The last will and testament of Alexander Pope: of Twickenham, Esq; to which is added, an inscription wrote by himself.

Table of contents

- [titlepage]

- [dedication]

THE LAST WILL, &c.

IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. I Alexander Pope, of Twickenham, in the County of Middlesex, make this my last Will and Testament. I resign my Soul to it's Creator in all humble Hope of it's future Happiness, as in the Disposal of a Being infinitely Good. As to my Body, my Will is, That it be buried near the Monument of my dear Parents at Twickenham, with the Addition, after the Words filius fecit—of these only, Et sibi: Qui obiit Anno 17. Aetatis—and that it be carried to the Grave by six of the poorest Men of the Parish, to each of whom I order a Suit of Grey course Cloth, as Mourning. If I happen to die at any inconvenient Distance, let the same be done in any other Parish, and the Inscription be added on the Monument at Twickenham. I hereby make and appoint my particular Friends, Allen Lord Bathurst; Hugh Earl of Marchmont; the Honourable William Murray, his Majesty's Solicitor General; and George Arbuthnott, of the Court of Exchequer, Esq; the Survivors or Survivor of them, Executors of this my last Will and Testament.

But all the Manuscript and unprinted Papers which I shall leave at my Decease, I desire may be delivered to my Noble Friend, Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke, to whose sole Care and Judgment I commit them, either to be preserved or destroyed; or in case he shall not survive me, to the abovesaid Earl of Marchmont. These, who in the Course of my Life have done me all other good Offices, will not refuse me this last after my Death: I leave them therefore this Trouble, as a Mark of my Trust and Friendship; only desiring them each to accept of some small Memorial of me: That my Lord Bolingbroke will add to his Library all the Volumes of my Works and Translations of Homer, bound in red Morocco, and the Eleven Volumes of those of Erasmus: That my Lord Marchmont will take the large Paper Edition of Thuanus, by Buckley; and that Portrait of Lord Bolingbroke, by Richardson; which he shall prefer: That my Lord Bathurst will find a Place for the three Statues of the Hercules of Furnese, the Venus of Medicis, and the Apollo in Chiaro oscuro, done by Kneller: That Mr. Murray will accept of the Marble Head of Homer, by Bernini; and of Sir Isaac Newton, by Guelfi; and that Mr. Arbuthnot will take the Watch I commonly wore, which the King of Sardinia gave to the late Earl of Peterborow, and he to me on his Death-Bed; together with one of the Pictures of Lord Bolingbroke.

Item, I desire Mr. Lyttelton to accept of the Busts of Spencer, Shakespear, Milton, and Dryden, in Marble, which his Royal Master the Prince, was pleased to give me. I give and devise my Library of printed Books to Ralph Allen, of Widcombe, Esq; and to the Reverend Mr. William Warburton, or to the Survivor of them (when those belonging to Lord Bolingbroke are taken out, and when Mrs. Martha Blount has chosen Threescore out of the Number) I also give and bequeath to the said Mr. Warburton the Property of all such of my Works already Printed, as he hath written, or shall write Commentaries or Notes upon, and which I have not otherwise disposed of, or alienated; and all the Profits which shall arise after my Death from such Editions as he shall publish without future Alterations.

Item, In case Ralph Allen, Esq; abovesaid, shall survive me, I order my Executors to pay him the Sum of One hundred and fifty Pounds; being, to the best of my Calculation, the Account of what I have received from him; partly for my own, and partly for Charitable Uses. If he refuse to take this himself, I desire him to employ it in a Way I am persuaded he will not dislike, to the Benefit of the Bath-Hospital.

