The Benton record. [volume] (Benton, M.T. [Mont.]) 1875-1879, 1876-08-04
Selected Story.
AN OLD LAWYERS STORY.

am a very old man now. So old that
! work 10 longer as [ used at my profes-
sion. The time of rest has come. 1t is a
happy time, / am not poor. / have all
lfc's Injuries. Best Of all, have wife
who loves me still, and whom / love as
we'll as when ] wooed her-nay, better, i
that can be, and my children are beautifu
aud prosperous. What can a man wish
more.
read my favorite authors. I smoke my
cigars. take a glass Of wine Of an even.
ing. Sometimes we 60 to play, Every
Sunday morning to church. 1t is all holi
daytime for US. It will not last long. We
are both old, but we are happy.
There is no romance about lawyers
profession. People are disposed to sneel
at it, and to speak of its followers as tricky
sort of folks, more anxious for their owr
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 well as other men, and that it is net al
ways merely for what we can make by it
that we undertake a cause.
Odd things fall into our way very often.
| have had no need to read romances. The
real stories that have fallen beneath my no,
tice are quite as interesting, and far more
singular, than any tales Of the magma
ton could possibly be. ] tell them to ny
children Sometimes Of winter evenings.
r,eInapS it is only to fatter the old man
that theyassume an interest in them, never
,theless | will tell one of the tales to You
one which have always had cause to re-
member.
A great many years ago, while [ was
comparatively young man, and still un-
married, resided in certain city Of
Pennsylvania, and enjoyed the reputation
of being the cleyerest 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 I defended, which surprised
even my fellow lawyers. ] possessed by
nature those qualities which would have
made me an excellent detective, and was
a thorough student of the law. There was
no mystery about it, but among the more
ignorant classes had gained reputation
for more than human knowledge. Per-
haps it was not polite for them to say that
the Devil helped me, but they did.
However, began to tell you about Mad
anne Aatteau.
She was an old lady who owned a little
house in the suburbs of the city. She her
self was Of American birth. out her hus-
band had been Frenchrnan, and SO the
title Madame had been bestowed upon her.
She was now widow, and her daughter
Gabrielle, and son named Henri, were
her only living relatives. Her income was
but slender, and she eked it out by taking
a few boarders, generally steady old people,
who had known her for many years.
These respected and liked her; but the
city generally had a prejudice against her.
There had been two sudden deaths in her
house. Each time the victim was stran-
ger who came at night, and was found
DEAD IN his bed in the morning. Each
Tune toe jury was divided believing
mat strangnlation had been the cause Of
oeath, some that the man had died in
y was terrible thing that two such
asashs should have occurred beneath her
@ TOOL Aadame's friends pitied her. The
'''' OF the little world hinted that these