versal law of compensation, which rewards or punishes all offenders of the law, an apt comparison. Time, in the law, often furnishes legal presumptions, for or against a criminal, according to the facts and circumstances surrounding the crime, which makes the similitude the more complete.1 'Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Time. Sec. 116. CHAPTER XI. "ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL." Wards-Heirs of fortune under King as. 117. Giving testimony against one-Impeachment. Sec. 116. Wards-Heirs of fortune under King as."Bertram. And I in going, madam, weep o'er my father's death anew; but I must attend his majesty's command, to whom I am now in ward, evermore in subjection."1 A ward, in law, is one who is under the guardianship and subject to the care and control of his guardian, until he is emancipated by the law, or becomes of age. In England, the heirs of large fortunes were held to be the King's wards. This was an incident of the old feudal system, by virtue of which the lord of the manor had the care of his tenants' person during his minority, for, in legal contemplation, all citizens owning real estate are but tenants of the crown.3 All's Well That Ends Well, Act I, Scene I. Bouvier's Law Dictionary. 'Tiedeman, R. P. Chap. 1 (3d ed.). This custom of wardship did not obtain in France, but Shakespeare gives the manners and customs and laws of England to all other countries, then he follows the original story, in holding that the King had the right to select a wife for Bertram. Rolfe's "All's Well That Ends Well," p. 151, notes. Sec. 117. Giving testimony against one-Impeachment. "Countess. Go not about; my love hath in't a bond One is said to be impeached, or "appeached," when one's guilt is disclosed by facts or testimony, at variance with the evidence of the party testifying in a court of justice. One who "turns state's evidence" against his co-criminal, is hence said to "'peach" upon his confederate in crime, and when evidence is introduced to break down the character or testimony of a witness, he is said to be impeached or his evidence broken down.3 The Countess compares the passions or love of Helena to a witness who has impeached the affection of her heart, hence urges that no further dissembling will avail her. "King. Here is my hand; the premises observ'd, 4 Thy will, by my performance shall be serv'd.” "Premises" is here used in the sense of that which has already been put, or according to statements previously made, rather than with the meaning given to such term, in conveyances. 5 In other words, the King, proposes, on the compliance with the conditions prescribed, that he will perform such acts as the one addressed shall will. 1 All's Well That Ends Well, Act I, Scene III. 2 Greenleaf, Evid, (14 ed.). Halliwell-Phillips quotes Palsgrave: "I apeche, I accuse, j'accuse; kursed be the preest of God, that dyd apeche me wrongfully and without deservyng." Rolfe's All's Well That Ends Well, 169, notes. 4 All's Well That Ends Well, Act II, Scene I. B This term is no doubt taken from the Latin prae, before and mittere, to put. Bouvier's Law Dictionary. "Hel. I am not worthy of the wealth I owe; Nor dare I say, 'tis mine; and yet it is; But, like a timorous thief, most fain would steal, As theft is the secret and wrongful abstraction of the property of another, without his consent, it is of course of the first essence of the crime that the property taken was that of another than the rightful owner, since no man can steal his own property. A thief too timorous to steal from another, would of course not be a thief in taking his own, but the expression illustrates the timidity of Helena, in claiming her lawful rights, as she dare not say "tis. mine; and yet it is." 1 All's Well That Ends Well, Act II, Scene V. 2 Allison, Cr. Law, 250. In Macbeth, Malcolm said to Donalbain: "There's warrant in that theft which steals itself, when there's no mercy left." (Macbeth, Act II, Scene III.) King Richard II, said of Bolingbroke: "K. Rich. For well we know, no hand of blood and bone Can gripe the sacred handle of our sceptre, Unless he do profane, steal, or usurp." (Act III, Scene III.) In 1' Henry IV (Act I, Scene II) Falstaff said to Prince Henry: "Fal. Marry, then sweet wag, when thou art king, let not us, that are squires of the night's body, be called thieves of the day's beauty." King Henry tells Prince of Wales, in 2' Henry IV: "K. Hen. Thou hast stol'n that, which, after some few hours, were thine without offense." (Act IV, Scene IV.) The duke of Exeter, in Henry V, answering the argument of Westmoreland as to danger from invasions by the Scots, said: "We have locks to safeguard necessaries, and pretty traps to catch the petty thieves." (Act I, Scene II.) Troilus thus argues for the retention of Helen, in Troilus and Cressida: "Trol... O theft most base; That we have stolen what we do fear to keep? (Act II, Scene II.) Sec. 120. Descent. "Hel. A ring the county wears, that downward hath succeeded in his house, from son to son, some four or five descents, since the first father wore it." "Descents" is here used in the sense of generations, not as a word showing title to the ring referred to. A title by descent is the title by which one person, on the death of another, acquired the real estate of the latter, as his heir at law. The rules of descent are applicable only to real estate of inheritance and not to personalty. That the ring has passed from son to son, successively, is in keeping with the English law of primogeniture, which gave the heirlooms, such as that referred to, to the first born, rather than to the younger children. In justifying thievery, Timon of Athens, is made to say, to the two Thieves who come upon him: "Tim. I'll example you with thievery: The sun's a thief, and with his great attraction, 'All's Well That Ends Well, Act III, Scene VII. In his charges against Mowbray, in King Richard II, Bolingbroke said: "Boling. By the glorious worth of my descent, (Act I, Scene I.) In re-investing Richard Plantagenet with his inheritance, 1' Henry VI, is made to say: "K. Hen. If Richard will be true, not that alone, From whence you spring, by lineal descent." (Act III, Scene I.) |