The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-07-05
PARTLY A HOAX.
The "will" of a Supposed Lunatic the
Work of a Sane Writer.

OF late many newspapers of the coun-
try have devoted space to the pathetic
story of an insane man who, dying at the
Dunning. Ill.,. Insane Hospital for Insane,
left a will unique for beauty of conception
and exquisite literary style. says the
Rochester Post Express. Justice Walter
Lloyd Smith, who presides over the third
department of the Supreme Court, read
this last will and testament of Charles
Iounsburgo at the recent dinner of the
New York University Law School Alumni
Association, prefacing The reading by the
remarkable III that ever came into
his possession The day following the
banquet the will was printed in the
recognizing the beauty of the prose poem,
immediately reprinted the conceit. The
New York Independent, in its issue of
head heading q eT aR WISE sas Legacy wa q ana made deof Il the the
subject of a seriols editorial. 1t COM
mended the will TO: its spiritual quail
ity, In contrast to the practical tone of
the mundane of the wealthy,
and 1t declared that the endowments 1t
made gave stronger indications of the
worlds insanity than of the testator's.
Fol the benefit of our readers who have
not read the article we republish several
of its most striking passages:
Item: give to good fathers and moth
ers. in trust for their children, all good
little words of praise and encouragement,
and all quaint pet names and endear-
ments, and l charge said parents to use
them justly and generously, as the needs
of their children may require.
Item: l leave to children inclusively, but
only for the term of their childhood, all
and every, the flowers of the fields and
the blossoms of the woods, with the right
to play among them freely according to
the customs Of children, warning them at
the same time against thistles and thorns.
And l devise to children the banks of the
brooks and the golden sands beneath the
water thereof, and the odors Of the will
lows that dip therein. and the white
clouds that float high over the giant trees.
And / leave the children the long, long
days to be merry in, in a thousand ways,
and the night and the moon and the train
of the Milky Way to wonder at. but sub
ject. nevertheless, to the rights herein
after given to lovers.
Item: l devise to boys Jointly all the
useful idle fields and commons where ball
may be played; all pleasant waters where
one may swim; all snowclad hills where
one may coast, and all streams and ponds
where one may fish, or where, when grim
winter comes, one may skate; to have and
to hold the same for the period of their
boyhood. And all meadows with the
clover blossoms and butterflies thereof,
the woods and their appurtenances, the
squirrels and birds, and echoes of the
strange noises, and all distant places
which may be visited. together with the
said boys each his OWL place at the fire.
side st night, with all pictures that may
be seen in the burning wood. to enjoy
without let or hiudrance and without any
incumbrance or care.
Item: To lovers l devise their imaginary
world. with whatever they may need, as
the stars of the sky. the red roses by the
wall. the bloom Of the hawthorn, the sweet
strains of music. and aught else by which
they may desire to figure to each other
the lastingness and beauty of their love.
This remarkable document was not
written by al insane man at Dunning.
Its author is Williston Fish. a former
army officer, a Chicago attorney, and an
infrenuent contributor to the magazines.
A decade ago his name was occasionally
seen in Puck and Life, but after the APP
pearance of "a Last WILL in the issue
of Harper's Weekly for September 3, 1898,
The exquisite conceit attracted no atten-
ton at It's initial publication. but Judge
Smiths reading of the at the
alumni dinner. and his a~ttrlbuting 1t to a
dying Insane man rescued II from obscur-
ity OF his lost child Mr.. Fish SAYS:
Charles Lounbury vas my great-great-
grandfather. He lived in New York State,
and was a giant in stature. Various mem
beers Of our family have been named after
him. After ! was graduated from West
Point my army life gave me an oppor-
tunity to write. / used to write for Puck
and Life. and "A Last VII was just one
OF those little fancies that sometimes oc-
cur TO you. l didn't think much Of It at
the time. 1t was published, paid for, and.
as | believed. forgotten. Its revival a
SURPRISE :
Its revival may also result in keeping
the authors name from being forgotten
The Last WIZ is something the world
can Ill afford to lose.