Notary

“ In the first place, my dear fellow, he has a private income of sixty thousand francs; and he is a notary of the real old sort, a notary while he walks or sleeps; his children must be little notaries and notaresses. He is a heavy, pedantic creature, and that’s the truth; but on his own ground, he is not the man to flinch before any power in creation.... No woman ever got money out of him; he is a fossil pater-familias, his wife worships him, and does not deceive him, although she is a notary’s wife.—What more do you want? as a notary he has not his match in Paris. ”

“ I will write her a note to-night, so that I shall be sure to find her to-morrow morning. Who can these women be? From what you know of them, they appear to belong to the upper classes of society. And to find themselves reduced to such distress! Ah! for them poverty must be doubly frightful!"
"By the robbery of a notary, a miserable scoundrel, of whom I already know many other misdeeds—Jacques Ferrand."
"My husband's notary!" cried Clemence; "the notary of my step-mother! But you are deceived, my lord; he is looked upon as one of the most honorable men in the world." ”

“ Have I done nothing for you, M. d'Aguilhe? Have I not been a good client to you?"
"Nevertheless, sir, nothing can weigh with me against the rules of my profession," pompously replied the Notary. "A Public Person must not allow himself to be swayed by private considerations."
"In what lies your difficulty in changing this deed?" Germain asked.
"A deed once deposited in the archives of the Notary is sacred."
"But you see a mistake has been made?"
"Etiquette, Monsieur."
"You see that the honour of the family is concerned in rectifying that mistake." ”

“ It was then that my grandfather, revelling in his rascally wit, went through a comedy scene of sublime audacity. He gravely reproached the notary with accusing him unjustly, and always addressing him kindly and with studied politeness, called the others to bear witness to his conduct, begging them to make allowances if his precarious position had forced him to give them such a poor reception, all the while doing the honours of the table in splendid style. The poor notary did not dare to press the matter and was compelled to dine, although half dead. ”

“ Is it your uncle Pillerault, who loves us like the apple of his eye, and dines with us every Sunday? Is it good old Ragon, our predecessor, who has forty upright years in business to boast of, and with whom we play our game of boston? Is it Roguin, a notary, a man fifty-seven years old, twenty-five of which he has been in office? A notary of Paris! he would be the flower of the lot, if honest folk were not all worth the same price. If necessary, my associates will help me. Where is the plot, my white doe? Look here, I must tell you your defect. On the word of an honest man it lies on my heart. ”

“ That evening the notary said to the lady: "Now tell me, who killed your husband?" "A parrot." "And what about this parrot?" The lady told him everything to where the parrot dashed the broth in its master's eyes, and then flew away. "True! true!" said the notary. "Was I not the parrot?" "It was you! I am amazed." "It was I, and I became a parrot for your sake!"
The next day the notary went to the cavalier to get the four hundred ounces of the wager, which he enjoyed with his wife. ”

“ In those words the notary read the concentrated hatred of a man whose calculations had been balked by Nature herself, and who revenged himself upon the innocent object of an impotent love. This opinion was confirmed to some extent by the obstinate resolution of the doctor to leave nothing to the Rabouilleuse, saying with a bitter smile, when the notary again urged the subject upon him,—
"Her beauty will make her rich enough!" ”

“ Maitre Mouche lifted up his hand—with a black woollen glove on it—as if making oath to the truth of these statements. Then he added:
“I am enabled, by the very character of my profession, to know a great deal about people. A notary is, to a certain extent, a father-confessor.
“I deemed it my duty, Monsieur, to give you this agreeable information at the moment when a lucky chance enabled you to meet Mademoiselle Prefere. There is only one thing more which I would like to say. ”

