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Building a Shed Expert Advice from Start to Finish
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Howden, and serves in good stead to show how guarded persons should be
to see, not only that they leave a properly prepared and executed will, but
likewise that no lapse is left unsupplied. In the case of Lord Howden,
although the lapse was only trifling, considering the vast wealth of his
lordship, yet it was represented by a considerable amount. The case is a
very curious one, as Lord Howden held a very high status in England, being
a peer of the realm, and had taken the oath and his seat in the House of
Lords; he was also a G.C.B., lieutenant-general in the army, and Deputy-
Lieutenant for the County of York. Notwithstanding all these ties, in 1850
he sold his estate at Grimston Park, in Yorkshire, and all his real estate in
England, and went to Spain as Minister Plenipotentiary, in which position
he continued till 1857, when he went to France, and resided on an estate
near Bayonne, which he acquired about that time, and where he built a
château called “Casa Caradoc,” in which he generally resided up to the date
of his death. In 1863 he visited Scotland, and then wrote a letter declining
to come to England, and expressing his intention of never doing so again;
he likewise, in certain legal proceedings taken in England, claimed to be
domiciled in France, sine animo revertendi. Lord Howden had made
separate wills relating to his personal property in England and in France,
and the confusion arose respecting one-fourth of that in England, the person
to whom it had been bequeathed having died during his lordship’s lifetime.
The question was to whom this undisposed of personalty should belong, as
by English law the whole of it would pass to Lady Rose Meade, as his
lordship’s nearest relation and sole next-of-kin, while, according to French
law, a moiety only would pass to Lady Rose Meade, who was his lordship’s
nearest relation on the father’s side, and the other moiety amongst his
lordship’s nearest relations on the mother’s side. The case therefore rested
on the point, whether Lord Howden’s domicile was English or French at the
time of his death, and the Vice-Chancellor said that, in the absence of
authority, he should be sorry at this time of day to decide that a peer could
not take up his permanent residence abroad. There was nothing to prevent
any one, be he peer or peasant, from leaving the country to reside abroad.
He then distinguished the cases of persons actually officers in the army, and
the cases known of an Anglo-Indian domicile. On the facts, he said, it was
clear that Lord Howden had acted so as to acquire a French domicile. There
was only the question of the article in the Code Napoleon, which clearly
only related to the acquisition of civil rights, and not the question of
domicile at all. He therefore declared the domicile of Lord Howden to have
been French.

Will of Dr. Samuel Johnson

Dr. Samuel Johnson is one of the foremost figures in English literature;
his will, copied by Boswell, is an interesting document:
“In the name of God, Amen! I, Samuel Johnson, being in full possession
of my faculties, but fearing this night may put an end to my life, do ordain
this my last will and testament.”
This will was written the 8 day of December, 1784. Sir John Hawkins
and the distinguished painter, Sir Joshua Reynolds, were executors. A
codicil written on December 9, 1784, is several times the length of the will
written the day before. Both in the will and in the codicil, Francis Barber, a
negro man-servant, is made the chief beneficiary. It is said that the amount
received by Barber under this will, exclusive of an annuity on the sum of
$3750, was about ten thousand dollars. A copy of his great French
dictionary, as well as a copy of his own dictionary, were given to Sir Joshua
Reynolds. A striking provision in Johnson’s will, is the following clause:
“I bequeath to God, a soul polluted by many sins, but I hope purified by Jesus Christ.”

The celebrated letter written by Dr. Johnson to Lord Chesterfield, from a

point of combined politeness, satire, and irony, has probably never been
surpassed, and was doubtless a just resentment of the treatment he had
received from his patron. The date of this letter is given by Boswell and
other authorities, as February 7, 1775; the true date is 1755, for it was in
that year that his Dictionary was completed. A brief history of this letter is
as follows:
Boswell in his “Life of Johnson,” says the story was current that the
great philosopher was kept waiting in Lord Chesterfield’s antechamber
upon the occasion of a visit to him; that Dr. Johnson was violently provoked
when the door finally opened, and out walked Colley Cibber, an English
actor and dramatist. Johnson himself, however, told Boswell that there was
no truth in this story, but that during his years of struggle, Lord Chesterfield
had studiously neglected him. When the Dictionary was on the eve of
publication, Lord Chesterfield attempted, in a courtly manner, to conciliate
Dr. Johnson by writing two articles in The World, a leading London paper,
in commendation of the work; the courtly device failed of its effect.
Johnson said to Boswell, “Sir, after making great professions, he had, for
many years, taken no notice of me; but when my Dictionary was coming
out, he fell a scribbling in The World about it. Upon which I wrote him a
letter expressed in civil terms, but such as might show him that I did not
mind what he said or wrote, and that I had done with him.” And, he added,
“This man, I thought had been a lord among wits, but I find, he is only a wit
among lords.” The letter follows:
“To the Right Honourable the Earl of Chesterfield
“February 7, 1755.
“My Lord,
“I have been lately informed, by the proprietor of The World, that two papers, in which
my Dictionary is recommended to the public, were written by your lordship. To be so
distinguished is an honour, which, being very little accustomed to favours from the great, I
know not well how to receive, or in what terms to acknowledge.
“When, upon some slight encouragement, I first visited your lordship, I was
overpowered, like the rest of mankind, by the enchantment of your address, and could not
forbear to wish that I might boast myself Le vainqueur du vainqueur de la terre;—that I
might obtain that regard for which I saw the world contending; but I found my attendance
so little encouraged, that neither pride nor modesty would suffer me to continue it. When I
had once addressed your lordship in public, I had exhausted all the art of pleasing which a
retired and uncourtly scholar can possess. I had done all that I could; and no man is well
pleased to have his all neglected, be it ever so little.
“Seven years, my lord, have now passed, since I waited in your outward rooms, or was
repulsed from your door; during which time I have been pushing on my work through
difficulties, of which it is useless to complain, and have brought it, at last, to the verge of
publication, without one act of assistance, one word of encouragement, or one smile of
favour. Such treatment I did not expect, for I never had a patron before.
“The shepherd in ‘Virgil’ grew at last acquainted with Love, and found him a native of
the rocks.
“Is not a patron, my lord, one who looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life in
the water, and, when he has reached ground, encumbers him with help? The notice which
you have been pleased to take of my labours, had it been early, had been kind; but it has
been delayed till I am indifferent, and cannot enjoy it; till I am solitary, and cannot impart
it; till I am known, and do not want it. I hope it is no very cynical asperity, not to confess
obligations where no benefit has been received, or to be unwilling that the public should
consider me as owing that to a patron, which Providence has enabled me to do for myself.
 “Having carried on my work thus far with so little obligation to any favourer of
learning, I shall not be disappointed though I shall conclude it, if less be possible, with less;
for I have been long wakened from that dream of hope, in which I once boasted myself
with so much exultation,
“My Lord, your lordship’s most humble,
“Most obedient servant,
“Sam. Johnson.”

Will of Mr. George Henry Lewes

The will, dated November 21, 1859, of Mr. George Henry Lewes, the
celebrated author, formerly of Holly Lodge, South Fields, Wandsworth, but
late of The Priory, North Bank, Regent’s Park, who died on November 20,
1879, was proved by Mary Ann Evans, the sole executrix, the personal
estate being sworn under £2000. The testator gives to his three sons,
Charles Lee, Thornton Amott, and Herbert Arthur, all his copyright and
interest of every description in all his literary and dramatic works, and the
residue of his real and personal estate to his executrix.

Will of Maria Cristina, Queen Dowager of Spain

The will (dated 1874), with a codicil (dated 1875), both made in Paris, of
her Majesty the Queen Doña Maria Cristina de Borbon y Borbon, who died
on August 22, 1879, in France, was proved in London. The personal estate
in England is sworn under £6000. The testatrix directs that 5000 recited
masses shall be performed for her soul, 5000 for the soul of her late
husband, 1000 for the souls of her deceased children, and 500 for the souls
of her deceased grandchildren, to be performed by poor priests in churches
to be selected by her executors, the alms for each mass to be ten reals. She
bequeaths money to the needy poor and sick of several towns. Special
directions are given as to her numerous papers; they are divided into four
classes, viz. her business papers, political papers, confidential papers, and
intimate private papers; her secretary, Don Antonio Maria Rubio, is charged
with the arranging of them, and he is to deliver the papers of the first three
categories, sealed up, to her son, Don Fernando, and the papers of the last-
named category to her daughter, Doña Maria Cristina, also sealed up; they
are not to be opened until the expiration of forty years from her decease,
and the testatrix states that she so orders not for her own sake or from any
want of confidence in her children, but with views of delicacy towards the
many persons she has had political relationship with during her long and
checkered career. If upon examination any papers are found among her own
property belonging to her first husband, or the Government of Spain, they
are to be delivered to her august daughter, the Queen Isabella, for eventual
transmission to the successor of her first husband in the crown of Spain,
“say her grandson King Alfonso.”

Will of Michael Eyquem de Montaigne

Montaigne, the celebrated essayist and philosopher, is stated to have got
over any difficulties in the way of carrying out his testamentary intentions
by the happy expedient of calling all the persons named in his will around
his deathbed, and counting out to them severally the bequests he had made
them. Any doubtful testator might usefully follow Montaigne’s example,
but there is always the risk of the donor getting better, and finding himself
penniless. A small farmer in Suffolk, England, being very ill, was advised
by his affectionate relatives to distribute his money, and thus save legacy
duty. He did so, but got well again; he did not, however, recover the amount
he had distributed, and the poor old farmer had to seek relief from the
parish.

