Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 14.pdf/656

 The

Green

Published Monthlv at £4.00 per Annum.

Bag.

Single Numbers 50 Cents.

Communications in regard to the contents of the Magazine should be addressed to the Editor, Thos. Tileston Baldwin, 1038 Exchange Building, Boston, Mass. The Editor will be glad to receive contributions of articles of moderate length upon subjects of in terest to the profession; also anything in the way of legal antiquities or curiosities, facetia, anecdotes, etc. NOTES. Superintendent: " It is our usual custom to let a prisoner work at the same trade in here as he did outside. Now, what is your trade?" Prisoner: " Please, sir, I was a traveling sales man." In the days of the " Old Bench," as the Su preme Court of years past is called by the Tenn essee bar, two lawyers of some note, who thoroughly detested each other, were trying a case in the highest court, when an angry con troversy arose. They were fined for the lan guage they used, but were not satisfied. Soon after leaving the court-room they en gaged in a fierce fight, during which one of them severely bit the other's fingers. The matter became known to every lawyer in town, and to the judges of the court; but little was said about it, in deference to the feelings of the participants. The next morning the wounded man appeared in the argument of a case, his hand in a sling. His enemy sat as a listener. The Chief Justice seemed surprised on looking at the sling, and said, in sympathetic tones, "Brother Blank, you seem to have met with an accident. I hope it is nothing very serious." "No, sir, I thank your Honor; nothing very serious — nothing serious at all — just dog bite, by a very insignificant dog, too." The trials and tribulations of the western judge are many. Their judgments, decrees and rulings on evidence are not only criticised, but movements of their bodies are often miscon strued. In an Iowa court recently a lawyer was urging a decree of divorce before Judge Thomp son of Cedar Rapids. The attorney in arguing

his case became both earnest and eloquent and emphasized his statements by striking the table with his hand with great force. He paused a moment and then said : "I see your Honor shakes your head as to that statement, but I desire to reaffirm what I have remarked, notwithstanding your Honor has given dissent." The Court retorted : "I have not in any manner intimated how I should construe the evidence or what my deci sion shall be in the case, and such remarks are wholly uncalled for." "You shook your head." "That may be true," the Court promptly re plied; " there was a fly on my ear, and I reserved the right to remove it in any manner I saw fit. Proceed with your argument." The Paris papers recently reported a law suit which had in it much to interest the curious. The case was tried at Norbonne in the south of France and lasted throughout the entire day. The complainant in the case testified that he was one day dining on the " terrace " in front of the restaurant, enjoying the salubrity of the air as well as the tastily-cooked food placed be fore him. He had just commenced to eat his soup, which he found too hot for his palate. While waiting for the soup to cool he took from his pocket a roll of bills which he had received in payment of a bill. In counting the money he accidentally dropped a hundred-franc bank-note into his soup. He took it out of his plate with a fork, and sent the soup away; but the bank-note was saturated with the greasy liquid, and he laid it down on the tablecloth to dry. He was partaking of the seconil course, when a sudden gust of wind blew the note off the table. He ran after it, but a wandering dog, which showed every manifestation of hunger, seized it. The taste of the soup on the paper