 section 105 of the book of household management this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Anna Simon the book of household management by Isabella Beaton the doctor chapter 43 part 3 2667 for cure of ringworm take of subcarbonate of soda one dram which dissolve in a half pint of vinegar wash the head every morning with soft soap and apply the lotion night and morning one teaspoon full of sulfur and treacle should also be given occasionally night and morning the hair should be cut close and around the spot it should be shaved off and the part night and morning bathed with a lotion made by dissolving at the dram of white vitriol in eight ounces of water a small piece of either of the two subjoint ointments rubbed into the pot when the lotion has dried in number one take of citron ointment one dram sulfur and tar ointment of each half ounce mix thoroughly and apply twice a day number two take of simple syrit one ounce creosote one dram calomel 30 grains mix and use in the same manner as the first concurrent with these external remedies the child should take an alterative powder every morning or if they act too much on the bowels only every second day the following will be found to answer all the intentions desired 2668 alterative powders for ringworm take off sulfur of antimony precipitated 24 grains grey powder 12 grains calomel six grains jala powder 36 grains mix carefully and divide into 12 powders for a child from 1 to 2 years old into 9 powders for a child from 2 to 4 years and into 6 powders for a child from 4 to 6 years whether patient is older the strength may be increased by enlarging the quantities of the drugs ordered or by giving one and a half or two powders for one dose the ointment is to be well washed off every morning with soap and water and the part bathed with a lotion before reapplying the ointment an imperative fact must be remembered by a mother or nurse never to use the same comb employed for the child with ringworm for the healthy children all let the affected little one sleep with those free from the disease and for fear of any contact by hands or otherwise to keep the child's head enveloped in a nightcap till this eruption is completely cured 2669 scratches trifling a scratches often seem they ought never to be neglected but should be covered and protected and kept clean and dry until they have completely healed if there's the least appearance of inflammation no time should be lost in applying a large bread and water poultice or hot flannels repeatedly applied or even leeches in good number may be put on at some distance from each other 2670 for shortness of breath or difficult breathing fit related spirits of either one ounce camphor 12 grains make a solution of which take a teaspoon full during the paroxysm this is found to afford instantaneous relief in difficulty of breathing depending on internal diseases and other causes where the patient from a very quick and laborious breathing is obliged to be in an erect posture 2671 sprains a sprain is a stretching of the leaders or ligaments of a part through some violence such as slipping falling on the hands pulling a limb etc etc the most common are those of the ankle and wrist these accidents are more serious than people generally suppose and often more difficult to cure than a broken leg or arm the first thing to be done is to place the sprained part in the straight position and to raise it a little as well some recommend the application of cold lotions at first the editors however is quite convinced that warm applications are in most cases the best for the first three or four days these fomentations are to be applied in the following manner dip a good sized piece of flannel into a pill or basin full of hot water or hot poppy fomentation six poppy hats boiled in one quart of water for about a quarter of an hour ring it almost dry and apply it as hot as the patient can bear right around the sprained part then place another piece of flannel quite dry over it in order that the steam and warmth may not escape this process should be repeated as often as the patient feels that the flannel next to his skin is getting cold the oftener the better the bowels should be opened with a black draft and the patient kept on low diet if he has been a great drinker or he may be allowed to take a little beer but it is better not to do so a little of the cream of tartar drink ordered in the case of burns may be taken occasionally if there's much thirst when the swelling and tenderness about the joint are very great from eight to twelve leeches may be applied when the knee is the joint affected the greatest pain is felt the inside and therefore the greater quantity of the leeches should be applied to that part when the shoulder is sprained the arm should be kept close to the body by means of a linen roller which is to be taken four or five times around the hole of the chest it should also be brought two or three times underneath the elbow in order to raise the shoulder this is the best treatment for these accidents during the first three or four days after that time supposing that no unfavorable symptoms have taken place a cold lotion composed of a tablespoon full of cell ammonia to a quart of water or vinegar and water should be constantly applied this lotion will strengthen the part and also help in taking away any thickening that may have formed about the joint in the course of two or three weeks according to circumstances the joint is to be rubbed twice a day with flannel dipped in opadeldoc a flannel bandage rolled tightly around the joint the pressure being greatest at the lowest part and the patient allowed to walk about with the assistance of a crutch or stick he should also occasionally when sitting or lying down quietly bend the joint backwards and forwards to cause its natural motion to return and to prevent stiffness from taking place when the swelling is very great immediately after the accident has occurred from the breaking of the blood vessels it is best to apply cold applications at first if it can be procured oil silk may be put over the warm fermentation flannel instead of the dry piece of flannel old flannel is better than new 2672 cure for stammering where there is no malformation of the organs of articulation stammering may be remedied by reading aloud with the teeth closed this should be practiced for two hours a day for three or four months the advocate of this simple remedy says I can speak with certainty of its utility 2673 stammering at a recent meeting of the Boston Society of Natural History Dr. Warren stated a simple easy and effectual cure of stammering it is simply at every syllable pronounced to tap at the same time with the finger by so doing the most inveterate stammerer will be surprised to find that he can pronounce quite fluently and by long and constant practice he will pronounce perfectly well 2674 suffocation apparent suffocation may arise from many different causes anything which prevents the air getting into the lungs will produce it we shall give the principal causes and the treatment to be followed in each case 2675 carbonic acid gas choked damp of mines this poisonous gas is met with in rooms where charcoal is burned and where there is not sufficient draft to allow it to escape in culpits near lime kilns in breweries and in rooms and houses where a great many people live huddled together in wretchedness and filth and where the air in consequence becomes poisoned this gas gives out no smell so that we cannot know of its presence a candle will not burn in a room which contains much of it effects at first there is giddiness and a great wish to sleep after a little time or where there is much of it present a person feels great weight in the head and stupid gets by degrees quite unable to move and snores as if in a deep sleep the limbs may or may not be stiff the heat of the body remains much the same at first treatment remove the person affected into the open air and even though it is cold weather take off his clothes then lay him on his back with his head slightly raised having done this dash vinaigrette and water over the whole of the body and rub it hard especially the face and chest with towels dipped in the same mixture the hands and feet also should be rubbed with a hard brush apply smelling salts to the nose which may be tickled with a feather dashing cold water down the middle of the back is of great service if the person can swallow give him a little lemon water or vinegar and water to drink the principle means however to be employed in this as in fact in most cases of apparent suffocation is what is called artificial breathing this operation should be performed by three persons and in the following manner the first person should put the nozzle of a common pair of bellows into one of the patient's nostrils the second should push down and then thrust back that part of the throat called Adam's apple and the third should first raise and then depress the chest one hand being placed over each side of the ribs these three actions should be performed in the following order first of all the throat should be drawn down and thrust back then the chest should be raised and the bellows gently blown into the nostril directly this is done the chest should be depressed so as to imitate common breathing this process should be repeated about 18 times