Will of Napoleon
In Scott’s “Life of Napoleon Buonaparte,” published in 1828, is a
complete copy of this celebrated document, the first division of which is as
follows:
“Napoleon.
“This 15th April, 1821, at Longwood, Island of St. Helena. This is my
Testament, or act of my last Will.

I
“1. I die in the apostolical Roman religion, in the bosom of which I was
born, more than fifty years since.
“2. It is my wish that my ashes may repose on the banks of the Seine, in
the midst of the French people, whom I have loved so well.
“3. I have always had reason to be pleased with my dearest wife, Marie
Louise. I retain for her to my last moment, the most tender sentiments—I
beseech her to watch, in order to preserve my son from the snares which yet
environ his infancy.
“4. I recommend to my son, never to forget that he was born a French
prince, and never to allow himself to become an instrument in the hands of
the triumvirs who oppress the nations of Europe; he ought never to fight
against France, or to injure her in any manner; he ought to adopt my motto
—‘Everything for the French people.’
“5. I die prematurely, assassinated by the English oligarchy.... The
English nation will not be slow in avenging me.
“6. The two unfortunate results of the invasions of France when she had
still so many resources, are to be attributed to the treason of Marmont,
Augerau, Talleyrand and La Fayette.
“I forgive them—may the posterity of France forgive them like me!
“7. I thank my good and most excellent mother, the Cardinal, my
brothers Joseph, Lucien, Jerome, Pauline, Caroline, Julie, Hortense,
Catarine, Eugénie, for the interest which they have continued to feel for me.
I pardon Louis for the libel which he published in 1820; it is replete with
false assertions and falsified documents.
“8. I disavow the ‘Manuscript of St. Helena,’ and other works, under the
title of Maxims, Sayings, &c., which persons have been pleased to publish
for the last six years. These are not the rules which have guided my life. I
caused the Duc d’Enghien to be arrested and tried, because that step was
essential to the safety, interest, and honor of the French people, when the
Count d’Artois was maintaining, by his confession, sixty assassins at Paris.
Under similar circumstances, I would act in the same way.”
In the second division of the will are thirty-five bequests to Buonaparte’s
generals and others who had been associated with him the whole amounting
to five million six hundred thousand francs. He says, “These sums will be
raised from the six millions which I deposited on leaving Paris in 1815; and
from the interest, at the rate of five per cent, since July, 1815.” He further
directs that the excess of five million six hundred thousand francs shall be
distributed as a gratuity amongst the wounded at the battle of Waterloo, and
others of his soldiers; the amounts to be paid, in case of death, to the
widows and children of the legatees.
In the third division, he speaks of his “private domain of which no
French law can deprive me.” This “private domain,” he estimates to exceed
200,000,000 of francs. This amount, together with his plate, jewels and
other property, he bequeaths, one-half to the surviving officers and soldiers
of the French army who had fought for the glory and independence of the
nation; the distribution to be made in proportion to their appointments in
active service. He appoints Counts Montholon, Bertrand and Marchand the
executors of his will.
The instrument concludes: “This present will, wholly written with my
own hand, is signed, and sealed with my own arms.”
Affixed to this will is a codicil consisting of many parts and numerous
items, such as would well befit the great Emperor to possess. The minutest
detail is shown in an itemized statement of these articles. Among others,
might be mentioned, medals, watches, gold ornaments, spurs, libraries,
cravats, daggers, and hundreds of other articles. He directed Marchand to
preserve his hair, from which bracelets were to be made, to be sent to the
Empress Marie Louise, to his mother, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, to
the Cardinal, and one of larger size to his son. In this codicil he again
expresses the wish that his ashes should repose on the banks of the Seine in
the midst of the French people whom he loved so well.
In the fourth codicil, Napoleon gives ten thousand francs to the subaltern
officer Cantillon, who had undergone a trial on the charge of having
endeavored to assassinate the Duke of Wellington, of which he was
pronounced innocent. Napoleon writes, “Cantillon had as much right to
assassinate that oligarchist, as the latter had to send me to perish upon the
rock of St. Helena.”
In the fifth codicil to the will is a reference to Empress Marie Louise,
“my very dear and well beloved spouse.” He adds, “This is my codicil, or
act of my last will, the execution of which I recommend to my dearest wife,
the Empress Marie Louise.”
There are seven codicils to this will, all written at Longwood, by his own
hand, the last being dated the 25th day of April, 1821. Ten days after
writing this codicil, he died, May 5, 1821.
Napoleon’s deep affection for his son, François Charles, is evidenced
throughout the will by numerous bequests, comprising the greater part of
his personal belongings and articles that he most prized.
He also evinced great solicitude for his generals and those who were
with him in his many campaigns, which is manifested by the gifts to them,
not only in his will, but in several of the codicils thereto.
The instrument, though of the very greatest interest, is too lengthy to be
fully set out. The reader is referred to Scott’s “Life of Napoleon
Buonaparte” for the details of this famous will. The death of the Duke of
Reichstadt, July 22, 1832, only son of the first Napoleon, left Louis
Napoleon the representative of his family. He was elected President of
France in 1848 and promised to restore its glories. It is said that many of the
legacies mentioned in his uncle’s will were paid by him.

Will of Lord Nelson

The battle of Trafalgar was fought October 21, 1805. At daylight Nelson
hoisted the signal, “England expects every man to do his duty,” and gave
the order to close in and the game of death began. Each side had made a
move. Nelson retired to his cabin and wrote the following codicil to his
will:
“October 21st, 1805.—In sight of the combined fleets of France and
Spain, distance about ten miles. Whereas the eminent services of Emma
Hamilton, widow of the Right Honourable Sir William Hamilton, have been
of the very greatest service to my king and country, to my knowledge,
without ever receiving any reward from either our king or country. First:
That she obtained the King of Spain’s letter, in 1796, to his brother, the
King of Naples, acquainting him of his intention to declare war against
England: from which letter the ministry sent out orders to the then Sir John
Jervis to strike a stroke, if the opportunity offered, against either the
arsenals of Spain or her fleets. That neither of these was done is not the
fault of Lady Hamilton: the opportunity might have been offered.
“Secondly: The British fleet under my command could never have
returned the second time in Egypt, had not Lady Hamilton’s influence with
the Queen of Naples caused a letter to be written to the Governor of
Syracuse, that he was to encourage the fleet being supplied with everything,
should they put into any port in Sicily. We put into Syracuse, and received
every supply; went to Egypt and destroyed the French fleet. Could I have
rewarded these services, I would not now call upon my country; but as that
has not been in my power, I leave Emma, Lady Hamilton, therefore, a
legacy to my king and country, that they will give her an ample provision to
maintain her rank in life.
 “I also leave to the beneficence of my country my daughter, Horatia
Nelson Thompson; and I desire she will use in future the name of Nelson
only.
“These are the only favours I ask of my king and country, at this moment
when I am going to fight their battle. May God bless my king, and country,
and all those I hold dear!
“Nelson.

Henry Blockwood.
“Witness
T. M. Hardy.”

Shortly after, while his ship, the Victory, was grappled with the
Redoubtable and chained fast to her, Nelson was struck by a musket ball
fired from the yards of the Redoubtable. He called for his trusted captain,
Hardy, and said: “They have done for me now, Hardy—my back is broken.”
And soon after, he died; but not before adding, “I would like to live one
hour, just to know that my plans were right—we must capture or destroy
twenty of them.”
There is a splendid monument to Nelson in Trafalgar Square, London,
but the English did not respect his wishes with reference to Lady Hamilton.
As a matter of fact, she was arrested on a charge of debt and imprisoned,
and practically driven out of England, although the sisters of Lord Nelson
believed in her and respected her to the last. She died in France in 1813.
The daughter, Horatia Nelson, lived until 1881. She was a strong and
excellent woman; she married the Reverend Philip Ward, of Teventer, Kent,
and raised a family of nine children. One of her sons moved to America and
made his mark upon the stage and also in letters.

Will of Florence Nightingale

“Rich in honors,” says the New York World, Florence Nightingale died
“leaving the world, which had paid tribute to her as it has to few women,
her debtor.” She was known by the various names of “The Lady-in-Chief,”
“The Lady with the Lamp,” “The Lady of the Crimea,” in reference to the
service she rendered Great Britain and the world on the battle-fields of the
Crimean War.
 Longfellow wrote of her:

“On England’s annals through the long

Hereafter of her speech and song
That light its rays shall cast
From portals of the past.
A lady with a lamp shall stand
In the great history of the land
A noble type of good,
Heroic womanhood.”

