A BEAUTIFUL WILL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 370, 9 April 1908, Page 4

A BEAUTIFUL WILL.

One of the most beautiful wills ever written (says the Quiver) is that of Chailes au American gentleman, who died lately. He was a man of no property, yet he bequeathed, from a heart overflowing with love and kindness, that which was priceless. Here are some of his quaintly-ex-pressed bequests “Item. —I give to good fathers and mothers, in trust for their children, all good little words of praise and encouragement, and all quaint pet names and endearments. “Item. —I leave to children inclusively, all and every, the flowers of the fields and the blossoms of the woods, with the right to play among them Ireely according to the customs of children, warning them at the same time against thistles and thorns. And I leave the children the long, long days to be merry in, in a thousand ways, and the night and the moon and the train of Milky Way to wonder at. “Item, —I devise to boys jointly, all the useful idle fields and commons where ball may be played ; all pleasant waters where one may swim ; and all streams and ponds where one may fish, or where, when grim winter comes, one may skate ; and all meadows with the clover blossoms and butterflies thereof, the woods and their appurtenances, the squirrels and birds, the echoes and strange noises ; and I give to said boys each his own place at the fireside at night; with all pictures that may be seen in the burning wood, to enjoy without let or hindrance and without any cumbrance of care.”