“ Mr Garland and the Notary walked in, looking very grave; and, drawing up two chairs, one on each side of the single gentleman, formed a kind of fence round the gentle Sarah, and penned her into a corner. Her brother Sampson under such circumstances would certainly have evinced some confusion or anxiety, but she—all composure—pulled out the tin box, and calmly took a pinch of snuff.
‘Miss Brass,’ said the Notary, taking the word at this crisis, ‘we professional people understand each other, and, when we choose, can say what we have to say, in very few words. ”

“ The competency of a notary as a witness is discussed in 2 Bailey's S.C.. Rep. 183.
An agent is generally a competent witness as to matters within his agency. 1 Bingham, 368; 6 Lea. R. 29; 1 N. H. Rep. 192; 5 Martin, N. S., 310. See also 15 Wend. 314.
2. The notary not only proved his own acts, but the general usage and custom of allowing different days of grace upon notes discounted by a bank and those merely deposited for collection. It is admitted, that if courts have, by their decisions, settled and established what the usage is, it becomes as binding as statute law. ”

“ The case has not been brought into court; for legal proceedings cost so much money. The sale is to be made by voluntary agreement. Now, this notary has applied to one of my clients to lend him his name for this purchase. My client, a poor devil, says to me: 'There's a fortune to made out of that house by fooling the notary.'"
"And they do that sort of thing in business!" said Brigitte, quickly. ”

“ The statute of Mississippi (H. & H. Digest, 609, sec. 33) provides, that in all cases where it may be necessary to have the testimony of a notary public in any suit touching a protested note, bill of exchange, or other instrument, the official act of such notary, certified under his hand and attested by his notarial seal, shall be deemed, held, and taken to be conclusive evidence of the protest of such note, bill, or other writing on the day it purports to have been made; and the notary shall not be required to go beyond the limits of the county of his residence to give evidence of the facts. ”

“ DOR. The very thing! And Mrs. Jourdain, in order to set your mind at rest, and that you should lose to-day all feelings of jealousy which you may have felt about your husband, this lady and I will ask the same notary to marry us.
MRS. JOUR. I consent to that also.
MR. JOUR. (aside, to DORANTE) . It is to deceive her, is it not?
DOR. (aside, to MR. JOURDAIN) . We must amuse her with this notion.
MR. JOUR. Good, good. (Aloud) Let somebody go at once for the notary.
DOR. Whilst he draws up the contract, let us see our ballet, and give the entertainment to his Turkish highness. ”

“ Notaries Public (Vol. ii., p. 393.) .—Why does your correspondent MANLEIUS think this form of expression "putting the cart before the horse?" Public notary (though that phrase is sometimes erroneously used) is not so exact as "notary public;" for a notary is not, as the first form would imply, a public officer appointed by the public to perform public services, but an individual agent through whose ministry private acts or instruments become publici juris. ”

“ It is true that it is a very common practice for a notary public to be employed to make demand of payment of promissory notes from the makers, and also to give notice of the dishonor to the endorsers thereon. ”

“ Quoth he, “It belongeth to such an one the notary, may God curse him!” “Is he her father?” asked I; [and he replied, “Yes.”] So I repaired in haste to a man, with whom I had been used to deposit my goods for sale, and told him that I desired to gain access to such an one the notary. ”

“ Aware of the difficulty of sustaining their opinion, if the same rule of evidence applied to the statements of the notary that would apply to the same statements on oath by a private individual, they say he is a public officer, and it is not to be presumed that he would do so useless an act as to go to the house of the acceptor and demand payment if he had not the bill with him, and that the law will presume the notary had done his duty. ”

“ It is hereby ordered that hereafter no officer, clerk, or employee in the executive service of the Government, who is also a notary public, shall charge or receive any compensation whatever for performing any notarial act for an officer, clerk, or employee of the Government in his official capacity, or in any matter in which the Government is interested, or for any person when, in the case of such person, the act is performed during the hours of such notary's service to the Government. ”

