Ancient, Curious, and Famous WillsHarris, Virgil M. (Virgil McClure)
History
Ancient, Curious, and Famous Wills
Harris, Virgil M. (Virgil McClure)
Wills
Church of Christ is one universal and Catholic Church, a communion of
saints not confined to time or place, name or party of Christians, but
that every one who exercises deep and sincere repentance towards God,
unfeigned faith in his beloved Son and worketh righteousness, is born of
God.
“And I do more expressly press it upon her under every circumstance of
life, to consider that day as worse than lost, in which she does not
seek earnestly communion with her Heavenly Father under the special
influence of His Holy Spirit, and she may be positively assured that
this may be done even amidst the common and ordinary business of life as
in the most profound and secret retirements, assisted by the ordinances
of his gospel; would also earnestly recommend her habitually living
under prevailing sense of God’s overruling providence, which, however
wonderful, regards the smallest things of those who love and fear him,
even to the numbering of the hairs of the heads.
“As to all and singular, the temporal estate wherewith it has pleased
God in his undeserved mercy to amply reward my industry and application
to business, for the use and enjoyment of which I do him my most
grateful thanks, acknowledging his great goodness and beneficence to me
therein, I do dispose of the same and all my estate therein in the
following manner, wishing to do what I think by solemn and serious
consideration, will not be contrary to his divine will, but in the end
may advance the honor of his great name.”
Thereafter follow the bequests.
A PARTNERSHIP WITH GOD
We might head this paper “Why Paul Duhalde made his Will,” for certainly
no idea could be much more original than that on which its principal,
and disputed, clause was founded.
A brief sketch of the history of Paul Duhalde cannot fail to interest
our readers, and will best explain the peculiarity of this testamentary
document.
This individual was born at Paris in 1691; he died in 1725; he was the
son of a dealer in diamonds, and lost his father at the age of sixteen
years, when he was sent to Spain by his mother to learn the arcana of
the business. The lad had no success, and returned. He was then placed
with a merchant at Rouen, but did not get on, and subsequently passed to
America, but his restless disposition soon sent him back to France. This
brought him to the year 1717, and he was now twenty-six years of age. He
remained some months with his mother, and then, having contracted a
partnership with two jewel merchants, set off a second time to Madrid;
this enterprise was, however, not more successful than those preceding
it, and he came back to Paris, in the month of February, 1719,
profoundly discouraged, and not without reason.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account