310 THE ADVENTURES OF A GENTLEMAN 



agreement farther ; if, however, no memorandum has 

 been made of the contract, the warranty may be 

 verbal and equally binding. 



It must also be observed, that if the absolute war- 

 ranty is at all special in its terms, as, for instance, 

 if it is a warranty that the horse is sound, except as 

 to a cough, and that it is free from blemish, except 

 as to one eye, or that it is free from vice, except in 

 harness, or that it will trot fifteen miles within the 

 hour, it is in all such cases most important that the 

 warranty, though a ve7'hal one may in strictness be 

 sufficient, should be accurately reduced to writing ; 

 for every lawyer knows that nine out of ten of the 

 cases that come into court, on verbal warranties, 

 depend upon the recollection of the witnesses as to 

 facts, and that such recollection is usually very full 

 of doubts. 



When, however, a warranty is reduced to writing, 

 another precaution is equally indispensable, — the 

 stipulated terms must be acciirately expressed ; the 

 dealer on the one hand will be strictly held to his 

 warranty, and the purchaser on the other will be 

 strictly precluded from grafting any equivocal en- 

 gagement upon it. 



