The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-01-07
A Jury Incident.

Froude relates the following incident in
the life OF Carlyle who, with all his crusti-
ness, was not without tact when the occasion
required it. Men who have suffered from
the obstinate Juror" will appreciate the
amount of skill required to win one over in
such a case as the following: 81 had been
summoned again under unheard-of PEN
alties to attend jury trial about Patent
India-rubber Cotton-cards. Two people from
Manchester had a controversy about whose
was the invention of the said cards. 1t had
cost them perhaps 10000 this controversy
ON card suit. There were one hundred fifty
witnesses summoned from all parts of Eng
land and Scotland. 1t had been left I'M
finished last term. That was the reason of
the unheard-of penalties for us jurymen,
that they might not be obliged to begin at
the beginning again. The same twelve
men did all assemble. We sat for two end
less days, till dark night each day. About
eight o'clock at night on the second day we
imagined it was DONE and we had only to
speak our verdict But, 10 and behold one
the plaintiff and one the other way, who
would not yield The judge told us we must
withdraw, through passages and stairs up
and down, into little stone cell, with twelve
old chairs in it, one candle, and no meat,
drink or fire. Conceive our humor! Not
particle of dinner, nerves worn out, etc.
The refractory mana thick-set, tiat-headed
Sdck--erected himself in his chair and said
l am one of the tirmest-minded men in
England. | know this room pretty well.
have starved out three juries here already
Reasoning, demonstration, was of no avail at
all. They began to suspect he had been
bribed. He looked really at one time as II
he would keep us till half-past nine in the
morning, and then get us dismissed, the
whole trial to begin again. One really could
not help laughing, though one had notion
to kill the beast. Do not argue with him,
n II L. " 1.fsa
the obstinacy of boar, and little more
sense in that head of his than in Swedish
turnip?' 1t was a head all cheeks, jaw and
no brow, of shape somewhat like great
ball OF putty dropped from height. L set
TO work upon him; we all set TO work, and
in about an hour after our withdrawal the
Hash, | pulling him by the arm, was got
stirred from his chair-one of the gladdest
moments L had seen for month-and in
few instants more we were all rejoicing on
our road home. In my life l have seen MOTH
ing more absurd. / reflected, however, that
really perhaps l had contributed to get
justice done; that had l not been there 1t
was very possible they would have quar-
relied with their tirmest-mnded man in
England and cost somebody another f10,-
600" In foot-note Mr.. Froude fills out
the story. AS Carlyle told the story to
me, " he says, " the man had settled himself
down in dark corner of the room, there
meaning to stay out the night
Carlyle sat down beside him, congratulated
him upon being man of decision, able to
have an opinion of his own in these weak
days, and stand by it, a quality both rare
did he not see that by standing out he would
hurt his own friends? The jury
were eleven to one. What chance
was there that any future jury would agree to
the verdict which he wished? There would
only be more expense with no result, etc"