RAISING THE VEIL;
OR,
SCENES IN THE COUR-TS.
BY
NB.L L4 IL:P  E N T      EIT:G l
EMBELLISHED WITH
PORTRAITS OF POLICE, COURT OFFICERS, &c.
"Above all things, my son, avoid litigation, especially in small matters.  If a
man meets you in the street, and claims the coat you have upon your back, threatenmhg to commence a suit of law for its recovery, strip it off, and give it to him;
lest in defending the coat, you may lose your hat and breeches also."
Chief Justice Coye' s Advice to his Son.
BOSTON:
JAMES FRENCH         & COMPANY.
1856.




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by
FREDERICK L. WHEELER,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of
Massachusetts.
Stereotyped at the
UNITED    STATES FOUNDRY,
41 Coniress Street, Boston.
C. HOBBS, PROPRIETOR.




TO THOSE GENTLEMEN,
COURT OFFICERS AND OTHERS,
WHOSE PORTRAITS WILL BE FOUND WITHIN THESE PAGES,
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATE THIS WORK.
THE AUTHOR.








P REFACE.
IF the reader, in glancing over the pages of this work,
which has been hastily sketched, and imperfectly written,
finds amusement sufficient to while away a leisure hour,
and, perchance, to gain some instructions respecting the
Courts, Lawyers, Officers, and other attachees, in the
so-called Temples of Justice; and if any, whose proclivities would lead.them to involve themselves in litigation,
are benefitted by the perusal of these pages, the object
of the author will be accomplished. In stating many
facts which will be found in this work, the author's aim
has been to adhere strictly to the truth, and give a plain,
unvarnished tale, especially where the scenes enacted
have come under his own personal observation.
A majority of the community have but an indefinite
knowledge, and very limited ideas, of the modzs oper



vi                   PREFACE.
andi of Counsellors, Attornies, Court Officers, Policemen, and others, who hold offices in and about our Court
Houses. To give this in detail would fill folio volumes.
Happy is the man who avoids litigation, and knows not
by personal experience the ramifications of criminal or
civil jurisprudence.
AUTHOR.




CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
The Boston Court House-The Architecture and Arrangement of
the Building-Introduction to Court Officers and ConstablesCells and Lock-ups in the Cellarage of the " Temple of Justice"-Pettifogging Lawyers in search of Victims-Deeds of
Darkness done beneath the Eye of Day-Prostitution and Misery as seen through Iron Bars-The way Pettifogging Lawyers Manage to live-The Unfortunate Countryman-A Friend
in Need.............   13
CHAPTER II.
First Impressions on visiting the Police Court Rooms-Organization of the Police Court in Boston-First Justices appointed,
and those appointed since that time-Average number of cases daily brought before this Court for trial-The Swindling
Attorney-The Common Drunkard-The way a policeman sometimes swears, when under Oath-The unfortunate Night-walkers —The Philanthropist -The advantages of Rouge and a
handsome Frontispiece-The Cyprian's Description of the House
of Correction-Municipal Court Room-The Hen-Coop built for
Prisoners-The Court Crier-Troubles and vexations of a Philanthropist...............     2




Viii                      CONTENTS.
CHAPTER III.
The Philanthropist's Harem-Description of its Inmates-How
Pseudo Lawyers are Manufactured-The way they manage to
obtain verdicts-Honesty of Lawyers holding high positionsThe man who pleads his own cause, does not always have a
Fool for his Client-The Judge's Bench, &c., &c...    40
CHAPTER IV.
Boston Police Department-Views of what a Police Officer should
be-A singular but not uncommon case-An Officer falsifying
his oath-Fernando Wood, Mayor of New York-The New York
City Tombs-How Cases are there managed-Straw Bail-Difference between a New York Court Recorder, and a Boston
Police Justice-The Goddess Justice is represented blindfolded; if Blind, she.is not always Deaf-Shylock and the Farmer-Advice of Eminent Jurists, &c., &c...... 63
CHAPTER V.
The Stool-Pigeon business as it has been carried out in Boston,
New-York, and other cities in the United States-The modus
operandi of Police Officers who use Convicts for Stool-PigeonsAn infernal practice-Testimony of a State Official-The Gamblers-Their supposed connection with the Police DepartmentPlans concocted to induce men to visit Gaming Hells-The
Descent made upon the Gambling Houses in Boston, in the
year 1851-Grand Exhibition of Gamblers' Tools and Implements, in the City HIall-How those Gambling Implements
were afterwards disposed of-Confession of a Noted GamblerLicensed Brothels and Gaming Houses........            68




CONTENTS.                        ix
CHAPTER VI.
Sketch of the Hon. J. G. Rogers-Description of the Hon. Abel
Cushing-An amusing case tried before that Functionary-Hon.
Thomas Russell-Sketch of Thomas Power, Esq., Clerk of the
Police Court-Sketch of Seth Toby, Esq., Assistant ClerkGlance at Dr. Isaac Worsley, the Hero of many bloodless battles-The Stranger's gratuitous ride from  South Boston-Dr.
Worsley's fast team-Pencil Sketches of Jonas Stratton —Jacob
C. Tallant-Samuel S. Vialle-William   Blaisdell-and E. K.
Spoor...............,.   94
CHAPTER VIL
Court Reporters-Their influence for good or for evil-Their comicalities and erratic movements-Their sympathies for old friends
in trouble, especially unfortunate typoes-Examination of a law
student-A Reporter's stratagem-A venerable colored Deacon
in the Police Court, trying to identify some of his deceased wife's
garments..................          113
CHAPTER VIII.
Courts in the city of Philadelphia-Corruption among the New
York Officials-The citizens of Boston easily humbugged-Coroners and Coroners' Juries-The Country Coroner, with his
Jury of Fishermen-Justices of the Peace-The advantage of
holding a Justice's Commission- Court Rooms in Country
Towns-A new style of administering an Oath-A New Haipshire Justice soliciting an Office from President Pierce.. 127




~~~~~X             CONTENITS
CHAPTER XI.
Juries and Jurors-The Crooked Sticks who are sometimes drawn as
Jurors-Excuses made to get excused-The Juror who obtained his
brandy in an unlawful manner-Courts in the Western Settlements-An extensive Jury Room —Novel way of obtaining a verdict-Inoperative lawvs.passed to suppress Swindling and FraudThe plan adopted by many to cheat Wholesale MIerchants-The injurious effects of the Swindler upon the honest man-Money obtained by gambling not considered swindling-Glance at the Lawyers in the Senate Chambers and Houses of Assembly-Ignorance
of voters —Grog Shops in the city of Boston-The Rifle, Revolver,
Bowie-knife, &c.............. 163
CHAPTER X.
Visit to California-Sketch of the Manners and Customs of the
Miners-Their Mode of Settling Quarrels-Account of a Miner
who shot an Indian-His Arrest and Examination before a Court
of Inquiry-Novel and lucid Charge of a Judge-Trial of a MIurderer under the - Lynch Law-His Condemnation, Sentence, and
Speedy Execution-A Curious Favor for a man to ask, who had
but Four Minutes to Live-Description of the mode of executing
a Parricide in China-The Louisville Murderer-Tie Negro Pirate - Defaulters and Swindlers - The Shrewd Young Merchant, &c............... 183
CHAPTER XI.
How Rogues escape from Justice on account of the informalities,
found in indictments-A specimen of an indictment and complaint combined-Ruling of a learned Judge-The way Lawyers




CONITENTS.                        X
humbug their clients, by drawing up prolex documents-The Insanity Dodge-Physicians upon the witness stand-The way
Lawyers manage to prove an Alibi-The Horse Thief who got
clear, after having been convicted-A Cunning Lawyer outwitted
by his more Cunning Client, &c....                 209
CHAPTER XII.
Character of Court Witnesses as delineated when they are upon the
witness stand-The Reckless Witness —The Temperance Man
who was a hard drinker —Infidel Witness —The Infidel who refused to take an oath-The way that Judges and Jurors are often
deceived-The Superstitious Witness-The Interpreter WitnessNovel defence of an Irish Witness-The Comical Negro WitnessPenalties for Perjury-Loafers and Procurers for Brothels who
are hangers on in the Court Rooms, &c..... 223
CHAPTER XIII.
The Laws of Divorce-The Author's idea with regard to the forms
of marriage-The law protecting dumb beasts more stringent
than those enacted to protect females who happen to be ill-mated-The deleterious effects which ill-timed marriages have upon
the community-Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United
States respecting marriage-contracts-The laws pertaining to
rape-The opinion and decision of Queen Elizabeth in a case
brought before her-Seductions-The advantages the woman has
ovr the man, in all such cases, as the laws are framed, &c, 245
CHAPTER XIV.
The miseries which men suffer by running in debt-The evil results of the same-The Debtor always a Slave to the Creditor-The way young men usually commence business, and fail



Xii                       CONTENTS.
The Ruffian Creditor and Exasperated Debtor-The Creditor some
times more to blame than the Debtor-The "Betterment Law,"
The abused Legislature of 1855-Just and judicious laws enacted by them-Two extreme cases where persons were imprisoned
fbr debt-Sketch of John Augustus, the Philanthropist-Sketch
of William D. Eaton-Hinman Meredith, the man who has transacted business for twenty-five years, to the amount of fifteen
millions of dollars, and never saw the interior of a Court Room,
&c................... 270




RAISING THE                      VEIL;
OR,
SCENES IN THE COURTS.
CHAPTER I.
The Broston Court House-The Architecture and Arrangement of
the Building-Introduction to Court Officers and ConstablesCells and Lock-ups in the Cellarage of the "Temple of Justice"-Pettifogging Lawyers in search of Victims-Deeds of
Darkness done beneath the Eye of Day-Prostitution and Misery as seen through Iron Bars-The way Pettifogging Lawyers Manage to live-The Unfortunate Countryman-A Friend
in Need.
" WHAT building is that 3" inquired my uncle Zebedee, pointing with his cane to the huge mass of granite,
piled layer upon layer, in Court Street.
"That," I replied, "is the Court House."
" Ah!" quoth he, "there have been strange changes
since I last visited this place. The time was, when a
building one-quarter the size of that, would have been
sufficiently large to accommodate all the Courts in Mas



14              RAISING THE VEIL;
sachusetts; but now,-I, suppose, the City of Boston itself is obliged to employ some six or eight Judges, as
many clerks, and fifteen or twenty officers."' Multiply that number by five, and you will come
nearer the mark,"' was my reply.
Uncle Zeb was a quaint, quizzical, eccentric old fellow, and somewhat of a philosopher, withal, Nothing
of the slightest importance passed his observation, and
although he usually wore a sombre countenance, his little gray, twinkling eyes, which were almost hid beneath
his shaggy eyebrows, would occasionally light up, and
in them you could discern the workings of a noble mind,
while fun and frolic peeped out at the corners of his
eyelids; and although many winters had passed over his
head since he last visited the city which he claimed as his
birth-place, he could only here and there point out a
place that looked familiar; the old fellow was near the
spot where he, his father, and his father's father, first
saw the light of day, but he felt like a stranger in a
strange land.
As the old gentleman stood gazing at the Court House,
he turned suddenly, at the same time striking his hickory cane upon the sidewalk, and asked, " What style of
Architecture do you call that building?"
"That is what I would learn of you," was my reply
" Primitive, sir, primitive," quoth he; "you can easily make a miniature model of that building, and I will




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           15
tell you how to do it.  Get two sheets of baker's gingerbread, perforate their sides with holes like unto those
of a dove-cot or pigeon-house, set them up edgeways, a
few inches apart, set up four sticks of fluted candy at
both ends thereof, cover the whole with a sheet of brown
paper, for a roof, and you will have an exact model of
your far-famed Boston Court House."
"I fear you don't appreciate the talent and skill of
Boston Architects," was my reply.
The old man stood for a few moments, apparently in
abstract reflections, and then continued:
" Since Boston has become a city, the dwellers therein have claimed for it several titles, viz.: Tri-mountain
City-City of the Pilgrims-Athens of America, and
how many more I know not, while outsiders call it the
City of Fanatics, City of Notions, and such like terms.
Now, my dear boy, I have a notion, and if I was a member of your City Government, I would propose, and
strongly urge, that those windows on either side of that
building, be closed up with the same material of which
the structure is composed, and convert the same into one
vast Mausoleum, and there deposit the dead of all nations, from the Prince to the beggar."
At this juncture, Uncle Zeb signified a wish to visit
the interior of this Temple of Justice.  As we entered,
an officer passed us, with a bunch of very large keys in
one hand, and in the other, several papers or documents.




16               RAISING THE VEIL;
He descended the narrow stone staircase which led to
the prisoners' cells, Uncle Zeb and myself following
close in his wake. Hearing footsteps behind him, he
turned, and recognizing me, we passed the usual morning salutations.
"' Anything rich or interesting, to-day?5 I inquired.'Not much," was the reply; " fifteen or twenty
drunks, three or four street-walkers, two pick-pockets,
one burglar, and I believe there is one minister here,
snaked up for committing a rape, or obtaining money under false pretences," adding, sotto voce, " I don't care a
d-n which."
The ponderous bolt moved easily, when he applied the
key to the door which led to the inner cells. We passed through, and the officer unlocked the door of a small
cell, in which we found some twenty or more human beings, promiscuously huddled together. Some of them
were singing Bacchanalian songs, others sitting upon the
wooden benches, covering their faces with their hands,
while others still were uttering horrid curses and imprecations, and swearing that they would assassinate the officer that arrested them, if ever they obtained their liberty.
Uncle Zeb raised his hands in holy horror, as he looked into this receptacle, which was, I grant, better suited
for a cage to confine wild beasts, than a place to inure
human beings, especially those who had committed no




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           17
crime, save and except the undue gratification of their
appetites for intoxicating liquors.
Uncle Zeb ventured to inquire of the officer, why it
was that so large a number of persons were crowded together in the same cell 
The'officer deigned to reply: "You see," said he,
"there are two cells only, one for the men, and one for
the women, and they don't have to stop here long; we.grind'em off pretty fast, after we get them up stairs.
The'Black Maria' stands outside, and in less than an
hour and a half, most of these vagabonds will find themselves carted off, scot free, and handed over to the fatherly care of' Capt. Robbins.' Oh, they're a precious
set; more than half of'em have been there before, and
they seem to like it,'cause if they didn't, they wouldn't
be so ready and willing to go back again."
The officer then unlocked the door of the cell, and called out five or six victims, some of them respectably, if
not well dressed, while others were emaciated, having
tattered clothes, and a God-forsaken look.
While the officer was examining his prisoners, and
looking over his documents, two men made their appearance, hurrying in through the outer iron door, which
was left open; each of them seizing a prisoner by the
hand, they commenced talking something after this
wise:
"My dear fellow," exclaimed the first, cordially shak



18              RAISING THE VEIL;
ing the hand of an Irish bog-trotter, "what's the complaint against you?"
"By jabers! I don't know; may the devil take.the
spalpeen that brought me to this place."
"You're up for drunkeness, I suppose!"
" Devil a bit of drunk was I; sure, and didn't I go
to Paddy O'Murphy's wake, last night, and when some
of ihe Gorsoons began to kick up a muss, didn't I rush
in, an' sure, to stop the throuble, and let Paddy go into
his grave like a dacent man, as he always was, and always will be; an' do you see now, just as I was rushing
round at the end of the board on which Paddy was
stretched, the whole thing upset intirely, and I found
myself lying on the back of poor Pat, when the watchman came in, and dragged me off; but sure I am as innocent as a new born baby."
"Who are those men?" inquired Uncle Zeb.
"Blood-suckers,'" I replied. "'Those are two pettifogging lawyers, let us listen to the second one, who is
conversing with a well-dressed man."  We approached
him, and overheard the following conversation:
Pettifogger. "My dear friend, I can get you out of
this scrape, in less than one hour, but you must advance
me fifteen dollars, to pay court expenses. If the case
goes against you, as I am sure it will, unless you have
an able attorney, like myself, to defend you, you will be
sent to the House of Correction for six or eight months.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           19
You have acknowledged to me that you was in the Shaker Saloon, watching the game of raffling for geese and
turkies!"
" But the officer told me that the offence rwas only a
small fine," replied the prisoner.
"Pooh! nonsense, man, House of Correction, cer
tain; but 1 can get you clear," returned the pettifogger.
" Five dollars is all the money I have," said the prisoner, with a long-drawn sigh.'"Well," quoth the pettifogger, "give me that, and I
will trust you for the balance."
The poor devil handed over to the pettifogger a five
dollar bank note, which he seized and thrust into his
vest pocket, at the same time making a rush for another
victim.
As the officer started with the prisoners, to introduce
them to the Police Justice, he turned to me, and said:
"If you wish to remain here, with your friend, I will
leave the keys in the outer door; when you come up,
turn the bolt, and bring them to my desk."'  There-.
upon, officer, pettifoggers, and prisoners, disappearedo
During this time, the reader may well believe that
"Uncle Zeb" had not been an inattentive listener, and
after their departure, his first remark was, " That officer
appears to know you well, and places much confidence in
you. How easy it would be for you to take those keys,
unlock the cells, and allow every prisoner here to escape.'




20              RAISING THE VEIL;
" Aye,' I replied, " he knows me well, for I have been
in and about this Court House, at my leisure hours, for
upwards of seven years. Now suppose I should unlock
those doors, and allow every prisoner here to escape, who
would  be benefited thereby.  Should I?   No! because I should probably be arrested within six hours,
and myself become an inmate of this dungeon, with bolts
secured. Would the prisoners be benefited?  No! they
would all, probably, be retaken, and when brought to
trial, fare much worse than they would, had they not
availed themselves of the opportunity. I tell you,' Uncle Zeb,' that wereoI myself charged with a crime, and
confined within the walls of a prison, and my cell-door
should be left open, I question much whether I should
leave it, unless I was in a foreign country, and knew
nothing of the people, or their laws; because a man that
courts investigation, and claims trial, (even though he
may be guilty,) when he has an opportunity to escape,
does more to prove his innocence, than all the attornies
in Christendom can do for him."
The old man mused a moment, and was about to reply, when a loud and piercing shriek issued from the cell
where the female prisoners were confined. It was nothing new to me, for I had heard similar outcries many
times, and oft, from the same cell; but it startled the
old gentleman from his propriety.
In the name of Heaven!" cried he, "what is that?"




OR; SCENES IN THE COURTS.           21
at the same time going to the cell, and gazing through
the grates, where he was accosted by a large, robust, but
bloated woman, with blood-shot eyes, which showed plainly that " Old King Alcohol" held supreme power over
her.
" What are you looking at,' Old Hoss'9 " she shouted.  " There ain't no trouble here, on'y old Nell Baker's just fell down in a fit, brought on by the' tremulous denenzdous' or the' dellerious t'remendoust,  or SO'ntin of that sort. Well, folks as will drink rum, must'spect to suffer some."
During this harangue of the virago, the poor woman
lay writhing on the floor of the cell, her eyes apparently turned in their sockets, and bubbling foam issuing
from her mouth.  Two or three of the prisoners were
attempting to raise her up, while another, a girl of not
more than eighteen or nineteen  ears of age, (who was
gaudily dressed, and whose eyes must have become, during the night previous, "a, fountain of tears,"I if we
could judge by the stripes or gullies running downward
upon her face, washing therefrom the chalk and rouge
with which it had been covered,) was bathing the temples of the poor sufferer with some water taken from
a stone jar, which was daily filled for the use of the prisoners.
There was something peculiarly interesting in the appearance of this young girl, and the questions arose in




22              RAISING THE VEIL;
my mind, why she was there? why confined in a felon's
cell, with the lowest of the low, and vilest of the vile?
the poor inebriate had partially recovered, and being taken up, and seated upon a wooden bench, she commenced
uttering curses and imprecations, intermingled with the
most obscene language that could be uttered..
Uncle Zeb was disgusted;.e said he felt sick.at
heart, and proposed to leave what he called the " infernal regions.' But just as we were about to start; the
oficer re-entered with three of the prisoners, a1nd amiongl
them was the poor devil who was caught in the "' Shaker
Saloon."
I spoke to him. and said,! You have been convicted,
tlen."
" Yes,' he replied, with a mournful voice, " the
Judge fined me two dollars and costs, and the Clerk told
me that the whole amount was four dollars and fifty-four
cents, and if I had never seen that cursed lawyer, who
took from me the five dollars, in your presence, I could
have paid my fine and costs, an(d now been on my way
home to my wife and family."
Hereupon Uncle Zeb drew out his old fashioned calfskin pocket-book, and placing a five dollar bill in lthe
hands of the poor victim, he said, " There, my good
man, go and pay your fine, and start for home; and il
you are ever able to pay me, come, or send to No. 31
B —     Street, Take my advice, keep away from  Sha



OR, SCENES IN TIE COURTS.            23
ker Saloons,. and houses of ill-fame, because the Scripture tells us that the paths which lead to those places,
are roads to hell, going down to the chambers of death."
The poor man, with tears in his eyes, took the proffered money, handed it over to the officer, got his discharge, and with many solemn protestations, he assured
Uncle Zeb, that within one week, he should be repaid,
with interest, he started from those yawning iron gates,
which were already opened to receive him.
I am happy to say that this man kept his promise
most religiously, and I opine that should he live until his
hair becomes whiter than the shirt which he wore on that
occasion, he will never again be immured in the cells of
the Boston Court House, nor pay money to swindling,
pettifogging lawyers.
Of these pests, and cancerous sores, misnomered " Attorneys at Law," who live and fatten upon the hard earnings of the poor, indigent, and ignorant portion of our
community, I shall treat more at length in a subsequent
chapter of this work.
Uncle Zeb signified his desire to depart, having seen
as he said, wretchedness and misery enough for one day.
He promised, however, to meet me next morning, at nine
o'clock, and visit the court room, where these unfortunate outcasts are brought up for trial, to be condemned
or acquitted, according to law and evidence.
As we parted, the old gentleman quietly remarked,




21             RAISING THE VEIL;
" Surely there is much misery in the world, that ninety-nine persons out of a hundred know not of; and I
hope that in your orisons you omit the sentence,' Heaven help the rich, the poor can beg.' 
" That is not a part of my petition," said I.
" I am glad of it," he replied; " but it appears to me
that no truly good man, can look upon scenes like these,
without mentally ejaculating, Heaven protect the children of poverty and vice, and save them from the clutches of these reckless and unprincipled men, who prowl
about the court-houses, and practice at the Bar, in moro
senses than one."








SETH    TOB I, E S Q.
(See Page 103.)




OB, SCENES IN TiHE COURTS.             25
CHAPTER II.
First Impressions on visiting the Police Court Rooms —Organization of the Police Court in Boston-First Justices appointed,
and those appointed since that time-Average number of cases daily brought before this Court for trial-The Swindling
Attorney-The Common Drunkard-The way a policeman sometimes swears, when under Oath-The unfortunate Night-walkers - The Philanthropist - The advantages of Rouge and a
handsome Frontispiece-The Cyprian's Description of the House
of Correction-Municipal Court Room-The Hen-Coop built for
Prisoners-The Court Crier-Troubles and vexations of a Philanthropist.
THE next morning, at the appointed hour, my'Uncle Zeb was ready to accompany me, and make his debut
in the Police Court room.   And here <I will give the
reader a slight sketch of the Police Court of Boston,
from its formation down to the present time.
This Court was organized in the year 1822.       The
Justices appointed at that time were William Simmons,
Henry Orne, and Benjamin Whitmer.
Judge Orne resigned his office in the year 1830, and
J. G. Rogers was appointed to fill the vacancy.  Judge
Whitmer resigned in 1834, and James C. Merrill was
appointed in his stead.  Judge Simmons died in 1813,
3




26              RAISING THE VEIL;
and Abel Cushing wanted the Ermine robe, and he got
it. Judge Merrill resigned in 1852, and Thomas Russell, (a gentleman of the legal profession, about twentysix years of age,) was appointed to fill the vacancy. The
appointment at that time caused many venerable, superannuated "old Fogies" to roll up their eyes with holy horror, and ejaculate, " God save the Commonwealth.'
Some of them predicted that in a few years minors
would be appointed to offices of trust, honor and emolument, but they were shortly after obliged to acknowledge
that the appointment of Mr. Russell to the bench, was a
judicious movement, and that he is a fair, impartial
and upright Justice.
The year that the Police Court of. Boston was organized, Thomas Power was appointed the Clerk thereof
which office he has held up to the present time, (one year
only excepted.) We shall speak of the Judges, Clerks
and officers, mow at length, in another chapter of this
work.
Twenty-five years ago, the Police Court of Boston
presented a very different appearance from the Court at
the present time. Then, three or four cases a day were
the average number brought for trial, and, occasionally,
when six or seven prisoners were arraigned, the Justices,
Clerks and officers, seemed to talk and act as though it
was almost an impossibility to get through so many cases in one day. Now, how changed the scene.  Instead




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           27
of five or six cases: we sometimes have between fifty and
sixty. I am inclined to think that thirty-five is about
the average number.   Two-thirds of these cases, at
least, are arraigned for rioting and drunkenness, and
are very rapidly disposed of. The unfortunates are
called up to the prisoners' bar, and sometimes the
Clerk will read the complaint to them, and sometimes
he will omit it, simply holding the document in his hand,
and saying to the prisoner:
"You was brought here for being drunk, last night!
Was you drunk 2"
If the prisoner says " Yes," the Clerk immediately
adds,' The court find you guilty, and sentence you to
pay a fine of three dollars and costs, for want of which
you stand committed."
Before the prisoner can collect his scattered and
bewildered thoughts, he finds himself hurried down
stairs, and securely locked up in the cell from which he
had been taken, perhaps, three or four minutes previous.
But if the victim says " No P? two or more policemen
rush to the stand, with surprising agility, and, raising
their right hands, stand ready to swear, as fast as their
tongues can wag, that the prisoner was not only drunk,
the night previous, but that he was noisy and quarrelsome. If the prisoner has no counsel, the Judge will
ask him if he wants to ask those witnesses any questions.
The poor, bewildered devil will commence talking, per



28              RAISING THE VEIL;
haps very incoherently, while the Judge is recording his
sentence, and passing the same over to the Clerk; the
victim finds himself " booked' for a free ride in a safe
and commodious vehicle, which runs regularly every day
(Sundays excepted,) between the Court House and South
Boston, called the "Black Maria;" and although the
prisoner is sure that the State will furnish him  witlh
board and lodging, gratis, for three months, not one look
of gratitude can be seen in his countenance, while the
officer is hurrying him off to the cellarage, there to remain until the Judge shall decide who his travelling
companions must be.
When Uncle Zeb entered the court room, it was all
bustle and confusion. The Judge had not made his appearance, but the Clerk and his assistants were busily
engaged in filling out warrants, complaints, &c., while
the officers were looking over their lists of prisoners, and
calling out the names of witnesses who had been summoned to appear in the cases which were to come up for
trial that forenoon.  Shortly after, the Judge came in,
and the officer of the day shouted " Court t"  The
noise and confusion partially ceased, attornies, witnesses and spectators doffed their hats, and one of the officers, with a bunch of keys in his hand, started for the
regions below. He soon re-appeared, followed by eight
miserable, woe-begone beings, who were ushered in, and
seated upon the prisoners' bench.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           29
Uncle Zeb, who had been carefully watching all the
proceedings remarked that " this was a disgrace to the
city of Boston, a shameful disgrace."
"What?" said I.
" This court room," he replied.'It is a miserable,
narrow, contracted, ill-ventilated hole, more suitable for a
dog-kennel than a temple of Justice. I thought the
Recorder's room in the New York "Tombs" was bad
enough, but that is a perfect palace compared with this
place."
C" We'll not quarrel on that point," quoth I, " but we
shall have a larger and a better room by and by."
One of the pettifogging lawyers which we saw the
day previous, in the cells below, victimizing the victims,
was trying to pick up a subject among the prisoners. He
found one, and when the Clerk called the man to the
stand, the ".sucker" announced himself as counsel for
the defendant.
" That man will be convicted, whether he be guilty or
innocent," said I to Uncle Zeb.
" What is the charge brought against him?"
" Don't know, nor don't care," was my reply.  " If
you will just watch the trial, you will see whether I am
correct or not."
The complaint against the prisoner was for assault and
battery, and the testimony of the government witnesses
was very defective, it being almost impossible for them to
3..




30              RAISING THE VEIL;
tell who commenced the affray. But our pettifogger in
his cross-examination, elicited from the witnesses the
fact that the prisoner was a fractious and ugly man;
and when he imbibed too much intoxicating liquor, he
would commence a quarrel with his best friends, and
"kick up a muss" whenever an opportunity offered.
The Judge reviewed the testimony, imposed a fine of
fifteen dollars, together with good and sufficient sureties in the sum of fifty dollars, to keep the peace for
six months, and for want thereof to stand committed. After sentence was pronounced, the pettifogger advised the prisoner to appeal his case, and carry it up to
the Municipal Court. He did so. The Judge ordered
him to recognize in the sum of two hundred dollars, for
his appearance then and there. The man could not furnish the sureties, and was carted off to prison.
" Just as I predicted," quoth I,~ nudging the old gentleman's elbow.
He shook his head, and simply replied, "It is too bad,
it is abominable!"
The rest of the prisoners were quickly disposed of.
Some of them were arraigned for simple drunkenness,
others as common drunkards; six of them were convicted, one of them discharged.
The discharged prisoner was an elCdely man, fifty.five
or sixty years of age, and the close observer could see
by each look and action, that he was no stranger in the




OR, SCENES IN TIIE COURTS.          81
court room. He was complained of as a common drunk.ard, and his tremulous form showed but too plainly that
he had not fully recovered from the previous night's debauch.' He plead not guilty, but two police officers
swore positively that they had seen the man staggering
drunk five or six times within the past two months.
"I Do you wish to ask these witnesses any questions 39
said the Judge, addressing the prisoner.' No, your Honor," was the reply.
"' Do you wish to say anything about your sentence?
If so, I will hear you."
The old fellow's countenance lighted up with a seriocomical expression, as he replied:
"' Your Honor, those two policemen have sworn positively that they have seen me drunk five or six times
within the past two months; but if your Honor will refer to your books, you will see that three months ago
you yourself sentenced me to the House of Correction.
My term expired yesterday, and I was liberated.  That
I celebrated the day by imbibing rather too freely, I am
willing to admit, but no man can get drunk on the beverage furnished by Capt. Robbins."
The Judge turned to his book, and found that it was
even so. H-e then ordered the prisoner to be discharged,
and at the same time cautioned the police officers to be
more careful and guarded, for the future, otherwise he
should be obliged to allow a very wide margin in taking




82              RAISING THE VEIL;
their testimony, whenever they appeared upon the witness stand.
The prisoner's bench was again filled with females,
who had been arrested for night-walking and soliciting
men.   Some of them were not more than sixteen or seventeen years of age, but all were the children of crime,
prostitution and vice.  Some were meanly clad, while
others were gaudily dressed, with a profusion of flowers
and feathers fastened to their bonnets.  Some looked
downcast, dejected and forlorn; others, who had travelled longer in the downward path of crime, confronted
the gaze of the assembled crowd, with a bold, reckless,
brazen look of impudence.' Who is that fidgety old fellow, whose skin lools like
a piece of brown parchment?.He's here, there, and everywhere.  A few moments ago I saw him wrangling
with one of the officers, now he is in earnest conversation
with those females," quoth my'" Uncle Zeb."' That," I replied,' is John Augustus, the philanthropist.' 
"What position or office does he hold in this court q`"
" None, that I know of," was my reply.
"Does his philanthropy support him'
" He could answer that question himself much better
than I cart," was my response.  " I will introduce you
to him, by and by; meanwhile, you had better watch his
movements?.




OR, SCENES IN TIIE COURTS.          33
One of the girls was now called up to the prisoner's
stand. She plead guilty to the charges preferred against
her.
"I'll bail that young woman for thirty days, your
Honor," cried John Augustus.  " I know her parents,
and very respectable people they are, too. If I can't
reform her, I'll bring her into court at the expiration of
that time, to be disposed of as you will."
Judge. Mr. Clerk, you may take Mr. Augustus for
bail, in the sum of thirty dollars, for the prisoner's appearance here in thirty days from this date."'
When the next " unfortunate" was called up, she also
plead guilty. One of the wicked reporters was heard to
remark, " John won't bail that' old gal,' she's too old
and ugly."  The reporter was right.  She was sentenced to six months' imprisonment in the IBouse of Correction. Instanter, the fountains of her eyes were opened, and while the waters gushed forth freely, her sobs
and boo-hoo's could be heard above the noise within, and
the rumbling of express-wagons without the Court H-ouse.
The kind hearted Judge was evidently moved by those
tears, and addressing the woman, he said:
" The court will give you twelve hours to leave the
city. After that time, if you are found within our precincts, or at any time within the six months next ensuing,
the sentence already passed will be executed upon you.'"
Never did the wand of a magician produce a greater




84               RAISING THE VEIL;
transformation than those words of the Judge, as they
fell upon the ear of the prisoner.  The salt water ceased to flow from her optics, which were suddenly lighted
up, while her countenance was wreathed with smiles.
The Clerk informed her that she was at liberty to depart, and she started, without waiting for a second order
or invitation. As she passed John Augustus, she saluted him with an impudent toss of the head, informing him
she was under no obligations to him, and hoped to meet
him in that uncomfortable place, the exact locality of
which has- never yet been discovered, but where it is
supposed, by some, that tremendous fires are kept up,
both night and day.
The balance of the female prisoners were then arraigned; each of them plead guilty, and each of them received precisely the same sentence given the one who had
just departed.
" Do you think all those females will leave the city in
twelve hours?" asked Uncle Zeb, watching them as they
left the Court House.
" Not a bit of it," was my reply.  "They will probably change their lodgings; those who reside at the north
part of the city will remove to the south part, and vice
versa. By so doing, you perceive they will not come
in contact with the same police officers who arrested them
on this occasion; and even if they should, the officers
would not probably arrest them, unless they were found




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.            35
following their old profession.: But if they are brought
into court again, the sentence will surely be executed upon them; even John Augustus himself could not save
them.  But here comes another, of the same sort.  She
is complained of as being a common drunkard. I have
seen her in this court room several times before.
"What a miserable looking wretch," quoth my Uncle
Zeb.
": Aye," I replied, " miserable indeed.  Four years
ago,'that poor wretch was a fine, handsome, fascinating
woman of fashion.  She belongs to a very respectable
family, who reside but a short distance from this city.
In an evil hour, she fell into the snare of the tempter.
Her parents and relatives discarded her; she took refuge
in one of the fashionable brothels which abound in the
west section of the city.  Her downward course in the
path of vice was very rapid, and during the past year
she has spent five months in the House of Correction,
and the remainder of the time amongst the vilest of characters, in and about a section of the city called the' Black
Sea.' The lawyer who was sitting by your side, and left
so abruptly when she was brought into court, was her
seducer/   Such, in brief, is the history of the once
beautiful and accomplished Susan K."
" Uncle Zeb" gazed intently at this wreck of humanity; he fetched a long-drawn sigh, but said nothing.
After the Judge had ordered Susan to the House of




36              RAISING THE VEIL;
Correction for four months, she impudently inquired,
why he didn't give her six?  " I know the House of
Correction," said she.  " We get a pound of bread every morning-see all the ladies and gentlemen that come
to bring tracts-pray louder than the parson-make love
to thl officers-coax'em to let me out on the Fourth of
July-good-by, Judge, I'll call to see you again one of
these days!"
The prisoner was remanded to the lock-up.
My Uncle Zeb signified a wish to visit some of the upper courts.  I therefore accompanied him to the Municipal Court Room. The scenes here are altogether different from those enacted in the lower court room, although
nothing but criminal cases are brought before this court
for trial, and probably more than two-thirds of them
have been previously examined by one of the Justices
of the Police Court. Everything here is quiet and orderly, and however crowded the court room may be, it is
seldom you will hear the officers shouting, " Silence in
the court!" " Stop talking!" " Go find a seat, or else
clear out!" and such like expressions, which are often
heard in the court room below. Everything is systematized here.  The attornies, witnesses, reporters, &c.,
each have their seats appropriated, and interlopers but
seldom attempt to occupy them.   Directly in front of
the Judge's bench, there is a large coop or box, with
seats to accommodate some twenty-five or thirty prison



OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          37
ers. This box is one of the best models for a hen-coop
I ever saw. You have only to nail slats across the top,
put in a few poles for roosts, and you have the thing
complete. This coop was constructed, under the directions of the County Attorney, the very year that the hen
fever raged so terribly.  lany supposed that the worthy
attorney became slightly affected with the disease, and
while constructing a receptacle for prisoners, had a coop
or stye in his eye.
Shortly after we entered the Municipal Court Room,
the court adjourned. The Court " Crier," a very gentlemanly and worthy officer, in announcing this important
fact, spoke as follows: " All persons-having-Honorable Court-depart-three o'clock-this afternoon-God
save-Commonwealthen —Massachusetts."     Before the
Crier had finished his speech, the Judge had stepped out,
the prisoners had disappeared through the side door of
the coop into a small room in the rear, where several
witnesses, attornies and others; were making tracks for
Parker's Saloon, with the laudable intention of moistening the alimentary channel with a modicum of that fluid
which, when properly used, maketh glad the heart of
man.
My next move was to introduce Uncle Zeb to that
worthy and most estimable man, Judge Bishop.  After
a few minutes conversation, it appeared that they had
known each other in their younger days, although they
4




88             RAISING TIHE VEIL;
had not met for more than thirty years. The Judge obtained a promise from my uncle that he would dine with
him the next day, and they parted, after cordially shaking hands, and giving each other a significant sign, which
X did not understand.
As I was passing out through the vestibule of the
Court House with Uncle Zeb, we were saluted by John
Augustus, and I formally introduced the two venerable
gentlemen to each other. John can talk very rapidly,
while my uncle is a man of few words and slow speech,
John assured Uncle Zeb that he had more business to
attend to that afternoon, than any three ordinary men
could manage in a fortnight.  " I have got to go down to
the Jail," said he,' and try and get a woman out who
was put in there for selling liquor-her husband was
sent to the House of Correction, about three weeks ago,
for the same offence-don-no whether I can get her out
or not. I must go and look after her children, any way.