a minute the mouth and the other nostril should be closed while the bellows are being blown persevere if necessary with this treatment for seven or eight hours in fact till absolute signs of death are visible many lives are lost by giving it up too quickly when the patient becomes roused he's to be put into a warm bed and in little brandium water or 20 drops of cell volatile given cautiously now and then this treatment is to be adopted in all cases where people are affected from breathing bad air smells etc etc 2676 2 drowning this is one of the most frequent causes of death by suffocation treatment many methods have been adopted and as some of them are not only useless but hurtful we will mention them here merely in order that they may be avoided in the first place then never hang a person up by his heels as it is an error to suppose that water gets into the lungs hanging a person up by his heels will be quite as bad as hanging him up by his neck it is also a mistake to suppose that rubbing the body with salt and water is of service proper treatment directly a person has been taken out of the water he should be wiped dry and wrapped in blankets but if these cannot be obtained the clothes of the bystanders must be used for the purpose his head being slightly raised and any water weeds or froth that may happen to be in his mouth having been removed he should be carried as quickly as possible to the nearest house he should now be put into a warm bath about as hot as the hand can pleasantly bear and kept there for about 10 minutes artificial breathing being had recourse to while he is in it having been taken out of the bath he should be placed flat on his back with his head slightly raised upon a warm bed in a warm room wiped perfectly dry and then wrapped constantly all over the body with warm flannels at the same time mustard pulses should be put to the soles of the feet the palms of the hands and the inner surface of the thighs and legs warm bricks or bottles filled with warm water should be placed under the armpits the nose should be tickled with a feather and smelling salt supplied to it this treatment should be adopted while the bath is being got ready as well as when the body has been taken out of it the bath is not absolutely necessary constantly rubbing the body with flannels in a warm room having been found sufficient for resuscitation Sir B Brody says that warm air is quite as good as warm water when symptoms of returning consciousness begin to show themselves give a little wine brandy or 20 drops of cell volatile in water in some cases it is necessary in about 12 or 24 hours after the patient has revived to bleed him for peculiar head symptoms which now and then occur bleeding however even in the hands of professional men themselves should be very cautiously used non-professional ones should never think of it the best thing to do in these cases is to keep the head well raised and cool with a lotion such as that recommended above for sprains to administer an appearance draft and to abstain from giving anything that stimulates such as wine brandy cell volatile etc etc as a general rule a person dies in three minutes and a half after he's been under water it is difficult however to tell how long he has actually been under it although we may know well exactly how long he's been in it this being the case always persevere in your attempts at resuscitation until actual signs of death have shown themselves even for six, eight or ten hours Dr. Douglas of Glasgow resuscitated a person who had been under water for 14 minutes by simply rubbing the whole of his body with warm flannels in a warm room for eight hours and a half at the end of which time the person began to show the first symptoms of returning animation should the accident occurred a great distance from any house this treatment should be adopted as closely as the circumstances will permit off breathing through any tube such as a piece of card or paper rolled into the form of a pipe will do as a substitute for the bellows to recapitulate rub the body dry take matters out of mouth cover with blankets or clothes slightly raise the head and place the body in a warm bath or on a bed in a warm room apply smelling salts to nose employ artificial breathing rub well with warm flannels put mustard pulses to feet hands and insides of thighs and legs with warm bricks or bottles to armpits don't bleed give wine brandy or sell volatile when recovering and persevere till actual signs of death are seen 2677 briefly to conclude what we have to say of suffocation let us treat of lightning when a person has been struck by lightning there is a general illness of the whole body with the exception of the part struck which is often lackant or even scorched treatment same as for drowning it is not however of much use for when death takes place at all it is generally instantaneous 2678 cure for the toothache take a piece of sheet zinc about the size of a sixpence and a piece of silver say a shilling place them together and hold a defective tooth between them or contagious to them in a few minutes the pain will be gone as if by magic the zinc and silver acting as a galvanic battery will produce on the nerves of the tooth sufficient electricity to establish a current and consequently to relieve the pain or smoke a pipe of tobacco and caraway seeds again 2679 a small piece of the pelatory root will by the flow of saliva it causes a forward relief creosote or a few drops of tincture of myrrh or fryer's balsam on cotton put on the tooth will often subdue the pain a small piece of canther however retained in the mouth is the most reliable and likely means of conquering the paroxysms of this dreaded enemy 2680 warts isenberg says in his advice on the hand that the hydrochloride of lime is the most certain means of destroying warts the process however is very slow and demands perseverance for if discontinued before the proper time no advantages gained the following is a simple cure on breaking the stock of the crow foot plant in two a drop of milky juice will be observed to hang on the upper part of the stem if this be allowed to drop on a wart so that it be well saturated with the juice in about three or four dressings the warts will die and may be taken off with the fingers they may be removed by the above means from the teats of cows where they are sometimes very troublesome and prevent them standing quiet to be milked the wart touched lightly every second day with lunar caustic or rubbed every night with bluestone for a few weeks will destroy the largest wart wherever situated 2681 to cure a whitlow as soon as the whitlow has risen distinctly a pretty large piece should be snipped out so that the watery matter may readily escape and continue to flow out as fast as produced a bread and water poultice should be put on for a few days when the wound should be bound up lightly with some mild ointment when a cure will be speedily completed constant poulticing both before and after the opening of the whitlow is the only practice needed but as the matter lies deep when it is necessary to open the abscess the incision must be made deep to reach the separation 2682 wounds there are several kinds of wounds which are called by different names according to their appearance or the manner in which they are produced as however it will be useless or even hurtful to bother the reader's head with too many nice professional distinctions we shall contend ourselves with dividing wounds into three classes 2683 one incised wounds are cuts those produced by a knife or some sharp instrument 2684 two lacerated or torn wounds those produced by the claws of an animal the bite of a dog running quickly against some projecting blunt object such as a nail etc. 2685 three punctured or penetrating wounds those produced by anything running deeply into the flesh such as a sword a sharp nail a spike the point of a bayonet etc. 2686 class one incised wounds are cuts the danger arising from these accidents is owing more to their position than to their extent thus a cut of half an inch long which goes through an artery is more serious than a cut of two inches long which is not near one again a small cut on the head is more often followed by dangerous symptoms than a much larger one on the legs treatment if the cut is not a very large one and no artery or vein is wounded this is very simple if there are any foreign substances left in the wound they must be taken out and the bleeding must be quite stopped before the wound is strapped up if the bleeding is not very great it may easily be stopped by raising the cut part and applying rags dipped in cold water to it all clots of blood must be carefully removed for if they are left behind they prevent the wound from healing when the bleeding has been stopped and the wound perfectly cleaned its two edges are to be brought closely together by thin strips of common adhesive plaster which should remain on if there is not great pain or heat about the part for two or three days without being removed the cut part should be kept raised in cool when the strips of plaster are to be taken off they should first be well bathed with lukewarm water this will cause them to come away easily and without opening the lips of the wound which accident is very likely to take place if they are pulled off without having been first moistened