A Legal Incident. journed, the young man asked the writer if a demurrer could be considered a personal affront, and if so he well knew what course to follow. The humor of the situation im mediately seized upon and impressed the writer, and he invited the young man to his office and informed him that a demurrer was a very distressing incident in legal proceed ings; that it admitted all of the allegations of the plaintiff, but at the same time stated that they were so chaffy, so light, and of such little weight, that they entitled the de fendant to a judgment for costs; that in the Colonial days of Virginia there was a well settled tradition that demurrers were con sidered personal affronts, and .that it might be the case now, but I rather thought not; but I would advise him to consult an old and eminent member of the bar, since that time one of the governors of Virginia, and he could safely follow his advice. That counsel caught on to the joke and reaffirmed my advice. When the court opened next morning there was profound silence, when the young man straightened up to his full and enormous height, and in a stentorian but musical voice commenced as follows : — "May it please the court : I am a young man without experience in my chosen pro fession, and with but little legal learning. It may be that the statement of the cause of action in this case is inartificial and im proper, but I rely on the great Virginia statute of Jeoffails, which is the palladium of the legal rights of the Virginia citizen. That noble statute says, if the case, however
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badly stated, shows enough for the court to arrive at the true merits of the cause, it is sufficient. Sir, I rely on that noble and commanding statute, made, I am sure, for such cases as this, and to prevent injustice. As to the demurrer, I hurl back the insinua tion contained in it that I have stated my cause of action so badly that, admit all I have stated, there is no ground for the action, with scorn and contempt, and if need be with defiance. Sir, I rely on this court to carry out the great principles of eternal justice, and I hope it will rise equal to the occasion. I do not care so much myself, sir, about the infernal demurrer, but the idea that the miserable attorney from the county of should attempt to bring into disrepute the honored name and the memory of the great Sir Henry John Stephen, and to strike at him through me, is more than I can bear." "What do you mean, sir?" yelled the old attorney. " I will hold you to personal ac count. You talk, sir, about a demurrer being a personal affront; if I only had my usual wind, I would give you a foretaste of what you will often catch at this bar." At this stage of the proceedings a personal altercation was with difficulty averted. The roar of laughter was universal; even the dignified old judge could not repress a smile. He gave me quite a lecture pri vately for being the cause of such a scene. The demurrer was sustained; the young giant went West, attained a high eminence in his profession, and made a fortune.