She's one girl, any way, about seventeen years old, who
is very good looking —I don-no whether she is virtuous or not, but I think more'n likely as not she is; but
I'll soon find out. Then I've got to go over to Charlestown, and see about a girl there, I bailed out the other
day-she's got into some scrape again.    I don-no
what it is. but I must go and see. And then there's
three or four down in the lock-up, that I must look after, and see when"



OR, SCENES IN    THE COURTS.              39
How long the philanthropist would have continued
this strain, had he not been called away by an officer, I
know   not.*  He invited Uncle Zeb and myself to visit
him at his house, some leisure evening, which we promn
ised to do.   He left us, and Uncle Zeb returned to his
lodgings.: As I intend to give a minute description of the man, John
Augustus, in another chapter, it is only necessary for me to
briefly remark, that those who come in contact with him in
business matters, and more especially in matters pertaining to
courts, must expect that he will reel off more line from the end
of his tongue in fifteen minutes, than any ordinary man could
accomplish in four times that space. Those who do not know
him, can hardly comprehend his character and style of language, by any description that can be written.




40               RAISINGt THE VEIL;
CHAPTER IIL
The Philanthropist's Harem-Description of its Inmates-How
Pseudo Lawyers are Manufacturedc-The way they manage to
obttin verdicts —Honesty of Lawyers holding high positionsThe man who pleads his own cause, does not always have a
Fool for his Client-The Judge's Bench, &c., &c.
A FEW evenings afterwards, accompanied by Uncle
Zeb, I visited the house of John the philanthropist,
whose surname was Augustus.      The house literally
swarmed with females; and if some of them  had been
fairer looking, and all of them better clad, a stranger
might have been led to suppose that he was in a Sultan's
Harem.
We were conducted into a small, well furnished room,
and presently John made his appearance. As he came
in, he spoke to one of the females, and said:
"If anybody calls for me, I shan't be at home for
half or three-quarters of an hour."
He then closed the door, threw himself into an old
arm-chair, and that tongue of his, which appears to be
hung in the middle, and oiled at each end, was immediately put in motion.




ELIJAH    K. SPOOR.
(See Page 111.)








OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          41
" You haint been in court to-day." I shook my head.
"Thought not-I didn't see you there.    Thirty-two
simple drunks, seven common drunkards, and eight or
ten larceny cases. I bailed out three, and let the rest
slide. Didn't believe I could do anything with'emafraid to try it, anyhow. Young M —    was brought
up for getting drunk, last night. I paid his fine-donno whether he will pay me or not-guess he will, though.
You know him well enough, his father keeps a store up
on Cornhill-appears to be a very clever man, but I
don-no much about him. I never knew the boy was
dissipated before to-day; but you can't tell-most everybody drinks, now a days. Some that pretend to be very
temperate, drink the worst."
Here, a woman, who was not very young or beautiful,
entered the room, with a note in her hand, which she
gave to the philanthropist. He laid it on the table, and
continued:
" This is one of my girls. I've had her here nearly
a month-must take her into the court, next Wednesday,
for sentence. One cent and costs, that's all. i Must try
and get her some good place to live out. Guess we can
reform her, if she don't get in with her old companions
again." As the girl left the room, Uncle Zeb remarked:' I see, Mr. Augustus, you have a large number of
females about your house. Are they all the unfortunate
children of vice ". 




42              RAISING THE VEIL;
" All but my own family," he returned. "I've got
a house full, and I suppose it would be full if it was
twice as large."
" And do you really support and provide for all these
people, at your own expense?" was Uncle Zeb's next
query.
"' Well, not exactly," replied John; " there are many
charitable people, in the city of Boston, who are willing
to give for benevolent purposes, when they know how
and for what the funds are to be expended. If a man is
taken up for drunkenness, and I pay his fine, and get
him discharged, he is almost sure to repay me, as soon
as he earns the money. It is very seldom I ever lose
anything in that way."
"And what proportion of those females which are taken from houses of ill-fame, and rescued from the prisons, become reformed?" I inquired.
"A great many," replied John.    "I don-no what
proportion, but suppose one out of ten was reclaimed, would not that be well worth the time, labor and money that is expended on the whole?  Do we not read,
that he who turns one sinner from the error of his ways,
shall save a soul from death, and hide a multitude of
sins?"
During our conversation with the philanthropist, the
door-bell had scarcely remained quiet for two minutes at
a time. It was a constant jingle, jingle, jingle, and I




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS,           43
proposed to Uncle Zeb that we had better take our leave,
which we did, after being urged to repeat our visit.
After accompanying the old gentleman home, and getting comfortably seated in his cosy sitting-room, the conversation commenced on the subject of " Attornies" and' Counsellors at Law."
" It appears," quoth the old gentleman,' that you do
not have a very exalted opinion of your city lawyers."
I replied, " Boston can boast of more distinguished legal gentlemen than any other city in the Union.  We
have quite a number of attornies that are ornaments to
the profession. Those are men who deal fairly and justly with their clients, who will not commence a suit in
any case, unless they believe that they have a reasonable
prospect of success, except where the client is some
wealthy numskull, who wants to spend some four or five
hundred dollars to gratify a feeling of malice, or for
some other similar cause. It is of the miserable charlattans
and impostors, who live by sucking the life blood from the
poor and unfortunate, I complain. With many of our most
enlightened citizens, it is paradoxical how so many of these
pests manage to get admitted to the bar, and thus be allowed to practise in all the courts of Massachusetts. But
this query is easily answered.
"I will give you one case, that came under my own observation, which will, with a few slight alterations, apply
to hundreds of others. A young man, who resided in a




44              RAISING THE VEIL;
neighboring city, was sent by his father, when he was
seventeen years of age, to learn the carpenter's trade.
IHe was not fond of his books or study, although he bid
fair to make an excellent mechanic.  Before he was
twenty years of age, he resolved to lay cown the chisel
and fore-plane, and become a lawyer. He obtained an
introduction to a young practitioner, to whom he agreed
to, pay fifty dollars, for the privilege to remain in his office for one year, also agreeing to do all writing, copying, &c., which the attorney might require, and in return
for his money and services, the lawyer agreed to get him
admitted to the bar, to practise in all the courts in the
State.
"At the expiration of the year, in glancing over one of
the newspapers of the day, I read the following notice'In the Supreme Court, yesterday morning, Judge
B —    on the bench, on motion of B —   G-, Esq.,
E-     K -, Esq., was admitted to practise in all the
courts in the State of Massachusetts.'
" A few days afterwards, I saw an imposing sign fastened upon a building, in the vicinity of the Court House,
lettered,' E —   -—, Counsellor at Law.'9 
Here Uncle Zeb remarked, " Surely the Judge examined the young man, before he was admitted! Did he
not 3"
Oh no," was the answer.    The Judge takes it for
granted, that the attorney who proposed the candidate,




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           45
is satisfied, and believes that his protege is deeply versed in legal lore. Thus you will perceive that a pettifogging lawyer is easily manufactured.  The moment
he nails up his shingle, he also will take in a student,
upon the same terms, and with the same stipulations
which he himself had agreed to and paid, and in this
way, pettifoggers increase faster than rabbits."
"In the name of Heaven," cried Uncle Zeb, "how
do all these manage to get a living 7 They must have
food and clothing!"
"' By robbery!" I answered, " legalized robbery.  It
would fill a volume to describe all their plans, plots,
tricks and machinations.  I will give you one illustration, and that will suffice. You will bear in mind that
lawyers have but one motto, viz.:'Diamond cut diamond,' and' All's fair in our profession.'"
" Not long since a couple of well dressed females entered an attorney's office, and requested him to have the
landlord of the house in which they resided, arrested for
slander.
"The younger of the twain, a good looking woman, who
was, perhaps, twenty-five or six years of age, appeared
to take more interest in the case than the other, although
her companion was the party slandered, libelled and
abused; she having no interest in the matter herself,
only to see justice done, and the wrong righted.  She
assured the attorney that her companion was a hard



46              RAISING THE VEIL;
working, honest, and virtuous woman, who supported
herself and three children, very respectably, by her own
hard earnings. She averred that the landlord had stated,
before two or three witnesses, that Mrs. M-  was a
harlot, kept a disreputable house, and that he should
eject her therefrom, forthwith.  She also stated that she
had known Mrs. M —    for more than three years, and
was perfectly satisfied she was a worthy and virtuous
woman; that she could bring a hundred witnesses who
would corroborate her statements.
" The lawyer rubbed his hands in joyous glee, and assured the parties that this was a good case, an excellent
case, and if they would leave with him a retainer's fee
of ten dollars, he would proceed to prosecute it, forthwith.
"' Here was a serious obstacle thrown in the way. The
prosecutor had no money, and the attorney cogitated:Wealthy man-witnesses to be relied upon-sure thing
-seventy-five dollars, at least-too much to lose-I'll
go it!'
" Shortly afterwards, the landlord was waited upon by
an officer, who placed a document in his hand, the substance of which was, that his presence would be required in the Justices Court of the city of Boston, county of
Suffolk, on Friday, the sixteenth day of June next ensuing.  What passed between the defendant and his
counsel, I know not; but I do know that both parties




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           47
appeared with their counsel, on the day of trial. In the
interim, the counsel for the defendant had obtained an
interview with the principal witness, and when the case
was brought up for trial, many facts were elicited, which
were entirely unlooked for by the plaintiff's attorney.
" The friend and companion of the plaintiff was called to the stand, and she testified that Mrs. M  - was
one of the most abandoned and profligate women that
she ever knew in the whole course of her life. She
swore that she would not associate with her, nor be seen
in her company, under any conditions! The counsel for
the plaintiff was taken all aback; he looked at the woman with perfect astonishment, as he commenced his
cross-examination.
"'Did you not,' said he,' tell me that that woman
was pure and virtuous, and all that had been reported
against her character was a concoction of lies'
"'I! what, I T' she retorted.' I never saw you before to-day. I don't know who you are.'
"' Did you not visit my office with this lady' (pointing
to the plaintiff, who sat near him,)' about two weeks ago 3'
L"' No sir! I am a respectable woman, and never associate with such characters.'
"'How do you know that she is disreputable?'
"' Because I've lived in the house with her six months,
andI've often seen strange men in her rooms, both in
the day time, and in the night.'




48              RAISING THE VEIL;
"' Did you not speak to me on the steps of the Court
House, this morning 3'
"' Yes,' was the reply of the witness;'you spoke to
me, and said, if my testimony was strong, Mrs. M --
would recover damages, and you was a going to divide
with her, and you'd do something handsome by me; but
I would not listen to your proposals, because I am a
married woman, and a virtuous woman, thank God.'
"' Do you know that you are on your oath?' asked
the attorney, sharply.
"' Do you take me for a fool, or do you want me to
perjure myself' was the reply.
" The counsel for the plaintiff hereupon arose, and
addressed the court as follows:
"I'Your Honor, this witness came to my office with
the plaintiff, and was very urgent that I should prosecute
this suit, assuring me that the plaintiff was a most estimable lady, and had been grossly slandered; and she has
either misrepresented the case to me, or she has perjured herself upon that witness-stand.'
"The witness gave the attorney a look of utter contempt, as she remarked:
"' 0! you may gas and blow as much as you have a
mind to!  His Honor would not believe one word you
said, even if you should swear to it.'
" Two other females were brought upon the witnessstand, who testified to hearing the slanderous words ut



OR, SCENESE IN THE COURTS.         49
tered by the defendant; but in their cross-examination
it appeared that they boarded with the plaintiff, but neither of them had any lawful means of obtaining a livelihood. Judgment was rendered for the defendant, and
the parties left the court-room. The plaintiff's attorney
departed, grinning like a striped hyena, muttering curses
not loud, but deep."
" The counsel for the defendant must have bribed the
first witness in the case,' quoth Uncle Zeb.
" There is where you are mistaken," I replied; i he
neither gave nor promised her a single penny."
" What, then," asked my uncle, " yas the cause of
this sudden change in the witness 7"
" Sir, I will explain it to you. Both the plaintiff and
witnesses were disreputable females. The lawyer for the
defendant obtained an interview with the plaintiff's principal witness, and he gave her the consoling information
that if the case went against his client, he should feel
under the necessity of entering complaints against the
witnesses, for prostitution and night-walking, and have
them sent to the House of Correction for six months;
but if his client was discharged, it would place matters
in a very different position. Do you see now why the
witness turned so complete a somerset T'
The old gentleman laughed heartily, and remarked:
" Satan himself could not have invented a trick like
that!"
5




60              RAISING THE.VEIL;
" It is an incontrovertible fact,' I continued, " that
there are large numbers in the profession, who maintain a respectable standing, who are not a whit more
honest than the pettifoggers. This class swindle on a
larger scale. For example:" A few years ago, an American citizen had some
dealings with a Spanish gentleman, who was a resident
of' Havana.'  Some difficulty arose between them, respecting a certain contract. The American sued the
Spaniard, who, wishing to return home, left in the hands
of his attorney a sum sufficient to prosecute the case, or
to settle the same amicably, if possible, without going
into court. The American heard nothing of the matter,
until the very day the case was to be brought up for
trial, when he received a note from his attorney, informing him of the fact.
" Why did you not give me earlier information of
this?' he asked.
"'Because I did not suppose that you intended to
have the case tried. I am certain you would lose it, if
brought to trial, and the costs, which will amount to about
ninety dollars, will be thrown upon you. If it was my
case, I should let the matter drop where it stands, and
thus save costs and expenses,' was the consoling reply of
this lawyer.
" Let me see the contract and documents,' said the
client.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           51
" The papers were handed to him, and he started
directly for the Court House, remarking to the lawyer, as he passed out,'If I should ever need your
services again, I will let you know.' He sent in haste
for his witncsses, went into court, managed his own case,
and obtained the full amount of damages claimed.
"' Thus you see that the maxim,' A man who is his own
lawyer, has a fool for his client,' does not always hold
good.  The two attornies, who had agreed to divide
the spoils between them, were perfectly thunder-struck,
when they found they were obliged to disgorge."
"Uncle Zeb" remarked:' But notwithstanding all
this, you acknowledge that there are some upright lawyers, who deal with their clients honestly 2"
" Certainly I do,' was the reply;  but there are
many upright and conscientious men, who, after they
have been a short time in the profession, deviate from
the path of rectitude, and in a few years it is almost impossible to tell what manner of men they are. The very
atmosphere they breathe is polluted, and but few escape
the infection. I have in my mind's eye, even now, an
attorney, who commenced his studies in a light-house.
He was'poor but honest.' Ie managed to get through
college, (Heaven only knows how,) and commenced the
practise of law. His probity and attention to business
soon gained for him many clients; but as soon as he obtained a position among his legal brethren, and in the




52              RAISING THE VEIL;
community, he became an altered man, and can at the
present time out-Herod Herod, in the tricks of the profession. lHe has not been known to speak the truth but
once for several years. So says his partner, but I will
not vouch for the truth of this statement.
" Turn from the' Bar' to the' Bench,'"and you will
find those who were the honest and upright lawyers
of their day.   This remark is only applicable to
Massachusetts. In those States where brawling, political partisans are elected to wear the robes of office, you
cannot expect that the scales of justice will be held by
honest hands. I have never heard of a single case where
a Massachusetts Judge soiled the ermine, although there
has been a few appointments which were not fit to be
made.
"A venal Judge is a curse to any community, and I
fear there are too many of them in the United States, as
well as in other parts of the world. I once heard a well
known Judge, after summing up the testimony in a case,
remark:'I must administer the law, as I find it uponr
the statute book, however obnoxious that law may be to
me.' It is not every Judge who follows the example of
this upright functionary."




OR, SCENES IN TIIE COURTS.             53
CHAPTER IV.
Boston Police Department-Views of what a Police Officer should
be-A singular but not uncommon case-An Officer falsifying
his oath-Fernando Wood, Mayor of New York-The New York
City Tombs-How Cases are there managed-Straw Bail-Difference between a New York Court Recorder, and a Boston
Police Justice-The Goddess Justice is represented blindfolded; if Blind, she is not always Deaf-Shylock and the Farmer-Advice of Eminent Jurists, &c., &c.
BOSTON can boast of a better regulated Police Department than any other city in the Union. It consists
of nearly three hundred members, including court officers, &c.  The police officers proper, number two hundred and forty-six, who are distributed among eight stations.  At each station there is a Captain and Lieutenant, while the whole department is under the direction
and control of a Chief.  He has ao power, however, to
appoint or discharge an officer.  This prerogative is delegated to the Mayor of the city.
A police officer is an important personage, and is often
placed in circumstances, where, if he does not use his
discretionary powers aright, may do much serious injury




54              RAISING THE VEIL;
to individuals and families.  He should be a quiet, lawabiding man, himself, before he is entrusted with power
whereby he can invoke the action of the law upon others,
and so conduct himself in his official capacity, as to
gain the confidence and respect of all good citizens with
whom he may come in contact.  He should not be an
irascible or vindictive man, but cool, deliberate and determined. There are many attached to the police department of Boston, and other cities, whose places
might be supplied with better men. For the past few
years, the fitness of the candidate who applies for the
badge of a policeman, has been estimated by his political opinions; a man who has not worked well for the
party in power, stands but a poor chance, however worthy and capable he may be. A careful observer, who
visits the criminal courts in the city of Boston, will discover that it is not always the best and most efficient officers who make the most arrests, and enter the most
complaints. Some officers, who are stationed in the worst
sections in the city, will not enter as many complaints
as others who are stationed in more quiet parts of the
metropolis.  Some officers will enter a house where there
is rioting and disturbance, and in a few moments all will
be peace and quietude. Others might go in among the
same party, and under the same circumstances, and a
general melee would ensue. The next day, some four or
five persons would be arraigned before the court, charg



OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           55
ed with disturbing the peace, and assaulting the police
officers, while in the discharge of their duty. A police
officer should be a temperate man, and if he uses alcoholic drinks at all, it should be with ~great moderation.
It is not three years ago, since I saw a police officer go
into court, to enter a complaint against a man for drunkenness, who was himself so intoxicated that he could not
sign his name to the requisite document. His services,
however, were not required after that day.
It sometimes happens that a police officer will enter
complaints against citizens for the violation of some city
ordinance, such as smoking in the street, neglecting to
remove snow from their sidewalks, &c., when a simple
notification, or a few words with the party at fault, would
have been far better than a prosecution.
One of these kind of cases was brought before Judge
Rogers, not long since. The defendant was complained
of for not removing the snow from the sidewalk in front
of his dwelling, numbered 46 B —   St., within twenty-four hours after the snow had fallen. The defendant
plead' not guilty," and requested the postponement of
the case, to enable'him to bring witnesses for the defence.
I should have supposed you would come prepared to
defend your case," said the Judge.
" So I should, your Honor," replied the wag, " if I
had only known what the complaint was. At first I
thought it was for thrashing a'negro ostler;' but I




56              RAISING THE VEIL 
went and paid him seven and sixpence, and he acknowledged satisfaction.  Then I didn't know but what it was
for keeping a big bull-dog, called " Roaring Jake,' unlicensed, and I brought a witness here to prove that I sold
out all my right, title and interest in him, more than a
year ago; but I did not come prepared to defend the
sidewalk case..
" What do you expect to prove by your witnesses, if
the case is postponed?" asked the Judge.
Several things," was the reply.   "In the first
place, I intend to show that there are but twelve houses
on the street, consequently there could be no number 46;
also, to show that this street is not a public highway,
and, furthermore, to show that I never lived in any house
on that street, and what is more, I never intend to!"
The defendant had an acquaintance among the spectators, who was called to the witness stand.  He testified
that the defendant had boarded with him for the last three
months in another section of the city, that the defendant
visited the house spoken of in the complaint, three or four
times a week, for the purpose of giving music lessons, and
that the occupant of the house and the defendant were both
of the same name.
It is needless to add that this case was indefinitely
postponed.
Errors like this are unpardonable in police officers, and
although they may sometimes amuse a crowd of idle




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          57
spectators, they take up the time of the court, are an expense to the State, and very annoying to the prosecuted
parties.
Some police officers are very "swift witnesses," when
they are on the witness-stand.  I recollect a case where
a middle aged man, tolerably well dressed, was brought
up for assaulting a gentleman in the street, the night
previous. The officer testified that he saw the assault
committed, and thought it was of an aggravated nature.
While he was upon the stand, the assaulted party came
into court. He also was called up to the stand, and testified that the prisoner jostled him off the sidewalk, and
used some abusive language, but did not injure him at
all, neither did he put him in any bodily fear.
After the trial was concluded, I heard the gentleman
say that the policeman did not see the assault, but that
he himself met the police officer, subsequently, and stated
the circumstance, walked back with him to the place
where the prisoner was standing, and pointed out the
man.
I do not pretend to say that such cases often occur 
but I do say that a police officer who will, upon the witness-stand, "go it blind,"! (to use a sporting phrase,) is
not a fit man for the office.
What a mighty change has taken place in the police
departments in the cities of New York and Boston,
within the past seven years! The time was when there




58               RAISING THE VEIL;
were men employed to protect the citizens in their property, who were not much better than highwaymen and
pickpockets! The stool-pigeon system was carried out
to an alarming extent. No man, who had been once
convicted of a crime, however sincere his reformation
might have been, was secure against the machinations of
those "devils incarnate," who were at that time placed
in those offices of power and trust.
In another chapter I shall explain at length the modus operandi of those police officers who carried out the
stool-pigeon system to its fullest extent in the principal
cities of the Union.
Fernando Wood, the present efficient Mayor of New
York, has done more to reform abuses in the police department of that city, than any other man who has occupied the Mayor's chair for the last twenty years. Under
his administration, policemen do not venture to lounge
in grog-shops and bar-rooms.  Too many of them  have
received their walking-tickets, and when they applied to
him, and inquired what complaints were preferred against
them, they found that his HIonor himself was the complainant; that he had watched them at times when
they least expected it, and found them  remiss in their
duties. Happy would it be, for both citizens and policemen, if the Mayors of all our cities would follow the
example of this indefatigable man.
I have not so much experience with the arrangements




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.            59
of the Recorder's office in the " New York Tombs," as
I have in the Police Court Room of Boston, but things
are managed there somewhat differently. We will look
in for a few moments, and examine it.
Here we find (when there are a large number of cases
awaiting examination,) it is all bustle and confusion.
Officers, rushing around, looking for their witnesses -
lawyers, picking up their victims among the prisoners -spectators, jabbering in every language known
since the builders of the Tower of Babel refused to work,
because they could not understand each other's dialect.
Here witnesses are allowed to tell their own story, in
their own way, without interruption from Recorder or
officers. I will sketch the following examination of a
stage-struck cyprian, as an illustration:
A young woman was introduced to the Recorder, who
gloried in the sobriquet of Sophronia Fitzclarence, who
had been arrested at the instance of a cabman. She was
brought in with hair dishevelled, bonnet knocked into a' cocked hat," and her dress in disorder.
The cab-driver-who was a sinister looking chap, with
an oblique cast in his eye, a very large head, and an
enormously stout neck-was the principal witness against
Sophronia, and appeared to be as much of a character as
the accused herself.
" Well sir," said the Recorder, " what did Sophronia
do to you I"




60              RAISING THE VEIL;
" Yell, if you'll jest hold your hosses a minute or
two, I'll give you all the items," retorted the cabman,
with the peculiar patois of his class.
"Go on, then," continued the Recorder.' Yes, sir; veil, as I was standing'side my cab, sir,
near the corner of St. Charles and Poydras streets, a
thinkin' on several things, but nothin' in particular, except my fares,'cause you see it had been a dull day, this
here critter come stormin' along, with a kind of theatre
step, and jest as she got up to me, she stop't suddently,
give me a wild stare in the face, slapped her hands together, worked her shoulders backward, and then kinder
shrieked out:
I Oh! Clifford! is that you 3''No, I'm d-d if it is,' said I.
"But afore the words was scarcely out of my mouth,
she threw back both her arms, and rushed up, grabbing
me round the neck, jest as if it was her own dearest
blood relation; then she pushed me off at arm's length,
looked me full in the eye; says she:
Clifford, don't you know me 3''Yell I don't,' says I.'Speak to me, Clifford,' says she.
Go away,' says I. /'My own Clifford,' says she.'You be d-d,' says I,
"And then she sobbed, threw her hands about in a




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           61
sort of distraction kind of way, and screamed out agin:' Clifford, vy vont you speak to me 3''Cos I don't know you,' says I.'There, that's Clifford's voice, if ever Clifford spoak,'
says she.'I'm  d-d if it was,' says I;' my name is Jem
Thomas, and I don't know your Clifford from a side of
sole leather.'
l Veil, she went on in jest that way, swingin' her
arms round, spoutin' poetry, and talkin' nonsense, jest
like as if she was a play-actor on the stage, till after a
spell I had to call a watchman, to help me out of the
scrape.  Oh! she's one of the dreadfulest critters of
the highstrikes breed I ever did see. Vy, do you know,
your Honor, she axed me if her'orrid nupshals could
be perwented'"
"I didn't know it," gravely replied the Recorder.
" But what did you say to her 3"
V" Yell, your Honor, I said as how I thought if she'd
go home, and take a drop, it might perwent'em, although
I didn't know what them nupshals she was making such
a muss about was. Don't you think that sleep'ud hit
her case 3"
" Very likely," replied the Recorder.
"And, vot's more, don't you think if she was to take
the temperance pledge, it wouldn't hurt her much T? continued the cabman, giving the Recorder a knowing wink.
6




62              RAISING THE VEIL;
" That will do," replied his Honor; and Jem was allowed to depart.
Miss Sophronia confessed she had been to the theatre,
and imbibed a quantity of stimulating drinks. These,
combined with a great fondness and a natural taste for
the drama, had turned her brain for the moment; but she
promised to behave better for the future, if the Recorder
would only let her off. She was discharged.
In the criminal courts of New York, thieves, burglars,
incendiaries, and criminals of the like class, often escape
punishment, from the fact that the Judges, from some
cause known only to themselves, will often take what is
called I' straw bail," for the appearance of the prisoners
at the higher court.
In that city, a man can, or I should say could, at one
time, go before a magistrate, and swear that he is wortl
ten thousand dollars, when in reality he is not worth a
thousand cents. When the case comes up for trial, neither prisoner or bondsman can be found; or if the bondsman is found, and it is conclusively shown that he is not,
nor never was worth one hundred dollars, is he indicted
for perjury 7 No! we find but few cases upon record. The
prisoner escapes, and the bondsman or accomplice goes
free. But this is New York justice as it has been administered in the Empire City.
In Massachusetts, the courts are differently managed.
It is not often that " straw bail" is taken; and if per



OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.            63
sons offering themselves, are accepted as bondsmen in a
criminal case, do not produce the prisoner on the day of
trial, or stand ready to " fork over" the full amount of
the defaulted bonds, woe betide them.
A curious illustration of this fact occurred in the Police Court of Boston, a short time since.  A  gentleman
was arraigned for violation of the liquor law, and convicted. He appealed to a higher court. He was required to give good and sufficient sureties, in the sum of
two hundred dollars, for his appearance to prosecute the
same. A well known individual, who is worth two hundred thousand dollars, offered himself as bondsman. The
Judge asked the usual question:
" Do you own real estate V'' I do," was the reply.' To what amount?" asked the Judge.
"I do not see fit to communicate my own private affairs, neither will I tell what I consider my property
worth," was the answer.
The Judge refused to take the gentleman for bondsman, and the defendant was obliged to procure another,
who willingly stated that he was not worth more than
seven hundred dollars, free and clear of all liabilities.
This occurrence caused much merriment at the time,
among the friends and acquaintances of the wealthy man,
and in consequence of it many jokes have been perpetrated at his expense.




64              RAISING THE VEIL;
This conclusively shows how tenaciously some of the
old Justices and Judges of Massachusetts will cling
to the puritanical forms of a past age. If in the case I
have just related, the gentleman who offered himself
as bondsman had been a stranger in the city, the course
pursued by the Judge would have been justifiable and
proper: but in a case where Judge, clerks, officers, and
perhaps almost every person in the Court House, knew
the estimated wealth of the man, the action of the Judge
appeared absurd and ridiculous.
Justice, as administered in our courts of law, is not
always blind. True, the Goddess is represented in prints
and statues with her eyes closely bandaged, holding in
her hand even balanced scales. But is there any one so
demented as to suppose for a moment that the blind Goddess is without feeling. Is she deaf, as well as blind 1
When a bag of shining gold is thrown in one scale, and
a farthing into the other, is it reasonable to suppose that
she is so egregriously stupid that she cannot tell the difference? Judges and jurors are but mortal men; hold a gold
eagle before your own eye, and can you see through it?
Certainly not. How then can you expect others, whose
optical powers are no greater than your own, to do so I
He must be a self-sacrificing man indeed, and differently
constituted from his fellow-men, who can dash the yellow scales to the earth, and look upon guilt with a single eye, when its robes glitter with diamonds. How true




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          65
were the words of the celebrated "John Randolph:"
( Wealth and power will unite; they will come together
as naturally as the sexes."
Let us look into the court-room, and see if this is correct. Look at that man on yonder seat. He appears,
nervous, anxious, and ill at ease. His father died a few
years ago, and left him a splendid farm, free from all incumbrance. A Shylock, with whom he became acquainted, advised him to go into some speculation, and offered
to advance him such sums of money as he might require,
Shylock taking a mortgage on the farm. The poor fellow took his advice, and here he is, without a dollar in his
pocket, while Shylock has obtained possession of all his
property, for about one-quarter part of its actual value.
The poor man has worked early and late to earn a sufficient sum of money to bring his case before the court,
and show that the transfer of the property was a fraudulent transaction, which it certainly was, beyond the
possibility of doubt. His legal adviser is a young man,
unnoticed, and almost unknown, but he must employ
him, for want of means to fee an abler and a better
man.
But here comes Shylock, attended by his counsellors.
He has secured the best legal talent that could be obtained in the State.  He has with him, in the court,
some half a dozen creatures of his own, who are ready
to swear to almost anything their master requires. I-is
6A




66               RAISING THE VEIL;
attornies complacently re-examined the deeds and documents which the hoary headed sinner, their client, had
obtained by deception, misrepresentation and fraud, from
one weak in intellect, and easily imposed upon.
Poor devil! you'll get plenty of law here, but I
fear, no justice. The trial proceeds-the lawyers argue-the Judge charges the Jury-a verdict for the defendant is rendered-Shylock has established his rights
to the property-and poor Pillocoddy leaves the courtroom, undetermined in his own mind, whether he had
better go and hang himself, or ship on board a whaler.
Let me not be misunderstood. Let no one imagine
that I would imply, in the case stated, or in any other
case I may allude to, that the Judge and Jury did not
decide strictly according to the law and evidence, as they
had sworn upon their oaths to do. But this I do say, that
the poor man cannot cope with his more wealthy neighbor, in our courts of law.
It sometimes hpppens that a poor man will have a case
where law, evidence, and everything else, is in his favor,
but he cannot raise money enough to carry on his suit,
and is obliged to apply to some friend or acquaintance,
who is in better circumstances than himself, and will
agree to give him one-half of the amount claimed, if his
case is successful, provided he will advance the required
sums necessary to prosecute his claims.
We will suppose that after long litigation, and months,




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           67
perhaps years of vexation and trouble, a man is successful, and he obtains a verdict in his favor. His friend
takes one-half of the sum, and after he has paid all the
contingent expenses, the man is but little, perhaps no
better off than when he commenced the suit. The law's
delay has often caused many a worthy man to become
sick at heart, and has brought many to a premature grave.
A noted Judge was once asked the question, what course
he would pursue, if a man of means and ability owed him
twenty pounds, and refused to pay. The Judge replied,
"' rather than commence an action at law against him, I
would give the rascal ten pounds more, and then cancel
the debt." Another Judge, equally famous in his day,
while giving advice to his son, who was about to commence business in the world for himself, cautioned him
to avoid all litigation.  " If," said he,' a man should
claim the coat upon your back, and assure you that unless you delivered it up, he would commence a suit at
law for its recovery, strip it off, and give it to him, lest
that in defending the coat, you may lose your hat and
breeches also."
The most casual observer- will notice that those men
who have the most knowledge of the laws, but seldom
enter into litigation themselves; it is those who know
the least of them, who are entrapped in the meshes.




68                RAISING THE VEIL;
CHAPTER V.
The Stool-Pigeon business as it has been carried out in Boston,
New-York, and other cities in the United States-The modus
operandi of Police Officers who use Convicts for Stool-PigeonsAn infernal practice-Testimony of a State Official-The Gamblers-Their supposed connection with the Police DepartmentPlans concocted to induce men to visit Gaming Hells-The
Descent made upon the Gambling Houses in Boston, in the
year 1851-Grand Exhibition of Gamblers' Tools aud Implements, in the City Hall-How those Gambling Implements
were afterwards disposed of-Confession of a Noted GamblerLicensed Brothels and Gaming Houses.
IN the preceding chapter, I spoke of the stool-pigeon system, as it was extensively carried on in Boston,
New York, and other cities in the States.    As there are
but few persons who fully understand the operations of
this most outrageous scheme, concocted for the express
purpose of leading men to commit crime, and then entrapping them, I will endeavor to throw some light upon
the subject.
The police officers who are connected with the thiefcatching department in the     different cities, generally
know when the term of service of each convict who has
been sent to the State Prison for burglary, robbery, &c.,




HINMAN MEREDITH.
(See P'age 285.)








OR, SCENES IN TIE COURTS.           69
expires. The officers in New York, Philadelphia, and
other cities, are informed when convicts are to be discharged from Charlestown prison; while the officers in
Boston know equally wvell when convicts are to be set at
liberty from Sing-Sing, Auburn, and other prisons.
When prisoners are discharged, they do not usually
remain long in the vicinity, or State, where they were convicted; but no sooner do they arrive in another city,
(and oftentimes the telegraph announces their departure
from the place where they were last seen,) when the
thief-catchers are on the alert to " spot" them, and watch
all their movements. A well tried and trusty officer of
the thief catching stamp will manage to fall in with
one of the most reckless and hardened of the convicts;
he will inquire how long he has been liberated? What
business he intends to follow? Whether he has any money
to support him until he can obtain work? Then, after
expressing the most kindly feelings, (if the convict is
out of funds, which of course they generally are,) he
will give him a few dollars, and appoint a time and place
to meet him again.
At the time appointed, the officer and convict will
meet, and the latter will receive his instructions from the
former. The officer will inform the convict that there
is in the city another recently discharged convict, and he
has every reason to believe that the rascal intends to re.
turn to his old business-house-breaking.




70              RAISING THE VEIL;
The officer will then inform the convict where his victim is located, and tell him, he must ferret him outscrape an acquaintance, if he does not already know him
-inform him that he also is a brother convict-" sound
him from the lowest note, to the top of his compass," and
discover, if possible, what course he intends to pursue in
future. The officer promises the convict that he shall
be well paid for any discoveries which he may make, and
pledges him his word of honor that whatever may be
done between them, he (the convict stool-pigeon,) shall
be protected, and unmolested.
Let us now follow the stool-pigeon. He falls in with
his brother in crime, and as they set conversing together, in some obscure bar-room, imbibing that enemy,
which, when put into a man's mouth, will " steal away
his brains,' you could overhear the following conversation:Stool-pigeon.  " Well, Jem, what's best for us to do?
Jemn.  " I've about made up my mind to get a situation, go to work at my trade, and try to gain a position
in society;'cause you see that our old business won't
pay."'
Stool-pigeon.  "That's my mind, exactly.   Long
enough afore I served out my last term  at Sing-Sing,
says I to myself,'taint no use for a man to spend all the
days of his life in working for the State, and living on
rotten beef; now if I could only get a good chance to




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           71
work at my trade, I would try and be honest for a little
spell, anyhow. I believe I'm about as good a blacksmith
as can be found round these diggings."
Jer.   "As a cabinet-maker, I won't turn my back to
any man. This morning I saw an advertisement in the
newspaper, of a place where cabinet-makers were wanted. I went up, and applied for a situation; the' old
man asked me where I worked last? I told him that I
worked for my father, in Manchester, N, H. The' old
cuss' looked at me as though he thought I was lying,
but he told me to come to-morrow, at twelve o'clock, and
he would give me an answer. Now if I only get a
chance there, I shall be a man among the rest;'cause
you see they won't have any means of finding out that I
was ever a prison-bird."
Stool-pigeon,  " Good, old boy  I wish I had so
good a show before me; but let's take another drink,
just to drive away the blue-devils. I hope you will be
successful. I've got a chance in view, but if I don't
get the situation, I don't know which way to turn next.
By the bye, my old boy, do you know any of our old: pals,' who are circulating round the city now 3"
Jem.   " Only one; that's Seth Brummell-he's got
a'sit' in the H-  Theatre; gets a' sal' of six dollars
a week, as stage door-keeper. But between you and
me, his sit' is worth more than five times that amount
to him."




72              RAISING THE VEIL;
Stool-pigeon.:' Iow's that 29
Jemn.  "'Cause you see he gets the halves and quarters out of those fellows who want to get in behind the
scenes; he slides'em in, and so you see he makes a good
thing on't —some of the actors have missed things
from their dressing-rooms; nobody suspects' Seth,' -
some poor' ballet girl,' or supernumary, is charged with
the larceny."
Stool-pigeon.  " Well, Jem, let's retire now; and I
will meet you here to-morrow night, at eight o'clock,
and we will talk matters over. For my part, I'm'hard
up;' and if I don't get a chance to go to work' pooty'
soon, I shan't have funds enough to pay for a night's
lodging."
Jem.   " Same here; but by J-s, if'I don't get that
place, to-morrow, I don't know what I shall do."
Stool-pigeon. I" Keep up good pluck, my old fellow,
boys of our kind ain't easily discouraged; and recollect
we are now sworn friends, and we will meet again tomorrow night."
The convicts shake hands, and part.
Let us now follow the stool-pigeon, and we shall find
him in secret confab with the officer. That functionary will be fully advised of all that has passed between
the convicts. By some hocus-pocus arrangement, the
employer, on whom convict number two was to call, with
the expectancy of obtaining work, becomes aware of the




OR, SCENES IN THE COUIRTS.          7
fact that his applicant has just graduated from  State
Prison, and of course he will not employ him. He leaves
the counting-room, disappointed and dejected, not knowing what move to make next; and when, NTight throws her sable mantle o'er the earth,"
he seeks the company of his friend, the stool-pigeon.
They meet, and we will again listen to their conversation:
Stool-pigeon. "Well, my old hearty, what news today?    Did you get the chance to work at your trald
you spoke of last night 2"
Jen.   " Curses on my luck!  No! I wentt at the
appointed time, and the old fellow looked at me as though
he thought I came for the express purpose of cutting his
throat. I'm satisfied well enough, that some devil has
spotted' me, and the old man has found out who I am."
