Newspapers / Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.) / Aug. 10, 1876, edition 1 / Page 1
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4i VII. THIRD SERIES, 'SALISBURY. U. C, AUGUST 10, 1876. -- i HO 43 TTTT T. J. ERITNER, Ed. and Propr K. BUUNER, Associate Ed. KUT I : i were like the poor girl when aevercl yj re I winning aide iri a legal contest as the win- j rouse me lie deaisjted ; but I heard him BSCBipTIOX PATES ? tofc paL!1? advance,....,.;....... "TTbYERTieiXG RATES 5 tV I i . $2 00 i 25 1 00 50 ON and OFF Slick as Grease ! WM. A EAGLE I" renDectfulIr announces -, his continuance at ms old jbji , m.i'aI.I line, on Wain street, opposite ..jnrdystoire. ?Ie is always ready and dcornmqdate customers in the lioot inCHS ia tne oest manner posture, 1 to do first clai wrk and can te itl ai northern shop on hand made Sis piachlne last, ttc, are of the: latest "7 hKt-naterna. lie Keeps ou imuu reauy liVorki and stock equal to any special or vie,;i.:,; , Roots in best style. &7. Xvi f W aaalitv, 1 1 liepairing neatly and 'i!,-(ibiio at reasonable prices. Satisfac- .jaritieediiffnd'charge' - ' x .vhordors by mail promptly stilled. C&,n ( . - WM. A. EAGLE Jia.2-0,1676. f - lo:6mt II 1 11 D W A K K. baked by her stern mother for an , indis cretion that resulted in" an unauthorized grandchild for the old lady; and all "you ad to say was that "if you' had ' had a bahyt was a mighty small one," and you hoped to be excused - You were excused and nominated and received the vole of every; Democrat in the legislature "save that ot the gallant and chivalrous Flem ing of Rowan, who boldly proclaimed that no caucus $onld compel him to vote' for you under such circumstances. Popr k LEMIXG ! The gentlest,. the purest, the bravest, the most incorruptible of men, the most single-minded of patriots and tie truest of friends ! Fitted by every quality of head audiof heart to adorn the uigtiesi position in ina gut or tne people, it fell! to your lot my gallant comrade to jay upwn your nouie lire lor me land; you loved so well ! ; You, Captain- Settle, and ping side in a political contest? And then, too, lOUEGEE had induced the Conven tion to abolish all that legal lumber apout pleading, and law and cquaty, of which the bead of G .AST02, aud Hendebson," and RuFFnr used to be so full. And so it was.! ' AVith aristocratic instinct you at once got above the common negro herd. Nor were you out of place, for when Settle became Judge, party became law. 1 EAESON also and politics were one land inseperable., Rodman too and Reaie were always ready to obey parlizan be- the rest war bests. You were no worse than and no better. i- Time rolled on. The terrible Kirk came on and with it came tne crowning phame of bur life. v Men might forget that you were selfish and time serving ujiight torget that you had betrayed aud aban doned every political party tbat'you jever at low at No !2 Vhen I you want Hardware STvUil on the undersigned femitellow. . U! D. A..AT.WEEL NJ CJune 8 tt Salisbury March 9, 76: 1 yr. fit terms dencc are indeed past finding out. j.tiu were elected ana Herein was your good; tortune again apparent. The Presi dential election took place in November but that for Solicitor did not take place until December, so that you had ample timei ample fSr yon at least, to -run off with i Douglas and return to the true folds before your election came off. 1 he storm) whose ominous muttenngs had been heard and whose black cloud had been seeu, at last burst and with sudden fury over the wholeountry. The President of the United States culled for seventy "five thonsand troops to quell "the insurrection." ; Your response to thisLcall was prompt ana vigorous, lou raised a company and with aims in your hands became an insurgent. You defied- the Federal flag and bore a Captain's commis sion; in the insurgent -army. '-. a - 1 T -ayMn. 1 .1 -Ai year passea. in loos wnen tne spripgr lifue camo, you were elected a full you You who must You Cheap Chattel Mortgages, and yarios ether blanks lor-sale iiers Mill Li J - Clones l (irauite in -short notltie, uedeatais .EE. Phil 111 Ofanv size desiretl, cut out olrtne uest the State, may le obtained on lso, window and door sills, monnmeuts, &c. Address Salisbury. 16:tl' , for ips, c. s; FOR TOCATAIX S-ET-rLE. LATE A;UALHCAL CANDIDATE GUVKUNUll. " From the Wilmington JaMT.. Slit: . 