Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1872-09-21

81 drafted the indictment with great care,
charging, with painful parti cularity, that one
William Dawkes, yeoman, not having the fear,
etc. but moved and seduced by certain per-
sonage whom it was then common to include
in every indictment as an "acc essory before the
fact" on ETC., at etc, one carca IS of mutton OF
the value, etc, of the goods, chattels and per-
sonal property of the Pelatiah Potts, out ofthe
possession, and against the viii of the said Pc
latiah, felouiously, and with force of arms, did
steal, take and carry a way.
"'What's the matter, asked sharply, when
my friend Bob c.. burst out laughing on hear
ing me read over this, my fl rst professional
production.
"Its the best joke of the season" said Bob,
with another gufaw.
"'WhAt is?"
"'Why, that pun-callins a sheep thief a
yeoman.'
my Office was q scene Of confusion at the
end of five minutes. Bobs head had gone
through the glass door of my boo k-case; two
of my three chairs lay with broken legs and
Bob and had a pair of black eyes between US
1t was more than a month before either spoke
to the other.
But I'm wandering from the point.
In due time the prisoner was brought up
for trial, Old POLLOK appearing for the defence.
"Old p was character. The only law
book he had ever read was Swans Treatise
for Justices Of the Peace; but in that, and the
Scriptures, he was powerful He had way
of quoting and applying the latter which, in a
religious community, made it difficult to op-
pose him without incurripg suspicion Of or
thodoxy. His forte lay in carrying the jury,
whom be generally succeeded in convincing
that he and they were on one side, and his adj
yersary on the other His style and grammar
were original.
Il had set my heart on winning that case.
If could only beat Old POLLOK before jury.
my cap would be eathored
81 lad carefully written out my opening;
and when read it over to Nellie Wynne, to
whom was paying attention at the time,
she said it was real nice which, knew, was
feminine for bully r-an encomium | felt not
a little proud of.
When the case came on, 7 spoke my piece
without a blunder. I cited many authorities
to prove that lie in whose possession stolen
property is found soon after the theft, is in law,
presumed to be the thief was prepared to
prove, said, that the property in question had
disappeared at the dead hour of night, when
all honest people were in their beds, and had
been found, at early dawn, in the smoke-house
Of Dawkes, the defendant.
Il put my witness on the stand, and proved
the ownership, value and identity of the pro-
perty, its mysterious disappearance and subse-
quent reappearance in the constructive posses
sion of the prisoner, and rested"
"Old POLLOK sat in solemn silence, his eyes
closed, and bis red bandana over his head. He
asked no questions, and called no Witnesses
was disappointed at the old fellows giving in
so easily. 1t would take away half the glory
Of my triumph.
"But was reckoning without my host.
"Old POLLOK slowly got upon his legs, and
removing his bandana, and taking up the BIZ
bic on which the clerk had sworn the witness
es, began:
81 am grieved, my breethering'-be always
called the jury his 'breethering Il am grisved
and sore amazed to hear such heathenish doc
trines in a Christian courthouse as we've jest
been a stenin' to. What sez the sakred vol
une hold 10 my hand? Why, it sez, At
the mouth Of two witnesses let every matter be
Now, my breethering, let me ask
what two witnesses-what one witness seed
my client hook this sheep? Echo answers
Nary onsv Ny dolooded young brother has
read profane authors to show that fndn' Of
goods on the wrong mans primises is proof of
his stcalin of EN-. It's presumption oflaw,
he says, and great piece of presumption it is,
my breetherin' Now, in this same sakred
volume, We hay narrated case in pint-that
of one Benjamin, which you all hearn about |
A silver cup, wuth hundred times this trum-
gerry sheep, was diskivered, not way of in
Beniamin's smoko-house, wbar Benjamin |
moughtn't ben for week, but chucked into |
the mouth of the very sack be was ridin' onto.
Aud yet, my btsetberlug, the Bible tells us
Benjamin was innocent But, my breethering,
if it was Benjamin's luck instead Of my unfor- !
tunate clients to be this day on trial before !