Stool-pigfeon. "That's exactly my case. I've been
disappointed in the same way, myself, to-day. Wahen
I went to see the man who as good as promised to
give me employment, the hypocritical old fool grinned
like an enraged monkey; and says lie:  My friend, I
should be glad to give you employment, but I don't like
your antecedents; I don't like your proclivities!  SBo
you see I'm' spotted,' too, and I am almost out of funds;
but as long as there's a shot left in the locker,'1ll go
snacks with you."
7




74              RAISING THE VEIL 
Jem.' Thank you, my dear follow; but the fact is,
I don't know what to do, or which way to turn.'
Stool-pigeon.  "I've been thinking, if I could only
make a raise, I'd start for Australia, mighty quick; you
wouldn't find me long round in these' diggins.' 7
Jem.   "Jist give me an opportunity, and I'll do the
same thing."
Stool-pigeon.  " Well, it's no use to try acnd get employment, or raise a dollar in any way the world calls
honest. I'd rather be back in my old cuarters, the prison, than to be hunted down like a wild beast, without
sufficient money in my pocket to support me."
Jemn   " So had I. I will not starve; and if I can't
earn money, I must get it some other way. Youn're a
single man, but I've a wife and children, I dearly love."
Stool-pigCon. " No! But are you foolish enough
to suppose that she thinks of yon now?   Who ever
heard of a woman remaining true to a man for five years
after he has been caged?  Ha! ha! ha!"
Jem.   "In that you're mistaken.  The prison-chaplain has often seen my wife, and he tells me that she has
supported herself and her little boy by her industry,
and was looking anxiously forward to the day of my
liberation.?',tool-pigeon. " A wonderful woman, truly! Have
you seen her, yet?-"
Jez.' No. I thought I would got a chance to go




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          75
to work, get me a new suit of clothes, have a few dollars
in my pocket, then return to her.  O! I've looked forward to that happy hour; but I find all my hopes blasted, and I care not how soon the prison-gates again close
upon me, and shut me out forever fron the world."
Stool-pigeon.  "Pooh! pooh! pooh!   Don't be
down-hearted, comrade; there is a good time coming."
Jern. " When' When? How? Six years ago I was
a contented and a happy man. I served my apprenticeship at my trade, and remained with my employer,
he giving me the highest wages paid to journeymen. I
formed an appetite for intoxicating drinks; I neglected
my business; my wife, who was a meek and gentle spirit,
remonstrated with me, but in vain; I abused her; I
went on, step by step, and at last fell into the company
of a notorious house-breaker. Being destitute of money,
and driven to desperation, I reluctantly agreed to assist
him in a robbery, which was successful, and we obtained
about fifteen dollars. He escaped, how, I know not. I
was taken, tried, and convicted. 0 God! that I were
dead!"
Stool-pigeon.   Well, my boy, you must keep up
pluck. My case is pretty much the same as yours, only
I hain't got'no wife. Now suppose we should see a
good chance? Hush! there's no one listening, is there 3
I say, suppose that we could see a good chance to relieve
some rich old curmudgeon of a small amount of his ill-got



76              RAISING THE VEIL;
ten wealth, with no chance of detection, will you join
me'.
Jenz.  " No! I'll rob no more."
Stool-pigeon.  "What! not if you can raise money
enough to leave this cursed place, and get to the gold
mines, with a small sum to leave your wife and boy until your return? Then you know you might repay all you
had taken, and have a pocket full of rocks left. How
is that, eh?"
Jem.   " What is it you would propose?"
Stool-pigeon.  " In the plan I have in view it will
be impossible to get along without a third man. I have
my eye on a jeweller's store in W — St., which can
be entered mighty easy. No watchman, no bull-dog
about the premises; there we can make a glorious raise,
and if you have a mind to join me, say the word, and
the fur flies."
Jem. "I don't know what to do; but if you think
it's a safe operation"Stool-pigeon.  " Safe! I never saw so safe a chance
in my life; there can't be any mistake about it."
Jem.;" But who are we to get for a third' pal.'"
Stool-pigeon.  " How's your friend, Seth Brummell?
Go and sound him; I'll wait here till you return."
The victim starts, and after a short delay, returns
with the pleasing information that " Seth" is ready to
go into the arrangement, if there is a fair show.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           77
Stool-pigeon.  " Tell him to meet us here to-morrow
night.  Now we'll take a parting glass, then I'll go up
and twig round the premises; you'd better not go with
me,'cause it wouldn't be well for us to be seen together.
There's nothing like being on the safe side, you know."
The worthy couple separate; one goes to his lodgings,
the other to inform his employer, (the stool-pigeon officer,) of his success.
Shortly afterwards, an extensive robbery is committed,
and announced in the papers of the day as one of the
most daring and successful burglaries on record. The
public are informed that although our active and efficient
police are on the qui vive, no trace had been discovered
of the goods or the robbers.  Advertisements and handbills are extensively circulated, offering a reward of five
hundred or a thousand dollars for the recovery of the
goods, and arrest of the robbers. After a reasonable
time has elapsed, you will read in the public journals of
the day, an announcement like this:
STOLEN PROPERTY RECOVERED!!
ARREST OF TWO OF THE BURGLARS!' It gives us great pleasure to inform the public that,
through the indefatigable exertions of those worthy and
efficient officers, Messrs.'Grab-'um-quick' and  Catch-'um-easy,' a large portion of the goods taken by the robbers from the store of Messrs. C —   and T —, on the
7..




78              RAISING THE VEIL;
night of the 20th inst., have been recovered.  They
were found in an old barn, on the S —  turnpike, and
two of the burglars have been arrested. Both of them
are old prison-birds; one goes; by the name of James
—, the other, Seth Brummell. It is supposed they
had an accomplice, who escaped. These desperadoes will
now have an opportunity to serve the State a few years
longer, where they can neither rob nor molest honest citizens."
While these two men, (these stool-pigeon dupes,)
are brought up, tried, convicted, and sent over, where is
the stool-pigeon 3 I must answer, as old deacon Foster
usually does, when he is in doubt: " raly, I don-no, but
I guess he is somewhere round."  I will not pretend to
say that he " fobs" any portion of the reward paid over
to the officers, but I have a right to think aloud, as the
countryman did, when he was intently gazing at a string
of huge sausages, and remarked, sotto voce:' Where
they make that kind'er sarsengers, you'll find the dogs
wery scarce."
But in all honesty I would ask, why is it that the
prime movers, directors, and those who are the very head
and front of the offending, in almost every case where an
extensive robbery has been committed, have been suffered to escape, while the unfortunate dupes and tools of
their machinations, are arrested, tried, convicted and
punished. I grant that "' one murder makes a villain,




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS,           79
millions a hero," but I have yet to learn that notorious
robbers and scoundrels can benefit mankind by being suffered to run at large, inveigling men more honest than
themselves, and inciting them to commit crimes which
are sure to bring then to a felon's cell.
Perhaps the reader will ask, can it be possible that
such scenes as you have represented have ever transpired in Massachusetts 3
I answer, yes! Aye, and more than this! There
have been scenes enacted in the city of Boston, of a similar kind, which might well shame " Old Cerberus," and
cause him to deliver up his keys, when one of these minions approached his gate.
In a previous chapter I spoke of Fernando Wood.
That man, as I before remarked, did much to rectify the
many abuses which had from time to time crept into the
New York police department.  Benjamin Seaver did the
same in the Boston police department.  When he came
into office, he found the department rotten to the very
core. He could not understand how it was that policemen and other officers happened to be endowed with
that astute knowledge which would lead them into
gardens and garrets, and discover stolen property';
being a skeptic in the science of clairvoyance, he examined for himself, and suddenly there was a great change.
He said to the Aldermen, " I take the responsibility to
change and alter the police department, but I canntt,




80               BADSING THE VEIL;
nor will not, tell you the why's and wherefore's."  He
did change —he did alter-without bringing any charges
against the guilty parties.  He looked after the police
department personally, and if he made a few mistakes in
the appointment of officers afterwards, it was the fault of
the head, and not of the heart.  One thing is certain;
he broke up for the time the stool-pigeon business in the
city of Boston, and I do not believe that it can again be
revived.
Is it not a lamentable fact, that a scheme so revolting,
and so repugnant to the better feelings of man, should
ever have been put in operation, and carried out, in the
puritanical city of Boston?  Methinks I hear the reader
say, this system may have been practiced in other cities,
but I cannot believe that it was ever introduced into
Boston!
Notwithstanding your disbelief, kind reader, I can assure you that the stool-pigeon system has been practised
to a greater extent, in years past, in the city of Boston,
than in any other city in, the United States!
In verification of this assertion, I have the testimony
of a worthy and much esteemed State officer, who had
an opportunity to thoroughly investigate such matters.
He, I doubt not, knew more of this system, and the kindred iniquities which were its concomitants, than he ever
rehearsed or wrote.  Yea, in the city which is noted
throughout the continent for its excellent schools, its




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.            81
multiplicity of churches, its charitable associations and
institutions, there are deeds of darkness committed, by
men holding high offices, which are never brought to
light. At least, such has been the case in years past.
There are but few thief-catchers and thief-detecters
who are initiated into the mysteries of the stool-pigeon
system. Their brother officers are as ignorant of their
proceedings as the community at large.  When a large
robbery is committed, there is generally a large reward
offered for the recovery of the property. Every police
officer is at once on the look-out. They want, if possible, to discover the valuables, arrest the robber or robbers, claim the reward, and obtain that meed of praise
from the community, for their efficiency and success,
which is always sure to follow.
But it is the stool-pigeon officer who discovers the
property, arrests the thieves, and receives the reward.
True, it is sometimes incomprehensible, to officers and
others, when a stool-pigeon officer makes a discovery of
the kind alluded to, how it is that their perceptive faculties, and sharp-sightedness, so far exceeds those of other
men, who possess an equal, if not a larger amount of
brains than themselves.  How is it, they say, that they
can go to the exact spot, and find stolen property, that
has been buried in the earth? How came they possessed of this magic wand, which will lead them directly to
those places, which appear to be unknown to all others




82              RAISING THE VEIL;
except themselves T  Go and clip the wings of the stoolpigeon, and he will answer these questions.
Heaven be praised! this cursed system is not practised to any great extent, at the present time, in any of
our principal cities, and I do not believe that scarcely a
vestige of it remains in the city of Boston; or if there
is, it is conducted on a remarkably small scale.
The chief operators have been discharged from  office,
and many of them   have left this section of tht country, for new fields of enterprise, in a more congenial
clime.
I will now devote a small space to the gambling fraternity, and their relation with the police department, in
the different cities of the Union.
By some it has been said, (and perhaps there may be
some truth in their assertions,) that police officers are
well paid, by the proprietors of gaming saloons, who fee
the officers to protect them, or what is synonymous, pass
them without molestation. For a certain stipend, it is
said, the officer agrees to dispense with his eyes and ears,
whenever he is in or about their premises. He agrees to
see nothing, hear nothing, save and except in a case
where some poor unfortunate, who had been swindled
out of his money, should attempt to make a disturbance,
by demanding a certain portion of it back, or at least,
a sufficient sum  to pay his board-bill, and a passage to
his own home. In such cases the sporting gentleman




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           83
expect and demand that the officer shall take the victim
to the watch or station-house, and then get rid of him
as quietly as possible.
If the swindled victim should have the audacity to enter a complaint before a magistrate, the police officer is
expected to swear that the man went into the gentlemen'
club-room, and being intoxicated, he caused so great a
disturbance that they were obliged to eject him from the
premises,
This may be all true, when applied to officers in
some cities, but few cases of the kind have ever come to
light in the city of Boston.  We must therefore, necessarily conclude, that either the sporting gentlemen, or the
police officers, (perhaps both,) are more honest here than
they are'in other cities.
Never having been a gambler myself, and never having visited a gaming saloon more than three or four times
in my life, andlthen from curiosity, gon in i as a spectator, it cannot be expected that I can be well informed,
by personal experience or observation, of all the tricks,
plans, devices and traps which are made and laid to ensnare the unwary, and so fascinate them that they will
almost involuntarily enter these " gates of Hell."
From what little knowledge I have of gaming operations, in this and other countries, I am convinced, when
that passion is once established, it will over-balance and
overpower every other passion of the human heart. It




84               RAISING THE VEIL;
is cherished and follo ed by all classes and conditions of
men.   The hatless and shoeless newsboy: who hawks his
papers about the street, can be found after his morning's labor, in some by-lane, or obscure place, pitching
his coppers with his associates, and will return at nightfall, penniless, to his widowed mother, who is dependant
on his earnings for the means to procure a supper for
herself and her younger children. The apprentice, who
for some extra work receives a dollar, will resort to some
low bar-room, where he finds those older than himself,
engaged in " raffling" for a worthless watch, or some
other useless trinket.  He also returns home penniless,
and as he retires to his bed, looks at his worn-out shoes,
and regrets that he did not use his money in purchasing
a new pair. IHe forswears visiting the saloon again, but
when he receives another dollar, you will find him revisiting the same place, determined to win back the
money he has already lost.
The mechanic who has toiled early and late, during
the week, and receives his hard earned wages on Saturday night, says to himself, I must have a little recreation, and before I purchase my provisions for the coming
week, I will step into the    Saloon, and take a drop
of brandy and water. Hle there finds acquaintances,
some of whom he considers his friends. He has fifteen
dollars in his pocket, and as he feels rich, he invites
them all to drink at his expense. The crowd accepts his




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          85
invitation, (men who congregate in bar-rooms seldom refuse such invitations,) and our mechanic finds one dollar
of his wages transferred from his pocket to the till of
the bar-keeper. Another and another of his brother
mechanics propose to repeat the dose, as they do not wish
to be considered mean.
When the whole party become somewhat excited with
copious draughts of adulterated liquor, the gentlemanly
proprietor will invite the crowd into an adjoining room,
assuring them that in a very short time a splendid lunch
would be served up, and he could not consent to have his
company leave without partaking thereof, as it was especially fixed for them.
The mechanic goes in with the crowd-Props are introduced-he loses his week's wages-he returns home
to his family late at night, inebriated, and without a
dollar in his pocket.
Then wedhave the clerk, who is perhaps one of the
best book-keepers in the city of Boston. With much
persuasion a fellow clerk prevails upon him to drop into
a gaming saloon, (one of the most respectable class;) he
wanted to look in, merely for amusement. The young
clerk reluctantly enters, and looks upon the game with
great interest. His friend pointing to the " Faro" table, says, " The king of hearts is the winning card, and'm going to put a five spot on that, just for luck."  He
put the money down-he won-he then staked the ten
8




86              RAISING THE VEIL;
dollars, and again he won, The young clerk, his companion, was much excited, and resolved to try his luck
at the gaming-board. IHe tried-at first won-then lost
-then stole from his employers-then was sent to State
Prison!
We will now ascend one step higher in the gaming
ladder, coming to the merchant. He visits no gaming
saloons, not he!  ie deprecates all institutions of this
kind, and calls upon our law-makers to enact penal statutes to suppress them, Nevertheless, if you watch him
carefully, you will see that two or three times during
the week, he will visit the club-room to which he belongs;
and if an acquaintance or customer has been invited to
"just drop in" and take asocial glass, he is ready to play
with him a game of " brag," or "euchre," for one, three,
or five hundred dollars.  This, of course, is not gambling, in his estimation; it is only pastime, to pass away
a leisure hour.
Thus we see that the proclivities of all men, who do
not steadily set their faces against it, and whose motto is,
"Touch not, handle not," will imperceptibly become
gamblers, while they themselves sincerely believe —and
even after they are ruined, will conscientiously place
their hands upon their breast, and say-although I have
been unfortunate, thank God, I have never gambled!
When our merchant-princes erect magnificent buildings in every city in the Union, calling them club-rooms,




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          87
while in reality they are, and should be called, gambling
rooms for the " upper ten'"-buildings and rooms that
no police officer dare to enter, and where thousands of
dollars nightly change hands. Why should laws be enacted that will consign the news-boy, the mechanic, or
the clerk, to a felon's cell, while they have before their
eyes an example set by those whom they are led to consider as their superiors and betters? I will freely admit
that the game of " chance" has been known and played
since the days of old father " Adam."  He tasted the
forbidden fruit, and if we believe what all distinguished
theologians have taught us, every one of his sons and
daughters are more or less inclined to follow the example set by their great progenitor.
The human mind craves excitement, and if it does not
find it in one source, it will in another. The ever-changing, restless brain of man, will seek out new sources,
and if it does not find gratification in one, it will speedily resort to another. There is nothing more fascinating
ever yet discovered, than the game of " chance."  Old
Adam played, and lost, and his posterity will, as they
ever have, follow his example, down to the end of time,
Within the past two or three years, many of the most
prominent and extensive gaming establishments in New
York have been broken up. Broken up, did I say t
No! The proprietors have only changed their location;
for when they are driven out of one place, they will im



88              RAISING THE VEIL;
mediately locate themselves in another. Their customers will soon become advised of the change, and follow
them. In the city of Boston, the police department have
not meddled with the gaming fraternity, to any great extent, for the last three or four years; and they had much
better leave them unmolested in their profession, than to
re-enact the scenes of the last great haul of gamblers,
which took place in 1851.
At that time the whole police department were directed to make a simultaneous descent on every gaming saloon in the city of Boston, except the " upper ten."' They
were ordered to arrest every person found on the premises,
and carry them to Jail.  They were to seize all the implements used for gaming which they might find on the
premises, and take them up to the City Hall, to be used
as evidence against the accused.
On the following Monday, the accused parties were
arraigned in the Police Court. All of them waived an
examination; paid their fines of three dollars and costs
each, and were suffered to depart.
Great was the excitement among the saints and sinners
of the metropolis, when the announcement was made that
there would be a public exhibition, in the City Hall, of
all the gaming implements seized on that ever memorable, and never to be forgotten occasion.
From morn till eve, the vestibule of the building was
crowded to excess.  Old and young, high and low, pub



OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          89
icans and hypocrites, all rushed, in one heterogeneous
nass, to gaze upon the trophies which had been seized in
what some of them pleased to term) devils' dens.
On long tables, guarded by officers, the gaming implenents were carefully arranged. There were Fario-banks,
lealing-boxes, for cards, counters, or checks, some of
them inlaid with pearl and gold, Roulette tables, Diceboxes, Props, Sweat-cloths, and many other articles used
by the sporting fraternity.
The heroes of this wonderful feat were moving about
among the spectators, listening with much complacency
to the encomiums lavished upon them by some simpering
boarding-school Miss, or antiquated damsel, who had
passed " into the sear and yellow leaf."
After this grand exhibition was brought to a close, 1
lo1ked for an announcement of the grand finale, viz.:the burning and destruction of these contraband articles,
by order of the Court, as provided and directed by law.
But they were not destroyed, and I do not believe that
one man out of a thousand. in the community ever knew
what became of them.  "'Tis true, alas! and pity'tis,'tis true," that in less than gix weeks after this grand
exploit, many of the sporting gentlemen had, (for a consideration,) recovered their tools and apparatuses, most
of which were very costly and valuable.
Strange to say, there was not a single man in the
Board of Aldermen, who had sufficient moral courage to
8^




90               RAISING THE VEIL;
introduce an order, demanding the appointment of a
committee to investigate, and report in the matter. It
would appear, at one time, (if we may judge by the action of the Board of Aldermen,) they themselves stood
in fear of the police department; instead of being masters and directors, they were the department's pliant
tools.
The question is sometimes asked: Can a professional
gambler be a good man, or a good citizen? In the common acceptation of the word " good," I answer, most
emphatically, yes! I have seen men whose only calling
and profession was gaming, who in all their dealings
with the world, outside of the gaming table, (I have
never seen them there,) were upright and honest. They
were good husbands, and good fathers, and were never
addicted to the use of intoxicating drinks. They were
affable, courteous and gentlemanly, and ever ready to relieve suffering humanity; but you will always find them
restless, uneasy beings, men who cannot live out of the
whirlpool of excitement.
Where however, you will find such a one as I have
described, you will find'scores who are exactly the reverse; and happy is that man, who having launched his
bark upon the sea of life, so watches the compass and
the chart, that he is able to detect the decoy lights which
are set on every reef and quicksand bar, to allurehimto
destruction.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           93
" Now," says I, "Uncle Zeb, I want you to tell me
the peculiar characteristics of that man."
" I will do so," he replied, " this evening, after we
return home."
The old gentleman drew from his pocket a small notebook, and therein inserted the names of the clerks and
the different police officers who were directly connected
with this court. He watched them all very carefully,
and on the following evening he thus spoke of the
HON, J. G. ROGERS.
"I know not where Judge Rogers was born, nor who
his ancestors were, or what his antecedents are; but he
appears to me like a singular, odd, and rather eccentric
man. I should think he was born for no other purpose
save and except to fill the position he now occupies; and
I question much whether you could find another position
in society, in which to place him, where he could by any
possibility' act well his part,' unless it was in the pulpit. It is barely possible, that if he was placed there,
and clothed in the sacerdotal robes, he might occasionally turn a sinner from the errors of his ways; but
he never would become popular with the fashionable congregations of the present day.  Possibly, had he not
been promoted to the' Bench,' he might have made an
excellent counsellor at law; but no son or daughter of' Momus' would ever dare to enter the precincts of his




96              RAISING THE VEIL;
office-all of his clients would be staid, melancholy and
misanthropic.  Ie moves among the busy scenes of life,
but appears to take no interest or pleasure in them. I
believe that one good, hearty, side-shaking laugh, would
consign him to the tomb of his fore-fathers, as quickly
asa powerful narcotic. It is true that his countenance
is sometimes lighted up with a serene and benignant
smile, but as it passes away, and a gloomy cloud o'ershadows his face, a casual observer would be led to exclaim,'chaos is come again.'
I am inclined to believe that Judge Rogers is a kind
and affectionate friend, an upright lawgiver, a conscientious and honest man."
After Uncle Zeb had finished his brief description of
Judge Rogers, I prevailed upon him to give me an outline, or physiological chart, of another well-known Justice, whom Uncle Zeb had seen two or three times-the
HON. ABEL CUSHING.
"In Judge Cushing," said Uncle Zeb, " you will find
the most curious compound that was ever yet moulded
together into the form of a man. He is an anamoly;
and I opine that the shrewdest observers would necessarily be obliged to watch him for a long time, before they
could fully comprehend his character sufficiently to form
a correct and unbiased opinion of the man.
He is undoubtedly well versed in all law matters that




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.            97
appertain directly to the couru over which he presides.
and being a very cautious man, he does not despatch
business quite so rapidly as some who have come upon
the stage since he made his debut, and it is very evident
that he cannot appreciate the active business movements
of some younger men, who despatch business rapidly, in
this exceedingly fast age.
There is one thing which is highly commendable in
Justice Cushing: that is, his fixed determination to protect the rights of every prisoner who is brought before
him, however poor or degraded they may be. If a prisoner has no counsel, or witnesses for the defence, he will
postpone the trial, if by so doing they can obtain either.
He has too much of the milk of human kindness in his
composition to sentence a man first, and try him afterwards.
When a couple of'scrub lawyers' get hold of a two
and sixpenny case, which is to be tried before Justice
Gushing, it is sometimes amusing to see with what martyr-like resignation the old gentleman will set and listen
to the verbose harangues which these noddle-headed, selfstyled attornies call unanswerable arguments.
When these declaimers begin to argue a case, our Justice will set with his chin resting upon his hands, looking
intently at the two lawyers.   The workings of his
mind, as indicated by his countenance, seemed to says'Nature's journeymen manufactured those pedantic law9




98               RAISING THE VEIL;
yers, and an abominable job they made of it.9  He will
then Istrait'en up,' as the Yankee comedians say, and
cormmence:'Well, gentlemen, I have listened very attentively to
your arguments, and I'm glad yof've got through.  The'atrgument of the counsel for the prosecution would be
very excellent, provided that there ever was a law enacted in the State of Massachusetts, like the one alluded
to by him. I believe there is such a law now extant on
the Statute Books, in the State of Rhode Island, but that,
of course, will not answer our turn.  The counsel for
the defendant cites from reports of trials which were held
in this State, under a similar law, that was in existence
here.  But that law has been repealed ten or twelve
years.9
Although' Justice C. has a retentive memory in matters of law, he cannot recollect names and faces. Oftentimes this i a source of annoyance and perplexity to
him.
On one occasion, when a case of assault and battery
was brought before him to adjudicate upon, among the
witnesses called up, there was a tall spare-featured man,
whose locks had been whitened by the snovws of seventy
winters; his dress and general appearance denoted a
gentleman of the old school.  During his examinationL
he was very exact and concise in all his answers. When
asked whether the parties on trial ever had any alterea



OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          99
tion before. He replied: Yes; but I cannot recollect
whether it was previous to my going south., or since my
return from the south.
The worthy Judge inquired: " When did you go
south, and how long did you remain'
The old man looked quaintly at the Judge, as he replied:' Your Honor's memory is not very good, I perceive.  I only remained three months; just three
months! Your Honor sent me there, to live at the city's
expense, in the House of Correction; I never traveled
farther south than that.  I marvel your worship has forgotten the circumstance; I never shall, you may be sure
of that!''Probably not!' replied the Justice, whn had unconsciously joined in the merriment which this speech had
occasioned in the court-room.' I hope I never shall
have occasion to consign you to that place again!''By the Eternal!' shouted the witness, those were
the last words you repeated to me, when you sent me
traveling south, some four months ago!'
The whole court was convulsed with laughter, and it
was some time before order could be restored.
Having devoted all the space that I can spare to this
respected and worthy man, I will leave him, and gl'tc
at the junior Justice of the Boston Police Court,




100             RAISING THE VEIL;
HON. THOMAS RUSSELL.
This gentleman was born in Plymouth, Mass., in 1825,
graduated at Cambridge, in 1845, and commenced practicing law in 1850. He was twenty-seven years of age when
he was appointed to the position which he now occupies,
consequently he had but two years practice as an advocate at the " Bar."  His appointment was considered by
some as impolitic and injudicious; nevertheless, he has
proved himself amply competent, and notwithstanding
the assertions made by a certain chief magistrate, that
he had'"soiled the ermine."  This assertion was never
substantiated by proof or testimony.
It is true that he is a young man, but it is also true
that he gives his time and undivided attention to his professional duties. If upon the Bench he does not assume
the gravity of the " Philosopher's Owl," his decisions
are for the most part in strict accordance with law, justice and equity.
When Justice Russell is upon the Bench, witnesses
should be exceedingly careful how they testify. If they
come with a lie in their mouths, the chances are that they
will become prisoners, instead of witnesses, and be sent
up to a higher court, indicted for perjury.
Some of his decisions are hastily made, and many persons think, ill-timed: be that as it may, he is considered
by.the community at large to be an upright magistrate,
and an impartial dispenser of the law."




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          101
" Now," says I; " Uncle Zeb, let us look at that restless gentleman, who sits directly in front of the Justice's
Bench, with gold-bowed spectacles upon his nose. That
is the worthy Clerk of the Court,
THOMAS POWER, ESQ.
Mr. Power has filled the office which he now occupies thirty-four years.  He was born in the city of Boston, in an old wooden building, on Hanover, near the
corner of Union street, hard by the tallow-chandler's establishment where Benjamin Franklin was employed,
previous to his entering a printing-office. He made his
advent October the 8th, 1786;-cnsequently he is now
in the seventy-eighth year of his age.
Old Father Time has dealt very gently with Mr. Power. He appears to walk as erect, and shows as much
activity and vivacity as he did thirty years ago. He can
fasten a pair of skates upon his feet, and skim over the
frozen lake, out-distancing every beardless boy, and most
of the athletic and practised skaters.
Mr. Power graduated at Brown University, in 1808,
and commenced the practice of law, shortly afterwards,
in Northfield, where he remained several years.
In the Court House, Mr. P. is altogether a diftfrent
man from what you find him outside.  In his desk le is
austere, fractious and irritable, especially when he is annoyed by those " scrubs" who have the glaring impu9*




102             RAISING THE VEIL;
dence to call themselves lawyers, or some pseudo-philanthropist, who is prowling about, wolf-like, in sheep's
clothing, and with their hypocritical cant applying their
"pickers and stealers" to the pockets of the goats, while
at the same time they keep an eye upon the ewes and
lambs of the flock. Mr. Power has had such opportunities to watch the doings of these vampires, that when one
of them approaches him, to bore and annoy him, fever
and fits are sure to follow. A true, noble-hearted philanthropist, whose sole end and aim is to elevate the human race, will always find in him a ready supporter and
willing co-operator; but it is the land-sharks and hypocrites he despises.
In the common walks of life, Mr. P. is one of the
most pleasing, polite and affable men that can be found
in the city. His open hand and genial heart are ever
ready to welcome a friend, or receive a stranger; in fact,
his society is courted by the intellectual'and good, of all
classes.
In " Loring's" " One Hundred Orators of Boston,'
Mr. Power is counted in " one."  I never saw the gentleman upon the rostrum, but I have not a very exalted
idea of his oratorical endowments. He can wield the
pe~B bqteter than he can use his tongue, as a musical
&tict'he has few, if any superiors.
Mr. P. has written many poems of a superior order.
Some of them will live long after the author has passed




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          103
that bourne from whence no traveller returns.  We will
now glance at the amiable, good natured, and ever pleasing Assistaht Clerk of the Police Court,
SETH      TOBY, ESQ.
This gentleman is a native of Barnstable, Mass., a
town noted as being the birth-place of Chief Justice
Shaw, and other distinguished New England men.
Mr. T. was appointed Assistant Clerk of the Police
Court in 1848 and has retained the situation up to the
present time. His appointment was a very excellent
and judicious one; few men could be found better qualified to fill the office.
Mr. T. was educated at Cambridge, and studied law
with the late Robert Rantoul, Jr., while that gentleman
held the office of United States District Attorney. Mr.
Rantoul found his young student to be one in whose correctness and integrity he could place the strictest confidence.
Indictments, and legal documents which required great
care in drawing up, were entrusted to him, and in one
case, where there were three indictments, containing
each twenty-four counts, not one error was found, nor
one indictment quashed for informality.
Thus it appears Mr. Toby is somewhat of an attorney
withal. Long may he live to fill the situation which he
now holds.




104             RAISING TIE VEIL;
It is with great pleasure that I am enabled to introduce to the public another very important officer of the
courts of Boston 
DI. ISAAC       WO     SLEYo
The Doctor is not a proud or vain-glorious man. There
are only three things of which he boasts; the first is'
that his father fought at the battle of Bunker Hill, and
was but a few paces from General Warren when that
hero and patriot fell.  The second is: the beauty and
convenience of his carriage, together with the sleekness
ani high mettle of his pair of thorough bred nags. His
third boast is: the wonderful efficacy of a salve which
he himself prepares and applies freely to some of his
patients.  He believes (and I have no reason to doubt
it,) that all other salves invented and compounded would
bear no more comparison with his, than the glimmering
of a taper to the bright rays of the noon-day sun.
Seven times and seven have I besought the Doctor to
bestow upon me a modicum   of this precious ointment,
but I have never as yet received a particle,
The Dbctor always wears a serene and placid countenance.  When " Gray" wrote his " Elegy in a churchyard,"' he must have had in his mind's eye such a one as
the Doctor; else he never would have written:
4 M3elancholy marked him for her own."
But, in truth, the Doctor is not a melancholy man,




DR. ISAAC WORSLEY
(See Page 104.)








OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          105
he is only engaged in a melancholy business. Who expects to see a sexton laughing and grinning while he is
engaged in consigning the mortal remains of some departed one to the tomb'  How much less, then, should
the Doctor indulge in cachinnations, while he is engaged
in conveying his fellow-beings, not singly, but in battalions, to a living tomb?
The idea itself is perfectly preposterous 
We have before stated that the Doctor drove a magnificent span of horses. Not long since the Assistant
Clerk of the Police Court circulated a story respecting
the Doctor, which was annoying to him; but no one who
knew the man believed there was one word of truth in
the statement, the substance of which was as follows:
At a certain time, when the Doctor and the said Clerk
were discussing the merits and demerits of the aforesaid team, the Doctor, in an unguarded moment, offered
to wager ten dollars that he could drive his team, in a
light wagon, ten miles in three hours, provided the road
was level, and-in good order.
The Clerk accepted the wager, and insisted upon his
making the trial.
But the Doctor " caved in,'-he " backed.out."  Afterwards, while conversing with a friend, in a serious
mood, respecting the matter, he remarked: " 0! I could
do it, but it might injure the animals!"
On one occasion as he was driving down Broadway,




106             RAISING THE VEIL;
(South Boston,) a strange gentleman hailed him, with
the usual inquiry:
" All full inside?"; Yes, sir,7 was the response.
Well, as I am in something of a hurry, I'll get up
and ride with you."
The gentleman jumped on with the driver, and when
they arrived at the head of State street, the passenger
signified his intention to stop, and inquired what fare
was demanded 
" Nothing, sir," was the reply.
C; How is that 3" inquired the stranger.  " Is not this
a public omnibus 3"' Public enough," was the response.  " This is the'Black Maria,' and is used to convey passengers from
the Court House to the House of Correction."
The passenger incontinently " mizzled."
The Doctor is a man who possesses a kind heart. Many
times and oft, when some poor, unfortunate being has
been handed over to him, he has furnished them with
food, and paid for it out of his own private purse. This
fact was made known to the Directors of the House of
Correction, and he was told by one of them to give him
the amount he had so expended.  The reply was:
"' What I have done was done on my own responsibility, and I ask no remuneration.'
I trust that the Doctor will not become weary in well




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         107
doing, "for in due season he will reap, if he faints
not."
Let us now pass to the oldest officer in the Police
Court:
JONAS       STRATTON.
We have no engraving of this gentleman, know nothing of his birth, ancestry, or antecedents. He has been
in the Police Court of Boston, in the capacity of an officer, for many years, and I presume he would not have
retained the situation, unless he had given good satisfaction to all parties during his term of service.
Mr. S. was in his younger days a very strong, athletic man; and even now, after Old Time has shorn off
some of his locks, he is able to cope successfully with
any man who does not possess more than ordinary
strength. He is an active and industrious man, who
well understands how, when, and where to look after the
main chances, while playing his cards in the great game
of life.
We will now turn to another well known Police Court
officer:
JACOB      C. TALLANT.
This man came to the city of Boston, from his native
place, the town of Errol, New Hampshire, about thirtytwo years ago. He came on foot, with all the spare
clothes he had, tied up in a bandanna handkerchief, and
three dollars cash in his pocket.




108             RAISING THE VEIL;
Where he first obtained a situation, or what business
he followed for some years afterwards, I know not.
He was appointed an officer in and for the Police Court
of Boston in the year 1840, which situation he has retained since that time.
In 1847, Mr. Tallant was offered a better and more
lucrative office than the one which he now holds. This
he most respectfully declined, saying:: I know what I
am, but I know not what I may be."
As a court officer, Mr. T. is courteous and polite. He
makes many friends, and but few enemies.
Hie has always been in favor of any, and every proposed reform which would tend to ameliorate the hardships and sufferings of the unfortunate prisoners, both
in the Police and higher courts, and was never yet known
to deal harshly with a prisoner, unless absolutely compelled so to do.
Mr. T. does not entertain a very exalted opinion of
"s scrub lawyers," or " two penny philanthropists." The
first class of suckers, he thinks, are generally sure to
send the prisoner " up;" the other will send the prisoner "over;" so that in either case the victim is victimized,
the moment he falls into their hands.
Mr. T. thinks that both classes of those imps who
hang around the Court House are gifted with " second
sight." IHe says they can look into every man's pocket,
and if they see no money there, it is impossible for them




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          109
to see the prisoner; but if they do discover two, three,
or five dollars, as the case may be, they are sure'to "fob"
it.  But then we must bear in mind that Mr. T. is
slightly tinctured with what is called old fogyism; and
it cannot be expected that he can appreciate the motives
of those benevole and erratic gentlemen.
There are but few men among our police officers who
enjoy a greater share of the respect and esteem of their
fellow-citizens, than the man, Jacob C. Tallant.
The next Police Court officer whose integrity, patriotism and virtue demands a brief notice, is
SAMUEL        S. VIALLE.
It has often been a query in the minds of some, whether it is possible for a man who associates with vicious and
abandoned characters for a long time, to retain his good
qualities, and not be contaminated. I think such a thing
may be possible, although "a man is generally known by
the company he keeps."  If this maxim holds good in
every case, Mr. Vialle must necessarily be one of the
worst men in the community. I have seen him advising
with, and assisting thieves, house-breakers, incendiaries
and murderers, and he never appears to feel ashamed to
be  seen in their company.   He says that there are
two rules or codes of laws which govern mankind. God
gave us the first, which is: "Do unto others as you
would have others do unto you."  Man made the second,
10




110              RAISIN-G THE VEIL;
which is in some respects similar to the first, and which,
when deviated from, will limit the area of the transgressor's freedom, and bring him into close contact with iron
bars and bracelets.
Mr. Vialle is a calm, self-possessed man, pf an amiable and obliging disposition, but occasionally you can see
a little of the old Adam light up in his eye.  How can
a man remain cool and calm, when some vagabond spits
in his face, or when he sees a desperado making preparations to knock him down?  On such occasions, self-preservation will become the ruling passion.
Mr. Vialle was appointed an officer of the Police Court
in 1843, and has retained the office since that time. He
is a very unassuming man, ever diligent in business, as
he labors in the service of the Commonwealth.
WILLIAM BLAISDELL.
The appointment of Mr. B. as a Police Court officer
is of recent date. He is one of the most quiet men that
can be found in the community.  There is no noise, no
bustle, and but little excitement to be seen in him, either
in, or out of the Court House. He has done the State
some service, previous to his appointment to his present
position. HIe fought in the battles of Mexico, in the
army, under General Taylor, and is familiar with scenes
of blood and carnage. He is no stranger to want, privation and suffering.  If I have not been misinformed, he




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           111
was severely (at the time it was supposed mortally)
wounded, in one of the Mexican battles.  He has the apearance of a brave, but not a reckless man. He is about
forty-five years of age, and I believe he is an exemplary
court officer.
I will now sketch the last officer on the list, who is
a very handsome man, and one who must be seen to be
properly appreciated. The engraved likeness of the gentleman, which can be found on another page, has been
pronounced to be a great deal better looking than the
original, or a great deal worse, I don't recollect which.
ELIJAH K. SPOOR.
"Hamlet," when he spoke of his defunct paternal
parent, boldly asserted that "he was a man,' and then
expressed his honest belief that he should " never look
upon his like again."  Some express the same opinion
respecting Mr. S., and I am inclined to the belief that
more than one generation will pass away before the inhabitants of this mundane sphere will have an opportunity to look upon another like him.