I give and devise to my Sister-in-law, Mrs. Magdalen Racket, the Sum of Three hundred Pounds; and to her Sons, Henry, and Robert Racket, One hundred Pounds each. I also release, and give to her all my Right and Interest in and upon a Bond of Five hundred Pounds due to me from her Son Michael. I also give her the Family Pictures of my Father, Mother and Aunts, and the Diamond Ring my Mother wore, and her Golden Watch. I give to Erasmus Lewis, Gilbert West, Sir Clement Cotterell, William Rollinson, Nathaniel Hook, Esqs; and to Mrs. Anne Arbuthnot, to each the Sum of Five Pounds, to be laid out in a Ring, or any Memorial of me; and to my Servant, John Searl, who has faithfully and ably served me many Years, I give, and devise the Sum of One hundred Pounds over and above a Year's Wages to himself, and his Wife; and to the Poor of the Parish of Twickenham, Twenty Pounds to be divided among them by the said John Searl; and it is my Will, if the said John Searl, die before me, that the said Sum of One hundred Pounds go to his Wife or Children.

Item, I give, and devise to Mrs. Martha Blount, younger Daughter of Mrs. Martha Blount, late of Welbeck-Street Cavendish-Square, the Sum of One thousand Pounds immediately on my Decease; and all the Furniture of my Grotto, Urns in my Garden, Household Goods, Chattels, Plate, or whatever is not otherwise disposed of in this my Will, I give and devise to the said Mrs. Martha Blount, out of a sincere Regard, and long Friendship for her: And it is my Will, that my abovesaid Executors, the Survivors or Survivor of them, shall take an Account of all my Estate, Money, or Bonds, &c. and after paying my Debts and Legacies, shall place out all the Residue upon Government, or other Securities, according to their best Judgment; and pay the Produce thereof, half-yearly, to the said Mrs. Martha Blount, during her natural Life: And after her Decease, I give the Sum of One thousand Pounds to Mrs. Magdalen Racket, and her Sons Robert, Henry and John, to be divided equally among them, or to the Survivors or Survivor of them; and after the Decease of the said Mrs. Martha Blount, I give the Sum of Two hundred Pounds to the abovesaid Gilbert West; two hundred to Mr. George Arbuthnot; two hundred to his Sister, Mrs. Anne Arbuthnot; and One hundred to my Servant, John Searl, to which soever of these shall be then living: And all the Residue and Remainder to be considered as undisposed of, and go to my next of Kin. This is my last Will and Testament, written with my own Hand, and sealed with my Seal, this Twelfth Day of December, in the Year of our Lord, One thousand, seven hundred and forty-three.

ALEX. POPE.

Signed, Sealed and Declared by the Testator, as his last Will and Testament, in Presence of us,

- Radnor,

- Stephen Hales, Minister of Teddington,

- Joseph Spence, Professor of History, in the University of Oxford.

THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ALEXANDER POPE, of TWICKENHAM, Esq

TO WHICH IS ADDED, An INSCRIPTION wrote by HIMSELF.

LONDON: Printed for A. DODD, at the Peacock, without Temple-Bar. M.DCC.XLIV.

To God the Creator and best of Beings,

To Alexander Pope, a Gentlamen of Honesty, Probity and Piety, who liv'd LXXV. Years, died M.DCC.XVII.

And to Editha, his Excellent and truely Pious Wife, who lived XCIII. Years, died M.DCC.XXXIII.

To his well-deserving Parents the Son erected this, and to himself.

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Title statement

The last will and testament of Alexander Pope: of Twickenham, Esq; to which is added, an inscription wrote by himself.

Pope, Alexander, 1688-1744.

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ID [ota]

http://ota.ox.ac.uk/id/3467

ID [isbn10]

1106004663

ID [isbn13]

9781106004666

ID [TCP]

K011519.000

ID [BIBNO]

CW3303311835

ID [ECHG]

1163800600

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Source

— The last will and testament of Alexander Pope: of Twickenham, Esq; to which is added, an inscription wrote by himself., Pope, Alexander, 1688-1744.. [2],5-16,[2]p. ; 8⁰. London :: printed for A. Dodd,. 1744.. [Reproduction of original from the Bodleian Library (Oxford).] [Griffith, 593] [English Short Title Catalog, ESTCN19354.] [Electronic data. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Thomson Gale, 2003. Page image (PNG). Digitized image of the microfilm version produced in Woodbridge, CT by Research Publications, 1982-2002 (later known as Primary Source Microfilm, an imprint of the Gale Group).]

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