The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-08-10
SOME CURIOUS WILLS.


A testator. who evidently intended 10
thwart his relatives and be benefac-
tor TO the lawyers. gave TO certain per-
SONS las many acres Of land as shan
he found equal to the area inclosed by
the track of the center OF oscillation OF
,he earth in a revolution round the sun,
supposjng the mean distance of the sun
2l 600 smi -diameters OF che earth irom
It,"
Sir Joseph Jekyll left his fortune to
pay off the rational debt. When LoIu
Mansfield heard of this he said: SIR
Joseph was good man and good
lawyer, but his bequest was a foolish
one; he might as we'll have attempted
TO stop the middle arch OF Blackfriars
bridge with his full-bottomed wig!
Lord Pembroke gave "ndphing to
Lord Say. which legacy | give him be-
cause | know ne will bestow II upon the
poor:" and then. after giving other
equally peculiar legaciSs, ne nnished
Win: Item. | give up the ghost
Dean Swifts character was eXempli-
fed in his will. Among other things
ne beuueathed 10 John Graut0n OF Clon-
methan a silver match box, I'm which
desire the said John IL keep the to-
bacco he usually cheweth, called pig
tall"
In an interesting book called Curl
by Chapman & Hall some eighteen
years or so ago, will be found the fol-
lowing rema rkable bequest made by
n Jonathan Jackson of Columbus %.
In his Will he left orders to his execu-
tors TO erect a cats home. the plans
and elevation OF which he had drawn
out with great care and thought. The
building was to contain dormitories. a
Hefectory, area for conversation.
grounds for exercise and gently sloplng
roofs for climbing. with rat holes for
sport. and an auditorium" within
whici the inmates were TO be assem-
bled daily to llsssn TO an accordion,
which was To be played an hour each
day by an attendant. that instrument
being the nearest approach to their
natural voices
An infirmary. TO which were attach
Cd a surgeon and three or four profess
sional nurses was TO adjoin the cstab-
lishment No mention seems 20 have
been made OF chapel or q chaplain,
The testator gives as his reason for
thus disposing OF his property that sit
is mans duty as lord of animals to
watch over and protect the lesser and
feebler. even as God watches over and
protects man"
In cgses Of emergency there Is some
times no time 10 call in n solicitor. SO
you must either make your own will or
die inteState. There was case once
where a gentlemnn went out shooting
and I'm getting over n hedge the con-
tents of his gun were lodge. i'm his
BODY. a friend and a gamekeeper i'm
Inedlatelv ran 20 his assistance. but The
unfortunate man found he was sinking
fast and he'd but a few minutes to live
We asked for a pencil and paper. ana.
his friend brinying out his pocket hook
the wounded n1an wrote on ono of the
blank leaves: MY will--T leave all ta
Percy" lie then signed ~, his friend
and the camekeeDer doing the some.
and a few pninutoa later the pOo~ fellow
Sled with his wife's name on his line
Nv THE VII whlci was bcrfe"tlv valid.
The wife 10 whom he we f0ndr. d.
voted. vas pro~e~iv prOvidcd y. W'fh-
out " sNe would have starved as her
hr~N'rds rronortv would havc ~F1c
~ h's hcir-at-law. who vas a reprobaic
cousin.