,'VS.^r'
 
 HALF A CENTURY WITH JUDGES 
 AND LAWYERS 
 
 BY 
 
 JOSEPH A. WILLARD 
 
 CLERIC OF THE SUPERIOR COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 HOUGHTON, MIFFLTN AND COMPANY 
 
 1895
 
 Copyright, 1895, 
 By JOSEPH A. WILLARD. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
 SECOKD EDITION. 
 
 77ie Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A. 
 Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Co.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Veey often the preface is the most impor- 
 tant portion of a work. 
 
 The stories, anecdotes, scenes, in this collec- 
 tion, by whatever name they may he called, are 
 mainly from my own hearing and personal 
 observation ; as to those which are not so, I 
 have endeavored to state the facts correctly. 
 These I am sure I do not forget, though I may 
 not have named in every instance the exact year 
 of their occurrence. I should have been pleased 
 to delineate and describe at greater length the 
 personages who figure in these reminiscences, as 
 their actual appearance is imknown to many of 
 the younger members of the bar ; but the work 
 would be too great. Moreover, I am not able 
 to do it, currente calamo. 
 
 Many of the anecdotes have been current 
 among the senior members of the bar, and 
 others have been told by me, and so have 
 become known.
 
 IV PREFACE. 
 
 I am handicapped very much in tliis : that, 
 as I have said, the reader is not acquainted 
 with the actual appearance of the persons re- 
 ferred to, their dress, their tones of voice, their 
 tout ensemble, so to speak; and hence many- 
 sayings and doings will seem stale, flat, and 
 unprofitable, and the point may be lost. 
 
 It is quite essential to be acquainted with the 
 dramatis personce to appreciate a joke in full. 
 I have therefore, where I thought it proper, 
 given names ; but in some instances a just re- 
 gard for the feelings of those living has led me 
 to refrain. 
 
 I have not written aught in malice, and I 
 launch this trifle, trusting to the good-will of 
 my brethren of the bar who have known me 
 so long, and by whom I have always been 
 treated with the utmost kindness and consid- 
 eration.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. QtTis Apekit ? . » . 1 . vi. . . 1 
 
 TT r T^£ iU^^^^ 
 
 II. Curia . . ,^ .54 
 
 III. Res Judicata 84 
 
 IV. Par Horkidum . . . . , . , , 145 
 V. Obiter Dicta. Part I. . -V-^fS^^ . . 157 
 
 VI. Obiter Dicta. Part II. . •./->• • • 196 
 
 Vn. In Re-Tort. Part I. . "^^ V . . 282 
 
 Vin. In Re-Tort. Part II. . . . . . 293 
 
 Index 363
 
 HALF A CENTURY WITH JUDGES 
 AND LAWYERS. 
 
 QUIS APERIT ? 
 
 I SHALL begin by giving some account of 
 myself. The ancestor from whom my branch 
 of the Willard family descended was Major 
 Simon Willard, born in the parish of Horsmon- 
 den, county of Kent, England. He came to 
 Massachusetts in 1634, and after a long and 
 honorable career in the service of the colony 
 was actively engaged in military duty in King 
 Philip's War at the time of his death. He first 
 took up his abode in Cambridge, and nearly two 
 centuries later my father purchased the house 
 and lot of land which had been the property of 
 Simon, and subsequently resided there. A stone 
 erected at Concord, Mass., where the Major 
 afterwards lived, bears the following inscription : 
 
 " Here on this farm dwelt Simon Willard, 
 who did good service to the town and his coun- 
 try, for more than forty years." 
 
 I am a descendant from Simon, in the seventh 
 generation. My paternal grandfather was Jo-
 
 2 QUTS APERTTf 
 
 seph Willard, President of Harvard Collep^e. 
 My father, Sidney Willard, who was graduated 
 from Harvard in the class of 1798, was Professor 
 of Latin, Hebrew, and other Oriental languages 
 for nearly twenty-five years, as well as librarian 
 and tutor. He was also a Representative in the 
 Massachusetts Legislature in 1833, 1837, and 
 1843 ; Senator in 1834, 1835, 1839, and 1840 ; 
 member of the Governor's Council ; and Mayor 
 of Cambridge in 1848 and 1850. 
 
 My maternal grandfather was Asa Andrews, 
 a well-known lawyer in Ipswich, in the county of 
 Essex, and a dii'ect descendant of Ann Dudley, 
 better known as Ann Bradstreet. I am of the 
 fifth generation from Ann Bradstreet, wife of 
 Governor Bradstreet. 
 
 Mr. Andrews was appointed collector of the 
 port of Ipswich by President Washington. He 
 held his commission until the election of An- 
 drew Jackson, when he was removed. The 
 United States government brought a suit against 
 him and recovered $5000. Rufus Choate and 
 Judge Otis P. Lord, then a practicing lawyer, 
 saw the injustice of it, and brought a writ of 
 error in the United States Court at Washington. 
 The judgment was reversed, and he in turn 
 recovered judgment against the United States 
 for $5000, which sum was paid to him, Mr. 
 Choate and Mr. Lord giving their services.
 
 EARLY YEARS. 3 
 
 I was born in Cainbrklge, Mass., on the 29th 
 day of September, 181G. IVIy mother died one 
 year after my birth. The first seven years of 
 my life were passed in Cambridge ; the next 
 year at Westford Academy, of which John 
 Wright was teacher, and where I began the 
 study of the classics. 
 
 After that I returned to Cambridgeport, and 
 resumed my studies at a school in which James 
 Freeman Clarke was teacher. And here I will 
 mention my second meeting with James Free- 
 man Clarke, some forty years later, when at a 
 friend's wedding where he officiated I recalled 
 myself to his memory as his old pupil, Joseph 
 A. Willard, and received the following kindly 
 criticism : " Oh, yes, I remember you well, — 
 a very mischievous boy, but nothing malicious." 
 
 Shortly after this, my father let his house in 
 Cambridge to Rev. Mr. Coit, an Episcopal min- 
 ister who was settled there, and who married a 
 sister of Wendell Phillips ; my father and I 
 residing with them. I remained at school in 
 Cambridgeport for some time. 
 
 There was then no means of conveyance to 
 Boston, except a stage, which ran twice a day 
 to and fro, and was driven by Cyrus Morse, an 
 old stage-driver ; so I walked to my school 
 twice each day. This stage carried the mail, 
 the postage on letters from Cambridge to Bos-
 
 4 QUIS APERlTf 
 
 ton being then six cents. The fare was twenty- 
 five cents. In the summer, the time of leaving 
 Cambridge was eight A. m. and two P. M. The 
 stage returned from Boston at twelve and six. 
 In the winter, the time was an hour later in the 
 morning and an hour earlier at night. 
 
 Mrs. Morse, wife of Cyrus, had charge of me 
 for a short time after my mother died, and 
 always in after years regarded me with mo- 
 therly affection ; frequently as I passed her house 
 on my return home from school when at Cam- 
 bridge, she had a slice of brown bread and 
 butter ready for me. If I happened to be on 
 the road when Mr. Morse came out from Boston 
 with the stage, he always asked me to get on 
 and ride with him while he distributed his passen- 
 gers at their several homes. When Morse got 
 too old to drive he resigned ; and when he had 
 partially lost his mind the ruling passion was 
 so strong that he hitched lines to his tea-kettle 
 and drove at home. 
 
 The stage property was owned by James B. 
 Read, who also kept a livery stable, and who, 
 knowing that I was developing a fondness for 
 horses, often gave me a ride on horseback 
 whenever any of his horses needed exercise. 
 For greater accommodation of the public a two- 
 hourly stage, established by Eben Kimball on 
 April 1, 1826, and later an hourly, were put
 
 AN EDUCATED HORSE. 6 
 
 on the road, and other drivers were joined with 
 Morse, in charge of these conveyances. 
 
 In 1824, I remember being one of the school- 
 children in Cambridge who were arrayed, 
 boys and girls, on each side of Main Street, 
 with a badge pinned to each of them, on 
 which was inscribed, " Welcome, Lafayette," 
 with his likeness upon it ; while Lafayette sat 
 in a barouche which was driven between the 
 lines, the boys bowing, and the girls courtesying. 
 
 At the house where I boarded in Cambridge- 
 port lived a gentleman of singular character 
 by the name of Amasa Clapp. He was a 
 good singer. He had in his possession a 
 handsome mare, which he had educated, and 
 which would tell the time of day, take off the 
 owner's hat, and perform various other tricks. 
 Erastus Brigham, a brother of Chief Justice 
 Brigham, was also a musician, and a friend of 
 Clapp, and they often made the welkin ring 
 with their songs and stories. 
 
 Many years after, while riding horseback one 
 day in Dorchester, I lost my way. Along the 
 road came a rider in whose person I recognized 
 Mr. Clapp. 
 
 I said : " Mr. Clapp, where am I ? " 
 
 He said : " Who are you ? " 
 
 I replied : " My name is Willard ; I boarded 
 with you, at Cambridgeport, many years ago,
 
 6 aUlS APERITf 
 
 when I was a boy, and you had a horse which 
 would tell the time." 
 
 " That 's singular," he said. " I have one here 
 now that will do the same thing. Charley, 
 what time is it?" and by some means or 
 signals, the horse pawed the hour and minute. 
 Afterward I saw Mr. Clapp frequently on 
 the mile trotting ground, in sleighing time, 
 sitting in a crate fastened to a pair of runners 
 with a horse harnessed to it, Mr. Clapp fan- 
 tastically dressed and attracting general atten- 
 tion. 
 
 In the autumn of 1824, a private school 
 was opened in Cambridge, to which I went, 
 and among my schoolmates w^ere Thomas 
 Thacher Higginson, Charles E. Ware, Horatio 
 Bigelow, Charles and Arthur Devens, George 
 A. and Israel Foxcroft, Richard H. Dana, 
 jr., John Holmes, brother of Oliver Wendell 
 Holmes, Eugene and Henry W. Fuller, brothers 
 of Margaret Fuller, and others. Among the 
 teachers of this school were Ralph Waldo 
 
 Emerson, Sanford, Barzillai Frost, and 
 
 Henry S. McKean. Sunday services took 
 place in the chapel, in University Hall, all the 
 professors, their families, and the students at- 
 tending. 
 
 President Kirldand and Rev. Dr. Ware 
 preached alternately ; the organ was played
 
 FRESH POND HOTEL. 7 
 
 by one of the students, and the choir furnished 
 from the same source. 
 
 In vacation we attended services in the 
 old meeting-house in the square, Rev. Abiel 
 Holmes, minister ; and I remember well on 
 entering the pew one Sunday, the lines of some 
 sacrilegious student, who had written on the 
 boards of the pew, — 
 
 " Dr. Holmes devoutly looks, 
 First to Heaven, and then his hooks." 
 
 My father lived near the residence of Mr. 
 Edmund T. Dana, a brother of Richard H. 
 Dana, senior. Mr. Edmund T. Dana was a 
 retired gentleman and somewhat of an artist. 
 In 1827, or 1828, I cannot say exactly which, 
 I went one night with him to the old Federal 
 Street Theatre to see " Der Freischiitz," with 
 Henry J. Finn as Caspar. It was not then an 
 opera, but a play. The diablerie was to me 
 so terrific, that when I reached home and went 
 to bed, though tired with the walk of three 
 miles from Boston, I could not sleep because 
 of the weird impression it had made upon me. 
 
 Fresh Pond was a gentleman's resort for 
 fishing, fish dinners, and suppers. A well-known 
 place was kept there by Jacob Wyeth, who was 
 a graduate of Harvard, and quite a learned man. 
 I remember on one occasion going there with 
 my father, accompanied by Professors Channing
 
 8 QUJS APERITf 
 
 and Sales. We were in a flat-bottomed boat, 
 and when we endeavored to row in, such a stiff 
 breeze was blowing that we could make no head- 
 way. Professor Sales in sonorous tones uttered 
 his usual expletive, " By George ! we shan't get 
 in ; " but luckily for the three learned profes- 
 sors, two students (one of them the late Robert 
 Rantoul) who were in a sailboat near by came 
 to our assistance and, taking us in tow, brought 
 us safely to the wharf. 
 
 Nathaniel J. Wyeth succeeded Jacob, but 
 being an energetic and impulsive man, life 
 there was too quiet for him, and in 1830, or 
 thereabouts, he organized a band, in which were 
 many of my acquaintances, for an expedition to 
 the far West, and crossed the Rocky Mountains 
 into Oregon. Their sufferings were extreme. 
 After he returned he became a large ice dealer, 
 and was one of the first to send ice abroad. 
 The hotel then went into the hands of Jonas 
 Wyeth. Latterly it has been some kind of a 
 Roman Catholic Institution which is now re- 
 moved, and the ground taken for a public park. 
 
 Commencement days were the great sensation 
 of Cambridge. Some time beforehand a num- 
 ber of improvised sheds covered with brush 
 were built for the teams that came from Boston. 
 The streets were lined on both sides with candy 
 stands, gambling, dice, and roulette tables ;
 
 HARVARD COMMENCEMENTS. 9 
 
 there were booths on the common with fiddling 
 and dancing, and inside were shows of learned 
 and flying horses, and of learned pigs. A 
 great many gamblers and roughs came out from 
 Boston and made Cambridge boisterous and 
 disorderly for three days ; many fights ensued, 
 and many black eyes were given, but there 
 was no pugilistic ring, and though football was 
 played on the college grounds there was no slug- 
 ging and no broken limbs. 
 
 At one of the Commencements the Siamese 
 twins were exhibited there. They were joined 
 together by a band of flesh from side to side, as 
 nearly as I remember, of about four inches in 
 width ; the physicians said that the blood in 
 their veins and arteries flowed through it, and 
 that they were afraid to attempt their separa- 
 tion. Subsequently they went south and pur- 
 chased a plantation. They made another visit 
 to Boston later, and died shortly after their 
 return home. 
 
 Captain Coffin, who brought them over from 
 Siam, was a friend of my uncle,, who was also a 
 captain of an East Indiaman ; thus I had free 
 admittance to the show, and from curiosity my 
 acquaintance soon progressed to friendly rela- 
 tions. They were adepts at the game of check- 
 ers, and I frequently saw them play games with 
 other persons, although I never saw them both
 
 10 QUIS APERITf 
 
 attempt to move at once. Sometimes one v.-ould 
 move, sometimes the other. Captain Coflin said 
 that only once did he ever know them to disagree ; 
 one wanted to bathe and the other did not. 
 
 As an instance of their perfect unanimity of 
 feeling, he said, one day when the hatches of 
 the ship were off to ventilate the hold, the twins 
 being then abreast of the hatchway, the ship 
 gave a lurch, when both sprang simultaneously 
 and cleared the hatchway. Had they been of a 
 different mind, they would probably have been 
 severely injured. 
 
 I remember another pair of twins who were 
 not joined together by flesh, who kept an oyster 
 cellar in Cambridge. They were simple minded, 
 and the boys and students were continually teas- 
 ing them. Their sign was " Peter and Solomon 
 Snow," and one morning it was covered with a 
 quotation from Horace, " Jam satis nivis.^^ 
 
 There were other quaint characters in Cam- 
 bridge, more, it would seem, than there are in 
 every country town ; the contrast between the 
 college and the town served to render more 
 marked the peculiarities of the latter. Royal 
 Morse, the auctioneer, was another original, and 
 a bright, amusing man. I remember one thing 
 in particular, that after one of his sales was 
 over, a table was left. He asked his clerk who 
 bought that table. " Mr. and Mrs. "
 
 SOME QUAINT CHARACTERS. 11 
 
 Then Mr. Morse said: "They are the most 
 un-eom-for-^(/Z)/e folks I ever saw." 
 
 Abram Bigelow, who was somewhat of an 
 aristocrat, was at that time clerk of the courts. 
 My father told me this story : — 
 
 One Mr. Tarbell, of Cambridge, who had been 
 a cooper, was appointed deputy sheriff. This 
 was much against the notions of Clerk Bigelow, 
 and when Mr. Tarbell made his first return of 
 writs to the clerk's office, Mr. Bigelow looked 
 them over critically, and observed something 
 which was not quite correct. He said : " Mr. 
 Tarbell, bung stave loose here, sir." 
 
 George Meacham, of Cambridge, was another 
 well-known character, and a great horsedealer. 
 He was in the habit of making trips or excur- 
 sions to Canada, for horses. He told me that 
 when he arrived at Montreal — a serious journey 
 in those days — he gave the priest who offici- 
 ated at the principal Roman Catholic church 
 fifty dollars for announcing to the congregation 
 after services were over that Colonel Meacham 
 was in town, and would remain for a week ; and 
 in consequence the farmers would bring in their 
 horses to him. 
 
 Old Gilson was a cobbler who kept shop at 
 the entrance of a passageway to the wharf where 
 the students and boys bathed. He usually had 
 a companion with him named Gordon. Gilson
 
 12 QUIS APERIT? 
 
 claimed to have broken his neck by falling off 
 his horse on some muster field, and the boys 
 liked to <4o in and tease the old man and hear 
 him tell his story. Before he would finish it, 
 while pounding leather on his lapstone, there 
 would be a sudden jerk in his neck. " There 
 goes my neck again," he used to say; and put- 
 ting a hand on each side of his head he would 
 straighten it, remarking, "Now it is all right; 
 Gording, pass the rum." 
 
 Another singular character was Abram Hil- 
 liard, a lawyer, and a very able one. He was 
 much troubled with what is now called neural- 
 gia, which he called tic douloureux, and in cold 
 weather always wore a long black coat reaching 
 to his heels, his neck bound with a red bandanna. 
 He was indeed ''^Justus et tenax i^'^'^l^ositiy 
 Having once carried a case of one of his clients 
 to the Supreme Coiu't, he told him that the law 
 was in his favor. The Supreme Court, however, 
 decided adversely, and when the client first met 
 him after the decision he said : " Mr. Hilliard, 
 the Supreme Court has decided that so and so 
 is not the law; " to which Mr. Hilliard replied, 
 " The Supreme Court decides one way, but / 
 decide the other.'''' 
 
 For Sunday-school I attended Dr. Holmes's 
 church, where a kind old deacon named Munroe 
 went also. I studied the Westminster Cate-
 
 IN PERILS OF WATERS. 13 
 
 chism, which was as repugnant to me then as it 
 is now, and neglected my lessons. 
 
 The deacon did not seem anxious to compel 
 me, and perhaps his gentle latitudinarianism 
 bore fruit in the next generation, for his three 
 sons (two of whom I knew well) each joined a 
 different denomination, one becoming a Unita- 
 rian, one a Baptist, and the other an Episcopal 
 clergyman. 
 
 There was a sloop in Cambridge called the 
 Harvard, belonging, I think, to Harvard Col- 
 lege, which made periodical trips during the 
 open weather from " Down East " to Cambridge 
 with wood to supply the College. She was 
 commanded by Captain Elwell, who was a kind, 
 genial old man, and very willing to loan us the 
 sloop's boat to row about the river ; and that 
 was my first experience on the water, to which 
 I intuitively or naturally took. 
 
 I learned early to swim and also to ride horse- 
 back ; of my horseback excursions I shall speak 
 hereafter. 
 
 Notwithstanding my knowledge of swimming, 
 I was nearly drowned twice. 
 
 The first time, I was on my way to see Mr. 
 Lauriat go up in a balloon. I took a boat 
 from Cambridge, and after getting through the 
 two bridges (there was no Brookline bridge 
 then) I put up my foresail. The boat was 
 ballasted with two 56-pound weights.
 
 14 QUIS APERIT? 
 
 After proceeding a short distance I attempted 
 to put up the mainsail. Just as I had shipped 
 it the main sheet caught, and before I could 
 reach the tiller a flaw struck the boat, the 
 ballast shifted and rolled down to the gunwale, 
 and over went the boat, throwing me into the 
 water. I came to the surface, and as the craft 
 was afloat on her beam ends, I climbed up on 
 her. The water was very cold, as it was early 
 in the spring, and I sat shivering on the boat, 
 until she was halfway between Magazine Wharf 
 and Boston, a distance of a mile or thereabouts, 
 when a party of United States officers who were 
 surveying the river picked me up, towed my 
 boat ashore, turned her over and emptied out 
 the water ; then I righted my ballast, put up 
 my foresail, and sailed to Boston. 
 
 Another time when I was in Gottenburg, 
 Sweden, I had some shirts hanging in the rig- 
 ging to dry. They blew overboard, and I 
 stripped and plunged over the side of the ship to 
 recover them. I had not considered the cold- 
 ness of the water in those northern latitudes, and 
 had swam not more than two rods from the 
 ship, when I felt as though something had 
 clasped me tightly around the body, and I gasped 
 for breath, and sank. I came to the surface, 
 and sank again. 
 
 When I came to the surface once more, I
 
 TRAVELING BY STAGE. 15 
 
 felt that something hit my head. I seized it, 
 and it proved to be a coil of rope thrown from 
 the ship. I was hauled in, more dead than alive, 
 and restored. 
 
 There is a common notion that at such a 
 moment of extremity all the sins and wicked- 
 ness of a whole life appear before the disowning 
 man as if revealed by a lightning flash : I am 
 sorry not to be able to confirm this from my ex- 
 perience on this occasion ; for after the pain 
 (which I sujjpose was the cramp) had left me, 
 everything, on the contrary, appeared beautiful, 
 and I felt as if I were going to sleep. Not 
 being able to attribute the peace and calm I felt 
 at the time to any exemption from human 
 frailty, the fact remains that the apparitions of 
 the past failed to appear, and after the episode 
 at Gottenburg I never had another opportunity 
 to test the truth of the old belief. 
 
 In 1828, I was accustomed to go occasionally 
 with my father in the stage to Portsmouth, N. H., 
 his mother's birthplace, and where his aunts and 
 uncles lived. Generally I rode on the outside 
 of the stage, even in winter. There were many 
 marked characters among the stage-drivers, not- 
 ably an odd little figure, Jack Meudum by name, 
 whose shortness of limb obliged him to be 
 strapped to his seat. On one of our Portsmouth
 
 16 QUTS APE R IT? 
 
 journeys one very cold day, my father asked 
 for me the privilege of a seat beside tlie driver, 
 
 Mendiim. " D it," said Jack, " he '11 
 
 freeze, but I '11 try him ; " and I mounted to the 
 place of perilous honor, and rode safely to 
 Portsmouth, a proud and hai3py boy. 
 
 The stage started from Wildes' Hotel in Ann 
 Street, Boston, now North Street, at about 7.30 
 in the morning, stopped at Lynn Hotel, which 
 then stood near the westerly end of the Common 
 in that city, where the fares were taken, and the 
 horses watered by an old colored man named 
 True, a well-known factotum about the hotel. 
 
 At Salem, Ipswich, Newburyport, and Hamp- 
 ton the horses were again changed, and the 
 stage arrived at Portsmouth about 7.30 in the 
 evening ; and this was then regarded as speedy 
 traveling. 
 
 Now in this age of rapid transit, the same 
 twelve hours takes us to Portsmouth, with the 
 voyage to and from the Isles of Shoals, includ- 
 ing a pause for dinner, and a leisurely return 
 to Boston. 
 
 I pursued my studies until the autumn of 
 1830, my father intending me for college. 
 About that time I had gone through Nepos, 
 Csesar, Sallust, a part of Cicero and Horace, the 
 -^neid of Virgil, and some Greek ; the names 
 of the books I do not recollect, as I did not take 
 readily to Greek.
 
 PIGEON S/fOOTIXa. 17 
 
 I also went tlu'ougli the regular course of 
 arithmetic, geography, and algebra, and had I 
 remained at home, I should have tried to enter 
 Harvard the following year. I had also a great 
 fondness for reading- tales of fiction and noted 
 trials ; some of my favorite books were Robin- 
 son Crusoe, Sanford and Merton, Hogg's Scot- 
 tish Tales, Fielding, and Smollett, Miss Edge- 
 worth, etc. 
 
 My holidays were Wednesday and Saturday 
 afternoons, and I usually spent them shooting 
 game in the Stoneham woods. 
 
 I had an excellent gun, a well trained dog, 
 and I never went out shooting without getting 
 at least six or seven woodcock and as many 
 partridges. Occasionally my companion and I 
 varied our sport by decoying wild pigeons into 
 the open field, concealing ourselves behind an 
 extemporized screen made of brush, and shoot- 
 ing them on what was called a setting-pole. A 
 stake was placed in the ground ten feet high, 
 another one, fifty feet from that, fifteen feet 
 high ; then a long pole resting on each end of the 
 stakes at an angle of about forty-five degrees, so 
 that if the long pole was extended it would just 
 about reach the muzzle of the gun. The birds 
 were decoyed by means of a captured wild 
 pigeon, whose flight was checked by a light cot- 
 ton string tied to its legs, and if it fell to the 
 
 g 
 
 round it was thrown aeain into the air. 
 
 &'
 
 18 QUJS APERIT? 
 
 When the pigeons lighted on this long pole, 
 which they would do in numbers from fifty to 
 seventy-five, we fired at the same time, often 
 getting twenty or thirty pigeons from the two 
 shots. Wild pigeons at that time were so nu- 
 merous here that they lighted in the a})ple- 
 trees in my father's yard. A Mr. Pomeroy 
 who lived at Sweet Auburn, now Mt. Auburn, 
 and raised strawberries and hydrangeas for mar- 
 ket, caught hundreds of them on the marshes 
 with nets. 
 
 In the autumn, on the marshes in the vicinity 
 of my father's house, and all along the banks of 
 Charles River, might be found peeps, yellow- 
 legs, and doe birds in great numbers, and occa- 
 sionally a plover. 
 
 Besides indulging in this favorite pastime, I 
 rode horseback frequently. 
 
 Some time between 1826 and 1830 I went 
 with my father to see the Misses Byles, daugh- 
 ters of Mather Byles, who lived on Tremont, 
 opposite Common Street. 
 
 I was asked to sit in an old-fashioned chair, 
 on the top of which a crown was carved. " Now, 
 my dear," said Miss Byles, " you can say you 
 have been under the crown." 
 
 They told my father many anecdotes of their 
 father. I remember one instance of parental
 
 DOCTOR MATHER BYLES. 19 
 
 and Puritan discipline, very characteristic of the 
 man and the times. They were made to get up 
 out of bed on a very cold winter's night, just to 
 show them how comfortable their bed was in 
 comparison with the weather ; an object lesson 
 which they never forgot. 
 
 And also this one : A man was advertised to 
 fly from a certain place. A gentleman asked 
 the Doctor if he were going to see him. " Pooh, 
 no ! " said the Doctor, " I have seen a horse fly." 
 Not far from the house was a stagnant pool of 
 water, which the Doctor had often asked the se- 
 lectmen to fill up. One summer day, when it was 
 apparently dry, the selectmen came to examine 
 the place, and on stepping in, went up to their 
 knees in mud and water. The Doctor appeared 
 and said : " Gentlemen, I am glad to see you 
 stirring in the matter." He was arrested, taken 
 before a magistrate, marched out vmder guard, 
 and discharged. He said he had been " guarded, 
 regarded, and disregarded." In answer to the 
 question asked of him one day, whether he were 
 a Whig or a Tory, he pointed to a tower not far 
 off. It was an observ-a-tory. 
 
 In October, 1830. I left home for a voyage to 
 the West Indies. I do not intend to speak at 
 any great length of my voyages, which continued 
 till the latter part of 1838, but this one was so
 
 20 r^r/.s- ArnniTi 
 
 unfortunate in its event for the owners, that I 
 will give a few particulars. The vessel I sailed 
 in was a fore-and-aft schooner of about 125 tons, 
 Isaiah W. P. Lewis, captain. We carried out 
 spars to rig her into a double topsail schooner. 
 The first port we made was Montego Bay in the 
 island of Jamaica. 
 
 After she was unloaded, we took on board 
 some logwood and fustic, which were stowed 
 fore and aft next the keelson to make even floor- 
 ing. Then the hold was lined with mats, and 
 we took in a cargo of oranges in bulk; that is, 
 they were poured immediately into the hold. 
 
 We had a remarkably quick passage to the 
 Balize. During the passage the captain was 
 taken sick and became delirious. Why a steam- 
 tug was not hired, I never knew, for there were 
 plenty which hailed us, to offer their services. 
 
 We attempted to go up the river under sail ; 
 in some places, where the current did not flow 
 too rapidly, we towed the schooner, and when 
 the wind blew strong down the reaches, we 
 anchored and went asliore. 
 
 One incident occurred which was quite amus- 
 ing to me. We happened to go ashore just at 
 the time when a large number of slaves on a 
 plantation were going to their dinner. I talked 
 with some of them, and a very old man with 
 white locks told me how hard they had to work.
 
 .1 VOVAGE TO rilE WEST f.XD/ES. 21 
 
 I saitl, "-Then yovi are glad when it rains." 
 "Oh, no, Massa," he said, "de more rain, de 
 more shelly corn." We were twenty-one days 
 getting to a bend in the Mississippi called the 
 English Turn, where the current was so rapid 
 that the mate gave up all attempts to sail further, 
 and we took a tug and ari-ived at New Orleans 
 at night. 
 
 The next day was Sunday, when Captain 
 Lewis was taken ashore. The following day, 
 Monday, the hatches were taken off, and when 
 one of the men jumped into the hold he went in 
 above his knees in rotten oranges. 
 
 I think, as well as I can remember, that there 
 were not twenty bushels of sound oranges taken 
 out of the whole cargo. 
 
 We had brought as passengers from Montego 
 Bay a captain and two men who had left a ves- 
 sel which had been condemned there and sold. 
 The captain, whose name was Ellis, brought the 
 proceeds of the sale with him. Sunday morning 
 he dressed in his best clothes and went ashore. 
 At twilight, as I was sitting on the fore-scuttle, a 
 man with no other clothes than a flannel shirt 
 and drawers came running breathlessly on 
 board ; as he ran down the companion way, I 
 said to my shipmate, " That 's Captain Ellis ; 
 had n't we better see what is the matter ? " 
 " No," he said, " let 's mind our own business."
 
 22 Qr/S APERIT? 
 
 On the following morning-, when we turned out, 
 we found his underclothing, covered with spots 
 of blood, on the flooring- of the lower deck, but 
 he had disappeared. 
 
 After Captain Lewis had recovered, he set on 
 foot various inquiries, and at last ascertained 
 that Ellis had, in a moment of insanity, enlisted 
 in the United States service, and was in one of 
 the forts down the river. Having become sane, 
 he was released after some negotiation. He 
 stated to Captain Lewis that he had taken with 
 him all the money received from the sale of 
 the vessel, and while in a gambling-house was 
 drugged, stabbed, and robbed, which accounted 
 for his frenzy on our vessel. 
 
 Thereafter we took a new mate, some new 
 men, a cargo, and sailed for Port-au-Prince, on 
 the island of San Domingo. On the passage to 
 Port-au-Prince, while sailing along the south side 
 of Cuba, I met with an accident which had a 
 marked effect upon my subsequent actions in 
 certain emergencies, when at sea. To a lands- 
 man, it is necessary to explain somewhat. 
 
 In a schooner as rigged then, carrying a jib 
 and a flying jib, the jib-boom passed through an 
 ii'on band about three inches wide, covered with 
 leather on the end of the bowsprit ; the head 
 stays ran from the mast head to the end of the 
 bowsprit, also to the jib-boom. When the
 
 A VOYAGE TO THE WEST IX DIES. 23 
 
 schooner pitched forward the head stays wei-e 
 slackened, and there was the space of an inch or 
 so between the jib-boom and the band. When 
 she pitched aft the stays were tautened, and the 
 jib-boom bi'ought " chock up " against the band. 
 I was sent out to help take in the flying jib. 
 The schooner was pitching heavily in a head sea, 
 plunging our legs into the water every time she 
 pitched forward. My wet feet slipped on the 
 foot ropes, and I caught the first thing I could 
 get hold of ; it was the iron band ; but hardly 
 had I grasped it, when she pitched aft and held 
 me like a vice, taking off three of my fingernails, 
 besides jamming my fingers badly. I deter- 
 mined that I would never go out on the jib-boom 
 again, and I never did ; for afterwards when I 
 sailed in a square rigger and the order was given 
 to take in the light sails, I was always quick 
 enough to go for a royal. 
 
 We arrived at Port-au-Prince, and there I saw 
 President Boyer, a short, copper-colored man, of 
 the Napoleonic type, review his troops, an array 
 which put me in mind of Falstaff's ragged army. 
 
 We took in a cargo of cofPee, and when the 
 schooner was two thirds full, it was observed by 
 the mate that she was very low in the water. 
 The pumps were rigged, and we pumped her 
 most of the forenoon. All the coffee was wet. 
 We unbent the sails and carried them ashore.
 
 24 (^r/.s APE HIT? 
 
 took out the coffee, carried it ashore, dried it, 
 and re-bagged it. Upon examination of the 
 schooner by the surveyors, a rotten phmk was 
 found under the counter, ten inches square or 
 more, where the water had been pouring in. It 
 was not thought sufficient to cond'emn her, and 
 we took the coffee back to New Orleans, and the 
 owners or charterers sold it for what it would 
 bring as damaged coffee. Thus ended this un- 
 fortunate voyage. I was thrown adrift, in the 
 sj)ring of 1831, and as many able seamen could 
 be obtained who were willing to work their pas- 
 sage to go North, there was no chance for a boy. 
 I found a captain of a schooner who was willing 
 to take me to Boston, and trust to having my 
 passage paid when I got home. I do not care to 
 say much about my voyages ; they are more or 
 less interesting, some quite exciting, and on one 
 ship on which I sailed a mutiny occurred. I was 
 with one captain who was in the habit of saying 
 when we got down to Boston Light, " Steward, 
 bring me a basin of water, and let me wash off 
 my Boston face, and get on my sea one." I went 
 to Havana, the west coast of Africa, Smyrna, 
 Batavia, the Isle of Wight, London, Amsterdam, 
 Gottenburg, and Manila,. On my voyage home 
 from Batavia I stopped at St. Helena and saw 
 Bonaparte's grave. One ship I sailed in from 
 Boston was a Salem ship, chartered by a man
 
 "STALE'' BREAD. 25 
 
 who was then an eminent Boston merchant. 
 The bread we ate was so bad, tliat after fully 
 soaking it in our coffee to enable us to eat it, 
 there would be an inch or so of small cock- 
 roaches, spiders, etc., in our coffee dippers. 
 We took hold of the bread barge, carried it to 
 the captain who was then pacing the quarter- 
 deck, and asked him if he thought it was fit to 
 
 eat. He replied, " Yes, d you, I '11 make 
 
 you eat it and earn it too." We expected a 
 serious time, but a little decisive action on our 
 part brought him to reason ; seizing the offend- 
 ing stuff, we hurried it to the leeside and threw 
 it all overboard in his presence, thus losing our 
 bread for breakfast ; shortly after we went be- 
 low all hands were called. " Rig a tackle on 
 the mizzen stay," was the order. The tackle was 
 rigged, the mizzen hatchway opened, and a hogs- 
 head hoisted out containing what proved to be 
 excellent bread that we used all the time there- 
 after. In the Eastern Archipelago we spoke a 
 ship which hoisted signals of distress. We hove 
 to, and learned that they had over one hundred 
 Lascars on board, and were short of bread, and 
 they were given our condemned stuff. 
 
 The ship's cousin, who had sailed in her some 
 years, told me upon inquiry that the ship's owner 
 bought this bread in Boston at auction ; that it 
 had been three years in the frigate Potomac on
 
 26 QUJS ArElilTf 
 
 her last cruise to the East Indies, when, upon 
 her arrival at Boston, it was sold. 
 
 Had the owner taken a little trouble to have 
 this bread baked over, all this abomination 
 would have been destroyed. 
 
 In 1834, while waiting for a voyage, I wit- 
 nessed some remarkable trials in Boston. The 
 first was in the old Court House, which stood 
 where the City Hall stands now. It was the 
 trial of a colored man named Joseph, and of a 
 white man named Otis, for the murder of Cap- 
 tain Crosby of the brig Juniper, which belonged 
 to Winsor Fay. She was bound for Surinam. 
 The mate's name was Eldridge, and the second 
 mate's, James H. Peterson. 
 
 When about ten days out Peterson, who had 
 his watch on deck, while sitting on the hencoop, 
 was startled by a continued rapping below. 
 This he afterwards accounted for as the noise 
 made by one end of the bayonet with which 
 Joseph was stabbing the mate, hitting the deck. 
 Then, hearing a scream, he ran towards the cabin 
 and caught the captain as he fell and died. 
 The mate ran up the companion way with Joseph 
 behind, stabbing him with the bayonet. Peter- 
 son, grasping the first thing within his reach, 
 which happened to be a piece of a royal yard, 
 struck Joseph some blows over the head, that,
 
 TWO REMARKABLE TRIALS. 27 
 
 however, had no effect. lie then grappled with 
 him. Meanwhile, the man at the wheel left the 
 helm and jumped into the longboat which was 
 hanging at the stern. Otis ran up the forerig- 
 ging, leaving Joseph and Peterson to fight it out. 
 Being under no steerage way, the brig rolled 
 heavily, while they were fighting for their lives. 
 Peterson told me afterwards that it seemed to 
 him as though it was an hour, but in all prob- 
 ability it was only a few minutes. First one 
 would be on top, then the other. At last, 
 Peterson fastened his teeth in his opponent's 
 throat, and getting the clew garnet round his 
 neck, he hauled him to the belaying pins, made 
 the rope fast, called the man from the boat to 
 take the helm again, brought a pistol, and 
 ordered Otis to come down ; he then put them 
 both in irons, went to the forecastle hatch, got 
 the other two men up, and turned the brig for 
 Boston. Otis and Joseph were convicted, and 
 Joseph was hanged ; but by reason of certain 
 affidavits procured by Father Taylor, together 
 with his own, Otis was pardoned by President 
 Jackson. I talked with the mate Eldridge, and 
 at the trial he testified, as he told me, that he 
 had eighteen stabs. I talked with Peterson 
 about it quite freely, and he narrated the circum- 
 stances to me rather more graphically than he 
 did upon the witness stand.
 
 28 aUIS APERIT1 
 
 The other trial was at the old Masonic Temple, 
 the building now occupied by R. H. Stearns & 
 Co., on the corner of Tremont Street and Tem- 
 ple Place. This was a trial of twelve persons 
 for piracy on the high seas, and robbing and set- 
 ting fire to the brig Mexican of Salem. Judge 
 Story presided at the trial, and Andrew Dunlap 
 was the United States Attorney. David Lee 
 Child and George S. Hillard were the counsel 
 for the prisoners. At the first part of the trial 
 Mr. Stephen Badlam was sworn as interpreter, 
 but as Mr. Child found some fault with him, 
 Captain William N. Peyton and Mr. Traveres, 
 who I believe was the Spanish consul, were 
 sworn as assistant interpreters. 
 
 The testimony in substance showed that the 
 Pinda or Panda had sailed from Havana on a 
 slaving expedition. 
 
 She overhauled the Mexican, fired when 
 within gunshot, and the Mexican hove to. Then 
 certain of the crew of the Panda boarded the 
 Mexican, took from her all the money they could 
 find, fastened the crew below, and set fire to her. 
 
 The pirates had neglected to fasten the cabin 
 skylight, so that the crew of the brig raised it, 
 and when they saw that the slaver was at a suffi- 
 cient distance, they put the fire out and returned 
 home. 
 
 The slaver proceeded to the. coast of Africa,
 
 PIRACY ON THE lUGlI SEAS. 29 
 
 and while there the ojfficers of II. B. M.'s man- 
 of-war Curlew heard of the capture of the Mexi- 
 can, and as the Panda answered the description 
 of the vessel that captured her, they took her 
 and these men who were on trial (but not 
 the entire crew) to England, and then brought 
 them to Salem. 
 
 Delgardo committed suicide in Salem jail; 
 twelve were tried, seven convicted, and five 
 acquitted. 
 
 After the conviction, De Soto, the first mate, 
 through the intercession of Mrs. David Lee 
 Child, the wife of the counsel, was pardoned. A 
 strong point in his favor was his bravery in res- 
 cuing a vessel in circumstances of great peril, 
 with her crew and passengers of women and 
 children, as she lay aground on the Bahama 
 Banks. 
 
 The others were hanged at the Leverett Street 
 jail, and many people came in boats to witness 
 the execution, which I also saw. 
 
 I give the names of these pirates : Pedro Gi- 
 bert, captain, convicted and hanged. Bernardo 
 de Soto, mate, pardoned. Francisco Ruiz, car- 
 penter, hanged. Manuel Boyga, sailor, con- 
 victed and hanged. Manuel Castillo, sailor, 
 convicted and hanged. Angel Garcia, sailor, 
 convicted and hanged, Juan Montenegro, 
 sailor, convicted and hanged. Nicola Costa,
 
 30 QUIS APERIT? 
 
 cabin boy, acquitted. Antonio Ferrer, cook, 
 acquitted. Domingo Guzman, sailor, acquitted. 
 Juan Antonio Portaua, sailor, acquitted. Jose 
 Velasques, sailor, acquitted. 
 
 Boyga cut his throat, and was hanged sitting 
 in a chair ; Ruiz pretended to be insane, but 
 soon it was decided that he was shamming, and 
 he was accordingly executed. 
 
 While I was on shore, after returning from 
 one of my voyages, the ship lay at the wharf 
 waiting for a cargo, and the mate was ship- 
 keeper. He was a bluff, frank fellow, but polite 
 when spoken to in a proper manner. 
 
 It was the summer in which Lord Beresford 
 and the Marquis of Waterford came over from 
 Europe to \asit this country. Their yacht lay 
 in the stream, and their sailors pulled their boat 
 with those two gentlemen in it alongside of our 
 ship from which they wei-e to land. I was talk- 
 ing with the mate as they came on board, and 
 one of them, whom we afterwards learned was 
 the Marquis of Waterford, stepped up to the 
 mate and said with the usual authoritative man- 
 ner of a lordly John Bull, " I want to find out 
 where the English consul lives." 
 
 " The devil you do," said the mate. 
 
 "Yes," said the Marquis. 
 
 " Then why in h — 1 don't 3 ou find out ? "
 
 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST. ?>1 
 
 " Do you know who I am ? " said the Mar- 
 quis. 
 
 "No," said the mate, " and I don't care a d — ." 
 
 Said the Marquis, " I am the IVIarquis of 
 Waterford, and this is my companion. Lord 
 Beresford." 
 
 Said the mate, " I don't care a d — if you are 
 the Duke of Wellington." 
 
 Then Lord Beresford said, in conciliatory 
 tones, at last recognizing the American spirit of 
 equality, " Will you be kind enough to tell me 
 where the English consul lives ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir," said the mate, '" with the greatest 
 pleasure ; " and he gave him the address. 
 
 When I returned from my first voyage, I 
 found John J. Sawyer, late assistant clerk of 
 the court in Middlesex County, and Richard 
 H. Dana, jr., father of the present Richard H. 
 Dana, getting ready to go to sea. Sawyer went 
 many years, and, if I remember correctly, made 
 many voyages after I became a landsman. 
 
 Dana went "Two Years before the Mast/' 
 which was sufficient for him. From my expe- 
 rience I think his work somewhat exaggerated ; 
 and from my acquaintance with him and his 
 surroundings in boyhood, I am not surprised, 
 for there could not have been any greater con- 
 trast than existed between his life, up to the 
 time he shipped, and the two years he had
 
 32 QUIS APER/Tf 
 
 spent in the forecastle. I admit his great 
 ability as an orator, but 1 think that his 
 manners were rather frigid, and he could not 
 let himself down to the level even of some of 
 those of his own rank in life. 
 
 I do not know the ability or character of his 
 associates on his voyage, as to their seaman- 
 ship, morality, education, or otherwise, but this 
 I do know, that about that time, during eight 
 years' service on the ocean, I made one voyage 
 up the Mediterranean, and one to India (the 
 crew on each voyage consisting of twelve men, 
 besides boys), and that out of those twelve 
 sailors only one was a foreigner, he being the 
 only man who was not perfectly competent to 
 navigate a ship to any part of the globe. 
 
 They were more or less educated men ; some 
 of them had lost their positions by dissipation, 
 and others liked the sj)irit of adventure more 
 than the responsibility of command. In sub- 
 sequent years I knew of many who became cap- 
 tains, resuming their former stations. When 
 I mention the names of Phillips and Jeffries, 
 of Rhode Island, Morrill, of Vermont, Dunning, 
 a graduate of Bowdoin College, Maine, Chad- 
 wick, a graduate of Exeter Academy, N. H., 
 Mugford. and Gerry, of Marblehead, and Bemis 
 and Bates, of Boston, it will be seen what class 
 of men I sailed with in the forecastle.
 
 A LITERARY PROPHECY. 33 
 
 In 18 — , there was at the Bar a very bright 
 and talented man by the name of William J. 
 Snelling, and as dissipated as he was talented. 
 He was sent to the house of correction, ,and 
 when he came out he published a book entitled 
 "Six Months in the House of Correction," to 
 parody " Six Months in a Convent," by Miss 
 Read, an inmate of the Charlestown Convent 
 at the time it was burnt. 
 
 Snelling also wrote an imitation of Pope's 
 " Dunciad," a book called " Truth, a Gift to 
 Scribblers " (which I own). That amongst 
 much sarcasm there were many truths in it 
 there is no doubt, but many persons were much 
 aggrieved. His preface opens with a dialogue 
 between himself and a friend, in which his 
 friend tells him to beware the law of libel. 
 He replies : — 
 
 " Faith not I, 
 The law and Mr. Badlam ^ I defy. 
 Our courts admit the truth in evidence, 
 And such an action will be deemed a sham, 
 See J. N. Maffit - versus Buckingham." ^ 
 
 He prophesied very truly with regard to 
 Oliver Wendell Holmes. He says : — 
 
 " Give Holmes a ride, the Muse's youngest son, 
 Equaled by few, surpassed by none, not one ; 
 A dawn of worth, in whose meridian days 
 Bryant with effort shall retain his bays." 
 
 1 A jailer. - A minister. ^ Editor of Galaxy.
 
 34 QUIS APERIT? 
 
 In 18 — , my father became the editor of the 
 " American Monthly lieview," which was very 
 fearless, "and," says Rev. Andrew P. Peabody, 
 " si^erior in merit to any literary review that 
 has ever been i)ublished in this country, its 
 purpose being without fear or favor to tell 
 the precise truth about new books, as they ap- 
 peared." It survived about two years. Among 
 the contributors were Professors Felton and 
 Peirce, Messrs. George S. Hillard, Wendell 
 Phillijjs, and Charles Sumner. 
 
 I remember one criticism, written by Pro- 
 fessor C. C. Felton, of a book of poems, by the 
 soi-disant Lynn bard, Mr. Alonzo Lewis. 
 
 One couplet ran thus : — 
 
 " The moon is rising o'er the sea, 
 Round as the fruit of orange-tree." 
 
 Mr. Felton said it might be as well, or better, 
 thus : — 
 
 " The moon is rising o'er the brine, 
 Roimd as the fruit of pumpkin vine." 
 
 Another couplet : — 
 
 " Great Washington and Chatham bold. 
 Whose hands the reins of state could hold." 
 
 Mr. Felton said it was clearly a case of 
 " va-Tepov Trporepo)'," or the cart before the horse, 
 and it would be more properly, — 
 
 " Bold Washington and Chatham great, 
 Whose hands could hold the reins of state."
 
 AN ECCENTRIC POET. 35 
 
 In 1839, there came to Cambridge a rather 
 eccentric j^erson, named John Lee, a graduate 
 of Dublin University. 
 
 He expected and endeavored to get a profes- 
 sorship in Harvard, but failed, and on account 
 of his singular habits and eccentricities was 
 somewhat derided. 
 
 My father was the only one who seemed to 
 tolerate him, and to whom he confided all his 
 expectations and troubles. My father told me 
 that he was a very learned man. One night in 
 the latter part of 1839, our doorbell was rung 
 violently. 
 
 I went to the door and picked up a paper 
 upon which was written the following : — 
 
 " Though final fate 
 And Ruin's weight 
 Be fixed on Harvard College ! 
 Yet, Willard ! we 
 Will honor thee 
 For moral worth, for knowledge." 
 
 And eight other verses, in one of which he 
 prophesied an explosion in Harvard : — 
 
 " And therefore when 
 Young ' Etna Men ' 
 Shall do as they have planned, sir ! 
 To ' fire the walls 
 Of Harvard halls, 
 And blow her off the land, sir ! ' 
 
 " May Mercy there 
 Sustain thy prayer,
 
 36 QUJS APE KIT? 
 
 And Arms Almig-hty shield thee ! 
 
 And well worn days 
 
 In virtue's waj's, 
 
 Exempt from Sorrow seal thee ! " 
 
 We all supposed this was from Lee. There 
 was a number of other verses, but I mention 
 only these as a coincidence, for shortly after 
 there was an explosion at Harvard, which broke 
 the windows and shattered the organ ; and 
 painted on a wall with grease and lampblack 
 were the words : " A bone for old Quin. to 
 pick." The guilty party was never discovered. 
 
 In 1839, my father had some large tracts of 
 land which he wished to get into the market, 
 and offered me such inducements to remain on 
 shore and improve the land, and also to resume 
 my studies with him, that I gave up my sea- 
 faring career. This determined my course of 
 life for several years. 
 
 In 1841, I married Penelope Cochran, a 
 descendant in the fourth generation from Mary 
 Faneuil, daughter of Benjamin, and niece of 
 Peter Faneuil. Our bridal trip was taken to 
 the White Mountains, at that time more than a 
 two days' journey by sea and land ; first the 
 day's sail to Portsmouth and Portland by two 
 steamers, and a stage drive to Fryeburg, fol- 
 lowed by a second stage to Fabyan's the third
 
 A BRIDAL TRIP. 37 
 
 day. The Fabyan House was then a small 
 affair in comparison with its present huge pro- 
 portions. The driver of the Fryeburg stage, 
 John Smith by name, a noted whip, was a 
 friendly comjiagnon de voyage^ always remem- 
 bered by us ; and some fifty years later, I made 
 a special journey to Fryeburg, Maine, to call 
 upon him ; at the age of ninety, he still re- 
 tained his memories of the past. 
 
 In 1838, or 1839, 1 made the acquaintance of a 
 remarkable young man named Robert O. Cooke, 
 who, had he lived, would have made his mark 
 by his great artistic talent. He made several 
 sketches of me which were excellent likenesses, 
 and I showed them to Mr. AUston the painter, 
 who afterwards assisted Cooke with his advice. 
 In this connection it may be interesting to 
 mention the tradition that Mr. AUston found 
 his model for the figure of Daniel, in Bel- 
 shazzar's Feast, in the apparently unpromising- 
 person of a fashionable draper and tailor, Cor- 
 nelius DriscoU by name, whose shop stood near 
 the corner of Tudor's Buildings, which stood 
 where Young's does now. As another instance 
 of Cooke's talent for portraiture may be men- 
 tioned my recognition of the likeness of Gover- 
 nor Morton, whose face I had only once seen, at 
 the time of his inauguration in Representatives 
 Hall, the day being dark, and the distance
 
 38 QUIS AFERirf 
 
 across the hall seventy feet or more. Calling at 
 Cooke's studio some time after, I recognized at 
 once the portrait of Governor Morton, which 
 was considered so perfect a likeness that an 
 enoravino; of it was afterwards made for a 
 magazine called the " Democratic Review." 
 
 Later, Cooke went to Paris for study, but 
 only lived for a short time, thus ending too 
 early a most promising career. 
 
 In 1839 and 1840, when I was living on the 
 west side of the Back Bay in Cambridgeport 
 near the water, large flocks of black ducks, 
 during the month of October, alighted in the 
 bay early in the evening to feed and rest for 
 the night, and resume their passage south in 
 the morning. 
 
 I bought a lapstreak boat which two covdd 
 handle, dug a hole in the marsh so that the boat 
 sat half way down into it, then from about 
 amidships on each side of the bows I placed 
 small branches of pine and cedar, and covered 
 them with seaweed. I also bought an old 
 Queen's Arm gun of about one inch and a half 
 bore, had it stocked, and a percussion lock put 
 on in the place of the flint-lock. 
 
 I then had a white oak block with a dovetail 
 which entered the keelson. The block was 
 strapped with iron and had an iron cylinder in 
 the middle. The gun was then arranged so
 
 SHOOTING BLACK DUCKS. 39 
 
 that it entered into the cylinder, and acted like 
 a swivel. ' 
 
 I had a tackle of a double and single block, 
 which hooked into a ring in the gTin and in the 
 stem of the boat, to hold the recoil. It was 
 loaded with quarter of a pound of powder and 
 three quarters of a pound of duck shot. 
 
 I anchored three live decoys in front in the 
 water within gunshot, and kept one in the boat 
 with her legs and wings tied so that I could 
 pinch her and make her " quack," when my 
 decoys in the water would answer. 
 
 There was plenty of hay in the boat to lie on, 
 and buffalo robes to cover me, and on a still 
 moonlight night when the water was smooth I 
 often caused great slaughter, one evening killing 
 sixteen with one shot. 
 
 William Sohier, Esq., was a frequent com- 
 panion with me in these nocturnal excursions, 
 and after shooting we would launch the boat 
 and pick up the ducks. 
 
 In 1840, I voted for General Harrison for 
 President, and for John Tyler for Vice-Presi- 
 dent. The watchwords of the Whig Party 
 were " Tippecanoe and Tyler too." Log cabins 
 were built in various localities, and hard cider 
 kept in them, and they were open day and 
 night. I remember one large one built of 
 spruce logs on Charles Street. On a certain
 
 40 QUIS APER/T? 
 
 day there was a large gathering of persons at 
 Lexington and Concord. A huge ball twenty 
 feet high was hauled to Lexington by two hun- 
 dred men. The ball was painted with stars and 
 stripes, and the motto was, "Keep the ball 
 rolling." 
 
 Addresses were made at Concord by George 
 Evans, of Maine, General Wilson, of Keene, 
 who had been much in the West, and others. 
 After the election of Harrison, the campaign at 
 Cambridge was celebrated. A large number of 
 persons gathered at Porter's tavern, where it 
 still stands, at North Cambridge ; Daniel Web- 
 ster and William J. Graves were present. Mr. 
 Graves was the representative in Congress from 
 Kentucky, who shot Representative Cilley from 
 Maine, in a duel with rifles at Washington. 
 They were all merry with champagne, which 
 flowed freely during the meeting. 
 
 I was always fond of any theatre where there 
 was good acting ; and in the palmy days of the 
 old Tremont, when I was deputy sheriff, I had 
 free entrance. A friend passed me into the 
 National, where Mr. Pelby was manager, and 
 also into Bland's, on Sudbury Street. I am of 
 the opinion that each member of the stock com- 
 pany at those theatres then would be a star 
 to-day. At the Tremont were William H. 
 Smith, Murdoch, George Barrett and wife,
 
 OLD BOSTON THEATRES. 41 
 
 Henry J. Finn, George H. Andrews, Kline, 
 Hield, William F. Johnson, an inimitable old 
 gentleman, Thomas Barry the manager, his first 
 wife, and John Gilbert and Mrs. Campbell, who 
 afterwards became Mrs. Gilbert. William H. 
 Smith was the best general stock actor and the 
 most useful one, I think, who was ever on the 
 Boston stage. Later he was at the Boston 
 Museum. His parts were always the second 
 parts, exceedingly well done, and it may well be 
 said of him, " Nil tetigit, quod non ornavit.^^ 
 
 The, elder Booth and Forrest frequently 
 played then, and the rarest treat I ever had was 
 to see Forrest as Othello, and Booth as lago, 
 the characters reversed the next night. 
 
 Forrest's Richelieu was sublime, and I was 
 told by Mr. Dixon, who was a leading actor at 
 the old Federal Street theatre, that it was the 
 most striking performance of this part which he 
 ever witnessed. 
 
 At the National were William Rufus Blake, 
 Fred. S. Hill, Joseph S. Jones (afterwards Dr. 
 J. S. Jones), Palmer, William Pelby and daugh- 
 ter, and Williams, an excellent old man. 
 
 After Blake went to New York, he visited 
 Boston occasionally, and played Sir Harcourt, 
 in " London Assurance." John Gilbert at- 
 tempted it after him ; and although Gilbert was 
 unsurpassed in certain parts, his playing Sir
 
 42 QUIS APEEITf 
 
 Harcourt so soon after Blake was injudicious, 
 and called forth strong marks of disapproval. 
 
 One evening at the National, Blake, who was 
 cast for Roderick Dhu, was late ; the curtain 
 went up and down every few minutes, and Mr. 
 Pelby came forward to excuse Blake. The cat- 
 calls, whistles, etc., were loud and persistent. 
 After half an hour, Blake came forward. He 
 was greeted with hisses. He folded his arms, 
 and stood silent until the noise subsided ; then 
 said in his most impressive manner, " Ladies and 
 gentlemen, whom have I offended?" "Hurrah 
 for Blake," was the cry, and, the excuse being 
 given, the play proceeded. Edward and James 
 Riddle, auctioneers, brothers of Mrs. William 
 H. Smith, occasionally appeared at her benefit 
 and played the flute. At the time of the per- 
 formance by Ellen Tree of Julia, in " The 
 Hunchback," there were certain marked phrases 
 which every one knew. Riddle was once selling 
 at auction, when a person bid off an article. 
 " Whose is it ? " said Riddle. " Clifford's," said 
 the purchaser. Riddle, striking an attitude, 
 "Ah, Clifford, is it you?" Clifford, being a 
 bashful man, retreated, but Riddle saw him, 
 and in piteous tones said, " Clifford, Clifford, 
 why don't you speuh to me ? " The audience 
 shouted, and it was some minutes before the sale 
 went on.
 
 AN EXCITING CONTEST. 43 
 
 I was present one night at the performance of 
 "Richard the Third" when J. B. Booth was 
 so excited in the contest between Richard and 
 Richmond that he pursued Smith with great 
 fury, and had not Smith been an excellent fencer 
 Booth would have killed him. The audience in 
 the pit rose en masse, standing on the seats, and 
 there was great excitement. Smith called to 
 him, " Booth, Booth." Pie paid no attention. 
 So Smith fought for liis life, and during a pause, 
 both being quiet, and on their guard. Smith ran 
 his sword against that of Booth, seized the lat- 
 ter's sword arm with his left hand, and recalled 
 him to his senses, Booth playing the dying 
 scene with astonishing effect. I have seen it 
 stated that he drove Smith out of the theatre ; 
 while on the other hand I remember hearing 
 Smith, when relating the occurrence some time 
 afterwards at Bascom's, a well-kno\vn resort of 
 actors in School Street where Parker's Hotel 
 now stands, assert that he had disarmed Booth. 
 But the above is the true account. 
 
 A friend of mine once appeared on the stage 
 when George Barrett was manager. He came 
 from the country, but was a fair reader, although 
 not an educated man. At rehearsal the ques- 
 tion was asked him, "How far is it to ? " 
 
 Answer, " About as far as yonder housen ; " 
 the manner in the country at that time of call-
 
 44 aUIS APERITf 
 
 ing a number of houses. He told me that Bar- 
 rett drew himself up to his full height (and his 
 height was six feet), and shouted to him : 
 " Housen ? Houses, you mean." 
 
 In the early days of the old Tremont figured 
 Henry J. Finn and George H. Andrews, both 
 comedians. Finn's best performances were 
 Philip Garbois, in " 101," and Maw-worm, in 
 the " Hypocrite." Andrews's best was " Luke 
 the Laborer." 
 
 Occasionally I attended amateur performances 
 in Flagg Alley, now called by its modernized 
 name of 'Change Avenue. Finn was a great 
 punster, and was in the habit of making puns 
 every time he appeared. When he had a bene- 
 fit they came out by the dozen, and the newspa- 
 pers used to publish Finn's last. He also wrote 
 comic Annuals. Snelling says, in speaking of 
 him: — 
 
 " Puns premeditated, set to time, 
 And strung like onions on a rope in rhyme, 
 Though puffed by all the editorial crew, 
 And sung by Harry Finn will never do ; 
 Straight in the fire, good Finn, thine Annual cast. 
 Let this emphatically be thy ' Last.' " 
 
 At his benefit, I remember this one in par- 
 ticular : — 
 
 " If I were jownished for every pun I shed, 
 I should n't have apu7ij shed 
 Wherein to hide myj9M7iished head."
 
 ON SATURDAY EVENJNGS. 45 
 
 Some time in the forties, the old Federal Street 
 theatre was temporarily occupied by Abner 
 Kneeland, a celebrated preacher, who would 
 now be called an agnostic. I went to hear him 
 one night, and I well recollect the motto he had 
 placed over the stage : " He who cannot reason 
 is a fool. He who will not reason is a bigot. 
 He who dares not reason is a slave." This 
 theatre was opened again as a theatre between 
 1846 and 1850. 
 
 On Saturday evenings during these years, I 
 was accustomed to go with my father to the 
 house of Mr. Edmund T. Dana. Mr. AUston, 
 the artist and poet, Mr. Knapp, a Boston lawyer, 
 and Mr. Horatio Gi'eenough, the sculptor, were 
 often there, and it was a great pleasure to listen 
 to Mr. Allston relating in his dreamy way his 
 experiences abroad ; and I have often wished 
 since that I had kept a diary. 
 
 They were all smokers, and each took his 
 glass of wine with crackers and cheese. Con- 
 versation lasted till ten, and then the party 
 broke up. 
 
 In the autumn of 1852 occurred the death 
 of Daniel Webster. I well remember hearing 
 many of his speeches in Faneuil Hall, being 
 often taken off my feet in the great crowd that
 
 46 QUJS APE JUT? 
 
 surged in to listen. On one occasion he spoke 
 from a barouche in front of the United States 
 Hotel, where I listened from a prominent but 
 insecure position on the forward wheel. 
 
 His funeral in Marshfield brought a multitude 
 from far and near. My friend Mr. George C. 
 Wilde, clerk of the Supreme Court, and myself, 
 went together to pay our last tribute of resjject 
 to the great man. 
 
 Starting on the day previous to the funeral, 
 a five hours' drive brought us to the pleasant old 
 town of Marshfield, where we passed the night 
 at the house of a hospitable citizen, Mr. Packard, 
 a selectman of the town, and most kind in re- 
 ceiving us who were total strangers " without 
 money and without price." 
 
 Many of our fellow-travelers were less fortu- 
 nate, and passed the night where they could in 
 barns, wagons, and on beds of hay ; but the mild 
 weather made it all possible. The next morning 
 we walked over to Mr. Webster's house, where 
 the crowd was gathering, and in the house were 
 many noted men, — George T. Curtis, William 
 Dehon, Francis Tukey, chief of police, etc. 
 Mr. Webster lay at rest in the great library ; 
 his dress a blue coat with brass buttons, black 
 trousers, and patent leather shoes. 
 
 Before the services, we walked over to the 
 family tomb, and when we returned the crowd
 
 FUNERAL OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 47 
 
 of people had become so great that passage 
 through was ahnost impossible. 
 
 Several hundred people who had come by boat 
 to attend the funeral were unable to land, the 
 steamer having grounded on the flats, and they 
 were obliged to return to town without having 
 had any part in the ceremonies. Our own time 
 was too limited to allow us to stay through the 
 services, and we were forced to come away early. 
 On our way back, we met our kind host, Mr. 
 Packard, on his way to the funeral, who again 
 offered us his hospitality, giving us the key of 
 his house, and the liberty of entering and mak- 
 ing ourselves comfortable ere we started on our 
 homeward way. 
 
 About the year 1856, finding my health some- 
 what impaired, I decided to renew my old exer- 
 cise of horseback riding, and while debating 
 where to buy a horse, a friend unexpectedly 
 offered me the use of his for a year. 
 
 The following year, I again enjoyed the use of 
 a horse for a mountain tour through the friendly 
 offer of Asa T, Barron, proprietor of the White 
 River Junction Hotel ; a man under obligations 
 to me for some past services. He invited my 
 friend Francis M. Adams and myself to his 
 house, and pro\dded us with two good saddle- 
 horses, for our unlimited use. Mr. Adams and I 
 made a tour of the surrounding country, lasting
 
 48 QUIS APERJTf 
 
 a week or ten days, visiting Royalton, Barre, 
 Watei'bury, and Burlington by the way of Mt. 
 Mansfield. Our passage over the mountain was 
 very rough and dangerous, and but for the com- 
 pass that Mr. Adams happened to have in his 
 pocket, I think we should have been lost. As 
 it was, we arrived at night at Underhill, much 
 exhausted, very muddy and hungry, having 
 fasted all day. 
 
