The Rangers | Page 6

for my purpose. One year, the party
outvoting their opponents, and coming into power, upsets every thing
done by their predecessors. The next year the upsetters themselves get
upset; and all the measures they had established are reversed for others
no better; and so they go on from year to year, forever quarrelling and
forever changing."
"And yet, Peters," resumed Jones, banteringly, "I doubt whether you
have been much the loser by their quarrels."
"How so, Mr. Jones?" asked Haviland, who noticed that Peters had

answered only by a significant smile.
"Why, you know, Squire Haviland," replied Jones, "that I have been on
to attend several of the last sessions of your court, as the agent of
Secretary Fanning, [Footnote: Edward Fanning, secretary to Governor
Tryon, New York, before the revolution, obtained, by an act of
favoritism from his master, a grant of the township of Stratton, which,
in 1780, Fanning having been appointed a colonel of a regiment of
tories, was confiscated, and re-granted, by the legislature of Vermont,
to William Williams and others. Kent, afterwards Londonderry, which
had been granted to James Rogers, who has been introduced, and who
became a tory officer, was also, in like manner, confiscated and
re-granted.] to see to his landed interests in this quarter. Well, friend
Peters, here, who has gone considerably into land speculations east of
the mountains, you know, had brought, it seems, several suits for the
possession of lands, mostly in this same Guilford; and among the rest,
one for a right of land in possession of a sturdy young log-roller, whom
they called Harry Woodburn, who appeared in court in his striped
woollen frock, and insisted on defending his own case, as he proceeded
to do with a great deal of confidence. But when he came to produce his
deed for the land he contended was his own, it was found, to his utter
astonishment, to bear a later date than the one produced by Peters. This
seemed to settle the case against him. But he appeared to have no
notion of giving up so; and, by favor of court, the further hearing of the
case was deferred a day or two, to enable him to procure the town
records, which, he contended, would show the priority of his deed. So
he posted back to Guilford for the purpose; but, on arriving there, found,
to his dismay, that the records were nowhere to be found. One of the
belligerent parties of that town, it seems, had broken into the clerk's
office, stolen the records, and buried them somewhere in the ground.
The fellow, therefore, had to return, and submit to a judgment against
him. Still, however, he clung to his case, and obtained a review of it, in
expectation that the records would be found before the next court. But
the poor fellow seemed doomed to disappointment. At the next court,
no records were forthcoming; and though he defended his case with
great zeal, he was thrown in his suit again; when he concluded, I
suppose, to yield to his fate without further ado."
"Not by any means," said Peters, in a tone of raillery. "He has

petitioned for a new trial; and the question is to come on at this court."
"Indeed!" exclaimed Jones, laughing. "Well, I must confess I have
never seen so much dogged determination exhibited in so hopeless a
case. And I really could not help admiring the fellow's spirit and
uncultured force of mind, as much misapplied as, of course, I suppose
it to have been. Your lawyer, Stevens, really appeared, once or twice, to
be quite annoyed at his home thrusts; while lawyer Knights, or
Rough-hewn Sam, as they call him, who, either from a sly wish to see
his friend Stevens bothered, or from a real wish to help Harry,
volunteered to whisper a few suggestions in his ear occasionally, sat by,
and laughed out of his eyes, till they ran over with tears, to see a court
lawyer so hard pushed by a country bumpkin."
"Pooh! you make too much of the fellow," said Peters, with assumed
contempt. "Why, he is a mere obstinate boor, whose self-will and
vanity led him to set up and persevere in a defence in which he knows
there is neither law nor justice."
"And yet, Mr. Peters," observed Miss Haviland, inquiringly, "the young
man must have known that he was making great expense for himself, in
obtaining delays and new trials, in the hope that the lost records would
be found. If he was not very confident those records would have
established his right, why should he have done this?"
"O, that was a mere pretence about the records altering the case,
doubtless," replied Peters, with the air of one wishing to hear no more
on