'ijYou belong to the best Llood of the 'State! tiike your Confederate and J;:di tial eoraraJe Colonel Rodman, you -were bom an aristocrat. You are no common man, sprung from obscim pareniage. EighisUtiou and wealth and lire. Settle ftmily aire no. strangers to each other. lour lather, whose honored name you bear in fjill, adorned for years the Judici arjof otic sta-te. Tiire and araiii you have been honored ty the confidence of the people. An ed ucated geutleaian, you were doubtless early proficient in English history; at auy rate J make bold to say that the example of at; least one mere illustrious English character lias been a lamp untr? ' thy feet mil a light unto thy path in every night of doubt! aud uncertainty that has come upon, you. It is necessarry to say I refer to tharemiiient BritisJi Divine, the Vicar of Brayj him who in every revolution pro fessed tentts of Jbe sect that "held the beat lirtng in England." No matter how inauj might be wrecked arnuod him his bark always came safely to shore. Comparatively a young man, for tweu- 1 1j five years, you have been more or less prominent before the people, lou were bj birth and education a Whig;- your county of Rockingham waa largely Duio traticj you went to the University of the State and there you overcome your euily "Pjudiee8 as your naturally- fine mind M enlarged arid developed by its Liber alizjjg course of study, -This was truly tauale. The whole Stale had also be ome Demociaiic and you returned home, W0t opportnuely qualified for the posi Uouot jprivate Secretary to your brother Maw'itbat Imp. Tiisn - Onver'nor DaVID Settle He id ! Fori time Democracy as 'jubilant and so was Thomas Settle, r. The future lay fair and beautiful ; Hreyou; the suiisliine lifted just long pnon j0 ma.e y0 Solicitor of your myseilf, still survive ! The ways of Provi- bulonged to; they might bury in oblivion the remembrance that you shamefully shirked when youp-native land, that; had so honored you, was invaded by a rxjerci less foe; they might forget that you .con fessed and publicly called yourself aitrai- tor; might overlook your alliauce with negroes and your association with .vile carpet-baggers who overran your State, but never bo long as you and they shall live, will citizens of North Carolina either forget or forgive your shameful conduct when you a Judge, sworn to administer the law honestly and impartially, aban doned them, in the hour of theirexlreinity, to the rceTcy of Kirk and his cut throats. When you and your Radical brethren on the bench in real or pretened fears crouch ed down before Kirk's iusolent gibes! like a'paek of whipped curs, you set yout own seals to your own shame and to your own infamy. Did yoq fear or did you ifeign to fear! In 1S60 you hesitated not to lake up arms against the Federal Government. How was it, then, that 1870 a Single Tennessee cut-thrbat could by a few inso lent words strike down all the manhood in you ? Shame, of shame, where is thy blush ? Friends, kinsmen, fellowcitizeus all, were in vile dungeons, huddled to gether in midsummer's heat, hourly in sulted and bo'urly in danger of tlieir lives from the bullets aud bajronets of lawless brigands, and you, with all the power of State at your command, miserably,! cow ardly, traitorously left them lo their fate to tiial by drum-head court-maitials ! And m the face of all this you ask the people of North Carolina to make you their Governor ! Do you remember that Canby no longer rules that our; elec tion retiirus are no longer sent to Charles ton lo be counted ? ' May God Almighty in his infinite goodness and mercy forgive you your great crimt; the people of: Nxrth Carolina never will. One of the People. tir weather could not last always. tous signs of a terrible storm over- can the, whole political horizon. With rare skill you so trimmed your sails as to ?aktls force. Still claiming to be a Pemojratyyou followed in- the wake of Jour family connection, lion. Stephen '"DpjuuLAS. If Douglas won you were ..."SPi If the Democrats wori; you were tl'j ajpetnocrat. I f the Oppoeitjon won, . Cad yrtn nn niflnfl itm in h,- i 1C poeuion you took. Buneither pemocrats,pougla8 nor the vuun-j An: mnr. 'I' ... tvttiniiifr niri v uougi marching on was not yet here. And yoa wished lobe Solicitor agaiaj The i Sjatura ifiet and you asked t'o be again 4 cteflj In the caucus of the Democratic jjembeTs,held in the Commons Mall, iu J?eniterof I860,you made- a speech r fapug your errors and apoloiiu for .T-j?.y. panderings. I wai present at? that c?? I have in my mind's eye -now, fallj graceful ijgure aiioT-your com '''o1 orn1' 8 yoirtjenewed yourfeafty , HPeuiocratic party, which, it iVneed- ? ay then coutrqlled the.egislature. "ll rememhpr ih'f. rtaa'sie find elegant 1 jwas iorciute too Colonel, but like the Gallio of old then cared for none of these things, could uotcommind, you said, men were soldiers bV compulsion. You have a free troop or none at all. therefore resigned andcame home. Again good fortune hid favored you. Thus far the current of popular feeling had beeu strong against the Federal Government butlat that, point there was a change. Just as that feeling