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diff --git a/41075-h/41075-h.htm b/41075-h/41075-h.htm index adfdc51..7a9ad59 100644 --- a/41075-h/41075-h.htm +++ b/41075-h/41075-h.htm @@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /> <title> The Curiosities and Law of Wills, by John Proffatt—A Project Gutenberg eBook </title> @@ -47,46 +47,7 @@ </style> </head> <body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's The Curiosities and Law of Wills, by John Proffatt - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Curiosities and Law of Wills - -Author: John Proffatt - -Release Date: October 16, 2012 [EBook #41075] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CURIOSITIES AND LAW OF WILLS *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41075 ***</div> <p class="figcenter"><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" /></p> <p> </p><p> </p> @@ -515,12 +476,12 @@ languages.</p> <p>She further gives certain gifts to members of her family: “To Sir Nichol Clifton, Knyght, and to Alianore his wif, my doughter, and to Thomas -Clifton here sone, £120, euenliche to be departed betwix ham thre; and if +Clifton here sone, £120, euenliche to be departed betwix ham thre; and if Thomas here sone forsayd deyeth, I wol that it torne to profet of his fader and his moder.”</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>We should not expect to find any will previously to the Reformation -without a legacy to say masses. Lady West gives £18 10<i>s.</i>, “for to synge +without a legacy to say masses. Lady West gives £18 10<i>s.</i>, “for to synge and seye 4400 masses for my lord Sir Thomas West is soule, and for myne, and for alle cristene soules,” and they are to be “done” within “fourteen night after her deces.” There is another bequest to Christ Church, where @@ -629,7 +590,7 @@ of it lay heavily upon his conscience, and hence the following provision in his will, which was dated December 30th, 1546, about three weeks before his death. One of the directions was: “That, as soon as may be after our departure from this world, the Dean and Chapter shall have manors, etc., -to the yearly value of £600 over all charges, made sure to them and their +to the yearly value of £600 over all charges, made sure to them and their successors, forever, upon the conditions hereafter ensuing.” Among the other provisions were the following:</p> @@ -651,7 +612,7 @@ Poor Knightes, to every of them twelf pens every daye, and ones in the yere yerely forever, a long joune of white cloth, with the garter upon the brest, embrodered with a sheld and cross of Sainte George within the garter, and a mantel of red cloth, and to such one of the said thirtene -Poor Knightes as shall be appointed to be hed and gouvernour of them, £3 +Poor Knightes as shall be appointed to be hed and gouvernour of them, £3 6s. 8d. yerely forever, over and besides the said twelf pennes by the daye.</p> @@ -730,7 +691,7 @@ right of this principle in early society, the property acquired by an individual went into the general stock of the family, as a necessary <i>appanage</i>, and was in the name of the head of that family, and at his decease, by a principle of early law, devolved in due course upon the -successor, or the <i>hæres</i> of the Roman law, who took it with all the +successor, or the <i>hæres</i> of the Roman law, who took it with all the obligations of the deceased. Society had not yet so advanced as to make the individual an object of its care and government, and recognize him as a distinct unit apart from the family; and succession—“universal @@ -754,13 +715,13 @@ Teutonic nations wills were unknown, and the children inherited.<a name='fna_7' effect, until after death—characteristics which we necessarily associate with a will in modern times. A will then was more like a conveyance in a man’s lifetime—a sale of the family rights, property, and obligations, in -the presence of witnesses, to a person known as the <i>Emptor Familiæ</i>, who +the presence of witnesses, to a person known as the <i>Emptor Familiæ</i>, who assumed the place of the testator as head of the family. He might be compared to an assignee under our law, with this difference, that the latter is only liable as far as he has assets. Wills were usually witnessed by seven witnesses, who sealed outside upon a thread, and after some time, deposited in the archives during the life of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> the testator, and -opened in the presence of the prætor or other officer, after decease, and +opened in the presence of the prætor or other officer, after decease, and any person might have a copy, being matter of record.