New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-08-20
Loss of Confidence.
From the Galaxy

| gIIished official that has since gone into
current use with that which expressed a
determination :" to move at once on your
works. and to fight it out on thar lne,''
to the effect that he had "lost confidence
i'll maritime human nature" recalls a story
that old Ben Hadley, the celebrated lawyer,
was wont to tell with great glee:
When l was first entering upon the
practice of my profession, he would saw
j was called to the Jail one day to con-
suit with client, / had ended the consul
tation, which meant the payment OF five
dollars in the way of a retainer-quite a
sum in that early day-and was about leav-
ing the place, when lean, angular speci-
men of humanity approached and asked if
| were squire-at-law." | replied in the
affirmative.
Well, Squire, I'd like to have you take
my case.
In my examination that preceded nv adj
mission to the bar, old Vellum put me at a
very complicated case, and asked if
client were TO come with such suit what
would do frst9
After little hesitation, in which tried
to untangle his legal mess, / said thought
| would first secure my fee. The laugh that
followed ended my examination and gained
me my admission. kept the fact in view,
and when this sinner claimed my legal aid
l asked him if he had any money He said,
very sOrrowfully, that he hadn't "a red"
/ Immediately declined the engagement.
but he chung to me.
Now, Squire he pleaded, "you hadn't
oughter be so hard on a poor TELLER in a
scrape. You may be in just such yourself
Some day. don't mean for house burnin',
but under the harrow some other wav.
Now you just get me outer this, and I'll
raise You a bully fee
my good friend" l said, II have tried
that on. Your promises are not new. There
isn't fellow ever gets into Jail that he
don't promise, and that's all. He never full
fills"
Why, Squire, you've got a very ornary
'pinion Nv human natur'
In a jail-yes.'
Now, see here, just help Teller
you're in on charge Of houseburning.
you say"
Fact, Squire"
And pretty stiff case against you
Fact, Squire" f.t.-
l thought moment Near my house. in
the quiet village of South Turtle, was
frame Westinghouse in which a cengregar
ton of negroes would assemble day and
night, and shout, sing and pray until was
driven wild. by the noise. ] said to my
man:
You could burn house if YOU set about
it, Ell r.
eli, uOI DtiIkeG ttIteE Il, buJ LQey
do say that did"
well, now, I'll defend you and get you
off, if after, You will stick chunk. under an
Internal frame nuisance in South Turtle,
near my house,
IN do it, Squire, an there's my hand
ont" =.
l was testing, of course, and had quite
forgotten the affair, when, some days after
| happened in the courtroom during a trial
H.. L I
the Indictment read to him, pleaded not
guilty, and when asked for his attorney
gave my name. l was quite startled, but
rather than have our absurd talk repeated
in open court, l volunteered his defense. He
had nGne that | could discover, and under
the plea OF absent witnesses / got the case
continued. After court adjourned we put
in some very respectable straw bail and my
client disappeared.
Some time after, when the entire affair
had passed from my memory, the quiet,
piousa little town of South Turtle was
startled at the dead hour Of night by ter
ribIe confagration. The frame meeting
house was in flames. The excitement was
intense. Women screamed and tainted,
children cried, while men, in nothing but
their shirts, carried furniture from the ad-
joining houses in the most frantic manner
The old fire tub. called the Cataract of
OduScSs bluG ucSn jhiSbtSCu ocCOHu-
hand in the city, was run to the tre-found
to be out of order, hurried to the black
smiths, repaired and returned to play upon
the smouldering ruins of the country church.
All the adjoining property was deluged
with water for forty eight hours after.
Of course, speculation was rife as to the
cause of this mysterious burning. listened
to the various suppositions, feeling in my
guilty soul that | alone knew the truth.
Heard with intense satisfaction the arson
attributed at last to the Pope at Rome,
whose Jesuitical incendiaries we well know
are all over the country, seeking to destroy
our liberties and religion.
Some weeks after this stirring event re-
ceived, through the postoffice, dirty letter,
directed in writing that looked as if done
with the shutters, and on opening it read:
" Esq. Hadley:
DEAR SIR-Yoa see done it, now when
you find poor fellow in trouble agin don't
go and disbelieve him consider better ov
human natur. RICH ARD PEEL"