The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-31

| IilStOiic1 0flifleS anu Mysteries bN all
Mason, in the Kansas City Star.
~ NE night, 200 years ago. Judge
Cambo of Malta sat by his bed
room window gazing out upon
the sleeping town. which was bathed IN
brilliant moonlight Had Judge Cambo nol
been sitting by his window that night his
name would never have been known out
side the Island of Malta, which is about
eight miles wide and II long But he
couldn't sleep well that night, for one
reason or another, so he took his seat by
the window, and eventually became known
all over the world, or wherever lawyers
congregate. Thus we see upon what a
small peg destiny sometimes hangs
| There is no doubt that Judge Cambc
was man of integrity and ability. Some
even told that he had conscience IN
his youth he was considered sentimental
and went so far, upon occasionI as tc
write poetry. But he took up the study
of the law quite early, and the law be-
came an infatuation with him. As, THE
years went on he became saturated with
| it, so that 1t took full possession of his
soul and mind. He judged everything in
| the earth and the waters under the earth
| by his Maltese law, which was somewhat
different from that now prevailing, as the
island then was under the dominion Of
| the knights of ST. Jothn. In the mind
of Judge Cambo, though he perhaps
wouldn't have confessed it, justice was a
small thing as compared with the Law.
If justice and the law could be made "a
| walk comfortably along the same road,
well and good; otherwise, the law had
the right of way and justice must scratch
| for itself.
So Judge Cambo sat at his window. in
the soft Mediterranean night, and as he
| looked into the street beneath him, he
\ saw one man stab another The wounded
man, VINO had been dying for his life,
reeled and fell. At this moment the mur-
derers cap fell off, and his face was
fully exposed to the judge. The judge
and the assassin stared at each other for
| q moment, and then the latter replaced
his cap, threw away the sheath of his
knife, and ran. The learned jurist sat at
his window, gazing calmly at the dead
man. An ordinary citizen might have
raised an alarm, but the judge did moth
| ing. 1t is possible that he was raking
through his mind for a law that would fit
the case.
| The night wore on and morning was
approaching, and the judge remained ut
his window. Then a baker came into the
street. carrying his loaves for distribu-
| tion. Presently the baker beheld the
corpes and stood looking at 1t, as though
dazed Then he saw the sheath of the
knife, picked it up and examined it, and
put it in his pocket. Then panic over
took him, and he ran, but just at that mo-
ment policemen came around the corner
and seized him. The unfortunate baker
was led away to prison, and the judge,
calm and serene, lay down for few lines
! of slumber.
| In due season the baker was brought
up for trial in the criminal court. and the
presiding judge in that court was Cambo.
He had come to the conclusion, after rum
mating over all the law he had absorbed
| in the course of his career, that he had
| no right to act from his own private
knowledge in a matter brought before
him in his official capacity. Learned
writers, discussing the case, have said