<a name='fna_8' id='fna_8' href='#f_8'><small>[8]</small></a></p> <p>The Roman law did not permit the entire disposition of property by will, @@ -871,7 +832,7 @@ favor of religious uses, such as were deemed for the soul’s health of the testator. Whenever, by accident or extreme feebleness, the exercise of this right was prevented, the third thus left at the disposal of a person was of right claimed by the clergy, as the “dead man’s part,” to be -appropriated for his benefit, <i>pro animæ salute</i>. This would lead to the +appropriated for his benefit, <i>pro animæ salute</i>. This would lead to the intervention of the spiritual courts in the distribution of an intestate’s estate, especially as they had full power over the probate. So it became the invariable custom to take the third of an intestate’s goods for pious @@ -1041,7 +1002,7 @@ woman, who during her lifetime did not conduct herself so as to make the old man’s life a placid or a happy one. After his death she set up a nuncupative will, said to have been made <i>in extremis</i>, by which the whole estate was given to her, in opposition to a will made three years before -the testator’s death, giving £3,000 to charitable uses. The nuncupative +the testator’s death, giving £3,000 to charitable uses. The nuncupative will was proved by nine witnesses; and after examination in the course of a trial, it appeared most of the witnesses were perjured, and Mrs. Cole was found guilty of subornation. It was then that Lord Nottingham said: “I @@ -1134,7 +1095,7 @@ the same was uttered.<a name='fna_38' id='fna_38' href='#f_38'><small>[38]</smal <p>Even as to soldiers and sailors great strictness is required. In the first place, soldiers must be on actual military service. The military testament -was first conceded by Julius Cæsar to all soldiers, but it was +was first conceded by Julius Cæsar to all soldiers, but it was subsequently limited by Justinian to those engaged on an expedition;<a name='fna_39' id='fna_39' href='#f_39'><small>[39]</small></a> and our courts in modern times have invariably adhered to the principle that there must be actual warfare.</p> @@ -2217,7 +2178,7 @@ to the value of $800,” or “of all the horses which I may have in my at the time of my death,” is specific.<a name='fna_110' id='fna_110' href='#f_110'><small>[110]</small></a></p> <p>A bequest to a wife in the following words: “I give and bequeath to my -wife, A, the annual sum of £300 sterling each and every year during her +wife, A, the annual sum of £300 sterling each and every year during her natural life, in order that she may live in quiet and easy circumstances,” and which, with other legacies afterwards given to her, was expressed to be in lieu of dower, was held to be specific.</p> @@ -2244,9 +2205,9 @@ specific.<a name='fna_113' id='fna_113' href='#f_113'><small>[113]</small></a></ <p>With respect to legacies for money, securities for money, debts, etc., under some circumstances even pecuniary legacies are held to be specific, -as of a certain sum of money in a certain bag or chest;<a name='fna_114' id='fna_114' href='#f_114'><small>[114]</small></a> or of £200, +as of a certain sum of money in a certain bag or chest;<a name='fna_114' id='fna_114' href='#f_114'><small>[114]</small></a> or of £200, the balance due the testator from his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> partner on the last settlement -between them;<a name='fna_115' id='fna_115' href='#f_115'><small>[115]</small></a> but a legacy of “£400 to be paid to A,” in cash, is a +between them;<a name='fna_115' id='fna_115' href='#f_115'><small>[115]</small></a> but a legacy of “£400 to be paid to A,” in cash, is a general legacy.<a name='fna_116' id='fna_116' href='#f_116'><small>[116]</small></a></p> <p>Stock or government securities, or shares in public companies, may be @@ -2254,7 +2215,7 @@ specifically bequeathed, where, to use the expression often applied, there is a clear reference to the “corpus” of the fund. Thus, the word “my,” preceding the word stock or annuities, has been several times adjudged sufficient to render the legacy specific; as where the bequest is of “<i>my</i> -capital stock of £1,000 in the India Company’s stock.”<a name='fna_117' id='fna_117' href='#f_117'><small>[117]</small></a> So a bequest +capital stock of £1,000 in the India Company’s stock.”