received its first shock, the Confederate Government made men sol diers by compulsion and afforded lo your lender sensibilities exense tor stepping out of i! currant that fast becoming cold and muddy, waa cairying you out into an uu- knnjwn sea ! lour race as an insurgent wasiran. f; Time rolled on. Mr. Lincoln at last succeeded in .quelling "the insurrection i he current had by this lime turned in the ioorjosite -direction and flowed with am. Ii iiirJutiiii tkdt rfc iirja -Itt-a a rnatitniv raging, mountain torrent, lint the firs! thing recognized on the tumultuous waters wasi the cheery bark of Thomas Settle gliding on so calmly and emoothlv that eveh had it held that poor girl's unfortu nate balje, its slumbers would have been undisturbed. The people who for four years had made war upon you, the same - people against whom for "four years be lore, you had so valiantly taken up arras were now triumphant. The winning side that for four yearsfhad been marching on was actually here at last and no mistake and you were again jubilant . A Convention, so-called, assembled and vou were one of its prominent members It met in that same Commons Hall where vou told the chaste and Dathetic story of that poor girl.; In that same Commons Hall, for the Canby Consiilulion had not then changed ita name, it was again my fortune lo be present when you made another celebrated speech, that in which you confessed yourself a conscious tra? or to your flag and to your couutry. iiut though a conscious traitor, you denied that vou hud beeu u willing tniitor. lou de clared that when you stood by the dyln bed of your honored lather, no greater agony wrenched your soul than that you felt when vou adorned the old flag. You ilid not repeat the story about the poor girl, but it is needless to say I was forci bly reminded of the time when I heard you coufess and recaut your treason to the old Democratic party. I stood and listened to you that day, my face burning with shame that such words coHld be ut- terred in such a"placeand no man dare make a reply ! Yet so it was. That speech will never be forgotten Captain Traitor Settle ! The people of North Carolina do not love traitors. ; But still you thrived. You were made Speaker in the Senate and yon were again elected Solicitor for the district, and as you went from county to county you left strife and discord in your wake, neighbor agaiust neighbor and brother against brother. You'became a merciless prosecutor and .a releutless prosecutor of those who like yourself had fought against the old flag. .Time rolled on. You were now a 'loyal man though not yet a Radical. In the fall of 1SG7 a convention of your new brethren was hejtt in Tucker Hall in Raleigh and adopted sucbr extreme views that a division wjas made and for a short time there' was hope that a few would re turn to their senses. It was so frequently reported that you were opposed to Radi? calisuuland that j the smell . of the negro was ogL-usive to j your anrtocratic white nostrils, that I looked with some confi dence o hear1 your third recantation. But the threatened division failed, for colored suffrage came and df-course you and the negroes thenjoined the Radical' party. Ronatructidn and Radicalism were then '.bxcelaior HOW MANY FINS HAS A COD? OR, FORTY YEARS AGO. l rr Dinner was now announced, and my friend Mr. Robins aud myself sat! down to' it with an excellent appetite. Having done ample justice to the good cheer of Mrs. Brown, and finished our wijie, we drew up to the fire, which, at that sea son of the year, was most accepta ble in the morning and evening, and smoked our cigars. Robins had so many good stories, aud told them so- uncom monly well, that it wan late before we retired to rest. Instead of being shown into the bed-room I had temporarily oc cupied for changing my dress before din ner, I was ushered into a long, low room, fitted up on either side with berths, trith a locker running round the base, laud in all respects, except the sky-light,; resem bling a cabin. Strange as it appeared.it j was in keeping with the place (aXnshing port), its population, and the habits of the people-! Mrs. Brown, the landlady! was the widow of a sea-faring man, who had, no doubt, fitted up the chamber! iu this manner with a view to economize room, and thus accommodate as many! paeseii gers (as he would designate hi guests) as possible iu this sailor's home. A lamp hung suspended from the ceiling, and appeared to be supplied and trimmed for the uighj so as to afford easy access and egress 4Xall hours. It was almost impossible not to imagine one's self at sea, on i board of a crowded coasting-packet. Retreat was impossible, atid there fore I made up my mind at ouce to sub mit to this whimsical arrangement for the night, and