"The judge has given a non-jurisdictional post mortem sentence," remarked Judge Tony, who was not altogether friendly with Whiting. And later when the latter, wearied of the Bench, left it in disgust, and a lawyer meeting Judge Tony in the court, rather un grammatically announced: " Judge Whiting is resigned," was answered, " And so am I to the news." The Southern congressman who is credited with inventing the question put to the Speak er, "Where am I at?" was anticipated a quarter century ago before Judge Lewis B. Woodruff, Federal Circuit Judge in New York. The latter was continually given to making interruptions during arguments, and also interlocutory digressions which often embarrassed the counsel. After a rather long interruption during an argument by the late William O. Bartlett, an eminent law yer, Judge Woodruff said, " And now you may resume the thread of your argument." Bartlett, a master of repartee, said, " That thread is now so interwoven into the woof and warp of your Honor's excellent cloth of observations that I have lost it. But will your Honor kindly tell me where I was at?" Chief Baron Kelly, during argument, was given to much wool-gathering, and one could see from his countenance when the fit of ab sent-mindedness was upon him. But he was sometimes like the fox in the fable, who out stretched and with closed eyes was neverthe less wide awake for the innocently straying chicken. On such a last-mentioned occa sion, Mr. Cole, Q. C, repeated a point when the Chief Baron, still with closed eyes, lan guidly remarked, " Mr. Cole that is the third time you have said that — why repeat?" "If your lordship pleases, I wanted at least one of them to carry attention." "I heap a coal of fire upon your head by informing you that eaCh shot took effect. I can readily shut my eyes to bad law and sophistry." George Wood, an eminent lawyer at both
the Philadelphia and New York bar, was never suspected of waggery. Yet according to Marshall Bidwell, whom, as a great Cana dian barrister the provincial revolution en gineered by Mackenzie in 1837 exiled to New York to become one of its grandest and most impressive-looking ornaments — with his massive gray head, Roman features and spotless white cravat of the Prince Regent folds, — George Wood one day, while they were associated in a pending case, suddenly whispered, " Don't be alarmed at brother Ogden's earnestness on the other side. There is only one case in his favor, and if he knows of it he cannot get the volume." "Why not?" "Because I have drawn it from the library and I am now sitting on it." Richard Busteed, when Corporation Coun sel of New York city, once claimed that ChiefJustice Thomas J. Oakley, who was never jocular, had lost him a verdict by perfunc torily saying, without meaning any slur, in the midst of the counsel's very amusing ad dress to a jury, — " Now we will take a lunch eon recess to give the jury opportunity to laugh." Busteed, after the civil war, was made, by President Johnson, Judge of the Federal Dis trict Court in Alabama. There he was re garded as a carpet-bagger, and the Confed erate lawyers took every occasion to hetchell him. Busteed was an erratic man, and fad dish. He insisted upon having his- judicial chair in Mobile draped with the American flag. On one occasion the judge was com pelled to kindly rebuke a member of the bar who, insolently pointing to the exposed flag observed, " Yes, the court makes me see stars." Whereunto Busteed calmly observed, "And have a care lest the court should in self-respect be compelled to make you also see stripes." Before Mr. Chauncey Depew drifted from general law practice into special legal prac tice for the Vanderbilt interests, and lastly into railway management, his well known wit
