The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1857-02-04
I SrIrrtr0 Sturu.
JUDGE REMsENs FIRST CLIENT.
DY MARI LEE.

Oid Judge Remscn was fond of telling
his early experience at the bar. My first
case, he would say, came upon me most
unexpectedly, after had waited "a con,d.
crablc time for a client. The way came
TO get IL was this
a young girl, named Helen Monlres.
sor. was 10 he triel at our County Court,
BeI'eyiew, Tor stealing a breaslpiu, valued
at tonr dollars, aud twenty dollars in gold,
from the trunk OF her employer. one
James Wesley, a merchant who lived in
the ncigh5oring town Of Bedford. The
theft. which was detected some five weeks
before, cccasioncd quite Il talk at the time
rs the girl was very beautiful, and James
Wesley and his wife Eunice were ANYTHING
but that, besides being generally detcsted
People sad Helen had bccu treated
rhtmctul.y 10y her mistress, who was jeal
on Of her ; ana It Was even hinicd that
there had been foul play in The prosccu-
,ion Tor tue!t. rhc subsequent arrest Of
a gang Of counterfciters aud horse thieves
had SO absorbed public attention, that tie
case Of Helen Montressor WAS quite for.
gotten, ahd no one seemed to care for her
fate. But when her case was called. and
she VAS placed in the prisoners box, her
beauty rNited every eye, and when the
Judge asked her who was her counsel,
and she modestIy replied that she had
none, and that size had no money to pay
a lawyer, there wa not member of the
bar prescn; who would not have unlcrta.
ken her case. The Judge, after looking
around the room for moment, fixed his
eye on me, and said, MIR. R-mscn, YOU
will please act rs this Young !ahy's couu.
scl." ! STATED as though | had been
shot. Luckily juror was Is, taken IN,
and the Court adjourned ulI ten O'Clock
the next morning, or am afraid tha, |
should have made sad work wi,l" NV
clients case.
As | left the court room, | lrokel al
my watch it WAS eleven O',l"rk: so
had but twenty three hours to prepare
for Tie struggle. at once called npon
the district attorney aud asked to see the
indictment, and the evidence taken Lc
fore the Justice Of the Peace. A. he
tmnbied over Pile Of documents, in
search of the papers, he said, The Judge
must have spite against YOU, ltcmscn.
to pat YOU in such a tight place, and you
green hand. No oifcrcc. my dear fel.
iow," he added, as he observed the rising
color Of my check ---"no offence | sim.
ply mcaut that you are ineSpericnced.---
There are the documents. Iuu may take
them home with you, il you like--only
be sure to bring them to Court to morrow
morning. You will see OF .perusing them,
that your client has not chance"
was annoyed at tl,is light reference 10
my client, for whom had already eu,er-
tanned the deepest respect, and believed
to be innocent; but said noihng ~ re.
ply. Fastening TO my ofiice, | locked
myself in and commenced the analysis cf
my case. The indictmenI was, IN hrief
what have already stated. The c,i.
dencs before the Justice Of The Peace con.
sisted Of the testimony Of James and
Eunice Wesley, Sarah Brown, a seam
stress, Charlotte B"yce, domestic, and
Thomas Hanncgan, a man ufall.work.
employed 10y the Wesley's Ilannegan's
evidence seemed straight forward and
truthful, and so did the servant girls.
made up my mind that they were not un
friendly TO my client, and that would
seek an interview with them, although il
should necessitate journey TO Bedford.
In Miss Browns testimony at once do
tecIed malice, and determined TO har
row her numerically in my cross exami.
nation, Wesley's evidence was very sin