The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1885-12-23
lm4sss or rss oLDss pSs.
An oIa Han nIsssups. on the peeii6e q,
o'''''y- How suit Were Won


Tho iuisa and jury Rers quietly der.
INK l1 one Of tho New York coufs. rooms
the other day. while counsel was trying
to prove by long lists Of figures and ii.
compruheniIlle accounts that bis
client was one Of the salt Of the
cath. The attendance was small On
one Of tho back seats was & white haired
old man With q smooEh.shayen face,
who seemed 10 watch the proceedings
with mote interest than any OF the
other Apsetlon He leaned forward
IN bis seat With his hands folded oser
the head Of an old.fashioned walking
stick, and shook his head moarnfnlly
from time 10 time asit 10 express q
sort OF lndulgent pity for the counsel,
the court and the jury AT last hii
feelinga seemed % demand relief 10
speech aud be bernn to unbosom him.
SELF 70 bis nolghbor.
swell, we'll Woll, said he, dropping
the pitch . lhotolco as ho pronounced
each sunc IFa exclamation, rs that
tho Anl 1f lawyers you hnyo noWnday Il
Why, i0lgsron.d rather 20 10 meeting
than conc to hear 4 man talk like that.
An auclionaef makes q better speech
than han, notding toward the lawyer
who was struggling with the figures,
when he wants to make you believe
that spawned horse Is sound as a nut.
What 9 tue egoodo your colleges. and
your law schools II you're going to turn
out such whea1ing little monkeys as
that fellow Why, sir, Faint been in.
sidea court Of law these forty years,
but when Was a young fellow ! used
10 follow all the cases and | used 10 he
able 70 mako abetter speech than any
OF the lawyers hear now.
= Ah! j tell you in my day II was dit.
terenk A lawyer that was going to
argne q case would get up and look all
around the court room, and then he d
look 1t the jury, and then he'd look at
the door, as II he wasn't quito certain
how he'd best begin. at last he d get
his inspiration as they used to say, and
he'd run his fingers through his hair Ia
help along.hi ideas like. Then, Gen.
tlemen Of The Jnry, says he, very i'm.
pressiye and In 0 low yoieel BhE he'd
soon get we'll under way, and give you
a regular rattler. There'd be- a doal Of
pathos and sometimes his voice would
sort OF fail him, and then he'd take out
his handkerchief and blow his nose very
loud 10 get control OF his feelings. Then
he'd get very mad, aud you'd have sup.
posed that he was going TO walk right
IN and fight the jury and Judge to boot
Thered DO gestures and SMILES and
Latin quotations a yard or mora loug.
Latin quotations always had q great
convincing power, and a man
was s1te TO win his case II
he had enough Of them. Well,
with alltlils eloauenco he'd finally get
the Judge and tho jury so mixed that
they wouldn't know which side OF the
question be was speaking for. and tho
more he mixed them up the better law
yer we used 70 think him.
But 5pleSS you, listen TO that fellow.
He talks away as quietly as Il he d just
dtoppedinto say good morning He
hasnl I made a single gesture yet, nor
shouted single quotation. He don't
sesm to get Workedsup with his subject
as themen 81 my day used todo They
tell mt Che Judges won't let tho lawyers
gel too hoHery nowadays, and soy they
haven time 70 listen to long s8ihdsd
guotatiop6 More's the pity. They rs
dlscoutat1nge eioluence, and they'll soon
have thellawyers presenting their cases
from their Offices over the telephone.
So saying the old man took up his hat,
busted Il with his handkerchief, and
went ont, still bemoauing the decline Of
or4tory and the degeneration Of the
legal profession.