having undressed myself, was about to climb into a vacant berth near the door, when some one opposite called out i S "Lawyer, is that you V It was my old toi mentor, the? skipper. Upon ascertaining who it was, be imme diately got out of bed, aud crossed oyer to whei'e I was standing. He had noth ing on 'but a red nightcap, and! a short, loose check shirt, wide open at the throat and breast. He looked like a huge bear walking npon bis hind -legs, he was so hairy and shaggy. Seizing uie by the round mutter to himself "PJagup take the sarpent ! he'll forget it and loose all : i feller that falls asleep at the helm, ain't; to be trusted no . how." I was not doomed, however, to obtain repose upon such easy terms. The skip per's murmurs had scarcely died away, when a French fisherman from St. Mary's Bay entered the j room, and, stumbling over my saddlebags, which he anathemat ized in bad French, bad English, and iu. a language compounded of both, and em bellished with a few words of Iudian ori gin, he called hiiia out loudly ''Celestine, are you here 1" 1 his interrogatory was responded to by anothei from !the upper end of the room ! "Ia that you, jBaptiste ? Which way is the wind T j 'Nor'-nor'-west." "Then I must sail for. Halifax to-morrow.'': While B;tiste was undressing, an operation which wa3 soon performed (with the exception of the time lost in pulling off an obstinate and most intracta ble pair of bootsj, the following absurd conversation took place. Upon hearing the word Halifac (as he called it), Bap- tiste expressed great horror of the place, and especially the red devils (the soldiers) wiih which it was infested, lie said the last time he was there, as he was passing the King's Wharf to go to his vessel late at night, the sentinel called out to him. "Who come dare t to which impertinent question he gave no answer. The red ivliian, he said repeated the challenge louder than before, but, as he knew it was noiic of his business, ho did not conde scend to reply. iThe soldier then demand ed, in a voice of thunder, for the third lime, "Who come dare ?" "lo which," to use his own words, I answer him, 'What the devil is that to you V aud ran off so fist as my legs; would carry me, and fas ter too ; but the; villiau knew the way bet ter nor me, and just stuck his bagonut right into my thigh, even so far as one inch. Oh I1' said Baptiste (who had be come excited by the recollection of the insult, and began to jump about the floor, making a most; villainous clatter with the hall-drawn boot), "Oil !" I was very mad, yon may depend. I could have murder him, I was so Vexed. Oil ! I was so d mad, I ran straight off to the vessel with out stooping, ; aud jutcped. right iuto bed." I - Celestine.' expressed great indignation al such an unprovoked and cowardly as sault, and advised him, if evpr he caught that soldier again, alone and unarmed, aud had his two grown-up sons, Lcwjs and Dominique with him, to give him a sound drubbing, and then weigh anchor, and sail riphtdut of the harbor. lie con gratulated himself however, that if the soldier had run thf point of his bayonet TTro hid ft ie ud,! he had lately avenged it by making a merchant there feel the point of a joke, that" was equally sharp, and penetrated deeper. lie had purchased geods, he saidiofa trader at Halifax upon this express promise ' "If you will; trust me this spring I will pay you last ' fall. The merehant," he observed, "thought I was talking bad English, but it; is was very good any "No, thank you, I never taken thing of the kind in the morning." vv nere m the duce was vou brouehten op," he asked, with distended eyes, "that you haven't lost the taste of your mother's it muic yet ! loo are worse than an Isle of Sable colt, and them wild, ontamed devils suckle for two vears ! Well, if vnn wftn I will, then ; so here goes," and holdiog back his head, the potion vanished in an instant, and ho returned the bottle and the glass to their respective places. As he went, slowly and snlkily, down stairs, he muttered, "Hang him ! he'a only a fiesh water fish that, after all ; and they ain't even fir, for bait, for they have neith er substance nor flavor !" After breakfast, Mr. Robins conducted me to the court-house, which was filled to almost suffocation. The panel was immediately called, aud the jury placed in the box. Previous to their being sworn, I inquired of Barkins whether any of them were related to the plaintiffs or had been known to express an opinion adverse to his interests ; for if such was the case, it was the time to challenge them. To my astonishment, he imme diately rose and told the judges he chal lenge the whole jury, the bench of mag istrates, and every man in the house a defiance that was accompanied by a menacing