Seven Ages of the Lawyer. triumph of chancery over the common law and common sense to be found in the re ports. But there is no limit to the tyranny of wealth. Like a huge devil-fish the wealth of the millionaire now put forth its mighty tentacles, grasped the property and tore it away, just as the Frenchman was about to harvest his profit. Chancery had ignored public policy, repealed a statute, and made itself ridiculous to no end. For no sooner had this extraordinary decision been made public than the people, as one man, objected; they said they would not have it. They wanted their park. Fifty of them came to the chancellor with a statute in their hands, which authorized the dedica tion of the property to the use of the pub lic, and demanded that he set the machinery in motion to that end. He did so; in an
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incredibly short time the land and trees were dedicated to the use of the public, and the park stands to this day, " to witness if I lie." Then the wicked millionaire gave a final exhibition of the tyranny of his wealth. Just as if no court of chancery had ever existed, he ascertained the value of the poor Frenchman's contract, added to it a douceur of five hundred dollars, and paid him the full amount without discount or deduction. It was more money than he ever saw before or will ever see again. So the last state of that Frenchman was better than the first, and, like the characters in a well ordered novel, all but the wicked millionaire having been previously married, the millionaire, the Frenchman, and the fifty citizens lived happy ever afterwards.
SEVEN AGES OF THE LAWYER. By Edward A. U. Valentine. A LL the world's a court, .**- Where some are lawyers, and the rest are lawed; And life's an action to which all are parties; They get discharged and enter their appearance; Their acts being seven ages. First then the " infant" The Joseph Junior of the lecture room, For whose untutored eye is drawn aside The cumbrous drapery of words obscure, To show the naked beauty of the truth; Who constant cons the horn book of the law — Smith's Leading Cases — wherein he is taught By the Six Carpenters to nail the facts And build with rule and saw a knowledge high Of trespass ab initio; to learn From Scott & Shephard, the important art
