Litchfield enquirer., 1865-10-19
.- rHr,yoIunrEER COUNSEL.
AgHa1lr.rSe STORY.

ATH0ASs 'ANS 5AonA' |. tiN John, Taylor vas licensed, when youth of sa. txsnty tyohssto practice .at the bar. He was poor but we'll educated, and possessed extra ..erdinary genius He marisd. aibeauty, who 2 kftsr&ardss deserted him for another.A
 On the 9th of April, ls4O, the Court House @@l iclark sfiiis Texas. WI crowded to oyer heHing. }4 An exciting case wssj about to be tried. Gen. Hopkins, wealthy planter; has offered gross insult to Mary Ellison, the as young and beautiful wife of the overseer. The husband threatened to, chastise him for the, - outrage. when Hopkins went to Ellison's house gs 2 and shot him in his own door. The murderer Was arrested and bailea to answsr tho charge, This occurrence produced great excitement, and Hopkins, in order to turn tho tide of pop ular indignation had circulated reports against !. < hsr character, and she had sued him for slan- der Both suits were pendingfor murder aud slander.
 The interest became deeper when it was knewn that Ashley and Pike of Arkansas, and g Prentiss of New Orleans, by enormous fees ' had been retained to defend Hopkins.
 IA Hopkins was acquitted The Texas lawyers ssvsSs overwhelmed by their opponents. It was fight of dwarf against giants. fa @
 The slander suit was for the 9th, and the throug of spectators grew in number as we'll -~essitement public opinion was setting in for Hopkins; his money had procured witness ss who served his powerful advocates. When the islander case was called, Mary Ellison was left without an attsrney-all had withdrawn. Have you no counsea?' inquired Judge Mills g" looking kindly at the plaintiff. ' 3a7b
 'No sir, they have all deserted me, and am too poor to employ any more, replied the beautiful Mary bursting into tears.
 lais q. In such 2 case. will not some chivalrous tl member of the bar volunteer ? said the Judge s glancing around the bar. '.'' '. p.''s"9.+1 .l-
 The thirty lawyers were silent. tfce
 If II will yourhonor, said a voice from the 2 thickest part of the crowd behind the bar.
 At the sound of that voice many started-it was 90 unearthly, sweet and mournful. @t
 The first tsensation was changed into laugh ter, when tall, gaunt. spectral figure elbow } Y a his way through the crowd, and placed him. self within the bar. His clothes 1apked so shabby that the Court hesitated to let the case proceed under his management.
 's.g tHas your name been entered on the rolls of the State ? demanded the Judge eaat Tt is immaterial, answered the stranger, fThis thin, bloodless lips curling up with 6end- ish sheer. Here is my license from the high 9H est tribunal in America! 2 and he handed the judge . broad parchment. The trial went on. He suffered the witnesses to tell their own 5 story, and he allowed the defence to lead off |. Ashley spohe first, followed by Mike and Pren- tiss. The latter brought the house down with cheers, in which the jury joined ~; 's~4 It was new the strangers turn; he rises before the bar, not behind it-and so near the wondering jury, that he might touch the fore nsn with his long. bony finger. He proceeded to tear to pieces the arguments of Ashley which melted away at his touch like frost be- , fore q sunbeam 1; every one looked surprised Anon he came to the dazzling wit of the poet lawyer Pike. Then the curl of his lips grew sharper, his smooth face began to kindle up and his eyes sto open, dim and dreary no long ~sr but vivid as lightning. red as fire globes, io and glaring as twin rneteors.g The whole soul sas in the eye, the full heart streamsd out Q, his face. Then, without bestowing an allu A- sion to Prentiss, he turned short round on the perjured witnesses of Hopkins, tore their tes. timony into shreds, and hurled into their faces such terrible invsctives that all trembled like sspsns, and two of them fled from the court house. The excitement of the crowd was be- coming tremendous. Their united life and soul seemed to hang on the burning tongue of the stranger; he inspired them with the power q of his malignant passions he seemed to have stolen naturs's long hidden secret of attraction. eButhis greatest triumph was to come. V
 eHis ayes began to glance at the assassin q Hopkins. ss his lean, taper fingers assumedtht same direction. He hemmed the wretch with P stwall of strong evidence and impregnable ar. --gumsnt cutting of all hope of escape He dug z rbsnsath the murdersr's feet, ditehesof dilsma and held the slanderer up to the ssorn and contempt of the populace. Having thus girt z him about with circle of fire, hs stripped himself for the massacre: ,{
 ohI then 1t was vision both glorious and dreadful to behold the orator His actions be! came q impetuous as the motion of the oaksih es hurricane. His voice became trumpet, {. filled with wild whirlpools, fdeafening the ear f. with crashes of power. and yet intermingled all the while with sweet under songo of the < ssatsst cadence. His forehead Sglox&ed like . heated furnace, his countenance was haggard, like that of : maniac, and ever and anon hs flung hislo long. bony arms on high, as if grasp
 1g after thunderbolts.
 HA draM nicfnre of nnrsier in sInch anna1