nia" of 1845 a company was formed in Birmingham
for making a railway from Wolverhampton to Birkenhead, and Smith was
its solicitor. The company, like many others, "came to grief." The
directors were great losers, and much litigation followed. In those
days there were no "winding up" arrangements, and the creditors of
defunct companies had to sue individual directors to recover the
amount of their claims. One action in connection with this company
came on for trial at Warwick, in 1847 or 1848, before the late Mr.
Justice Patteson. Mr. M. (the present Justice M.) was counsel for
the defence, and Smith was a witness for the plaintiff. The Judge was
deaf, and Smith's loud voice and clear replies evidently pleased him.
He complimented Smith, who was soon in one of his best humours,
his broad, merry face beaming with smiling good-nature. His
examination-in-chief being over, Mr. M. got up, prospectus in hand,
and majestically waving a pair of gold eye-glasses, said, "Well, Mr.
Smith, I see by this prospectus that the solicitor of this company
is John Smith, _Esquire_, Upper Temple Street, Birmingham; are _you_
'John Smith, _Esquire_?'"

Smith (with great energy): "I AM!"

Mr. M. (evidently disconcerted): "Oh! very good, Mr. Smith; very good!
H'm! I see by your prospectus that you had a large number of persons
connected with you in this matter. You had, I see, Parliamentary
agents, solicitors, London solicitors, local solicitors, consulting
engineers, acting engineers, surveyors, auditors, secretary, and a
variety of other officers. Had you standing counsel, Mr. Smith?"

Smith (folding his arms, and with the greatest possible coolness):
"No, we hadn't, Mr. M.; but I remember the subject being discussed
at one of our board meetings, and I mentioned your name as that of
a rising young man at the Bar, and there was some idea of retaining
you."

The effect was electrical. Everybody in court was convulsed with
laughter. The judge put down his pen, threw himself back in his chair,
and laughed until he shook like a piece of _blancmange_. As soon as
he could recover himself, he asked, in tones tremulous with suppressed
mirth, "Are you satisfied, Mr. M.?" Mr. M. was completely nonplussed;
could make no defence; tried to "rub it off" by delivering himself of
a homily upon the degradation it was to the Bar of England that
some of its members should be capable of lending themselves to the
promotion of "Bubble Companies;" but it would