outstretched arm and clenched fist. A shout of laughter that nearly shook the walls of the building followed this violent outbreak. Nothing dauuted by theirjydicule, however, he returned to the charge, aud said, "I repeat it: I challenge the whole of t , 0 - you, if you dare !" Here the Court interposed, and asked him what he meant by such indecent be havior. "Meant !" he said, "I mean what I say. The strange lawyer here tells me now is my lime to challenge, and I claim my right ; I do challenge any or all of you! Pick out any man present you please, take the smartestchap you've got, put us both on board the same vessel, and I challenge him to catch, spit, clean, salt, and stow away as many fish in a day as I can cod, pollock; shad or mackerel ; I don't care wjiich, for it's all the same to me ; and I'll go a hogshead ot rum on it I beat him ! Will any man take up the challenge 1" and he turned slo4y round and examined the whole crowd. "You won't, won't you ? I guess not; you know a trick worth two of that, I recken! There, lawyer, there is my challenge ; now go on with the cause !" As soon as order was restored the jury were sworn, and the plaintiff's counsel opened 'his case and called his witnesses, the last of whom was Mr. Lillnm. "That' him J" said Barkins , putting both arms round my neck and nearly choking me, he whispered, "Ask him 'how many fins a eod has, at a word 1" I now stood up to cross-examine him, when I was again in the ekipper's clutches. "Don't forget ! the questiou is." "If you do not sit down immediately, sir," I said iu a loud and authoritative Here I regaehed'thfCfonrt to iuterfere; and compel my unfoVtunate and excited client to be silent.f "Is.there not a smalt fin beside," I said, "between the " under jaw and th throat 1" - i . "I believe there ia." "Yon believe ! Then, sir, it seems you are in doubt, and that you do not know a cod-fish when'you i see it. You may go ; I will not ask.you another question. Go, sir! but let me advise you to be more careful in your answers for the futuie' There was a universal shout of laugh ter in the Court, and Barkinsavailed him self of the momentary noise to slip his hand under the table and grip me by the thigh, so as nearly to sever the flesh from the bone. "Bless, your soul, my stout fresh water fish !" he said ; "you have gained the case, after all! Didn't I tell you he couldn t answer that question ? It's great catch, isn t it ' . . The plaintiffs had wholly failed in their proof. Instead of contenting themselves with showing the voyage and their ser vices, for which the law would have pre sumed an assumpsit to pay wages accord ing to the ordinary course of business, and leaving the defendant to prove that the agreement was a special one, they at tempted to prove too much, by estab lishing a negative; and, in doing so, 7r our, respective a4 Englisl will till his rr.rr You said vou ' w hy might Jnhilant and so were you wm your motto.! Upon the sweaty backs of your aW brethren you, who had only been 4dcOT mounted to a seat on the efencib, jof tbe Supreme Court of North Car Almk..t.&ar might you be blamed Jf a negro could be & voter, might not a traitors be Judge 1 your judgment ana xoresignt wWmirable in matters political, and not you as readily foresee the tigljtly shoulders, he clasped me the neck, and whispered 'How many fins has a cod, jata word?' That's! the question. You won't forget, will you ?" "No," I said, "I not only wjll not for- Lget it to morrow, but I shall recollect you and your advice as long as I live. iSow. let me get some rest, or I shall be unable to plead jour cause for you, as I am ex cessively fatigued and very drowsy.' "Certainly, cortamly, be said ; '?turn It l.:H T and wueii l.ist iaii conirs again, l keep ray word and pay him, but not then. Don't ho hone lie may get money the day before ynslerday ?" Baptiste screamed with delight at this joke, which, lie said, he would tell his wife Felicitej and his two daughters, An gelique and Bjogdine, as soon as he re turned home i Having succeeded at last invescaping frrtm his tenacious hoof, he turned iu, and soon as his head touched the pillow, was found asleep. Iu the mofuiug when I woke, the first objects that met my eye were the' Ban dana handkerchief, the red waistcoat and blue coat, while a good natured face watched over me with all the solicitude of a parent for the first moments of wake fulness, j ! "Lawye, are you awake said Bar kins. ; "This is the great day the great est day Plymouth ever saw We shall know now whether we are to carry on the fisheries or give them up lo Yaukees. Everthing depends upon that question ; for Heaven's sakejdon't forget it !