Litchfield enquirer., 1875-09-23
GOOD LUCK.


 ssupon which he seemed to place great re.
 Iiance, was never to have anything to do
 with an unIucky place or an unlucky
 man." ''I have seen," said he. ''many clever men, very clever men, who had not shoes to their feet. 1 never acted with them their advice sounds very well, but fate is against them; they cannot get on themselves, and if they cannot do good to themselves. how can they do good to me?' Now, what is luck? Is there really such an ingredient in human affairs as fortui- tons concourse of happy accidents produ. eing that to which we give the name of luck, and do some get it and some fail to get it? There are, We believe, those who assert that there is no such thing, but most are of the baron's opinion.
 Not long ago one of the best known and ablest merchants in New York was engag- ing captain. Everything seemed satis- factory, and they were on the point of concluding terms, when the captain sad, par pGveysthese, ''You know, Mir. F., I've been a very unlucky man. The other turned around sharply, "Unlucky un- luckyi then I'm afraid you wont do for me" The negotiation was broken of. We have never heard those who attempt to ignore luck explain away certain events which seem accountable by no other hy- pOthesis than happy accident. Let us give few cases in point
 A Mr. Green Wilkinson, of London, let an old man into his pew, and that old man left him 97, 900 year for so doing. There is a gentleman in New York society to-day. who had an acquaintance, an Englishman, many years his senior. This Englishman always showed a liking for him, and when the American went to Lon- don he paid hlm a visit. The English man said one day that he wished to make him a little present, and when he opened the check handed to him he found it was for quite large sum. This made hIm think that possibly he might have a leg acy of S5,O 900. But what happened few years later? 4 solicitor in London ap- prised him that his client had left the American all his American securities, amounting in the: aggregate to some S6OO. 1000.
 And wasn't that pure unadulterated luck which laid the foundations of the great English historic family of Russell. to see Henry VII. to put into Weymouth. tleman in the neighborhood. hastens to offer hospitality. But there's no one to talk to His HIghness in his own tongue. Happy thought "My cousin Russell. Of goes a groom to Kingston Russell 1; they have their ancient patrimony still. ''FOr Heavens sake, come over and help me with the Spanish Duke" Russell comes {; fascinates His Highness is car ried to court {; fascinates Henry; gets such a share of monastic and other plunder as subject never got before, nor will again, and dies Earl of Bedford, K. G., etc.
 Some years ago there appeared a review of a most interesting unpublished autobi- Ography of a great lawyer, Pemberton- Leigh Lord Kingsdown, who was offered a peerage by our governments in success sion, and held the Lord Chancellorship- reluctantly consenting to take an honor which his brethren are so eager to grasp under the late Lord Derby. It records a wOndTous example, as Lord Kingsdown himself points out, of luck. Here are his words, ''In 1880 an event happened which has decided the course of my subsequent life. Sir Robert Leigh, who had amassed a very large property in addition to his patrimonial estate, though he had always been fond of Mir. and Mrs. Cooke, (Pem- beEtOn's uncle and aunt) had kept up no intercourse with the rest of the family, and. indeed. apparently had an aversion to them. The family estates had been settled by his father, in default of issue of his own body, on the issue of his brother, (my grandfather) and would have been therefore divided eff the limitation had taken effect t)among his five daughters, of whom my mother was the eldest. This settlement had greatly annoyed Sir Rob- ert, and indisposed him toward those who had the chance of benefitting by it. In 1928 and 1929 he quarreled with the rec tor of Wigan, who claimed tithes of the Hindley Hall estate, which Sir Robert in- sisted was covered by farm modus. The rector filed a bill in chancery and set down his cause at the Rolls. Sir Robert endeavored to retain Bickersteth (after- ward Lord Langdale, Master of the Rolls,) and was very angry when he found that he was retained on the other side. Still greater was Sir Roberts vexation when he was told that was the next in business m the court, and that he must engage me. He submitted, however, though believe with a very bad grace; said was a mere boy, and, Tn short, considered his case as sacrificed. When his attorney, MT. Cas- kell, who was a perfect stranger to me, came to the consultation, I observed that l had some interest, or might have some interest in the estate; when he informed me that the entail had been found faulty, and that Sir Robert has barred tho re- mainder after the limitations to his own issue and his brother sand their issue. male. This did not much disturb me. On looking into the evidence found that there was fatal blot III our case. In or der to maintain farm modus it was nec- essary to state precisely what lands were covered by it, and if any were improperly included or improperly omitted, the mo- dus was held to be Ill laid, and a decree went against the defendant. On looking at an old map of the estate found that a small piece of land taken in from Pen nington Green some fifty years before, was included Tn our answer as a part of the ancient faith; the only chance for us was that the blot might not be hit. We went into court on the memorable morning of the cause-memorable to me from its con- sequences-with not much confidence. Up to this time l had never seen Sir Rob- ert in the course of the proceedings, al- though learned afterward that he had attended the Rolls Court for several days before, in order to judge how far he was likely to be ruined by the inability of his counsel. I fancy that he was little re- assured. I
 In the course of the argument for the plaintiff poor Sutton Sharp, who was with Bickersteth, made an attack on Sir Rob- ert's grandfather, who had been a great attorney at Wigan, to whose artifices he attributed a part of the consequences which appeared favorable to the defen- dant. l had, therefore. the double task of vindicating my ancestor and maintain ing the modus. and succeeded so we'll that, after the case was over, judgment being reversed. Sir Robert came up, and loaded me with compliments the most ex- travagant and absurd-said that I had vindiOated the name of the family and done everything that could be done for the case, and now he did not care what was the result, he was perfectly satisfied. A few dave after his joy was completed by . judgment being pronounced in his favor. Though the matter could not have been one of E50 in value, he was as deeply in- teresked in it as if it had involved as many