, 1870-07-01
BANYONIsM.
Narrative Of Imprisonment and Suffer.
ing at the Hands Of the
Chief Justice
The Privileges Of Justice Of the Peace
as Understood by "His I,ords1ip."

do|orenl." But force myself TO the task. tha1
others may take warning from my unhappy fate
Excuse the above hackneyed Latin quotation. II
Ike silas Wegg, occasionally s'trop Into poetry
u mast be attributed to the influence OF Banyon,
lie Is not only classical himself but the cause oi
class3callty iii others.
My trial before Lis Honor {upon charge Of iu-
citing MN to . breach 81 the peace} was set down
for the 18th Inst During the preceding weef
was, Of course, anxious and unhappy. a cotu1uo1
friend volunteered, to approach His Wrofship and
the sage, Ia an interval OF oclal leisure, relaxing
his powerful mind by the perusal of Thucytiides.
An open volume Of shakespeare lay near at hand
The literary accomplishments OF Justice Danyun
are well known. Lie is q distinguished member Of
dramatic club on the West Side, and Is as rersa-
tile Rn actor upon the mimic stage as In his public
q Banyon! He makes d magnificent Hamlers aud
In the part Of DogbesIy he Is unrivalled.
My interced!ng friend plead my previous good
thought Besides, / hal!done nothing to provoke
u breach Of the peace, except to look dxeily upon
HIS Honor, and.!t has been decided that " cut
Justice Ba1lyon replied that the defendant was
not d quadruped, 50 tic. cases were not on "alI
lours-" That he had observed growing dtsrc-
spect to the judiciary, and especially toward him.
self, and an example must be made. That an Of
fence was lelnous In proportion to the dignity OF
the parsonage injured, and that had actually pre-
Peace, which was pitch Of IcprayItJ nc stonld
nut haYe deemed possible unless he had seen Il.
. Ny friend still urged such cxfcn1ating cirCum-
stances IS occurred to him. He referred to my
Wretchcd condition while 1angaishng under Lis
Honors dlspleasure. lie besought him 70 excrcse
clc1nency, and casually remarked:
70 have siaa.'a stsensth, ss bu. II Is syrnnn0ua
TO use 1t a giant
And again:
The quality Of mercy l. not strained.
H,Sa t6e H!sss Sshsa.i1 i |. tsise biesssd:
rT!a Mghtieut In the mighty, and becomes
but the old gentleman Was deaf to every pett-
lion. His Interviewer then changed his tone, and
gently insinuated that perhaps His Worship had not
wSeS mvt s sT sFs H. ae rsas .
damages might be bI0ught aud napias issued. up
III which His uonor,s bUtly would bt taken into
custody That even 90 Indictment qr ialsn sh m
word.1 sud he. .or shaii Commit YOU for cor
from arrest. an Jns11cE Of TuE PEAcEw
my will, and put my affairs IN order: I babe my
family farewell, uncertain whether should ever
again behold them- entered the courtroom at
J.. n. There sat the venerable Banyon charging
a":: s.,enarglpg niiisoners VIA neatnes aud
aGh i nas Peer sad wGEa
Lot universally true Everybody recognizes the
greatness Of Justice Banyon. AZ he himself timely
i.maEked ut the trial Of TIE Blondes, QUE rsyso
it vas with reverenlial awe that Gazcd upon
It's august conntenauce. I WIS now, alas! tretnb-
Ing nSnsash ts f1ow 9ongnt ot ne reSIk az
tieL We know that lie is ngly:
tut we feel TINT be e great" IN the aspect Of
lud terrible lie had strong resemblance to that
beast Of the forest discovered BY Du chailu. and
Which natulolists say most neatiy resembles man
he might not be vlng demonstration Of the Dar-
Wlnlan theory. A shuIder ran through my frame
as thought lint soon should be crushed between
For two hours 1 awaited the pleasure Of the
Court. Danyon had ordered my case to tue foot OF
the docket for the double purpose OF harasslng
hours he tried abou, nfty persons, ~ Flrst IRE,
then inquire" seemed to be his motto: that Is to
tay, hc liked the sentence ond then Inquired II the
VII" said His lVnQr, "$5o.'
Al last was "ealletl to the bar" WAS first
asa g ys but s9 ~ eG eGfn
sa!d the CLERK. ! said that oetoEe pleading
would move to dismiss the charge for lack Of JuEls
s9s Is f naS wsFD1 az cam fo ne
title That never was q doctor, couldn't be one,
end wouldn't OIL auy account sWhats 10
name 2" said lis Honor itnpattentl5. THAT which
jall.' then renewed Dy motion upon the ground
tat BY the City Charter @arrant was only aataor-
Court replied thai it tooE judicial notice that
faal lncitel him to Il breach Of the pence aut TINT
Its belitgerent feelings were more conclusive CYL
=, m mind an any 5e
did, vengeance should be done to me though tho
statutes fall He then announced that the case
Was eomrnsd upt the next morning before JUS
denied bis power to transfer me to another. I
urged that Justice Summertltsd and hltnseu were
ros S:o Sns sna RGs ssqs
tatl0n added. whats Ia namce Your Honor
Is here styled rollce Magistrate, bur you can only
.yomint zuianto de te faou.a zsarreiur. This so
called Police Court Il merely convenient place
'or the trial Of certain class Of offences. It Is
tcrrcd upon 1t as local court anr gIeater POW.
