The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-08-13
HIS MAIDEN CASE.

1llO Az AIbClN O16lJs
- ss-----ss-''- - s=
"The first year after my admission, I"
said the !ndge, ~ was elected states at
torney. My maiden dase was one of petit
larceny. Bill Dawkes, one of those trifing,
good sort of fellows-so called because
good for nothing-had been found in re
cent possession Of 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.
81 drafted the Indictment with great
care, charging, with painful particulari-
ty, that one William Dawkes, yeoman,
not having the fear, ETC., but moved and
seduced by a certain parsonage whom 1t
was common to include in every indict-
ment 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 Pelatiah 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 matter?' 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 isP"
"'Why, that pun-calling sheep thiei
a yeomau.'
"My office was 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 l had 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. II
due time the prisoner was brought up for
trial. Old POLLOK appeared for the de-
Tense.
''Old p was character. The only law
book he had ever read was SWANS Urea
tise For Justices of the Peace but iii
that and the Scriptures he was powerful,
He had way OF quoting and applying the
latter, which, in a religious community,
made it difficult to oppose him without in
curing 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 gramma,
was original.
81 had carefully written out my open
| ing, and when | read it over to Nelly
Wynne, to whom l was paying attention
at that time, she said it was real nice,
which knew was feminine for bully, al,
encomium felt not little proud of.
| "When the case came on, | spoke my
piece without n blunder. / cited my au
| thority to prove that he in whose posses.
sion stolen property IL found soon after
the theft is in law presumed to be the
thief. | was prepared to prove, | said, that
the property in question had disappeared
at the dead hour of night, when all hon.
est people wero in their beds, and had been
found at early dawn in the sinokehouse 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 reappearance in the
constructive possession of the prisoner
| and rested
sold POLLOK sat In solemn silence, his
eyes closed and his red bandapna over
his head. He asked no questions and call.
ed no witnesses. was disappointed Mt the
oil fellows giving in 80 easily. It would
| take away half tho glory of the triumph.
But was reckoning without my host.
"Old POLLOK slowly got up ON his legs
and removed his bandanna, and taking III
the Bible on which the clerk had sworn the
witnesses began:
i am grieved, my brethering'-he al
ways called the jury his 'brethering'-'
am grieved aud sore amazed to hear such
heathenish doctrines in a Christian court
1 house as we've jest been lstenin TO. What
SEE the sacred volume hold in my hand
Why, it scz, "At the mouth of two wit
nesses let every matter be established. y
Now, my brethering let me ask what two
witnesses-what one witness seed my eli
ent hook this shecp1 Echo answers, Nary
onel My delooded young brother has read
profaue authors TO show that findin Of
goods on the wrong mans premises is
proof of his stealth EN-. It's u "presump
ton of law" he says, and a great piece ol
presumption it is my brethering. Now
i In this same sacred volume we bave mar
rated n case in p'int-that of one Benja.
min, which You all hearn about A silver
cup, with IA hundred times as much II,
this trumpery sheep, was diskiyered mol
way off in BEN amin's smokehouse, what
Benjamin monghtn't IA been for week
but chucked into the mouth of the yer,
sack he was ridin onto Benjamin wa.
innocent But, my brethering, ii it wa
|
fortunate clients to be this day on tria
before you, you would be obliged, accord
in to my inexperienced brother, to brint
him in guilty in spite of scripter, ant
tonsign him to n place whar he would have
to wenr coat of many colors of differ
ent stripe from his brother Joseph's'
II not only lost the casen said tn,
! judge, "but my Office at the next election
my attempt to confute old Polfox's Scrip
ture argument creating a doubt in til,
+ mind of the community rs to the sound
ness of my religious views.
6 In all soberness, the judge continued
"if you want to be "A 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 word!
and the phrases of the Bible are the Ian
:. guage of the popular heart. Its parallels
, are household words. Its illustration
never miss the mark. have given you ,
ludierous instance of their effect, but it i
in the field of pathos aud real feeling tina
:, their power is irresistible Exchange.