costs."

"Poor Naboth!" said my wife.

"And," continued I, "the law reports would hand down the _cause celebre_
of _Ahab_ v. _Naboth_ as a most interesting leading case upon the subject
of goodness knows what: perhaps as to whether a man, under certain
circumstances, may not alter his neighbour's landmark in spite of the
statute law of Moses."

"And so you think poor Naboth would be sold up?"

"That were about the only certain event in his case, except that Ahab
would take possession and so put an end for ever to the question as to
where the boundary line should run."

Here again I dozed.

CHAPTER XVII.

Shewing that lay tribunals are not exactly Punch and Judy shows where the
puppet is moved by the man underneath.

It was particularly fortunate for Mr. Bumpkin that his case was not in
the list of causes to be tried on the following day. It may seem a
curious circumstance to the general reader that a great case like
_Bumpkin_ v. _Snooks_, involving so much expense of time, trouble, and
money should be in the list one day and out the next; should be sometimes
in the list of one Court and sometimes in the list of another; flying
about like a butterfly from flower to flower and caught by no one on the
look-out for it. But this is not a phenomenon in our method of
procedure, which startles you from time to time with its miraculous
effects. You can calculate upon nothing in the system but its
uncertainty. Most gentle and innocent reader, I saw that there was no
Nisi Prius Court to sit on the following day, so _Bumpkin_ v. _Snooks_
could not be taken, list or no list. The lucky Plaintiff therefore found
himself at liberty to appear before that August Tribunal which sits at
the Mansion House in the City of London. A palatial and imposing
building it was on the outside, but within, so far as was apparent to me,
it was a narrow ill ventilated den, full of all unclean people and
unpleasant smells. I say full of unclean people, but I allude merely to
that portion of it which was appropriated to the British Public; for,
exalted on a high bench and in a huge and ponderous chair or throne sat
the Prince of Citizens and the King of the Corporation, proud in his
dignity, grand in his commercial position, and highly esteemed in the
opinion of the world. There he sat, the representative of the Criminal
Law, and impartial, as all will allow, in its administration. Wonderful
being is my Lord Mayor, thought I, he