with the warm water if the wound is not healed when the strips of plaster are taken off fresh ones must be applied great care is required in treating cuts of the head as they are often followed by ericipolus taking place random they should be strapped with isinglass plaster which is much less irritating than the ordinary adhesive plaster only use as many strips as are actually requisite to keep the two edges of the wound together keep the patient quiet quiet on low diet for a week or so according to his symptoms purge him well with the number two pills five grains of blue pill mixed with the same quantity of compound extract of colosinth make into two pills the dose for an adult if the patient is feverish give him two tablespoonfuls of the fever mixture three times a day the fever mixture we remind our readers is thus made mix a dram of powdered nighter two drams of carbonate of potash two teaspoonfuls of antimonial wine and a tablespoonful of sweet spirits of nighter in half a pint of water a person should be very careful of himself for a month or two after having had a bad cut on the head his bowel should be kept constantly open and all excitement and excess avoided when a vein or artery is wounded the danger is of course much greater those accidents therefore should always be attended to by a surgeon if he can possibly be procured before he arrives however or in case his assistants cannot be obtained at all the following treatment should be adopted raise the cut part and press rags dipped in cold water firmly against it this will often be sufficient to stop the bleeding if the divided artery or vein is not dangerous when an artery is divided the blood is of a bright red color and comes away in jets in this case and supposing the leg or arm to be the cut part a handkerchief is to be tight tightly around the limb above the cut and if possible the two bleeding ends of the artery should each be tied with a piece of silk if the bleeding is from a vein the blood is much darker and does not come away in jets in this case the handkerchief is to be tied below the cut and a pet of lint or linen pressed firmly against the divided ends of the vein let every bad cut especially where there is much bleeding and even although it may to all appearance have been stopped be attended to by a surgeon if one can by any means be obtained 2687 class 2 lacerated or torn wounds there is not so much bleeding in these cases as in clean cuts because the blood vessels are torn across in a zig-zag manner and not divided straight across in other respects however they are more serious than ordinary cuts being often followed by inflammation mortification fever and in some cases by locked jaw foreign substances are also more likely to remain in them treatment stop the bleeding if there is any in the manner directed for cuts remove all substances that may be in the wound keep the patient quite quiet and on low diet grill arrowroot and the like purge with the number one pills and the number one mixture the number one pill mix five grains of calamol and the same quantity of antimonial powder with a little bread crumb and make into two pills which is the dose for an adult the number one mixture dissolve an ounce of epsom salts in half a pint of senate a quarter of the mixture is a dose if there are feverish symptoms give two tablespoon fulls of fever mixture see above every four hours if possible bring the two edges of the wound together but do not strain the parts to do this if they cannot be brought together on account of a piece of flesh being taken clean out or the ruggedness of their edges put lint dipped in cold water over the wound and cover it with oiled silk it will then fill up from the bottom if the wound after being well washed should still contain any sand or grit of any kind or if it should get red and hot from inflammation a large warm bread poultice will be the best thing to apply until it becomes quite clean or the inflammation goes down when the wound is a very large one the application of warm poppy fomentations is better than that of the lint dipped in cold water if the redness and pain about the pot and the general fever symptoms are great from eight to 12 leeches are to be applied around the wound and the warm poppy fomentation or warm bread poultice applied after they drop off 2688 class 3 punctured or penetrating wounds these for many reasons are the most serious of all kinds of wounds treatment the same as that for lacerated wounds pus matter often forms at the bottom of these wounds which should therefore be kept open at the top by separating their edges every morning with a botkin and applying a warm bread poultice immediately afterwards they will then in all probability heal up for the bottom and any matter which may form will find its own way out into the poultice sometimes however in spite of all precautions collections of matter abscesses will form at the bottom or sides of the wound those are to be opened with a lancet and the matter does let out when matter is forming the patient has cold shiverings throbbing pain in the part and flushes on the face which come and go a swelling of the part is also often seen the matter in the abscesses may be felt to move backwards and forwards and pressure is made from one side of the swelling to the other with the first and second fingers the middle and that next to them of each hand medical memoranda 2689 advantages of cleanliness health and strength cannot be long continued unless the skin all the skin is washed frequently with a sponge or other means every morning is best after which the skin should be rubbed very well with a rough cloth this is the most certain way of preventing cold and a little substitute for exercise as it brings blood to the surface and causes it to circulate well through the fine capillary vessels labor produces this circulation naturally the insensible perspiration cannot escape well if the skin is not clean as the pores get choked up it is said that in health about half the element we take passes out through the skin 2690 the tomato medicinal to many persons there is something unpleasant not to say offensive in the flavor of this excellent fruit it has however long been used for culinary purposes in various countries of europe doctor bennett a professor of some celebrity considers it an invaluable article of diet and ascribes to it very important medicinal prophecies he declares one that tomato is one of the most powerful the obstrance of the materia medica and that in all those affections of the liver and other organs where calamiles indicated it is probably the most effective and least harmful remedial agent known in the profession two that a chemical extract can be obtained from it which will altogether supersede the use of calamil in the cure of diseases three that he has successfully treated diarrhea with this article alone four that when used as an article of diet it is almost a sovereign remedy for dyspepsia and indigestion 2691 warm water warm water is preferable to cold water as a drink to persons who are subject to dyspeptic and bilious complaints and it may be taken more freely than cold water and consequently answers better as a diluent for carrying off bile and removing obstructions in the urinary secretion in cases of stone and gravel when water of a temperature equal to that of the human body is used for drink it proves considerably stimulant and is particularly suited to dyspeptic, bilious, gouty and chlorotic subjects 2692 cautions in visiting sick rooms never venture into a sick room if you are in a violent perspiration if circumstances require your continuance there for the moment your body becomes cold it is in a state likely to absorb the infection and give you the disease nor visit a sick person especially if the complaint be of a contagious nature with an empty stomach as this disposes the system more readily to receive the contagion in attending a sick person place yourself where the air passes from the door or window to the bed of the deceased not betwixt the deceased person and any fire that is in the room as the heat of the fire will draw the infectious vapor in that direction and you would run much danger from breathing it 2693 necessity of good ventilation in rooms lighted with gas in dwelling houses lighted by gas the frequent renewal of the air is of great importance a single gas burner will consume more oxygen and produce more carbonic acid to deteriorate the atmosphere of a room than six or eight candles if therefore when several burners are used no provision is made for the escape of the corrupted air and for the introduction of pure air from without the health will necessarily suffer end of section 105 section 106 of the book of household management this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org reading by Robin Cotter October 2007 the book of household management by Isabella beaten legal memoranda chapter 44 part 1 2694 humorists tell us there is no act of our lives which can be performed without breaking through someone of the many meshes of the law by which our rights are so carefully guarded and those learned in the law when they do give advice without the usual fee and in the confidence of friendship generally say pay pay anything rather than go to law all those having experience in the courts of Themis have a wholesome dread of its