THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES A SERIES OF NARRATIVES, DIALOGUES, BIOGRAPHIES, AND TALES, FOR THE INSTRUCTION AND ENTERTAINMENT OF THE YOUNG. BY tnitjj NUMEROUS AND BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hnndred and fifty-four, by HARPER & BROTHERS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. THE LITTLE COURT OF MORNINOD ALE. HARPER & B ERS, PUBLISHERS I "': ;"' '"' Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, by HARPER & BROTHERS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. o f> o Q PREFACE, THE disputes and contentions which arise among boys in their intercourse with each other, in school or at play, though very dif ferent in respect to the subjects of them, are very analogous in na ture to those that occur among men in the serious business of life, and are to be settled on substantially the same principles. There are not many companies of boys that would be capable of organizing and managing a court, as Justin did at Morningdale, for boys generally have not sufficient self-control to conduct such proceedings in a quiet and orderly manner. It is not impossible, however, that some of the readers of these reports may make the experiment, and, at any rate, it is certain that all who read them attentively, and in a thoughtful manner, will learn from them a great deal in respect to the principles of natural justice and right, and will be better able to guard against the danger of getting into needless quarrels themselves, and also to assist in settling the dis putes of others, after the perusal than before. 622808 CONTENTS, CHAPTER PAOI I. THE COURT 13 II. AN ALIBI 33 III. THE PHILOPENE 45 IV. BARGAIN NOT CONCLUDED 53 V. ONE THING AT A TIME 70 VI. STILL ONE THING AT A TIME 81 VII. THE HATCHET QUESTION SETTLED 89 VIII. CONFESSION 109 IX. INSUBORDINATION 129 ENGRAVINGS, CAMP ON FIBE Frontispiece. THE FIRST JURY 29 THE FISHING-POLE IN BROADWAY 57 SEIZING A HATCHET 83 THE SQUIRREL CAUGHT 98 HOW IT WAS DONE 121 THE PORTAGE 139 JUDGE JUSTIN, i. THE COURT. Judge Justin's court. The school of Morningdale. The play-grounds. little court, the proceedings of which are to be reported in this volume, pertained to a school of boys which was establish ed in a very pretty little valley forming a branch of the valley of the Bronx, a few miles above New York, on the route of the Har lem Rail-road. The name of the school, which was derived from the name of the valley in which it was situated, was JVlorningdale. The school was kept in a large and old-fashioned stone house, which was half buried under the foliage of the trees and shrubbery that surrounded it. There were attached to it a great many out buildings, some of which were used for farming purposes connect ed with the lands belonging to the school, and others for shops, play-rooms, and the like, for the boys. There was an extensive range of ornamental grounds about the house, with many wide gravel walks, and avenues of trees, arid summer-houses. Here and there, also, swings, and gymnastic poles, and other such contriv ances were set up in places convenient for the boys to use them. One of the swings was in a very pretty little grove of trees. 14 THE COURT. The mountains. Rattlesnakes in the woods. The way to the Hudson River. The valley opened toward the east, so that it took the morning sun in a very cheerful and pleasant manner, and this was perhaps the reason why it had received the name of Morningdale. On the northern side of the grounds connected with the school there extended a region of rocky and mountainous land covered with forests. There were roads leading in various directions in among these mountains, but where they led to the boys did not know, for they had never been to the end of them. There were also a great many wild and solitary paths through this wilderness, though the boys seldom went far into them, and they never went there alone. There was a tradition that in for mer years rattlesnakes had lived there, in the holes among the rocks, and although none of the boys had ever seen one of these reptiles, and though -they generally, when talking on the subject with new comers, stoutly denied that there were any there, still they could not play in those woods with any comfort, and they, therefore, seldom went there except in large companies. They al ways went well armed with clubs, too, and they walked very wa rily, and -at every rustling that they heard they stopped to listen, thinking that it might be the sound of a rattle. As the valley opened toward the east, the head of it was toward the west, that is, toward the North River, which was distant only a few miles from Morningdale. There was a good road in that di rection, which led, winding up the valley, to a beautiful country on the height of the land, and thence down to the river. The boys used often to go by that road when they wished to go to New York by the steam-boat. The distance to the steam-boat landing THE COURT. 