Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 16.pdf/707

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The Green Bag.

Honora Callaghan was called, and proved a case of non-support satisfactory to his honor. "Whin did your husband work last, and what pay did he receive?" inquired his honor, preparatory to making his decree. "Yir honor, he has not worked for the past two years, and I have not received a penny for my support. Most of the time he has been in jail, meekly answered Honora. "Honora Callaghan," began his honor, in summing up, "I'm sorry I can't issue a de cree compellin' your blackguard husband to support you, an' pay you so many dollars per week, because I'm no partner iv Uncle Sam an' have no conniction wid the United States mint, because no judge can manufacture as sets, an' love an' affiction can't be bought in the open market 'cept by boys in love who buy their affiction at candy counthers, ice cream stands, and sody-wather fountains. "Marriage is a pecooliar institootion; whin a man marries he ties himself up to a wharf, an' his wife is an anchor which holds him

fore and aft. If he gits a good wife she will sarve him as a paddle wheel down the throublesome strame iv life, but if he gits a poor one, instid iv a warm corner he simply buys himself a refrigerator; that is, she simply hands her husband a snowball instid iv the Gulf strame iv affiction. The decree iv the coort is that you may lave your husband's a minsa ct thoro." "What is a mmsa ct thoro?" impatiently asked Honora. "Excuse me, madam," replied his honor, "a minsa ct thoro is tall English, wich, iv ccorse, you don't understhand; thranslated into common phraseology they manes bed an' board." "But, yir honor, I can't lave my husband's bed an' board bekase he's confined in jail, an' I niver had any desire to share it," inter jected Honora. "The coort can't allow ignorint people to insthruct it in law, an' the coort sthands ad journed, angrily replied his honor.

FEAR OF PREMATURE BURIAL. THE will of Miss Frances Power Cobbe, who died in April of this year, contained a remarkable clause. Miss Cobbe, whose fame as authoress, social reformer, and phil anthropist, is world-wide, had an intense horror of being buried alive, and her will con tained a strict and solemn charge to her med ical attendant to perform on her body "the operation of completely and thoroughly sev ering the arteries of the neck and windpipe, nearly severing the head altogether, so as to render any revival in the grave absolutely impossible. In order to make the clause binding she added: "If this operation be not performed and its completion witnessed by one or other of my executors, and testified by the same, I pronounce all the bequests in this will null and void. As Miss Cobbe was

fairly wealthy the executors strictly obeyed the injunction. Miss Cobbe's fear of premature interment has been shared by many notable people. Daniel O'Connell ordered his heart to be re moved from his body and sent to Rome. Harriett Martineau bequeathed her doctor £10 to see that her head was completely severed from her body. Lady Burton, the wife of the distinguished African traveler, scientist and author, directed that her heart should be pierced with a needle and her body submitted to post mortem examination. Meyerbeer left instructions that his body should be left undisturbed for "ten clear days," and that "bells must be fastened to my feet, and veins opened in my arms and legs."