time, Mr. Quirk received, by the hand of a trusty messenger, from Grasp, a letter written by Steggars to Mr. Parkinson; a long and eloquent letter, to the purport and effect which Steggars had intimated. Mr.

Quirk read it with much satisfaction, for it disclosed a truly penitent feeling, and a desire to undo as much mischief as the writer had done.

He (Mr. Quirk) was not in the least exasperated by certain very plain terms in which his own name was mentioned; but making all due allowances, quietly put the letter in the fire as soon as he had read it. In due time Mr. Steggars, whose health had suffered from close confinement, caught frequent whiffs of the fresh sea-breeze, having set out, under most favorable auspices, for Botany Bay; to which distant but happy place, he had been thus fortunate in early securing an "_appointment_" for so considerable a portion of his life.

Such, then, were the miserable means by which Mr. Quirk became acquainted with the exact state of Mr. Aubrey's t.i.tle; on first becoming apprised of which, Mr. Gammon either felt, or affected, great repugnance to taking any part in the affair. He appeared to suffer himself, at length, however, to be over-persuaded by Quirk into acquiescence; and, that point gained--having ends in view of which Mr. Quirk had not the least conception, and which, in fact, had but suddenly occurred to Mr.

Gammon himself--worked his materials with a caution, skill, energy, and perseverance, which soon led to important results. Guided by the suggestions of acute and experienced counsel, after much pains and considerable expense, they had succeeded in discovering that precious specimen of humanity, t.i.ttlebat t.i.tmouse, who hath already figured so prominently in this history. When they came to set down on paper the result of all their researches and inquiries, in order to submit it in the shape of a case for the opinion of Mr. Mortmain and Mr. Frankpledge, in the manner described in a former part of this history, it looked perfect _on paper_, as many a faulty pedigree and abstract of t.i.tle had looked before, and will yet look. It was quite possible for even Mr.

Tresayle himself to overlook the defect which had been pointed out by Mr. Subtle. That which is stated to a conveyancer, as _a fact_--any particular event, for instance, as of a death, a birth, or a marriage, at a particular time or place, which the very nature of the case renders highly probable--he is warranted in a.s.suming to be so. But when the same statement comes--with quite a different object--under the experienced eye of a _nisi prius_ lawyer, who knows that he will have to _prove_ his case, step by step, the aspect of things is soon changed. "De non _apparentibus_, et de non _existentibus_," saith the law, "eadem est ratio." The first pract.i.tioner in the common law, before whom the case came, in its roughest and earliest form, in order that he might "lick it into shape," and "advise generally" preparatory to its "being laid before counsel," was Mr. Traverse, a young pleader, whom Messrs. Quirk and Gammon were disposed to take by the hand. He wrote a very showy, but superficial and delusive opinion; and put the intended _protege_ of his clients, as it were by a kind of hop, step, and jump, into possession of the Yatton estates. Quirk was quite delighted on reading it; but Gammon shook his head with a somewhat sarcastic smile, and said he would at once prepare a case for the opinion of Mr. Lynx, whom he had pitched upon as the junior counsel in any proceedings which might be inst.i.tuted in a court of law. Lynx (of whom I shall speak hereafter) was an experienced, hard-headed, vigilant, and accurate lawyer; the very man for such a case, requiring, as it did, most patient and minute examination. With an eye fitted

"To inspect a mite, not comprehend the heaven,"

he _crawled_, as it were, over a case; and thus, even as one can imagine that a beetle creeping over the floor of St. Paul's, would detect minute flaws and fissures invisible to the eye of Sir Christopher Wren himself, spied out defects which much n.o.bler optics would have overlooked. To come to plain matter-of-fact, however, I have beside me the original opinion written by Mr. Lynx; and shall treat the reader to a taste of it--giving him sufficient to enable him to appreciate the very ticklish position of affairs with Mr. t.i.tmouse. To make it not altogether unintelligible, let us suppose the state of the pedigree to be something like this, (as far as concerns our present purpose:)--

(Dreddlington.)

+------------+-----------+

(Harry Dreddlington.) (Charles Dreddlington.)

+---------------+--------------+

(Stephen Dreddlington.) (Geoffrey Dreddlington.)

===================== ======================= (A female descendant (A female descendant marries marries _Gabriel t.i.ttlebat_ CHARLES AUBREY, Esq., t.i.tmouse_, through whom father of the present t.i.tTLEBAT t.i.tMOUSE possessor.) claims.)

Be pleased now, unlearned reader, to bear in mind that "_Dreddlington_"

at the top of the above table, is the common ancestor, having two sons, the elder "_Harry Dreddlington_," the younger "_Charles Dreddlington_;"

the latter having, in like manner, two sons, "_Stephen Dreddlington_"

the elder son, and "_Geoffrey Dreddlington_" the younger son; that Mr.