15 Three ways of going to New York. Dr. Mather. The brook. was about eight miles, and the road was a very pleasant one to travel. There was also another broad and pretty road, which led, in a winding way, down from Morningdale to the valley of the Bronx, and thence to the rail-road station. Thus the boys had two ways of going to New York, one by the steam-boat on the North River, and the other by the Harlem Rail-road. Indeed, there were three ways ; for they might, if they chose, when they reached the steam boat landing on the river, proceed by the Hudson River Rail-road. There was a station on that road very near the landing. Dr. Mather, who was the proprietor and principal of the Morn ingdale school, kept several horses and carriages for the use of his family and of the boys. There was one horse that was kept har nessed all the time into a light wagon for doing errands. This horse and wagon were sent almost every day to the station in or der to bring up boxes and parcels, which came there by the trains, for Dr. Mather or for the boys. On his way back from the sta tion, the boy who drove this wagon stopped at the post-office in the village for the letters. He had a leather bag to bring them in. There was a very pretty brook running through the Morning- dale valley, and for a considerable distance this brook flowed through the grounds of the school. In one place on this brook there was a dam, which Dr. Mather had caused to be built in or der to make a pond for the boys. This pond answered several very important purposes. The boys kept ducks and geese upon it, and sometimes other aquatic birds. They also fished in it, though the larger boys generally preferred to fish in the Bronx. 16 THE COURT. Swimming, boating, and skating. The rule about pocket-money. They sometimes bathed in it, especially in the early part of the summer, for the water became warm enough for bathing in the pond some time before it did in the river. They sailed boats and rafts in it in all seasons of the year, except in the winter, and then they derived a still greater degree of pleasure from it by skating on the ice. This pond was very pretty, as well as very convenient for the boys' uses. It was of a winding and irregular form, and the banks of it were very picturesque. The lines of the shore were varied with many capes, bays, and projecting headlands, and there were wharves and harbors here and there which the bays had formed. The banks were shaded, too, very prettily with trees and shrub beries, and there were a great many pleasant walks along the mar gin of them. There was one custom established at this school, which it is necessary to explain, in order that the reports of the trials con tained in this volume may be better understood, and that was in relation to the boys' pocket-money. The rule was that every boy was to receive from his father, during the time that he remained in the school, twenty-five cents per week, neither more nor less, for pocket-money. The sons of the richest men were not allowed to have any more, nor were those whose parents were not so rich to have any less. This was an express stipulation which Dr. Ma ther made with every parent when his son was admitted to the school. If the parent would not consent to this, Dr. Mather would not receive the boy. This money, too, was not to be sent to the boys from their par- THE COURT. 17 Three reasons why Dr. Mather made the rule. ents at home, nor to be brought with them when they came, but Dr. Mather himself paid it to them every week, and then, at the end of the quarter, charged the amount in the bill. Thus he kept the question of pocket-money wholly under his own control. There were various reasons which led Dr. Mather to adopt this plan. In the first place, he did not wish to have any of the boys in his school dashing about among the others with their pockets full of money, which their foolish fathers and mothers had given them, and assuming great airs and pretensions over the other scholars on that account, as such boys often do. He thought it much better that all the boys of the school should be on a more equal footing in this respect. Then he considered it an important part of a boy's education that he should learn something about the value of money, the dif ficulty of earning it, and the advantages of prudence and economy in the employment of it. These things he knew very well that a boy could never learn so long as his father and mother kept his pockets continually full ; so he required the amount that they were to receive to be limited to a definite though sufficiently lib eral sum, and thus afforded the boys the means of acquiring expe rience and skill in the proper management of it. There was another reason still for adopting this plan, which was, perhaps, not less important than the other two. Dr. Mather wished to adopt the system ofjines, as punishments of petty mis demeanors and breaches of order among the boys, and he saw very plainly that such a system could never be made to work equally or justly unless the resources of the boys in respect to money 31 B 18 THE COUET. Some account of Justin. Why he was at school. were equal. He thought that if, in the first instance, he limited the amount that the boys could receive from their parents to a moderate sum, equal for. all, and then could adopt a