pitfalls there are a few exceptions however to this fear of the law's uncertainties and we hear of those to whom a lawsuit is on agreeable relaxation a gentle excitement one of this class when remonstrated with retorted that while one friend kept dogs and another horses he as he had a right to do kept a lawyer and no one had a right to dispute his taste we cannot pretend in these few pages to lay down even the principles of law not to speak of its contrary exposition in different courts but there are a few acts of legal import which all men and women too must perform and to these acts we may be useful in giving a right direction there is a house to be leased or purchased servants to be engaged a will to be made or property settled in all families and much of the welfare of its members depends on these things being done in proper legal form 2695 purchasing a house few men will venture to purchase a freehold or even a leasehold property by private contract without making themselves acquainted with the locality and employing a solicitor to examine the titles but many do walk into an auction room and bid for a property upon the representations of the auctioneer the conditions whatever they are will bind him for by one of the legal fictions of which we have still so many the auctioneer who is in reality the agent for the vendor becomes also the agent for the buyer and by putting down the names of bidders and the biddings he binds him to whom the lot is knocked down to the sale and the conditions the falling of the auctioneer's hammer is the acceptance of the offer which completes the agreement to purchase in any such transaction you can only look at the written or printed particulars any verbal statement of the auctioneer made at the time of the sale cannot contradict them and they are implemented by the agreement which the auctioneer calls on the purchaser to sign after the sale you should sign no such contract without having a duplicate of it signed by the auctioneer and delivered to you it is perhaps unnecessary to add that no trustee or a signee can purchase property for himself included in the trust even at auction nor is it safe to pay the purchase money to an agent of the vendor unless he give a written authority to the agent to receive it besides handing over the requisite deeds and receipts 2696 the laws of purchase and sale of property are so complicated that Lord St. Leonard's devotes five chapters of his book on property law to the subject the only circumstances strong enough to vitier to purchase which has been reduced to a written contract is proof of fraudulent representation as to an encumbrance of which the buyer was ignorant or a defect in title but every circumstance which the purchaser might have learned by careful investigation the law presumes that he did no thus in buying a leasehold estate or house all the covenants of the original lease are presumed to be known quote it is not unusual says Lord St. Leonard's to stipulate in conditions of sale of leasehold property that the production of a receipt for the last year's rent shall be accepted as proof that all the lesser's covenants were performed up to that period never bid for one clogged with such a condition there are some acts against which no relief can be obtained for example the tenant's right to ensure or his ensuring in an office or in names not authorized in the lease and you should not rely upon the mere fact of the insurance being correct at the time of sale there may have been a prior breach of covenant and the landlord may not have waived his right of entry for the forfeiture unquote and where any doubt of this kind exists the landlord should be appealed to two thousand six hundred ninety seven interest on a purchase is due from the day fixed upon for completing where it cannot be completed the loss rests with the party with whom the delay rests but it appears when the delay rests with the seller and the money is lying idle notice of that is to be given to the seller to make him liable to the loss of interest in law the property belongs to the purchaser from the date of the contract he is entitled to any benefit and must bear any loss the seller may suffer the insurance to drop without giving notice and should a fire take place the loss falls on the buyer in agreeing to buy a house therefore provide at the same time for its insurance common fixtures pass with the house where nothing is said about them two thousand six hundred ninety eight there are some well recognized laws of what may be called good neighborhood which affect all properties if you purchase a field or house the seller retaining another field between yours and the highway he must of necessity grant you a right of way where the owner of more than one house sells one of them the purchaser is entitled to benefit by all drains leading from his house into other drains and will be subject to all necessary drains for the adjoining houses although there is no express reservation as to drains thus if his happens to be a leading drain other necessary drains may be opened into it in purchasing land for building on you should expressly reserve a right to make an opening into any sewer or watercourse on the vendor's land for drainage purposes two thousand six hundred ninety nine constructions among the cautions which purchasers of houses land or leaseholds should keep in view is a not inconsiderable array of constructive notices which are equally binding with actual ones notice to your attorney or agent is noticed to you and when the same attorney is employed by both parties and he is aware of an encumbrance of which you are ignorant you are bound by it even where the vendor is guilty of a fraud to which your agent is privy you are responsible and cannot be released from the consequences two thousand seven hundred the relations of landlord and tenant are most important to both parties and each should clearly understand his position the proprietor of a house or house and land agrees to let it either to a tenant at will a yearly tenancy or under lease a tenancy at will may be created by parole or by agreement and as the tenant may be turned out when his landlord pleases so he may leave when he himself thinks proper but this kind of tenancy is extremely inconvenient to both parties where an annual rent is attached to the tenancy in construction of law a lease or agreement without limitation to any certain period is a lease from year to year and both landlord and tenant are entitled to notice before the tenancy can be determined by the other this notice must be given at least six months before the expiration of the current year of the tenancy and it can only terminate at the end of any whole year from the time at which it began so that the tenant entering into possession at mid-summer the notice must be given to or by him so as to terminate at the same term when once he is in possession he has a right to remain for a whole year and if no notice be given at the end of the first half year of his tenancy he will have to remain two years and so on for any number of years two thousand seven hundred one tenancy by sufferance this is a tenancy not very uncommon arising out of the unwillingness of either party to take the initiative in a more decided course at the expiry of a lease or agreement the tenant remains in possession and continues to pay rent as before and becomes from sufferance a tenant from year to year which can only be terminated by one party or the other giving the necessary six months notice to quit at the term corresponding with the commencement of the original tenancy this tenancy at sufferance applies also to an under tenant who remains in possession and pays rent to the reversioner or head landlord a six months notice will be insufficient for this tenancy a notice was given in right versus darby itr one hundred fifty nine to quit a house held by plaintiff as tenant from year to year on the seventeenth June eighteen forty requiring him quote to quit the premises on the eleventh october following or such other day as his said tenancy might expire unquote the tenancy had commenced on the eleventh october in a former year but it was held that this was not a good notice for the year ending october eleventh eighteen forty one a tenant from year to year gave his landlord notice to quit ending the tenancy at a time within the half year the landlord acquiesced at first but afterwards refused to accept the notice the tenant quitted the premises the landlord entered and even made some repairs but it was afterwards held that the tenancy was not determined a notice to quit must be such as the tenant may safely act on at the time of receiving it therefore it can only be given by an agent properly authorized at the time and cannot be made good by the landlord adopting it afterwards an unqualified notice given at the proper time should conclude with quote on failure whereof i shall require you to pay me double the former rent for so long as you retain possession unquote two thousand seven hundred two leases a lease is an instrument in writing by which one person grants to another the occupation and use of lands or tenements for a term of years for a consideration the lesser granting the lease and the less see accepting it with all its conditions a lesser may grant the lease for any term less than his own interest a tenant