By his will, which is dated March 25, 1903, he gave to his wife the sum of Five Thousand Dollars, also his residence and the sum of Two Thousand Dollars a year for her life; then appears this provision: “The acceptance by my wife of the provisions for her benefit contained in this will shall bar all claims by her of dower in any real estate heretofore or hereafter conveyed by me to any one”; this provision has occasioned much comment in view of the fact that it does not accomplish the purpose intended, as it does not preclude dower in realty owned at the time of his death. A few personal effects were given to friends, among them a cane “on which is a silver snake,” to Adolphus Busch of St. Louis.
The giving of canes and walking-sticks by distinguished men has always been a marked feature in wills.
The balance of the estate was to be equally divided among three children, the portions for the sons in trust, and that for the daughter absolutely, less an advancement.
Senator Vest had few equals as a brilliant orator; perhaps no speech ever made by him at the bar or in the Senate will be longer remembered than the one given below. It was an address to a jury, delivered at Warrensburg, Missouri, about the year 1870. Senator Vest was then about forty years of age. A farmer had sued a neighbor for killing his dog, an ordinary fox hound, and Senator Vest was asked to assist the plaintiff. He made a brief address, and the jury gave a verdict for the full amount claimed. The case finally reached the Supreme Court of Missouri, and the finding of the lower court was upheld:
“Gentlemen of the Jury:—
“The best friend a man has in this world, may turn against him and become his enemy.
“His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith.
“The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it most.
“A man’s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor, when success is with us, may be the first to throw the stone of malice, when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.
“The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world,—the one that never deserts him,—the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is the dog.