system by which this amount could be increased by earnings which the boys might make, or by rewards which they might receive, and, on the other hand, diminished by fines inflicted for punishment, he should be greatly assisted in the government and discipline of the school. His calculations in this respect proved to be perfectly correct. He found that the system worked admirably well. Most of the boys in the school were under twelve years old. There was, however, one who was over fifteen. His name was Justin. Justin had entered college, and he was spending his first college year at the Morningdale school. This plan is very often adopted when the boy, or, rather, the young man in question, has so good a character that the principal of the school where he fitted for college is willing to allow him to remain. Unless his charac ter is very good indeed, such a boy remaining in a school in the country can do a great deal of mischief. His influence over the other boys is very great on account of his superior age and at tainments, and if he chooses to abuse this influence, he leads them into a great deal of evil. Then, moreover, if he is disposed to be disobedient and insubordinate, it is very difficult to manage him ; for the methods in use at the school, being adapted to an earlier age, are not suited to his case. Thus it is in his power, if he is so disposed, to make a great deal of trouble. But Justin was an excellent boy. He was a very superior scholar, and was extremely attentive to all his duties. He was THE COURT. 19 Justin's character. The origin of the court. very sober and sedate in his manners, and generally took very lit tle part in the amusements and plays of the younger boys, though he was always ready to help them in any of their undertakings, whenever his assistance was required. He was a great peace-mak er too, and took great pleasure in settling the disputes which arose from time to time, especially among the younger boys. The b'oys all had great confidence in him, and his decisions were almost universally submitted to without any question. One rea son for this was that he always patiently inquired into all the facts of a case before he formed any opinion in relation to it. He wait ed until he had fully heard the whole story, and both sides of it too, before he made up his mind. Then he seemed never to show any partiality. A little boy, or a new-comer, that nobody had yet formed any friendship for, was heard as patiently, and had his rights as fully considered, in case of any contest, as the oldest and most influential and popular boy in the school. It was this Justin who was the judge in the court which is to be described in this volume. The manner in which this court was established was somewhat accidental. It happened in this way: One day, when Justin had been walking a little way in the vroods, north of the school-grounds, to practice a declamation, he heard, as he returned through the grpunds, the sound of voices coming from a place near the pond, as of boys in altercation. He immediately turned his steps toward the place. It was at a place where a boy named Warner was building a wharf in his harbor on the pond. He had formed the margin of his wharf, both at the 20 THE COUET. Warner's wharf. The boys appeal to Justin. Silence in the court! front and at the sides, by driving down strong stakes, and then setting up boards edgewise inside of them. These boards, of course, before being put in, were sawed to the proper length. After having proceeded so far, Warner concluded to fill up the interior space of his wharf with earth, and then to pave the sur face with round stones. This pavement had been begun, and, be sides the stones that had been already laid, there was a small pile lying on the grass near which seemed to be ready to be laid. There was also a small wheelbarrow near. The wheelbarrow was empty, and was lying down upon its side. At the time that Justin came to the place, the work was entirely suspended, and all the boys that were there were engaged in an eager dispute. As soon as Justin came to the spot, the boys seemed with one accord to turn to him, and all began talking together to explain the case. " Stop!" said Justin ; " all stop ! I can't understand the case at all when so many are talking at once." So the boys stopped talking. Immediately afterward, however, Warner began again, saying, "I'll tell you all about it, Justin. You see, the boys all agreed " "No," said a small boy whom they called Clicket, and who here suddenly interrupted Warner, "no, I did not agree." Immediately a dozen voices broke in again, all clamorous to ex plain the case. "Hush!" said Justin. " Silence! silence in the court! I'll tell THE COURT. 