The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1877-10-31
THE VOLUNTEER COUNSEL,

caLeu, anu k)OSSeSScu EXTRAORDINARY
genius. He married a beauty who
afterwards deserted him for another
On the ninth of August, 1871, the
court house at GAINESVILLE, Texas,
was crowded to overlooking. An ex-
citing case was to be tried. George
Hopkins, wealthy planter, offered q
gross insult to Mary Allison, the
young and beautiful wife of his over
seer. The husband threatened to
chastise him for the outrage, when
Hopkins went to Allison's house and
shot him in the door. The murder
er was arrested and bailed to answer
the charge. The occurrence pro.
duced great excitement, and Mr..
Hopkins, in order to turn the tide of
popular indignation, had circulated
reports about her character and she
sued him for SANDER. Both suits
were pending-for murder and for
SANDER.
The interest became deeper when
it was known that Ashley and Pike
Of Arkansas, and S. S. Prentiss, of
New Orleans, by enormous fees, had
been retained to defend Hopkins
Hopkins was acquitted. The Texas
lawyers were overwhelmed by their
opponents. 1t was fight of dwarfs
against giants.
The SANDER suit was ready for trial
and the throng of spectators grew in
number, as in excitement. Public
opinion was setting in for Hopkins;
his money had procured witnesses
who served his powerful advocates.
When the SANDER case came up it
was left without an attorney-all had
withdrawn.
Shave you no counsel9" inquired
Judge Mills, kindly, of the plaintiff.
"No, sir, they have all deserted me,
and l am too poor to employ any
MORE" replied the beautiful Mary,
bursting into tears. SIN such case
will not some chivalrous member of
the profession volunteer" said the
Judge, glancing around the bar
The thirty old lawyers were silent.
Il will, your honor" said voice
from the crowd behind the bar. His
clothes looked so shabby that the
Court hesitated to let the case pro
coed under his management. s.Has
your name been entered on the rolls
of the State" demanded the Judge.
SIT is immaterial," answered the
stranger, his thin bloodless lips curl
ing up with q sneer. "Here is my
license from the highest tribunal in
America" and he handed the Judge
broad parchment. The trial went
on. He suffered the witnesses to tell
their own story, and allowed the de-
fence to lead off. Ashley spoke first,
followed by Pike and Prentiss. The
latter brought down the house in
cheers, i'll which the jury joined
II was now the strangers turn. He
rose before the bar, not behind il,
and 80 near the wondering jury that
he could touch the foreman with his
long bony finger. He proceeded to
tear to pieces the arguments Of Ash
ley, which melted away at his touch
like frost before sunbeam. Every
one looked surprised. Anon he came
to the dazzling wit of the poet-law.
yer Pike. Then the curl of his lip
grew sharper, his smooth face began
to kindle up, his eyes to open, dim
and dreary no longer, but vivid as
lightning, red as fire globes and gla-
ring as twin meteors. The whole
soul was in bis eyes; the full heart
streamed out of his face. Then,
without any allusion to Prentiss, he
turned short around on the perjured
witnesses of Hopkins, tore their ties
timony into shreds, and hurled into
their faces such terrible invectives
that all trembled like aspens, and two
of them fed from the courthouse
The excitement of the crowd was be-
coming tremendous. Their united
life-soul seemed to hang upon the
burning tongue of the stranger, and |
ne inspired them with the power of
passion. He seemed to have stolen
natures long hidden secret of attrac-
tlon. But his greatest triumph was
to come.
His eyes began to glance at the
assassin Hopkins, as his lean, taper
myers assumed the same direction.
He enclosed the wretch within a wall
OF strong evidence and impregnable
argument, cutting of all hope of es-
cape, He dug beneath the murder
er's feet bitches of dilemuas and