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of small importance before the Superior Court in Boston, I was engaged for the plaintiff. There was something about a horse in the evidence; and I no ticed on the jury a good-natured-looking man whom I had seen once or twice in my office, but had never spoken to. The jury found for the defendant. A few days afterward I met in the street the jury man referred to, and he stopped me and very affably remarked, — "I guess you were surprised at the verdict the other day?" I confessed that I had been. "Well," said he, "it was rather queer. At first the jury seemed to be all your way, and the foreman said he supposed the only question was about the amount of damages. And it all looked very smooth; but I said .• ' I do not believe Mr. S. means to let this case stop here; he means to take it before the Su preme Court. Where there is a horse concerned in a case, there is always a good deal of lard in it; and this is a kind of horse case. I was a justice of the peace once in a country town, and have tried one or two cases myself.' And when I said this, the foreman asked me to come up and sit by him; and I did, and explained to the jury how it was that horse cases had so much lard in them, and that you meant to take the case to the Supreme Court. And after I had talked to them a matter of ten or twenty minutes, they con cluded to find for the defendant." My voluble friend seemed to be " a case of simple fluency," and to be willing to hold me in discourse to an indefinite extent, so that, after being sufficiently amused at his absurdities, l even let him go, or rather released my button-hole, without asking him how or why I should or could have taken the case to the higher court, when that of first instance would have given me all I wanted but for his friendly and most valuable aid. C. W. S.
LEGAL ANTIQUITIES. The term Advocatus was not applied to a pleader in the courts until after the time of Cicero. Its proper signification was that of a friend who, by his presence at a trial, gave coun tenance and support to the accused. It was always considered a matter of the greatest impor tance that a party who had to answer to a crim inal charge should appear with as many friends and partisans as possible. This array answered a double purpose; for by accompanying him they not only acted as what we should call witnesses to character, but by their numbers and influence ma terially affected the decision of the tribunal. Not
unfrequently an embassy of the most distinguished citizens of the province was sent to Rome to tes tify by their presence to the virtues of the accused, and deprecate an unfavorable verdict. Although in this point of view the witnesses who were called to speak in favor of the accused might be termed advocati, the name was not confined to such, but embraced all who rallied round him at the trial.
FACETI/E. "Are you the judge of reprobates?" said an old lady Saturday, as she walked into Judge Monahan's office. " I am judge of probate," was the reply. " Well, that 's it, I expect," quoth the old lady. " You see, my husband died detested and left me several little infidels, and I want to be their executioner." His Sisters. A lawyer sat idly in his chair (As lawyers sometimes do), Discussing with a learned air A recent Code Review; His auditors, some twelve or more Old barristers, sat near, Each stuffed with pride and legal lore, With countenance austere. The while these astute Solons sat, It chanced a client came Whose presence stopped their social chat, — A crabbed spinster dame. "These are my. brothers in Law, you see," Said Smythe, as she passed through; "For goodness' sake, poor man! " cried she, "How many sisters have you?" Jean La Rue Burnett.
"Yes," said the lawyer, mopping his brow, " 1 got him off, but it was a narrow escape." % " A narrow escape? How? " inquired a brother attorney. "Ah, the tightest squeeze you ever saw! You know, I examined the witnesses and made the ar gument myself, the plea being self-defence. The jury was out two whole days. Finally, the judge called them before him, and asked what the trouble was.
