The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-02-08

"So"Se .AtAAtt ttc"t''A fhNH'Pe'S
cred, with one exception.
He loved General Gordon, sne senior
OF the bar. General Gordon proposed to
show his Honors quick Judgment was
erroneous. The Judge reminded him of
his rule. The General, with a twinkle In
his fine eyes and peculiar twist OF hi-
fine lips q can see him now. replied:
why, really, the operations of your
Honor's mind are so wonderfully rapid
that unless counsel argue after your
opinion is expressed they would have no
opportunity to argue at ALL"
The Judge laughed, permitted the rule,
heard the General. and magnanimously
reversed his decision. with caveat that
the privilege accorded TO the sen or men,
Der was not to be taken as a precedent
for the younger members OF the bar.
At the County Tavern. at Orange
Courthouse. in that period the Judge
tfieid) and bar assembled in the evening
after the labors of the day were over,
and professional. public, and historic
and literary matters were discussed with
clever and playful criticism. in which
sharp blows were given and received
without temper or offence. Three law
yers were there who took part n the
exercises Of debate. the judge and the
remainder Of the bar as auditors-General
Gordon William Green and Alexander
r. Hollyday.
General Gordon admired and was better
read in Shakespeare than in the works
or reports my Lord Coke. ON this occa-
sion he was diating mot dilutin6. as a
wag once said OF another speaker on the
marvellous genius OF the great poet lie
rose (he generally dd in conversation
when his talk became something OF
speech and held the floor without dis
putc. and not under the prior rule. He
permitted questions from the audience
which only sharpened his Wit and save
spirit to his eloquence.
GrFtN AND GORDON.
Green and Gordon were great friends
and mutual admirers. Each admired m
the other what ne did not possess Cor
don dreaded Green's nice point Of law.
Green feared Gordon's eloqucuce before
the jury. Hence their tactics. when op-
posed We're diverse. Gordon stroVe to
brush away Green's obstructive legal OBJ
jections, while Green sturdiiy interposed
them. For Heavens sake. cried Gordon
one day. let us get TO the jury No, said
Green for II We DO. my case is lost.
on the occasion under discussion, Cor
don spoke OF the myriad-minded Shake
speare. whose knowledge Of the human
heart was as il ne had made it. that he
If he were master workman in it,, ana
that. i'm 4 word, nil tetigit quod non
ornavit.
At this point Green, who was quietly
walking up and down the room listening
with genuine interest TO the euogy on
Shakespeare, interposed with the remark:
Nv ell General I am not disposed to de-
preciate your beautiful tribute to the inn
mortal bard. but il is due to loyalty 10
our profession TO affirm with confidence
what / am ready to maintain before the
Court, that whatever ne knew Of other
avocation. he was not even a tyro In the
scene of Jurisprudence.
Gordon with emphatic contempt:
"Well, 1 suppose he could hardly compete
with a county court lawyer in the trial
OF a petty case before the County Court
OF Orange. But challenge your proof"
Green: In answer 80 your challenge. /
allege he showed utter ignorance OF the
simplest maxims OF law in the decision
Of the case, in re Shylock."
GOrdon-Who the - ever heard {
called i'm re Shylock?
Green know no other way to cite IT;
but affirm the decision was utterly alb
aurd.
Gorlon-No doubt it is uninteligble to
the pettifogeers who practice i'm the
''"iAig 'phl ''s ~ y'A Hi'i pN' W va a.
down the Winged Pegasus" Of Shake
sueare's genius, and drive him TO the
tumbril cart of your petty county court"
Green mot offended at TINS playful
badinage)-WcH. General Notwithstanding
your obligatory expressions. | proceed TO
strive the judgment wac wrong.
Green NOW adopting the seml-Sacratc
method, which Gordon did not like pr1-
cecded:
You lduit tina. when \ grants any
thing 20 - the law implies with it the
grant of all that is necessary 10 the en-
joymcnt of the thing granted. You con-
cede that
Gordon-No, III be hanged if I do. But
for sake of argument. / admit It.
Green Therefore when Antonio grant
ed 10 Shylock a pound of flesh TO be
taken from about his heart the law i'm
piled that so much blood Was granted
with the flesh as must be shed i'm order
90 the legal possession of the pound Of
flesh granted But Mrs. Justice Porua
held that he could not take the flesh be-
cause blood would be- shed in doing SO,
which blood was not granted-contrary TO
the simplest maXims Of the horn books o.:
the law. Hence. I say Shakespeare knew
nothing Of law.
The General was not prepared TO meet
this nice objection and emptied the Vials
Of his playful wrath upon his learned
friend for questioning Mrs. Justice
Portals judgment.
ANOTHER sIDF.
At this point Mr.. Hollyday interviewed:
But. Mr.. Green. may not the decision
be indicated Oh the old case of Collins
against Blanton This was not a case Of
grant II was an eXecutOry not an eX-
ecuted contract. \ contract TO take flesh
and blood from the heart Of man IN
volVed his life: 1t was a contract against
law ana for crime. IL was void and
could not be enforced.
Gordon (exultanU: Now. Mr.. Critique,
what do you say 10 that
Green with all the gravity Of a barrls-
ter In the appellate courU; The point
made by Mr.. Hollyday is very ingenious.
| Will look to see If the authorities sus-
tain IT, But. General, if we'll taken, 1t
leaves my contention untouched, for as
Mrs. Justice P0rtla based her decision
on the ground / objected to. and did not
assign as q reason FOR II that offered by
William HOllyday. / insist that Shakes
peare may have decided rightly, but for
a wrong reason, and therefore, was no
lawyer"
TIE discussion closed with merry laugh
ter. and the parties retired 10 bed with
mutual feelings Of admiration and al
lection.
Long after the dramatic scene at the
Virginia court house had been enacted.
and after the actors had passed away
forever. an able German writer. DR.. Ru-
dolph Won lhering wrote a book entitled
THE Struggle for Law" aud makes one
Of his leading cases that OF lin re shy
lock-" In a note on page ST he thus COM
ments on the judgment in that case:
THE emInently tragic interest which
we feel In Shylock l find in the fact
that justice is not done him, for this IS
the conclusion to which the lawyer must