The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1874-03-18
An Old Lawyers Story.

I am very old man now. So old
that l work no longer as L used at
my profession. The time Of rest
has come. 1t is happy time. |
am not poor. l have all lile's luz
uries. Best ct adj, I have wife
who loves rae still, and whom |
love as well as when [ wooed her
nay, better, if that can be, and my
children arc beautiful and prosper
Gus. What can a man wish more :?
I read my tatorite authors. |
smoke my cigars. I take glass Of
wine of an evening. Sometimes
we 60 to a play. Every Sunday
morning to church. 1t is all holi-
daytime for us. 1t will not last
long. We are both old, but we arc
happy.
There is no romance about a law
ycr's profession. People are dis
posed to snecr at it, and to speak Of
its followers as tricky sort of folks,
more anxious for their own. gain
than that of their neighbors. If
this is so, we do not stand alone;
but | will say for my brotherhood,
that they have hearts as we'll as
other men, and that it is not always
merely for what we can make by it
that we undertake a cause.
Otd things fall into our way very
often. I have had no need to read
romanccs. The real stories that
have fallen beneath my notice are
quite as interesting, and far more
singular, than any tales of the i'm
agnation could possibly | tell
them to my children sometimes OF
winter evenings.
Perhaps it is only to hatter the
old man that they assume an inter
est in them, nevertheless [ will tell
one of my tales to you-one which
1 have always had cause to rcmem-
Der.
A great many years ago, Willie |
was comparatively young man,
and still unmarried, resided in a
certain city in Pennsylvania, and
enjoyed the reputation of being the
cleverest lawyer ever known there
1t is not for me to say the praise
was merited, but / certainly found
myself able to discover loopholes
of escape for those whom [ defend
cd, which surprised even my fellow
lawyers. ! possessed by nature
those qualities which would have
made me al excellent detective
and I was a thorough student ot
the law. There was no mystery
about it, but among the more igno
rant classes l had gained -rcputa
ton for more than human Enowi
edge. Perhaps it was not polite
for them to say tie devil hcIpcC
me, but they did.
However, I began to tell about
Madame Matteau.
She WAS al cid lady who owned
a little house in the suburbs OF tho
city. She herself was Of Ancrl
can birth, but her husband lad been
IA Frcnchman, and so the title Mad
anne had been bestowed upon her
She was now a widow, and hel
daughter Gabrielle, and sor
named Henri, were her only living
relatives. Her income was bu
slender, and she ckcd it out by ia
king few boarlers, generally
steady old people, who had know
her for many years. These respect
ed and liked her; but the city gen
orally had prejudice against her
There had been two sudden death!
in her house. Each time the vic
tim was a stranger who came a
night, and WAS found dead in hi:
bed in the morning. Each time th'
jury was divided-some believing
that strangulation had been th'
cause Of death, some that the maj
had died in a fit.
1t was terrible thing that two
such deaths should have occurred
beneath her roof. Madame's friend:
pitied her. The rest of the little
world hinted that these were stran
gers, and that their trunks, with nc
one knew what amount Of money
and other valuable property, re
NAMED in Madame's possession
mo one said that she was a murder