CalvinU/project-gutenberg · Datasets at Hugging Face

book_id int64 19 72.2k	title stringlengths 2 416	sentence string
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	And a' she has might hae been in our family but for this misfortune.--When I think o' the loss, and how pleased her father was when I proposed Charlie for her--It's enough to gar me tak' some desperate step to punish the contumacious reprobate.--He'll break my heart.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Dear keep me, gudeman, but ye're mair fashed than I could hae thought it was in the power o' nature for you to be,'--said Mrs. Walkinshaw, surprised at his agitation.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'The scoundrel!
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	the scoundrel!' said Claud, walking quickly across the room--'To cause sic a loss!--To tak' nae advice!--to run sic a ram-race!--I ought, I will, gar him fin' the weight o' my displeasure.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Betty Bodle's tocher would hae been better than the Grippy--But he shall suffer for't--I see na why a father may na tak' his own course as weel as a son--
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	I'll no be set at naught in this gait.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	I'll gang in to Mr. Keelevin the morn.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Dinna be oure headstrong, my dear, but compose yoursel','--said the lady, perplexed, and in some degree alarmed at the mention of the lawyer's name.-- 'Compose thysel, Girzy, and no meddle wi' me,' was the answer, in a less confident tone than the declaration he had just made, adding,-- 'I never thought he would hae used me in this way.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	I'm sure I was ay indulgent to him.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Overly sae,' interrupted Mrs. Walkinshaw, 'and often I told you that he would gie you a het heart for't, and noo ye see my words hae come to pass.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Claud scowled at her with a look of the fiercest aversion, for at that moment the better feelings of his nature yearned towards Charles, and almost overcame the sordid avidity with which he had resolved to cut him off from his birthright, and to entail the estate of Grippy with the Plealands on Walter,--an intention which, as we have before mentioned, he early formed, and had never abandoned, being merely deterred from carrying it into effect by a sense of shame, mingled with affection, and a slight reverence for natural justice; all which, however, were loosened from their hold in his conscience, by the warranty which the imprudence of the marriage seemed to give him in the eyes of the world, for doing what he had so long desired to do.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Instead, however, of making her any reply, he walked out into the open air, and continued for about half an hour to traverse the green in front of the house, sometimes with quick short steps, at others with a slow and heavy pace.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Gradually, however, his motion became more regular, and ultimately ended in a sedate and firm tread, which indicated that his mind was made up on the question which he had been debating with himself.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	CHAPTER XVIII That abysm of legal dubieties, the office of Mr. Keelevin, the writer, consisted of two obscure apartments on the ground floor of M'Gregor's Land, in M'Whinnie's Close, in the Gallowgate.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	The outer room was appropriated to the clerks, and the inner for the darker mysteries of consultation.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	To this place Claud repaired on the day following the interesting communication, of which we have recorded the first impressions in the foregoing chapter.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	He had ordered breakfast to be ready an hour earlier than usual; and as soon as he had finished it, he went to his scrutoire, and taking out his title-deeds, put them in his pocket, and without saying any thing to his wife of what he intended to do, lifted his hat and stick from their accustomed place of repose, in the corner of the dining-room, and proceeded, as we have said, to consult Mr. Keelevin.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	It is not the universal opinion of mankind, that the profession of the law is favourable to the preservation of simplicity of character or of benevolence of disposition; but this, no doubt, arises from the malice of disappointed clients, who, to shield themselves from the consequences of their own unfair courses, pretend that the wrongs and injustice of which they are either found guilty, or are frustrated in the attempt to effect, are owing to the faults and roguery of their own or their adversaries' lawyers.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	But why need we advocate any revision of the sentence pronounced upon the limbs of the law?