for life in an estate can only grant a lease for his own life a tenant for life having power to grant a lease should granted only in the terms of the power otherwise the lease is void and his estate may be made to pay heavy penalties under the covenant usually the only one onerous on the lesser for quiet enjoyment the proprietor of a freehold that is of the possession in perpetuity of lands or tenements may grant a lease for nine hundred ninety nine years for ninety nine years or for three years in the latter case the lease may be either verbal or in writing no particular form and no stamps being necessary except the usual stamp on agreements so long as the intention of the parties is clearly expressed and the covenant definite and well understood by each party the agreement is complete and the law satisfied in the case of settled estates the court of chancery is empowered to authorize leases under the nineteen and twenty victoria c one hundred twenty and twenty one and twenty two victoria c seventy seven as follows twenty one years for agriculture or occupation forty years for water power ninety nine years for building leases sixty years for repairing leases two thousand seven hundred three a lesser may also grant an under lease for a term less than his own to grant the whole of his term would be an assignment leases are frequently burdened with the covenant not to underlet without the consent of the landlord this is a covenant sometimes very onerous and to be avoided where it is possible by a prudent lessy two thousand seven hundred four a lease for any term beyond three years whether an actual lease or an agreement for one must be in the form of a deed that is it must be quote under seal unquote and all assignments and surrenders of leases must be in the same form or they are void at law thus an agreement made by letter or by a memorandum of agreement which would be binding in most cases would be valueless when it was for a lease unless witnessed and given under hand and seal the last statute eight and nine victoria c one hundred six under which these precautions became necessary has led to serious difficulties quote the judges says lord saint lennards feel the difficulty of holding a lease in writing but not by deed to be altogether void and consequently decided that although such a lease is void under the statute yet it so far regulates the holding that it creates a tenancy from year to year terminable by half a year's notice and if the tenure endure for the term attempted to be created by the void lease the tenant may be evicted at the end of the term without any notice to quit unquote an agreement for a lease not by deed has been construed to be a lease for a term of years and consequently void under the statute quote and yet says lord saint lennards a court of equity has held that it may be specifically enforced as an agreement upon the terms stated unquote the law on this point is one of glorious uncertainty in making any such agreement therefore we should be careful to express that it is an agreement and not a lease and that it is witnessed under seal two thousand seven hundred five agreements it is usual where the lease is a repairing one to agree for a lease to be granted on completion of repairs according to specification this agreement should contain the names and designation of the parties a description of the property and the term of the intended lease and all the covenants which are to be inserted as no verbal agreement can be made to a written agreement it should also declare that the instrument is an agreement for a lease and not the lease itself the points to be settled in such an agreement are the rent term and especially covenants for ensuring and rebuilding in the event of a fire and if it is intended that the lesser's consent is to be obtained before assigning or under leasing a covenant to that effect is required in the agreement in building leases usually granted for ninety nine years the tenant is to ensure the property and even where the agreement is silent on that point the law decides it so it is otherwise with ordinary tenements when the tenant pays a full or what the law terms rack rent the landlord is then to ensure unless it is otherwise arranged by the agreement two thousand seven hundred six it is important for lessy and less or also that the latter does not exceed his powers a lease granted by a tenant for life before he is properly in possession is void in law for although a court of equity according to lord saint lenards will quote by force of its own jurisdiction support a bona fide lease granted under a power which is merely erroneous in form or ceremonies unquote and the twelve and thirteen victoria c twenty six and thirteen and fourteen victoria c nineteen compel a new lease to be granted with the necessary variations while the lesser has no power to compel him to accept such a lease except when the person in remainder is competent and willing to confirm the original lease without variations yet all these difficulties involve both delay costs and anxieties two thousand seven hundred seven in husbandry leases a covenant to cultivate the land in a husband like manner and according to the custom of the district is always implied but it is more usual to prescribe the course of tillage which is to be pursued in the case of houses for occupation the tenant would have to keep the house in a tenantable state of repair during the term and deliver it up in like condition this is not the case with the tenant at will or from year to year with the landlord has to keep the house in tenantable repair and the tenant is only liable for waste beyond reasonable wear and tear two thousand seven hundred eight insurance every lease or agreement for a lease should covenant not only who is to pay insurance but how the tenement is to be rebuilt in the event of a fire for if the house were burnt down and no provision made for insurance the tenant supposing there was the ordinary covenant to repair in the lease would not only have to rebuild but to pay rent while it was being rebuilt more than this supposing under the same lease the landlord had taken the precaution of ensuring he is not compelled to lay out the money recovered in rebuilding the premises sir john leach lays it down that quote the tenant situation could not be changed by a precaution on the part of the landlord with which he had nothing to do unquote this decision lord campbell confirmed in a more recent case in which an action was brought against a lessie who was not bound to repair and neither he nor the landlord bound to ensure admitting an equitable defense the court affirmed sir john leach's decision holding that the tenant was bound to pay the rent and could not require the landlord to lay out the insurance money in rebuilding this is opposed to the opinion of lord saint lennard's who admits however that the decision of the court must overrule his dictum such being the state of the law it is very important that insurance should be provided for and that the payment of rent should be made to depend upon rebuilding the house in the event of a fire care must be taken however that this is made a covenant of the lease as well as in the agreement otherwise the tenant must rebuild the house two thousand seven hundred nine the law declares that a tenant is not bound to repair damages by tempest lightning or other natural casualty unless there is a special covenant to that effect in the lease but if there is a general covenant to repair the repair will fall upon the tenant lord kenyon lays it down in the case of a bridge destroyed by a flood the tenant being under a general covenant to repair that quote we're a party by his own contract creates a duty or charge upon himself he is bound to make it good because he might have guarded against it in the contract unquote the same principle of law has been applied to a house destroyed by lightning it is therefore important to have this settled in the insurance clause two thousand seven hundred ten lord saint lennard's asserts that quote his policies against fire are not so framed as to render the company legally liable unquote generally the property is inaccurately described with reference to the conditions under which you ensure they are framed by companies who probably are not unwilling to have a legal defense against any claim as they intend to pay with a deem just claim without taking advantage of any technical objection and intending to make use of their defense only against what they believe to be a fraud although they may not be able to prove it quote but says his lordship do not rely upon the moral feelings of the directors ascertain that your house falls strictly within the conditions even having the surveyor of the company to look over your house before the insurance will not save you unless your policy is correct unquote this is true but probably his lordship's legal jealousy overshoots the mark here assurance companies only require an honest statement of the facts and that no concealment is practiced with their surveyor and the case of his own which he quotes in which a glass door led into a conservatory rendering it according to the view of the company hazardous and consequently voiding the policy when a fire did occur the company paid rather than try the question but even after the fire they demurred when called upon