The lamp referred to is the nurse’s lamp with which she used to make
her nocturnal rounds of the hospitals when all was silent.
She was born in Florence, Italy, May 12, 1820, of wealthy, English
parents, and died at her home in England, August 14, 1910. She was given
the name of the place of her birth.
Her will, recently taken from the Records of Somerset House, London, is
in the following words:
“I, Florence Nightingale, Spinster, declare this to be my last Will, revoking all wills by
me heretofore executed.
“1. I appoint my Cousins, Henry Bonham Carter, Esquire, Samuel Shore Nightingale
and Louis Hilary Shore Nightingale, Esquires (sons of my late Cousin, William Shore
Nightingale), and Arthur Hugh Clough, Esquire, to be the EXECUTORS of this my Will.
“2. I give my executors all my books, papers (whether manuscripts or printed) and
letters relating to my Indian work (together with the two stones for Irrigation maps of India
at Mr. Stanford’s, Charing Cross, and also the woodcut blocks for illustrations of those
works at Messrs. Spottiswoodes), upon trust, in their absolute discretion or in that of the
survivors or survivor of them to publish or prepare for publication such part, if any, as they
or the majority of them for the time being may think fit, and I give them a sum of two
hundred and fifty pounds for those purposes. And without limiting the exercise of such
discretion I should wish my executors to consult my friend, Sir William Wedderburn, in the
matter of such publication. And I declare that if my executors, within three years from my
death, have taken no, or only partial, steps to publish or before that time have decided not
to publish anything, the said sum of two hundred and fifty pounds, or any unexpended part
thereof, shall fall into the residue of my estate. And subject to the foregoing, I authorize my
executors to destroy all or any of the above mentioned books and papers, stones and blocks
or otherwise to dispose of the same as they may think fit.
“3. I bequeath to the children of my late dear friend, Arthur Hugh Clough and his
widow, my Cousin, Blanch Mary Shore Clough, the sum of seven thousand pounds to be
divided between them in the following proportions:
“To the said Arthur Hugh Clough two thousand pounds;
“To Blanch Athena Clough two thousand five hundred pounds, and to Florence Anne
Mary Clough two thousand five hundred pounds. I bequeath to each of them, the said
Samuel Shore Nightingale and Louis Hilary Shore Nightingale, the sum of three thousand
five hundred pounds. To each of them, Rosalind Frances Mary Nash and Margaret Thyra
Barbara Shore Nightingale (daughters of my said late Cousin, William Shore Nightingale)
the sum of one thousand five hundred pounds. I bequeath five hundred pounds to the said
Henry Bonham Carter as a tiny sign of my gratitude for his wise and unfailing exertions in
connection with our Training Schools for Nurses, and also the portraits of Sir Bartle Frere
Mohl Hallam Bunsen and the Sidney Herberts. And I also give to him a further legacy of
one thousand three hundred pounds for his objects, and to Joanna Frances Bonham Carter a
legacy of one hundred pounds. I give to Francis Galton two thousand pounds for certain
purposes and I declare that the same shall be paid in priority to all other bequests given by
my Will for charitable or other purposes. I give one hundred pounds to Mary Ureth
Frederica, the daughter of William Bacheler Coltman and Bertha Elizabeth Shore Coltman,
his wife, and fifty pounds to each of their sons, William Hew Coltman and Thomas Lister
Coltman. I bequeath three hundred pounds to J. I. Frederick, Esquire, Secretary of the
Army Sanitary Commission, three hundred pounds to Sir Douglas Galton of Chester Street,
London. I bequeath one hundred pounds each to Mary and Emily, daughters of the late Dr.
William Farr of the General Register Office; two hundred and fifty pounds to Mother
Stanislaus, Reverend Mother of the Hospital Sisters in Great Ormond Street, for her
objects; one hundred pounds to John Croft, Esquire, late Instructor of the Nightingale
Training School at St. Thomas’ Hospital, and two hundred and fifty pounds to the Mother
Superior at the time of my death of the Devonport Sisters of Mercy. I direct my executors
to purchase out of my estate an annuity of sixty pounds on the life of Miss Crossland, late
‘Home Sister’ of the Nightingale Training School at St. Thomas’ Hospital. And also an
annuity of thirty pounds on the life of Miss Vincent, now Matron of St. Marylebone
Infirmary. And I bequeath to each of those ladies respectively the annuity so purchased on
her life absolutely: each annuity to commence from the date of my decease. I bequeath one
hundred pounds to Miss Styring, now Matron of Paddington Infirmary; one hundred
pounds to Miss Spencer, now Lady Superintendent of Edinburgh Royal Infirmary; one
hundred pounds to Madame Caroline Werckner, who nursed the French Prisoners in the
Franco-German War at Breslau (now at Lymington); one hundred pounds to the daughters
of Margaret, wife of Sir Edmund Verney, in equal shares; one hundred pounds to the
daughters of Frederick W. Verney (youngest son of the late Sir Harry Verney) in equal
shares; Five hundred pounds to Paulina Irby of Serajevo, Bosnia, for her objects; One
hundred and fifty pounds to Peter Grillage (from Balaclava) and Temperance, his wife,
whose maiden name was Hatcher, now at Ridgway, Plympton, Devon, to be equally
divided between them and in case one of them should predecease me the survivor to take
the whole; Fifty pounds toFanny Dowding now McCarthy, formerly in my service; One
hundred pounds to Robert Robinson now residing at 101 West Street, Grimsbury, Banbury;
One hundred and seventy five pounds to my servant, Elizabeth Mary Coleman, if living
with me at the time of my decease, and to Ellen Pearce twenty five pounds under the same
condition; One hundred pounds to William Rathbone, Esquire, M.P. as a feeble sign of
heartfelt gratitude for his
unbounded goodness to the cause of Trained Nursing and to me; Two hundred and fifty
pounds to the said Sir William Wedderburn for certain purposes; One hundred pounds to
each of my executors as an acknowledgment of his trouble in executing the provisions of
my Will, in addition to any other legacy left to him. I bequeath one hundred pounds to Mr.
William Yeomans of Holloway House, with thanks for his kindness to the people of
Holloway for me; I leave twenty pounds for a small gold cross or crucifix to be chosen by
the said Henry Bonham Carter for Miss Pringle, formerly Matron of St. Thomas’ Hospital.
“4. I give and bequeath the following specific legacies (namely), the jewels from the
Queen and the bracelet from the Sultan and the other medals and Orders, together with my
engraving of the ground round Sebastopol, to the Managers for the time being of the
Reading Room at Herbert Hospital, or at Netley or at Aldershot or at some other place
where soldiers may see them, as my executors may in their absolute discretion decide. All
my prints, framed or otherwise (except those that I may otherwise dispose of), and
including those of the Queen and Prince Albert given me by the Queen at Balmoral, in one
thousand eight hundred and fifty six, and of Landseer’s ‘Highland Nurses’ to my executors
to be distributed by them amongst the Nightingale Training Schools for Nurses and those
connected with us, in such manner in all respects as my executors may in their absolute
discretion decide. The framed Michael Angelo photographs, the portfolio of Venice
photographs from Mrs. Bracebridge, the two lovely water colour sketches of Embley, and
the copy of Turner’s ‘Rock’ by Louisa Elenor Shore Nightingale, my father’s watch and
spectacles, the book case in the drawing room given me by the said William Shore
Nightingale and Louisa Eleanor, his wife, the portrait of Sir John McNeill, the little Soutari
clock and the box (Miss Coape’s) with all the ‘stuff’ in it, i.e. annotated in pencil by Mr.
Stuart Mill and Mr. Jowett, with their letters, et cetera, upon it, to the children of the said
William Shore Nightingale, living at my death, to be divided amongst them in such manner
as they shall agree upon, and in default of agreement as my executors, other than the said
Samuel Shore Nightingale and Louis Hilary Shore Nightingale, shall determine. The
cutlery given me by the town of Sheffield and any Tallboy or book case or tall stand for
papers he may choose to the said Samuel Shore Nightingale. The ‘Colas’ bronze of
Sophocles, all copies of the printed three volumes entitled ‘Suggestions for Thought,’ the
three volumes of Quetelet given me by Mr. Quetelet with my M. S. papers in the same
parcel, and my Dante in three volumes quarto with illustrations, to the said Rosalind
Frances Mary Nash. The sketch of the older Parthe to Mrs. Hawthorn, a bookcase or
tallboy and the picture of the head of Christ with the Crown of Thorns (Nazarene), in my
room, to the said Louis Hilary Shore Nightingale. The Titian ‘Virgin’ with the two sides of
Angioletti and the (rare) cast of the Avignon Crucifix to the said Margaret Thyra Barbara
Shore Nightingale. To each of them, the said Samuel Shore Nightingale and Louis Hilary
Shore Nightingale, Rosalind Frances Mary Nash and Margaret Thyra Barbara Shore
Nightingale, such six of my books as they shall select. The picture of Gordon in ‘The last
Watch’ to the said Louisa Eleanor Shore Nightingale. The Bible given me by Pleasley to
the said Frederick W. Verney. The Michael Angelo Sistine Chapel ceiling, stretched on two
screen poles, and my chatelain with the blue seal ring, etc. upon it to the said Bertha
Elizabeth Shore Coltman. The desk given me by Lea to Beatrice Lushington during her
life, and after her death to the said Louis Hilary Shore Nightingale. The framed ‘Nile’
given me by the said Henry Bonham Carter and the Models of Highgate Infirmary and
Chapel made by Patients there to Sibella, the wife of the said Henry Bonham Carter. The
prints which belonged to dear Hilary, namely the Correggio ‘Magdalen’ and ‘Christ in the
Garden,’ the large Michael Angelo of Isaiah (all framed), also a packet of papers of
Hilary’s (in my despatch box) to be divided between Alice Bonham Carter and her sister,
Elinor Dicey, or if either of them should die before me, all the said articles to the survivor,
but if neither of them should survive me I direct that the said papers shall be burnt. The
large framed photograph of her father, Sidney Herbert, given me by his wife, to Mary
Herbert, now Baroness Hugel. The large framed Madonna di San Sisto (with a little secret
between us about Gwendolen’s likeness) to Maude, wife of the said Frederick W. Verney;
such of my blue books, War Office, India and Statistical and Hospital Reports and Books
as he shall choose to the said J. J. Frederick, and the remainder of them to the said Sir
Douglas. The volume of Prince Albert’s speeches given me by the Queen, with her
autograph in the book, to the said Henry Bonham Carter. The life of the Prince Consort
given me by the Queen, with her autograph in it, and the Athens photograph book given me
by Emily Verney to the said Margaret Verney. The Illustrated New Testament and Prayer
Book to my two little Goddaughters, Ruth, child of the said Margaret Verney, and
Kathleen, child of the said Frederick W. Verney. The Roman Catholic books in English or
French, some of which were given me by the Reverend Mother Clare of Bermondsey, who
died in one thousand eight hundred and seventy four, to the said Mother Stanislaus; my
Schiller to Miss Shalders, formerly Governess to the children of Mrs. Frederick Verney,
and to Blanch Mary Shore Clough some article to be selected by her out of my personal
chattels, not subject to other destinations.
“5. I give and bequeath all my remaining books, clothes, furniture, trinkets and personal
chattels to my executors, requesting them thereout to give some remembrance of me to
their children and to the children of my deceased friend, the said Arthur Hugh Clough the
elder, and Blanch Shore Clough, his widow; the children of the said Bertha Elizabeth Shore
Coltman, of the said Sir Edmund Verney, of the said Frederick W. Verney, of George Lloyd
Verney and of Henry Bonham Carter and Sibella, his wife; to the widow of the said George
Lloyd Verney and to Mr. Burton of Lea School. To my beloved and reverend friends, Mr.
Charles H. Bracebridge and his wife, my more than mother, without whom Scutari and my
life could not have been and to whom nothing that I could ever say or do would in the least
express my thankfulness, I should have left some token of my remembrance had they, as I
expected, survived me. I further request my executors to distribute the whole of the
remainder of the said articles, including the useful furniture and books, amongst the
Matrons Home Sisters, Ward Sisters, Nurses and Probationers trained by us for whom they
know me to have a regard, particularly remembering the hospital of St. Thomas and of
Edinburgh and the Infirmaries of St. Marylebone and Paddington, and including the
successor of Miss Jones, formerly Superior of St. John’s, now at 30 Kensington Square.
And I declare that the gifts hereinbefore directed or authorized to be made by my executors
out of the articles aforesaid shall be entirely in the uncontrolled discretion of my executors,
both as to selection of the gifts and of the donees, other than those mentioned by name.
“6. I request that all my letters, papers and manuscripts (with the exception of the
papers relating to India and the other exceptions hereinbefore contained) may be destroyed
without examination; also that the pencil notes in the pages of any religious books may be
destroyed with the books, and I appeal to the love and feeling of my cherished friends and
executors and earnestly entreat of them entirely to fulfil these my last wishes.
“7. I declare that every legacy hereinbefore given to a legatee for his (or her) objects, or
for certain purposes, shall be considered in law as an absolute gift to such legatee and that
every powder of appropriation, user or application, hereinbefore contained shall be
exercisible by the legatee on whom the same is conferred without any liability to account
for its exercise.
“8. I direct that all legacies, annuities and bequests given by this my Will or any Codicil
thereto, whether pecuniary or specific, shall be free from duty, which shall be paid out of
my residuary personal estate.
“9. In case any of the children of the said Arthur Hugh Clough, the father, or of the said
William Shore Nightingale shall die in my lifetime, then I give and bequeath the legacy, or
legacies (specific or pecuniary) hereinbefore given to such child, to his or her children (if
any) who shall be living at my death and if more than one in equal shares.
“10. I devise and bequeath all the residue of my personal estate and effects whatsoever
and wheresoever and all my real estate of every tenure and wheresoever situate unto and to
the use of the children of the said William Shore Nightingale who shall be living at my
death, and the child or children then living of any deceased child of his absolutely, and if
more than one in equal shares, but so that the children of any deceased child of his shall
take equally between them only the share which their parent would have taken had he or
she survived me.
“11. I authorize my executors to determine what articles pass under any specific
bequest contained in this my Will or any Codicil hereto and to determine all questions and
matters of doubt arising under this my Will or any Codicil hereto. And I declare that every
such determination, whether made upon a question actually raised or implied in the acts or
proceedings of my executors, shall be conclusive and binding on all persons interested
under this my Will. And I declare that all powers, authorities and discretions thereby
expressed to be vested in or given to my executors shall be vested in and exercisible by the
acting executors or executor for the time being of this my Will. And I declare that my
executors may employ the said Louis Hilary Shore Nightingale professionally, if they think
proper, and that if so employed he shall be entitled to charge and be paid all usual
professional or other charges for any business done by him and whether in the ordinary
course of his profession or business or not.
 “12. I give my body for dissection or postmortem examination for the purposes of
Medical Science and I request that the directions about my funeral given by me to my
uncle, the late Samuel Smith, be observed; my original request was that no memorial
whatever should mark the place where lies my ‘Mortal Coil.’ I much desire this but should
the expression of such wish render invalid my other wishes, I limit myself to the above
mentioned directions, praying that my body may be carried to the nearest convenient burial
ground, accompanied by not more than two persons without trappings and that a simple
cross, with only my initials, date of birth and of death, mark the spot.
“In witness whereof I have to this my last will and testament contained in six sheets of
paper set my hand this twenty eighth day of July, one thousand eight hundred and ninety
six.
“Florence Nightingale.”

