A TEETOTAL RAINBOW

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 4566, 18 January 1902, Page 4 (Supplement)

A TEETOTAL RAINBOW

A WIDOW'S QUEEIi DELUSION. (From Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON, November 24. The testamentary dispositions of tne late Mrs. Catherine Worsley, sometime of "Misspah,” Ain Anaub, Mount Lebanon, Syria, who died at the age of 80 in February, 1899, leaving property worth about .£40,000, have been the subject of Probate Court enquiry’ during the past week. As usual the parties objecting to Mrs Worsley’s will alleged that she was not quite right in lift' head when she willed away her property to strangers in blood, and the other side maintained she was. Certainly there were very reasonable grounds for doubting the lady’s sanity’, during her later years, at any rate. The history of the case is interesting. Mrs. Worsley had for a great many’ years suffered tortures from neuralgia, winch she described as her “ octopus.” Thinking that a warmer climate would suit her complaint she and her husband, an exarmy chaplain, determined to go to Sy r ria. They took with them itichard Webb, who for many y’ears had acted as coachman to Mrs. Worsley’, and finally settled down at Ain. Anaub, Moufit,Lebanon, and took tho house "Mizpah.” The testatrix, who took a groat interest in religious teaching in schools, found that in the schools there children were taught Christian principles but wore not baptised. She therefore started a school where the children should be baptised and was assisted by Webb, who became a proficient Arabic scholar. Differences arose between Mr. Webb and Mrs. Worsley and ho moved to Jaffa where he started the business of a driver, driving visitors from Jaffa to Jerusalem. Unfortunately, on one of .his journeys ho "fell amongst thieves” who stripped him of everything he had, and left him half dead, lie was found by a good Samaritan, carried to Jerusalem, and after a time Mrs. Worsley holding that God Almighty had punished him again took him into her service. Subsequently’ Webb came to this country for tho purpose of raising funds for the advancement of Christianity in Syria. Eventually ho returned to Syria, and was employed at some waterworks at Bcyront, Mrs. Worsley corresponding with him. In Juno, 1397, she made a will in Arabic, leaving Mr. Webb the “ legal overseer" of the landed property. By the will now in question he was made residuary legatee. She left her settled property for the home to Mr. Vincent, as trustee, to receive tho income- and to forward it to Webb, whom she appointed manager of tho home. Tho unsettled property’, amounting to about .£3OOO, was left to some of her relations.

Mr. Inderwick, who opposed the will, showed that though in certain matters Mrs. Worsley was quite capable of managing her affairs she had certainly some first class delusions about Webb, i'rom her correspondence she appeared to have been under the impression that there was some “ spiritual contact" between her and Webb. She thought Webo had been appointed by Providence to look alter the interests" of the natives on Mount Lebanon; that there .was a covenant; and that a rainbow was seen under which she and Webb travelled; that she had been seen on one side of tho rainbow and Webb on the other, and that sometimes they were side by side in tho middle of the rainbow. •* She believed that they were bound together by a spiritual and religious bond, and she could not do anything without him. Counsel read a letter, written by Mrs. Worsley, in which she described a marvellous rainbow, which descended over the trap in which she was driving, and travelled with it for over half a mile. At last the trap came to a public-house, she looked to seo if the rainbow would pass over it, but tho rainbow went up a lane behind tho public-house. Mrs. Worsley looked upon the rainbow as a sign of God’s special protection over her and regarded it as a bond between herself and Webb. The case was eventually settled out of court on terms that were not disclosed.