 The first person we met, a man chopping 
 
 wood, hailed us with " Where in did you 
 
 come from? " 
 
 Hearing that we had come over Mt. Mans- 
 field, he added in the same emphatic language : 
 " The devil you did ; I would not do it for the 
 best horse in Vermont." 
 
 We were kindly cared for that night by the 
 clergyman at Underhill, and the next day 
 reached Burlington, returning to White River 
 Junction by Whitehall and the lake. 
 
 Soon after my return, I bought a horse, and 
 have never since been without one. 
 
 On the 25th of August, 1867, I left Portland, 
 Maine, with my son, each of us on horseback. 
 We were gone sixteen days and a half, traveled 
 486 miles, went through and across four States, 
 and through sixty -nine towns. When we arrived 
 opposite White River Junction, as there was no 
 bridge over the river at that time, we forded
 
 HORSEBACK RIDING. 49 
 
 the stream, the water being up to our horses' 
 knees. 
 
 After dinner, we thought we woukl look over 
 the grounds of Dartmouth College. Just below 
 the place where we forded, where the White 
 River and the Connecticut join, there was a 
 bridge over the Connecticut. We entered the 
 ford at the same time, and very quickly I found 
 that my horse was swimming. 
 
 I called to my son, who was below me, and 
 said, " Our horses are swimming ; head your 
 horse up-stream, or you '11 be swept into the 
 Connecticut." He did so, but the current was 
 so strong that he was carried down some yards, 
 and just saved himself by bringing up against 
 the abutments of the bridge. 
 
 When we were safe on the other side, the toll- 
 man shouted to us, " How dare you attempt to 
 cross the river ? " I replied, " When we came 
 over this morning the water was only up to our 
 horses' knees." He said, " Don't you know how 
 rapidly the river rises, when there are rains 
 above ? This river has risen four feet since morn- 
 ing." We continued our journey, and on arriv- 
 ing at Waterbury, Vermont, I found my wife 
 there, and the next day we started to ascend 
 Mt. Mansfield. My son and I went on horse- 
 back, and a farmer took my wife in a wagon as 
 far as the half-way house. There she mounted 
 my horse, and I walked by her side.
 
 50 QUIS APE It IT? 
 
 After proceeding a few minutes, we came to 
 what I thought was rather a dangerous place, 
 and we stopped to take an observation. 
 
 Within hailing distance we saw a man coming 
 down the mountain with a dozen or more mules, 
 returning from having taken a party up. See- 
 ing us there he called out, " Do you wish any 
 help?" I replied, "I don't know. If you say 
 so, I '11 take it ; if not, I '11 go on." " I think 
 you have got over the worst of it," he said. We 
 started on. My wife's horse had got a footing 
 with her fore foot, but in attempting to get a 
 footing with her hind foot, she slijiped back on 
 her haunches ; my wife fell off, and the horse 
 rolled over her, bringing up against a big log. 
 We picked her up insensible, carried her to a 
 bright, sunny spot, and laid her down. We 
 then secured the horses, and I told the farmer 
 who had offered us his assistance to' go up to 
 the top of the mountain and bring us some 
 brandy as quickly as he could. While he was 
 gone I stayed with my wife, who had become de- 
 lirious, and had a very bad cut underneath her 
 chin, from which the blood flowed freely. By 
 the time the farmer returned I had stanched 
 the wound with my handkerchief ; I gave her 
 the brandy, which revived her somewhat, and we 
 carried her down the mountain to the half-way 
 house where the farmer's wagon was waiting,
 
 A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. 51 
 
 and thus proceeded to his house. I telegraphed 
 to my son-in-law to come vip and take my wife 
 home, and finding that he could do so, my son 
 and I returned with the horses. 
 
 After our arrival our family physician, Dr. 
 Wyman, being absent, we called in another 
 doctor, who found that two ribs had been broken. 
 Later, when Dr. Wyman returned, he discovered 
 a dislocated shoulder also ; fortunately, no more 
 serious result ensued from this careless over- 
 sight and delay. As the blood of the martyrs is 
 the seed of the church, so in this case a good 
 road was built to the summit the next year. 
 
 In 1869, my son and I took another horse- 
 back ride in which we went through forty-eight 
 towns in Massachusetts, Vermont, and New 
 Hampshire. We were out seventeen days, and 
 traveled 448 miles. 
 
 At many places where we stopped there was 
 no hotel, and we had to resort to farmhouses. 
 I remember one day, as we arrived about noon 
 at Corinth, Vermont, we found no tavern. We 
 came to a well-to-do farmhouse, and saw a 
 pleasant-looking farmer sitting on the doorstep. 
 I asked him if he coidd give us some dinner. 
 " No, I can't give you any dinner," he said. I 
 said, "Can you give us something to eat?" 
 " Oh, yes," he said, " plenty of it ; put your
 
 52 aUIS APERfT? 
 
 horses in the barn, help yourselves, and if you 
 don't give them enough it won't be my fault." 
 He showed us about the farm, and then said, 
 " Let 's go in, and get a bite." The table was 
 set in perfect order, and we had an excellent 
 dinner, consisting of a roast leg of mutton and 
 all the vegetables of the season. When we 
 finished, he whispered in my ear, " Now I want 
 you to go down with me in my cellar, and taste 
 a little of my cider brandy." 
 
 I found it so potent that I only took a small 
 quantity, and returning upstairs asked him how 
 much there was to pay. " Nothing," he said. 
 I told him we were riding for pleasure, and 
 did n't go about begging dinners, and insisted 
 that he should take something. To which he 
 replied that if he must take something, it would 
 be only a dollar. When I asked him where we 
 should stop for the night, he named the place, 
 and told me that I should find a very singular 
 person there who was the postmaster. When 
 we arrived I found the postmaster, and asked 
 him if he would take us in for the night. He 
 looked us over and said, " Have you got any 
 money? " I said, " A little." " Where do you 
 come from ? " " From Boston, and traveling 
 through the country." After taking another 
 view of us he said, " I am afraid of horses ; will 
 you take care of your own ? " " Oh, yes," I
 
 RURAL HOSPITALITY. 53 
 
 said ; " and now I want to ask you one or two 
 questions. Have you any oats ? " This was 
 always my first inquiry on arriving at any place. 
 " Yes," he said, " help yourselves." So we 
 stayed, and the charge for two horses and two 
 men was one dollar for supper, breakfast, and 
 lodging.
 
 II. 
 
 CURIA. 
 
 In the year 1846 I began my duties in the 
 Court of Common Pleas as an assistant to 
 Joseph Willard, Esq., Clerk of the Court, also 
 my uncle and good friend. My position, taken 
 at first for a week only as temporary clerk, soon 
 became permanent through the resignation of 
 Mr. McLellan, one of the older clerks, and from 
 then began my long service, now rapidly round- 
 ing to fifty years. 
 
 The judges of the Supreme Court at that 
 time were Lemuel Shaw, Chief Justice ; Samuel 
 S. Wilde, Samuel Hubbard, and Charles A. 
 Dewey, Associate Justices. 
 
 The justices of the Court of Common Pleas, 
 just previous to my entering the office, had re- 
 signed because of insufficient salary. They were 
 John M. Williams, Chief Justice, and Associate 
 
 Justices, Charles H. Warren, Cummins, 
 
 and others whose names I do not recall. 
 
 A number of other justices were appointed to 
 the Court of Common Pleas while I was con- 
 nected with it ; Edward Mellen, Chief Justice, 
 and Horatio Byington, Jonatlian C. Perkins,
 
 COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. 55 
 
 George N. Biiggs, E. Rockwood Hoar, and 
 Henry W. Bishop, Associate Justices. 
 
 The new bench had been appointed, consisting 
 of Daniel Wells, Chief Justice ; Pliny Merrick, 
 Emory Washburn, Joshua H. Ward, Luther 
 S. Gushing, and H. G. O. Colby, Associate 
 Justices. 
 
 Three persons did all the work of the clerk's 
 office at that time, where there are now seventeen. 
 In a short time I became familiar with the rules 
 of the Court, and made the acquaintance of the 
 elder lawyers. The principal practicing lawyers 
 then were Sidney Bartlett, J. L. English, Soliier 
 and Welch, Hutchins and Wheeler, Augustus 
 H. Eiske, Charles H. Warren, Benjamin Rand, 
 — these last three comprising the firm of Rand, 
 Warren, and Fiske, — John C. Park, Tolman 
 Willey, William B. Dorr, David S. Greenough, 
 Benjamin R., Charles P., and George T. Curtis, 
 Charles G. Loring, George William Phillips, 
 Theophilus P. and Peleg W. Chandler, Whiting 
 and Russell, Charles T. and Thomas H. Russell, 
 and many others. In 1894, at the time of 
 writing this, the only surviving members of the 
 bar who were in practice when I entered the 
 clerk's office in 1 846 are the following : Alex- 
 ander S. Wheeler, Charles A. Welch, William 
 G. Russell, Charles T. Russell, Thomas H. Rus- 
 sell, Thomas S. Harlow, Caleb William Loring,
 
 56 CURIA. 
 
 Alexander C. Washburn, and Fred. O Prince. 
 Benjamin H. Currier, just deceased at ninety- 
 five years of age, the oldest member of the bar, 
 was admitted in 1853, and at the time I entered 
 the clerk's office was head clerk for Mr. George 
 C. Wilde, Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court. 
 I was admitted in 1854. 
 
 Thomas W. Phillips, brother of Wendell and 
 of George W., was Clerk of the Criminal Court, 
 and Thomas Power, Clerk of what was then 
 called the Justices' Court. Isaac O. Barnes 
 was United States Marshal. John G. Rogers 
 was Chief Justice of the Police Court, now 
 called the Mmiicipal Court of the City of Bos- 
 ton, when I first went into the office. One day 
 an Indian was brought up before him and fined 
 for being drunk. After he had paid the fine, 
 Mr. Power, the clerk, told him to go, as he was 
 discharged ; but the Indian said he wanted a 
 receipt. Mr. Power repeated to him that there 
 was nothing to do but to go, and still he per- 
 sisted that he must have a receipt. Then Judge 
 Rogers asked him why he was so anxious for 
 a receipt when he was discharged. And this 
 was his reply : " By and by Indian die ; go to 
 Great Spirit ; he say, ' What you come here 
 for? Can't come in, been drunk.' 'Yes,' say 
 Indian, 'but I pay fuie.' Great Spirit say, 
 ' Where 's your receipt ? ' Then Indian have to
 
 FINES AND FEES. 67 
 
 go all over hell to limit up Judge Rogers to get 
 receipt." 
 
 At or about 1851, the Legislature enacted a 
 law allowing parties to be witnesses. At the 
 present .time, 1894, it seems strange to look 
 back, and see how well cases were tried with- 
 out the testimony of either party. 
 
 One of the first actions brought to my atten- 
 tion, and which my familiarity with the rules 
 helped to settle, was this : A certain rule of 
 the Court of Common Pleas (and which now 
 exists) provided, that when a party had neg- 
 lected, after six months, to complete a judg- 
 ment, rendered in an action, on petition to 
 complete the record (if the adverse party in- 
 tended to answer thereto), the petitioner was to 
 pay the respondent costs. At that time the 
 costs of attendance (which are now termed fees) 
 were thirty-three cents a day for every day the 
 action remained open. A petition was brought 
 
 by Mr. P to complete the record against 
 
 a certain party. Samuel D. Parker, Esq., ap- 
 peared for the respondent. The case had been 
 
 pending a number of years. Mr. P came 
 
 and asked me to tax the costs for him in the case. 
 
 He said, " Mr. Parker has offered me |125 
 as costs, but I think the costs must be very 
 much more." I said, " Mr. P , the rule pro- 
 vides that the adverse party shall recover costs ;
 
 58 CURIA. 
 
 that is, that you shall pay him his costs if he 
 attends, and Mr. Parker has attended all the 
 time, so that he will be entitled under the rule 
 to his costs, and you will have none." " Know- 
 ledge is power," said Mr. P , " and I will 
 
 take the $125." This was my first advice as 
 a layman to a practicing lawyer, which he fol- 
 lowed. 
 
 Talking with Mr. Thomas W. Phillips, I was 
 told this excellent story of John Sullivan, a 
 former member of the bar. He was known 
 to be an excellent singer and mimic, and on 
 account of these talents was invited to a great 
 many parties. However, his friends, believing 
 he was getting too convivial and spending too 
 much money, had a '-guardian appointed. The 
 guardian tried to get an interview with him, but 
 every time that Sullivan saw him, he would 
 dodge away from him ; at last they met where 
 Sullivan could not get away. "Now, John," 
 said the guardian, " I am in earnest ; I shall 
 not cut down your allowance. Your friends 
 think that you are getting rid of your money a 
 little too fast, but I shall be liberal with you ; 
 you may sing as much as you wish ; there is one 
 thing, however, yoii must stop, and that is this 
 mimicry, because it is making you a great many 
 enemies ; but \_sotto voce~\ before you stop, John, 
 give us my friend Parsons once more."
 
 CARE OF ORIGINAL PAPERS. 59 
 
 I learned one thing quite early concerning 
 the production of original papers or dockets 
 from the clerk's office to other courts, in this 
 manner : after I had been in the office about a 
 year, Sidney Bartlett, Esq., came in one day, and 
 said, "Mr. Willard, I should like to have you 
 
 take the writ and paj)ers in the case of vs. 
 
 into the Supreme Court this morning," I 
 
 took the papers into the Supreme Court, went 
 on to the witness stand, and read from them 
 such portions as Mr. Bartlett desired. Mr. 
 Bartlett then said, " You will leave these papers 
 with the clerk of this court, and I will see them 
 returned." I was not at all sure about that, 
 and looked around inquiringly to Chief Justice 
 Shaw, who was on the bench. 
 
 The chief justice remarked, " No, sir, he has 
 done wrotig to bring them in here ; you should 
 have had copies, Mr. Bartlett.^' 
 
 In later days, when I have been summoned 
 to different courts to produce original papers, 
 I have always refused, and have always been 
 sustained by the court. I am often surprised at 
 this day to see original deeds and records from 
 registries brought into the courts, and I regard 
 it as a very dangerous practice. I remember 
 being summoned before Judge Lowell at the 
 United States Court, to produce original papers 
 from the Superior Court. I went and said to
 
 60 CURIA. 
 
 the judge that I had come to obey his sum- 
 mons, but that I declined to produce the papers ; 
 and he said to the counsel, " I cannot compel 
 Mr. Willard to produce original papers here." 
 
 During the remainder of the year 1846, and 
 the beginning of 1847, my salary was very 
 small, and in my extra hours out of the office I 
 wrote for many lawyers. Generally I was well 
 paid. Once, however, I was asked by Mr. B. 
 F. Hallett to make a copy of a deed conveying 
 some property to a church, and Mr. Hallett 
 said he wanted it written in a plain, clear, round 
 hand, space being no object. The person for 
 whom I was to make it was supposed to be the 
 richest man in Boston at that time. When it 
 was done, I carried it to Mr. Hallett, and his 
 client was present. 
 
 The client examined it and said he thought I 
 had extended it too far in order to make a long 
 job of it, and asked me how much it was. I 
 named the price. He offered me about half. I 
 told him he might have it for nothing. Then 
 Mr. Hallett told him that he had instructed 
 me to write it in that manner, and that I ought 
 to be paid for it accordingly ; this brought him 
 somewhat to his senses, and he paid it, appar- 
 ently very unwillingly. 
 
 This same person was in the clerk's office one
 
 DEPUTY SHERIFF. 61 
 
 day talking with the clerk (my predecessor), 
 when some young ladies came in and asked him 
 to subscribe to an entertainment. " What kind 
 of an entertainment ? " he inquired. " A musi- 
 cal entertainment," replied one of the young 
 ladies. He put his hand in his pocket, and jin- 
 gling some silver coins he had in it said, " Ah, 
 my dear, that 's the sweetest music I know of." 
 
 In the spring of 1848, Mr. George C. Wilde, 
 who with my predecessor was a joint clerk of 
 the Court of Common Pleas and of the Su- 
 preme Judicial Court, came into the office one 
 day and said to me, " Currier [his clerk] is go- 
 ing to leave ; if you will come into my office I 
 will give you three hundred dollars in addition to 
 what you are getting now." I told him I would 
 think of it for a day or two. By a curious coin- 
 cidence the same day, Mr. Eveleth, who was 
 then sheriff of Suffolk County, came into the 
 office and said, "Mr. Willard, Mr. Pratt, my 
 deputy in the court room, is so busy serving 
 writs that he does not have time to attend to 
 the duties of the court. I should like to 
 appoint you deputy to serve as few writs as you 
 possibly can, and sit in the court to keep order, 
 and that will give you four hundred dollars a 
 year more." I went to Mr. Edward D. Sohier 
 who had been very kind to me. He said, " You
 
 62 CURIA. 
 
 have become somewhat familiar now with the 
 practice of the court and clerk's office, and if 
 Mr. Willard will consent, you can make both 
 situations work together ; I advise you to ac- 
 cept Mr. Eveleth's proposition." I stated the 
 case to Mr. Willard, and he saw no difficulty 
 in my carrying on the business of the office, and 
 being in the court room ; thereuiDon, I accepted 
 the position offered me, and held it during the 
 remainder of Mr. Eveleth's term. I was re- 
 appointed by Henry Crocker, and again by 
 John M. Clark, retaining it up to 1855. 
 
 While I was holding my commission as 
 deputy sheriff, and before I was appointed 
 
 assistant clerk, I had this affair with Mr. , 
 
 who was the chief of police. 
 
 By order of Chief Justice Daniel Wells, I 
 took the jury to view some premises on the 
 corner of Bulfinch and Court streets, where 
 there had been a fire. While the jury went 
 down into a cellar, and as I stood on the 
 second or third step down, a stout, rugged man 
 came along and was about to pass me. I said, 
 " You can't go down here, sir ; this is a jury 
 viewing the premises." He said, "I'll show 
 you that the chief of police can go anywhere." 
 The steps were covered with ice, and I did not 
 have much of a foothold ; before I could remon- 
 strate any further he seized me, threw me one
 
 A CONFLICT OF AUTHORITY. C.'-J 
 
 side, and went down. After I returned the jury 
 to the court, a reporter of one of the daily 
 papers was present, to whom I related the 
 facts. 
 
 " Oh, there 's some mistake," he said ; " Mr. 
 
 would not do such a thing- ; let 's go over 
 
 to the City Hall, and if he is in I will point him 
 out to you," We went, and as he opened a door 
 I looked through the aperture ; he pointed him 
 out, and I said, " Yes, that 's the man." I went 
 back to the court room and reported the affair 
 to Chief Justice Wells. He was very indig- 
 nant (I never saw him angry), and sent an 
 officer to the chief of police to notify him to be 
 in court the next morning at nine o'clock. 
 
 He appeared, and the chief justice told liim 
 that he had learned that he, the chief of police, 
 had assaulted one of his officers, and asked him 
 what excuse he had. 
 
 His reply was, that he thought he could 
 go where he pleased. " Were you not warned, 
 sir ? " said the chief justice. " I was," replied 
 the chief. " Then why did you assault one of 
 my officers ? " He made no further reply, but 
 the chief justice said, " I shall require you to 
 make an apology to the Court, also to Mr. 
 Willard." He did so, after which we were the 
 best of friends. 
 
 After I was appointed deputy sheriff, I caused
 
 64 CURIA. 
 
 what I believed to be several improvements 
 made in the old court room. I found jurors 
 putting their feet on the top bar in front of 
 them, so I had an iron rod inserted through the 
 posts, to rest their feet on ; and this was soon 
 followed in the other court rooms. I found that 
 the spectators frequently rested their feet on the 
 back of the settees in the rear of the bar. 
 These were boarded up and neatly painted. 
 There was a gallery in which tramps and 
 dirty loafers lounged, and if it was not carefully 
 examined every evening, some were found sleep- 
 ing there. I recommended to the authorities 
 its removal, and this was done. 
 
 Charles Devens, late one of the Justices of 
 the Supreme Judicial Court, was at one time 
 U. S. Marshal. While the marshal was out 
 of town in April, 1851, Deputy Marshal Burns, 
 with the connivance of Francis Tukey, City 
 Marshal of Boston, arrested Thomas Sims, an 
 escaped slave, and there was great excitement, 
 especially among crowds of people who gathered 
 in Court Square. Charles G. Davis sued out a 
 writ, de honiine rcjjlegiando, which was signed 
 by my predecessor, and a bond given, signed by 
 Thomas Sims as principal, and Charles G. Davis, 
 Timothy Gilbert, Samuel E. Sewall, Wendell 
 Phillips, Ellis Gray Loring, and Francis Jack-
 
 ARREST OF THOMAS SIMS. 65 
 
 son, as sureties, which writ and bond were put 
 into the hands of Daniel J. Coburn, then a 
 deputy sheriff of Suffolk County, for service. 
 He made the following return upon the writ : — 
 
 Officer's Retukn. 
 Suffolk s. s. April 5, 1851. 
 
 By virtue of the within writ, I have at two 
 different times on this day demanded of the 
 within named Charles Devens, Esquire, U. S. 
 Marshal, the surrender to me and the delivery of 
 the within named Thomas, from duress and im- 
 prisonment, at the same time presenting- to the 
 said Devens this writ with the annexed bond of 
 the said Sims, with sureties in the sum of three 
 thousand dollars ; but the said Devens refused 
 to deliver the said Sims from duress and im- 
 prisonment, claiming to hold him, the said 
 Sims, by virtue of legal process to him directed 
 as the U. S. Marshal for the district of Massa- 
 chusetts ; and the said Devens at the time of 
 the last above mentioned demand by me made 
 upon him for the delivery of the said Sims from 
 duress, said that he had him, the said Sims, in 
 his custody ; and if I in the service of this writ 
 should attempt to take the said Sims from him 
 the said Devens, he the said Devens should 
 interpose such and so much forcible resistance 
 as would enable him to retain the said Sims in
 
 66 CURIA. 
 
 his custody : and I further return, that at the 
 time of said demands, the said Devens had, as 
 he informed me, under his control, a large num- 
 ber of men placed in and about the Court House 
 of Boston, where I understood the said Sims to 
 be confined, as his assistants, and, as I was in- 
 formed, to prevent the said Sims from being 
 taken from his custody : I therefore, for the 
 reasons hereinbefore stated, return this writ 
 without delivering the said Sims from duress 
 and imprisonment, and without service. 
 
 Daniel J. Coburn, ,Z>. Sheriff. 
 
 The original writ was given to me after it 
 was found valueless. Mr. Devens was firm, 
 and the writ was not served. 
 
 I recall particularly the rendition of Burns, 
 a slave, who was ordered to be returned by 
 Judge Edward G. Loring. On the memorable 
 evening of May 27, 1854, after the meeting in 
 Faneuil Hall, now become historic, a large 
 crowd of persons assembled round the middle 
 door of the Court House on the west side. 
 All sorts of violence were suggested, — battering 
 rams, etc. Some pistol shots were fired, one of 
 which killed a police officer named Batchelder, 
 and some marks of the bullet holes remained in 
 the ceiling over the door for many years. To
 
 RENDITION OF ANTHONY BURNS. 07 
 
 quote from the "Post": "T. W. Higginson was 
 one of the men who attempted to rescue An- 
 thony Burns, the fugitive slave, from his con- 
 finement in the Court House in Boston, and was 
 wounded in that ill-starred undertaking. The 
 honor of being indicted for murder with Theo- 
 dore Parker and Wendell Phillips was next 
 thrust upon him, but a flaw in the indictment 
 secured his discharge." 
 
 Cannon were placed on the southerly end of 
 Court Square, pointing toward Court Street, 
 and huge chains encircled the Court House. 
 
 On the second day of June, 1854, a section 
 of U. S. Artillery with a brass cannon marched 
 into Court Square in the rear of the City Hall 
 and commanded its east side. The Boston 
 military guarded the avenues through which 
 the parties who had the custody of Burns were 
 to proceed. At two p. m., a body of Lancers led 
 off ; next, two sections of U. S. Marines ; then 
 a hollow square, two files deep, composed of 
 persons in the employ of U. S. Marshal Watson 
 Freeman, his deputy marshals, etc. ; each per- 
 son armed with a sabre and a pair of pistols. 
 In the middle of the square were Burns and 
 Marshal Freeman. 
 
 In the rear of the square were two more 
 sections of marines and the artillery in the rear 
 of them ; and thus Burns was marched off.
 
 G8 CURIA. 
 
 I sat in the lobby with Judge Henry W. 
 Bishop, of the Court of Common Pleas, looking 
 out on all these paraphernalia and marks of 
 slavery, disgusted and indignant. 
 
 Judge Bishop suggested that he would like 
 some dinner, and I said, " Order it, and you 
 shall have it." " But we are in chains," he said, 
 " and sentries are parading in front." "Give 
 your orders, sir, if you please," I responded, and 
 he said, " I order." I ran down, and as a sen- 
 try took hold of me, I broke away and told him 
 at his peril not to interfere with a messenger 
 from the Court. I then went to Parker's Hotel, 
 now Young's, ordered the dinner, and returned 
 with the waiter, and reached the court without 
 further molestation. 
 
 A court called the Superior Court of the 
 County of Suffolk, a local tribunal for tliis 
 county, was established by an act of the Legis- 
 lature of 1855. 
 
 The act was approved May 21, to take effect 
 the first Tuesday of October of that year. 
 
 This was during the administration of Gov- 
 ernor Gardner, and the terms of the Court of 
 Common Pleas, required by law to be held in 
 Suffolk County, were then abolished. 
 
 The salaries and all the expenses of this court 
 were paid by the city of Boston.
 
 CHIEF JUSTICE NELSON. 69 
 
 Six terms were held each year, and the justices 
 were ex officio the justices of the Municipal 
 Court of the city of Boston, then, so called, a 
 Court of Criminal Jurisdiction, but being a part 
 of the Superior Court. Four justices were ap- 
 pointed as follows : Albert H. Nelson, Chief 
 Justice ; Josiah G. Abbott ; Charles P. Hunting- 
 ton ; Stephen G. Nash — all deceased. 
 
 Shortly after the resignation of Chief Justice 
 Nelson, who died in June, 1858, Judge Abbott 
 having resigned, Charles AUen, of Worcester, 
 was appointed Chief Justice of the Superior 
 Court of the County of Suffolk, and Marcus 
 Morton, jr., late Chief Justice of the Supreme 
 Court, Associate Justice. 
 
 I make the following extract from the reso- 
 lutions submitted to the Court, relative to Chief 
 Justice Nelson ; Chief Justice Allen, Justices 
 Hunting-ton, Nash, and Morton on the bench: 
 " That he is entitled to the respectful recollec- 
 tion of all who can appreciate that rare combi- 
 nation of talent and learning with personal and 
 official integrity, kindness of heart, sweetness of 
 temper, and an unfailing courtesy of demeanor 
 at the bar, and on the bench, of which he fur- 
 nished so signal an example." And in this con- 
 nection I would like to add that my father told 
 me that Caleb Cushing and Albert H. Nelson 
 were men of the best natural ability that he 
 ever had among all his pupils at college.
 
 70 CURIA. 
 
 After Chief Justice Nelson resigned, it was 
 mooted whether or not his resignation was valid, 
 and it was doubtful whose tc^te the writs should 
 properly bear. Henry W. Paine said he made 
 a writ on the day when it was talked of, and 
 inserted all the three justices, and said if it was 
 pleaded to, they might strike out whichever 
 they pleased. The bench had previously con- 
 sisted of four judges. The entries were then 
 made every two months, the fees for attendance 
 were abolished, and in place thereof five dollars 
 were allowed as term fees. 
 
 Augustus H. Fiske wrote the following re- 
 commendation for me to be appointed assistant 
 clerk of that court : — 
 
 " The undersigned respectfully represent that 
 they have known Joseph A. Willard, who has 
 been for many years an assistant in the office 
 of the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for 
 the Comity of Suffolk ; and also an officer of 
 said Court ; we believe him to be well qualified 
 to fill the office of assistant clerk of the Supe- 
 rior Court of the County of Suffolk, and most 
 cheerfully recommend and request his appoint- 
 ment thereto. His manners and temper are 
 such as we believe render him fit for an office 
 which requires the exercise of great patience 
 and great equanimity of temper." 
 
 This was signed by Rufus Choate, A. H.
 
 DAILY TRIAL LISTS. 71 
 
 Fiske, Edward D. Sohier, Seth J. Tliomas, John 
 C. Park, Hutchins and Wheeler, William Gas- 
 ton, and two hundred otliers. There was another 
 applicant, who was recommended by Governor 
 Gardner, but I was appointed. Prior to my ap- 
 pointment, the clerk of the court in this county, 
 and, so far as I am informed, in all other coun- 
 ties, had not been in the practice of preparing 
 daily lists of cases to be tried; antl the only 
 manner in which the bar could ascertain the 
 order of the cases was to get them in the best 
 way they could from the main trial list. 
 
 When I first went into court as assistant 
 clerk, I found it very troublesome and annoying 
 even for me to keep the run of the trials in the 
 old manner, and therefore, not only for the con- 
 venience of the bar, but for myself as well, I 
 began making regular daily lists which have 
 been kept ever since ; these are called by some 
 the short lists. 
 
 There are so many talented young men who 
 have made their debut at the Suffolk bar since 
 I was admitted, that it would be invidious to 
 select any one or any number of them by name 
 as lawyers or advocates. 
 
 The act establishing "The Superior Court" 
 was passed in 1859, and went into full effect on 
 July 1 of that year.
 
 72 CURIA. 
 
 This act abolished the old Court of Common 
 Pleas, the Superior Court of the County of Suf- 
 folk, and the old Municipal Court of the city of 
 Boston ; and it required the appointment of ten 
 justices. The following ten were appointed : — 
 
 Charles Allen, Chief Justice, who resigned in 
 1867, and died in 1869. 
 
 Seth Ames, appointed Chief Justice in 1867, 
 promoted to the Supreme Judicial Court, Janu- 
 ary 19, 1869, resigned in 1881, and deceased 
 in that year. 
 
 Lincoln F. Brigham, appointed Chief Justice 
 in 1869, who resigned in 1890, the sole surviv- 
 ing member of that bench, is now living in 
 Salem, respected and loved by every one who 
 ever came in contact with him. 
 
 Otis P. Lord, appointed to the Supreme Judi- 
 cial Court in 1875, and deceased in 1884. 
 
 Marcus Morton, jr., appointed to the Supreme 
 Judicial Court, April 15, 1869, became its Chief 
 Justice in 1882, and died in 1891. 
 
 John P. Putnam, died in 1882. 
 
 Julius Rockwell, resigned in 1886. 
 
 Thomas Russell, resigned in 1867, and died 
 in 1887. 
 
 Henry Vose, died in 1869, and Ezra Wilkin- 
 son in 1882. 
 
 Chief Justice Allen one day said to me,
 
 THE SUPERIOR COURT. 73 
 
 " Mr. Willard, I don't like this idea of holding 
 a peripatetic court. I want you to take a walk 
 with me." We went into a large number of 
 halls, and finally into the Meionaon, which was 
 then quite a large room in the rear of Tremont 
 Temple. He called the janitor, made several 
 inquiries about the rent and heating, and how 
 long it would take to arrange seats for the 
 jurors, judges, and clerk. There were suffi- 
 cient benches for spectators and witnesses al- 
 ready. After receiving satisfactory replies, he 
 said : " Mr. Willard, have the kindness to in- 
 form the mayor and aldermen that I have 
 taken this for the court room." We sat there 
 some years. In 1861 the new addition to the 
 old Court House where the sheriff's office, the 
 record room, the law library, and the second 
 session are now (January, 1892) situated, was 
 completed. The old Court House in Boston was 
 finished in December, 1836, and the new part, 
 the southerly addition, was finished in December, 
 1861. The architect of the old Court House 
 was Solomon Willard, a cousin of my father. 
 
 One morning in 1861 I was sent for by 
 Governor Andrew to assist him and his secre- 
 tary, Albert Gallatin Browne, jr., who was after- 
 wards our Supreme Judicial Court Reporter. 
 This was at the time of the excitement caused by 
 the signs of civil war. After having cleared the
 
 74 CURIA. 
 
 business of the Court, I went to the State House 
 and told the messenger who came to the door 
 that I wanted to see Governor Andrew. He 
 gave me a seat in the corridor and told me to 
 wait there. 
 
 In about ten minutes the Governor appeared. 
 He said : " Joe Willard, what are you doing 
 here?" "In the language of Metamora, 'I 
 have come,' and if you don't want me, I '11 go 
 home." He laughed and said : " I did n't 
 mean that. I meant, what are you doing, sit- 
 ting out here? Browne and I are nearly 
 smothered in the casements with correspond- 
 ence, and I want you to heljD us out of it ; come 
 in and take hold." I was there three days 
 with them, and worked constantly, as did the 
 Governor and Browne. After that the courts 
 resumed their sessions regularly, and I attended 
 to my duties there. 
 
 On hearing of the illness of my son, who was 
 at the front in Major Jones's 11th Battery, and 
 having obtained a pass through the lines from 
 General Butler, I left Boston in 1864 and pro- 
 ceeded via New York and Baltimore to Fortress 
 Monroe, where unexpectedly I met Nicholas St. 
 John Green, one of the general's aids, who was 
 so kind as to take me in charge up the James 
 River to Bermuda Hundreds.
 
 AT FORT STEAD MAX. 75 
 
 In the evening wo went in an ambulance to 
 General Butler's headquarters, where I had a 
 short interview with him, and after Colonel 
 Green had transacted some business matters we 
 ■went on board a steamboat, and Colonel Green 
 asked for two staterooms. " We have none to 
 spare," was the reply. " Open two at once by 
 order of General Butler," said Colonel Green, 
 and the order was instantly complied with. 
 Next morning on our arrival, General Grant's 
 headquarters and dispatch boat were shown me. 
 The general himself was in the house, and 
 though many people were introduced, and 
 Colonel Green offered to introduce me, I de- 
 clined through sheer bashfulness. Thence I 
 proceeded by rail to the camping ground of the 
 11th Massachusetts Battery (9th Corps) in the 
 rear, where my son was. In the afternoon of 
 the same day my son and myself went to the 
 front to Fort Steadman, and while there I 
 mounted a bomb-proof, to see the battery shell 
 a train of cars running to Petersburg. Soon I 
 heard some sharp, whistling sounds near my 
 head. I said, " What is that. Major Jones ? " 
 " Those are minies, and you had better step down 
 into the bomb-proof, or kneel behind the fortifi- 
 cation," he said, — and I followed his advice. 
 That night I slept at the fort and the next 
 morning, with my son, started for the rear. A
 
 76 CURIA. 
 
 light snow had fallen in the night and the ap- 
 pearance o£ the sceneiy and surroundings was 
 much changed, so that my son was at a loss which 
 way to proceed. In a few moments we met a 
 soldier in United States uniform, of whom we in- 
 quii'ed the way to the 9th Corps. As he directed 
 us, he remarked : " Yon are now walking towards 
 the rebel pickets." We turned about at once 
 and reached our destination in safety. A week 
 later Fort Steadman was taken by the Confeder- 
 ates in the night, but retaken the next morning 
 by the United States 11th Battery and a portion 
 of the infantry of the 9th Corps. 
 
 On the 12th of Ma}^ 1865, my predecessor, 
 Joseph Willard, Esq., died, having been Clerk 
 of the Court of Common Pleas, of the Superior 
 Court of the County of Suffolk, and of the pres- 
 ent Superior Court ; in all, twenty-five years. 
 
 In a work like this, which only aims to pre- 
 sent some of the lighter phases of court or 
 clerical life, any extended sketch of him would 
 be out of place. But there are none who came 
 in contact with him during his long term of ser- 
 vice, though their number is rapidly lessening, 
 but will recall his dignified courtesy, his clear 
 and judicial mind and habits of exact method 
 that simplified the routine of the office and 
 bix)ught its multifarious details into sound work-
 
 THE GREAT BOSTON FIRE. 11 
 
 ing order. His services as auditor, master, and 
 referee were constantly sought. Upon his 
 decease I was appointed, on the 20th of May 
 of the same year. Clerk of the Superior Court 
 for the vacancy existing until the annual 
 election. 
 
 On the 7tli day of November, 1865, I was 
 elected without opposition to be Clerk of the Su- 
 perior Court for the unexpired term of my pre- 
 decessor, to wit, one year. In November, 1866, 
 I was elected for five years from the first Wed- 
 nesday in January, 1867. 
 
 In 1871 I received the Republican and Dem- 
 ocratic nominations for Clerk, and was again 
 elected without opposition. 
 
 In 1872, although residing in Boston, I passed 
 my sunnners and much of the autumn in Cam- 
 bridgeport. On the 9th of November of that 
 year, having a good view of Boston across the 
 Charles River, I saw a fire which appeared to be 
 spreading rapidly. I harnessed my horse and 
 drove to the Court House, got out the dockets 
 and the pleadings in suits then pending in 
 court, put them into my wagon, and took them 
 to my home at two o'clock on Sunday morning. 
 After having put them in a safe place, I went in 
 again on foot, and, having satisfied myself that 
 the Court House was in no danger, I returned 
 home. This was the " Great Boston Fire."
 
 78 • CURJA. 
 
 For some time prior to 1876 I had been 
 strongly impressed with the feeling- that there 
 should be formed in this county a Bar Associa- 
 tion, to elevate the tone of the bar and to look 
 after cases of malfeasance. After conversing 
 with several members of the bar relative to it, 
 at my request the following paper was delivered 
 to me addressed and ready for signatures. 
 These I procured, and called the meeting there 
 suggested. 
 
 To Joseph A. Willard, Esq., 
 
 Clerk of the Superior Court of Suffolk County. 
 
 We the undersigned, members of the Suffolk 
 Bar, respectfully request that you would call a 
 meeting of the undersigned at such time and 
 place as you may designate, to consider the for- 
 mation of a Bar Association in this county. 
 
 Sidney Bartlett, Josinh G. Abbott, 
 
 William Gaston, E, Rockwood Hoar, 
 
 Henry W. Paine, Alex. S. Wheeler, 
 
 Edward D. Solder, Jas. B. Richardson, 
 
 Henry C. Hut chins, Sumner Alhee, 
 
 Chas. B. Goodrich, Hales W. Suter, 
 
 Alonzo W. Boardmaii, Baxter E. Perry, 
 
 Daniel C. Linscott, Richard H. Dana, Jr., 
 
 Jas. M. Keith, George S. Hale, 
 
 Charles A. Welch, Augusttis Buss, 
 
 Charles Theo. Russell, Seth J. Thomas,
 
 SUFFOLK COUNTY BAR ASSOC I ATI OX. 79 
 
 Horace G. Hutchins, Jolin H. Hrtvdy, 
 
 Nathan Morse, Moorfield Storey, 
 
 Lewis W. Howes, AValbridge A. Field, 
 
 Napoleon B. Bryant, Albert E. PillsLury, 
 
 John D. Long, George O. Shattuck, 
 
 Lemuel Shaw, William G. Russell, 
 
 John C. Dodge, David Thaxter, 
 
 Robert D. Smith. 
 
 [Those in italic are deceased ; those in roraan still living.] 
 
 Boston, Oct. 20, 1875. 
 In accordance herewith, a meeting of the 
 above-named persons is called at the First Ses- 
 sion Superior Conrt Room, on Saturday, 26th 
 February, at 11 o'clock a. m. 
 
 Mr. Bartlett was called to preside, and a com- 
 mittee was appointed to submit some plans of 
 organization. After the organization was ef- 
 fected, at some early period, at a meeting held 
 by the association, I moved that a committee be 
 appointed to procure a room where they might 
 meet, and to begin the nucleus for a library. 
 A judge who is now on the bench, and who 
 was seated not far distant from me, whisiiered 
 to some of the other members so that I heard 
 it : " Let 's oppose it." It was for the time 
 voted down, but carried at a subsequent meet- 
 in u".
 
 80 CURIA. 
 
 Up to 1881, the jurors summoned were called 
 alphabetically, the first part of the alphabet being 
 called the first jury, the next the second jury, 
 the remainder, supernumeraries. In Suffolk 
 County the names are now all put into a box 
 and shaken up, and twelve names are drawn out 
 which constitute a jury. Prior to that time, the 
 twelve men composing each jury sat through the 
 whole term ; excepting, if one was sick or tem- 
 porarily excused, his place was filled by a super- 
 numerary ; and when the excused juror returned 
 he resumed his seat. Comi)laints were rife 
 among the bar that the juries were apt to be- 
 come clannish and get into ruts ; that they had 
 their friends, and that in a hotly contested case 
 in the jury-room, which might end in a disagree- 
 ment, the same fight would be carried on there 
 in the next case ; that the jury remaining the 
 same body through the term, they could be more 
 easily influenced ; and a bill was drawn which 
 was submitted to me. I made one or two sug- 
 gestions, and the bill was passed by the Legis- 
 lature and is in force in Suffolk County at this 
 time. It is sometimes said that there is less 
 unanimity in a jury so formed, but I do not 
 think so ; and recently a session was held by Mr. 
 Justice Barker, in which fifty-five verdicts were 
 returned in as many days without a single dis- 
 agreement.
 
 JUSTICES OF THE SUPERlOli COURT. 81 
 
 In the autumn of 1881 the followinjj; resohi- 
 tion was passed unanimously by the Democratic 
 County Convention : — 
 
 " lieaolved, that aU officers connected with the 
 administration of justice should be as far as pos- 
 sible removed from partisan assaults or control, 
 and that honesty and efficiency alone should be 
 the qualities looked for in such officers." 
 
 In 1881 was the first time that a candidate was 
 nominated in opposition to me. I was elected 
 by five thousand majority, again in 1886 by 
 about seventeen hundred majority, and in 1891 
 I was nominated by both parties. 
 
 Since the organization of the Superior Court, 
 the following additional appointments and pro- 
 motions have been made : — 
 
 Lincoln F. Brigham, appointed in 1859, made 
 Chief Justice in 1869, and resigned in 1890. 
 
 Chester I. Reed, appointed in 1867, resigned 
 in 1871, and died in 1872. 
 
 Charles Devens, appointed in 1867, promoted 
 to the Supreme Judicial Court in 1873, resigned 
 to become Attorney General of the United 
 States, ]\Iarch 12, 1877, and reappointed to 
 the Supreme Judicial Court in 1881 ; he died 
 in 1892. 
 
 Francis H. Dewey, appointed in 1869, re- 
 signed in 1881, and died in 1887.
 
 82 CURIA. 
 
 Robert C. Pitman, appointed in 18G9, and 
 died in 1891. 
 
 Henry E. Scndder, appointed in 18G9, re- 
 signed in 1872, and died in 1892. 
 
 John W. Bacon, appointed in 1871, and died 
 in 1888. 
 
 William Allen, appointed in 1872, promoted 
 to the Supreme Judical Court in 1881, and died 
 in 1891. 
 
 P. Emory Aldrich, appointed in 1873. 
 
 Waldo Colburn, appointed in 1875, promoted 
 to the Supreme Judicial Court in 1882, and died 
 in 1885. 
 
 William S. Gardner, appointed in 1875, pro- 
 moted to the Supreme Judicial Court in 1885, 
 and died in 1888. 
 
 Hamilton B. Staples, appointed in 1881, and 
 died in 1891. 
 
 James M. Barker, appointed in 1882, and 
 promoted to the Supreme Judicial Court in 
 1891. 
 
 Caleb Blodgett, appointed in 1882. 
 
 Albert Mason, appointed in 1882, and made 
 Chief Justice in 1890. 
 
 Charles P. Thompson, appointed in 1885, 
 died in 1894. 
 
 Justin Dewey, appointed in 1886. 
 
 John W. Hammond, appointed in 1886. 
 
 Edgar J. Sherman, appointed in 1887.
 
 JUSTICES OF THE SUPERIOR COURT. 83 
 
 Robert R. Bishop, appointed in 1888. 
 
 James R. Dunbar, appointed in 1888. 
 
 John Lathi'op, appointed in 1888, and pro- 
 moted to the Supreme Judicial Court in 1891. 
 
 Daniel W. Bond^ appointed in 1890. 
 
 Henry K. Braley, appointed in 1891. 
 
 John Hopkins, appointed in 1891. 
 
 Elisha B. Maynard, appointed in 1891. 
 
 Franklin G. Fessenden, appointed in 1891. 
 
 John W. Corcoran, appointed in 1892, and 
 resigned in 1893. 
 
 James B. Richardson, appointed in 1892. 
 
 Charles S. Lilley, appointed in 1893. 
 
 Henry N. Sheldon, appointed in 1894.
 
 III. 
 
 RES JUDICATA. 
 
 Relative to certain incisive remarks to ju- 
 rors on account of their verdicts, and to counsel 
 who are endeavoring to get a verdict against 
 the evidence, I give the following instances ; on 
 a previous jjage I have stated how the juries 
 were impaneled and served. 
 
 In the spring of 1881 Joseph II. Bradley, Wil- 
 liam Whitten Dwyer, and myself were instru- 
 mental in having enacted the present jury law, 
 in which the panel is made up or completed by 
 names drawn from a box, so that it is im]iossible 
 for any one to know, until the draft is completed, 
 how the jury is to be made up. I remember, 
 under the old system, Mr. Henry F. Durant 
 trying a cause which he brought on a policy of 
 insurance. After the evidence was all in. Judge 
 Abbott, who was presiding, asked him if ho 
 wished to go to the jury ; Mr. Durant replied 
 that he did. Judge Abbott remarked : " If you 
 get a verdict, I shall set it aside." The case 
 was submitted to the jury and they returned a 
 verdict for Mr. Durant. 
 
 After I had taken the verdict, Judge Abbott
 
 MASSACHUSETTS JUSTICE. 85 
 
 said in tlie presence of both counsel and juxy, 
 "I will hear you, Mr. Durant, at four o'clock, 
 to show cause why the verdict should not be 
 set aside." Pie was heard, and Judge Abbott 
 set aside the verdict, but allowed Mr. Durant 
 to put in an amendment to recover back the 
 premiums which he had paid. 
 
 In a case which was tried before Judge Al- 
 drich, — it was that of John L. Byrne, a citizen 
 of New Orleans, who sought to recover damages 
 of the Massasoit Packing Company, a Massa- 
 chusetts corporation, for the alleged breach in 
 not delivering to the plaintiff three thousand 
 barrels of mackerel, — the defendant contended 
 that the agent who made the contract with the 
 plaintiff exceeded his authority. 
 
 In the course of the argument, counsel for 
 the defendants appealed to the jury to find for 
 them because the jjlaintiff was a Southerner, 
 and contended that to give him a verdict would 
 be sending Northern capital to the South. 
 
 Judge Aldrich, in closing his charge to the 
 jury, said : " I make a single observation, gen- 
 tlemen, upon this case. I 'm glad to know that 
 here in Massachusetts justice is not determined 
 by degrees of longitude or latitude. You are 
 entire strangers to me, but I know that you are 
 Massachusetts men, and a Boston jury ; and
 
 86 RES JUDfCATyE. 
 
 from the time when a Boston jury acquitted 
 British soldiers for shooting Boston citizens, 
 because they were not lield personally i'es})()n- 
 sible, down to the j^resent day, I think that 
 Boston juries have continued to render verdicts 
 according to the law and the evidence, without 
 regard to the location of the plaintiff or the 
 defendant. Massachusetts never repudiates. 
 She pays the last dollar in gold, if gold be 
 worth 300 to 1. Gentlemen, in this case I am 
 sure you will render a verdict as if the contro- 
 versy was between A. and B., without regard 
 to places of habitation, according to the law and 
 the evidence given you, and upon no other con- 
 sideration." The jury returned a verdict in 
 favor of the plaintiff in the sura of f 7813.75. 
 
 In an action of slander brought by G d, 
 
 he cited some ancient law to show that the 
 greater the truth the greater the libel, as it was 
 
 in days long gone by. Mr. Justice A d 
 
 then gave the law as it is, that the truth might 
 be given in evidence, and proceeded at some 
 
 length. At the conclusion Mr. G d agreed 
 
 that the law was as his honor had so lucidly 
 
 stated it, when Judge A d replied, "The 
 
 Court is happy to be confirmed in its opinion of 
 the law by a gentleman of your ability." 
 
 The plaintiff had amended his declaration
 
 ATTEMPTING TO INFLUENCE THE COURT. 87 
 
 several times and then drawn an entire new 
 declaration. He had much difficulty in putting 
 in his evidence under his new declaration, and 
 there was more amending. Judge : '' You must 
 amend properly, or I shall continue this action." 
 Defendant's counsel, Clark : " We do not want 
 a continuance, and plaintiff may amend as much 
 as he chooses." Judge : " I shall continue, or 
 non-suit him, or something else." Clark : " Your 
 honor, I should rather have a non-suit." Judge : 
 " I can't have an amendment every time a new 
 witness is put on." Clark : " May I ask your 
 honor if this shall be the last amendment ? " 
 Judge : " Yes, sir, tJie last. Gentlemen, take a 
 recess till two p. m." 
 
 Thomas P. Briggs, of Cambridge, addressed 
 two letters to Judge Aldrich, one signed and 
 one anonymous, relative to the celebrated 
 Downes case, and Mr. Briggs was brought be- 
 fore the judge. He admitted writing the let- 
 ters, and was asked if he had any explanation 
 to make, for having written to the judge in 
 that way. Mr. Briggs said it was not to influ- 
 ence the Court in any way contrary to law ; that 
 he was a paid writer for some newspapers, and 
 interested in public affairs. Upon being asked 
 by the judge if he had no idea that such pro- 
 ceeding was highly improper, he said he had
 
 88 RES JUDICATA. 
 
 not at the time of writing ; he wanted to he a 
 peaceahle and law-abiding citizen, hut was igno- 
 rant of the illegality of his proceeding as well 
 as of the law. 
 
 The judge said that it was plain he was igno- 
 rant of the law, and what belonged to a law- 
 abiding citizen. 
 
 After considerable evading to give a direct 
 answer to the judge's questions, he finally said 
 that he made a full and unqualified apology. 
 Judge Aldrich said : " It is the first time that 
 I ever had occasion to call a party before me, 
 to be treated for the offense known as contempt 
 of Court, and it is a matter wholly within 
 the discretion of the Court ; and although 
 I regard this as a case so grossly offensive, I 
 thought it was a public duty which I owed and 
 which I could not avoid discharging, to bring 
 you publicly before the Court, and publicly ex- 
 pose this transaction ; but upon your present 
 statement, and upon the apology which you 
 have made, and the confession that you were 
 wrong, I am not disposed to proceed with any 
 severity ; I shall not, therefore, impose any \)en- 
 alty ; although, as I say, I have regarded it as 
 a very gross proceeding on your part. It is an 
 attempt to influence the Court, although it has 
 not in the slightest degree affected my judgment. 
 Notwithstanding I regard it in that light, yet,
 
 JUDGE VS. COUNSEL. 89 
 
 in view of what you have now said, I sliall order 
 you to be discharged, and shall impose no fine 
 or any other penalty upon you." Mr. Briggs 
 attempted to say something more, and ad- 
 dressed the judge as Mr. Aldrich. " Don't 
 call me Mr. Aldrich ; you need not say any- 
 thing more. It will not be safe for you to ven- 
 ture to repeat the offense." 
 
 In a certain case, Mr. Ely said : " Do j^ou 
 know what was being paid?" AVitness: "I 
 don't know as I do." Judge Aldrich : " Do 
 you know or do you not know ? " Witness 
 hesitates some time. Judge : " You are not 
 ohliged to know anything ; the question is, 
 whether you f?o." 
 
 Mr. S., who had been a Justice of the 
 Supreme Judicial Court, was defending a cause 
 brought against the Boston and Albany Rail- 
 road, and at the close of the evidence asked the 
 Court (Judge Aldrich) to take the case from 
 the jury. Judge Aldrich took up one of the 
 Massachusetts Reports, read the facts, and said : 
 " In that case the Supreme Court ruled that the 
 case should not be taken from the jury." S. : 
 " I think the facts in this case differ." Judge : 
 " No, sir, this is a case precisely similar." S. : 
 " That may have been the law in that case." 
 Judge : " I think it should be the law here, as
 
 90 liKS JUDICATA. 
 
 the opinion in tli.it case was given bj^ a distin- 
 gnished jndge named S." 
 
 One J. F., a i)ainter, who was arguing his 
 own cause, mentioned something that was not 
 in the evidence. The Court (Judge Aklrich) 
 said that he could not argue that, as it was not 
 in the evidence. Mr. F. : " It onglit to 
 have been." Judge : " I can't deal with what 
 ought to have been; only with what 7/r/.s been." 
 
 A Mr. was very slow in trying a case, 
 
 consuming three or four hours when he might 
 have tried it in two. Judge Aklrich remarked : 
 
 " Mr. , we have other cases to try this 
 
 spring." 
 
 Upon discharging a jury at the end of a term, 
 Judge Aklrich, after complimenting them upon 
 their punctuality and unanimity, said, '" I have 
 heard it flippantly said by persons and stated in 
 magazines that the trial by jury is worn out, 
 but I say that jury trial is one of the foiuida- 
 tions of self-government, and that when a com- 
 munity has not proper men to put in a jury-box 
 their rights and respect are gone. You can get 
 no more wisdom out of a jury-box than you put 
 in, and if the city government w^ill see to it that 
 proper names are put in there, our rights and 
 liberties will be preserved." 
 
 Judge Aklrich in charging a jury read from 
 one of the Massachusetts Reports. Mr. Dudley
 
 TRIAL BY JURY. 91 
 
 said : " I except to what your honor has said." 
 Judge Aklrich : " You can if you like, but it is 
 the opinion of the Supreme Judicial Court." 
 
 T. B. King offered evidence of his client to 
 show that he had sold from the same collection 
 other shoes which proved excellent, and no 
 fault was found with them. The opposing 
 counsel objected. King, to the Court : " If my 
 client sells beer out of the same vat to another 
 person, can't I show it to be good ? " Judge 
 Aklrich : " According to what I have heard at 
 the other end of this Court House [criminal 
 session] one can't tell whether it is beer or not ; 
 I think we had better confine ourselves to the 
 shoe trade ; your beer illustration is quite unfor- 
 tunate." King : " Then I don't know as I 
 ought to ask witness anything about this shoe." 
 Judge : " Then I would n't." 
 
 Judge Aklrich signified how he might rule. 
 T. : "I wish to note an exception." Judge : 
 " Had n't you better wait until the ruling is 
 made? We are not trying this case in order 
 to get a bill of exceptions ; be a little more 
 deliberate." T. : "I have had so much trouble 
 in getting a bill of exceptions correct, that I 
 wish to be in season to preserve my rights." 
 Judge : " You never had any trouble with me, 
 sir." T. : " No, sir ; I never tendered a bill of 
 exceptions to your honor, nor had any trouble
 
 92 XES JUDICATA. 
 
 with your honor." Judge : " And I trust you 
 never will." 
 
 Setli J. Thomas, Esq., brought a suit against 
 an administratrix of a deceased jjerson for the 
 services of a nurse, during the sickness. The 
 answer was a general denial. Besides other 
 evidence, some letters of the deceased were 
 introduced in which he stated that " the nurse 
 would receive her reward." The defendant's 
 counsel said he wished to explain the letters as 
 having reference to another world. Judge : 
 " I don't think you can show that under a 
 general denial ; you shoidd have set it up 
 specially." 
 
 As my term of office expired with the abol- 
 ishing of the Superior Court of the county of 
 Suffolk, I asked Chief Justice Allen if I should 
 not hand in a petition with recommendations to 
 be appointed assistant clerk of " The Superior 
 Court ; " he replied, " Would it not be better, 
 Mr. Willard, to be appointed without a pe- 
 tition?" 
 
 At that time the ,bar were accustomed to 
 mark their cases " not before " a certain day, 
 although there was then no statute allowing it 
 as there is now. 
 
 One day before the term commenced, John 
 S. Holmes and Munro Stevens brousfht me in a
 
 ADMONISHING THE COURT. 93 
 
 paper agreeing to mark a certain case over. I 
 told tlieni that the Chief Justice had given 
 orders not to mark any more over without a 
 motion to the Court. " You can file the paper," 
 said Stevens. I said, " No ; I can't do that." 
 And so the case came up in its order. When 
 I called the case and said : " Mr. Stevens for 
 plaintiff, and Mr. Holmes for defense," the 
 Chief Justice asked them if they were ready. 
 " I 'm ready, your honor," said Holmes. Stevens 
 began walking backwards and forwards across 
 the court room,' saying, "I 'm 7iot ready ; the 
 fact is, we took a pa])er in to Mr. Willard 
 agreeing to mark this case over ; he not only 
 would not mark it over, but woidd not file the 
 paper, and said he had received orders to change 
 the practice. I am surprised ; I think the Court 
 should be as constant in their rules of practice 
 as they are in their rules of law." 
 
 The Chief Justice leaned back, and looked 
 over his glasses at him, and said : " What did 
 you say, sir ? " Stevens said something quite 
 different. " Yes, sir ; but what did you say 
 about the Court being constant in its rules of 
 practice?" Stevens, being caught, had to 
 repeat it. There was a pause of a minute. 
 The bar and the audience waited to see what 
 came next. " Well, sir," said the Chief Justice, 
 " the Court will take your admonition this time ;
 
 94 JiES JUDICATA. 
 
 but next time, won't you he kind enough to 
 give the Court notice ; it might be convenient. 
 Proceed with the case." 
 
 Stevens opened his case, and it appeared that 
 a certain trader had failed, and sokl out his 
 accoimts to this plaintiff for fifty cents on the 
 dollar. The Chief Justice asked to see the 
 papers, and, after having looked them over, put 
 them in his pocket, and said : " It is a disrepu- 
 table action, and I shan't try it ; call the next 
 case, Mr. Clerk," About a year after, he non- 
 suited the jjlaintiff. 
 
 John C. Park was once examining a witness 
 on the voir dire, to see if he was competent to 
 testify ; after the witness had given his idea of 
 falsehood and punishment, Mr. Park said: 
 " I '11 not object any further ; he seems to know 
 as much as any of us about it." " Speak for 
 yourself, Mr. Park," replied Judge Allen. 
 
 Munro Stevens, after citing some law to Judge 
 Allen, proceeded to give some opinions of his 
 own. Said the judge, " Stop, sir, that is not 
 authority ; that is your judgment, for which I 
 have great respect, but it is not authority." 
 
 " What is this name," Judge Allen once 
 asked me, looking at the signature of Mr. T. 
 " It is written so much better than the writing I 
 am used to, I don't read it readily." Any one
 
 A SAD CASE. 95 
 
 who lias seen Mr. T.'s writing will appreciate 
 this. 
 
 There was at one time a gentleman practicing 
 at our bar by the name of John C. A., a graduate 
 of Harvard and a fine scholar. 
 
 He came to the Suffolk bar with brilliant 
 prospects, acquired a good practice, was success- 
 ful at the forum, was appointed a professor at 
 Harvard, and afterwards went to New York. 
 While there he became very unfortunate in his 
 investments. 
 
 A friend of mine, another lawyer, who had 
 left Boston and gone to New York, told me that 
 he was walking one day on Broadway, when a 
 shabby-looking person met him and said, " Let 
 me have a dollar, I am starving." 
 
 My friend said, " Who are you ? " 
 
 " Why, don't you know me ? I 'm John C. 
 A." 
 
 " You John C. A. ? It can't be." 
 
 " Yes, I am." 
 
 My friend said, " I shall not give you any 
 money, but come with me." He took him to 
 an eating-house, gave the proprietor a dollar, 
 and told him to feed the man until it was gone. 
 
 Afterward A. frequented the block where my 
 friend and other lawyers were, and at various 
 times obtained small sums. My friend said he
 
 90 RES J V Die AT. E. 
 
 was determined to follow him and see where he 
 went. lie did so, and one afternoon followed 
 him all over the city, until after nine o'clock in 
 the evening, when A. went into the park, and 
 there went to sleep. About a week after, a 
 man supposed to be, and finally identified as, 
 John C. A., was found on a wharf, frozen to 
 death. 
 
 When Chief Justice Charles Allen was judge, 
 the law as to the juries was different from what 
 it is now. They were known as the first and 
 second jury, and were substantially the same 
 men through the entire term. At the end of a 
 term at which the Chief Justice had presided, 
 he thanked the first jury for their punctuality, 
 attendance, attention, and the generally satisfac- 
 tory verdicts which they had rendered. When 
 he had finished, he said to the other jury, " Gen- 
 tlemen, I wish I could say the same to you ; I 
 think you could have done better." 
 
 Paul Willard to witness : " Do you call a 
 horse that goes lame, all right ? " Witness : "" I 
 don't understand that." Willard repeated the 
 question, and got the same answer. Judge 
 Ames, presiding then, said : " Do you call a 
 horse all right that goes lameV Witness: 
 " Oh, no, sir."
 
 LOVE-LETTERS IN COURT. 97 
 
 George A. Torrey was defending a suit for 
 " breach of promise of marriage." The letters 
 of defendant (the man) were written on tele- 
 graph blanks, and when plaintiff's counsel began 
 to read defendant's letters to his client, he com- 
 menced, " Dear Laura." Mr. Torrey objected, 
 and contended that the whole of the letters must 
 be read. Judge Bacon so ruled, when plaintiff's 
 counsel read as follows : — 
 
 New England Telephone and Telegraph Com- 
 pany. Telephonic Message. The following 
 message has been transmitted in whole or part 
 by telephone, subject to conditions limiting the 
 liabilities for errors, delays, and mistakes, which 
 have been agreed to by the sender, and under 
 which damages can in no case be recovered 
 exceeding the tolls paid hereon, nor unless 
 claimed in writing, within thirty days from 
 sending the message. 
 
 The companies over whose lines it has been 
 sent do not guarantee its authenticity. 
 
 Number 
 
 Sent by 
 
 Time 
 
 Received by 
 
 Check 
 
 Dated, 
 
 
 
 Received at 
 
 To 
 
 
 
 IS 
 
 8 
 
 My Darling Laura, etc. 
 Read the Notice at the Top.
 
 98 RES judicata:. 
 
 Hon. George T, Bigelow, aj)pointed Judge of 
 Court of Common Pleas in 184G, liked to have 
 quiet in the court room. A lawyer, Mr. A., 
 somewhat of a theatrical and musical critic, who 
 wrote for the papers, and withal something of 
 a Bohemian, becoming once a little set up, 
 came into the court in this condition, and, sit- 
 ting at the table, talked loudly with another 
 lawyer. Judge Bigelow rapped on his desk. 
 Mr. A. paused, but soon began again, when 
 Judge Bigelow said : " Mr. A., the Court notices 
 you, sir." Mr. A., rising, and steadying him- 
 self by the rail : " Yes, may it please your 
 honor, and Mr. A. notices the Court." 
 
 The late Chief Justice Bigelow told me of this 
 mistake he made while traveling West. He 
 always had a restless manner. On his arrival at 
 a hotel in St. Louis, he saw walking around the 
 office or bar-room a well-dressed man whom he 
 took to be the landlord. He said to him, " I 
 should like to be shown to my room." " Don't 
 be in a hurry," replied the person addressed ; 
 " sit dowai and rest yourself a few moments." 
 After a few moments the judge grew impatient, 
 and said, "I must be shown to my room, sir, 
 forthwith." " Oh, be patient," said the other ; 
 "it will all be ready in due season." In a few 
 moments another person appeared. Taking him 
 for the clerk, and thinking that perhaps he
 
 AN AWKWARD MISTAKE. 99 
 
 might expedite matters, lie addressed him say- 
 ing : " I have been waiting- here some time to be 
 shown to my room according- to your landlord's 
 suggestion." " Why, I am the landlord," said 
 the newcomer. The judge in a low voice said: 
 " Who is this other gentleman ? " " Why, 
 that 's General Meade ; let me introduce you to 
 him." Upon which he was introduced and apol- 
 ogized to the general, who said, " It is a matter 
 of no consequence ; I saw that you were impa- 
 tient, and I thought you had better have time 
 to cool ofP." 
 
 At the adjournment of one of the terms of the 
 Court of Common Pleas, one of the juries pre- 
 sented Judge Henry W. Bishop with a beautiful 
 gold-headed cane. He was very much affected ; 
 tears came to his eyes, and he said, " Gentlemen, 
 all I can say is, that I bid each of you an affec- 
 tionate farewell," and he shook hands with every 
 juror. After they were gone he said to me, 
 " Willard, I would rather have that cane than an 
 inheritance of ten thousand a year." 
 
