18 CONTRACTS CONCERNING HORSES, ETC. 



and ridden a mare, wrote to the plaintiff, " I will take the 

 mare at twenty guineas, of course warranted ; therefore as 

 she lays out, turn her out my mare." The plaintiff agreed 

 to sell her for the twenty guineas. The defendant after- 

 wards wrote again to him, "My son will be at the ' World's 

 End ' (a public house) on Monday, when he will take the 

 mare and pay you ; send anybody with a receipt, and the 

 money shall be paid ; only say in the receipt sound, and 

 quiet in harness." The plaintiff wrote in reply, " she is 

 warranted sound, and quiet in double harness ; I never put 

 her in single harness." The mare was brought to the 

 "World's End" on the Monday, and the defendant's son 

 took her away without paying the price, and without any 

 receipt or warranty. The defendant kept her two days and 

 then returned her as being unsound. The learned judge 

 stated to the jury that the question was, whether the defen- 

 dant had accepted the mare, and directed them to find for 

 the defendant if they thought he had returned her within a 

 reasonable time ; and desired them also to say whether the 

 son had authority to take her without the warranty. The 

 jury found that the defendant did not accept the mare, and 

 that the son had not authority to take her away. It was 

 held by the Court of Exchequer, on motion to enter a 

 verdict for the plaintiff, that there was no complete contract 

 in writing between the parties ; that therefore the direction 

 of the learned judge was right. Also that the defendant 

 was not bound by the act of the son in bringing home the 

 mare, inasmuch as he had thereby exceeded his authority 

 as agent, and consequently that the plaintiff was not entitled 

 to recover (cc). And where the plaintiff sent his horse to a 

 livery stable for sale, and the defendants bid 75/. for him, 

 but no final agreement was come to, and the plaintiff left 

 the horse at the livery stable to see if the defendants would 

 buy the animal, arranging with the livery-stable keeper 

 that he was to have no commission on the sale unless 751. 

 or more were paid ; and the horse proving slightly unsound, 

 the defendants wrote to the livery-stable keeper offering 

 70/. for him, and the livery-stable keeper having trans- 

 mitted their letter to the plaintiff, he (the plaintiff) wrote 

 to the livery-stable keeper as follows: "As the horse is 

 with you he shall go at 70/. clear to me. I will pay no 

 expenses ; you must get what you can of Mr. B. (one of the 

 defendants) ; I cannot allow anything off' the 70/." It was 



(ce) Jordan v. Norton, 4 M. & W. 155. 