21 Choosing a jury. Jurors should be unbiased. Murray and Jones. you what we will do. We will have a court, and try the case regularly. I'll be the judge." " Agreed !" said all the boys ; " agreed ! agreed !" " I'll be the judge," continued Justin ; " and then we shall want a jury besides." Here there was another burst of vociferation from the boys, all of them wanting to be jurors. "I'll be jury!" "Let me be jury !" "Me!" "Me!" "Joe and I will be jury." These and similar cries were uttered so ea gerly by the boys as to produce a scene of utter confusion. " Hush !" said Justin. " Silence! None of you can be jury. We must have a jury that don't know any thing about the case." "Then how can they decide?" said one of the boys. " They will learn about it by hearing the witnesses," said Jus tin. "In courts they always take pains to get a jury that have not made up their minds about the case beforehand. It is a great deal better that they should not know any thing about it at all except what they learn from the witnesses." Here there was another outcry from the boys, all clamoring to be witnesses ; but Justin succeeded .before long in quieting them again. " You must not talk at all," said he, "but keep perfectly quiet, or else we can't have any court. I shall tell you exactly what to do." At a little distance from the place where this scene occurred there were two boys in a boat. Their names were Murray and Jones. There was just a glimpse of them to be seen through 22 THE COURT. Thejury empaneled. Warner is plaintiff. Clicket defendant the trees, over an intervening point of land. Justin immediately called to these boys to come that way; and as boys seldom failed to come when Justin called them, Murray and Jones began at once to paddle their boat in that direction. When the boat came near, Justin told the boys that he wanted them to be jury. " There is a case to be tried," said he. "Very well," said Murray ; "we'll be jury. What's the case ?" "Sit down where you are, in the boat," said Justin, "and listen." So Murray and Jones sat down together on one of the thwarts of the boat, and assumed an attitude of great attention. " Now," said Justin, " which of you boys is it that claims any thing of any other boy ?" "I do," said Warner. "Then you are plaintiff," said Justin. "And who is it that you claim something of?" "Of Clicket, there," said Warner, pointing to Clicket. "Then Clicket is defendant," said Justin. "Nobody must speak except those that I call upon. I'm judge, and it belongs to me to regulate the proceedings. " And now," continued Justin, " it is the plaintiff's turn to tell his story first, and the jury must listen. But then, gentlemen of the jury," he added, turning to Murray and Jones in the boat, " you must not absolutely believe the plaintiff's account of the affair till you hear what the defendant has got to say." " Then I don't see what good it will do for me to tell the story," THE COURT. The jury should not absolutely believe one side till they have heard the other. said Warner, somewhat sullenly, "if they are not going to Lelieve me." "I said they must not believe you absolutely," replied Justin, good-naturedly. " That is, they must not consider your account of the matter conclusive until they hear the other side. Don't you think it is a good rule to hear both sides of a story before we make up our minds about it ?" "Why, yes," replied Warner. " Then you ought to be willing that the rule should be applied in your case. So go on and tell your story, and then we will hear what Clicket has to say on his side." "Well," said Warner, "I made Clicket a whistle, and he was to wheel me a load of stones in that wheelbarrow for my pave ment, and now he won't do it." " I did not agree to do it," said Clicket, interrupting. " Stop!" said Justin. "It is not your turn yet. You shall tell your story by-and-by, when Warner has got through." " Well," said Warner, " the case is just this. I agreed to make the boys some whistles if they would bring me some stones. Every boy was to have a whistle who would bring me one wheel barrow load of stones. Well, the boys all agreed to it " " I did not agree to it," said Clicket. "Hush!" said Justin. "Wait till your turn comes." " So I cut down some branches from the willow-tree there," con tinued Warner, " and made the whistles. I made four, and Click et had one of them. All the rest of the boys have brought me their loads of stones, but Clicket won't bring me his." 24 THE COURT. The trial proceeds. Clicket calls a witness. " That is all that you have to say, is it ?" said Justin. " Yes,' 1 said Warner. " Now, then, Clicket, it is your turn," said Justin, turning to Clicket. " What have you to say ?" "Why, I did not agree to any such thing," said Clicket. " He made me a whistle, and I took it, but I did not agree to bring him any stones for it ; I can prove that I did not agree to bring any stones." "Very well," said Justin, "prove it. Who is your witness?" Clicket appealed to a boy named Moses to confirm what he said, and so Moses was called upon to tell what he knew about the case. Moses came forward and spoke as follows : " I was here when it began. W T arner said that he wanted some stones to finish his pavement, and he said that if any of the boys would go up the brook, to the place where such stones were plenty, and bring him six apiece, he would make each of them a whistle. Two or three of them said they would, but Clicket did not say any thing. I listened particularly. However, Warner made him a whistle, and he took it, but he did not agree to bring him any stones for it." " Then what business had he to take the whistle ?" demanded Warner. " That's for the jury-boys to consider," said Justin. "All we have to do now is to get the facts of the case all out. Do you think it was so, as Moses says, that Clicket did not positively agree, in so many words, to bring the stones ?" " I don't know that he agreed to it in so many words," said THE COURT. 