 During Judge Bishop's term of office a case 
 was on trial in which the plaintiff sought to 
 recover damages for the destruction of a portion 
 of his house by the explosion of a gas-pipe. A 
 watchman testified that he was in this house 
 a few minutes before the explosion, and that
 
 100 EICS .lUDICATuE. 
 
 wlu'u lie went out to get shaved, it occurred. 
 Judge Bishop : " I call that a pretty close shave." 
 
 The vohime of Public Statutes having been 
 frequently taken from the judge's desk, Judge 
 Lord ordered me to got it chained to the desk, 
 which was done. Judge Rockwell came in with 
 Chief Justice Brigham one day when the court 
 was not in session, and said, *' I tell you, Mr. 
 Chief Justice, the statutes say so and so." Judge 
 Rockwell picked up the statutes, but the chain 
 brought him up before he could get away from 
 the desk. " Mr. Chief Justice," said he, " what 
 is that for ? " The Chief Justice replied : " Lord 
 ordered that to be done, so that when you come 
 here to preside, you can't give it to the jur3^" 
 Judge Rockwell had once done so, to ^vhieh the 
 counsel excepted and the exceptions were sus- 
 tained. 
 
 The first time I was ever in court, and this 
 was in what was then called the Justices' Court, 
 in Boston, a man was brought in who was com- 
 plained of for abusing his horse. There was 
 no S. P. C. A. then. It was proved tl^at he 
 hit his horse on the head with the butt end of 
 his whip, causing the blood to flow from his 
 mouth and other places, and the judge called 
 upon him for his defense. He arose and said :
 
 A LEARNED JUDGE. 101 
 
 " If I had time I could prove I am as good a 
 teamster as there is in Boston, and also your 
 honor has heard some evidence that the horse 
 was contrary." The judge leaned his head on 
 his hand for a moment, then rose, saying: 
 " Prisoner, there is no mistake but what you 
 flogged that horse severely, but the horse ought 
 to dnnvecl. Discharge him." I thought if 
 that was law, I would like to stay and hear a 
 little more of it, or at all events get some more 
 opinions from this learned judge. 
 
 Another man was complained of for stealing 
 a buffalo skin. It was proved that he took it, 
 and wrapping himself up in it went into a shed 
 and lay down to sleep. " Prisoner," said the 
 judge, "why did you take that skin?" Pris- 
 oner (shivering) : "I was very cold, sir." 
 "Shouldn't you have taken it if you had not 
 been cold?" "No-o, n-o, no, your honor." 
 " Discharge him," said the judge ; " the intent 
 takes away the crime." 
 
 During that summer, to wit, the summer of 
 1846, 1 became acquainted with a man who took 
 daguerreotypes. They were then just being 
 introduced, and as it was a sort of experiment 
 the artists were willing to take pictures of 
 noted persons to hang outside of their doors 
 as a sample of their work. 
 
 This man told me that this same judge walked
 
 102 REti JUDICATyE. 
 
 into liis room one day and said, " ISIr. , I 
 
 am Mr. Justice , of the Justices' Court. I 
 
 understand you take i)ietures of distinguished 
 men to exhibit to the public." "Yes, sir; be 
 kind enough to take a chair. How wouhl you 
 like to be taken ? " "I should like to be taken 
 as in my court room." " Assume your attitude, 
 sir, and tell me when you are ready." lie 
 placed himself to his satisfaction, and looking 
 very stern said, pointing his finger in the di- 
 rection of the su})posed criminal, "Prisoner, 
 where — Take me 7ioic^ sir." He was taken, 
 and the artist then said, " How otherwise 
 would you like to be taken ? " " I should like 
 to be taken in the bosom of my family ; John, 
 bring me the Bible." The artist gave him a 
 Bible. He opened it and said : " We will now 
 read the 92d Psalm. Take me vov\ sir." 
 He was taken, and I afterwards saw both pic- 
 tures hanging at the entrance door. 
 
 I lost no opportunity, when I had a little lei- 
 sure, to go into the court of that judge and hear 
 trials and opinions. On one occasion there was 
 a dispute as to the ownership of a dog. The 
 evidence was so conflicting that it puzzled the 
 judge extremely. He leaned his head on the 
 desk as usual for a few moments to cogitate. 
 Then he said : " Mr. Knapp [the clerk] , you 
 hold the dog ; plaintiff, you go over in that cor-
 
 NEITHER PARTY. 103 
 
 ner; defendant, you go over in the other corner; 
 when I say the word, each of you call the dog." 
 The word was given, and both parties called the 
 dog. Mr. Knapp loosened his hold, but the dog, 
 instead of going to either of the supposed own- 
 ers, made a bee-line for the door. " Mr. Clerk," 
 said the judge, "enter that case, neither party." 
 To the uninitiated it may be explained that 
 " neither party " means that neither party pre- 
 vails, and each goes out of court as he came in. 
 
 A witness was giving his testimony in a very 
 low voice. Mr. Ranney said, " Speak up, sir ; 
 don't be so modest." Judge Devens : " Mr. 
 Ranney, we should be modest in all things." 
 
 Jud2:e Huntlnjijton said he should receive no 
 petition from any gentleman to be admitted to 
 the bar, unless he stated that he was going to 
 practice in this Commonwealth ; that it had 
 become quite a fashion to get a certificate of 
 admission from a Massachusetts court and then 
 go West and practice, imposing duties on the 
 court which they ought not to. 
 
 Mr. B w was once trying a case before 
 
 Judge Huntington. The judge stepped out for 
 a few moments, and Mr. B w, in his argu- 
 ment, told the jury that the judge was un- 
 friendly to him. The judge heard of it before 
 the case was finished, and told Mr. B w If
 
 104 RES JUDICAT.E. 
 
 he had heard him he should have stopped hiiu ; 
 that as he had made public remarks it required 
 public apology ; that he (Judge Huntington) 
 had given and should give his judgments to the 
 best of his ability. This brought tears to Mr. 
 B w's eyes, and he made his apology. 
 
 In the Superior Court of the County of Suf- 
 folk, when some witnesses were called to be 
 sworn, Judge J. G. Abbott, who was presiding, 
 was called to the other end of the bench to 
 speak with a person. There were some Jews 
 among the witnesses, and the opposing counsel 
 wished them sworn in Jewish form. This was 
 before the act allowing all witnesses to be sworn 
 alike, unless they request to be sworn in a dif- 
 ferent manner. I told the Jews to get their 
 hats and put them on. When I had partially 
 administered the oath, Judge Abbott returned 
 to his seat, and said : " Let the witnesses re- 
 move their hats." I said : " This is the Jewish 
 form of administering the oath." " Oh, pro- 
 ceed, then," said the judge. One of the Jewish 
 witnesses gave his testimony, and while he was 
 being cross-examined the judge said to me, 
 " Did you notice what I did just now ? " I 
 said, " No, sir." He said, " I asked that Jew 
 what his christened name was." I told this to 
 Judge Lord on a similar occasion, and he said
 
 JEWISH WITNESSES. 105 
 
 to me, " You see 1 did n't do it. I asked him 
 what \\\s first name was." 
 
 At one impaneling of the juries about half 
 of them came forward with the excuse that 
 they had some disease. The judge was much 
 displeased, and in stentorian tones said : " Mr. 
 Clerk, were these jurors drawn from the hos- 
 pitals ? Issue a new venire, and have a lot of 
 healthy men drawn." 
 
 A case came up one afternoon before Judge 
 Lord in which John H. Butler was for the 
 plaintiff, and P. H. Hutchinson for the defend- 
 ant. Mr. Butler challenged two jurors, accord- 
 ing to the statutes. There were only two super- 
 numerary jurors left in the court room. I 
 called them and put them on to the panel, one 
 of them being Butler's brother. Butler got a 
 verdict, and Hutchinson moved for a new trial. 
 Among other things he said he saw telegraph- 
 ing going on between counsel and a juror. " I 
 did n't know he was his brother until after the 
 verdict." Judge : " You 've answered yourself. 
 Now you said you saw telegraphing going on : 
 suppose he was his brother, is there anything 
 illegal in that?" Hutchinson: "Perhaps not, 
 but it 's indecent." Judge : " Well, if I should 
 set aside verdicts because the counsel were in- 
 decent, I should set aside a good many."
 
 106 RES judicata:. 
 
 Judge Lord told me this : When lie was at 
 , hearing a cause, Judge C. was counsel 
 
 for the defense. It was the last cause to be 
 tried, and the jury were out some time, so 
 that the judge called them in and gave them 
 additional instructions. The jury agreed, and 
 Judge C. took exceptions to the charge of 
 Judge Lord. When the exceptions came on 
 to be heard before the Supreme Court, Judge 
 C. read his bill of exceptions, and the Chief 
 Justice said: "Mr. C, why isn't this good 
 law ? " Judge C. : " Perhaps it is, your honors, 
 but what I except to was the manner of that 
 judge ; for no pen can describe, and no Garrick 
 can portray, the force and energy with which 
 he hurled that to the jury." To which the 
 Court replied : " We are afraid that no ex- 
 ception lies to that." 
 
 The foreman of a jury told Judge Lord that 
 one of the jury was drunk, when the judge said 
 in a stentorian voice, " Mr, B., stand up." Mr. 
 B. rose, and grasped the rail in front of him 
 to steady himself. Judge : " Are you laboring 
 under a physical disability?" Juror (reel- 
 ing) : " Not if I knows myself." Judge : "It 
 has been intimated to me that you have been 
 indulging too freely in spirituous liquors." 
 Juror : " I guess not." Judge : " Do you think 
 you can try a case intelligently ? " Juror : " I
 
 LAW AND JUSTICE. 107 
 
 guess I could under your honor's instructions 
 in ft liquor case." Judge : " Gentlemen of the 
 jury, is Mr. B. intoxicated ? " Jurors all : 
 " Yes, sir." Judge : " Mr. B., take yourself 
 off the panel, and be here to-morrow." 
 
 In a suit of a lawyer for services, J. W. 
 
 R s was very pertinacious in trying to get 
 
 in certain evidence. Judge Lord said : " You 
 want to put in some evidence that by and by 
 the plaintiff may bring a suit, and that you '11 
 not be obliged to pay when he does bring it." 
 In the same case, J. W. R s was endeavor- 
 ing to prove that the plaintiff ought not to have 
 certain fees because he put a certain number 
 of questions that were useless. Judge Lord: 
 " I am afraid that few lawyers would get their 
 fees if they were prohibited from putting useless 
 questions." 
 
 In the same case Newton asked the defend- 
 ant what his understanding of the contract was. 
 Mr. Wakefield objected. " How is that com- 
 petent?" asked Judge Lord. Newton: "The 
 parties talked over the contract and then signed 
 it, so that the contract was construed differ- 
 ently." Judge : " Is it competent ? " New- 
 ton: "I think so." Judge: "As a lawyer?" 
 Newton, coloring : " Well, as a matter of jus- 
 tice." Judge : " We are trying law cases here, 
 and law is presumed to be justice."
 
 108 RES JUDICATA. 
 
 The same jvidge remarked, when hearing a 
 ease one day in which both parties made re- 
 quests for various rulings, from which it was 
 perfectly evident that one or the other meant 
 to take the case to the highest court in any 
 event, "I will rule so and so [stating it], and 
 you can take it up to that tribunal which makes 
 no mistakes." 
 
 Mr. met him one day, and said : " I 
 
 see, Judge Lord, that the Supreme Court has 
 
 overruled you in the case of t's. , but 
 
 you need feel no concern about your reputa- 
 tion." "No," he replied, "I don't; I'm only 
 concerned about the reputation of the Supreme 
 Court." 
 
 Judge Lord was once holding the Criminal 
 Court, and at recess he came into the lobby, 
 where I happened to be, and said, "Willard, 
 what do you think of this? You know little 
 
 D ? His client was indicted for an assault 
 
 with intent to commit a rape. I said to him, 
 ' If your client will plead guilty to an assault, 
 I will nol. pros, the other, as I think he is non 
 compos.' Little D. answered, ' I don't know 
 about his being non compos, your honor, but 
 perhaps he has not the intellect of your honor 
 or myself.' " 
 
 During the arguments of coiuisel one day. 
 Judge Lord pointed out to me a person in the
 
 LIMIT OF AN OWNER'S RIGHTS. 109 
 
 audience, and said, " He was one of a lot who 
 came into my room to haze me while I was in 
 College. I had thought of it beforehand, and 
 when they came in, I gave them wine with 
 ipecac in it, which made them all sick." I told 
 him it reminded me of a certain rich merchant 
 of Boston who missed his wine from the cellar, 
 and thereupon put some ipecac into some of the 
 bottles. Shortly after, one of his servants 
 became very sick, and after recovering brought 
 an action against the merchant, who settled it 
 by paying one thousand dollars, upon the ad- 
 vice of distinguished counsel. Judge : " Why 
 shouldn't he put ipecac into his own wine?" 
 " Do you think," I said, " that you have a right 
 to put what you choose into your own wine, 
 even if you put it under lock and key?" 
 Judge: "Why not?" I rejilied : "Don't you 
 think if you were to put arsenic into your own 
 wine and lock it up and it should be stolen, and 
 a number of persons killed in consequence, that 
 if it could be proved that you put it in you 
 might be indicted for murder ? " Judge : " I 
 should like to think of that." 
 
 The following conversation took place between 
 Mr. B. and Judge Lord : — 
 
 Mr. B. " And as to your honor's power to 
 cut and slash this judgment just as you choose." 
 Judge : " Is n't this the law ? " (illustrating.)
 
 110 RES JUDICAT.'E. 
 
 Mr. B. : " That was a vague and floating idea 
 in the minds of some judges." Judge (stating 
 a case). Mr. B. : " Your honor has stated it 
 correctly." Judge: "Isn't it so and so?" 
 (again illustrating.) Mr. B. : '' Oh no, I '11 
 show you you are mistaken in that too." 
 
 At the conclusion of it I said to the judge 
 that I should not think he would like that style 
 of address. Judge : " It rather amuses me 
 than otherwise." 
 
 In 1867 the Legislature inquired as to the 
 expediency of reducing the number of judges 
 in the Superior Court. I mentioned it to Judge 
 Lord, and asked him if he thonght it woukl 
 pass. " No," said he, " there are too many of 
 them up there that want to be judges, to have 
 that go." 
 
 Mr. Pearson got a client of Abiel Abbott's 
 defaulted for not answering interrogatories. 
 Abbott came before Judge Lord to have the 
 default taken off, and said : " My client has 
 filed an affidavit of defense, and an answer, 
 and I think it hard that he should be defaulted 
 for not answering interrogatories when he 
 does not know what they are. He is out of the 
 State, and I have endeavored to find him for 
 three weeks." Pearson : " Mr. Abbott does not 
 know where his client is and never will. I 
 think the default ought to stand." Judge : " Mr.
 
 ANECDOTES OF JUDGE LORD. Ill 
 
 Abbott, have you made search for your client ? " 
 " Yes, sir, for three weeks." Judge : "Well, if 
 you can't find him, let the plaintiff search for 
 him on the execution, and if he catches him he 
 will be in here for a review, and then we can 
 hear him." 
 
 John G. Locke was one of the alien commis- 
 sioners. He was by some called " Shyloek." 
 In a suit which he had brought, a party was 
 put upon the stand to testify who did not 
 miderstand English. Mr. Locke produced an 
 interpreter, to whom the opposite counsel (Mr. 
 Paine) objected, on the ground that he was 
 friendly to the plaintiff. Mr. Paine then pro- 
 duced one to whom Locke objected, on the 
 ground that he was a relative of the defendant. 
 Judge Lord : " Swear them both, and they will 
 correct each other." 
 
 Mr. E. H. Abbott was arguing a case before 
 Judge Lord, as to a return of an officer upon 
 an execution. Judge : " I think this levy is 
 wrong." Abbott : " It was made, your honor, 
 by a deputy sheriff of twenty years' experience, 
 who had always done so." Judge : "I have 
 practiced law for twenty years, but I make a 
 great many mistakes." 
 
 John McClellan was summoned as a juror, 
 and when called offered as an excuse that he 
 was a member of the Ancient and Honorable
 
 112 RES judicata:. 
 
 Artillery, and produced his certificate of mem- 
 bersliip (that being a statutory excuse from 
 serving on the jury). Judge Lord : " Did you 
 ever turn out?" "Yes, sir," said McClellan. 
 Judge: "When did you do duty last?" Mc- 
 Clellan : " At Faneuil Hall last 17th of June, 
 with a knife and fork." Judge : " You can 
 go, sir." 
 
 Robert C. Apthorp was also sunnnoned as 
 juror. He said he was a member of the bar. 
 " Did you ever practice ? " asked Judge Lord. 
 " When I had a chance, sir." While the judge 
 was thinking of it, Mr. Apthorp said : " I am 
 over sixty-five years of age." " Why did n't you 
 say that first ? " said the judge ; " you can go." 
 
 A Mr. Converse was summoned as a juror. 
 He said : " Judge, I think I ought to be ex- 
 cused. I have business here and there, am over- 
 whelmed with it, and my physician says I ought 
 to have a change." " Well, this will be a 
 change, and will do you good." 
 
 Another able-looking man, I forget his name, 
 when summoned as a juror, said : " Judge, if 
 you keep me here as juror you will stop five 
 hundred men from work." " What is your 
 business ? " "I am a contractor for driving 
 piles, and am driving them in different parts of 
 the city." " Well, sir," said Judge Lord, 
 " suppose you had a pile-driving case against
 
 EXCUSES OF JURYMEN. 113 
 
 you in this court, and I should summon in 
 twelve loafers to try your case, how should you 
 like it ? " . He took his seat. 
 
 A certain lawyer was cross-examining a wit- 
 ness at a tedious length, when Judge Lord 
 remarked, " I think you have gone far enough." 
 Said the lawyer, " I should like to go a little 
 farther and show" — '"Oh, well," said the 
 judge, " go on." The judge walked forward 
 and back with his hands behind him, patiently, 
 for some minutes, and at last exclaimed, " There, 
 you can stop, sir ; you 've hurt your case more 
 than the other side has." 
 
 Counsel was once very persistently following- 
 up a long and tiresome cross-examination, when 
 the judge interfered, and said much of it was 
 immaterial. The counsel replied that it was his 
 right. " Oh, yes," said Judge Lord, " it is your 
 right, but if every one insisted upon having 
 his rights, what an unhappy world this would 
 be." 
 
 S. T., who was quite deaf, was trying a case be- 
 fore Judge Lord. Judge (illustrating) : " Sup- 
 pose you had put your money under a stone ? " 
 T. (muttering) : " I don't know what you do in 
 Salem, but in Boston we don't put money under 
 a stone." Judge (in a stentorian voice) : " If 
 your infirmity is so great that you cannot hear, 
 you might at least have the grace to be ci\dl."
 
 114 RES JUDICATA. 
 
 T. (softly, with his hand to his ear) : " What 
 did your honor observe ? " 
 
 Mr. John C. Park, in one case, said he thought 
 on certain evidence that it was a mixed question 
 of law and fact. Judge Lord : " I thought so 
 too, until I was overruled by the Supreme 
 Court ; and though I think they are inclined to 
 modify their ruling, the modification must come 
 from that court and not from this." 
 
 Judge Lord was once hearing the excuses of 
 jurymen, when the following occurred: Jury- 
 man : " If I am kept here my employer will dis- 
 charge me." Judge : " If you have an employer 
 who threatens to discharge you because you 
 comply with the law, you ought to be thankful 
 you are rid of such an employer. Send him 
 here, and let us see if he will say that to me.'''' 
 
 A. R. Brown called a witness to prove a paper 
 to which he had subscribed his name as a wit- 
 ness. Witness : " I can't tell who signed it." 
 Judge Lord : " Your paper was proved a little 
 while ago, and now it is not proved." Brown : 
 " Well, I guess I'll get along." Judge : " Yes, 
 time will carry us all along." 
 
 I said once to Judge Lord : "It seems to me 
 that the declaration in this case is very unskill- 
 fully drawn, I can see no consideration stated 
 for the alleged promise of conveyance of the 
 land, by the defendant to plaintiff." Judge:
 
 MR. SUPERFLUOUS LAGS. 115 
 
 " Probably the want of skill in that case is the 
 highest skill," " That is to say, if the declara- 
 tion was drawn by a skillful pleader, he would 
 have had no case ? " " Yes." 
 
 Judge Lord, while holding the Equity Court, 
 became faint, so that he was obliged to leave the 
 room. Sitting with his feet at the fire, having 
 partially recovered, he looked around as was his 
 wont, and, raising himself by his hands on the 
 arm-chair, said : " I should like to know what all 
 this means " (rising still higher), " whether I 
 am Mr. Superfluous Lags ? " (reflecting aloud), 
 "Superfluous lags the veteran on the stage." 
 (Rising to his feet and extending his hand.) 
 " If I had more money, I would quit this stage 
 and travel." No words can portray his manner. 
 Nothing could, except an intimate acquaintance 
 with him. 
 
 In the somewhat celebrated libel case of Dal- 
 ton vs. Dalton, before Judge M. and a jury in 
 the Supreme Court, Mr. G., the father of Dal- 
 ton's wife, was in the court room, and I said to 
 him, " Mr. G., will there be a divorce here ? " 
 " Oh, no," he said, " there 's been condiment 
 here, and as for Nelly (Mrs. Dalton), she 's 
 been the least licentious of all my daughters." 
 During this trial Mrs. Dalton fainted, and the 
 court adjourned to the next day. Mr. R. H.
 
 116 HES JUDICATA^.. 
 
 Dana, who was counsel for Dalton, liad one of 
 his strongest points ruled out by Judge M. in 
 this wise. Mr. Dana produced a letter which 
 he said was a confession of Mrs. Dalton. There 
 were some erasures in the letter. Mr. Dana 
 asked a witness, " Did you see Mrs. D. write 
 it? " " Yes, sir." " Did you give it to Dalton ? " 
 " Yes, sir." " Did you see Mrs. Dalton make 
 the erasures?" "No, sir; but they were there 
 when I gave it to Dalton." The witness then 
 left the stand, and Mr. Dana offered to put the 
 letter into the case. Mr. Choate objected, be- 
 cause, he said, in the way in which it was left, 
 the inference was that the witness made the 
 ei'asures, and he objected to have the witness 
 recalled to say whether he made them or not. 
 Judge M. sustained Mr. Choate, to the surprise 
 of Mr. Dana, and, as Mr. Dana afterwards said 
 to me, " to my consternation." On mentioning 
 this to an ex-judge he said, " I am not sur- 
 prised ; I never would try a case before him, he 
 
 is so dishonest." A gentleman said to me, 
 
 if a stranger had stepped into the court room 
 a few moments he would have thought that it 
 was the counsel for respondent arguing his case 
 from the bench. 
 
 Chief Justice Charles Allen told me this : A 
 person once called at the office of Mr. Merrick 
 in Worcester and asked him what the law was
 
 A VERY LARGE DOG. 117 
 
 in a certain case. This was before Jiulge Mer- 
 rick came to the bench. Mr. Merrick told him. 
 The client said : " Mr. Allen says it is so and 
 so," which was quite different. Mr. Merrick 
 said : " Come in again in an hour and I '11 look 
 up the law." When the client returned, Merrick 
 said : " I 've looked up all the law on this sub- 
 ject, and I don't see any reason to change my 
 opinion, but if Charles Allen says " — " Oh 
 no," exclaimed the client, " not Charles Allen, 
 
 — Sam Allen." "D Sam Allen," said 
 
 Merrick, and threw the book across the floor. 
 
 Mr. S., having argued his case to the jury, 
 said that the law would be given them by the 
 Court, and that the Court would rule so and 
 so (stating it). When he had finished, Judge 
 Morton said : " The Court will not rule as you 
 have stated, Mr. S., but more favorably, as I 
 think you have misapprehended the law against 
 yourself." 
 
 A person carried off a very valuable dog be- 
 longing to Mr. , a client of Mr. Dabney. 
 
 Mr. Dabney could not get at the dog to replevy 
 him, so he brought a bill in equity in the Su- 
 preme Judicial Court to obtain him. After Mr. 
 Dabney had I'ead his bill and stated his case. 
 Chief Justice Morton asked him if he did not 
 think it was beneath the dignity of the Supreme
 
 118 RES JUDICATyE. 
 
 Judicial Court, and whether he thouglit it proper 
 for them to hear a bill in ecjuity about a dog. 
 Mr. Dabney : " Yes, your honor, I do think it is 
 proper in this case, for it is a very large dog." 
 Judge : " Very well, proceed." And Mr. Dab- 
 ney got his dog. 
 
 Judge Morton tried a cause in which a former 
 member of the bar was defendant. I will call 
 him Jones. It was a suit on a bond which Jones 
 had drawn, and he was one of the sureties on it. 
 He came into court and defended his own bond 
 on the ground that the condition was not valid. 
 Judge Morton told him that he (Jones) almost 
 merited the contempt of the Court ; for although 
 he might not be compelled by law to pay it, 
 there was no reason why he should not ; and after 
 some consideration the Court rendered judgment 
 against him. 
 
 A juror, wishing to get excused before Judge 
 Nash, brought in a certificate from a physician 
 that the juror had a bilious diai'rhoea, and bil- 
 ious was spelled " billions." Judge Nash said : 
 " Bilious with a double 1, — many men are trou- 
 bled with that ; let him go a fortnight." 
 
 Judge Nash, after examining the certificate of 
 character of an applicant for admission to the 
 bar, said : " Let him sign the roll." In doing 
 so, the young man was so agitated that he
 
 A SEEDY LOCO. H^ 
 
 dropped a penf ul of ink upon the record. Judge 
 Nash called up Mr. Gooch, in whose office the 
 young man had been a student, and said : " Mr. 
 Gooch, you have certified that this young man 
 was of good character, yet there is a very obvious 
 blot upon his name." 
 
 Sidney Willard was occupying a chair in the 
 court room, and, having left it for a moment, 
 "William E. Parmenter, now Chief Justice of 
 the Municipal Court, came in and took the seat. 
 Willard returned in a few minutes, and said to 
 Parmenter: " Cede loco."" Parmenter, being 
 an old-fashioned Democrat, who was called a 
 loco-foco, replied : " This is too bad ; I thought 
 I came in here looking quite respectable, and 
 here I am called a seedy loco." 
 
 An anecdote was told me by my predecessor 
 in office, about Chief Justice Parsons. One 
 day he was holding court, and his nejjhew was 
 one of the jurors. The court took a regular in- 
 termission from one to two o'clock, and when 
 the Court came in, the nephew did not appear 
 for half an hour. Then he came in quite 
 breatldess. Judge Parsons said to him : " Mr. 
 Juror, what is your excuse for keeping the 
 Court and officers and twenty-three jurors wait- 
 ing an hour ? " The juror said, " May it please
 
 120 RES JUDICATJE. 
 
 your honor, after dinner I sat down and acci- 
 dentally fell asleep, but as soon as I woke I 
 came with all the speed I could." " Mr. Clerk," 
 said the Chief Justice, " fine him ten dollars." 
 " I did not dream of that," said the juror. 
 " You may remit the fine," said the Chief Justice. 
 
 The Honorable Robert C, Pitman was an 
 excellent judge. He was fair, impartial, and 
 just, and if at first he took a different view, he 
 had no such pride of opinion that he could not 
 be convinced, and was ready to yield. No man 
 had better commantl of the King's English, and 
 no man was more choice and fluent in the use 
 of it. His charges to the jury were models of 
 graceful diction, clear illustrations, and pure 
 unadulterated English. He was square and 
 honest in his allowance of exceptions to his 
 rulings, and I never heard it said that he 
 dodged in the least. His one great foible in 
 the course of trials w^as that of uttering his 
 thoughts aloud, which were often exceedingly 
 cutting, and like a bucket of cold water over a 
 neophyte, not to mention those sinners more 
 hardened. A messenger came in one morning 
 to Judge Pitman and said, " Can your honor 
 see Mr. B. L. ? " The judge replied, " Yes ; 
 my eyesight is good ; I think I can see him very 
 well."
 
 A FEMININE DERRICK. 121 
 
 At a term in 1883, we liad five disagreements 
 of juries in a fortnight, more than I ever knew 
 in a whole term of three months. Judge Pit- 
 man addressed the jurors, and said to them : 
 " Gentlemen, if there are any men among you 
 who think they are unfitted by temperament or 
 otherwise to agree upon anything, I will hear 
 application for excuse, for you stop the course 
 of public business, and you are the most im- 
 practicable jurors I ever saw." 
 
 There was a major in the army during the 
 war of the Rebellion, who was also commander 
 of a battery commonly known as lig/d artillery. 
 After the war was over he became a lawyer. 
 In an equity case before Judge Pitman, the judge 
 asked the parties whom they were to have for 
 a master in the case. One of the parties sug- 
 gested the major. Judge : " I should think, 
 gentlemen, that there should be a master in this 
 case of larger calibre" 
 
 A witness, speaking of a derrick, said, " She 
 was down and broken up." Judge Pitman : 
 " Who was She ? " Witness : " The derrick, 
 sir ; we alius calls her She." Judge Pitman : 
 " Very curious ; it seems to me to be a mascu- 
 line article." 
 
 Judge Pitman was asked to hear some mo- 
 tions one afternoon after four o'clock, and when 
 the jury had been dismissed; he said, "No, I
 
 122 RES JUDICATjE. 
 
 am quite content with my day's work; I don't 
 care to hear motions by way of dessert." 
 
 lie was once liearing a case o£ conversion of 
 goods in a liquor store, in which both parties 
 were of foreign birth. Counsel : " What were 
 the profits per day ? " Plaintiff : " About seven 
 dollars." Counsel : " What were the receipts ? " 
 Judge Pitman : " Probably there was n't much 
 difference between the receipts and the profits." 
 
 Mr. M. F. Dickinson, defending a case of 
 Brown against the West End Railroad, said to 
 the jury : " Now, gentlemen, it is customary to 
 put what is called an ad danmuni into the writ ; 
 Mr. Stearns brought this writ and j^ut his ad 
 damnum at three thousand dollars, and it is 
 generally supposed the ad damnum is double 
 the amount which it is expected the plaintiff 
 will recover." " Oh, no," said Stillman B. Al- 
 len. " Well, then," said Dickinson, " three times 
 the amount. But," he continued, "when bro- 
 ther Allen got into this case, he got this amend- 
 ment, [showing it to the jury,] increasing the 
 ad damnum to six thousand dollars." When 
 the case was finished, it was somewhat late in 
 the afternoon, and Mr. Dickinson, wishing to 
 close the arguments that day, said he would 
 talk forty minutes and give Mr. Allen one 
 hour ; but Mr. Allen claimed to be tired, and 
 wanted to come in the next day. Judge Pit-
 
 DUTIES OF A JURY. 123 
 
 man : " No, sir ; you have chosen to be junior 
 and senior, and with your great ability, and Mr. 
 Dickinson only forty minutes, you ought to be 
 satisfied with an hour." Mr. Allen : " After 
 such a compliment, I have nothing to say." 
 Judge: "I don't think I am entitled to any 
 thanks." 
 
 In addressing a jury as to their general 
 duties, Judge Pitman once told them : " Gentle- 
 men, there may be large cases, and there may 
 be small ; some five dollars, and some five thou- 
 sand dollars, and the law does not presume that, 
 however difficult a case may be, a jury is not to 
 agree, and keep the parties in misery, and sup- 
 port an army of lawyers during their natural 
 lives ; but you come here to agree and settle the 
 cases in which the parties are in dispute." 
 
 Mr. T. M. Babson, in an action against the 
 city of Boston brought by Mr. Gargan, called as 
 witnesses for the city a number of policemen. 
 Mr. B. said, " As they are not under city 
 influence or control, they should be believed. 
 Brother Gargan has more influence over them 
 than I, as he is in political life, and I am not." 
 " Oh, no," said Gargan, " I am out of it." Mr. 
 Babson was going to comment on that, when 
 Judge Pitman remarked, " Oh, Mr. Babson, 
 forgive him for his past sins, as long as there is 
 repentance."
 
 124 RES judicata:. 
 
 Mr. brought an action against the Old 
 
 Colony Railroad, and this is his declaration: 
 
 " The plaintiff says that on the day of 
 
 , 18 — , he was a passenger on one of the 
 
 defendant's trains from Boston, which reached 
 Quincy about two o'clock in the afternoon ; 
 and that while in the exercise of due care he 
 received severe personal injuries by reason of 
 the defendant's negligence and the gross negli- 
 gence of its employees upon said train, and at 
 said station after alighting from said train, and 
 while in the act of leaving defendant's station 
 and premises at said Quincy." Before the 
 trial I read it and said to Mr. Benton, "Why 
 did n't you demur ? " He said he had rather ob- 
 ject to the evidence. Mr. read his declara- 
 tion to the jury, and Judge Pitman asked, " What 
 
 sort of a declaration is this ? " Mr. said, 
 
 " I think it is sufficient." " I think not," said 
 the judge, and read the Practice Act, which 
 states that the cause shall be set forth accord- 
 ing to the circumstances in each case. " Why 
 
 did n't he demur ? " said Mr. . Judge : " He 
 
 had rather lie in wait and spring upon you, not 
 in a tiger-like fashion, but demolish you all the 
 same. You may amend, but I shall not try it 
 under that declaration, for I never saw one like 
 that before." 
 
 Mr. W. E. Russell to a physician : " Sup-
 
 ,•1 SEVERE BILIOUS ATTACK. 125 
 
 pose" (stating the accident), "would that be 
 sufficient to cause physical and mental derange- 
 ment?" Doctor: " It mio-ht be." Mr. Kussell : 
 " And if so, how long would it continue ? " Doc- 
 tor : " No man can tell." Mr. Kussell : " Would 
 it be likely to follow him to his grave ? " Judge 
 Pitman : " He might die to-morrow." 
 
 Mr. Donnelly had a case marked for a certain 
 day, and when it was reached the young man 
 in his employ came in and said, " Mr. D. would 
 like this case postponed a day or two, as he has 
 a severe bilious attack." Mr. Swasey : " I will 
 consent, though I have had my witness here two 
 days." Judge Pitman : " Seems to me I have 
 heard of this before ; is Mr. Donnelly going to 
 be bilious all the spring ? " 
 
 A case was on trial in which a druggist was 
 sued for giving wrong medicine, whereby a child 
 was made dangerously ill. The defendant testi- 
 fied that he had two places of business, and the 
 store where this recipe was put up was carried 
 on by his clerk. G. : " How long had he been 
 in your employ?" Witness: "About four 
 years." G. : " He managed this store for you ? " 
 Witness : " Yes." G. : " How often did you visit 
 the store?" Witness: "Two or three times a 
 day." G. : " You held out this clerk as your 
 agent, did n't you ? " The witness hesitated. 
 G. repeated his question. Judge Pitman : "Of
 
 126 liES JUDICAT.E. 
 
 course he held liim out if lie put him there ; 
 no need of asking that; he wasn't obliged to 
 put a sign on him." 
 
 In giving instructions to a juiy as to one who 
 might or might not be liable, and as to an im- 
 plied contract, Judge Pitman remarked : " I 
 suppose if a physician comes to j^our house to 
 visit a sick person, he need not hang out his 
 banner that he expects pay, for we all know that 
 to be ' an implied contract ; ' but when a nurse 
 comes, if you don't wish to have j^our pocket- 
 book all gone, it would be well to ascertain how 
 much she expects to be paid." 
 
 In calling the list once, I called against 
 
 , Mr. A. for the plaintiff, Mr. B. for the 
 
 defendant. Mr. A. answered, " I am ready." 
 I said, " Mr. B. has been sent for and the officer 
 can't find his office." A member of the bar : 
 " He has no office." Judge Pitman : " A lawyer 
 without an office? He might as well be ' A man 
 without a country.' " 
 
 A number of cases were called in which all 
 the lawyers were present, but no clients or wit- 
 nesses. Judge Pitman : " It is strange how law- 
 yers neglect to have their clients and witnesses ; 
 they are so much better off here than anywhere 
 else." 
 
 A party keeping a restaurant was sued for a 
 milk bill. He complained that the plaintiff left
 
 AN OFFICER IX COLLEGE. 127 
 
 him sour milk, and tliat one day the chowder 
 ami })iuldings were all sjxjiled ; he said he, felt 
 like shutting uj^ the concern. Judge Pitman : 
 " Your internal emotions we don't care about ; 
 what did you say to the i)laintiff?" 
 
 0'Lau<;hlia broiij>lit a suit, for a woman, 
 against the city, for damages by reason of inju- 
 ries from a fall on the ice. He asked, '' What 
 is your name ? " " Margaret McFall." "Where 
 do you live ? " " Sixty, North Street." " How 
 many children have you? " Judge Pitman 
 (quickly) : " What has that to do with the case, 
 whether she has one or fifteen ? Ask her as 
 well, what is the natural history of Ireland." 
 
 A person summoned as a juror asked to be 
 excused, as he was an "■ officer in college," and 
 the statute exempts people who come under that 
 description. Judge Pitman : " Officer in a col- 
 lege? what college?" Juror: "Harvard Col- 
 lege, sir ; the Arnold Arboretum, or Bussey In- 
 stitute, which is a part of Harvard." Judge : 
 " Ah, let us see ; I should like to hold on to you ; 
 you are the men who shirk your duty." Juror : 
 " 1 don't wish to shirk any duty, but I have a 
 duty towards the college and my pupils, and it 
 will be hard for me and my pupils if kept here." 
 Judge : " No harder than for a peanut vender." 
 
 Mr. Bryant made a motion for continuance, 
 as a case was about to be reached for trial, on
 
 128 RES JUDICATjE. 
 
 the gromul tliat Dr. , one of the witnesses, 
 
 was sick. Mr. Shea, for the defense : " I 
 thought this motion might be made, and yester- 
 day afternoon (Sunday) I sent a messenger to 
 the Metropolitan Hotel, and was informed that 
 Dr. — — was in the bar-room all the afternoon." 
 Judge Pitman : " Probably that 's the reason he 
 is worse to-day." 
 
 In the spring of 1861, Judge , after the 
 
 adjournment of the court, sent for me, and 
 wanted me to bring the bar book into the lobby, 
 and I did so. " Mr. Willard, I want you to 
 admit two gentlemen whom I know well, though 
 there is no petition or motion." They signed 
 the bar book, and I administered to them the 
 oath. They were the late Isaac F. Redfield, 
 formerly Chief Justice of Vermont, and Redfield 
 Proctor, the Secretary of War in 1890. 
 
 A story was told me of the late Judge Red- 
 field by the late William A. Herrick, who was in 
 the jvidge's office. A young friend of Herrick's 
 wanted to see a book which he said was to be 
 found only in the library of Judge Isaac Red- 
 field. Herrick told him to go into the judge's 
 office, take the book, and read it there. He did 
 so, and taking the book sat down to read, resting 
 his feet on the mantel, when the door opened 
 and a tall lank person came in, with an aston-
 
 .1 PRESENTATWX SPEECH. 129 
 
 ishecl look in his face. Mr. Herrick's friend 
 said to him, " AVant to see Isaac, sir ? " " Young 
 man, / 'ni Isaac," exclaimed the tall individual. 
 
 Chester I. Reed was appointed a judge of our 
 Superior Court in 1867 ; he resigned in 1871, 
 died in 1873, and before he was judge was at- 
 torney general. 
 
 Sometimes when he grew impatient he spoke 
 with great frankness. When he was at the bar, 
 one of the judges was about to leave the bench, 
 so the bar bought a handsome gold-headed cane, 
 and deputed Judge Reed to make the speech 
 and presentation. The judge headed the pro- 
 cession, holding the cane tucked away under his 
 coat behind with one hand. He said : " May it 
 please your honor, on the — er — er — eve of 
 your — er — er — departure, we all — er — er — 
 having the utmost feelings of kindness for you, 
 it has fallen to my lot — er [then hauling out 
 the cane] — here, take your darned old cane." 
 
 A cause was being tried before Judge Rock- 
 well, when counsel offered to prove certain facts, 
 to which the other counsel objected. " What 
 do you expect to show?" asked the judge. The 
 judge heard his statement, and the opposite 
 counsel's reply, and then said, " If you can prove 
 that, I think you may, for that will prove a sock- 
 dologer."
 
 130 HES JUDlCATyE. 
 
 Chief Justice Shaw, though sometimes severe 
 upon the bench, had a very tender heart. We 
 formerly sent one bill of exceptions to the Su- 
 preme Court, with the remainder of the original 
 papers, and copies for the full Court were made 
 in that court. The statutes enacted that a judg- 
 ment should be entered notwithstanding the 
 exceptions. Mr. Durant made a complaint for 
 the non-entry of a bill of exceptions. He called 
 me in to testify as to when judgment was en- 
 tered. I gave the date. The Chief Justice 
 said, " What, sir, judgment entered ? " I said, 
 "Yes, your honor." "Very wrong, sir, very 
 wrong; it shoidd not have been entered." 
 Many lawyers were present, and I felt hurt, 
 because I was sure I was right, and told Mr. 
 Wilde, the clerk, when I went downstairs, and 
 he said : " Call on the Chief Justice when he 
 goes to dinner and remind him of the statute ; " 
 which I did. The next day he came into the 
 office and said : " Mr. Willard, I 'm sorry to say 
 I overlooked that statute, and you are correct." 
 This I thought was the amende honorable. 
 
 The Chief Justice upon the opening of the 
 court liked to have quiet reign, and everybody 
 seated, when he would proceed to business, al- 
 ways calling the docket himself. The crier had a 
 mvimbling voice, so that a person could scarcely 
 tell when he ended his proclamation. Mr. D. A.
 
 A MOT J ON rO AMEND. 1 .'U 
 
 Siainions, a lawyer, who was a very impulsive 
 man, rushed up one morning-, rather short of 
 breath, before the crier had finished his procla- 
 mation, and said : " Please your honor, I wish — 
 to — make — a motion — er — er — to amend — 
 er — er — the case of — er — er " — " There 
 is one amendment you can make without a mo- 
 tion," said the Chief Justice ; " your inunners^ 
 sir." I told this to Henry W. Paine when he 
 came to the bar, and he said, " Yes, Mr. Willard, 
 I was on my way to New York, and stoj^ped in 
 court a moment and heard it, and I pitied poor 
 Simmons from the bottom of my heart." 
 
 The Chief Justice was calling the docket one 
 day, and came to a case in which Major Cobb 
 appeared. The major was busy talking with 
 some one, and the Chief Justice said, " Mr. Cobb, 
 what shall be done with your case ? " Cobb : " I 
 beg your honor's pardon, but the name of the 
 case escaped me." The Chief Justice called the 
 name of the case again. Cobb : " My name 
 may appear there, your honor, but I really don't 
 know anything about the case." Chief Justice : 
 " I did n't siqypose you knew anything about the 
 case ; I only asked you what you would have 
 done with it." 
 
 Another case was called by him in which 
 General Butler appeared for the plaintiff. 
 "Does any one answer for the plaintiff?" said
 
 1'.V2 JiKS JrDICAT.E. 
 
 the Chief Justice. No one answered. " Call 
 the plaintiff," said the Chief Justice. As the 
 crier began calling, Mr. Butler, who had been 
 quietly sitting- in the court room, said : " May 
 it please your honor, I think that this case is 
 not in a condition to be thus summarily disposed 
 of." " Why not, sir? " said the Chief Justice. 
 Mr. Butler : " I argued the case a year and a 
 half ago before your honor, and have been wait- 
 ing for an opinion." Chief Justice : " Pass it, 
 Mr. Clerk." 
 
 When Judge Shaw on behalf of Harvard 
 College took possession of Mr. Dowse's library 
 at Cambridgeport, which was presented by Mr. 
 Dowse, the latter handed him a book which hap- 
 pened to be Purchas's " Pilgrims." " Ah," 
 said the Chief Justice, " now, Mr. Dowse, we 
 have this by gift, and by purchase." 
 
 Major Cobb and Paul Willard were arguing 
 a case before the Chief Justice as to the law of 
 forcible detainer. Willard argued that, besides 
 the forcible seizure of the person, there must be 
 force of arms, to wit, weapons. Major Cobb 
 
 said he should cite the well-known case of vs. 
 
 , where it was held that violence to the per- 
 son by laying hands on him was sufficient, mol- 
 liter maims imposuit. " In other words, Mr. 
 Cobb, that it does n't require a six-pounder," 
 said the Chief Justice. This allusion to Cobb's
 
 A NAUTICAL JUDGE. 133 
 
 military propensities, he being connnancler of a 
 battery, created a smile, wliich was all that was 
 admissible in the presence of the Chief Justice. 
 
 I was once on the jury at East Cambridge, 
 when I lived in Middlesex County, and George 
 F. Farley had his feet on the table, immediately 
 in front of the Chief Justice. After some time 
 the Chief Justice said : " Mr. Farley, the Court 
 has indulged in the sight of your posteriors long 
 enough, sir." At which Mr. Farley took his 
 feet down. 
 
 The Chief Justice seemed to be armed, cap-a 
 pie, in the knowledge of everything outside of 
 the law. Henry M. Parker once made a long 
 opening, and the Chief Justice said to him, " Mr. 
 Parker, you are opening your case quite widely, 
 sir." Said Mr. Parker : " We have quite a 
 broad sea before us, your honor." " So much 
 the more need of keeping close-hauled on the 
 ■VN-ind then," said the Chief Justice. In the strict 
 sense of the nautical expression " broad sea," it 
 is supposed that a ship may go anywhere, but I 
 suppose that he meant, with such a broad sea, he 
 had better confine himself to a straighter course ; 
 in other words, to have a care where he went. 
 
 Mr. Hoar was once opening an insurance case 
 to recover for the loss of a ship which was 
 burned, and the Chief Justice said : " What did 
 you say her name was, Mr. Hoar ? " " The
 
 134 RES JUDUATyK. 
 
 John Gilpin," replied Mr. Hoar. "Now," said 
 the Chief Justice, "were you not satisfied with 
 the name and j)erfornianc*e of the ship, Mr. 
 Hoar?" " Yes," said Mr. Hoar, "it is a name 
 of credit and renown." 
 
 Judge Shaw was very fond of Moses G. CoLb ; 
 Mr. Cobb was at the time I am speaking of 
 commander of the battery called, as I have 
 stated previously, the flying artillery. One 
 morning as the Chief Justice was calling the 
 docket, he called blank against blank, Mr. 
 Smith for the plaintiff, Mr. Cobb for the defend- 
 ant. "Is Mr. Cobb in court?" A friend of 
 Mr. Cobb's arose and said, " Your honor, ]\Ir. 
 Cobb is at this time on the Common ])erforniing 
 his " — At that moment, bang, bang, went 
 a cannon on the Common. " / hear him, sir," 
 said the Chief Justice. 
 
 John P. Healy told me that Daniel Webster 
 said of Chief Justice Shaw, " Judge Shaw can 
 do the work of ten men, and at night eat ham 
 enough to raise the market price in Cincinnati." 
 
 In a private letter to me written December, 
 1889, Major Cobb, now of San Francisco, speaks 
 of Chief Justice Shaw thus : " One of the proudest 
 and most agreeable recollections of my experience 
 at the bars of Suffolk and Middlesex is the re- 
 gard and kindness Chief Justice Shaw always 
 extended to me ; he put Samuel, his youngest
 
 AN'ECDOTES OF JUDGE SffAW. 135 
 
 son, to study law with nie. The members of the 
 bai*, especially in Middlesex, would get me to 
 move the Court when the Chief Justice was presid- 
 ing-, for any desired, favor, such as an adjourn- 
 ment or the modification of some rule, saying 
 that the Chief Justice always granted what I 
 asked, and he did. It must be strange to an 
 old Bostonian to see the augmented, force in your 
 office ; I really believe one clerk with you could 
 and can do the work of ten with us ; our clerk 
 has fifty-eight deputies and assistants. We have 
 twelve departments of our Superior Court ; 
 eight confined to civil business, and four to crim- 
 inal. I fear that I should feel like a cat in a 
 strange garret, as the homely saying is, to appear 
 now in your courts ; nearly all of my contem- 
 poraries gone." 
 
 On one occasion after a jury was impaneled 
 in the Supreme Judicial Court, Judge Shaw 
 cast his eye around and found there were only 
 eleven men. He said : " Mr. Ofiicer, find the 
 twelfth man." Some time elapsed, when the 
 officer came in, and the judge said, " Have you 
 found him, Mr. Officer ? " " No, your honor." 
 " Where is he ? " said the judge. " I don't know, 
 sir ; he 's dead." 
 
 At another time some distinguished man died, 
 and the adjutant-general ordered out a certain 
 regiment. The colonel called the men to their
 
 136 iii:s JUDICATA. 
 
 quarters to parade on the occasion, and procured 
 a band. The k'ader coukl not get his pay, and 
 Mr. Cohb brouglit suit against the colonel. 
 After Major Cobb had opened the case, the Chief 
 Justice said : " How can this action be main- 
 tained?" "On the ground," said Mr. Cobb, 
 " that he who danced must ])ay the fiddler." 
 " Who danced here, sir ? " said tlie Chief Jus- 
 tice. " Colonel ," said Mr. Cobb. " Oh no, 
 
 sir," said the Chief Justice, "he only called." 
 
 Many years ago a young man (now deceased) 
 who was quite ambitious to display his rhetorical 
 powers and endeavored to imitate Choate, argued 
 a case before Chief Justice Shaw. He had in 
 one hand the statutes, while the other was be- 
 hind his back, vmderneath the skirts of his coat. 
 In this position he shouted among other bursts 
 of eloquence, " Look at the statutes, your honor, 
 look at the statutes." " Look at them yourself, 
 sir," was the gruff reply of the Chief Justice. 
 
 Chief Justice Wells was appointed in 1844, 
 and died in 1854. He was considered a very 
 good lawyer, industrious and patient, but not a 
 man of much executive ability. At the end of 
 the day's trial he would always look around, and 
 inquire, " Is there any gentleman who wishes to 
 make a motion ? " And he would sit till six or 
 seven o'clock if he could find any one to be
 
 HORSE MEDICISK. 137 
 
 heard. I never remember him to have made a 
 remark of a hmiiorous nature but once. It was 
 on an occasion when a person had brought suit 
 to recover for medical services and medicines. 
 He testified that he was an eclectic physician. 
 After the plaintiff's testimony was in, the defend- 
 ant asked the Court to rule that he could not 
 recover because he was not a member of the Mas- 
 sachusetts Medical Society. " Oh no, Mr. Attor- 
 ney," said Judge Wells, " I can't rule that ; I 
 think that if a man employs a horse doctor, he 
 must pay for horse medicine." 
 
 I never saw him more astonished than when 
 J. H. Bradley asked him to make a certain rul- 
 ing. The case was this : One J. B. Hoogs after 
 bank hours met a man named Chamberlain and 
 said, " Chambei'lain, lend me two hundred dol- 
 lars, and I will give you my check payable 
 to-morrow." Chamberlain lent him two hun- 
 dred dollars, took the check, and presented it 
 the next morning at the bank, and it was found 
 that Hoogs had no funds in the bank wherewith 
 to pay the check. Chamberlain, by his attorney, 
 William Brigham, Esq., brought an action 
 against Hoogs, got judgment for his two hun- 
 dred dollars, and arrested Hoogs, who undertook 
 to take the Poor Debtor's oath. 
 
 Chamberlain alleged fraud before the justices 
 in the lower court, and the case was appealed to
 
 138 RE^ JUDfCAT^. 
 
 the Court of Common Pleas. The jury found 
 Hoogs guilty, and Bradley moved an arrest of 
 judgment on the ground that the allegations 
 were not in ])ro])er form ; that they alleged a 
 negative in this, to wit, that he contracted the 
 debt not intending to pay it. Judge Wells said, 
 " Mr. Bradley, is this for the purpose of delay ? " 
 " Oh, no, your honor," replied Mr. Bradley, " I 
 never raised a ])oint in which I had more confi- 
 dence than in this." " Oh well," said the judge, 
 " I will overrule your motion, and you can have 
 your exceptions." The Supreme Court sustained 
 Mr. Bradley, and said in their decision, that by 
 the allegation, " not intending," he had no inten- 
 tion at all, and that the allegation should have 
 been in the affirmativCj to wit, that he " in- 
 tended not ; " and so Hoogs got clear. 
 
 One day Judge Wells was trying a case 
 when there was upon the witness stand a tall, 
 stout teamster with a very small voice. The 
 judge complained to him several times that he 
 could not hear him. At last he laid down his 
 pen and said, " Mr. Teamster, there is a great 
 deal of noise about the Coui-t House, express 
 wagons rattling round, a parrot hanging on the 
 wall on the other side of the street talking, and 
 silversmiths' hammers pounding ; you must talk 
 louder, sir, and talk as if you were talking to 
 your horses."
 
 A BOY'S LOGIC. 139 
 
 He was very sensitive as to noises, and said 
 one day to the officer, when he was hearing 
 motions, " Mr. Officer, I cannot be so disturbed ; 
 I hear a man cracking peanuts over in the 
 corner." 
 
 A little episode occurred between Judge 
 Wells and a boy, wherein the answers of the 
 boy were so logical that I will relate it. He 
 was a very small boy, and the opposite counsel 
 wished to examine him on the voir dire before 
 his examination in chief, so the judge took it 
 into his own hands. 
 
 " Little boy, do you go to school ? " " Yes, 
 sir." " Do you go to Sunday-school ? " " Yes, 
 sir." " Who is aU good ? " " God." " Who 
 is bad?" "The devil." "Where do good 
 boys go?" "Go to God." "Where do bad 
 ones go ? " With perfect innocence he replied, 
 " Go to the devil." Logic is logic ! 
 
 A horse case was being tried before Judge 
 Wells when he was Chief Justice of the Court 
 of Common Pleas, and a colored man upon the 
 stand testified that the horse was kept in a box 
 stall. " What is a box stall ? " asked the judge. 
 " Why, you be in a box stall," said the witness. 
 
 Ira Gibbs had a case in the municipal court, 
 now called the Superior Court Criminal, and 
 District Attorney Samuel D. Parker said to 
 Chief Justice Wells that he did not wish to
 
 140 RES JUDICAT.^. 
 
 argiae the case, and asked him to charge in liis 
 absence, which was done. After the charge was 
 given, and when tlie officer was about to take 
 the jury out, Gibbs said, " As your honor has 
 made so good an argument for the Common- 
 wealth, I hope you will say a few words in favor 
 of my client." Judge Wells looked over his spec- 
 tacles at Gibbs, and said, " Mr, Gibbs, this is 
 very insulting language, and 3 ou must retract 
 the words." Gibbs : " I did not mean to insult 
 the Court. I only said that as you had done so 
 well for the Commonwealth, I hoped you would 
 do a little for ray client." Judge : " Why, Mr. 
 Gibbs, you are repeating the language ; the Court 
 will not tolerate such remarks, and will deem it 
 its duty to commit you for contempt." Gibbs : 
 " I did n't mean any contempt, your honor ; I 
 only said I hoped you would do something for 
 my client." Wells : " What, sir, again ! Ah, 
 Mr. Officer, take the jury out; he evidently 
 does n't see the point." 
 
 My father told me an anecdote of Judge 
 Samuel S. Wilde, appointed in 1815, resigned 
 in 1850, and deceased in 1855. Formerly, 
 Maine and Massachusetts were one State, and 
 in going from the far East people often went in 
 sailing packets. A case was before him for 
 divorce, and all the evidence in the case was,
 
 A PETITION TO DISBAR. 141 
 
 that the libellee, or respondent, was on the out- 
 side of a berth, and the man inside, with his 
 feet at the other's head. " Pooh I " said fludge 
 Wilde, " dismiss the comjjlaint ; nothing but 
 heads and points ; I 've done it a thousand, 
 times." 
 
 I was present when an attorney used some 
 new recondite word. Judge Wilde said : " What 
 is that word, what does that mean ? I have n't 
 heard it before." Counsel : " Please your honor, 
 Mr. Webster has got out a new dictionary with 
 ten thousand new words in it." Judge Wilde: 
 " Mercy on us ! I hope Choate won't get hold 
 of it." 
 
 One day I signed an execution and made a 
 mistake of one hundred dollars. The mistake 
 was not discovered until more than a year after- 
 ward, when a woman (the defendant in the case) 
 came into the office and wanted to know how 
 the damages in the execution were so high. I 
 asked her for her address, told her to go home, 
 and if the attorney who collected the money 
 refused to pay it, I would. I wrote to the attor- 
 ney (who shall be nameless) and he called at my 
 office and justified, stating that whatever mis- 
 take the clerk made inured to his benefit. I 
 was quite indignant and told liim that I should 
 bring a petition to disbar him. This had no
 
 142 BFS JUDICATA-:. 
 
 effect. I drew up the petition, presented it to 
 Judge Wilkinson, who read it, and told me to 
 give the attorney notice forthwith to appear the 
 following Monday at nine o'clock, a. m., and he 
 would hear the parties in the presence of the 
 bar, juries, and witnesses in all cases, who might 
 be present. Mr. Elias Merwin was my counsel. 
 The case was heard, and at the close of it, the 
 judge remarked to the attorney : " You have 
 been guilty of great forgetfulness, at least, and 
 apparently unmindful of your oath as an attor- 
 ney. I will give you until two o'clock this after- 
 noon to repay the money." It was repaid. 
 
 The following occurred between Judge Wil- 
 kinson and a witness who refused to obey the 
 subpoena of the Court, and who was brought in 
 on a cajnas. He had a wretched, dirty appear- 
 ance, and his hair was very long. 
 
 Judge : " What is your name ? " 
 
 Witness (with his ejes half shut, and look- 
 ing dreamily into space) : " Charles Augustus 
 Smith." 
 
 " How old are you ? " 
 
 " Fifty-seven years." 
 
 " You were summoned as a witness in this 
 case." 
 
 Witness (sleepily) : " I s'pose I was." 
 
 Judge : " Don't you know you were ? "
 
 ADMISS/OX TO THE BAR. 143 
 
 Witness (^sotto voce) : " I s'pose I was." 
 
 Judge : " Why did n't you come ? " 
 
 Witness : " I had so many summons about 
 that time I thought it was n't my duty." 
 
 Judge : " Don't you know you were sum- 
 moned to testify here, and that there is a pen- 
 alty for disobeying ? " 
 
 Witness (suppliantly) : " I was content to 
 leave it with God, and I hope you will do jus- 
 tice and leave it with Him, and you will do just 
 what I want to have you." 
 
 Judge : " Are you willing to testify in this 
 case r 
 
 Witness (looking up for the first time) : " As 
 to what?" 
 
 Judge : " To answer such questions as shall 
 be put to you." 
 
 Witness : " I want to do what is right, what 
 God wants me to." 
 
 Judge : " Be seated." 
 
 Formerly, when a person presented a petition 
 to the Superior Court for admission to the bar, 
 it was customary to examine him either upon 
 written questions, or by oral questions by the 
 judge. It was found that the applicants copied 
 the written interrogatories, and gave them to 
 other candidates, so that method was abandoned ; 
 and prior to the appointment of commissioners,
 
 144 RES J r Die AT J-:. 
 
 the judge examined them orally. One afternoon, 
 while Jiulyc; Wilkinson was presiding, a fine- 
 looking young man presented his ])etition for 
 admission to the bar. The judge asked me to 
 see if he had good reconmiendations as to char- 
 acter, and to ask him where and how long he 
 had studied. I looked at the recommendation, 
 and made the inquiry. 1 told the judge that his 
 recommendations were good, coming from an 
 honorable member of our bar, and that he had 
 studied law during a three years' cruise on board 
 a United States man-of-war. Judge Wilkinson 
 said : " Tell him I will examine him after four 
 o'clock, and it will be an extraordinary exami- 
 nation." The next morning, Judge Wilkinson, 
 with a grim smile (I never knew him to laugh), 
 said to me : " I examined that young man, and 
 I am surprised ; he passed one of the best exam- 
 inations I ever knew. You may admit him this 
 afternoon."
 
 rv. 
 
 PAR HORRIDUM. 
 
 On the morning of the 7th of April, 1830, 
 Joseph White, of Salem, was found murdered in 
 his bed. In the memorable trial which followed, 
 I took a strong interest. Mr. White was a 
 wealthy Salem merchant. No one slept in the 
 house that night but his man servant, and maid 
 servant. His niece, Mrs. Beckford, who was 
 usually there, was that night away on a visit to 
 her daughter at Wenham. Thirteen stabs were 
 found on Mr. White's body, done probably by 
 a dirk, and a blow on his left temple, which 
 fractured his skull. Nothing appeared to have 
 been taken from the house, which made the 
 murder all the more mysterious, as he had no 
 enemy. Rewards were offered for the perpetra- 
 tors by his heirs, the selectmen, and Governor 
 Levi Lincoln ; and a vigilance committee was 
 chosen, consisting of twenty-seven members. 
 
 Captain Joseph J. Knapp, a Salem merchant 
 and shipmaster, had two sons, Joseph J., jr., 
 and John Francis Knapp. They said that 
 while they were riding in a chaise from Salem
 
 146 PAR nORRIDUM. 
 
 to Wenham, on the night of the 27th of April, 
 a highway robbery was committed upon them, 
 near Wenham Pond. This robbery was made 
 public the next morning, and one newspaper 
 announced that " These gentlemen were well 
 known in town, and their respectability and 
 veracity are not questioned by any of our 
 citizens." 
 
 No clue coidd be found to the murderer 
 until about the last of April, when a prisoner 
 in the New Bedford jail said that he knew some- 
 thing about it, although he had been a prisoner 
 there some time before, and was still one at the 
 time of the commission of the murder. His 
 name was Hatch, and he was brought from New 
 Bedford by Attorney-General Perez Morton 
 before the Grand Jury, then sitting at Ipswich, 
 to testify. The result was that Richard and 
 George Crowninshield, Selman, and Chase, of 
 Lynn, were all arrested on the second day of 
 May, and committed to prison. 
 
 On the 15th of May, Joseph J. Knapp, the 
 father, received a letter from Belfast, Me., 
 purporting to be written by Charles Grant, jr., 
 of Prospect, Me. This letter was intended for 
 Joseph J., jr., but it fell into the hands of the 
 father; as it was Greek to him, he handed it 
 to his other son, Nathaniel Phippen Knapp, a 
 lawyer, who found it equally imintelligible.
 
 MURDER OF JOSEPH WHITE. 147 
 
 The letter was a threatening- one to Joseph J., 
 jr., written on the 12th of May, demanding 
 money, and threatening disclosures if it did not 
 come. Knapp and his son, the lawyer, took the 
 letter to Wenham, where Joseph and Frank 
 were living, and showed it to them. 
 
 Joseph told his father that it was " a lot of 
 trash," and wished him to give it to the vigi- 
 lance committee, which he did. 
 
 The next day, Sunday, May 16, two pseu- 
 donymous letters were dropped into the Salem 
 post-office, one addressed to Stephen White, 
 the other to Gideon Barstow. 
 
 The committee answered the Grant letter, 
 not by mail from Salem, but by a man who 
 went to Prospect, Me., deposited this letter ad- 
 dressed to Grant in the post-office there, and 
 waited to see him come and get it. He did not 
 have to wait long, and when Grant called for 
 the letter he was immediately arrested. His 
 name was Palmer, and although he had no 
 hand in it, he disclosed the whole plan of the 
 murder. The night of the murder he spent at 
 the Half Way House in Lynn, on the old turn- 
 pike. He said the purpose of the murder was 
 to destroy the will of Joseph White, and that 
 Richard Crowninshield was to be paid $1000 
 for doing the deed. The two young Knapps 
 were arrested on the 26th of May. Richard
 
 MS PAR iioniuDiwr. 
 
 Crowninshield had laid his pLins to kill White 
 oil the evening of the 4th of Ajji-il, on the 
 latter's return from tea at a neighbor's, but 
 White returning before it was dark, the plan 
 was thwarted. The robbery was simply an 
 invention of Joseph's, and it was he who 
 wrote the two pseudonymous letters. 
 