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	for, grasping, as they do, the whole concerns and interests of the rest of the community, we think they are sufficiently armed with claws and talons to defend themselves.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	All, in fact, that we meant by this apologetic insinuation, was to prepare the reader for the introduction of Mr. Keelevin, on whom the corrosive sublimate of a long and thorough professional insight of all kinds of equivocation and chicanery had in no degree deteriorated from the purity of his own unsuspicious and benevolent nature.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Indeed, at the very time that Claud called, he was rebuking his young men on account of the cruelty of a contrivance they had made to catch a thief that was in the nocturnal practice of opening the window of their office, to take away what small change they were so negligent as to leave on or in their desks; and they were not only defending themselves, but remonstrating with him for having rendered their contrivance abortive.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	For, after they had ingeniously constructed a trap within the window, namely, a footless table, over which the thief must necessarily pass to reach their desks, he had secretly placed a pillow under it, in order that, when it fell down, the robber might not hurt himself in the fall.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Gude morning, gude morning, Mr. Keelevin; how're ye the day?' said Claud, as he entered.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Gaily, gaily, Grippy; how're ye yoursel, and how's a' at hame?
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Come awa ben to my room,' was the writer's answer, turning round and opening the door; for experience had taught him that visits from acquaintances at that hour were not out of mere civility.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Claud stepped in, and seated himself in an old armed chair which stood on the inner side of the table where Mr. Keelevin himself usually wrote; and the lawyer followed him, after saying to the clerks, 'I redde ye, lads, tak tent to what I hae been telling you, and no encourage yourselves to the practice of evil that good may come o't.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	To devise snares and stratagems is most abominable--all that ye should or ought to do, is to take such precautions that the thief may not enter; but to wile him into the trap, by leaving the window unfastened, was nothing less than to be the cause of his sin.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	So I admonish you no to do the like o't again.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	In saying this he came in, and, shutting the door, took his own seat at the opposite side of the table, addressing himself to Claud, 'And so ye hae gotten your auld son married?
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	I hope it's to your satisfaction.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'An he has brewed good yill, Mr. Keelevin, he'll drink the better,' was the reply; 'but I hae come to consult you anent a bit alteration that I would fain make in my testament.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'That's no a matter of great difficulty, Laird; for, sin' we found out that the deed of entail that was made after your old son was born can never stand, a' ye have is free to be destined as ye will, both heritable and moveable.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'And a lucky discovery that was;--many a troubled thought I hae had in my own breast about it; and now I'm come to confer wi' you, Mr. Keelevin, for I would na trust the hair o' a dog to the judgement o' that tavert bodie, Gibby Omit, that gart me pay nine pounds seven shillings and saxpence too for the parchment; for it ne'er could be called an instrument, as it had na the pith o' a windlestrae to bind the property; and over and aboon that, the bodie has lang had his back to the wa', wi' the 'poplexy; so that I maun put my trust in this affair into your hands, in the hope and confidence that ye're able to mak something mair sicker.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'We'll do our endeavour, Mr. Walkinshaw; hae ye made ony sort o' scantling o' what you would wish done?' 'No, but I hae brought the teetles o' the property in my pouch, and ye'll just conform to them.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	As for the bit saving of lying money, we'll no fash wi' it for the present; I'm only looking to get a solid and right entail o' the heritable.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Nothing can be easier.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Come as ye're o' an ancient family, no doubt your intent is to settle the Grippy on the male line; and, failing your sons and their heirs, then on the heirs of the body of your daughter.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Just sae, just sae.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	I'll make no change on my original disposition; only, as I would fain hae what cam by the gudewife made part and portion o' the family heritage, and as her father's settlement on Watty canna be broken without a great risk, I would like to begin the entail o' the Grippy wi' him.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'I see nothing to prevent that; ye could gie Charlie, the auld son, his liferent in't, and as Watty, no to speak disrespectful of his capacity, may ne'er marry, it might be so managed.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Oh, but that's no what I mean, and what for may na Watty marry?
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Is na he o' capacity to execute a deed, and surely that should qualify him to take a wife?'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'But heavens preserve me, Mr. Walkinshaw, are ye sensible of the ill ye would do to that fine lad, his auld brother, that's now a married man, and in the way to get heirs?
