Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-01-29
BILL NYE AS A LAWYER.
His Principal Reason For Abandoning the
Legal Profession.


me that he has learned casually that
some years ago was member OF the
legal profession, and he asks me to
state, if will, publicly. whether that
is true, and if SO, why | abandoned the
profession.
1t is true that Ibid practice law in the
West, for short time, in a very quiet
kind of way. After few months, how
ever, / abandoned my lucrative prac-
tice to accept the portfolio of the Lar
annie City postoflice. During my brief
but tempestuous career as an attorney
paid out S120 for rent, and drew a
chattel mortgage, which | was never
paid for, rs near as | am able to Judge.
My principal reason, however, for
abandoning the profession was the sud-
den death of my client. When a young
layer las assiduously sat and looked
out of his Ntlice window for two months
and client comes in and shows signs
of entrusting business to him, there
springs up at once between the two n
warm friendship. Such was the case
with me. A middle-aged gentleman
came into my office one day and said
he had been referred to me by a party
in town, and asked me if | had leisure
to attend to him. ] said that | would
lay aside other matters and attend to
him at once, if he wished. He said it
would be great accommodation if
would allow my other clients to accu-
mulate in the hall for few moments,
and in the meantime do the business
that was on his mind. He had asked
Charlie Kitchen, at the Thorsburgh
house, to give him the name of some
poor young lawyer, and Kitchen had
told him that | was about the poorest
lawyer he knew of, 50 that he had
come right to me.
saw at once that he was a shrewd
business man, and | did all | could to
please him. He was delighted with
the promptncss with which | had done
the work, and said he would have more
for me to do very soon, as he had pur-
chased the controlling interest in sill
yer mine over at Jelm mountain. On
the strength of this revival in trade
went down town and bought half-ton
of coal.
/ then opened set of double entry
books, which | still retain, and which
are almost as good as new. had just
got my new client fairly on the books
when he was killed by falling down Il
shaft distance of two hundred feet in
a perpendicular direction. / then said
that the practice of law was invested
with too much sorrow and sadness for
me; | could not endure the constant
sundering of pleasant, friendly ties
which an active practice demanded.
sold my Revised Statues" to new
notary public at Last Chance. and gave
my other law books 20 a warm person
al friend Having thus disposed Of
my library, l retired from the practice
of the profession by taking down my
tin sign and mailing it to the front door
Of the pcst-house at the close of beau
tiful summer day. There is nothing
that viii dam up the flood of professions
al business so quickly as a course like
thiS-if YOU have a flood to dam, and
wish to have it damned quickly; but
enough of that. A young lawyer may
be ever so popular and overworked
no matter; he can move his library TO
a smallpox hospital, and in a week he
will have all the physical relaxation and
intellectual rcpose he wants.
SO, like the swift flash of a brilliant
meteor across n black sky | flashed
through the heavens, lighting up the
wide realms of space, and then disap-
pcared forever. With thousands of
other people to select from, death
sought out the only client | ever had.
and gathered him in. With the world
full of the aged and sick, to say moth
ing of Cinnamon and Indians not taxed,
the grim reaper struck his sickle into
man in whom felt Il wonderful in
terest. No one knows who has not
seen his sole client cut down before his
face the great sorrow that settles down
upon the heart nj such u time How
lonely my Office seemed aft rtuat; how
still it seemed. could not endure it.
at once abandoned the profession to
its fate.
Contrary to my fears, however, it
soon rallied. Young blood ente Ell in
to the practice, and in three months
after had turned the KEY in my Of
flee door one would hardly notice that
so recently a bright light in the legal
profession had been squclched, and n
clarion voice that had always rung out
for eternal justice and equity, at 50
much per equity, had ceased to Vi
brate.
l was a clear-headed and cool but
normally conservative attorney. ] was
not only conservative in my practice,
but in my gross receipts. | saw at
once that I could not afford TO pay
forty dollars per month rent and de-
pend upon a book account of two dol
lars and a half to offset it. While 1
may say that am passionately fond of
the study and practice of law, | felt
most keenly the ostrpcism and the de-
pressing isolation which it seemed to
4 ~ L u