ning the fraud of a merchant-adventurer, who having insured his
vessel for L2400 when, together with her cargo, she was worth no more
than L500, had endeavored to wreck her off the French coast. From
Pepys's record it appears that this was a novel piece of rascality at
that time, and consequently created lively sensation in general society,
as well as in legal and commercial coteries. "All the great counsel in
the kingdom" were employed in the cause; and though maritime causes
then, as now, usually involved much hard swearing, the case was notable
for the prodigious amount of perjury which it elicited. For the most
part the witnesses were sailors, who, besides swearing with stolid
indifference to truth, caused much amusement by the incoherence of their
statements and by their free use of nautical expressions, which were
quite unintelligible to Chief Justice (Sir Robert) Hyde. "It was," says
Pepys, "pleasant to see what mad sort of testimonys the seamen did give,
and could not be got to speak in order; and then their terms such as the
judge could not understand, and to hear how sillily the counsel and
judge would speak as to the terms necessary in the matter, would make
one laugh; and above all a Frenchman, that was forced to speak in
French, and took an English oath he did not understand, and had an
interpreter sworn to tell us what he said, which was the best testimony
of all." A century later Lord Mansfield was presiding at a trial
consequent upon a collision of two ships at sea, when a common sailor,
whilst giving testimony, said, "At the time I was standing abaft the
binnacle;" whereupon his lordship, with a proper desire to master the
facts of the case, observed, "Stay, stay a minute, witness: you say
that at the time in question you were _standing abaft the binnacle_; now
tell me, where is abaft the binnacle?" This was too much for the gravity
of 'the salt,' who immediately before climbing into the witness-box had
taken a copious draught of neat rum. Removing his eyes from the bench,
and turning round upon the crowded court with an expression of intense
amusement, he exclaimed at the top of his voice, "He's a pretty fellow
for a judge! Bless my jolly old eyes!--[the reader may substitute a
familiar form of 'imprecation on eye-sight']--you have got a pretty sort
of a land-lubber for a judge! He wants me to tell him where _abaft the
binnacle is_!" Not less amused than the witness, Lord Mansfield
rejoined, "Well, my fr