The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1892-03-03
MY FAIR CLIENT.

1t was just such day as this two
years ago, and q year or so after my
call to the Bar, that my mysterious
little visitor came; and now she seems
to have vanished into thin air | was
sitting, as / am now, smoking cigar
cite, and / believe | was wondering
which OF my lady friends would be
most pleased to entertain me at 5
o'clock tea, and whether my clients
would ever be numerous enough to
prevent me from paying calls at all.
There was light in my clerks eye as
he showed her in, as ii he did not re-
gard her as q client at all. He saw
the matter differently after | handed
him his fee, and reminded him that
the Attorney General had laid down
the rule that in non-contentious bust
ness there is nothing in the nature OF
professional etiquette to prevent q
barrister from assisting his clients
without the intervention OF a solicit
tor.
She looked very much more cool and
collected than l did, | am sure, as
she walked up to my table and placed
on it little jingling envelope, saying
with half smile: Zone pound three
and sixpence-that's right, is it not?"
simply gasped, "What for?" forget
ting all about the Attorney Generals
edict, and thinking that dear little
female lunatic in the smartest of hats
and frocks must have escaped from it's
n
may add that she was Enthusiastically
a lady. have an eye for detail, and
my first glance embraced her natty
little patent leather boots, her gloves,
and general etceteras.
"What for?" she echoed, and then
went on quickly: "Why, for your ad-
vice, OF course. You are Mr. Fairbairn,
are you not?" Il bowed 81 hear that
you are very clever" Il blushed), "and
| want your help" q smiled encour-
agingly.) "You need not try to find
out who told me to come to you, for
she won't tell you" (the assistance OF
the fair sex in advertising ones ca
pabilities is sometimes not to be des-
spised); "and you need not know my
name, for it has nothing to do with
it,"
with what?"I asked, as hepaused
for breath.
"With my case"
evil you explain your case to me?"
said, hoping the explanation would
be as long as possible.
Owe lett all the papers behind, - she
said, "but they were of no use to Sir
Humphrey Raby or Mr.. Wigsby when
they gave their opinion, SO | thought
they would be OF none to you. My
solicitor took me to see them" she
added, looking down and signing as
she recalled what no doubt was a
painful and disappointing interview,
land they were snuffy, dull oldgentle-
men, and I've come to you because |
was told you were very clever and
original and had brilliant ideas" /
blushed again. 81 have their opinion,
as they call it, in my pocket" As the
names mentioned were those OF the
two most eminent leaders practicing
at the Chancery Bar, and as my client
seemed to think that my original and
brilliant intellect would instruct me
in the facts of her case without her
assistance or the usual sources of in
formation, l held out nay hand depre-
catingly for the opinion, and read it
through couple oftimes before Who'll
ly mastered its contents. It ran as
follows:
"Opinion: On the instructions be-
fore us we can advise the residuary
legatee that she has any grounds
either for upsetting the will on the
grounds of the lunacy of the testator,
and so taking as next OF kin, or that
she can accept what the testator
leaves her and refuse his conditions.
He bequeaths to her the bulk of his
fortune, which we understand to be
considerable, on condition that she
accepts it within year OF the date of
his death, and that before accepting it
she marries husband. To this is APP
pended the further condition that this
shall be some other person than a GER
tain Capt. Henry Scott-Shackleford,
to whom the testator seems to have
borne particular dislike. Should
she fail to accept the property on
these conditions it is to be distributed
among various charitable institutions
named by the testator. 1t is suggest
ed to us that the will must be
absolutely void, on the ground that
this condition is in restraint OF
marriage and so contrary to public
policy; we are aware of no authority
which would support such a conten.
ton, and need hardly point out to the
young lady that she is offered every
inducement to marry at once, and
that her choice of q husband ranges
over the whole unmarried bachelor
population of the world, to say moth
ing of the widowers and divorced
husbands, with the one solitary ex-
ception named At all events, it is
our opinion that the residuary
| Iegatee must marry someone, not
being the individual specified, before
she 18th of May next, if sheintends to
accept the property"
"Here followed the signatures of the
two great luminaries, and / telt ]
must bow to their authority.
'Pm q common law man." / said
as / handed her back the document
"and they are very eminent chancery
counsel"
"Oh," she said "does that NEAR
that you are eleverer than they?"
Not precisely" answered modest
ly.
"But chancery barristers are al
ways prosy and inky," she said. 81
have cousin who is one, and he anc
all his friends are simply horrid. They
may be very intellectual, OF course
but | call them stupid"
Perhaps" / said, "on this side o
I the Strand We see more of the practi
cal things of life"
She nodded with hopeful smile
and felt I ought to say somethin!
else.
$50 you don't want to marry"
said.
Don't want to?" she cried. "Why
it's just that; dol"
'"Fhen why don't your Under thu
circumstances you would be justified
in asking-in limiting, at all events-i
no one proposes TO You"
"But they do" she said "they pro
pose in shoals, and have done so FOL
months. Only the other day a CIR
said to me that she could, not stay