There are but few men better qualified for the situation
which he holds than Mr. S. Hie received his appointment in 1849, and still remains in office. He is a man
of strong impulses, but is generally kind and considerate in his dealings with prisoners. He is a liberal man;
I do not think there is a particle of meanness in his com



112             RAISING THE VEIL;
position. He is a bustling, active man, withal, and his
stentorian voice is often heard in the court-room, shouting, " Take off your hat!-Stop talking in Court!-Silence!-All those who have no business in Court will
please to leave, in double-quick time!-Make that man
with the white hat and yellow dickey sit down, or else
put him out! Mr. Philanthropist, let that' cullud gal'
alone till after her trial,'cause you annoy the court and
the gal too!"-and such like exclamations.
When not on duty, Mr. S. is a very social, companionable man, his smiling phiz and hearty laugh would
startle an anchorite from his propriety.  No man enjoys
a good joke better than himself, while his keen susceptibility of the ludicrous is such that when relating a story
or anecdote, he can draw upon his imagination for all the
embelishments they may require.
To sum up the whole matter, Mr. Spoor is a good officer, and we find in his character many excellent traits.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           113
CHAPTER VII.
Court Reporters-Their influence for good or for evil-Their comicalities and erratic movements-Their sympathies for old friends
in trouble, especially unfortunate typoes-Examination of a law
student-A Reporter's stratagem-A venerable colored Deacon
in the Police Court, trying to identify some of his deceased wife's
garments,
THE next important personages in and about the Court
House are the " Reporters" of the public press. Wherever they move their influence is felt, for good or for
evil; and whenever one of them puts before the public
a partial or garbled account of any transaction or scenes
enacted in the Court House, or elsewhere, they are liable to do incalculable injury to individuals, as well as to
others with whom such individuals may be connected.
The reporters of the public press of Boston, NewYork and Philadelphia, are, for the most part, gentlemen, in the strictest sense of the term. Although I do
not suppose that they are an associated body, (secret or
otherwise,) they appear to be bound together by a sort
of mystic tie.  Whenever a "snob" or " muff" creeps
in among them, he is sure to get the cold shoulder. The
regular reporter will never associate with one of this
10*




114             RAISING THE VEIL;
class; and one might as well try to " ride a camel-yea,
leap him flying through a needle's eye," as to attempt to
palm himself off as a reporter, among the regular reportorial fraternity.
There is nothing that a man who lays any claim to
respectability or fair standing in the community dreads
more, if he happens to find himself in court, for some
transgression of the law, or violation of a city ordinance,
than the reporters. I have often seen men who were
arraigned for some trivial offence, go to the reporters,
and with tears in their eyes beg of them not to mention
their names in the court reports; and I have seen others
who would attempt to bribe them. I once saw a man,
who, after his examination, and the imposition of a fine,
went to the reporters, and publicly offered them  money
to suppress a report of the case. Every legitimate reporter refused the proffered bribe, and then not only reported the case in full, but gave the gentleman " a firstrate notice," stating the whole affair, the amount of
money offered to suppress it, &c.
Now if this man had spoken to one of the corps, and
requested him to communicate with his associates, and
have the report suppressed,:it would unquestionably have
been done; but he took the wrong course, and brought
ridicule upon himself.
Whenever an old " typo," or any one who is or has
been connected with a printing-office, happens to violate




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         115
that commandment which reads: " Thou shalt not drink
too much intoxicating liquor;" and is brought into court
to answer the charge, if the man is without money, the
reporters will draw their wallets, pay the fine, and send
the unfortunate home.
I knew a reporter, who, on some occasions, would volunteer his services, and act as counsel for the prisoners,
when he thought they were poor and oppressed. In
most instances he would gain his case, and get his client
acquitted.
One day he volunteered to defend an old woman who
had " just arrived from swate Ireland."  She was charged with purloining go.ods from a store at the north part
of the city.  Our soi-disant lawyer undertook her
case, but he soon found that the chances were decidedly
against him. When he saw how matters stood, he stepped out; for what purpose, is none of my business, nor
yours, kind reader. The Judge, before passing sentence,
asked the usual question:
"Have you anything to say respecting your sentenc 3"
The woman, finding herself deserted by her lawyer,
undertook to plead her own case, which she wound up
by exclaiming: "I call upon God to witness that I am
innocent, intirely!"
The worthy Clerk, who had been very busily engaged
in filing his documents, without paying the least atten



116              RAISING TRE VEIL;
tion to the harangue of the accused, only heard a part
of the last sentence: "I call upon-witness-innocent
intirely."
He rose up in his desk, and said:
<" Woman! if your witness is in court, bring him up,
and have him sworn."
The poor culprit stood aghast, the Judge appeared to be
troubled with a cholic, and suddenly disappeared through
the side-door. The officers were convulsed with laughter, while the Clerk, and those spectators who had not
heard the woman's speech, were amazed and wondered
at the indecorous proceedings.
Afterwards, when our philanthropic attorney in this
case was informed of the sequel, he shook his head, and
gravely remarked:
" Ah! I'm sorry I didn't remain.  Had I been there,
I should have claimed a postponement until the prisoner
could produce her witness for the defence, and thereby
prove her innocence."
I have known instances where court reporters, who
have emigrated to the southern and western sections of
the continent, have there been elected by the people
judges and lawgivers. In such cases these promoted
ones will generally administer justice without much regard to the law.
Let one of them remain a few years on the borders of
our frontiers; and they will get so accustomed to the




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         11l
tastes, manners and habits of the people, that they will
become like them. This must necessarily follow; it is
for their interest to think and act as their constituents
would have them. They must be dignified, but their
dignity must be democratic dignity, which they can put
on as they would their coat, when they take their seat
upon the Bench; but they are expected to drop it, when
they get outside the Court House; and if they happen
into the bar-room of a log-cabin tavern, where the plaintiff or defendant, with their friends, are congregated,
they are expected to treat the crowd, if they have decided
the case against them. If otherwise, every person concerned is bound to treat the Judge, or, as they term it,
put him through a regular " course of sprouts"'  This
is their custom, and with them, custom makes the law.
I have previously spoken of pettifogging lawyers, and
the modus operandi of gaining admission to practice at
the bar, in the Middle and Eastern States.  In the
Southern and Western States, it is far different. Every
applicant who aspires to the honor of carrying the green
bag, and be acknowledged as an attorney, must be examined by the Judge, personally. Whether this is an
improvement upon the practice at the east, I will leave
the reader to judge for himself, after he has read the
subjoined examination of a law-student.
A young man, who had received a liberal education,
and finished his law studies, concluded to emigrate to




118            RAISING THE VEIL;
the western part of Illinois, to settle and commence his
practice.
At that time the population of the country, in that
section, was rather thin, and people having law-business
to transact were obliged to travel many miles to reach a
Court IHouse. The taverns and Temples of Justice in
the shire towns were nothing more than log-cabins, and
very poorly furnished at that.
Our young attorney, after his arrival, waited for
some time for the first court session, when he was to undergo an examination by the Circuit Judge.
He was informed that the Judge of that circuit was
one of the hardest old " hosses" that could be found in
the " diggins," and that he generally " put it" to young
applicants in the " awfullest way."
Our candidate looked anxiously forward to the day
when he would be obliged to pass through the fiery ordeal. He re-examined "' Coke" and " Blackstone," together with other equally important law-books,
The Judge at length arrived. He was a short, thickset, burly looking man, adout fifty years of age, and his
rubicund countenance and C Bardolph" nose clearly indicated that if he had ever joined a temperance society,
it must have been a long time ago; and that himself and
the whiskey bottle had been inseparable friends for many
years, whatever his talents might have been as a law expounder and dispenser.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          119
The law student introduced himself to his Honor, and
made known the object of his visit.
" Whar did you come from?" inquired the Judge,
eyeing the student from head to foot, with a scrutinizing
glance.
"From Massachusetts, your Honor," was the reply.
" Well! you just come into the tavern after the court
adjourns, and then I'll see how your corporation rich-erosh-er-gasher-ates."
At the time appointed the law-student found himself
in the log-tavern, seated with the Judge at a small table;
and the first question the Judge asked, was:
" Stranger, how're you on't for funds?"
I have some money left," was the reply.'" Good! Landlord, pass along a bottle of that old
whiskey!" shouted the Judge.
And as it was brought before him, he poured out a
bumper, and swallowing it at one draught, remarked to
his companion:
"Stranger, I'm glad to see you, d-d if I aint. Now
I'll proceed to examine you, stranger.
"In the first place, I want to know whether you are
a married man or not 2"
Student.'I I am not a married man, sir."
Judge.   " Good! I'm glad on't. A man who expects to get a living by practising law, don't need a wife
no more than a big bulltlog needs a tin-kettle tied to




120             RAISING THE VEIL;
his tail, not a bit; but come, stranger, let's take another drink."
Student.  " With all my heart, sir."
Judge.   " And now, stranger, I want to ask you a
very important question: Do you own a horse'"
Student.  " Yes, sir, and a good one it is.
Judge. " Well, stranger, the more I see of you, the
better I like you. I shouldn't be so particular in examining you, but you see the law requires it! Let's take
another drink! Well, now, I will proceed, and I want
you to answer my questions just as if you was under
oath. My next question is: Can you swim 3"
Student.  "Yes, sir, I can swim"
Judge.   " Good! I was cursed'fraid you.couldn't; I
consider a man who can't swim jest no man at all. Now
you say you've got a horse, and you can swim; now I
have got to ask you a very important question: Can
your horse swim 3"
Student.  " Yes, sir, he can."
Judge.   " How do you know that, sir 3"
Student. " Because I have tried him."
Judge.   "Good again! Let's take another drink;
and I'll make out your papers so you can have them tomorrow morning. I find you're 0. K., and will make
a glorious lawyer."
Whether this style of examination is an improvement
upon the plan which is adopted in Massachusetts, we




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS,          121
shall not attempt to decide, but let the reader judge for
himself.
I will now return to the court reporters. The major
part of them are "fellows of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy." They have made me laugh a thousand times
at their sly pranks, witticisms and manOeuvres in a court
room. When a colored individual is arraigned for some
minor offence, they always seem determined to have a little sport among themselves, and sometimes it is at the
expense of the court. I well recollect a case in point:
A young mulatto girl was brought up charged with having been found in a house of ill-fame, on which the police had made a descent the previous nigh, One of
the reporters having seen the girl on a former occasion,
at a negro concert, and knowing that she was possessed
of a sweet and melodious voice, also knowing full well
that the worthy Clerk had a great penchant for music,
he stepped round where she was seated, and whispered
to her something like this:
"When you are brought on to the stand, and the
Clerk asks you whether you are guilty or not, sing somo
plaintive or mournful song."
The girl profited by this advice, and when she was
brought upon the stand, to hear the complaint read
against her, she stood as motionless as a statue.  The
Clerk rather tartly asked:' Are you guilty, or not guilty?2"
11




122              RAISING THE VEIL 
The girl turned her dark blue eyes upward, and with
a voice of the sweetest accents, and most melodious notes
commenced from that well-known German song:
6 Thou, thou, know'st that I love thee;"
The venerable Justice scratched the musical bump of
his venerable head. The Clerk stood gazing at the prisoner with wondering astonishment, and the officers, witnesses and spectators appeared for the moment paralyzed; even officer Spoor himself forgot his cue, and neglected to shout, as usual, " Order in the Court."  The
Clerk, resuming his dignity, again asked the question,' Are yonguilty, or not guilty'"
The fair respondent faintly replied: -" Not guilty,"
and immediately put her vocal powers into action again,
singing:"L Let me go where fate may lead me,
Let me cross yon troubled deep;
Where no stranger ear shall greet me,
Where no eye for me shall weV."
The Clerk threw down the complaint, and as he proceeded to call the witnesses, he uttered the sentence, sotto voce:
"c That woman can't be guilty of any crime /"
The officers testified very lightly against her, and
there was no evidence to prove that she was one of the




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           123
household.  The woman was immediately discharged,
and the pocket of our reporter, who concocted the plan,
was relieved of several dimes, by his brother reporters,
at the first restorant they came to, on their return to
the printing-offices.
There is in the city of Boston, a gentleman of color,
by the name of " Foster.'  He is well known to most
of our citizens as the most aristocratic and dignified colored gentleman of all his " race."  He boasts of having
been Aid-de-camp to every Governor since the days of a
blessed good Governor, whose name he can't recollect,
no how, without examining the documents. The reporters always bestow upon him a large amount of fulsome
praise, except when he happens to be called into Court,
and then their custom is (perhaps the custom would be
" more honored in the breach than in the observance,")
to report his speeches and testimony verbatim.  This
most excellent and respectable gentleman glories in the
soubriquet of " Deacon;" but whether he is in reality
the deacon of any church, or otherwise, I have never yet
been informed.
A short time ago the deacon appeared in the Police
Court, and entered a complaint against a cullurd lady,
whom he had caught in the act of embezzling, feloniously taking, with malice aforethought, carrying away, and
appropriating to her own use, certain garments, once belonging to his own beloved, but defunct wife; but now




124             RAISING'HE VEIL;
his own lawful property; against the laws and statutes
of the State of Massachusetts, in such case made and
provided.
The deacon appeared in court with the officer who
seized the goods pointed out as purloined. He had no
witnesses, save and except himself. Why should he?
The gentleman who had served seven Governors, not one
of whom ever doubted his word, did not need any corroborating testimony to satisfy the Judge of a petite
court that he was a man of honor. The articles alleged
to be purloined consisted of shawls, dresses, capes, petticoats, chemises, and other articles of ladies' wearing apparel, which I will not mention, because I do not understand to what use they are applied.  The deacon was
called upon the stand, and a paraphernalia of linen, cotton, woolen and silk was placed before him, for identification.  According to the statements made by the wicked reporters, the deacon, after carefully examining the
garments, amused, if he did not instruct the court, in
giving his testimony.  He commenced thus:;' Dar, you see, dis am my wife's night-cap; I know
dat cap, wheneber I sees it. I knows jest as well when
she made dat cap as nothin! Ah, dar's dat chemise,
too; I'se seen dat more an a hundred times! Ah, what's
de melancholy feelings dat come ober me, ebry time I
look at dat chemise!"
Here the deacon almost shed tears, as he took a retro



OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          125
spective glance at the happy hours which were forever
past, but which that chemise brought to his fond remembrance.
The Judge, who was inexperienced in such matters,
blushed, and was for a moment slightly confused. He
evidently did not relish the idea of taking up the chemise, (the case, I mean,) either for the use of the plaintiff or defendant. It was very apparent that he could
not appreciate the utility of the article in question; but
when he gained his equilibrium, he asked the deacon if
there was any mark upon the chemise, whereby he could
identify it?
" Mark enough!" responded the deacon, " I knows
de marks; and den dar's dat shawl, I know's dat shawl
well enough, dat shawl was my wife's, and no mistake."
" Is there any mark upon the shawl whereby you can
identify that?" inquired his Honor.
"Yes, sah," replied the deacon, getting somewhat excited.  "My wife's sister's got one jest'zactly like it,
and if you put them both together, you couldn't tell one
from the oder. Guess I knows well enough when I sees
dat shawl! it's a real nice one, cost tree dollars.
" I don't think you've made out a case of larceny
here, Mr. Foster, because you cannot identify any article alleged to have been stolen," quoth the Judge.
"'Dentify!'dentify!" shouted the deacon; "I'dentify ebry ting dat's here, and good many oder tings




126              RAISING THE VEIL;
which I can't find, if I on'y finds urn, I'll'dentify
urm."
The prisoner was discharged; and as the deacon saw
his cherished articles handed over to her, he gave a long,
drawn sigh, and as he left the court room he cast more
than one
" Longing, lingering, look behind."
I find that I have slighted my antique and worthy relative, Uncle Zeb, not having mentioned or alluded to
him for some time. The truth is, it is impossible for
me to keep step with the old man. lie wants to stop
jand consider for a long time before he expresses an opinion; I want to propel under double steam pressure, but
I sometimes find it necessary to " draw up" and consult
the old gentleman. In my subsequent chapters, I shall
be obliged to advise with him, as I chronicle some past
events.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS,            127
CHAPTER VIIIL
Courts in the city of Philadeli3hia-Corruption among the New
York Officials-The citizens of Boston easily humbugged-Coroners and Coroners' Juries-The Country Coroner, with his
Jury of Fishermen-Justices of the Peace-The advantage of
holding a Justice's Commission-Court Rooms in Country
Towns-A new style of administering an Oath-A New Hampshire Justice soliciting an Office from President Pierce.
IN the State of Pennsylvania, especially in the city
of Philadelphia, we find a marked difference between the
arraignments and conducting of courts there, than of
those in other States and cities.
In the Philadelphia courts, the Quaker gravity is still
maintained by many of the attorneys, officers and witnesses, as well as with the Judge upon the Bench, notwithstanding the rowdyism of its firemen, and the frequent broils, quarrels and fights which so often occur in
the city proper and adjoining districts.
Although we there find a few of those pests termed
pettifogging lawyers, they are not very numerous. The
reason of this is, the people, even those of the poorest
class, will not patronize them, (or perhaps the climate
does not agree with them,) and they are obliged to seek




128              RAISING THE VEIL;
a sustenance in other quarters, where thelr talents and
genius will be appreciated.  Probably there is no city in
the Union where the courts are conducted with more
propriety, or freer from corruption, than those of the
Quaker city.
How different it is when we look at New York city,
and see how the courts are there managed. There corruption runs riot; Judges become accomplices of notorious thieves and murderers, while the subordinate officers of the court act as go-betweens, and share with
them the plunder and booty.
In New York city a second or third rate lawyer can
reach a Judge's Bench, if he has a little smattering of
law, and is a noisy, brawling, political demagogue.  It
matters not what his antecedents are, because honesty
amd capability are no tests with the dominant party of
that corrupt city. In proof of this, I refer the reader
to the court reports, as published in the newspapers of
the day, for the past five years. In these we have records of the trials of Judges who have been in intimate
connection with, and received bribes from, notorious robbers, to large amounts, while the court officers of lower
grades, and the Police department, (taken as many of
them were, from low bar-rooms and gambling hells,)
were adepts in the science of compounding felony.
In a previous chapter I have said, that the present efficient Mayor of New York city has done much to cor







SAMUITEL S.  I AI LL E
(See Page 109.)




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         129
rect these abuses, and eradicate the many evils which he
found amongst the city officials when he came into office.
He soon discovered that he had an herculean task before
him, and that these " Augean stables" could not be
cleansed in a day; and the only wonder is that instead
of attempting a reformation, he did not turn back in
despair, and exclaim, like one of old: " Ephraim is
joined to his idols, let him alone."
I have already said that I believed the magistrates of
Massachusetts, from the Chief Justice down to those
who occupy minor stations upon the Bench, are for the
most part men of probity, who do as much honor to the
station they occupy, as the robes of office honor them.
It is true that a certain Governor did openly declare that
one of the Judges had " soiled the ermine," but this assertion has never yet been substantiated by any proof;
and it is also true that the Massachusetts Legislature, in
1855, labored strenuously to impeach the Hon. C. G.
Loring, one of the United States District Judges, because he would not violate his oath of office at the bidding of a party of hot-brained fanatics, who are always
ready to engender strife, when by so doing an opportunity offers to bring their names before the public. But
the reader will bear in mind that the (so called) Legis.
lature of 1855, taken collectively, were a very peculiar
set of men. Many of them have become more enlightened since the body adjourned, and now, in their closets,




180              RAISING THE VEIL;
upon the house-tops, and at the corners of the streets,
they cry, " Lord, pardon thy servant, in this thing."
The citizens of Boston are more easily excited and
humbugged than the denizens of any other place in the
States.  They are always eager to see or hear some new
thing.  If an announcement was made that a man with
cropped ears and a long red beard would preach in St.
Paul's church, at a specified time, the church would be
crowded long before the services commenced. If some
humbug Count or Prince comes among them, thousands
will rush to see him.  Miembers of the city government
will wait upon him, to tender him    a grand banquet,
while the mechanic will leave his work-shop, and the
poor day-laborer his toil, and all, in one heterogeneous
mass, rush to see and do honor to the " Illustrious stranger." *
Methinks I hear the reader say, you had better drop
this subject, before you get into deep water, where your
little bark will get swamped, and confine yourself to
courts and court officers.
0 Many of our readers will recollect that in 1851 a shrewd, cunning Turk, who had been entrusted with a few documents, which
were of themselves but of little importance, came here, and represented himself as a Grand Embassaclor from his "Imperial Highness, the Grand Sultan of Turkey." He was feted and banqueted.
If I mistake not, one of the 1855 Senators expended several hundrec dollars in preparing a feast for this distinguished humbug;
and probably it was for that reason alone the citizens of a free
State placed him ia office,




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          131
There is one class of officers, who are connected with
the courts, directly and indirectly, who would feel aggrieved and insulted, if I should pass them without a
brief notice, viz.: Coroners and Coroners' Juries.
These functionaries are, or, at least, they consider
themselves, very important men. As they have no stated salaries, their dependance for a livelihood depends entirely upon the accidents and mishaps which befall their
fellow men.   When some unfortunate, weary of the
world, severs "' life's brittle thread," by taking a cold
bath, or testing the strength of a rope, by affixing one
end of it to a spike, and fastening the other around his
neck, it is a perfect God-send to the Coroners.
If a still-born infant is found in a state of decomposition, in some cellar or garret, the instant the fact is
made known to the Coroner, he hastens to the place,
to make an investigation.
In towns and cities where there is more than one Coroner, rivalry often exists between them, and as in " barber's shops," "' first come, first served;' and although I
do not believe that when two or more of them hear of
an accident or sudden death at one and the same time,
they would make a regular stampede for the scene of action, I am confident that they will accomplish feats of
pedestrianism  which would astonish those who imagine
that a man cannot walk more than four miles an hour,
without injury to his " corporeal corporqsity."




132             RAISING TIE VEIL;
When a Coroner hears of two or more cases where his
services are required at one and the same time, he will
(if he understands his business) start for the nearest
subject, and fasten his card upon the body, thereby
showing prior claim, in case one of his brother officers
should come to it,  He will then hasten to secure the
next one.
After having secured the body or bodies the Coroner
will then proceed to summon a jury. A shrewd Coroner will always use great care in the selection of his jurymen.   Strangers, or seafaring men, who are about to
start on a long voyage, are preferable to those who reside in the immediate vicinity, for two very obvious reasons, the first of which is that they being totally unacquainted with all parties concerned, will be likely to
render a more impartial and unbiased verdict than others
who are acquainted with the deceased party or parties.
The other reason is, that as the Jurors cannot obtain
their fees until the Coroner has drawn them  from the
County or State treasury, and when he has thus drawn
them, there is no law to compel him to hunt up jurymen
or witnesses, merely for the sake of tendering them
their dues; that Coroner must be an insane man who
would harbor the idea of refunding money which was
not called for into the treasury.  I do not believe there
is one Coroner out of fifty who would be guilty of attempting so rash an act.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         133
In the year 1851, I was sojourning, in company with
a friend, in a small sea-board town in Essex County,
Massachusetts, where I had an opportunity to witness
the proceedings at a Coroner's inquest there held. The
circumstances connected therewith were as follows:
One very hot, sultry day, in the month of July, an
Irishman, who had been but a few days in the country,
was at work in a field with three or four others. In the
early part of the afternoon, one of the laborers procured
a large bucket of ice-water, of which the newly arrived
emigrant, while over-heated, drank very freely.  The
usual results soon followed, and before his companions
could obtain any remedies, or convey him to his lodgings,
the poor fellow gave up the ghost.
A man was immediately dispatched to notify the Coroner, who lived some three or four miles distant, but
some hours elapsed before that functionary arrived at the
scene of action.
In company with my friend, (who by the way was a
mischievous wag,) we happened to pass the house where
the deceased laborer had boarded, and seeing several persons standing in the front yard, who appeared to be considerably excited, we inquired the cause, and after receiving the information, we went in. Presently the Coroner arrived. He was a large, fat, burly old fellow,
about sixty years of age, with pomposity and mock-dignity enough to serve the turn of a dozen Coroners, if it
12




134             RAISING THE VEIL;
could be equally divided between them. HIe took the
witnesses by themselves into a private room, asked them
a few questions, then came out, and walking up to my
companion, he said:
" Sir, I order you to serve on this jury of inquest."
From some inexplicable cause, he passed me, (perhaps he did not like my looks,) and went directly out into the front yard, where a squad of fishermen were
standing, and ordered five of them to serve as jurors.
He then wrote their names upon a slip of paper, and returned to the room.
The fishermen were taken all aback; their schooner
lay but a short distance from the place, and they were
only waiting for a full tide to proceed on their voyage.
They looked and acted as though they wished the Coroner in the place of the dead man, and the dead man several miles off soundings.  It was very evident that not
one of them had the remotest idea of the duties which
would be required of them, or the length of time they
would be detained.
" Each in his fellow's face did look, with mute astonishment."
After the six jurymen were seated around a large pine
table, the Coroner proceeded to address them:
"Gentlemen," said he, "this is a solemn occasion,
and it brings an awful warning. There lays that ere
man, who eat his breakfast well enough this morning,




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         135
though they say he didn't have much appetite for his dinner; and now he is dead. Now what I have summoned you
for, is to have you incuire among these ere witnesses, and
find out how that ere man come to die. I've talked to'em, and am satisfied well enough myself that he cum to
his death for no other reason than drinking too much
cold water with ice in it. But you may go and talk to'em, all of you that want to, and I'll write out a verdict,
then you'll all sign your names to it, and take ahn oath,
and that's all you've got to do."
The countenances of the fishermen brightened up.
They imagined that in less than fifteen minutes the business would be brought to a close, and they would be allowed to depart. The poor fellows were doomed to be
sorely disappointed.
While the fishermen were talking with the witnesses,
and the Coroner writing out a verdict, my companion,
who sat at the opposite side of the table, was gazing at
the Coroner with a serio-comical look, and it was very
evident to my mind that there was mischief brewing,
and that the pompous functionary who then supposed
that everything was " all right," would presently find
out that everything was I" all wrong."
When the fishermen were re-seated at the table, and
the Coroner had finished his document, he read it to
them, and handed it to the one nearest to him, on his
right, who signed it, as did two others; but when it




136             RAISING THE VEIL;
came to my companion, he looked at it for a moment,
and then exclaimed:
"In Heaven's name! what's this'?"
" That is the verdict of the jury," replied the Coroner. "I thought you all understood it well enough
when I read it."
" Well, I shan't sign anything of that kind!" said
my companion.
"What's the reason you won't sign it, sir?" returned the Coroner.
"' Because, sir, you have not put in the amount that
each of us will be taxed to defray the funeral expenses,"
was the reply.
The poor fishermen were thunder-struck. A sudden
" change came o'er the spirit of their dream."  To lose
their fishing trip, when the breeze and tide was favorable, was bad enough, but the idea of being taxed to pay
the burial expenses of a foreigner, was to their minds
outrageous.
The Coroner looked at my friend; and his countenance
portrayed feelings of mingled pity and contempt, at this
exposition of his gross ignorance.  He replied, in a
harsh tone:
"We hain't got nothing to do with burying the
man."
"Why not?" rejoined his tormentor.  "I heard you
say a short time since that he had no friends or relatives




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          137
in this country, nor any property; and if you've made
up your mind to let the poor fellow lay there and rot,
I'll have nothing more to do with this jury, but go and
report to the' State's Attorney' the whole matter. I'm
willing to do my part, and if any of the jury are poor,
and can't afford to pay, I'm willing to subscribe and pay
more than my share. If there is anything I detest on
earth, it is a man who will sneak out in a case of this
kind. But you won't find, sir, anything sneaking in my
disposition.
"I tell you, sir, that I have been very much inconvenienced by being obliged to serve on this jury. I had
an appointment to meet two ladies this evening, one at
seven, and the other at eight o'clock. But, sir, I did
not beg off, and say I could not serve. I sir, was willing to forego the pleasure of worshipping at the shrine
of Venus this evening, and remain here to deliberate
on this very grave subject."
My friend spoke so rapidly that the bewildered Coroner was unable to get in a word edgewise; but when he
ceased, the Coroner replied:
" I see, sir, that you do not understand the matter at
all. If the man has no friends to bury him, it will be
done at the expense of the State. We don't come here
to be taxed, only to find out how the man come to die,
and we get pay for our services from the State."
0! Ah!    That sets the matter in a very differ12*




188             RAISING THE VEIL;
ent light.  Why didn't you say so before, and then we
should all have understood it. But it's all right, -now,
let's proceed with the examination," replied the tormentor.
" Have you not talked with the witnesses?" asked
the Coroner.
" I talked with them? why, bless you, I have not
been introduced to one of them, yet," was the rejoinder.
"' What do you wish to have done 3" asked the Coroner, who appeared to be much perplexed, and it was evident he did not know what to do himself.
" I would have the witnesses called up to testify," was
the answer.
One of the laborers who had been at work with the
man, and was with him at the time of his decease, happened to be in the room at the time, but the other witnesses had all left, and there was no one of the party
who knew where to find them.  My friend arose from
his seat, and said:
" Mr. Coroner and Gentlemene:-It will be impossible for me to agree with you on a verdict, in the case
of this deceased " Exile from Erin," unless I have satisfactory proofs that the poor unfortunate  cum to die
by drinking too much cold water with ice in it.' Our
worthy Coroner seems inclined to put this thing through
rather too fast. All of you appear to be satisfied that




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          139
the death was caused by drinking too much' cold water
with ice in it;' but I am not satisfied. There lays a
poor'Hiibernian,' stretched in I Death's cold arms,' and
all of us must sooner or later submit to the embraces of
the grim tyrant. According to the Coroner's statement,
he, a short time ago left that beautiful island where the
oppressor's yoke bears heavily upon the necks of its oppressed inhabitants.  Perchance he left behind him a
kind and affectionate wife, who is now a widow, and doting children, who are now orphans.  He came to seek
a home in the land of the free, where the ample folds of
the banner bearing its stars and stripes, would protect
him. Perhaps even now, while we are sitting in solemn
conclave, that wife may be perusing the first letter that
she has received since his arrival in this country, and
shedding tears of joy and gratitude, as she learns that
he has obtained a situation to labor, and fancying that
the time is not far distant when he will remit her money
sufficient to pay her passage, and that of her little ones,
across the dark, deep, foaming ocean."
Here, the Coroner, who appeared somewhat affected,
informed the speaker that the deceased was a single
man.
"That matters not,'" continued the orator;'if, instead of this poor Irishman, some wealthy' nabob' had
been found dead by the road-side, or in a field, the jury
of inquest would have been far different from  this.




140             RAISING THE VEIL;
Priests, lawyers and physicians, would have been called
in, and instead of the investigation of an hour, their
examinations and deliberations would have lasted two or
three days. And now, gentlemen, without farther circumlocution, as the witnesses are not to be found, and
as I have yet to learn whether this man came to an untimely end in a fit of apoplexy, or by some wound received in a fracas with one or more of his fellow workmen, or whether he did absolutely' cum to die by drinking too much cold water with ice in it,' I move that we
now adjourn until eleven o'clock to-morrow forenoon,
and the Coroner be instructed to summon two skilful
surgeons, to hold a post-mortem examination, and report
to this jury as soon as practical."
In resuming his seat, he added:
" They may get through their examination so that we
shall be able to agree upon a verdict to-morrow night;
but it may keep us three or four days."
The Coroner found that he had " caught a Tartar'"
his arrogant pomposity vanished, and he" made no reply,
but rising from his chair, he beckoned to my friend, who
followed him into a small side room. He then begged
that a verdict might be rendered that night, and promised to do anything and everything that was required, if
my friend would withdraw his motion, and not insist on
having a post-mortem examination held. Finally it was
agreed upon between them, that the Coroner should find




OR, SCEiNES IN TIIE COURTS.       141
two of the witnesses, and have them properly sworn and
examined, and in the interim a bottle of good brandy
was to be procured for the especial use of the Coroner
and jurors.
The brandy was brought in, and soon disposed of, and
the witnesses were not long detained. The verdict was
signed, and the Coroner departed, with the documents in
his pocket, apparently well pleased to get out of the muss
as easily as he had.
After his departure my friend informed the fishermen
jurors that if they had suffered any pecuniary loss by
their detention, the State would pay them, and it was
the duty of the Coroner to collect it. He further informed them that it would be for their interest to follow
up the Coroner, as soon as they returned from their voyage, and not allow him to appropriate their money to his
own use. They profited by this advice, and never was
an animal of the feline race more worried, annoyed and
tormented by a terrier dog than the aforesaid Coroner
was by his five fishermen jurors. The probability is,
that if he ever again was called to sit upon the body of
a defunct Irishman, he was extremely careful in the selection of his jurymen.
I regret to say that there are persons in the community who appear to take much pleasure in annoying the
Coroners, and leading them astray. If a man tumbles
into the dock, and is rescued without the slightest inju



142             RAISING THE VEIL;
ry, these people will inform the Coroner that the man is
dead, or nearly dead, and then laugh heartily to see
him hasten with all convenient speed to the designated scene of action. I have sometimes thought that
people who were guilty of thus deceiving these pious
and amiable men should be punished. Some legal enactment should be passed by our Legislatures which
would reach such cases.
We will now turn our attention to another class of
public functionaries, who have for a few years past increased very rapidly, and now they have become more
numerous than were the frogs in Egypt, in the days of
old Pharaoh. I allude to JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
In former times it was considered an honor to hold a
Justice of the Peace commission; but now every brawling politician can obtain one of these commissions, whenever the party to which he belongs happens to be in the
ascendancy. I do not, however, believe the reports which
have been credited by some, that for a few years past,
Justices' commissions have been sold and peddled out
for twelve or fifteen dollars apiece. One reason for my
disbelief in this rumor is that many of those who have
received commissions could not afford to pay for them,
and others who could afford to pay that price, would not,
because they never could be convinced that they would
ultimately receive quid-pro-quo for the money thus invested. Probably not one person out of five who have




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         143
received such commissions, know anything more of the
duties pertaining to the office, than the younker, ten
years of age, who creeps unwillingly to school. It is,
however, absolutely necessary for the aspiring politician
and office.seeker to obtain a Justice's commission, because that is a stepping-stone to something higher.
In country towns and villages, Justices of the Peace
are called to set in judgment upon offenders of the law,
and examine cases, in the same manner; holding the
same power and authority as the Justices of the Police,
and Recorders' courts. They make strange work of this
sometimes. It takes them a long time to get the " hang
of the school-house;" consequently, when a case is
brought before them (I should say some of them) for
examination, and the accused happens to obtain the services of a cunning pettifogger to appear as his counsel,
the country Justice is often troubled and distressed. He
will examine the Statute Book, and if he cannot fully
comprehend the case, he will " run for luck," and either
fine or commit the accused, or discharge the party at
once.
In a town not forty miles from Boston, there is a Justice of the Peace, who, when he was fifteen years of age
could not spell his name correctly, and on one occasion,'When asked whether he was a native of North or South
America, replied: " I ain't neither; I was born in our
house, close down to the red bridge, on Squnacook River."




144             RAISING THE VEIL;
It may be well to add that this man's father's house was
within one mile of the village school, and that he had attended it regularly, two or three months in the year,
for eight years at least.
The first trial that was ever held, where this learned
functionary presided, was in a case where a sailor, who
had just arrived from a long voyage, was brought before
him for riotous and disorderly conduct. It appeared that
Jack was on a journey to visit some relatives, but get'ting too much grog aboard, the stage-driver concluded to
leave him in the town where our learned Justice resided, and thus give him an opportunity to sleep off the
effects of the liquor. The tavern landlord, finding that
Jack was inclined to break up his crockery and furniture, called for the town constable, and after considerable trouble Jack was placed in durance,
The next morning, our Justice, who had been sent for,
repaired to the sitting-room of the tavern, to sit in judgment on this important. cse. After considerable trouble
and delay, a complaint was drawn up and read to the
prisoner. The sailor, who had not the slightest recollection of anything that had occurred the night previous,
supposed that he was on trial for being engaged in a
melee in the city, just after having left his ship; and
when asked whether he was guilty or not, replied:
"' Your Honor, just hear my story, and then you can
judge for yourself.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           45' Well, you see, your Honor, wlhen I cum up from
board ship, I was cruising through one of the streets
just below here, when I espied a trig looking little craft
running before the wind, under bare poles, followed by
that old droger, (pointing to the constable,) trying to
get his grappling irons aboard of her. I tacked about,
and followed close in their wake; presently I cum lup
alongside. Avast heaving, says I. Well, your Honor,
I squared my yards, and gave the lubberly pirate one in
the larboard blinker, and then took him below, between
wind and water, and that troubled his bread-basket a little, so that he had to strike his colors. Why, your Honor, the little sail he was in chase of, was the trimmest
little craft you ever saw in petticoats, and if she hadn't
run up a signal of distress, I shouldn't bore down on the
lubberly devil. But, your Honor, I guess I didn't hurt
him much, for you can see his figure-head and side-lights
ain't damaged much, are they, your Honor 3"
The Justice, who had sat with open eyes and mouth,
listening to Jack's harangue, w ithout comprehending
anything hbhad said, turned to the constable, and asked him if he knew what it all meant?' Oh! he knows well enough, your Honor," cried
Jack.' He won't deny chasing the gal down street,
last night; and because I gave him a broadside that
made him heave-to, you've got me up here, and are going
to make me pay damages, I suppose. But let me ketch
13




146             RAISING THE VEIL;
the lubber adrift some day, and Pl show him the difference between a hand-saw and marlin-spike."
The constable averred that he believed the man was
insane-that he had chased no girl the night previous,
and didn't know what the fellow meant-that he had arrested him the night before, for noisy and riotous conduct, and brought him before the Court.
Before the trial had proceeded farther, the Justice was
called out by a man who wanted to swap horses with
him, and he adjourned the court for a short time, leaving the prisoner in charge of the constable.
When the Justice returned, neither officer or prisoner
could be found. The latter, however, was subsequently
discovered in one of the stable horse-stalls, fast asleep.
It appears that after the Justice had retired, the officer convinced Jack that he was laboring under a great
mistake, with regard to his identity.  Jack, in return,
had apologized, and gone with the officer into the barroom, where he had, as the Frenchmen say, treated him
" three, four, several times," and when the constable became a little oblivious, the sailor stepped out,and never
returned to have his examination finished.
When witnesses are upon the stand at an examination
where a country Justice presides, they will (if they are
his townsmen, and intimately acquainted with him, )
make themselves very familiar, and perfectly at home,
while giving in their testimony.




