The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-05-05
The Boston Portals.

There was little ripple of unwonted
life during hearing before the Supreme
Court of Massachusetts, recently. Four
of our seven Supreme Justices were on
the bench; q few lawyers we're within
Abe bar; possibly half dozen other peo-
pie were in the Court, and some dull
question of law was dragging its slow
length through the sleepy hours, when
on q sudden the door swung back lightly
on it's hinges, and young lady tripped
into the court room. Behind her came
another; then third and fourth, some-
thing after the fashion that sisters, cous-
ms, and aunts, come tripping on to the
stage in the wake of the ruler of the
Queens Navee. They we're pretty young
ladies, and they filed in, each with bag
in her hand, took seats on q settee, drew
forth from the bag each her notebook,
and composedly began taking notes. The
Court smiled; Chief Justice Gray-the
conservative, hard headed and flinty
hearted old bachelor whose decisions on
some notify points are calling forth stares
of establishment from the courts of sister
States-bl oadened his smile into a
broad grin, while only our newly APP
pointed Judge Field remembered his re-
Gently acquired dignity sufficiently to
keep his face straight. But the ladies
wern't at all troubled, but went serenely
on with their notes and observations.
My friend mentioned that he had seen
one of the ladies-the one who acted as
"first cousin" and led the bevy-very
frequently in the different court rooms,
and he had heard that she was studying
law. From various words that l have
caught here and there during the past
few years, think there must be several
ladies in Boston who are more or less in
terested in the subject, and am inclined
to think that were any one to make start
and agitate the question of the admissi-
bility of women to the bar here, there
would be several applications for admis-
sion within very short time were the
bars once let dOwn-no pun intended.
The question has never yet been raised
in Massachusetts,, understand. But al
though the general opinion with the
older lawyers seems to be that such
question if raised, would be very quickly
and finally reduced to nothingness, the
younger generation of the legal profess
sion seem to hold rather different view.
One young lady friend of mine who is
married to very bright, rising young
lawyer, has been reading in her hus-
bands office more or less of the time
during her two or three years of married
life. He consults her always on oil his
cases, and frequently takes her into
court with him to use her woman's wit
in raising points on the evidence. This
has several times given him the cue by
which to trip up mapping witness. The
husband says his wife is born lawyer,
and declares that she shall he one before
she is ten years older.
The lady of whom think wrote you q
few months ago, who carried her own
patent case through the courts in New
York and Boston SO successfully, and
whom l CHANGED to meet to-day, told me
that she had fully decided to devote her.
self to the law, and will enter the Boston
Law School at the beginning of the next
term. Unless some her lady takes the
same notion, she will be the only repre-
sentive of her sex there, for the lady who
is now studying in the school graduates
this spring She has been in the school
for three years, with not another lady to
keep her company, but the situation has
not seemed to alarm or annoy her in the
least. Neither have the other students
shown any apparent symptoms OF an
noyance or alarm, nor the professors or
instructors. All parties concerned seem
perfectly tranquil and happy Column
bus Dispatch.
A QUEER TowN.-The town of Lex
ington, in Oglethorpe county, Georgia,
is O remarkable one. 1t has a popula-
ton of about 1900, and has been the
birthplace of some of Georgias most
distinguished men. The Hon. Lyman
Trumbull, of Illinois, became &c.
quainted there with his law preceptor
and read law there. But the most re-
markable thing about the town and the
respect in which it differs from all
other towns is that it has never held a
municipal election and has never had a
l,e,l,. Of cor,acil 1,anIa hars If