Estate of Traylor

Elizabeth D. Traylor died, leaving a will,. duly admitted to probate in this court, November 10, 1885, in which (inter alia) she made a bequest in terms as follows:

In a codicil admitted to probate at the same time, she provides that:

The question presented is, What passes to the legatees under the terms “ornaments” and “wardrobe”?

1. What are “ornaments”?

“The words of a will are to be taken in their ordinary and grammatical sense, unless a clear intention to use them in another sense can be collected, and that other can be ascertained”: Civ. Code, sec. 1324.

“In case of uncertainty arising upon the face of a will, .... the testator’s intention is to be ascertained from the words of the will, taking into view the circumstances under which it was made, exclusive of oral declarations”: Civ. Code, sec. 1318.

We must, in such case, take the will, holding it “by the four corners,” and read it in the light of the circumstances surrounding its execution.

The word “ornaments” is of Latin derivation, and, going to the source for a definition, we find in Andrews’ Latin-English Lexicon: '

*254 Worcester defines:

Webster’s definition is: .

There are many terms of frequent…