on't
tell the truth?"--"Yessir," was Jackson's reply; "in dat case I expects
our side will win de case."

When Senator Taylor was Governor of Tennessee, he issued a great many
pardons to men and women confined in penitentiaries or jails in that
State. His reputation as a "pardoning Governor" resulted in his being
besieged by everybody who had a relative incarcerated. One morning an
old negro woman made her way into the executive offices and asked Taylor
to pardon her husband, who was in jail. "What's he in for?" asked the
Governor. "Fo' nothin' but stealin' a ham," explained the wife. "You
don't want me to pardon him," argued the Governor. "If he got out he
would only make trouble for you again."--"'Deed I does want him out ob
dat place!" she objected. "I needs dat man."--"Why do you need him?"
inquired Taylor, patiently. "Me an' de chillun," she said, seriously,
"needs another ham."

* * * * *

Etiquette in the matter of dress was, in early days, of little or no
consequence with American lawyers, especially in the Southern States. In
South Carolina this neglect of the rigid observance of English rules on
the part of Mr. Petigru, a well-known barrister, gave rise to the
following passage between the Bench and the Bar.

"Mr. Petigru," said the judge, "you have on a light coat. You can't
speak."

"May it please the Bench," said the barrister, "I conform strictly to
the law. Let me illustrate. The law says the barrister shall wear a
black gown and coat, and your honour thinks that means a black coat?"

"Yes," said the judge.

"Well, the law also says the sheriff shall wear a cocked hat and sword.
Does your honour hold that the sword must be cocked as well as the hat?"

He was permitted to go on.

* * * * *

In the United States, as elsewhere, the average juryman is not very well
versed in the fine distinctions of the law. On these it is the judge's
duty to instruct him. What guidance the jury got from the explanation of
what constitutes murder is not quite clear to the lay mind, however
satisfactory it may have appeared to the judge.

"Gentlemen," he stated, with admirable lucidity, "murder is where a man
is murderously killed. The killer in such a case is a murderer. Now,
murder by poison is just as much murder as murder with a gun, pistol, or
knife. It is the simple act of murdering that constitutes murder in the
eye of the law. Don't let the ide