<a name='fna_117' id='fna_117' href='#f_117'><small>[117]</small></a> So a bequest of all the testator’s right, interest, and property in thirty shares of the Bank of the United States of America is a specific legacy.<a name='fna_118' id='fna_118' href='#f_118'><small>[118]</small></a></p> @@ -2324,7 +2285,7 @@ courts of equity have established two positive rules of construction: 1. That a bequest to a person <i>payable</i>, or <i>to be paid</i>, at or when he shall attain twenty-one years of age, or at the end of any other certain determinate time, confers on him a vested interest immediately on the -testator’s death, as <i>debitum in præsenti solvendum in futuro</i>, and +testator’s death, as <i>debitum in præsenti solvendum in futuro</i>, and transmissible to his executors or administrators; for the words <i>payable</i>, or <i>to be paid</i>, are supposed to disannex the time from the gift of the legacy, so as to leave the gift immediate, in the same manner, in respect @@ -2378,7 +2339,7 @@ gathered from the words of the will, must prevail.</p> <p>As an illustration of the rule in regard to the vesting of legacies on personal estate, the following is in point: A testator bequeathed to his -daughters the sum of £3,000, five per cent. navy annuities, and all the +daughters the sum of £3,000, five per cent. navy annuities, and all the dividends and proceeds arising therefrom, to be equally divided between them, and all his estate at S, to be equally divided between them <i>when they should arrive at twenty-four years of age</i>. One of his daughters died @@ -2386,27 +2347,27 @@ before she attained the age of twenty-four years. The court was of opinion that, according to the true rule of construction, the word <i>when</i> could not be otherwise considered than as denoting the <i>period of payment</i>, and must not be deemed as a condition precedent upon which the legacy was to -vest, but merely postponing the payment of this £3,000, with the dividends +vest, but merely postponing the payment of this £3,000, with the dividends thereon, till twenty-four.<a name='fna_132' id='fna_132' href='#f_132'><small>[132]</small></a></p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>A legacy of £30 was given to an infant to bind him an apprentice. The +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>A legacy of £30 was given to an infant to bind him an apprentice. The infant died before he attained a proper age to be bound an apprentice. It was decreed that this legacy was vested, and the infant being seventeen years old, and having made a will, and named an executor, it was allowed -to be a good disposition of the £30.<a name='fna_133' id='fna_133' href='#f_133'><small>[133]</small></a></p> +to be a good disposition of the £30.<a name='fna_133' id='fna_133' href='#f_133'><small>[133]</small></a></p> <p>As to charging legacies on real estate, and observing the rule above laid down, the following is in point:</p> -<p>T S, by will, gave his daughter £1,000, to be paid by his executor at her +<p>T S, by will, gave his daughter £1,000, to be paid by his executor at her age of twenty-one, or marriage, which should first happen, willing the same to be raised out of the rents and profits of the lands; and further willed, that in case his son should die before the age of twenty-one, or without heirs of his body lawfully begotten, then from and after the death of his son, he gave all his said lands, etc., to the defendant, he making -up his daughter’s portion to £2,000; and the daughter died soon after the +up his daughter’s portion to £2,000; and the daughter died soon after the testator’s death, an infant, unmarried, upon which her mother took out -letters of administration and claimed the £2,000; it was decreed that she +letters of administration and claimed the £2,000; it was decreed that she was not entitled to any part of it, for it appears that the intention of the testator was that it should be for a portion, and it is expressly called a portion in the will; it is no personal legacy, but money to be @@ -2614,9 +2575,9 @@ such consent, he does not lose the legacy. Such a condition is said to be <i>in terrorem</i> only—something like an idle threat, to prevent persons exercising an imprudent choice.