25 What Clicket did with the whistle. Duties of the jury. Warner; "but he took the whistle and blew on it a long while, and he has got it in his pocket now." Here Clicket pulled the whistle out from his pocket, and threw it toward Warner, saying, in a testy tone, " Here ! take your whistle !" The whistle fell upon the ground, but nobody picked it up, and so it lay there neglected. " Well, now, you jury-boys," said Justin, turning to the jury in the boat, " the point is this. You see, it is the duty of the judge to explain what the point is in each case. The point is this : whether Clicket, by taking the whistle, and without saying any thing about the agreement, bound himself to bring the stones ; or, had he a right to consider it as a gift to him. You must not con sider this case alone, but must take it in connection with other cases on the same principle. If a person takes any thing of value from another person with a certain understanding, does the sim ple act of taking it on that understanding bind him to it, without any other agreement ?" "/think," said Murray, one of the jury-boys, beginning to ex press his opinion. " Stop!" said Justin, interrupting him. "You must not give your verdict yet. Wait till you have heard all that the judge has to say. There are a great many cases like this continually hap pening among men. For instance, suppose a man comes down to the bank of a river where there is a ferry. The ferryman is in his boat, and asks the man if he wishes to cross the ferry. The man says Yes, he should like to cross the ferry well enough. * Very 26 THE COURT. Cases of implied agreements. well,' says the ferryman : 'jump into the boat, and I will take you over.' So the man gets into the boat, and the ferryman rows him over. When they get to the shore, the ferryman calls for his pay; but the man says that he did not promise to pay him any thing. ' You asked me to get into your boat,' says he, ' and you said that you would row me over ; but I did not ask you to do it, and I did not promise to pay you any thing.' Now the question is, Wheth er, in such a case as that, the man is bound to pay." "I should think he would be a mean fellow if he would not," said one of the jury. " Very likely," said Justin ; " but that is not exactly the ques tion. It might be mean in a man to refuse to do, in some cases, what, after all, he was not really bound by law to do. The ques tion is, What this man would be bound to do. Suppose that the ferryman were to bring him into court, what would the judge and jury decide? W r ould they say that, as he did not make any agreement in form with the ferryman to be ferried over the river, he could do as he pleased about paying ? Or would they say that his getting into the boat and going over was agreement enough that is, that his taking a passage on the understanding that he was to pay was in fact an agreement on his part that he would pay ? " Or suppose," added Justin, in continuation of his charge to the jury, " suppose that a milkman, in going his rounds, should begin by mistake to leave his milk at the wrong house, and sup pose that the woman who lived there should tell her girl not to say a word, but to take the milk every morning. ' Let him leave it here,' says she, ' as long as he pleases. I have not ordered it, THE COURT. 27 The jury go away in the boat to consider the case. and so I shall not have any thing to pay.' She lets him go on so till the end of the quarter, and then, when he brings in his bill, she says, ' I don't owe you any thing for this milk, for I did not agree to take it.' The question is what the judge and jury ought to decide." " I think they would decide," said one of the jury, " that she ought to have told the milkman before." " Yes ; but now it is too late for that," replied Justin. " The milk has been delivered, and is all drunk up, and now the ques tion is whether the woman would be obliged to pay for it. I know how it would be, for I have read of such cases in the law- books, but I shall leave it for the jury to consider what they think the decision ought to be. So you can consider and decide. If you think that when a person takes a thing of another with the understanding that he is to pay for it, the act of taking it is in itself to be considered as an agreement on his part that he will pay for it, then you must decide in favor of Warner, for Clicket took the whistle with the understanding that he was to bring a wheelbarrow load of stones to pay for it. But if you think, on the other hand, that a person is never bound to pay for an article that he receives, unless he has in so many words agreed that he will pay for it, then you must decide in favor of Clicket, for it is proved that he did not say, in so many Avords, that he would bring the stones. "And now," continued Justin, "you must go off in your boat a little way, and talk about it, and see if you both think alike. If you do, you must then come back and tell us what you think. 