The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-10
MY FIRST CASE.
BY !. A. TIFFANY.

| of law for period longer than cSai o 1 to state before l made as much as | policeman earns. My clients had been | few and my fees still fewer. As a matter of fact, l had barely | made anough by the actual practice of law to pay my office rent ana 70 purchase the law books that toId my self I really needed, and l had been | driven to eke out an existence py re- porting for the law journals, and even 1 by means less dignified than that l But. now. l had been fortunate | enough to secure the appointment or
 municipal court judge. It was puneis
 political appointment; I did not Tat | ter myself with the belief that had | gained 1t by reason of any special Ilt- ness for the position. There were fif- i ty lawyers in town possessing no more | conspicuous disability for the oftlce | than myself.
 | This had been my first day of office, and there had not been single case | for trial It looked as if my experi- ence as a private practitioner was to | be repeated in my official capacity. | Even the law-breakers and littgants l stunned me.
 | was aroused from my neditations by the sound of footsteps. Somepouy | was coming up the stairs.
 1 In a few moments a mans figure ap- I peared in the open doorway. lie i glanced at me, and then turned ana | looked over the banisters, listening. l The man was unmistakably from the country. He wore ill-fitting clothes or coarse material; heavy boots and stup- I by beard of ginger hue. | A clumsy, ungainIy man, apparently about forty-five years of age, he ad- yanced toward my desk with stealthiy,
 nervous step. The fellow had hunted look.
 Say. mister" he said, in whis- per what will you charge to get me
 "on what?" I asked. well. I don't want to tell, but suppose shall have to; it's all over town. Please don't let them take me 1 to jail, mister"
 What's the trouble? What have YOU done?" I asked the fellow. "But go any further" I added, remembering my new appointment, that l am
 judge, as we'll as a lawyer"
 "You a judge the yokel exclaimed in a tone of horror. "Oh. gosh I've run right into the arms of the law. when I was trying my best to escape Please, sir don't send me to jail, the
 If YOU are in need of professional advice, I think you had better go to another law office, and not tell me anything about your troubles l said.
 ''No. I think l would rather tell you, and get 1t over with. Will you let me off with fine if I make clean breast of it, judge? You have a nice face, mister, and I'd rather tell you
 If you only promise not to send me
 to jail" .,
 swered impatiently. "If you deserve to go to jail. you'll no doubt get there' in time"
 Gods sake, don't say that! l am an orphan. sir-you wouldn't send an or phan to jail?"
 well, my good man. I have already advised you to go to some other law yer. and take advice. can't send you to jail until you are brought be- fore me in the ordinary course of justice"
 But. don't want to go to jail at all, judge. I didn't think they would hold it against me all these years. haven't been in the city in thirty years. and if you'll only let me go this time. I'll promise never to come here again"
 You can go home. for all I care" said, indifferently, for the fellow inn pressed me more as fool than as a criminal
 in writing, to say that I can go free?
  fix it up nicely between you and mel"
 q am afraid you don't understand my good man." I said quietly. for the fellow was so simple and stupid that if was impossible to get angry with him If there Is anything to be fixed up. it will have to be done In the regu- lar course of justice-in open court
 "But. I don't want to be exposed, mister" he whined-I don't wont to be exposed. And l am sure l have been a peaceful, law-abiding man for the last thirty years. l think they might have let it drop instead of bring ing it up, after all these years Lots of boys have done worse things than that. and never heard anything of it."
 Now, see here. my man." I said sharply, for the fellow was becoming tedious. If you have anything to say to me, l will listen to it, and treat 1t confdentially, so far as I can. But I advise you to go to some other law yer and ask his advice, If you are in trouble. But, you must either tell your story as briefly as you can. or get out of here"
 "Oh. but I don't want to go to no other lawyer. They're such robbers too. you look honest, mister Per haps you're an orphan, too. Are you | an orphan, judge?'
 That's neither here or there" I an | SWered shortly. ElbneI tell me your l troubles, or go and tell them to some | other lawyer.
 No" said the man, desperately, I'll | make a clean breast of 1t to you, judge | You see. mister, when I was boy thirty years agO-I came to the city | one day. in my fathers sleigh and | while the old man was around town | doing his business, l played about the | stable where he put up his horse. There | was a lot of snow on the ground and | some of the city boys began calling | me a hayseed. and pelting me with | snowballs l didn't like it-not so | much the snowballing as their calling | me a hayseed So I made some snow | balls myself and shied back at them. | Well. just as I was throwing a good | hard ball at once of the boys, a police man came around the corner. and 1t l knocked off his hat. l started and ran | as hard as I could. l never stopped | till I got to my fathers farm, away out in the country, ten miles from here I | laid awake all that night, cxpectioe that they would be coming for me: and I've been expecting them ever since But, as I had not heard of it in ali these years, plucked up courage and