Well, the day after my arrival, I had only just got up, when Feraudet, the notary, was announced. He came in, literally armed with documents. I did not want to act like a greedy heir, but rather to put off for a few days all the most material questions; my notary, however, informed me that "there were certain clauses in the will which demanded an immediate examination." My uncle had charged me, he said, with numerous trusts and legacies "for the benefit of his god-children and of other parties living a long distance off." All this was uttered in a mournful tone suited to the occasion, and at the same time with the manner of a person aware that he was the bearer of an extraordinary document, and preparing me for its effect. Finally he opened the will, which was worded as follows: "_Chateau de Ferouzat_, ... 18.. "I, the undersigned, Claude-Anatole-Gratien Barbassou, Count of Monteclaro, do hereby declare that I elect and designate as my universal legatee and the sole inheritor of my property: of all my real and personal estate, and all that I am entitled to of every description soever, such as ..., &c.: my nephew Jerome Andre de Peyrade, the son of my sister: And I hereby command him to discharge the following legacies: "To my much-beloved wife and legitimate spouse, Lia Rachel Euphrosine Ben-Levy, milliner, of Constantinople, and dwelling there in the suburb of Pera, First, a sum of four thousand five hundred francs, which I have agreed by contract to pay her; Second, my house at Pera, in which she dwells, with all the appendages and appurtenances thereof; and Third, a sum of twelve thousand francs, to be distributed by her, as it may please her, among the different children whom she has by me. "Likewise, to my much-beloved wife and legitimate spouse, Sophia Eudoxia, Countess of Monteclaro (whose maiden name is De Cornalis), dwelling at Corfu: First, a sum of five hundred thousand francs, which I have agreed by contract to pay her; Second, the clock and the Dresden china, which stand on my mantle-piece; Third, 'The Virgin,' by Perugino, in my drawing-room at Ferouzat. "Likewise, to my much-beloved wife and legitimate spouse, Marie Gretchen Van Cloth, dwelling at Amsterdam: First, a sum of twenty thousand francs, which I have agreed by contract to pay her; Second, a sum of sixty thousand francs, to be distributed by her, as it may please her, among the different children whom she has by me; Third, my dinner-service in Delph, known as No. 3; Fourth, a barrel-organ, set with four of Haydn's symphonies. "Likewise, to my much-beloved wife and legitimate spouse, Marie Louise Antoinette Cora de La Pescade, dwelling at Les Grands Palmiers (Ile Bourbon), my plantation upon which she lives, including the annexes of Le Grand Morne.