Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-06-07
In the Court of Last Resort.

| l CHANGED not long ago to be called as a
| witness IN case where my testimony bore
| heavily against the defendant. Conse-
| quently, the lawyer for the defense, who
was a sharp practitioner, badgered me al
| most to death in the vain effort to discredit
| my testimony
That same afternoon, on my way to my
| home, l met on the train an agent of life
! assurance company. As we were delayed
| for several hours by an accident he had me
at his mercy until late in the evening.
On my arrival at home, ] ate an enormous
supper. and then went Immediately to bed.
These circumstances taken together will
account for the vividness and incongruities
of the dream which l had that night.
found myself in dimly lighted apart
ment, which seemed TO be species of court
| room. | could not see distinctly but was
conscious of the fact that there was a pre-
siding officer with associates and attend
| ants. II seemed That | myself was the
| prisoner at the bar. Witnesses were called
and examined by prosecutor as in court
Of justice. This official stated that it was
| not denied that l had been an honorable
| citizen, but it was claimed that / had not
fulfilled certain obvious and important du-
ties. A witness was then summoned whom
l recognized as the insurance agent to
whose appeals | had turned deaf ear. The
following is the substance of his testimony
| which was in my dream wildly impressed
upon my memory:
CROSS QUESTIONING THE WITNESS.
Question. What is your business2 An
swer. Life assurance.
Q. Are you acquainted with the prisoner?
A Yes.
@. Did you ever offer to assure his life2
A. Often.
Q. Do sou know that he had wife and
several young children A. 1 often re-
minded him of il as a reason for assuring.
a. know "a a fgl
income from his business A. Yes and /
argued that therefore he could afford to
| assure.
Q. What excuse did he give you for not
doing so! A. Sometimes one thing and
sometimes another.
Q. Mention some of them. A His ex-
penses were too heavy at one time, and at
another lie needed all he could scrape
together to use in extending his business.
q. Did you meet these objections. A. |
told him that ii he found it hard to provide
for his family they would have dreary
outlook if left to provide for themselves. |
told him, also, that il was folly TO take bust
family by assuring his life; for if he
Glanced to die, his family would be over
whelmed in The ruin of his business.
o How did he meet these arr uments2
A. He could not meet them. He admitted
their force.
/
objection to life assurance or to your com
pany? A. On the contrary, he repeated ,,
told me that he intended to assure, and that
he knew that my company was strong and
liberal and issued a good policy, ana he said
that he would certainly attend to the matter
some of these days, but that he was not
ready to act.
q. Is it possible that he thought that, in
case of his death, his business could be
carried on without him, or, at least, that
his property would be sufficient to provide
for his family2-A. On the contrary, know
that he was burdened with cares, and al
lowed himself insufficient time for rest and
recreation.
After the agent, other witnesses we're
called. My executor testified that my la
bilities exceeded NY assets.
My clerks stated that nothing remained
of my business, and that they were looking
for new places.
The doctor said he had not sent in his
bill, as he knew the wiCow could not pay
ii.
Finally, the presiding magistrate, whose
voice was distinct, but whose form could
hardly distinguish in the darkness. asked
me to state if had any reason to give why
sentence should not be pronounced. 1T
may be- said he, THAT you have some ade-
quate defense. Cases have been known,
where, from prejudice or ignorance, wives
have prevented their husbands from acting
prudently in this matter. II you feel that
your have performed your duty to your full
wife and children, and can remove the
weight OF testimony against you, you may
rely upon the utmost clemency."
At this l rose and endeavored to speak.
But my tongue Glove to the roof of my
mouth, and in the vain struggle to utter the
word mercy which / framed with my
lips, l awolle to find myself safe in bed,
with my family round about me.
But hunted up the agent and had it out
with him the very next day. H. B. c.