ROMANCE IN LAW.—A very curious case came to be tried
on Wednes- day, in the Vice-Chancellor's Court. It was at the instance of a Mrs. Tyler, to set aside certain deeds of conveyance, which had been executed by her deceased nephew, Griffith Jenkins. Jenkins had been a young man of dissolute habits, who had very considerable property; but his grandfather, an attorney, had kept him in ignorance of the real nature of his interest in his estates—he believed that his mother was the tenant in tail, and that his own interest was merely reversionary. He ran away from home one day, and enlisted in the 13th Light Dragoons. Here he made the acquaintance of the Quartermaster, who, knowing something of his prospects, supplied
him with money on all occasions ; and when Jenkins's debt amounted to 265/., agreed to purchase his expectations for the sum of 20001. The Quartermaster left the regiment at this time, and bought a public- house of an auctioneer of the name of Drayton. Drayton took Jenkins's debt of 265/. in part payment, bought Jenkins's discharge from the regi. ment for 75 guineas, and purchased the Quartermaster's reversionary inte- rest for 7001. This happened in 1808. Jenkins went abroad immediately afterwards, as a common sailor ; and returned in 1816, worn-out, and a cripple. During his absence, Drayton had discovered that Jenkins was the tenant in tail of the estates in Wales, and consequently that his purchase of the reversionary interest was good for nothing. He sought him out, therefore, and induced him to execute in due form a conveyance of the whole estate. In consideration of this, Jenkins was allowed 30s. a week. He died in 1819. The estates are now supposed to be worth 100,000/. The sum paid for them in all amounted to 14001. The proceedings were against Drayton, and against Mr. Sergeant Wilde (then an attorney) and his partner, who had not only acted as Drayton's attorney, but had em- barked in the speculation, by advancing one-half of the purchase-money. The defence was, that the purchase in question was attended with great risk—that the value of the estates was unknown—that in truth it was a pure speculation. The pleadings have not yet closed. In the Standard of last night, there appeared some threats of future disclosure against Mr. Sergeant Wilde, who had taken measures to prevent the full publication of the case in its present stage.
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