 On the 3d of June, Palmer was brought to 
 Salem and committed to jail. On the 15th of 
 June, Richard Crowninshield committed suicide 
 by hanging himself with his handkerchief, in 
 his cell. An indictment was found against 
 Frank Knapp, as principal, and Joseph J. 
 Knapp, jr., and George Crowninshield, as ac- 
 cessories. The law then was, that an accessory 
 could not be tried till the principal had been 
 convicted, and as Richard Crowninshield was 
 dead, Frank Knapp was converted into a prin- 
 cipal, tried first, convicted and hanged, and I 
 was jjresent at the execution. Joseph, tried as 
 an accessory afterwards, was also convicted and 
 hanged. George Crowninshield was acquitted, 
 on an alibi, and lived many years. Selman and 
 Chase were released by Attorney -General Perez 
 Morton, and Palmer was discharged because of 
 his services to the government. 
 
 Chief Justice Isaac Parker died on the 26th of 
 July, 1830, and the Court was obliged to ad- 
 journ to the 3d of August, for the trial of Frank
 
 MURDER OF JOSEFH WHITE. 149 
 
 Knapp. The counsel for the prisoners were 
 Franklin Dexter and William II. Gardiner. 
 Robert Rantoul also acted for the defense, to 
 which objection was made on account of his 
 youth, he having then but recently been ad- 
 mitted to the bar. Daniel Webster aided the 
 government, and made in this case one of his 
 greatest arguments. 
 
 Many years later, and after I had entered 
 into the business of the Courts, I saw George 
 Crowninshield one day in court, where he ap- 
 peared as a witness for the plaintiff, in a case 
 there on trial. I told Mr. Hodges, who was 
 counsel for the defendant in the case, that he 
 was the George Crowninshield who was indicted 
 with the Knapps at Salem. He asked me if I 
 was sure. I said I was. In the cross-examina- 
 tion he asked him where he lived. The witness 
 answered, Roxbury. Hodges then asked him 
 where he lived before that, and so on until he 
 had asked him five or six questions, Crownin- 
 shield carefully avoiding Salem till Hodges 
 asked, " Did you ever live at Salem ? " 
 
 "Y-e-s," he answered. 
 
 " Were you any relation to Richard Crownin- 
 shield?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Wliat relation?" 
 
 " Brother." 
 
 " That will do, sir."
 
 150 PAR HORRIDUM. 
 
 On November 23, 1849, Dr. George Park- 
 man was murdered in Boston, at the old Medi- 
 cal College, now the Harvard Dental School, on 
 North Grove Street. He was seen going into 
 the College at a little before two, in the after- 
 noon of that day, and was never after seen 
 alive. On Friday, November 30, the day after 
 Thanksgiving, a portion of his remains were 
 discovered in a vault under the College by 
 Ephraim Littlefield, the janitor, and it was in- 
 teresting to hear him give an account of his 
 first suspicion of Dr. Webster, — the locked 
 doors, the constant fires, and the late hours at 
 which the Doctor worked in his laboratory ; 
 and still more so to hear him tell about his 
 crawling a long distance under the building 
 with his tools to drill with, — the distance from 
 the underpinning of the building to the ground 
 being so short as hardly to admit his body, — 
 of his drilling through several thicknesses of 
 the brick vault, taking his chance when Dr. 
 Webster was not at the College, and of putting 
 his wife on guard to let him know if she saw the 
 Doctor coming. After long and persistent 
 drilling, that day, through three courses and a 
 half of brick, he made a hole through the vault, 
 and putting a light in, he saw the pelvis of a 
 man, and two pieces of legs. He immediately 
 crawled out and ran to the houses of Dr. Jacob
 
 TRIAL OF DR. WEBSTER. 151 
 
 Bigelow and Robert G. Shaw, jr., and then to 
 Dr. J, B. S. Jackson's, who lived in what was 
 then called Bedford Place, and informed them 
 of what he had found. 
 
 In the afternoon of that day, not then know- 
 ing of any discovery, I was talking with David 
 Morgan, a lawyer, who was then practicing in 
 Boston. I said to him, " If the body of Dr. Park- 
 man is found in or about the Medical College, 
 I believe Dr. Webster had a hand in the 
 murder." 
 
 He said, " Don't you breathe such a word 
 outside this Court House." 
 
 I had known Dr. Webster from my boyhood 
 up, and had been to school with some of his 
 children. Possibly I was prejudiced against 
 him, because I thought he had been cruel to 
 dogs, of which, when a boy, I was very fond. 
 On one occasion, he obtained a large, good- 
 natured pup, about ten months old, a pet of all 
 the boys in town, took him to his laboratory in 
 Cambridge, gave him some blows on the head, 
 and set the galvanic battery in operation upon 
 him. The dog, not being sufficiently stunned, 
 jumped up, knocked down some students, and 
 ran out of the door ; the next day we found him 
 in an old dried-up well. 
 
 On Sunday afternoon, two days after the 
 murder, my father told me that he was at the
 
 152 PAR IIORRinUM. 
 
 City Clerk's Office at Cambridge, and Dr. 
 Webster called there to see if Dr. Parkman 
 had been there to discharge a mortgage. On 
 Satinday morning, the 1st of December, I met 
 Mr. Edward Blake and Mr. Samuel D. Parker, 
 who told me of the discovery that had been 
 made the afternoon before. The same forenoon 
 the " Boston Times " published a short item of 
 fifteen or twenty lines, giving a general account. 
 I showed it to my father, who had been an asso- 
 ciate professor with Dr. Webster for a number 
 of years. After having read it he said, " This 
 is atrocious." I said, " No, sir, this is true, 
 and when you have read the evidence, you will 
 think it was deliberate." He said, " I always 
 knew Dr. Webster to be a very frivolous man, 
 but I never thought he was a wicked one." 
 But in the end he came to the conclusion that 
 it was premeditated. 
 
 The trial began on the 19th of March, 1850, 
 in the old Court House in Boston. The closing 
 argument of Attorney-General Clifford (who was 
 afterwards governor) was made on Saturday, 
 the 30th of March. The chai-ge to the jury was 
 given by Chief Justice Shaw, the prisoner him- 
 self having just addressed them, and the verdict 
 of guilty was rendered on that day about eleven 
 o'clock P. M. Sentence of death was imposed 
 by the Chief Justice, on the Monday following,
 
 TRIAL OF DR. WEBSTER. 153 
 
 and Dr. Webster was hanged in the yard of the 
 old Leverett Street Jail, on Friday, August 30, 
 1850. 
 
 The justices who presided at the trial, Shaw, 
 Wilde, Dewey, and Metcalf ; Attorney-General 
 Clifford and George Beniis, counsel for the 
 government; Pliny Merrick and Edward D. 
 Sohier, the prisoner's counsel (an effort had 
 been made to retain Franklin Dexter, Esq,, but 
 he refused) ; Governor Briggs, — to whom Dr. 
 Webster after the verdict applied, first for par- 
 don, afterwards for commutation of sentence, — 
 and the Rev. Dr. George Putnam, his spiritual 
 adviser, have all died. Of the jury, Stephen A. 
 Stackpole, of Boston, is, I understand, the only 
 survivor. Seventy-one witnesses were called 
 for the government, and fifty for the prisoner. 
 The secret of the murder Dr. Webster disclosed 
 to no one for about six months. On the 23d 
 of May, 1850, he revealed it, or so much of it as 
 he thought best, to the Rev. Dr. Putnam. 
 
 At the time of the trial, the excitement was 
 very great, as much, about the Court House 
 particularly, as at the time of the rendition of 
 the slaves. Sheriff Eveleth had taken great 
 precaution to close up that part of the corridor 
 which led from the north end of the Court 
 House to the Supreme Court, and also the back 
 passage which led from the rear of the Court of
 
 154 PAR HORRID r.u. 
 
 Common Pleas to the rear of the Supreme 
 Court, so that there were only two entrances to 
 the Supreme Court room. As I have said be- 
 fore, the south end of the Court House was the 
 same as the front is now, and there were two 
 doors at the south end, between two and three 
 inches thick. Two stalwart officers were sta- 
 tioned at these doors ; one door was entirely 
 closed, and when it became necessary, the other 
 door just sufficiently to allow one person at a 
 time to pass in. Twenty or thirty persons were 
 allowed to go in, one at a time, to the gallery ; 
 after they had been there long enough to hear a 
 portion of the evidence, the gallery was cleared 
 and those persons were sent downstairs to pass 
 out through the cellar into the street, and a new 
 bevy was allowed to enter. One of these offi- 
 cers was a remarkably stout man, and wore 
 number twelve rubber shoes. At the conclusion 
 of the trial, he showed me one of his rubber 
 shoes, full of various buttons which had been 
 taken off the coats of the persons in the crowd. 
 
 Littlefield, the janitor of the Medical College 
 where Dr. Parkman's remains were found, stated 
 in his evidence that a small sledge-hammer 
 which was behind the door was missing, and he 
 did not know what had become of it. A person 
 told me this at the time : that as he was walking 
 over Cambridge bridge quite late one evening.
 
 TRIAL OF DR. WEBSTER. 155 
 
 he heard a splash in the water. He quickened 
 his steps, and passed Dr. Webster. He said if it 
 became material, he would testify to it ; other- 
 wise I was not to mention it. He and I always 
 thought that this hammer possibly had a part in 
 the tragedy. 
 
 I am the only surviving deputy sheriff who 
 ofBciated at the execution. On the morning of 
 the execution, the Doctor was calm and collected, 
 and told us of experiments which he had made 
 with the galvanic battery some years previous, 
 on a man who had been executed. He objected 
 to having his limbs confined by cords, and 
 wanted leather straps, and his wish was com- 
 plied with. I have still a very handsome shell 
 in my possession, which he cleaned and polished 
 the night before his execution. 
 
 It has remained a secret where Dr. lYebster 
 was buried. Some years ago, a dentist, who 
 was a pupil of Dr. Keep, told me that on the 
 night of the fire in 1872, he was in the vaults 
 of Trinity Church on Summer Street, in com- 
 pany with an official of the church. He gave 
 me his name, but I do not feel sure enough 
 about it to state it. The official said : " Doctor, 
 if you will not tell anybody, until I am dead, I 
 will tell you a secret." The Doctor said he 
 would not. "There," said the official, "lies the 
 body of Dr. Webster."
 
 ir>0 PAR lIOlilUDlWf. 
 
 On an excursion steamer down Boston Har- 
 bor, in the summer of 1882, I met Mr. Charles 
 W. Kingsley, who was the agent of Dr. Park- 
 man at the time of the murder, and afterwards 
 a^ent for the family at the time I sj)eak of. 
 He was the first who suspected Dr. Webster as 
 the murderer, and directed search in that way. 
 He said he was riding with John L. Andrews 
 in the cars one day, after the arrest of Dr. AVeb- 
 ster, when a clergyman, entering into conver- 
 sation with Andrews, said among other things : 
 " You have the wrong man arrested as the mur- 
 derer of Dr. Parkman." " Ah, indeed," said 
 Andrews. " Yes, sir," said the clergyman. An- 
 di-ews was quite angry, and was about to retort, 
 but Kingsley whispered, " Let him go on." 
 Said Andrews : " Who do you think killed the 
 Doctor ? " The clergyman : " That agent of 
 Parkman, to be sure " (meaning Kingsley, who, 
 by the way, was a fine-looking man). Andrews : 
 " Why do you think so ? " The clergyman : " I 
 was introduced to him one day in Boston, and 
 talked with him, and I never saw greater marks 
 of guilt : he seems to have the most villainous 
 countenance you ever saw." Said Andrews 
 (pointing to Mr. Kingsley) : " Allow me to in- 
 troduce to you Mr. Charles M. Kingsley, the 
 agent of the late Dr. Parkman and of his family 
 now." The clergyman began to apologize, but 
 Andrews said, '' There is no need of it."
 
 V. 
 
 OBITER DICTA. — PART I. 
 
 A LAWYER once set up this defense : A young 
 man hired a horse and buggy of a stable-keeper, 
 and invited a companion to ride with him. The 
 person who hired the horse drove him so im- 
 moderately that the horse died. John P. Healy 
 very properly brought a suit in trover against 
 both of them. After the evidence was in, D., 
 for defendants, asked the Court to rule that the 
 verdict must be given for the party who was in- 
 vited, as he had nothing to do with the hiring. 
 The Court asked D. to give him an authority. 
 D. replied : " It is always so considered among 
 stable-keepers." This was, I think, the first and 
 the last time that I ever heard stable law cited 
 in court. 
 
 The same counsel, D., asked for delay one 
 morning because of the absence of his witnesses. 
 On being asked by the Court if they had been 
 duly summoned, " No, your honor, if they had 
 been, I should have got them in by habeas cor- 
 pus.''^ 
 
 In the course of an argument to the jury, the 
 same lawyer said: "The trouble is, gentlemen,
 
 158 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 you see my client did n't git^ as we lawyers say, 
 his quid j)er quodr 
 
 On the first Tuesday of 18 — , the Superior 
 Court was opened with prayer by liev. Dr. 
 
 , who among other things prayed that 
 
 litigants might have their cases tried fully and 
 fairly, so that the same cause should not come 
 up again. At the close of the week, the Rev. 
 
 Dr. received a letter from a person who 
 
 said that he had a cause which had been unde- 
 termined after one or two attempts, but this 
 time it had been determined finally and prop- 
 erly, and he (the writer) believed it was en- 
 tirely owing to the Rev. Doctor's prayers. 
 
 A witness was asked in a case against the 
 West End Railroad : " What seat did you sit 
 on ? " Witness ; " The fourth." Counsel : 
 " Who was the person who sat next to you ? " 
 Witness : " The one who is now my wife." 
 Counsel : " Were you engaged to her ? " Wit- 
 ness : " No, I was not, but was trying to be." 
 
 In a suit brought by a lawyer to recover 
 damages for his client who was thrown from a 
 horse, I take the following extract from the 
 declaration : " Said horse was unsafe, unsuit- 
 able, improper, unkind, vicious, disordered, and 
 diseased."
 
 A LAPSUS LINGUA. 159 
 
 Benjamin F. Cooke, in speaking to the Court 
 in a case that he Avas trying in which his client's 
 horse ran over a little girl, called, it " caus-al- 
 
 ity." 
 
 A petition for review was being heard and a 
 witness was asked : " Was this petition brought 
 before you gave notice to take the poor debtor's 
 oath in the original suit?" Witness (to his 
 counsel) : " What shall I say to that, Mr. B. ? " 
 B. (quickly) : " Say you don't know." Witness : 
 *' I don't know." 
 
 A lawyer's versatility was once shown when I 
 was present in the Supreme Court room, in this 
 
 manner : Mr. was arguing a case, and the 
 
 Chief Justice said : " Brother , did n't you 
 
 arsfue a case before us some months since, when 
 you took precisely the opposite ground from 
 that you take to-day, and the Court sustained 
 you? " " Yes, may it please your honors," said 
 
 Mr. , " but if I was wrong yesterday, I am 
 
 right to-day." 
 
 Dr. J., testifying. Counsel : " Did you say 
 the himierus ? " Dr. J. : "I said the femur ; if 
 I said humerus, it was a lapsus linguaB." Coun- 
 sel : " What is that ? " Dr. J. : " As the waiter 
 said when he dropped the cold tongue, ' That is 
 a lapsus linguae.' " 
 
 Mr. F. was telling me, and another man who
 
 160 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 stood by, of some reniarkaLle petrified sub- 
 stances lie had seen. The man said : " It is 
 nothing: to what I have seen in the northern 
 part of Maine ; I saw a rock sj)lit, in which 
 there was ajmtrejicd frog, which had been there 
 dominant for years." 
 
 P. Henry Hutchinson, being in the office of 
 the Clerk of the Municipal Court, the latter, 
 who was a very cautious and non-committal man, 
 said, " Mr. Connelly, who is going to be elected 
 President of the United States?" Mr. Con- 
 nelly: "Mr. Hutchinson, I don't talk politics 
 or religion, but, contrary to my usual custom, I 
 will say to you that I don't think Belva Lock- 
 wood will be elected." 
 
 In a case where one Dr. Fitch sued to recover 
 for his services, he was asked what the princi- 
 pal medicine was he gave to his patients. He 
 replied : " Alterative medicines." " What do 
 you consider an alterative medicine ? " said the 
 counsel. The doctor said he considered it "a 
 medicine that altered his patient from what he 
 was to what he is." 
 
 Many people, especially Americans, go into 
 private offices with their hats on, and keep them 
 on. Mr. Samuel F. McCleary, the late City 
 Clerk, insisted that persons who visited his pri- 
 vate office should remove their hats, A person 
 came into his office one day with his hat on,
 
 DR. HOLMES'S REWARD OF VIRTUE. 161 
 
 and said : " Mr. McCleaiy, I want my license." 
 " AVliat are you licensed for ? " said McCleary, 
 looking up at him. " To lecture on mind read- 
 ing,'" said he. " Mind reading," said McCleary, 
 " what 's that ? " " Why, I lecture and tell what 
 is going on in people's minds." " You don't 
 seem to know what is going on in mine," said 
 McCleary. "Why?" said the other. Said 
 McCleary, " I 've been wondering why you 
 did n't take your hat off." 
 
 One morning on motion day, Mr. Tompson 
 stood on my right, and Mr. Kingsbury on my 
 left, each with a hand behind his ear, botli being 
 very hard of hearing, and I was calling the list. 
 One of them began to speak. Said I, "• Gentle- 
 men, is there to be any hearing in this matter?" 
 They both laughed so they were obliged to retire. 
 
 I went into S. S. Pierce's one day to buy 
 some cigars, and I met Dr. Oliver Wendell 
 Holmes doing the same thing. I said, " Doctor, 
 I am surprised to learn that you are a smoker." 
 " Oh, vei-y moderate," said he. " How moder- 
 ate ? " " One a day, the last thing at night ; 
 that is the reward of virtue." 
 
 There was once a colored man on the jury, 
 wdio had at some time previous meddled a little 
 in the law. The jury he was on was out on a 
 case. As I was standing in the corridor talk- 
 ing with the officer who had them in charge,
 
 1C)L' OHITKH DICTA. 
 
 there was a loud kuockiiijjj I'luiu the inside of 
 the jury room. The offieer stepped to the door, 
 opened it an inch or two, and said, "What's 
 wanted ? " This juryman answered, " Mr. Os- 
 sifer, fetch us Ililliard on Torts ; " but the officer 
 did n't fetch him. 
 
 In an action of slander, among the witnesses 
 called was Melviu O. Adams ; the following 
 questions were put to him, and his answers fol- 
 L)wed : "What's your name?" " Melvin O. 
 Adams." "What's your business?" "I'm 
 trying to practice law." In the same case the 
 plaintiff gave the following testimony : " What 's 
 your name ? " " Wilson AI. Fay." " Your busi- 
 ness ? " " Broker." "• IIow long? " " Twenty- 
 five years." Cross-examination : " You publish a 
 paper called ' Miscellaneous Stock Exchange ' ? " 
 "Yes." " Who composes it ? " " Me and my 
 customers." "Are the seats very valuable?" 
 "No ; free to all." " Were you elected a mem- 
 ber to the regular Stock Exchange ? " " No, 
 they had a war dance, and I did not get in." 
 " Were you not rejected ? " " Yes, I got every 
 black-ball there was, and one piece of paper 
 with ' No,' written on it." " You have some 
 hard things said to you ? " " Yes." " Come to 
 you with a good deal of feeling and call you 
 names ? " " Yes ; keep a loaded revolver on my 
 desk all the time."
 
 CROSS-EXAMINA TIONS. 163 
 
 Judge Morton was once examining a boy who 
 was offered as a witness, and asked, " Do you 
 goto Sunday-school?" " Yes, sir." "What 
 do you learn ? " " To speak the truth." " Are 
 you not taught about God ? " " Yes, sir," 
 "What was the oath for, that you heard given 
 to the others ? " "To speak the truth." " Sup- 
 pose you do not ? " "I shall be burned up 
 with fire and brimstone." 
 
 Another boy who was examined at the same 
 time answered the question, " Suppose you do 
 not tell the truth ? " "I shall be punished 
 hereafter." 
 
 Stephen B. Ives (examining a witness) : " Did 
 you see Mr. Keith there ? " Witness : " Yes, 
 sir." Ives : " What did yoxi say to him ? " 
 Witness : " I do not remember." Ives : " Did 
 you speak jocosely ? " Witness : " I don't know 
 him." Ives (not exactly comprehending): "Did 
 you speak jocosely ? " Witness (angrily) : " I 
 tell you I dou't know Jo Cosely." 
 
 Mr. Ives was very severe in his examination 
 of witnesses, and especially in his cross-exami- 
 nations. They were literally cross examina- 
 tions. Mentioning this one day to the late 
 Judge Charles P. Thompson, of the Superior 
 Court, " Yes," he said, " brother Ives's examina- 
 tions are very much like the dews of heaven, 
 which fall alike on the just and unjust."
 
 1G4 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 The following' colloquy occurred hetweon Mr. 
 R. anil Mr. S., J)r. A\'aiker on the stand. Mr. 
 K. : " Now, Doctor, you are an expert, and have 
 attended the whole trial ? " Doctor : " Yes, 
 sir." Mr. II.: "You get fifty dollars a day?" 
 Doctor : " That is the rule ; I don't always 
 get it." Mr. K. : " Well, I don't say it in a dis- 
 couraging way." Mr. S. : " What did you ask 
 it for, then ? " Mr. R. (to the Court) : " Am 
 I to answer, or are remaiks to be made thus to 
 me?" The Court: "I don't know why coun- 
 sel may not speak to each other. Counsel al- 
 ways do, when they think they can make a 
 telling remark ; that was a very pertinent ques- 
 tion, but I suppose the proper place to answer 
 it is in the argument." Mr. S. : "I asked him 
 what he asked him such a question for, if it was 
 not to hit him ? " Mr. R. : "I am always ready 
 to answer questions when they are put civilly 
 and in a gentlemanly way." Mr. S. : " Oh 
 Lord, you don't know what is civil and gentle- 
 manly, and never did." 
 
 In a suit to recover damages for negligence 
 in the case of a horse, the following occurred : 
 " Did you see some trotters there ? " Witness : 
 " They called them trotters, I don't know 
 whether they were or not." Counsel : " Did 
 you see Smith wash the noses of any horses 
 besides the one on trial?" Witness: "Yes."
 
 FRES/I YOUNG LAWYERS. 165 
 
 Counsel : " Whose ? " Witness : " The mare 
 of Cobb's." Counsel : " Oh, Mayor Cobb's ? " 
 Witness: "Not Mayor Cobb's, but Cobb's 
 mare." 
 
 The assumption of knowledge on tlie part of 
 some young lawyers fresh from coJlege and the 
 Law School defies description. After having 
 been in practice some years, they are perfectly 
 willing to admit that they do not know as much 
 as they thought they did at the start. Often if 
 the clerk presumes to show them that they are 
 wrong, they complain that the clerk is cross, 
 but after a few years they take a different view, 
 and come to him to learn matters of practice, 
 which before they thought they knew all about. 
 I give an instance : A number of years ago 
 a lawyer, Mr. Cole (this is not his name), was 
 trying a case for some railroad which ran into 
 the northern part of Vermont. I had a mare 
 there, and wanted to go to see her. It was 
 quite an expensive trip, and I asked Cole if he 
 could not give me a jjass up and back, so I 
 could see my colt. He said : " Yes, with great 
 pleasure," and did so, and I went. When I 
 came back, I informed Mr. B., from whose of- 
 fice Cole had graduated some years before, of 
 the kindness of Mr. Cole. "Now," said Mr. 
 B., " I '11 tell you something. Shortly after 
 Cole commenced studying in my office, I sent
 
 166 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 him to yoiir office to get something, and he 
 came back with his face as red as a turkey- 
 cock's and said, ' Mr. B., you never need send 
 me to that office again, sir, for I won't go 
 there.' ' What 's the matter ? ' I said. ' Oh,' 
 said Cole, ' that darned Willard, he 's as cross 
 as a bear.' ' Pooh,' said I, ' you don't know 
 Willard ; you probably went in there thinking 
 you knew more than all the rest ; you keep on 
 going there, and when you want to know any- 
 thing, ask Willard to show you, and if he 
 does n't I 'm very much mistaken.' " This was 
 the first I had known of any trouble with Cole, 
 and he and I were afterwards the best of 
 friends. 
 
 It is related that some one said to Judge 
 
 , " Judge, ISIr. C. has been offered a seat as 
 
 Judge on the Supreme Judicial Court." " Has 
 he, indeed?" Visitor: "Yes, sir." Judge: 
 " Well, what does he say? " Visitor : " He has 
 declined it." Judge: "Ah, has he?" Vis- 
 itor : " Yes, sir." Judge : " Well, sir, he shows 
 better judgment than the one who offered it to 
 him." 
 
 The following facts appeared in court one 
 
 day : Deacon was a director in the 
 
 Bank. A person who was owing the deacon 
 applied to the bank to have his note discounted ;
 
 A THRIFTY DEACON. 167 
 
 the deacon recommended it, and it was done. 
 The deacon thereupon brought ^ suit against 
 the man who had his note discounted, and sum- 
 moned the bank as trustee. 
 
 In a case Mr. Park asked a witness : " What 
 did Smith say to you at the time of the colli- 
 sion ? " Witness : " He told me to go to h — 1." 
 Park : " And so you went to a lawyer." 
 
 A woman plantiff who had testified in, chief 
 about a barrain she had made was asked on 
 cross-examination: "Now, who was present 
 when this bargain was made ? " " Now, on me 
 honor, nobody but God, Mrs. O'Toole, and 
 meseK." 
 
 A witness was testifying about being bitten 
 by a dog a year before. The counsel asked 
 him to tell about it, when he went out of the 
 way to say : " I don't sleep much nights." 
 Counsel : " I did n't ask you about your sleep- 
 ing ; / don't sleep very well, but I try to bear 
 up under it. What did the owner say, when 
 you asked him to kill the dog ? " Witness : 
 " ' Faith,' says he, ' I 'd sooner kill you, than 
 the dog.' " Counsel : " How did he appear ? " 
 Witness : " He was kind o' frothing in his 
 mouth, and kind o' oneasy in his mind." 
 
 Mr. M. asked a female witness if she knew 
 anything against the character of a certain per- 
 son. Witness : " No, not much." Mr. M. :
 
 KiS on ITER DICTA. 
 
 "• "What have you heard ? " Witness : " I have 
 heard he wa^ somewliat intemperate, and went 
 ■svith other women, but I never heard anything 
 against his moral character." 
 
 A case was committed to the jury one Friday 
 afternoon, and they deliberated upon it until 
 ten P. M., when they were discharged by order 
 of court because they could not agree. They 
 separated, and came into court the next Mon- 
 day morning after a period of two and a half 
 days. Upon being asked by me if they had 
 agreed upon a verdict, the foreman answered 
 no, but that they wished to deliberate further. 
 The court of course said it would be irregular, 
 but if counsel would consent they might do so. 
 The counsel consented ; the jury went out, and 
 in about half an hour agreed upon a verdict for 
 the plaintiff. The joke of the matter, which did 
 not then appear, was this : the counsel for the 
 plaintiff and the counsel for the defendant each 
 felt sure, when the jury went out, that he had 
 ten jurors in his favor. 
 
 A larofe woman was libellee in a libel for 
 divorce. The deputy who served the libel 
 wrote to the counsel for the libellant that she 
 was a very large woman, but that he had served 
 the libel on as much of her as he could that 
 day, and had strong hopes of being able to fin- 
 ish it the next.
 
 .SCJ/i; PRECISE VERB I AGE. 169 
 
 In a case of Dows vs. some insurance com- 
 pany to recover damages for the loss of his stock, 
 the plaintiff said : " I saved a few bottles of 
 Epicurean sauce." General Butler : " What 
 kind of sauce is that, pray ? I might like some." 
 Plaintiff : " I will send you a bottle." Mr. 
 Train : " Oh, don't, he has enough." Gen- 
 eral Butler : " You said the soda fountain was 
 broken; how broken?" Plaintiff: "It was 
 disintergated.''^ 
 
 In an action pending, Mr. A s appeared 
 
 as senior counsel ; in moving for a postpone- 
 ment, as he had newly appeared and was not 
 quite familiar with the case, he said (with a 
 slight flourish) : " I appear in this case, and 
 
 I lio^je it will not disturb my brother A y, 
 
 who is opposed to me." Mr. A y : " Oh no, 
 
 I am not at all disturbed ; on the contrary, I 
 am highly gratified, for I shall now move to in- 
 crease the ad damnum^ 
 
 Mr. G. was trying an action of tort, in which 
 he sought to recover damages for injuries to his 
 client, and said, " He was jmrticipated over the 
 cliff" into a hole." His senior counsel nudged 
 him and said, " Precipitated." " Yes, " said G., 
 '■'■ jyrejnirticipated over." 
 
 A witness, a member of the Suffolk bar, was 
 testifying, and, upon being asked what were the 
 terms of the agreement, answered, " I did not 
 learn the precise verbiage.''^
 
 170 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 In an accident case, after the witness had 
 testified to the facts, Colonel George said to 
 him : " What did you do then ? " To which 
 witness replied : " I went to the rescue, as a 
 lawyer goes for a man's pocket-book." 
 
 In a suit to recover the price of some barrels, 
 a Mr. Hale of New Hampshire (not John P.) 
 was a witness. Mr. O'Brien : " Where did you 
 buy your barrels?" Witness: "Of Doherty 
 Brothers." O'Brien : " Are they barrel deal- 
 ers ? " Witness : " No, liquor dealers, shame to 
 them." O'Brien : " Are they dealers in cider ?" 
 Witness : " That is one of God's blessings." 
 
 Mr. H. was arguing as to the testimony of 
 various witnesses, and the absence of some of 
 them in a case ; among the latter was a well- 
 known man named Richardson, whose death 
 was generally rej^orted ; Mr. H. said : " Mr. 
 Foreman and gentlemen, Richardson is dead, 
 and he can't tell you what passed." Mr. C. : 
 "There is no evidence that he is dead." Mr. 
 H. : " Then he is nt dead." Mr. C. : " Then 
 why don't you produce him ? " As Dr. Holmes 
 says, " Logic is logic, that 's all I say." 
 
 In a suit of trover, to recover for some arti- 
 cles taken from a hotel, Mr. Hutchinson said : 
 " Whose knives ai'e these ? " (showing them to 
 the witness). Witness (examining them) : 
 " These are Rogers knives." Mr. H : " How
 
 INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE. 171 
 
 do you know ? " Witness : " General feel, mark, 
 and look." Mi-. 11 : '' Is that all ? " Witness : 
 ''No." Mr. H: "How else do you know?" 
 Witness: "Dealt in 'em." Mr. H: "How 
 else do you know ? Did you see these made?" 
 Witness : " No." Mr. H : " How do you know 
 then? " Witness : " Give it up." 
 
 Lawyer : " I have summoned a witness 
 
 to appear in this case, and paid him his fees, and 
 he has not appeared. I move for a capias to 
 bring him into court." Court (reading the 
 return of the officer) : " It appears that he was 
 paid for yesterday ; have you paid him for to- 
 day ? " " No, your honor." Judge B : 
 
 " I have sat on this bench too long " — " Yes, 
 your honor." Judge, continuing, — " to grant 
 such a motion." 
 
 In an accident case in which a woman was 
 knocked down upon the sidewalk by a horse, 
 and injured very much, she said, " I thinh some- 
 body helped me up." Mr. D : " Not what you 
 think, what you know." Witness : " I guess 
 you would u't have knoivn much under the cir- 
 cumstances." 
 
 Mr. C. sat writing one day, and a person who 
 interrupted him said, " What are you writing? " 
 Receiving no answer, he repeated the question. 
 Mr. C. replied somewhat hastily : " The life of
 
 172 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 a jackass." " Autol)i<)gTa])liy, Ly ," replied 
 
 the other. 
 
 About the years 1847 and 1848, William 
 Ililliard got into the habit of taking eases up 
 to the Supreme Judicial Court on sham and 
 special demurrer. He was riding one day 
 through Broadway in Cambridgeport, when the 
 horse shied at a pile of boards, and threw him 
 and his companion out of the vehicle. Mr. 
 Hilliard was badly hurt. Some carpenters who 
 were engaged at work on a building near by 
 rushed out, and, seeing that he was injured, one 
 of them exclaimed : " How shall we take him 
 up ? " The other lawyer, who was not hurt, per- 
 haps because he was a little " set up," answered : 
 " Take him up on a sh sham demurrer." 
 
 In an action by a woman against the jjroprie- 
 tors of India Wharf to recover damages for 
 falling through a hole in the sidewalk or a part 
 of the wharf, a number of witnesses were intro- 
 duced who testified that their ages were respec- 
 tively from eighty-five to eighty-seven years. 
 Mr. C. said : " This hole was covered by boards 
 as old as the witnesses who have been called for 
 the defense." Mr. R. in closing said : " My 
 young friend does this," etc. ; and, " my young 
 friend, when he has more experience," etc., and, 
 " now I '11 sit down and let my young friend 
 make a speech." Mr. C. : "I am young, I '11
 
 AX UNWILLING JUROR. 173 
 
 acknowledge, but I know of one phrase ap- 
 plicable to my brother, which is, ' Superfluous 
 lags the veteran on the stage.' " 
 
 A gentleman who lived in the Back Bay pre- 
 cinct, whom I knew very well some years ago, 
 and who had also knowoi me but had j^robably 
 forgotten me, came into my office, when the fol- 
 lowing conversation ensued : — 
 
 He : " I am drawn as a juror for the October 
 term." 
 
 I: "Yes, sir." 
 
 He : " I am living out of town." 
 
 I : " Do you mean that you are not a citizen 
 of Boston ? " (knowing that he was.) 
 
 He : " No, but I am living out of town, and 
 shall not return until November." 
 
 I : " That is no excuse." 
 
 He : "I am sick." 
 
 I : " You look very well, and ought to do 
 your duty as a juror ; look at Mr. Randall, the 
 late Speaker of the House of Representatives at 
 Washington, who, when drawn, served as a 
 juror in his State of Pennsylvania, and would 
 not be excused." 
 
 He : " Randall is an ass, sir ; do talk a little 
 common sense." 
 
 I : " I can't ; you monopolize it all." 
 
 This checked him for a moment, but he went
 
 174 OH IT Eli hlCTA. 
 
 on in the same strain, intimating that he should 
 not eonie. 
 
 I : " The Court will send an officer for you." 
 He : " Hang the officer." 
 I : "He would not like that." 
 He (emphatically) : " Good-day, sir." 
 In the afternoon he came in and said, " Mr. 
 Willard, I have come to apologize for my hasti- 
 ness this morning." I accepted it, and told 
 him I had all kinds of people to deal with and 
 tried generally to adapt myself to them. 
 
 Said a certain lawyer : " Mr. Thomas, I am 
 surprised that you should bring this action ; you 
 have n't a single predicate to stand on." 
 
 The same lawyer, who was trying a cause for 
 a plaintiff who had fallen downstairs and hurt 
 his knee, asked a physician this question : " Was 
 the concomitant cause of the contusion the fluc- 
 tuation of fluid from the knee-joint of this plain- 
 tiff?" In closing his argument he said: "And 
 now I will close this case, gentlemen, as I think 
 I have been over it from frontispiece to furnis." 
 
 Mr. Murdock, of the Liquid Food Company, 
 brought a suit against the Boston and Albany 
 Railroad for being forcibly put off the cars. He 
 was arrested at some town on complaint of the 
 railroad authorities and kept in confinement over- 
 night, but the accusation turned out later to be
 
 AN INACCESSIBLE CLIENT. 175 
 
 a mistake, and he was released. During the 
 time of his arrest, when offered some food, he 
 drew from his pocket a half-jjint bottle of the 
 Liquid Food, upon which he said he could live 
 for a week, but the experiment was not tried. 
 He said he went on the ''''owl train,^^ sometimes 
 called the ''Modoc trains Mr. M. : " It might 
 well be called the ' Murdoch train.' " Mr. 
 Murdock : " ' Twas, that night." 
 
 In the same case Mr. H., counsel for the road, 
 challenged two jurors, and Mr. M. challenged 
 two. There were not enough jurors in court to 
 fill their places, of which I informed counsel. 
 Then Mr. M. said : " I '11 go on with eight, or, 
 if Mr. H. will withdraw his challenges, I will 
 mine." 
 
 An action was brought against Corbett the 
 pugilist for breach of contract in not appearing 
 to perform at a certain exhibition ; Judge S. 
 presiding. Counsel objected to a certain piece 
 of evidence. Judge S. : " As referee in this 
 case I think it is rather broad." (Shouts of 
 laughter.) 
 
 " May it please your honor," said a lawyer, 
 when his case was called for trial, " I am not 
 ready ; my client is one of the steeple-climbers, 
 and he is now on the toji of the Old South 
 Church, out of reach and sound." " Well, Mr.
 
 176 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 G.," said the Court, " I presume the Court has 
 not the power to get him down." 
 
 In 1887, a case was tried in which a woman 
 sued the City of Boston for -f 10,000 for inju- 
 ries received from falling on an icy sidewalk 
 and breaking her leg. After the case had gone 
 to the jury, I was shown a letter written to 
 the presiding justice, which stated that she and 
 her husband were disreputable people, that her 
 pseudonym was , that her husband and her- 
 self had a fight, that he had pushed her down- 
 stairs, causing her to break her leg, and that in 
 order to recover damages he carried her out to 
 the sidewalk to make it appear that she did it 
 there. 
 
 A case was tried in which one Casson sued 
 Myrick to recover damages by reason of a stal- 
 lion of Myrick, or, as counsel said, " chawing 
 up a pony of Casson." The pony died and Cas- 
 son wanted fifty dollars for him. Many wit- 
 nesses, who had formerly owned the pony, were 
 examined for the defendant. One witness testi- 
 fied that he gave $1.50 for him. " How long 
 did you keep him ? " " No longer than I could 
 help." " Did he eat well ? " "I kept him alive 
 by giving him gruel." " What did you do with 
 him ? " "I put him in a raffle for ten dollars at 
 twenty-five cents a ticket." The defendant tes- 
 tified that he had a knowledge of horses, and
 
 A REMARKABLE POXY. 177 
 
 thought that this pony was about forty years old. 
 " Why do you think he was forty ? " " There 
 is a horse near me thirty-five years old, owned 
 by my neighbor, and the pony looks the oldest." 
 " Did you lend your whiffletree to the boy who 
 drove the pony ? " " Yes ; but he could n't draw 
 the whiffletree." " Did you see the pony hitched 
 to the whiffletree and the boy driving ? " " Yes ; 
 and he could n't draw it." " Was that the time 
 you looked him over and made up your mind as 
 to his age?" "Well, somewhat." "Wasn't 
 you thinking more of your whiffletree than you 
 were of the pony ? " " Yes ; I thought my whif- 
 fletree was worth the most," On reading the 
 first clause of this, as to the stallion " chawing 
 up the boy," to my kinsman, Joseph W^illard, he 
 observed that, as all flesh is grass, the horse 
 was n't so far out of the way. 
 
 A man who sued for damages for injuries sus- 
 tained by a fall, while testifying, was asked, 
 "You were in the Custom House?" "Yes." 
 " Did you leave ? " "I got my ticket-of -leave 
 from Collector Saltonstall." " Was you at all 
 set up when you fell in?" "No; sober men 
 fall in sometimes." "Do they?" "Yes; / 
 did." 
 
 I heard an expression by a witness lately, 
 which I had never heard before. He said, 
 " 's brother wanted to take him into part-
 
 178 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 iiership, nnd I told him that that ship is the 
 worst sliip a person can sail in." 
 
 A luau of sixty, but appearing- much older, 
 sued a woman of twenty-tive to recover ^200, 
 when the following took place. Cross-examina- 
 tion of the plaintift' : " You loaned the money 
 because you thought she was going to marry you, 
 did n't you ? " " Yes." " She is about twenty- 
 three years old, is n't she?" "I don't know." 
 " She sits up there ; look at her." " You can't 
 tell anything about the age of 'em." " Why 
 did n't you marry her ? " " Marry her ? every- 
 thing was ready for the marriage, and then she 
 backed out." " You gave her a cloak, did n't 
 you ? " " No ; I paid for it, but I did n't give it 
 to her." " You took her to Jordan & Marsh's, 
 did n't you ? " " No ; she took me there." " If 
 she had married you, you would n't have asked 
 her to pay you back, would you ? " " She prom- 
 ised to pay me for everything, dresses and all." 
 
 Mr. B. was a lawyer of no great abilities, 
 but he had quite a large practice, and when he 
 died he left a large property. He was impul- 
 sive, always committing some faux pas. There 
 was a firm doing business under the name of 
 Tinkham, Adams & Co. On the eve of their 
 failure, John Q. Adams, the principal member 
 of the firm, bought on credit a lot of cigars of 
 Deshon & Co., Clark & Co., and others, and
 
 A DAMAGING ADMISSION. 179 
 
 pledged them to raise some money to a firm 
 engaged in the shoe business, named Bigelow 
 Brothers. Deshon and Clark, learning of this 
 transaction, replevied the cigars, and the action 
 came on for trial. Edward D. Sohier appeared 
 for the plaintiffs, and Mr. B. for the defense. 
 Mr. Sohier had the close. Adams was not in 
 court, but Tinkham was ; yet neither of them was 
 called. Mr. Sohier in his argument said : " Now, 
 gentlemen of the jury, perhaps you will ask why 
 we didn't call John Q. Adams? We say he is 
 a rascal ; the other side will tell you he is an 
 honest man." Up jumped Mr. B. and said : 
 " No, we say he is a rascal, too." " Ah, do they, 
 gentlemen," said Mr. Sohier quickly; "what 
 did they deal with him for, then ? " The jury- 
 men looked at each other, and I saw by their 
 looks that Mr. Sohier had gained his cause. 
 
 Mr. B. had gray hair, but came into court one 
 morning with it dyed dark. Some one called 
 the attention of Mr. Sohier to it. " Oh," said 
 he, " I believe brother B. is trying to get over 
 his light-headedness." Mr. B. had a client who 
 owned a savage dog. He bit a person, and the 
 owner was mulcted in damages. He went to 
 Mr. B. and asked what he should do. Mr. B. 
 said : " Take off his collar, turn him loose, and 
 we '11 call him fera natiirmr He did so, and 
 the doo; bit another man. The man who was
 
 180 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 bitten traced him to his owner and brought a 
 suit ngainst liiin. Mr. 15. set up the above de- 
 fense. Th(! judge said : " Do you actually rely 
 on tlmt defense, Mr. B. ? " " Yes, your honor," 
 sai<l Mr. B. " Well, sir," said the judge, " then 
 I shall instruct the jury to return treble dam- 
 ages." So Mr. B. had to amend. lie was not 
 a very successful lawyer in getting verdicts, and 
 at one time the bar bestowed upon him the 
 sobriquet of the anvil, he was beaten so often ; 
 but he was very successful financially. 
 
 Mr. R. and Mr. T. were opposing counsel in 
 the trial of a case. R. said to T. : " Don't insist 
 on putting questions which the Court have ruled 
 incompetent ; it is n't professional or honorable." 
 T. : " The professional part I '11 take care of, 
 and as for honor, it is n't for you, who have so 
 little of it, to talk about." 
 
 When I first went into the office, policies of 
 insurance contained the clause, " insuring against 
 loss by fire, etc., excepting loss caused by riot, 
 foreign invasion, or the act of God." One J. 
 G., who brought suit upon such a policy, in or- 
 der of course to avoid the excepting part of the 
 policy, after declaring on it, set out further in 
 his declaration that the loss occurred by a peril 
 insured against ; not by riot, foreign invasion, or 
 by the act of the aforesaid God. I dislike to 
 make comments and want to state facts only;
 
 A FAITHFUL CAPTAIN. 181 
 
 but — possibly there might have been some 
 other God that J. G. worshiped. 
 
 A certain person was nominated for the office 
 of Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. A 
 lawyer to whom the fact was mentioned said : 
 " I did n't see it in the morning papers." 
 " Oh," was the reply ; " did you look under the 
 head of accidents ? " 
 
 The judges having agreed that one might 
 leave the bench while the other would take his 
 place for a week, the judge on vacation stayed 
 away a fortnight. On returning he said to his 
 somewhat irate brother : " I got away, and was 
 tempted by a good time to stay away a week 
 longer than I intended." " May God forgive 
 you," said the judge. " Never mind that, if 
 you '11 forgive me," said the other. 
 
 James Boyle was crier of the court for many 
 years ; he was a thick-set man, with a very bald 
 head. The Court, Chief Justice Wells, sat a 
 long time after the usual hour, in order to finish 
 the testimony of a witness who was captain of a 
 vessel, and who said he must sail the next 
 morning. Mr. Boyle adjourned the court in the 
 usual form : " All persons having anything 
 further to do, etc., may depart hence, and give 
 their attendance at this place to-morrow morning 
 at nine o'clock." Mr. Henry F. Durant was
 
 182 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 for the ])l;iiiitiff ; ]Mr. R. II. Dana for the defense. 
 The next morning-, to the astonishment of Mr. 
 Dana, Mr, Dnrant asked leave to have Cap- 
 tain take the witness stand and testify to 
 
 a matter of great importance. After some 
 discussion, the motion was allowed, and the cap- 
 tain testified. Then ]\Ir. Dana cross-examined : 
 
 " Captain , how came you here ? " "I was 
 
 summoned here." "Who summoned you?" 
 "The Court." "What do you mean? Did 
 his honor on the bench summon you?" "I 
 don't know what you call him," said Captain 
 
 , " but that fat, bald-headed fellow out 
 
 there told us to depart hence and give our 
 attendance here to-morrow morning, and so I 
 come." 
 
 An Irish witness was asked : " What do you 
 know of the defendant's reputation ? " " Faith, 
 I know this, that, rather than live with her, 
 I 'd marry the devil's daughter and go home 
 and live with the old folks." 
 
 The identity of a cow was curiously proved, to 
 establish the ownership of the animal. A witness 
 for the plaintiff testified that as the beast was in 
 the habit of straying he inserted under a little 
 slip in the skin of her right fore shoulder a 
 five-cent piece of the date of the year 1845. 
 The jury and a surgeon were sent to view
 
 A CURIOUS RAILROAD CASE. 183 
 
 the cow, and there found the coin, perfectly 
 identifying the animal. The same witness, 
 being- asked whether he was interested in the case, 
 replied : " I am not interested, and I am not 
 disinterested." 
 
 An action was brought by a party to recover 
 damages for being run into by a sleigh fi'om be- 
 hind, overturning the plaintiff's sleigh and throw- 
 ing him over the dasher. The defendant con- 
 troverted the fact, and put on a witness, saying to 
 him : " Now show the jury how far the plaintiff 
 went over the dasher." The witness, leaning 
 over the bar of the witness stand, tipped it over 
 and fell his whole length upon the floor. Said 
 the counsel for plaintiff : " I believe that 's the 
 truth of our case." 
 
 W. had a curious case with the Boston and 
 Albany Railroad, which brought out the inge- 
 nuity of Mr. Charles A. Welch. W., his sister, 
 and another young lady who was visiting them 
 at Cambridge, went to the Boston Theatre one 
 night. After the performance they reached the 
 Albany station to take the train just as it was 
 starting, having no time to purchase tickets. 
 They were going as far as Cottage Farm. The 
 fare was ten cents with a ticket, and fifteen cents 
 without. After the train passed the Know- 
 Nothing Station, the conductor came for the 
 fares, and was offered thirty cents, which he
 
 ISI OlilTKR DICTA. 
 
 refused, saying that he must have forty-five. 
 W. told him he had no time to purchase tickets, 
 and that tliis was all he should give him. The 
 conductor said the station was so near it would 
 not pay to stop the train to put him off, but that 
 he would take his name. They got off at Cot- 
 tage Farm. The next morning the attorney of 
 the railroad went to W. and asked him if he 
 would pay the forty -five cents. He told him no, 
 and thereui)on the attorney of the road brought 
 a suit against him to recover the forty-five 
 cents. In the lower court judgment was ren- 
 dered against him, and he appealed to the Su- 
 perior Court. When the case was entered in the 
 Superior Court, a tender was made of thirty 
 cents. The case came on for trial, and the con- 
 ductor testified to the facts stated above, and the 
 plaintiff rested. Mr. Welch then asked the Court 
 to ride that there must be a verdict for the de- 
 fendant, as he had tendered thirty cents, which 
 was double the fare that the plaintiff could re- 
 cover, as the defendant was liable for only one 
 fare, which was fifteen cents at the most, and 
 that he was not responsible for the other fares. 
 The Court so ruled, and a verdict was taken for 
 the defendant. 
 
 A man by the name of Freeman, who was 
 employed in the office by my predecessor, Mr. 
 Willard, had agreed to meet him at the office at
 
 IXDORSING A J'ETJTJOX. 185 
 
 8.30 A. M., half an hour before the usual time of 
 opening it. Precisely at that hour there came 
 an imperative rap at the door. I took no notice 
 of it. In a few moments it was repeated. I 
 said to Freeman that it must be some one who 
 ought to be admitted. Then Freeman thouaht 
 of his agreement and hastened to open the door. 
 Mr. Willard said : " Mr. Freeman, you agreed 
 to meet me at 8.30 a. m., sir, and now it is 
 fifteen minutes to nine ; I am ashamed of you." 
 " Are you ? " replied Mr. Freeman ; " that saves 
 me the trouble of being ashamed of myself." 
 
 A man was being sentenced by Judge Gushing 
 of the Police Court, for being a common drunk- 
 ard. The judge remarked : "• You ought to be 
 ashamed of yourself ; you might be a respectable 
 man if you would n't go about drinking like a 
 sponge." The prisoner answered : "Your honor 
 has a right to sentence me and perhaps lecture 
 me ; but you can't sentence me when you say I 
 drink like a sponge, for a sponge only drinks 
 water." 
 
 " Indorse this petition," I said to a young 
 student who presented his petition for admission 
 to the bar. " How shall I do it ? " said he. 
 " Oh, simply say, Jolin Doe, petitioner," and he 
 indorsed it so. 
 
 " What in the world is this word," said the
 
 ISO UBlTKli DICTA. 
 
 ju(li»e to me one day. " I can't make it out." 
 '* ^Vhy, that word is demand," said I, "and 
 
 very plainly written for Mr. ." " Plainly 
 
 written I " said the judge ; " that declaration is 
 dennurable for its obscurity ; why does n't he 
 go to Egypt, and establish a hieroglyphic office ; 
 he writes worse than Choate, which 1 thought 
 until now would be impossible." 
 
 In an action for ill treatment of a horse, 
 which caused his death, an Irish hostler testified 
 that when the horse came into the stable, he 
 was in a " cowld sweat." " When did he get 
 into a hot one ? " asked the counsel. " Never, 
 your honor," said the witness ; " he died before 
 he got out of the cowld one." 
 
 The following was done by a young man who 
 had been only a couple of years at the bar. 
 He was the youngest of a firm of three. The 
 firm had an execution of 81000 and costs 
 
 against the city of Boston. Mr. presented 
 
 the execution to Mr. Turner, the city treasurer, 
 and Mr. Turner replied that he did not know 
 him and wanted him to get either of the two 
 other members to come and discharge the execu- 
 tion, as he knew both of them well. Mr. 
 
 said: "I am a member of the firni." Mr. 
 Turner said : " May be so, but I don't know 
 you, and here 's a thousand dollars or so to pass, 
 and I don't want to lose it." While Mr.
 
 A WIDE-AWAKE WITNESS. 187 
 
 Turner was looking about, Mr. disappeared, 
 
 and in a few moments a deputy sheriff came in 
 with the execution, and the treasurer had to 
 pay, not only the thousand dollars and costs, 
 but seventeen dollars more as officer's fees. 
 
 In an action for a collision between one of 
 the East Boston ferry-boats and a sloop, the 
 foUowino- dialosfue occurred between one of the 
 learned counsel and a witness : — 
 
 " You own the sloop ? " 
 
 " I do, your honor." 
 
 " What was her crew ? " 
 
 "Oh, bedad, meself was her captain, and 
 another man was her crew." 
 
 " When the steamboat struck you, what was 
 the crew doing ? " 
 
 " Begorra, your honor, he was standing fore- 
 ninst the bowsprit, screeching, ' Stameboat ahoy ! 
 Stameboat ahoy I ' and I told him to lave off 
 screeching like that, and to scram e ' Murder.' " 
 
 Somethino; more than a smile went over the 
 court room, bench and all. The counsel re- 
 turned to the charge. 
 
 "When the steamer passed you after the 
 collision occurred, did she pass ahead of you or 
 astern?" 
 
 " Well now, upon me oath and conscience, 
 yer honor, I could n't say as to that ; meself had
 
 188 OniTEIl DICTA. 
 
 enough to do to look out for me life, those 
 times." 
 
 Counsel (insinuatingly) : " Well now, sir, 
 how old is your sloop ? " 
 
 " Shuie, sir, 't is more than meseK that 
 knows." 
 
 " Well, about how old is she ? " 
 
 " Be me sowl, yer honor, she might be twenty 
 years jist about." 
 
 " She grows better, I suppose, as she grows 
 older, eh?" 
 
 " Well now, yer honor, I could n't say ; some 
 things does and more things don't. I know 
 I 'm better these times, and I hope yer honor is, 
 than I was twenty years ago." 
 
 Here the laugh got in all around, and the 
 counsel, coming to the conclusion that Captain 
 Muldoon was wide awake, dropped the exami- 
 nation, and the witness was allowed to stand 
 down. 
 
 Matthew Wells Smith and Phineas Ayer 
 were trying a case, each having his client for a 
 witness, and no other. Mr. Callahan testified ; 
 then Mr. Flanagan testified, and contradicted 
 Mr. Callahan on almost every point. Then Ayer 
 recalled Callahan and said : " Callahan, you 
 heard the testimony of Flanagan?" "Yes, 
 sor." " In consequence of what he said, do you
 
 A WRITTEN PROMISE. 189 
 
 want to change your testimony ? " " Faix, just 
 as you loike, sor." " You can step down, sir," 
 said Ayer ; " you are too willing." This was 
 before the Supreme Court ruled that this ques- 
 tion need not be asked a witness, but that he 
 may ask to change it himself. 
 
 P. Henry Hutchinson was arguing before a 
 judge for damages for assault on his client by 
 a blow on his face. Said Hutchinson : " There 
 are some cases in which the iron enters the soul, 
 and one feels it more than the blow. Your 
 honor knows how it is." Judge : " Fifty dollars 
 and costs." This judge had been assaulted by 
 a person who was sent to jail for the offense. 
 
 Mr. P., wanting to plead the discharge of 
 his client in insolvency, asked John J. King, 
 who was clerk to the master in chancery, to lend 
 him the discharge. King said it was usual for 
 the party to call for it and pay for it, P. said, 
 " I '11 be responsible for the fees." " Very 
 well," said King, " as your word is good, take 
 it." P. pleaded it, and, not paying for it. King 
 asked him for the pay as promised. Said P., 
 " Have you any written promise ? " 
 
 A vessel arrived from sea and hauled into the 
 dock, and between daylight and evening the 
 captain went below for supper. While eating, 
 he heard a splashing in the water by the side of
 
 190 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 Ills vessel, and, comiiii;' on deck, he found a man 
 struggling' in the water, lie throw him a rope 
 and hauled him on board. After wringing out 
 his clothes and getting composed, the man took 
 a writ from his pocket and attached the vessel. 
 It was Deputy Sheriff Neale, who had attemj)ted 
 to walk aboard on a plank, and when halfway 
 over, the plank broke and let him overboard. 
 
 Senator Jones of Nevada was once a witness, 
 and, while waiting for his turn to testify, went 
 down into the jury-room with a number of the 
 court officers, and entertained us with stories of 
 General Grant. The best one I remember is this : 
 General Grant w^as accustomed to take long 
 walks, and almost every day he met a butcher 
 driving a horse to which he took a great fancy. 
 After considerable negotiation, he bought him, 
 took him to his stable, had him well groomed, 
 and then called Senators Conkling and Jones, 
 and one or two others, to look at his new pur- 
 chase. His hostler brought him out on the stable 
 floor, took off his blanket, and General Grant 
 asked the senators how they liked him. Conk- 
 ling shook his head. " What is the matter, Mr. 
 Senator ? " said Grant. Conkling looked him all 
 over again and said : " What did you give for 
 him, Mr. President? " " Four hundred dollars," 
 said the general. Said Conkling : " I VI rather 
 have the four hundred dollars than the horse."
 
 ANECDOTE OF GENERAL GRANT. 101 
 
 Grant, puffing out a cloud of smoke, coolly 
 remarked : " That 's what the butcher thought ; 
 put him back into the stall, John." 
 
 George Sennott was in the clerk's office one 
 day when his office boy came running in, and 
 said to Sennott : " There 's a man wants to see 
 you at the office." " Ask him what he wants," 
 said Sennott, " and if he won't tell you, say I 
 can't see him unless he leaves ten dollars." 
 " Oh," said the boy, " he is n't an Irishman." 
 
 A witness testified before Judge Gushing in 
 the Municipal Court that the opposing party 
 told him he should n't have his property till he 
 got it at the tail end of the law ; " and so," said 
 the witness, " I came immediately before your 
 honor." 
 
 There was a jury out some time, one of the 
 members of which was Daniel Deshon. Chief 
 Justice Nelson said to the jury : " I learn, 
 gentlemen, that you cannot agi'ee ; what is the 
 trouble ? " " No trouble, yoiir honor, except 
 with Deshon, here." And as the result proved 
 Deshon was the one who was right. 
 
 Under the old law, witnesses were required to 
 take the oath differently according to their 
 respective beliefs ; some on the Evangelists, some 
 on the Pentateuch, and so on. Mr. Morse called 
 a number of witnesses, and havhig only a small
 
 192 OlilTEIi DICTA. 
 
 co]>y of tlie Evangelists to swear tlioni upon, I 
 told Mr. Morse that the witnesses eould n't all 
 take hold of the book at the same time. Morse 
 (^sotto voce) : " Let one take hold of the book, 
 and the next one take hold of him, and so on, 
 and let it go throngh them like an electric 
 shock." 
 
 Two boys were brought up to be swoi'n. The 
 first was thirteen years of age. The judge put 
 to them the following- questions : " How old are 
 you ? " " Thirteen." " Do you know the com- 
 mandments ? " " No." " Do you go to Sunday- 
 school? " " No." " Did you hear the clerk swear 
 the others to tell the truth ? " " Yes." " What 
 was it for ? " " To tell the truth." " Suppose 
 you don't tell the truth ? " " I don't know." 
 
 The second boy to the first question answered 
 " Ten ; " to the second, " Yes, sir ; " to the 
 third, " Yes, sir ; " to the fourth, " Yes, sir ; " to 
 the fifth, "To tell the truth;" to the sixth, 
 " God will be offended." Counsel : " Who told 
 you that ? " " Nobody ; I learned it at Sunday- 
 school." 
 
 A third boy was brought up, who said that 
 he was eight years old, and answered the first 
 five questions in the affirmative. To the sixth, 
 " Suppose you don't tell the truth," he answered, 
 '• Then he won't win his case." 
 
 William L. Burt, once postmaster of Boston,
 
 RELATIVE SOBRIETY. 193 
 
 in closing his argument after Mr. S. C. Maine 
 had closed on the other side, said : " Gentlemen 
 of the jury, the Lord made me some time after 
 that gentleman, but after He got his hand in." 
 
 Samuel D. Parker told me that when party 
 spirit ran high in this State as to masonry and 
 anti-masonry, Leverett Saltonstall, who was a 
 candidate for Congress, was asked by a gentle- 
 man his opinion of masonry, and whether he 
 did n't consider it silly. " Yes," said Mr. S. ; 
 " there is only one thing sillier — anti-masonry." 
 
 Mr. E.., formerly attorney-general, who was 
 rather convivial at the time I speak of, shortly 
 after he was elected to Congress thought he 
 would go West, and get a little acquainted 
 with the people. He found some other Con- 
 gressmen-elect where he went and they traveled 
 for about a week. As he started for home the 
 most familiar of his associates asked one of the 
 others : " You 've always called your friend 
 
 Bob ; what 's his surname ? " " R ," said 
 
 the other. " And elected Congressman from 
 Massachusetts?" "Yes." "What's his poli- 
 tics?" "Republican." " H— 1, he drinks 
 like a Democrat." 
 
 A witness who was asked what was his con- 
 dition that morning replied : " Sober as a 
 judge." 
 
 Walter H. Judson was once talking with a
 
 194 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 dentist who asked him where lawyers would 
 go when they died. "I don't know," said Jud- 
 son ; " but I know where dentists ouf>ht to 
 go." "Where?" said the doctor. "Where 
 there 's ' gnashing of teeth,' " said Judson. 
 
 Mr. Freeman, who was employed in the 
 office of the Superior Court, was copying the 
 list of cases handed in by the lawyers, to be en- 
 tered on the new docket. Many of them were 
 badly written, and he applied to me frequently 
 to learn the names of parties. But at last, his 
 patience about gone, he said to me : " You would 
 
 be a d-^ good fellow to go to Egyj^t, and 
 
 read the hieroglyphics. If I was a merchant 
 and they sent me such writing, I would send it 
 back and ask them if they meant to insult me ; 
 and as for that T., he 's my hete noire, and if I 
 catch him on the Common, I '11 lick him." I 
 told Mr. T. of it, and he repeated the story in 
 court to the members of the bar, to their great 
 amusement. 
 
 When I first entered the office there was a 
 large stable on Endicott Street called the " Mas- 
 sachusetts Stable," and it was the only large one 
 then in Boston where horses were broug-ht in 
 from the country for sale. James L. English, 
 David S. Greenough, and Edward D. Sohier, 
 who at that time wore the drab English cloth
 
 LEGLE JOCKEYS. 195 
 
 coat, were accustomed to go every spring to this 
 stable to look over horses. On a certain spring 
 day, they went down as usual, and a new hostler 
 was there. As they were going out, the new 
 hostler said to one of his companions, " Who 's 
 them, John ? " 
 
 " Ah ! bless your soul, don't ye know them ? 
 them 's the legie jockeys."
 
 VI. 
 
 OBITER DICTA. — PART H. 
 
 Mr. R., in addressing a jury, in a case where 
 the owner of a cow sued the pound-keeper for 
 damages to his cow, which was hurt while in 
 pound, said : " Gentlemen, the pound should be 
 a safe asylum, not only for the roaring bull, but 
 for the gentle heifer." 
 
 Soon after the death of my predecessor Mr. 
 Joseph Willard, Richard F. Fuller, a prac- 
 ticing lawyer, who had probably not heard of his 
 death, brought a suit in which the writ was 
 signed by Joseph Willard. After I was ap- 
 pointed by the Court to fill the vacancy till the 
 next election, a motion having been made to 
 dismiss the writ, Mr. Fuller asked leave to 
 amend by striking out Joseph Willard, and in- 
 serting my name, Joseph A. Willard, which 
 was refused. Then Mr. Fuller asked to amend 
 by inserting "A." between Joseph and Wil- 
 lard ; the Court smiled, and refused that also. 
 Then he offered to paste my name over that of 
 Joseph Willard, which was likewise refused, and 
 the case dismissed. ^ 
 
 ■^ To the lay mind this is said to be pointless ; therefore I
 
 A LEFT AXGLE. 197 
 
 A lawyer practicing at the bar brought ine 
 a deed to copy in which was the following : 
 " Beginning at a certain point and running 
 forty rods to a stone, then turning at a right 
 angle and running forty rods to a post, then 
 turning at a left angle," etc. 
 
 The same lawyer was trying a case before 
 Judge Lord in which there were two witnesses 
 of the same name. One of them belonged in 
 Boston, the other in France. In examining 
 one, the answers were not according to his ex- 
 pectations, he having evidently mistaken the 
 witness for another person. So to avoid confu- 
 sion he asked him : " Where do you live ? " 
 The witness answered : " In Boston." " Oh," 
 said the counsel, " I thought you was the Peer 
 [Pierre] Dubois who lived in Bordux [Bor- 
 deaux]." 
 
 The same counsel in commenting on the tes- 
 timony of a witness, said : " Gentlemen of the 
 jury, I ask you not to believe a word he has 
 said ; look at him, where he comes from, the 
 very purloins of North Street." 
 
 The same counsel, trying a case before Chief 
 
 state that the signature of the clerk is the foundation of the 
 writ, and the writ became at the death of Joseph Willard, Esq., 
 notliing but a blank piece of paper, being' issued after liis 
 death, and this shows the devices of a lawyer to maintain his 
 suit. A lawyer will appreciate it without this explanation.
 
