SOME CURIOUS DECISIONS. By George H. Westley. IN the " Mysteries of Russia" by Frederic Lacroix, is to be found an interesting chapter on the courts of that country and the manner in which they dispensed justice — some might say dispensed with justice — in the early part of the present century. I select from that chapter the following amus ing anecdote. Nicholas Christopher, a wealthy Armenian merchant living at Kaminieck, had rented an apartment in his house to the handsome young officer, Count Balaban. It appears that this young man was indiscreet enough to make violent love to the wife of Chris topher, and the latter, one day catching him at it, threw him bodily out of the window. As luck would have it, a peasant, named Grodisko, was passingunderneath at the time, and upon him the flying count landed, nearly crushing the unfortunate Grodisko to death. As a result of all this, the peasant sum moned the count to appear before the civil tribunal; the count summoned the mer chant, and the merchant in turn summoned his wife. The judges listened to the evidence, and considered the case long and earnestly. It was plain that Grodisko, having received serious injuries, was entitled to damages, but the question was from whom could he properly demand them. It was difficult to hold the count responsible for the conse quences of an aerial voyage undertaken against his will; while as to the merchant who had thrown the noble count out of the window, he seemed to be justified in so doing by what he had seen going on between his wife and that young man. Such was the problem which exercised the Russian judge and his three assistants, and I think their de cision is well worth being recorded in these pages. It was this: —
"Considering that the ukase of H. M. Paul I., dated in the year of our Lord, 1799, gives every man a right to throw out of the window into the street any useless piece of furniture which he may have in his house, provided that he takes care to cry out three times to the people passing by — ' Take care! ' if not he is liable to a fine of twenty-five roubles, and responsible for all acci dents which may happen through the negli gence, — "Whereas the Count Platon Alexiewitch Balaban should have without doubt been consid ered by Nicholas Christopher as a useless piece of furniture, and that he was consequently authorized to throw him out of the window, but on condition of his crying out three times, 'Take Care! ' "Whereas the said Nicholas Christopher did not cry out, either three times or twice, or once, and has consequently infringed upon the express injunction of the order, — "We therefore condemn Nicholas Christopher to pay a fine of twenty-five roubles to the State, and two thousand roubles as damages to Zahor Grodisko, and moreover to pay to the latter two thousand roubles more to pay for his cure; we condemn him also to pay the costs of prosecu tion; the said sums to be paid within seven days from the present time. We acquit entirely Count Platon Alexiewitch Balaban, also Marie Zulma, the wife of Nicholas Christopher, leaving to the said Christopher all right to prosecute his wife before the ecclesiastical courts." It is said that when the emperor heard of this strange verdict, he had a hearty laugh. I was reminded, on reading the above, of an amusing legal incident which occurred some years ago out in Illinois. A carpenter in that State brought his daughter's young man up before a judge for violently ejecting him, one Sunday evening, from his own par lor. After hearing the other side, the judge said : " It appears that this young fellow was courting the plaintiff's gal, in plaintiff's par
