The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1916-08-24
A BEAUT1FGL WILL.
Made by Poor, Insane Lawyer in the
City of Chicago.

The curious will of an insane man
made when he was poor and near
death has come to our notice. Inc
old man had no property, but ne
realized the true values of life, and
these he sought to pass on to posterl-
ty in his will. The document was
composed by Williston Fish, law
yer in Chicago, and is beautiful for
its thought. For childhood, for low
ers, for old age he left every JOY.
The optimism and wholesome spirit
of the document warrant it's being
reprinted here, although it's economic
significance is rather remote. 1t
reads:
tsI. Charles Lounsbury, being of
sound mind and disposing memory,
do hereby make and publish this, my
last will and testament, in order as
Justly as may be to distribute among
succeeding men.
'"That part of my interest which
is known in law and recognized in
the sheep-bound volumes as my pro-
erty, being inconsiderable and Of no
account, I make no disposal of in
this my will.
'sMy right to live, being but life
estate, is not at my disposal, but
but these things excepted, all else in
the world / now devise and be-
queath-
4sItem: I give to good fathers and
mothers, in trust for their children,
all good little words of praise and
encouragement, and all quaint pet
names and endearments, and charge
said parents to use them justly and
generously, as the needs of their
children may require.
Item: I leave to children inclu-
sively, but only for the term of their
childhood, all and every, 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 1 devise to children the banks
of the brooks, and the golden sands
beneath the waters thereof, and the
odors of the willows 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
subject nevertheless to the rights
hereinafter given to lovers.
t'Item: / devise to boys jointly all
the useful idle fields and commons
where ball may be played; all pleas
ant 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 win
ter comes, one may skate; to have
and to hold the same for the period
/. of their. boyhood. And all meadows
with the closer blossoms and butter
flies thereof, the, woods and their
appurtenapces, the squirrels and
birds, the echoes and strange noises,
and all distant places which may be
visited, together with the adventures
there found. And give to said boys
each his own place at the fireside at
night, with all pictures that may be
seen in the burning wood, to enjoy
2 without let or hindrance and without
any incumbrance Of care.
''tItem: To lovers, I 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 by which they may desire to
figure to each other the lastingness
and beauty of their love.
"Item: To young men Jointly, |
devise and bequeath all boisterous,
inspiring sports of rivalry, and
give to them the disdain of weakness
and undaunted confidence in their
own strength, though they are rude,
I give them the power to making
lasting friendships, and OF. possess
ing companions, and to. them exclu-
sively I give all merry songs and
brave choruses, to sing with Justly
voices.
t'Item: And to those who are no
longer children or youths or lovers, I
leave memory, and I bequeath to
them the volumes of the poems of
Burns and Shakespeare and of other
poets, if there be others, to the end
that they may live over the old daysl
again, freely and fully, without
1.-THE or dimunitiOn