 198 VlUTElt DICTA. 
 
 .lustico Rrimham, insisted upon asking' questions 
 wliicli the Cliief .Iiistice had r('})eatedly ruled 
 
 out. The Chief Justice said, "Mr. , you 
 
 don't seem to take any notice of my ruling." 
 "■ I ask your honor's apology," was the re])ly. 
 
 An action of contract was tried in the Court 
 of Common l^leas, before Mr. Justice Hoar. 
 Mr. Edward Y. was for defendant, and Mr. 
 M. S. C. for plaintiff, the defense minority. 
 After the plaintiff's case was proved, the de- 
 fendant's older brother took the stand and 
 testified as to the age of the defendant. His 
 testimony, if believed, proved the defendant to 
 have been a minor at the time the debt was 
 contracted. 
 
 Mr. C. was often somewhat under the in- 
 fluence — it is difficult to say of what — and, as 
 counsel then sat while examining witnesses, 
 C. was seated with one leg over the other, 
 swinging it to and fro, and proceeded to cross- 
 examine in this manner : — 
 
 C. : " Witness, where were you when your 
 br'er was born ? " 
 
 Witness : " I was about the farm." 
 
 C. : " But where were you ? " 
 
 W^itness : " I might have been hoeing pota- 
 toes or corn." 
 
 C. : " Yes, sir, I know you might have been
 
 AN INNOCENT OLD LADY. 199 
 
 doing a good many tilings, but ttihere were 
 you?" 
 
 Judge Hoarf " Mr. C, what is the object of 
 this minute examination?" 
 
 C, rising and hokiing on to the rail in front 
 of the clerk's desk to steady himself : " May it 
 please the Court, I wish to as'tain whetli' th' 
 witness was merely 'bout there, or wheth' he 
 was 'njoying the festivties o' th' 'casion." 
 
 Judge Hoar : " You can't ask that." 
 
 C. steadied himself for fully a minute, looked 
 the judge straight in the face, and without say- 
 ing a word more took his law books imder both 
 arms and staggered out of the court room. I 
 never saw him afterwards. 
 
 A case was on trial in which several plain- 
 tiffs were suing the Allan line of steamships 
 for furnishing bad food, dirty berths, and gruel 
 which made them sick. For the defense a num- 
 ber of respectable witnesses were called, who 
 said that they had plenty of good bread, tea, 
 coffee, etc. An elderly lady said she had her 
 grandson with her, ten years old, and that they 
 had " a plenty of good bread, tea, coffee, and 
 meat." 
 
 " Did you eat the gruel ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Did the boy also ? "
 
 200 on ITER DICTA. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Was it good ? " 
 
 "Yes." * 
 
 " TIacI yoii enough ? " 
 
 " Quite sufficient, and I 'm going back in the 
 same ship some da}^" 
 
 This testimony was so strong that the plain- 
 tiff's counsel thought he suspected something, so 
 he cross-examined quite severely, and the more he 
 interrogated the stronger her evidence became. 
 
 " You are going back some day ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "By this line?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "The Allan Company are going to give you 
 a free passage ? " (tentatively). 
 
 With the utmost naivete., the old lady ex- 
 claimed very innocently, " Are they ? " 
 
 The tone and inflection cannot be given, but 
 it floored the plaintiff's counsel, and he cross- 
 examined no more. 
 
 In closing an argument before a jury, and 
 commenting on the testimony of a witness, a 
 member of the bar once said : " Such testimony 
 was never heard, posterior, anterior, or before." 
 
 The same gentleman, in introducing Mr. 
 John E. Fitzgerald to an audience, said : 
 " Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce
 
 FIXING A DATE. 201 
 
 to you the celebrated young orator, John E. 
 Fitzgerahl of Boston, whose voice has so often 
 resounded through the archives of Faneuil 
 Halh" 
 
 At the general calling of the docket at the 
 April term of 1889, number one, an action which 
 had been on the docket for thirty-one years 
 was dismissed. 
 
 Some strange scenes occur on these occasions. 
 
 The clei'k caUed a case, vs. , K. for 
 
 the defendant. Mr. K. : " I don't know any- 
 thins: about that." The clerk : " Your name is 
 on the docket." Mr. K. : " Some mistake." 
 The clerk got the writ and papers, and read 
 from the files : " Enter my appearance for de- 
 fendant. K." — in his own handwriting. (Fun 
 among the bar, in which K. took no part.) 
 
 In a trial for damages against the West End 
 Railroad, a witness, on his examination in chief, 
 testified that it happened on a certain day. On 
 the cross-examination, the following dialogue 
 took place : " Are you sure when this acci- 
 dent occurred? " " Yes." " When? " " In the 
 spring." " Might it have been in April ? " 
 " Yes." " In June ? " " Yes." " In August ? " 
 " August ain't spring." " Should you be sur- 
 prised if it was a year ago ? " " No." " Two 
 years?" "No." "Five years?" "No." "Sev-
 
 202 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 onteen years?" "No." "And believe it?" 
 " No ; 1 might not be surprised, but I don't be- 
 lieve it." "When was it?" "In March." 
 "Whioh March? first, second, or third?" 
 " One of 'em." " Which ? " " First March." 
 And the fact was so. 
 
 An action was brought by the heirs of a de- 
 ceased woman to recover -f 6000 which the de- 
 fendant claimed as a gift of the deceased, who 
 was his sister. The defendant's counsel in argu- 
 ment said his client claimed it under the motto 
 of the Municipal Court of the city of Boston, 
 to wit : " Suwn cuique.'' The plaintiff's coun- 
 sel, in reply, said his clients claimed it under 
 the motto of the Probate Court, to wit, " Deo 
 animam hmredihus hona^ 
 
 In 1874, a leading member of the bar brought 
 into the office a petition, stating in substance 
 that a widow owned a policy of insurance on the 
 life of her late husband, for 15000, payable to 
 her at his death ; that after the proof of his 
 death she was informed by the company that it 
 would be necessary to get the receij^t of the 
 
 executor ; that the petitioner went to , a 
 
 lawyer, and gave him a power of attorney, au- 
 thorizing him to get the money ; which power 
 was shortly afterward, at her request, returned 
 to her. She also requested the attorney to deliver
 
 EXTORTIONATE CHARGES. 203 
 
 up the policy to her, whieli he refused ; that the 
 attorney paid her |100, and tohl her she could 
 have more when she wished it ; that shortly after, 
 she went to the lawyer, who presented her with 
 a bill of $703, — 1269 for advice and services, 
 and tf 434 for commission and collection. Con- 
 sidering- this extortionate, she went to the mem- 
 ber of the bar who presented this petition ; the 
 petition closed by stating- that if it shoidd appear 
 that the party had been guilty of this alleged 
 misconduct, he be removed from the bar. Know- 
 ing the respondent somewhat, and thinking 
 well of him, I asked the counsel who brought 
 in the petition to let me have it, and see if I 
 could n't arrange it without bringing it to the 
 attention of the Court, to which he assented. 
 The respondent, being sent for, came in and jus- 
 tified. I said to him that if that was all he had 
 to say, the petition might as well be entered. 
 He asked me what I thought he ought to do. 
 I told him it was not for me to advise him, 
 but if I should give him any advice, it would 
 be to cut clown his bill certainly one half. He 
 said he should not do that. I then asked him 
 if he would refer it to such person as I might 
 appoint. He said he would. I told him I would 
 confer with the other side, which I did, and he 
 
 agreed to do the same. I then selected Mr. , 
 
 who heard the parties, and reduced the charges 
 to about $300.
 
 204 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 Some years after, in a case in which an ac- 
 quaintance of mine was one of the parties, wouUl 
 not the following, by the same attorney, be con- 
 sidered an act of sharp practice ? lie recov- 
 ered a judgment against a defendant who was 
 defaulted by accident, and got an execution 
 against him. The defendant came to me, and 
 said it was a mistake, and determined to peti- 
 tion for review, and did so. The Court ordered 
 the execution superseded, and a notice to be 
 issued to the plaintiff. While the proceedings 
 were going on, defendant's counsel wrote a letter 
 to this attorney stating what was being done, 
 and asked him, as a matter of courtesy, to hold 
 the execution for a short time until he could get 
 out the supersedeas^ stating that the defendant 
 was financially good, and liad plenty of property 
 to levy on. This letter was sent by the defend- 
 ant, who, on arriving in the attorney's office with 
 it, found there an officer. The attorney read the 
 letter, and turning to the officer said : " Mr. Offi- 
 cer, levy this execution and collect immediately." 
 
 In an action against the Boston and Maine 
 Railroad, to recover damages for a broken arm, 
 the cross-examination of a physician was as fol- 
 lows : " How much is your bill ? " " Two hun- 
 dred dollars." " How much a visit?" "Two 
 dollars, at his house." " How many visits ? "
 
 A PRUDENT PHYSICIAN. 205 
 
 " One hundred and twenty." " How many at 
 your house ? " " Forty." " How much at your 
 house?" "One dollar." " That is $240, and 
 $40, $280 ; do you often get up as high as that 
 for a broken arm ? Have you sent your bill ? " 
 " No." " Are you waiting to see how this case 
 comes out ? " " Yes." 
 
 In an action of contract to recover $300, the 
 parties were all Hebrews. Plaintiff's counsel, 
 examining defendant B. : " Mr. B., was Mr. 
 
 in your employ ? " " No, sir." " Never ? " 
 
 " No, sir." " Did n't he work for you for a 
 year ? " " No, sir ; he loaf about the shop." 
 " Did you write that letter ? " (showing it.) 
 "Yes, sir." Counsel read the letter, in which 
 
 it appeared that the witness recommended 
 
 as a good man who had been in his employ a 
 year. " Now, sir, did you write that letter ? " 
 " No, sir." " Did n't you say a minute ago that 
 you did ? " "I no compose him, I coj)y him." 
 
 I called a case and said, Mr. and Mr. 
 
 Sanford. Sanford : " Wio am I for ? " I : " I 
 think you ought to know your own client." 
 Sanford : " I move for a default." I : " You 
 are for defendant." Sanford : " Ah, then 1 
 move for dismissal." 
 
 A ship lien case was called. No response. I 
 called, " Dismissed." Some one arose. "Please
 
 206 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 the Court, I should like to have that case stand." 
 The Court : " How long since anything has been 
 done, Mr. Clerk ? " Clerk : " About three years, 
 your honor." Counsel : " The ship has been 
 away, your honor, and if she returns, we will 
 enforce our lien." Court: " What says the other 
 side?" Counsel: " Oh, we control both sides, 
 your honor." Court : " Oh, well, if that is the 
 case, it may stand." 
 
 Gage wished a case continued, as one of the 
 parties was guilty of embezzlement, forgery, 
 perjury, or something of the kind, and he wished 
 to ascertain which of these before he went to 
 trial. 
 
 " Is that your son's signature ? " "I don't 
 know." " How long have you known him ? " 
 " About twenty years." " Did you ever see 
 him write his name? " " Yes, sir." " Does this 
 look like his signature ? " "I don't know." 
 "What is your impression?" "Haven't got 
 any." 
 
 To son : " What is j^our business ? " " Res- 
 taurant." " You ran one for yourself in 1885 ? " 
 "Yes, sir." "Then for L. M. Wyman?" 
 " Yes, sir." " What are j^ou doing now ? " 
 " Managing a restaurant." " Who for ? " " L. 
 M. Wyman." " Who is he ? " " He is L. M. 
 Wyman." "Your aunt?" "No." "Cousin?"
 
 GOOD GROUND FOR DIVORCE. 207 
 
 "No." "Uncle?" "No." " Any relation ? " 
 " Don't know." " Then you don't know your 
 relations ? " " No." 
 
 A breach of promise case was on trial, and 
 the defendant's counsel had his photograph, and 
 asked the plaintiff's counsel if he wished to see 
 it. He said : " Yes." The judge said : " Is 
 it a part of the case for plaintiff to show that 
 she lost a handsome man?" "When did you 
 first like him ? " "I always liked him." " But 
 the second time he came your affections sud- 
 denly sprang into an ardent and vigorous 
 growth ? " " Yes." 
 
 A member of the bar was asked if epilepsy 
 was n't a good ground for divorce. " Epilepsy ? 
 No ; why should it be ? " " Why, it 's lack of 
 support, ain't it ? " 
 
 William Gaston was governor of Massachu- 
 setts. His son, William A., was afterwards 
 colonel on Governor Russell's staff. E. Rock- 
 wood Hoar was Judge of the Court of Common 
 Pleas and afterwards of the Supreme Judicial 
 Court. His son, Sherman Hoar, was a member 
 of Congress. Samuel Hoar, another son of the 
 judge, was trying a case ojDposed to young Mr. 
 Gaston when the following occurred : —
 
 208 oil ITER DICTA. 
 
 INIv. Samuel Hoar to witness : " Have you 
 talked over this matter ? " 
 
 Witness : " Yes, sir." 
 
 Mr. Hoar : " Who with ? Governor Gaston 
 or Colonel Gaston ? " 
 
 Witness: "Both." 
 
 When young- Mr. Gaston was examining a 
 hostile witness he asked : " Have you talked 
 over this matter? " 
 
 Witness: "Yes." 
 
 Mr. Gaston: "Who with? Judge Hoar, mem- 
 ber of Congress Hoar, or " — 
 
 Mr. Samuel Hoar (arising), " Plain practi- 
 tioner of law." 
 
 An action was brought to recover ilO,000 
 damages for carelessly dropping a bale of hay 
 from a loft, ten or fifteen feet from the floor, 
 whereby plaintiff was permanently injured. De- 
 fendant answered as to the merits, and in addi- 
 tion pleaded a release signed by the plaintiff, in 
 the sum of $500, from all claims against the 
 defendant. Plaintiff replied that he was igno- 
 rant of what he signed, and if he signed it he 
 must have been intoxicated at the time. Evi- 
 dence was put in as to the merits of the case, 
 and also as to the release. As the defendant's 
 counsel was about to argue the case, he handed 
 to the Court prayers for instructions to the jury.
 
 ^.V ACT 1 ox FUR DAMAGES. 209 
 
 The judge looked them over and handed them 
 to the plaintiff's counsel. He looked them over 
 hastily and was about to hand them back to the 
 Court when he thought he would examine them 
 a second time ; he then found tliat the last 
 prayer requested the Court to rule that the 
 plaintiff could not recover, as he could not keep 
 the $500 and proceed with the trial. Having 
 read that, plaintiff arose, and taking a five hun- 
 dred dollar bill from his pocket offered it to 
 the defendant's counsel, who remarked that he 
 thought it too late. Plaintiff's counsel then read 
 to the Court from 112 and 145 Massachusetts, 
 that it was within reasonable time, even while 
 defendant was arguing. Whereupon plaintiff 
 tendered the money again in open . court, which 
 defendant neither accepted nor refused, but pro- 
 ceeded with his argument. The plaintiff then 
 argued his case, and the jury returned a verdict 
 of $2500 for the plaintiff, the defendant forth- 
 with filing a motion for a new trial. 
 
 An action was brought against the city of 
 Boston for want of a railing on a narrow streefe 
 on each side of which was water. A horse with 
 a wagon attached had backed over the bank into 
 the water, throwing some of the occupants into 
 the mud and damaging their dresses. A wit- 
 ness testified that he cut the traces and breech- 
 ing, got the horse out, took a stick, and, to use
 
 L'lO OBITER DICTA. 
 
 his own words, " Give it to liini, got a meal- 
 bag unci put it on his back, and trotted him 
 home as fast as he could." Counsel: "Why 
 did you whip him, and trot liini fast?" Wit- 
 ness : " I was afraid he would drop if he was n't 
 kept goin'." 
 
 In a case in which Harvard College was a 
 party, N. St. John Green was junior counsel 
 with Mr. Butler ; and E. R. Hoar was for the 
 College. Mr. Hoar asked Green : " How is it 
 that Butler knew the locations so well about 
 Cambridge ? " Green : " I went up to Lowell 
 Sunday, and told him all about them." (Green 
 was a native of Cambridge.) Mr. Hoar: 
 " Was that fair, Mr. Green ? Was not Harvard 
 your Alma Mater ? " " Yes," said Green, " but 
 
 a d d cruel one." Green was rusticated 
 
 while there. 
 
 During the trial of a case brought against the 
 master of a vessel for not providing anti-scor- 
 butics, Mr. Mackie, counsel for the plaintiff, in 
 addressing the jury, said that it was in evidence 
 that scurvy was not now (1850) known in the 
 merchant service or navy. A juror spoke up, 
 saying : " I want you to know that I am a 
 religious man, and you must speak the truth. I 
 have been ashore two months and a half, and I 
 have the scurvy in my legs now." 
 
 In a case against the Boston and Albany Eail-
 
 IRISH STEW. 211 
 
 road, Governor Long, appearing for the plaintiff, 
 after his argument handed a number of prayers 
 for instructions. Judge : " These prayers seem 
 to be a repetition of your argument to the jury." 
 Governor Long : " I don't think so, your honor." 
 Judge : " I do." Governor Long : " A differ- 
 ence of opinion." 
 
 In the case of vs. the Allan Steamship 
 
 Company, the following occurred : '' You said 
 there was a person very sick?" "Yes, sir." 
 "Who was it?" "A woman." "Some one 
 you had known in Galway?" "Yes, sir." 
 " Who was she ? " " My wife." 
 
 A wag named Holden, whom I knew in Cam- 
 bridge, was met by a man who asked him : 
 " Can you tell me where the Probate Court is 
 held?" Holden replied: "You should have 
 said, ' Can you tell me where the Probate 
 Court is Holden?'" 
 
 A tailor w^as appointed a constable, and went 
 to the book of forms and made a verhatim copy : 
 " I this day attach, etc., etc., and I give him a 
 summons in hand (or I arrested him and held 
 him to bail, as the case may be)." 
 
 In the case against the Allan Steamship Com- 
 pany. " What did you have to eat ? " " Irish 
 stew." "Who called it Irish stew?" "The 
 s^eicard."
 
 '2\'J OlilTKH DICTA. 
 
 " What did you do when at home ? " " Fish- 
 ing and weeding." " Did you ever go to sea?" 
 " Yes, sea all the time." " Did you go to sea 
 to weed?" "Yes." "Seaweed?" "Yes." 
 
 Many lawyers after the evidence is in are in 
 the habit of handing to the judge a number of 
 written prayers for instruction to the jury. In 
 some simple cases it was very annoying to 
 
 Judge . and finally he said to two young 
 
 men, both of whom had handed him a long list 
 of prayers : " You can keep on handing me 
 these prayers for instructions if you choose, but 
 if I should give these instructions to tlie jury 
 which you ask for, your verdict wouldn't be 
 worth anything." 
 
 In quite a simple case, Thomas E. Barry 
 handed to the Court some written prayers for 
 instructions. Judge : " It has been the practice 
 for some years in every simple case to hand the 
 Court prayers for instructions ; I think they are 
 better honored in the breach than in the obser- 
 vance." Then W. H. H. Andrews, the oppos- 
 ing counsel, handed in a number more. This 
 broke his heart. Judge : " I will let your 
 requests lie on my desk, and after you have 
 argued, proceed to charge the jury." 
 
 A case was on trial in which plaintiff claimed 
 damages for being run into and having his back
 
 DEMONSTKATIVE EVIDKXCK. 213 
 
 broken. The defendant admitted the injury, 
 but denied liability. The plaintiff's little boy, 
 nine years of age, who sued by his prochein ami, 
 was brought into court lying on his belly on a 
 small frame which was placed on a table. He 
 rested his breast and shoulders on his elbows, 
 having no control of, and no feeling in, any 
 portion of his body, below his shoulder blades, 
 and the physicians testified that not only were 
 his vertebrae broken, but that the spinal cord 
 was severed. He was a bright colored boy, 
 and could not, nor probably did he, realize his 
 situation. He laughed and played with some 
 toys that he had before him. One of the wit- 
 nesses for plaintiff testified that an agent or 
 detective of the West End Road induced him 
 to go to the office of the West End Road, and 
 stay there, telling him that he (the detective) 
 would make it all right, but that he became 
 tired of waiting and went and told plain- 
 tiffs father. On cross-examining the wit- 
 ness, Dickinson, attorney for the defendant, 
 prodded him so that he provoked him. Dickin- 
 son asked him to come off the witness stand, to 
 go into the room, to stand up alongside of him 
 (Dickinson), and to push him around the way in 
 which the boy was knocked. Witness did so, 
 and gave Dickinson such a hard push that he 
 was whirled almost into the middle of the room,
 
 LM4 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 whereupon the witness retired to the stand. 
 AVhen Dickinson recovered, and as all were 
 laughing, he exclaimed, " Now that did you 
 good, did n't it ? You would have liked to 
 strike a little higher, would n't you ? " " Yes," 
 said the witness, " but you know I was represent- 
 ing a horse." 
 
 In a libel case against the " Boston Daily Ad- 
 vertiser," one of the counsel asked the witness 
 
 to spell a certain word. Judge : " No, we 
 
 don't keep a spelling-school here." 
 
 A teamster, who was testifying in a thin 
 voice which could hardly be heard, was asked 
 by the judge : " What did you say your busi- 
 ness is ? " Witness (very softly) : " Teamster." 
 Judge : " What do you do when you wish to 
 stop your horses ? " The obvious reply, and 
 what the judge expected, was that he would 
 say in a louder tone, " Whoa ! " to which the 
 judge would then say, " Then talk as you do 
 to them." Bat the witness said, " Haul up 
 my reins." The answer was so unexpected to 
 all that the audience tittered and the judge 
 wanted to. 
 
 In a case which was brought against the city 
 of Boston by a conductor of the West End 
 Road, for injuries received by striking against 
 a post which was erected outside of a building 
 as a barrier, the conductor standing on the
 
 USING DUE CARE. 215 
 
 running-board of the liorse-car, collecting fares, 
 the defendant's counsel, Colonel Hopkins, con- 
 tended that the conductor was not using due 
 care ; he ought to have looked as he rode along. 
 Plaintiff's counsel contended that he was sup- 
 posed to be safe without doing that, as he was 
 collecting fares and could not be all the time 
 looking out for his safety, and that the doctrine 
 contended for by the defendant would be more 
 than due care ; he illustrated it in this way : 
 " When Barnum's show was traveling tln-ougli 
 the State, one of his elephants fell through a 
 bridge, which was afterward repaired. Two 
 years afterward the same show was traveling 
 on the same road and when that elephant came 
 to the bridge he would not go over it, nor could 
 he be induced nor compelled to do so, and they 
 had to go round six miles to cross the river. 
 That elephant used due care, and that is my 
 brother's definition of due care." 
 
 A witness was asked, " Did you not say when 
 asked about this accident that the hack was 
 going like h — 1?" Witness: "Like what?" 
 Counsel : " Like h — ^1 ; don't you know what 
 I mean ? " Witness (bending his head and 
 thinking for a few seconds) : "• Oh, yes, I know 
 what you mean now." (Laughter.) Counsel: 
 " Well, did you use that expression ? " Wit-
 
 216 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 ness : " Yes, I guess I did." (Loud laugliter, 
 in wliicli the judge joined.) 
 
 A witness being called, I told counsel that he 
 had not been sworn. Counsel : " Oh, yes, he 
 was." Clerk, to witness : " \Vere you sworn, 
 sir?" Witness: " AVhat 's that?" Counsel: 
 " Did you swear this morning ? " Witness : " I 
 do occasionally." Counsel : " Oh, no ; did you 
 hold up your hand this morning and take the 
 oath ? " Witness : " Oh, no, sir." 
 
 A suit was brought against Thomas Dana, a 
 member of the Hollis Street Church, to recover 
 payment for putting in a memorial window in 
 the church. The late H. Bernard Carpenter 
 was then pastor, and Dana claimed that Car- 
 penter was to deliver lectures to pay for the 
 window. Mr. Howes, cross-examining Mr. Dana : 
 " Were you not advising with Mr. Carpenter 
 about lectures ? " Mr. Dana : " No, sir ; the idea 
 of my advising with Mr. H. Bernard Carpenter 
 about Greek and Latin things is absurd. I 
 should never do that with H. Bernard Carpen- 
 ter." Mr. Howes : " Did he deliver Latin lec- 
 tures?" Mr. Dana: "No, they were worse." 
 (Mr. Carpenter sitting in the court room, 
 smiling.) 
 
 An action of tort was brought against some 
 contractors who were building a drain, the earth 
 having fallen in and damaged the plaintiff. A
 
 A SENSITIVE LAWYER. 217 
 
 verdict was given for him, and the defendant's 
 counsel, a late governor, an excellent lawyer but 
 a very sensitive man, immediately filed a motion 
 for a new trial. Judge William Allen said he 
 would hear it at once, and it was heard very 
 shortly afterwards. For two or three mornings 
 after that, a gentleman representing the defend- 
 ant's counsel came to me and asked me each time : 
 " Has Judge Allen decided that motion yet ? " 
 I told him : " No." Finally he said, one day, 
 
 " Mr. , the defendant's counsel, has gone 
 
 home ; he says the verdict has made him sick, 
 and he will not come out until the motion is de- 
 cided." At the opening of the court that morn- 
 ing I said to the judge : " I shall be obliged to 
 call you doctor." He asked why. I said : " Mr. 
 
 is at home suffering from the effects of that 
 
 verdict, and will not come out until you have 
 decided the motion." He said : " Set the ver- 
 dict aside, and give him a new trial." I sent 
 word to the counsel, and he was down in the 
 afternoon. 
 
 In an action of Randolph vs. O'Riordan et 
 al., which was brought to recover damages for 
 personal injuries, the defendants were repre- 
 sented by two different counsel, their liability 
 claimed to be separate and distinct. After the 
 evidence was all in, there was some contention 
 between the counsel, carried on in an undertone,
 
 218 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 as to which one should begin to close. The 
 judge, noticing the delay, said: "What's the 
 matter, gentlemen ? " Mr. B. : " Your honor, 
 we can't seem to decide which one shall go 
 ahead." The judge : " Gentlemen, I don't 
 think it makes any material difference ; it is 
 something I cannot determine or order. I 
 think you must settle it between yourselves ; at 
 least I trust you will." Then the following 
 conversation was carried on between the counsel, 
 sotto voce. B., turning to H. : "I '11 toss up a 
 cent for choice." H. : " All right." B., pro- 
 ducing a nickel from his pocket, put it between 
 his hands, shook it, and said : " What '11 you 
 have, H. ? " H. : " Tail." B., opening his hand 
 and disclosing tail, said : " I have lost and you 
 have won, I '11 go ahead ; " and he did. The 
 judge, jury, and spectators all seemed interested 
 in the game, and when the result was announced 
 they seemed to know what had been going on 
 and how it came about. 
 
 When it was customary to call the docket on 
 the first day of every term there was much fun. 
 I called an action, Smith vs. The Butchers' and 
 
 Drovers' Bank. Judge remarked : " Eather 
 
 a bloody affair, Mr. Clerk." 
 
 Mr. Hodges was trying an action before 
 Judge Charles Allen, about a sale of cigars.
 
 AN IMPORTANT LAW BOOK. 219 
 
 " I understand, Mr. Hodges, this is a case of 
 cigars," said Judge Allen. " No, your honor," 
 cried Mr. Hodges ; " it is only a couple of boxes." 
 
 Judge ^y, meeting Mr. C, said : " Mr. 
 
 C, have you seen my new book ? " Mr. C. : 
 " No, sir ; who are the publishers ? " Judge 
 
 ^y : " Little & Brown." Mr. C. : " What 
 
 is the title ? " Judge : " Y 's overruled 
 
 cases." 
 
 In 1883, not long before his death, I rode up 
 town with Wendell Phillips, and had a pleasant 
 chat with him. We talked about old slavery 
 times, and among other things he told me that 
 while the hearing was going on in the court 
 room relative to the rendition of Sims, Mon- 
 cure D. Conway, a Virginian who was study- 
 ing at Cambridge, presented liimseK at the door 
 of the court room (where scarcely any of oiir 
 people were admitted), saying : " From Vir- 
 ginia," and was instantly admitted. Conway 
 circiUated the story rather freely and it got into 
 the newspapers, so that when he next presented 
 himself the officer replied : " No use, sir, you 
 can't go in, we know you.''^ 
 
 In an action of tort to recover damages for 
 injury to a boy run over some two years before 
 the trial, Mr. , the defendant's counsel, of-
 
 220 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 fered in evidence a letter written to him by his 
 client two years before the trial, relative to the 
 accident, stating what he would be willing to do 
 for the boy. The plaintiff's counsel very properly 
 objected. The Court said he was surprised at 
 the offer and the objection, and plaintiff allowed 
 it to go in, rather than have the comments of 
 the defendant's counsel on his, the plaintiff's, ob- 
 jection. I think that if such evidence can be 
 admitted there is no end to any hearsay testi- 
 mony. 
 
 There was an action of tort brought by Still- 
 man B. Allen, Esq., against Dr. Blaikie, the 
 
 pastor of the Presbyterian Church, for the 
 
 falling of a slate from some portion of the roof, 
 and in the course of the trial it did not ap- 
 pear precisely that it came from the roof of Dr. 
 Blaikie's church. The plaintiff got a large ver- 
 dict. The presiding judge then said (counsel 
 and jury being present) : " Gentlemen, I want 
 the stenographer's notes put into English as soon 
 as possible, so that I can read them, for if I am 
 not very much mistaken, there is not a particle 
 of evidence upon which this verdict can stand for 
 a moment." And afterward the verdict was set 
 aside upon a hearing. 
 
 Among the judges of the Court of Common 
 Pleas there was one, now deceased, famous for 
 setting aside verdicts without any hearing. Mr.
 
 THE GERM THEORY IN COURT. 221 
 
 brought an action of tort (I forget the 
 
 case) to recover damages for a client. The 
 jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff for 
 
 $1000. Upon reading the verdict, Judge 
 
 said : " Mr. Clerk, set aside this verdict, unless 
 
 plaintiff remits all over $300." Mr. rose 
 
 and said : " I decline to accept $300." Judge : 
 " Mr. Clerk, set aside this verdict unless the 
 plaintiff in five days remits in writing all over 
 $300." At the next trial the plaintiff recovered 
 a verdict for $1300. 
 
 I remember Mr. William J. Hubbard, in ar- 
 guing the motion for another trial, said, " May 
 it please your honor, I think this verdict should 
 be set aside toties quoties, a doctrine which the 
 Supreme Court has lately confirmed." 
 
 The immigrant suit for damages. An ex- 
 pert's opinion as to the origin of typhoid fever. 
 The trial of the case of Gannon vs. The Allan 
 Steamship Company was continued. The first 
 officer testified as to the cleanliness of the shij) on 
 the voyage complained of, and several steerage 
 passengers testified that their berths were clean 
 and the quality of the food furnished was good. 
 Dr. Draper said that the origin of typhoid was a 
 germ entering the system and poisoning it, the 
 poison producing fever. Counsel : " Is it neces- 
 sary that each attack of typhoid shall have a pre-
 
 222 OniTER DICTA. 
 
 vious germ to originate it ? " Dr. Draper : 
 " Yes." Judge Pitman : " How can you speak so 
 positively when you don't know the origin of the 
 germ? The first case could not have had a 
 germ from a previous case." Dr. Draper : 
 " Well, 1 don't know." Judge : '^ Then it 's 
 simply the dogmatism of science." 
 
 On cross-examination, Dr. Draper said he was 
 a strong believer in the germ theory. He 
 thought that no case of typhoid was contracted 
 except by germs of a previous case. In other 
 words it must be taken from a person already 
 afflicted, the germs being passed into the system 
 generally through the mouth by means of food 
 or water. No matter how filthy the quarters 
 were, or how rotten the food, if there were no 
 typhoid patient aboard, there would be no 
 typhoid contracted. That was his belief, though 
 he could not be absolutely certain. Medical 
 authorities differed on the subject. 
 
 When Mr. Dabney argued for the plaintiff, 
 he made the following remarks relative to it. 
 He said : " Suppose one of you gentlemen of the 
 jury found a spear of wheat or a stalk of corn 
 growing in yovir yard, and you should go to a 
 farmer and tell him of the fact and ask him how 
 it came there, he would say some one must have 
 dropped a seed there. Then you would ask him 
 where the seed came from. Could he answer?
 
 ^iV ATTORNEY'S TACTICS. 223 
 
 Or if you found an egg in your shed, some one 
 would say a hen laid it. Say you, Where did 
 the hen come from ? From some other egg. Yes, 
 but where did the first egg come from ? I don't 
 know. And which came first, the hen or the 
 
 In the case of Levy vs. Bornstein, tried in the 
 first session of the Superior Court in April, 1890, 
 a witness called by the defendant in the course 
 of his cross-examination testified as follows : — 
 
 "You have been a frequenter of gambling 
 saloons, have you not ? " 
 
 " I have not." 
 
 " Do you mean to tell me that you have not 
 frequented gambling saloons in Boston ? " 
 
 " I have been in a few times." 
 
 Defendant's counsel : " Wait a moment." 
 
 Witness : " I would just as lief answer the 
 question. I have been a few times in a gambling 
 house, not enough to call myself a frequenter." 
 
 " You have lost sums of money in gambling? " 
 
 " I have played cards, and won and lost." 
 
 " You have played faro ? " 
 
 " A few times." 
 
 Defendant's counsel : " Wait a moment." 
 
 Witness : " I have not the slightest objection 
 to answering. I have played cards with you in 
 a club-room."
 
 224 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 Pliiintlff' s coimscl : " That is true." 
 
 " And you have phiyed faro at a public 
 table?" 
 
 " I have." 
 
 " And you were expelled from that club-room, 
 when you played with nie, were you not?" 
 
 "No, sir, I didn't consider that I was. I 
 did n't like their society, and went." 
 
 " They would n't play cards with you ? " 
 
 " They always did." 
 
 " Not at the time you left ? " 
 
 " My last experience was playing cards where 
 you were concerned. I lost my money, and I 
 did n't like the company, and I left." 
 
 Plaintiff's counsel : " I know you were smart." 
 
 The witness : " Not as smart as you, for you 
 got my money." 
 
 This is not to give the whole facts, but enough 
 to show the tactics of the defendant's attorney. 
 
 Quite a celebrated case was Coyle vs. The 
 Fitchburg Railroad. The plaintiff, when a 
 passenger on the outward train from Boston to 
 Cambridge, was holding a newspaper with both 
 bands, his right elbow resting on the inner win- 
 dow shelf ; the first thing he felt was a blow on 
 
 the arm, and a man behind him said : "Mr. , 
 
 your arm is off." He lifted his arm and found 
 that the sleeve and one cord and a portion of
 
 A STRAXGE RAILROAD ACCIDENT. 225 
 
 tlie skin held it, the bone being entirely severed 
 uboiit half-way between the elbow and the 
 shoulder. A freight train had met this passen- 
 ger train, and the plaintiff claimed that a door 
 of the refrigerator car was loose, and as the car 
 passed some portion of this door — the hasp or 
 fastening — flew into the window and caused 
 the injury. 
 
 The witness who testified that he discovered 
 the arm was off said that there was a dent in 
 the side of the window, appearing to have been 
 made by some iron ; that he saw the refrigerator 
 door swinging, and that after the accident he 
 called the attention of the brakeman on the 
 freight car to it. One witness said that there 
 was a rocking or a jolting of the car at the 
 time when the injury occurred. The defendant 
 contended that the plaintiff had his arm pro- 
 jected out of the window, and some evidence 
 was introduced tending to show that the plain- 
 tiff's arm was resting at full length on the sill so 
 that some portion projected outside. Defendant 
 admitted the jolt, or jar, and the concussion. 
 He also admitted that the door of the freight 
 car was loose, and the swaying of the cars to- 
 gether. It did not appear that any mark was 
 made inside the car. Surgical evidence was 
 introduced to show that the arm could not have 
 been taken off unless something; solid was back
 
 226 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 of it to strike against. The defendant argued 
 that, as there was no dent inside, the injury was 
 done outside. The case was tried four times. 
 I was told that the plaintiff might have had a 
 verdict for $)5000 at one of the trials, but that 
 one juror would not give any more, while the 
 others wished to increase the amount, I was 
 also told that the plaintiff had eleven jurors at 
 each of the three trials. The fourth trial re- 
 sulted in a verdict for plaintiff for iGOOO. 
 
 Willis et al. vs. The Merchants' and Miners' 
 Transportation Company was an interesting 
 case, in which H. E. B. appeared for the plain- 
 tiff, and R. S. for the defendant. On August 
 28, 1886, the defendant's steamship Chatham, 
 going out through the Narrows, ran into the 
 yacht Edith, which claimed to be becalmed. 
 
 The plaintiff's brother, who was sailing in the 
 yacht, was thrown into the water by the collision, 
 and, after swimming some distance after the 
 drifting yacht, was drowned. The statute 
 giving damages for death did not apply, and 
 the action was for the common law damages 
 sustained by the deceased in his lifetime. It 
 was claimed that the deceased, in anticipating 
 the collision and in swimming afterwards, suf- 
 fered nine minutes. The jury at the first trial 
 gave the plaintiff a verdict for 15500, which was
 
 NINE MINUTES OF SUFFERING. 227 
 
 set aside by the Court, and a new trial granted 
 as to damages only ; and at the second, trial a 
 verdict was given for -19000. This was set aside 
 by the Court, and an entry was ordered to be 
 made on the docket that unless the plaintiff ac- 
 cepted $500 thei'e should be a new trial. 
 
 On the trial of this case, many witnesses 
 swore that there was a dead calm at the time. 
 A young lady, daughter of the keeper of Long 
 Island Light, said : "I left Long Island in a 
 boat with a shoulder-of-mutton sail, to go to 
 Eainsford ; before I got there I was becalmed, 
 and after waiting some time I was obliged to 
 take my oars ; the water was very smooth." 
 " How smooth ? " said the plaintiff's counsel. 
 Witness : " The extreme of smooth." On cross- 
 examination, Mr. Stone asked : " Was n't there 
 a ripple on the water ? " Witness : " No, sir." 
 Mr. Stone : " Are you sure there was no ripple 
 on the water ? " Witness, with great naivete : 
 " That was what I was waiting for." 
 
 Correspondence between two lawyers, relative 
 to the killing of a cow by a locomotive. 
 
 Letter of plaintiff's counsel to defendant's 
 counsel : — 
 
 " Dear Sir, — The cow is an animal in- 
 tended by nature to provide man with a most
 
 22S OBITER DICTA. 
 
 lii<;lily valued article of food duri'ncf its lifetime, 
 and at its death, when propeily killed, and the 
 carcass skillfully taken care of and divided, also 
 furnishes an important element for man's sus- 
 tenance. 
 
 " When, therefore, a railroad company throws 
 its locomotive engine, running at a high rate of 
 speed, recklessly against this unoffending and 
 docile animal, it is a perversion of nature, and 
 as such is highly reprehensible ; so that when, 
 on October 12 of the current year, one of your 
 engines destroyed the life of Bridget Fitzgerald's 
 valuable cow, your company was guilty of the 
 unnatural act aforesaid. This cow cost her, only 
 a few weeks before its decease, the sum of f 94, 
 and was worth that amount at that time, and I 
 should be inclined to waive any additional value 
 which might ordinarily be supposed to attach to 
 it because of her ownership thereof. She has 
 informed me of the acts of negligence on the 
 part of your company upon which she relies 
 for her case, and is of the opinion, with which I 
 agree, that you are liable to her for the value 
 aforesaid. 
 
 " Of course, acting in this matter as her attor- 
 ney, any suggestion which I might make you 
 would be entirely disinterested, and as such I 
 have no doubt you would treat my advice that 
 you pay the claim promptl3\
 
 BRIDGET FITZGERALD'S COW. ~'1S) 
 
 " Trusting that the matter may be adjusted to 
 our mutual satisfaction, I am," etc. 
 
 Answer of defendant's counsel : — 
 
 " Dear Sir, — Your favor of the 9th inst., to 
 the General Superintendent, has been handed 
 to me for reply. I have no record of any cow 
 having been killed on the 12th day of October, 
 belonging to Bridget Fitzgerald, but I find a 
 statement that on the 13th of October an ani- 
 mal of this species, supposed to belong to 
 Margaret Fitzgerald, lost its life at Cambridge. 
 
 " As the date is immaterial, and as Margaret 
 ' under any other name would ' probably ' smell 
 as sweet,' I shall take no advantage of these 
 discrepancies. 
 
 " I agree with you fully as to the high charac- 
 ter of the cow as a domestic animal, and as to the 
 tenderness with which it should be treated, and 
 the caresses which ought to be lavished upon it. 
 If this kind treatment is due, as you allege and 
 as I admit, from a railroad corporation which 
 has no interest in tlie animal, except the benevo- 
 lent interest which corporations alwaj^s take in 
 the property and rights of others, how much 
 more is it incumbent upon the owner of the 
 beast, to whom the Almighty has especially in- 
 trusted its care, to discharge that trust with 
 fidelity.
 
 230 OBITER DICTA. 
 
 " The cow, as you are aware, is not only gre- 
 garious, but is in the habit, when let loose, of 
 wandering about in pursuit of food and the gra- 
 tification of its desires. In a crowded locality 
 like tlie city of Cambridge this propensity is not 
 unattended with danger, and it is the duty of 
 the owner to take all proper means to prevent it. 
 This important duty was entirely neglected by 
 your client Bridget (or Margaret, as the case 
 may be). The cow escaped from the place pro- 
 vided for her in the kitchen of your client or 
 elsewhere. After aimlessly wandering about, 
 she tresjjassed upon the tracks of this company, 
 an offense punishable in the case of a human 
 being by fine, and often attended in the case of 
 a cow with more serious consequences, viz. the 
 loss of life itself. I understand that under these 
 circumstances this company is not liable, and I 
 have no doubt you will agree with me. 
 
 " You say that you are inclined to waive any 
 additional value which may be supposed to at- 
 tach to this cow on account of its ownership. 
 
 " Such liberality is a cause of suspicion, and 
 upon investigation I find that the claim of your 
 client was only $85, showing that in her judg- 
 ment the cow had depreciated since it had come 
 into her possession, in the sum of i9. Whether 
 this was due to improper care, or to the moral 
 effect of an intimate association with your client,
 
 BRIDGET FITZGERALD'S COW. 231 
 
 is immaterial. I think if you will inquire into 
 the facts of the case, you will see that I am 
 correct. If not, I should be happy to receive 
 additional information in regard to the matter. 
 " Very truly yours."
 
 vn. 
 
 IN RE-TORT. — PART I. 
 
 In trying a case against some corporation, 
 Mr. John S. Abbott said : " I wish to know if 
 any of the jury own stock in the defendant 
 company." Judge Dewey : " If any juror has 
 stock in this company he will signify it by ris- 
 ing." No one rose. Judge Dewey : " No juror 
 is so fortunate." Mr. Abbott: "Perhaps they 
 would be willing to take a little stock, so as to 
 get off from the jury." 
 
 Stillman B. Allen, as it is well known, got 
 remarkably large verdicts in actions of tort for 
 injuries. Mr. Sohier once asked me who was 
 in the next case. I said : " Stilbnan B. Allen." 
 " Oh," said he, " damnum ahsque injuria Allen." 
 
 E. W. Hutchins was trying a case as oppos- 
 ing counsel to Mr. Allen, and exhibited to the 
 jury a diagram he had drawn. Mr. Allen, look- 
 ing it over, said : " Mr. Hutchins, you are a 
 better lawyer than draughtsman." Mr. Hutch- 
 ins replied : " Then I am unlike you, for you 
 are a better draughtsman than lawyer."
 
 A GREAT GALE. 233 
 
 There was some dispute or contention as to 
 the weight of a derrick, and one of the contrac- 
 tors said he didn't get it down, because he 
 had n't men enough. Allen in closing gaid to 
 the jury (looking at one of the smallest on the 
 panel, a man who could not have weighed over 
 a hundred pounds), "• Mr. Juror, you are the 
 youngest and weakest-looking man on the jury, 
 but I think that you and another like you could 
 take that derrick up as easily as Samson did the 
 gates of Gaza, and carry it on your shoulders to 
 Charlestown Neck without stopping ; and if you 
 can't you had better go to the hills of New 
 Hampshire and recruit." 
 
 William B. Gale, in an argument for the de- 
 fendant in a suit for personal injuries in which 
 Stillman B. Allen was counsel for plaintiff, 
 warned the jury against the arts of Allen, who 
 had no superior at the bar in crying and begging 
 a verdict out of the jury. Allen in closing re- 
 marked that, tired as he was, he had listened to 
 the argument of his brother Gale for an hour 
 with the greatest interest. " I always like to 
 hear my brother Gale, as he has such a big, 
 strong, hearty, breezy voice ; but I remember 
 many years ago, when I stood as a boy on my 
 father's farm, I heard a great strong gale blow- 
 ing through the twelve sturdy oaks. It made a 
 good deal of noise among the branches, but the
 
 234 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 (jaJe soon subsided, the oaks stood up as strong 
 as before, and there was nothing of it left." 
 
 Stillman B. Allen and Thomas M, Babson 
 were trying a case, opposed to each other. Al- 
 len said the street was so and so, stating it. 
 Babson, taking a cent from his pocket, said : " I 
 bet you a cent you have n't been there for two 
 years." Allen said : " I was there yesterday 
 afternoon," took the cent, and pocketed it. 
 
 After asking several questions, S. B. Allen, 
 counsel for the defendant, continued : " Was a 
 list of creditors read at the first meeting when 
 young Carr was present?" The Court : "On 
 what ground do you ask the question, to contra- 
 dict the previous witness, or to show what in- 
 debtedness there was on the 15th of June ? " Mr. 
 Allen : " I offer it to contradict the witness." 
 The Court: "Then it is immaterial." Mr. Al- 
 len : " Then I offer it on the other ground." 
 The Court: "Then it is not competent." 
 
 Elbridge Gerry Austin was an aristocratic 
 and somewhat irascible man. Shortly after I 
 commenced duties in the office, he left Boston 
 and went to California. Law prices ruled 
 quite high then in California. A commission 
 was sent out from our office to take the deposi- 
 tion of a witness in San Francisco. Austin took 
 it, and the charge here would not be over
 
 BOSTON MEANNESS. 235 
 
 He charged i50, and the Court cut him down to 
 815. He wrote Lack a letter to the office, stat- 
 ing- that he supposed he shoukl have to take it, 
 
 but that it was another specimen of the d 
 
 Boston meanness. 
 
 I have before spoken of Colonel Meacham, the 
 horse-dealer. A little incident once took place 
 between him and Charles P. Curtis, Esq. Mr. 
 Curtis had a low two-wheeled chaise, and a roan 
 mare which he had owAed some time, and which 
 stood quietl}^ while he was getting in and out, 
 and was also a good traveler. She became lame, 
 and Mr. Curtis borrowed a horse of a friend of 
 his, Mr. Lucius M. Sargent, Colonel Meacham 
 then kept a stable in Haymarket Square, and 
 was a strikino- fiorure in his blue coat with brass 
 buttons, black trousers, buff vest, and very high 
 collar. Mr. Curtis drove down in front of the 
 stable, and Colonel Meacham appeared, and in 
 his pompous way, pulling up his high collar with 
 each hand, said : " What can I do for you, Mr. 
 Curtis ? " Mr. Curtis said : " Colonel, my roan 
 mare is lame, and I borrowed this horse of my 
 friend Mr. Sargent, and I like him very much. 
 I wish you would look him over, see if he is all 
 right, and tell me what I shall give for him, and 
 I will pay you the same commission as though I 
 bought the horse of you." The colonel looked
 
 236 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 in the face of the liorse (as it turned ont, for 
 identification), and shook his head very know- 
 ingly. Mr. Curtis exclaimed, " What is the 
 
 matter, Colonel?" Colonel M looked him 
 
 over again, and said, " Don't you buy him, Mr. 
 Curtis." " I am sorry to hear you say that," said 
 Mr. Curtis, " for I like him extremely ; what is 
 the trouble?" "He has fits, sir," said the 
 colonel. " Why, Colonel, how is it possible that 
 you can look a horse over in this way, and say 
 he has fits ? " The colonel straightened himself 
 up, and again pulling up his collar replied, " It 's 
 my profession, sir." The fact was that he had 
 sold the same horse a short time before, because 
 it had fits ! 
 
 This reminds me of an incident which my 
 father told me of the same Mr. Sargent, when he 
 was in Harvard. He was cnught, Jf a ffrante de- 
 licto, getting a horse up into the halls of an old 
 building of the college, called Massachusetts. 
 At the meeting of the faculty, Mr. Sargent, be- 
 ing present in answer to a summons, was asked 
 by the President : " Mr. Sargent, what excuse 
 have you to offer for getting a horse up into 
 the halls of ' Massachusetts ' ? " Mr. Sargent 
 replied : " I thought it no harm, Mr. President, 
 to get a horse up where so many asses have 
 been before."
 
 WET MEASURE. 237 
 
 Mr. A. and Mr. B. were ojDposed to each 
 other ill the trial of a cause. Mr. B. had a 
 very red face, and Mr. A. a very white one. A 
 witness testified that a certain measure was a 
 dry measure. Mr. B. (to A.) : " That is a 
 measure with which yoii are not acquainted." 
 A. : " Anybody looking" at our faces can tell 
 who knows what ivet measure is." 
 
 Mr. Somerby was once cross-examining a wit- 
 ness, who kept looking at Mr. Avery, the coun- 
 sel on the opposite side. Somerby : " Witness, 
 look this way, and don't be looking at Mr. 
 Avery all the time." Avery: '"■ If he 'd rather 
 look at me and finds it pleasanter, I know of no 
 reason why he should n't." Somerby : " No, let 
 him look at me ; I don't know what signs you 
 may give him." Avery : " Ah, Mr. Somerby, I 
 don't know how ; you know I was not educated 
 at your office." 
 
 Isaac O. Barnes was U. S. Marshal when I 
 was in the clerk's office. He was a tall, stout 
 man weighing two hundred pounds, with a 
 small, thin voice, and the contrast between his 
 voice and his size, which was heightened by 
 his emphatic, not to say profane speech, made 
 his remarks seem funnier, perhaps, than they 
 really were.
 
 238 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 There was a man named Noyes, who had 
 been fiic'tt)tum many years in the U. S. Court, 
 and, when jMr. Barnes was ajipointed, Noyes 
 went to him to retain his situation. Barnes 
 said to him : " What are you ? " " I am under- 
 bailiff," said Noyes. " What in h — 1 is under- 
 bailiff ? " '"' I sweep out the room, I make the 
 fires, I raise and lower the curtains at the com- 
 mand of Judge Sprague, whose eyes trouble 
 
 him, and when Mr. A or Mr. has a 
 
 case coming on next, I notify them." " Say 
 that last again," said Barnes. Noyes repeated 
 it. " That is," said Barnes, " you go and tell 
 the lawyers to attend to their business." 
 " Well, I suppose it amounts to that," said 
 
 Noyes. "That's a d good one," said 
 
 Barnes ; " I '11 hire you." 
 
 I was going up the court house steps one day, 
 when a colored man was washing them. Mr. 
 Barnes was going up at the same time. " What 
 is your name? " said Barnes. "Callahan," said 
 the man. "How strange," said Barnes, "that 
 
 you, a d nigger, should have an Irishman's 
 
 name." 
 
 When Mr. Barnes was taken ill, it was re- 
 lated that the doctor who felt of his pulse and 
 feet, in response to Mr. Barnes's question as to 
 how he was getting along, said : " Oh, Mr. 
 Barnes, you are doing very well ; no j^ersou ever
 
 THE RESCUE OF SIIADRACII. 239 
 
 died with such warm feet as you have." " Oh, 
 yes, there was one," squeaked Barnes. ^ Who ? " 
 asked the doctor. " John Rogei's," said Barnes. 
 At that time (slavery times) George Young, 
 the hotel-keeper, had a great many colored men 
 in his employ, and it was told of Barnes that he 
 would go into Young's Hotel and say : " George, 
 
 I shall be after some of your d niggers, so 
 
 you had better look out ; " and if there hap- 
 pened to be any runaway slaves there they 
 would leave ; but finally one named Shadrach 
 was taken. He was arrested by one Sawin, 
 who gave him into custody of Patrick Riley, a 
 deputy marshal. Shadrach was taken up into 
 the U. S. Court room, and in a very short time 
 it was noised about, and a crowd of eager col- 
 ored men, some forty or fifty in number, ga- 
 thered in the room. When the officers were not 
 particularly on their guard, his friends hustled 
 him out of the court room and all of them ran, 
 Shadrach leading, and the others following. I 
 saw and followed them thi'ough Bowdoin Square, 
 when I lost sight of them. He effected his 
 escape, and this might be called the first chap- 
 ter in Massachusetts under the then recent fu- 
 gitive slave law. Charles G. Davis, Esq., was 
 complained of for aiding in the escape ; he was 
 tried before U. S. Commissioner B. F. Hallett, 
 but was discharged.
 
 240 jx RE-Tour. 
 
 Mr. Cole, whom I have mentioned as the first 
 clerk in the office, was of fine personal appear- 
 ance, and dressed with elegance and care, and 
 was very proud of it. Mr. Sidney Bartlett once 
 gave a shock to his vanity in the following man- 
 ner : Cole was a witness, and after he had 
 given his testimony in chief, Mr. Bartlett upon 
 cross-examination asked : " What did you say 
 your name was, sir ? " " Cole, sir." " Ah, yes, 
 but your Christian name, sir?" "Raymond, 
 sir." " Ah, a very jjvetty name ; step down, sir." 
 
 Mr. B and Mr. L were once trying 
 
 a case in which the Curtises were opposed. At 
 the close of the day, one of the Curtises said : 
 
 " Mr. B , your conduct to-day has been very 
 
 discourteous, and if you wish for any confirma- 
 tion I will refer you to your colleague, Mr. L." 
 The next morning, the Messrs. Curtis received 
 
 a note from Mr. B which stated : " I have 
 
 referred the matter to my colleague, and he en- 
 tirely concurs with you in your opinion. Yours 
 truly, B ." 
 
 When Mr. Bartlett was about eighty-eight 
 years of age, he was trying a case in which Mr. 
 Burgess was the principal witness. Mr. Bur- 
 gess was about sixty years of age. In his clos- 
 ing argument Mr. Bartlett said : " I think your 
 honor should take Mr. B. 's testimony with 
 some grains of allowance, as his memory seems
 
 ^A" EXPANDER. 241 
 
 to be afflicted by the inherent weakness of old 
 age." 
 
 A near relative of Mr. Bartlett had the same 
 characteristic sang-froid. A yonng- man from 
 the country who was studying law with Mr. 
 Bartlett invited this person to go sleighing, and 
 he spelt it " slaying." An answer was returned 
 to the young man, stating that the person in- 
 vited had no desire to go on any " such murder- 
 ous expedition." 
 
 Joseph M. Bell, who was General Butler's 
 judge-advocate at New Orleans, and a man 
 of quick and ready wit, told me that he was 
 riding in a horse-car, in Boston, when he met 
 im old acquaintance whom he had not seen for 
 some time. They talked about the war, its 
 causes, etc., and the acquaintance asked Bell how 
 long; he thouirht it would continue. Bell said 
 he differed from some, and that perhaps it 
 might last two or three years. A woman sit- 
 ting by said, " Are n't you a contractor, sir ? " 
 " No, ma'am ; I 'm an expander." 
 
 Mr. E. M. B cited an authority, and 
 
 after reading it said : " My case follows directly 
 in point, legally, inferentially, consequentially, 
 and parenthetically." 
 
 He had a slight altercation with Judge Lord
 
 242 /A' RE-TORT. 
 
 about the law, and, after some sharp remarlcs on 
 both sides, they came to an understanding. 
 Judge Lord said : " If you had not been so 
 hasty, and had treated the Court with a little 
 more respect, we should not have had this little 
 
 misunderstanding." Mr. B put on his 
 
 glasses, looked up to Judge Lord, and replied : 
 '^ I trust that I have treated the Court with as 
 much respect as it has treated me." The judge 
 smiled, and said : " Proceed." 
 
 At the trial of Gordon vs. The New York and 
 New England Railroad, for personal injuries re- 
 ceived while driving under a bridge, over which 
 a train was passing, the plaintiff claimed among 
 other things that the space between the abut- 
 ments was too narrow for the highway. Mr. 
 
 G , for the plaintiff, used at the trial a large 
 
 wooden model of the premises made upon two 
 different scales, so that the model made the 
 bridge look four times as high, and the street 
 four times as narrow, in proportion, as they 
 
 really were. Mr. B , for the defendant, 
 
 commenting on the model in his argimient, said : 
 " Now, gentlemen, suppose in this case it was 
 very important for you to know exactly how my 
 
 brother G looked, and suppose you had 
 
 never seen him and I presented you with a plas- 
 ter model of his head ; but suppose, instead of
 
 A MISLEADIXG MODEL. 243 
 
 making" it exactly like him, I made his ears 
 four times as long, in proportion to their width, 
 as they really are; ou his own theory, that 
 would be the most accurate way of showing to 
 you his true character." 
 
 Aaron A. Bradley was a mulatto who came 
 from the South to practice law. In one case he 
 had, he told Mr. Knapp, clerk of the Justices' 
 Court, that he ^\'ished to be present at the taxa- 
 tion of costs. Mr. Knapp said he must file 
 a caveat. He was gone a few moments and 
 brought in a paper in which it was stated : 
 " Now comes the defendant, and files his Caveat 
 emptor^ 
 
 At another time he came into our office and 
 handed me a paper, which he wished me to file. 
 I read it, and it was substantially like this: 
 " Now comes the defendant and files his 'plxiis 
 darrina continuance.'^ I said, " This is not in 
 form ; I cannot take that ; what kind of a plea 
 is that ? " He said, " If you don't take that, 
 here 's another I want you to file." I said, 
 " Let me see it." " And now comes the plain- 
 tiff and moves for a writ of orditor querolous.'"' 
 " Well," I said, " I suppose you mean this for 
 a writ of audita qiierela, and this I think you 
 must move the Court for." 
 
 He once filed what he called a plea in abate-
 
 244 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 ment ; Robert Morris filed a replication ; where- 
 upon Bradley filed a paper to be used as an an- 
 swer in the event of the overruling- of the plea 
 in abatement. It began : " And now comes the 
 defendant and nisi jjiirious says," etc. 
 
 Once in some warm controversy with Robert 
 Morris he said : " Mr. Morris, j^ou tink to ele- 
 vate yourself by putting me down, but if you 
 do, you will turn from a nigger to a white man, 
 very quick." 
 
 He brought au action once on an account an- 
 nexed. Robert Morris defended it. " Where 
 are the credits you say you gave my client ? " 
 said Morris, none appearing in the declaration. 
 "What '11 you have, my lord?" said Bradley. 
 " Gosh," said Morris, " I wish I was your lord, 
 I 'd make you step round ; but where are the 
 credits ? " Bradley, being cornered, turned to 
 the Court and said : " Dis is de way I gib de 
 credit ; de count am two hundred dollars, de ab 
 damnum is one hundred dollars ; dat is de way 
 I gib him credit for de one hundred dollars." 
 
 After Bradley was expelled from the bar, by 
 the Superior Court, he petitioned the latter 
 court for a review, and the case went to the 
 Commonwealth Court on questions of law. He 
 undertook to go into facts. The Chief Justice 
 told Mr. Bradley he did n't wish for any facts, but 
 the law. Said Bradley : " His honor the Gov-
 
 A WALL-EYED \VJrNE:^S. 245 
 
 ernor of the Commonwealth [Governor Andrew], 
 when he was eonueeted with this case, tokl me 
 to send up all the facts I could get, but it seems 
 his honor the governor is of no validity in this 
 court." " Confine yourself entirely to the law," 
 said Judge Dewey. To this Bradley rejoined : 
 " I now by order of Court fall back on de cold 
 naked icy hand ob de law. There are gi-ave 
 accu-si-a-tions made against me." 
 
 After having been disbarrred he brought a 
 petition to be re-admitted. He began to read 
 his petition as follows : " Suffolk double s." 
 He said Mr. Andrew had assisted him ex gi'citio, 
 but he (Bradley) felt, " in de langwidge ob de 
 immortal bard, dat whoever would be free his- 
 self must strike de blow ; and so, your honor, 
 I have put myself in de eminent deadly breach." 
 
 Mr. Hallett said to a witness : " Have you 
 that wall [referring to a certain stone wall] in 
 your eye ? ' J. H. Bradley, standing by me, 
 said, " If he has, he is wall-eyed." 
 
 Lewis S. Dabney was a son-in-law of the late 
 Chief Justice Bigelow. While the Chief Justice 
 was on the bench, the Court decided a case by 
 the majority, and the Chief Justice gave a dis- 
 senting opinion. Afterwards a case was argued 
 to the Supreme Court, in which Mr. Dabney
 
 24 G j\ iii:-TOHT. 
 
 cited the opinion of the Supreme Judicial Court 
 in the former case for his hiw. Mr. Kichard 
 Stone cited the dissenting opinion of the late 
 Chief Justice. The Supreme Court overmled 
 the former case, and adopted the former dis- 
 senting opinion. Mr. Stone told Mr. Dabney 
 that he lost his case by not adhei'ing to the 
 opinion of his father in law. 
 
 Mr. N. B. B 1, a fine stalwart-looking man, 
 
 accidentally got a black eye. A few days before, 
 there had been a pugilistic combat between one 
 Dempsey and a man called The Marine, and the 
 
 latter got badly pounded. When Mr. B 1 
 
 came into his office, Mr. Charles Bartlett was 
 there, and a boy who had evidently been reading 
 the newspapers drew near to Mr. Bartlett and 
 asked, in a whisper : " Is that The Marine ? " 
 
 Mr. N. B. B 1 said as to a paper : " The 
 
 date is 1874." Mr. I. W. Richardson : " No, it 
 
 is 1873." B 1 : " So much the worse for 
 
 you." Richardson : " It may be, but give the 
 
 devil his due." B 1 : " Yes, sir ; you shall 
 
 be i^aid in full." 
 
 In a horse case, Mr. Swasey commenced a 
 cross-examination of a witness : — 
 " What is your name, sir ? " 
 " Patrick McSweeney."
 
 A WETERINARY STURGEON. 247 
 
 " What is your business ? " 
 
 " Weterinary sturgeon, sor." 
 
 " Where have you practiced ? " 
 
 " In the Unoited States and elsewhere." 
 
 " Where ? " 
 
 " On the loin of Cambridge and Sonierville, 
 sor." 
 
 In the same case Mr. Bryant offered some 
 evidence, to which Mr. Swasey, in rather a low 
 voice, objected. Mr. Bryant : " I don't quite 
 hear the melodious utterances of my brother 
 Swasey." 
 
 Before the war, I had a large collection of 
 autographs of distinguished men. After Gen- 
 eral Butler went to Fortress Monroe, I wrote to 
 him, asking him to send me one of his auto- 
 graphs to put in my collection. He answered 
 my letter in this way : " Dear Willard, you will 
 find my autograph on many of your old writs. 
 Yours truly, Benj. F. Butler." 
 
 General Butler was trying a case and Mr. 
 
 G g was opposed to him. The general was 
 
 whispering audibly with Mr. Washburne, his 
 
 junior. Mr. G g said he thought it was 
 
 not quite fair to whisper what was not intended 
 for the jury so loud, that not only the jury 
 must have heard it, but that he (G g), who
 
 248 IX RE-TORT. 
 
 was farther ofp, heard it also. Butler : " I am 
 sorry you have such loug ears." 
 
 Mr. Pelton and General Butler were trying 
 a case in which they were oj)posed to each other. 
 Pelton remarked : " In the magnificent wisdom 
 of Mr. Butler, he has chosen to " — Butler : 
 " I think the gentleman should not characterize 
 my remarks to the Court as magnificent wis- 
 dom." Pelton : "I beg pardon if I exceeded 
 the bounds of propriety." Butler, smilingly : 
 " Ah, yes, I saw you lost your temper a little, 
 and that is the precursor of another loss ; to 
 wit, your case." 
 
 A snit was on trial in which General Butler 
 was sued by a person to recover for services on 
 a ranch. The general asked a question of a 
 witness which I don't remember, but which was 
 in language somewhat nautical. The opposing 
 counsel said : " General, that is a little too nau- 
 tical ; we are ashore now." Butler : " I suppose 
 you think I 'm at sea." 
 