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Sic a settlement as ye speak o' would be cutting him off a' thegither: it would be most iniquitous!'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'An it should be sae, the property is my own conquesting, Mr. Keelevin, and surely I may mak a kirk and a mill o't an I like.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Nobody, it's true, Mr. Walkinshaw, has ony right to meddle wi' how ye dispone of your own, but I was thinking ye maybe did na reflect that sic an entail as ye speak o' would be rank injustice to poor Charlie, that I hae ay thought a most excellent lad.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Excellent here, or excellent there, it was na my fault that he drew up wi' a tocherless tawpy, when he might hae had Miss Betty Bodle.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'I am very sorry to hear he has displeased you; but the Fatherlans family, into whilk he has married, has ay been in great repute and estimation.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Aye, afore the Ayr Bank; but the silly bodie the father was clean broken by that venture.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'That should be the greater reason, Mr. Walkinshaw, wi' you to let your estate go in the natural way to Charlie.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'A' that may be very true, Mr. Keelevin; I did na come here, however, to confer with you anent the like of that, but only of the law.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	I want you to draw the settlement, as I was saying; first, ye'll entail it on Walter and his heirs-male, syne on Geordie and his heirs-male, and failing them, ye may gang back, to please yoursel, to the heirs-male o' Charlie, and failing them, to Meg's heirs-general.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Mr. Walkinshaw,' said the honest writer, after a pause of about a minute, 'there's no Christianity in this.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'But there may be law, I hope.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'I think, Mr. Walkinshaw, my good and worthy friend, that you should reflect well on this matter, for it is a thing by ordinare to do.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'But ye ken, Mr. Keelevin, when Watty dies, the Grippy and the Plealands will be a' ae heritage, and will na that be a braw thing for my family?'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'But what for would ye cut off poor Charlie from his rightful inheritance?'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Me cut him off frae his inheritance!
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	When my grandfather brake on account o' the Darien, then it was that he lost his inheritance.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	He'll get frae me a' that I inherited frae our forbears, and may be mair; only, I'll no alloo he has ony heritable right on me, but what stands with my pleasure to gie him as an almous.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'But consider, he's your own firstborn?'-- 'Weel, then, what o' that?'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'And it stands with nature surely, Mr. Walkinshaw, that he should hae a bairn's part o' your gear.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Stands wi' nature, Mr. Keelevin?
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	A coat o' feathers or a pair o' hairy breeks is a' the bairn's part o' gear that I ever heard o' in nature, as the fowls o' the air and the beasts o' the field can very plainly testify.--No, no, Mr. Keelevin, we're no now in a state o' nature but a state o' law, and it would be an unco thing if we did na make the best o't.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	In short, ye'll just get the settlements drawn up as soon as a possibility will alloo, for it does na do to lose time wi' sic things, as ye ken, and I'll come in wi' Watty neest market day and get them implemented.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Watty's no requisite,' said Mr. Keelevin, somewhat thoughtfully; 'it can be done without him.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	I really wish ye would think better o't before we spoil any paper.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'I'm no fear't about the paper, in your hands, Mr. Keelevin,--ye'll do every thing right wi' sincerity,--and mind, an it should be afterwards found out that there are ony flaws in the new deed, as there were in the auld, which the doited creature Gibby Omit made out, I'll gar you pay for't yoursel; so tak tent, for your own sake, and see that baith Watty's deed and mine are right and proper in every point of law.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Watty's!
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	what do you mean by Watty's?'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Have na I been telling you that it's my wis that the Plealands and the Grippy should be made one heritage, and is na Watty concos mancos enough to be conjunct wi' me in the like o' that?
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Ye ken the flaw in his grandfather's settlement, and that, though the land has come clear and clean to him, yet it's no sae tethered
