The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-09-16

tions, her children. their Illnesses. The lady
became confidential. and appeared nattcrcd by
the kind interest taken in her. Tho Judge in
tcrfcrcd with II remark about the irrelcvancy Of
all this. but Scarlet begged TO be allowed to
proceed. and presently astonished the witness
by saying. My Lord that is my case" TIchad
shown on the lady's testimony that she had
brought up numerous and healthy progeny
in the vicinity Of the alleged nuisance.
Scarlctts unrivallcd dexterity In the manage
mcnt of n jury was not unalloyed with sheer
trlckcry. His quiet. friendly but cxquisitely
crafty method of entering into conversation
with n jury Is deincatcd by the author OF " Ten
Thousand a Year" whose sleek, smiling Mr..
Subtle can be no other than James Scarlet.
The Duke Of Wellington said of him. when
Scarlet is addressing u jury there are thirteen
jurymen." A more striking tribute to his
adroitncss was paid by Yorkshire jurymnn.
who. being asked after his attendance at tho
Assizcs what he thought of the leading counsel.
said. well. that Lawyer Brougham be n Won
derful maa; he can talk. he can; but l don't
think nowt Of Lawyer Scarlet" " How IL
that?" said his interlocutor. you have been
giving him all the vcrdicts." oh there's no.
thing in that" said the Juror "he be so lucky,
you SEQ. he be always on the right side" The
truth is that the success Of popular leader in
getting verdicts may be partially accounted for
by his being generally retained for the plaintiff.
who is first in tho field and who-such is the
result Of professional experience in England
is more frequently in the right.
Lord Brougham rocounts notable instance
OF Scareu's acting in the place Of the jury at tho
critical moment Of their beginning to consider
their verdict. He had defended II gentleman
against charge Of an odious description and
had performed his part with zeal and skill. As
soon as the Judge had summed up. the counsel
tied UP his papers deliberately. and with n face
smiling and serene. rose and said loud enough
% be heard hy the jury that he was engaged to
dinner and in SO clear n case there was no need
Of waiting what must be the certain event. He
then retired. bowling to the Court, but one of the
Juniors having occasion to follow him found
that all this confidence and serenity had mover
crossed the threshold for behind the door stood
hid Scarlet trembling with anxiety. his face the
color Of his brief. II may be questioned
whether an artfce of this kind falls within the
limits 81 legitimate advocacy. or whether il be
particularly crcditable to the actor.
Whatever may be thought OF such devices, 1t
Is raluable that wit humor. and sarcasm are
not supcrlluous in a jury speech. provided. OF
course. the tendency Of counscls sallies is to
advance his cause. This was invariably tho
case with Erskine. When. for instance. he was
defending man named Bolt. assailcd for dis
honesty by the opposing counsel. who pointed
out that the defendants very name was signin-
cant Of cvas ion" Gentlemen" replied Erskine,
81 my learned friend has taken unwarrantable
liberties with my clients good name. He is so
strikingy Of an opposite character that he goes
by the name of Bolt-upright." This we need
not say. was pure invention. Again, in an ac-
ton against stage coach proprietor by gem
" hp Era
kline began: Gentlemen OF the jury. the de-
fendant is proprietor Of the Swan with
Two Necks in Lad lane. name en-
hicmatc Of the number Of necks people
ought to possess who travel hy his Vch-
cics.' When. on the other hand. he was
defending the propretor- ot stage coach
in an action hrough, by the keeper of a mcnag-
eric for the loss of a trunk. why" asked
Er-kine. did tho plaintiff not take a lesson
from his own saga'ious elephant. and travel
with his trunk under his eyc?' Perhaps the
neatest thing. however. asctibcd To- Erskine
was not addressed to the Jury. but privately to
the opposing counsel. Garrow was cross
examng an old lady and trying in vain to
make hnr prove that tender Of money had
been offered. Erskine scrbbcd those lines on
Il slip Of paper, and threw them oyer to his
learned brother:
GarrHw, furhcar. that tough ola JADE
VII never prove a tender made.
As above limited. Scarlet was constantly on.
posed To Bronglpim on the Northern Circuit
and usually the victor in thc-e contests. But il
was observed that the very ingenuity which
proved successful in ordinary casos was
against him when higher objects were at stake.
Thus he was beaten 10y Broueham in the
great libel case ofthc Bishop Of Durham against
the editor Of the Durham Chronicle We need
not state which side was taken by Lord Abngcr.
who WAS one Of the latest. if not the last. of At
torney Generals who filed an eX ofilcio infor-
nation FOR libel against tho press. We may
here mention that BrOugham lord Brougham
and NauSl figures in Ton Thousand Year"
as Mr.. Quicksilver. altcrward Lord Blossom
and Box Indeed. almost all the lawyers in
Marrens novel are portraits. II was ESPECIALLY
easy To recognize Sir CT, sswcll Crcsswcll in
" Mr.. Crystal who. " with some fault, of man
nor and bearing. was high minded. clear
sighted. strong headed man. The faults Of
manner were not less prominent after Sir Crcss-
we'll Cresswell became "a Judge. when the now
Divorce Court was instituted. and the members
of Doctors Commons suddenly found them
selves called upon TO manage the yiya yoce tax
INK OF testimony 10 which they wcrN perfect
strangers. On Sir Robert Phillimoro's first at
tcmpi 10 examine wtnoss. he received from
IN" bench the"ncouraging remark, Sir Robert.
in ono quarter Of an hour You have violated
every canon OF the law Of cVid, nee"
That Soarlett's legal attanments were not re-
cnrded by his brethren as particularly pro-
found. is proved 10y the current pun that scar
let is not dnop red" His influence, however.
was not confined to luries. but was almost as
great with certain Judges. Over Lord Ten
tcrden especially it was so marked as
10 provoke invdious comment. Scarlet once
rather rudey reminded the elder Adophus
Whose practice lay mostly in tho criminal
courts that he was not in the Old Bailey. /
know and feel that | am not was the rotort
" Tor there tho Judge controls the counsel. and
here Le counsel controls the Judge" II used
t. bd"said that Bethel Nord Wosthuryl held
Nico-Chan -cllor Shaiweli in complete ,u'uor-
ton, and Wilde lord Truro exercised consid-
cranle authority over chief Justice Tndal in
III" Common Pleas. Tindul himself while prac-
Using at the lar. called attention. on a certain
festive occasion, to Srarleus power with Lord
Tentorden. He presented the name, he said,
~ Mr.. .arlrtt for congratulatiou as the inycn-
Or of a curious machine that has the cflrct #
making thc Judges head move in direction