Those so fortunate as to avoid the punishments of the past centuries, when death lurked in every charge filed against the poor and oppressed, must have felt a sort of consolation in being able to run the gauntlet of such barbarities and delusions, and to die a natural death, and this is no doubt why we find such evidence of jocularity, mixed with a strain of pathos running through the “Quaint and Curious Wills” and testaments of antiquity. Some of the great painters of modern times, such as the late Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, have depicted scenes upon the canvas, in such manner as to make antiquity to live again before modern eyes—to resurrect, as it were, the men and women of the past centuries and to infuse new life into their bodies—so that they seem to again assume real form and being. This comes from a close study of the subjects and a genius, almost akin to a divine gift. No such gift can aid the lawyer, or did in this instance, who seeks to reproduce pen pictures of the antique proceedings of the past, but study of the subject is of course essential to give any tolerable idea of the obsolete laws and customs of other days. A keen interest in these old proceedings prompted a somewhat painstaking study of many antique volumes, as a basis for the presentation of the following pages, but the duties of a quite busy professional life have prevented the exhaustive investigation that would otherwise have been given the subjects treated. The sources of the information used in the different essays appear in notes and references throughout the work and it is to be hoped, if the usual modicum of instruction may be lacking, that some of the interest felt by the author, in tracing the old laws and customs of previous ages, may, in a measure, be shared, by the reader, who is kind enough to peruse the work. Not nearly all the learning or the law upon any one of the subjects presented, will be found set forth in the different paragraphs pertaining to the various subjects introduced, but a general outline of each topic, with frequent illustrations from concrete cases, will appear. None of the many legal antiquities of the Grecian States or the Roman Empire, which could be so profitably discussed, have been attempted, but only a few of the antique English laws and customs that have particularly attracted the attention of the author. These several subjects were all given cursory examinations in the preparation of the data for “Law in Shakespeare” and the superficial investigation in connection with that work, led to the more minute treatment herein. This is the apology for the undertaking and the engrossment of professional duties is the excuse for the limited scope of the treatment accorded each subject.