IS than those ol Justice, the charter Itself would
n:e! Ei AttIse = section !, Of e. s,si Snnsss
Uniform organization mud Jurisdiction OF the ctt!ez
4 the STATE Therefore. your Ilonor must tfy tals
,0Se yourself. Q1s0l eTNt dt7n0nStF1ndu1h.
During the constitutional argument, banyon
,azed at me vacantIy, aud then remarked that
rueh learning had H.A4c nc mad. am not
flt words Of truLh and sube1ness-'
The Judge responded that anyhow he dst not
arc TO in1ure Ills digestion and wealen nls intel.
llaI when anybody prated about the CONSTITUTION
e was inclined to srot him: that he understood
Ut Of fellows had Iccn getting up new one tor
y the people, hut he was satisfied that tho People
iouid reject it and cling to him. He then ordered
|
nd eaIl, with grim smlle:
ncneath thc Erls Il ,ncn entsrely great.
The neXt morning moved, before Justice Sum |
lerhclh, that the charge be dismissed, upon the |
rounds already stated. Hs adjourned the case,
I'd took the motion under adtlscment,- Mean
'he, learned that my Oppressor was not at ease. |
Ike all noble natures, when they have acted u1-
lstly, he Was tortured hT remorse. lie also began
aenceg. lie took down All Inc law Books in hls
orary {ridelitst The City Ordinances and iIaines'
rcatlsc to refresh hts recollection about the PRIV
egcs Of Ambassadors, members Of Congress, And
Justices uf the Pence IN regard to their exemption
ON arrest To his ds1nay, lc couldn't find the !
assngc. BE concluded the leaf containing it must
ave been torn out The two other volumes which !
re Banyon's tnsepatabIe companions are Shaks-
care and the Bible, AS he was perusing the sa-
red volume {ais custom always OF IN afternoon),
c lighted upon the following passage;
as isst s q IL ssop yusss
4 cold sweat bedewed tho brow Of the un!tanpv |
lngistrate- lie passed sleepless night, anl tho
olonei Grosveno1 On the subject, who SAID t1ss he
iasn't aware Of any such exemption Ia tic case or
ustces. .... I
lie found that he had gone to war without count !
" the cost lie had Invaded the enemys country
it'll the most splendid tactics, but without nny
nddeniy realizing the situation. he fell faintfng
nto the 1rms Of Colonel Grosvenor aud was pro-
lied with free trausporta1!on to Ills home.
Thither some OF his admirers came that cycn- |
ag and presented their Guide, Philosopher. and
'Hcnd with gold-headcd cane Fortunately
'anJon bad lust provided himself With several
ases OF wine. Far be IT from me to Ingluuatc |
hat this provision WAS the moving cause Of the
II was merely fortunate coin
dsnce. lke that which causes @ largs rivers 70 dow
md an extempore supper was eaten, and plenty |
Il e1tcmpore wine was drank. Bcttfes and foxes
neie o eeoa thnE erece
haMpagnc. I drank nothing myself, though |
occupied & seat by the sioe Of Banyon, In the
gentleman who made the presentation hap
,oid Briton whom he addressed lie
o et 81? an ana esBs
alluded to the domestic: virtues Of Queen Victoria
md Of her distinguished son, the Prince of Wales.
of BanJ0n himself which his fellow citizens had |
behcld with pride and exuitation. and which had !
Induced few Of his personal friends to "r1ise
cain and present It Us slighs token OF thclr i
esteem,
Justice Ban5on replied: :" I am not Abel. gen.
tiemen, to express my sense OF your Badness |
This 's the proadsss and happteat moment e 9f my
liable to attack He cannot escape eenssS11r, Cal
lmny will Dog his steps. Dct!actlon viii point its
cnger Ia4es at fin. But r., I defy my diver aayer.
him as1 form % ne ssaaEs
,bs en- net Ts' s BE-
|oosened. Bauyon WaS put to bed. ResfoTatiyes J
were applied, and, after the guests had drank d. |
~ thc Wine IN the house, they folded their tents
ike the Arabs, and rs silently stole AMY.
On the preceding Tuesday, before Justice Sum- |
mer1eIl, an attorney retained by Justice Banyon |
appeared for the prosecution. Banyon was On the |
xa1-path and didn't choose that any technicaIltcs
should deprive him OF his revenge. But the 1eVai
gentleman, instead Of vindlctiyey seeking iudF |
lnent e1deavored to restrain his wratnful client
[3anyon, Ike Baaam, went forth to curse, and was
TO utter blessing, When the case |
was again called, he requested that 1t he dismissed
which request Was compiled with, and was hon.
urably discharged
He1u -u~ Gu l'V crco3d lesson, have bee1l