 General Butler tried a case before Judge 
 Merrick, who was of counsel for Dr. Webster 
 for the murder of Dr. Parkman. Professor 
 Horsford was on the stand as witness. Butler 
 treated the professor rather cavalierly, and 
 Judge Merrick asked Butler if he was aware 
 who was on the stand. Butler: "Yes, your 
 honor ; Mr. Horsford." Judge Merrick : " Pro-
 
 GENERAL BUTLER- S DROLLERY. 249 
 
 fessor Horsford, professor in Harvard Univer- 
 sity." Butler : " Ah, yes, your honor ; I never 
 knew but one professor at Harvard, and he was 
 hano-ed." (This was Dr. Webster.) 
 
 Mr. Lane claimed a trial. He said the case 
 had been postponed a number of times for this 
 same reason, the absence of Senator Jones of 
 Nevada, and the gentleman on the other side 
 (General Butler) had promised to have his 
 deposition here. Butler : " It has been taken, 
 but Senator Jones has lost it." Mr. Lane : "" I 
 don't know what business Senator Jones has 
 with his own deposition." Butler (with a most 
 droll expression) : " I know of no statute which 
 prevents Senator Jones bringing along his 
 deposition with him." 
 
 General Butler, who had drooping eyelids and 
 was nearsighted, was trying a cause in which 
 John P. Treadwell was opposed to him. Tread- 
 well, while reading law to the Court, inadvert- 
 ently turned towards the jury. Butler said : 
 " That will not do, brother Treadwell, reading 
 law to the Court and looking at the jniy." 
 When the general rose to reply and read his 
 citation of the law, Treadwell thought that 
 Butler was doing the same thing, and said : 
 " Ah, brother Butler, you are now doing what 
 you rebuked me for, reading law to the Court 
 and looking at the jury." The general, with
 
 250 /,V RE-TORT. 
 
 a most comical grimace, looking round to the 
 bar and the audience, said : " You can't tell 
 which way I am looking." 
 
 Richard M. Carroll, some time since, sued 
 Messrs. Rich and Stetson of the Howard Athe- 
 naeum for breach of contract. Mr. Carroll 
 alleged that he was hired by the defendants to 
 come on from New York, and to perform at 
 their theatre for the entire season ; that he 
 began to carry out his part of the contract and 
 performed for some time, when the defendants 
 refused to carry out tlieir agreement. The 
 result of this was a lawsuit ; and no doubt the 
 contest would have been close to see who should 
 win, but the morning when the case was 
 reached I rose and read an agreement signed by 
 the coimsel on behalf of their clients, wherein 
 it was agreed that the defendants should pay 
 the sum of '3^280 to the General Relief Commit- 
 tee for the benefit of the sufferers by a late fire, 
 and that such payment should be a final and 
 amicable settlement of all mutual claims be- 
 tween the parties to the suit. On the bottom 
 of the page in the handwriting of one of the 
 counsel were these words, " Go thou and do 
 likewise ; " certainly as good advice as lawyer 
 ever gave client. 
 
 Governor Andrew and P. W. Chandler were
 
 ''WHERE IS POLLY SMITH?" 251 
 
 trying a cause wherein a certain Polly Smith 
 was often mentioned as being an important wit- 
 ness. She seemed to be a mysterious sort of a 
 personage, and she did not appear, Mr. Chand- 
 ler in his closing argument, after a few remarks, 
 exclaimed, " Where is this Polly Smith ? " 
 Governor Andrew remarked rather quietly, 
 " She 's dead." Mr. Chandler, who was some- 
 what deaf, did not notice it, and in a short time 
 exclaimed a little louder : "I ask you again, 
 gentlemen of the jury, where is this Polly 
 Smith ? " Governor Andrew replied in a 
 louder tone, " I tell you she 's dead." Mr. 
 Chandler did n't notice that. As he approached 
 the close of his argument he said : " I ask you 
 for the third and last time, gentlemen, where 's 
 this Polly Smith?" Governor Andrew rose 
 and shouted in Mr. Chandler's ear, " I tell you 
 she 's deady " Gentlemen of the jury, " said 
 Mr. Chandler, " she never was b-o-r-n." 
 
 Mr. Chandler, being somewhat deaf, as I 
 stated, in trying a case with Mr. John P. Healy 
 said to a witness who was testifying in a very 
 low voice, " Speak louder ; my brother Healy 
 does not hear very well." 
 
 Charles H. C brought a suit in which 
 
 he and some half-dozen others were plaintiffs 
 against John Smith (a fictitious name) to
 
 252 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 recover money lost in certain 5'?msi-chance 
 transactions ; he prevailed, recovered the money, 
 and told his clients he was obliged to take for 
 the debt certain bonds which he was to hold for 
 two months to ascertain whether they would be 
 paid. When the two months expired, and the 
 parties came for their money, he told them that 
 another trouble had arisen, that a person in 
 Worcester had brought a bill in equity against 
 himself and Smith and the person who trans- 
 ferred the bonds, and that they might be obliged 
 to wait years until the bill in equity was decided. 
 A short time after, being at home one evening 
 with his wife and her brother, he said he would 
 have a cup of tea and then take a bath, and 
 wash out all his sins. He went up to his bath- 
 room, took a bath, came down to the sitting- 
 room entirely nude, and said : " Am I not clean, 
 and have n't I washed out all my sins ? Now I 
 am going out to show the people of Chelsea how 
 I washed them out." With great difficulty 
 they restrained him. At night he was a raging 
 maniac, and in a few days he died. The pre- 
 tended reception of the bonds was a fiction to 
 gain time, and the bill in equity was brought by 
 a fictitious plaintiff. 
 
 Linus M. Child : " Now the case of vs. 
 
 must be familiar to your honor." Judge :
 
 A PREMATURE EXCEmON. 253 
 
 " I am supposed to be familiar with all cases," 
 Child : " Yes, your honor, but if your honor 
 wants to hear me " — Judge : " I don't want 
 to hear you." Child : " Then [laughing] I 
 don't want to be heard." Judge : '' I don't 
 mean it in that sense ; you might lighten up the 
 dull routine of the court room by some pertinent 
 remarks." 
 
 Mr. Child trying a case for the plaintiff, 
 Nathan Morse for the defendant, to almost 
 every question Mr. Child asked, Mr. Morse 
 said, " I object." Judge Bacon sustained the 
 objection, and Mr. Child said, " I except." 
 Soon Mr. Child became quite impatient, and to 
 the next question he asked, Mr. Morse said : " I 
 object." " Ruled out, and I except," said Mr. 
 Child. Judge Bacon : " I don't say so." 
 Child : " No, your honor, but I thought you 
 would." 
 
 I was present one day at a trial in the United 
 States Court, where a case of barratry was being 
 tried, for criminally casting away a ship some- 
 where near the coast of Sumatra. Mr. Choate 
 pressed the captain of the ship as to what 
 another captain said about the plan of casting 
 her away. The witness hesitated, but, on being 
 more severely pressed, answered : " The captain 
 said we should never be found out, and if we
 
 254 7^- RE-TORT. 
 
 were, there was a lawyer in Boston named 
 Choate who woukl get us oft" if we had the 
 money in our boots." 
 
 Joseph M. Bell told me that when Mr. 
 Choate was in Augusta to defend Judge Davis 
 from charges of impeachment, or removal by 
 legislature, Mr. Choate was sick and a physician 
 was sent for. Among other things the doctor 
 
 remarked : " Mr. Choate, I think it a d 
 
 shame that party politics should remove judges 
 for no fault." Mr. Choate : " Doctor, I agree 
 with you in your very pious remark." 
 
 Some one was standing in the corridor near 
 the Supreme Court room talking with Mr. 
 Choate, and asked him what was going on in 
 the court room. Mr. Choate replied : " Mr. 
 Bartlett has the ear of the Court now." " How 
 is he?" asked the former. Mr. Choate, with a 
 very graceful movement of his right arm, 
 answered : " S-e-r-e-n-e." It is impossible to 
 describe this answer, in any manner, because it 
 is impossible to reproduce the rising inflection 
 of his voice, on the latter syllable. 
 
 I remember two imjjortant cases which were 
 tried in the Meionaon while the Superior Court 
 of the County of Suffolk was held there. One 
 was the case to recover some promissory notes, 
 purporting to be signed by one Tufts. The 
 action was brought by William L. Burt, after-
 
 A QUESTION IN GEOGRAPHY. 2oi> 
 
 wards postmaster of Boston. G. A. SoracvLy 
 defended. This was the first case in which 
 photographs of the notes were introduced. The 
 trial was before Mr. Justice Morton, late Chief 
 Justice of the Supreme Court. Mr. Somerby 
 objected to the introduction of the photographs, 
 but they were admitted, and Judge Morton's 
 decision was afterwards sustained by the Su- 
 preme Court. Mr. Somerby asked me what I 
 thought of the signatures. Ltold him I thought 
 they were genuine. " Pooh," he said, " when 
 they get their case in I '11 knock them to the 
 devil in five minutes." But the jury returned 
 a verdict against him in about thirty minutes. 
 
 The other case was Seccomb et al. vs. The 
 Provincial Insurance Company, to recover for 
 the loss of a ship which was insured to go to the 
 
 port of , or ports in Europe. She went 
 
 to Smyrna, took some troops to , and was 
 
 lost. The principal point upon wdiich the case 
 turned was whether Smyrna was regarded by 
 merchants and under writei's as a port in Europe. 
 Testimony that Smyrna was regarded as a 
 port in Europe was given by witnesses about 
 eqvial in point of numbers to those who testified 
 that it was regarded as a port in Asia. The trial 
 was before Judge Huntington ; Mr. Choate and 
 Mr. Homer were for the plaintiff, Mr. C. W. Lor- 
 ing and Mr. R. H. Dana for the defense. Both
 
 256 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 counsel were wary, and each on tlie rpn vivo to 
 get in all sorts of testimony. At one time when 
 Mr. Choate w^as a little off his guard, while con- 
 versing with his junior, Mr. Dana began read- 
 ing from a book, and Mr. Choate's junior called 
 his attention to it. " Stop, stop," said Mr. 
 Choate; "what have you tliere, sir?" "Why, 
 this is so and so " [stating the title of the book, 
 which named the principal ports in Eurojie and 
 Asia]. "Who are the publishers?" inquired 
 Mr. Choate. " The celebrated firm of Long- 
 man, Ilurst & Rees," replied Mr. Dana. " Is 
 it a good book ? " inquired Mr. Choate. " Yes," 
 said Mr. Dana, " none better." " Well, Mr. 
 Dana," said Mr. Choate, " if it is a good book, 
 I '11 buy it. I object to it, your honor." And 
 then in that indescribable manner of his he pro- 
 truded his under lip, and winked at me. The 
 book was ruled out. 
 
 Speaking of Mr. Choate reminds me that I 
 once overtook him, on Washington Street, and 
 when we reached Williams Court, I said: 
 " Let 's go through here, Mr. Choate ; it is a 
 short cut to the court house." As we advanced 
 a little way he looked at me and said : " Dis- 
 reputable but convenient." 
 
 Mr. Choate was about to leave Boston on a 
 trip to Europe in 18 — . A few days before he 
 sailed I wanted to see him, and, not wishing to
 
 LIBELOUS LANGUAGE. 257 
 
 interrupt him in a trial, I waited at the bottom 
 of the court house staii's. He came clown look- 
 ing very wan and weary, his circular cloak 
 thrown over his shoulders, and his neck wrapped 
 in a bandanna handkerchief. I said : " Mr. 
 Choate, I learn you are going to Europe ; I hope 
 you will have a very pleasant voyage, and return 
 much refreshed. Do you think you shall be 
 about here this autumn, for I want to see you 
 very much?" He put his arm around my neck 
 in the most affectionate manner, and patting me 
 softly said : " Mr. Willard, I expect to be 
 about here a hundred years." He died in Hali- 
 fax in about a week. 
 
 There was a long discussion on legal points 
 before Jvidge Metcalf one day, between Mr. 
 Charles G. Loring and Mr. Choate. As Mr. 
 Choate was about to reply to some remarks of 
 Mr. Loring, Judge Metcalf said : " I have been 
 sitting; with hammer in hand for the last two 
 hours to knock this case on the head." Mr. 
 Choate, who was for the defendant, said : "I 
 hope your honor will not hit the defendant." 
 
 There was a man named Atldns, a trader, 
 asainst whom one or two actions of slander 
 were brought every term. John C. Park was 
 his counsel, and though the amount sought to 
 be recovered was sometimes large, Mr. Park 
 would reduce the verdict to fifty or seventy-five
 
 258 IN HE-Tour. 
 
 dollars. Once he retained Mr. Choate, and in 
 this case the verdict against Atkins was for 
 fifteen hundred dollars. Then he went to Mr. 
 Park and said : " What can I call a man and 
 not be sued ? " " A number of things." " Can 
 I call him a fool ? " " Yes." " Can I call him 
 a jackass? " " Yes." " Can I call him a nin- 
 compoop ? " " Yes." A short time after, a 
 person who happened to be Mr. Park's client 
 came into his office, and brought him a letter 
 
 addressed to the client which read : " Mr. . 
 
 Dear Sir : You 're a d fool, a jackass, and a 
 
 nincompoop. Yours, T. J. Atkins." When 
 Atkins came into Mr. Park's office, Mr. Park 
 said : " I told you you could call a man those 
 names ; I did n't tell you you could write, so to 
 him." 
 
 Mr. Bell, son-in-law of Mr. Choate, told me 
 that Mr. Choate was very careless as to his 
 accounts. Mr. Bell was once in the outer office, 
 when Mr. P. came in and said, "I want my 
 bill, Mr. Bell ; I want to pay it." " What case 
 was that?" said Mr. Bell. " So and so," nam- 
 ing the case. Bell went into the inner office 
 and told Mr. Choate the facts and asked him 
 how much it was. He replied, " I 've forgotten 
 all about it ; I don't know what to charge." 
 And that was all the information Mr. Bell 
 could get. Mr. Bell made out a bill for $1000.
 
 A PERTINACIOUS PRACTITIONER. 259 
 
 Mr. P. took it, looked at it, and said : " Bless 
 my soul, I did n't think I should get oft" so 
 cheap," and drew his check for the amount. 
 
 Colonel Edward G. Parker, who was rather 
 pedantic, wrote a life of Mr. Choate. He was 
 relating to some parties an incident which 
 liappened in the third century B. c, about the 
 time of the death of Ptolemy III., and he ap- 
 pealed to John S. Holmes, who stood by, and 
 said : " Did n't he die about that time, John ? " 
 " Who 's that that 's dead ? " asked Holmes. 
 " Ptolemy III.," said Parker. " Good Lord," 
 said Holmes, stretching out his hands, "you 
 don't say he 's dead ! " 
 
 A Mr. E., wlio was practicing at the Suf- 
 folk bar in 1858, was very pertinacious. I 
 said one day to Mr. Choate : " Mr. E. always 
 seems to maintain his grip." " Yes," said Mr. 
 Choate, " he 's a bidldog with a confusion of 
 ideas." 
 
 The wind was blowing a gale, large branches 
 of trees were being snapped off, innumerable 
 articles flying about through the air, when Mr. 
 Choate, looking out of the back windows of the 
 Athenaeum, where Park Street Church and 
 Granary Burying-Ground were in fidl sight, 
 remarked to a friend : " I see amidst all this 
 turmoil our old friend the steeple of Park 
 Street Church stands unmoved, un terrified, and
 
 2(50 IX RE-TORT. 
 
 undismayed ; but all those [waving his hands 
 over the graves] lie safest through all this hurly- 
 burly." 
 
 Major Cobb having closed an argument, 
 Mr. E. G. Dudley, his opponent, remarked 
 among other things : " My brother Cobb has 
 made some rare remarks to you, gentlemen." 
 Major Cobb : " Some persons would say they 
 were well done." 
 
 Moses G. Cobb was examining a witness in a 
 cow case. The witness was asked how he could 
 tell the age of a cow, and kept referring to the 
 age of the cow about which the suit was brought. 
 Cobb : " I don't refer to this particular one, sir ; 
 I refer to the abstract cow ; the abstract cow in 
 her normal condition." Witness : " I don't per- 
 ceive any crisis for judgment." 
 
 Mr. Timothy Coffin of New Bedford, better 
 known as Tim Coffin, was famous for his at- 
 tempts to bluff the Court. One day with great 
 appearance of surprise and anger he said to the 
 Court : " Does your honor mean to say that the 
 testimony is thus [stating it] , and that you shall 
 rule the law so and so ? " " Yes, sir," said the 
 judge. After a moment's pause, finding he 
 could take nothing by his motion, he sat down, 
 saying, " I tliiuk so, too."
 
 A COMMON DRUNKARD. 261 
 
 Judge H. G. O. Coll)y, who was a})i)()into(l in 
 1845, rosiguetl in 1847, and died in 1853, was 
 at one time prosecuting attorney in Bristol 
 County. A man was complained of for being a 
 connuon drunkard. ]Slr. Timothy Coffin de- 
 fended. The evidence was that he drank six 
 glasses, of liquor a day. Mr. Coffin said he 
 thought that the prisoner ought to be discharged, 
 " for if drinking six glasses a day makes a man a 
 common drunkard, may the Lord have mercy on 
 brother Colby and myself." 
 
 Ex-Chief Justice Brigham told me tliis story 
 about Mr. Coffin. He (Coffin) was very anx- 
 ious to obtain a delay in a case which came up 
 one morning, and, after several ineffectual ap- 
 peals to the opposite counsel, made an affidavit 
 as to the severe exhaustion he was in, having for 
 many days and nights been in constant attend- 
 ance on his mother, who was very ill. After he 
 had read the affidavit, his mother, who happened 
 to be attending court without his knowledge, and 
 who was in the gallery, exclaimed so that all 
 heard her : " Timothy, how often have I flogged 
 thee for lying ? " 
 
 An action was brought for a technical assault 
 on board a steamboat. The plaintiff' testified 
 that, as he was about to be seated at the break- 
 fast-table, the defendant took him by the shoul-
 
 262 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 der and told him that was not the place for 
 him, but to go to the other place, and led him 
 along. Judge Pitman : '' What is the other 
 place ? " " Sometimes it is spoken of in a bad 
 sense." Mr. Daly, the defendant, was a short, 
 dumpy man. Mr. Collins, his counsel, asked the 
 plaintiff if it was not a colored waiter who put 
 his hand on his shoulder, instead of Daly. Wit- 
 ness : " I don't know." Mr. Collins : " Washing- 
 ton [the waiter], stand up." Washington, a 
 very stout colored man, about six feet tall, 
 stood up. Mr. Collins : " Now is n't that the 
 man who put his hand on your shoulder ? " 
 Witness: "I don't know." Mr. Collins: 
 " Can't you tell the difference between Wash- 
 ington and little Daly here ? " 
 
 B. F. Cooke was a practitioner, and once being 
 absent when his case was called, Mr. William 
 Brigham, who w^as on the other side, asked for a 
 non-suit, which was granted. Cooke was quite 
 a dissijiated man. He had recently changed his 
 name to Cressy on account of some legacy which 
 had been left him. He made a motion to take 
 off the non-suit, and said : " I am surprised at 
 the opposition of my brother Brigham [who 
 opposed it] ; if I had been in his situation, and I 
 was asked to take off the non-suit, I should have 
 done it without hesitation. I have n't changed
 
 A FAR-AWAY LOOK. 263 
 
 my principles, only my name." Mr. Brighani 
 retorted thus : " If you had changed your prin- 
 ciples instead of your mime you would have done 
 a great deal better ; " and he was so surprised at 
 his own joke that he laughed immoderately. It 
 was the only joke that I ever heard him make. 
 
 Lewis S. Dabney and Edwin N. Hill were 
 endeavoring to prove the due and proper execu- 
 tion of a will. One witness testified that he 
 thought the testator was not sane nor of dispos- 
 ing mind, but that if counsel would withdraw the 
 words " disposing mind," he would testify that he 
 thought he was sane. Another testified that as 
 she stood on one side of him, the testator being 
 in bed, she was struck with the expression of 
 his eyes, which had a dreadful far-away look 
 that had haunted her to this day. After her 
 testimony was in, Mr. Dabney called a witness 
 who testified as to the " far-away " eye, that it 
 was glass. 
 
 In a certain case, the late James Ring, who 
 was a comic actor at the Boston Museum, was 
 called as a witness. On cross-examination by 
 Richard H. Dana came the following : — 
 
 Mr. Dana : " Mr. Ring, I believe you are an 
 actor?" 
 
 Ring: "Yes, sir."
 
 264 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 Dana : " You perform at the Museum ? " 
 
 Ring : " Yes, sir." 
 
 Dana : " You are in the habit of performing 
 different parts ? " 
 
 Ring : " Yes, sir." 
 
 Dana : " And you take whatever part is as- 
 signed to you ? " 
 
 Ring : " Yes, sir." 
 
 Dana : " I thought so ; step down, sir." 
 
 Mr. Dickinson, examining a witness : " What 
 was the principal difficulty ? " 
 
 Witness : " Ligatures out of order." 
 
 Dickinson : " What are the ligatures ? " 
 
 Witness : " Ligatures connect the muscles." 
 
 Dickinson : " What do the tendons do ? " 
 
 Witness : " Connect the nerves." 
 
 In another case, against the West End Rail- 
 road, Mr. Dickinson, in cross-examining a cer- 
 tain physician who, Dickinson thought, pro- 
 fessed to know more than he did, asked him the 
 following questions : — 
 
 Dickinson : " What test did you apply to 
 ascertain what was the matter with the man?" 
 
 Witness : " The Rhomboid test." 
 
 Dickinson : " Describe it." 
 
 Witness described a certain test. 
 
 Dickinson : " Do you know this Rhomboid? " 
 
 Witness: "No."
 
 77//: nilOMliOlD TEST. 265 
 
 Dickinson : " What is his full name ? " 
 
 Witness : " I don't know." 
 
 Dickinson : " Is it the name of the inventor 
 of this test ? " 
 
 Witness: "Yes." 
 
 Dickinson : " Where does he live ? " 
 
 Witness : " I don't know." 
 
 Dickinson : " Is he English, Irish, Swede, or 
 Dane?" 
 
 Witness : " Some foreigner." 
 
 Here the witness seemed to be getting out of 
 his depth, and looked pale. 
 
 Judge : " Woidd you like a chair ? " 
 
 Witness : " N-n-no, your honor." 
 
 Judge : " Would you like this examination 
 suspended ? " 
 
 Witness : " Y-y-yes, your honor, yes, sir." 
 
 It turned out that it was a test called the 
 Romberg test, the latter being a professor in 
 Berlin. 
 
 In the case of the Commonwealth vs. Mead 
 for manslaughter, the following colloquy took 
 place between Mr. Durant, District Attorney 
 Cooley, and Mr. Choate. Mr. Durant said : 
 " May it please your honor, the attorney for the 
 Commonwealth took the oj)portunity this morn- 
 ing, when I could not reply, to make an attack 
 upon my professional character in the manage-
 
 2G6 JN RE-TORT. 
 
 ment of this case, which he would not have 
 dared to make if I could have had the oppor- 
 tunity to answer him. I felt that this court 
 room was no place for a personal altercation, 
 and I knew that I could bide my time. I have 
 taken the first opportunity at the recess to meet 
 him personally, and to tell him that his state- 
 ments were false, and that his charges were 
 cowardly, and I now say that he dared not 
 resent in private what I told him to his face. 
 I repeat here, in the presence of the Court and 
 of the jury who heard him, that he would never 
 have dared to make these charges in public 
 where I could reply, nor in private where they 
 could be resented. His courage as an advocate 
 rises only when there is no one to answer him ; 
 his courage as a man deserts him when he is 
 deprived of the protection of the Court ; I re- 
 peat in public what he has before heard from 
 me in private, that he is false and cowardly." 
 
 Mr. Cooley : "I hardly think, may it please 
 your honor, that such a speech as that just 
 made needs a reply. As to my conduct here I 
 have nothing to sa3\ As to my courage to re- 
 ply in any other place, he will find it when I 
 have opportunity to show it." 
 
 Durant : " You have had the opportunity and 
 dared not resent it." 
 
 Mr. Cooley continued his address to the jury,
 
 STERNHOLD AND HOPKINS. 267 
 
 saying in passing that to Mr. Choate's language 
 he made no exception and never had occasion 
 to ; but to that of his associate (Durant) he 
 held other views and had expressed them. 
 
 Choate. (with great earnestness) : " I think 
 I ought to say here that in my judgment Mr. 
 Durant said nothing that should have led to 
 your reply." 
 
 Cooley : " I thought the reply was just, and 
 many others have told me their gratification 
 at hearing my remarks." 
 
 Durant to Cooley : " I don't believe a word 
 of it." 
 
 Mr. Durant, speaking of a certain paper in a 
 case, said : " Now, gentlemen of the jury, the 
 defendant over his own hand " — here the op- 
 posing counsel said (^sotto voce% " Under his 
 hand." "Yes," said Mr. Durant, '''■under his 
 hand ; there has been a good deal of underhand 
 work in this case." 
 
 Mr. Durant once quoted some verses from 
 Sternhold and Hopkins as applicable to an in- 
 surance company. While he was reading the 
 by-laws of the company he said : " It is very 
 difficult to read it, it is in such despicably fine 
 print." 
 
 General Butler : " It is larger print than my 
 edition of Sternhold and Hopkins."
 
 268 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 Durant : " You had better read them ; you 
 will find some good things there." 
 
 Butler (sarcastically) : " Psalms ? " 
 
 Durant : " Yes, sir, psalms of David ; while 
 these are psalms of the devil, — a different char- 
 acter." 
 
 General Butler, in a closing argument to the 
 Court, said (referring to the opposite counsel) : 
 "They are trying the case like pirates." Mr. 
 Durant replied : " And against pirates." 
 
 In the celebrated case of Burlen vs. Shannon, 
 Mr. Durant was for the plaintiff, and General 
 Butler for the defense. After a long discussion 
 of some jjoint of law, General Butler said : " All 
 that I am sorry for is that I ever indorsed my 
 brother Durant over to the Court." Mr. Du- 
 rant (for whose admission to the bar General 
 Butler moved, and who had been a student in 
 his office) replied : " All I am surprised at is 
 that the Court ever took brother Butler's in- 
 dorsement." 
 
 In this case Caroline Burlen was a sister to 
 the wife of the defendant, and Mr. Durant 
 wanted to prove that a certain party was at the 
 sister's-in-law. " What," said General Butler, 
 " sisters in law ? " " Excuse me," said Mr. Du- 
 rant, " I meant at the sister's, though it was a 
 pardonable mistake, as the sisters have been in 
 law for the last ten years." Upon which Gen-
 
 A LITERAL INTERPRETATION. 209 
 
 eral Butler said to Mr. Durant : " Yon practiced 
 that joke before a glass this morning." Mr. 
 Durant rejoined : " I am not in the habit of 
 practicing before a glass, nor of taking a glass 
 before I practice." 
 
 I was in Mr. D.'s office one afternoon, when 
 a client came in for advice, and said he hired 
 
 a horse of a stable-keeper to go to , for a 
 
 dollar, but when he returned the stable-keeper 
 wanted a dollar more. " What for ? " said the 
 client. " For coming back," said the stable- 
 keeper. D. gave him some instructions, and 
 the client went to the same stable-keeper and 
 asked him : "• How much do you ask for a horse 
 and wagon to go to Salem ? " " Five dollars," 
 said the stable-keeper. The client took the 
 horse and wagon, went to Salem, and came back 
 in the cars, paying the stable-keeper five dol- 
 lars. The latter asked, " Where 's my horse and 
 wagon ? " " At Salem," said the client. " What 
 did you leave them there for ? " "I only hired 
 them to go to Salem." 
 
 James Lloyd English, who died in February, 
 1883, was an old-fashioned, distinguished lawyer, 
 who had been offered a seat on the bench. One 
 of the good things of this life that he liked was 
 a horse. He was highly scrupulous as to honor
 
 270 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 and integrity in practice. He told me once 
 that lie had a case given to liiui which the 
 more he investigated the less he wished to try. 
 He told his client he was going away about the 
 time it would he tried, and he would give it to 
 a lawyer who would try it much better than he 
 could. He gave the names of the parties to 
 
 Mr. , and said to him, "I will tell you 
 
 about it later ; I can't stop now." Some time 
 before the expected trial, he called upon Mr. 
 
 and said he had come to tell him the facts 
 
 in the case of vs. . Said the lawyer 
 
 to Mr. English : " D the facts ; what will 
 
 they swear to ? " 
 
 Augustus H. Fiske, who had an office at No. 
 5 Court Street, was the best-equipped lawyer in 
 matters of practice that I have ever known. Al- 
 though he would enter from thirty to forty 
 actions every term, he would not average more 
 than one or two trials a term. At this time it 
 was the practice of the lawyers to enter their 
 own appearances on the docket. Mr. Fiske 
 said to me, " Willard, what time do you get to 
 your office? " I said, " About eight o'clock, and 
 work an hour before the office is open." He 
 said, " That suits me exactly ; call round at 
 my office and I will go with you and write in 
 my appearances, and I will not trouble you
 
 ARRESTING THE BODY. 271 
 
 again for a week." lie never liad to examine 
 our dockets to find the number of his case, but 
 always brought in his own docket and called 
 for any paper or writ or execution from his own 
 minutes. Being upon the witness stand one 
 day, he was asked how long he had been in 
 practice, which he answered ; and then the 
 question was put to him : " Plow long shall you 
 continue to practice?" "Till I die," said Mr. 
 Fiske. 
 
 He was an indefatigable worker, went to his 
 office at eioht o'clock, and did not leave until 
 dusk. He was so intolerant of affectation that 
 he erred slightly toward brusqueness. As he 
 came into court one morning, he found Mr. 
 Willey sitting at the table looking extremely 
 nice, his wig smooth and well adjusted. Fiske, 
 who was as bald as Willey but wore no wig, 
 put his hand on Willey's head and said : " Wil- 
 ley, what do you wear such a d d-looking 
 
 thing as that for ? " 
 
 Asahel Huntington was clerk of the courts of 
 Essex County. Shortly after the passage of the 
 Practice Act of 1852, I then being assistant 
 clerk, he called and wanted to know what the 
 clerk had decided as to executions retaining the 
 clause about arresting the body. Mr. Hunting- 
 ton was a very sententious man. I replied, I
 
 272 IX RE-TORT. 
 
 had had no conversation Avith tlie clerk, but 
 that tlie statute said that after certain conditions 
 had been complied with, then the execution may 
 be solved by arrest of defendant's body. If the 
 body clause is not retained, how can it be served 
 by arrest of defendant's body. " A good sug- 
 gestion, sir," he said in his emphatic way, and 
 walked off. 
 
 He was at one time district attorney in Essex, 
 and a terror to rumsellers ; he had certain stere- 
 otyped questions which he put to his witnesses. 
 
 He would say to a witness : " You went to 
 
 saloon ? " " Yes, sir." " Drink there ? " " Yes, 
 sir." "What was it?" "Don't know, sir." 
 " Did it looh like rum ? " " Yes, sir." " Did 
 it smell like rum ? " " Yes, sir." " Did it taste 
 like rum ? " " Yes, sir." Then in his argument 
 to the jury he would say, " The witness says it 
 looked like rum, smelt like rum, tasted like rum ; 
 H VMS rum." 
 
 He went to the Whig convention, the last one 
 that was ever held, and where the breaking up 
 of the Whig party was foreshadowed. When 
 he came home he made a speech to his constitu- 
 ents to explain matters, and to give some ac- 
 count of the proceedings. He said ; " Now who 
 were these men ? They looked like Whigs, acted 
 like Whigs, ivere Whigs." Voice in the crowd : 
 " What did they smell like ? "
 
 A WELL-KNOWN QUOTATION. 273 
 
 Judge Merrick, who died in 1867, soon after 
 leaving' the Lenoh of the Court of Common 
 Pleas, — to which he was appointed in 1850, and 
 to the Supreme Judicial Court in 1853, — was 
 associate counsel with A. H. Fiske on a case. 
 He said to Mr. Fiske : " I don't know but I 've 
 forgotten how to argue a case, it is so long since 
 I was at the bar." " You must have forgotten 
 very lately," said Mr. Fiske, " for you used to 
 argue very well when you were on the bench." 
 
 When the Whig party was demoralized by 
 the success of Know-Nothingism in 1855, George 
 F. Farley of Groton said that he could with good 
 conscience make his affidavit that the Whig 
 party was about to depart without the Common- 
 wealth. 
 
 A certain lawyer said to a jury, " Gentlemen, 
 character is more than wealth ; I would rather 
 leave a reputation than money to my children." 
 Mr. Farley remarked : " If that is all he leaves 
 his family, it will be a mere pittance." 
 
 Mr. P. J. Flatley was trying a cause before a 
 justice in a neighboring city, and on the discus- 
 sion of some proposition, the justice requested 
 Mr. Flatley to state its application. Mr. Flat- 
 ley said that he thought the well-known quo- 
 tation, " Colleen dhus cruten un bhe angus
 
 274 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 annam un clhiel " (Irish) from Horace would 
 apply, at which the judge, profoundly bowing- as 
 though recognizing the quotation, replied, " Ah, 
 yes." 
 
 Mr. Gargan, interrogating a witness : " AA^hat 
 was your condition that day?" Witness: "Very 
 good." Mr. G. : "Had you been drinking?" 
 Witness : "I had had one glass of whiskey." 
 Mr. G. : " Had n't you had any more ? " Wit- 
 ness : " That 's my business." Mr. G. : " Have 
 you any other business ? " Witness did not 
 answer. 
 
 Mr. Gargan, whose tones were usually sten- 
 torian,^ was examining a witness of small per- 
 son and meek, humble demeanor, when he was 
 thus reprimanded by Judge Pitman : " Mr. Gar- 
 gan, there is too much of you and too little of 
 the witness." 
 
 Mr. Gaston, cross-examining a witness : " Can 
 you read ? " Witness : " No, but I know num- 
 bers." Mr. Gaston: "You say there was a 3 
 on this paper?" Witness: "Yes, sir." Mr. 
 Gaston : " What does 3 mean ? " Witness : 
 " If you put another 3 with it, it is 33." 
 
 1 It was an ancestral peculiarity, a clear case of heredity ; 
 for Horace says, " Garganum mugire putes." 
 
 Horace, Epist. 11. 1. 202.
 
 ON BIG OCCASIONS. 275 
 
 " Did n't you advise her to put on lamb's 
 wool ? " " No." " What would you apply lamb's 
 wool to ? " " To your back if you had a pain 
 in it." " Did you say you heard a noise, and 
 
 thoug-ht the whole d d thino: was cominjj 
 
 down ? " "I never curse." " You have been to 
 sea ; did n't you curse then ? Did you say 
 d n ? " "I might on big occasions." 
 
 J. Q. A. Griffin was an able man, and now 
 and then fond of a sarcasm at the expense of his 
 client. A friend of mine and of his writes me 
 of him thus : He was of about medium height, 
 stooped a little, and was slim, although not ap- 
 parently so because of his massive head. Above 
 his gold-bowed spectacles arose a square per- 
 pendicular forehead, from which his dark hair 
 stood up, straight and thick. He was subject 
 to frequent attacks of asthma. Pie was neither 
 elegant nor classical, but his mind was quick and 
 strong. He was a ready, entertaining speaker, 
 carrying juries with him by his clear logic and 
 by his keen if not brilliant wit and great sar- 
 casm. These he must indulge in, on all occa- 
 sions, even at the sure sacrifice of verdict or 
 friend. But he was a wily, dangerous adver- 
 sary at the bar, though not wanting in kindness 
 of heart. " He 'd be damned if he 'd ever wear 
 a black silk hat." I heard the foUowins: con-
 
 276 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 versation carried on by him and another attorney 
 sotto voce, between the interrogations addressed 
 to the witness. G. : " What do you ask him 
 
 that for, you d fool ? " " My father was a 
 
 1-lawyer, and I was r-rocked in the c-cradle of 
 the law." G. : " Yes, but you have n't got your 
 swaddling-clothes off yet." 
 
 Griffin took the office of clerk of courts for 
 Middlesex, but it had not the excitement of the 
 forum, and he was like a bound gladiator. He 
 sent for me once, and among other things (this 
 was after I was appointed assistant clerk) said : 
 " Willard, resign, and I '11 use my influence to 
 get you appointed here." I told him that I 
 would rather be in Boston. He went to Cuba 
 for his health, and after he returned asked me 
 to come up and see him some Sunday at his 
 house in Medfoi'd. I went and had a pleasant 
 conversation with him, although I saw the sands 
 of life were nearly run out. As I left, he gave 
 me some cigars, saying : " Here, Willard, take 
 these ; I bought them on the Rialto. Remem- 
 ber me as you waste the smoke in the air." 
 
 His will was so singular, I give it in full : — 
 
 " I, J. Q. A. Griffin, being of sound mind and 
 memory, but of faltering and somewhat uncer- 
 tain health, and conscious of the entire certainty 
 of death and that it often comes with no herald
 
 A SINGULAR WILL. 277 
 
 announcing its approach, but with stealthy tread, 
 make this my List will. 
 
 " First : I make no provision as to the funeral 
 rites, knowing- that in a Christian community 
 everything will be done that ought to be done 
 in that regard. 
 
 " Second : But as I have a horror of burials 
 alive, I desire that my body after death may be 
 kept a reasonable time before interment, and 
 that it be for a time at least committed to a 
 tomb before its burial in the earth. 
 
 " Third : If consistent with the feelings of my 
 wife and family, as it might lead to results that 
 would mitigate the pangs of others on their way 
 to ' dusty death ' who are suffering from dis- 
 eases kindred to my own, I desire that there 
 may be an examination of my body in the pre- 
 sence of skillful and experienced physicians, of 
 both the allopathic and homoeopathic schools. I 
 have suffered largely, and perhaps the cause 
 thereof might be discovered, but I am now satis- 
 fied that, though I have suffered many things 
 of many physicians, no one of them had any 
 real knowledge of the disease or the best means 
 of curing or relieving it. But if such an ex- 
 amination should be distasteful to my wife and 
 family, let it be omitted, as I owe more to them 
 than to general posterity. 
 
 " Fourth : All my personal estate that costs
 
 278 IX RE-TORT. 
 
 money to preserve and keep, such as horses, cows, 
 or other articles, and all such as are useless if 
 kept, I desire may be sold by my executor as 
 speedily as can be most profitably done after my 
 decease. But let my beasts be sold to kind and 
 good masters. 
 
 " Fifth : In the settlement of the debts I owe, 
 let great caution and care be exercised, particu- 
 larly in i-espect to the bills of deputy sheriffs 
 and constables whose charges are often most 
 exorbitant, and not unfrequently made to me, 
 when I have distinctly marked the processes 
 committed to them in such a manner as to notify 
 them that I would not be responsible for officers' 
 fees. 
 
 " Sixth : In the settlement of the debts due to 
 me, let great care also be observed ; large sums 
 are now due me. I have been remiss in their 
 collection. I have left debts uncollected that 
 ought to have been pressed. [Here he names two 
 individuals and two business firms who should be 
 pressed for payment.] 
 
 " Seventh : All my property, real and per- 
 sonal, I give and devise to my wife during her 
 life, provided she remain unmarried after my de- 
 cease. But if she marry again, I give and devise 
 the same to my children who then may be living, 
 their title to accrue immediately on Sarah's 
 marriage, and hers to be divested therefrom.
 
 A SINGULAR WILL. 279 
 
 " Eighth : My wife is a most amiable woman. 
 She has made my life happy, and been true in 
 all respects to her position as a wife and mother. 
 It is my wish that she may not marry again. I 
 would more strongly enforce this wish did I not 
 feel that she will respect it upon the suggestion. 
 
 " Ninth : Upon the decease of my wife, in the 
 event of her not marrying again after my de- 
 cease, my will is that the property she has 
 remaining may be equally divided between my 
 children then living. 
 
 "Tenth: Women are not adequate to the 
 management of most property or even a little 
 in this community in the best way. It is there- 
 fore my will that the trustee and executor here- 
 inafter named, or his successor, shall have the 
 care, management, control, and disbursement 
 thereof during the life of my said wife, or her 
 interest in said property, and until my children 
 are twenty-one years of age. 
 
 " Eleventh : I would make the suggestion here 
 that it would be best after my decease, as soon as 
 it could best be done, to sell and dispose of my 
 property, convert the same into cash, safely in- 
 vest the same in mortgages in real estate, and 
 there let it remain, provided the interest be 
 promptly paid. And I think it would be better 
 for my wife and children to remove very soon to 
 Concord into a modest but comfortable house
 
 280 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 which may be either hired or bought for their 
 use. It is a better location for the education of 
 the chiklren, intellectually and morally, than 
 Maiden or Charlestown. 
 
 " Twelfth : It is my will that Timothy T. Saw- 
 yer may act as executor and trustee under this 
 will. The estate is small and needs an honest 
 hand in the management. My children are many 
 and their wants will be many. Mr. Sawyer is 
 one of the few able men whom I have found to 
 be rigidly upright and honest. In the event of 
 his decease at any time, let Edward Lawrence 
 be his successor, — a man equally trustworthy. 
 And if any executor or trustee be needed after 
 his decease or incapacity, let the Judge of Pro- 
 bate select the fittest and most honest man he 
 knows. 
 
 " Thirteenth : I commend to the care of my 
 wife, my aged mother. Let her suffer for 
 nothing, nor want ; she cannot long survive me. 
 Let her declining days be made as pleasant as 
 possible, under the unhappy circumstances that 
 attend her. 
 
 " Fourteenth : Let my children be well cared 
 for. Teach them to avoid frivolity, — that " Life 
 is real, life is earnest ! " Let them have the 
 best education within their power to attain. 
 Let one be a lawyer, if he have capacity for that 
 profession. Be careful and vigilant of their
 
 A PAIR OF PAXTS. 281 
 
 morals. Considering the wickedness that every- 
 where exists, too great care cannot be exercised 
 in that regard. But I need not be solicitous. 
 My wife has all the wisdom necessary to their 
 care. No children ever had a better mother 
 than they. Xo man ever had a better wife than 
 I. I commend her and the children to the re- 
 spect and the consideration of the community 
 in which I leave them." 
 
 The will bears the date of October 4, 1858. 
 The witnesses were Charles A. Barker, A. W. 
 Boardman, and Joseph Jackson. 
 
 Griffin once told me how he got a man ac- 
 quitted who was indicted for larceny. The in- 
 dictment read : " Stealing a pair of pants." 
 Mr. Griffin objected to the indictment on the 
 ground that a " pant " was a short breath and 
 not the subject of larceny, and that therefore a 
 '' pair of short breaths " could not be the subject 
 of larceny. The Court so ruled, and his client 
 was discharged. 
 
 At one term in the Court of Common Pleas, 
 William Hayden, editor of the " Boston Atlas," 
 was foreman of the first jury. The second jury 
 were engaged in trying a case in which about 
 ten dollars were involved as to the price of a set 
 of felloes and tires. Chief Justice AVells kept the
 
 282 7.V RE-TORT. 
 
 other jury in all the forenoon, hoping every mo- 
 ment that the case would be finished, but Maine 
 and Morris fought as though there were millions 
 in it. Mr. Hayden addressed me these lines : — 
 
 " Morris and Maine, two lawyers shrewd, 
 
 Tliougli they themselves may like the sport, 
 Talking- of felloes and of tires. 
 Tire all the fellows in the court." 
 
 On another occasion a complaint under chap- 
 ter 49 of the Revised Statutes was being tried, 
 when he gave me these lines, — Griffin and 
 Maine were the two counsel : — 
 
 " Poor, fatherless bahe, while you are here crying, 
 
 Important inquiries around you revolve ; 
 The jury to find you a father are trying-, 
 
 A point which the mother herself can scarce solve. 
 Never mind, never mind, you are here upon earth, 
 
 They can't get you back where you came from again, 
 You are here upon earth, in spite of your birth, 
 
 Surviving the efforts of Griffin and Maine." 
 
 Mr. B. F. Hallett was a very searching cross- 
 examiner, and he once cross-examined Rev. 
 Thomas Whittemore at great length. When he 
 had finished he said, " Mr. Whittemore, I have 
 made this long and searching examination as 
 a duty to my client, and not for the purpose 
 of worrying you, for I have the utmost respect 
 for you." Mr. Whittemore, with one of his 
 blandest smiles, replied, " I wish I could say 
 the same for you, Mr. Hallett."
 
 A FAST TALKER. 283 
 
 In walking into Boston, wliicli I always did 
 in former years, I occasionally met Mr. Whitte- 
 more, and he told me this : lie was chosen Presi- 
 dent of the Fitchburg Railroad, and, wishing to 
 know all the local business situations of the 
 road, walked the whole length of it in Massa- 
 chusetts. At one place ho saw some laborers 
 unloading a car containing iron rails, which 
 he thought they handled rather carelessly. He 
 said to them, " Men, I would be a little more 
 careful in handling those rails." " To h — 1 
 wid yez," said one of the men. " Ah," he said, 
 " that 's the last place I should wish to go to." 
 " Faix," said the man, " and that 's the last 
 place ye will go to." He related this to me 
 with a good deal of gusto. He had previously 
 been settled as a Universalist minister at Cam- 
 bridgeport. 
 
 Mr. B. F. Hallett was trying a case before 
 Judge Gushing for slander. His principal wit- 
 ness was an Irishwoman, who was very impetu- 
 ous ; she talked so fast that Judge Gushing 
 could not write down her testimony, and at- 
 tempted in vain to stop her. Still she went 
 on, and Judge Gushing shouted, " Old woman, 
 shut up." But it was useless. At last he 
 threw down his pen, exhausted, and cried out, 
 " There, Mr. Hallett, you set her going, now 
 stop her."
 
 284 /X RE-TORT. 
 
 Mr. Hallett asked a witness how he knew 
 that a certain conversation was on such a day. 
 " Because your client came to me and said, 
 ' You know I voted for Buclianan.' " Mr. 
 Hallett turned to the jury and said, " That \s a 
 good reason why my client shoidd have large 
 damages." 
 
 Mr. Healy told me that Judge , in travel- 
 ing one summer, arrived at a hotel which was 
 full of guests, and was put in a small room 
 with an Irishman. Being somewhat annoyed at 
 this, he said, " Well, Pat, you would have 
 lived a long time in the old country before you 
 would have slept in the same room with a 
 judge." " Yes," said Pat, " and you would 
 have lived a long time in the old country before 
 you would have been a judge." 
 
 He also told me that in New Hampshire at 
 one time there were three commissioners ap- 
 pointed to examine candidates for admission to 
 the bar, — Mr. Jeremiah Mason, Mr. Sulli- 
 van, and one other whose name I have forgotten. 
 A young man of very awkward appearance pre- 
 sented himself for examination one day, and they 
 proceeded to examine him thus : " What is 
 property ? " He described it. " How is it ac- 
 quired ? " " In various ways." " Illustrate." 
 " Mr. Mason gets his by high fees, Mr. Sullivan
 
 NUMBER 4 COURT STREET. 285 
 
 by usury, and Mr." — " Stop I stop ! " said 
 jNIr. Mason ; " I think we can admit him, brother 
 Sidlivan." 
 
 At No. 4 Court Street many distinguished 
 lawyers had their offices. I copy here a slip 
 which was pasted on the outer door : — 
 
 " In 1837, here were found Rufus Choate and 
 F. B. Crowninshield (partners), Charles Sum- 
 ner and George S. Hillard (partners), Theophi- 
 lus Parsons and William G. Stevens, Horace 
 Mann, Edward G. Loring, Benjamin Guild, 
 Luther S. Cushing, John O. Sargent, P. W. 
 Chandler, John Codman, T. P. Chandler, John 
 A. Andrew, and others." When Mr. George 
 S. Hillard left the building in 1856, he bade 
 farewell to No. 4 in these graceful lines : — 
 
 " The child that in the cradle slept, 
 When first upon the stairs I stepped, 
 Now strongly stalks across the land, 
 With beard on chin and vote in hand. 
 
 " And I have passed from summer's prime 
 To autumn's sober shadowy time, 
 And felt the throbs and known the strife, 
 That slowly rear the dome of life. 
 
 " I hear no more the well-known feet. 
 The kindly looks no more I greet ; 
 But ere I part from number four, 
 I leave my blessings at the door."
 
 286 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 George S. Ilillard, who was the daintiest and 
 most suave of men, was trying a case in which 
 the opposing counsel sought to recover for ser- 
 vices in exhibiting a panorama, when the follow- 
 ing occurred : — 
 
 Mr. Hillard : " How long a time does it take 
 to unroll a panorama? " 
 
 Witness (the owner) : " That depends upon 
 the audience." 
 
 Hillard : " What do you pay a man per night 
 to turn the panorama ? " 
 
 Witness : " Ten dollars or fifteen dollars." 
 
 Hillard : " Seems to me that is pretty high ; 
 I think / should like to work for that." 
 
 Witness : " Well, the next time I have a pano- 
 rama I '11 hire yer." 
 
 A year or two before Mr. Hillard's death, I 
 was called by him to his house to attend to some 
 private business, after which in conversation I 
 quoted from memory some lines from an address 
 that he had delivered before the alumni of 
 Harvard more than twenty years previously, and 
 which I had not seen since. He was surprised 
 at my memory, and at my request wrote the 
 whole of it, and sent it to me : — 
 
 " Est oculis credendum, what sights my old eyes greet, 
 My soboles carissimce, all gathered at my feet ! 
 Senes, with their locks of snow, and juvenes all blooming, 
 Thrice welcome is this dies blest, and doubly bright its 
 lumen !
 
 A MACARONIC POEM. 287 
 
 " Cum osculis maternis, I fold you to my breast ; 
 Quot anni sunt elapsi, since yoii left my sheltering nest! 
 Auditis, how I tessellate my speech with bits of Latin, 
 Although sub rosa be it said, my English comes more pat in. 
 
 " And now that meijilii are met around my board, 
 
 Favete Unguis, for a moment, hear your mother speak a 
 
 word. 
 Receive arrectis auribus my loving heart's consilia, 
 And though I 'm senex growing, don't think my teaching 's 
 sillier. 
 
 " You, Prceses reverende, and you, my Professores, 
 In whose honored capita all kinds of learned lore is. 
 Take good care of my pueri, keep the youthful corda sound, 
 And water the virgulta, with streams from classic ground. 
 
 " Let a gentle mansuetudo ever temper your rebuke, 
 Sunt qucedam. dulcia vitia, which wise men overlook. 
 The rank weeds of juventus will sponte sua die ofiP, 
 And if you screw the screws too hard, the capita will fly off. 
 
 " And you, my learned clergy, the jewel of your mater, 
 To see you round my side cor valde delectatur. 
 Come, put about the cyathus, and don't be melancholy, 
 For I hold it no peccatum for a parson to be jolly. 
 
 " Eloquio et doctrina I know your honor great is, 
 And to the people of your charge vitie panem datis, 
 Ecclesice officiis your lives and strength are spent all, 
 Your merits are transcendant, aliquando, ' transcendental.' 
 
 " Your GrcEca exemplar ia, I pray you, don't neglect, 
 For a clergyman indoctum I hold in no respect. 
 And pardon me, m.j Jilii, ii petulans my tongue grows, 
 But do not preach, on Sundays, sernwnes nimis longos.
 
 288 /.v RE-roRT. 
 
 "And you, my legal brood, cantorea forimdarum, 
 With whom honestas is, I fear, a thing too rarum ; 
 Some of you, if tales be true, diabolus liubebit, 
 And if he should, well and good, forsan nemo Jiebit. 
 
 " Let not the honorarium which the lay gents call a fee 
 Make your oculos so ccecos that the truth tliey cannot see. 
 Speak nitide et breviter, don't weary courts and jury, 
 And when you have a Jinis reached, stop talking, I conjure 
 you. 
 
 " And you, doctores medicina, who, armed with pills and bolus, 
 Stand by us in extremis, to comfort and console us. 
 With whom the Britannorum mos is still in good repute. 
 For quidam slay in curribus, and quidam slay on foot. 
 
 " Dum sumus validi, your doings are in distaste, 
 
 But when mors pidsat at our doors, we send for you in haste ; 
 
 Ofortunatos nimium — your slumbers may be sound, 
 
 For all your corpora delicti are hidden under ground. 
 
 "And now, valete omnes, my errand has been sped, 
 
 I drop a benediction upon the general head. 
 
 Eheu ! labuntur anni — how swift the years glide by, 
 
 But sursum corda, my beloved ones, for truth can never die." 
 
 Samuel Hoar, in arguing to a jury on the 
 difference in testimony or difference in state- 
 ment on the same testimony by honest witnesses, 
 gave this illustration to a jury : A boy asked 
 his sister what " amen " meant. She replied : 
 " Don't touch it." One day the mother asked 
 the girl what it meant, and she replied again : 
 "Don't touch it." The mother then asked
 
 THE MEANING OF " A.UEN." 289 
 
 her where she learned that. She said : " Why, 
 you told me so yourself." " Oh, no ; I told you, 
 so let it be." 
 
 Major J. A. Maxwell favors me with the fol- 
 lowing description of John S. Holmes, who died 
 in 1892 : " John S. Holmes, lawyer and politi- 
 cian. A strong, unique, and interesting person- 
 ality disappeared from human view and was 
 left only to memory, when in the early hours of 
 Saturday last John S. Holmes expired suddenly, 
 humbly, and resignedly in this city. That he 
 should have ended his earthly days suddenly was 
 no wonder to his friends and was expected by 
 himself, for he and they had long known that 
 his body was the home of a diseased heart, and 
 would soon become its coffin. In the mean time 
 his mind remained clear and discerning of rea- 
 son and logic ; his humor, though somewhat 
 grim and sardonic rather than fanciful or mirth- 
 ful, remained true to nature and struck the heart 
 of human nature, and his heart turned straight 
 without any magnetic variation to those friends 
 of his who greeted him with love of his unu- 
 sually strong and forceful qualities, and smiled 
 without displeasure at his peculiarities. That he 
 should have died humbly and resignedly is more 
 remarkable, for he was a man of rebellious in- 
 stinct of thought, a somewhat defiant and always
 
 290 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 aggressive controversiiillst in the fields of theo- 
 logy. He had sought those fields in early days 
 as a student at Andover, then left them, then 
 returned, and wandered about in them to the end 
 of his life. His final ereed may be embraced in 
 the words God and Conscience. His final at- 
 tendants saw his dead yet speaking features and 
 now attest his humility and resignation. He 
 died aged seventy years. For many consecutive 
 years he was sought by Democracy to represent 
 their views and interests. He was also well 
 known as a lawyer, but in late years, on account 
 of heart trouble, he abandoned the practice of 
 law in the courts and confined himself to the 
 trial of causes sent to him as auditor in law or 
 master in equity. He had so many of these 
 cases that he was known as ' Judge Holmes,' 
 and at the time of his death had a number of 
 these matters in his death-stricken hands and 
 brain." 
 
 When Judge , who was not a very bril- 
 liant man, died, some one said to Holmes in 
 my office one day : " Holmes, I understand that 
 they are going to put up a monument to Judge 
 
 ." Holmes replied that it ought to be a 
 
 bas-relief. 
 
 Judge was holding court, and the sun- 
 light shone on the back of his head. Holmes 
 said to me : "" There is a beautiful illustration
 
 ANECDOTES OF JOHN S. HOLMES. 291 
 
 of scripture." " How 's that ? " said I. Holmes 
 replied : " The light shineth upon the darkness, 
 and the darkness comprehendeth it not." 
 
 Mr. Holmes once told me that he saw Thomas 
 F. Maguire eating a breakfast at a restaurant, 
 and said : " Good God I Maguire, what are you 
 about ? " Said Maguire : " What 's the matter ? " 
 Said Holmes : " Do you know what day this is ? " 
 " No," said Maguire. Said Holmes : " Why, 
 this is Good Friday : you had better stop eating 
 that steak, and put on a layer of fish as quickly 
 as possible." Maguire was a staunch Roman 
 Catholic. 
 
 Mr. Holmes was once discussing Irish affairs 
 with a young Irish lawyer in my office, and the 
 latter, seeming somewhat surprised at Holmes's 
 remarks, asked : " Why, Holmes, don't you want 
 the Irish to have their freedom ? " " Yes," 
 said Holmes, " on one condition." " What is 
 that ? " " That a wall is built around Ireland, 
 so high that no one of you can ever get out." 
 
 " Where was brought up ? " said a per- 
 son to John S. Holmes. Holmes : " He came 
 up himself." The former said to Holmes : " I 
 addressed ten thousand men in the last campaign, 
 John, for two hours." Holmes : " Are any of 
 them alive now ? " 
 
 Among the candidates for a vacancy in the 
 Superior Court was Judge . Holmes said
 
 292 L\ RE-TORT. 
 
 he tliought Jiulge ought to have it, as he 
 
 had such an eminent judicial gait. 
 
 Mr. Holmes once told General Butler that he 
 (Holmes) was often taken for General Butler. 
 " Well, what of it ? " said Butler. " Why," said 
 Holmes, " I am afraid you will lose your reputa- 
 tion as a lawyer, and I mine as a man." 
 
 A gentleman came into my office, and, observ- 
 ing a photograph of the clerk and four assistants, 
 asked : " Where can I get one of those pictures ? " 
 I said : " At Ritz'." Mr. Holmes, who stood by, 
 remarked : " Where else should the clerks go, 
 except to Ritz " [writs] . 
 
 Mr. Holmes was talking with me about vari- 
 ous articles of food. He asked me what I liked 
 best for breakfast on a cold morning. I told 
 him good hot fried sausages, and that they were 
 a tonic. Mr. Holmes replied : " Yes, and if it 
 is a German sausage, it is Teutonic." 
 
 A person, meeting Mr. Holmes in my office, 
 said : " Good morning. Holmes, how are you ? " 
 " Well," said Holmes, " how are you ? " The 
 other replied : "I am very chilly. I feel the 
 goose-flesh creeping over me." " Don't you 
 always ? " asked Holmes.
 
 VIII. 
 
 IN RE-TORT. — PART II. 
 
 About the time of the breaking out of our 
 civil war, George Jones, alias Count Joannes, 
 came to the front. He had been a second-rate 
 actor, had been to Europe, and by some means 
 acquired the title of count. The first time I re- 
 member seeing him in public was at a meeting 
 of the bar called to confer with the judiciary 
 as to whether the courts could be held to ad- 
 vantage during the great excitement. He had 
 not at that time made himself unpopular. The 
 meeting was held in the United States Court 
 room, old court house, where the Municipal 
 Court for criminal business was formerly held. 
 Though not a member of the bar, the count was 
 present and made a speech, in which he said 
 that he was of the opinion that the courts had 
 better adjourn, and transact no business ; but 
 his speech only tended to increase the excite- 
 ment. A. H. Fiske, who spoke in deprecatory 
 terms of the count's speech, poured oil on the 
 troubled waters ; he said that perhaps it miglit
 
 294 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 be well to adjourn for a day or two until the 
 first excitement was over, and then proceed as 
 usual. His remarks were received with appro- 
 bation by all present, and, upon his motion, the 
 court adjourned for two or three days. 
 
 The next I remember of the count was upon 
 the occasion of a ball in Boston. Francis II. 
 Underwood, writing an account of it and stating 
 
 who were present, said among them were 
 
 and , naming some distinguished individ- 
 uals, and the soi-disant George, Count Joannes. 
 Thereupon the count brought a suit for libel 
 against Mr. Underwood. He (the count) tried 
 his own case, and Charles Allen, now one of 
 the justices of the Supreme Judicial Court, 
 was counsel for Underwood. The trial lasted 
 several days ; and among other things, it was 
 proved that at a convivial dinner in London 
 the company got np this title and gave him a 
 parchment certificate with seal attached. The 
 verdict was in favor of Mr. Underwood. 
 
 At the time of the war there were a great 
 many envelopes in circulation with different pic- 
 tures and mottoes upon them. I know of one 
 collection containing eight hundred or more. 
 On one occasion, Joseph Nickerson sent the 
 count a notice to appear at court at the hearing 
 of some motion ; this notice was inclosed in an 
 envelope, on the left-hand corner of which was
 
 COUNT JOANNES. 295 
 
 a jackass, and uiKlcrneath it the word " seces- 
 sionist." The count immediately brought a suit 
 against Nickerson for libel to recover the sum 
 of $4000, alleging that Nickerson had charged 
 him with being a secessionist and a jackass. 
 William L. Burt, afterwards postmaster of Bos- 
 ton, defended Nickerson. Nickerson testified 
 that he took the envelope from his desk among 
 a number of others ; that he had no malice 
 against the count, and no intention of hold- 
 ing him up to ridicule. Burt asked the count 
 while he was on the witness stand, if the word 
 " secessionist " did not refer to the jackass. 
 The count replied : " Clearly not. A secession- 
 ist may be a jackass, but a jackass cannot be a 
 secessionist." Then Burt produced an envelope 
 written by the count, addressed to " Joseph 
 Nickerson, Esq., Attorney-at-Law, etc., etc., etc.," 
 and then asked the count if that address ac- 
 corded with his ideas of good manners. The 
 count said it clearly did. Then Burt asked him 
 what the three et ceteras were for. The count re- 
 plied : " First, attorney ; second, justice of the 
 peace;" and stopped. "And third?" asked 
 Burt. " That is meant to be genei-ally compli- 
 mentary," answered the count. 
 
 In this case Mr. Ropes was a witness. The 
 count asked him : " Did you, or did you not, say I 
 was a d fool ? " The witness answered " No."
 
 296 JA' RE-TORT. 
 
 Bart asked him if he used any profane words. 
 Witness : " There are different ideas about pro- 
 fanity ; " and then Mr. Ropes was allowed to ex- 
 plain, lie said he told Nickerson that he had 
 
 heard the count called crazy and a d fool, 
 
 but whoever took him for either would find him- 
 self mistaken. Nickerson told him (the witness) 
 that he would break the count down in court, 
 and witness replied that it would be the toughest 
 job he ever did. In his argument to the jury, 
 the count glared at Nickerson, and said : " We 
 judge a jackass by the length of his ears ; judge 
 between the defendant and me." 
 
 He brought a suit against Governor Andrew 
 for libel, and another against William L. Burt ; 
 and after many such suits, he was tried and found 
 guilty of being a common barrator. 
 
 He afterwards advertised himself to play 
 Romeo at the Boston Theatre, for his own bene- 
 fit. I was present ; and in one scene where he 
 was obliged to get on his knees he was assisted 
 to regain his feet, as his joints were so stiff that 
 he could not rise. The whole audience was con- 
 vulsed with laughter, and it was some time 
 before he could go on. 
 
 He was once arguing a case in the Justices' 
 Court before Chief Justice Rogers, who re- 
 marked that the law was so and so (stating it) ; 
 that such was his impression. " Nevertheless,
 
 COUNT JOANNKH. 297 
 
 you can look, count." The count replied with 
 a peculiar suavity of manner : " I should not 
 presume to look while your honor is on the 
 bench." 
 
 Count Joannes had his photograph taken and 
 put into a costly frame, upon which he had in- 
 scribed, " To my friend Edwin Forrest, from the 
 Count Joannes." The picture was exhibited in 
 Tilton's window. Some time prior to this the 
 count had borrowed five dollars of J. L. New- 
 ton, who sued out a writ attaching the picture, 
 and the officer carried it away. Thereupon the 
 count paid Ne^N-ton and redeemed the picture, 
 saying that he felt very much hurt. He was a 
 fine-looking man of pleasing address, — in one 
 word, debonair, — but lacked stability of char- 
 acter, or, in every-day language, " common 
 sense." He finally went to New York to live, 
 and there ended his days. 
 
 Mr. A. V. Lynde, than whom there is no 
 more temperate man, asked a witness : " Don't 
 you drink a glass of liquor sometimes ? " He re- 
 plied : " Yes, I take a glass, the same as yourself, 
 occasionally." 
 
 David H. Mason was a man who always talked 
 to the jury in stentorian tones and made long 
 cross-examinations. Once ha\'ing examined a
 
 298 /;V RE-TORT. 
 
 witness at great length he said : " Now, sir. 
 have n't people been to you to try to make you 
 tell a different story from what you have here,' 
 sir ? " Witness : " Yes, sir." " Now, sir, who ? " 
 said Mason. Witness : " I reckon you have 
 tried as hard as anybody." Not rebuffed at this, 
 Mason said : " Did n't you go to see Smith, 
 sir?" "Yes, sir." " Wliat did you go to him 
 for?" "To see if he would tell the truth." 
 " Did n't you think he would tell the truth ? " 
 " Well, I heard he had been to your office, and 
 I did n't know what he might say." 
 