Then follows the attestation clause. There are three codicils to this
unusual will; the first making slight changes in legacies, but of no particular
interest to the general reader.
There are two items in the second codicil worthy of reproduction and
they are here given:
“4. I revoke the paragraph numbered 6 of my said will and bequeath the
letters, papers, manuscripts and books which I thereby requested might be
destroyed and the majority of which I believe should be destroyed, to my
said cousin, Henry Bonham Carter.
“5. I bequeath to Elizabeth Mary Wiggins the sum of twenty pounds and
my cats; and to my maid Ellen Kate Tugby, if she shall be in my service at
the time of my death, my parrot and the sum of two hundred and five
pounds with my best thanks for her loving service; and to my messenger,
William Magee, if he shall be in my service at the time of my death, the
sum of forty five pounds with my best thanks for his faithful service.”
The third and last codicil contains nothing which is of special
importance.

Will of Philip, Fifth Earl of Pembroke

Those who possess leisure and patience for the research might find in the
pigeon holes of will offices some remarkable evidences of human
malignity.
Among the most capricious, perhaps, is the specimen we subjoin, penned
by an Earl of Pembroke, who lived during the political turmoils of the
seventeenth century; it testifies to a shrewd knowledge of character, and is
expressed with a considerable amount of dry humor which considerably
softens its severity.
The copy from which this is taken bears the signature of the then keeper
of these records—Nathaniel Brind—beneath the words “Concordat cum
originali.”
“I, Philip, V Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, being, as I am assured,
of unsound health, but of sound memory—as I well remember me that five
years ago I did give my vote for the despatching of old Canterbury, neither
have I forgotten that I did see my King upon the scaffold—yet as it is said
that Death doth even now pursue me, and, moreover, as it is yet further said
that it is my practice to yield under coercion, I do now make my last will
and testament.
“Imprimis: As for my soul, I do confess I have often heard men speak of
the soul, but what may be these same souls, or what their destination, God
knoweth; for myself, I know not. Men have likewise talked to me of another
world, which I have never visited, nor do I even know an inch of the ground
that leadeth thereto. When the King was reigning, I did make my son wear a
surplice, being desirous that he should become a Bishop, and for myself I
did follow the religion of my master: then came the Scotch, who made me a
Presbyterian, but since the time of Cromwell, I have become an
Independent. These are, methinks, the three principal religions of the
kingdom—if any one of the three can save a soul, to that I claim to belong:
if, therefore, my executors can find my soul, I desire they will return it to
Him who gave it to me.
“Item: I give my body, for it is plain I cannot keep it; as you see, the
chirurgeons are tearing it in pieces. Bury me, therefore; I hold lands and
churches enough for that. Above all, put not my body beneath the church-
porch, for I am, after all, a man of birth, and I would not that I should be
interred there, where Colonel Pride was born.
“Item: I will have no monument, for then I must needs have an epitaph,
and verses over my carcase: during my life I have had enough of these.
“Item: I desire that my dogs may be shared among all the members of
the Council of State. With regard to them, I have been all things to all men;
sometimes went I with the Peers, sometimes with the Commons. I hope,
therefore, they will not suffer my poor curs to want.
 “Item: I give my two best saddle-horses to the Earl of Denbigh whose
legs, methinks, must soon begin to fail him. As regardeth my other horses, I
bequeath them to Lord Fairfax, that when Cromwell and his council take
away his commission he may still have some horse to command.
“Item: I give all my wild beasts to the Earl of Salisbury, being very sure
he will preserve them, seeing that he refused the King a doe out of his park.
“Item: I bequeath my chaplains to the Earl of Stanford, seeing he has
never had one in his employ; having never known any other than his son,
My Lord Grey, who, being at the same time spiritual and carnal, will
engender more than one monster.
“Item: I give nothing to my Lord Saye, and I do make him this legacy
willingly, because I know that he will faithfully distribute it unto the poor.
“Item: Seeing that I did menace a certain Henry Mildmay, but did not
thrash him, I do leave the sum of fifty pounds sterling to the lacquey that
shall pay unto him my debt.
“Item: I bequeath to Thomas May, whose nose I did break at a
mascarade, five shillings. My intention had been to give him more; but all
who shall have seen his ‘History of the Parliament’ will consider that even
this sum is too large.
“Item: I should have given to the author of the libel on women, entitled
‘News of the Exchange,’ three pence to invent a yet more scurrilous mode
of maligning; but, seeing that he insulteth and slandereth I know not how
many honest persons, I commit the office of paying him to the same
lacquey who undertaketh the arrears of Henry Mildmay; he will teach him
to distinguish between honourable women and disreputable.
“Item: I give to the Lieutenant-General Cromwell one of my words, the
which he must want, seeing that he hath never kept any of his own.
“Item: I give to the wealthy citizens of London, and likewise to the
Presbyterians and the nobility, notice to look to their skins; for, by the order
of the State, the garrison of Whitehall hath provided itself with poniards,
and useth dark lanterns in the place of candles.
“Item: I give up the ghost.”

