The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-08-27
NOTES OF THE WEEK.

NOTES OF THE WEEK.
FAMILY JARs-Having occasion to visit the Court
House last Tuesday morning, our attention was at
tracted by an unusual crowd of spectators gathered
in and about the doors of the Police Court room.
On inquiry, we were informed that lit was a case OF
malicious injury committed by an irate femme cOUert
on the property of her liege lord, wherein she had
smashed up sundry articles of crockery and other
domestic utensils, and sloshed around generally in a
very promiscuous manner. Whereupon the &c head of
the family'' caused madame to be arrested and
ANONYMOUSLY locked up. On the trial two very
able counsel appeared, one on each side, and IN
Justice to the counsel for the defendant. we should
saw that he was called upon to defend after the case
was in Court, and consequently had but little time
for preparation. AS the trial proceeded the hus-
bands case was proved to be much the strongest, in
fact his experience was a hard one, he evidently
having married q virago. Counsel for defence had
no chance to clear his client, and so resolved to get
her off as easily as possible. Now commenced the
sparring of counsel interspersed with a deal OF dry
humor, which was hugely enjoyed by the audience,
and even the grave Magistrate was compelled more
than once to quicker up his mouth in a vain attempt
to repress a smile. 1t appeared that Benedict had
suffered. times innumerable, from the violence of his
spouse, who is a native woman. Sticks and clubs
had played about his head shoe brushes had been
hurled at him, in fact every i~ndignity had been per-
petrated upon him, when he hit upon the expedient
of installing a foreign lady as house-keeper, think
ing perhaps that his spouse would 9enave oe.uer %.
fore company Fatal reasoning,-Jealou was the
natural result. "Hell knows no fury like a woman
scorned, - and hence the rampage and destruction OF
property for which she was on trial.
Some of the incidents of the family jars as
brought out on cross-examination, were sufficiently
ludicrous. 1t was testified to that on one occasion
the virago had SHE'D a shoe brush at benedict for
presenting the house-keeper with a new bonnet
certainly an error of Judgment to say the least that
the violence of the spouse had been a regular dish
for nearly the whole of their married life, three
wears that during the first six months of the union,
the husband had delighted in applying to his wife
the eudearing terms of "my DEAR "my love-
and had endeavored "to take her into society,""
which may of course be considered the normal con-
dition OF matrimony. Sad to say, however, the sub
seouent examination proved that the abnormal soon
succeeded to the normal state and eplthets more
emphatic than endearing were applied to the tar
defendant 1t was o matter of doubt IN the minds
of the learned counsel whether this change in the
mise en- scene was properly attributable to the shoe
brush, the new bonnet, or the advent OF the afore-
said house-keeper. But the most unkindest cut of
all , was the statement OF the plalntIH that the
Iady's character had not been of "lly whiteness
before the hymenial knot was tied, a fact which he
learned too late. Defendants case was certainly q
desperate one ; but her counsel, never dlsnayed,
brought up his reserves OF wit, humor ana patnos,
and made a stunning appeal to the Court. The line
of defense being temporary insanity. The eloquent
counsel for the traduced lady in commenting ON the
evidence said that in his opinion it was a singular
fact that if the lady was all she had been painted
before her marriage, that plaintiff had not DIS
covered it during the balmy hours of courtship:
But as "Toots'' said, in those halcyon hours OF
bliss, SIT was of no consequence" The attention
of the Court was called to the fact that in the early
months of marriage the husband had applied the en-
dearing terms of 6 dear . and % love- In TACT,
your Honor, he exhausted the vocabulary OF matr1-
n,or;al aDdaaruontS of ifs choicest flowers but IN
the lapse of six short months q change had come
over the spirit of his dream, and instead OF my
dear he now addressed his spouse with the com
mon, cold, formal appellation OF 'yMdrter,' ana this
of itself YOUR Honor was sufficiently narrowing to a
sensitive mind. The Court is perhaps aware that
the shurries Of this lady were OF an unusual
character. In her frenzy she proKe everything
within her reach that could be oken,-evlde OF
uncommon cerebral excitement. The plaintiff, an
intelligent man, having a literary reputation was
guilty of a grave error when he consulted a lawyer
instead of a physician. sSpats are not rare even
in the best regulated families, as the Court knows,
but they are far from being undesirable IN the long
run. They are often like the thunder storm IN June,
they clear the atmosphere, and the sun OF oomeslc
felicity bursts forth smiling after the rain and the
beauties of nature bloom afresh." The Court however
could not +. see il, was too old to be caught thus
and cruelty sentenced the fair Aspasia to ind bail In
the sum of 800 for one year, and keep the peace
towards her liege lord, which was promptly given IN
consideration of the fact that she was not to go near
her husband during that period. We congratulate
Benedict. -
THE REPUBLICATION OF NAMEs.-The New York
City Directory for the year ending May LIST, 1871,
contains 5000 more names than its immediate pre-
decessor. Two hundred of these personal appella-
tons have been gained by the Smith family, who
now muster 1900 strong in Gotham. The Greens
foot ND 900, and beat the Joneses who stopped at
$50. Death, matrimony, or emigration seems 10
have seized upon the family Robinson mot the Swiss),
for. contrary to the usual exhibit, they have receded
to go. For some unknown, but possibly very
excellent, reason, the statistics of the Browns and
Whites have been omitted. We hope that the worthy
members of those ancient and honorable families viii
cherish no malice toward the compiler.
CRoToS On NUTs.-A day or two since a party OF
young folks taking a stroll out of town, came upon
a eroton oil tree. Curiosity prompted them to taste
the nuts, and finding them sweet, several Of the
party ate of them, luckily however but sparingly.
As it was, they were pretty sick for q day. Croton
oil is well known as a violent cathartic,-cToton
tigIiwm is the botanical name. The tree is neither
ornamental nor useful, and parents would do well to
eradicate them whenever found growing about the
premises. "
FRANCE VS.. PRUSSIA Frenehman in New York,
owns a store ON Broadway, which he rented to some
Germans for 81, 300 per annum. They asked for &
reduction in the rent, and proposed that if the
Prussians whipped the French they would pay $50
!. less than before, but if the French were victorious
they would pay the 81, 800. The Frenchman how
ever said that if the Prussians won, the rent should