Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1880-08-19
ALAWYERS STRANGE DREAM.

I was in a state of nervous excitement, called
by physicians watching" and in half dream
and half sensible state, when I had kind Of
vision, in which seemed to have an inter-
view with the blessed Saviour, though it was
all evidently the work of my own imagination.
1 expressed the deep anxiety felt on account
Of the deficiency of my faith in the Holy
Scriptures in general, but especially in Ger.
tain much contested points on the subject Of
Miracles and of the Trinity. AS it seemed
to be lamenting my situation the blessed
figure appeared to be attentive, and when
said that / was disheartened and nearly in
despair, after so hng and anxious considera-
tion and examination of these subjects, with
out having arrived at any satisfactory conclu.
sion. With smile of inexpressible benigni
ty and commiseration, He asked me how old
l was. 1 answered 81. "That is" said He,
1853 months, or 3,O72 weeks, or 1S,432*
days. To test how deep your anxiety may
have been, and how intense your labors,
I will ask how many of those 1853 months
you have employed in carefully examining the
evidence of the truth of Revelation ?" could
not state positively that 1 had employed one
whole month in the uninterrupted examina.
ton. He then asked how many of the 3,O72
weeks I had been so engaged? Again, l
could not say that I had devoted one entire
week to this object exclusively. Again, he
asked how many of the 1882 days of my
life had been earnestly and exclusively dedi.
Gated to this all important subject? Here l
felt my cheeks burning with shame, when l
fouaA myself compelled to answer that I
had frequently read, examined and thought
.apoa this subject parts of many days and
nights, but dared not say l could femem,
Der any particular day when had set my
self down to the labor of scrutinizing the evil
dence as a matter of study and continue it
without interruption one whole day. His
next question was, "What is your occupa.
lion ?" I answered that of Counsellor and
Advocate in the Courts of Law" "There,"
said He, ".you must have been very much en-.
gagged in examining critically the subject Of
evidence? ?" l admitted that l had been.
"Were you required to undergo labor and se-
we're training in the preparation for practicing
your profession p I answered in the afir.
native. Chow many years are you required
to labor thus? and are you examined from
time to time to test the progress made?" l
answered, "three or four years, at least, and
examinations are frequent and thorough to
test the progress made" "How is it finally
ascertained that one in your profession has
made sufficient progress to qualify him for
practicing the law Of our country" l an
swered, after years Of study, the applicant for
license to practice is required to undergo
searching examination by the Judge Of the
highest Court, in solemn form, and if he exhib-
its sufficient knowledge he is admitted to prac.
tice in the Courts" "When cases involving
life or property to large amounts are brought
before your Courts, do such cases require
severe mental labor and is there much time
devoted to preparation for trisl3" Ianswer-
ed, "There is required much labor and time
in such preparation" He then asked, "1n
cases involving life, what kind and quantum
of proof are deemed necessary to establish
the guilt or innocence of the party charged 2?
1 replied, THAT, by our law, the higher the
crime charged, the more clear and conclusive
the proof must be to convict the person
charged" He followed up the last question
with this: Even where life itself is at stake,
is the proof required to be conclusive as to
exclude all hypothesis ofpossible innocence%
1t was answered, "By no means; legal GER
tainty, though held necessarily superior to
moral certainty, is, nevertheless, but the pre-.
ponderance Of probabilities" He then spoke
as follows: ut seems, then, that, althoug b
great care is taken in qualifying one of your
profession to judge correctly the .ueigM Of en-
dence and that in a trial where death is the
penalty, very great labor and deep interest
are bestowed in the examination Of the evil
dence and, indeed, that men Of character do
not think they have done their whole duty
as counsel, unless they have thus anxiously
labored to save life, yet you confess that you
have not, as you first stated, considered and
examined so anxiously and laboriously' the
proofs relating to that life which, unlike the
transitory state called life in this world, is
eternal and Interchangeable. So that; by your
own confession, it appears you have spent
years in preparing yourself, by study the
most laborious, and anxiety the most intense,
to defend from death the lives of your fellow.
men, but have not spent one year out of "a,
one month out of 768, one week out of 3,072,
nay, not even one day out Of 1882, to save
yourself, not from temporal death, but from
death eternal" Overwhelmed with theshame
of such an exposure of myself, which was felt
the more keenly from the fact that there was
not the least severity in the look or language
of the speaker, my agitation was insupportable
and I awoke. The next morning I wrote
down this singular dream. H. w.
Il. 9. week days-working days.
A SCOTCH FAsTER.-A Scottish lady hap
pened to be conversing with Courier-J Jour.
nal reporter the other day when the sub.
:,4 I'm, To,nor', foot oop,o I'm She did