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	but he may wise it awa as it likes him to do, for he's noo past one-and-twenty.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Therefore, what I want is, that ye will mak a paper for him, by the whilk he's to 'gree that the Plealands gang the same gait, by entail, as the Grippy.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'As in duty bound, Mr. Walkinshaw, I maun do your will in this business,' said Mr. Keelevin; 'but really I ken na when I hae been more troubled about the specialities of any settlement.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	It's no right o' you to exercise your authority oure Watty; the lad's truly no in a state to be called on to implement ony such agreement as what ye propose.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	He should na be meddled wi', but just left to wear out his time in the world, as little observed as possible.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'I canna say, Mr. Keelevin, that I like to hear you misliken the lad sae, for did na ye yourself, with an ettling of pains that no other body could hae gane through but yoursel, prove, to the satisfaction of the Fifteen at Edinburgh, that he was a young man of a very creditable intellect, when Plealands' will was contested by his cousin?' 'Waes me, Mr. Walkinshaw, that ye should cast up to me the sincerity with which I did but my duty to a client.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	However, as ye're bent on this business, I'll say na mair in objection, but do my best to make a clear and tight entail, according to your instructions--trusting that I shall be accounted hereafter as having been but the innocent agent; and yet I beg you again, before it's oure late, to reflect on the consequence to that fine lad Charlie, who is now the head of a house, and in the way of having a family--It's an awfu' thing ye're doing to him.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Weel, weel, Mr. Keelevin, as I was saying, dinna ye fash your thumb, but mak out the papers in a sicker manner,--and may be though ye think sae ill o' me, it winna be the waur for Charlie after a's come and gane.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'It's in the Lord's power certainly,' replied the worthy lawyer piously, 'to make it all up to him.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'And maybe it's in my power too, for when this is done, I'll hae to take another cast o' your slight o' hand in the way of a bit will for the moveables and lying siller, but I would just like this to be weel done first.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Man, Laird, I'm blithe to hear that,--but ye ken that ye told me last year when you were clearing the wadset that was left on the Grippy, that ye had na meikle mair left--But I'm blithe to hear ye're in a condition to act the part of a true father to a' your bairns, though I maun say that I canna approve, as a man and a frien', of this crotchet of entailing your estate on a haverel, to the prejudice of a braw and gallant lad like Charlie.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Hows'ever, sin' it is sae, we'll say nae mair about it.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	The papers will be ready for you by Wednesday come eight days, and I'll tak care to see they are to your wish.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Na, an ye dinna do that, the cost shall be on your own risk, for the deil a plack or bawbee will I pay for them, till I hae a satisfaction that they are as they ought to be.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Howsever, gude day, Mr. Keelevin, and we'll be wi' you on Wednesday by ten o'clock.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	In saying this, Claud, who had in the meantime risen from his seat, left the office without turning his head towards the desk where the clerks, as he walked through the outer room, were sitting, winking at one another, as he plodded past them, carrying his staff in his left hand behind him, a habit which he had acquired with his ellwand when he travelled the Borders as a pedlar.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	CHAPTER XIX On the Saturday evening after the instructions had been given to prepare the new deed of entail, Grippy was thoughtful and silent, and his wife observing how much he was troubled in mind, said, 'I'm thinking, gudeman, though ye hae no reason to be pleased with this match Charlie has made for himsel, ye ken, as it canna be helpit noo, we maun just put up wi't.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	To this observation, which was about one of the most sensible that ever the Leddy o' Grippy made in her life, Claud replied, with an ill-articulated grumph, that partook more of the sound and nature of a groan than a growl, and she continued,-- 'But, poor laddie, bare legs need happing; I would fain hope
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	ye'll no be oure dure;--ye'll hae to try an there be any moully pennies in the neuk o' your coffer that can be spar'd and no miss't.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'I hae thought o' that, Girzy, my dawty,' said he somewhat more cordially than he was in the practice of doing to his wife; 'and we'll gang o'er the morn and speer for Charlie.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	I wis he had na been so headstrong; but it's a' his ain fault: howsever, it would na be canny to gang toom-handed, and I hae got a bit bill for five score pounds that I'm mindit to gie him.'
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	'Five score pounds, gudeman!
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	that's the whole tot o' a hundred.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Na, gudeman, I would hae thought the half o't an unco almous frae you.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	I hope it's no a fedam afore death.
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	Gude preserve us!
44,573	The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy	ye're really ta'en wi' a fit o' the liberalities; but Charlie, or am mista'en, will hae need o't a', for yon Flanders baby is no for a poor man's wife.

