Dear Sirs:—
In distributing the property which will come to you under my will, I wish you to exercise a reasonable discretion, since conditions may be quite different at the time of my death from what they are now. I very likely have overlooked some of my old friends who should be remembered, and in such case I should wish you to make the matter right as though they were included in my list.
In case I should die after sickness of some duration, the people who have taken care of me in this sickness should be also remembered.
In case there should be any deficiency of property to fill these bequests, I should prefer that the deficiency should be taken out of the larger amounts to friends who do not really need the money, rather then to reduce all of the bequests pro rata. Under present conditions there should be a surplus of several thousand dollars. This you might hold for some time and if any of my friends came to actual want, you could use it for their benefit or, if not used for that purpose, you could give it to some hospital or asylum.
If you deem it advisable, you may make explanation that the varying amounts of these legacies are not to be taken as indicating the degree of my regard for recipients, since I have considered to a considerable extent the financial condition of my friends. To some of them any amount of money I could leave would be of no account pecuniarily, while in case of others it might be of some real help; I have also given my girl friends largely the advantage in amounts.
I will keep a duplicate of this list, which will be among my papers, and may make changes in it from time to time, which will be of the same effect as though communicated to you.
Yours very truly,
John B. Atwater.
[MEMORANDUM]
I wish my remains to be cremated as quietly as possible, and do not care to have a minister hold any services. While I believe in God the Infinite not ourselves which is eternal I do not believe in any of the man-made Gods and Creeds which now exist and which in my opinion have entirely perverted the simple gospel taught by Christ. As I have no near relatives to be pained by the absence of conventional ceremonies, I might as well be consistent to the end. I have no particular use for flowers at a funeral, and would prefer, if my friends feel it necessary to express their regret in a tangible form, that they would send checks to some Hospital or Asylum in my memory for the amount they would otherwise spend on flowers.