28 THE COURT. The verdict. Clicket is not satisfied. If you do not, you must come back and tell us that you do not agree." So Murray and Jones paddled off up the pond a little way, un til they were out of hearing, and there held their consultation. Pretty soon they came back, and Murray said that they were agreed. " We think," said he, " that Clicket ought to bring two wheel barrow loads of stones ; one to pay for the whistle, and the other for damages, on account of having made Warner so much trouble by refusing to bring the stones at first." Clicket seemed very little disposed to submit to this decision. He said he was willing to bring one wheelbarrow load, if the boys said so, but he did not think it was fair that he should have to bring two. " I would," said Justin. " You can do it very easily, and it is always best to submit to the laws. Indeed, if I were you, I don't know but that I should bring three loads, or, at any rate, I would put an extra stone in each of the two, so as to give first- rate measure." Clicket, finding thus that every body was against him, concluded to submit, though he did it rather ungraciously. He brought the two loads of stones, and, just as he came with the last one, the bell rang for supper, and the boys all went up toward the house. Justin lingered behind, so as to talk to Clicket on the way. " Then you don't think the decision was fair, do you, Clicket ?" said he. "No," answered Clicket, " I don't think it was fair at all." 30 THE COUET. Justin's illustration of the ticket-office. " Then you don't think," said Justin, " that a person is obliged to pay for what he takes, unless he agrees to in so many words ?" " No," said Clicket, " I don't." , " Did you ever go to the Museum in New York ?" said Justin. " Yes," replied Clicket, " and a nice time I had there." " How much did you pay?" asked Justin. "I paid a shilling," said Clicket. "It is twenty-five cents boys like me half price." " Well now, Clicket," continued Justin, " suppose you were to go to the Museum again, and, when you came to the door with your shilling in your hand, you should put the shilling down on the little shelf by the window, and the man should take it and put it in the drawer, and then you should ask him' for a ticket. The man would say, ' Give me a shilling, and I will give you a ticket;' and you would say to him, 'I just gave you a shilling.' Then he would say, ' You did not give me the shilling for a ticket, you gave it to me for nothing.' Then you would say, ' Xo, I meant that shilling to pay for a ticket.' Then the man would say, ' I don't care what you meant ; you did 1 not say it^vas for a ticket. You gave me the money without saying a word, and I took it and put it in the drawer. I did nofc agree to give you any thing for it, and so I am not obliged to give you any thing.' Suppose the man were to do so, what should you say ?" " Why, that's a very different thing," said Clicket. " How is it different ?" asked Justin. "Why, I think it is different altogether," said Clicket. " I admit that it is different," said Justin, " in that it is about THE COURT. 31 Cases may be different, yet their principles the same. 'the Museum, and a shilling, and a ticket, and the other case is about a wheelbarrow and a load of stones ; but the principle seems to me to be the same, though some boys can not see principles very well." " I don't know what you mean by principles," said Clicket. " Why, the cases are alike in this," said Justin : " Warner gave you the whistle just as you gave the shilling to the Museum man, and you took the whistle just as the Museum man took your shilling. Nothing was said in either case. There was only an understanding. There was an understanding on Warner's part that you were to give him something in return for that whistle, and there was an understanding on your part that the Museum man was to "give you a ticket for your shilling. There was not any thing but an understanding in either case ; so that, if the Mu seum "man was bound to give you a ticket, then, on the same prin ciple, you were bound to wheel the load of stones." As Justin said those words, he and Clicket arrived at the house, and they both Avent in immediately to supper, so that nothing- more was* said on the subject at that time. Some of the boys, however, said afterward that they thought it was good fun to have a court, and tney told Justin that they wished that he would set tle all their disputes in that way. Justin accordingly established a court, and made rules and reg ulations, from time to time, for the government of it, so that at length it became quite a well-organized institution. The sessions of it were held in a summer-house. There was a seat for the judge, with a place for the jury on one side, and one for the wit- 32 THE COURT. The court in the summer-house. nesses on the other. The plaintiff and defendant, with their ad visers, if they had any, sat in front. The boys who came as spec tators sat on any of the vacant seats, or stood outside, and looked in through the openings that served as windows. The parties might manage their cases themselves, or they might, if they chose, avail themselves of the aid of any of the elder boys. These boys, when thus employed, of course acted the part of counselors at law. Reports of some of the most important cases that were tried in this court are contained in the subsequent chapters of this volume. AN ALIBI. 