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

And a' she has might hae been in our family but for this misfortune.--When I think o' the loss, and how pleased her father was when I proposed Charlie for her--It's enough to gar me tak' some desperate step to punish the contumacious reprobate.--He'll break my heart.'

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

'Dear keep me, gudeman, but ye're mair fashed than I could hae thought it was in the power o' nature for you to be,'--said Mrs. Walkinshaw, surprised at his agitation.

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

'The scoundrel!

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

the scoundrel!' said Claud, walking quickly across the room--'To cause sic a loss!--To tak' nae advice!--to run sic a ram-race!--I ought, I will, gar him fin' the weight o' my displeasure.

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

Betty Bodle's tocher would hae been better than the Grippy--But he shall suffer for't--I see na why a father may na tak' his own course as weel as a son--

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

I'll no be set at naught in this gait.

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

I'll gang in to Mr. Keelevin the morn.'

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

'Dinna be oure headstrong, my dear, but compose yoursel','--said the lady, perplexed, and in some degree alarmed at the mention of the lawyer's name.-- 'Compose thysel, Girzy, and no meddle wi' me,' was the answer, in a less confident tone than the declaration he had just made, adding,-- 'I never thought he would hae used me in this way.

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

I'm sure I was ay indulgent to him.'

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

'Overly sae,' interrupted Mrs. Walkinshaw, 'and often I told you that he would gie you a het heart for't, and noo ye see my words hae come to pass.'

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

Claud scowled at her with a look of the fiercest aversion, for at that moment the better feelings of his nature yearned towards Charles, and almost overcame the sordid avidity with which he had resolved to cut him off from his birthright, and to entail the estate of Grippy with the Plealands on Walter,--an intention which, as we have before mentioned, he early formed, and had never abandoned, being merely deterred from carrying it into effect by a sense of shame, mingled with affection, and a slight reverence for natural justice; all which, however, were loosened from their hold in his conscience, by the warranty which the imprudence of the marriage seemed to give him in the eyes of the world, for doing what he had so long desired to do.

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

Instead, however, of making her any reply, he walked out into the open air, and continued for about half an hour to traverse the green in front of the house, sometimes with quick short steps, at others with a slow and heavy pace.

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

Gradually, however, his motion became more regular, and ultimately ended in a sedate and firm tread, which indicated that his mind was made up on the question which he had been debating with himself.

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

CHAPTER XVIII That abysm of legal dubieties, the office of Mr. Keelevin, the writer, consisted of two obscure apartments on the ground floor of M'Gregor's Land, in M'Whinnie's Close, in the Gallowgate.

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

The outer room was appropriated to the clerks, and the inner for the darker mysteries of consultation.

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

To this place Claud repaired on the day following the interesting communication, of which we have recorded the first impressions in the foregoing chapter.

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

He had ordered breakfast to be ready an hour earlier than usual; and as soon as he had finished it, he went to his scrutoire, and taking out his title-deeds, put them in his pocket, and without saying any thing to his wife of what he intended to do, lifted his hat and stick from their accustomed place of repose, in the corner of the dining-room, and proceeded, as we have said, to consult Mr. Keelevin.

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

It is not the universal opinion of mankind, that the profession of the law is favourable to the preservation of simplicity of character or of benevolence of disposition; but this, no doubt, arises from the malice of disappointed clients, who, to shield themselves from the consequences of their own unfair courses, pretend that the wrongs and injustice of which they are either found guilty, or are frustrated in the attempt to effect, are owing to the faults and roguery of their own or their adversaries' lawyers.

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

But why need we advocate any revision of the sentence pronounced upon the limbs of the law?

44,573

The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy

for, grasping, as they do, the whole concerns and interests of the rest of the community, we think they are sufficiently armed with claws and talons to defend themselves.

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All, in fact, that we meant by this apologetic insinuation, was to prepare the reader for the introduction of Mr. Keelevin, on whom the corrosive sublimate of a long and thorough professional insight of all kinds of equivocation and chicanery had in no degree deteriorated from the purity of his own unsuspicious and benevolent nature.

