“And I give and devise, Much as in me lies, To the son of my mother, My own dear brother, To have and to hold All my silver and gold, As the affectionate pledges Of his brother, “JOHN HEDGES.” WILL OF WILLIAM HICKINGTON William Hickington, who died in the year 1770, wrote his will in rhyme, as follows: “This is my last will, I insist on it still; To sneer on and welcome, And e’en laugh your fill. I, William Hickington, Poet of Pocklington, Do give and bequeath, As free as I breathe, To thee, Mary Jarum, The Queen of my Harum, My cash and my cattle, With every chattel, To have and to hold, Come heat or come cold, _Sans_ hindrance or strife, Though thou art not my wife. As witness my hand, Just here as I stand, The twelfth of July, In the year Seventy. “WM. HICKINGTON.” This will was admitted to probate at the Deanery Court in the City of York, England, 1770. WILL OF WILL JACKETT This will was proved at Doctors’ Commons, London, on July 17, 1789, and runs as follows: “I give and bequeath, When I’m laid underneath, To my two loving sisters most dear, The whole of my store, Were it twice as much more, Which God’s goodness has given me here. “And that none may prevent This my will and intent, Or occasion the least of law-racket, With a solemn appeal I confirm, sign, and seal This the true act and deed of Will Jackett.” Mr. William Jackett, it appears, was a faithful and trustworthy as well as a thrifty fellow, for he remained for thirty years in the service of Messrs. Fuller and Vaughan as manager of their business. He resided in the parish of St. Mary, Islington. WILL OF AN IRISH SCHOOLMASTER The following is the will of Pat O’Kelly, an Irish schoolmaster, who wrote, on the leaf of a copybook which he had just finished ruling (thus exemplifying the ruling passion strong in death), the lines here transcribed: “I, having neither kith nor kin, Bequeath all I have named herein To Harriet my dearest wife, To have and hold as hers for life. While in good health, and sound in mind, This codicil I’ve undersigned.” RATHER SACRILEGIOUS The spirit of sacrilege is shown in an old quatrain to be found in the books: “In the name of God, Amen: My featherbed to my wife, Jen; Also my carpenter’s saw and hammer; Until she marries; then, God damn her!” WILL OF WILLIAM RUFFELL, ESQ. William Ruffell of Shimpling, Suffolk, England, was a gentleman of an ancient and highly respectable family; he is said to have been a good specimen of an old-fashioned gentleman farmer. His will, which was written in 1803, is as follows: