Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1894-03-01
His N!IDEN CASE.


cid the judge, 81 was elected states at
torney. My maiden case was one Of petit
larceny. Bill Dawkes, one of those trifiing.
good sort OF fellows-so called because
good for nothing--had been found In re
cent possession Of a carcass Of mutton,
which the owner had left hanging out
over night, and which was non est-that
Is TO say, turned up missing'-in the morn
ing.
"I drafted the indictment with great
care, charging, with painful particular
ty, that one William Dawkes, yeoman.
not having the fear, etc, but moved and
seduced by certain parsonage whom IL
was common to include In every indict-
msnt as an accessory before the fact, on
etc., at etc, one carcass Of mutton of the
value, etc., Of the goods, chattels and
personal property Of one Pelatish Potts.
out of the possession and against the will
of the said Pelatiah, feloniously and with
force OF arms, did steal, take and carry
away.
"'What's the matteri' asked sharply,
when my friend Bob @. burst out laugh
ing on hearing me read over this, my first
professional production.
"'It's the best joke of the season. said
Bob.
"'What isf"
"'wby, that pun-calling a sheep thief
yeoman.'
"My Office was a scene of confusion at
the end of five minutes. Bob's head had
gone through the glass door Of my book
case, two Of my three chairs lay with bro
ken legs, and Bob and had q pair of
black eyes between us. 1t was more than
a month before either spoke to the other.
"But I'm wandering from the point. In
due time the prisoner was brought mp for
trial. Old POLLOK appeared for the de-
fense.
"Old p. was a character. The only law
book he had ever read was 'Swann's Trea-
tise For Justices of the Peace but in
that and the Scriptures he was powerful
He had way Of quoting and applying the
latter, which, in a religious community,
made 1t difficult to oppose him without In
curing a suspicion Of orthodoxy. His
forte lay In carrying the jury, whom he
generally succeeded In convincing that he
and they were on one side, and his adver-
sary on the other. His style Of grammar
was original. .
81 had carefully written out my open
ing, and when 1 read II over to Nelly
Wynne, to whom l was paying attention
at that time, she said 1t was real nice,
which knew was feminine for bully, an
encomium felt not little proud Of.
"When the case came on, spoke my
piece without a blunder. I cited my au-
thority to prove that he in whose posses
sion stolen property Is found soon after
the theft is in law presumed to be the
thief. WAS prepared to prove, I said, that
the property in question had disappeared
at the dead hour of night, when all hon
est people were In their beds, and had been
found at early dawn In the smokehouse Of
Dawkes, the defendant.
~ put my witness on the stand, and
proved the ownership, value and identity
of the property, its mysterious disappear
ance and subsequent temperance In the
constructive possession Of the prisoner
and rested.
"Old POLLOK sat in solemn silence, his
eyes closed and his red bandanna over
his head. He asked no questions and call
ed no witnesses. l was disappointed at the
old fellows giving in so easily. 1t would
take away half the glorySf the triumph.
"But was reckoning without my host.
"Old POLLOK slowly got up on his legs
and removed his bandanna, and taking up
the Bible on which the clerk had sworn the
witnesses began;
al am grieved, my brethering'-he al
ways called the jury his 'brethering'-I
am grieved and sore amazed TO hear such
heathenish doctrines In Christian court
house as we've Jest been listenin to. What
sez the sacred volume hold in my handi
Why, it sez, "At the mouth Of two wit
nesses let every matter be established"
Now, my brethering, let me ask what two
wtnesses-what one witness seed my eli
ent hook this sheepf Echo answers, Nary
onel My delooded young brother has read
profane authors to show that fndin of
goods on the wrong mans premises IL
proof of his stealth 'em. It's 'presump
tion of law" he says, and great piece Of
presumption It is, my brethering. Now,
in this same sacred volume we have mar
rated case In p'int--that of one Benja-
min, which you all hearn about. A silver
cup, with a hundred times as much as
this trumpery sheep, was diskivered not
way off in Benjailin's smokehouse, wha.
Benjamin moughtn't "a been for week,
but chucked into the mouth Of the very
sack he was ridin onto. Benjamin was
innocent. But, my brethering, il it was
Benjamin's luck instead of my poor, un-
fortunate clients to be this day on trial
before you, you would be obliged, accord
In TO my inexperienced brother, to bring
him In guilty, in spite Of Scripter, and
coneign him to place whar he would have
TO wear coat Of many colors Of differ
ent stripe from his brother Joseph's'
III not only lost the case" said the
judge, "but my Office at the next election,
my attempt to confute old Polifox's Scrip
ture argument creating a doubt in the
mind Of the community as to the sound
ness Of my religious views.
"In all soberness, F" the judge continued,
eff you want to be q successful lawyer,
search the Scriptures. In them you will
find the basis Of all that is best and no
blest In human laws. Besides, the words
and the phrases Of the Bible are the Ian
guage of the popular heart. It's parallels
are household words. It's illustrations
never miss the mark. have given you
ludicrous instance Of their effect, but It Is
In the field of pathos and real feeling that
their poWer IN irreaist bla b-Exchanoe