Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-07-22
HABITS OF THE FRENCH BAR.

HABITS Of IhE fhENC6 BAh-
In the early period of French Law, the &C.
clesiastical courts and the clergy adj
ministered the law. 1t was, hence, but natu-
raj that the courts and lawyers should have
afterward retained the habits, customs and
manners of those early tribunals. Oral
pleadings for a long time resembled a sermon.
A speech began with a text, selected gener-
ally from the Scriptures. This text then
formed the initial sentence Of each division
and subdivision Of the discourse, snd re-
peated as often as, Gle played upon the
harp of a thousand ~strings.n 1t was divided
into numerous divisions and subdivisions,
though not always after the rules of Locke
or Quintillian, and interspersed with numer-
Gus anecdotes, wise eaWs and strange Instances
and with quotations from every soufce-Bib-
lical, NEUROLOGICAL, prose and poetry, Latin,
Greek and Law-French-until the whole re-
sembled q patchwork quilt, and reminded
one OF what Tickler, in Nocies, said of some
one, "He had been at q great feast of Lam
guages and stolen the scraps.D The scrap
book of quotations and citations from all au.
thors, ancient and modern, p~rofsne and re-
ligious, was the iawyars' yade mecunL But it
is doubtful if they also adopted the sing-song
monotones of the clergy, ss we find an early
Recommendation to thsm, after the advice Of
Hamlet to the pIaysrs, that they should not
gesticulate wildly with their head, hands or
feet, nor display : great Pomp in small cases,
but thai their voices and manner should be
in harmony With the subject. They were
also early e~nioined 10 leave of all digres-
sion and go directly 10 the subject, and es-
pecially to leave of when done.
THE cUsToA OF ATHENS
should have been adopted. There the
Judges, in order to regulate the speeches Of
advocates, limited each party 10 the time 1t
would take q certain quantity Of water to
run through q clepsydra, or kind of hour
gtsss. And when the water was out the law
YER had TO quit. This Is doubtless the origin
of the modern slang, DRY up" 1t is also
related that . Romsn advocate, whose name
We cannot recall, whose habit was to speak
too loud, corrected this by having a servant
stxnd BY and play Upon q musical instru-
mont, by the tones of which the speaker reg
ulated his voice. Mark Twain once recon-
mended . candidate for literary fame ipquir-
ing for the best brain food, that be should
eat q couple of whales. Upon the same
principle We would recommend to some
members Of the bar we wot of the Thomss
orchestra or q national salute as incubator.
fAsquER A rBuLY GREAT LAWYER
and classic scholar, frstdiscsrded the text and
~auotation, and framed his Style after the
sryle of the best ancient writers and speak
en-. The Innovation once begun soon spread
until Tor style and manner the speeches OF
the French advocate became models Of TO.
reusic eioquence. Whether the provincial
advocate rode the circuit we are not in
formed. We find, however. advocates OF one
parliament appearing before other parlia-
nenss. And we can well imagine that they
mounted their horses, with nat and gown 10
szddlebsgs, and logged the circuit As did
their brothers across the channel. And ".
dare say their horses, like Mr.. Scoits Fred
Eldon, often Hdemurred when they should
hsve gone to the country" That they had
the pernicious custom we have OF signins
petitions without care is certain. Gstray, an
able but jocular advocate, caused nearly tbs
entire bar OF Paris 10 sign a petition TO the
Minister of Police regarding, SIS he said q
monopoly complained Of by the tow OF Il
|Nous. The petition was presented and
turned out to be . pasquinade OF twenty
Ffoor pages entitled, Quetions Of State for "
sEa Rulets af La FsseAe Against 1hose Of Il
vaas. full of the most incredible aosurdi'
= narrated in g style OF PomPous bur
Cesar, Theseus, Achilles,
'sire we're quoted, and the
sas complete. This
Z. worse han the petition Of
a American bar for the Town Council te