The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-02-04

for period al six months Il few years ago
has served TO bring once more into prom
incncc Sir George Lewis, who, although
not member of the bar, but merely what
is known in England as Il solicitor, is bv
far the most distinguished criminal lawvcr
of the present day in Great Britain 1t is
no czaggcration to assert that there has
been no sensational ease brought into
court during the last five and thirty years
in which Sir George has not figured. usual
ly on the winning side, while, us for the
eases which this shrcwd and discreet
knight has kept out of court, they are sim
ply legion in number.
Indeed it may safely be taken for grant
cd that not moro than third, perhaps
not oven onc-qunrtcr. of the scandals fleet
ing prominent people in Great Britain
ever reach the knowledge of the public. for,
with all its faults English society pos
scSscs an esprit dc corps that is not III be
found in that of New York When any
one of its members happens to wander
from the highroad of honesty and honor
which is very broad and spacious in
these modern timcs-into the by,yays of
crime, all the members of his class. not
alone i'll his interests, but also in their
own, unite in an effort to hush the matter
up. And i'll this they invariably enjoy the
invaluable assistance of Sir George Lewis.
who IS popularity declared Ia know enough
to hang half II dozen of the biggest men in
the city of London and to possess n SUf1i-
cicnt number of dangerous secrets of REQ
pie of rank to suffice, if they should ever
be diVulgcd, To shutter the entire socia.
fabric of Great Britain
One curious drawback To the celebrity of
this extraordinary little Jew is the fact
That his presence in court on behalf of n
client is in nine cases ont of ten regarded
as kind of admission of the lattcrs guilt.
for Sir George enjoys such fame for his
ability to get his clients out of the most
disgraccful situations that he is certain to
be applied to for assistance whenever a
man of any prominence finds himself i'm
the miro. Indeed the worse the case and
the higher the rank of the parsonage in
criminntcd the more certain il is that an
pllcatlon Will be made to Ely Place for
professional assistance 1t is only fair,
however, to say that, no matter how terri
bic the straits in which his client may
have involved himself Sir George can
usually find Il means of issue. If his clients
guilt is sufficiently assured To admit of no
defense or excuse, Sir George usually nos
scsscs the knowledge of some skeleton in
the cupboard of the other side of the case
and so brings about an abandonment of
~ ~ ii'It HTc lew people cl-
thcr in society or in business who arc not
cursed with some skeleton, the existence
OF which they are eager at all costs to keep
from becoming known.
When the Duke of Orleans became in
Nolvcd i'll Il scandal that threatened 10 en-
tail his appearance in the divorce court. he
applied for advice to the Prince of Wales.
and the latter at once took him off to ELY
Place. with the result that nothing more
was ever heard of the matter The cases
In which Sir George has been employed in
Keeping out of court arc so numerous that
IL is difficult to conceive how he can have