--'How many fins had a cod, at a word ?" It's very late now. It is eight o'clock, and the court meets at ten, and the town is full. Ail the; folks from Chebogue, and Jegoggin, and Salmon River, and Beaver River, and Eld Brook, and Polly Cross- hy'a Hole, and the Gut and the Devil's Island, and Ragged Island, and far and near will come. Ii a great day and a great catch. I never lost a bet on it yet. You may win many half -pints of brandy ou it, if you won't frgel it." "Do go away and let me self!" 1 said petulantly. "I ..... t I jjci Jim. i "Well. I'll! go below," you wish itj but call for want me. My name is ak any one jor m, for every John Barkins in these parts. in. but don't forget the catch.' t was sometime before the jhard bed, tbe fatigues of the journey, arid the (icv elty of the scene permitted me to com pose myself for sleep ; and just as I was dropping off into slumber, I i heard, the same unwelcome sounds- j "Lriwyer, lawyer, are you asleep ?" I affected not to hear him. and, after another' ineffectual attempt op j his part to dress won't my-for- 1; re replied, "if me when you John B ii kins ; man knows But, dear ift . iwrs ' l.f me, ue continued, l torgot ! and, taK ing an enormous key out of his pocket, he opened a seal-chest, from which he drew a large glass jdecauter; highly gilt, and a rummer of j corresponding dimensions, with a golden edge. Taking the bottle in one hand and the glass in the other, he drew the soiall "rpund gilt stopper with his mouth, and, pouring out aboujMialf a pint of liquid, he said, "Here, lawyer, take a drop ot bi.tcrs this morning, just to warm the stomach aud clear your throat. It's excellent I It U old Jamaiky and and will do your heart good, gmalic' and will make you as hungry as a shark, and as lively as a thrasher I ray head jn eunce and de- i-aw he was a mn there was sarsyparilly, It's an antifo I bhook spair,: for I kw he no escaping jfrorai 'You wonj't, eh voice (for the scene had become ludicrous), "and leave me to conduct the cause my own way, I shall retire from tbe Court !" He sat down, and groaning audibly, put both hands before his face and muttered "There is no dependence on a man that sleeps zX the helm !" I commenced, however, in the way my poor client desired ; for 1 saw plainly that he was more anxious of what he called stumping old Lillum and non plushing him, than about the result of his trial, al though he was firmly convinced that the one depended on the other. "How many years have yon been en gage in the Labrador fishery, sir ?" 'Twenty-five." - "You, are of course, perfectly conver sant with the cod fishery V "Perfectly. I know as much, if not more, about it than any man in Ply mouth." Here Barkins pulled my coat, and most, beseechingly said, "Ask him." "Be quiet, sir, and do not interrupt me !'' was the consolatory replied be re ceived "Of course, then, after such long ex perience, sir, you know a cod-fish when yon see it ?" "I should think so !" "That will not do, sir. Will you 8 wear that you do ?" "I do not come here to be made a fool of!" "Nor I either, sir; I require yon to an swer yes or no. Will you undertake to i . I. ..j CI. ...t swear mat you Know a cou-usn ucu you see it V "I will, sir." Here Bark ins rose and struck the table with his fist a blow that nearly split it, and, turning to me, said, "Ask him.'' "Silence, sir!" I again vociferated. "Let there be no mistake," I continued. "I will repeat the questiou. Do you un dertake to swear that you kuow a cod fish when you see it ?" "I do, sir, as well as 1 know ray name when I see it ?" "Then, sir, how many fins has a at a word ?" Hprn thft blow was civen. not on deal slab of the table, but on my back, wiih such force as to throw me forward ou my two hands. "Ah, floor him !'" said B irkins. "let him answer that question I The lawyer has you there ? How many fins has a cod, at a word, you old sculpin !" "I can answer you that without hesita tion." ' "How many, then ?" "Let roe see three on the back, and two on the shoulder, that's five ; two on the nap, that's seveo ; and two on tha shoulder, that's nioe. Nine,' sir!" "Missed it, by Goh !." said Barkins. "Didn't I tell vou so ? I knew he couldn't answer it. And yet that fellow has the impudence to call himself a fisherman !'' made out asufEcieut defence for Barkins. Knowing how much depended upon the last address to the jury, when the judge was incompetent to direct or control their decision. 