to make the description correct and endorse on the policy the fact that the drawing room opened through a glass door into conservatories one of the two inferences is obvious here either his lordship has overcolored the statement or the company could not be the respectable one represented the practice with all reputable offices is to survey the premises before insurance and to describe them as they appear but no concealment of stoves or other dangerous accessories or inflammable goods should be practiced this certainly binds the office so long as no change takes place but the addition of any stove opening or door through a party wall the introduction of gun powder salt Petra or other inflammable articles into the premises without notice very properly quote voids the policy unquote the usual course is to give notice of all alterations and have them endorse on the policy as additions to the description of the property there is little fear where this is honestly done that any company would adopt the sharp practice hinted at in Lord St. Leonard's excellently handy book two thousand seven hundred eleven breaks in the lease where a lease is for seven fourteen or twenty one years the option to determine it at the end of the first term is in the tenant unless it is distinctly agreed that the option shall be mutual according to Lord St. Leonard's two thousand seven hundred twelve noxious trades a clause is usually introduced prohibiting the carrying on of any trade in some houses and of noxious or particular trades in others this clause should be jealously inspected otherwise great annoyance may be produced it has been held that a general clause of this description prohibited a tenant from keeping a school for which he had taken it although a lunatic asylum and public house have been found admissible the keeping an asylum not being deemed a trade which is defined as quote conducted by buying and selling unquote it is better to have the trades or class of trades objected to to find in the lease two thousand seven hundred thirteen fixtures in houses held under lease it has been the practice with landlords to lease the bare walls of the tenement only leaving the lessy to put in the stoves cupboards and such other conveniences as he requires at his own option those except under particular circumstances are the property of the lessy and may either be sold to an incoming tenant or removed at the end of his term the articles which may not be removed are subject to considerable doubt and are a fruitful source of dispute Mr. Commissioner von Blank has defined as tenants property all goods and chattels secondly all articles quote slightly connected one with another and with the freehold but capable of being separated without materially injuring the freehold unquote thirdly articles fixed to the freehold by nails and screws bolts or pegs are also tenants goods and chattels but when sunk in the soil or built on it they are integral parts of the freehold and cannot be removed thus a greenhouse or conservatory attached to the house by the tenant is not removable but the furnace and hot water pipes by which it is heated may be removed or sold to the incoming tenant a brick flu does not come under the same category but remains window blinds greats stoves coffee mills and in a general sense everything he is placed which can be removed without injury to the freehold he may remove if they are separated from the tenement during his term and the place made good it is not unusual to leave the fixtures in their place with an undertaking from the landlord that when again let the incoming tenant shall pay for them or permit their removal in a recent case however a tenant having held over beyond his term and not removed his fixtures the landlord let the premises to a new tenant who entered into possession and would not allow the fixtures to be removed it was held by the courts on trial that he was justified a similar case occurred to the writer he left his fixtures in the house taking a letter from the landlord undertaking that the incoming tenant should pay for them by valuation or permit their removal the house was let the landlord died his executors on being applied to pleaded ignorance as did the tenant and on being furnished with a copy of the letter the executors told applicant that if he was aggrieved he knew his remedy namely an action at law he thought the first law the least and has not altered his opinion 2714 taxes land tax sewers rate and property tax are landlords taxes but by 30 george the second c2 the occupier is required to pay all rates levied and deduct from the rent such taxes as belong to the landlord many landlords now insert a covenant stipulating that land tax and sewers rate are to be paid by the tenants and not deducted this does not apply to the property tax all other taxes and rates are payable by the occupier 2715 water rate of course is paid by the tenant the water companies as well as gas companies have the power of cutting off the supply and most of them have also the right of distraining in the same manner as landlords have for rent 2716 notice to quit in the case of leasing for a term no notice is necessary the tenant quits as a matter of course at its termination or if by tacit consent he remains paying rent as here to four he becomes a tenant at sufferance or from year to year half a year's notice now becomes necessary as we have already seen to terminate the tenancy except in london and the rent is under 40 shillings when a quarter's notice is sufficient either of these notices may be given verbally if it can be proved that the notice was definite and given at the right time form of notice is quite immaterial provided it is definite and clear in its purpose 2717 tenancy for less than a year may be terminated according to the taking thus when taken for three months a three month's notice is required when monthly a month's notice and when weekly a week's notice but weekly tenancy is changed to a quarterly tenure if the rent is allowed to stand over for three months when taken for a definite time as a month a week or a quarter no notice is necessary on either side 2718 dilapidations at the termination of a lease supposing he has not done so before a landlord can and usually does send a surveyor to report upon the condition of the tenement and it becomes his duty to ferret out every defect a litigious landlord may drag the outgoing tenant into an expensive lawsuit which he has no power to prevent he may even compel him to pay for repairing improvements which he has affected in the tenement itself if dilapidations exist when the lesser covenants to do all repairs and fails to do so the less see may repair and deduct the cost from the rent 2719 recovery of rent the remedies placed in the hands of landlords are very stringent the day after rent falls due he may proceed to recover it by action at law by distress on the premises or by action of ejectment if the rent is half a year in a rear distress is the remedy usually applied the landlord being authorized to enter the premises sees the goods and chattels of his tenant and sell them on the fifth day to reimburse himself for all arrears of rent and the charges of distress there are a few exceptions but generally all goods found on the premises may be seized the exceptions are dogs rabbits poultry fish tools and implements of a man's trade actually in use the books of a scholar the acts of a carpenter wearing a peril on the person a horse at the plow or a horse he may be riding a watch in the pocket loose money deeds writings the cattle at a smithy forge corn sent to a mill for grinding cattle and goods of a guest at an inn but curiously enough carriages and horses standing at livery at the same inn may be taken distress can only be levied in the daytime and if made after the tender of arrears it is illegal if tender is made after the distress but before it is impounded the landlord must abandon the distress and bear the cost himself nothing of a perishable nature which cannot be restored in the same condition as milk fruit and the like must be taken two thousand seven hundred twenty the law does not regard a day is consisting of portions the popular notion that a notice to quit should be served before noon is an error although restraint is one of the remedies it is seldom advisable in a landlord to resort to restraining for the recovery of rent if a tenant cannot pay his rent the sooner he leaves the premises the better if he be a rogue and won't pay he will probably know that nine out of ten distresses are illegal through the carelessness ignorance or extortion of the brokers who execute them many if not most of the respectable brokers will not execute distresses and the business falls into the hands of persons whom it is by no means desirable to employ two thousand seven hundred twenty one powers to relieve landlords of premises by giving them legal possession are given by nineteen and twenty victoria cap one hundred eight to the county courts in cases where the rent does not exceed fifty pounds per annum and under the circumstances here and after mentioned i.e. one where the term has expired or been determined by notice to quit two where there is one half years rent in a rear and the landlord shall have right by law to enter for the nonpayment thereof as proof of this power is required the importance