_Proved in the Deanery Court of York, 1772._
This is my last Will,
I insist on it still,
So sneer on and welcome
And e'en laugh your fill.
I, William Hickington,
Poet of Pocklington,
Do give and bequeathe,
As free as I breathe,
To thee, Mary Jaram,
The queen of my haram,
My cash and cattle,
With every chattel,
To have and to hold,
Come heat or come cold,
Sans hindrance or strife,
(Tho' thou art _not_ my wife,)
As witness my hand,
Just here as I stand,
This 12th of July,
In the year seventy ----
Signed, &c. W. HICKINGTON.