Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1898-12-22
BIBLI6HL HUM0R
An Impressive Scene
In Lafayette County
Court.

Hon. Calvert Spensley of Mineral
Point was last week assisting in the
trial of the State of Wisconsin VS.. Mar
tin Henry. and made the final argu-
ment for the state and in his perora-
ton made the statement:
Gentlemen: He violated the COM
mandment that God wrote with his
finger upon the tables of stone in the
burning bush on Mt Horeb
when those burning words were
uttered a new epoch was marked on
the dial of time. Solomon said,
There is nothing new under the
sun, but here was man who could
transfer scene from Sinai to Horeb,
annihilate wars of time and make
Moses lug hose rocks around all the
time the plaques of Egypt were get
ting in their work and for several
years after"
In recognition of Mr.. Spensley's
ability the bar purchased for him a
new Bible, and just before the open
ing of court after dinner Judge Glenn
entson presented to him in the fol-
lowing words;
''Mr. Spensley The members of
the bar and reporter of this court
having been greatly impressed by
your remarkable statements from
Holy Scripture in the eloquent argu-
ment made by you in the case of the
state against Henry and having in
mind what Senator Carpenter said in
his Grafton before the law class of the
Columbia Law School, that for the
Improvement of character and the ac-
quiring of long and elevated style
of speech be advised each of them to
daily read the Bible and his further
statement that it is not expected that
a lawyer should know all the law but
it is expected that he should know
where to find it. / am commissioned
by them to present you this copy of
the Bible as a mark of their apprecia-
tion and in the hope that you will
spiritually profit by it and enrich flu
ture arguments by appropriate quo
tations from it,
Mr.. Spensley was visibly affected.
In reply he said: ''Your Honor and
Brethren of the Bar: | thank you
most kindly for this mark of appreci-
alton. | knew that the Bible was alb
solutely familiar to me, but did not
realize that you knew it. I'm not
given to self praise, gentlemen, for
"A Growing hen gathers no moss" but
I'm equally at home in any portion of
the book. Whether | begin near the
first where Abel kills Cain, or later
where Jonah leads the children OF
Joseph out of the wilderness across
Egypt into the Red Sea, or where
Joshua is swallowed by the whale, or
Solomon marries Saul's daughter, or
forty-two children kill Elijah and two
she bears; it is all-all familiar to me.
When overwhelmed with work |
have sometimes been tempted to lay
the Bible aside and cease its perusal
but realizing that "a rolling stone
lays no eggs | have persevered, and
today | stand here a living embodi-
ment of the truth of that old saying:
every silver lining has cloud" On
the fly leaf of the Bible the following
inscription was engraved:
Presented TO Calvert Spensley by
the Bar of LaFay cite county, Decem-
Der s, 1898, in recognition of the
unique Biblical quotations made by
him in his argument to the jury in
the case of the State of Wisconsin VS..
Martin Henry"
Mr.. Charles Orion, the Court Re-
porter, who is known as the poet lau-
crate of the bar of this circuit, then
stepped forward and read the follow
ing poem which he had written for
the occasion, and which upon motion
of the Nestor of the bar was ordered
spread upon the records:
A GENERAL MIx-UP.
Respectfully dedicated to c. Spensley.)
Commandments ten God gave to men
From Slnais bold brows
Mount Horeb saw the burning bush
And Nose lean Jethros cows
From then till now through ages long,
These rocks have swelled with pride,
While thousands told the tale in Song
On valley, plain and ttide
At last uprose gifted man.
g. Spensley was his name.
With Martin Henry for has text
And Purity his game
Horeb and Sinai be mixed up.
Tables and cows confounded
And burning bush and echoing hills
In one vast mix-up pounded.
He worked Gods finger out ef.joint
Writing on the rocks
Made Moses stand on Slnai's plain
Without his shoes and socks.
He scooped the crowd, he won his case.
The scripture quoting genius.
For Henry was found guilty of
crime most grave and heinouS.
M0ntfort.