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Indeed, at the very time that Claud called, he was rebuking his young men on account of the cruelty of a contrivance they had made to catch a thief that was in the nocturnal practice of opening the window of their office, to take away what small change they were so negligent as to leave on or in their desks; and they were not only defending themselves, but remonstrating with him for having rendered their contrivance abortive.

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For, after they had ingeniously constructed a trap within the window, namely, a footless table, over which the thief must necessarily pass to reach their desks, he had secretly placed a pillow under it, in order that, when it fell down, the robber might not hurt himself in the fall.

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'Gude morning, gude morning, Mr. Keelevin; how're ye the day?' said Claud, as he entered.

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'Gaily, gaily, Grippy; how're ye yoursel, and how's a' at hame?

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Come awa ben to my room,' was the writer's answer, turning round and opening the door; for experience had taught him that visits from acquaintances at that hour were not out of mere civility.

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Claud stepped in, and seated himself in an old armed chair which stood on the inner side of the table where Mr. Keelevin himself usually wrote; and the lawyer followed him, after saying to the clerks, 'I redde ye, lads, tak tent to what I hae been telling you, and no encourage yourselves to the practice of evil that good may come o't.

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To devise snares and stratagems is most abominable--all that ye should or ought to do, is to take such precautions that the thief may not enter; but to wile him into the trap, by leaving the window unfastened, was nothing less than to be the cause of his sin.

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So I admonish you no to do the like o't again.'

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In saying this he came in, and, shutting the door, took his own seat at the opposite side of the table, addressing himself to Claud, 'And so ye hae gotten your auld son married?

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I hope it's to your satisfaction.'

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'An he has brewed good yill, Mr. Keelevin, he'll drink the better,' was the reply; 'but I hae come to consult you anent a bit alteration that I would fain make in my testament.'

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'That's no a matter of great difficulty, Laird; for, sin' we found out that the deed of entail that was made after your old son was born can never stand, a' ye have is free to be destined as ye will, both heritable and moveable.'

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'And a lucky discovery that was;--many a troubled thought I hae had in my own breast about it; and now I'm come to confer wi' you, Mr. Keelevin, for I would na trust the hair o' a dog to the judgement o' that tavert bodie, Gibby Omit, that gart me pay nine pounds seven shillings and saxpence too for the parchment; for it ne'er could be called an instrument, as it had na the pith o' a windlestrae to bind the property; and over and aboon that, the bodie has lang had his back to the wa', wi' the 'poplexy; so that I maun put my trust in this affair into your hands, in the hope and confidence that ye're able to mak something mair sicker.'

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'We'll do our endeavour, Mr. Walkinshaw; hae ye made ony sort o' scantling o' what you would wish done?' 'No, but I hae brought the teetles o' the property in my pouch, and ye'll just conform to them.

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As for the bit saving of lying money, we'll no fash wi' it for the present; I'm only looking to get a solid and right entail o' the heritable.'

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'Nothing can be easier.

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Come as ye're o' an ancient family, no doubt your intent is to settle the Grippy on the male line; and, failing your sons and their heirs, then on the heirs of the body of your daughter.'

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'Just sae, just sae.

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I'll make no change on my original disposition; only, as I would fain hae what cam by the gudewife made part and portion o' the family heritage, and as her father's settlement on Watty canna be broken without a great risk, I would like to begin the entail o' the Grippy wi' him.'

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'I see nothing to prevent that; ye could gie Charlie, the auld son, his liferent in't, and as Watty, no to speak disrespectful of his capacity, may ne'er marry, it might be so managed.'

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'Oh, but that's no what I mean, and what for may na Watty marry?

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Is na he o' capacity to execute a deed, and surely that should qualify him to take a wife?'

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'But heavens preserve me, Mr. Walkinshaw, are ye sensible of the ill ye would do to that fine lad, his auld brother, that's now a married man, and in the way to get heirs?

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Sic a settlement as ye speak o' would be cutting him off a' thegither: it would be most iniquitous!'

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'An it should be sae, the property is my own conquesting, Mr. Keelevin, and surely I may mak a kirk and a mill o't an I like.'

