Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1858-06-25
5torl]-Grllrr.
THE CULPRIT JUDGE.
A TALE OF THE BENCH AND BAR.

In one of the Western States l was
once prosecuting attorney. The set
tiers axe was then familiar music, and
/ the prairies away from the woodland had
not yet heard the scream of the steam
whistle. All branches of society. of
trade, of business, and profession, were
in transition state. OF course the Judges
were not men of vast learning or of rare
character: and, lest appear vain, / may
add. that the lawyers wore by no means
Chief Justice Taneys
The judge who travelled circuit with
] us in the counties round about the city
Of, had been in carrier life Il horse
jockey and had picked up large amount
] of fact. knowledge of men and of human
nature, and of social motives. that was
of much use to him in his legal walk
At the West he has been member Of
the first constitutional convention in our
state and. being good talker, and Of quite
natural intellect had shonc in The debates.
OF course it was natural that, as he made
the law. he should claim to be able to
+ cxpound it. And at the first election
after the state was admitted he WAS chos-
en- a Judge.
never liked him With all his
atiabilty and apparent Difference Of man
ncr, there was in his composition an under
strata of cunning that | suspect d and
became wary of Wien | was chosen
peoples solicitor, he sought my con-
tidence; but | repellcd it, and, except in
court, we were littlo together. Many
a time on the civil side has he given me
a favorable charge on facts. or ac4uicsccd
in my law when felt that | was wrong.
Nor could hthom why he thus sought
to get the winning side of me.
suspected him of knavcry. When
prisoners were convicted. and he had the
discretion of punishment, his sentences
were inconsistent. He fined when he
should have imprisoned, and confined
when a nominal punishment would have
answered the Justice of the case. But
could never get any clue: and WITH the
populacc he was regarded as Il man OF
rare integrity and irmness Of mind.
One night. at the inn in the little
village Of Washington, where a week 5
court was to be held, | went to my
"boarded Off bedroom for an afternoon
nap, and was soon fast asleep. | vas
awakened by confused murmuring,
that. after 1 was thoroughly aroused, |
p rccivcd TO come from the adjoining
room -onc appropriated to Iualte G,
'Heis committing his grand jury charge,
said to myself. when heard u strange
voice say,
The Doodle is most used up ofthc old
stripe.
New doodle is flash term us,d by
counterfcit,rs, and it instantly attracted
my prosecuting attention. As sa.
up on the bedside, ray Of light came
through chink of the boarded partiti ~.
As man, honor would have forbidden a
peep; az m officer oithc law, prudence
commanded it, So, drawing myself
uoiselessly and closely t. the wall, OF
the boarded separation, looked throus Il
the crack ana saw Judge c, scat
ed at table with a sinister looking man,
who wore pare Of remarkably black
whiskers; and the two were counting
quite pile Of new bank bills. l listen
ed, but not another wcrd was spoken
for some time | saw the money divided
into three piles, and the Judge placed
one in his pocket; the whiskered man
took the other, and then drawing off
his boots, divide the third pile between
each boot in the inside Of it, and then
again placed them on his feet. Next the
Judge said BE careful and sent it to
the proper place His sinister compan-
ion gave IA meaning smile they shook
hands; the stranger left the room eau
tiously; and the judge then sat down to
some papers. continued to look for
several minutes, but he appeared absorbed
in his duties, when, just as L was about
quitting my point literally a point OF
observation, he arose, and, taking out
his roll of bills, placca them up the chin
ney and then continued his reading.
must say my blood ran cold, for a
grave suspicion had often crossed my
mind that he was a rascal; but | never
suspected him of being concerned with
the drovcrs. trappefs and traders who
occasionally made bad money their
commodity. Nor, as | sat collecting
my thought, could | conceive it possible,
when remembered how severe he had
always been upon the passers of counter
felt money and how earnestly ana SOL
emnly he always in his charges declaim-
ed against the enormity of offenders who
substituted a spurious currency for n
good one. | therefore concluded that
the word doodle, and the suspicious
'boot-stufiing, must relate to some other
kind of offcnt c, connected with which
now felt assured he must be.
Stcalthily going out, carefully de-
scended the stairs and entered the bar
room. The heavily -whiskered man was
seated at table, reading the last Gin
cinnati paper. as calm and placid as if
he were the Methodist minister of the
riding. sat down, and, pulling out a
law paper, pretended to read it; but was
glaneing over its top at the stranger
His eyes did not wander from particular
point of the paper, nor did the sheet
after several minutes turn l therefore
concluded that he was not reading, but
was rejecting. | endeayored to catch
his eye, but could not. l next thought
Of trying the demeanor Of the Judge; so,
ton making in my mind some excuse rela-
to my official duties, | again went up
stairs and knocked at the door. His
pleasant voice,in an anembarrassed tone,