Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-10-13
HIS WITS SAVED HIM.
An Incident in a Lawyers Carecr ThA
 Won Case.

Won a Case.
 "A man who has his wits about him. remarked a learned judge, 'sis greater than he who conquers city, or words to that effect, for he is always sure of getting there"
 s.In respect of what?'' was the in quiry, made with the ulterior purpose of drawing the judge out, for he knew q good many things worth the telling.
 ''In many" he went on, but in this particular case refer to an experience had when 1 was practicing for two or three years, and had an idea that Coke, Blackstone, ct al were scarcely in it with me in the ordinary business of the courts. There were 8 lot of young fellows at our bar and l am free to confess that we did not always main tain the dignity of the law, which is one of its strongest points. Sometimes we even exceeded the limits, and now and then somebody had fine to pay for contempt. We had fun at times with visiting lawyers, and the best practical joker in the lot was always held in great respect by the rest of us
 't0ne day an old lawyer from the neighboring county seat was defend ing a prisoner for stealing a COW, 1 be- lieve, and had the other side and was quite sure of making my case. The old fellow had been in our courts many times and he was the slowest and longest talBer I think l ever listened to. He didn't seem to know when to let up. Well, on this occasion he had been talking until the young fellows were worn out and they thought they would teach him a lesson and at the same time help me in downing him. So they quie tly went out to the tele- graph office, got blank and an envel- ope and fixed up telegram which read: Great Cesar, governor, won t you ever stop talkine?'
 '.Then they got boy to bring the message into the court room, and they sat around the bar to see the old man fall dead when he read the dispatch. The boy came in all right and the sher if promptly delivered the message Of course everything, became quiet when the point was reached and the lawyer asked permission of the court to read the message, he tore it open amid breathless silence, everybody watching him, and those who were in the joke expecting an explosion as soon as the end had been reached. But there was nothing of the kind. He read it over slowly once, then more slowly again, and then he looked up at the judge and over to the jury.
 ss May it please the court, he said in tremulous tones, T have just received a message announcing the death of a very rear and dear relative, one who and his lip quiyered, was more to me than ] can tell, and must ask to be excused from speaking further
 This was an entirely unexpected turn to the affair, and of course the jolzers were powerless to change the current. They simply sat dunn bfound- ed, while the old fellow was asked to finish his speech. He finished very briefly, but it was to the point, and when my turn came to end the busi- dess I was not in it with the grief stricken man by my side, and the jury gave the case to my opponent without leaving the room.
 After it was all over the old lawyer called one of the crowd aside and said something to him with mild sort of a smile that resulted in his taking up collection among us sufficient to pay for fine dinner for the entire bar. ''- Washington Star.