 Robert Morris was a leading colored practi- 
 tioner, and sometimes very amusing incidents 
 occurred. The first one I remember was this : 
 One Brown got into some difficulty ; he trans- 
 ferred or sold his stock in trade to one Turner 
 on a pass-book and then left the State. Both 
 were colored men. After the difficulty had 
 blown over Brown returned to Boston and 
 claimed that he only let Turner have these goods 
 to keep while he was gone. Turner would not 
 give them up and Mr. Searle brought a suit in 
 trover^ Brown against Turner. Turner was 
 obliged to prove Brown's signature, which Mor- 
 ris tried once or twice and failed in. Then he 
 called another witness and said : " Did you ever 
 see Brown write ? " " Yes," said the witness.
 
 PROVING A SIGXATURE. 290 
 
 Morris held the piece of book behind him and 
 said : " Now suppose I shoukl show you his sig- 
 nature, do you think you woukl know it ? " 
 " Seeing' as how people write different at differ- 
 ent times, I don't know as I should." Morris, 
 opening the book, sliowed him the signature and 
 asked : " How does that strike you ? " Witness 
 looked at it and replied : " That strikes me just 
 how I couldn't tell." "John Wright, take the 
 stand." Mr. Wright came forward, the darkest 
 colored man I ever saw. " Did you ever see 
 Brown write ? " " Oh, yes, sir ; frequently." 
 Morris showed him the signature and said : 
 "Well, what do you think of that?" "Oh, I 
 knows not'ing 'bout dat ; I t'ought you axed me, 
 ' Wright, did you ever see Brown ? ' " The whole 
 room was convulsed with laughter, and even 
 Judge Hoar smiled. 
 
 Mr. Morris, arguing a case, stated the evidence 
 to be so and so. Counsel on the other side said, 
 " There 's no such evidence." Morris : " I have 
 it on my minutes ; the judge probably has it on 
 his ; the counsel on the other side ought to have 
 it, and, gentlemen of the jury, yon have it in 
 your memory." When the opposing counsel 
 arose he said: "Gentlemen, I shall not be so 
 amusing as brother Morris." Morris : " You 
 can't do it." 
 
 Morris was trying a case in which his client
 
 300 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 sued for board, and after the plaintiff had testi- 
 fied in chief, Mr. Robert M. Morse cross-exam- 
 ined liim, and as a final question asked : " Have 
 you been in the House of Correction ? " Wit- 
 ness: "Yes, sir." Morse: "That's all, sir." 
 Morris : " No, sir ; that 's not all. What were 
 you sent there for?" Witness: "For selling 
 liquor." Morris : " The man that sold it to you 
 did not go there, did he ? " Witness : " No, sir." 
 Morris: "That's aU." 
 
 Morris was trying a case in trover in which 
 the value of a goat was in question. Mr. 
 Sprague for defendant. Morris in closing said 
 to the jury : " Gentlemen, we can't find out 
 what 's become of dat goat, but I mistrust bro- 
 ther Sprague has had some of the milk of dat 
 goat for breakfast." 
 
 Isaac S. Morse brought a suit for a dress- 
 maker to recover damages for making a dress. 
 Robert Morris defended on the grounds that it 
 did not fit and that the dressmaker substituted 
 another piece of silk. A piece of silk from the 
 original material was put into the case and com- 
 pared with the dress, and an expert testified that 
 they were different. Morris asked if he could 
 tell the difference between any two silks. " Yes," 
 said the witness. Morris : " Can you tell the 
 difference between that colored man there 
 [pointing] and myself ? " Mr. Morse : " I have
 
 DIFFERENCE IN WOOL. 301 
 
 the witness here to prove difference in silks,, and 
 not iu loool.^' 
 
 A certain Mr. Jones, living in Boston, had 
 failed ; his creditors filed a report in the Insol- 
 vency Court. A Mr. Billiard of New York, who 
 was here trying a case, wished to put in that re- 
 port as evidence, and also wanted to know what 
 a certain Mr. Bond said at a public meeting of 
 the creditors at which he (Bond) was present. 
 Nathan Morse objected. Judge Devens : " Mr. 
 Bond, you say, was present and said nothing ? " 
 Mr. Bullard : " Yes, sir ; and we contend that 
 he should have spoken." Mr. Morse : " That 
 depends upon whether he was a good speaker 
 in public." 
 
 Joseph Nickerson, one of the sharpest practi- 
 tioners at the bar, was trying a case opposed to 
 A. A. Dame. During the trial Mr. Dame did 
 something equally sharp, and Nickerson said it 
 was a kind of sharp practice he was not used to. 
 
 Henry W. Paine came to Boston from Maine, 
 and after he had practiced here a little while, 
 was invited by Colonel Seth J. Thomas to dine 
 with some other guests at his house ; among 
 them being a gentleman who had known Mr. 
 Paine in the East. After the usual sfreetina:
 
 302 IN RE-TOUT. 
 
 the gentleman asked : " How are you getting on 
 here, Paine?" "Oh, fairly, fairly," said Mr. 
 Paine. " Fairly ! " said the other ; " how 's that, 
 when you were the leader at the Kennebec 
 bar ? " " I 'U tell you," said Mr. Paine. " You 
 
 know our friend Smith down at ?" 
 
 " Yes." " One day," said Mr. Paine, " Smith 
 caught a fine salmon, which he took into the house 
 and showed to his wife, saying, ' What shall 
 we do with this salmon ? ' Said his wife, ' You're 
 
 going down to to-morrow, are n't you ? ' 
 
 ' Yes,' said Smith. ' Take it and on your way stop 
 at Parson Jones's and make him a present of 
 it.' He said he would. His wife packed it in a 
 cloth and sewed it up very neatly, and the next 
 morning he put it in the box of his vehicle and 
 started off. He stopped to dine at a tavern on 
 the way, and told the landlord what he was go- 
 ing to do with it. The landlord went out and 
 got the salmon, brought it into the house, took 
 it out of the cloth, put in a lot of dried codfish, 
 hay, and stone, sewed up the cloth neatly, and 
 put it back into the vehicle. Smith went on, 
 stopped at Parson Jones's, and told him that he 
 and his wife thought that they would make him 
 a present of a salmon. He took out the bundle, 
 left it there, and then went on to the next town. 
 After having transacted his business he started 
 for home the next morning, stopping at the par-
 
 SALMON OR COD? 303 
 
 son's on the way to inquire how they liked the 
 sahnon. They began laughing, and when he 
 asked what' they were laughing about they told 
 him that he did n't bring any salmon, and 
 showed him what he had brought. He was 
 somewhat amazed, but thought that they had bet- 
 ter sew up the material he had brought and he 
 would take it back. So it was sewed np, and he 
 put it in his box. Again he stopped at the same 
 tavern to dine, and when he saw the landlord he 
 told him what had happened. The landlord 
 went out, got the bundle, took out the stuff, re- 
 placed the salmon, and sewed up the bundle. 
 Then Mr. Smith went home, and after having 
 unharnessed his horse he went into the house 
 and sat down. His wife said : ' Why, Smith, 
 you seem to be in a quandary ; what 's the mat- 
 ter ? ' He said : ' I thought I carried a good 
 salmon down to Parson Jones, but it turned out 
 to be nothing but a lot of dried salt fish, hay, 
 and stones.' ' Pooh ! ' said his wife ; ' did n't I 
 sew him up and don't I know ? Where is it ? ' 
 ' In the box in the vehicle in the barn.' ' Get it, 
 and bring it in here,' said his wife. He brought 
 it in, opened it, and there was the salmon. ' Ah,' 
 said Smith, shaking his fist at the salmon, 
 ' you 're a dashed good salmon on the Kennebec, 
 but down on the Penobscot you 're nothing but 
 a cod.' "
 
 304 JX RE- TORT. 
 
 A certain member of the bar, not distinguished 
 for his good manners, was trying a cause as 
 counsel before Henry W. Paine as referee. Mr. 
 John T. Paine, one of the counsel, was a man of 
 very fine appearance and excellent manners, but 
 not so highly educated a man as the counsel 
 who was opposed to him. Mr. Paine in his 
 closing argument commented rather severely on 
 the testimony of one of the witnesses for the 
 other side, and amongst other things said : " As 
 to the testimony of Jones, Mr. Referee, I think 
 you should give to it very little weight. He is 
 evidently one of those non mi recordo witnesses." 
 " ]Vo7i mi recordo,^^ shouted the other counsel ; 
 " what does that mean ? " " Why," said Paine, 
 " that 's Latin for " — " Latin ! " said the op- 
 posite counsel ; " I shoidd think it was hog 
 Latin." " Well," said Paine, " I should think 
 you might be a good judge of hog Latin." 
 
 John C. Park told me that a man came to 
 him and wanted him to defend an action brousfht 
 against him by Richard H. Fuller, when the 
 latter first came to the bar. The case was this : 
 When Fuller and the defendant in the action 
 were in college, they made a wager of twenty- 
 five dollars, which was put in writing, as to which 
 of them would be first married. Fuller married 
 first and sent to the defendant for the twenty-
 
 MARRIAGE WAGERS. 305 
 
 five dollars, payment of which was refused, and 
 Fuller thereupon brought suit. Park filed his 
 answer in defense before the action was entered, 
 setting forth among other things that such wagers 
 were against the policy of the law, and counte- 
 nanced immoral marriages ; and that plaintiff 
 (Fuller) hastened his marriage in order to make 
 twenty-five dollars. When Fuller saw the an- 
 swer in the clerk's office, he got frightened or 
 ashamed and did not press his action. 
 
 When the court began to have two sessions, 
 in the first division of cases for the first and 
 second session, it was thought expedient to give 
 the even numbers to the first session, and the 
 odd numbers to the second. John C. Park said 
 to me : " The court exercises strict jurisdiction 
 over gambling, but the first thing the court did 
 this term was to 'odd and even.' " 
 
 An Irishman on the stand testified about buy- 
 ing some rose gin for thirty-five cents a gal- 
 lon. Counsel asked him to explain to the jury 
 what rose gin is. The witness said : " An' faith, 
 the gintlemen of the jury knows what rose gin 
 is." 
 
 In 1849, in the Court of Common Pleas, 
 there was a case tried about the sale of some 
 property which was supposed to have been stolen
 
 30G IN RE-TORT. 
 
 by Bristol Bill, a celebrated burglar. Francis 
 E. Parker was counsel for the i)laiutiff, and, if 
 my memory serves me correctly, Messrs. Smith 
 and Bates were counsel for the defendant. It 
 was customary at this time to have an issue 
 tendered and joined in the old style of 
 pleading-, to wit : in cases of assumpsit, " Now . 
 comes the defendant when, etc., where, etc., 
 and says he never promised in manner and 
 form as set forth in plaintiff's writ, and of 
 this he puts himself upon the country by 
 
 , his attorney. And the plaintiff doth the 
 
 like by, , his attorney." There was a great 
 
 deal of feeling manifested at the trial, and John 
 Wilson, who was a constable at that time and 
 whose reputation was not of the best, was the 
 principal witness for the plaintiff. The verdict 
 was for the plaintiff. A day or two after the ver- 
 dict was rendered, Samuel D. Parker, Esq., who 
 was district attorney, came into the office and 
 said he wanted to see the papers in the case. 
 I imagined he was going to indict Wilson for 
 perjury. I looked the papers all over, and then 
 handed them to Mr. Parker. After he had 
 examined them, and as he was about to leave 
 the office, I remarked : " I think, Mr. Parker, 
 there is one thing you want that is not there." 
 "H'm, h'm, what's that?" he asked. I said: 
 " There 's no issue joined there." He looked
 
 INDICTMENT NOT PRESENTED. 307 
 
 the papers over again, and said : " Here 's the 
 simUiter.'''' " Yes," I said ; " but it is not 
 signed." " He, h'm," said Mr. Parker ; " leave 
 the papers here a few minutes until I look at the 
 
 volume of Massachusetts." He was gone 
 
 a few moments, and on his return said : " I 
 think you are right ; I had that indictment all 
 drawn, and all it lacked was the signature of 
 the foreman of the grand jury." Then he went 
 out. The clerk, Mr. Willard, was not in at the 
 time. In a little while a boy rushed into the 
 office in great haste, and putting a paper hur- 
 riedly into my hand was about to leave. Sus- 
 pecting something, I shut the door, read the 
 paper, and found it was an issue in the case pro- 
 perly tendered, joined, and signed. I told the 
 boy to take it back, for it was too late. Then 
 I went and told Mr. Francis E. Parker what I 
 had done, and on my return to the office I 
 found the clerk had come in. I told him what 
 I had done, and he said I had acted judiciously. 
 In a few moments Mr. Bates came in with the 
 same paper and wanted it filed. Mr. Willard 
 declined to do so, saying that it was too late, 
 as certain rights had been acquired. Conse- 
 quently the indictment was not presented. A 
 week later I found a silver cup on my desk 
 with the name of one of my children engraved 
 upon it. Who left it I never knew.
 
 308 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 At the time of which I have been writing, 
 the old court house was the same in the rear as 
 it is to-day in front, that is, it extended no far- 
 ther than the stairs which one ascends in going 
 where the law library then was. The addition 
 where the sheriff's office was, the record room of 
 the Superior Court, the law library, and the 
 second session room of the Superior Court, was 
 erected in 1861. The United States Court was 
 held in a room lately occupied by the Mimici- 
 pal Criminal Court. The marshal's office was 
 where the reporter's was, and the law library 
 was where the Superior Court held equity ses- 
 sions. The Police Court was where the Civil 
 Municipal was, and the Justices' Civil Court was 
 where the offices of the commonwealth law 
 clerk was, and the Municipal Criminal clerks 
 were. Costs were different in the Court of 
 Common Pleas. Thirty-three cents per diem 
 for attendance was the allowance by statute for 
 taxable costs every day on which an action was 
 open, and the only way to stop the costs was to 
 continue on a certain day and note it upon the 
 docket. The cost of attendance, the three long 
 terms of October, January, and April, would 
 be from $16.50 to $19, or $17.80 each term, 
 and the July term about $9 or $10. And 
 this I hold is the true way to make the costs 
 high. It left parties to settle or try, and not
 
 A SQUIRREL STORY. 309 
 
 SO many weak cases were brought as at present. 
 Then the plaintiff's attorney did not charge his 
 client so much, as the defeated party had to pay 
 a good bill of costs. Now the plaintiff has to 
 pay the whole of his lawyer's fees, or deduct it 
 out of the verdict, if he gets one. Since I wrote 
 the above a member of the bar has told me that 
 Chief Justice Shaw said the costs should be 
 high because it was a bar to litigation. 
 
 Horatio G. Parker was formerly judge of 
 probate in western Massachusetts. One day 
 he noticed a large old farmer waiting all the 
 forenoon in his court room. In the middle of 
 the forenoon another old farmer came in and 
 said to the first one : " What you doing here, 
 Captain Scott ? " " Waiting for the Probate 
 Court," said Scott. " Why, this is the Probate 
 Court," said the other. " Where is the judge?" 
 said Scott. "There" (pointing to Parker). 
 " That fellow! " said Scott; " I saw him shooting 
 chipmunks this morning." In the afternoon 
 Scott appeared again, and Parker assented to 
 his claim. Captain Scott said he was much 
 obliged, and Parker said, " I 'm sorry that a 
 man of your age and experience can't tell a 
 chipmunk from a gray squirrel." Said Scott : 
 " Why, squire, did you hear me ? " " Yes," said 
 Parker, " and I am sorry," etc., repeating his
 
 310 /iV RE-TORT. 
 
 remarks. " Have you got 'em ? " asked Scott. 
 -Yes," said Parker. "Let's see 'em." He 
 and Parker went out and looked at them ; the 
 captain poked them over and turned them, to 
 make sure they were gray squirrels, then poked 
 the judge in the ribs, and said : " Squire, let 's 
 go and take su'thin." 
 
 A witness testified that a certain statement he 
 made to a person was false. Mr. Ranney : 
 " Are you in the habit of lying ? " Witness : 
 " I don't know." Ranney : " Do you lie from 
 habit or pleasure ? " Witness : " Both." 
 
 Mr. Ranney and Mr. Nathan Morse engaged 
 on opposite sides. Mr. Morse : " Now, Mr. 
 Witness, I did n't ask you that ; no doubt your 
 answer pleases brother Ranney." Mr. Ranney : 
 " The truth always pleases me." Mr. Morse : 
 " Because it is so rare ? " Mr. Ranney : " When 
 you are on the other side." 
 
 In the case of Mann against a life insurance 
 company, Mr. Ranney got a verdict for plaintiff. 
 Defendant moved for a new trial, and among 
 other things contended that plaintiff's death 
 might have been caused by excessive smoking. 
 In an argument for a new trial I took down a 
 portion of Mr. Ranney's remarks as follows : 
 " Was he an excessive smoker ? Who can tell ? 
 The term is relative. No man thinks he smokes
 
 HOM(EOPATHIC SMOKING. 311 
 
 to excess. I smoke ten cigars a clay and I don't 
 think I smoke to excess, and a person may think 
 another smokes excessively who smokes three 
 per day. The doctor who testified here was 
 a homoeopath, and he wanted smoking done in 
 homceoj^athic quantities in a thousandth dihition 
 of a cigar." 
 
 In a certain case Mr. Ranney, in examining a 
 witness and holding his notes of a previous trial 
 in his hand, said : " Now did n't you swear before 
 that you were at the house a week before the 
 occurrence ? " Witness : " I don't know, but if 
 you have got it down there I suppose I must 
 have said so." Sweetser : " Oh, no, that does n't 
 follow by any means." 
 
 In the same case. Mr. Ranney : " Did Mr. 
 Lund thank you for getting him figs ? " Witness : 
 " No, I don't think he did." Ranney : " Did he 
 ever thank you for anything ? " Witness : 
 " Not as I remember." Ranney : " Did he 
 thank you for coming to visit him ? " Witness : 
 " No." Ranney : " Did he ever thank you for 
 going away ? " Witness : " No." 
 
 Benjamin F. Russell had quite an extensive 
 criminal practice. He bought an excellent over- 
 coat for which he paid sixty dollars. Being 
 sent for to the Criminal Court he went in great 
 haste, leaving his coat hanging up in his office.
 
 312 IN HE-TOirr. 
 
 The next day a persou came into his office to 
 engage him to try his case, which was for larceny. 
 Mr. liussell demanded ten dollars as a re- 
 tainer. The client said, "You have only 
 charged five dollars before ; why do you charge 
 double now ? " Mr. li. replied, " Some of you 
 fellows have stolen my overcoat, and you have 
 got to subscribe, in order that I may get an- 
 other." 
 
 Ivory W. Richardson, a man of excellent 
 natural abilities, was appointed one of the ex- 
 aminers of young men on their application for 
 admission to the bar. To one person whom he 
 examined and who seemed to know the statutes 
 very well but not the common law, he said : "I 
 can't certify you for admission, for the next 
 legislature will repeal all you know." 
 
 Two Irishmen were sitting together one day 
 in the court room when I overheard this : 
 Flanagan : " And have you a case here, Dono- 
 van ? " " Yes," said Donovan. Flanagan : 
 "Who's your counsel?" Donovan: "Mr. 
 Gargan" (pointing to him). "Ah," said Flana- 
 gan, " why don't you get Misther Roiley ? is n't 
 he the b'y ? Did n't I see him the other day 
 arguing the case with the judge, and the judge 
 could n't hold a candle to him, and could n't
 
 FROM IRELAND. 313 
 
 argue with him any longer, and had to say to 
 him, ' Sit down, Misther Koiley.' " 
 
 Mr. Russ and J. R. Smith were trying a case, 
 opposed to each other. Mr. Russ for the defend- 
 ant had his client sworn, and asked him, " State 
 what services you performed for the plaintiff." 
 Mr. Smith : "I object until, etc., and besides no 
 set-off has been pleaded." Mr. Russ : "If there 
 is any question as to the order of proof, I will 
 waive it for the present. It used to be said 
 that it makes no difference which leg of the 
 trousers one puts on first." Judge Lathrop : 
 " Provided he has a leg to stand on." 
 
 Mr. Russ was interrogating a witness who was 
 driving a coal-cart at the time of a certain col- 
 lision. Russ : " Where were you going with 
 that coal-cart?" "To White's Wharf, sor." 
 Russ : " Where did you come from ? " Witness : 
 " From Ireland, sor." 
 
 Mr. ., a practicing lawyer in Boston, 
 
 married a daughter of Judge , one of the 
 
 judges of the Superior Court. Mr. had a 
 
 cause which was liable to come on before Judge 
 
 , in which case Mr. Russ was the opposing 
 
 counsel. Mr. wrote to Mr. Russ : " Con- 
 sidering my relations with Judge , hadn't 
 
 our action better be postponed till some other 
 judge sits ? " Russ knew nothing of the mar-
 
 314 IN RE-TOUT. 
 
 riage, and supposed that Mr. had had 
 
 some difficulty with Judge , and replied : 
 
 "• I hate the as much as you do, hut perha})S 
 
 we had better go on ; I 'm not afraid of hiui." 
 It is current report that the case came on before 
 
 Judge , and, observing some hesitation on 
 
 the part of Mr. Russ, Judge remarked : 
 
 " Go on, Mr. Russ, don't be afraid." 
 
 When George Sennott came from Vermont to 
 practice law in Boston, he went to Judge Met- 
 calf and told him that he was advised by Chief 
 Justice Redfield of Vermont to ask him (Judge 
 Metcalf) what books he should read. Judge 
 Metcalf gave him a list. Some time afterward 
 Judge Redfield came to Boston to practice, and 
 in conversation with Judge Metcalf the latter 
 told him about this incident of Sennott. Said 
 Judge Redfield : " What did you advise him to 
 read ? " Judge Metcalf told him, and asked : 
 " What would you have advised him to read ? " 
 "Oh," said Judge Redfield, "I should have 
 advised him to read the decalogue." 
 
 When Hiram S. Shurtleff was acting as 
 clerk in the Criminal Court, George Sennott 
 was one day somewhat indecorous and disrespect- 
 ful to the Court. Judge Reed told him several 
 times to stop, which Sennott disregarded. Then 
 Judge Reed told him if he did not stop he would
 
 ANECDOTES OF GEORGE SENNOTT. 315 
 
 commit liim. Sennott sat down. After some 
 minutes Judge Reed said to Sliurtleff : " I found 
 I was angry, and I would not commit him." 
 Subsequently Sennott said to Sliurtleff : " I was 
 frightened ; I thought he would commit me." 
 " Oh," said Shurtleff, " he would not have com- 
 mitted you. " " Why not ? " said Sennott. 
 " Because," said Shurtleff, " he would n't have 
 committed a nuisance." 
 
 Sennott once made a motion before Judge 
 
 , and while the judge was looking at the 
 
 statutes Sennott kept up an incessant talking. 
 
 Judge : " I don't know that there is any 
 
 advantage in keeping up this talk." Sennott : 
 " As nothing was going on I thought I would 
 occupy the time in saying something." Judge 
 : " You had better occupy the time in say- 
 ing nothing." 
 
 George Sennott went to Virginia to defend 
 some of John Brown's associates. A newspaper 
 there said : " We presume lager beer will ac- 
 cumulate in Boston while Sennott is here." A 
 man from there said to a clerk in our office : 
 " You have nominated a pretty man for gov- 
 ernor, a man who went to Virginia and drank all 
 the whiskey there, and was drunk every day." 
 " Are n't you mistaken in the man ? " asked Mr. 
 U., the clerk ; " is n't it Sennott ? " " Oh, yes," 
 said the man, " I beg Mr. Andrew's pardon."
 
 316 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 There was some resemblance between the two. 
 Mr. Sennott was in the office in the afternoon, 
 and we told him the story, at which he laughed 
 heartily. 
 
 This same autumn, 1859, Sennott was making 
 a speech at a Democratic meeting. A fellow 
 in the crowd shouted : " You 're an abolitionist ; 
 did n't you go to Virginia to defend John 
 Brown ? " Sennott replied : " Am I a thief be- 
 cause I defended you on a charge of larceny and 
 kept you from the House of Correction, where 
 you belong ? " 
 
 Matthew Hale Smith, who earlier in life 
 preached as a Universalist minister, came to the 
 bar and practiced somewhat in Suffolk. During 
 a portion of his practice, Sebeus C. Maine was 
 one of the justices of the Justices' Court. Smith 
 told me tliat as he was not well he occasionally 
 went on horseback, riding a white horse. As he 
 was riding one day, Maine on his fast trotter 
 overtook him and said : " Smith, you put me in 
 mind of a passage in scripture, ' Death on a pale 
 horse.' " Smith retorted : " You put me in 
 mind of another." " Ah," said Maine, " what 's 
 that ? " '" And all h— 1 foUowed after.' " 
 
 Robert D. Smith was a man of infinite humor. 
 There was a case on trial one day in which the
 
 BAPTISM BY FIRE. 317 
 
 defendant, a Baptist, was sued for damages for 
 firing- a rocket one Fourth of July, which hit 
 a boy in the eye. This boy (the plaintitf) was 
 the son of a member of an Orthodox church. 
 Smith said that the defendant had tried baj)tism 
 by water, and now he had tried it by fire. 
 
 The same lawyer was examining Mr. Paige, 
 the well-known insurance agent, on the subject 
 of certain dangerous articles in houses. Mr. 
 S. : " Is the risk greater where there are board- 
 ers ? " " Yes." " Is it greater where there is a 
 mother-in-law ? " " Mothers-in-law are not gen- 
 erally boarders." " Do you allow gentlemen 
 to keep liquors in their houses ? " " Somewhat." 
 " And not increase the risk ? " " Generally 
 not." " Suppose I came to you to insure ray 
 house, should you ask me if I had liquor in it ? " 
 " Take it for granted." 
 
 Smith often had a very humorous way of tell- 
 ing stories in his arguments. I had a colt in 
 Vermont which I wanted to bring down to Bos- 
 ton. I found that if the railroad carried him 
 in a car it would be expensive ; but that if 
 I put him in a car with sheep the freight would 
 be lower. I did so, and on the passage the 
 sheep ate the hair off his tail, owing, probably, 
 to the salt in it. I told the fact to Mr. Smith, 
 and one day, as he was arguing a case before 
 the Supreme Court (I don't remember how it
 
 318 fN RE-TORT. 
 
 became luatorlal), the Court asked hiin to illus- 
 trate his positiou. " Why," said Mr. Smith, 
 " Mr. Willard had a colt come down in the cars 
 from Vermont with a lot of sheep, and they ate 
 the hairs off the colt's tail, and even gnawed the 
 hide," — at which the Court was convulsed with 
 laughter. 
 
 A client of Mr. AVilliam D. Sohier, on en- 
 tering the latter's office one day, threw off his 
 coat and said : " Why, your office is as hot as 
 an oven." " Why not," said Mr. S. ; " it 's here 
 I make my bread." 
 
 A friend of mine writes me of Mr. Sohier 
 thus : " Edward D. Sohier (commonly spoken 
 of as Ned Sohier) was a man of marked per- 
 sonal characteristics. Erect, he would have 
 been nigh six feet in height, but he had an 
 habitual stoop. He was among the first men in 
 Boston to wear a mustache ; he was the first 
 professional man who wore one, and this only 
 under the advice of an eminent oculist, for his 
 eyes' sake. For many years he wore a fine 
 drab English kersey top-coat, with large mother- 
 of-pearl buttons ; his hands were deeply thrust 
 into the hip pockets, unless one of them was 
 clutching a great garnet-colored bag fidl of 
 books and papers. He always wore a felt cap, 
 with the broad visor well pulled down over his
 
 A REMINISCENCE OF HARVARD. 319 
 
 eyes, and ordinarily a green shade under that. 
 His movements were very rapid. His body was 
 the apt servant of his quick mind. As he 
 darted along the street, glancing suddenly to 
 right and left, his mobile, eager face lighted up 
 with instant recognition of anything strange or 
 ludicrous ; and he attracted any one's attention. 
 He was altogether, in his make-up, unlike the 
 conventional man or American ; perhaps in some 
 degree because he was of old Huguenot descent. 
 He always seemed to me like a fine specimen 
 of the true French savant." 
 
 Mr. Edward D. Sohier and Mr. Charles 
 A. Welch I had known in boyhood ; they 
 were students in Harvard when my father was 
 professor ; and when I entered the office I re- 
 newed my acquaintance with them. Mr. Sohier 
 said : " Your father was very kind to me, saved 
 me from being rusticated, and I should like to 
 do anything I can for you." I asked him the 
 circumstances. He said : " One day at Com- 
 mons (the place where the students ate their 
 meals), we had mouldy bread. I took a piece 
 to the fire to toast, and occasionally looked 
 round to see if Mr. Barlow, the proctor, were 
 looking at me. He reported me to the faculty, 
 and said I was making grimaces at him, and 
 wanted me rusticated for impudence. Your 
 father was at the meeting of the faculty, and
 
 r>20 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 hearinc^ tlie statement said : ' Pooli ; nothinj^ but 
 a boy's fun I ' and I was not rusticated. How- 
 ever," added Soliier, " Barlow got his pay, for 
 he turned out a common drunkard." 
 
 IMr. Sohier and Mr. Welch, his partner, were 
 obliged to leave the office which they had occu- 
 pied many years over Jacobs and Deane, the 
 tailors, on Court Street, in order that J. and 
 D. might enlarge their premises. A gentleman 
 remarked to Mr. Sohier : " It must be very hard 
 for you to leave, having been there so long." 
 " Well, well," said Mr. Sohier ; " our suits will 
 last as long as theirs." 
 
 I said to Mr. Sohier that I thought the motto 
 of the seal of the old Police Court, smim cuique, 
 might be better. " It could n't be better," said 
 Mr. Sohier ; " sue 'em quick." 
 
 Mr. Frederick W. Sawyer, who had long 
 been a practicing attorney, organized a bank 
 called the Pawner's Bank, of which he became 
 president. I remarked to Mr. Sohier that I 
 thought it strange that Mr. Sawyer should leave 
 his practice and go into the banking business. 
 " Oh, no," said Mr. Sohier ; " it is perfectly 
 natural that he should go from the Sioux to the 
 Pawnees." 
 
 I told Mr. Sohier that I had read in the paper 
 that a dead whale was driven ashore at Nan- 
 tucket, and on opening him a pair of boots was
 
 JONAH'S BOOTS'. 321 
 
 found, marked J . Mr. Sohier replied: 
 
 " They probably belonged to Jonali ; he must 
 have left them when he stepped out." 
 
 There was a case of one Coleman against the 
 New York and New Haven Railroad, in which 
 the plaintiff claimed damages for being rudely 
 ejected from the car. Coleman was selling-agent 
 for a large firm in New York, and in traveling 
 between New York and Boston he often had 
 coupons left by reason of stopping at inter- 
 mediate places. He this time had one in his 
 pocket, — " New Haven to New York." He 
 entered the car at New York, presented this 
 ticket to the conductor, and said that, as he had 
 paid for it from New Haven to New York, 
 it ought to be good from New York to New 
 Haven. The conductor said he should not take 
 it, and that if Coleman did not pay his fare he 
 should put him out. There were a number of 
 Boston gentlemen present, well known to Cole- 
 man and the conductor. Coleman said : " Take 
 this coupon and my name, and if the proper au- 
 thorities find fault with you and refuse to take 
 it, I will send you the regular fare." A num- 
 ber of Boston gentlemen exclaimed, " That 's 
 fair." But the conductor refused, and at the 
 next stopping-place he came in with four stout 
 brakemen, and took hold of Coleman to put him 
 out. Coleman clung to the cushion, but they
 
 322 JN RE-TOUT. 
 
 took liim out, seat and all, and in his own words, 
 " duui})ed nie onto a platform like a dead sheep." 
 When the train started he ran and caught hold 
 of the steps, but they pushed him off. Mr. 
 Edward D. Sohier, who appeared for Coleman, 
 spoke of the brutal force with which the con- 
 ductor and his men put him ofp. The counsel 
 for the defendant said, " There 's no such evi- 
 dence." " Is n't there, gentlemen ? " said Mr. 
 Sohier. " What did the conductor say when he 
 came in with his men ? — ' Now, boys, let 's put 
 him off.' I submit to you, gentlemen, that this 
 is force implied. I submit, further, that when 
 a delicate thing is undertaken it is not cus- 
 tomary to say, ' Now, boys, let 's do a certain 
 thing ; ' it is only when something desperate is 
 to be attempted, as when a general leading a 
 forlorn hoj)e says, ' Now, boys, let 's storm this 
 redoubt.' A banker does not gather his clerks 
 round him and say, ' JVow, boys, let 's go to dis- 
 counting,' nor Dr. Blagden when he rises from 
 the pulpit, ' JVaw, boys, let 's read the one hun- 
 dred and nineteenth psalm.' " 
 
 One evening in 18 — , I went to a stable to 
 hire a horse and buggy, and while waiting for 
 it to be harnessed I heard a man say : " I al- 
 ways believe a man to be a d d rascal until 
 
 I find him honest." I made up my mind that 
 he was a rascal himself ; and as I looked at
 
 A PAIR OF RASCALS. 323 
 
 him, I mentally took his photograph. His name 
 was Montgomery. Shortly after this he was 
 arrested for robbing the stage that carried the 
 box or money-bag of the Waltham Bank, while 
 the" stage stood at the post-office. He was con- 
 victed and sent to State Prison. After his con- 
 viction, one William W. Wilson, who was 
 looked upon with suspicion, in order to retain 
 the money for Montgomery, brought a suit against 
 him, and summoned the Merchants' Bank, where 
 Montgomery had deposited the money, as trustee. 
 Thereupon the Waltham Bank, by Sohier and 
 Welch, its attorneys, prayed to come in as sub- 
 sequent attaching creditors, and were admitted. 
 Wilson, being a skillful engraver, had done a 
 considerable amount of that sort of work for 
 different manufacturing companies. About the 
 time the action was put in for trial, Mr. Welch 
 was going down the court house stairs, when he 
 met the treasurer of one of these companies, 
 whom he knew very well, going upstairs. He 
 asked him what he was going uj) for. He said 
 he was going to testify how much he paid Wil- 
 son. Mr. Welch said : " I believe Wilson is a 
 rascal ; let 's look over the papers and the orders, 
 and compare things and see how they stand." 
 On examination it was found that he had paid 
 Wilson large suras on forged orders. At the 
 trial Wilson took the stand, and after hav-
 
 321 IN RE-TOUT. 
 
 ing given his testimony in chief, and while Mr. 
 Sohier was eliciting from him the statement 
 that he had been overpaid by these forged or- 
 ders, Wilson fainted, and Mr. John C. Adams, 
 who was his counsel, abandoned the case. Thus 
 the Waltham Bank recovered a large portion 
 of their money. 
 
 As Mr. Sohier was standing in the corridor 
 of the court house one day, talking with some 
 gentlemen, a person with a monstrous nose 
 passed him to go into the court room. In a 
 few moments another gentleman came along, and, 
 bowing, said : " Can you tell me, gentlemen, if 
 the trial of the Roxbury nuisance case comes on 
 to-day ? " " Yes, sir, I think it does ; I saw an 
 expert on smells go into court just now." 
 
 I met Mr. Sohier one morning near the court 
 house steps, when Mr. Benjamin F. Hallett came 
 uj? and said, " Good-morning." Mr. Sohier said, 
 " Well, brother Hallett, how does the world 
 treat you, nowadays ? " " Shockingly, some- 
 times," replied Mr. Hallett ; " the other day a 
 man called me Judas ; however, I did n't care." 
 Mr. Sohier instantly replied, " Well, but what 
 does Judas say ? " 
 
 One day as my predecessor, Mr. Josej)h Wil- 
 lard, was entering the office together with Mr. 
 Sohier, the latter, leaning on Mr. Willard, kindly 
 remarked : " Now, if you would only die, Wil-
 
 GOOD NOTES. 325 
 
 lard, tlie inheritance would be ours." This was 
 when the appointment was made by the Court, 
 and a member of the bar was sure to be selected. 
 
 Sohier was joking with William Brigham 
 about ages, one day, Brigham being somewhat 
 advanced in years, when Brigham said : " Sohier, 
 do you know who I am ? " "I know who you 
 are not ; you are not Brigham Young," said 
 Sohier. 
 
 Judge Abbott and E. D. Sohier were talking 
 together one morning before the Com-t came in, 
 and the judge spoke of a French lady whose let- 
 ters had been lately published, and of whom it 
 was formerly said that she had been on too inti- 
 mate terms with Napoleon. Judge Abbott said 
 it appeared, now, that all that Napoleon did was 
 to enter her bedchamber while she was in bed, 
 and, while talking with her, pinch her toes. 
 To which Sohier remarked, " He certainly pro- 
 ceeded to extremities with her." * 
 
 A stranger came to Mr. Sohier's office one day 
 and said, " I brought a load of lumber to town 
 
 and sold it to Mr. , and took his notes ; are 
 
 they good ? " Mr. Sohier replied, " He is the 
 head singer at our church, and I never heard 
 his notes complained of." 
 
 When I first went to the office it was the cus- 
 tom of lawyers to put their Christian names on 
 their signs, as well as the full names of parties
 
 326 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 in the writs, and not initials, as they do now. I 
 think the Messrs. Chandler were the first ones 
 to introduce the innovation ; whether it was be- 
 cause their names were too king or because of 
 some other reason, I don't know ; but they jnit 
 out their sign, " T. P. and P. W. Chandler." 
 Some one called Mr. Sohier's attention to it 
 and said : " What do you suppose that means, 
 Mr. Sohier ? " " Oh," said he, " Tad Pole and 
 Polly Wog." 
 
 A witness, testifying one day, made many 
 grimaces, writhing and twisting about ; a person 
 remarked to Mr. Sohier that the witness looked 
 and acted as though he were swallowing a shoe- 
 maker. Mr. Sohier replied, " I don't know that 
 he can, but he looks as though he swallowed sev- 
 eral cobblers daily." 
 
 One morning Mr. Sohier came into court and 
 there was a man present of large abdominal di- 
 mensions. He came to me and asked me who he 
 was. I said, " He has a lawsuit here." " What 
 is it ? " asked Mr. Sohier ; " a petition for parti- 
 tion?" I laughed, and said, "He is a pilot." 
 " Pilot ! " said Mr. Sohier ; " I should think he 
 was Pauncheous [Pontius] Pilate." 
 
 Mr. Sohier came to me one day and said : 
 
 " Willard, what kind of a fellow is Mr. ? " 
 
 I said, " He is a very good fellow indeed ; hon- 
 est and square, but not a great lawyer. He is an
 
 AN ADROIT MAXCEUVRE. 327 
 
 atlilete, and sleeps with his window open when 
 the mercury is twenty degrees below zero. He 
 is trying to be a Spartan." " Spartan! " said Mr. 
 Sohier ; " I should think he was a lazy demon " 
 (Lacedaemon). 
 
 Mr. Sohier and Mr. were discussing, in 
 
 my presence, the traits of a certain judge then 
 on the bench. Mr. Sohier was somewhat severe 
 on him, when tlie other said, " I think you do 
 
 great injustice to Judge •, Mr. Sohier, for 
 
 his breast is full of the milk of human kindness." 
 " Perhaps so," said Mr. Sohier, " but if it is, he 
 has kept it on hand too long." 
 
 One of the most adroit manoeuvres that I 
 ever saw in a trial of Mr. Sohier's was this : 
 He had, besides the jjlaintiff in the case, a wit- 
 ness whose reputation was not of the best. He 
 called the plaintiff and made out a 2)rima jfacie 
 case. He knew if he called the wdtness, he would 
 be shown upon cross-examination to be wholly 
 unreliable ; and if he did not call him, there 
 would be a great clamor from the other side ; so 
 he called the witness. " What is your name, 
 sir ? " " John B. Hoogs." " Where do you live ? " 
 " Boston." " How old are you ? " " Forty years." 
 Turning to the opposite counsel, Mr. Sohier said, 
 " He is 3^our witness, gentlemen." The opposite 
 .counsel hesitated. The Court said, " Proceed 
 with the cross-examination, gentlemen." The
 
 328 7.V RE-TORT. 
 
 opposite counsel, to use a nautical expression, 
 were taken quite aback, and said, " May it 
 please your honor, we would like a few luoinents 
 to consult." They did not examine him, and Mr. 
 Hoogs left the stand. They could not and did not 
 argue that Mr. Iloogs had not been produced 
 and examined. 
 
 I said to Mr. Sohier one day : " Mr. Sohier, 
 you have known me since boyhood, and I should 
 like your photograph." He said, " I never was 
 taken, but I have often been mistaken." 
 
 The first and second sessions of the Superior 
 Court were on the same floor, up three flights 
 of stairs, in the court house which stands in 
 Court Square. Judge Lord, who was sitting in 
 the first session, beiiig much annoyed by people 
 passing through from the first to the second ses- 
 sion, ordered that the door which was between 
 the two sessions, should be closed. Judge Vose, 
 who was presiding in the second session, sent an 
 officer to the first session to see if John C. Park 
 were engaged there. Park, ha\ang been notified, 
 went down the three flights and up the other 
 three, and came up grumbling. Mr. Sohier met 
 him and said, " Park, what is the matter ? " 
 Park said, " Lord has closed the doors against 
 us so we can't get through." " Ah," said Sohier, 
 " that 's not the only Lord who will close the 
 doors against you."
 
 A QUKSriOXABLE PREC ICUENT. 329 
 
 In conversing with me about the different 
 traits of the members of the bar, Mr. Sohier 
 said, " Mr. Willey was a man with a disordered 
 vocabulary ; however, he never hesitated for 
 want of a word." 
 
 As a bit of special pleading, the following is 
 not bad. Mr. Edward D. Sohier kicked his 
 father's dog. Sohier the elder : " What did you 
 kick my dog for ? " " He bit me," said Edward 
 D. " No, he did n't," replied the father. " Then 
 I did n't kick him," rejoined Edward D. 
 
 In 1869, some of the judges of the Supreme 
 Judicial Court resigned and became presidents 
 of insurance companies. Mr. Sohier said : " It 
 seems that the Supreme Court is to be aban- 
 doned to the underwriters." 
 
 There was a well-known furrier by the name 
 of S. Klous who had a case in the trial list. 
 On looking the list over, Mr. Sohier asked, 
 " When will this case of S. K. Lous come on ? " 
 
 Edward D. Sohier told me this of his father, 
 William D. Sohier. He was trying a case before 
 Chief Justice Shaw the day before Good Friday, 
 and asked if the court would be held to-morrow. 
 Shaw: "Yes, sir; why shoiddn't it be held? 
 Is there any precedent for not holding it ? " "I 
 don't know that there is, sir, but there is a prece- 
 dent for holding it." "What is that, sir?" 
 Mr. Sohier : " Pontius Pilate, sir."
 
 330 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 In the famous case of Burlen vs. Shannon, 
 Miss Burlen sued Shannon for his wife's board ; 
 Mrs. Shannon was ]\Iiss Burlen's sister. It 
 appeared in evidence that the first diffi(!ulty 
 between Shannon and his wife was that she 
 wanted forty (h)nars from Shannon to get Miss 
 Burlen a new set of teeth as compensation in 
 jiart for what she had done. Mr. Sohier in 
 arguing to the jury said : " Miss Burlen was 
 not content to use up one set of teeth at Shan- 
 non's table, but wanted Shannon to get her a 
 new one." 
 
 Edward Mellen was appointed justice of the 
 Court of Common Pleas in 1847, Chief Justice 
 in 1854, and died in 1875. He was not a care- 
 fully dressed man, and his clothes hung on him 
 all awry ; as we used to say on board ship, 
 " Like a purser's shirt on a handspike." His 
 hair was unmanageable and his general appear- 
 ance not polished, but he was a good lawyer. 
 Soon after his appointment, a shabby-looking 
 fruit peddler entered Sohier's office. Mr. Welch 
 said to him, " Get out of this office." Mr. 
 Sohier said, " Be careful, Welch ; he may be ap- 
 pointed justice of the Court of Common Pleas 
 to-morrow." 
 
 Mr. Sohier once had a horse which he found 
 next to impossible to drive over a bridge. In 
 advertising him for sale he stated that he sold
 
 A LEGAL BARD. 331 
 
 him for no fault, only, " Because the owner 
 wished to leave town." As the only convenient 
 way of leaving Boston at that time was to go over 
 some bridge, his reason was substantially a true 
 one ; at all events if it had n't been true he 
 would n't have said so. 
 
 When I went to the clerk's office, Allen C. 
 Spooner was a leading practitioner, a brilliant 
 man, and an excellent lawyer, — who succumbed 
 to that great evil, intemperance. He was 
 something of a poet and coiUd extemporize 
 verses. At the time of the trial of a Mrs. 
 Kinney, who was charged with poisoning her 
 husband, many people flocked to see her, as she 
 was a great beauty. Spooner made the attempt 
 to see her, but did not succeed. As he was 
 coming down the stairs in the old court house, 
 some one asked him, " Spooner, did you see 
 Mrs. Kinney ? " 
 
 " No, for constables, d their souls, 
 
 Stood all around her with their poles." 
 
 He also wrote a hymn which is in the collec- 
 tion of hymns edited by the Rev. Frederick 
 H. Hedge and the Rev. Frederick D. Hunt- 
 ington.
 
 332 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 THE VOYAGE OF LIFE. 
 
 How often as we beat along, 
 With wind ahead and bhjwing strong, 
 We hear our watchful captain cry, 
 " Near, nothinj? off, and full and by ! " 
 
 So when in life our steps begin 
 To tread the devious paths of sin, 
 May conscience wake our timely fear, 
 Uttering her warning cry of " Near ! " 
 
 And when from truth's unerring line, 
 
 Our coward lips would dare decline. 
 
 Then may we heed, though fools should scoff, 
 
 Her stern injunction, " Nothing off ! " 
 
 Virtue and vice to win us try. 
 Be then our watchword, " Full and by ! " 
 Safe course through this world to another, 
 Is "Full " of one, and " By " the other." 
 
 Another of Mr. Spooner's poems, a series of 
 hiunorous verses entitled " Old Times and New," 
 runs as follows ^ : — 
 
 OLD TIMES AND NEW. (Then and Now. ) 
 
 'T was in my easy-chair at home. 
 About a week ago, 
 I sat and puffed my light cigar, 
 As usual, you must know. 
 
 ^ I have lost or mislaid the copy given me by Mr. Spooner, 
 and I am indebted to Mr. Hurd, of the Transcript, for his 
 copy.
 
 OLD TIMES AND NEW. 333 
 
 I mused upon the pilgrim flock 
 
 Whose luck it was to land 
 
 Upon almost the only rock 
 
 Among- the Plymouth sand. 
 
 In my mind's eye I saw them leave 
 
 Their weatherbeateu bark ; 
 
 Before them spread the wintry wilds, 
 
 Behind rolled ocean dark. 
 
 Alone that little handful stood, 
 
 While savage foes lurked nigh, 
 
 Their creed and watchword, " Trust in God, 
 
 And keep your powder dry." 
 
 Imag-ination's pencil then 
 
 That first stern winter painted. 
 
 When more than half their number died, 
 
 And stoutest spirits fainted. 
 
 A tear unbidden filled one eye. 
 
 My smoke half filled the other. 
 
 One sees strang-e sights at such a time 
 
 Which quite the senses bother. 
 
 I knew I was alone, but lo ! 
 
 (Let him who dares deride me) 
 
 I looked, and drawing up a chair 
 
 Down sat a man beside me. 
 
 His dress was ancient, and his air 
 
 Was somewhat strange and foreign, 
 
 He civilly returned my stare 
 
 And said, " I 'm Richard Warren ; 
 
 You '11 find my name among the list 
 
 Of hero, sage, and martyr. 
 
 Who in the Mayflower's cabin signed 
 
 The first New England charter. 
 
 I could some curious facts impart. 
 
 Perhaps some wise suggestions. 
 
 But then I "m bent on seeing sights, 
 
 And running o'er with questions."
 
 334 1^ RE-TORT. 
 
 " Abk on, " said I, " I '11 do luy best 
 
 To <;ive you information, 
 
 Whether of priv.ite men you ask, 
 
 Or our renowned nation." 
 
 Said he, " First tell me what is that 
 
 In your compartment narrow, 
 
 Which seems to dry my eyeballs up 
 
 And scorch my very marrow ? " 
 
 His finger pointed to a grate ; 
 
 Said I, " That 's Lehigh coal 
 
 Dug from the earth ." He shook his head. 
 " It is, upon my soul." 
 
 I then took up a bit of stick — 
 
 One end was black as niglit — 
 
 And rubbed it quick across the hearth, 
 
 When lo ! a sudden light. 
 
 My guest drew back, uproUed his eyes. 
 
 And strove liis breath to catch. 
 " What necromancy 's that ? " he cried. 
 
 Quoth I, ■' A friction match." 
 
 Upon a pipe just overhead 
 
 I turned a little screw, 
 
 When forth with instantaneous flash 
 
 Three streams of lightning flew. 
 
 Up rose my guest ; " Now heaven be saved," 
 
 Aloud he shouted then ; 
 " Is that bell fire ? " " 'T is gas," said I. 
 " We call it hydrogen." 
 
 Then forth into the fields we strolled ; 
 
 A train came thundering by, 
 
 Drawn by the snoi'ting iron steed 
 
 Swifter than eagles fly. 
 
 Rumbled the wheels, the whistle shrieked, 
 
 Far streamed the smoky cloud ; 
 
 Echoed the hills, the valley shook, 
 
 The flying forests bowed.
 
 OLD TIMES AXD NEW. 335 
 
 Down on liis knees with hands upraised, 
 
 In worship Warren fell. 
 *' Great is the Lord our God," cried he, 
 " He doeth all things well. 
 
 I 've seen his chariots of fire, 
 
 His horsemen too thereof. 
 
 Oh, may I ne'er provoke his ire 
 
 Or at his threatenings scoff ! " 
 " Rise up, my friend, rise up,'' said I ; 
 " Your terrors all are vaiu ; 
 
 That was no chariot of the sky, 
 
 'T was the New York mail-train." 
 
 We stood within a chamber small ; 
 
 Men came the news to know, 
 
 From Worcester, Springfield, and New York, 
 
 Texas, and Mexico. 
 
 It came, it went, silent but sure, 
 
 He stared, smiled, burst out laughing ; 
 " What witchcraft 's that ? " " It 's what we call 
 
 Magnetic telegraphing." 
 
 Once more we stepped into the street. 
 
 Said W^arren, " What is that 
 
 Which moves along across the way, 
 
 As softly as a cat '? 
 
 I mean the thing upon two legs 
 
 With feathers on its head, 
 
 A monstrous hump below its waist. 
 
 Large as a feather bed ; 
 
 It has the gift of speech, I hear. 
 
 But sure it can't be human ? " 
 "My amiable friend," I said, 
 " That 's what we call a woman." 
 " Eternal Powers, it cannot be," 
 
 Sighed he with voice that faltered ; 
 " I loved a woman in my day, 
 
 But oh, they're strangely altered." 
 
 I showed him then a new machine
 
 336 /A' iii:-TORT. 
 
 For tumiiifr epps to chickens, 
 
 A labor-suviii};- hennery 
 
 That, beats the very dickens. 
 
 Thereat lie sti'ongly grasped my hand 
 
 And said, " 'T is plain to see 
 
 This world is so transmogrified 
 
 'T will never do for me. 
 
 Your telegrai)h, your railroad trains, 
 
 Your gaslights, friction matches. 
 
 Your hump-backed women, rocks for coal, 
 
 Your thing which chickens hatches. 
 
 Have turned the earth so upside down 
 
 No peace is left within it." 
 
 Then whirling round upon his heel 
 
 He vanished in a minute. 
 
 Forthwith my most veracious pen 
 
 Wrote down what I had heard, 
 
 And here dressed up in doggerel rhyme 
 
 You have it word for word. 
 
 A clever remark of Spooner's I have heard 
 attributed to others, but as I happened to be 
 present on the occasion, I give it place here. 
 Judge George T. Bigelow, afterwards our es- 
 teemed Chief Justice, was once holding the 
 Court of Common Pleas in Boston. One of 
 Spooner's witnesses had not appeared, and Judge 
 Bigelow insisted every few minutes that Mr. 
 Spooner must go on, — Spooner making various 
 excuses for his witness and pleading for time. 
 At last Judge Bigelow said, " Mr. Spooner, 
 you must go on ; this Court sits here for the dis- 
 patch of business.". Spooner, rising in a very
 
 A SHREWD ATTORNEY. 3^7 
 
 dignified manner, replied, " May it please your 
 lionor, I tliouglit the Court sat here for the ad- 
 ministration of justice." 
 
 A special justice for tlie Police Court was 
 created by the Legislature to take the place of 
 Judge Wells, who had gone to the civil war. 
 It was said that it was offered to Charles W. 
 Storey, who declined it ; and when asked why 
 he did so he replied, " People will say Judge 
 Storey decided so and so, and it will be asked, 
 ' What Judge Storey ? ' ' Why, Judge Storey of 
 the Police Court.' ' Oh, his decision.' " 
 
 In 1888, Mr. came from Portland, where 
 
 he had been very successful, to practice at the 
 Suffolk bar. A gentleman who had known him 
 in Portland asked me if I had ever heard Mr. 
 
 try a case. I told him, " No." " You 
 
 will find him very adroit in the examination of 
 witnesses, and very plausible in his remarks to 
 the jury," he said ; and he related to me the fol- 
 lowing: Mr. and an attorney whom we 
 
 will call Smith, were trying a case, and at the 
 adjournment of the court in the evening the evi- 
 dence was closed. The next morning at the 
 assembling of the court, the judge said, " Pro- 
 ceed with your remarks to the jury, Mr. Smith." 
 Smith took no notice of it. Two or three min-
 
 o38 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 utes elapsed, when the judge remarked, " Did n't 
 you hear me, Mr. Smith ; I said proceed with 
 your case." Mr. Smith, rising, said, " May it 
 
 please your honor, brother is not ready 
 
 yet." Mr. arose and protested, and said 
 
 he was ready. Mr. Smith said, " I think, your 
 
 honor, notwithstanding what brother says, 
 
 he is not ready." " Why do you think so ? " 
 asked the judge. " Why, may it please your 
 honor," said Smith, " there is one juryman that 
 brother has not shaken hands with yet." 
 
 Horatio B. Swasey and Edwin B. Hale were 
 trying a case opposed to each other. In closing, 
 Swasey's remarks as to Hale's ability were very 
 eulogistic. Hale took a five-dollar bill from 
 his pocket and said, " Brother Swasey, I think 
 that is worth five dollars." Swasey took it and 
 put it in his pocket. When Hale addressed the 
 jury, his remarks were in the same vein as Swa- 
 sey's, and perhaps more flattering, and Swasey 
 took from his pocket the five dollars, saying, 
 " Brother Hale, I think you have earned your 
 five dollars back," and returned it to him. 
 
 Colonel Thomas was arguing a case in which 
 he was seeking to recover wages for a sailing- 
 master of a yacht. It was in evidence that the 
 yacht was abundantly provided with everything
 
 A DELIBERATIVE HORSE. 339 
 
 good, plenty of liquor, etc. The colonel inad- 
 vertently said, " This steani-yaclit," Hobbs, the 
 opposing counsel, said, " She is n't a steam- 
 yacht." Colonel Thomas : " There was consid- 
 erable steam on board." 
 
 Mr. S. J. Thomas : " Well, gentlemen, some 
 people are bald, but it is said that the Chief 
 Justice of the Supreme Court is prematurely 
 
 Colonel Thomas brought a suit for damages 
 for fraud in the sale of a horse, and told the 
 jury that the horse had too much deliberation ; 
 that is, he would n't go. Mr. William S. 
 Stearns, the opposing counsel, said he should ask 
 for a view. Viewing a horse because he had 
 too much deliberation was too much for the 
 Court, jury, and audience, and a suppressed tit- 
 ter went round the court room. 
 
 Robert M. Morse submitted to the Court 
 certain prayers for instruction to the jury. Mr. 
 Shattuck, the opposing counsel, after reading 
 them, said, " These prayers are very ambiguous." 
 Colonel Thomas, sitting by, said, " Most prayers 
 are, I believe." 
 
 Colonel Thomas was once defending a man 
 who was sued for the price of a horse, and the 
 defense was that the horse had the heaves. He 
 put on a well-known stable-keeper, and after 
 a few introductory questions asked, "Mr. ,
 
 340 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 do you know this horse described here ? " 
 " Yes, sir, I know him." " How long have you 
 kept a stable in Boston ? " " Forty years suc- 
 cessfully." " What was the matter with this 
 horse ? " " Why, colonel, I can't give you the 
 botanical name of the disease, but we stable-men 
 call it the heaves." " Is there any cure for it? " 
 asked Colonel Thomas. " Yes, sir," said the 
 witness. Colonel Thomas was somewhat stag- 
 gered, knowing that there was not ; but after 
 such an answer he found he had put his foot in 
 it and must go on. He said, " What is it ? " 
 " Take a big knife, colonel, and [suiting the 
 action to the word] begin back of his ear, and 
 cut till you reach his throat." 
 
 In 1856, the United States Court with its 
 officers took a building fronting on Bowdoin 
 Square, corner of Chardon Street, — the Park- 
 man House. After leaving that, they went to 
 the old Masonic Temple, where they remained 
 until they removed to their own building in 
 Post Office Square. While the United States 
 Court was held in the Parkman House, Colonel 
 Thomas wrote to the authorities at Washington 
 that, " No judge can hope to be respected who 
 holds his court in a pig-sty." 
 
 An agreement was brought into my office for 
 judgment for a certain sum and " accrued
 
 A SELF-MADE MAN. .'Ul 
 
 costs." As the previous Legislature had changed 
 the law as to costs, a question arose as to whe- 
 ther this meant costs ah initio., or costs under 
 the new law. As Mr. J. B. F. Thomas was 
 standing by me when I was examining the 
 paper, I asked him to look at it and tell me 
 what he thought of it. " Accrued costs ! " he 
 said ; " I think I should send it back as being 
 a crude agreement." 
 
 Among the occupants of the Tudor building, 
 which stood on the corner of Court Square 
 where Young's Hotel is now, were Charles G. 
 Thomas, B. F. Hallett, Hutchins and Wheeler, 
 D. H. Mason, Tolman Willey, and F. W. Saw- 
 yer. At that time all these men were promi- 
 nent advocates, and some one of them was 
 engaged every day in the Court of Common 
 Pleas. Harvey D, Parker kept a restaurant 
 underneath. 
 
 Charles G. Thomas, who practiced a great 
 many years at the Suffolk bar, told me that he 
 was born in Denmark, N. Y., and was brought 
 up as a charcoal-burner. He grew fond of 
 study, and got an appointment as lighthouse 
 keeper somewhere at Martha's Vineyard, — I 'm 
 not sure that it was not Holmes's Hole ; the 
 name. Hole, means an indenture in the coast. 
 He fitted himself for college while there, and
 
 342 yA' RE-TOitr. 
 
 finally was admitted to the Suffolk bar. He 
 was a very persistent and studious man, Lut 
 never became a great lawyer. Occasionally he 
 was quite absent-minded. I remember one day 
 when, after he had closed his argument, some 
 thought occurred to him, and as the judge was 
 beginning the charge he suddenly jumped to 
 his feet and cried out : " Stop, stop ! hold on 
 there ! That is, your honor, I have forgotten 
 something I wished to say." At this time the 
 counsel talked as long as they pleased in their 
 closing argument to the jury, and in the above 
 case, which was brought to recover seventy dol- 
 lars demurrage money for Mr. Tudor, who was 
 the plaintiff, Mr. Thomas spoke three hours, 
 and Mr. William Hayden, editor of the " Boston 
 Atlas," who was foreman of the jury, sent me 
 this Jew d' esprit: — 
 
 " It requires of each juror most uncommon courage 
 To listen to Thomas's plea on demurrage. 
 If Tudor gets off from this trial secure, 
 He '11 do it in spite of his counsel, I 'm sure." 
 
 Thomas told the jury he thought they would 
 give him a verdict in fifteen minutes. They 
 were out about five, and returned a verdict 
 against him. 
 
 George A. Torrey in closing a case for the
 
 UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS. 343 
 
 defendant said : " Now, gentlemen of the jury, 
 you see that this writ is signed by my friend 
 Mr. Willard, the clerk of this court. The ad 
 damnum as we call it, the amount claimed in 
 this writ, is fSOOO. There is a legend in this 
 court house that the jurors think Mr. Willard 
 would not sign a paper summoning- a defendant 
 into court to answer, unless he knew the plain- 
 tiff to be a respectable man and entitled to 
 recover the amount sued for, and that Mr. Wil- 
 lard actually wants the plaintiff to recover what 
 he asks. Now I wish to disabuse your minds of 
 this. Mr. Willard signs all those writs, and we 
 lawyers when we issue one put in what amount 
 we choose, and Mr. Willard knows nothing of 
 it." 
 
 Attorney-General Marston and Charles R. 
 Train, who was Marston's immediate prede- 
 cessor in the office, were trying a case op- 
 posed to each other in which the late Mr. David 
 Pulsifer, the transcriber of records at the State 
 House, was a witness. Mr. Marston asked Pul- 
 sifer how much work he had done for the Com- 
 monwealth for the past sixteen jears. Pulsifer : 
 " Nothing to boast of ; we are unprofitable ser- 
 vants." Mr. Train : " As far as brother Mars- 
 ton is concerned, I agree to that."
 
 344 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 J. L. Enj^lisli was examining a witness in a 
 cause in which both parties were Irish, and 
 Francis O. Irish, deputy sheriff, was a witness. 
 Mr. Treanor said : " If you are done, Mr. Eng- 
 lish, we will now take Mr. Irish." 
 
 Mr. Van Duzee, arguing to the jury, said : 
 " Gentlemen, the statutes say so and so, but it is 
 no use to argue the statutes to you ; you under- 
 stand them as well as I do, — almost." 
 
 My father told me an anecdote of Daniel 
 Webster which I have never seen printed. He 
 had a boatman who was inclined to tell large 
 stories, sometimes exceeding the truth. My 
 father was with Mr. Webster and a party of 
 gentlemen on a fishing excursion, and the con- 
 versation at one time was about amphibious 
 animals. The boatman waited for his chance, 
 and when Mr. Webster stepped a little to one 
 side said : " Mr. Webster, what is an amphiber- 
 ous animal?" "John," replied Mr. Webster, 
 " an amphibious animal is an animal which lies 
 on the water and lies on the land." 
 
 Samuel Wells, formerly governor of Maine, 
 who had also been judge, tried a case with Mr. 
 R. H. Dana for his oj)ponent. He read a letter 
 written by Mr. Dana's client which was quite 
 difficult to decipher, and Mr. Dana said, " Let
 
 AN UNCERTAIN SOUND. 345 
 
 me have it, judge." Whereupon Mr. Dana read 
 it quite differently, and after having- read it said : 
 " Your excellency must not come up here from 
 Maine to teach us Boston gentlemen how to 
 read." Shortly after, Judge Wells offered 
 some other evidence, when Mr. Dana said : 
 "I'll admit that." " Thank you," said Judge 
 Wells ; " I would rather prove it. ' Timeo 
 Danaos et dona ferentes.^ " 
 
 In one case the judge said that Mr. Dana 
 kept shifting his ground. Mr. Dana said that 
 he (Mr. D.) had made a certain statement at 
 the commencement of the trial. Judge Wells 
 replied that he had said no such thing. Then 
 Dana said : " I shall have to blow a trumpet 
 before me, that my friend on the other side may 
 hear me." Judge Wells : " Your trumpet gives 
 a very uncertain sound." 
 
 During the trial of a horseshoe patent 
 case, the same counsel were opposed. Judge 
 Wells was reading law to the Court. Mr. 
 Dana : "I did n't catch that last sentence." 
 Wells : " Never mind, sir ; you '11 catch enough 
 before I 'm done." Dana, in speaking of a 
 word which the judge had used, thought he had 
 employed it wrongly, and said, " His excellency 
 has misapplied it." Wells : " I suppose we 
 may use such words as we please." Dana : 
 " Oh, yes, it is the prerogative of office."
 
 346 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 Wells : " You wrote a book once, and employed 
 or coined some strange words." Dana : " I 
 pray you, do not visit the sins of my youth 
 upon me." 
 
 As I was putting on my spectacles to look at 
 the docket, I said to my kinsman, Mr. Joseph 
 Willard, who was standing by : " My eyes don't 
 get any better." "And so you try eyes-in- 
 glass," said he. 
 
