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LEGAL ANTIQUITIES.
At a session of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, held in Salem in November, 1787, Elizabeth Leuthe of Lynn, for harboring thieves and receiving stolen goods, was convicted and sentenced to be whipped twenty stripes, and to he sold for six months. Also at a session of the same Court, held in Boston in September, 1791, six persons were convicted of theft and sentenced to be whipped and pay costs, or to be sold for periods of from six months to four years.
FACETIÆ. Near the old Court House in Poughkeepsie there stood years ago a tavern, kept by a Mr. Hatch. It was no uncommon thing to see " the court," jury, counsel, sheriff, constables, prisoners and all, adjourned to Mr. Hatch's bar for drinks. On one of these social occasions the prisoner, a horse thief, slipped away from his constables. When the judge resumed his seat the fact was made known to him. At first he said nothing but appeared to be in deep thought. Finally he arose, and with more than his usual gravity, delivered himself as follows : — "Gentlemen of the Jury, I am told that the prisoner has informally taken leave of the court and gone the sheriff knows not whither. This gives the case before you a more perplexed phase, as the Statutes distinctly provide that the prisoner shall at no time, during trial, sentence or punishment, absent himself from the officers of the law. There fore it only remains for me to say, that further prosecution in this case must be postponed until the return of the damned scoundrel who has thus informally trifled with the dignity of the court and the People of the State of New York.
The following anecdote is related of Judge Thornton, who was Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas in New Hampshire and Judge of the Superior Court of that State in the last cen tury. While he was presiding in the Common Pleas, a counsel who was making his closing argument to the jury, in a protracted case, on a warm afternoon, discovered that the presiding judge on the bench was absorbed in reading a book, and his associate was soundly sleeping by his side. The advocate turned to the jury,
and with indignant emphasis remarked : " Gentle men, my unfortunate client has no hope but in your attention, since the court in their wisdom will not condescend to hear his case!" Of course there was no sleeping on the bench after that, but Judge Thornton looked up from his book, and remarked : " When you have any thing to offer, Mr. , which is pertinent to the case on trial, the court will be happy to hear you. Meantime, I may as well resume my read ing." Lawyer A. of Buffalo tells this good story at his own expense. He went into the office of Judge B., who happened to be busy and cross, and asked him if he had a certain book. "Yes," was the answer. " Will you lend it to me? '" No." " Won't lend it! why, you're a regular dog in the manger." " Now see here," said Judge B., " if that ox had been an ass, that dog would have been perfectly justified."
Among some old newspapers in an Arkansas Probate Court was found a doctor's account for medical attendance during the last illness of the deceased. On the back the administrator had made the following endorsement : — "This claim is not verified by affidavit as the statute requires, but the death of the deceased is sat isfactory evidence to my mind that the doctor did the work. . "W S . Adm." An aged Professor, after lecturing on the dis tinction between trespass and case, asked one of his pupils : " Mr. B., suppose I should be walk ing in the public streets, and you should throw a rock and put out one of my eyes, what sort of an action would I have?" "An action on the case," was the ready answer. "Why so, Mr. B.? " " Because Blackstone lays it down that an action on the case is the proper remedy for ob structing ancient lights." An Irishman, swearing the peace against his three sons, thus concluded his affidavit : " And this deponent further saith that the only one of his children who showed him any real affection was his youngest son, Larry, for he never struck him when he was ttmvn."
