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urts, so in the profession of the law there are Mootemen [i.e., students], which are those that argue readers' cases in houses of Chancery, both in terms and grand vacations. Of Mootemen, after eight years' study or thereabouts, are chosen Utter-barristers; of these are chosen Readers in inns of Chancery. Of Utter-barristers after they have been of that degree twelve years at least, are chosen Benchers or Ancients; of which one, that is of the puisne sort, reads yearly in summer vacation, and is called a Single Reader; and one of the Ancients that had formerly read reads in Lent vacation and is called a Double Reader, and commonly it is between his first and second reading about nine or ten years. And out of these the King makes choice of his Attorney and Solicitor General, his Attorney of the Court of Wards and Liveries, and Attorney of the Duchy; and of these Readers are Serjeants elected by the King, and are, by the King's writ, called _ad statum et gradum servientis ad legem_; and out of these the King electeth one, two, or three, as please him, to be Serjeants, which are called the King's Serjeants; of Serjeants are by the King also constituted the honourable and reverend Judges and sages of the law. For the young student, which most commonly cometh from one of the Universities, for his entrance or beginning were first instituted and erected eight Houses of Chancery, to learn there the elements of the law, that is to say, Clifford's inn, Lyon's inn, Clement's inn, Staple's inn, Furnival's inn, Thavie's inn, and New inn; and each of these consists of forty or thereabouts; for the Readers, Utter-barristers, Mootemen, and inferior Students are four famous and renowned Colleges or Houses of Court, called the Inner Temple, to which the first three Houses of Chancery appertain; Gray's Inn, to which the next two belong; Lincoln's Inn, which enjoyeth the last two but one; and the Middle Temple, which hath only the last; each of the Houses of Court consists of Readers above twenty; of Utter-barristers above thrice so many; of young Gentlemen about the number of eight or nine score, who there spend their time in study of law and in commendable exercises fit for gentlemen; the Judges of the law and Serjeants, being commonly above the number of twenty, are equally distinguished into two higher and more eminent Houses, called Serjeant's Inn; all these are not far distant from one another, and altogether do make _the most famous u
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