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'Nobody, it's true, Mr. Walkinshaw, has ony right to meddle wi' how ye dispone of your own, but I was thinking ye maybe did na reflect that sic an entail as ye speak o' would be rank injustice to poor Charlie, that I hae ay thought a most excellent lad.'

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'Excellent here, or excellent there, it was na my fault that he drew up wi' a tocherless tawpy, when he might hae had Miss Betty Bodle.'

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'I am very sorry to hear he has displeased you; but the Fatherlans family, into whilk he has married, has ay been in great repute and estimation.'

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'Aye, afore the Ayr Bank; but the silly bodie the father was clean broken by that venture.'

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'That should be the greater reason, Mr. Walkinshaw, wi' you to let your estate go in the natural way to Charlie.'

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'A' that may be very true, Mr. Keelevin; I did na come here, however, to confer with you anent the like of that, but only of the law.

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I want you to draw the settlement, as I was saying; first, ye'll entail it on Walter and his heirs-male, syne on Geordie and his heirs-male, and failing them, ye may gang back, to please yoursel, to the heirs-male o' Charlie, and failing them, to Meg's heirs-general.'

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'Mr. Walkinshaw,' said the honest writer, after a pause of about a minute, 'there's no Christianity in this.'

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'But there may be law, I hope.'

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'I think, Mr. Walkinshaw, my good and worthy friend, that you should reflect well on this matter, for it is a thing by ordinare to do.'

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'But ye ken, Mr. Keelevin, when Watty dies, the Grippy and the Plealands will be a' ae heritage, and will na that be a braw thing for my family?'

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'But what for would ye cut off poor Charlie from his rightful inheritance?'

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'Me cut him off frae his inheritance!

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When my grandfather brake on account o' the Darien, then it was that he lost his inheritance.

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He'll get frae me a' that I inherited frae our forbears, and may be mair; only, I'll no alloo he has ony heritable right on me, but what stands with my pleasure to gie him as an almous.'

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'But consider, he's your own firstborn?'-- 'Weel, then, what o' that?'

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'And it stands with nature surely, Mr. Walkinshaw, that he should hae a bairn's part o' your gear.'

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'Stands wi' nature, Mr. Keelevin?

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A coat o' feathers or a pair o' hairy breeks is a' the bairn's part o' gear that I ever heard o' in nature, as the fowls o' the air and the beasts o' the field can very plainly testify.--No, no, Mr. Keelevin, we're no now in a state o' nature but a state o' law, and it would be an unco thing if we did na make the best o't.

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In short, ye'll just get the settlements drawn up as soon as a possibility will alloo, for it does na do to lose time wi' sic things, as ye ken, and I'll come in wi' Watty neest market day and get them implemented.'

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'Watty's no requisite,' said Mr. Keelevin, somewhat thoughtfully; 'it can be done without him.

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I really wish ye would think better o't before we spoil any paper.'

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'I'm no fear't about the paper, in your hands, Mr. Keelevin,--ye'll do every thing right wi' sincerity,--and mind, an it should be afterwards found out that there are ony flaws in the new deed, as there were in the auld, which the doited creature Gibby Omit made out, I'll gar you pay for't yoursel; so tak tent, for your own sake, and see that baith Watty's deed and mine are right and proper in every point of law.'

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'Watty's!

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what do you mean by Watty's?'

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'Have na I been telling you that it's my wis that the Plealands and the Grippy should be made one heritage, and is na Watty concos mancos enough to be conjunct wi' me in the like o' that?

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Ye ken the flaw in his grandfather's settlement, and that, though the land has come clear and clean to him, yet it's no sae tethered

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but he may wise it awa as it likes him to do, for he's noo past one-and-twenty.

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Therefore, what I want is, that ye will mak a paper for him, by the whilk he's to 'gree that the Plealands gang the same gait, by entail, as the Grippy.'

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'As in duty bound, Mr. Walkinshaw, I maun do your will in this business,' said Mr. Keelevin; 'but really I ken na when I hae been more troubled about the specialities of any settlement.

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It's no right o' you to exercise your authority oure Watty; the lad's truly no in a state to be called on to implement ony such agreement as what ye propose.