Will of William Penn

 William Penn died in 1718. His will, which follows, and the comments
concerning it, are copied from an excellent little booklet issued by the
Chelten Trust Company of Germantown, Pennsylvania:
“I William Penn Esqr so called Cheife proprietor & Govenour of the
Pennsilvania and the Territoryes thereunto belonging, being of sound mind
and understanding, for which I bless God, doe make and declare this my
last Will and Testament.
“My Eldest Son being well provided for by a Settlement of his Mothers
and my ffathers Estate I give and devise the Rest of my Estate in manner
following
“The Government of my Province of Pennsilvania and Territories
thereunto belonging and all powers relateing thereunto I give and devise to
the most Hono’ble the Earle of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, and to William
Earle Powelett, so called, and their Heires, upon trust to dispose thereof to
the Queen or any other Person to the best advantage they can to be applyed
in such a manner as I shall herein after direct.
“I give and devise to my dear Wife Hannah Penn and her ffather Thomas
Callowhill and to my good ffriends Margarett Lowther my dear Sister, and
to Gilbert Heathcote Physitian, Samuel Waldenfield, John ffield, Henry
Gouldney, all liveing in England, and to my friends Samuel Carpenter,
Richard Hill, Isaac Norris, Samuel Preston, and James Logan, liveing in or
near Pensilvania and their heires all my lands Tenements and Hereditamts
whatsoever rents and other profitts scituate lyeing and being in Pensilvania
and the Territores thereunto belonging, or else where in America, upon
Trust that they shall sell and dispose of so much thereof as shall be
sufficient to pay all my just debts, and from and after paymt thereof shall
convey unto each of the three Children of my son Willm Penn, Gulielma-
Maria, Springett, and William respectively and to their respective heires
10,000 acres of land in some proper and beneficiall places to be sett out by
my Trustees aforesaid. All the rest of my lands and Hereditamts whatsoever,
scituate lyeing and being in America, I will that my said Trustees shall
convey to and amongst Children which I have by my present Wife, in such
proporcon and for such estates as my said Wife shall think fit, but before
such Conveyance shall be made to my Children I will that my said Trustees
shall convey to my daughter Aubrey whom I omitted to name before 10,000
acres of my said Lands in such places as my said Trustees shall think fitt.
 “All my P’sonall estate in Pennsilvania and elsewhere and arreares of
rent due there I give to my said dear Wife, whom I make my sole Executrix
for the equall benefitt of her and her Children.
“In Testimony whereof I have sett my hand and seal to this my Will,
which I declare to be my last Will, revoking all others formerly made by
me.
“Signed Sealed and Published by the Testator William Penn in the
presence of us who sett our names as Witnesses thereof in the P’sence of the
said Testator after the Interlineacon of the Words above Vizt whom I make
my sole Executrix.
William Penn.
(Five Witnesses)
“This Will I made when ill of a feavour at London with a Clear
understanding of what I did then, but because of some unworthy
Expressions belying Gods goodness to me as if I knew not what I did, doe
now that I am recovered through Gods goodness hereby declare that it is my
last Will and Testament at Ruscomb, in Berkshire, this 27th of the 5th
Month, called May, 1712.
“Wm. Penn.
(Seven Witnesses)

“Postcript in my own hand

“As a further Testimony of my love to my dear Wife I of my own mind
give unto her out of the rents of America vizt Pennsilvania 300 pounds a
year for her naturall life and for her care and charge over my Children in
their Education of which she knows my mind as also that I desire they may
settle at least in good part in America where I leave them so good an
Interest to be for their Inheritance from Generacon to Generacon which the
Lord p’serve and prosper. Amen.
Wm. Penn.”
COMMENTS ON THE WILL
This will, of interest to all Americans, has been quoted, not as showing
how to prepare a will, but how not to do it.
James Logan, man of affairs, Secretary of the Province and the business
representative of the Penn family in Pennsylvania, was dismayed when a
copy was placed in his hands. He wrote to Hannah Penn, the widow,
November 4, 1718:
“The sloop ‘Dolphin’ arrived from London, bringing us divers letters and
among ye rest one from Jno Page to me with a copy of our late Proprietor’s
will wch gives me some uneasiness as being Drawn in hast I believe by
himself only, when such a settlement required a hand better acquainted with
affairs of that Nature.
“The Estate in these parts is vested in so many without impowering any
P’ticular or a suitable number to grant and Convey, that I fear we shall be
puzzled. I hope that you will take advice there what methods must be
pursued in ye Case.”
James Logan, with his clear mind, saw at once the difficulties which
would surround the execution of such a will, and regretted that Penn had
not employed some competent person to draw up this important document
for him. Such a will, disposing of so many and varied interests, as Logan
quaintly expressed it, “required a hand better acquainted with affairs of that
Nature.”
Logan’s criticism and fears were well grounded as the litigation over the
Founder’s will extended over a period of nine years.
The life of Penn reveals him as gifted with extraordinary wisdom,
prudence, and forethought. In the ordinary as well as the trying and unusual
crises of his eventful life, these qualities stood him in good stead, but when
he came to draw up his own will they failed him, as they have failed so
many men who have tried in vain to draw a valid will.
It is a wise provision of the religious society of which Penn was one of
the founders, by which it annually recommends to its members:
“Friends are earnestly advised to inspect the state of their outward affairs
at least once in a year and to consider carefully, whilst in health, the just
disposition of their estates by will or otherwise.”

Will of Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys was an interesting figure in England in the latter part of
the seventeenth century. We know him chiefly as the well-known diarist,
though he did work of high order in connection with the British navy. He
died on May 26, 1703. Of his diary, the London Athenæum has said: “It is
the best book of its kind in the English language.”
 By his will, he left to Magdalene College, Cambridge, the Pepysian
Library of some three thousand volumes. This collection is kept in a
separate building, and contains manuscript of his celebrated diary, together
with many rare and curious documents, including the love letters of Henry
VIII to Anne Boleyn, a collection of Scottish poetry and ancient English
ballads. The diary, which was deciphered from the author’s shorthand notes,
is yet a popular book and is of standard importance to English literature,
reflecting, as it does, the court, times, characters, and peculiarities of the
age of Charles II.

Will of Cecil John Rhodes

Cecil John Rhodes, of Cape Town, South Africa, who died in 1902, was
a South African statesman and financier; an affection of the lungs
necessitated his leaving England when a young man, and he acquired fame
and wealth in the home of his adoption. Rhodes’s mode of life was the
subject of diverse criticism; he was regarded as a man actuated by selfish
motives, and preëminently, a man of money, but by his will, he left nearly
his entire fortune to educational purposes; his scholarships have
commanded the admiration of the world, and former estimates of his
character were modified. Certain portions of this remarkable will, taken
from Mr. Remsen’s excellent work, follow:
“I, The Right Honourable Cecil John Rhodes of Cape Town in the
Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, hereby revoke all testamentary
dispositions heretofore made by me and declare this to be my last Will
which I make this first day of July 1899.
“1. I am a natural-born British subject and I now declare that I have
adopted and acquired and hereby adopt and acquire and intend to retain
Rhodesia as my domicile.
“2. I appoint (naming seven persons) to be the Executors and Trustees of
my Will and they and the survivors of them or other the Trustees for the
time being of my Will are hereinafter called ‘My Trustees.’
“3. I admire the grandeur and loneliness of the Matoppos in Rhodesia
and therefore I desire to be buried in the Matoppos on the hill which I used
to visit and which I called the ‘View of the World’ in a square to be cut in
the rock on the top of the hill covered with a plain brass plate these words
thereon—‘Here lie the remains of Cecil John Rhodes’ and accordingly I
direct my Executors at the expense of my estate to take steps and do all
things necessary or proper to give effect to this my desire and afterwards to
keep my grave in order at the expense of the Matoppos and Bulawayo fund
hereinafter mentioned.”
The testator gives certain pecuniary legacies, directs the erection or
completion of a monument on the said hill in memory of certain dead, and
provides for interments thereon. He provides for the cultivation of certain of
his lands “for the instruction of the people of Rhodesia,” the establishment
of a park, “planted with every possible tree,” with funds for their
maintenance.
He places in trust certain property for the use of his brothers and sisters
with gift over. He gives his college in the University of Oxford a sum of
money for the erection of new college buildings and other purposes. He
provides, by means of a trust, for the use of his residence and grounds at
Cape Town as a public park until the Federal Government of the State of
South Africa shall be founded, and thereafter as the residence of the Prime
Minister in that government.
After reciting his educational views and desire to promote unity among
the English-speaking people throughout the world, the testator provides for
the establishment of certain scholarships at the University of Oxford, for the
benefit of students for British Colonies and the United States of America.
To this, by codicil, he subsequently added certain scholarships for the
benefit of German students. He also prescribes certain rules and regulations
for the election of students to such scholarships.
“36. My trustees shall invest the scholarship fund and the other funds
hereinbefore established or any part thereof respectively in such
investments in any part of the world, as they shall in their uncontrolled
discretion think fit and that without regard to any rules of equity governing
investments by trustees and without any responsibility or liability should
they commit any breach of any such rule, with power to vary any such
investments for others of a like nature.”
“37. Investments to bearer held as an investment, may be deposited by
my Trustees for safe custody in their names with any banker or banking
company or with any company whose business it is to take charge of
investments of that nature and my trustees shall not be responsible for any
loss incurred in consequence of such deposit.”
 “40. I give the residue of my real and personal estate unto such of them
the said (persons who are named as Executors and Trustees,) as shall be
living at my death absolutely and if more than one as joint tenants.”
“41. My Trustees in the administration of the trust business may instead
of acting personally, employ and pay a Secretary or Agent to transact all
business and do all acts required to be done in the trust including the receipt
and payment of money.”
“42. My intention is that there shall be always at least three Trustees of
my Will so far as it relates to the Scholarship Trusts and therefore I direct
that whenever there shall be less than three Trustees, a new Trustee or new
Trustees shall be forthwith appointed.”
“In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand the day and year first
above written.
“C. J. Rhodes.”
(Subscribed by three witnesses.)
CODICIL
There is a long codicil to the will wherein the testator devises in tail his
palatial home, known as “The Delham Hall Estate” and makes disposition
of his great treasures in heirlooms, in and about Delham Hall.