33 Another case. Opening the court. The complaint. H. AN ALIBI. Murray and Jones against Clicket. ON the part of Murray and Jones, Murray himself appeared to manage the case. On the part of Clicket, Warner appeared. The court was opened on Monday afternoon, about an hour be fore sunset. The bell was rung at the door of the summer-house five minutes before the time of opening the court, as a summons to the parties and witnesses to appear. The judge opened the court by rising in his place and commanding silence. The judge then called the case, whereupon the clerk of the court rose and read a brief statement of the complaint, which had been prepared for the purpose by Murray, as follows : sse cnarae v?ucne aum navvna vutnea ufi <7 . . /# tf.J? J cam/i in/ we matatn wf tne w&ea / we freeMMd-ea r& vtwfa ff cwn'et'. (--i/tanea, ^~ ^ /'/' f /* ^/ ctatm a> fad Sivna- note CM wune watnet nod ana ttww net awe me. The Judge. Well, Ogden, it is your turn first. Proceed with your proof. Ogden. I wish first to prove that the fishing-pole was mine, and that I valued it very much. Warner pretends that he bought it of me, but that is for him to prove after I have proved that it was originally mine. The Judge. Yes, that will be the right way of proceeding. Yon must begin with your witnesses. Ogden. My first witness is Clicket. Come forward, Clicket, and give your evidence. 54 BARGAIN NOT CONCLUDED. Clicket relates the purchase of the fishing-rod. Clicket came forward and took his stand at the place appropri ated to the witnesses. Ogden. Well, now, go on, Clieket, and tell all about my getting this fishing-pole in New York. Clicket. It was about ten days ago that you bought it. You and I got leave The Judge. Tell the story to the jury, Clicket, and not to Ogden. Clicket (turning to the jury). Ogden and I got leave to go to New York Saturday afternoon. We ran off immediately after dinner, so as to catch the two o'clock train. I wanted Ogden to be my horse going down, so that we could go faster, but he would not ; however, we had plenty of time, for we got there ten minutes before the train came along. The Judge. But, Clicket, this has nothing to do with the fish ing-pole. You need not tell the jury all the particulars about your going to New York. Clicket. I am coming to the pole pretty soon. When we got to New York, we got out at Twenty-seventh Street, because I wanted to walk down Broadway. At first Ogden thought we had better go on to Canal Street, but at last he agreed to get out at Twenty-seventh Street. The Judge. But, Clicket, all this has nothing to do with the fishing-pole. You must come to the point. Clicket. I am coming to it as fast as I can. I can't come to it till we get down to the Battery, because Ogden did not buy the pole till after we got there. BARGAIN NOT CONCLUDED. 55 Clicket wants to tell a story. The reed-pole. The Judge. Very well ; then come to the Battery at once, and tell us about buying the pole. Clicket. I will. When we got to the Battery, we stopped there a little while to look at the ships. Pretty soon we began to walk along the piers on the North River side. We saw some men load ing a ship with grain. They had a horse to hoist the loads up, and we stopped a while to look at them. I'll tell you just how they did it. The Judge. We don't want to know how they did it, Clicket. This is not the right time nor place to tell these long stories. We are trying a case now about a fishing-pole. We want to hear about that, and nothing else. You must come right to the point. Clicket. Very well. That I'll do. We were walking along somewhere about pier No. 7 or 8 ; I rather think it was No. 8. The Judge. It is of no consequence what number it was, Click et. Go on with the story. Clicket. We saw a parcel of reed-poles leaning up against a store, where there were some sailors standing about. Says I to Ogden, Do you suppose those fishing-poles are for sale? Yes, says Ogden to me, of course ; every thing in New York is for sale. Says I, They are grand long fishing-poles. Says he, Yes, and I have a great mind to buy one. Says I, If you should buy one, you could not get it home. Yes, says he, I could take it with me in the cars. Don't you think the train is long enough ? I told him Yes, but I thought he had better buy a jointed fishing-pole, for that he could take to pieces and shut up in a little bundle that he could take under his arm. But he said he did not like the 56 BARGAIN NOT CONCLUDED. End of the story. Examination in chief and cross-examination. jointed fishing-poles. The joints, he said, were always getting out of order. Sometimes they were so loose that they would not hold together at all, and sometimes they were so tight that you could not get them apart. He had rather have one good reed-pole, he said, than a dozen jointed ones. The Judge. Never mind all that conversation. Did he buy a pole ? Clicket. Yes, he bought a pole, and gave twenty-five cents for it, and we brought it home. The Judge. That's all we want to know. Why could not you have told us that in the first instance ? Clicket (looking puzzled). Why, I came to it as quick as I could. (Laughter in the court.