OR, SCENES IN TIE COURTS.         147
A country bumpkin, after having been sworn, will
sometimes commence after this wise:
" Neow Squire, I'm going to tell you all I know
about this matter, and darn'd quick, too. You recollect
the day that your brother Sam bought that yoke of
brindled cattle? you know you said one of'em was too
free for'tother, and so he was. Well, you see, I was
going by old Kezar's house, arter that,'cause I'd just
been talking with Captain John; he's a Justice of Peace
too, I'spose, but I don-no whether he is or not; and I
see old Kezar talking with that chap there, (the witness
will point to the defendant) and I kinder mistrusted that
old Kezar was trying to sell him his trundle-bed mare,'cause she's an ugly critter, an' only two or three days
afore that, when he went into the barn, and never said a
word to her, she up and kicked him right on his hand.
So thinks I, I'll just go up and hear what they're talkin about; but jest as quick as I cum up they stopped a
talkin. So I went along,'cause you see I was going up
to Aunt Lucinda's, and I kinder thought that that chap
looked jestlike the old Methodist parson that stole the
oats out of Col. Hoar's stable; you recollect him, Squire,'cause you fined him ten dollars and costs, or go to Concord Jail a month. I recollect it jest as well as though
it warn't only yesterday. There was a terrible,revival
of religion here'bout that time, you know, Squire. Joe
Graves he got converted, but didn't do him much good,




148             RAISING frIE VEIL;'cause he backslid arterwards.  Well, as I was telling
you, I went up and told Aunt Lucinda how I see that
chap talking with old Kezar, and I guessed he was trying to buy the mare, and if he did, he'd get cheated;
but when I come to tell her how he looked jest like the
old Methodist parson, she turned round and said: Well,
I declare, there is so many wolves round here in sheep's
clothing, that it's dangerous being safe.  Now that's all
I know'bout the scrape, Squire, but jest as soon as I'd
heard you'd got him up here to be tried, I thought I'd
cum up and tell you what I knew'bout it, cause father
said it was my duty to.
"What's the fellow been doing, Squire?  I don-no
as I exactly understand what you're trying him for."
The Justice will inform the witness that the man has
been put on trial for stealing a watch. The witness, all
astonished, will exclaim:
"Good Lord! you don't say so! Bill Tarbell told
me that it was for cheating John Gowen, the horse-jockey; but I'll go out and see'bout that, Squire, and find
out all'bout it."
I know the reader will say that this is double distilled
nonsense, and that no man who could obtain a Justice's
commission would sit and allow any person to hold forth
upon the witness -stand in this manner. Be not too fast
in drawing your conclusions.  Probably that Justice expects to be nominated as a candidate for State Represent



OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         149
ative, or some other important office, and perhaps that
witness may be good for ten or fifteen votes; and to affront him, either in court or out of court, would blast
all his future hopes and prospects, and strike a deathblow to all his well-laid schemes and plans. The aspiring Justice, who is looking for a seat in the Assembly
Room, and imagines that the time may come when he
will be inducted into the halls of Congress, had better
have a mill-stone fastened to his neck, and be drowned
in the depths of the sea, than to offend one of these little ones.
To substantiate a statement I have already made, that
many who receive a Justice's commission do not understand what their rights, powers or duties are, I will relate a transaction which occurred two or three years ago,
in the office of an attorney, who was himself a Justice
of the Peace.
An important trial was near at hand, and one of the
most important witnesses was obliged to leave this section of the country before the trial came on: By, and
with the consent of all parties, his deposition was taken.
On the morning of his departure, he went into the attorney's office, to affix his signature to the deposition, and
take the required oath.  The attorney was not present,
and the gentleman requested the clerk to go out and find
a Justice, who would come in and officiate for the
nonce.
13*




150             RAISING THE VEIL;
While he was yet speaking, a rough, sturdy old fellow came into the office, and inquired for the Squire.
"He is not in," said the clerk; " but you have come
very opportunate. This gentleman wishes to leave in the
next train of cars, but before he goes, he must swear to
this affidavit; and you, being a Justice of the Peace,
will do as well as Squire G —  himself."
" Wa'll, I'spose I could," replied the countryman,
" but I don't know nothin' about the matter, and I guess
you'd better wait'till the Squire comes in; there may
be some mistake about it."
The clerk assured the timid Justice that there could
be no possibility of a mistake, the papers having been
carefully examined by the gentleman, who was ready
to affix his signature to them.
The Justice took the documents; turned them over
and over, as though he was carefully examining them,
then holding them out at arm's length, he requested the
gentleman to raise up his right hand.
" Neow," said he, "I don-no much abeout this, but
I'spose it's all right.  Neow you solemnly swear that
all you've rit deown on this ere paper is true, by
God! "
The gentleman signed the document, and departed,
not much pleased (he being a religious man) with this
new, curious, and unique, style of administering, or taking an oath.




OR, SCENES IN TIE COURTS.         151
A country Justice in New Hampshire, who had done
the State (the democratic party, I mean,) some service,
was advised (after Franklin Pierce had been elected
President,) to go to Washington, and apply personally
to him for a lucrative office. His friends assured him
that there was no doubt of his obtaining any office he
wished, as Mr. Pierce had been his counsellor in two or
three cases of litigation. Flushed with the idea of success, the gentleman started; but when he arrived at
Washington, he found some trouble in getting a private
interview with the President. Finally he succeeded,
and the President, who instantly recognized him, receiv
ed him cordially, without having the idea enter his head
that he was an office-seeker with the rest who were continually annoying him; but great was his astonishment
and dismay, when his New Hampshire friend exclaimed:
"' Well, General, our folks up in New Hampshire advised me to come on here and get an office. Now Generll, what yer got left"''
"I do not think there is any office that is not filled,"
replied the President.
"0! then I'spose you've promised them  all out,
without thinking of the New Hampshire boys.  Can't
you give us a collector's berth in New York, Philadelphia or Baltimore 3"
"Those appointments are all made," replied the President.




152             lAISING THE VEIL;
"You don't say so!   was the response.     Then
give us a minister's berth to'England, France, Ireland,
jGibaralter or Newfoundland; I don't care which it is,
so long as the pay's any ways decent."
The President informed him that all the appointments
had been made, and there was no vacancy to fill.
The Justice rolled the huge cud of tobacco which he
had in his mouth from one side to the other, and was at
a loss what to say, or how to order his speech.  After a
few moments deliberation, he asked if there was no vacancy in some country Post-office?
The President told him that he thought there was
not.
6 Well, General," said he, " it's a little too darn'd
bad for me to come clean on here, and not get nothin.'
at all".
Then eyeing the President from head to foot, he said 
" General, you wear pretty good clothes, don't you t
I'spose you don't wear a suit of clothes more than three
or four weeks; now I was a thinkin', as you and I are
about of a size, if you can't give  ne no o ice you
might give mte one or two suits -of your cast off
clothes, that you've laid aside-, and that would be better than nothin', anyhow."
Whether the President acquiesced in this modest request, or otherwise, deponent saith not.
Whenever a man is brought in contact with a country




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          153
Justice, a little "blarney," and a large quantity of
" soft soap," discreetly used, and carefully laid on, will
work wonders. Many a man has managed to work himself out of what is sometimes called an ugly scrape, by
wagging an oily tongue; and as the greatest rogues are
for the most part very shrewd and cunning men, they
well understand how to play the game, when chance or
necessity brings them in proximity with these functionaries, not only when they are brought before them for
examination, charged with committing some crime, or
for the violation of some law, but also at other times,
when they are maturing plans to cheat and defraud some
of their fellow men, and laying themselves liable to be
detected, and brought up to answer before one of these
" soft headed noodles."
When the law, which is commonly called the " Maine
Liquor Law," was in full operation in the State where
it originated, I was passing through a small town near
Bangor, (the name of which I have entirely forgotten,)
and accidentally meeting two friends, I was prevailed
upon to remain with them over night, they promising
to accompany me on my journey the next day. After
we had finished our dinner, as we sat conversing together at the table, I requested the waiter to bring in
a bottle of claret wine. He informed me that they had
nothing of the kind in the house, while my friends, after
a roar of laughter, assured me that there was not a drop




154            RAISING THE VEIL;
of wine or liquor to be obtained within ten miles of that
place.
"But is there no Town Agency, where spirits are
lawfully sold?" I inquired.
I received an affirmative answer, but was told that the
Town Agent was a cross-grained old Justice of the
Peace, who would not allow one drop of spirits to go
out of his house, (where a large quantity was deposited,) unless the applicant first obtained a physician's prescription.
I quietly remarked that I believed I could go to him,
and purchase any moderate quantity of wine or spirits
that I asked for, provided he had them in his house.
" You can't do it, my dear boy," replied one of my
companions, " for we have tried that ourselves."
While we were talking, the landlord came into the
room, and one of my friends said in a jocose way:
" This gentleman thinks that be can go to your Town
Agent, and purchase wines or liquors, without a physician's prescription.' I wager ten dollars that he cannot get a drop, unless
he uses deception and false representations."
"I will accept that wager," said I,  and will use
neither. Bring me a bottle, and let some one come with
me, to point out the local habitation of this straightlaced Justice, and I will start at once, and see what I
can do."




OR, SCENES IN TIIE COURTS.         155
When I arrived at the house, I put the old brass
knocker which was attached to the door, and which had
the appearance of having done years of service, into
rapid and active motion, to inform the inmates of the
dwelling that there was some one without who craved
an entrance.
Presently theJustice himself opened the door.
Your servant, sir," said I.  " I understood that
you was the Town Agent, authorized by law to sell
spirituous liquors, for mechanical and medicinal purposes, and I wish to get a pint of very nice brandy.
The old fellow was remarkable civil, but he briefly
informed me that it would be impossible for him to comply with my request, giving sundry reasons for his declining. He however invited me to walk in, and ushered me into a neat sitting-room, where I found a woman
of huge proportions, holding in her arms a juvenile
specimen of humanity, and regaling the youngster with
that nutriment which is so essential to the growth and
well-being of infantiles, and which to them is far prefable to that villainous compound of chalk and water,
which is sold and used under the name of milk.
I at once perceived that this " mountain of flesh"'
was the better half-no, two-thirds —(I like to be liberal, and will say three-quarters) of this dogmatic Justice. I saluted the lady, as I laid my hat upon the table, then rushed towards her, and begged the privilege




156             RAISING THE VEIL;
of taking that " Blessed Baby," in my arms, only for a
mQment.
The fat scion of an illustrious sire screeched louder
than a thousand cat-owls, when they give a sacred concert, as its maternal parent handed it over to me, and I
passed it back into the arms of its doting mother very
quickly; then taking out an orange, which I happened
to have in my pocket, I gave it to the ugly little brat,
and commenced complimenting the mother on the beauty, precocity, and intellectuality of the child. I could
see in it some of the mother's looks, especially in the
eyes; but the lower part of the face, the nose, mouth,
and chin, was all father. I could recollect what a sore
thing it was for me to lose a darling child, about the
same age, who looked very much like that, (it would
have puzzled me to tell when or how I lost it,) and I
envied those happy parents, who had those heaven-sent
blessings spared to them.
I applied my white cotton handkerchief to my eyes
and nose, (particularly the latter) and signified my intention to depart.
The Justice arose from his big arm-chair, and coming
towards me, he asked, in a low tone of voice, how much
brandy I wanted?'" A pint will answer my turn," I replied.
" Did you bring a bottle with you?" said he.
I told him I had; and handed him the flask, which




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          157
had in all probability been filled and refilled many times
with the same medicine that I was in search of.
The bottle was filled, and replaced in my pocket. The
Justice only charged what he said was the first cost of
the liquor, (which proved to be very good,) and I returned to the hotel, where my two friends and the landlord
sat ready to receive me.
Their astonishment was great when I placed the flask
upon the table, but still greater when I assured them
that I did not inform his Honor for what purpose I wanted the liquid, neither did he ask me a single question
respecting it.
It was the. vote of the party, at my suggestion, that
the landlord should pay for the brandy, and retain the
ten dollars, which he acknowledged he had lost, and
which honestly, as he asserted, belonged to me.
It has grieved me much to notice, of late years, the
disposition which many (I might say nearly all) of thenewly appointed Justices of the Peace have shown, to
sink the dignity of their honorable titles. There are a
few exceptions, I grant, but those are so rare that the
fledglings scarcely know where to find a man who has
worn the honors with the grace and dignity becoming
the office, whom they can look up to as a pattern and
example.
There is one, that I know of, in the city of Boston,
who never does, under any circumstances, lose sight of,
14




158             RAISING THE VEIL;
or forget the great weight of responsibility that rests upon him, and the vast importance of informing all those
with whom he may come in contact, (especially those
who hail from his native country, " ould Ireland,") the
necessity of showing due respect to the office, if not to
the man.
A Justice of the Peace will walk into a " Bar-room,"
a theatre, or a political meeting, where'some of his
friends and acquaintances are congregated, and how is he
saluted?  Do they raise their hats with respect, as they
approach him, extend their hands respectfully to salute
him, and assure him they did not expect the honor of
his company on that occasion?  Not at all! One will
cry out: "There comes'Old Sam'!' —another will
say (while slapping the Justice on the back): " He's a
jolly old dog, anyhow,"-while another still will exclaim: " I'm devilish glad to see you! How's the old
woman getting along, and what's that last sprout of
yours''  Is it a'boy' or a' gal'!"  Now all this must
be very annoying to our Justice, and will distress him.
But where is his remedy? If he assumes the dignity
pertaining to his station, his former friends and companions will cry out: "Oh! he's putting on airs," and
they will cut his acquaintance at once. It will be much
better for him to lose his commission, than to lose his
friends, and as he wishes to retain both, he is obliged to
submit.




OR, SCENES IN TIlE COURTS.         159
In my opinion, a man, after he has received a Justice
of the Peace commission, should throw aside all frivolity, and claim at once the high standing in society to
which he is entitled by virtue of his office. It is not
absolutely necessary for him to wear a badge, like a policeman, but he should, like the Hibernian Justice I
have spoken of, allow no opportunity to pass where he
has the slightest chance to make known to the world that
he must and will be respected.
Whenever he sees a free fight, in full tide of successful operation, he should have pluck and courage enough
to count himself in as one. But when he sees the chances are against him, and finds that a portion of the brain
(of which he has none to spare) is in imminent danger of
changing its position, he should have presence of mind
enough to cry out: I" I'm a Justice of the Peace, and if
you strike me, you strike the Commonwealth." But it
is not necessary for a Justice of the Peace to make himself known on such occasions, unless he finds that he
will receive great bodily harm and injury, and where the
odds are greatly against him, for the very good reason,
that if he is armed with a good club, and has sufficient
courage to rush into a crowd, knock down some fifteen
or twenty, and disperse the remainder, he not only saves
the State the expense of trials of the parties concerned
in the affray, but establishes a name (among the fighting men in particular) of possessing great courage and




160             RAISING TlE VEIL;
herculean strength, which are to him indispensable qualifications of office.
As Justices of the Peace are authorized to unite in
the holy bonds of wedlock those who prefer their services to those of the priest or minister, it is very necessary for them to keep a sharp lookout for the chances;
and on all such occasions they will find it much for their
interest to be very liberal in their charges.  Many of
this class of functionaries do not thoroughly understand
this, and often let opportunities pass, which, if taken at
the proper time, would give them great notoriety andinfluence, although such opportunities may not put money
in their pockets.  Some of them, more shrewd than
others, will notify the public of the important fact, after
they have received their commissions, by inserting notices in the journals of the day, that they are authorized,
by the power in them vested, to perform the marriage
ceremony, and they will cordially invite those who wish
to enter into this ancient and time-honored co-partnership, to call upon them at their offices, where the business will be finished up with neatness and dispatch.
But there is one thing which these newly appointed
Justices (who advertise for business entirely) overlook
when they solicit patronage, and that is, their prices and
charges, which they want and expect for their services.
I think an advertisement something after this style
would be of great advantage to many of them, while




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         161
they are seeking a sustenance in this selfish and mercenary world:
"Peleg Tieumquick, having been duly appointed a
Justice of the Peace, in and for the- State of,
offers his services to all who may stand in need of them,
(irrespective of party or political opinions,) to administer oaths, perform marriage ceremonies, prosecute those
who are guilty of inflicting punishment upon animals,
&c., &c. Charges very moderate, viz.:
For performing the marriage ceremony, 31 cts.
For administering an oath, 15 cts.
Advice gratis. Those from the country usually preferred; and all business letters strictly confidential!
Competition defied! "
An advertisement of this kind could not fail to draw
crowds of people to the office of an aspiring Justice,
provided all our Justices did not adopt the same plan, at
one and the same time. In that case, newspaper publishers would be obliged to enlarge the size of their
sheets, and have no room left for editorials or items.
Justices of the Peace should belong to one or more
churches; and as it is impossible for a man to have too
much of a good thing, and as I never yet saw a Justice
of the Peace who was possessed of too much piety or
good-will towards his fellow-men, perhaps our Legislatures could not do better than to enact a law which
would oblige every Justice of the Peace to attend church




162              RAISING THE VEIL:
regularly, every Sabbath-day, allowing them the same
privilege that physicians have, of employing a person to
stand in the porch, to rush in during divine service, and
call them out, so that the congregation may be advised
of the fact (or what they would have the world believe
to be a fact,) that outside suffering humanity demands
their services.
It may not be absolutely necessary for a Justice of
the Peace to be a meddling, inquisitive man, but he
should, as far as practicable, keep himself well informed
respecting the movements, actions, customs and habits,
of his immediate' neighbors and others with whom he
may come in contact, so that whenever he is invited to
a party, or makes one himself, he can edify and instruct
the company, by laying before them  a full expose of
such and such persons' domestic affairs, and especially
those who make a great outside show, to make, if possible, the world believe that they are in good circumstances, when they are not.  Such people should be looked
after, and it is the business only of old maids and  fogy'
Justices to attend to them.
But the duties of a Justice of the Peace are so multifarious, that it is impossible for me to note all of them,
and I will close this chapter.
14








1 1   t1.c
I;ji
-1  c. IA 
(See Pa~ye 10 7.')




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.             163
CHAPTER IX.
Juries and Jurors-The Crooked Sticks who are sometimes drawn as
Jurors-Excuses made to get excused-The Juror who obtained his
brandy in an unlawful manner-Courts in the Western Settlements-An extensive Jury Room-Novel way of obtaining a verdict-Inoperative laws passed to suppress Swindling and FraudThe plan adopted by many to cheat Wholesale Merchants-The injurious effects of the Swindler upon the honest man-Money obtained by gambling not considered swindling-Glance at the Lawyers in the Senate Chambers and Houses of Assembly-Ignorance
of voters-Grog Shops in the city of Boston-The Rifle, Revolver,
Bowie-knife, &c.
I will now turn the attentioni of the reader to court
juries and jurymen.    Probably there is no one thing
that a business man, whether he be merchant or mechanic, trader, broker or banker, dreads more, (excepting death or a protested note) than being drawn as a
juror.  Many men who are thus drawn, resort to the
most curious devices to get excused from serving in that
capacity.  Some are taken suddenly and violently sick,
others have sickness in their families, or have a near relafive lying at the point of death, and they cannot serve;




164               RAISING THE VEIL;
others when they are impanneled as jurors in the criminal courts, will when the first case comes up for trial,
(if it is an important one) declare that they have formed
and expressed an opinion in the case pending, and therefore, incompetent to give an unbiased verdict; while another will by grimmaces and vindictive looks, cause the
prisioner at the bar to challenge him peremptorily. These
an lvarious other stratagems are resorted to by jurors
who do not wish to serve the Commonwealth to their own
detriment.
Sometimes a juror is impanneled who will serve during the whole term, and make himself as obnoxious as
possible, not only to his brother jurors, but also to the
court. These "crooked sticks" appear to take delight
in blocking the wheels of the Car of Justice.  If the evidence in a case which has been tried, is as clear as the
rays of the sun, they cannot or will not see it.  They
are dissatisfied with the ruling of the Judge.   They
think that the testimony of such and such a witness
should be thrown out, because the witness swore too much,
or too little, or perhaps the juryman will sit in cogged
silence, without giving the whys or the wherefors of his
refusal to acquiesce in a verdict with his compeers.
I have seen cases where one juryman would sit after
the eleven others had agreed, and with much nonchalance inform them, that rather than to agree with them




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.        165
in their verdict, he would remain in the jury-room until
the flies had carried off his carcass through the key-hole
of the door. When asked if he wanted any farther instruction from the Judge, respecting any points of law?
He replied, "No  all the Judges that ever lived since
the days of old Moscs, would not alter my mind, or
change my opinion!"
The scenes sometimes enacted in a jury-room are ludicrous, and if they were brought before the eyes of the
world, it would not tend to exalt the participants in the
estimation of the community.
Before the temperance reformation, when jurors were
confined for a long time, and were unable to agree
upon a verdict, they were allowed a little stimulant for
their stomach's sake, and it has often been found that
the " Rosy God" has been more effectu'al in bringing a
refractory juror into the traces, than all the attornies
arguments, or Judges charges, that were ever concocted
or delivered.
Shakespeare was not partial to Judges.  He says,' some of them would rather hang the guiltless, than
eat their mutton cold." We have some of that class
even in our day, among jurors as well as. Judges.
Jurors will sometimes resort to expedients and obtain
a drop of the " crature comfort," when they have been
long confined in a jury-room, and could see no possible




166             RAISING THE VEIL;
chance for an agreement upon a verdict. Many times,
ald often when their food has been taken to them, some
peculiarly marked loaf of bread, or nicely roasted chiken, has been known to contain a small mysterious looking bottle.  How it came there-what its contents
were, or for what purpose it was to be used, I leave the
reader to judge.
On one occasion, (a very sultry day in July,) a jury
had been confined to their room for several hours. From
their windows the jurymen could look directly into the
saloon of a celebrated restorant, where their more fortunate fellow citizens, who were not confined under lock
and key, were apparently enjoying themselves by imbibing " Brandy Smashers, Sherry Coblers, Mint Julips'
and other cooling beverages.
One of the jurymen wrote a note, fastened a small
weight to it, and as one of his friends came out of the
aforesaid restorant, he threw out the note, which landed
directly at the feet of the gentleman below. He picked
it up, read it, re-entered the restorant and presently appeared with a small package wraped in a newspaper.
A small cord or twine was lowered from the window of
the jury-room  to which the mysterious package was
quickly attached, and it was drawn up to the window
carefully, but rapidly. Upon the arrival of this wonderful and welcome visitor, every juryman was anxious to




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         167
be informed of its contents, and when it was exposed to
view, the words, " Old Otard" was seen in gilded letters
on the outside, many a lip stood ready to give it a smack.
But few minutes elapsed ere the contents of the magic
bottle had entirely disappeared.
Great was the rejoicing among some eight or nine of
the jurymen, who boldly declared they were refreshed
both in body and soul, although they could not agree
upon a verdict, they were unanimous in the opinion that
" Mr. Otard" was a good and soul-consoling man. But
the bitter sometimes follows the sweet. The foreman of
the jury, a straight faced, psalm-singing old curmudgeon,
was shocked and horrified at such a procedure. He
raised his hands, and with crocodile tears in his eyes, informed the juryman who introduced this contraband visitor, that he considered it his solemn and bounden duty
to inform the court of this diabolical arrangement, and
have the transgressor brought to condign punishment.
The next morning when the court came in, our valiant hero in the cause of temperance, laid the facts before the Judge, and our juror of the " string and bottle"
was arraigned to answer for the misdemeanor.
He pleaded guilty, but in extenuation of the awful
crime, stated that he was not aware that he was committing an overt act, that he was, slightly troubled with
dyspepsy and dysentry, that he had during tie after



168               RAISING THE VEIL;
noon, drank large quantities of ice-water, that the dinner sent to the jury on that day, consisted of tough roast
goose and apple-dumpling, which lay on his stomach
like granite boulders, and in his opinion no other medicine could have reached his case.
The Judge reprimanded him, and discharged him
from farther duty, for which our juryman expressed his
sincere and heartfelt thanks.
In new settlements in the Middle and Western States,
where log-houses containing but one room are used for
the holding of courts, the juries when they repair for
consultation, generally start for some retired spot in tile
woods, where they can squat down or repose under the
shady branches of some lofty oak. There with a huge
jug of whiskey beside them, they will discuss the merits
and demerits of the case; and when they cannot agree
upon a verdict, they will decide by drawing lots, or pitching coppers, to see who shall" give in first."  Their consultations do not generally last long, although there
is less formality, there is more justice usually rendered
in those Courts, than we find in the tribunals of the
Northern and Eastern States.
In almost every State in the Union, laws have been
enacted with a view to prevent fraud and swindlingto punish people of every grade and profession who obtain goods, chatties, and other valuables by false pretenses.




OR, SCENES IN TIE COURTS.         169
No penal law ever enacted, has' been more carefully
considered and thoroughly analyzed than this, by all
our law-givers in every section of the country; but I
make bold to say, that there is not a law upon the Statute Books that operates so unequally.
Let us glance at the law. A cool calculating villian
who is not worth one dollar, and perhaps owes for the
very clothes he wears upon his back, will by the aid of
two or three accomplices, go into the ware-house of the
merchant, and with sanctified face and oily tonguewith cheek, brass and impudence, represent himself
worth fifty or sixty thousand dollars.  His accomplices are sojourning at the most fashionable hotels,
where they can be found at business hours; but after
nightfall if you would see them look for them in some
gambling saloon. The swindler carries in his gilded
pocket-book, letters of recommendation, purporting to be
given by well known and distinguished gentlemen; his
dress is scrupulously neat, mock brilliant studs adorn his
shirt-bosom, a massive galvanized watch and chain are
conspicuous, as he takes much pains to display them,
while two or three real, or imitation diamond rings
adorn his fingers.
The merchant is delighted with his customer, and the
customer equally well pleased with his dupe.
Shortly afterwards the merchant finds he has been




170               RAISING THIE VEIL;
swindled, and causes his quasi friend to be arrested. He
is brought to trial. The accomplices swear that they
believe the defendant to be an honest and fair dealing
man. The Court decides according to law and evidence.
The defendant is acquitted, and as he departs snaps his
fingers in the face of the vietimised merchant.
Let us look at another case.
A young man of good moral character commences
business with a few thousand dollars, success attends
him, business is good, he has large profits and wealthy
customers (as lie imagines.)  He is flattered by all, and
believes that he is on the high road to fortune, he thinks
himself worth five times as much as he really is; he
boldly asserts that he is worth twenty thousand dollars,
when in reality he is not worth one fifth of that amount.
(He also purchases of the same merchant who has
been swindled by a practical villian.) The value of the
goods decrease fifty per cent. while on his hands. Notes
held by him which he considered good, prove to be valueless. Creditors press in upon him, and he finds his only
recourse is to wind up his affairs, distribute equally
among the creditors his effects, and commence the world
anew.
Our merchanrt who has been so egregiously swindled
by the fashionable " Jerrimy Diddler" is not willing to
receive twenty or thirty cents on the dollar. No! He




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         171
had rather put swindler No. 2 (as he calls him) through
a course of law. He will have him indicted for obtaining goods under false pretenses.  Witnesses stand ready
to swear that the debtor has openly proclaimed himself
worth twenty-five thousand dollars (more or less) when he
made extensive purchases, but only a small part of that
can be found. They will swear that they have reason to
believe, and do believe, that the debtor has secreted or
covered his property for the purpose of defrauding his
creditors.  If the debtor has no wealthy friend to stand
by him in this emergency, he is convicted and doomed
to a felons cell,' The law decrees it, and the Judge
awards it."
Reader, look at both pictures as I have drawn
them, and tell me if it is not really and truly so. Do
not the innocent often suffer for the sins of the guilty,
not only in such cases as I have cited, but in others of a
different grade?
When the Hon. George H. Campbell was elected
Judge of Calveras Co., California, in the year 1849,
one of the first cases that came before him for adjudication, was that of a green-horn who wished to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a man, whom he averred, had defrauded him out of every dollar he possessed by false
pretenses.
Perhaps I cannot do better than to lay before the




172              RAISING THE VEIL;
reader the report of a case which was brought before
the Police Court of Buffalo a short time ago, which is
synonymous with that of Judge Campbell's. I am not
inclined however, to believe that Judge C. was quite so
thoroughly versed in the game of chance played with
cards, as the Buffalo Police Court Magistrate.
I will narrate the scene as related to me by a court
reporter.
An elderly man fashionably dressed was seen hanging around the bench of the court. After some hesitation, he walked up to the magistrate, saying:
"Judge, I want a warrant."
" Well," said the Justice, " what do you want the warrant for?"
" False pretenses your honor."
"Who is the individual you wish to arrest?"
"It is Jem Sikes. You see he went and- "
"Now, just stop," said the Justice, "and answer my
questions. What did Jem Sikes do."
"Well, you see, squire, he come the false pretenses
ever me. Just as I was going up to roost last night I
met Jem, and says he to me,'just come into my room
and we'll have a game of bluff.'"
" Don-no nothing about it says I.'Nor I, neither,
says he,'but I'll show you how it is done.' Then you
see, squire, I went in, and-"




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.        173
"What did you do then," asked the Justice, who appeared somewhat interested in the case.
" Well squire, Jem showed me how they bet on'pars'
and them wot had the most'pars' took the'pile' wot
was up. So you see, squire, I won two or three pots, and
then Jem won a small pot."
" Well," said the Justice, "go on."
" Then, Jem he delt, and I swear if there warn't three
queens in my hand; and says I, I'll bet ten dollars on
two pars; then says Jem,'I'll just see that, and go
you ten dollars better. "
"Well, and what then," said the Justice.
" Well, Jem looked at his hand, and laughing said;'Can you beat four kings? And that skeart me,'cause
I know'd three queens could'nt beat four kings.  So I
did'nt bet, and Jem snaked down the pile. So you see,
squire, I want a warrant for him, on false pretenses."
"You can't have it." shouted the Justice. "On what
ground do you claim it."
"Well, you see, Jem asked me if I could beat four
kings, and I know'd three queens-"
"On what grounds do you claim it," asked the JusLice. "You lost your money, did'nt you?"
" Yes, but you see, I helt three queens, and Jem asked
me if I could beat four kings, and I know'd well enough
that three queens would'nt beat four kings; so I throw'd
15-,:0




174             RAISING THE vEI,;
up my hand, and he snaked down the pile. He never
had four kings at all. Give us a warrant, won't you,
Squire?"
" What did Jem hold," asked the Justice.
"He never helt nothing at all, onny two lectlet par."
The complainant was ordered to leave the court-room,
and he started off execrating the law that did not allow
a man to seize the pile when he helt three queens, and
allowed another chap to rake him down when he " did'nt
hold nothing only two letle par."
This case, with kindred others, equally ridiculous,
demonstrate the fact that there are hundreds of men,
I might say thousands, who have but an indefinite idea
of the laws pertaining to fraud. It is not in the power
of man to enact laws which will operate equally when
brought to bear upon the just and the unjust in business
transactions, unless the " credit system" is entirely abolished. In my humble opinion every man who gives his
friend or neighbor credit, should, Andrew Jackson like,
" take the responsibility."  If I loan money to another
there is no coercion. If I contract with a man, friend
or stranger, and deliver over to him an amount of goods
without having first received quid pro qzto, should I not
do it at my own risk? After they are bargained for and
delivered to the purchaser, do they not become his property? Are there not laws now extant to protect every




OR, SCENiES IN THE COURTJRS       1, 7i
man, to hold, defend and enjoy all that rightfully blelongs to him?  Most certainly there is! [Why then
were laws enacted to punish a man by confining him'in
a prison, when he had committed no criminal or overt
act?  I leave the reader to answer this question. If he
cannot readily do it, I would ask him to visit the Ser ate
Chambers and Houses of Assembly, where the Representatives of the people meet to enact laws. Go there
and see your Scrub Lawyers-braying asses, whose earls
cannot be disguised, chosen by those who pride themselves upon their liberties, their republican institution s
and laws. Go watch and see who and what these men
are, who are appointed on committees of the judiciary,
&c. Are nbt two-thirds of them lawyers?  Is thlere a
man living, possessed of what is called common sense,
who would for a moment suppose that these men exert
themselves to pass laws which Would benefit others to tI1
detriment of themselves, and put money in a poor man's
pocket to their own loss?  Do the majority of those
elected to frame laws (however well they may be paid
from a treasury overrunning with the monies collected
in the form of taxes from the laborer, mechanic, and
trader,) cooly and calmly throw self-interest aside, cand
legislate for the benefit of their constituents.
I am not writing as a partisan!   Let those d:bble in politics who will; but when I see menr who are3




176               AISING THE VEIL;
incompetent to hold a plough, drive a team, wield an
axe, or engage in aly occupation which will benefit
mankind., sent up to our Council Chambers to enact
laws, two thirds of which are designed to make the
rich, richer, and the poor, poorer. I do not wonder
that legislation increases day by day, and year by year?
Are not the laws enacted by our fathers wise enough,
stringent enough, and good enough for fheir children?
If the spirits of departed statesmen ever revisit the
giimpes of the moon, and watch the doings of our lawgivers, and law-dispensers of the present day, every summer's evening breeze, and the howling winds of winter, through which their spirits moved, would tell us in
mournful whispers in the one, and trumpet-tongued in the
other, that "Ichabod" should be written on every wall.
There are at the present time, laws upon the Statute
3ooks of every Northern and Eastern State which remain
as dead letters.  In proof of this, I would refer the
reader to the Statute Books of MIssachusetts aloneo
New laws are yearly enacted; but, there are many that
become obsolete, and never have been repealed.    I
would seriously ask, why is this?  Is it, or is it not, for
the benefit of those who are -chosen blindly, bly the people, who enact laws, so fixed and so framed that not
one man in a thousand can understand or comprehend
them?




OR, SCENES IN TIE COURTS.         177
Why is it that the city of Boston (not to speak
of other cities, and suburban towns) support scores of
self-styled attornies, who are too lazy to work at any reputable calling, whereby they might obtain an honest
living?  It must follow as a matter of course that those
who have the power in their hands to enact laws, will,
if possible, frame them to suit not only their own views,
but their own interests.
Who is benefited by the constant changing of the laws,
in this or any other country?   Take Massachusetts,
and look at the resolves passed, and Statutes enacted for
the past five years. Would not the inhabitants of the
State, the middling and poorer classes especially, be better off if tile last five Legislatures had never convened?
What laws have they enacted which have, or will benefit
the poor man?  Does the " Lien Law" do it?  Find me
one journeyman mechanic who has been benefited by
that law, and I will find you ten who have attempted
to avail themselves of its supposed advantages only to
lose their money and precious time, to say nothing of
the wages honestly due to them; and all for what?
Simply to fee the very men, mostly attornies, who devised and enacted the law.
Does the law abolishing imprisonment for debt in
Massachusetts, benefit the poor man as it now stands
upon our Statute Books?  Let us see.




178              RAISING THE VEIL;
The veriest rogue that ever escaped the hangmans
halter, can go before a Justice and swear any honest
man (who happens to be so unlucky as to have any
dealings with him) into a prison cell, from which he cannot be released until lawyers, costs, and other contingent
expenses are paid.
64 I thank heaven, my father and myself," that I have
never yet had the slightest practical experience in either
of the laws I have alludced to.
Would it not be well for thoseswho spend their time
and money in electioneering for candidates who solicit
their sufferage, not one out of ten know or care what
their constituents really need; instead of huzzaing,
shouting, and traversing the streets by daylight and
at nightfall, to quietly set down, consider, and investigate the qualifications of those men who aspire to
fill the offices of Assemblymen, Representatives, and
Senators?  Would not the money expended in torchlight processions, mass meetings, caucuses, &c., benefit the middling classes of our commni-ity if expencded
in another way?     IDoes not the laborer, when -he
leaves his cheeerful fireside and goes forth to join
with his fellow laborers after a hard days toil, elctioneering for men to fill offices of trust and emolument,
without the slightest knowledge of the capabilities, or
honesty of those for whom   he is shouting, and ex



OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          179
pending his money, injure himself and family, without
receiving any benefit thereby?
Are there not men enough whose honesty and integrity have been tried, and are well known, who would if
selected, and elected, go into the Senate Chambers, and
with an eye single to the interest of their constituents,
legislate for the good of the whole community, without
fear or'favor?  Certainly there is!  No reasonable,
well informed man doubts it.
Such men are not partisans, they never crawl and
fawn to seek office, and therefore are seldom sent to the
Capitol to enact laws.
Let those who complain of tjie laws as they now exist,
ask themselves why they are so framed. Under the old
license laws enacted to regulate the sale of intoxicating
liquors, there was not one half as mucl drunkenness and
rioting, with other crimes which follow close in their
wake, as there is at the present time.  Of course, I allude to our large towns and cities. If the reader doubts
this, let him examine our court reports and statistics,
and he will find that I am correct.
Look at the fourteen hundred grog-shops in the city
of Boston, not one of which pay a single dollar into the
city, county, or state treasury in the form of license fees.
More than eleven hundred irresponsible men and women,
are allowed to trafic openly and boldly in spirituous




180             RAISING TIIE VEIL;
liquors in that city, and the major part of those liquors
are sb execrable and vile, that if used to bathe a crippled mastiff, would seriously injure the animal, if they
did not cause instant death.
I make bold to assert, that in every State where the
law-makers have been tinkering, altering, enacting, and
repealing laws, for the suppression of the sale of intoxicating liquors, they have not only injured the cause of
temperance, but they have expended more of the public
money in this experimental legislation from year to year,
than all the expenses combined, paid for the support of
paupers.
When all the present exsting sumptuary laws enacted
to suppress the sale and use of spirituous liquors are
erased from the Statute Books, and the old stringent
license laws made and executed by our fathers are replaced in their stead, and rigidly enforced; then, and
not till then, will the glorious cause of temperance prosper. Rum-holes and dens of vice will be broken up, and
the business in our criminal courts greatly diminished.
If I am correct in these premises; as old Judge Fsaid on one occasion, when he was reviewing a case which
was tried before him. "If the court understand herself,
and she thinks she does; then she must acknowledge
there is some wit in the argument, although she is not
ready to admit so much as she otherwise woald be




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.        181
glad to, because it is not popular, and might injure
herself in the estimation of the kidmunity. "
I have given this subject some consideration and carefully watched the operations of coercive laws when the
authorities have attempted to execute them, and found
that in nine cases out of ten they were unable to do so.
I must necessarily be driven to the conclusion that all
laws which cannot be enforced, and are allowed to remain a dead letter upon the Statute Book, have a prenicious tendency upon a portion of the community.
Surely this matter is worth a passing consideration from
those who have an interest in the welfare of our common
country.