</p> -<p>In Bellasis v. Ermine,<a name='fna_153' id='fna_153' href='#f_153'><small>[153]</small></a> a suit was brought for £8,000, given to the +<p>In Bellasis v. Ermine,<a name='fna_153' id='fna_153' href='#f_153'><small>[153]</small></a> a suit was brought for £8,000, given to the plaintiff’s wife. The defendant pleaded that it was given her provided she -married with the consent of A, and, if not, that she should have but £100 +married with the consent of A, and, if not, that she should have but £100 per annum; and that she married without the consent of A. It was ordered that the plea be overruled. And the court all declared that this proviso was but <i>in terrorem</i>, to make the person careful, and that it would not @@ -2628,12 +2589,12 @@ another named in the will, in case of a breach of the condition, the legatee will be entitled, notwithstanding a marriage without consent. The reason of this is said to be, that the courts cannot relieve against the forfeiture without doing an injury to the person to whom it is limited -over.<a name='fna_155' id='fna_155' href='#f_155'><small>[155]</small></a> Thus, A bequeathed £3,000 to his daughter, the plaintiff +over.<a name='fna_155' id='fna_155' href='#f_155'><small>[155]</small></a> Thus, A bequeathed £3,000 to his daughter, the plaintiff Garret’s wife, at twenty-one or marriage, and recommended her to the care of S, provided that, if she married without the consent of S, her legacy -of £3,000 was to cease, and she was to have but £500, and made the +of £3,000 was to cease, and she was to have but £500, and made the defendant, his son, executor. The plaintiff married the daughter without -the consent of S, yet the court decreed her the whole £3,000, with +the consent of S, yet the court decreed her the whole £3,000, with interest from the marriage, and principally because it was not expressly devised over.<a name='fna_156' id='fna_156' href='#f_156'><small>[156]</small></a></p> @@ -2686,7 +2647,7 @@ when the deceased, if living, would become entitled.<a name='fna_163' id='fna_16 be given during minority, the representative of the deceased may claim the legacy immediately.<a name='fna_164' id='fna_164' href='#f_164'><small>[164]</small></a></p> -<p>A legacy of £500 was given to the eldest son of A to be begotten, to place +<p>A legacy of £500 was given to the eldest son of A to be begotten, to place him out apprentice; A had a son born after the death of the testator; and on a bill brought by him for the legacy, it was decreed to be paid, though it was before the time when he was fit to be placed out an @@ -2750,11 +2711,11 @@ interest may be claimed in cases where it is allowed at all.<a name='fna_176' id <p>The rule as to interest being reckoned on a specific legacy from the death of the testator was strictly applied in the case of Churchill v. Speake,<a name='fna_177' id='fna_177' href='#f_177'><small>[177]</small></a> where a testator made a specific bequest of a mortgage for -£1,000 to his wife, and desired her to give the sum of £500 to M C, his +£1,000 to his wife, and desired her to give the sum of £500 to M C, his grandchild; “but, for the time and manner of doing it, I leave it freely to herself, and as she shall see it best for her”; and the wife exercised this freedom so well as to live twenty years after the testator, and never -paid the £500; and the court decreed payment of it to M C, with interest +paid the £500; and the court decreed payment of it to M C, with interest from the testator’s death.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>The inquiry to whom legacies are to be paid is one of great importance to @@ -2919,7 +2880,7 @@ date of the will, and is not to be extended to an after taken wife.<a name='fna_ <p>A testator was betrothed to a lady, and by a codicil to his will, after mentioning her name, and alluding to his intended marriage with her, he -gave £3,000 <i>to his wife</i>. Before the marriage he died, and it was held +gave £3,000 <i>to his wife</i>. Before the marriage he died, and it was held that the lady was entitled to the legacy.<a name='fna_196' id='fna_196' href='#f_196'><small>[196]</small></a></p> <p>A gift to “my servants,” it is thought, will extend<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> to those in @@ -2983,7 +2944,7 @@ of the persons or things so described was intended by the testator.