But the ice being once broken, the Lord Keeper was resolved it should
not have time against to freeze. It had been part of his plan to stun
and confuse Ravenswood's ideas, by a complicated and technical statement
of the matters which had been in debate betwixt their families, justly
thinking that it would be difficult for a youth of his age to follow
the expositions of a practical lawyer, concerning actions of compt and
reckoning, and of multiplepoindings, and adjudications and wadsets,
proper and improper, and poindings of the ground, and declarations of
the expiry of the legal. "Thus," thought Sir William, "I shall have
all the grace of appearing perfectly communicative, while my party will
derive very little advantage from anything I may tell him." He therefore
took Ravenswood aside into the deep recess of a window in the hall, and
resuming the discourse of the proceeding evening, expressed a hope that
his young friend would assume some patience, in order to hear him enter
in a minute and explanatory detail of those unfortunate circumstances
in which his late honourable father had stood at variance with the Lord
Keeper.
Pages:
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310