of including such a power in the agreement for tenancy will be obvious in the county courts the amount of rent do may be claimed as well as the possession of the premises in one summons two thousand seven hundred twenty two when a tenant deserts premises leaving one half years rent in a rear possession may be recovered by means of the police court the rent must not exceed twenty pounds per annum and must be at least three-fourths of the value of the premises in cases in which the tenant has not deserted the premises and where notice to quit has been given and has expired the landlord must give notice to the tenant of his intended application the annual rent in this case also must not exceed twenty pounds two thousand seven hundred twenty three the iou the law is not particular as to the orthography in fact it distinctly refuses to recognize the existence of that delightful science you may bring your action against Mr. Jacob Phillips under the fanciful denomination of jacob phillips if you like and the law won't care because the law goes by ear and although it insists upon having everything written things written are only supposed in law to have any meaning when read which is after all a common sense rule enough so instead of quote iou unquote persons of a cheerful disposition so frequently found connected with debt used to write facetiously iou and the law approved of their doing so an iou is nothing more than a written admission of a debt and may run thus 15th october 1860 to mr. w. brown iou ten pounds for coals ten pounds john jones if to this you add the time of payment as quote payable in one month from the state unquote your iou is worthless and illegal for it thus ceases to be a mere acknowledgement and becomes a promissory note now a promissory note requires a stamp which an iou does not many persons nevertheless stick penny stamps upon them probably for ornamental effect or to make them look serious and authoritative if for the former purpose the postage stamp looks better than the receipt stamp upon blue paper if you are w. brown and you didn't see the iou signed and can't find anybody who knows jones's autograph and jones won't pay the iou will be of no use to you in the county court except to make the judge laugh he will however allow you to prove the consideration and as of course you won't be prepared to do anything of the sort he will if you ask him politely adjourn the hearing for a week when you can produce the coal heavers who deliver the article and thus gain a glorious victory end of section 106 section 107 of the book of household management this is a libravox recording all libravox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libravox.org reading by robin codder october 2007 the book of household management by isabella beaten legal memoranda chapter forty-four part two two thousand seven hundred twenty-four apprentices by the statute five elizabeth cap four it is enacted that in cases of ill usage by masters towards apprentices or of neglect of duty by apprentices the complaining party may apply to a justice of the peace who may make such order as equity may require if for want of conformity and the part of the master this cannot be done then the master may be bound to appear at the next sessions authority is given by the act to the justices in sessions to discharge the apprentice from his indentures they are also empowered on proof of misbehavior of the apprentice to order him to be corrected or imprisoned with hard labor two thousand seven hundred twenty-five husband and wife contrary to the vulgar opinion second cousins as well as first may legally marry when married a husband is liable for his wife's debts contracted before marriage a creditor desirous of suing for such a claim should proceed against both it will however be sufficient if the husband be served with process the names of both appearing therein thus john jones and an his wife a married woman if sued alone may plead her marriage or as it is called in law coverture the husband is liable for debts of his wife contracted for necessaries while living with him if she voluntarily leaves his protection this liability ceases he is also liable for any debts contracted by her with his authority if the husband have abjured the realm or been transported by a sentence of law the wife is liable during his absence as if she were a single woman for debts contracted by her two thousand seven hundred twenty six in civil cases a wife may now give evidence on behalf of her husband in criminal cases she can either be a witness for or against her husband the case of assault by him upon her forms an exception to this rule two thousand seven hundred twenty seven the law does not at this day admit the ancient principle of allowing moderate correction by a husband upon the person of his wife although this is said to have been anciently limited to the use of a stick not bigger than the thumb this barbarity is now altogether exploded he may not withstanding as has been recently shown in the famous agape mon case keep her under restraint to prevent her leaving him provided this be affected without cruelty two thousand seven hundred twenty eight by the divorce and matrimonial causes act eighteen fifty seven a wife deserted by her husband may apply to a magistrate or to the petty sessions for an order to protect her lawful earnings or property acquired by her after such desertion from her husband and his creditors in this case it is indispensable that such order shall within ten days be entered at the county court of the district within which she resides it will be seen that the basis of an application for such an order is desertion consequently where the parties have separated by common consent such an order cannot be obtained any previous cruelty or misconduct on the husband's part not withstanding two thousand seven hundred twenty nine when a husband allows his wife to invest money in her own name in a savings bank and he survives her it is sometimes the rule of such establishments to compel him to take out administration in order to receive such money although it is questionable whether such rule is legally justifiable widows and widowers pay no legacy duty for property coming to them through their deceased partners two thousand seven hundred thirty receipts for sums above two pounds should now be given upon penny stamps a bill of exchange may never the last be discharged by an endorsement stating that it has been paid and this will not be liable to the stamp a receipt is not as commonly supposed conclusive evidence as to a payment it is only with the law terms prima facie evidence that is good until contradicted or explained thus if a sends wares or merchandise to be with the receipt as a hint that the transaction is intended to be for ready money and be detained the receipt without paying the cash a will be at liberty to prove the circumstances and to recover his claim the evidence to rebut the receipt must however be clear and indubitable as after all written evidence is of a stronger nature than oral testimony two thousand seven hundred thirty one books of account a tradesman's books of account cannot be received as evidence in his own behalf unless the entries therein be proved to have been brought under the notice of and admitted to be correct by the other party as is commonly the case with the past books employed backwards and forwards between bakers butchers and the like domestic traders and their customers the defendant may however compel the tradesmen to produce his books to show entries adverse to his own claim two thousand seven hundred thirty two wills the last proof of affection which we can give to those left behind is to leave their worldly affairs in such a state as to excite neither jealousy nor anger nor heart rendings of any kind at least for the immediate future this can only be done by a just clear and intelligible disposal of whatever there is to leave without being advocates for every man being his own lawyer it is not to be denied that the most elaborately prepared wills have been the most fruitful sources of litigation and it has even happened the learned judges left wills behind them which could not be carried out except in cases where the property is in land or in leases of complicated tenure very elaborate details are unnecessary and we cancel no man to use words in making his will of which he does not perfectly understand the meaning and import two thousand seven hundred thirty three all men over twenty one years of age and of sound mind and all unmarried women of like age and sanity may by will bequeath their property to whom they please infants that is all persons under twenty one years of age and married women except where they have an estate to their own separate use are incapacitated without the concurrence of the husband the law taking the disposal of any property they die possessed of a person born deaf and dumb cannot make a will unless there is evidence that he could read and comprehend its contents a person convicted of felony cannot make a will unless subsequently pardoned neither can persons outlawed but the wife of a felon transported for life may make a will and act in all respects as if she were unmarried a suicide may bequeath real estate but personal property is forfeited to the crown two thousand seven hundred thirty four except in