</p> <p>Thus, when a <i>blank</i> is left for the Christian name of the legatee, parol evidence is admissible to supply the omission, as in the case of Price v. Page,<a name='fna_202' id='fna_202' href='#f_202'><small>[202]</small></a> in which the testator bequeathed “to —— Price, the son of -—— Price, the sum of £100.” No person but the plaintiff claimed the +—— Price, the sum of £100.” No person but the plaintiff claimed the legacy, and he produced evidence from which it appeared that he was the son of a niece of the testator; that his father and grandfather’s names were Price; that the testator had no other relation of that name, and that @@ -3010,7 +2971,7 @@ total blank.</p> <p>If, however, a legatee be described by initials of his name only, parol evidence may be given to prove his identity. This was done in the case of Abbott v. Massie,<a name='fna_205' id='fna_205' href='#f_205'><small>[205]</small></a> where the bequest was: “Pint Silver Mug and all my -China to Mrs. G., and £10 for mourning.” Mrs. Gregg claimed the legacies, +China to Mrs. G., and £10 for mourning.” Mrs. Gregg claimed the legacies, and (the Master having refused to admit testimony) offered to show that she was the person intended. Exception was taken to his ruling, upon which the court declared that he ought to receive evidence to prove who Mrs. G. @@ -3316,7 +3277,7 @@ wealth and aggrandizement of a distant posterity who should bear his name.</p> <p>Peter Thellusson was born at Paris, of Swiss parentage, his father being a minister from Geneva to the French court. He settled in London as a merchant at an early age, was naturalized, and, on the foundation of a -fortune of £10,000, raised the princely possessions which afterwards +fortune of £10,000, raised the princely possessions which afterwards became the subject of litigation. It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> is said that he was generally respected, and, though a severe economist, lived in a style suitable to his wealth. His three sons were all members of Parliament. In the @@ -3336,16 +3297,16 @@ should become entitled to the whole three lots, consolidated into one huge mass of landed property. The property was thus tied up in the hands of trustees, and kept from enjoyment for three generations. Shortly after executing this extraordinary will, on 21st July, 1797, Mr. Thelusson died. -The money which the will sought to accumulate was estimated at £600,000. +The money which the will sought to accumulate was estimated at £600,000. An accountant of that time calculated the accumulation—limiting it to seventy-five years, the shortest possible period during which the property -would be tied up—at £27,182,000, an immense sum, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> which he deemed +would be tied up—at £27,182,000, an immense sum, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> which he deemed would be considerably less than the sum it would be likely to reach when the improvement of money at a higher rate and the lengthened duration of the last survivor were taken into account. It was estimated, by one of the counsel in the case, that if there were three descendants to take, each -would have an income of £650,000 a year; if only one, he would have an -income of £1,900,000 a year, more than double the revenue of the king’s +would have an income of £650,000 a year; if only one, he would have an +income of £1,900,000 a year, more than double the revenue of the king’s civil list, and surpassing the largest territorial fortune then known in Europe. Chancellor Kent, regarding it from his time, has said that if the limitation should extend to upwards of one hundred years, as it might, the @@ -3374,9 +3335,9 @@ all such vast estates that get into the grist-mill of the lawyers. The litigation has been so expensive, that what with fees of lawyers, fees of courts, commissions to trustees, and the expense of management, the <i>corpus</i> of the estate has been pretty well eaten up. The expenses of -management from January, 1816, to 1833, exceeded £122,700. The only -increase in respect of income was £8,356, and an accumulation of capital -of £326,364.</p> +management from January, 1816, to 1833, exceeded £122,700. The only +increase in respect of income was £8,356, and an accumulation of capital +of £326,364.</p> <p>The extent of time to which property is allowed to accumulate is very carefully and strictly defined in our statutes. It is generally only @@ -3992,7 +3953,7 @@ estate of an intestate, are required to resort.”