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 238 LAWYER ble under the statutes, and in still others it is doubtful what the rule would be held to be. But reputable attorneys seldom make such contracts, and they are generally regarded as unprofessional. Fee bills, whether by statute or rule of court, are now almost unknown in the United States, except as regulating the re- covery of the successful party from his op- ponent. 4. The relation of attorney and client is regarded as confidential. The attorney can- not as a witness be compelled to disclose any communication his client may have made to him in order to obtain his advice or assistance ; and as this exemption is for the client's benefit and protection, the attorney will not even be permitted to disclose, if willing to do so, unless the client assents. But this privilege would not extend to matters foreign to the client's own business, nor to any disclosure of intended misconduct, such for instance as confiding to counsel the purpose to commit a crime; in other words, it would not extend to anything not within the reason of the privilege, which is to throw the protection of secrecy over all communications between client and attorney which are necessary or proper to put the latter in possession of the facts to enable him to give the former intelligent advice regarding his legal rights and liabilities. While the relation exists the law regards with some degree of suspicion any other dealings of the attorney with the client, and contracts between them may be set aside on the application of the client if they appear to be one-sided or unfair, on the presumption that the attorney's influence grow- ing out of the relation has been improperly employed to obtain them. Of the ethics of the legal profession but little can be said in this place. By the large majority of the pro- fession a high standard is sought to be main- tained, and city, county, and sometimes state societies are formed having this object chiefly in view. In the lower courts, however, a class of practitioners is met with who rely for their success upon pettifogging practices 'and trick- ery, some of whom solicit business, and espe- cially the defence of persons accused of crime, with little or no intention to perform valuable service in return. This last class are often called " shysters." And it is not to be dis- guised that men of eminent ability are some- times met with at the bar who are as unscru- pulous in their practice in the higher courts as are the pettifoggers and shysters in the lower. In this country it is always understood that certain officers will be members of the legal profession, such as judges of the higher courts, masters in chancery, or commissioners per- forming corresponding duties, attorneys gene- ral of states, public prosecutors of counties, and the like ; and it is sometimes provided by law that no other persons shall be eligible. Until recently women have not been admitted to practice as lawyers. An application for ad- mission in Illinois having been denied on the ground that the statutes on the subject em- LAYAPvD braced males only, an appeal was taken to the supreme court of the United States, where the position was taken by counsel that the decision was in conflict with the new amendments to the federal constitution. This position, how- ever, was declared untenable by that court. Afterward a statute was passed in Illinois which permitted women to be licensed to prac- tise, and by statute or decision of courts they may be admitted in several of the other states. Very few, however, have hitherto availed them- selves of the permission. The court of claims has recently decided that women are not enti- tled to practise in that court. LA YARD, Austen Henry, an English archaeolo- gist, born in Paris, during the temporary resi- dence of his parents in that city, March 8, 1817. He is descended from a Huguenot fami- ly which emigrated from France after the revo- cation of the edict of Nantes. After spending a number of years in Florence, where he culti- vated a taste for drawing, he commenced the study of law in England, but soon abandoned it to embark in a tour of exploration in the East. Leaving England in 1839, he traversed Albania and Koumelia ; and after a brief resi- dence in Constantinople he proceeded through Asia Minor to Syria, " scarcely leaving untrod one spot hallowed by tradition, or unvisited one ruin consecrated by history." Thence he went to Persia, and devoted some time to an examination of the remains of Susa, though without any important results. During this period he mastered the Arabic and some other oriental idioms, and so assimilated his habits, dress, and general appearance to those of the Arabs, that he was frequently taken for one of that race. Passing through Mosul in 1842 on his return to Constantinople, he found that M. Botta, the French consul at the former place, was making excavations, under the direction of his government, in the neighboring mound of Kuyunjik ; and he accordingly directed the at- tention of this gentleman to the great mound of Nimrud, about 30 m. below Mosul by the Ti- gris, as likely to contain remains of the utmost interest to the archaeologist. The distance of the place, however, and its inconvenient posi- tion, prevented M. Botta from availing himself of this suggestion, and circumstances detained Mr. Layard in Constantinople and its neighbor- hood for several years. He however strongly cherished the hope of exploring the Assyrian ruins around Mosul, which he had cursorily examined while passing down the Tigris in 1840 ; and the gratifying results of M. Botta's excavations at Khorsabad in 1843-'4 increas his anxiety to revisit the great mound of Ni rud. Sir Stratford Canning, the British am- bassador in Constantinople, agreed to defray for a limited period the expense of excavations in Assyria, and Layard eagerly embraced the opportunity. Arriving in Mosul in November, 1845, he broke ground in the great mound of Nimrud on the 9th of that month ; and from that period until April, 1847, with the excep-