in his desk be opened on the five
consecutive anniversaries of his
death. That was all; not a word
about the disposition of his large
fortune. When the four drawers
were opened there was found in them
nothing but q sealed letter contain.
ing this message: Have faith and
hope, and you will attain unto the
fruition of all your DESIRES" When
on the fifth anniversary the last
drawer was opened properly exc
cuted will was found, leaving the
property to those who had expected
| it.
A London theatrical man named
w. ID. Foster directed that no wo.
man should be present at his funeral
and gave orders that if his wife sur
vived him he should be cremated.-
In France not long ago died an &c.
centric Frenchman, whose will de-
clared the French to be- ia nation
of dastards and FOOLS" For that
reason he devised his whole fortune
to the poor of London, and directed
that his body be thrown into the ses
a mile from the English coast. Al
attempt was made to have him ad
judged insane when he made thi:
will, but it failed. Another French
man directed that a new cooking re
ceipt should be pasted on his tomt
every day; and still another French
man, lawyer, left fifty Thousand
dollars to local lunatic asylum, de
clariDg that 1t was simply an act o.
insane enough to employ his ser
vices.
Cremation clauses are becoming
quite common in English and Cont
mental wills; but many Of them art
ignored by the relatives. Many tes
tators now make some provision il
their wills to insure their not beinl
buried alive. For instance, the LAT,
John Blount Price, of Islington, di
rected that four days after his deatl
two skillful surgeons should be pait
twenty-five dollars each to perform
such operations on his body as woult
kill him i'm case he were yet alive
The ViscOunt de Carros Lima di
rected that his body should b
watched by his heirs until decompO
sition sot in. A similar provision
was made by an Irish gentleman
who died last year. A Vienna mil
lionaire seemed to have a horror o
darkness, for he provided not onl
the vault In which his body was t
lie should be lighted by electricity
but that the coffin also be similarl
illumined. Lord Newboroug mad
provision for two separate inter
ments.
There are some remarkable wai