The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-12-31
sATURDAY DECENBNR 81

was never to say word after the chief Justice
nor ever 10 begin any topic of CCnversation. ole
was treated With fully more than the obssquious
Difference shown at court 20 the sovereign him
SELF lt must be admitted that bis surliness
was redeemed by humOr; as In his encouraging
remark 10 the tyro who stammered out, "My
lords, my unfortunate clent-my unfortunate
clienl--' go on, sir; so far the court Is quite
with you.' Or his reply TO Mr.. Preston, who,
after occupying an entire day amid the yawns Of
the court, appealed TO know when il would be
Their lordshi q pleasure TO hear the remainder Of
bis argument. Mr.. Preston, VIC are bound Co
hear you, and shall do 80 In due course the
court has no pleasure in the matter"
IL may fairly be inferred that other Judges did
not think it necessary 10 listen, or pretend 20 lis
ten 70 all that was formally addressed to them,
when We learn that Lord Mansfield the prince of
Uurtesy, was IN the habit of reading newspapers
and answering letters In court Lord RIdun did
90 too and Lord Abngcr wound do il ostenta-
tiously and Dheusiye'v, to mark hi, contempt for
the advocate. LORD Glare, who had q lifelong
iCud with Curau, beginning with o duel, once
brought a Newfoundland dog into court aud
gave 10 his exclusive attention while CurrBn was
speaking. The counsel paused. Proceed, Mr.
CurTau pray proceed said the lord chancellor
| looking up, with bis hand on the head Of his
C0uinc companion. "I will proceed, my lord
when your lOrdshps have concluded your con-
sulation."
Anccdo'es abound OF Chief Justice wIlcs's
gollantry, not TO say protgaty, which we cannot
|
yCIsati0n with johnson, IN 1913, which appears tp
have htcu suggested by some Judicial irrcgulEty.
/ 'On The same evening, nc would not allow that
the private life Of "a Judge, m England, was re-
| gu.r,d iO he so strictly dOclrous a, ! supposed
| why, then, sir said /, according 10 your ac-
count an English Judge must live like a gentle
mun' johnson Yes sir, it ne can
When Lord NouhiugtOu ,lleaeyl was master
Of the rolls hg rDQuesJ leave Of the king TO dis
continue the evening sittugS of his cour aud
| being called on Tor a reason, replied, "B5aausc,
/ please your majesty, / am always dfunk after
dinner The speaker, Ons'Ow. was complaining
/ that he had been stopped in Parliament street
1 through the CbstlnaJy Of a Cahman, and was told
| that the lord chancellor lNorhingtOn) had eN-
perienccd considerable delay from tue same
| cause. "WGll,' said the sTeaker, ."did not his
loruship show him the mace and strike him
| dumb ~ NO. he did not, but he sworc by God,
that If he had been in his private coach he would
have got out and beat the id rascal 20 Jelly"
When Bone, under trial for prOianc parody,
was quoting passages from skeptical writers In
his defense, one of his judges was overheard say-
/ inc to a colleague that he would be id If he
| would sit there and hear the Christian religion
abused" Is should be remembered in mitiga-
| ton, that swearing and drinking were then not
/ deemed incompatible with the habits and man
| ners of good society. Even the pious E.dOn was
| frequently guilty of an oath.
Within the memory Of the senior members OF
the profession, the Court of T. KcheGuer was stated
| TO be composed of one judge, who was q gentle
| man and no lawyer; n second, who was a lawyer
/ ana no gentle man q tnlfQ, VINO was neltneti ana
/ n fourth who was both. This description, in
| which strict economy may have been sacrificed
/ to antlthesis, recalls Charles Lambs jOCular re-
| mark on his four friends Of the Lake schoO-that
| one would tell lie, but would not pick pocket;
| another would pick pocket, but would not tell
/ a lie 8 q third would do neither; and q fourth
would do bOth--seectiug, Of course, the prOfessed
| moralist for the climax.
| The gentleman Judge, not a lawyer, was Baron
/ Graham; and some curious stories are told Of his
uniform pOliteness on the bench. In his day, IL
was usual to suspend Judgment in the criminal
| cases till the conclusion Of the assizes, and de.
/ liver all the sentences in lump. A name had
been accidentally omitted in the list of capital
! punishments, of which he was reminded on COM
! ing to the end Of the list. "Oh, yes, l see John
| Thompson John Thompson, beg your pardon;
! you also are to be hanged by the neck till you
are dead, and may the Lord have mercy on your
| miserable soul too"
This is not so bad as the hanging Judge, once
| frequently dsCoverable on the bench. One of
/ the most repusiye specimens has been handed
/ down to lasting ignominy by couplel of
! Pope's:-
ISLANDER or poison dread from Dela's rage
Hard WORDS or hanging If your Judge be Page
| Johnson records that at the trial of Savage for
| murder, Page concluded an inhammatory address
to the jury in this fashion -
"Gentlemen of the jury, you are to consider
| that Mr., Savage is very great man, much
! greater man than you or l, gentlemen Of the
| iuiy that he wears very fine clothes, much finer
clothes than you or |, gentlemen ofthe jury that
/ he has abundance of money in his pocket, much
| more money than you or /, gentlemen Of the
jury but, gentlemen OF the jury, is it not very
! hard case, gentlemen of the jury, that Mr.. Savage
should therefore kill you or me, gentlemen Of the
| jury :"
The testy judge has been most effectively
| laughed down by the inimitable sketch of Mr.
| Justice Starleigh, in the PiCkwick trial; and we
| should not be sorry II the same powerful satrist
| would deal in the same summary fashion with
the joking judge; although, if learning, capa-
! city, and accomplishment could ever redeem the
| character from censure, it would have been so
/ redeemed by the late Sir James Anderson. But
we may safely trust to public opinion and the
press to apply the corrective to all these eNcep-
| tional blemishes. High functionsries ofall kinds
now act too much in the open glare of day TO take
| Liberties OF indulge humors; while the dispen-
! sers of promotion are too sure of being called to
| a speedy account TO risk a bad or even a fairly
! questionable appointment. While feeling aud
! fully admitting, therefore, that there is room for
! improvement in the judicial body as they stand,
we really see no Immediate reason for grave COM
plant, apprehension, or regret concerning them.-
FrGSer'S Magd-t,ie.
] III