Curiosities of Olden TimesBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
History
Curiosities of Olden Times
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Curiosities and wonders
Porcellus is caught by the servants, and brought out to execution on
the xvi. before the Lucernine Kalends, just when young colewortsprouts
are in plenty, Clybaratus and Piperatus being Consuls.
Now when he saw that he was about to die, he begged hard of the cook
an hour’s grace, just to write his will. He called together his
relations, that he might leave to them some of his victuals; and he
said:
I will and bequeath to my papa, Verrinus Lardinus, 30 bush. of
acorns.
I will and bequeath to my mamma, Veturina Scrofa, 40 bush. of
Laconian corn.
I will and bequeath to my sister, Quirona, at whose nuptials I may
not be present, 30 bush. of barley.
Of my mortal remains, I will and bequeath my bristles to the cobblers,
my teeth to squabblers, my ears to the deaf, my tongue to lawyers and
chatterboxes, my entrails to tripemen, my hams to gluttons, my stomach
to little boys, my tail to little girls, my muscles to effeminate
parties, my heels to runners and hunters, my claws to thieves; and, to
a certain cook, whom I won’t mention by name, I bequeath the cord and
stick which I brought with me from my oak-grove to the sty, in hopes
that he may take the cord and hang himself with it.
I will that a monument be erected to me, inscribed with this, in
golden letters:
M. GRUNNIUS COROCOTTA PORCELLUS, who lived 999 years,--six months
more, and he would have been 1000 years old.
Friends dear to me whilst I lived, I pray you to have a kindness
towards my body, and embalm it well with good condiments, such as
almonds, pepper, and honey, that my name may be named through ages to
come.
O my masters and my comrades, who have assisted at the drawing up of
this testament, order it to be signed.
(Signed) Lucanicus. Celsanus.
Pergillus. Lardio.
Mystialicus. Offellicus.
Cymatus.
Whilst on this subject we might say a word about the epitaph on the mule
of P. Crassus; or about that written by Rapin on the ass, which, poor
fellow, was eaten whilst in the flower of his age, during the siege of
Paris, in 1590; or about Joachim du Bellay, who composed an epitaph on his
cat; or about Justus Lipsius, who erected mausoleums for his three
cats--Mopsus, Saphisus, and Mopsulus; but we are not writing on epitaphs
or gravestones.
We proceed to give a few instances of animals which have received
legacies.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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