 I asked Mr. Willard who his opponent was 
 in a certain case. He said : " Stillman B. 
 Allen, with any other judge than Judge Al- 
 drich, and then it is Allen B. Stillman.^' 
 
 Mr. Joseph Willard : " What does this letter 
 ' t ' mean on the margin of the docket ? " " This 
 black one means trial in October, a blue ' t ' for 
 January, and a red ' t ' for April." " We ought 
 to have a little green ' t ' occasionally," he said. 
 
 Tolman Willey, Esq., was a remarkable man 
 in his way. He was not a profound lawyer, but 
 an excellent advocate when he had a good case, 
 although sometimes he damaged it by his scath- 
 ing remarks. He was never at a loss for a word, 
 and his face invariably wore an intensely sar- 
 castic expression. He used some of the most 
 remarkable, extravagant, and unique phrases 
 and figures of speech. He was always neatly
 
 THE INGRATITUDE OF REPUBLICS. 347 
 
 dressed in black, except perhaps a buff or white 
 vest ; he wore a standing collar, and a big 
 bandanna handkerchief. A friend of mine and 
 of his writes nie of him thus : " He was above 
 medium height, portly, and of excellent physique 
 and figure, and of great magnetism of person. 
 He was of the old school of elegant manners ; not 
 a cultivated but a thoroughly born gentleman, 
 who never could possibly forget himself. His 
 dress was perfection and his walk ex jicde Her- 
 culem,! without meaning or knowing it. His 
 eyes were expressive and kindly, and his voice 
 most charming. He never halted for a word, 
 and his speech was the delight of the bar, who 
 always flocked to hear him. He would startle 
 the world with his antitheses and comparisons, 
 and there was no greater master of invective 
 when (but only when) the occasion called it 
 out." 
 
 Towards the end of the Know-Nothing period, 
 Major Cobb was very extensively engaged in a 
 political campaign, and as the agent, secretary, 
 or some other official of the party which he was 
 serving, he had a number of flaming political 
 handbills printed. The Messrs. Farwell, who 
 printed them, found it difficult to get their pay 
 from the party, and brought an action against 
 Major Cobb to recover the price for the print- 
 ing of the bills. Mr. Willey defended. In the
 
 348 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 course of his remarks to the jury as to the in- 
 gratitude of the people towards politicians, and 
 referring to Daniel Webster, whom he almost 
 worshiped, he uttered the following: "Like 
 that immortal man who set a-going all the 
 spindles on the rivers of the Commonwealth, 
 was driven to his two thousand acres, and went 
 down there to his home by the sea the other 
 day, and dug his own grave, and then was trans- 
 formed into a block of gi-anite and stuck up in 
 the State House j^ard, in the model of some 
 Kentucky giant with a bundle of canebrake 
 under his arm, and a touch of spasmodic colic, 
 leaning against a post — there 's honor for poli- 
 ticians. Major Cobb, foreseeing this, left the 
 party." 
 
 Again he said : " Major Cobb, after joining 
 the military and politics, found that he was like 
 the gentleman who undertook the journey from 
 Jerusalem down to Jericho ; he fell among 
 thieves who stripped him and left him half 
 dead." 
 
 In the same case, in endeavoring to get a wit- 
 ness, who testified that there were two wings 
 of the American party, to say that they both 
 worked for the same object although ostensibly 
 opposed, Mr. Willey asked : " Did n't both 
 wings brood over the same egg in the dark ? " 
 
 In a certain case on trial, Mr. Abraham A.
 
 STATING THE WHOLE CASE. 349 
 
 Dame took the stand as a witness. Mr. Willey 
 cross-examined liim. "How many times have 
 you been a witness in your own cases ? " Mr. 
 Dame : " I have refused to be a witness a great 
 many times, when if I had testified for my 
 client I shouhl have got the case." Mr. Willey 
 (sternly) : " Does n't that depend on another 
 fact, sir?" " Ah, yes, sir." 
 
 Once in arguing a case, and speaking of the 
 financial difficulties, he said : " It was the crash 
 that crushed the commercial community." 
 
 S. J. Thomas, Esq., once told Mr. Willey that 
 
 he (Thomas) was trying a case in which 
 
 Lewis was a defendant ; that Lewis was rather 
 roguish, and that Nathaniel Richardson, Esq., 
 was Lewis's counsel. " Yes," said Willey ; 
 
 " Lewis is a d scoundrel ; he has good 
 
 counsel, and he ought to have Dr. Brown for 
 a family physician." Dr. Brown had been 
 lately convicted of some heinous offense in the 
 Criminal Court, and was somewhat notorious. 
 
 In arguing a motion for a new trial in which 
 
 Mr. was opposed to him, Mr. Willey made 
 
 use of the following language : " I hope I am 
 not small enough to try half my case. If a 
 man has not mind enough to stretch from 
 plaintiff to defendant, and state the whole of his 
 case, he is not large enough to be intrusted with 
 the consideration of a toothpick. If a man had
 
 350 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 passed a post where a decent lawyer had hitched 
 his horse, he would know that what the gentle- 
 man states is not law." 
 
 Mr. said that testified that he was 
 
 a member of the firm. Willey : " What firm 
 was he a member of ? That firm is ancient, — 
 ancient as Eve ; the gentleman's argument con- 
 sisted of lean, famished adjectives, repeated for 
 an hour." 
 
 Mr. Willey asked a witness if his counsel 
 
 advised him to make a tender. Mr. : 
 
 " I should have been very foolish to have thus 
 advised him." Mr. Willey : " You should not 
 volunteer your wisdom until you loiow in what 
 estimation we hold it." 
 
 Arguing a case one day with Mr. Abraham 
 A. Dame for his opponent, Mr. Willey said : 
 
 " Nobody finds fault with 's testimony." 
 
 "Yes," said Mr. Dame, "I do." "Well," re- 
 torted Willey, " I meant you when I said no- 
 body." 
 
 He was sometimes hasty in interrupting a 
 witness before he had fully answered ; and in 
 doing so one day, his opponent being Colonel 
 Seth J. Thomas, the latter with some warmth 
 said: "Let the witness answer." "You are 
 exquisitely courteous," replied Willey. 
 
 At one time Mr. Daniel F. Fitz was a part- 
 ner with Mr. Willey. Mr. Fitz, who is small
 
 A WANDERING MINSTREL. 351 
 
 in stature and a fine singer, belonged to the 
 well-known " Masonic Quartette." Mr. Willey 
 being in search of him one morning came to me 
 and said : " Willard, have you seen anything of 
 my little wandering minstrel this morning ? " 
 
 Mr. Somerby offered some evidence in a case 
 which he was trying, to which Mr. Willey, his 
 opponent, objected, calmly stating his objections. 
 Mr. Somerby arose with much feeling, urging 
 his point, making a great display and noise, and 
 sat dow^^. Mr. Willey: "May it please your 
 honor, I have not seen the parallel to this since 
 the death of Cock Robin." 
 
 Mr. J. L. English, who was counsel for Mr. 
 Jacob Stan wood, a large ship-owner, invited 
 me to go down in the Maid of the Sea, with 
 her owner, Mr. Stanwood, and a party of gentle- 
 men, as far as Minot's Light, requesting me to 
 extend his invitation to Mr. Willey. Returning, 
 and as it was somewhat misty, we all went be- 
 low in the forecastle of the tug, and speeches 
 were called for from different members of the 
 company. Mr. Willey, who was brilliant on a 
 cold-water diet, but who had taken too much 
 medicine to keep down seasickness, was an en- 
 tirely different man. The crowd shouted for 
 Mr. W^illey ; he rose and said : " Gentlemen, 
 Stanwood is a trump ; English, a mere appen- 
 dage."
 
 352 JX RE-TORT. 
 
 Mr. AVillcy was examining a female witness. 
 " What did you say your name was? " Witness: 
 " Coral." Willey : " Is it music or mineral ? " 
 
 Mr. Willey was trying a case with Mr. Abra- 
 ham A. Dame as the opposing counsel. Mr. 
 Dame produced two witnesses who were so 
 similar in appearance that it was difficult to 
 distinguish them. They were called and re- 
 called, and Mr. Willey was somewhat confused 
 as to which one he was examining. He asked 
 a question of one, when Mr. Dame said : " He 
 does n't know anything about that ; it is the 
 other one." "How do you know?" said Wil- 
 ley. Dame said : " You 've got the wrong one ; 
 they 're twins." Said Willey : " Were you 
 present at the birth ? You 're a fit midwife to 
 have been there." 
 
 He came to me one day, and complained that 
 Mr. Somerby had retained him in a number of 
 insurance cases, and had agreed to pay him five 
 hundred dollars. He said he asked Mr. Som- 
 erby to come to his office and talk the matter 
 over, and that he came. Willey said : " He 
 cursed and swore, and, though two years have 
 elapsed since that interview, my office is redo- 
 lent with the blasphemy of that creature to-day." 
 
 A tall and formerly a well-known member of 
 the bar was one day making some motion before 
 the Court, in his usual noisy, blustering way. It
 
 INIMITABLE MANNERS. 353 
 
 may as well be said the man was unpopular. 
 Mr. Willey happened to be sitting by the side 
 of a friend, another lawyer, both looking on. 
 The latter made some observation to Mr. Willey 
 about the person addressing the Court, when 
 Willey said : " Richard, do you know that for 
 nineteen years that d giraffe has been prowl- 
 ing about this bar, lapping the dew from every 
 green thing that grows ? " 
 
 Mr. Willey brought a suit against Mr. Som- 
 erby to recover an amount which Somerby had 
 promised him as a retainer, and while Willey 
 was gone to Europe the lawyers in the case 
 caused " neither party "to be entered. When 
 he returned, he made a motion to vacate the 
 entry of neither party and to restore the action 
 to the docket. It was heard in the judge's 
 room before Mr. Justice Colburn. Theodore 
 Sweetser acted for Somerby, and Mr. Willey 
 for himself. Mr. Sweetser asked Mr. Willey 
 some questions, and Mr, Willey was rather dis- 
 cursive. Mr. Sweetser, with quite a rough 
 manner, striking the table heavily with his 
 clenched hand, said : " For God's sake, Mr. 
 Willey, can't you give us a categorical answer ? " 
 Mr. Willey, who was seated in a chair, rose, and, 
 extending both hands and bending low, replied, 
 " Mr. Sweetser, 1 11 do anything but copy your 
 inimitable manners."
 
 554 J^' RE-TORT. 
 
 At the same hearing, while Mr. Somerby was 
 being examined, Mr. Willey said : "Just here I 
 would like to ask one question, merely for the 
 purpose of fixing a date. Was this about the 
 time, Mr. Somerby, when you bought out the 
 
 office of brother , with all its practices and 
 
 appurtenances ? \^8otto voce] — merely for the 
 purpose of fixing a date ! " 
 
 One day, when wishing to see Mr. Willey's 
 partner, Mr. Fitz, whose small stature has been 
 previously mentioned, I asked Mr. Willey, who 
 was in the court room, if he knew where I 
 coidd find Mr. Fitz. He replied : " I have n't 
 the slightest idea where the little cockroach 
 is." 
 
 Mr. William Whiting, who was opposed to 
 Mr. Willey in a case, remarked, " If I should 
 make such a proposition it would make every 
 hair on brother Willey's head stand on end." 
 After that there was a marked coolness on the 
 part of Mr. Willey towards Mr. Whiting, and 
 at one time Mr. Willey put his hand over Mr. 
 Whiting's mouth in open court as Mr. Whiting 
 was asking a question. Mr. Whiting inquired 
 of his own partner, Mr. William G. Russell, 
 what had made Mr. Willey so unfriendly. 
 Then Mr. Russell inquired and learned what 
 Mr. Whiting had said. " What 's that to do 
 with it ? " asked the latter. Mr. Russell replied :
 
 PROFESSIONAL COURTESIES. 355 
 
 " Everything ; lie thought you meant to insult 
 him, as brother Willey wears a wig." 
 
 Years ago there was a woman exhibited in 
 Boston who was remarkably thin, and almost a 
 skeleton. She was called Joyce Heth, and was 
 said to be over one himdred years old and to 
 have been a nurse o£ George WashinQ-ton. Mr. 
 Willey, criticising the character of a witness in 
 a case, said : " Gentlemen of the jury, you might 
 as well look for the ghost of Joyce Heth with a 
 lantern, in the sky, as for a particle of truth in 
 this witness." 
 
 Mr. Willey, in speaking of a certain firm of 
 lawyers, said : " One of them has not brains 
 enough for a ground-sparrow ; they are a con- 
 temptible set ; I would n't trust them for a gill 
 of peanuts." He then picked up from the table 
 a pen whose handle bore marks of having been 
 bitten or gnawed oif at the end ; he threw it 
 down, saying, " Faugh ! I wish we had a bar 
 that weren't a set of d raccoons." 
 
 A witness was testifying about some goods 
 and chattels in an ordinary hotel in the country. 
 Mr. Willey said to him : " What number of 
 sheets and towels were there, if such luxuries 
 existed f " 
 
 Mr. Willey and Mr. A. were trying a case as 
 opposing counsel, and had various tilts. Each 
 was abusive to the other, and among other
 
 'AoO L\ RE-TORT. 
 
 things Mr. A. sakl (holding out his hand half 
 closed) : " I hold my brother Willey in my hand ; 
 he is a rotten egg ; I forbear to crush him." 
 After the case was through, I said : " Brother 
 Willey, you shouldn't abuse brother A. so 
 severely ; he is sick." Mr. Willey replied lan- 
 guidly, " Poor thing." 
 
 In a case — the parties' names I have forgot- 
 ten — in which Mr. Willey was for the plain- 
 tiff, he found it necessary to make some scath- 
 ing remarks relative to the defendant's conduct. 
 He said to the jury : " The defendant had no 
 more right to arrest the plaintiff than a Baptist 
 minister has to grab one of you by the collar on 
 dry land and thrust you against the side of a 
 house as an illustration of the divine ordinance 
 of baptism ; " and for his peroration he said, 
 " As for this defendant, he ought to be taken 
 down to Owl's Head with a soldier's monument 
 slung round his neck, and there sunk, to await 
 the eternal repose of the genius of gravitation." 
 
 I said : " Mr. Willey, is a liberal man ? " 
 
 " Liberal ! he is so mean, his soul would rattle 
 in a grain of mustard-seed." 
 
 Another time Mr. Willey said : " As to get- 
 ting a grain of truth from this witness, you 
 might as well go fishing in the sky, with an 
 anchor for a hook, and exjject a bite from the 
 ghost of Joyce Heth."
 
 THE NEW EXGLAXD CLUrATE. oOi 
 
 Speaking of a panel of jurors, Mr. Willey 
 said : " Twelve sucli heads were never before 
 seen on the panel. The judge who tried the 
 case could not inject an idea into their heads 
 without a surgical operation." 
 
 Colonel Thomas had a case and argued it 
 half an hour, the rule allowing an hour. Mr. 
 Willey in reply said : " Colonel Thomas nor any 
 one else can argue this case in an hour for the 
 defendant, and therefore all Colonel Thomas's 
 argument amounts to is this : ' Gentlemen, I 
 have made up my mind that my client has a 
 good case, and it is not worth while for me to 
 spend my time on it ; so I respectfully invite 
 you to coincide with me ; ' a very pretty way of 
 putting it." 
 
 Speaking of one of the witnesses who testified 
 in the case, Mr. Willey said : " He was without 
 a drop of remorse, and as hard as a cast-iron 
 bulldog." 
 
 After he returned from Europe he came into 
 the court room to see me, and invited me to his 
 office ; as counsel were arguing a case in court 
 I had leisure and went. He gave me a very en- 
 tertaining account of his travels, particularly in 
 England, of which, I am very sorry to say, I 
 took no notes. He then changed the topic quite 
 suddenly, and said : " Willard, were you ever in 
 the Provinces ? " I said, " Yes." " Have you
 
 358 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 ever been to Annapolis, Nova Scotia ? " " Yes," 
 
 I said. "Did you ever see 's place?" I 
 
 replied in the affirmative. Said Mr. Willey : 
 " Is n't it a gem ? " " It is a beautiful place." 
 " I am going down there to buy it, and quit 
 this disgusting New England. While I was ne- 
 gotiating for it, a gentleman said to me : ' Mr. 
 Willey, you don't intend to live here in winter ? ' 
 ' Why not, sir ? ' I said. ' Why, sir,' he said, 
 ' the mercury goes down here to ten degrees 
 below zero.' With great contempt I said, ' Eh ! 
 where I was born, sir, my father one Sunday took 
 me into a meeting-house which sat on four 
 stone posts with no other underpinning. I sat 
 in that church and listened to a sermon on Hell 
 for sixty minutes, with the wind howling un- 
 derneath the church and blowing forty miles a 
 minute, with no fire in the stove and the mercury 
 forty degrees below zero ; don't you think I can 
 live here, sir ? Do you think I was born in a 
 sugar-box, and nursed on heliotropes ? ' " 
 
 During the trial of the case of Elms vs. 
 Kelly, for breach of promise to marry, there 
 was a ring offered in evidence with this inscrip- 
 tion inside, " Dan to Belle ; " and it was con- 
 tended that Kelly gave this ring to the plaintiff 
 on the eve of a j^roposed marriage. I was ap- 
 pointed by the Supreme Court to go to Portland, 
 Maine, where I should meet a person who would
 
 EULOGY ON GEORGE C. WILDE. 359 
 
 go with me and find the jeweler who made it, 
 and see if he coukl identify it. We fonnd the 
 person who made it, and after some hesitation 
 he identified the ring-. Mr. Willey was for the 
 plaintiff in this ease. At a certain point, Kelly 
 became somewhat lachiymose. Some one called 
 Willey's attention to it, when he burst out : 
 '• Tears ! tears ! from Dan Kelly ! I should as 
 soon think of a well of water in the desert of 
 Sahara after the retirement of the flood ! " 
 
 Early in the summer of 1875, George C. 
 Wilde, the clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court, 
 died. I have spoken of him before as being my 
 companion to Marshfield to attend the funeral of 
 Daniel Webster. He was at times somewhat 
 irascible, but a high-minded, honest gentleman, 
 and an excellent friend of mine. As I am not 
 an expert in eulogy such as Mr. Wilde merited, 
 I give the remarks of Seth J. Thomas, Esq., 
 relative to him, before the Supreme Judicial 
 Court. 
 
 " A poet supposed to be wise has said, — 
 
 " ' Awhile these feeble forms endure, 
 
 The fabric of a day ; 
 Then lose their animating' power, 
 And moulder back to clay.' 
 
 " Another wise or unwise man has said, ' The 
 Fates ride their horses by night.' They will
 
 3G0 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 overtake us ; we cannot escape them. They ride 
 faster than we can run. We know not at what 
 hour they start nor when they will arrive. The 
 life of Mr. Wilde was longer than that of most 
 men ; but when, at length, the appointed hour 
 came, the destinies cut the silver thread, and he, 
 too, is gone ! What shall I say of him ? Cer- 
 tainly I can say nothing that you do not already 
 know. When the late President Walker was at 
 the height of his fame, an excellent friend said : 
 ' I never knew that Dr. Walker was so great a 
 man, but whenever I heard him preach I thought 
 this : if I were going to preach on that subject 
 I would preach just such a sermon as he did.' 
 A finer commendation could hardly have been 
 bestowed. Similarly of Mr. Wilde, when I tell 
 you I can say nothing of him you do not al- 
 ready know, if you deem me worthy to say so, 
 you will agree that I say much in his praise, for 
 it implies that what he was to you, that, and no- 
 thing else, he also was to me ; not all things to 
 all men, but the same to everybody. He had but 
 one face, and that was manly. He was sincere. 
 He had also the essential requisites of a good 
 officer. In the first place, he knew his duty, 
 and in the second place, he did it straight. He 
 never went a long way to get that which was 
 near at hand. He was impatient of long pre- 
 faces, of which, as Jean Paul said, ' Some die on
 
 EULOGY ON GEORGE C. WILDE. 361 
 
 their way to the book.' He regarded the sitting- 
 room as of more vahie to a tired man than the 
 vestibule, — the sound meat as less indispensa- 
 ble than the unsound grace that is said before it, 
 and for want of which meat one sometimes faints 
 while the grace is being said. Need I say he 
 had sense ? He had the honesty of an educated 
 lawyer, — an honesty that is classical and im- 
 movable. He rejected all new names for authen- 
 tic virtues and vices, and continued to call virtue, 
 virtue, and vice, vice. He was critical in his con- 
 versation. He sought the conversation of the 
 cheerful. He valued the judicious. He was in- 
 dulgent to youth. He respected age. His likes 
 were strong. He kept his friendships in con- 
 stant repair. He looked upon wealth as an 
 appurtenance of life, and esteemed it of more 
 consequence to live richly than to die rich. Must 
 I say he was too confiding ? He knew but one 
 way to do a thing, and that was the straight way. 
 He had a just pride in his ancestry, and loved to 
 talk of his wise and altogether excellent father ; 
 but yet it concerned him less of what family he 
 was born than of what family he was the father 
 and head. His look was kindly. A little girl, 
 meeting him in the street, was not afraid to in- 
 quire the way. He kept his mind and his body 
 clean. He valued his bath and his razors. He 
 was thoroughly wholesome. A lady would not
 
 3G2 IN RE-TORT. 
 
 hesitate to sit down by his side in a horse-car. 
 He was one that you coukl tie to, and feel safe. 
 He had the key to our hearts, while his own was 
 like the Common, open on the south side. His 
 mind was virtuously composed. He lived up to 
 the dignity of his nature, and has not left it dis- 
 putable at the last, whether he has been a man. 
 It was fitting that he should die in June-time, 
 near the close of a long, warm day, and when 
 the night is shortest."
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Abbott, Abiel, 110, 111. 
 
 Abbott, E. H., 111. 
 
 Abbott, John S., 232. 
 
 Abbott, Josiah G., 69, 78, 84, 85, 
 
 104, 325. 
 Accident at sea, an, 22, 23. 
 Adams, Francis M., 47, 48. 
 Adams, John C, 324. 
 Adams, John Q., 178, 179. 
 Adams, Melvin O., 162. 
 Ad daituium, 122. 
 Albee, Sumner, 78. 
 Aldrich, P. Emory, 82, 85-92, 346. 
 Allan Steamship Company, 199, 200, 
 
 211, 221. 
 Allen, Chief Justice Charles, 69, 72, 
 
 73, 92-94, 96, 116, 117. 
 Allen, Justice Charles, 294. 
 Allen, Samuel, 117. 
 Allen, Stillman B., 122, 123, 220, 
 
 232-234, 346. 
 Allen, William, 82, 217. 
 AUston, Washington, 37, 45. 
 Alma Mater, a cruel, 210. 
 Alterative medicines, 100. 
 " Amen," the meaning of, 288, 289. 
 American Monthly Review, 34. 
 American spirit of equality, the, 30, 
 
 31. 
 Ames, Seth, 72, 96. 
 Andrew, Gov. John A., 73, 74, 245, 
 
 250, 251, 285, 296, 315. 
 Andrews, Asa, grandfather of Jo- 
 seph A. Willard, 2. 
 Andrews, George H., 41, 44. 
 Andrews, John L., 156. 
 Andrews, W. H. H., 212. 
 Angle, a left, 197. 
 Annapolis, N. S., 358. 
 Anvil, the, 180. 
 Apthorp, Robert C, 112. 
 Arguments from the bench, 273. 
 Artillery and law, 132-134. 
 Atkins, T. J., 257, 258. 
 Auctioneer, an, quoting from The 
 
 Hunchback, 42. 
 Auctioneer, an original, 10, 11. 
 
 Austin, ElbridRe Gerry, 234, 235. 
 
 Avery, Mr., 237. 
 
 Ayer, Phineas, 188, 189. 
 
 Babson, Thomas M., 123, 234. 
 
 Back, a broken, 212, 213. 
 
 Bacon, John W., 82, 97, 253. 
 
 Badlam, Stephen, 28. 
 
 Balize, Louisiana, 20. 
 
 Bar Association, Suffolk County, 
 
 founded, 78, 79. 
 Barker, James M., 82. 
 Barnes, Isaac O., 56, 237-239. 
 Barrator, a common, 293-297. 
 Barratry, a case of, 253. 
 Barrett, George, 40, 43, 44. 
 Barron, Asa T., 47. 
 Barry, Thomas, 41. 
 Barry, Mrs. Thomas, 41. 
 Barry, Thomas E., 212. 
 Bartlett, Charles, 246. 
 Bartlett, Sidney, 55, 59, 78, 79, 240, 
 
 241, 254. 
 Bascom's, 43. 
 Bas-relief, a, 290. 
 Bates, Adua, of Boston, 32. 
 Beckford, Mrs., 145. 
 Bell, Joseph M., 241, 254, 258. 
 Bemis, George, 153. 
 Benton, Josiah H., 124. 
 Beresford, Lord, 30, 31. 
 Bigelow, Abram, 11. 
 Bigelow, George T., 98, 99, 245, 
 
 246, 336. 
 Bigelow, Horatio, 6. 
 Bigelow, Dr. Jacob, 151. 
 Bilious attack, a severe, 125. 
 Bishop, Henry W., 55, 68, 99, 100. 
 Bishop, Robert R., 83. 
 Blaikie, Rev. Dr., 220. 
 Blake, Edward, 152. 
 Blake, William Rufus, 41, 42. 
 Bland's Theatre, 40. 
 Blodgett, Caleb, 82. 
 Bluff, an unsuccessful, 260. 
 Boardman, Alonzo W., 78. 
 Bond, D;iuicl W., 83. 
 
 \ V
 
 364 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Booth, Junius Brutus, 41, 43. 
 Boston and Albany Railroad, 183, 
 
 184, 210. 
 Boston and Maine Railroad, 204. 
 Boston Ddilij Adrertiser, 214. 
 Boyer, President, 23. 
 Boyga, Manuel, 29, 30. 
 Boyle, James, 181, 182. 
 Boy's logic, a, 139. 
 Bradley, Aaron A. , 243-245. 
 Bradley, Joseph H., 84, 137. 
 Braley, Henry K., 83. 
 Bread, ship, 25, 20. 
 Briggs, Gov. George Nixon, 55, 153. 
 Briggs, Thomas P., 87-89. 
 Brigliaui, Erastus, 5. 
 Brigliam, Lincoln F., 72, 81, 100, 
 
 19S, 2(il. 
 Brigham, WilUam, 137, 262, 263, 
 
 325. 
 Bristol BiU, 306. 
 Broker, a, 102. 
 Brown, A. R., 114. 
 Brown vs. West End Railroad, 122. 
 Browne, Albert Gallatin, jr., 73, 
 
 74. 
 Bryant, Napoleon B., 79, 127, 247. 
 Bullard, Mr., of New York, 301. 
 Burlen, Miss Caroline, 268, 330. 
 Burlen vs. Shannon, 208, 209, 330. 
 Burns, Deputy Marshal, 64. 
 Burns, Anthony, 66-68. 
 Burt, William L., 192, 193, 254,295, 
 
 296. 
 Business, 274. 
 Butler, Gen. Benjamin F., 74, 75, 
 
 131, 132, 169, 210, 247-249, 267- 
 
 209, 292. 
 Butler, John H., 105. 
 Byington, Horatio, 54. 
 Byles, the Misses, 18, 19. 
 Byles, Rev. Mather, D. D., 18, 19. 
 Byrne, John L., 85. 
 
 Cambridge, 3-14. 
 
 Campbell, Mrs., of the Tremont 
 
 Theatre, 41. 
 Candidates for admission to the 
 
 bar, 284, 285, 312. 
 Care, due, 215. 
 
 Carpenter, Rev. H. Bernard, 216. 
 Carroll, Richard M., 250. 
 Castillo, Manuel, 29. 
 Chadwick, Mr., 32. 
 Chamberlain, Mr., 137. 
 Chandler, Peleg W., 55, 250, 251, 
 
 285. 
 Chandler, Theophilus P., 55, 285. 
 Chandler, T. P. and P. W., 326. 
 
 Channing, Prof. Edward Tyrrel, 7. 
 Charles River, 13, 14, 18. 
 Chatham, the steamship, 226. 
 Chief of police, 62, 63. 
 Child, David Lee, 28. 
 Child, Mrs. David Lee, 29. 
 Cliild, Linus M., 252, 253. 
 Choate, Rufus, 2, 70, 116, 141, 186, 
 
 253-259, 265, 267, 285. 
 Cider, 170. 
 Clapp, Amasa, 5, 6. 
 Clark, John M., 62. 
 Clarke, Rev. James Freeman, D.D., 
 
 3. 
 Client, an inaccessible, 175. 
 Clifford, John Henry, 152, 1.53. 
 Cobb, Major Moses G., 131, 132, 
 
 134-136, 200, 347, 348. 
 Cobbler with a broken neck, a, 11, 
 
 12. 
 Cobblers, swallowing, 326. 
 Coburu, Daniel J., 65, 66. 
 Cochran, Penelope, marries Joseph 
 
 A. Willard, 36. 
 Codman, John, 285. 
 Coffin, Captain, 9, 10. 
 Coffin, Timothy, 260, 261. 
 Coit, Rev. Mr., 3. 
 Colburn, Waldo, 82, 353. 
 Colby, H. G. O., 55, 261. 
 Cole, Raymond, 240. 
 Coleman, Mr., 321, 322. 
 Collins, Patrick A., 262. 
 Commeucements, Harvard, 8, 9. 
 Committing a nuisance, 315. 
 Commonwealtli vs. Mead, 265-267. 
 Conkling, Roscoe, 190. 
 Contempt of court, 87-89, 140. 
 Converse, Mr., 112. 
 Conway, Moncure D., 219. 
 Cooke, Benjamin F., 159, 262, 263. 
 Cooke, Robert O., 37, 38. 
 Cooley, District Attorney, 265-267. 
 Cooper as deputy sheriff, a, 11. 
 Corbett, James J., 175. 
 Corcoran, John W., 83. 
 Corinth, Vt., 51, 52. 
 Costa, Nicola, 29. 
 Costs, rates of, 308, 309 ; accrued, 
 
 340, 341. 
 Count Joannes, 293-297. 
 Court, the Superior, established, 71 ; 
 
 its organization, 72 ; additional 
 
 appointments and promotions, 
 
 81-83. 
 Court House, the old, 308. 
 Court of Common Pleas, the, abol- 
 ished, 72. 
 Court of the County of Suffolk, the
 
 INDEX. 
 
 365 
 
 Superior, established, 68; abol- 
 
 islied, 72. 
 Cow, Bridget Fitzgerald's, 227-231. 
 Cow, identification of a, 1S2, 183. 
 Coyle vs. the Fitchburg Railroad, 
 
 224-22G. 
 Cressy, Mr., 262, 263. 
 Crier, a court, 181, 182. 
 Crocker, Henry, 62. 
 Crosby, Captain, of the brig Juniper, 
 
 murder of, 26, 27. 
 Crowninshield, F. B., 285. 
 Crowninshield, George, 146, 148, 
 
 149. 
 Crowninshield, Richard, 146-149. 
 Cuba, 22. 
 
 Cummins, Judge, .54. 
 Curlew, H. B. M.'a man-of-war, 
 
 29. 
 Currier, Benjamin H., 56. 
 Curtis, Benjamin Robbins, 55. 
 Curtis, Charles P., 55, 235, 236. 
 Curtis, George Ticknor, 46, 55. 
 Cusliing, Abel, 185, 191. 
 Gushing, Caleb, 69. 
 Cushmg, Luther S., 55, 283, 285. 
 
 Dabnev. Lewis S., 117, 118, 222, 223, 
 
 245, 246, 203. 
 Daguerreotypes of noted persons. 
 
 101, 102. 
 Dalton vs. Dalton, 115, 116. 
 Damages, an action for, 208, 209. 
 Dame, Abraham A., 301, 348-350, 
 
 352. 
 Dana, Edmund T., 7, 45. 
 Daua, Richard H., jr., 6, 31, 32, 78, 
 
 116, 182, 255, 256, 2G3, 2G4, 344- 
 
 346 ; his Two Years before the 
 
 Mast, 31, 32. 
 Dana, Thomas, 216. 
 Daniel, Allston's model for, 37. 
 Davis, Charles G., 64, 239. 
 Dehon, William, 46. 
 Delgardo, a pirate, 29. 
 Democratic Rerieir, 38. 
 Dentists, future state of, 194. 
 Derrick, masculine or feniinine, 121. 
 Deshon, Daniel, 191. 
 De Soto, Bernardo, 29. 
 Devens, Arthur, 6. 
 Devens, Charles, 6. 64-66, 81, 103, 
 
 301. 
 Dewey, Charles A., 54, 153. 
 Dewey, Francis H., 81. 
 Dewey, Justin, 82. 
 Dexter, Franklin, 149, 153. 
 Dickinson, M. F., 122, 123, 213, 214, 
 
 264, 265. 
 
 Disbarment of a colored lawyer, 244, 
 
 245. 
 Dixon, Mr., of the Federal St. 
 
 Tlieatre, 41. 
 Dodge, John C, 79. 
 Dog, a dispute as to the ownership 
 
 of a, 102, 103. 
 Dog, a very large, 117, 118. 
 Donnelly, Cliarles F., 125. 
 Dorr, WiUiam B.,K>. 
 Downes case, the, 87. 
 Dowse, Mr., 132. 
 Draper, Dr., 221, 222. 
 Driscoll, Cornelius, 37. 
 Drowning, escapes from, 13-15. 
 Drunkard, a common, 261. 
 Dry measure, 237. 
 Ducks, black, slaughter of, 38, 39. 
 Dudley, Mr., 90. 
 Dudley, E. G., 260. 
 Dunbar, James R., 83. 
 Dunlap, Andrew, 28. 
 Dunning, Mr., 32. 
 Durant, Henry F., 84, 85, 130, 181, 
 
 182, 265-269. 
 Dwyer, WiUiam Whitten, 84. 
 
 Edith, the yacht, 226. 
 
 Egg, a rotten, 356. 
 
 Egg or hen, wliich first, 223. 
 
 Eldridge, mate of the brig Juniper, 
 
 26, 27. 
 Elephant uses care, an, 215. 
 Ellis, Captam, 21, 22. 
 Elms vs. Kelly, 358, 359. 
 Elwell, Captain, 13. 
 Ely, Frederick D., 89. 
 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 6. 
 English, James Lloyd, 55, 194, 269, 
 
 270, 344, 351. 
 Envelopes, 294-296. 
 Epilepsy, 207. 
 
 Error in an execution, 141, 142. 
 Escapes from dro\v^ling, 13-15. 
 Evans, George, 40. 
 Eveleth, Mr., sheriff of Suffolk 
 
 County, 61, 62, 153. 
 Examinations for the bar, methods 
 
 of conducting, 143, 144. 
 Exceptions to the manner of a 
 
 judge, 106. 
 Expander, an, 241. 
 Expert on smells, an, 324. 
 Extremities, proceeding to, 325. 
 
 Fabyan's, 36, 37. 
 Facts not wanted, 270. 
 Far-away look, a, 2C3. 
 Farley, George F., 133, 273.
 
 'MG 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Faux pas, a, 178, 179. 
 
 Fay, Wilson M., 1G2. 
 
 Kclli-rul Stiv.t Theatre, 45. 
 
 Fci-t, (lyiiiK with warm, 238, 239. 
 
 Felloes'aiui tires, 281, 282. 
 
 Feltoii, Prof. C. C, 34. 
 
 Fencing contest ou the stage, an ex- 
 citing, 4Z. 
 
 Fera naturii', 179, 180. 
 
 Ferrer, Antonio, 30. 
 
 Fe-ssenden, Franklin G., 83. 
 
 Field, Walbridge A., 79. 
 
 Finn, Henry J., 7, 41, 44. 
 
 Fire, tlie Great Boston, 77. 
 
 Fiske, Angnstus H., 55, 70, 71, 270, 
 271, 273, 293, 294. 
 
 Fitch, Dr., KM. 
 
 Fitz, Daniel F., 350, 351, 354 
 
 Fitzgerald, Bridget (or Margaret), 
 her cow, 227-231. 
 
 Fitzgerald, .John E., 200,201. 
 
 Flagg Alley, 44. 
 
 Flatley, P. J., 273. 
 
 Flogged for lying, 261. 
 
 Forrest, Edwin, 41. 
 
 Fort Steadman, 75, 76. 
 
 Foxeroft, George A., 6. 
 
 Foxcroft, Israel, 6. 
 
 Freeman, Mr., 184, 185, 194. 
 
 Freeman, Watson, 67. 
 
 FreiscMitz, Der, 7. 
 
 Fresli Pond, 7, 8. 
 
 Frost, Barzillai, 6. 
 
 Frozen to death, 96. 
 
 Fryeburg, Me., 36, 37. 
 
 Fugitive slaves, arrests of, 64-68, 
 239. 
 
 Fuller, Eugene, 6. 
 
 Fuller, Henry W., 6. 
 
 Fuller, Richard F., 196. 
 
 Fuller, Richard H., 304, 305. 
 
 Gage, Mr., 206. 
 
 Gale, William B., 233. 
 
 Gaimon vs. The Allan Steamship 
 
 Company, 221-223. 
 Garcia, Angel, 29. 
 Gardiner, William H., 149. 
 Gardner, William S., 82. 
 Gargan, Thomas J., 123, 274. 
 Gaston, William, 71, 78, 207, 208, 
 
 274. 
 Gaston, William A., 207, 208. 
 Geography, a question in, 255, 256. 
 George, Colonel, 170. 
 Germ theory, the, 221, 222. 
 Gerry, William, 32. 
 Gibbs, Ira, 139, 140. 
 Gibert, Pedro, 29. 
 
 Gilbert, John, 41. 
 
 Gilbert, Timotliy, 64. 
 
 Gilson, Old, a cobbler, 11, 12. 
 
 Giraffe, a, 353. 
 
 Gooch, Daniel W., 119. 
 
 Goodrich, Charles B., 78. 
 
 Goose-liesh, 292. 
 
 Gordon, the cobbler's companion, 
 
 11, 12. 
 Gordon vs. The New York and New 
 
 England Railroad, 242. 
 Gotteiiburg, Sweden, 14, 15. 
 Grant, Gen. U. S., 75, 190, 191. 
 Graves, William J., 40. 
 Green, Col. Nicholas St. John, 74, 
 
 75, 210. 
 Greenough, David S., 55, 194. 
 Greenough, Horatio, 45. 
 Griffin, J. Q. A., 275-281. 
 Guarded, regarded, and disregarded, 
 
 19. 
 Guild, Benjamin, 285. 
 Guzman, Domingo, 30. 
 
 Hale, Edwin B., 338. 
 
 Hale, George S., 78. 
 
 Hallett, Benjamin F., 60, 239, 245, 
 
 282-284, 324, 341. 
 Hammond, John W., 82. 
 Hardy, John H., 79. 
 Harlow, Thomas S., 55. 
 Harrison and Tyler campaign, 39, 
 
 40. 
 Harvard, the sloop, 13. 
 Harvard College, explosion at, 35, 
 
 36. 
 Harvard Commencements, 8, 9. 
 Hayden, William, 281, 282, 342. 
 Heads and points, 141. 
 Healy, John P., 134, 157, 251, 284. 
 Heaves, a cure for the, 340. 
 Hell the last place, 283. 
 Herrick, William A., 128. 
 Heth, Joyce, 355, 356. 
 Hield, Mr., of the Tremont Theatre, 
 
 41. 
 Higginson, Thomas Thacher, 6. 
 Higginson, Tliomas Wentworth, 67. 
 Hill, Edwin N., 263. 
 Hill, Fred. S., 41. 
 Hillard, George S., 28, 34, 285-288. 
 Hilliard, Abram, 12. 
 Hilliard, William, 172. 
 Hoar, E. Roikwood, 55, 78, 133, 134, 
 
 198, 199, 207, 208, 299. 
 Hoar, Samuel, 207, 208, 288. 
 Hoar, Sherman, 207, 208. 
 Hobbs, George M., 339. 
 Hodges, Edward F., 149, 218, 219.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 367 
 
 Hofr Latin, 304. 
 
 Holden, George, 211. 
 
 Holmes, Rev. Abiel, 7. 
 
 Holmes, John, G. 
 
 Holmes, John S., 92, 93, 259, 289-292. 
 
 Holmes, Oliver WeudeU, 33, 161. 
 
 Homer, George F., 255. 
 
 Hoogs, J. B., 137. 
 
 Hopkins, John, 83. 
 
 Hopkins, Col. W. S. B., 215. 
 
 Horse, selling a, 330, 331. 
 
 Horseback excursions, 47-53. 
 
 Horse-dealer, a knowing, 235, 236. 
 
 Horse-dealer, business methods of 
 
 a, 11. 
 Horse-fly, a, 19. 
 
 Horse in Massachusetts Hall, a, 236. 
 Horses, learned, 5, 6. 
 Horsford, Prof. Eben N., 248, 249. 
 Howes, Lewis W., 79, 216. 
 Hubbard, Samuel, 54. 
 Hubbard, William J., 221. 
 Huntington, Asahel, 271, 272. 
 Huntington, Charles P., 69, 103, 104, 
 
 255. 
 Hutchins, E. W.,232. 
 Hutchins, Henry C, 78. 
 Hutchins, Horace G., 79. 
 Hutchins and Wheeler, 55, 71, 341. 
 Hutchinson, P. Henry, 105, 160, 170, 
 
 171, 189. 
 
 Illustrations, practical, 183, 213, 214. 
 Indian, a drunken, 56. 
 Indorsement, an, 185. 
 Irish, Francis O., 344. 
 Irishman's retort, an, 284. 
 Irish question, the, 291. 
 Ives, Stephen B., 163. 
 
 Jackson, Francis, 64. 
 Jackson, Dr. J. B. S., 151. 
 Jamaica, 20, 21. 
 
 Jeffries, James, of Rhode Island, 32. 
 Jews in court, 104. 
 Joannes, Count, 293-297. 
 Jo Cosely, 163. 
 Johnson, William F.,'41. 
 Jonah's boots, 320, 321. 
 Jones, Senator, 190, 249. 
 Jones, George, 293-297. 
 Jones, Joseph S., 41. 
 Josepli and Otis, trial of, 26, 27. 
 Judas's feelings, 324. 
 Judge, an ignorant, 101-103. 
 Judson, Walter H., 193, 194. 
 Juniper, the brig, 26, 27. 
 Juries change in method of impanel- 
 ing, 80, 84. 
 
 Juror, an intoxicated, lOG, 107. 
 Juror, evidence from a, 210. 
 Jurors' excuses, 105, 111-114, 118, 
 
 127, 173, 174. 
 Jury, trial by, Judge Aldrich on, 90. 
 Justice vs. business, 336, 337. 
 
 Keith, James M., 78. 
 
 Kimball, Eben, 4. 
 
 King, John J., 189. 
 
 King, T. B., 91. 
 
 Kingsbury, George H., 161. 
 
 Kingsley, Charles M., 156. 
 
 Kinney, Mrs., 331. 
 
 Kirkland, Pres. John Thornton, 6. 
 
 Kline, Mr., of the Tremont Theatre, 
 
 41. 
 Klous, S.,329. 
 
 Knapp, Mr., a Boston lawyer, 45. 
 Kuapp, Mr., clerk of the Justices' 
 
 Court, 102, 103, 243. 
 Knapp, John Francis, 145-149. 
 Knapp, Capt. Joseph J., 145-147. 
 Knapp, Jo.seph J., jr., 145-148. 
 Knapp, Nathaniel Fhippen, 146, 
 
 147. 
 Kneeland, Abner, 45. 
 
 Lacedaemon, 327. 
 
 Lafayette, Marquis de, 5. 
 
 Lane, John C, 249. 
 
 Lapsus linguae, a, 159. 
 
 Latlirop, John, 83, 313. 
 
 Lauriat, Mr., an aeronaut, 13. 
 
 Law, presumed to be justice, 107. 
 
 Lawyer, a mulatto, 243-245. 
 
 Lawyer, an intoxicated, 198, 199. 
 
 Lawyer, a sensitive, 217. 
 
 Lawyers, tedious, 113. 
 
 Lawyer without an oflSce, a, 126. 
 
 Lee, John, 35, 36. 
 
 Legle jockeys, 195. 
 
 Leg to stand on, a, 313. 
 
 Levy vs. Bornstein, 223, 224. 
 
 Lewis, Alonzo, 34. 
 
 Lewis, Capt. Isaiah W. P., 20-22. 
 
 Libellee, a large, 168. 
 
 Lilley, Charles S., 83. 
 
 Lincoln, Gov. Levi, 145. 
 
 Lin.scott, Daniel C, 78. 
 
 Littlefield, Ephraim, 150, 154, 155. 
 
 Locke, John G., 111. 
 
 Log cabins in politics, 39. ^ 
 
 Long, John D., 79, 211. 
 
 Lord, Otis P., 2, 72, 100, 104-115, 
 
 197, 241, 242, 328. 
 Loring, Caleb William, 55, 255. 
 Loring, Charles G., 55. 
 Loring, Edward G., 66, 285.
 
 368 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 LorinR, Ellis Gray, 64. 
 Lowell, John, 59, 60. 
 Lynde, A. V., 'J97. 
 Lynn Hotel, 16. 
 
 Mackie, Mr., of New Bedford, 210. 
 
 MaRuire, Thomas F., 291. 
 
 Maine, Sebeus C, 193, 282, 31C. 
 
 Mann, Horace, 285. 
 
 Maimers, inimitable, 353. 
 
 Man - of - war, studying law on a, 
 
 144. 
 Marshfleld, 46, 47. 
 Marston, George, 343. 
 Mason, Albert, 82. 
 Mason, D. H., 341. 
 Mason, Jeremiah, 284. 
 Masonry and Anti-Masonry, 193. 
 Massasoit Packing Co., 85. 
 Maxwell, Major J. A., 289. 
 Maynard, Elisha B., 83. 
 McCleary, Samuel F., 160, 161. 
 McCleUan, John, 111, 112. 
 McKean, Henry S., 6. 
 Meacham, Col. George, 11, 235, 236. 
 Meade, Gen. George G., 99. 
 Medicine, horse, 137. 
 Meionaou Hall, as a court room, 
 
 73. 
 Mellen, Edward, 54, 330. 
 Mendum, Jack, 15, 16. 
 Merrick, Pliny, 55, 116, 117, 153, 
 
 248, 273. 
 Merwin, Elias, 142. 
 Metcalf, Theron, 153, 257, 314. 
 Mexican, the brig, 28, 29. 
 Milk of human kindness, the, 327. 
 Mind-reading, 161. 
 Mississippi River, 20, 21. 
 Model, a misleading, 242, 243. 
 Montego Bay, 20, 21. 
 Montenegro, Juan, 29. 
 Montgomery, convicted of robbing 
 
 a stage, 323. 
 Morgan, David, 151. 
 Morrill, George, 32. 
 Morris, Robert, 244, 282, 298-300. 
 Morse, Mr., 191, 192. 
 Morse, Cyrus, 3-5. 
 Morse, Mrs. Cyrus, 4. 
 Morse, Isaac S., 300. 
 Morse, Nathan, 79, 253, 301, 310. 
 Morse, Robert M., 300, 339. 
 Morse, Royal, 10, 11. 
 Morton, Gov. Marcus, 37, 38. 
 Morton, Marcus, jr., 69, 72, 117, 
 
 118, 1C3, 255. 
 Morton, Perez, 146, 148. 
 Mt. Auburn, 18. 
 
 Mt. Mansfield, 48-51. 
 
 Mugford, Samuel, 32. 
 
 Munroe, Deacon, 12, 13. 
 
 Murder trials, of Otis and Joseph, 
 26, 27 ; of the Knapp brothers, 
 145-149; of Dr. Webster, 150- 
 156. 
 
 Murdock'8 Liquid Food, 174, 175. 
 
 Music, the sweetest, 61. 
 
 Nash, Stephen G., 69, 118, 119. 
 National Theatre, 40-42. 
 Neale, Deputy Sheriff, 190. 
 Neck, a broken, 12. 
 Negative, alleging a, 138. 
 Nelson, Albert H., 69, 70. 
 New Oi'leaus, 21, 22, 24. 
 Newton, Jeremiah L., 107, 297. 
 New York and New Haven Rail- 
 road, 321, 322. 
 Nickerson, Joseph, 294-296, 301. 
 Notes, good, 325. 
 Noticing the Court, 98. 
 
 Oath, methods of administering the, 
 
 191, 192. 
 O'Loughlin, Patrick, 127. 
 Old Times and New, by Allen C. 
 
 Spooner, 332-336. 
 Original papers, care of, 59. 
 Otis and Joseph, trial of, 26, 27. 
 Overcoat, a stolen, 311, 312. 
 
 Packard, Mr., of Marshfleld, 46, 
 
 47. 
 Paige, John C, 317. 
 Paine, Henry W., 70, 78, 131, 301- 
 
 304. 
 Paine, John T., 304. 
 Palmer, Mr., of the National The- 
 atre, 41. 
 Panda, or Pinda, the, a slaveship. 
 
 28, 29. 
 Panorama, a, 286. 
 Pants, not the subject of larceny, 
 
 281 
 Park,' John C, 55, 71, 94, 114, 167, 
 
 257, 258, 304, 305, 328. 
 Parker, Col. Edward G., 259. 
 Parker, Francis E., 306, 307. 
 Parker, Harvey D., 341. 
 Parker, Henry M., 133. 
 Parker, Horatio G., 309, 310. 
 Parker, Isaac, 148. 
 Parker, Samuel D., 57, 58, 139, 152, 
 
 193, 306, 307. 
 Parker, Theodore, 67. 
 Parkman, Dr. George, the murder 
 
 of, 150-156.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 369 
 
 Pannenter, William E., 119. 
 
 Parsons, Tlieopliilus, 285. 
 
 Parsoii.s, Chief Justice Tlieopliilus, 
 
 119, I'JO. 
 Partnership, 177, 178. 
 Passenger, removing a, 321, 322. 
 Paunclieous Pilate, 326. 
 Peabody, Rev. Andrew P., D. D., 
 
 34. 
 Pearson, Mr., 110. 
 Pelby, Mr., manager of the National 
 
 Theatre, 40, 42. 
 Pelby, WUliaiii, 41. 
 PeUon, Florentine W., 248. 
 Perkins, Jonathan C, 54. 
 Perry, Ba.xter E., 78. 
 Peterson, James H., 26, 27. 
 Peyton, Capt. WiUiam N., 28. 
 Phillips, Mr., of Rhode Island, 32. 
 Phillips, George William, 55. 
 Phillips, Thomas W., 56, 58. 
 Phillips, Wendell, 34, 64, 67, 219. 
 Pigeons, wild, killing, 17, 18. 
 Pillsbury, Albert E., 79. 
 Pinda, or Panda, the, a slaveship, 
 
 28, 29. 
 Piracy trial, a, 28-30. 
 Pitman, Robert C, 82, 120-128, 
 
 222, 262, 274. 
 Poems, by George S. Hillard, 285, 
 
 286; by Allen C. Spooner, 331- 
 
 336. 
 Poet, a legal, 331-336. 
 Pomeroy, Mr., of Sweet Auburn, 
 
 IS. 
 Pontius Pilate, 326, 329. 
 Pony, a valuable, 176, 177. 
 Port-au-Prince, 22, 23. 
 Porter's Tavern, 40. 
 Portsmouth, 15, 16. 
 Pound, the, as an asylum, 196. 
 Power, Thomas, 50. 
 Prayers, effective, 158. 
 Prayers for instructions, 212. 
 Presentation speech, a, 129. 
 Prince, Frederick O., 56. 
 Proctor, Redfield, 128. 
 Profits and receipts, 122. 
 Ptolemy III., death of, 259. 
 Pulsifer, David, 343. 
 Putnam, Rev. George, D. D., 153. 
 Putnam, John P., 72. 
 
 Quotation, a well-known, 273. 
 
 Railroad accident, a strange, 224- 
 
 226. 
 Railroad fares, 183, 184. 
 Rand, Benjamin, 55. 
 
 Rand, Warren, and Fiske, 55. 
 Randall, Samuel J., 173. 
 Randolph vs. O'Riordau el al., 217, 
 
 218. 
 Raiiney, Ambrose A., 103, 310, 311. 
 Rantoul, Robert, 8, 149. 
 Read, James B., 4. 
 Receipt for a fine wanted, a, 56. 
 Receipts and profits, 122. 
 Redfield, Isaac F., 128, 129, 314. 
 Reed, Chester I., 81, 129, 314, 315. 
 Rhomboid test, the, 2W, 265. 
 Rich and Stetson, Messrs., 2.50. 
 Richardson, Ivory W., 246, 312. 
 Richardson, James B., 78, 83. 
 Richardson, Nathaniel, 349. 
 Riddle, Edward and James, 42. 
 Riley, Patrick, 239. 
 Ring, James, 263. 
 Rockwell, Julius, 72, 100, 129. 
 Rogers, John, his warm feet, 239. 
 Rogers, John G., 56, 296, 297.' 
 Romeo, on his knees, 296. 
 Ropes, John Codman, 295, 296. 
 Ruiz, Francisco, 29, 30. 
 Rural hospitality, 51-53. 
 Russ, Augustus, 78, 313, 314. 
 Russell, Benjamin F., 311, 312. 
 Russell, Charles Theodore, 55, 78. 
 Russell, Thomas, 72. 
 Russell, Thomas H., 55. 
 Russell, William E., 124, 125. 
 Russell, WilUam G., 55, 79, 354. 
 
 St. Helena, 24. 
 
 Sales, Francis, 8. 
 
 Salmon, the adventures of a, 302, 
 
 303. 
 Saltonstall, Leverett, 193. 
 Sanford, J. B., 205. 
 
 Sanford, , 6. 
 
 Sargent, John O., 285. 
 
 Sargent, Lucius M., 235, 236. 
 
 Sawyer, Frederick W., 320, 341. 
 
 Sawyer, John J., 31. 
 
 Scripture quotations, 316. 
 
 Scudder, Henry E., 82. 
 
 Scurvy, 210. 
 
 Searle, George W., 298. 
 
 Seccomb et al. vs. The Provincial 
 
 Insurance Company, 255, 256. 
 Seedy loco, a, 119. 
 Sennott, George, 191, 314-316. 
 Settlement, a philanthropic, 250. 
 Sewall, Samuel E., 64. 
 Shadrach, the rescue of, 239. 
 Sham demurrer, 172. 
 Shannon, Mr., 330. 
 Shattuck, George O., 79, 339.
 
 :^70 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Sliaw, Lemuel, 54, 59, 79, 130-136, 
 
 IM, 153, 309, 329. 
 
 Shiiw, Robert G., jr., 151. 
 
 Shea, R. W., 128. 
 
 Sliopp eatiiiR a colt's tail, 317, 318. 
 
 Sheldon, H(iiiry N., 83. 
 
 Sherniiiii, Edgar J., 82. 
 
 ShootiiiK, 17, 18, 38, 39. 
 
 Shurtlelt, Hiram S., 314, 315. 
 
 "Sliylock," 111. 
 
 Siamese twins, the, 9, 10. 
 
 Silver cup, a, 307. 
 
 Simmons, D. A., 131. 
 
 Sims, Thomas, 64-66, 219. 
 
 Sisters in law, 268. 
 
 Six 3fon(hs in the Hcnise of Correc- 
 tion, by William J. Snelling, 33. 
 
 Skill, want of, 114, 115. 
 
 Slaves, fugitive, arrests of, 64-68, 
 239. 
 
 Sloop Harvard, the, 13. 
 
 Smith, John, 37. 
 
 Smith, J. R., 313. 
 
 Smith, Matthew Hale, 316. 
 
 Smith, Matthew WeUs, 188. 
 
 Smith, Polly, 251. 
 
 Smith, Robert D., 79, 316-318. 
 
 Smith, William H., 40, 41, 43. 
 
 Smith, Mrs. William H., 42. 
 
 Smoking, homoeopathic, 311. 
 
 Smyrna, 255. 
 
 Snelling, William J., 33, 44 ; his Six 
 Months in the House of Correc- 
 tion. 33 ; his Truth, a Gift to 
 Scribblers, 33. 
 
 Snow, Peter and Solomon, 10. 
 
 Sohier, Edward D., 61, 62, 71, 78, 
 153, 179, 194, 232, 318-331. 
 
 Sohier, William, 39. 
 
 Sohier, William D., 318, 329. 
 
 Sohier and Welch, 55, 323. 
 
 Somerby, Gustavus A., 237, 255, 
 351-354. 
 
 Southerner in court, a, 85, 86. 
 
 Special pleading, a bit of, 329. 
 
 Spelling-school, 214. 
 
 Spooner, Allen C, 331-336. 
 
 Sprague, Charles W., 300. 
 
 Sprague, Peleg, 238. 
 
 Squirrels, 309, 310. 
 
 Stable law, 157. 
 
 Stackpole, Stephen A., 153. 
 
 Stage-driver, an old, 3-5. 
 
 Stage-driver, a short, 15, 16. 
 
 Stage lines, 3, 4, 16. 
 
 Stanwood, Jacob, 351. 
 
 Staples, Hamilton B., 82. 
 
 Stearns, William S., 122. 
 
 Stearns, William S., 339. 
 
 Stemhold and Hopkins, 267, 268. 
 
 Stevens, Munro, 92-94. 
 
 Stevens, William G., 285. 
 
 Stone, Richard, 246. 
 
 Storey, Charles W., 337. 
 
 Storey, Moorfield, 79. 
 
 Story, Joseph, 28. 
 
 Suffolk County Bar Association 
 
 founded, 78, 79. 
 Sullivan, John, 58. 
 Sumner, Charles, 34, 285. 
 Superfluous Lags, Mr., 115. 
 Superior Court, the, established, 71 ; 
 
 its organization, 72 ; additional 
 
 appointments and promotions, 81- 
 
 83. 
 Superior Court of the County of 
 
 Suffolk, the, established, 68 ; 
 
 abolished, 72. 
 Supreme Court, the, versus Mr. 
 
 Hilliard, 12. 
 Suter, Hales W., 78. 
 Smtm cvique, 320. 
 Swasey, Mr., 125, 246, 247. 
 Swasey, Horatio B., 338. 
 Sweet Auburn, 18. 
 Sweetser, Theodore, 311, 353. 
 
 Tad Pole and Polly Wog, 326. 
 
 Talker, a fast, 283. 
 
 Tarbell, Mr. , deputy sheriff, 11. 
 
 Taylor, Father, 27. 
 
 Taylor, Rev. Edward, 27. 
 
 Teamster on the witness stand, a, 
 
 214. 
 Teeth, a new set wanted, 330. 
 Telephone blank, a love-letter on a, 
 
 97. 
 Teutonic sausages, 292. 
 Thaxter, David, 79. 
 Theatres, 40^5. 
 Thomas, Charles G., 341, 342. 
 Thomas, J. B. F., 341. 
 Thomas, Col. Seth J., 71, 78, 92, 
 
 301, 338-340, 349, 350, 357; his 
 
 eulogy on George C. Wilde, 359- 
 
 362. 
 Thompson, Charles P., 82, 163. 
 Tiukham, Adams & Co., 178, 179. 
 Tompson, Samuel, 161. 
 Torrey, George A., 97, 342, 343. 
 Tory, a, 19. 
 
 Train, Charles R., 169, 343. 
 Traveres, Mr., 28. 
 Treadwell, John P., 249. 
 Treanor, Bernard S., 344. 
 Tree, Ellen, 42. 
 Tremont Theatre, 40, 41, 44. 
 Trial by jury. Judge Aldrich on, 90
 
 INDEX. 
 
 371 
 
 True, an old colored man, 16. 
 Truth, ri Gift to Scribblers, by WU- 
 
 liani J. Suelliug, 33. 
 Tudor's Buildings, 37, 341. 
 Tukey, Francis, 40, Oi. 
 Turner, Alfred J., 186. 
 Two Years be/ore the Mast, by 
 
 Dana, 31, 32. 
 Typhoid fever, 221, 222. 
 
 Underhand work, 267. 
 Underbill, Vt., 48. 
 Underwood, Francis H., 294. 
 
 Van Duzee, Ira D., 344. 
 
 Velasques, JostS, 30. 
 
 Vose, Henry, 72, 328. 
 
 V'oyage of Life, The, by Allen C. 
 
 Spoouer, 331, 332. 
 Voyages, 19-26, 32. 
 
 "Wager, a, 304, 305. 
 
 Wakefield, Mr., 107. 
 
 Walker, President James, 360. 
 
 Wall-eyed, 245. 
 
 Ward, Joshua H., 55. 
 
 Ware, Charles E., 6. 
 
 Ware, Rev. Dr. Henry, 6. 
 
 Warren, Charles H., 54, 55. 
 
 Washburn, Ale.xauder C., 56. 
 
 Washburn, Emory, 55. 
 
 Washburne, Frank L., 247. 
 
 Waterbury, Vt., 49. 
 
 Waterford, Marquis of, 30, 31. 
 
 Webster, Daniel, 40, 45-47, 134, 
 
 149, 344, 348. 
 Webster, Dr. John White, 150-155. 
 Webster's Dictionary, 141. 
 Weeding at sea, 212. 
 Welch, Charles A., 55, 78, 183, 184, 
 
 319 320 330. 
 Wells', Daniel, 55, 62, 63, 136-140, 
 
 181, 182, 281, 337. 
 Wells. Samuel, 344-346. 
 West End Street Railway, 213, 214. 
 Westford Academy, 3. 
 West Indies, a voyage to, 19-24. 
 Wheeler, Alexander S., 55, 78. 
 Wliite, Joseph, 145, 147, 148. 
 White Mountains, 36, 37. 
 White River, 49. 
 Whiting, William, 354. 
 Whituig and Russell, 55. 
 Whittemore, Rev. Thomas, 282, 283. 
 Wille, George C, 46, 56, 61, 130, 
 
 359-302. 
 Wilde, Samuel S., 54, 140, 141, 153. 
 Wildes' hotel, 16. 
 Wilkinson, Ezra, 72, 142-144. 
 
 Willard, Joseph, cousin of Joseph A. 
 Willard, 346. 
 
 Willard, Joseph, grandfather of 
 Joseph A. Willard, 1, 2. 
 
 Willard, Joseph, uncle of Joseph A. 
 WiUard, 54, 62, 76, 77, 184, 185, 
 190, 307, 324. 
 
 Willard, Joseph A. : ancestry and 
 parentage, 1, 2; birth and child- 
 hood, 3, 4; school -days, 3-19; 
 voyages, 19-26 ; marries Penelope 
 Cochran, 36 ; horseback excur- 
 sions, 47-53 ; becomes an assist- 
 ant to his uncle, Joseph Willard, 
 Esq., Clerk of the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas, 54 ; is admitted to the 
 bar, 56 ; becomes a deputy sheriff, 
 61, 62; causes improvements to 
 be made in the court room, 64 ; 
 appointed assistant clerk of the 
 Superior Court of the County of 
 Suffolk, 70, 71 ; appointed Clerk 
 of the Superior Court of Mas- 
 sachusetts, to fill the vacancy 
 caused by his uncle's death, 77 ; 
 election and successive reelec- 
 tionsto the office, 77, 81. 
 
 Willard, Mrs. Joseph A., 49-51. 
 
 Willard, Paul, 96, 132. 
 
 Willard, Sidney, father of Joseph 
 A. Willard, 2, 3, 7, 34-36, 151, 
 152, 319, 344. 
 
 Willard, Solomon, cousin of Sidney 
 Willard, 73. 
 
 Willev, Tolman, 55, 271, 329, 341, 
 346-359. 
 
 Williams, Mr., of the National The- 
 atre, 41. 
 
 Williams, John M., 54. 
 
 Willis et at. vs. The Merchants' and 
 Miners' Transportation Company, 
 226 227. 
 
 Will of J. Q. A. Griffin, the, 276- 
 281. 
 
 Wilson, General, of Keene, 40. 
 
 Wilson, John, 306. 
 
 Wilson, William W., 323, 324. 
 
 Wine, ipecac in, 109. 
 
 Witness, a pious, 142, 143. 
 
 Witness, a too willing, 188, 189. 
 
 Wool, not an expert on, 300, 301. 
 
 Wright, John, 3. 
 
 Writ served under difficulties, a, 190. 
 
 Wyeth, Jacob. 7. 
 
 Wyeth, Jonas, 8. 
 
 Wyeth, Nathaniel J., 8. 
 
 Wyman, Dr. Morrill, 51. 
 
 Young, George, 239.
 
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