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The Green Bag.

itive young man, and he said some things which, as this article may be read by the youth of the profession, I think I will not transcribe. He was a very nice young man from Harlem, and later, in the trying times that ensued, we became great friends, and clung to one another with the enthusiasm of despair. I told him he ought to be glad to help administer the law, and proud of his citizenship, but he had been a juror before, and he said rather discourteous things ex pressive of a doubt as to my sanity. Just here there was a commotion at one side, and His Honor came in and took his place. The room became silent and men removed their hats. The scene became more impressive. I now looked at the judge and was surprised to find that he was a gentleman whom I knew well in private life. I wanted to go up and shake hands with him, and talk about a dinner at which we had met a few nights before, but the young man from Harlem advised me not to, and added, with what I feared was sarcasm, that probably His Honor would come down and speak to me as soon as he saw I was there. I thought with our pleasant American simplicity that was quite probable, and I saw no reason for the sarcasm. Things now commenced to happen in rapid succession. In fact so rapidly that I could not follow the proceedings intelligently. It seemed to me to be a little commercial in method, and somewhat lacking in dignity, but I always believe that people in a profession, or trade, know more about it than we who are out of it, so perhaps these law gentlemen knew what they were about. A lot of the jury gentlemen wanted to be excused, and they were given an opportunity to talk it over with the Judge. It didn't seem to make much difference, for none of them went away. Presently some one said, " Swear the jurors," and the clerk read a lot of names very rapidly. My name is a short one, and I suppose it got slipped in between some of the others; anyway, I did not hear

it, so I sat still. The others went away with the clerk, over in a corner back of the jury box, and had a quiet little swear by them selves. Then they came back looking much refreshed. I felt rather overlooked, but feeling that knowledge never comes amiss, I decided in the absence of active duty to absorb all I could. After some preliminary business the Court arranged to discuss a case which seemed to be of considerable importance. A lot of jurors' names were called, and the clerk seemed to derive some mild amusement from the confusion he created in the reading of the names. Event ually twelve members of the collection were secured and shut in the box, with a portly and athletic-looking person standing guard over them. The young man from Harlem was in the assortment. The jurors not in the box were excused, until one o'clock, and they went solemnly away. I elected to re main and learn things. I watched and listened, but the case was all about an en gine run by gasoline, or something of that sort, which a man had bought and didn't want to pay for, because it would not do the things which an engine run by gasoline ought to do. It seemed quite clear on the face of it, that of course if a machine would not do what its manufacturers contracted that it should do, the purchaser was re leased from his obligations. But now came in a lot of technical evidence about the structural incapacity of this particular engine; the various qualities of naphtha which would produce various results, and a lot of other things, which threw me into a dreadful state of mind. I don't know any thing about mechanics, and I never could see why anybody else should want to, so I was very glad when the court took a recess for luncheon, and I could talk to my young man from Harlem. As we were leaving the court room, one of the other jurors came along, and I said to him pleasantly, "Seems rather a difficult case, doesn't it? " " Naw!" responded he, " it's jest a rich bloke trying