Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1886-01-21


dropped into the Supreme Court room.
The nine judges were on the bench,
three lawyers inside ihe rail and five
spectators on the benches. 1t was as
quiet as could be. and the chief interest
centered in a very lively debate between
one of the attorneys and old Judge
Miller After Congress consenes and
the CAPITOL is thronged with visitors the
court viii be- honored With more specta-
tors, buf the scene of its labors is always
druwsy. and filed with heaviness born
of decorum and. stifliiess. The Judges
are all III remarkably good health, and
daily congratulate themselves, and in
dulge in Jokes based un that fact. Chief
Justice Waite has rehlrned from Europe
with very pleasant remembrances of
hospitaile entertainments, and in better
physical th<n he has been for
wears. He tells his friends that he is
about resolved 20 80 on the retired list
for Mr., Bradley, wils1se retirement has
formed the theme oE gossip for several
years, Ais drying 1ip gradually. and is
hardly more than III shadow, but he
laughs at the ideaEof giving up active
work. anu really Zoos more service than
almost any other ole Of the nine. He
has suffered considerably from attacks
made upon him igkonnection with the
Electoral Commission, but as Judge
he ranks very hieh with the lawyers
who practice at t{Gt bar. As for the
other judges, it wol5d be hard to find
better preserved sabDf men with stronger
faces, or who refldet more unctuollsly the
effects Of good living than they.
1t is generally believed that the Presi-
dent viii give A,lorney General Gar
land the first vacant iudgeship. Just
how much that lAs to do with the de-
sire Of the court not to encourage anv
Withdrawals 7 donot know. Garland
is not especially tie kind of man that is
welcome in that select and pleasure-
loving circle. E outsiders the chief
qualifications for his office are supposed
TO be great laga& attainments. In adj
.ditl0n, the judges themselves always do
considerable E1iks. work TO make sure
that any prospective newcomer into
their ranks Is i GOOD story-teller, d bon
vivant, and an xpert at whist, other
wise he lscs ndIfeach the standard set
down in these dtys. However dignified
and atlstere the 5ndges appear in court,
they are cxceedingly jolly in their social
gatherings and they form combina-
ton whist and law club that meets
every week 70 crack jokes and study
Hayle ha sssfs Rrrgundv that can
be had. have heard some good stories
about the initiation into that charmed
circle of one of the justices, well-known
in Boston. but they might be misunder-
stood and tend to impair the public APP
probation of the courts dignity, and so
had better go unwritten.
Now, Mr.. Garland is not Just the kind
of a man that would keep up the time
honored traditions of the court. He
has no frills nor furbelows, and would
look about as natural in his silk gown
as a bear. He despises society, abso-
lutely never goes to dinner, has never
worn dress coat. and lives in absolute
contempt of the little niceties which the
Supreme Court holds SO dear. He likes
to study law, to hunt and fish, but he
never looks particularly well, nor cares
how he looks. On the bench he would
break down all the absurd little punctil-
iousness that the court has established
for itself, and be simply, as now, man
whose only charms are those which
come from naturally big head and
heart. But the judges demand some
thing more, and, without saying any
thing, they are known to all the lawyers
who are on intimate terms with them to
hope that it viii never come to pass
that Mr.. Garland will sit in their num-
ber.- Washington Correspondence.