Will of Cardinal Richelieu

This very interesting and remarkable will is extremely rare to find,
although the copy from which we take it was in print, having been
preserved, among many other curious papers, by M. Bourée, of Châtillon;
docketed along with it was a collection of isolated papers, all more or less
piquants, relating to the famous and formidable cardinal, and consisting of
satirical verses, epitaphs, lampoons, parasitical flatteries, apologies, etc.
There is also a rough copy of a billet d’enterrement, apparently drawn up
with the intention of being distributed to the court to invite them to the
funeral.
Our readers will no doubt peruse with curiosity the last wishes of this
pompous and magnificent minister, who contrived to rehabilitate himself
after an early disgrace, to maintain his proud supremacy to the last, and to
die bequeathing gifts to his sovereign and master.
 Of his luxury and extravagance, his nepotism so costly to the country,
his assumption of power, and the art with which he knew how to make
himself obeyed and feared by all classes and conditions of men, history
amply informs us in details scarcely credible at the present day; and that it
was he who by his despotism and tyranny laid the foundations of that
terrible revolution, which blasted the face of the country and cast its fatal
blight, more or less fatally, over the whole civilized world, none are likely
to forget.
If we wanted an instance of pomp, unexampled even in the history of the
Roman Empire, of uncompromising consideration as claimed by and
accorded to this parvenu prince, whose personal expenses are estimated at
more than a thousand crowns a day—considerably more than the monarch
he served had at his private disposal—we may find it in the narrative of his
(happily) last journey from Tarascon to Paris. It is to be regretted the
famous Tarasque had not broken loose that day and devoured him before he
started on his egotistical expedition.
Pronouncing himself unable to bear the fatigue of saddle, carriage, or
litter, he ordered a room to be built of light boards covered with crimson
satin damask, which was to be furnished with a bed, two chairs, and a table
for his secretary; this movable house was hoisted on the shoulders of
eighteen of the cardinal’s guards, to be relieved at stated distances; they
were to walk on bareheaded, no matter what weather, and it was during the
month of August, or about the hottest season in France.
When this singular cortège—for the cardinal was followed by carriages
containing his numerous suite—arrived at the towns he had to pass through,
they found the walls and gates already demolished and cleared away by the
direction of a vanguard of attendants sent on before to see that room was
made for his Eminence to pass without delay or interruption.
When he reached Paris, chains were stretched along both sides of the
streets to keep back the people who crowded them to contemplate in
wonder and silent awe the despot, who a few days before, had hurried to the
scaffold the youthful Cinq-Mars and his virtuous friend De Thou.
This sight made a profound and lasting impression on the youthful
Bossuet, who, being on that day fifteen years of age, arrived in Paris for the
first time.
 It would be superfluous to cite this will in its entirety; we therefore only
transcribe such passages as we feel will be of general interest, and these we
give verbatim.
It is dated Narbonne, 23d of May, 1642, and bears the signature of Pierre
Falconis, notaire royal. It is contained in twelve quarto pages of very close
printing.
After two paragraphs of pious preamble and directions for his funeral, it
proceeds to appoint to his niessce, Madame la Duchesse d’Eguillon (sic), all
the cash in gold and silver he might possess at his decease, except a sum of
1,500,000 livres to be placed in the hands of his Majesty immediately on his
death for a purpose he will explain farther on. It then goes on to declare that
by contract he had given to the Crown “ ... Mon grand hostel que j’ai basti
sous le nom de Palais Cardinal, ma chapelle d’or enrichie de diamans, mon
buffet d’argent ciselé, et un grand diamant que j’ai acheté a Lopez, toutes
lesquelles choses le roi a eu agréable par sa bonté d’accepter à ma trez
humble et très instante supplication....
“Je supplie S. M. d’avoir agréables huit tentures de tapisserie et trois lits
que je prie Madame la Duchesse d’Eguillon, ma niessce, et M. de Noyers
de choisir entre mes meubles, pour servir à une partie de l’ameublement des
principaux appartemens du dit Palais Cardinal.
“Comme aussi je la supplie d’agréer la donation que je lui fais en outre
de l’hostel qui est devant le Palais Cardinal, lequel j’ai acquis de feu M. le
Commandeur de Sillery, pour au lieu d’icelui faire une place au devant du
dit palais.
“Je supplie aussi très humblement S. M. de trouver bon que l’on lui
mette entre les mains la somme de 1,500,000 livres dont j’ay fait mention
cy-dessus, de laquelle somme je puis dire avec vérité de m’estre servi très
utilement aux plus grandes affaires de son estat, en sort que si je n’eusse eu
cet argent à ma disposition quelques affaires qui ont bien succédé eussent
apparemment mal réussi, ce qui me donne sujet d’oser supplier S. M. de
destiner ceste somme que je lui laisse, pour employer en diverses occasions,
qui ne peuvent souffrir la longueur des formes de finance.”
He then orders all his property, whether in esse or in posse, to be
distributed as follows. The list supplies some idea of the shameless extent to
which this man, who began life without any kind of fortune, enriched
himself at the expense of the State.
 “Je donne et légue à Armand de Maillé, mon nepveu et fileul, fils
d’Arban de Maillé, Marquis de Brézé, Mareschal de France, et de Nicole du
Plessis, ma seconde sœur, et en ce je l’institue mon héritier pour les droicts
qu’il pourrait prendre en toutes les terres et autres qui se trouveront en ma
succession ainsi que s’ensuit.”
These biens consisted of (for the share of this nephew alone) the duché
et pairie of Fronsac et Caumont; of the lands and Marquisate of Graville; of
the county of Beaufort en Vallée; of the lands and barony of Fresne; of
300,000 livres deposited at the Château de Saumur; and of the ferme des
poids de Normandie, the returns from which amount to 50,000 livres
annually.
Next comes the before-named niece who, over and above the biens
settled on her at her marriage, was to have “ ... la maison où elle loge à
present, nommé le Petit Luxembourg, joignant le palais de la reine, mère du
roi; ma maison et ma terre de Ruel; le domaine de Pontoise; la rente que
j’ay à prendre sur les cinq grosses fermes de France qui monte à 60,000
livres par an.
“Item: A ma dite niessce, tous les cristaux, tableaux, et autres pièces qui
sont dans le cabinet principal de la dite maison le Petit Luxembourg, sans y
comprendre l’argenterie du buffet dont j’ay dejà disposé.
“Item: Je lui donne aussi toutes mes bagues et pierreries à l’exception
seulement de ce que j’ay laissé à la Couronne, ensemble un buffet d’argent
vermeil doré neuf, pesant 535 marcs 4 gros, contenu en deux coffres faits
exprez.”
The next legatee is his nephew, François de Vignerot, to whom he leaves
first the sum of 200,000 livres on condition that he shall lay it out in the
purchase of an estate, to enjoy it during his lifetime, and after his decease to
go to Armand, his eldest son, or to whichever of his sons succeeds to the
title of Duc de Richelieu. He leaves him further his duché-pairie de
Richelieu with the appurtenances, dependencies, and lands thereto
belonging.
Item: The lands and barony of Barbézieux;
Item: The lands and principality of Mortagne;
Item: The county of Cosnac, the baronies of Coze, Laugeon and d’Alvas,
the domain of Hiers en Brouage, the hostel of Richelieu planned and
ordered to be built adjoining the Palais Cardinal.
 Item: The tapestries representing the history of Lucretia, bought of M. le
Duc de Chevreuse, with all the figures, statues, busts, pictures, crystals,
cabinets, tables, and other furniture at present in the conciergerie of the
Palais Cardinal, in order worthily to furnish and adorn the said Hostel de
Richelieu, when it shall be completed; and besides these all other movables
or immovables, claims upon the king or his domains, and generally all
property not as yet disposed of by this will; but all and only on the
condition that he shall assume the sole name of Du Plessis Richelieu, and
that neither he nor his descendants shall ever be known by any other, or
quarter any other arms, under the following penalties....
To this nephew, the cardinal also leaves his library, but with the proviso
that it is to be at the service of all members of the family, and also of the
public; and he desires, therefore, that on his decease, a full and complete
catalogue be made under the directions of his executors, who are to call to
their assistance two Doctors of the Sorbonne, who shall be present during
the making of the said inventory; which, being made in duplicate, one copy
was to be deposited in his own library, signed by his executors and by the
said Doctors of the Sorbonne; and the other copy, similarly signed, in the
Sorbonne itself.
There are further conditions attached to the ownership of the library, viz.,
that a librarian shall be appointed at a salary of one thousand livres per
annum; three candidates having first been chosen by the Sorbonne and
nominated by his successors. He desires further that a person shall be kept
to sweep out the library every day, and to beat, dust, and wipe the books at
stated and frequent intervals, at a yearly wage of four hundred livres. He
also stipulates that one thousand livres shall be put by every year for the
purchase of additional books.
He explains that his “niessce la Duchesse d’Enghien” having displeased
him by her marriage, he leaves her nothing, “moyennant ce que je lui ai
donné en dot, dont je veux et ordonne qu’elle se contente.”
After several clauses relating to the edifice of the Sorbonne, to his burial,
to several constructions to be added to the Hostel de Richelieu, and to a
legacy of sixty thousand livres to the “vingt pères de la mission établie à
Richelieu,” he adds a very characteristic clause as follows:
“Et d’autant plus qu’il a plu à Dieu benir mes travaux et les faire
considérer par le roy mon bon maistre, en les reconnoissant par sa
munificence royale, audessus de ce que je pouvoir espérer, j’ay estimé, en
faisant ma disposition présente, devoir obliger mes héritiers à conserver
l’établissement que j’ay fait en ma famille, en sorte qu’elle se puisse
maintenir longuement en la dignité et splendeur qu’il a plu au roi lui
donner, afin que la posterité connoisse que si je l’ay servi fidellement, il a
sçu par une vertu toute royale m’aymer et me combler de ses bienfaits.”
And here follow certain conditions which need not be detailed.
In the next clause the pride of family crops up again: “Je defends à mes
héritiers de prendre alliance en des maisons qui ne soient pas vrayement
nobles, les laissant assez à leurs aise pour avoir plus d’égards à la naissance
et à la vertu qu’aux commodités et aux biens.”
The clause relating to servants and their bequests is worth quoting, as
testimony to the magnificence of his Eminence’s retinue:
“Pour marque de la satisfaction que j’ay des services qui m’ont esté
rendus par mes domestiques et serviteurs je donne au Sieur Didier, mon
aumosnier, 1500 liv.; au Sieur de Bar, 10,000 liv.; au Sieur de Manse, 6000
liv.; au Sieur de Belesbat, parceque je ne lui ay encore rien donné, 10,000
liv.; à Beaugensi, 3000 liv.; à Estoublon, 3000 liv.; au Sieur de Marsal, 3000
liv.; au Sieur de Palvoisin, parceque je ne lui ay jusques icy rien donné,
12,000 liv.; à Grenillé, 2000 liv.; à Blouin, 6000 liv.; au Sieur Cytois, 6000
liv.; au Sieur Renaudot, 2000 liv.; à Bertereau, 6000 liv.; à Des Bornais,
mon valet de chambre, 6000 liv., et je desire qu’il demeure concierge, soutz
mon petit neveu, du Pont de Courlay, dans le Palais Cardinal; au Cousin,
6000 liv.; à l’Espolette et à Prévost, chacun 3000 liv.; à Picot, 6000 liv.; à
Robert, 3000 liv.; au Sieur de Graves et de Saint-Leger, mes escuyers,
chacun 3000 liv.; et en outre, mes deux carosses avec leurs deux attelages
de chevaux, ma litière et les trois mulets qui y servent, pour estre également
partagés entre mes dits deux escuyers; à Chamarante et Du Plessis, chacun
3000 liv.; à Vilandry, 1500 liv.; à De Roques, dixhuit chevaux d’escole,
après que les douze meilleurs de mon escurie auront esté choisies par mes
parents; au Sieur de Fortes Cuieres, 6000 liv.; à Grandpré, capitaine de
Richelieu, 3000 liv.; à la Jeunesse, concierge de Richelieu, 5000 liv.; au
petit Mulat, qui escrit soutz le Sieur Charpentier, mon secrétaire, 1500 liv.;
à la Garde, 3000 liv.; à mon premier cuisinier, 2000 liv.; à mon credencier,
2000 liv.; à mon premier cocher, 1500 liv.; à mon premier muletier, 1200
liv.; à chacun de mes valets de pied, 600 liv.; et généralement à tous les
autres officiers de ma maison scavoir: de la cuisine sommeliers et escuyers,
chacun six années de leurs gages outre ce qui leur sera deu jusques au jour
de mon decez.
“Je ne donne rien au Sieur Charpentier, mon secrétaire, parceque j’ay eu
soin de lui faire du bien pendant ma vie; mais je veux rendre ce temoignage
de luy, que durant le longtemps qu’il m’a servy, je n’ay poinct connu de
plus homme de bien, ny de plus loyal et plus sincère serviteur.
“Je ne donne rien aussi au Sieur Cherré, mon autre secrétaire, parceque
je le laisse assez accommodé, estant néanmoins satisfait des services qu’il
m’a rendus.
“Je donne au baron de Broye, héritier du feu Sieur Barbin, que j’ay sceu
estre en nécessité, la somme de 30,000 livres.”
The remainder of the will consists of various, and we may add very
numerous, formalities, signatures of witnesses, etc.
It is a curious fact that, on the death of the last surviving descendant of
the Du Plessis family, 17th of May, 1822—a man, be it observed, of
singular probity and true grandeur of character—the colossal fortune
amassed by the cardinal had dwindled down to such small proportions that
all that remained of it was swallowed up in paying off the debts of his
profligate father, and of his grandfather, the notorious Duc de Richelieu
who figures so largely in the “Chronique Scandaleuse” of his day.