Aubrey, at present in possession, claims under "_Geoffrey Dreddlington_." Now it will be inc.u.mbent on Mr. t.i.tmouse, in the first instance, to establish in himself a clear, independent, legal, and possessory t.i.tle to the estates; it being sufficient for Mr. Aubrey, (possession being nine-tenths of the law), to falsify t.i.tmouse's proofs, or show them defective--"because," saith a very learned sergeant, who hath writ a text-book upon the Action of Ejectment, "the plaintiff in an action of ejectment must recover upon the strength of his own t.i.tle, not the weakness of his adversary's."[25]

Now, _rebus sic stantibus_, behold the astute Lynx advising (inter alia) in manner following; that is to say--

"It appears clear that the lessor of the plaintiff (_i. e._ t.i.ttlebat t.i.tmouse) will be able to prove that Dreddlington (the common ancestor) was seised of the estate at Yatton in the year 1740; that he had two sons, Harry and Charles, the former of whom, after a life of dissipation, appears to have died without issue; and that from the latter (Charles) are descended Stephen, the ancestor of the lessor of the plaintiff, and Geoffrey, the ancestor of the defendant. a.s.suming, therefore, that the descent of the lessor of the plaintiff from Stephen can be made out, as there appears every reason to expect, [on this point Lynx had written two brief pages,] a clear _prima facie_ case will have been established on the part of the lessor of the plaintiff. As, however, it is suspected that Harry Dreddlington executed a conveyance in fee of the property, in order to secure the loan contracted by him from Aaron Moses, it will be extremely important to ascertain, and, if possible, procure satisfactory evidence that the decease of Harry Dreddlington occurred before the period at which, by his father's death, that conveyance could have become operative upon the property: since it is obvious that, should he have survived his father, _that instrument, being outstanding_, may form a complete answer to the case of the lessor of the plaintiff.[26] The danger will be obviously increased should the debt to Aaron Moses prove to have been paid off, (as it is stated was rumored to have been the fact,) by Geoffrey Dreddlington, the younger son of Charles Dreddlington; for, should that turn out to be the case, he would probably have taken a conveyance to himself, or to trustees for his benefit, from Aaron Moses--which being in the power of the defendant, Mr. Aubrey, would enable him to make out a t.i.tle to the property, paramount to that now attempted to be set up on behalf of Mr.

t.i.tmouse. Every possible exertion, therefore, should be made to ascertain the precise period of the death of Harry Dreddlington. The registries of the various parishes in which the family may have at any time resided should be carefully searched; and an examination made in the churches and churchyards, of all tombstones, escutcheons, etc., belonging, or supposed to belong, to the Dreddlington family, and by which any light can be thrown upon this most important point. It appears clear that Dreddlington (the common ancestor) died on the 7th August, 1742:--the question, therefore, simply is, _whether the death of his eldest son (Harry) took place prior or subsequent to that period_. It is to be feared that the defendant may be in possession of some better and more direct evidence on this point than is attainable by the lessor of the plaintiff. The natural presumption would certainly seem to be that the son, being the younger and stronger man, was the survivor."[27]

The above-mentioned opinion of Mr. Lynx, together with that of Mr.

Subtle entirely corroborating it, (and which was alluded to in a late chapter of this history,[28]) and a pedigree, were lying on the table, one day, at the office at Saffron Hill, before the anxious and perplexed partners, Messrs. Quirk and Gammon.

Gammon was looking attentively, and with a very chagrined air, at the pedigree; and Quirk was looking at Gammon.

"Now, Gammon," said the former, "just let me see again where the exact hitch is--eh? You'll think me perhaps infernally stupid, but--curse me if I can see it!"

"See it, my dear sir? Here, _here_!" replied Gammon, with sudden impatience, putting his finger two or three times to the words "_Harry D._"

"Lord bless us! Don't be so sharp with one, Gammon! I know as well as you that that's _about_ where the crack is; but what is the precise thing we're in want of, eh?"

"Proof, my dear sir," replied Gammon, somewhat impatiently, but with a smile, "of the death of Harry Dreddlington some time--no matter when--previous to the 7th August, 1742; and in default thereof, Mr.

Quirk, we are all flat on our backs, and had better never have stirred in the business!"

"You know, Gammon, you're better _up_ in these matters than I--(because I've not been able to turn my particular attention to 'em since I first began business)--so just tell me, in a word, what good's to be got by showing that fellow to have died in his father's lifetime?"

"You don't show your usual acuteness, Mr. Quirk," replied Gammon, blandly. "It is to make waste paper of that confounded conveyance which he executed, and which Mr. Aubrey doubtless has, and with which he may, at a stroke, cut the ground from under our feet!"

"The very thought makes one feel quite funny--don't it, Gammon?" quoth Quirk, with a fl.u.s.tered air.

"It may well do so, Mr. Quirk. Now we _are_ fairly embarked in a cause where success will be attended with so many splendid results, Mr.

Quirk--though I'm sure you'll always bear me out in saying how very unwilling I was to take advantage of the villany of that miscreant Steg--hem"----

"Gammon, Gammon, you're always harking back to that--I'm tired of hearing on't!" interrupted Quirk, angrily, but with an embarra.s.sed air.