In new States and Territories, before a government is
properly organized, the settlers are for a tim6 their own
personal law-makers, and law-dispensers.  The rifle,
revolver, and bowie-knife, are the arguments they use;
but it is a demonstrated fact, that with these people,
even-handed justice is meeted out to violators of the
common law, in a manner which would put some of our
legal tribunals to the blush. Among those people you
find no cunning lawyers, standing ready to move for an'arrest of judgment,' or' take exceptions to the ruling of
the Court,' no court officers eagerly watching for a
postponement of a criminal case, by which their fees
would be enhanced, and a few extra dollars be added to
16




182               RAISING THE VEIL;
the pile that already jingles in their pockets; and no
superanuated Judge' full of wise salws, and modern instances,' blocking the wheels of justice.  Every man
who conducts himself with propriety, claims and receives the protection of his neighbors, while the transgressor seldom escapes speedy and condign punishment.
The laws adopted by these people are not unlike
those which were giveu to the Jewish nation by' Moses,'
they are however, not quite as stringent, but they are as
briefly executed. Although I am no advocate for lynchlaw, I have seen cases tried, and persons executed under
it, fairly, openly, and I think, justly.
In my next chapter I will narrate the scenes of two
trials, which took place in California. A Lynch Judge,
presiding. I shall give them as related by my Uncle
Zeb, who was an eye witness.




OC, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          183
CHAPTER X.
Visit to California-Sketch of the Manners and Customs of the
Miners-Their Mode of Settling Quarrels-Account of a Miner
who shot an Indian-His Arrest and Examination before a Court
of Inquiry-Novel and lucid Charge of a Judge-Trial of a Murderer under the Lynch Law-His Condemnation, Sentence, and
Speedy Execution-A Curious Favor for a man to ask, who had
but Four Minutes to Live-Description of the mode of executing
aParricide in China-The Louisville Murderer-The Negro Pirate - Defaulters and Swindlers - The Shrewd Young Merchant, &c.
" IN the year 1850," said Uncle Zeb, "I visited California, with the intention of remaining a few months to
examine a portion of the country, and perchance pick up
a few rocks, if any fell in my way.  So much has already been said and written respecting this " El Dorado
of tenderness and tin," that it would be superfluous for me
to attempt to give any description, either of the country
itself, the natives, or the thousands of adventurers who
had for three or four years previous been pouring into
this promised land.
I made an excursion to the mines, on and above the




184              RAISING THE VEIL;
American liver.   At one section of the diggings, I
found a small community, consisting of twenty-five or
thirty miners, most of them Americans, and two of them
were elderly men, with whom I had a slight previous
acquaintance. I concluded to remain with them a short
time, and try my luck also, with the pickaxe and shovel.
I had not been long with them, before I made the
acquaintance of almost every man, and I was forcibly
struck with the apparent good order that prevailed, and
the kindly feeling which they entertained toward each
other.
After the close of each days work, they would repair
to their tents, cook, and eat their suppers; they would
then light their pipes, (nearly all of them,) and congregate together in small squads, and wile away a few
hours, telling stories, discussing politics, singing songs
of home, and drinking large potations of brandy, and
that, generally good and pure, except the poisonous stuff
manufactured in, and shipped from New-York, or some
Atlantic cities of New England.
A few isolated individuals would remain alone in
their tents, reading some thumb-worn book or newspaper received from home, or perhaps, perusing for the
fiftieth time a letter from a betrothed damsel, who urges
him to hasten the time, and return to fulfil loves young




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.        185
promises, and make glad the heart which yearns to behold him once more.
Whenever any difference arose between them, or whenever there was an intricate point to settle, one of the
gentlemen to whom I have alluded as having previously
known, who gloried in the soubriquet of Judge, was
looked upon as umpire. His decisions were irrevocable,
and from them there was no appeal, although his knowledge of law was very limited, and his opinions as sometimes expressed, were ambiguous and indefinite.
For example:-Early one morning one of the miners
left his tent, after having prepared his breakfast, without having eaten it, and was absent fifteen or twenty minutes. In the interim an Indian entered the tent, gathered up the tempting flap-jacks, and other delectable
morsels, and quietly vamoosed.
When the miner returned and found his breakfast
non est invntus, he waxed exceeding wroth, and swore by
"the living Moses," that he would take summary vengeance upon the thief, if he could discover him.
Presently one of his companions came into the tent,
and informed him that he saw an Indian enter, and
leave it a short time before; but supposing the occupant
was within, he took no particular notice of him; he
could, however, point out the direction which the Indian
160




186             RAISING THE VEIL;
took. The young man seized his rifle and started in
pursuit.
The California Indians are quiet and inoffensive, but
filthy, indolent, and thievish. Like the " Cyote," they will
prowl about in a sneaking way, ready to pilfer anything,
whenever they imagine they are not seen; without intellect enough to calculate upon the chances of afterwards being detected. In fact, they appear to be but a
trifling grade above the brute creation.
The young miner who had started upon the trail of
the Indian, had traveled about a mile and a half, when,
in a small ravine he espied the thief, seated upon the
grass, devouring the breakfast which had been especially
prepared for another.
The miner cooly brought his rifle to his shoulder, and
taking a sure and steady aim "pop went the weasle."
The Indian with a piercing shriek leaped from  the
ground, and falling over backwards expired, with a part
of the last flap-jack unmasticated in his mouth.
The miner returned to his tent, put by his rifle, substituted half a pint of brandy for his breakfast, and went
to his daily labor.
Although our hero, or murderer, (which ever you please
to term him) was very popular among his companions,
some of them were not well pleased at this procedure.
They avered that the crime did not merit such a pun



OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.        187
ishment. while others said that it was absolutely necssary
to pop off a few of the theiving devils, when they were
detected; and thus, make examples of them, for the
safety and protection of their goods and property, which
was necessarily exposed, and liable to be pilfered and
carried away.
Finally it was agreed amongst them  to convene a
court, and allow each man, who was disposed, to express
his opinion in the case. The opinion, ruling, and decision
of the Judge, was of course, to be considered definite,
and final.
The court convened. 1Much was said pro and con, and
after each one had given his views and opinion upon the
the merits of the case before them, the Judge arose
somewhat perplexed, as he had discovered that the parties were nearly balanced, and differed materially in
their opinions. He then proceeded to address them as
follows:"Gentlemen. I don-no as I shall make myself fully
understood in this matter,'cause there is a great difference of opinion among the gentlemen who compose this
court. You have all argued well on both sides. You all
talk well enough, and I think you all mean well enough;
but there is one pigzt that none of you have touched on at
all, and that is this:  Whether or not a California
f'Injun" is a human critter. Now, really, I don-no




188             RAISING THE VEIL;
wether he is or not. Some of you will say he is; but
how you going to prove it?  Whar's your authority?
Can you findc it in Washington's Farewell Address, or in
his Declaration of Independence?  Guess not! Whar
do you find it then?  When that good old, gentleman
said, that all men were born free and equal, did he include California Injuns?  Of cours he did'nt'cause he
did'nt know anything about the nasty critters! So you
see, if you aint got no authority, your argument falls.
Then again, on the other hand, those who argue that
a California Injun is a human, responsible critter, don't
produce any proof, as I see at all. Some of you say
that he is, and some of you say that he aint. Now, how
do you'spose I'm goin' to make a decision in a case
where I alint got no proof neither way? The stealing of
he flap-jacks have been spoken of. This I know makes it
a very agrivated case; for I must tell the truth, and
say, that my friend, whose case we are investigating,
makes the best flap-jacls of any man in these diggings,
and if I had'nt been appointed Judge, more'en like as
not, I should have stole some of the flap-jacks myself, if
I'd got a good chance,'cause those are about the only
things I've seen worth stealing since I've been here
among you; but to have a cursed Injun steal tlhat kcin
of flap-jacks,'its too bad, and no mistake.
And gentlemen, speaking of flap-jacks, brings up an



OR, SCENES IN TIIE COURTS.       189
other pint which I had almost forgotten. When old
Dr. Quickenbosh was here in the diggings he told
me, that more'en half the sickness among the miners
was caused by using too much salaretus in mixing up
their flLp-jacks. He argued that salaretus should never
be put into the human stomach any way, and the only
thing it was good for on God's'arth, is to put into
sour cider, when you are goin' to drink it in the morning before breakfast, and then you should always put in
a little good brandy to prevent it from discumboberating
the internal intestines; and I am inclined to think the
old doctor was more than half right.
I hope you gentlemen will bear in mind, that this is
a court of inquiry, and not a court of trial,, and you all
know, that there is a good deal of difference between the
one and t'other. I have not yet during the trial seen
or heard any evidence, nor the smallest bit of proof,
which leads me to believe that our friend the defendant
ever shot an Itjun any way. True; he says, he did,
but he or-ter said, he tlhouzqht he did. He says, the Injun stole his breakfast. That's true, nobody doubts
that. He says, he followed the Injun with his rifle,
and found him squatting in a ravine chawing up the
flap-jacks. That's true, nobody doubts that. But mark
yqu; he then says, that he drew up his rifle-banged
away-sent a little joker right through him, between




190             RAISING THE VEIL;
his smeller ana bread-basket, firing at a distance of
five or six hundred yards!  He then goes on to say,
that the Injun squealed once, jumped up, and the- went
over "kerflummux," with the flap-jack in his mouth,
and I have no doubt the defendant really believes that
he shot the Injun! But gentlemen, everybody is likely
to be deceived some time or'nother.'Taint three
nights ago, I heard the defendant swear he could snuff
a candle at sixty yards with his rifle, nine times out
of ten.
"And I swear now I can do it, and I'll bet high on
it, with anybody," the prisoner said in an audible voice.
The Judge without paying the slightest attention to
this remark of the defendant, continued.
"Nobody saw him snuff the candle at sixty yards,
gentlemen, and because he thinks he can do it, is no
proof he can. Besides, in the case of the Illjun, nobody
see him shoot him, and there aint no law to convict a
man on his own testimony. Now would'nt it be more
reasonable to suppose that the Injun, after stealing
them flap-jacks, which I dare say, was full of salaretus,
went down into the swamp and began to eat'em, and
you know Injuns aint used to eaten salaretus. Might
not, I say, them flap-jacks given the Injun gripes, and
the gripes you know will make a man squeal awfully,
and sometimes throw him into fits, and when he has




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.        191
thlem fits he will jump up, " fiummux" round, throw up
his hand, when he sees he aint neither ace, face, nor
trump, and keel over as easy as a stuck pig. I don't
say this Injun died that way; but I do say he might
have died that way, although the defendant says he
shot him; and in any other case but this, I should take
his word under oath, as quick as I would any other
man's, between here and'Dead-man's Bar.'
" Under all the circumstances, gentlemen, in fulfiling
the duties you have put upon me, I honorably discharge
the defendant."
The charge and decision of the Judge was received
with approbation. Many of them asserted that he had
put a new phase upon the whole matter; that he had
conducted the trial fairly and equitably; in fact, they
looked upon him as " a second Daniel come to judgment."
Let not the reader infer that the miners there assembled, were ignorant and untutored men, far from it.
Many of them had been educated in New England
schools, and understood the common law much better
than many who fill the jury-seats in some of our Southern and Western courts. But the first law of nature,
self-preservation, and the necessity of combining together
for the protection of their rights and property, together,
with the habits and customs formed after months, perhaps years spent in these wild regions, most of the time




192              RAISING THE VEIL:
with no opportunities to mingle with any other society,
except their own; naturally causes them to adopt habits,
rules, and regulations, which they would throw off at
once, if they were placed in a different situation. If a
stranger comes among them, and adapts himself to their
rules, and conducts himself with what they call propriety, he is kindly received, and welcomed by all. If he
is taken sick, some one of them will look after him.  If
he dies, they will bury him decently, carefully preserve
whatever goods and effects he may have, and inform his
relations and friends, if any can be founde respecting
the same.
Now," continued Uncle Zeb, "I will relate an account of the first and only capital trial and execution I
ever witnessed under what is called'Linch Law.' I
was obliged to be a participator in it, as was every one
who happened to be present on the occasion. The scene
occured at the same place, and the trial was conducted
by the same men who were engaged in the trial I have
just described.
"A stout muscular well formed man who had been
prospecting in the dry diggings, came among us, and
pitched his tent near some deserted claims. He was an
Englishman by birth, about forty years of age.  His appearance was any thing but prepossessing. His sinister
eye, which had a restless snaky look, and the preponder



OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.        193
ance of the animal passions, indicated that he was not
possessed of a mild or amiable disposition, while the
broken bridge of his nose, and deep cut scars upon his
cheeks, plainly shewed that the fist of some powerful
pugilist and his face, had often come in close contact.
It was evident from the first, that the miners took a great
dislike to him, although they always treated him with
civility, if not respect.
"Soon after he came among us, he got into an altercation, about some trivial matter, with a young man
from the British provinces, who was much esteemed by
our little community. From words the belligerants
came to blows, but they were quickly parted, and advised to settle the matter amicably, shake hands, take
a quiet drink, and retire. This they did, and all who
saw the fracas, supposed the affair was peacably settled.
"The next morning the Englishman took his musket
or fowling-piece, loaded it with slug-shot, and stealthily
repaired to the tent of the young miner, who was there,
busily employed in preparing his breakfast. When he
reached the entrance of the tent, the young man was
standing with his back towards him, and was not aware
of his approach, when the cowardly wretch raised his
weapon, leveled it at the miner, and discharged its contents through his back.
" Two men who were hard by, hurried to the tent, the




194             RAISING T-IE VEL;
murderer had no time to conceal himself. They went
in and raised the dying man, heard him exclaim,' 0
God! I have been murcdered by that cursed English
man. I saw him as I fell, with the gun in his hanc'
Having articulated these words, he gasped and died.
"In an incredible short space of time, every miner
within two miles of the spot, rushed to the scene of action.
So quickly did they make their appearance, that one
could almost imagine that they sprung up out of the
earth like Satyrs.
" The murder was committed between the hours of
six and seven o'clock A. lI., and the miners agreed to
hold a court of trial at nine o'clock the same day. The
murderer was arrested, his arms pinioned, and he was
securely fastened to a tree. Two miners having loaded
revolvers were stationed to watch him.
" At the appointed hour the Judge with fifteen jurors,
(who had been previously chosen) assembled, and the
prisoner was brought before them. The charge, which
was very briefly written, was read to him by the Judge,
and he was asked whether he was guilty, or not guilty.
"The hardened wretch sat in dogged silence, and
although his countenance indicated that he would be
willing to give up a lifetime of pleasure, if he could have
the opportunity to assassinate all those who were around




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.        195
him. Yet he opened not his mouth. Thrice was the
question put to him, but he made no reply.
" The examination of the witnesses then commenced.
The two witnesses who were first at the tent, after the
murder had been committed, related in a lucid manner,
all that then and there transpired. The Judge did not
review their testimony, but put the question to a vote of
hands, remarking, that every one present would be allowed to vote if they pleased.'Now, gentlemen,' said
he,'all of you who believe that the prisoner is guilty
will hold up your right hands.' Instantly, nearly all
those present raised up their right hand.' Those of a
contrary mind may hold up their righat hand.' Not a
single hand was raised.' The Judge then arose from his bench and addressed
the prisoner. He asked him if he had anything to say
before sentence was pronounced. The culprit remained
in sullen silence, and would not utter a single word.
"The Judge proceeded to address the miners. He
complimented them, (but I must admit that it was not
in a very elegant or classical language) for their promptness of action, and the quiet manner in which they had
conducted themselves during the trial, then turning to
the prisoner he said:-' The sentence of the court is, that
you be taken to the nearest tree, and a rope thoroughly
fastened about your neck, and there hang until you are




196             RAISING THE VEL;
dead. And this sentence shall be executed on you
within the space of forty minutes from this time!' He
then added, by way of parenthesis,'I think that will
be long enough for you to settle up all your worldly
affairs, and make preparations to visit another country.'
"All was now hurry and bustle among the miners,
some went to procure shovels to dig a grave, others went
to procure rough boards to make a box, which would be
a substitute for a coffin, while another was dispatched to
obtain a rope suitable to be used for the occasion.
"The prisoner with a careless, but demonical look
surveyed the movements of the miners and the preparations which were being made to bring his earthly career
to an abrupt close; but there were no expressions of
either dread or fear pourtrayed in his countenance.
" The nearest tree stood within six or seven hundred
yards of the spot where the trial was held. When the
rope was brought, one of the party climbed the tree, and
sitting astride a large crotchet limb he commenced removing the bark with his pocket knife, so that the rope
might slide over it more easily. The limb of the tree was
not more than twenty feet from the ground, but it appeared
much higher. He then lowered a small cord, which was
attached by those below to the end of the rope which he
drew up, and then properly arranged.
"All things were now in perfect readiness, but the




OR, SCENES IN TlE COURTS.        197
forty minutes had not elapsed, fifteen minutes yet remained. The Judge who was walking about, ever and
anon casting furtive glances at his watch, (which by the
bye was not as large as an old fashioned warming-pan,
but large enough for any able bodied man to carry about
his person) appeared anxiously waiting for the minute
to arrive which would free him from all responsibility
and close a scene which was anything but agreeable.
While preparations were being made for the execution
I approached the prisoner, and asked him if he wished
to make a will, or have a letter written to any friend or
relative.
"' No,' he replied,'I don't want'either.'
f' If said I,' there is anything you wish, or any fa;
vor I can bestow, I will cheerfully grant it, if you will
make it known.'
"' Then go and bring me a glass of brandy and water,' he gruffly replied.
"I complied with his request, brought the beverage,
and held the tumbler to his lips while he swallowed the
liquid with much apparent satisfaction.
"' Thank you,' said he, in same harsh tone of voice.'After they have swung me up, go to my camp, and you
will find there a few ounces of dust, put'em in your
pocket, and use'em to suit yourself.'
"'I That I should not be allowed to do,' was my reply,




198               RAISING TIE VEIL;'because all monies, or other property left by persons
deceased in the mines, where they have no relatives to
claim it, is used for the benefit of sick and unfortunate
miners.'
"'Well,' said he,'I don't care a d-d what's done
with it, if they'd onlYsentenced me to be shot, and not
hang'd like a Billingsgate thief, I should have felt
better satisfied; but I suppose the time is almost up,
and-'
"Before he had finished the sentence, two of the miners came up and conducted the culprit to the tree on
which he was shortly to be suspended. The rope was
adjusted around his neck. The Judge, with watch in
-hand, cried out,'Gentlemen, man the rope!' Every
person present, except the Judge, took hold of the rope,
(some of them very reluctantly) awaiting the signal.
Presently the Judge's voice was again heard in loud
and distinct tones, saying,' (Gentlemen! rugn him up!'
" Scarcely had the words passed from the Judges lips
ere the victim was suspended high in the air. It was
evident to me that the rope had not been properly fastened around his neck, and that the culprit would die by
slow strangulation; the convulsive throes of the body,
the swollen protruding tongue, and eyeballs starting
from their sockets, together with the deathlike stillness




O0t, SCENES IN TI1I COTJRTS.      199
which prevailed; all combined to make an impression
on my mind which time can never effaw.
"After the body had been suspended ten or fifteen
minutes, it was, by order of the Judge, lowered to the
ground. One of the party examined it, and said, that
life was not yet extinct, as there still remained a slight
pulsation of the heart.
" The Judge, who stood holding the huge watch, paused for a moment, as he gazed on the time-keeper,
and remarked,'he dies hard.' Then raising his voice
he said:'Yon must run him up again V' W~ith an
almost inconceivable rapidity, those who had hold of
the rope, drew up the nearly lifeless ]body with such
velocity that Bwhen tlhe head struck the limb of the tree,
over which the rope was drawn, the neck of the miserable victim was broken.
" Presently afterwards, the body was taken down and
placld in the rough wooden box, the top of it nailed on
in the fame manner that a porter in a mercantile warehouse would nail up a box of goods. The box containing the body was lowered into the hole or grave, which
was already prepared. The earth was quickly shoveled'
in, and the mniners, with the Judge and jury, retired
from the scene of action.
"In less than five hours after the murder was com



200               RAISING THE VEL;
mitted, the culprit had been arrested, tried, convicted,
sentenced, exect:ted and buried.
" After the execution and burial was over, each man
returned to his labor.  Few comments were made by
any of them   at the time, and in less than one week
afterwards the whole affair seemed to have been entirely
forgotten."
"I have," continued Uncle Zeb, "seen many executions in different parts of the world.   I have seen a
Spaniard sit as immovable as a statue, while the executioner was adjusting the' Garotte.'    I have seen a
Chinese who had been convicted of the crime of parricide, being prepared for the burning rack, and while the
executioner was enclosing his body with the bandages
which had been dipped in tar, I have listened to his piteous groans, and cries for mercy; and when the fire was
lighted, have seen the poor wretch dying under the most
excruciating torments;: but never yet did I witness an: Years ago, the laws of China, decreed that a man who committed
the crime of parricide should be burned alive. The condemned crinminal was bandaged from the neck to the. feet, with strips of cloth
saturated with oil and tar. The body was placed in an iron frame
supported by poles ten or fifteen feet long. These frames were so
arranged that they could be adjusted to the body. The criminal
was fastened in, with his head downwards, fire was applied to his
feet, and he was left to burn out like a candle, until the body was
consumed.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         201
execution the recollection of which is so vividly impressed upon my mind as the one I have just narrated."
Let those who deprecate summary trials and executions, under what is called "Lynch Law," proclaim
against them as they will. I do not intend to speak or
write in vindication of them, nevertheless, there are times
and circumstances which warrant the administration of
prompt and speedy punishment of flagrant offenders.
The scenes enacted in one of our western cities a short
time since, are fresh in the minds of the people now, and
will be for many years to come. A hot blooded, pampered son of a rich man, deliberately loads his revolver,
goes into a school-house, discharges the contents into the
body of the teacher, and utters the most profane oaths,
while his victim lies dying before him; then departs,
exultingly boasting that he had shot a d-d miserable
Yankee dog of a schoolmaster, who had dared to chastise his brother. The parents and relatives of the murderer were wealthy, and consequently commanded an
extensive influence. The assassin was brought up for
trial, the evidence against him was clear, explicit and
conclusive; there was not " a loop to hang a doubt upon,"
nevertheless, he was acquitted. Was not this meeting
out even handed justice with a vengeance?
Again, a negro on board a vessel in the harbor of
New-York city, murdered the captain and crew, two or




202              RAISING TI-E VEIL;
three in number, scuttled the schooner, then betook himself to a yawl-boat and went on shore.  Suspicion rested
upon him, he was arrested, and imprisoned to await his
trial. In conversation with some of the officers and
others, indubitable proofs were elicited from him, of his
having committed the crime.   When he was informed
that persons were employed in searching for the body of
the captain, he replied.  "Well let them hunt, I've
taken good care they shan't find him."  When this man
was brought up for trial, he was discharged, because the
writs and legal documents contained informalities.
In the first case I have cited, it is inexplicable to
me, as well as to hundreds of others, why it was that
the citizens of Louisville did not seize the murderer
while he was immerging from the court-house, after his
acquittal, before he had an opportunity to enter the
splendid carriage (that stood at the door ready to receive
him,) and after giving him two new suits of clothes, one
of tar, and the other of feathers, hang him up by the
neck, and there let him remain longo after vitality had
ceased. In the other, it is possible that if the mirderer,
instead of a black, had worn a white skin, the informalities in the writ would have been corrected in the twinkling of an eye.
Let no one for a moment imagine that I harbor the
shadow of a suspicion, that Judges or officers watch




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          203
the movements of political parties, or have the slightest
inclination to favor the, views of those who apparently
stand the best chance of being placed in a position where
they can alter and revise old laws, and enact new ones,
or displace Judges, and place the ermine on the shoulders of others.
In these days of peculations and defalcations, when
our newspapers teem with accounts of swindling Presidents and Directors of Banks, Agents of Corporations,
Bank Tellers and Clerks, are not the community at
large as much in fault as the framers and administrators of the laws?
If a bank officer, or a treasurer of a corporation is
detected in the commission of gross frauds, his friends
will step in between him and the officers of the law, and
protect him; especially when he has saved a sufficient
portion of embezzled funds to make good his bondsmen,
and hold them harmless.    The merchant, the trader,
the mechanic, and even the laborer will discuss the
matter, and speak of it as an unfortunate affair, because
he was such a nice man, and has so many respectable
connections, also a young wife and interesting family,
etc. The conclusion that the majority of the community
will come to, will be, that all the circumstances considered, it would be much better to let himn go than commence a prosecution.   Those defaulters who commit




204              RAISING THE VEIL;
suicide to escape the shame and ignomy of an exposure,
or because they feared the prison cell, are spoken of as
being very foolish weak-minded men. How often do
we hear the remark made respecting such. "If he had
been arrested, and tried, he never would have been convicted, unless he had squandered away all the monies he
had taken."
While this state of feeling exists, justice can never
overtake the wealthy murderer, incendiary, or robber;
even though they are brought before our judicial tribunals.
If the rich Louisville Murderer I have alluded to, had
been taken before and tried by the unlearned California
Judge, and his fifteen gold-digging jurors, think you,
that the plea of wealth, respectable connections, doating
parents, or kind brothers and sisters, would have availed
him?  No, their reply would have been. He has murdered a man who never injured him. That man also had
kind kindred, and fostering friends, who mourn for him,
and his blood cries to us from the ground, " Justice must
be done!"  They would then have added. "He dsall
hang as high as Haman."
I repeat what I have already said, that I am not an
advocate for "Lynch Law," but when I carefully examine such cases as I have narrated, when men who
have committed the most heinous crimes, are permitted




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         205
to slide through the meshes of the law, on account of
some informalities, or flaws in the complaints, or indictments, (nine tenths of which appear to be intentional on
the part of the officers who draw them up,) and others
are suffered to go at large, for no other reason except
that they have rich and influential relations, and have
previously borne a good character, I am inclined to
think that a little of what is called " Lynch Law" would
not be injurious to the interest of that portion of our
citizens who support by the sweat of their brow the lawmakers, and law-dispensers.
When a mechanic or laborer takes from the store or
shop of his employer the most trifling article, if detected,
he is brought before a magistrate, tried, convicted and
punished. This is as it should be! Every honest and
upright citizen will sanction it, and many aver that the
court was altogether too lenient in passing sentence.
The plea of respectability and former good character,
will avail him nothing. The magistrate will, with much
gravity inform the culprit, that in consideration of this,
that, and the other, he will fix the sentence as light as
the law will allow; and the prisoner is either fined, or
imprisoned, getting nothing more, (perhaps less) than
his just deserts.
After the employer has gone into court and testified
against the employee for unlawfully appropriating to his
18




206              RAISING THE VEIL;
own use and benefit, goods to the amount of twenty-five
or thirty cents; he will deliberately go to those who have
befriended and patronised him, and borrow money, or purchase goods to a large amount, and after having carefully laid aside a few thousand dollars, (the word few is
so indefinite that I must leave the reader to judge what
the amount would be. Some men would call three or
four thousand dollars a fewo, while others would say it
was a mere cypher,) he will inform his creditors that he
must suspend business, and deliver up his property to
them. He thinks he can pay twenty-five or thirty cents
on the dollar, if he is not put to any expense; but if he
is driven into chancery, the dividend would not be fifteen
per cent. If his creditors agree to this, he will immediately proceed to square his accounts with them, and recommence business with his ill-gotten gains, as purseproud as a millionaire. Is not this robbery?  If I appropriate another a-an's property to my own use, with
the preconcerted intent to defraud him, am I not as
culpable as the highwayman who meets you, and orders
you to stand and deliver?  I am of opinion that the
highwayman is the more honorable robber of the two.
I knew a young man who commenced business a few
years ago, with a cash capital of four or five hundred
dollars, and he was considered a shrewd, active, business
man; he managed to obtain credit for more than three




OR, SCENES IN THE COUTRTS.       207
times that amount.  By his shrewd calculations he
managed to meet his notes very promptly, and for that
reason he was able to get credit to a large amount. At
the expiration of two years he went personally, and informed his creditors that it was necessary for him to
wind up his affairs. He told them that it was with feelings of the most profound sorrow and regret, he had
(after taking a careful inventory of his property,) discovered that it would not pay his creditors more than
thirty cents on the dollar.  lany of them believed this,
and signed a document agreeing to give him a receipt
in full, if the thirty per cent offered was paid within a
month. The largest creditor, a shrewd old merchant,
held out for a long time before he would sign this agreement, but finally said to the swindler: " I will take that,
if you will pay it within an hour."
The debtor started out, saying he would borrow the
amount, and very shortly returned with the money in
his pocket. After paying it over and taking his receipt,
he turned to the merchant and remarked:  "There;
now, thank God, I don't owe a man a dollar in the
world, and if I had'nt dealt honest and fair I should be
much better off than I am. Here I've been to work'
more than two years, and whether you believe it or not,
I tell you, and I can prove that I've saved up only
seven thousand dollars!  Hereupon he drew forth a




208              RAISING THE VEIL;
large pocket-book, and presented before the eyes of the
astonished merchant the amount named in current bankbills.
Now, what course did this creditor pursue?  Did he
attempt to get the fellow indicted for swindling?  No;
on the contrary, he told him that he considered him a
smart business man, and that his credit hereafter would
be good in his establishment to any reasonable amount.
Cases of this kind are of a daily occurence amongst
our mercantile community, but they are not so boldly
executed as the one cited. Rogues and robbers are
called smart. Swindlers are looked upon as shrewd
business men.   One half the community appear to
make it their study to lay plans and adopt means to
cheat the other half. " So runs the world away."








WILLIAMI D. EATON.
(See Pa( e 284.)




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.            209
CHAPTER XI.
How Rogues escape from Justice on account of the informalities
found in indictments-A specimen of an indictment and complaint combined-Ruling of a learned Judge-The way Lawyers
humbug their clients, by drawing up prolix documents-The Insanity Dodge-Physicians upon the witness stand-The way
Lawyers manage to prove an Alibi-The Horse Thief who got
clear, after having been convicted-A Cunning Lawyer outwitted
by his more Cunning Client, &c.
I HAVE said that rogues often escape from justice and
the punishment they deserve, on account of the informalities found in writs and indictments, or some legal technicalities.
Persons who have business in courts, (many, if not all
of them) have noticed that whenever a prisoner is arraigned, the first thing the counsel wishes to see, is the
complaint or indictment.   How eagerly they will seize
the document, and scan it over, trying to discover an
error of omission or addition.   If one is found, their
eyes will glisten, and they will, in a very pompous manner, suggest to the court that their client must be set at
liberty on account of the " errors in the bill."  For in



210              RAISING THE VEIL;
stance:-A man is complained of for an assault and
battery and is brought before a magistrate, when he is
called up, the Clerk reads the complaint to him, the style
and wording of which I will here note, and if I do not
put it in the usual form, it will at least give the reader,
(who is unacquainted with such documents,) an idea of
the nonsensical prolixity of the forms of law, and of indictments.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
CountyJ of Suffolk, S. 8
John Jones of the City of Boston, of the County aforesaid, on oath complains, that John Smith, otherwise
called John Smithett, otherwise called Jonas Smithcome,
otherwise called Johnny Smothface, otherwise called
Jack Sneezer, did on the first day of April last past, it
being in the year of our Lord 1856, with force of arms,
and malice aforethought, did make an assault upon
John Jones, thereby putting the said Jones in great
bodily fear and terror. And the aforesaid assault made
upon the said John Jones by the said John Smith, otherwise John Smithett, otherwise called Jonas Smithcome,
otherwise called Jack Sneezer; he being armed with
dangerous and deadly weapons. To wit:-Guns, Pistols, Swords, Daggers, Blunderbusses, Pitchforks, Shovels, Axes, Brickbats, Clubs, Stones and Staves, all




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           211
against the peace and dignity of the said Commonwealth
in such cases made and provided.
And the aforesaid John Jones further complains, the
aforesaid assault was made upon him in the day-time.
And the aforesaid John Jones further complains, the
aforesaid assault was made upon him in the night-time.
And, the said Jones further declares that the aforesaid
Smith held one of the aforesaid instruments in his right
hand, and he further declares that the aforesaid Smith
held one or more of the aforesaid instruments in both of
his hands.  That he did then and there beat, bruise,
bang, strike, kick, and otherwise evil treat the said
Jones, putting him in great bodily fear, against the
peace and dignity of the Commonwealth in such case
made and provided.   Now, John Smith, otherwise called
John Smithett, otherwise called Jonas Smithcome, otherwise called Johnny Smothface, otherwise called Jack
Sneezer.  What say you to this complaint?  "Are you
guilty, or not guilty?"'
The prisoner, after having listened attentively to the
jargon of words which is read by the Court Clerk, will
plead not guilty, unless he has been otherwise instructed:::: The reader will perceive that I have mingled a complaint and
indictment into one. They differ materially in their forms; nevertheless they are often more ridiculous than the sketch I have
drawn of them.




212              RAISING THE VEIL;
by some two-penny lawyer, who has been engaged to
defend him.
If the prisoner pleads not guilty, the witnesses are
immediately called to the stand, and after having been
sworn, it will be clearly shown by their testimony that
the defendant John Smith, did box the ears, or slap the
face of the complainant; but not until after he had been
grossly abused by the complainant.
In case the defendant has no counsel, the Judge will
very gravely inform him, that although he had strong
provocation for committing the assault, he could not be
allowed to take the law into his own hands; he should
apply to the court for legal redress. If a man knocks
you down in the street, you have no right to jump up,
and knock him   down in return.   If you go home at
night and find another man in bed with your wife, you
have no right to chastise him, or in any way injure
him; for the law will protect you, and it will also protect him.'  The Judge will then inform the prisoner
that there being some extenuating circumstances connected with the assault, he shall be very lenient with
- A learned Judge in one of the Criminal Courts of Massachusetts,
while charging a jury a few months since, expressed this sentiment,
in substance as I have written it: though the phrasology may be
slightly altered. I marvel that his Honor did not inform the jury
what course he would pursue, in case he happened to catch a
poacher of this kind sporting in his own preserves.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.        213
him, an impose a fine of five dollars and costs. If the
fine is not paid within two hours, the prisoner stands
committed to the House of Correction.
For what purpose are indictments and other legal documents filled up, and crowded, with words and sentences,
which when annalyzed signify nothing?  True, these
lengthy documents give employment to lawyer's and
attornies' clerks, and puts money in their pockets; but
they often puzzle and confound, not only the jurors, but
sometimes, even the Judge himself.
We have cases upon record, where men in the ordinary
walks of life, have drawn up contracts relating to important business matters, the whole condensed in simple terms, and written out in twelve or fifteen lines,
on common writing paper, and I have seen documents of this discription brought into court and submitted to the Judge, who has pronounced them valid,
and the juries have rendered verdicts accordingly. In
any of those cases, if the contracting parties had applied
to a lawyer, he would, in drawing up the document, have
covered from three to seven pages of foolscap paper,
closely written, and the chances are three to one, that
when it was submitted to the court, it would be ruled
out, and pronounced no contract at all, and the case
would then be thrown out of court.
I do not pretend to say that every man is competent




214               RAISING THE VEIL;
to draw up a contract, or other legal document; in
brief, which woulcl stand the test of law. " The more's
the pity," because those who are not capable, are the very
ones who are obliged to resort to some attorney, and fee
him with their hard earnings, for doing what they should
be able to do themselves.
Of late years it has been a custom for lawyers whenever they take up a criminal case to defend, where the
prisoner has committed some henious offence, and the
evidence against the accused is so direct and clear, that
there is not " a loop to hang a doubt upon," to put in the
plea of insanity. This dodge is generally successful if the
party is possessed of money, and has a few wealthy and
influential friends; but it does not appear to work as
well in the case of the poor devil who has neither. It
is astonishing how quickly after a man has committed
forgery, embezzled money, or taken the life of his fellow man, a number of his friends discover they have
seen something wrong about him several days previous
to his committing the act. One can recollect that he
had seen him a few days before, stand for three consecutive minutes gazing at the weathercock on the spire of
a church. Another will testify that he had seen him walking very rapidly through the streets, when he would stop
suddenly, scratch his poll, then turn round and walk the
other way. Another will tell you, that he has no doubt




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         215
of the man's insaity, from the fact of meeting him in a
drinking saloon, the week before, and there he invited
two friends to imbibe at his expense; and as the man
was never known to do anything of this kind before,
those who witnessed the transaction were unanimous in
the opinion that something must be wrong. Half a score
of physicians, (some among them who never saw or heard
of the man before,) will be called up to testify, and they
will gravely inform the court, that the symptoms, as
described by the witness, was satisfactory evidence, that
the prisoner was laboring under some mental hallucination. The government attorney will look upon the medical gentlemen with wonder and astonishment, unable to
decide in his own mind whether he is asleep or awake;
he cogitates, and after his testimony is all in, he will
commence his argument. But what can he say?    The
guilt of the prisoner is admitted; it will not do for him
to animadvert, by implication or otherwise, on the testimony of the learned disciple of Galen, or Dr. Root; or
attempt to impeach the well-paid witnesses for the defence. The jury will return a verdict of "not guilty,
by. reason of insanity," and the Judge will direct that
the prisoner be removed to some lunatic asylum, there to
remain until the physicians pronounce him cured.
If the culprit can dissemble, he will find it for his interest to "put an antic disposition on."  This he can




216              RAISING THE VEIL;
do very easily, and lay it aside by degrees, in a few
months afterwards he will be pronounced perfectly cured,
and then discharged.
Another plan which is adopted by your shrewd plotting attorney, where he finds that the "insanity dodge"
will not work, is, to attempt to prove an alibi, if by any
possibility the culprit can obtain a few dependable wit
nesses, who can be so thoroughly drilled that they will
all repeat one story, and not allow themselves to be entraped by the government counsel. This drilling of
witnesses is a very delicate work, and never operates
well, when it is undertaken by a bungler in the profession, especially where the witnesses are not endowed
with very retentive memory.
A man by the name of John Gibson Nott, a notorious
horse-thief, who resided in the State  of Ohio, and
whose relatives were in easy circumstances, was arrested,
and tried, three different times for horse-stealing, and
was acquitted each time, by the shrewd management of
his attorney, who in each case proved an alibi, although
no one entertained a doubt with regard to the guilt of the
accused.
Finally, this man stole a very beautiful and valuable
horse, the property of a farmer in the vicinity. As soon
as the animal was missed, suspicion rested on John Gibson Nott. The farmer employed two men to carefully




OR, SCENES IN TEE COURTS.         217
watch the movements of the suspected thief, and two or
three days afterwards he was seen emerging from a forest which lay a considerable distance from his dwelling.
