Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-10-05

with one hand, came skipping right Ut his
learned adviser.
"You did it ON purposc' no almost
shouted. quito forgetting where he was
"just let me get at himi I'll have his wig
off, And then, without waiting for any
more, the entire audience burst out into
a roar of laughter which, however uu-
seemly. was perfectly reasonable, during
which Fiddlcstick could be seen apollo
giving in dumb show, with u bland smile
upon his countcnaucc, whilc Mr.. News
and Mr. Roscoe between them dragged
the outraged Addison to his scat and
profercd him handkerchiefs to wipe his
bleeding nose.
James saw the whole thing, and. for
getting his position laughed too, and, for
some mysterious reason, with the laugh
his nervousness passed away.
The usher shouted "Silcncc," with tire
mendou, energy, and before the sound
had died away james was addressing tho
court in Il clear and vigorous voice con
scous that hc was a thorough master Of
his case and the words to state it in wOuld
not fail him. Fiddlesticl,, O. c., had
saved him
May it please your lordship' he be.
gan, 1.-THE details of this case are Of us re-
markable an order as any that to my
knowledge have been brought before tho
court. The plaintiff, Eustacc Mccson, is
the sole next of kin of jonathan Mceson,
Esq. the late head Of the well known
Birmingham publishing firm of Neeson,
Addison & Roscoe. Under Will, bearing
date the Sth day of May, 1880, tho plain
tiff was left sole heir to the great wealth
of his uuclc-that is. with the exception
of some l"gacies. Under a second will.
now relied on by the defendants and
dated the 10Th November, 1850 the plain
tiff was entirely disinheiited, and the
present defendants, together with soma
six or eight lcgatccs, were constituted tho
sole bonciiciMics. On or about the 22d
December, 1850, however, the tcstator
executed third tcstimentary document,
under which the plaintiff takes the entire
property and this is the document now
| propoundcd. Thi, testamcntary docu-
ment or, rather, will-for | submit thar
| it is in every sense a properly executed
willis tattooed upon the shouiders'--
| sensation in court lis tattoocd upot.
the shoulders of young lady, Miss Au-
| gusta Smithcrs, who will presently be
called before your lordship; and to pre-
! vent any misunderstanding | may as we'll
| at once state that since this event this
| lady has become engaged to be married
to the plaintiff. Renewed sensation.I
"Such my lord, are the main outlines
of the case that have to present for the
consideration of the court, which | think
your lordship will understand is of so re.
markablc and unprecedented nature that,
must crave your lordship's indulgence
| if proceed to open it at some length, be-
ginning the history at its commencement.
BY this time James Short had completely
recovered his nerve, and was, indeed, al
most Obvious of the fact that there was
anybody present III the court, except the
learned Judge himself. Going back to the
beginning, lie detailed the early history OF
the relationship between Eustace Meeson
and his uncle, the publisher with which
this record has nothing to do, Thence he
passed to the history of Aurustas rca-
ton with the firm of Mccson ( Co., which,
as nearly everybody in the court, not eN
cepting the judge, had read "Jemuna's
Vow, was very interesting to It's audi
tors Then he went on 40 the scene be-
tween Augusta and the publisher, and de-
tailed how Eustacc had iutcr1crcd, which
interference had led to Il violent quarrel
resulting in the young man disinherit
auce. Passing on. he detailed how tic
publisher and the publ-Acc had taken
passage in the same vc,ocl. and the tragic
occurrences which followed down tn Au-
gustas final rescue and arrival i'm nGland,
and finally ended ms spirited opening by
Appearing To the court moi 10 allow It's
mind to be influenced By the fact that
since these events the two chief actors
had become engaged to be married, which
struck him, he said, as very fitting eli
max to SO romantic a story
At last he ceased, and amid little buzz
Of applause. for the speech had really
been very fine one sat down. AS lie
did so lie glanced at the clock He had
been on his legs for noal,y two hours, and
yet it seemed to him but Il very little
while In another moment he was up
again and had called his first witness
Eustace Meeson,
Eustace's evidence was of 4 rather
formal order. and was necessarily limited
to an account of the relations between his
uncle and himself and between himself
and Augusta. Such rs it was. however.
he gave it very well, and with complete
openncss that appeared to produce fa-
vorable impression on the court.
Then Fiidlesticll. Q. C.. rose to cross.
( ovor1iuo dpvotiutr his efforts q, trviurr IN.