I 



FORMS AND FAILURES OF THE LAW. 761 



sold, aliened, released, enfeoffed, conveyed, and confirmed, and by these 

 presents does give, grant, bargain, sell, alien, release, enfeoff, convey, 

 and confirm to the said party of the second part and his heirs and as- 

 signs forever ; all that certain tract or parcel of land and premises 

 hereinafter particularly described, situate, lying, and being in the 

 township of Snipe, county of Woodcock, and State of Huckleberries, 

 bounded and described as follows, to wit." Here the legal description 

 is inserted with comparative simplicity. One would think when that 

 was ended it would complete the transaction, so that " the party of the 

 first part " could sign the deed, take his money, and go home ; but not 

 yet, as two hundred and thirty-two words are then used to say that the 

 purchaser is not only to own the land, but everything on it ; that it is 

 for his heirs as well as for himself, "forever" ; that the land is unen- 

 cumbered by debts, and the title " as good as wheat." Then comes the 

 warranty clause already mentioned, containing one hundred and sixty- 

 two words full of sound if not of sense ; then the signature of the seller 

 and of his wife, if there be a wife ; then the seals, another relic of feudal 

 ages ; then the signature of the witnesses, and then a formal acknowl- 

 edgment before some ofiicial whose one pleasurable duty is to exact a 

 fee. The seller is then let off ; but the buyer, if he desires his deed 

 secure against thieves, fire, or a second deed of later date, must have 

 all the beautiful rubbish in it recorded by a salaried official deputed 

 for that work, who charges another fee, and keeps the copy in a fire- 

 proof building at the cost of the county. 



Now, in place of this ingenious and ridiculous piece of legal cir- 

 cumlocution, let us see if something could not be devised which would 

 express the same ideas, and hold all the jDarties to the contract — some- 

 thing like this : 



®l]is 'iicth^ made this day of , in the year a. d, 1887, wit- 



nesseth : That I have this day sold to John Smith, of etc., for one 

 thousand dollars, the followmg described piece of land, with every- 

 thing on it known as real estate, situated in the town of , county 



of , and State of , bounded as follows : (Description here in- 

 serted.) 



And I hereby warrant the purchaser, John Smith, that I am the 

 lawful and only owner of the said land ; and also that there are no 

 claims to encumber it ; and that his title hereby becomes indisputable. 



John Doe. 



When two men make a verbal contract involving a horse-trade 

 before reliable witnesses, the courts hold them to it without a scrap 

 of written agreement. When one man gives his note for value re- 

 ceived to another, he is held to this agreement if a clear intent is indi- 

 cated, no matter if the note is bunglingly expressed and half the words 

 misspelled. A man who can not write his own name can still convey 

 away his real estate by affixing " his mark " to his name after some- 



