PREFACE. IN issuing this Second Edition, a few words by way of preface may be useful, as in works of this description the purpose of the writer, and the plan pursued for its accomplishment, cannot be immate rial to the reader. My desire, then, has been to condense into one volume as much of the law and practice of conveyancing as possible; and with this view I have added to the Precedents several short dissertations, which may enable the reader to satisfy himself at a glance on many points, without further research. The Precedents, however, form the chief feature of the work, and in their preparation care has been taken to render each as time, as complete as practicable. A Precedent is often rendered almost useless, either by being so meagre as to oblige the draftsman to refer perpetually to other forms in order to produce any complete instrument, or else by embracing so much that is contingent and particular, as to make it a difficult task to separate what may be actually simple, and, at the same |