</p> <p>As a will is governed in its interpretation according to the law of the place where the testator had his domicile, therefore, if a testator, born and domiciled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> in England during his whole life, should, by his will, give -his personal estate to his heir-at-law, that the <i>descriptio personæ</i> +his personal estate to his heir-at-law, that the <i>descriptio personæ</i> would have reference to, and be governed by, the import of the terms in the sense of the laws of England.<a name='fna_294' id='fna_294' href='#f_294'><small>[294]</small></a> The import of them might be very different if the testator were born or domiciled in France, Pennsylvania, @@ -4077,7 +4038,7 @@ there during the years 1816 and 1817. In his third will there was a revocation clause, canceling the first and second wills, in these words:</p> <p>“Je revoque tous les testaments et codiciles que J’ai pu faire avant le -présent auquel seul Je m’arrète comme contenant mes dernierès volantes.”</p> +présent auquel seul Je m’arrète comme contenant mes dernierès volantes.”</p> <p>The object of the suit in the Supreme Court was as to the disposition of a fund belonging to Kosciusko in the United States, which, it was claimed, @@ -4110,8 +4071,8 @@ destination. As for the present, do what you think best.”</p> <p>As the will of 1816 revoked the two previous wills, the disposition of the fund became canceled.</p> -<p>But in the will of 1817, by the second clause, he provided: “Je léque tous -mes effets, ma voiture, et mon cheval y comprise à Madame et à Monsieur +<p>But in the will of 1817, by the second clause, he provided: “Je léque tous +mes effets, ma voiture, et mon cheval y comprise à Madame et à Monsieur Zavier Zeltner, les hommes ce dessus.” It was on this clause the dispute arose; because it was claimed that by the words “mes effets,” the property in the United States passed, that it was a residuary devise, and that all @@ -4139,14 +4100,14 @@ property, which by its nature is fixed and immovable, to be controlled and affected by foreign laws. Hence it is the law of the place where the real estate is situated that governs in its distribution, and as to the proper execution of a will devising it. This is expressed by the formula that the -<i>lex locus rei sitæ</i> governs. Thus, a devise of lands in England, though +<i>lex locus rei sitæ</i> governs. Thus, a devise of lands in England, though made abroad, must be executed pursuant to the English statute. Thus, where C made his will abroad, devising lands in England, but the same was executed in the presence of <i>two</i> witnesses, (three being necessary, at the time of its execution, to devise lands in England) in accordance with the law where he was domiciled, it was held that the will must be void as to lands in England, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> lands can only pass by such a will as the laws -of England require, and that the <i>lex rei sitæ</i> should govern.<a name='fna_302' id='fna_302' href='#f_302'><small>[302]</small></a></p> +of England require, and that the <i>lex rei sitæ</i> should govern.<a name='fna_302' id='fna_302' href='#f_302'><small>[302]</small></a></p> <p>And if a testator, by his will, direct personal property to be invested, in another State, in certain trusts of real estate there lawful, but not @@ -4163,7 +4124,7 @@ inconsistent with the law of the testator’s domicile.<a name='fna_303' id= <p>Jarman<a name='fna_304' id='fna_304' href='#f_304'><small>[304]</small></a> considers that a will of realty is construed according to the law of the country where the land is situated; but Story,<a name='fna_305' id='fna_305' href='#f_305'><small>[305]</small></a> Greenleaf,<a name='fna_306' id='fna_306' href='#f_306'><small>[306]</small></a> and others are of opinion that this doctrine of the <i>lex -rei sitæ</i> does not apply to the construction, as distinguished from the +rei sitæ</i> does not apply to the construction, as distinguished from the execution, of wills. There are several American authorities on either side, the balance, however, being in favor of the law as stated by Jarman.</p> @@ -4805,7 +4766,7 @@ described was intended by the testator.</p> <b>“Effects”</b>—meaning of in will, pp. <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">meaning of in will of Kosciusko, p. <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.</span><br /> <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span><br /> -<b>Emptor familiæ</b>—position of in Roman law, p. <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.<br /> +<b>Emptor familiæ</b>—position of in Roman law, p. <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.