"Well, now we're in it," said Gammon, with a sigh, and shrugging his shoulders, "I don't see why we should allow ourselves to be baffled by trifles. The plain question is, undoubtedly, whether we are to stand still--_or go on_." Mr. Quirk gazed at Mr. Gammon with an anxious and puzzled look.

"How d'ye make out--in a legal way, you know, Gammon--_when_ a man died--I mean, of a _natural_ death?" somewhat mysteriously inquired Quirk, who was familiar enough with the means of proving the exact hour of certain _violent_ deaths at Debtor's Door.

"Oh! there are various methods of doing so, my dear sir," replied Gammon, carelessly. "Entries in family Bibles and prayer-books--registers--tombstones--ay, by the way, AN OLD TOMBSTONE,"

continued Gammon, musingly, "that would settle the business!"

"An old tombstone!" echoed Quirk, briskly, but suddenly dropping his voice. "Lord, Gammon, so it would! That's an _idea_!--I call that a decided idea, Gammon. 'Twould be the very thing!"

"The very thing!" repeated Gammon, pointedly. They remained silent for some moments.

"Snap could not have looked about him sharply enough when he was down at Yatton--could he, Gammon?" at length observed Quirk, in a low tone, flushing all over as he uttered the last words, and felt Gammon's cold gray eye settled on him like that of a snake.

"He could not, indeed, my dear sir," replied Gammon, while Quirk continued gazing earnestly at him, now and then wriggling about in his chair, rubbing his chin, and drumming with his fingers on the table.--"And now that you've suggested the thing, [oh, Gammon!

Gammon]--it's not to be wondered at!--You know, it would have been an old tombstone--a sort of fragment of a tombstone, perhaps--so deeply sunk in the ground, probably, as easily to have escaped observation.

Eh?--Does not it strike _you_ so, Mr. Quirk?" All this was said by Gammon in a musing manner, and in a very low tone of voice; and he was delighted to find his words sinking into the eager and fertile mind of his companion.

"Ah, Gammon!" exclaimed Quirk, with a sound of partly a sigh, and partly a whistle, (the former being the exponent of the _true_ state of his feelings, _i. e._ anxiety--the latter of what he wished to _appear_ the state of his feelings, _i. e._ indifference.)

"Yes, Mr. Quirk?"

"You're a deep devil, Gammon--I _will_ say that for you!" replied Quirk, glancing towards each door, and, as it were, unconsciously drawing his chair a little closer to that of Gammon.

"Nay, my dear sir!" said Gammon, with a deferential and deprecating smile, "you give me credit for an acuteness I feel I do not possess! If, indeed, I had not had _your_ sagacity to rely upon, ever since I have had the honor of being connected with you in business---- ah, Mr. Quirk, you know you lead--I follow"----

"Gammon, Gammon!" interrupted Quirk, with an uncomfortable, but still a mollified air, "Come--your name's _Oily_"----

"In moments like these, Mr. Quirk, I say nothing that I do not feel,"

interrupted Gammon, gravely, putting to his nose the least modic.u.m of snuff which he could take with the tip of his finger out of the huge box of Mr. Quirk, who, just then, was thrusting immense pinches, every half minute, up his nostrils.

"It will cost a great deal of money to find that same tombstone, Gammon!" said Quirk, in almost a whisper, and paused, looking intently at Gammon.

"I think this is a different kind of snuff from that which you usually take, Mr. Quirk, isn't it?" inquired Gammon, as he inserted the tips of his fingers a second time into the mechanically proffered box of Mr.

Quirk.

"The same--the same," replied Quirk, hastily.

"You are a man better fitted for serious emergencies, Mr. Quirk, than any man I ever came near," said Gammon, deferentially; "I perceive that you have hit the nail on the head, as indeed you _always_ do!"

"Tut! Stuff, Gammon; you're every bit as good a hand as I am!" replied Quirk, with an evident mixture of pleasure and embarra.s.sment. Gammon smiled, shook his head, and shrugged his shoulders.

"'Tis that practical sagacity of yours, Mr. Quirk," said Gammon--"you know it as well as I can tell you--that has raised you to your present professional eminence!" He paused, and looked very sincerely at his senior partner.

"Well, I must own I think I _do_ know a trick or two," quoth Quirk, with a sort of _grunt_ of gratification.

"Ay, and further, there are _some_ clever men who never can keep their own counsel; but are like a hen that has just laid an egg, and directly she has risen, goes foolishly cackling about everywhere, and then her egg is taken away; but _you_"----

"Ha, ha!" laughed Quirk; "that's _devilish_ good, Gammon!--Capital! Gad, I think I see the hen! Ha, ha!"

"Ha, ha!" echoed Gammon, gently. "But to be serious, Mr. Quirk; what I was going to say was, that I thoroughly appreciate your admirable caution in not confiding to any one--no, not even to me--the exact means by which you intend to extricate us from our present dilemma."