EJECTMENT, in English law, was an action for the recovery of the possession of land, together with damages for the wrongful withholding thereof. In the old classification of actions, as real or personal, this was known as a mixed action, because its object was twofold, viz., to recover both the realty and personal damages. The form of the action as it prevailed in the English courts down to the Common Law Procedure Act, 1852, was a series of fictions, among the most remarkable to be found in the entire body of English law. The following outline is condensed from the work of Mr Sergeant Adams :—A, the person claiming title to land, delivers to B, the person in possession, a declaration in ejectment, in which C and D, fictitious persons, are plaintiff and defendant. C states that A has devised the land to him for a term of years, and that he has been ousted by D. A notice signed by D informs B of the proceedings, and advises him to apply to be made defendant in D’s place, as he, D, having no title, does not intend to defend the suit. If B does not so apply, judgment will be given against D, and possession of lands will be given to A. But if B does apply, the court allows him to defend the action only on condition that he admits the three fictitious averments—the lease, the entry, and the ouster—which, together with title, are the four things necessary to maintain an action of ejectment. This having been arranged, the action proceeds, B being made defendant instead of D. The names used for the fictitious parties were John Doe, plaintiff, and Richard Roe, defendant, who was called the casual ejector. The explanation of these mysterious fictions is this. The writ of ejectione firmce was invented about the beginning of the reign of Edward III. as a remedy to a lessee ...