St. Landry democrat., 1894-02-24
HIS FIRST Official NIGHT.
BY w. =. CHAMBERS.

|
lived on the hill beyond the creek ma
who divided his time about equally be
tween deer hunting and tilling the f.,
rocky, sterile acres that constituted hi
farm. This man-George Bcntly, b..
name-was a prominent figure in tha
sparsely settled REGION. He was
giant in strength, daring in danger, COO
in emergencies and fertile in cxpcdicnts
Though iIliteratc, he was by no mean
uncducatcd so far as the love Of fOrts
and stream was concerned, and his skill
in deciphcring the volume of human
nature was of no mean order. So Il
thilty-tive he was an acknowledge,
| leader among his fellows.
About this time general election
| occurred, and during the day somebod
suggested that George Bcntly be votec
| for Justice of the Peace for Wcstol
| Beat. The suggestion being acted on
that individual returned home about
sunset, and with pardonablc eIation in,
! formed his wife that he had beer
elected magistrate without opposition.
Without giving the matter any con
sideration, either rs to ths duties appcr-
tanning to the office or his own qualili,a-
tions for their performance, he malc the
necessary bond, and in due time his
commission, bearing the great seal Of the
State, was received. together with copy
of the Code Now our new official had
never uad law book in his hands before,
and he felt somewhat dismayed, but
rather important witilaI, Us ne surveyed
the bulky volume, bound in legal calf
Thrusting his commission into the
pocket of his pantaoons, for he had
no coat, and taking the huge
volume under his arm, he wendc d
his homeward way. If his gait
was more staid and his bearing more
dignified than usual it was simply be-
cause he felt himself an exponent, if
not part, of the State, in her sovereign
capacity of making and administering
laws.
AS soon as supper was dispatched he,
with the aid of his wife spelled out the
commission, and then taking up the Code
he began at the title page. He had got
nearly to the end of the report of the
Coditying Committee when droVsineSs
ovcrpowcred him, and he began to dis
robe for the night. As he was in the act
of lying down loud "hcllo.' was heard
at the yard gate. When the door was
opened a voice in the darkness called
out:
docs Squire Bently live here?"
'l'm the man, was the rather pompous
reply.
II want warrant for Jake Joncs.'
"What's he donc?"
"Him and Pete Brown got into arrow
at old man Halls housc-raising this
cvenin' and he knocked Pete down with
a handspike, and it looks like he's 2 in
to die"
"All right-comc in "
BY the time the officer had donncd
his clothes and replcnishod the fire the
other man-one John Graham-had en-
tered.
Had Squire Bently been required to
make an astronomical calculation he
would not have been more completely at
a loss how to proceed. But he felt that
his official honor was at stake and 50.
after hasty but fruitless search in the
Code for form" he proceeded to bring
forth from his inner consciousness the |
document.
The first difficulty to be surmounted |
was the fact that there was not a scrap |
of writing paper in the house. Not an
tlcipatlng emergencies wherein it would |
be required, no stationery had been pro-
vidcd for official purposes. Unwilling
10 be baked, he tore Il blank leaf from
the back of the Code, and borrowing q
it was developed that no pen,
ink or even a lead pencil belonged to the
Bently household he sat down, and,
after infinite pains, produced the follow
ng warrant:'
"taik jaik joans
G. BENTLY, esq.,, j. D."
AS Mr.. Graham received this document,
le asked:
''Who will serve this warrant"
''YOu can do it as we'll as ANYBODY
Use, can't you?'
81 guess sol Where must l take him
or
"Bring him here, of course"
"WhenW
cat once-or sooner, if you can find
im."
'.An -ss5lA'"-,a ~ or -e:zl Constable
'ok his leave. ,
Our officer now retired, but the Incl !
mt of the warrant had unsettlad hin,
mewhat and he vainly courted sleep. y
fter an hour or two of restles tum h
ing he was about entering dreamland p
hen there was another call at the gate.
DING to the door he was again met by o
le inquiry: =
'Does Squire Bently live here?" ~
"1es; what do you want?" b
''We want to get married !" was the
ther hesitating and huskily spoken re- IS
y. !,
"Come I'M" and again the official -
'uled on his pantaloons, and out of r.
'fcrence to the occasion coat was also :,
'nned.. BY this time very young man " -
ID shrinking maiden had reached the .,
'or-step. -,
"Come right in! Take chairs and sit 9,
'wn,' came from the hearth, where our f.
icer was trying to fan the smoking a,
lbers into flame by blowing on them ~ ~
th his breath. When this was ac :;
mrlished he arose, brushed the dust =,
d ashes off his knees, and, reaching " W
r his law book, demanded: w W
Are you runawaYs ?'' I,
''Yes, SIR" =: ~
Nv hats your names ?" -
Mine is William Wright, this young aI m
ty's is Mary Banks" =
Are you son of John Wrioht2n