Birmingham age-herald., 1894-08-02
THE SUPREME. COURT CIRCLE.
Nt Forms Q Self Interested Social Commu'
 nifty In the National Capital.

Ht Forms 8 Self Interested Social Commu'
 nifty In the National Capital.
 A serious faced, somber garbed and high halted procession is ono of Washington's interesting everyday sights. It occurs on Pennsylvania avenue. It Is tho solemn march of tho justices of the supreme court from the capitol to their homes in the fash ionable west end. At o'clock the court adjourns. It matters not if counsel is i'll the middle of an argument. The justices sit where their eyes fall upon the face of the marble clock over the door As the long hand verged on 12 and the short hand is at 4, the chief justice stops the proceed ings and announces that the hour of ad- journment has arrived There is only Ole instance on record in 10 years when the session has been prolonged beyond the usu al hour, That was when MT. Cleveland, then ex-president, made his only appear ance before the court At 1 o'clock he had not quite finished his argument, Chitf Justice Fuller interrupted with the usuS announcement
 II have but little more to say" repYd the ox-president, thumbing two or three typewritton sheets. II would much prefer to finish tonight so that can take train for New York. '
 With that MT. Cleveland proceeded The chief justice bowed, and the court sat un- til 20 minutes past f. It was great in- novation.
 Ten minutes after the adjournment the members of tho court are swinging down the avenue at five miles an hour gait. Sometimes they are in pairs, some times in threes, sometimes singly. Rarely they are in a chatty mood and talk and laugh. Oftener they stride along with their heads bent forward, each absorbed in his own thoughts and preoccupied to that degree that he may pass members of his own family without recognition.
 The supreme court circle forms little community of itself for social ends It has its days and its dinners, The esprit de corps is strong. It embraces tho fami- lies, the private secretaries, the officers of the court, and even extends to employees and servants. The supreme court page for the court has corps of pages to go for books and papers and to bring glasses of water-feels that he is an entirely differ ent young person from the senate or house page. Then there arc the supreme court messengers Each justice has messen. ger As soon as new justice comes to town he is called upon by the colored man who served his predecessor The colored man introduces himself and immediately assumes all of those minor duties and cares which come within tho province of well trained messenger. To some new justice it is a novel sensation to have messenger take charge of him. Ono of these messen- gers called upon western appointee and briefly announced:
 1T was tho messenger of the lato MT. Justice So-and-so. !"
 "Wellp" asked the successor.
 'tI've come to be your messenger" said the colored man.
 II don't know that I ncod your serv- ices, :" replied tho justice.
 ."Oh, yes, sir," said the colored man, 'you do. Every member of tho cot has messenger. Pm yours.
 Unabashcd by the protest and the cool ness, the colorcd man attached himself without further explanation and entered upon his duties. Tho service may seem awkward at first, but tho justices soon find that it is pleasing There Is no casc on record of a justice dispensing with his messenger after tho ice is once broken.-- Leslies Weekly.