The watchers secreted themselves until he had gone out
of sight, then entered the wood; after a brief search they
found the horse tied to a tree, eating some provender,
which appeared to have been just laid before him. The
men then proceeded to inform the farmer of their discovery, who immediately sent for an officer; he, with the
two assistants, secreted themselves near where the horse
was tied, watching for the arrival of the thief, well knowing that he would return to feed the animal within fourand-twenty hours. They had not waited long before he
made his appearance, bringing with him a pair of sheepshears, a large knife and some cords. When he came
to the spot where the horse stood, he laid down his tools,
made preparations to dock the animal, and otherwise
alter his appearance, by clipping him so that he might
not be identified. The officer with his two assitants,
who were lying in ambush close by, immediately sprang
gt the thief, and he was quickly arrested, and taken
before a magistrate, who committed him to prison, to
await his trial.
Great was the rejoicing among the people of that
vicinity, when they learned that the daring and successful thief had been taken, and the evidence against him
19




218              RAISING THE VEIL;
so positive, that there was no possibility of his getting
clear.
Shortly after his arrest, one of the brothers went to the
attorney who had defended him on the former occasions,
and requested him to take hold of this case.
"No!" was the reply, "I got the rascal acquitted
three times, and in this case there is no defence. I'll
have nothing more to do with him."
The brother urged the attorney strongly; but he was
inexorible.
"I'll give you three hundred dollars!"
" No, you'd better keep your money, I can't help him",
"I'll give you four hundred dollars!"
"No!
"I'll give you five hundred dollars!'
The attorney hesitated a few moments, and then replied.
"Well, pass over your money, and I'll see what I
can do V"
The money was paid, and the man left the attorney's
office.
When it became known that this cunning counsellor
had agreed to defend the villain for the fourth time, and
as he had been heard to say repeatedly that he would
never again appear in court to defend the rascal, under




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         219
any circumstances, some of the people came to the conclusion that he must be insane.
The day of trial came. The court-house was filled.
The counsel for the prisoner appeared to take less interest in the proceedings than the spectators in the courtroom. His cross-examination of the government witnesses was very concise. In his plea to the jury, he
briefly asserted, that there was no testimony adduced
which could criminate the prisoner, and he was satisfied
he would be honorably acquitted.
Before the trial was concluded, the counsellor for the
prisoner took the brother aside, and told him to obtain a
fleet horse, saddled and bridled, bring him there, and
stand by his side near the court-house door. The jury
retired, but were not long in finding a verdict. When
they returned to their seats, the Judge asked if they
had agreed upon a verdict. The foreman answered in
the affirmative. The prisoner was ordered to stand up
and look upon the foreman as he rendered the decision.
The foreman in a clear and distinct voice, said: " The
verdict of this jury is, John Gibson Nott; Guilty.
"Just as I expected," shouted  the attorney for the
prisoner, " John Gibson, NOT GUILTY."
Mr. John Gibson Nott, took his que from the lawyer,
and then took to his heels. He bounded out of the
court-house, leaped upon the back of the horse which




220              RAISING THE VEIL;
stood in waiting for him at the door, and before the astonished court and officers recovered their equilibrium,
the lucky prisoner was out of sight.
John was never again seen in that vicinity.
The Judge ordered the counsellor to be arrested, but
when he was brought to trial, there was no law to be
found that would reach his case, he had only repeated
the words of the foreman of the jury.
Occasionally some of these shrewd lawyers are themselves out-witted by their clients.
A man who had stolen a horse and chaise, and sold
the same, was arrested and brought to trial. He stipulated with a cunning lawyer to defend him, agreeing to
pay him fifty dollars if he was acquitted.
The lawyer instructed his client how to act, and what
to say, when he was brought into court. The fellow
profited by his advice. When he was arraigned, and
placed upon the stand to hear the indictment read, he
took from his pocket a child's picture book, and with
an idiotic look appeared much interested gazing at the
prints. When he was asked whether he plead guilty,
or not guilty, he burst out with a loud laugh, saying,
"See that little d-d hedge-hog under the fence," then
holding up the book, and looking at the Judge, he exclaimed, "0  look here! just tell your mother to come
here a minute."




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.        221
The Judge turned -to the Clerk, and asked "6 Is not
that ma n    non compos nentis."
The lawyer arose and assured his Honor, that such
was the fact. That the poor fellow had strayed from
home, (stating the place where he belonged) and that
one of his relatives who was searching for him had just
arrived, and was there in the court, and he wished to
have him put upon the witness stand to testify and
coroborate the fact.
The witness, (who was an accomplice of the thief,)
swore that he had known the poor unfortunate creature
from his childhood, that he was perfectly harmless, and
when at home was carefully watched, to prevent him
straying away.
The Judge ordered him to be discharged.
The lawyer was elated at the success of his plan. He
followed the prisoner and his accomplice out of the courthouse, and when they reached a spot where they could
not be overheard he congratulated his client, and requested him to " fork over" the amount promised him
for-his services.
The thief resumed his idiotic look, and produced the
picture-book which the lawyer had given him, and held
it up before the attorney, exclaiming, "Don't you see
that little d-d- hedge-hog under the fence?2'
19^




222             RAISING THE VEIL;
"Capital trick warn't it, and shrewdly managed?"
exclaimed the attorney.
"Just tell your mother to come here a minute," was
the response.
"You played your part remarkable well," said the
lawyer.
"Did you see that little d-d hedge-hog under the
fence?" rejoined the client.
"Let us throw off this foolery now," said the lawyer,
"because I am in haste. Pay me what you agreed to,
and I shall be glad to defend you again."
The client placed his mouth close to the ear of the
attorney, and shouted loud enough to wake old "1Enceladus," 0 loolk here!  Tell your mother to come here a
minute."
The attorney turned upon his heel and started.
Whether he ever tried " the picture-book game" again,
deponent saith not.




SCEIES IN THE COURTS              223
CHAPTER      XII.
Character of Court Witnesses as delineated when they are upon the
witness stand-The Reckless Witness —The Temperance Man
who was a hard drinker-Infidel Witness —The Infidel who refused to take an oath-The way that Judges and Jurors are often
deceived-The Superstitious Witness-The Interpreter WitnessNovel defence of an Irish Witness-The Comical Negro WitnessPenalties for Perjury-Loafers and Procurers for Brothels who
are hangers on in the Court Rooms, &c,
THOSE who would study the different phases of the
human character, as indicated by the looks, words, and
actions of men, cannot have a better school than the
court-rooms.   If a person visits them    and carefully
watches the witnesses as they are brought upon the stand
to testify, they will learn more of human nature in one
day, than they could in months elsewhere.       It is my
belief that there is not one witness out of twenty, either
in the civil or criminal courts, who when they are brought
up to render in their evidence are entirely disinterested,
unbiased, and unprejudiced.    I do not mean to say that
the majority of witnesses are dishonest, and deliberately
misrepresent facts and matters connected with the case,




224              RAISING THE VEIL;
or cases on trial, but I do say that it is almost impossible
for any one to render in a fair, correct and impartial
evidence, when they are in any way prejudiced either
for, or against a man, or any body of men, who may
have a trial pending.
This prejudice extends not only to individuals, but
often witnesses will harbor strong prejudices either for,
or against a particular nation, and its inhabitants generally. If a foreigner, especially if he was so unfortunate as to first look upon the light in the green "Isle of
Erin," has been charged with committing any offence,
and the witnesses called to testify against him  are
Americans, who believe that there are more foreigners
in the country than there should be, thik you that
their evidence in the case would be the same that it
would if a friend or acquaintance of their'sinstead of the
Irishman had committed the same offence, and was
placed in precisely the same situation?  Reverse the
case and you will have the same results.
When a police officer arrests a man for some violation
of law, and goes into court to testify against him, it is
not for his interest to have the man acquitted. If he is,
it implies a false arrest, tending to show by implication
that the officer does not know his duty, and is not a fit
man for the situation; consequently Ire is led to swear
(as the Butcher Boys say,) " way up to the handle."




OR SCENES IN THE COURTS.         225
Then we have the careless, reckless witness, who will
for fifty cents go upon the stand and swear to almost
any thing, and every thing, that may be required of him,
without having the least compunctions of conscience;
on the contrary, he will go among his companions afterwards and boast of having "pulled the wool over the
eyes" of the Judge, and that he did'nt know much about
the case, but what he did'nt know, he guessed at. Such
witnesses are near akin to the deliberate systematic perjurer, who goes into court with the full determination to
pile lie upon lie, until his falsehoods become countless,
if by so doing he can further his own interests or those
of his friends.
A man who resided in the eastern part of Massachusetts, was a few years ago summoned to appear in court,
in a case where a friend of his was on trial for selling
spirituous and intoxicating liquors. When this man
was called upon the witness stand, in answer to the first
question asked by the government counsel, which was:
"Do you know the defendant?"
IHe deliberately answered,
"No, I never saw him but twice in my life."
When asked if he ever visited the defendants place of
business, he replied,
" I have been there once or twice."
But when the question was put to him whether or not




226               RAISING THE VEIL;
he ever drank any intoxicating liquors in the defendants
premises, he boldly declared that he never had any, furthermiore, had no recollection of ever drinking a drop of
spirituous or intoxicating liquors in his life, before that
day.
The government counsel well knowing that the witness had been in the habitual use of liquors for many
years, appeared much surprised at this answer.
"Then you acknowledge you have drank spirituous
liquors to-day," remarked the counsellor.
"  es," was the reply, " I thought I'd try a little today just to see how it seemed."
"How many times have you drank to day?" was the
next question asked him.   The witness stood for some
moments apparently calculating the number of libations,
and finally answered,
I can't recollect exactly but I think I have drank
about twenty-five or thirty times!"":
"That's beginning pretty strong for a Temperance
man, I should think," replied the counsellor.  "Where
did you obtain this large number of drinks?"
"'Incredible as it may appear, there were many persons in the
Court Ilouse at the time, who knew the man, and believed that
this statement was correct, although there was no symptoms of
inebriation which showed themselves either in the looks, words, or
actions of the witness. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon
when hle was called to the standc




OR, SCENES IN TIE COURTS.        227
" Oh! I got them in different places," was the answer.
" You don't suppose a man would drink as many times
as that in one place, do you?'
" Mention the name of one place where you drank?"
said the counsellor.
" Couldn't do it," was the reply. "I ain't much acquainted round town, but I've got an awful slew of
friends about here, and every one of them I met, would
say to me,' Come let's go and take something to take.'
Then, I'de tell them, guess not;'cause I'de joined a
Temperance Society. Then I'de think better on't, and
go in and smile two or three times, just to please them.
I'm one of the most accommodating men you ever did
see."
"You can't recollect a single place where you drank.
Now sir, can you remember where you eat your dinner
to-day?"
"Yes sir, it was up to the -- Hotel.  I sat at the
table near you, and said to a friend of mine; says I,
that's the County Attorney, and I pointed you out to
him, because I knewed that you'd be inquiring into all
my family affairs, adid I made out a list of all the relations I could think of, so as not to put you to much
trouble. You said to a gentleman who sat opposite to
you, that you expected to hear some terrible hard swearing this afternoon, and I mistrusted you were more than




228              RAISING THE VEIL;
half right, because the world is so awfully given to
lying!"
"Did you drink any liquor at the hotel where you
ate dinner?" asked the counsellor.
"No!" replied the witness, " I happened to find out
that they charged a shilling a drink there, and I couldn't
stand that, any how."
"You say that you never drank a drop of intoxicating
liquor in your life before to day, and that you belong to
a Temperance Society. Now, when did you join, and
why did you join, that society?"
" I can't tell exactly when; but the reason why, was
to please old Parson B —  and my wife. They said
if I'de only jine that institution it would have a great
influence on the young and rising generation.  So you
see, to please them I jined."
" Well sir," said the counsellor, "you can sit down."
The witness left the court-room in company with a
friend, with the avowed intention of trying to ferret out
one of those places where intoxicating liquors were sold,
and obtaining the proprietors card, that he might hereafter produce it, in case he should ever again be called
to the-witness stand.
There is another class of witnesses who often cause
considerable trouble in our courts of law. I allude to
those who have expressed and promulgated what are




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         229
called, Infidel's sentiments and doctrines. In many of
the States this class of people are not allowed to testify
in the courts, or in other words their evidence is not admitted.
I have often seen a Judge very much perplexed, and
undecided in his own mind, whether or not to allow the
testimony of one who called himself a free-thinker, when
the opposing party have objected to its admission. I do
not intend to express any opinion respecting this or any
other law which interferes with a man's religious opinions. I have seen men who were professed Infidels
whose testimony I would readily take, and believe; and
I regret to say that I have seen others who were professed Christians, whose testimony I would reject and
disbelieve, even if they were standing upon a thousand
bibles, with their right hand held up towards heaven.
It appears to me that a man's moral character, his good,
or evil habits, and the estimation in which he is held by
his fellow men, should be the criterion by which to estimate and judge of the truth or falsity of his testimony,
not his Theological views and opinions.
I have in my mind a case in point. A young man
about twenty two or three years of age was summoned
to appear in court to testify in a very important case,
which was then pending. The plaintiff knowing how
he would testify, and fearing that if his testimony was
20




230             RAISING THE VEIL;
admitted he would lose his case, objected to his going
upon the witness stand, on the ground that he was an
Infidel, and consequently his testimony was inadmisable.
The Judge called the young man to him, and asked,
" are you an Infidel?"
The reply was. "Your Honor in the common acceptation of the word Infidel I am; but if you will allow me,
I will give you very briefly my views on the subject of
Theology, and then you will be able to decide whether
or not my evidence can be admitted."
The young man was of preposessing appearance, and
would be taken by some for a juvenile Methodist-Preacher.
He commenced in an off-hand way to deliver a regular
Theodore Parker sermon.  He had not proceeded far
before the Judge checked him, and ordered the Court
Clerk to administer the oath to him.
The Clerk told him to hold up his right hand, this he
peremptorily refused to do.
The Judge asked him why he refused to take the
oath.
"I have conscientious scruples," was the reply.
"Will you affirm?" continued the Judge.
"Most certainly your Honor," was the answer.
After having gone through the form of affirmation,
he gave in his testimony with such conciseness, and apparent honesty, that the Judge appeared to look and act




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         231
as though he would like to have " Infidel witnesses of
his stamp" whenever important cases were brought
before him for adjudication.
There are another class of men who when they appear
in court, and are called up to testify, may with propriety be termed, imprudent witnesses. Such persons are
for the most part well meaning, and honest, so far as
their prejudices will allow them to be, but they will generally get excited and irritable, especially when crossexamined by some aggravating lawyer, who uses every
means in his power to annoy and make them contradict
themselves. In the Civil Courts many a man who has
had a case in litigation, when it would have resulted
otherwise, if some one, or more of his witnesses had been
more calm  and judicious. When a witness loses his
temper, the party who has brought him upon the witness
stand will oftentimes lose their case, which might have
resulted very differently if the witness in giving their
testimony had used more discretion.
It is very annoying I grant for a man to be called
into court against his will, and be kept upon a witness
stand an hour or more, while some scrub lawyer is crossquestioning him, and attempting to brow beat and intimidate him.
In reading an account of a trial in one of our courts,
where one of these sixpenny lawyers was engaged. I




232              RAISING TITE VEL;
was much amused at the answers given by a gentleman
in reply to questions put to him by the attorney. During the cross-examination the witness was calm, cool,
and collected, although the attorney resorted to all possible means to make him contradict himself; but after
he found that all his efforts were futile, he laid back in
his chair, and looking the witness directly in the face,
he said:  Now sir, I want to ask you if you was ever in
the State's Prison?"
"Yes sir, I have been there," was the prompt reply.
" The Court and Jury will please take note of that,"
the lawyer exultingly responded.
" And when did you come out of the State Prison?"
was the next question.
" It was about four months ago," was the reply. I
think it was on the fifteenth of June last. I recollect
going in with some of my friends and seeing you there.
I asked the warden why you was not dressed in uniform
like the rest of the prisoners. You see, I made a slight
mistake; I took you for one of thle convicts."
This witness might with propriety be classed among
the self-possessed and safe witnesses. But with these
even, both the Judge and jury are often led astray.
At the trial of a case in the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, Chief Justice Shaw presiding, where a large
amount of property was involved, the most important




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         233
witness for the plaintiff was summoned by the defendant,
and the case rested entirely upon his testimony. Great
was the astonishment of the counsel for the defence,
when this man was brought upon the witness stand to
hear him give in his evidence cooly and concisely in
favor of the plaintiff. The Judge in reviewing the case
dwelt very strongly upon the testimony of this witness,
remarking that it was rendered with so much care and
precision, that there could not be a doubt in the mind of
any who heard it, respecting its fairness and impartiality. In fact the Judge complimented the witness, which
was something unusual for him under any circumstances.
But afterwards the fact became known to a few, that if
the plaintiff gained his case, this honest witness would be
benefited to the amount of two or three hundred dollars.
Thus we see that the Judge and jurors are often deceived by those who appear to be the most honest and
impartial witnesses.
We will now glance at the superstitious witness. One
of this class will often go into court with' great dread
and fear of testifying to more, or less than the truth,
and sometimes their testimony amounts to just nothing
at all. In testifying they will add to their answers, and
to every question asked, clauses like this.  "Well I
think so, but I ain't certain."  "I believe so and so,
was so and so; but I can't swear positively," &c. Wit20`0




234               RAISING THE VEIL;
nesses of this kind may as well be kept out of court as
to be brought in, for their evidence amounts to nothing,
unless corroborated by other testimony.
Some females who are firm adherents to the Roman
Catholic Church, believe that they would be committing
a great sin by taking an oath while they were enciente.
Females of this class will resort to almost any expedient to avoid a witness' summons, or be brought into a
court-room.  I have seen some of this class, who when
called upon to testify refuse to take the oath, and fall
down upon their knees, begging the Judge to excuse
them, and with twenty oaths, protesting that they will
tell the whole truth, if the Judge will only listen to them,
and not oblige them to swear on the Holy Evangelist.
But after the Judge has sentenced one of them to fifteen
days imprisonment in the common jail, for non-compliance with the rules of the court, they will suddenly alter
their minds, and express their willingness to swear to
any thing, and every thing that may be required, rather
than to take a journey to the prison cell in the "Black
Maria."  But they generally speak too late; the fiat
has gone forth, and is irrevocable; for the Judge will
say, that the very fact of the woman's refusal in the first
place to take the required oath, and afterwards finding
that she must be incarcerated, clearly showed that it was
not from conscientious scruples that she refused, and




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.        235
therefore the penalty should be awarded. Such decisions
are hard I grant, but somebody must be taken, and held
up as examples, to intimidate the reckless ones, who
when they are brought into court, either perjure themselves while testifying, or those superstitious people who
refuse to testify under oath.
No man can go into court when he is arraigned for
violation of any law, by pleading ignorance, and escape
the penalties of such violations, whatever it may be. If
a man is arraigned for drunkenness, or any other petty
offence, the plea of non-knowledge of the laws, cannot,
and will not save him, although it may be taken in extenuation, by both Judge and jury in the higher courts,
and by the Justice or Recorder of the lower courts. He
cannot escape the penalties of the law, in such cases
made and provided.
It is no pleasant task for me after having watched
very carefully for more than five years, the courts and
all that are connected therewith, to chronicle the known
fact, that our Courts of Justice, or in other words that
should be Courts of Justice, are oftentimes made a stage,
upon which trickery, and villainy hang around the curtains of the benches; and witnesses are there ready to
swear to any thing; with accomplices standing without
the porch, watching for an opportunity to swindle a
stranger, or dishonestly obtain a dollar.




236               RAISING THE VEIL;
There is another style of witness who are often called
into court, who instead of being ridiculed, and laughed
at, as they usually are, should be treated with kind
consideration and respect. I allude to those witnesses
who do not understand the English language. They
know nothing of our laws, manners, or customs, and
are obliged to give in their testimony with an interpretor at their side, who nine times out of ten misinterprets their language.  Every judicious magistrate will
take the testimony of such witnesses with much caution,
and will scarcely receive it at all, unless corroborated
by other evidence.
The most mirth provoking class of witnesses that are
brought into our courts, are the genuine newly imported
Hibernians.  As a general thing when they will testify
at all, (sometimes it is almost impossible to get a word
out of them,) they will repeat their story so rapidly and introduce so many cant phrases, (the meaning of which is
known only to themselves,) that it is almost impossible
for the Judge, counsel, or jurymen, to elicit the truth,
however well disposed, or honest the witness may be.
An Irishman who had been arrested for stealing a
piece of meat from a butcher's stall, was brought to trial,
and one of his countrymen appeared as a witness for the
defence.  When he was brought up to the witness stand,
he was asked if he knew the prisoner.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.        237
"Be Jabers, you may well be saying that same. I
knew him in the ould country, or ever I came to Amereky, and a broth of a boy he was sure, divil a bit of a
row was he ever in, only when he'd take a wee drop of
whiskey too much, and a wild fellow he was among the
girls too when he-"
"Stop! stop!" exclaimed the counsellor," what do you
know about this larceny?"
" And what the divil do you call that?" returned Pat,
scratching his head and looking bewildered.
"What do you know about the stealing of the meat
from the butcher's stall, which this man is charged
with?"
"Och   its the stealing of the mate that your after
being finding out about, is it?'' replied Pat. "I know
all about it, and sure. The boy has only been in this
country two wakes Good Friday, and didn't myself entirely take him from the ship on the wharf, and wasn't
I after keeping him in my own cellar every blessed hour
since. And be Jabers, divil a bit of mate have we had
to ate, at all at all, only some herring and baked paraties is all the mate we had to put into our mouths this
many a day, and I can prove it, for der you see, I have'em all here in me pocket."
Hereupon Pat thrust his hands into his capacious coatpockets, and drew forth a few red herrings and a half




238              RAISING THE VEIL;
dozen cold baked potatoes, which he held up triumphantly
before the court, imagining that that was a clincher,
and that his friend would be immeciately discharged.
Great was the astonishment of Pat when he heard his
comrade sentenced to the HIouse of Correction, notwithstanding he had testified mighty strong in his favor.
When a genuine African, or one of African descent,
who knows nothing of our courts of law, is brought
upon the witness stand to testify, he will, (or some of
them will) annoy the court and amuse the spectators,
especially one who had just emigrated from the cottonfields of the South.
This class of witnesses are very polite and obsequious,
not knowing what titles to apply to the different court
officers, they will call a policeman "Your Honor," and
the judge " General.' In most cases, the testimony of
this class of witnesses is to be relied on, because they
suppose that a fearful penalty will be imposed upon
them if they deviate from the truth.
During the examination of one of these " sable sons,"
an attorney, during his cross-examination, asked the
witness where he belonged.
"I come from old Virginia, your honor," was the
answer.
"Well, and whose slave are you?" asked the counsellor.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         239
"When I was dar I was Colonel Strickland's slave;
but, bress the Lor', I'se my own niggah now. Yah!
yah!"  The free darkey shook his sides with laughter,
as he took a mental retrospective view of his previous
condition as compared with the situation in which he
was now placed; many of the court officers and spectators involuntary joined the colored witness in his
cachinations.
It is a well-known fact, that there are many persons
brought into court, to testify in cases of great importance, as well as those of a lesser grade, who do not understand the nature of an oath.   Examples of this
kind are not uncommon even in the courts of New
England; and, I believe, the time is not far distant,
when the administration of oaths in all our courts will
be entirely abolished, and, instead thereof, the affirmation substituted. As the laws and customs now are,
we have one form of oath for the Protestant, another
for the Catholic, and anocther still for the Quaker, and
so on.
Now, I have had some experience in the courts,
and have carefully watched all grades and classes of
witnesses, as they have, from time to time, rendered
their testimony, and never yet, in a single instance,
seen a witness upon the stand who, to the best of my
belief, gave in his, or her testimony, with any more trutl




240              RAISING THE VEIL;
and honesty than they would have done, had not the
oath been administered unto them.
If the laws regulating the administration of oaths
were abolished, and. the form of affirmation substituted
in their stead, I would have the pains and penalties
which now follow the conviction of the crime of perjury
more stringent than they now are, and such penalties
should be more rigidly enforced than they are at the
present time.
In the year 1855, Justice Russell, of the Police Court
of Boston, bound over seven or eight persons who had
perjured themselves upon the witness stand of the lower
court, and held them under bonds of two or three hundred dollars for their appearance in the upper court. If
I have been correctly informed, not one of the whole
number was arraigned for the very good reason that the
Grand Jury found no bill against them.
What a farce is this? A law which was enacted for
the greater protection of the -lives, liberties, and property of the community, stands a dead letter upon the
Statute Book, and we seldom hear of a man's being tried
and convicted of the crime of perjury, no matter how
palpable the proofs may be against him.
Speaking of the indefinite knowledge that many persons have respecting the nature of an oath, recalls to my
mind an incident which occurred in the city of London




OR, SOENES IN THE COURTS.        241
some three or four years ago, where an old man who
was between sixty and seventy years of age was brought
before a magistrate, to testify in soie petty case.
Some one informed his Honor, that the witness did not
understand the nature of an oath; and the magistrate,
after having asked a few questions, was perfectly satisfied that he did not. Finally, the magistrate asked
him if he knew there was a God, who directed and governed all things.
Yes," replied the witness; "I se hearn of him often
enough; but, you see, Ise to work down in the coal-pits
all the time; went down when I was a boy, and a'int
been to Lun'un but once afore for thirty years. So you
see every time the old chap comes round here, I don't
get no chance go get a squint at him. They said he
was down round Liverpool a spell ago; but I didn't see
him."
If this was not an incontrovertible fact, I would not
chronicle it. It only goes to show that the old maxim,
"One half the world don't know how'the other half
live,' is correct, and that there is more truth than
poetry in the words.
A little boy between seven and eight years of age
was brought into one of our courts, to testify in a case
of considerable importance, which was then and there
pending. The counsel for one of the parties objected
21




242              RAISING THE VEIL;
to the boy9s testimony being received on account of his
extreme youth, and the impossibility of his comprehending the nature of an oath. The magistrate asked the
child, who was a very intelligent looking and active lad,
if he knew what an oath was.
6' Yes, sir," replied the boy.
And do you know what punishment will be awarded,
if you do not tell the truth?" continued the magistrate.
"Yes sir." Joe Gibbs told me, thati if I didn't tell
the truth when you got me up here, I'd go to hell d-d
quick."
The testimony of the lad was admitted.
From what I have already said, the reader will perceive that there is but little reliance to be placed on the
testimony of a major part of the witnesses who are
brought upon the stand where their evidence (if taken)
will either acquit, or convict, the accused parties who
are brought before our criminal courts, or turn the scale
in cases of civil action.
Both judges and jurors are sworn to render verdicts
according to law and evidence; and those who most religiously adhere to their oaths and dispense justice accordingly are often so deceived that they unwittingly allow
the guilty to escape, and sometimes punish the innocent
for the offences committed by others who possess more
cunning and knowledge than themselveso




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         243
There are thousands of females in the community
who would and do, suffer wrongs and insults rather
than go into court, and make a complaint, or be called
on to the witness stand to testify, whellre they are sure
to find some lecherous, pettifogging lawyer standing
ready to browbeat, and put improper and indecent questions to them before a large crowd of people, most of
whom are loafers of the lowest class, having no lawful
calling or reputable business.
A large proportion of these pests are procurers for
brothels, and are supported by, and with the wages of
sin and iniquity. If a young girl is brought up for
some petty larceny and has no friends to plead in her
behalf, they will offer to pay the fine imposed and furnish her with a good home and comfortable lodgings.
The girl must decide between the prison and the brothel,
and will generally accept the latter. With the vile associates that she must necessarily come in contact with,
together with the infamy attached to her name, her
downward course is very rapid. No friend to advise,
no opportunity to leave a den of infamy, and again
establish a character and a respectable position in
society, she drags out the few brief years of a miserable existence, and is thlen consigned to the "Potter's
field."
No feasable plan has yet been devised to check and




244              RAISING THE VEIL;
punish these brothel procurers; but here comes my
uncle Zeb, and I will consult him on the subject.
Listen, while I repeat his advice.
" My dear boy," said he, "the best way is to let this
class of people alone, because they are so closely connected with men of capital who own large amounts of
real estate, and, who, by the means of these people, receive fifteen or twenty per cent. interest on their real
estate, which is a portion of their ill-gotten gains,
whereas, without them, they would only receive six or
seven per cent.; and, whereas, these landlords have
great power and influence, which their wealth brings
to them, it is the height of folly to wage war against
those who fill their capacious coffers. I tell thee, boy,
that it is folly to war against crime, where you are
obliged to contend with men of wealth and influence."
Musing for a few moments, I concluded that the old
gentleman was right, and as the great poet has said,
" Let Hercules himself do what he may,
The cat will mew, the dog will have his day,"
I concluded to turn to another subject.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.             245
CHAPTER XIII.
The Laws of Divorce-The Author's idea with regard to the rites
of marriage-The law protecting dumb beasts more stringent
than those enacted to protect females who happen to be ill-mated-The deleterious effects which ill-timed marriages have upon
the community-Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United
States respecting marriage-contracts-The laws pertaining to
rape-The opinion and decision of Queen Elizabeth in a case
brought before her-Seductions-The advantages the woman has
over the man, in all such cases, as the laws are framed, &c.
ALTHOUGH the laws pertaining to marriage are very
nearly alike in every State in the Union, the laws pertaining to divorce, in the several States, differ very materially.
A priest, Minister of the Gospel, (as it is dispensed by
the Protestants;) and your addle-headed and half-witted
Justices of the Peace, have authority to perform the
marriage ceremony, and declare two persons of different
sexes man and wife.   Many of them will, with all gravity, wind up the performance by saying: " What God
has joined together, let no man put asunder." But all
the Priests, Ministers and Justices in Christendom cannot unloose the knot which the meanest of them can tie.




246              RAISING THE VEIL;
The laws respecting divorce, although they differ in
almost every State, are so absurd and ridiculous that the
sooner they are altered and amended, the better it will
be for the community.
Ill-timed and ill-advised marriages are and ever have
been a prolific source of trouble and misery to all who
are unequally yoked together, and it will be always so,
until the laws of divorce are materially altered. These
laws have affected people of all grades atnd classes, from
the king upon the throne, down through the whole ramifications of society, to the poorest cottager. The priest
and minister will tell you that the marriage rites and
laws are a Heaven-ordained institution, while the Supreme Court of the United States tells you, that the
marriage vows amount to nothing more, nor less, than a
civil contract; and that august body has decided that if
a man takes to himself a woman, by her own free will
and consent, and the man acknowledges, before two or
more witnesses, that the woman is his wife, and not his
concubine, the marriage is valid, and the woman is entitled to all the rights and privileges of a wife, also, to
the lawful proportion of whatever property the man may
possess at the time of his demise, should she outlive
him, and her offspring, if any there be, from such union,
are legitimate children, and legal heirs.
Now if the decision of these Solon umpires is correct,
and will stand the test, is marriage, of itself, anything




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          247
more or less than a civil contract, which binds the parties who have thus entered into a co-partnership?  If
the words in that contract should read:  so long as you
both can agree," instead of " so long as you both do
live," I am of opinion that much of the misery which is
entailed upon the children by the fathers and mothers,
unto the third and fourth generation, would be mitigated, if not abated.
I know that many will say that if sentiments like
these were promulgated throughout the community, they
would strike a death-blow to all our civil institutions,
and every town and city would shortly become corrupted,
and become a nest of foul and unclean birds. It is very
easy to make assertions, but not so easy to prove them.
Let us look at the law as it is; a man cannot get a divorce from his wife, unless one or the other of the parties are able to prove desertion, adultery, or the commission of some criminal ofence, which must be brought
before the Judges of the Supreme Court, and there publicly investigated, with a score of reporters, who sit
ready to note down every circumstance, the testimony of
every witness, the questions put by impertinent lawyers,
the looks, appearance and contour of both parties, necessarily obliged as they are, to dress up everything in the
most fantastic robes, as they cater for the depraved taste
of the community.
A  vast amount of paper, and an incredible quan21*




248              RAISING THE VEIL;
tity of printer's ink will be used to inform the world
that Mrs. Jones, suspecting that her leige lord and
husband, Mr. Jones, had been, and was too familiar
with Mrs. Smith, and as she had watched his movements,
and found that Jones visited Smith at sundry times, and
in divers manners, and on one occasion the said Jones
was found in close proximity with the said Smith, she
applies for a divorce from his bed and board.
All matters of this kind are readily caught up and
discussed by a large portion of the community. The
minister of the gospel leaves his half-written sermon to
ponder over the libidinous report; the staid merchant,
in his counting-room, will carefully examine it, before
he reads the report of prices of stock on'Change; the
antiquated damsel of fifty years, who always hated the
men, because they were such treacherous and deceitful
creatures; and the fastidious Miss, who has carefully
perused the paper, while closeted in her chamber, will
take it to her maternal parent, exclaiming'' 0! Ma; just read and see what naughty folks the
Smith's' and' Jones' are."  Then add e
" The paper says they've been doing something which
they hadn't'orter, and I want you to tell me all about
it."
Shakespeare, who is supposed to have known something of human nature, said:




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          249
" I'd rather be a toad, and feed upon the vapor of a dungeon,
Thaij keep a corner in the thing I love, for otheis' uses."
How many thousands and tens of thousands there are,
who have come upon the stage, and fretted away a few
brief hours, since the " Bard of Avon" chronicled this
sentence, who have uttered and reiterated these words, and
unborn millions will repeat the sentiment, until that
epoch shall arrive, (which has been spoken of by the Rev.
John Todd, and other equally distinguished men,) when
the mighty angel shall descend from heaven, and place
one foot upon the dry land, and the other upon the sea,
and swear by Him who sitteth upon the throne, that
time shall be no longer. Where those Rev. gentlemen
obtained their information respecting this novel and curious procedure, which they aver will shortly come to pass,
is entirely beyond my comprehension.  I should not be
willing to believe it without a consideration, cash in
hand, paid.
To return to the subject of divorces, I will remark,
that, in my humble belief, Heaven never ordained any
institution, nor any laws, which would oblige two persons to live together, whose dispositions, tastes, manners
and habits are diametrically at variance, and who cannot
and will not enjoy each other's society. What would be
said of a State Legislature who enacted a law which allowed men to put animals together in one and the same
cage, whose natural antipathy to each other was such




250             RAISING THE VEIL;
that they would, under any and every circumstance,
fight until one or the other of them were destroyed.
The world would protest against such infamous barbarity, as being revolting to the better nature of man. But
when these Legislators enact laws which bind together
two human beings, and oblige them to live together in
the same house; cage, or dwelling, during the term of
their natural lives, that is pronounced right and proper,
because, forsooth, by so doing they are regulating this
Heaven-ordained institution.
I anticipate and hear the reader say that men and women
are not animal brutes, but beings, endowed with faculties, intellects, and immortal souls.  This I grant, and
here I will take you on the argument.
Men are intellectual beings, but that intellectuality
which they possess, (or, I should say, which some of
them possess,) governing as it does the material body,
and the animal passions therewith connected, will often
throw aside everything which we call reason and propriety.  If at one time love and affection are the dominant
passions, it does not follow that hatred, and disgust, may
not fill their places. You may have a great regard and
affection for a man to day, and be willing to entrust him
with untold gold, but to-morrow you lmay discover that
he is an arrant knave and swindler, whose society you
would shun.  You may see to-day a female that you believe to be an angel, and imagine that if you can pre



OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           251
vail upon her to be your companion through life, and
smooth its rough edges, as you " toddle down the vale of
time," you will be the happiest man in existence; tomorrow you find that you are indissolubly bound to a
female devil incarnate, who will make your home a hades
and your life miserable. Nevertheless, she is your wife
and you have% entered into a co-partnership which death
alone can dissolve, unless you go deliberately forth, and
commit some crime which will consign you to the State's
Prison.
On the other hand, a trustful and confiding maiden
becomes enamored of a man whom she knows little or
nothing about. He proposes to marry her, and is accepted. Shortly afterwards, she discovers that he is a
worthless scamp, who would, for a few dollars, make a
prostitute of her, and by so doing he can obtain funds to
squander in brothels or at the gaming-table. She must
submit, and drink the cup of misery to its dregs, while
her relatives, and those who had before professed to be
her friends, will pass her by with a jest and a jeer,
saying: " As she has made her bed, so let her lie on
it."
We have examples of this kind before our eyes every
day. We see persons whose temperaments and dispositions are as different as daylight from darkness, who are
bound together by a tie that nothing but death, the Supreme Court, or the Legislature, can unloose.




252             RAISING THE VEIL;
But it is not alone upon these ill-mated couples that
the misfortune comes. After the halcyon days which follow  love's' (I beg pardon, I should have said' passion's')
young dream are over, scions will often arise, upon whose
future growth and trainng much depends.  They may
be reared and instructed so that they will become ornaments and blessings to the world, or objects of pity,
shame and disgrace. What can be expected of a family
of children who see nothing from day to day but bickerings, turmoils and quarrels, between their progenitors?
Do not many of them, as they come to mature years,
like the patriarch Job, curse the day and hour that gave
them birth, and often flee from the unhappy roofs and
fire-sides of their parents, for no other reason than to
escape from scenes of strife which they do not wish to
witness?  Most certainly there is. Thousands of such
cases are occurring daily among us, the major part of
which are unknown to the community at large; nevertheless, their pernicious tendencies are felt, both directly and indirectly, and influence all grades of society.
If a man beats, bruises, and ill-treats a horse, he is
arrested, examined, and sent up for trial to a higher
court, where he will be tried by a jury, and if convicted, the Judge will sentence him to pay a fine of fifty or
one hundred dollars, or three or four months imprisonment in the Penitentiary. But if he abuses, beats, and
evil treats his wife, he is taken before a magistrate, and




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           253
if it appears in evidence that he has not maimed her, by
breaking a limb, ruined her eyesight for life, nor used any
dangerous and deadly weapon in his assault, he is fined
three dollars and costs of court, and perhaps put under
fifty dollars bonds to keep the peace for three months.
Thus, according to the laws as they now stand, a man
can abuse and beat his wife, and if he is called up to answer for the offence, (which not one out of a hundred
are,) he is sure of getting off by the payment of a small
fine, even though the woman by marrying him may have
raised a mortal (not to the skies, but from the gutter,)
while he, instead of elevating, has dragged an angel
down; but if this brute in human form undertakes to
chastise a vicious horse, the prison-gates are opened to
receive him, if he should be complained of and brought to
trial.
