They Believe in the Doctrine of Lapse

It is an interesting fact of life that some people have the habit of acquiring assets of various kinds purely relying on the lapse of memory of others. It is useful to refer to this practice as the Doctrine of Lapse. Over a century ago a Governor General followed this concept to annex territories when treaties with them lapsed. This comes handy as a useful tool for some people conferring lot of benefits though it may reflect lack of ethics in the dealings. This takes various forms. Some examples surface before us providing laughter.

These people borrow several items on grounds of interest and expediency. Such items consist of household appliances, utensils, gadgets, and often cash. They delay returning these items hoping that the lender remembers such cases of appropriation. At times they also send a feeler just to verify whether the matter still lingers in their memory. If a long period elapses they make use of this opportunity to usurp the articles possessing them as their own assets and never bother to return . Often the lender forgets about the articles and the incident. He either leaves the place on transfer or departs from the world for ever. Anyway the assets soon belong to the borrower who becomes the owner at no cost.

But one of the most striking and interesting cases where this doctrine of lapse is applied relates to one borrower who builds a large library of books and rare magazines. Whenever he visits a friend or an acquaintance he focuses his X- ray eyes on his books even if they were stacked in the interior of the house. He pulls out a book or two from the shelf, skip through the pages and show interest in reading them. He will promise a date of return but even after months the books will not come back to the lender.

One day a friend Jim who is not aware of this trait of the host sees a book on his table and appreciates it. He asks him about the book and whether he has finished reading it.

The host replies. 'Yes I read every book which I borrow from good natured friends who never ask for its return. I also proudly say that all the books you see in this library are thus borrowed. My love for reading and for books prompts me to fill all the three racks full of books. For this I seek your cooperation.'

Jim: You are outpacing me. I too have built a small library in the same manner.

Host: Then you are the right person with whom I can collaborate. We will jointly explore innocent sources for books.

Their friendship thickens on identifying common interest. They succeed in their mission.