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He should na be meddled wi', but just left to wear out his time in the world, as little observed as possible.'

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'I canna say, Mr. Keelevin, that I like to hear you misliken the lad sae, for did na ye yourself, with an ettling of pains that no other body could hae gane through but yoursel, prove, to the satisfaction of the Fifteen at Edinburgh, that he was a young man of a very creditable intellect, when Plealands' will was contested by his cousin?' 'Waes me, Mr. Walkinshaw, that ye should cast up to me the sincerity with which I did but my duty to a client.

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However, as ye're bent on this business, I'll say na mair in objection, but do my best to make a clear and tight entail, according to your instructions--trusting that I shall be accounted hereafter as having been but the innocent agent; and yet I beg you again, before it's oure late, to reflect on the consequence to that fine lad Charlie, who is now the head of a house, and in the way of having a family--It's an awfu' thing ye're doing to him.'

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'Weel, weel, Mr. Keelevin, as I was saying, dinna ye fash your thumb, but mak out the papers in a sicker manner,--and may be though ye think sae ill o' me, it winna be the waur for Charlie after a's come and gane.'

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'It's in the Lord's power certainly,' replied the worthy lawyer piously, 'to make it all up to him.'

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'And maybe it's in my power too, for when this is done, I'll hae to take another cast o' your slight o' hand in the way of a bit will for the moveables and lying siller, but I would just like this to be weel done first.'

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'Man, Laird, I'm blithe to hear that,--but ye ken that ye told me last year when you were clearing the wadset that was left on the Grippy, that ye had na meikle mair left--But I'm blithe to hear ye're in a condition to act the part of a true father to a' your bairns, though I maun say that I canna approve, as a man and a frien', of this crotchet of entailing your estate on a haverel, to the prejudice of a braw and gallant lad like Charlie.

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Hows'ever, sin' it is sae, we'll say nae mair about it.

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The papers will be ready for you by Wednesday come eight days, and I'll tak care to see they are to your wish.'

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'Na, an ye dinna do that, the cost shall be on your own risk, for the deil a plack or bawbee will I pay for them, till I hae a satisfaction that they are as they ought to be.

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Howsever, gude day, Mr. Keelevin, and we'll be wi' you on Wednesday by ten o'clock.'

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In saying this, Claud, who had in the meantime risen from his seat, left the office without turning his head towards the desk where the clerks, as he walked through the outer room, were sitting, winking at one another, as he plodded past them, carrying his staff in his left hand behind him, a habit which he had acquired with his ellwand when he travelled the Borders as a pedlar.

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CHAPTER XIX On the Saturday evening after the instructions had been given to prepare the new deed of entail, Grippy was thoughtful and silent, and his wife observing how much he was troubled in mind, said, 'I'm thinking, gudeman, though ye hae no reason to be pleased with this match Charlie has made for himsel, ye ken, as it canna be helpit noo, we maun just put up wi't.'

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To this observation, which was about one of the most sensible that ever the Leddy o' Grippy made in her life, Claud replied, with an ill-articulated grumph, that partook more of the sound and nature of a groan than a growl, and she continued,-- 'But, poor laddie, bare legs need happing; I would fain hope

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ye'll no be oure dure;--ye'll hae to try an there be any moully pennies in the neuk o' your coffer that can be spar'd and no miss't.'

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'I hae thought o' that, Girzy, my dawty,' said he somewhat more cordially than he was in the practice of doing to his wife; 'and we'll gang o'er the morn and speer for Charlie.

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I wis he had na been so headstrong; but it's a' his ain fault: howsever, it would na be canny to gang toom-handed, and I hae got a bit bill for five score pounds that I'm mindit to gie him.'

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'Five score pounds, gudeman!

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that's the whole tot o' a hundred.

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Na, gudeman, I would hae thought the half o't an unco almous frae you.

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I hope it's no a fedam afore death.

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Gude preserve us!

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ye're really ta'en wi' a fit o' the liberalities; but Charlie, or am mista'en, will hae need o't a', for yon Flanders baby is no for a poor man's wife.