Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1890-06-04
A Legal Yarn.

The original story was this: Coke,
being in the Office of Blackstone, who
has a very fine library. remarked,
after the Others enumeration of his
wealth of reports, treatises, and dis
gusts;
eyes, your collection Of English
reports is a fine one, but | see you
haven't got Easton and Eldridge."
NO." said Blackstone, eagerly;
but I've ordered it, and expect it
daily"
Coke roared, and told the story in
the Bar Association, and all over town.
Blackstone accepted the situation
good-naturedly, and grimly bided his
time.
Everything cometh to him who
waits. His time came.
At lunch in the Bar Association,
the other day, Coke was telling the
story again, in Blackstone's presence.
1t was received with the usual roars.
When silence was restored, Blackstone
said, quietly:
"The point of the story, Of coarse,
is that Easton & Eldridge is the name
Of firm of auctioneers, and not Of
law reporters ?"
eyes," replied Coke.
Further, that no such law report
ers as 'Easton & Eldridge' ever exist
ed?"
eyes"
"Well, will bet you a bottle of
wine that such volume Of reports
exists-further, that I possess it,"
Coke's jaw dropped. He was
amazed. But pride compelled him,
and he at once said, "Done p'
In few moments there was brought
in law-book-a dingy, dismal-look-
ing volume, with the under done pie
crust colored cover familiar to the
law and lawyers. 1t was inspected
with much care by the assembled
pundits. On the back it read
"Easton & Eldridge's Reports. Ex-
chequer Br."
Within was the ordinary title-page,
time-staiued and faded, printed in old
style type, and setting forth that
these were the reports of cases tried
before the Honorable Court of Ex.
chequer for the Trinity and Michael
mas Terms, 1915, faithfully reported
by Christopher Eldridge and John
Easton. barristers-at-law.
Had bombshell exploded before
Coke he could not have been more
amazed. He acknowledged the corn,
and paid his bet. Such was the
storm of chaff to which he was subject
ed, however, that he made a feeble
effort to maintain himself.
"Pshaw J" said he, "whp could re-
member the names of all those Eng
lish reporters? Whv, there are hun
dreds of them. fl had stopped to
think, though l might have known
that there was volume called Easton
q Eldridge. l remember it now
quite WE'LL" And he turned over the
leaves Of the dingy volume with his
thumb and forefnger.
"Ah, you do, do you ?" said the
remorseless Blackstone; swell now I'll
bet you another bottle of wine that
you don't"
"W-h.a.a-a.t? stammered the dis.
comfted Coke.
"And I'll bet you basket of wine
on top of that, that no such reporters
as Easton and Eldridge ever existed" :"
Coke gazed at him in amazement
and terror. He first thought the wine
had affected Blackstone's brain-then
that he was mad-then that he was
bluffing. When this idea seized him,
he at once regained his confidence.
He took second look at the volume
on the table, reflected, and said:
"a basket goes ''
Then Blackstone became sublime.
He explained how his soul had writh-
ed within him at the slight put upon
his legal lore and his library; how he
had resolved upon Revenge how he
had taken book-binder and printer
into his confidence how he had taken
an old volume of Meeson and Welsby's
Exchequer Reports, and doctored it (;
how the label on the back had been
changed, and artistically made aged
in its appearance how a title-page
had been set up In Job-office, in old
fashioned type, and printed on a
dingy hy.leaf taken from the back of
the book how he bad finally doubly
revenged himself upon the unsuspect-
ing Coke.
As the howls and shrieks Of laugh.
ter rose up from round the table, the
unhappy Coke fell fainting to the
floor.
Standing over his PROSTATE foe, the
treacherous volume in his hand,
Blackstone thundered fourth
"Ad astra per aspera-Fortes
fortuna juvet--Sola virtus invicta.