The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-10-14


md must not be held too closely to the
J hitter dictnr, Of a viva voce opinion. II
| .ecms 10 me that notwithstanding its pc
fnIiar idiosvncrasies. and the various
.,,ruces' that it presents, IL viii, upon
! olosor termination be found to fall within
/ tboso reneral laws that govern the legal
course Of testarnentary disposition. II !
remember Alright speak on hand-'he
/ Act of / Vic. cap 20, SPECIFICS that VIII
| shall be in writing, and tattoolng may
fairly be defined a rude variety OF
writing. II is. ! admit, usual that writ
! ing shonld he done on paper or parchment
/ lint have no doubt that the young lady s
I skin. If carefully removed and dried,
vonId make excellent parchment. At
! nresent. therefore, it is parchment III its
I sreen stare and perfectly available for
writing purposes. To continue. 1t ap-
nears-I am taking Mr. Nelson's state
/ meuts as being perfectly accuratc-ttat
the will was properly and duly executed
1 Inv tho testator. or rather by the person
who tattooed in his presence and at his
/ command. a form Of signature which rs
very well covered by the section OF the
/ Act' of Vic. cap 26 1t seems. too. that
= the WllDcSHCS dlltNlti wv t'N'~AI'~ "
! each other and of the testator. 1t IL
true that there was no attestation clause;
but the supposed necessity for an attesta-
| ton clause is one of those fallacies oil the
Law mind which. perhaps, cluster more
frequently and with greater persistence
roupd questions connected with tesla
meutary disposition than those Of any
other branch Of the law. Therefore, we
must take the will TO have been properly
executed in accordance with the spirit Of
! the statute. And now we come to what
at present strikes me as the crux. The
will is undated. Does that inyalidate itg
answer with confidence, no. And mark:
! eyidence-that of Lady Holmhurst-can
be produced that this will did not exist
upon the back Of Miss Augusta Smithers
previously TO Dec 10. on which day the
kangaroo sunk; and evidence can also be
produced-that Of Mrs Thomas--that it
did exist on Christmas day, when Miss
Smi-heTs was rescued. 1t is, therefore.
cleaa that it must have got upon her back
between Dec. 10 and Dee. %.
"Quite So old fellow" said Eusace,
much impressed at this corruscation Of
legal lore Evidently you are the man
TO tackle the case. But, say what is to
be done nextg Yon see. I'm afraid it is
too late Probate has issued, whatever
that may mean"
Probate has issued" echoed the great
James. struggling with his rising con
tempt and is the law so helpless that
probate which has been allowed TO issue
undes an erroneous apprehension Of the
facts cannot be recalledy Most certainly
not So soon as the preliminary formal
tiles are concluded, a writ must be issued
10 revoke the probate, and claiming that
the court should pronounce in favor Of
the later will; or stay. there Is no ex-
ecutO,-therc is 10 cxccutor'-a very i'm
portant point. claiming grant Of letters
of administration with the will annexed.
think that will be The better course.
But how can you annex Miss Smithers
TO grant Of letters Of administration,
whatever that may mc2n!' said Eustacc,
feebly.
That reminds me, said James, dsre
gGrding the question and addressing MS
brother, you must at once file Miss
Smithers in the registry. AID sec to the
preparation Of the usu2l aiiidayits Of
! scripts
Certainly, certainly" said John, as
though his were themost simple business
in the Horld
What" gasped Eustace, as a vision Of
Augusta impGled upon an enormous bill
guard rose before his eyes. you can I
file lady it's impossible"
"Impcssiblc or not, it must be done be-
. fore any further steps are taken. Let me
see; believe that Or. Probate is the sit
ting registrar at Somerset House this
sittings. 1t would be well if you made
an appointment for tomorrow.
"Yes, said John.
well went on James. Il think that
IS all for the present You will, of course,
let me have the instructions and other
papers with all possible speed. suppose
that other counsel besides myself will be
ultimately retained
oh that reminds me, said Eustace,
about money, you know. ] don't quite
see how am going to pay for all this
game | have got about fifty pounds
spare cash in the world, and that S all;
and know enough TO be aware that fifty
pounds do not 20 far in a lawsuit. ~
Blankly James looked at John and John
at James. This was very trying
Fifty pounds will 80 Il good way in
ont Of pocket fees, suggested James at
length, rubbing his bald head with his
handkerchief.
Possibly, answered John, pettishly;
but how about the remuneration Of the
plaintiffs legal adviser? Can't you'd
dressing manage to get the
money from some oney'
well" said EustGcc, there's Lady
Holn.hurst. Perhaps if offered to share
the spoil with her, if there was any
Dear me. no, said john; that would
be maintenance >"
Certainly not, chimed in James, hold
ing up his hand in dismay. Most clearly
it would be 'champerty;' and did II come
to the knowledge Of the court nobody can
say what might not happen"
"lndeed," answered Eustace with a
sigh, Il don't quite know what you mean,
but seem 70 have said something very
wrong The odds on . handicap are
child play 10 understand beside this law, ="
he cdded. sadly.
1T is obvious, James, said John, that,
putting aside other matters this would
prove, independent of pecuniary reward,
a most interesting case for you to con
duct"
That is so, John, " replied James; "but,
as YOU must be well aware, the etiquette