The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1886-04-30

feel AS II !, myself, am in a sense.
party to il, and am deeply con.
cerned over it. Bear with ne
while l explain my interest in it,
Leaning little further forward,
with an elbow on the bench aud the
hand of that arm at his face, the
judge resumed
"Forty years ago there lived in
the community where now reside
the plaintiff and defendent, three
men who were neighbOrs and
friends. The home of either was
almost equally the other two; their
three families were almost as one
family in their affection for one
another. In each family there was
a sou. Three boys, OF about the
same age, prattled together as chill
dren, in youth attended school, or
played together, aud in Oung man
hood were more as brothers than
nelghbOrs.
"Their lines ran iu pleasant
places. All that PARENTAL fondness
and financial competence could sup
ply was theirs, and it is not unlike
~ that their fathers looked with
eyes of pleasing anticipation to
their three Sous succeeding them,
not only i'll fortunes, but in the
jointure of friendship which had
long bound them together.
"The boys were each about six
teen years of age when the father
of one was taken tIom the happy
circle. The two school mates OF
the bereaved youth suffered scarce
ly less than himself. At the burial
in the church yard on yOnder hill,
their fathers were among the pail
bearers. Two years went by and
the father OF second of the boys
was laid very nearly alongside the
one who had gone first, and a little
later the father of the third followed
The three neigh bors in life were
neighbors again in the little village
of the dead.
"The boys of whom have spoken
are now men we'll along in years.
Que is the plaintiff in this case, an.
other the defendant aud the third is
the presiding judge. The on com
ing OF this trial has weighed heavily
on me OF late. Last evening after
my arrival by train from my home,
few hours distant, | walked over
to the little grave yard by the
church, with the little school house
Just across the road the church in
which our fathers aud mothers wor-
shipped together-the little acade-
my where we three boys first at
tended school. The sight Of the
marble slabs bearing the names OF
our fathers brought vividly before
me those old days when, with our
arms locked about each others
necks in the most brOtherly way
we walked homeward from school, F,
each 80 iull of devotion that the
other two would haye assailed any
fourth boy saying aught against
them.n
Every ear In the court room was
attending upon the measured utter
ances of the speaker while over the
faces of the two litagants a soften
ed expression had replaced the
defiant one of but q few minutes
before. Continuing, the judge
said, as he spread before him one
of the Typographical maps.
"I need no surveyor to enlighten
me about the lay of this land or the
running of the old dividing line
fence. have walked every foot OF
these fields and climbed every pan
el of the fence. This old chestnut
tree-what sport have we not had
chunking down its fruit to be proud
ly taken to three certain little
girls at the school-the first love
either of us had. l remember the
plaintiff being once a little chop.
fallen at having a but half handful
OF chestnuts to take to his girl aud
that the defendant generously di-
vided with him his larger supply.
1t was from this tree that the de-
tendant had the misfortune to fall
and dislOcate his ankle, causing him
severe pain, which so distressed
the plaintiff that he shed more tears
out of sympathy for his little play
fellow than did the wounded one
himself. 1t was in the little pond
back of the "gIn house woods thai
we fished for horny heads aud into
a deep part Of which | once unex-
pected plunged aud, in my fright
might possibly have drowned but
for the hfe-saving crew composed
of the plaintiff aud defendants Ah,
those we're charming days. The
memory Of them is far sweeter than
J is the experience i am now under
[ going OF seeing my two loving
chums of the old time standing
opposed; malignant contestants, ia
a court Of law, each with lawyers
employed to say unklnd things OF
the other.
nPardOn this DEPRESSION from the
proposition / started ont to make
which is this that ! be invested
by plaintiff and defendant with
unlimited arbitrative authority tC
decide the case. Will you, the
plaiutiff and you the defendant
relegate to me this p0weri My
heart retOlts from the hearing Of
any word from any one to detracl
from the integrity aud honor Oi
sou. Neither Of yOa have done