As you all know, American millionaires have a tendency to
become avid collectors, often of the strangest things.

This was
certainly true of one particular millionaire whom I shall call John.

John collected impressionist paintings, but not the ones you
might think.

He specialized in Eastern Bloc artists, being especially
fond of those from Czechoslovakia.

Over the years, he accumulated
hundreds of such paintings.

Individually they weren't that valuable,
but as a collection they were of considerable interest to art
historians.

Realizing this, he many years ago altered his will so that
all of his collection was to be presented to the museum in the town
where he had grown up.

Also included was a quite handsome sum to
cover security and display costs.

Time passed, as it always does, and last year, John died
peacefully in his sleep.

What John hadn't foreseen was the breakup of
the Soviet Union, and the opening up of the former communist
countries to Western eyes.

The value of John's collection had shot
through the roof, in comparison with what he had considered its
monetary value, and his surviving relatives began to cast envious
eyes on the artwork.

The situation was made considerably worse when, during
cataloguing, it was discovered that the collection included a long
lost work by a famous French impressionist, with a value commensurate
with its creators fame.

All the relatives screamed loudly, and demanded that the will be
contested in court.

Some of them wanted all the paintings for
themselves, but most were willing to allow the museum to have all
except the French example and maybe even that one, as long as the
museum was willing to pay a "reasonable price" for them.

As with all such cases, the more money involved, the faster
the case is heard, and the longer it takes to hear it.

Thus, it was
only last week that the judge handed down his decision.

He found that the provision in the will was clearly stated,
and perfectly reasonable.

He therefore awarded the paintings to the
museum, doing so in the clearest terms he could find.

Indeed, his
summation is a masterpiece of clarity.

"From the terms of this will it is plain to see, you get
your Monet for nothing, and your Czech's for free."