<br /> <br /> <b>Erasures</b>—and interlineations in a will, effect of, p. <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.<br /> <br /> @@ -4845,7 +4806,7 @@ described was intended by the testator.</p> <br /> <b>Harcourt, Mr. Granville</b>—will of, p. <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.<br /> <br /> -<b>Hæres</b>—of Roman law, description of, p. <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.<br /> +<b>Hæres</b>—of Roman law, description of, p. <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.<br /> <br /> <b>Henry VIII</b>—will of, providing for dean and canons of Windsor, p. <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.<br /> <br /> @@ -4938,7 +4899,7 @@ described was intended by the testator.</p> <br /> <b>Lex domicilii</b>—governs will of personal property, p. <a href="#Page_174">174</a>.<br /> <br /> -<b>Lex rei sitæ</b>—governs will of real property, p. <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.<br /> +<b>Lex rei sitæ</b>—governs will of real property, p. <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> <span class="large">M.</span><br /> @@ -5261,7 +5222,7 @@ introduction, taken from Doctors’ Commons, London.</p> <p><a name='f_22' id='f_22' href='#fna_22'>[22]</a> Hale, Hist. of Com. Law, 28.</p> -<p><a name='f_23' id='f_23' href='#fna_23'>[23]</a> Greenleaf, Evid., vol. I, §26.</p> +<p><a name='f_23' id='f_23' href='#fna_23'>[23]</a> Greenleaf, Evid., vol. I, §26.</p> <p><a name='f_24' id='f_24' href='#fna_24'>[24]</a> Lord Hardwicke, in Ross v. Ewer, 3 Atk. 156, said: “There is nothing that requires so little solemnity as the making of a will of personal @@ -5462,9 +5423,9 @@ solicitor.</p> <p>In June, 1828, the London papers recorded the singular will of a testator named Garland, containing the following clause: I bequeath to my monkey, -my dear and amusing Jacko, the sum of £10 sterling per annum, to be +my dear and amusing Jacko, the sum of £10 sterling per annum, to be employed for his sole use and benefit; to my faithful dog Shock, and my -well-beloved cat Tib, a pension of £5 sterling; and I desire that, in case +well-beloved cat Tib, a pension of £5 sterling; and I desire that, in case of the death of either of the three, the lapsed pension shall pass to the other two, between whom it is to be equally divided. On the death of all three, the sum appropriated to this purpose shall become the property of @@ -5609,8 +5570,8 @@ his wife remain a widow—he must have her display the appropriate October, 1864, in London, declares: “That, in the event of my dear wife not complying with my request, <i>to wear a widow’s cap after my decease</i>, and in the event of her marrying again, that then, and in both cases, the -annuity which shall be payable to her out of my estate shall be £20 per -annum and not £30.” As there was no stipulation as to the time the widow’s +annuity which shall be payable to her out of my estate shall be £20 per +annum and not £30.” As there was no stipulation as to the time the widow’s cap was to be worn, probably Mrs. Robbins found it easy to comply with the letter of the request in her husband’s will, and yet indulge her own taste in the matter. In contradistinction to this was the will of Mr. Edward @@ -5809,7 +5770,7 @@ papers. There is no need to ask which of them has gained the prize—the sparkling eyes of the fortunate “hundred-pound girl” reveal the secret more quickly than it could be spoken by the lips. The scene seems to be one in which Mr. Raine took deep interest, for in his will, after -appointing his nephews to purchase £4,000 stock in order to make a +appointing his nephews to purchase £4,000 stock in order to make a permanent provision for these marriage portions, he says: “I doubt not but my nephews would cheerfully purchase the said stock if they had seen, as I have, six poor innocent maidens come trembling to draw the prize, and the @@ -6310,382 +6271,6 @@ Turbett, 3 Yeates, 187.</p> <p><a name='f_373' id='f_373' href='#fna_373'>[373]</a> 4 Vesey, 406.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Curiosities and Law of Wills, by John Proffatt - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CURIOSITIES AND LAW OF WILLS *** - -***** This file should be named 41075-h.htm or 41075-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/0/7/41075/ - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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