of putting on execution into her doll's house, and taking an exact inventory
of the chairs and tables. These artless sports had naturaaly soothed and
cheered the decline of her widowed father, a most exempary gentleman
(called 'old Foxey' by his friends from his extreme sagacity), who
encouraged them to the utmost, and whose chief regret on finding, that he
drew near to Houndsditch churchyard was, that his daughter could not take
cut an ottorney's certificate and hold a piace upon the roii. Filled with this
affectionate and touching sorrow, he had solemnly confided her to his son
Sampson as an invaluable auxiliary; and from the old gentleman's decease
to the period of which we treat, Mis Sally Brass had been the prop and pillar
of his business.
Mr Brass wordt duidelijk gekenmerkt als 'attorney', en hij zou dus bij een
rechtbank ingeschreven kunnen staan. Dit blijkt echter nergens uit. Of zijn
zuster zich ooit werkelijk uitgegeven heeft voor een lawyer blijkt evenmin
ergens uit. Toch vind ik beide persoonlijkheden voorbeelden van een aan lager
wal gekomen attorney en sham-attorney. Bovendien zou Mr Quilp beslist geen
ingeschreven 'echte' attorney gebruiken.
10. 'Sham-bails'.
In The Pickwick: Papers beschreef Dickens een volkje, dat in uiterlijk leek op
de minder geslaagde agenten en sham-attornies. Bij Serjeant's Inn wordt
Mr.Pickwick benaderd door een 'lame man', die;
stepped up to him, and civilly touching his hat, held out a written card,
which Mr.Pickwick, not wishing to hurt the man's feeling by refusing,
courteously accepted and deposited in his waistcoat-pocket.
'Now,' said Perker, turning round before he entered one of the offices, to
see that his companions were close behind him. 'In here, my dear Sir. Hallo,
what do you want?'
This last question was addressed to the lame man, who, unobserved by
Mr.Pickwick, made one of the party. In reply to it, the lame man touched his
hat again, with all imaginable politeness, and motioned towards
Mr.Pickwick."
Perker legt dan uit dat het een misverstand is. Tegen Mr.Pickwick zegt hij, dat
het een borg is. Als Mr.Pickwick daarover zijn verbazing uit, zegt Perker;
'Yes, my dear Sir - half a dozen of 'em here. Bail you to any amount, and
only charge half-a-crown. Curious trade, isn't it?' said Perker, regaling himself
with a pinch of snuff.
'What! Am I to understand that these men earn a livelihood by waiting
about here, to perjure themselves before the judges of the land, at the rate
of half-a-crown a crime!' exclaimed Mr.Pickwick, quite aghast at the
disclosure.
'Why, I don't exactly know about perjury, my dear Sir,' replied the little
gentleman, 'Harsh word, my dear sir, very harsh word indeed. It's a legal
fiction, my dear sir, nothing more.'
