Equally curious, and very similarly expressed, are the wills of Pierre II., Duke of Brittany, September 5, 1457; Marguérite de Bretagne, September 22, 1469; Ysabeau of Scotland, Duke of Brittany, November 16, 1482; François II., Duke of Brittany, September 2, 1488. For these and others consult the works of Barnabé Brisson, 1585-1731.
An individual desired post-mortem honors in this wise: “I desire to be buried beneath the shadow of an obelisk, the style of which has been taken from ancient Egyptian civilization. I saw these wonderful monolith obelisks in Egypt, sat in their shade and sighed to have one for my monument in my far-off home in the New World.” On this obelisk the following inscription was directed to be placed:
“Young man! Stop & Think! See what has been the reward for Honesty, Industry & Economy. In 1840 I worked on Robert Martin’s Farm near Jersey Shore for 25 cts. per day. No fortune left to me. Lived and Died in the Faith of the Immutable And unchangeable Laws of Nature and Nature’s God. Believed in the Gospel of Peace, Right, and Justice. Travelled 60,000 Miles in America, Europe, Asia and Africa.”
Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston, was celebrated for her beauty, her eccentricities, her taste for show and dissipation, and her extraordinary propensity to indulge in masculine sports and exercises, for her travels in Italy, Germany, and Russia, and her adventures generally. She passed many years in Paris, where she resided in the Rue Coq-Héron, and died there 28th August, 1788.
Her will is altogether in accordance with the remarkable features of her character. As she was much attached to Catherine II., Empress of Russia, who reciprocated her friendship, she stipulated in her will that in case she should die at St. Petersburg she should be buried there, as it was fitting her remains should be there where her heart was. She bequeathed to the Empress a set of jewels, and to the Pope a fine brilliant; to the Countess of Salisbury she left a pair of superb earrings, because they had formerly belonged to a countess of Salisbury in the reign of Henry IV. Notwithstanding her extravagance she left a fortune of two million dollars.
Elizabeth Bastian, a New York spinster, died in June, 1910. By her will she cut off her sister and two brothers with a dollar each and left the greater part of her fortune, $65,000, to build a mausoleum in order that she might “have a splendid house to live in when dead.” Her will has been attacked and her wishes may be thwarted.