“ The procureur then told his wife to come up. In the course of a quarter of an hour everyone had assembled in the chamber of the paralytic; the second notary had also arrived.
A few words sufficed for a mutual understanding between the two officers of the law. They read to Noirtier the formal copy of a will, in order to give him an idea of the terms in which such documents are generally couched; then, in order to test the capacity of the testator, the first notary said, turning towards him:
“When an individual makes his will, it is generally in favor or in prejudice of some person.” ”

“ And the notary rang; and when the chief clerk made his appearance, he said:
"Ask the lady to walk in. Good day, M. Robert."
"Well, I see I must give up the chance of seeing her. Don't bear malice, lawyer. Believe me, if—"
"There—there; that'll do. Good-bye." And the notary shut the door on M. Charles Robert.
After the lapse of a few moments, the chief clerk introduced the Duchess de Lucenay, very simply attired, wearing a large shawl, and her features entirely concealed by a thick veil of black lace, depending from her watered silk bonnet of the same colour. ”

“ The court say in the case in Johnson, that it was a fact proper for the decision of the jury. In this case the jury have not found this fact. They say that the notary intended to refer to the note in question. But they do not say that the indorser knew that the notice alluded to the same note.
The knowledge of the indorser is the most material fact. The intention of the notary is of no moment; and in this case it is clear that he never intended to allude to a note of 1400 dollars. ”

“ You knew it was my dearest wish that these children should not be separated; but your pride revolted at the thought that your son should marry the daughter of a notary; and Tengelyi, the friend of your youth, was ordered to leave your house!"
"I knew nothing of my wife's doings!" cried the sheriff. "I would never have consented to her treating the notary as she did."
"Be it so!" continued Vandory, warmly, and even passionately. "I will not argue with you whether that assertion agrees with what you did afterwards. As the world goes, a father has a right to dictate to his children ”

“ The original shall be retained by the notary, and if either of the parties shall desire an authenticated copy, it shall be given them as a safeguard of their rights. And in suits for the said amount, only one real, and no more, may be collected between judge and notary. ”

“ But as it would be difficult to have these present letters sent to all places where desirable, we wish and with similar accord and knowledge do decree that to copies of them, signed by the hand of a public notary commissioned therefor, and sealed with the seal of any ecclesiastical officer or ecclesiastical court, the same respect is to be shown in court and outside as well as anywhere else as would be given to these presents should they be exhibited or shown. ”

“ If the certificate were an official act and material as a separate acknowledgment of the execution of the will, as in the acknowledgment of a deed, the case would be different, since it has never been supposed that a notary, who takes an acknowledgment of a deed, could be counted as a witness to the deed without a separate signature. ”

“ And as for liberty, why you see, sir, in fine weather, in a starry night, I think it would be a nice thing indeed to be racing over the heath with my fellows; but, after all, liberty's very uncomfortable: a man must work for his bread, you know."
The notary sighed.
"Cheer up, sir!" said the Vagabond, in happy unconsciousness of the real cause of the notary's sigh. "Cheer up, sir! To-morrow you'll have your own room; and since Mr. Völgyeshy's your lawyer, I am [Pg 103] sure you'll get through the business, however ugly it may be. ”

“ The issue is one entirely of fact, in which the burden of proof is upon the plaintiffs. Callan, the notary public, testifies with particularity to the circumstances attending the execution of the note and of the deed of trust in his presence, and to the acknowledgement of the latter before him, and to his signing his name as a witness to the execution of each. ”

“ Howsoever I may disgrace my old professions by this parsimony of words, I believe myself to be so far at home in the art and calling of a notary, that I am competent to act for myself as a testator in due form, and as a regular devisor of property.
'It is a custom of testators to premise the moving causes of their wills. These, in my case, as in most others, are regard for my happy departure, and for the disposal of the succession to my property—which, by the way, is the object of a tender passion in various quarters. ”

“ Signatures came in apace from citizens of all classes and every age. Even serving-women and little children, who could neither write nor read, pledged themselves to the good cause with the assistance of a notary. ”