the case of soldiers on actual service and sailors at sea every will must be made in writing it must be signed by the testator or by some other person in his presence and at his request and the signature must be made or acknowledged in the presence of two more witnesses who are required to be present at the same time who declare by signing that the will was signed by the testator or acknowledged in their presence and that they signed as witnesses in testators presence two thousand seven hundred thirty five by the act of eighteen fifty two it was enacted that no will shall be valid unless signed at the foot or end thereof by the testator or by some person in his presence and by his direction but a subsequent act proceeds to say that every will shall as far only as regards the position of the signature of the testator or of the person signing for him be deemed valid if the signature shall be so placed at or after or following or under or beside or opposite to the end of the will that it shall be apparent on the face of it that the testator intended to give it effect by such signature under this clause a will of several sheets all of which were duly signed except the last one has been refused probate while on the other hand a similar document has been admitted to probate where the last sheet only and none of the other sheets was signed in order to be perfectly formal however each separate sheet should be numbered signed and witnessed and attested on the last sheet this witnessing is an important act the witnesses must subscribe it in the presence of the testator and of each other and by their signature they testify to having witnessed the signature of the testator he being in sound mind at the time wills made under any kind of coercion or even importunity may become void being contrary to the wishes of the testator fraud or imposition also renders a will void and where two wills made by the same person happen to exist neither of them dated the maker of the wills is declared to have died into state two thousand seven hundred thirty six a will may always be revoked and annulled but only by burning or entirely destroying the writing or by adding a codicil or making a subsequent will duly attested but as the alteration of a will is only a revocation to the extent of the alteration if it is intended to revoke the original will entirely such intention should be declared no merely verbal directions can revoke a written will and the act of running the pen through the signatures or down the page is not sufficient to cancel it without a written declaration to that effect signed and witnessed two thousand seven hundred thirty seven a will made before marriage is revoked thereby two thousand seven hundred thirty eight a codicil is a supplement or addition to a will either explaining or altering former dispositions it may be written on the same or separate paper and is to be witnessed and attested in the same manner as the original document two thousand seven hundred thirty nine witnesses any persons are qualified to witness a will who can write their names but such witness cannot be benefited by the will if a legacy is granted to the persons witnessing it is void the same rule applies to the husband or wife of a witness a bequest made to either of these is void two thousand seven hundred forty form of wills form is unimportant provided the testator's intention is clear it should commence with his designation that is his name and surname place of abode profession or occupation the legates should also be clearly described in leaving a legacy to a married woman if no trustees are appointed over it and no specific directions are given quote that it is for her soul and separate use free from the control debts and encumbrances of her husband unquote the husband will be entitled to the legacy in the same manner a legacy to an unmarried woman will vest in her husband after marriage unless the settlement of it is made on her before marriage two thousand seven hundred forty one in sudden emergencies a form may be useful and the following has been considered a good one for a deathbed will where the assistance of a solicitor could not be obtained indeed few solicitors can prepare a will on the spur of the moment they require time and legal forms which are by no means necessary before they can act i ab of number ten blank street in the city of blank bracket gentlemen builder or grocer as the case may be and bracket being of sound mind thus publish and declare my last will and testament revoking and annulling all former dispositions of my property I give and bequeath as follows to my son jb of blank I give and bequeath the sum of blank to my daughter m the wife of j of blank I give and bequeath the sum of blank bracket if intended for her own use add quote to her soul and separate use free from the control debts and encumbrances of her husband and quote and bracket both in addition to any sum or sums of money or other property they have before had for me all the remaining property I die possessed of I leave to my dear wife m be for her soul and separate use during her natural life together with my house and furniture situate at number ten blank street aforesaid at her death I desire that the said house shall be sold with all the goods and chattels there in bracket or I give and bequeath the said house with all the goods and chattels there in to blank and bracket and the money realized from the sale together with that in which my said wife had a life interest I give and bequeath in equal moieties to my son and daughter before named I appoint my dear friend TS of blank and TB of blank together with my wife and be as executors to this my last will and testament signed by AB this 10th day of October 1861 in our presence both being present together and both having signed as witnesses in the presence of the testator AB TS witness FM witness it is to be observed that the signature of the testator after this attestation has been signed by the witnesses is not a compliance with the act he must sign first two thousand seven hundred forty two stamp duties in the case of persons dying into state when their effects are administered to you by their family the stamp duty is half as much more as it would have been under a will freehold and copyhold estates are now subject to a special impulse on passing by the stamp act of 1857 two thousand seven hundred forty three the legacy duty only commences when it amounts to twenty pounds and upwards and where it is not directed otherwise the duty is deducted from the legacy two thousand seven hundred forty four you cannot compound for past absence of charity by bequeathing land or tenements or money to purchase such to any charitable use by your last will and testament but you may devise them to the British Museum to either of the two universities of Oxford and Cambridge to Eaton Winchester and Westminster and you may if so inclined leave it for the augmentation of Queen Anne's bounty you may however order your executors to sell land and hand over the money received to any charitable institution two thousand seven hundred forty five in making provision for a wife state whether it is in lieu of or in addition to dour two thousand seven hundred forty six if you have advanced money to any child and taken an acknowledgement for it or entered it in any book of account you should declare whether any legacy left by will is in addition to such advance or whether it is to be deducted from the legacy two thousand seven hundred forty seven a legacy left by will to anyone would be cancelled by your leaving another legacy by a codicil to the same person unless it is stated to be in addition to the former bequest two thousand seven hundred forty eight your entire estate is chargeable with your debts except where the real estate is settled let it be distinctly stated out of which property the real or personal they are paid where it consists of both two thousand seven hundred forty nine whatever is devised let the intention be clearly expressed and without any condition if you intend it to take effect two thousand seven hundred fifty attestation is not necessary to a will as the act of witnessing is all the law requires and the will itself declares the testator to be of sound mind in his own estimation but wherever there are erasures or inter-lineations one becomes necessary no particular form is prescribed but it should state that the testator equally signed it himself or that another signed it by his request or that he acknowledged the signature to be his in their presence both being present together and signed his witnesses in his presence when there are erasures the attestation must declare that the words inter-lined in the third line of page four and the erasure in the fifth line of page six having been first made these are the acts necessary to make a properly executed will and being simple in themselves and easily performed they should be strictly complied with and always attested two thousand seven hundred fifty one a witness may on being requested signed for testator and he may also sign for his fellow witness supposing he can only make his mark declaring that he does so but a husband cannot sign for his wife either as testator or witness nor can a wife for her husband end of section one hundred seven end of the book of household management by Isabella Beaton