An English nobleman, who visited this country a few
years ago, was asked by one of his friends what his impressions were respecting the same. After a few moments of deliberation, he replied:
" From what slight observations I have had an opportunity to take, I am inclined to believe that it is a heaven for women, but a hell for horses."
If this foreigner had visited our Police and Recorder's
Courts a few times, he would probably have altered his
opinion, and materially changed his views.
In all cases where an application is made for a divorce,
22




254             RAISING THE VEIL;
the female, though she be as cursed as " Socrates' Xantippe," will, if she has a winning way, and pleasing
smile, gain the sympathy not only of the Judge on the
Bench, but also of the whole community. The case of
a celebrated tragedian of this country, who a short time
since attempted to get a divorce from his wife, on the
ground of adultery, fully demonstrates this.  I know
not, neither do I care whether the woman was innocent
or guilty, but I do know that nine-tenths of the community (or, I should say, the male portion of the community,) appeared disposed to pronounce the woman
guiltless, and contend that they believe that she was
more sinned against than sinning. With the female portion it is different; they will as strongly assert that they
consider the man free from all blame, and that if he had.
been guilty of any indiscretions, he had been driven to
them by the woman, after he found that she was false.
If the laws of divorce had been so framed that one or
both of these well known individuals could have gone
before a Supreme Justice, and the Justice had been endowed with power to grant a dissolution of the unhappy
co-partnership, without obliging the man to criminate
the woman, and the woman to re-criminate in turn,
would not both the man and woman have both been far
better and happier than they now are? If such was the
case, all that the community would have known (and
which was no benefit whatever for them to know respect



OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          255
ing the domestic affairs of others,) would have amounted to this, and this only:
"The co-partnership heretofore existing between Mr.
Edwin      -, and Mrs. Catherine      -, is hereby
dissolved, by mutual consent."
The only punishment that should be inflicted upon a
man who unwittingly runs his neck into the matrimonial noose, should be to oblige him to support the woman,
(with the fruits of their love, if any there is,) according
to his means and ability, after the co-partnership is dis.
solved, or until the woman is re-married, and also provide for the children, until they are able to support themselves  Neither should a man, in case of such dissolution, have any claim or control over the property which
the woman possessed at the time of her marriage, or any
that might be inherited by her at a subsequent period.
I will now briefly glance at the laws pertaining to seductions. Your lexicographers define the word: Seduce'
thus: "To corrupt; to lead astray;" but in Holy Writ
we read that the man " Samson," while talking with the
Philistines" respecting his heifer, charged them with
having led her astray, and by so doing they had discovered where his great strength lay. Now as the heifer
he spoke of could lay but little claims to virtue or morality, as she, like many of the present day, entertained
strangers during the absence of her lord, and as it is impossible to corrupt a thing that is already corrupted, I




256             RAISING THE VEIL;
have sometimes thought that a substantive could be coined, and introduced into the English language, which
would be more comprehensive than that word as it is
now used and understood. Be that as it may, I am of
opinion that the most stringent laws now in existence,
with their penalties connected, are altogether too loose,
and too light, to reach the case of a man who coolly and
deliberately wins the affections of a woman, for the purpose of robbing her of her virtue, and then deserting
her; but the great trouble is that the wisest-headed
Legislature that ever framed a law has not been able to
adopt, nay, even conceive a plan whereby a Judge or
Jury, when a case of seduction is brought before them
for adjudication, can tell for a certainty which of the
parties are at fault. In other words, they cannot discover which of the twain were seduced.  Reasonable and
upright dispensers of the law will examine cases of this
kind with great care, (sometimes they will pry and peep
in a little farther than they ought to,) but they will
generally render a verdict in favor of the woman, because her evidence must be admitted, while that of the
man is thrown out entirely.
It is a very singular fact, that in nine cases out of
ten, where men are charged with the crime of seduction,
you will find the accused are men who are possessed of
property, to a greater or less amount. HIow happens
this, when the fact is well known that the proportion of




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          257
wealthy men, compared with those of the laboring clas
ses, do not average one to six'
Why is it that you rarely find a poor man brought
up on the charge of seduction' If the reasons are not
obvious to every reader, they must examine into the subject themselves, for I shall not attempt to explain them.
My own impressions are, that in two cases out of
three, where men are prosecuted and arraigned for offences of this kind, especially those who are possessed of a
large amount of worldly goods, I say, in two cases out
of three, the < woman" is the seducer, not the man;
and it always appears that these poor, confiding, and
abused females, who have been thus wickedly led astray,
and injured in their reputation, fair name and fame, will
generally claim damages to the amount of fifteen or
twenty thousand dollars, and if the Jury award them as
many hundreds, they will go on their way rejoicing,
having received
"A balm for every wound,
A cordial for their fears."
If I am correct in these premises, in asserting my belief boldly, and only reiterating the sentiments of thousands who have more carefully examined the subject than
I have, would it not be well for our Judges and Jurors
to examine more carefully than they do each and every
case of this kind that is brought before them, and instead
22*




258             RAISING THE VEIL;
of being influenced by the sobs and tears of some fair
(perhaps frail) Dulcinea, who has been instructed how
to play her part by the lawyer who manages her case,
and who is to receive a portion of the spoils, if any is
awarded; to weigh carefully every part of the evidence, and give a wide margin to a large portion of it.
I could cite many cases that have come under my
own observation, and which would demonstrate the fact
that oftentimes it is the man who is seduced, and not the
woman. To do this would not be politic or judicious,
as no one would be benefitted by their perusal. I will,
however, allude to one, and one only, and then I shall
drop the subject.
A young man, who belongs to, and was doing business in a city near Boston, became enamoured of a gay,
dashing young woman, who occasionally visited the house
of one of his friends.  She and all her relatives were
poorer than church mice. while he was supposed to be
worth twenty or thirty thousand dollars. This cunning,
calculating woman used every artifice, and left no stone
unturned, to inveigle him, and draw him onward to the
first fatal step, which, if once taken, cannot be retraced,
and often leads to perdition.  He listened to the song of
the siren, until the fatal step was taken.
When this cunning woman informed him that she was
ruined, and that there was no alternative between what
a priest or Justice of the Peace could perform, or an ex



OR, SCENES IN THE- COURTS.        259
pose to the world, and an application for redress in a
court of law. The young man chose the former, after
having offered the vixen three thousand dollars if she
would give up all claims against him. This being refused, a priest was called, and the marriage ceremony
performed.
Shortly after the marriage, the young man, who had
invested largely in provisions, which he had shipped to
California, and which on their arrival there were sold
under the auctioneers hammer for a mere song, scarcely
amounting to enough to pay the freight, together with
the failure of some. friends whose notes he had endorsed,
was driven into chancery by his creditors, and his house,
horse, and rich furniture, were disposed of by the assignee.
When his loving spouse discovered how matters stood,
her wrath and fury knew no bounds.  She asseverated
to her husband's friends, relatives and creditors, that he
had put his property (or a portion of it) out of his
hands, and that the residue had been squandered away
at the gaming-table, and in bar-rooms; (it may be proper to add that the young man never saw the interior of
a gaming-room in his life, and never played dice or cards
even for the amount of one penny. When this model
of a wife found that everything was irrevocably lost, she
concocted a plan whereby to retrieve their fallen fortunes.  She proposed to her husband the plan of invit



260             RAISING THE VEIL;
ing to the house an old wealthy merchant, who had, as
she averred, often looked upon her with lecherous eyes,
and entrapping him, while he was closeted with her in
her chamber.
The husband was thunder-struck at this proposition.
He well knew that his wife was a shrew, but never imagined that she would prostitute herself for gain. He
gathered up some papers, and a few trinkets which were'valuable to him, and left the house, to return no more.
The wife is now a courtezan, while the husband is in one
of our western cities, and by close attention to business
is trying to regain the position which he once held in
society.
In this case, as well as in others near akin to it, which
I could chronicle, and should, if I thought the world
would be advantaged thereby. I would in all candor ask,
which of the parties were seduced? Which the seducer 3 Let not the reader say that this may be all true,
but it is an isolated case, and the young man who marries without fully informing himself of the previous
character and proclivities of the woman with whom he
intends to unite, is not much better than a fool; and if
one who has come to the years of discretion allows his
passions to predominate, and with open eyes walks upon
the brink of a precipice from which thousands have been
hurled before. If he falls into the yawning gulf, and is
carried down the stream, beyond the reach of human




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         261
aid, there is no one to blame but himself. Is this always so?  Where will you find the person, whose testimony is to be relied upon. You will in such a case as I
have cited; inform either of the parties respecting what
they may know of their character, or moral worth? If
they make an assertion which is founded in truth, but
which they cannot prove, respecting the character of any
person who is not so notoriously bad that the world looks
upon them as vile, they lay themselves liable to be
brought up in a suit of slander, and be subjected to
heavy penalties. Hundreds of innocent men have suffered by being unjustly charged with the crime of seduction, and obliged to pay large amounts of money,
in the form of fines and damages, while hundreds of
females have suffered still more, when they have been
decoyed, and led from the path of rectitude and virtue,
by libertines and designing villains, who are fit subjects
for the Penitentiary or gibbet, and who, instead of being driven without the pale of society, are tolerated, flattered, and their company courted, by females who
have a reputation to maintain, and are well aware of
the character of these despicable villains.  So much
has been said and written on this subject, that it
appears almost impossible to introduce anything new,
and I have given the reader my views on it, in the briefest possible manner.
I will now turn to another subject, or, I should say,




262              RAISING THE VEIL;
a subject and crime, akin to this, and that is the commission of the crime of " Rape."
I am of the belief that the man (or the brute in the
form of a man,) who is guilty of committing this crime,
should be put out of existence, if his guilt is fairly proved, in as summary manner as would be a rabid dog, for
the very good reason that he is equally, perhaps ten
times more dangerous than the four footed animal. The
one follows the instincts of nature, and the other does
no more, or less; but the one has nothing but instinct to
govern him, while the other is supposed to be endowed
with reasoning faculties, and an immortal soul. The
one is considered dangerous, and is always quickly dispatched, without the assistance of Judge or Jury; the
other is ten-fold more dangerous, because the law requires that the biped who is guilty of this offence shall
have the advantage of a fair trial, and in nine cases out
of ten goes clear, while the animal, unpossessed of reasoning faculties, is dispatched at once.
When the laws in this section of the country consigned a man to the gallows for committing the crime of rape,
it was almost impossible to convict a man of the crime,
however clear and positive the proofs may have been, as
elicited in the trial, because the Jurors were unwilling
to consign a man to a felon's death, where they were satisfied that the offender was more an object of pity than
of vengeance.  The last execution which took place in




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          268
the State of Massachusetts, which was many years ago,
(I do not recollect the time or date,) was so strongly
deprecated by the majority of the community, that the
laws pertaining to this crime were altered, and imprisonment for life was substituted for the death penalty. I
well remember that in this case, the female, who was at
the time of the trial supposed to be a virtuous woman,
was afterwards shown to be a prostitute of the worst
description.
The great lawgiver to the Israelites appears to have
understood this subject far better than the lawgivers of
the present day, although he overlooked, or perhaps imagined it impossible for a man to commit the crime upon
a child. I can only account for this by supposing that
even among that ignorant and oppressed people which he
led forth out of the land of'Egypt, there were none
found so vile and debased as to be guilty of this enormity.
I think every reasonable person will agree with me
when I say, that the quicker a man who is guilty of the
commission of this crime, and convicted of the same, is
put out of the world, the better it will be for the interest of the community at large; but I presume there are
hundreds who will not favor my belief, when I say that
there have been many executed, and many more imprisoned, charged with the commission of this crime, who
were guiltless, or, in other words, not entirely at fault,




264             RAISING THE VEIL;
who have suffered unjustly, while this tyrannical law
was in force.
I hardly believe such a thing to be possible as the commission of the crime of rape upon an adult female, who
is in perfect possession of health, and those faculties
which a benign and beneficent Creator has bestowed upon all His children. In His all. wise power He has given to every creature that exists suitable means of. defending themselves, and more especially to the creature
man. And I am slow to believe that the female, whether
it be of the human or animal species, is not endowed
with sufficient strength and power to resist all amatory
advances of the opposite sex, after they have come to
the years of maturity.  I know many will differ from
me in this opinion, and say I am entirely wrong; nevertheless, they cannot alter my belief. In the case of a
child, I grant that this is far different. To those brutes
(and there are many that exist who would, and do commit such crimes upon them,) I should say that the punishment awarded by the Chinese laws to the parricide,
would be altogether too mild; but when you talk to me
of a female in full feather, who meets one of the opposite sex, single handed and alone, who cannot defend
herself (unless she is drugged or injured) from any and
every assault of this kind, I shall get information that'I
have yet to learn.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, a young officer




OR, SCENES IN TIE COURTS.         265
in the army was charged, tried and convicted of the
crime of rape, and the sentence of death had been pronounced upon him. The death-warrant was passed in
for Her Majesty's signature. When the good, or bad
Queen, (I care not which you call her,) took up the paper, after having dipped her pen into the inkstand, she
turned to one of her Prime Ministers, and asked:
"How old was the child upon whom this offence was
committed.'"
The Minister smiled, as he replied:
"I think, your Majesty, that the woman is about
thirty years of age."
6I And what is the age of the condemned man." returned the Queen.
" Judging from his appearance, I should think he was
twenty-four or five years of age," was the reply.
The Queen threw the death-warrant upon her table,
as she remarked:
"' Let this interesting couple be brought before me;
I wish to see both parties, before the man is executed."
The day following, the Queen convened her Counsellors, and the injured woman was brought before them.
The Queen, who had examined the reports of the evidence in the case, asked the woman whether she of her
own free will entered the complaint against the convicted party, or whether it was done at the instigation of
others.
23n




20G6              AISaNG TEs VEIL;
The woman frainkly acknowledged that her husband
obliged heer to enter the complaint, asseverating, at the
same time, that in the rendition of her testimony she
had adhered strictly to the truth.
" If you were a single woman, and the convicted man
should offer to atone for his crime by marrying you,
would you consent to it 3"
"] Most certainly, your Majesty," was the reply.
" So I supposed," returned the Queen;' and T
therefore grant a full pardon to the accused, and order
that he be imurnediately reinstated into his office in the
army, and that the woman be suffered to depart.":
This ex:ample goes to show that wherever the death
penalty follows the conviction of the crime of rape, men
may suffer when they are not alone at fault, and that
the old English Queen understood human nature much
better than did some of her law-givers and law-dispensers.
AWlhen that time arrives (I fear it is far distant) when
mlas are enactead which will operate equally upon all
classes of people; when men who frame laws legislate
for the benefit of the wholo, and not for' the advantage
of a few; then will the world become h1onest, and men,will learn to I"fear G-od, and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.l
One-half of the miselry, vice and crimLe which abound
at the present day, is attributable to parents, who do not




OR, SCENES IN TItE COURTS.        267
guard their children carefully in early life, and point out
to them the temptations, snares, and besetting sins which
constantly surround them. The father who sends his
sons to school, and compels them to attend divine worship on the Sabbath, imagines that he has done his
whole duty, and all that can be required of him; and
the mother who strives to give her daughters what is
called a genteel education, failing to instruct them in
those matters which are so necessary to their future
well-being, sees with sorrow and regret her error, when
it is too late.
One of the most curious and novel cases which we
have on recordt. is that of a boy between eight and nine
years of age, who was charged with, and indicted by
the Grand Jury of the County of Suffolk, Massachusetts, for committing the crime of rape. When the child
was brought into court, and arraigned at the Bar, the
Judge looked at him with astonishment, and the Jury,
equally astonished, looked at the Judge.
After a few moments consideration, the Judge inquired of the County Attorney whether he knew the age of
the child, when the indictment was found.
" I knew it was a minor, your Honor, but I did not
know that he was an infant."
"I am at a loss to know what to do with him," quoth
the Judge.
The attorney replied:




268             RAISING THE VEIL;
"' I am not much of a physician, but if I advised in
the case, I should recommend twenty-five or thirty drops
of the oil of birch, skilfully applied, by an experienced
hand, together with very plain diet, until the patient has
entirely recovered, and I think that the mother of the
child, if he has one living, would be the proper person
to appoint as nurse."
The Judge agreeing with the County Attorney in his
opinion, ordered the precocious young gentleman to be
set at liberty.
It may not be amiss to add, that the female upon
whom the assault was alleged to have been committed,
was two or three years older than the boy, and as the
complaint set forth that the assailant was a minor, the
County Attorney and Grand Jury were led to suppose
that he was from fifteen to twenty years of age.
Cases like this do not often occur, but the Grand Jury
often put too much dependance on the State's Attorney, and take it for granted that he has carefully investigated every case, before it is brought before them.
I am well aware that there are many who will peruse
these pages, who do, and will, differ from me in my
views and opinions, not only respecting the laws pertaining to divorce, seduction, and rape, but also with regard to other laws, as I have glanced at them. But let
all such remember that I will go as fast and as far in
supporting all judicious laws, when they are properly




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          269
administered, as any other person in the community.
Before I leave this subject I will remark that many
people believe (I certainly agree with them,) that in
every city where there is a Police or Recorder's court established, an honest and competent man, who is well
versed in law, should be appointed and paid by the State
to defend those who are arraigned for criminal offences,
who have not the means to procure the services of an attorney. At any rate, this is an experiment which is
worth a trial, because if it did not operate successfully,
it could be discontinued. Such a plan would further the
ends of justice, instead of retarding its course, and at
the same time give to to the person who is charged with
committing crime, and, as is often the case, convicted,
when in truth they were guilty of the crime of poverty,
and that alone; to such it would give some opportunities for a defence, which otherwise they cannot have.
This subject is worth the consideration of those philanthropic individuals who would relieve the miseries of
the poor and distressed.
23*




270               RAISING THE VEIL;
CHAPTER XIV.
The miseries which men suffer by running in debt-The evil results of the same-The Debtor always a Slave to the Creditor-The way young men usually commence business, and failThe Ruffian Creditor and Exasperated Debtor —The Creditor sometimes more to blame than the Debtor-The' Betterment Law,'
The abused Legislature of 1855-Just and judicious laws enacted by them-Two extreme cases where persons were imprisoned
for debt-Sketch of John Augustus, the Philanthropist-Sketch
of William D. Eaton-Hinman Meredith, the man who has transacted business for twenty-five years, to the amount of fifteen
millions of dollars, and never saw the interior of a Court Room,
&c.
As I have briefly given my views and opinions of the
debt and credit system, as it now exists, sanctioned by
law, it may be considered superfluous to refer to the subject again; but as this is the fountain-head and source
of litigation, and as a portion of mankind prey upon the
other part, by leading them into law-suits which could
easily be avoided, too much cannot be said or written on
the subject, if what is said or written, tends in the
slightest degree to enlighten those who are blindly disposed to seek redress in our courts of law, for any and
every real, or supposed grievance.




R, S ENES IN T i COU RTSa.        27
How true the maxim: "       The debtor is always the
slave of the creditor."  The moment that a man becomes indebted to his fellow-man,) no matter whether he
is friend or foe, or what the amount of his indebtedness
may be, if he cannot meet his payments athe thetime they
become due, from that moment the debtor becomes the
slave, and pliat, cringin g tool of the cre itIor,  I
the debtor becomes the property of the creditor both
his body and boots. If the debtor is a mian, (all are ol;
men who bear the human form,) 1s scarcely dares to go
into a clothing store, and purchase a suit of apparel,
lest his creditor may be looking over his shoulder, ready
to shout in his ears: " Pay me what thou owest!1  Or
if some kind friend should trust him for the.garments,
or give them to him, (which would amount to one and
the same thing,) the poor debtor dare not put them on
and wear them, lest he should meet one of his creditors,
who would point him.out to the crowd, and say:
" Look at that finished rascal! he owes me a sum of
money, honestly due, which he will not pay, w-hile hie
walks round wearing a better suit of clothes than I can
possibly afford to."
The poor debtor cannot even attend divine worship on
the Sabbath, without being pointed out to the congregation, if he hires a convenient and comfortable seat,
without being told he had better sit in one of th1e pews
designed for the poor and indigent, until such time as he




272            PRAISING THE VEIL;
can pay his honest debts,  If the poor debtor is invited
by a friend to visit the theatre, opera-house, or a public
levee or dinner, it often happens that he will not accept,
although the entertainment would not cost him a groat;
he dreads the idea of meeting some creditor, who will
boldly confront him, and make his ears tingle, as he
listens to some exclamations like these:
s Well, Mr. B., you can find money enough to pay
two or three dollars for an opera ticket, but can't cancel
that little bill that's been standing for a long time."
Or if the debtor happens to be engaged in conversation with some of his female friends, attempting to make
himself as agreeable as possible, it would be no music
in his ears to hear some malicious creditor remark to
some others in the company, something like this:
"Mr. B    -     looks first rate, this evening, with
my coat and pantaloons on."
Wherever the debtor may go, he is sure to be dogged
about, in some form  or another, by the creditor. I-e
will meet him at the door of his dwelling, at early dawn,
at noon, in the street, as he returns to and from his
meals, in fact, anywhere and everywhere that the unfortunate victim may be, the cry is:
" Sir, can you pay that little bill 2'?
The debtor, comparatively an honest man, is obliged
to resort to all sorts of trickery, prevarication and falsehood, to temporarily escape from, and rid himself of, the




OR, SCENES IN TIE COURTS.          273
importunities of the creditor, who is his master, and who
will follow him, watching every movement, until every
farthing is paid, or the death of the poor insolvent debtor cancels the bond.
If an ambitious, enterprising young man, has, by
months and years of toil, accumulated a few hundred
dollars, and undertakes to start in business for himself,
he is apt to conclude that it is necessary for him to obtain a certain amount of credit, otherwise he cannot compete with those who are possessed of more means than
himself. The wholesale dealer, after making the necessary investigation respecting the young man's business
habits, his associates, &c., will give him credit to twice
the amount of his real capital; but if he is a shrewd
merchant, he will so manage that in case the young man
should not succeed in business, he himself would lose
nothing, even if other creditors should suffer. Merchants
number two, three, four, and so on, when they find that
the young man's credit is good with merchant number
one, are also ready to give him credit, and importune
him to trade with them, which in nine cases out of ten
he will readily do. In the first place, the young merchant was the slave of only one man; now he has four
or five masters, and he must obey the directions of all
of them. If he steals and pockets the entire proceeds
of all their goods with which he has been entrusted, he
is called smart; but if he has made wrong calculations,




274              RAISING THE VEIL;
and bought goods which have depreciated in value while
upon his hands, and after he has taken a careful account
of stock, he finds that he cannot meet all his liabilities,
and delivers it up for the benefit of his creditors, he is
spoken of as one totally unfit for business, and not to
be trusted under any consideration.
As a general thing, we find that men who are new beginners in trade, attach but little importance to the
small debts and liabilities which they contract, however
shrewd and active they may be in collecting bills due to
them.   They would, under no circumstances, if they
could possibly avoid it, allow a note of one hundred dollars, held against them, to be protested, but the small
bills of the butcher, the baker, and the washerwoman,
they will allow to remain unpaid, and those persons who
are least able to bear the loss of a dollar, are oftentimes
the greatest losers by those who live for a time upon
the creditsystem, and when they fail, injure those who
have always benefitted them.
It is said by some who are supposed to thoroughly understand the subject, that the proportion of those who
commence business for themselves, in the mercantile
community, and succeed, is about eleven per cent.  If
this calculation is correct, (and I am inclined to believe
it is,) eighty-nine persons out of the hundred, among
merchants and traders of every description, are declared
insolvent within the average space of ten years.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.           275
Occasionally you will find a man, merchant, or trader,
who will give credit, and seldom lose any of his debts,
while another, placed in the same situation, would find
it impossible to collect the amounts, or any portion thereof, from the same debtors.  This is easily accounted for.
In the first case, the creditor well understands human
nature, he knows how to manage his customers, and
will so treat with them, that he will at once obtain
their good will, and make the debtor feel that he is under some obligations to the creditor, outside and beyond
his indebtedness.  How often do we hear the remark
from those who have been unfortunate, and failed in
business: " Mr. So and So shall be paid, if no other
person ever receives a cent;' and this, too, when the
creditor spoken of is in no way connected with the
debtor, either by ties of blood or friendship.
In the other case, the creditor who does not understand human nature, will become exasperated when he
finds that he cannot collect his just dues at the proper
time, and instead of being conciliatory in his language
and demeanor, towards the debtor, will be harsh and
abusive.  This is not, nor never was, the way to win.
The debtor may have the best intentions, and would not,
perhaps, for his right hand, wrong the creditor out of a
farthing;.but the latter has, by his abuse and insults,
placed a great gulf between himself and his debtor, over
which neither of them will pass, and the debtor would




276            RAISING THE VEIL;
rather submit to the tortures of the thumb-screws and
rack, than to pay one penny of the debt which he
acknowledges is justly and fairly due.
On one occasion, as I was passing through the
principal thoroughfare of New York city, in company
with a friend, when we were both brought to a sudden
halt by a rough-looking, hard visaged mechanic, who accosted my friend, and with oaths averred that if he did
not pay him the amount of a bill which he claimed
against him, he would, within one week from that day,
pound him to a jelly.
After we had separated from the ruffian creditor, my
companion informed me that he was indebted to the man
to the amount of fifty or sixty dollars, but being very
much embarrassed himself, at the time the bill became
due, he was obliged to keep him out of his money
for two or three months; but he had made arrangements whereby he could cancel this, and a few other liabilities of the same nature, and intended to pay the man
the following day; but now, said he, "' I shall not pay
him until he comes and apologizes for the rude manner in which he has insulted me."
We see cases like this occurring every day, where men
who cannot meet the just demands of their creditors at
the very time they should be adjusted, will, after having
been abused, and threatened with law-suits, and prison
bars and bolts, become exasperated, and either not settle




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          277
the claim at all, or compel the creditor to expend two
dollars for every one which he collects of them.
Men often become involved, and run deeply into debt,
when the creditor is more in fault than the debtor.
If a person is supposed to be solvent, and has the reputation of being attentive to business, he is often cajoled
and urged by shrewd tradesmen to purchase goods which
he does not really need, and which he would not purchase if he was obliged to pay for them, cash in hand,
at the time of their delivery; but the trader says: "Pay
for them whenever you please; I'm in no hurry," &c.
But pay-day will come, and the easy man is brought to
a full realization of the fact, when he finds that a sheriff
has taken possession of his house or store.
There is one subject more to which I will call the attention of the reader, and that is the operation of a law
which was enacted by the Massachusetts Legislature,
several years ago, (I cannot recall to my mind the exact
date,) called the " Betterment Law." My reason for
noticing this law, is, that at the time of its enactment,
the middling and lower classes of the community were
told (and most of them believed it,) that it was passed
expressly for their benefit. After the Revolutionary
War, large tracts of land, in every part of the State,
were deserted by their lawful proprietors, and there was
no records left to show to whom they rightfully belonged. Among the poorer class there were many who set



278             RAISING THE VEIL;
tied upon these grounds, built small tenements, and supposed that after the term of twenty years had elapsed,
if the rightful owner did not come to claim the property, it would revert to them, which indeed it would; but
if within that space of time a legal claimant should appear, they must be driven out of possession, and have
no claim whatever upon them, for the "' betterments," or
improvements which they had made.
The poor man believed that this law was passed expressly for his benefit, while those who enacted the law,
framed it expressly for their own.  Large tracts of valuable land, in the wvestern section of what is now the
city of Boston, and in other portions of the State, were
immediately taken up by those immaculate law-givers,
(or some of their friends,) and the " betterments," as
these cunning financiers had arranged the law, amounted
to twice the original worth of the land. When one of the
real owners, their assignees, heirs, or assigns, came forward to prove and claim the property which rightfully
belonged to them, the " betterments" so far exceeded
what they supposed to be their real value, that most of
them relinquished their claims, rather than to pay the
amount demanded.
Probably there are not a dozen men, who now own or
possess real estate, which is at the present time considered very valuable, in the western section of the city of
Boston, who have a free and clear right and title to the




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          279
land on which their buildings stand, and perhaps not one
fiftieth part of them know who the true owners are or
were.
The much abused Legislature of Massachusetts, in
the year 1855, did enact some laws which were, in deed
and in truth, judicious, and long needed, and there were
many men attached to that Legislature who deserve the
lasting praise and gratitude of their constituents.
One of these enactments I will mention; that is, the
" Homestead Bill," which provides for every man,
the right to hold, exempt from legal attachment, a
shelter for himself and family. A  wife or child should
never be made to suffer for the sins or misfortunes
of the husband and father, and it is'a relic of a barba=
rous age, that gave the creditor such power over the
poor debtor, as would allow him to drive forth the
family of an unfortunate man, and take possession of
their domicil, leaving them to buffet with the cold storm
and wintry blast, or apply to the Alms-house for relief.
We have had too much of this, altogether, in the State
where first landed the Pilgrim Fathers, and where the
first blood was shed in defence of American liberties.
This Legislature also abolished the law of imprisonment for debt, which had long remained upon our Statute Books, a lasting memorial of shame and disgrace.
Thousands have suffered unjustly, under this law, by
being taken from their work-shops and their families,




280              RAISING THE VEIL;
and incarcerated in prison cells, because they could not
pay just (sometimes unjust) claims which were held
against them. Before the abolition of this law, the
creditor was always obliged to pay the board of the debtor, while he was confined within the prison walls. Start
not, nor be astonished, kind reader, when I tell you that
I have the evidence and the proof to show that men have
been incarcerated in Leverett Street Jail, in the city of
Boston, for non-payment of a small sum of money, without any possible means of escape, while the creditor has
placed the price of their liberation-at what 3 (I shudder
while I record the fact;) the prostitution of the wife or
daughter of the unfortunate debtor!
" Can such things be, and overcome us like a summer's cloud,
Without our special wonder P"
A11 this is true; aye, more, the thousandth part of
the iniquities which have been practiced under this abominable law, not only in Massachusetts, but in every section of the country, where this law was tolerated, would,
if they were recorded, make the angels weep tears of
blood.
I have known cases (isolated, I grant,) where a debtor rather courted the prison than otherwise, and by harsh
language and defiant looks, drove the creditor to take advantage of the law, and imprison him. I will cite two
cases, both of which are extreme, in illustration.




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          281
I knew a case of a young man who had received
a liberal education, and who possessed all those ihoral principles that are requisite to place a man high
in the estimation of the community. It might, however, be said of him, as was said of one of old: "One
thing thou lackest;' that is, knowledge of business, and
the character of mankind,
This worthy young gentleman (by the advice of his
friends) commenced business in the city of Boston, but
was soon obliged to relinquish it, because he could not
make his payments when they became due. After he
had been " ousted" from his store, one of his creditors,
more opportune than others in their demands, caused him
to be arrested, and put in durance vile. The amount due
this creditor was ten dollars and seventy cents! At the
time of his incarceration he had not money enough in his
pocket (or elsewhere) to pay for the conveyance of a letter to any of his friends. He was confined more than
forty-eight hours before he was liberated, and when the
creditor was upbraided for this mean and contemptible
act, his reply was:
" The rascal wears as good clothes as I do, and could
pay the bill, if he felt disposed."
In this case I know that the young man had had
abundant opportunities to defraud and swindle many persons out of large amounts, without the possibility of detection.
2*




282             RAISING THE VEIL;
As the law is now obselete in every State where
the majority of the citizens believe in those doctrines inculcated by the meek and lowly Nazarene, it is
useless to treat farther on this subject; and lest I should
entirely forget and overlook it, I will give sketches of
distinguished individuals which were omitted in a previous chapter.
Among the notables who have been in and about the
Boston Court House for the past twelve years, few are
better known than the man John Augustus.  That this
man has done much good, since he entered upon his career as a Philanthropist, no one who knows anything of
the subject can for a moment doubt. Many persons are
of the opinion that for a few years past Mr. Augustus
has done more harm than good, by bailing those who' are
arraigned before the courts for the commission of crimes
that deserve, and should receive severe punishment, and
it is said that rogues have been allowed to escape through
the interposition of this man.
There may be a few cases where this gentleman's philanthropy (or whatever else you please to term it,) has
so far out run good judgment and discretion, that it may
have' led him to interfere, where strict justice would demand that the law should take its course.  If the facts
respecting such matters were fully known, methinks the
public would find that where one truly guilty individual
has escaped, by and with the aid of John Augustus, ten




JOHN AUGUSTUS.
(See Page 282.)
1i~








OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          283
have been suffered to go at large by the connivance and
direct assistance of police officers.
Mr. Augustus commenced his career as a Philanthropist in 1841, in the Police Court of Boston, by bailing a
man who was charged with the offence of being a common
drunkard.  The following year he bailed seventeen persons, all of whom were arraigned for the same offence.
From that time down to the present he has continued in
the laudable enterprise, and has bailed nearly five thousand people charged with this offence. Now if one out
of five of this number has been reclaimed, by his interposition in their behalf, surely he has been a benefactor
of mankind, and has not lived in vain.
There is one thing certainly that is praiseworthy in
the character of John Augustus, and that is, he will
never quarrel with any person, on account of their political opinions or religious belief; neither will he express his own, even when urged to do so. By pursuing
this course, he is, like the Apostle Paul, enabled to
make himself " all things to all men,"' believing that by
so doing he can " save some."
There are but few men to be found, who would, if
they had been placed in precisely his situation, stood the
ordeal of public opinion for fourteen years, and retained
the good opinion of those who stand high in the connulnity, as the most charitable and beneficent citizens.  I
believe that whenever and wherever he has made mis



284              RAISING THE VEIL;
takes, in his impetuous zeal in laboring for the good of
others, it has been the fault of the head, and not the heart.
The engraving of Mr. Augustus, which may be found
in this work, is a tolerably fair representatton of the
man, although not so correct as it should be.
WILLIAM D. EATON.
This Police Officer, whose portrait will be found within the pages of this book, is a man extensively known.
He has been connected with the Police Department of
Boston for ten or eleven years.
In the year 1847, Mr. Eaton was appointed Deputy
City Marshal of Boston, and after the office of' City
Marshal" iwas abolished, and a Chief of Police established in its stead, Mr. Eaton received the appointment
of Deputy Chief, which office he held for two years.
iHe was then transferred to the position which he now
holds, viz.: Captain of Police Station, in District No. 4.
As a thief-catcher, and rogue-detector, Mr. E. has
but few equals, perhaps no superiors.
I have been told that Mr. Eaton is a very humane
man, and is always ready to render all the assistance in
his power to relieve the needy and suffering. It is said
that in the year 1850, when the cholera visited the city
of Boston, there was no person who more assiduously
labored to relieve wants and sufferings of the sick, and
provide for those who were left widows and orphans, than




OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.          285
he was, and there were but few who received so little
commendation at the time for valuable services rendered.
I regret that space will not allow me to give a more
extended notice of this well-known officer.
HINMAN        MEREDITH, ESQ.,
The reader of these pages will naturally inquire why
the author of a work like this, should introduce one
who knows nothing of Courts, Judges, Attornies, Police
Officers, Coroners, Justices of the Peace, Recorders,
Court Reporters, or other attachees of civil or criminal
courts, either in this country, or in the land that gave
him birth.
The question is very easily answered: For the very
reason that Mr. Meredith has, by both precept and example, demonstrated the fact that a man can transact
business, and have dealings with his fellow men, without
litigation.
Perhaps it would be impossible to find another man
in the United States, who has done business to the same
amount, commencing, as he did, some twenty-three years
ago, with a few hard earned sovereigns in his pocket,
and accumulating a little, year by year, until he reached the acme of trade, and compete with those who are
styled merchant princes, without ever having feed a lawyer, looked into the interior of a court-room, under any
circumstances, with no personal knowledge, practically




286              RAISING THE VEIL;
applied, of ever having sued or complained of a man, in
any case at law. Nor did he ever have an Attorney's
letter directed to him, which commenced thus:: A demand has been left at my office, against you,
for collection," &c., &e.
Mr. M. is an eccentric and unostentatious man.  He
never gave a note of hand, nor will he take one, even
should it be endorsed by the President of every Bank in
the United States.
I trust, for the reasons already mentioned, the reader
will be perfectly satisfied with my explanation of the
why's and wherefore's, in this matter.
Hinman. Meredith was born in Algerkirk, England,
some fifty-two years ago. He came to this country in
the year 1833, and commenced business as a retail West
India goods dealer, in a small store, on Washington
street, Boston.  He brought with him a few dollars.
He would not accept proffered credit from any man,
neither would he extend credit to any man.  Every article brought into his store was paid for in ready cash,
and every purchaser was required to adhere to his rule,
most strictly and religiously.
It is not well to shower fulsome praise or laudations
upon any man, while he is living, therefore I shall only
speak of Mr. M. as he is spoken of by others.
It is said that he is kind hearted, affable and generous, in all the social relations of life, a sincere open



OR, SCENES IN THE COURTS.         287
hearted, and true friend to all who are so fortunate as to
become intimately acquainted with him. In matters of
business he is scrupulously exact, whether in selling a
pound of tea, or a thousand boxes of sugar.
The eccentricities and peculiarities of Mr. M. are always instantly noticed by an observing stranger, the moment he comes in contact with him. These, we believe,
are partially innate, but the force of habit may have
done much to augment them.
Although Mr. M. was born in England, he is a, true
republican. He never meddles with politics, never expresses any opinions with regard to party or sects, but
ever has been diligent in business, and has set an example for the young men of the present day, which, if
they would follow, would certainly lead them to wealth
and prosperity.  He has clearly shown that a man can
accumulate riches without injuring his neighbors.  That
to avoid litigations, and law quarrels, with all their concomitants, is the only safe course for a business man to
pursue.  We know full well that Mr. M. has many
times and oft relieved the sufferings of the worthy poor
and distressed, always doing it by stealth, when no reporter was near, or printing-press ready to blazon the
deed to the world. He has quietly made deposits in that
Bank where you get no written receipt, but where every
farthing is credited in the ledger kept above.
I find that I must bring these sketches to a close,




288             RAISING THE VEIL;
having devoted more time and space to the subject than
I intended at its commencement. The little curly-headed devil, with hands and face smutched with printer's
ink, will no longer come to my chamber at early dawn,
and poke his roguish. phiz inside the half-open door,
crying out: " Please, sir, we want copy."  No longer
will the gentlemanly proprietor of the stereotype foundry
call upon me, with some half a dozen sheets of unintelligible manuscript, that could not be deciphered, and insist
upon knowing the name of the person who invented that
style of hieroglyphics. No longer will my venerable
Uncle Zeb perplex and annoy me, because every word
and line written is not in exact accordance with his old
fashioned whims and notions; and as I no longer intend
to trouble the reader on this subject, I will
DROP THE       VEIL.