The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1899-07-12
Sleepy Mans Speech.

Sleepy Mans spaech.
It Had an Ejectrifyipg Effect on the
Jury and Brought Verdict For
the Plaintiff.
st. Louis Globe Democrat.
When newspaper writer's in Wash
ington are ''sby" of good stories they
have only to look into the career OF
Hon. George Vest, senator from the
great State of Missouri. There the
fund of good material is apparently
in-exhaustible. Walter Wellman has
been taking turn at Vest, and finds
a new story that is worth repeating.
The scene is located in Missouri,
CT course, and the preliminaries tell
how Vest was employed by q man
whose dog had been shot By a neigh
Dor. O:her eminent counsel attend
ed to all the prelim;naries of the
fight, while Vest was there, his head
sunk down between his shoulders,
and apparently asleep. Finally his
associate nudged him and told him
that he must make the concluding
speech. He demurred, but seeing
he must do something to earn the
fee which had been paid him, rose
and after gazing earnestly at the
jury for some minutes, began
speech of which this is stenographic
copy:
s'Gentlemen of the iury-The best
friend man has in this world may
turn against him and become his
enemy. His son or daughter that he
has reared with loving care may
prove ungrateful. Those who are
nearest and dearest to US, those whom
we trust with our happiness and our
good name, may become traitors to
their faith. The money that a man
man has he may lose. It flies away
from him, perhaps when he needs it
most. A mans reputation may be
sacrificed in a moment of i'll consider,
ed action. The people who are prone
to fall on their knees to do US honor
when success is with US may be the
first to throw the stone of malice
when failure settles it's clouds upon
our heads. The one absolutely IN
selfish friend that man can have in
the selfish world, the one that never
deserts him, the one that never
proves upgrateful or treacherous, is
his dog.
"Gentlemen of the jury" the sena
tor continued, "a mans dog stands
by him in prosperity and in poverty,
in health and in sickness. He will
sleep on the cold ground, where the
wintry winds blow and tho snow
drives dercely, if only he may be near
his masters side. He will kiss the
hand that has no food to offer, he
will lick the wounds and sores that
come in encounter with the rough
ness of the world. He guards the
sleep of his pauper master as if he
were a prince. When all other
friends desert him heremains. When
riches take wings and reputation
falls to pieces he is as constant in his
love as the sun in its journey through
the heavens. II fortune drives the
master forth an outcast in the world,
f,iendless and homeless, the faithful
dog asks no higher privilege than
that of accompanying him, to guard
against danger, to fight against bis
enemies, and when the last scene OF
all comes, and death takes the mas
ter in its embrace and his body is
laid away in the cold ground, nc
matter if all other friends pursue
their way, there by his grayeside will
the noble dog be found, his head be
tween his paws, his eyes sad but
open in alert watchfulness, faith ful
and true even in death"
What followed the veracious Well
man describes in this way:
Then Vest sat down. This re
markable speech he had delivered il
a low voice, without gesture. Nc
reference had he made to the merits
of the case in hand. Not a worS
had he uttered about the evidence
When he finished Judge and jury
were seen to have tears in their eyes
The jury fled out and in minute O.
two returned to the court room