The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1860-05-16
s elect 3fliseelIan
sCENEs ar THE SOUTHERN BAR.
BY CHARLES suMMERF1E1D.


About the year 1920, the city of New Or
leans furnished the noblest and most exciting
field for the practice of the legal profession in
America, or in the world The mixed charac-
ter of the inhabitants, Anglo Saxon, Gaul and
Spaniard, with their intense national antipa-
thies; the floating population iot sailors from
every pert, and boatmen from the thousand
rivers that, receive and roll to the ocean the
waters of the greatest valley of the globe; the
unsettled state of the landtitles covering tracts
OF iaHd large enough for principalities; the
heterogeneous Organization of the law itself,
deriving its elements from half-a-dozen incOnL
sistent codes, the universal recognition of. the
right o. trial by the savage rules of the oIello,
as the tribunal of final appeal, and the fiery,
passions and fierce chivalry of manners, nat
'urally engendered by such condition of So
ciety and Increased almost to madness by tie
burning fheat of southern sunTall, tended
10 make the Metropolis of the Crescent, "a
paradise for attorneys of every degrees sa1es,eo
2 Accordingly, immense fortunes were some
times acquired by success in single case - -
One mighty burst of eloquence at the bar suf-
feed to fill the pockets of7the forensic adven-
pturer, and inst red splendid career for the fu-
1ture, provided, always, that he POSSESSED the
forumi or the far more dangerous field of hon
or. Of the extravagancel with which clients
paid, and counsel disbursed their enormous
fees, an example will afford striking illustra-'
5ticn. =, ,stt-....eS H. -
~ A. wealthy Incorporated company in Louisi-.
ana had suit involving avery large amount
in New York. Unwilling to confde its man.
agement entirely to the oldest legal talent in
the Empire State, they engaged the celebra
ted Gr1mts; the Napoleon of the southern bar,
at aretainer of SIS, 700, to assisttheir northern
I 4
:cohmenced the jc urney to hisne@ destination.
Unfortunately, with all his love for Burlemag-
nj and blackstone, he had still more power
tul passion for the history of the four queens
iliumined by the light OF antique eau de vie.l
On h s arrival in Mobile, cne nights revel in
the gaming saloCn exhausted the plethora of
lis purse, and the next day his astonished en-
ployers received a note from theigreat orator,
informing them thatehe could not proceed any
iurther for want of means! They replied by
sending him $1,000, With this sum he man
aged to reach Charlie ston. Here the same
scene was acted over again, but with a differ
ent result. The despairing clients saw that
repetition of the pecuniary drainage would not
fail to occur at every capital on the highway
to New ok, and that if he should ever at
tain tt e end of his doubtful journey, it would
take the whole amount in controversyto to get
him back. Accordingly, they forwarded bare
iy sufficient money for the purpose and wrote,
avising him to return. g...ras 81
On another occasion, Grimes had been paid
in advance, as usual, heavy fee, for attend
ance in a case of importance in one of the
city forums. The suit was called, for trial,
" hen the orator. asked permission Of heicourt
to retire for moment and bring some author,
ities from his library. But he bad scarcely
set his foot outside OF the door, when he was
arrested by cupids for debt Of a considerable
amount {. He instantly sent information of the
fact to his client, who rushed to theaspot in a
state of bewildefment and despair verging on
c eeran2enent. - - -. t-..,-Ii =, ,..'i
= ~ eli,,' said Grimes, in a melancholy voice,
'sniy dear frieI d, as Iihave long expected, the
of doom has crushed me to the;
arth iatilast. am ruined n an, and must
linger out my life in Jail Is'''Si Iio' is f5e fsl
.'What will become of my, case p exclaimed
his horri6ed employer, ringing his hands in /
ne stoas agony.
rg ;.Yonp 1ni1stsretain other counsel"
"But hayeattready paid yoSu.H' calculated la
ii cannot Help that responded res Grimes -
sYou did not pay me enough as you see, or l
would not now be in this tpitiaBie condition"
g "But another attorney viii not know any
thing as to the merits of the controversy. IT
took even you months to master ii, I urged the
client.
"1henpqt qitsoG tei theafnee1t. e terp,Rii I said g
Grimes.
.sImpossible p' said the shuddering litigant.
isYou are, weltaware7 that have already had
two continuances and each time it puzzled me
sorely to make the necessary affidavit. aIsg
''Ihe less you say on that subject the bet
ter" remarked The orator, Tsolemnly ,t1ipdiet-
ments for perjury are difficult things to man
age" .zs9oH rrzEzza aHr aTrsoszo
The 6ld rlhiser turned white as corpse, and
purpuEedl q With apiFfFing alips, How lpqfh
ls the cepids 1or;t eiss 1o1 .1TITkaOT 4
nImiA settle it now; hasten back into the
court house, before they take judgment against
me ebFitlefanlt3b aDse kHo BHITEAU szosaat !