Will of Jean Jacques Rousseau

Although Rousseau’s will was made in 1737, it remained unknown to
the world until 1820. It never was executed, nor ever became an effectual or
a legal document; but it is, nevertheless, curious as testifying to the state of
mind of the writer and the fervent sentiments of piety he entertained at the
age of twenty-five.
The original, which is well authenticated, was found in the garret of an
old house at Chambéry. It was among the forgotten minutes of a former
notary of that town, named Rivoire, and occupied pages 104, 105, and 106
of the minute. It is dated June 7, 1737—a day on which, as stated in the
will, Rousseau met with an accident which obliged him to keep his bed, and
having a bandage on his forehead covering his eyes, was thus prevented
signing his will; though, says the notary, “sain de ses sens ainsi qu’il a paru
par la suite et solidité de ses raisonnements.” It seems to have been a case
of “The devil was sick,” etc., and the will appears to be such as Rousseau
was not likely to have written at any other moment.
The deed was received at the house of M. Le Comte de St. Laurent,
Contrôleur-général des finances de S. M. le Roi de Sardaigne, inhabited at
the time by Madame Warens, who afterwards occupied so large a place in
the life of Rousseau.
The testator, after making the sign of the Cross, recommending his soul
to God, and begging the intercession of the holy Virgin and of SS. John and
James, his patrons, professes his intention of living and dying in the faith of
the Catholic apostolic and Roman Church. He leaves his obsequies to the
discretion of his heiress, and charges her to see that prayers are offered for
the repose of his soul.
After these preliminaries he bequeaths 16 livres to each of the Convents
of the Capuchins, the Augustinians, and the Clares of Chambéry, that they
may celebrate masses for the repose of his soul.
He bequeaths his patrimony to his father, praying him to be content
therewith as gratitude renders it his duty to dispose of his other possessions
in favor of his benefactors.
He leaves 100 livres to the Sieur Jacques Barillot of Geneva; he appoints
as his heir Madame Françoise-Louise de la Tour Comtesse de Warens, to
whom he declares it his wish to pay over and above this, the sum of 2000
livres to cover the expenses of his board during ten years. Finally he
recognizes a debt of 700 livres in favor of the Sieur Charbonnel, a
tradesman of Chambéry, for goods delivered and money lent.
The will is signed by Claude Morel (procureur au sénat), Antoine Bonne
des Echelles, Jacques Gros de Vanzy, Antoine Bouvard, Pierre Catagnole
and Pierre Cordonnier. The seventh witness, Antoine Forraz de Bissy, is
declared “illitéré.” This act was registered 22d of July, 1737, in fol. 662 of
the second book of the year 1737.
According to all appearance this will was not engrossed, and Rousseau,
whose life was so checkered, and who so often changed his domicile,
probably forgot all about it, and about the accident which occasioned it,
when he drew up his Confessions.
The Journal de Savoie, under date 7th of April, 1820, supplies some
curious particulars as to the minutes of the above-named notary, Rivoire,
among which were found a power of attorney to Jacques Barillot by
Rousseau, to withdraw at Geneva the rights of his mother Suzanne Bernard.
This document is dated 12th of July, 1737, and registered on the 15th of the
same month.
Rousseau, born at Geneva, 28th of June, 1712, died at Ermenonville, 2d
of July, 1778.

