Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1853-01-13
Ny Debut at the Bar.
BY An ALABAMA LAWYER,

My client was respectable Dutch
|, er. Lis opponent a well-to-do lar!nel
On getting to the courthouse
E foand the court in session. Th
clerk was just reading the minutes
Ny case-I can well speak in th'
singular-was set The first on th
docket for thA I morning. looke(
, aronndl and sEN old Kasm, who some
how had fou11 opt | was in the case
with his grceh bag and half a library
Of old books On the bar before him
The old fello4 gave me a look Of ma
iicious pleasure like that Of a hun.
cry tiger from his lair, cast upon an
unsuspecting chlf browsing near him
+I-had tried to put on bold face. !
felt that ii would be yeryunprofession-
al to let on to my client that | was
at all scared, though my heart WIS
down like jadk k-screw under heavy
wagon. My conscience-I had not
pratticed i away thtn--was not
quite easy. I couldn't help faelipg
/ that it was hardly honest to be lead
ing my client, Ike Falstalf his men,
where he was sure to be peppeged- =
But then it VAS my only chance; my
bread depended on it; and | reflected
that the same thing had to happen
IN every lawyers practice. | tried
10 arrange my ideas in form and ez-
cqgitate speech; they 0itt t ed
through my brain in odds and ends.
| could neither think, nor quit think
lug ] would lose myself in the
first twenty words Of the opening
sentence, and stop at a particle; the
trail run clean out. / you'd Start ID
again With no better luck; than I
though moment of the disgrace of
Z dead breakdown; and then l would
CONNIE lco again with Gentlemen of
tho .iurs ~ etc, and go on as before.
at length the judge signed the
minute and took up the docket,
"SpaciiI case--IIigginbothaIn Us.
Swiuk: Slandcr. Mr. Glendye for
pliintiif NJ. Kasm for defend init
is Mr.. G. in court? Call him, Sher-
If" The sheriff called three times.
ITO nj Eht as well have called the
dead. No answer, Of course, came. I
Ar K; sm rose and told the court
That nd was sorry his brother was too .
much ds.rokipg his chin.anl looking
do YIN d bid pausing) indisposed, OF oth- F
Ieugagtd,t 10 attend to tie e, .
but he must insist On its being dis
posed bf, etc, the courtsaid it should .
30 l thon spoke up, (thoogh my
voice seemed 10 me. pery low down,
lad very hard to get up,l thatI had /
iost. been spoken TO in the cause;
believed VIC were ready, if the cause
must be then tried, bat ] should pre-
FER it to be laid over, il th6 court
V buld consent, until the next day,
or even that evening Kasm protes-
ted yehemently against this; remind
Cd the court Of its peremptory order;
referred 10 Ble former proceedings,
aal vas going on to discuss the whole
merits Of the case, when be was in
.4,rapted by the Judge, who, turning
himself to me, remarked that he
sasuld be happy to obligc me, but
that he was prdeluded BY what had
5appened; he hoped, however, that I,
.ae1counsel'on the other side would
extend the desired indulgence, to
whica Kasm Immediately rfjoined
that this was case in Which be nei-
her asked flvoIs nor meant to give
hem. So tie case lad to SD on. =
Several members Of the bar had their
Iats in hand, ready to leave the room
ahen the case was called up; Hut see +,
ng that | was in it alone. suffered
heir curiosity to get the better Of
>ther engagements, and staid to seq I,
t oul-a Circumstance which did /
rot diminish my trepidation in the
east. Il
I had the witnesses called up, /
posted my client behind ND in the
,ar. and put the case to. the jury. :
The defendant had pleaded lustlhca-
ion, and not guilty. | got along
aretty we'll, l thought, on the proofs /
The cross-examinatioa Of old Kasm,
iidn't seem to me to huft t anything
: though he quibbled, miscon nstrued
md bullied nightly; objected to al.
ny questions as leading, and all the
witnesses answers as irrelevant; but