“Only so long as the goods remain in the inn. If the guest goes away and then comes back again, the publican cannot retain them for the prior debt.[376] If, however, the unsophisticated landlord is beguiled into letting them go by a fraudulent representation, his right remains;[377] and if they are taken away, he may follow them if he does not loiter.[378] Delays are always dangerous, except in cases of matrimony. Of course, a tender of the money claimed extinguishes the lien;[379] but it must be a valid tender. Tossing down a lot of money on a table, and offering it if the innkeeper will take it in full of the bill, is not a proper tender.[380] Sometimes, if too much is claimed, or the claim is on a wrong account, a tender may not be necessary.”[381]
“Must the man say why he refuses to give up the goods?”
“If he gives a reason for detaining them other than his right of lien, he waives that, and it is gone; still, merely omitting to mention it when the goods are demanded will not prevent him enforcing it.”[382]
“Could not a guest get off by paying a small sum on account?”
“No; for then a farthing in cash would destroy the right;[383] but taking a note payable at a future day will put a stop to it.”[384]
“I believe that the landlord cannot sell the goods seized,” suggested my comrade.
“No, except by consent or operation of law.”[385]
“Is there no limit to the amount for which the lien can exist?”
“That point was disposed of in a case where a young fellow’s mother asked a hotel-keeper not to allow her son, who was a guest in the house, more than a certain quantity of brandy and water per diem, yet mine host supplied the youth with considerably more of that beverage than was named. When the bill was disputed, the judge held that a landlord was not bound to examine the nature of the articles ordered by a guest before he supplied them; but might furnish whatever was ordered, and that the guest was bound to pay for them, provided he was possessed of reason, and not an infant.”[386]
“Oh, then, a juvenile’s goods and chattels cannot be kept for his little hotel bill? Another privilege gone forever with the happy days of childhood,” said De Gex.