The age-herald., 1901-01-05
SKETCHES FROM
 EVERYDAY LIFE

A prominent lawyer of neighboring state was at hotel recently chatting with another lawyer and banker. The conver- sation had drifted to early "reminiscences and the lawyer was asked to tell how he won his first case "I had been spending part of the summer the mountains he said, with young friend who was also a lawyer Roth of us had just been ad- mtted to the bar, and think we had gone up to the mountains to celebrate the event by having a good time generally. In spite of the rough accommodations of the day which had to be endured in rural spots, I may say incidentally, that We had good time On our return home we had to travel by stage about twenty-five or thirty miles, which consumed all of day, and we stopped for dinner at a little country town where a justice of the peace happened to be holding his court. 1 suppose the normal population of the town was perhaps fifty, but court day had swelled the population to hundred My friend and myself being both young lawyers were naturally att tracted to the justices court. If we had had any sense of humor or any other sense we would have been attracted to 1t just the same, as it was the only show insight. We entered the little office where the court was being held, the crowd making way for us with the old-time courtesy that was al- ways exhibited towards strangers. The jus tice was typical country squire, of the ante-bellum type, large and portly fig ure, full beard good heart and diges- tion, and with little knowledge of law. Just as joke I suggested to my friend that we offer our services gratis to the two liti- gants who were then pleading their cause before the court To my surprise he took me up, and we forthwith announced that we were two lawyers with more time than money, and that to while away some of it we would volunteer our services. Nothing pleases the crowd around a justice court so much as hotly-contested case between two neighbors each armed with lawyer. and my friend and I were soon in the midst case where one man had shot his neighbor's game rooster. representing the plaintiff and my friend the defendant. We had just finished the evidence and the ar- gument when the old justice announced that his dinner hour had arrived and that he would reserve his decision until after dinner. He was so pleased with our efforts that he invited us both to dinner We did as full justice to this as youth, health and hunger authorized, and after dinner the squire took us one side to small cupboard and drawing out large black bottle pro- ceeded to pour us each a drink of that vil- est of all vile connections known as 'moun- tain dew happened to be standing near an open window and the squire had just filled my glass and had turned to fill that of my friend, when I quickly tossed the whole glassful out of the window and smiled and smacked my lips as if it had been the most delicious drink I had ever tasted My friend was cornered, and the squires eye being on him, was compelled to drink all of his dew His face was study and try as he would, I don't think he succeeded in disgusting from the squire his utter disgust at the liquid. At any rate, when we returned to court the squire promptly decided the case in my favor."
 "The facination of brass buttons is not always confined to the fair sex, said one of group of men who were discussing the occupation of Cuba by the United States forces At the time the Maine broke up and this war broke out. had in my employ d hS6io poy dpodl lt ySdio Olu. Ilc ldu been with me about six years and was one of the best servants | ever saw I was living then at one of the Southern cities which was afterwards selected by the gov- ernment winter camp It is hard to realize now the tremendous excitement which existed at the time war was de- clared For several days Mckinley had been trying to keep back Congress from de- .T..
 tense that in the quiet little. city where I lived the afternoon paper was hysterically getting out one or two extras 8 day, with no news but enormous scare heads. This boy. whose name was Simmons, had been 10 town one afternoon and beens hadly frightened by one of the scare heads. He came back almost out of breath excaiming
 Marse Frank, is dey gwine ter fight war?
 I m afraid they are,' told him. and what is worse, all of you colored people will have to go to the war, for the climate in Cuba is so bad that the white men can't live there He seemed very much depress- ed at Information and I thought that come what might I could count on keeping Simmons out of the army. Things went on quietly for a while until one day he rushed in and informed me that a single corpse had arrived I thought that some one had been sent home to be buried, but I found out that he meant a signal corps had ar rived. The next day he informed me that a calvary corpse had arrived This was cavalry corps, and various other corpses,' according to him, continued to arrive. They were all very much alive. however. One of the regiments was composed of negroes, and this had a demoraizing effect on Sim mons, so much so that alter peace was de- ciared, to my great surprise he left me and enlisted in the army. He was assigned to the Tenth Cavalry. The brass buttons preyed on his mind until he had to go for a soldier. I hear he has made quite good one, and from not knowing the fight ing end of horse, and being unable to ride one without arnica he can now ride to the measure of a hexameter, spondee, dac- tyl or jambus"