The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1883-03-13
LEGAL COUNTER STROKE.
The Power of Ridicule as a
Weapon of Attack or
Defense.
The PantOmine by Which a Young
Lawyer Won an Almost
Hopeless Case.
Columbus, tOhio, Times

Columbus, tOhio, Times
The attorney, at the dale of the story
was serving Ihe commonwealth OF Ohio
and the county of Vinton in the capacity
of prosecuting attorney at the little town OF
Macarthur. He then bore rather Il youth
fuI and possibly somewhat ver,lart appear
ance Tor man holding So responsible a
POSITION. The most conspicuous person
age known To- the Ninton bar at that time
ras a grave and pompoCs bsrrisier from a
neighboring town. man who had reached
the middla age ot lie. and with n an ex-
tensive practice, profitable alike IN fame
and pecuniary gain; u IN whose elo-
guerc- bent juries To his will, AMI whose
logic pinned them fast; whose invectiye
point Il sarcasm Olsnched the cheek OF the
witness or the prisoner. as might he neces-
sary To gain the cas-, and was
ALIKE DREADED AND HATED
by his fellow practitioners. The attorney
r, icrred to Is living yet, one of the most
prominent jurists in Southern Ohio. His
ability hss rot diminished, nor has his
knowledge that lie Possesses ability. One
day the Young prosecutor had a riot case To-
try. and, To his CONSERVATION. he learned
,hst the gentleman referred to had been
retained by the dfense. The prosecutor
handled his case with great care, but from
the first did not hope To convict the pris-
Oner. lie Mss stirred up somewhat, how
ever, bv the sneer,ng aIlusions made To
him during the examination. by the i'm
ported counsel, and So, wh-n he came to
make hi- opening speech. he indiuged a
little In bombast himself He expected to
be tora up 10y the imported counsel, hut
was utterly Unprepsre,t ior the SIMEON that
swept through Tn, court room when
THE IMPORTED COUNSEL
got fairly under way. He paced up aud
down in front oi the judge; ne sawed The
air IN front of the jurors; h~ shock hi,
finger ia the face oi the youus prosecutor
ANA ,hivere,i in Imaginary horror -, the
,houghi ot 80 youthful youth undert TX ny
To measure swords with him. The voice.
was loud and bitter In Its drnEnciatiou /;
the gesticuiation, were vi1lent ard de-
monstrative; the manner threatening aud
awe-iusliriuy aud with face oi scorn he
SIT down with folded arms snd awaited
the verdict which he did not suppose they
dar,d To refuse To- render The Young
pros. cutor Wa nI1d lie fslt that he
would like To thrash The imported counsel
OIL 1T hi ho"'S lie ,,rs->e Ia his feet, un-
certain Tor mouieui what To do
HAPPY THOUGHT
struck him. and throwing his head back,
ne cast his left hand behind him and
thrust his ri,hi hand i'm the breast of his
vest, while un er over srchirg eyebrows
he scowied out at the Jury The Jury
dropped on it, in an instant. 80 did the
Judge. sd did the spectators There was
the familiar pose OF the imported counsel,
per ect in It's limitations. Then the young
prosecutor began, and without opening his
lips, proceeded To copy the gesticulafions
and movements of the euin-nt attorney
who had preceded him. He snoried and
cavorted snd stamped and rolled his eyes.
He strods mp and down in front of the
Judge and jury, following in his gestiula-
iious precisely those of which they had
just seen the copy. He
SHOOK HIS FINGER NENACINGLY
under the nose of the eminent gentle man,
and, assuming statesman-iike pose, look ed
down upon him disdainfully. Then he
would stop and twirl on his finger a mar
tiugale ring, which he had drawn from his
pocket, and which was intended to repre-
sent the large seal ring On the small finger
Of the left hand Of the opposing counsel.
Ii was too much. The eminent attorney
appealed to the court for protection, while