Will of Lord St. Leonards

The necessity that there should be some better fashion for the safe
keeping of wills, during the lifetime of testators, than at present exists, is,
perhaps, more vividly portrayed in the case of the late Lord St. Leonards
than in any other on record. In this case we have the loss of the will, not
only, of one of the astutest of lawyers, the most orthodox of conveyancers,
but of a man who had made it his chief pleasure and study during the last
four years of his life to provide for the disposition of his worldly wealth,
when his Creator should summon away his spirit from earth, and return his
mortal frame to the dust from which He had made it. Moreover, the testator
is no less a person than the very ingenious conveyancer, Lord Chancellor of
England, and author himself of that famous “Handy-book,” in which men
are exhorted in the most convincing manner to make due and thorough
disposition of their earthly possessions. Here, during the years he had been
engaged in making his will, the greatest care was evinced for the
preservation of the precious document, as it was not only kept locked up in
a box, but during his Lordship’s illness the Honorable Miss Charlotte
Sugden, his daughter, took charge of the box and retained it in her custody
until her father should be able to leave his room, when it was replaced by
her in its ordinary position, and where it remained until his last illness,
when she again took charge of it, and in whose custody it continued until
his Lordship’s death in January, 1875. After the solemn ceremony of the
funeral this well-cared-for box was opened, but, alas! the will was not there.
How this strange circumstance occurred no one has been able to furnish any
information; but the loss gave rise to litigation of the most serious character
in the Court of Probate. The triumph gained in that court by Miss Sugden in
establishing a will, carrying out the wishes of her father, on the simple basis
of her recollection of the contents of the lost document, is as wondrous an
achievement as any one well could imagine, and testifies to the grave
respect with which her evidence must have been regarded by the searching
judgment and scrutinizing eye of the learned judge.
 Notwithstanding all this, the loss of the will has not escaped the
attendance of great and grievous evils, unnecessary to be related.
The judge having in a most eloquent manner reviewed the case, as
elucidated by the pleadings of the very learned counsel engaged on the trial,
most admirably concluded his summing-up with the following remarks:
“Now let me call attention to a passage in one of Lord St. Leonards’ own
works which has a bearing upon this subject, and it shows how the wisest of
men may be mistaken, as I think, in the advice which they give to others.
And I may say this case illustrates the false security in which Lord St.
Leonards lived, and in which I dare say we all of us live. With the other
members of his family, he lived in the belief that his Will was secure from
the hands and eyes of either the curious or the dishonest. It was thought that
the only means of access to it was by the only key which Lord St. Leonards
carried about him; and that there was no means of access to the duplicate
key, which would open the Will-box, and yet it turned out that there were no
less than four keys in the house by which anybody might have opened the
escritoire in which the duplicate key was kept, and so have obtained
possession of it. Believing as I do that this Will has been lost, and not
destroyed by the testator, and that the loss has arisen from its insecure
custody, though that custody seemed to all concerned to be perfectly safe, it
is well that it should be known and I particularly desire that it should be
known to the public, that the law has provided a means of obtaining as
nearly a certainty as can be obtained in human affairs that a Will will be
forthcoming at the death of the testator....
“The result is that I find as a fact, that the Will of 1870 was duly
executed and attested; that the several codicils also were duly executed and
attested; that the Will was not revoked by the testator; and I further find that
the contents of the Will were, with the exception I have mentioned, as set
out in the declaration.”

Will of William Shakespere

“Vicesimo quinto die Martii, Anno Regni Domini nostri Jacobi nunc
Regis Angliæ, &c., decimo quarto, et Scotiæ quadragesimo nono. Anno
Domini 1616.
“In the name of God, Amen. I, William Shakespere, of Stratford-upon-
Avon, in the county of Warwick, gent., in perfect health and memory, (God
be praised!) do make and ordain this my last Will and testament in manner
and form following; that is to say:
“First, I commend my soul into the hands of God my creator, hoping,
and assuredly believing through the only merits of Jesus Christ my Saviour,
to be made partaker of life everlasting; and my body to the earth whereof it
is made.
“Item: I give and bequeath unto my daughter Judith one hundred and
fifty pounds of lawful English money, to be paid unto her in manner and
form following; that is to say, one hundred pounds in discharge of her
marriage portion within one year after my decease, with consideration after
the rate of two shillings in the pound for so long time as the same shall be
unpaid unto her after my decease; and the fifty pounds residue thereof, upon
her surrendering of, or giving of such sufficient security as the overseers of
this my Will shall like of, to surrender or grant, all her estate and right that
shall descend or come unto her after my decease, or that she now hath, of,
in, or to, one copyhold tenement, with the appurtenances, lying and being in
Stratford-upon-Avon aforesaid, in the said county of Warwick, being parcel
or holden of the manor of Rowington, unto my daughter Susanna Hall, and
her heirs for ever.
“Item: I give and bequeath unto my said daughter Judith one hundred
and fifty pounds more, if she, or any issue of her body, be living at the end
of three years next ensuing the day of the date of this my Will, during which
time my executors to pay her consideration from my decease according to
the rate aforesaid: and if she die within the said term without issue of her
body, then my Will is, and I do give and bequeath one hundred pounds
thereof to my niece Elizabeth Hall, and the fifty pounds to be set forth by
my executors during the life of my sister Joan Hart, and the use and profit
thereof coming, shall be paid to my said sister Joan, and after her decease
the said fifty pounds shall remain amongst the children of my said sister,
equally to be divided amongst them; but if my said daughter Judith be
living at the end of the said three years, or any issue of her body, then my
Will is, and so I devise and bequeath, the said hundred and fifty pounds to
be set out by my executors and overseers for the best benefit of her and her
issue, and the stock not to be paid unto her so long as she shall be married
and covert baron; but my Will is, that she shall have the consideration
yearly paid unto her during her life, and after her decease the said stock and
consideration to be paid to her children, if she have any, and if not, to her
executors or assigns, she living the said term after my decease: provided
that if such husband as she shall at the end of the said three years be
married unto, or at any (time) after, do sufficiently assure unto her, and the
issue of her body, lands answerable to the portion by this my will given
unto her, and to be adjudged so by my executors and overseers, then my
Will is, that the said hundred and fifty pounds shall be paid to such husband
as shall make such assurance, to his own use.
“Item: I give and bequeath unto my said sister Joan twenty pounds, and
all my wearing apparel, to be paid and delivered within one year after my
decease; and I do Will and devise unto her the house, with the
appurtenances, in Stratford, wherein she dwelleth, for her natural life, under
the yearly rent of twelve-pence.
“Item: I give and bequeath unto her three sons, William Hart, —— Hart,
and Michael Hart, five pounds a-piece, to be paid within one year after my
decease.
“Item: I give and bequeath unto the said Elizabeth Hall all my plate
(except my broad silver and gilt bowl) that I now have at the date of this my
Will.
“Item: I give and bequeath unto the poor of Stratford aforesaid ten
pounds; to Mr. Thomas Combe my sword; to Thomas Russel, esq., five
pounds; and to Francis Collins of the borough of Warwick, in the county of
Warwick, gent., thirteen pounds six shillings and eight-pence, to be paid
within one year after my decease.
“Item: I give and bequeath to Hamlet (Hamnet) Sadler twenty-six
shillings eight-pence, to buy him a ring; to William Reynolds, gent., twenty-
six shillings eight-pence, to buy him a ring; to my godson William Walker,
twenty shillings in gold; to Anthony Nash, gent., twenty-six shillings eight-
pence; and to Mr. John Nash, twenty-six shillings eight-pence; and to my
fellows, John Hemynge, Richard Burbage, and Henry Cundell, twenty-six
shillings eight-pence a-piece, to buy them rings.
“Item: I give, Will, bequeath, and devise, unto my daughter Susanna
Hall, for better enabling of her to perform this my Will, and towards the
performance thereof, all that capital messuage or tenement, with the
appurtenances, in Stratford aforesaid, called the New Place, wherein I now
dwell, and two messuages or tenements, with the appurtenances, situate,
lying, and being in Henley Street, within the borough of Stratford aforesaid;
and all my barns, stables, orchards, gardens, lands, tenements and
hereditaments whatsoever, situate, lying, and being, or to be had, received
perceived, or taken, within the towns, hamlets, villages, fields, and grounds
of Stratford-upon-Avon, Old Stratford, Bishopton, and Welcombe, or in any
of them, in the said county of Warwick; and also all that messuage or
tenement, with the appurtenances, wherein one John Robinson dwelleth,
situate, lying, and being, in the Blackfriars in London, near the Wardrobe;
and all other my lands, tenements, and hereditaments whatsoever; to have
and to hold all and singular the said premises, with their appurtenances,
unto the said Susanna Hall, for and during the term of her natural life; and
after her decease to the first son of her body lawfully issuing, and to the
heirs males of the body of the said first son lawfully issuing; and for default
of such issue, to the second son of her body lawfully issuing, and to the
heirs males of the body of the said second son lawfully issuing; and for
default of such heirs, to the third son of the body of the said Susanna
lawfully issuing, and to the heirs males of the body of the said third son
lawfully issuing; and for default of such issue, the same to be and remain to
the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh sons of her body, lawfully issuing one
after another, and to the heirs males of the bodies of the said fourth, fifth,
sixth, and seventh sons lawfully issuing, in such manner as it is before
limited to be and remain to the first, second, and third sons of her body, and
to their heirs males: and for default of such issue, the said premises to be
and remain to my said niece Hall, and the heirs males of her body lawfully
issuing; and for default of such issue, to my daughter Judith, and the heirs
males of her body lawfully issuing; and for default of such issue, to the
right heirs of me the said William Shakespere for ever.
“Item: I give unto my wife my second best bed, with the furniture.
“Item: I give and bequeath to my said daughter Judith my broad silver
gilt bowl. All the rest of my goods, chattels, leases, plate, jewels, and
household-stuff whatsoever, after my debts and legacies paid, and my
funeral expenses discharged, I give, devise and bequeath to my son-in-law,
John Hall, gent., and my daughter Susanna his wife, whom I ordain and
make executors of this my last Will and testament. And I do entreat and
appoint the said Thomas Russel, esq., and Francis Collins, gent., to be
overseers hereof. And do revoke all former Wills, and publish this to be my
last Will and testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto put my hand,
the day and year first above written.
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