Sec. 116. CHAPTER XI. "ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL." Wards-Heirs of fortune under King as. 117. Giving testimony against one-Impeachment. Sec. 116. Wards-Heirs of fortune under King as."Bertram. And I in going, madam, weep o'er my father's death anew; but I must attend his majesty's command, to whom I am now in ward, evermore in subjection." 2 A ward, in law, is one who is under the guardianship and subject to the care and control of his guardian, until he is emancipated by the law, or becomes of age. In England, the heirs of large fortunes were held to be the King's wards. This was an incident of the old feudal system, by virtue of which the lord of the manor had the care of his tenants' person during his minority, for, in legal contemplation, all citizens owning real estate are but tenants of the crown.3 All's Well That Ends Well, Act I, Scene I. 2 Bouvier's Law Dictionary. 'Tiedeman, R. P. Chap. 1 (3d ed.). This custom of wardship did not obtain in France, but Shakespeare gives the manners and customs and laws of England to all other countries, then he follows the original story, in holding that the King had the right to select a wife for Bertram. Rolfe's "All's Well That Ends Well," p. 151, notes. Sec. 117. Giving testimony against one-Impeachment.— One is said to be impeached, or "appeached," when one's guilt is disclosed by facts or testimony, at variance with the evidence of the party testifying in a court of justice. One who "turns state's evidence" against his co-criminal, is hence said to "'peach" upon his confederate in crime, and when evidence is introduced to break down the character or testimony of a witness, he is said to be impeached or his evidence broken down.3 The Countess compares the passions or love of Helena to a witness who has impeached the affection of her heart, hence urges that no further dissembling will avail her. "King. Here is my hand; the premises observ'd, Thy will, by my performance shall be serv'd." "Premises" is here used in the sense of that which has already been put, or according to statements previously made, rather than with the meaning given to such term, in conveyances. In other words, the King, proposes, on the compliance with the conditions prescribed, that he will perform such acts as the one addressed shall will. 1 All's Well That Ends Well, Act I, Scene III. Greenleaf, Evid, (14 ed.). 'Halliwell-Phillips quotes Palsgrave: "I apeche, I acuse. j'accuse; kursed be the preest of God, that dyd apeche me wrongfully and without deservyng." Rolfe's All's Well That Ends Well. 169, notes. 4 All's Well That Ends Well, Act II, Scene II. This term is no doubt taken from the Latin prac, before and mittere, to put. Bouvier's Law Dictionary. "Hel. I am not worthy of the wealth I owe; But, like a timorous thief, most fain would steal, As theft is the secret and wrongful abstraction of the property of another, without his consent, it is of course of the first essence of the crime that the property taken was that of another than the rightful owner, since no man can steal his own property. A thief too timorous to steal from another, would of course not be a thief in taking his own, but the expression illustrates the timidity of Helena, in claiming her lawful rights, as she dare not say 'tis mine; and yet it is." 'All's Well That Ends Well, Act II, Scene V. Allison, Cr. Law, 250. In Macbeth, Malcolm said to Donalbain: "There's warrant in that theft which steals itself, when there's no mercy left." (Macbeth, Act II, Scene III.) King Richard II, said of Bolingbroke: "K. Rich. For well we know, no hand of blood and bone Can gripe the sacred handle of our sceptre. Unless he do profane, steal, or usurp." (Act III, Scene III.) In 1' Henry IV (Act I, Scene II) Falstaff said to Prince Henry: "Fal. Marry, then sweet wag, when thou art king, let not us, that are squires of the night's body, be called thieves of the day's beauty." King Henry tells Prince of Wales, in 2' Henry IV: “K. Hen. Thou hast stol'n that, which, after some few hours, were thine without offense." (Act IV, Scene IV.) The duke of Exeter, in Henry V. answering the argument of Westmoreland as to danger from invasions by the Scots, said: "We have locks to safeguard necessaries, and pretty traps to catch the petty thieves." (Act I, Scene II.) Troilus thus argues for the retention of Helen, in Troilus and Cressida: "Trol... O theft most base; When we have stolen what we do fear to keep? But, thieves, unworthy of a thing so stolen. That in their country did them that disgrace, We fear to warrant in our native place." (Act II, Scene II.; Sec. 120. Descent. "Hel. A ring the county wears, that downward hath succeeded in his house, from son to son, some four or five descents, since the first father wore it." "Descents" is here used in the sense of generations, not as a word showing title to the ring referred to. A title by descent is the title by which one person, on the death of another, acquired the real estate of the latter, as his heir at law. The rules of descent are applicable only to real estate of inheritance and not to personalty. That the ring has passed from son to son, successively, is in keeping with the English law of primogeniture, which gave the heirlooms, such as that referred to, to the first born, rather than to the younger children. In justifying thievery, Timon of Athens, is made to say, to the two Thieves who come upon him: "Tim. I'll example you with thievery: The sun's a thief, and with his great attraction, 1 All's Well That Ends Well, Act III, Scene VII. In his charges against Mowbray, in King Richard II, Bolingbroke said: "Boling. By the glorious worth of my descent, This arm shall do it, or this life be spent." (Act I, Scene 1.) In re-investing Richard Plantagenet with his inheritance, Henry VI, is made to say: "K. Hen. . . If Richard will be true, not that alone, But all the whole inheritance I give, (Act III, Scene I.) Sec. 121. Lawful act. "Hel. Let us assay our plot; which, if it speed, Is wicked meaning in a lawful deed, And lawful meaning in a lawful act; Where both not sin and yet a sinful fact."1 This verse recognizes the essential of every crime, the wrongful intent, coupled with the wrongful act, in the commission of the crime. A deed not otherwise forbidden by law, may be prompted by a bad intent or wicked object, but yet, as the act itself is lawful no crime is committed, but where both the act and the intent are lawful it never is held to constitute a crime. The sinful intent on the part of Bertram, not being participated in by Helena and she being really his wife, with whom cohabitation was not sinful, there was thus the "wicked meaning in a lawful deed, and lawful meaning in a lawful act," within the contemplation of Helena. Sec. 122. Unlawful intents. "1 Lord. Is it not meant damnable in us, to be trumpeters of our unlawful intents?"3 To render an act, forbidden by law, criminal, there must always be a criminal or "unlawful intent" in the commission of the act and this is one of the essential elements of Margaret of Anjou said to the weak king, Henry VI, in 2 Henry VI.: "Q. Mar. And Humphrey is no little man in England. First note, that he is near you in descent." (Act III. Scene I.) The Messenger advises King Henry, in 2' Henry VI: "Mess. Jack Cade proclaims himself lord Mortimer, descended from the duke of Clarence's house: And calls your grace usurper, openly.” (Act IV, Scene IV.) Lord Hastings, in Richard III, replies to the suggestion of Catesby, that he join the forces of Richard III: "Hast. But, that I'll give my voice to Richard's side, To bar my master's heirs, in true descent, God knows, I will not do it, to the death." (Act III, Scene II.) All's Well That Ends Well, Act III, Scene VII. 21 Russell, Crimes, (Greaves Ed.) 48. 3 All's Well That Ends Well, Act IV, Scene III. 1 Bishop, Criminal Law, Sec. 221. |