Ways of Living.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 364, 30 April 1903, Page 2

Ways of Living.

WHIMSICAL WILLS. aTKHE other day a man was/ found -Am aE * a * he t ,aßemeß k °* oae °* *" a shops, and on examining the body his will was discovered, being worn across his chest as a chest protector. Of course people generally deposit these documents in a place of security, so perhaps the individual in question thought the place he had decided upon the best for the purpose. In another case a young lady wrote her will on a pillow, using a dull pencil for the purpose, and this unique will was duly recorded and j filed to meet the requirements of the law of the United State?. Where Marriage had been a Failure. Not only do testators adopt curious ways of recording their last will and testament, but many make use of peculiar subject matter. A few years ago a wealthy French lady who was found dead in bed had, by will, bequeathed her fortune to her native eity. A sum, however, was reserved for hjer funeral arrangements, but those who carried these out were instructed to bury her 'as far as possible from the grave of her late husband.' One would infer from this condition that marriage in her case had not been a success. Another testator left his two daughters 'their weight in M Bank of England notes,' and when weighed one claimed .£51,200 and the other £57 344 under the will.

On Smoking and Dinners. Two or three years ago attention was drawn to the will of an American citizen who held very strong views with regard to cigarette smoking, and who decreed that no one who smoked cigarettes should receive a legacy. Fortunately for them, however, his heirs held similar views. Another testator of somewhat different opinions left a legacy of £6OO to five friends, to be spent on dinners every year in order to keep Lis memory green. His favourite dishes were to be included in the menu, while the guests were to partake of the meal in black gloves and to the accompamiment of accordion music. A Greenock lady, in another case, left a large sum for benevolent purposes, and she, too, gave directions respecting a dinner which was to take place on Hallowe'en, October 31st, every year. The trustees and executors were to meet on that occasion 'to consult with pleasure on tbe goed this bequest will bring about. Eccentric Millionaires. Millionaires also indulge in eccentric bequests occasionally. A Frenchman, for instance, has bequeathed all his wealth to an attempt to induce his country to adopt phonetic spelling j and a German directed in his will that his heir should visit every country in the world before he settled down in a home of his own. Of course, this necessitated considerable globe-trotting, but the test did not end there, for the young man had to write an account of his travels, and this had to be pronounced original, interesting, and free from grammatical errors by certain professors of German literature, before he was entitled to the wealth. An eccentric old bachelor, directed that there should be divided among 100 little girl waifs every year for forty-nine years the interest of £10,000; while another gentleman, who died at Saratoga, United States, requested that after death a musical-box should be placed in his vault and played at frequent intervals. He was particularly fond of music during life, and after death his strange bequest was complied with, his wife visiting the cemetery every day for the purpose. A Beal Eomance, Another whimsical will was left by a lady some little time ago. She had a young French lady as companion, and she bequeathed the whole of her fortune, amounting to £16.000, in trust to her on certain conditions. One was that she was to continue the search for the lady's son who had run away from home some years before, and which had been in progress for a long time, and if she succeeded in finding him, then they were to marry and divide the estate between them. Should either of tbem refuse to marry, the one so acting was to receive only onefourth, the remainder of the estate going to tl e other one. Success crowned her effoits, for in course of time she found him, and before he knew the terms of his mother's will they fell in love with each other, and he sought her hand in marriage.