The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1884-02-01
Stories OF the Bench and Bar.

Ministers enjoy telling anecdotes oIthe
the cloth; doctors-and Oliver Wendell
Holmes isa conspicuous example-oyer-
flow With. stories at the expense Of their
%brethern; and lawyers and judges, when
they get together, make the rattess ring
with inextinguishable lau. ,hter. Groake
james, whose name is a singular illustra-
ton of the old proverb that names 90 By
contraries, when he retired from the
law after half u century's practice, ded-
icated to his companions q repertory
of stories which he had been. long pre-.
pairing, selections from which he had
often read to themi in graz nd divan Assem-.
bled.
Mr.. James first gives Lord B%rougham's
tleman who rescues your estate from
your enemies, and keeps it 10 himself"
and then he goes on TO recall ar old
story of Lord Avonmore, who had fallen
into the bad habit Of interrupting coun.
sci. Thus Curran was often stopped
short in his argument by his lerdship,
who would say: "Mr. Curran, 4 know
your cleverness, but it's quite in vain for
you to 60 on; ] see the drift of it all,
and You are only giving yourself and
me unnecessary trouble" One day,
Curran being too often stopped in this
way, thus addressed the judge: Per
haps, my lord, / am s%traying, impute it
to the extreme agitation of my mind. I
have just witnessed so dreadful a cir
cumstance tina, my imagination has not
yet recovered from the shock" The
judge was all attention: go on, Mr..
Curran." son my way to court, my
lord, as l passed by one of the markets,
I observed a butcher proceeding to
slaughter a calf. Just as his hand was
raised a lovely little child approached
him u~npelceived, and, terrible to relate
Il see the life blood gushing out still.
the poor child's bosom was under the
butchers hand, when he plunged the
Of the child" cried out the Judge, with
great emotion. Your lordship some
times a~nticipates-it went right into the
neck of the calf"
Justice Wlles once sentenced a boy at
Lancaster to be hanged, with the hope
of reforming him by frightening him..
and he ordered him for execution next
morning. The judge awoke in the mid.
die ofthe night, and was SO affected by
the notion that he might himself die in
the curse of the night, and the boy be
anPea lnOuRn ne OlQ mean tnaC he
should suffer, that he got out of his bed
and went to the lodgings of the nigh sher-
if and left a reprieye for the. 10Y, or
what was to be considered equivalent to,
it, and then, returning to his bed,
spent the rest Of the night very comfort
ably.
When Lord Mansfield once exclaimed
to Mr.. Dunning, as he was laying down
a legal point: ''Oh, il that be law, Mr..
Cumming, ! may burn my law booksr'
"Eetter read them, my lord" was the
ready retort.
In a similar manner an Irish Judge
shook his head as Mr.. Cursan was elab-
Grating one of his points to a jury. 81
see," said Mr.. Curran, 81 see. gentle.
men, the motion of his lordship's head
common observers might imagite that
it implied a difference of opinion.
but toey would de mistaken. It is
merely accidental. Believe me, gentle
men, if you remain here many days,
you will yourselves perceive that when
his lordship shakes his head there's
nothing in itl'"