1 closed on the plaintiffs' case, 1 ill mi ana caueu no witnesses, i ne jury weib informed by the judge, that, having now heard the cas on the part of the nlaintiffs and also on the part of the defendants, it was their duty to make up their minds, and find a verdict for one or the ether. After this very able, intelligible, and im partial charge, the jury were conducted to their room, and the greater part of the audience adjourned to the neighboring tavern for refreshment. The judges then put on their hats, for the air of the hall felt cold after the withdrawal of so many persons, and. the president asked me to go and take a seat on the bench with them. "That was a very happy thought of yours, sir," he remarked, "about the fins. I don't think another lawyer in the pro vince but yourself knows how many fins a cod has. A man who have travelled as much aB you have, has a great advantage. If you had never been in England, you never would have learned that, for you never would have crossed the banks of Newfoundland, and seeu tbjj.gr.eat fishery ! there. But this is dull work ; let us retreat into the adjoiuing room, and have a smoke until the jury returns. They will soon be bacs, and 1 think 1 may venture lo say you are sure of a verdict. You dis played great skill in that matter of the fins." "Just as we were about retiring, our at tention was arrested by a great noise, oc casioned by a constable endeavoring to remove a turbulent and drunken fellow from the court. The judge promptly in terferred, fined him live shillings for hii. contemptuous conduct, and directed the jjiotnonotary to lay u out in purchasing a bottle of wiue. wherewith to drink the health of the Stranger Lawyer. Having settled this little matter to his satisfaction, he led the way tothe anteroom, where "pipes were provided, aud an officer soon appeared with the wine and some glasses. Filling a tumbler, the prothonotary a pologizcd for not being able to remain with us, and drank respectfully to the health of the Court. "Stop, sir !" said the judge; "stop, sir! Your conduct is unpardonable ! I consid er your behavior a great contempt in helping yourself first. I find you five shillings for your indseent haste, and request you topay it immediately in the shape of a bottle of brandy ; for that wine," of which he took a tumbles full by way of tasting, "is not fit for a gentleman to drink." - "A very forward fellow that prothono tary ! said the legal officer withdrew. "Instead of being contented with being clerk of the court, he wants lo be tbe master of it, and I fiud it necessary to keep him in his place.. ,Ouly think of his coufounded impudence inresuming to help himself first ! He would drink the mill pond dry if it was wine, aud then complain it did not hold enough ! For my own part, I am obliged to be very abstemious now, as I am subject to the gout. I never exceed two bottles of late years, and I rectify the acidity of the wine by taking a glass of clear brandy (which I call the naked truth) between every two Madeira. Ah, here is the brandy, lawyer ! Y'our very good health, sir pray help your self; aud Mr. Prothonotary, here's better mauners to you in future. Seniors priores, dignity delights iu oHuim, oj leisure ; but ihUnvkAegotiunt, or hurry. Haste is the attribiitehif a prothonotary, who writes, talk? and drinks as fast as he can, but is very liu becoming the gravity and maj esty of the law. The gait of a judjjts should he slow, stately, aud solemn. But uere we ;arc; let us tak seats," ; As soon aS' we made our aDnearanee. the tumultuous wave ofthe crowd. rushed, into the court-house, and surging back ward and forward, gradually settled down to a level and tranquil surface. The panel was then called ever, and the ver dict read aloud. It was: for the defen dant. Barkiins was not so much elated as I expected. He appeared to have been prepared for any event.) He had had his gratification already. "Old Lillum was floored,';' the "knowing one had been non- plushed," and he was satisfied. He had a duty to perform, however, which he did with great pleasure, and I have no doubt with great liberality. The jury wre to be "treated," for. it was the custom of those days for the winning party to testi fy his gratitude by cupious libationa of N brandyand rum.. As soon as the verdict was recorded, he placed himself at their head, and led the way to the tavern with as much gravity and order as if he was conducting a guard of houor- As sotn as they were all in the street, he turned about, aud walking backward so as to face them, aud at the same time not to interrupt their progress to that mansion of bliffs, Ite said "A pretty fellow that Lillum, ain't he ? to swear he knows what a cod was, a'cd yet'couldu't tell how many fins it had, at a wffid! ho would have thought that milksop of. a lawyer would have done so well ? . He actually scared me when I first saw him ; for a fellerthat smokes ci gars instead of a pipe, drinks red ink (poit wine) iirstead of old Jamaiky, and tfa3 a pair of hands as while as the belly, of a flat fish, ain't worth his pap, in a general way. Howsumdever, it don't do to hang a teller for his looks, after all, that's a fact; for