MORE REMARKABLE WILLS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1917, 17 August 1888, Page 31

MORE REMARKABLE WILLS.

. M. Meynard, mayor of Valreas, Vaucluse, France, in his will bequeathed the bulk of his fortune to his body. A sumptuous mausoleum was to be erected, and a further large gum. was to be invested, and the interest

applied to keeping it in repair. His heirs opposed the will, and 'the Tribunal of Orange declared it null and void, on the ground that the French code denies personnatite civile to a corpse. An old gentleman who hanged himself in the Ternes Quartier of Paris, perpetrated a joke before adjusting the fatal noose. Although very wealthy, he was a confirrred misanthrope, and possessed with a perfect mania for annoying his fellows. He dwelt at the top of a large house, the concierge of which he found an especial delight in tormenting. When the latter was informed that his persecutor had hanged himself, he could not refrain from uttering an exclamation of delight; but when he learned that the suicide had left him a legacy, he declared, with tears in his eyes, that his erstwhile persecutor was a worthy person after all, and eagerly inquired the amount of the property bequeathed to him. The suicide's will was placed in his" hands. The last paragraph read as follows :—": — " lam disgusted with life, so I am quitting it. I leave to my concierge my portrait, and the rope with which I shall hang myself." People On the point of committing suicide are not usually in a facetious frame of mind ; but there is an exception to every rule. Mr Thornaa Tnke, of Wath, near Rotherham, dying in 1810, bequeathed a penny to every child who should be present at his funeral. As a result the churchyard walks were literally liaed with children to the number of 600 or 700, and their pennies were duly distributed to them there. He also bequeathed a shilling to every poor woman in Wath, whilst to his own daughter he only bequeathed the miserable pittance of four guineas per annum. To an old woman who had nursed him and attended to his every want for 11 years, he bequeathed the not very munificent sum of one guinea, for, as'the will expressed it, " tucking me up in bed." He also ordered 40 dozen penny buns to be thrown from the church tower at noon on Christmas Day for ever, leaving a sum of money for the purpose. For some years the buns were distributed in accoi dance with the will ; but eventually, owing to the conduct of the crowd which annually assembled, only six dozen were thrown from the tower, the remainder being quietly given away below. A farmer, who died deeply indebted to his landlord, had for years been vexed by the conduct of a pump, which was out of repair. He had periodically tried to induce his landlord to renew the trees, which were leaky, i but the latter had contented himself with repairing the leather bucket, or sucker. In his will, T.liich was addressed to his landlord, the farmer, after thanking him for his leniency in not pressing for the rent, devised to him " all the money which I have from time to time dropped into the pump, well wrapped up in rag." The landlord came to look at the pump, and having assured himself that it was possible to drop money into the well, certain biicks which covered it bearing the appearance of having frequently been moved, ordered the pump to be taken up and the well searched. When the pump was removed it was found to be impossible to descend into the well unless the " trees " were taken out. The landlord ordered this to be done, and remained on the spot. No money was found ; but two large holes were discovered in the bottom tree. The old farmer had his way. The " trees " were renewed. A country squire finding himself approaching his end, summoned his family around him. All came except his second son, who, not thinking that his father was near death, had gone hunting. " Where is Tom ? " asked the dying man. " He is gone hunting," was the reply. " Get me my will." The will was procured, and the squire cut Tom off without the proverbial shilling, but left him the horse on which he had ridden out, adding the following to the bequest : — "If Grey Friar" (the horse) "breaks my son Tom's neck he is to do no more work for the remainder of his life."