Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1872-03-22
gelert9n Misrellang.


All the John Smiths Are Not Dead Yet.
6 The following comedy of errors was enacted
in q Court of Quarter Sessions in the West, a
few weeks since
The Clerk of the Court called over the names
Of twelve jurors. Two answered to that rare
and romantic name-John Smith.
The Clerk, well knowing that there was one
certain John Smith, if, indeed, any John Smith
can be certain, returned By the Sheriff as petit
juror, took it for granted that John Smith had
answered tVice to his name and that BY some
mistake he 1.-THE Clerk) had writtea a duplicate
of the name Of John Smith,
Proceeding upon his absurd hypothesis,
namely, that there could be only one John
Smith on a venire, or in a box, he, after a
while, succeeded admirably in bewildering
himself and everybody else. n.r
Clerk If the Court please, there is one Juror
wanting.
Court-We have counted the jury, and there
are twelve men in the box.
Clerk--Some man must have got into the
box by mistake who is not juror.
Court-Call their names.
Clerk-Gendemen of the jury, please answer
to your names.
Here he called them over again; and the two
indomitable John Smiths answered to their
names like men.
Clerk-There must be something wrong here.
Court-How many John Smiths are in the
box7
Zone ~ answered the tco John Smiths ST.
multaneously, for they were strangers to each
other, and from the noise of the courtroom
and the crowd, it escaped observation that
there were t,oo John Smiths, and the John
Smiths did not know it themselves.
Court-Send for the Sheriff. [Enter Sheriff. ]
Court continues-Bring your list of jurors till
we compare it with the Clerks list.
Sheriff. [Perusing his list If the Court
please, there is but one John Smith here.
About this time a Constable bawled out,
clear the way for grand jury, and in the hustle
and noise of their approach, one of the John
Smiths slipped out of the petit jury box, quiet
" and unobserved and seated himself to the
back row of the grand jurors.
Clerk-There are, as said before, only eleven
jurors in the box, and two of them, think,
must be John Smiths.
Court-There are twelve, sir! l counted
them, and if there are more John Smiths than
one then there are thirteen jurors in the box,
as matter of course.
Clerk-Their voices are most wonderfully
alike.
TA - II &1,o~o 49,
than one John Smith in the box, as there is
but one on the Sheriff's list of jurors call
them again.
Here the Clerk called them over again, and
although there were but eleven jurors in the
box. one of whom was the veritable John
transpired, that he answered to the name twice,
and, as he felt the matter was becoming per-
sonal, he answered with tremendous vocifera-
tion and highly excited. If he thought that q
loud answer would clear up the mystery he
was very much mistaken.
Here outspoke an attorney, who thought
himself very wise and said as the name of John
Smith was q very common name, he had nc
doubt there were two men of the same name in
the box.
Court-Sheriff who summoned these jurors
Sherif-My deputy, John Smith.
Attorney Generals there no end to human
caIsmities? e cd
Here an unpledged attorney, who had reat
Shakespeare more than Blackstone or the Bible
exclaimed: ta
sI could not this believe without the sensi
BILE and true avouch of my own eyes, and ma.
add, ears. 1880
About this time the Attorney Generals eye
who was growing very impatient, happened t.
gild the forehead Of . young member Of th
bar who had responded from his youth up
ward to the multitudinons name Of John Smith
when the former broke out upon him with