that critlur is like a singed cat, better nor he seems. But, come, let's liquor!'' I did not see him again till the even ing, when he carao to congratulate , rue upoin having done the handsomest thing, he said, as everybody allowed, that ever was done in Plymouth, shown the great est fisherman iu it (in his own conceit) that lie didn't know a cod fish when he saw it. "Jt was a great catch that, lawyer,' continued, aud he raised me up in his arms and walked rotiud the room with me as if he were carrying a-baby. "Don't forget it, 'JIow rrany fins has a cod, at a word!' Yaw never need to want a half-pint of brandy while you have that fact to bet upon-!" ; ' - The next day I left Plymouth very early in the morning, Wlien I descend ed to the door, I found both Robins and. Barkins there, aud received a hearty and cordial farewell from both of them. The latter entreated me, if ever I tho own cod, the a . i 1 sir, tnat s tne rule. Here the coustable knocked at the door, and announced that the jury were in attendance. "Dou't iie, Mr. Saudford," said the judge ; "let them wait : haste is not dig nified. Help yourself, sir ; this is very good brandy. I always like to let them appear to wait upon me, instead of their thinking I wait upon them. What with the prothonotary treading ou my toes and the jury on my heels, I have enough to do to preserve the dignity of tbe Court, I assure you. But Tempua prceterlabetur est, as we used to say at Cambridge, Mas sachusetts ; that is, John Adams, senior, and our class, for I waa temporary wiih that talented and distinguished ahem stingy rebel ! Help yourself, bir. Come, I won't leave any of this acq ta vitte for that thirsty prdbonotary. There, fir," he said. -smacking his lips with evident delight, "there is the Jinis and his fine. Now let ua go into court. But give me your arm, sir, for I feel a slight twinge of that abominable gout. A dreadful pen alty that, that Nature assesses on gentility. But not so fast, if you plea.e, iir ! true came that way again, to favor him with a visit, as he hatl some capital Jamaica forty years" oldfand would beglad toinstruct me in the habits of fish' and fishermen. fl will show you,"Jie said, "how to mcke a shoal of mackerel follow your vessel like a pack of dogs. I can tell yoa how to make them rise from the bot tom of -the cea ic thousand?, when com mon folks can't tdl there is one there, an$ then how to feed and coax them away to the very spot ycu want lo take them. I will show you how to spear sh id, and how to strike the fattest salmon that ever waa, so that it will keep i3 go to he East Indies ; and I'll lam ycu how to smoke herrings without drying thfm hard, and tell you the wood and the' vegetable that give them the highest flavor ; and even them -cussed, dry, good-for- nothing all-wives, I'll teach you how to cure them so you willeay they are the most delicious fish you ever tasted in all your life. I will, upou my soul ! And now, before you go,. I waut yoa.to do me a gobd turn, lawyer. Jut take this little silver flask, my friend, to remember old Jcjhn Barkins by, when he is dead and gojae, and when people in these parts shajl say when you inquire after him, that they don't know such a man ap old John Bar- ' kiis no more. It is a beautiful article. I fond it in the pocket of a captain of a Spanish privateer that boarded myycs- set, and that 1 hit oyer tue nead witu handspike, so hard that he never knew what hurl him. It will just suit you, for it only holds a thimble-full, and was made a purpose for fresh water Gsh, like Span iards and lawyers. Good-by ! God bless you, sir! A'fair wind and a abort paa- you !' ! ' 1 had hardly left the door, before I heard my fiame shouted after me. "Mr. Sandford ! lawyer ! lawyer !" It was old Barkins. I anticipated his objjeit ; I knew it was his old theme ' Lawyer, don't : forget the catch, 'How mny fius has a cod,, at "a word !"' 6age to Negho .Supremacy. The chairman of the Republican County Executive Com mittee of Mecklenburg, is John T. Sthenck one of iheio.?&t notorious negro men in the State. Upon the same com mittee, serving in subordination to this colored man, are several white men T I. Mr Alpine, William It. Myers, John L Biley, anof others. It is pitiable to wuiuess dterraduion like this. Raleiall : The recent long leim of beat iremindl one of our summers twenty or thirty years ag-;; our winters, too, are not near as ee- aa fnrmallt tixliCtr faima VArA iMVAn over the Shallow Ford, on the Yadkra- on ice, and on our creek the boys could wind alojig iho curves for miles, when out skiing. Our seasons have certainly changed wonderfully.--Solem. Press.
Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 10, 1876, edition 1
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