445 appropriated, like the letter which still lies in an American post-office, addressed to " A Christian, Chicago." An American young lady exhibited a depth of sentiment rarely equalled, when she directed in her will that tobacco should be planted over her grave, that the weed, nourished by her dust, might be smoked by her bereaved lovers. Cremation clauses are now becoming com mon, but these appear only in the wills of advanced and strong-minded people. Other provisions are made by nervous people, moved chiefly by the dread of being buried alive. This was the case with John Blount Price, a justice of the peace of Islington, whose will was recently published. Mr. Blount declared in his will, that four days after death two skilful surgeons were to be paid five pounds each to perform such an operation on his body as would prevent the possibility of his coming to life in his coffin. The Viscount de Carros Lima, who threat ened his heirs with the loss of their property if they buried him in the family vault, fur ther enjoined on them to have his body watched until decomposition set in. A sim ilar provision was made by Dennis Crofton, an Irish gentleman, last year. One Vienna millionnaire was so anxious about his corpse, that he would not let it be left in the dark. Not only did he provide for the vault to be lighted by electricity, but he also ordered the coffin to be so illuminated, science thus coming in a gruesome fashion to the aid of security. Lord Newborough claimed by will the peculiar privilege of being twice buried. His remains are now finally laid at rest in Bardsey Island, off the Welsh coast; but to the dead peer's honor be it said that the strictest economy was enjoined in his obse
quies, and the housekeeper at Bonveau, who watched his every glance, received a legacy of £5,000 and an annuity of #600 a year. The " waiting will " is a constant source of irritation. The professors of Vienna University were delighted to learn this year that Count Hardegg had left their institu tion £50,000; but when it came out that the money was to accumulate for one hundred years, by which time it would have increased to $18,000,000, the wits decided that Count Hardegg should have been styled half-boiled. The most hard-headed business men occa sionally like to keep their heirs waiting. Mr. McCalmont, the stock-broker, provided that his nephew, Captain McCalmont, must wait seven years for his inheritance of $30,000,000. Perhaps the legatee who has the least chance of realizing, is the one mentioned by a wicked Finn, who left all his property to the devil. Finland is now probably the only country where the devil is a land-owner. Some notice was taken at the time of the fact that the name of the legatee appeared in capital letters throughout the will. The inference was that the testator wished to make a good impression upon him, with an eye to securing indulgence when they met. Even the devil's name in the will is better than none, which has been the case with certain large properties this year and last. A feature of the year has been the ten dency of gentlemen to draw up wills in favor of ladies to whom they are engaged. Mr. Rawson, for instance, left all his property to Miss Vizetelly. In like manner a Miss Bessie Macdonald, a young lady of Glasgow, has become possessed of a handsome legacy and a hotel in New York, left to her by one who hoped to marry her.
