“You yourself took the ground that the childish marriage of Estelle was illegal—to use your own expression, entirely ‘null, void, and of none effect!’ You even _proved_ it to be so!—proved it by law, testimony, and precedents!—proved it to the satisfaction of Sir James Allan Parke, of the Bishop of Exeter, of the Reverend Mr. Oldfield, and of myself!—in short, to the satisfaction of every body, except Estelle.” “Which you think would make it very awkward for me now to go to work and prove the same marriage to be perfectly legal, valid, and binding! to prove this by as strong ‘law, testimony, and precedent!’—to prove it, if necessary, ‘to the satisfaction of Sir James Allan Parke, of the Bishop of Exeter, of the Reverend Mr. Oldfield,’ of yourself, and of all others, not excepting Estelle! Not at all. It will be the easiest thing in life! My dear sir, a lawyer who knows his business can, by a judicious application of ‘law, testimony, and precedent,’ prove or disprove any thing that he may be required to establish or to overthrow. In law, ‘those who bind can loose,’ those who loose can bind! I will undertake to establish before the Court of Arches, the marriage of Miss Morelle and Monsieur L’Orient to have been perfectly legal, binding, and indissoluble, except by crime or death!” “Oh! Dazzleright! Dazzleright!” “Of course, having once successfully assailed and overthrown that marriage before one court, I cannot consistently support it before another! But I can find a lawyer of talent and character, and can arm him with my argument, so that he shall be able to do it.” “Oh, Dazzleright! Dazzleright!” “My conscientious client, you never worked your way up from the position of a provincial pettifogger’s clerk to that of a Baron of the Exchequer, or you would certainly have learned something of the infinite possibilities of the law for those who know how to avail themselves of its advantages. The law is the most exact of all _sciences_ in _theory_—the most uncertain of all _arts_ in _practice_. All depends upon the application of its powers. In law, we can do or undo just what we please,” said the best lawyer in England. “Oh, Dazzleright! Dazzleright! well named Dazzleright!” “Hist! here comes Johnson to lay the cloth for supper,” said the Baron, as that functionary appeared. Lord Montressor arose and paced up and down the floor, saying to himself—