Evening star., 1897-05-15
Some Lawyers' Stories.

Some Lav-yers' Stories.
| G. NJ. Harper in the Chicago Times-Herald.
| Frequent as are the interesting incidents
In lawyers lives everywhere, they are most
common in the west. Out on the plains,
| where SO many new questions of law to
| be determined, where the conflicting claims
of ambitious newcomers are to be adjusted.
| the lawyer is an important individual. His
side line of real estate, loans and insur-
ance and his penchant for writing heavy
| editorials for the county seat newspaper
which is his party organ, combine to make
| his influence considerable. He can tell many
| stories that aptly illustrate typical phases
| of western life, and they are usually worth
| listening to.
| X !. X X
THE most thrilling incident ever saw
In court room,' remarked a western at
tOrney the other day, was in southern
| Kansas. The senior lawyer of the county
bar was MISUNDERSTANDING and cour-
| teous gentleman of the old school, who
| had little patience with the joking always
| gong on during court recess. He was ex-
ceedingly near-sghted, but had a habit of
laying his glasses on the table during his
speeches to the jury. One day. as his back
was turned toward the other lawyers. one
| OF them picked up the glasses and with a
bit of mucilage fastened to the lenses pieces
of tissue paper which exactly covered the
| glass-not particularly noticeable. but at
| tHc tlIlt preventing VISION through
| them. Soon the owner of the glasses came
| back to the table to examine some papers
| for reference in his address. He put on the
glasses. looked at the paper, adjusted them
| aga1n-and then a pallor overspread his
| face that was pitiful to see. He staggered
to chair.
My God. gentlemen, I am blind, /
have feared 1t for years. he exclaimed,
| and dropped his head on his hands.
| For an instant the court room was
| hushed Even the practical joker must
! nave felt remorse at the evident suffering
OF ms victim: Before any one could speak
or the sheriff rap for order the attorney
iifted his head. took off the glasses and had
his sight again. His face flushed as he
rubbed the tissue paper from the lenses
and he stood UP, an angry and excited
man.
:" If knew who did that dastardly trick.
| II knew who had brought that minute of
grlet TO me- he broke out. L swear 1 would
Kill him. He left the court room and the
judge adjourned the session for the day
never want any more practical joking
x
In Kansas City court there came on the
| stand seedy-looking individual with an
honest face and toi-calloused hands
Where have you been recently?" asked
the lawyer
out in central Nebraska for thirteen
years"
braska?"
Working for a living"
mo quibbling, sir. Tell this Jury exactly
what you did in those thirteen wears"
We'll. sir. l was on a farm, and 1 raised
thirteen crops-pretty nearly"
Only those who realize how the mocking
climate of the prairies allow a man to raise
a crop every year-''pretty nearly''-and
| yet rob him of his complete fruitage can
| fully appreciate the nice exactness of the
answer.
Dracticed law once in Silverton. Col,"
| said one of the passengers in the smoking
room OF the Pullman. land had a case
that struck me as a model exhibition of
faithfulness. A Swede was mail carrier
over the pass to the other side of the range
1t was not long trip, but it was a severe
one. made or foot and with the danger i'm
winter from heavy SHOWS adding to its diff
ncuity. Andrew carried the mail for a wear
then one day he failed to reach home
There were valuable letters in his sack, and
| the inference that he had decamped was
strong. On the night he should have come
| to Silverton his brother. fresh from Scan
dinavia and unable to speak English got
| off the stage. AS county attorney 1 had
| 10 break the news to the boy and stood
| by while he went
Rewards were offered for Andrew. and
sent out parties to search the pass but
| TO no effect. miner claimed to have seen
| him week later in Leadville but we got
| no more trace of him. The brother refused
| to believe that Andrew had done wrong,
and spent his days tramping the canons
searching for his brothers body We tried
! to get him to go to work, but he did not
| yield until by his shortness of funds he
was starved to 1t. In the summer when
most OF the snow was off, he searched
again. but in vain. During the winter he
worked. but when the second spring came
he renewed his lonely trampings up the
trail. We thought him demented but he
cared not for our opinions. One day in
August he walked along at the base of a
Cliff and saw boot sticking out from some
debris He uncovered it-and his search
was ended. That evening he came into
town with the mail sack, much stained
but intact, and his brothers coat. The
grave he dug, with the rough stone he
efterward put at its head is up the canon
yet. 1t took two years to vindicate his
brothers name, but he did not begrudge
it When it was done he went back to
his native land"
X X X
Judge Randolph of Kansas was hearing
a divorce case last fall. The witness was
the plaintiff, a white-haired man, broken
in health and in spirits. and wearing a
alton was severe and the session mo-
notonous.
You say your wife abused you; tell us
just how hundred the attorney.
The witness looked appealingly at the
judge. Answer the question, SIR" was the
order from the bench.
well. she said I was an old hypocrite
to be proud of my war record. She said
all the brave men who went to the war
were killed and that only the towards and
deserters lived to come back. and"
NStop!" commanded the aroused Judge.
This divorce is granted. The court spent
four years in that war-and the court came
back"
The rnonotonv was broken for that dav