The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1867-06-13

THE GOOD OLD Aud aFhsreas.
BY CHARLES DICKENS.

am nc. an unreasonable man. but
have my preiudices. Good. wholesome,
sterling British prejudices, which l hold
in common with all right minded inhabi
tan.s OF this tight little island, anu won
abate for anybody. Let the gentlemen
who write in the newspapers take this
fact to hear, and save them selves a world
of trouble What do l want with din
ners a Ii Russo, for example, with all
their culinary fripperies? II I dine a.
home delight to look At my wife over
the top of q hot joint (the bigger the bet
I ter while she, dear soul, smiles pleas
antly on me through the steam from the
pudding If l honor the theatre with
my presence in pursuit Of the British
! Drama (Which I can never discovery, l
don't go there in expectation of being
| comfortable, but OF being melo dramati-
cally excited. And, as this has q ten
dency to create thirst, like TO have my
ginger beer and oranges brought to III e
in the pit. If anybody $ knees are dam
aged in the process, l cant help that
When I go 20 law. or rather when
used 70 go TO Ian Tor the County Conrts
have robbed the process Of one half its
pleasurable exlitement.l l knew what
that meant Now. / don't. l solemnly
declare that am SO perpiexea by the III
novating tendencies CT this degenerate
age, that don't know what tue law is
coming TO
Take that most magnificent and per-
feet product OF the human intellect, built
up by the accumulated wisdom Of ages
the Law of Real Property What is it
coming to? The old established, well
appointed legal conveyance is to PC taken
off the road. Feoffment, grant, release,
confirmation, surrender, assignment, de
feasance, feoffmcnts to uses, covenants
to stand seized to uses, bargain and sale,
lease and release, are to haunt the legal
mind as relics of a by gone age.
But this is not the end of it. The Ii
ties tinkcred up into respectable state
of soundness, by the gentlemen of ten
years experience III the trade, are 70 be
registered Gas vulgar stoves and coffee
pots are registered, 1 suppose): the GER
tlicate of registration is to o.liciate as a
patent litigation annihilator, guaranteed
to ctfectually quench the professional
prying of the most skeptical lawyer for
ever.
Nor, indeed. is this ,he eliminating
point Of the wretched heresy: for landed
properties, we are further informed, are
to be bought and sold as stocks. and
ships, and railway shares are bought and
sold. With no more serious Invocation
of the majesty of the law than is to be
discovered in the filing up Of printed
forms, and with no greater experience Of
its proverbial and the proper delay than
the half- hour expended in that miserable
process. Have not reason to say, that
l don't know what the law is coming to:
Without further comment, however,
let me tell, in my own way, through what
careful, we'll ll-conceived processes OF law
Robinson passed, no longer ago than last
summer, before he became the happy
possessor Of his little place in the coun-
try
II was very hot in town, and the soul
of Robinson yearned for the country.
He was a warm man. his neighbors said:
but the City was infinitely warmer, and
SO his heart went out to where the foliage
was reputed 20 be green, and the spar
rows, he had been told, were OF natural
brown
What won @er, then. that Robinson, as
lie perspired in his dingy counting house,
allowed his eye to rest with q cool pleas
nre upon the announcements which his
newspaper conveyed to him. of deligh.rl
villas to be sold Immediately, of smooth
lawns sloping down to flowing rivers and
shady avenues Of stately trees imper-
vious to the sun. crying aloud for pur-
chasers; OF one especially, desirable
freehold residence Of indescribabie capa
bilities and unheard-of advantages, Of
which Immediate possession might be
had? What wonder that, when Mrs r..
the partner of his bosom, declared that
it was ''the very thing she had always
ionged for. and above all the very thing
for the dear children, that Robinson
should say to himself, Il will be the i'm
mediate possessor Of this desirable free
hold residence and the cool strawberries,
If it can he doneS" Messrs- verboo,
Wordy, and Folio were the gentlemen 70
put him right in that respect; and, 70 that
eminent conveyancing firm he applied
forthwith. OF course it could be done
''And, after the requisite legal formal
tiles have been complied with" said Mr..
Wordy. who was the speaking partner,
syou can have possession, Mr.. Robinson.