372 THE ADVENTURES OF A GENTLEMAN 



against a purchaser : not merely relieving him from 

 the necessity of a return, but actually depriving him 

 of the supposed right to return. 



It seems, however, to result from the cases which 

 I have quoted, that even where an express stipula- 

 tion is made in the contract, that the purchaser 

 should be at liberty to return the horse, the return 

 must be made within a reasonable time. The case of 

 Mesnard v. Aldridge, 3 Esp. 271, which w^as a case 

 of sale by auction, goes farther than this, and holds 

 a purchaser rigorously to the condition of a return 

 w^ithin any stipulated time ; the time here stipulated 

 was two days, but the horse was not returned till the 

 third day, and Lord Kenyon held that this was insuffi- 

 cient. The case, however, is quoted in the books, to 

 establish another point : that purchasers are bound 

 to take notice of conditions declared by an auc- 

 tioneer to be the usual conditions, though he does 

 not specify them, if they are posted up in a conspicu- 

 ous place. The case of Cellis v. Mortimer, 1 New 

 Reports, 257, also decides that where an express 

 condition is made as to the time of return, it must be 

 literally construed as regards the seller, as well as 

 the buyer. 



