Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 11.pdf/112

 Ctje #rem Bag. Publ1shed Monthly, at $4.00 per Annum.

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Communications in regard to the contents of the Magazine should be addressed to the Editor, Horace W. Fuller, 344 Tremont Building, Boston, Mass. The Editor will be glad to reeeive eontributions of artieles of moderate length upon subjeets of inter est to the profession; also anything in the way of legal antiquit1es or euriosities, faeetia, anee dotes, ete. FACETIÆ.

Recently in arguing a case before the Supreme Court of North Carolina, counsel asked for an extension of the time allowed for argument, say ing in a deprecatory manner that he did not know that he could add to what his associate had al ready said, but " your honors will remember that the cackling of geese once saved Rome." "You may try it, Mr. B.," blandly replied the chief justice. The same court a few years since was in session when a countryman passed with a load of fodder, and in reply to his inquiry a mischievous young attorney standing at the door of the court build ing replied that he did not need any fodder just then, but if the inquirer would go to a door he pointed out and look in he would find five men sitting up behind a long desk who might need some fodder — and thereupon the young limb of the law and of Satan put out for down street. While the court was in the midst of an earnest argument from eminent counsel, suddenly a long, lank countryman opening the door, called out in stentorian tones, " Fodder! any of you 'uns want any fodder to-day? " Before the court and bar could recover from the assault, the county clerk in the blandest and most matter-of-fact tone, as if it was an every-day inquiry, responded : " No fodder to-day, sir, I believe," and the incident and the door were closed as suddenly as they had been opened. Some years ago, when a judge down in North Carolina was charging the jury, John V. Sharon, one of the counsel, who did not like the tenor of the charge, rose, and in utter good faith and sim plicity said, in a beseeching way, " And now, won't your honor charge a leetel bit on my side?"

Out in Indiana a good many years ago a cer tain old woman, summoned as a witness, came into court wearing a large poke bonnet such as was then much affected by rural folks. Her answers to the questions put to her being rather indistinct, the court requested her to speak louder, though without much success. "The court cannot hear a word you say, my good woman," said the judge. " Please to take off that huge bonnet of yours." "Sir," she said composedly, and distinctly enough this time, " the court has a perfect right to bid a gentleman take off his hat, but it has no right to make a woman remove her bonnet." "Madam," replied the judge, "you seem so well acquainted with the law that I think you had better come up and take a seat with us on the bench." "I thank your honor kindly," she responded, dropping a low courtesy to the court, " but there are old women enough there already."

NOTES.

The French instrument of capital punishment, the guillotine, is not actually as represented in conventional pictures of it. It has been made a much more delicate apparatus than it used to be, and has been reduced one third in size. The parallel uprights in which the knife moves are now painted a dirty Vandyck brown, instead of bright scarlet, and the knife is not a great trian gular piece of steel, but an almost razor-shaped blade, weighted with mercury, and not with lead. All the prisons of Paris, except one, are to be torn down, and a movement is on foot to have executions take place within this prison, instead of out-of-doors, as formerly.

Says the Ceylon " Standard " : In the Calcutta courts recently, one Suppramanian Chetty sued K. Visvalingham and his wife, Seppachi, for the recovery of 200 rupees on a promissory note. <y