384
THE GREEN BAG
A Telling Retort. — Two prominent law yers generally opposed to each other were engaged in a warm discussion over the power of a certain city council and one spoke of it in the singular number as " the Council is " when he was interrupted by his opponent, who ex hibited considerable irritation, with " Why don't you use good English? The Council are." The attorney ignoring the discourteous inter ruption, continued addressing the court as follows: " Your Honor it is my misfortune that I had not the benefit of earlier association with counsel that I might have improved my knowledge of English. His misfortune is that he did not have the benefit of earlier associa tion with me that he might have improved his knowledge of the law, for I humbly conceive it is better to be mistaken as to your grammar sometimes, than to be mistaken as to the law always." Full Dress for the Ladies. — From Sioux Falls, South Dakota, comes the report of a breach of promise case worthy of record. The trial of the case consumed the greater part of two days, and during the time it was pending the court room was constantly crowded with spectators. Standing room, in fact, was at a premium. An interesting feature of the trial was the fact that all of the officers of the court, with the exception of the presiding judge, appeared in dress suits during the trial, with white ties and white vests. — St. Paul Pioneer Press. A Compound Sentence. — There is a custom in French jurisprudence that sanctions the con sultation by a judge, in provincial courts, with colleagues on the bench when sentence is to be passed upon certain classes of malefactors. "What ought we to give this rascal, brother? " a judge in the Department, of the Loire once asked the colleague on his right. "I should say three years." "What is your opinion, brother? " This to the colleague on the left. "I should give him four years." Whereupon the judge, assuming an air of great benevolence, said: "Prisoner, not desiring to impose upon you a long and severe term of imprisonment, as I should have done if left to myself, I have
consulted my learned brethren and shall take their advice. Seven years." — Argonaut. WOMAN'S SPECIALTY. No woman can expect to be A lawyer of renown, She can't take up the law, for she Likes most to lay it down. — Philadelphia Press. Application of Meeting of the Minds. — The following humorous illustration of a contract was given by a South Carolina magistrate in his charge to a jury: " The attorney for the defendant, in an action upon contract, had made an oral request of the magistrate to charge that in order to constitute a contract, the minds of the parties must meet upon the same subject in the same sense. The magis trate replied: ' Yes, gentlemen of the jury, that is good law; it is just like welding two pieces of iron. Both ends must be red hot at the same time when the hammer strikes, in order to weld. If one is hot and the other cold, they won't tie together. I charge you that as matter of law and matter of fact." He was Administrator to Receive. — George Washington Johnson was a colored preacher of no small fame among his own race and was consequently entrusted with the settlement of the affairs of his parishioners in life and in death. One of his parishioners, a whitewasher by profession, died leaving a small estate which the Rev. Johnson was selected by the heirs to administer and settle up. Among the bills receivable he found a small account for a job of whitewashing deceased had done for Col. D. W. Searle, now judge of the courts of Susquehanna County, Pa. Meeting the colonel one day, the reverend gentleman addressed him thus: "Mr. Searle I am de duly appointed ad ministrator ob de estate of Mr. Bacon, one of my beloved parishioners, and am charged wid de collection of his accounts, and I find among them a small bill for whitewashing agin you dat I must request be promptly adjusted, sah." " Oh! that's all right, Mr. Johnson," said the colonel, " but I loaned Mr. Bacon twenty dollars when he was working for me and took his note for it, so I'll credit his bill