} Ogden. That is all I have to prove by this witness, so you may go, Clicket. Warner. Let him stay a moment; I want to cross-examine him a little.* You say, Clicket, that you and Ogden brought the pole home. I should like to know how you brought it home. Clicket. I'll tell you how. We brought it up into Broadway, and carried it about with us wherever we went for a little while, but we found that was very troublesome, for the pole was contin ually knocking against the people that we met ; and, besides, Og- * Whenever a party brings a witness into court and has finished the examination of him, the other party is entitled to ask him questions too, with a view of learning more particularly about some of the facts, or of ascertaining, by questioning him closely, whether he is telling the truth. This second questioning by the party which did not bring the witness in is called the cross-examination. The questioning by the party that did bring the witness in is called the examination in. chief. 58 BARGAIN NOT CONCLUDED. The difficulty of carrying a reed-pole on a rail-road car. den was afraid it would get split. So we carried it to the station, and gave it to a man there, and told him if he would take care of it for us till the seven o'clock train we would give him three cents, or an orange, whichever he pleased. He said he had rather have the three cents and buy his own oranges. So we agreed to give him three cents and went away. {Turning to the Judge.) Shall I tell them about what we did the rest of the afternoon ? The Judge. No, no ; tell them only what you did at seven o'clock to bring the pole home. Clicket. We went to the station a good while before the time, because Ogden thought that we might have some trouble with the fishing-pole. We found the man that we had given it to, and he gave it back to us, and we gave him the three cents. Now, says I, Ogden, how are you going to carry it ? Are you going to put it in the baggage-car ? No, says he, the baggage-car is not long enough to take it in. So we went to the baggage-car and meas ured, and found the pole was a great deal too long. Could you not put it on the top ? says I. No, says he, there's no way to fasten it there. Then, says I, we must stand on the platform all the way, and hold it upright. No, says he, because, in that case, when we pass under a bridge or through a tunnel, the top would strike, and so be broken off. Then, says I, we must hold it crosswise. No, says he, for then, when we go over a bridge, both ends would strike against the timbers. Then, says I, I don't see what you will do. I don't see any other way. Ogden said there were two or three other ways. One way, said he, would be to slide it in under the cars ; but he did not like to do that, because the man would not BAEGAIN NOT CONCLUDED. 59 How Ogden did not bring the pole. How he did. let him crawl under to tie it there ; and then, besides, there would not be time to untie it and take it away when the train stopped for them to get out. He said a better way than that would*be for him and me to go with it to the last car in the train, and stand with it on the platform behind, and hold it there, just as if we were fishing from the stern of a vessel. But he said he did not like that way very well. Another way he thought of was to car ry the pole into the car, and lay it along on the tops of the seats, close under the windows ; but he was afraid to put it there for fear that somebody might come in and undertake to turn the back of some seat, without seeing that the pole was there, and so split it. The Judge. But, Clicket, we don't want to hear about all these ways in which you did not bring the pole. What we want to know is how you did bring it. Come right to the point at once, and tell us how you did bring it. Clicket. I'll tell you. This was the way : Ogden took a piece of twine that he had in his pocket, and cut it in two, so as to make two strings. Then he gave me one, and took the other himself. I went with my string to one of the windows near the front end of the car the longest car in the train. I let my string out of the window, and Ogden, who stood outside with tho pole, tied the end of the string round the pole pretty near the big end. Then I drew the string in, so as to bring the big end of the pole up to the side of the car, close under the window. Then I shut down the window upon the string, so as to hold it there. Now, says Ogden, go to the other end of the car, and we'll fasten 60 BARGAIN NOT CONCLUDED. Ogden's reason for calling Clicket Moses is called. the other end of the pole there in the same way. So we did. We had time to do all this, for we were so early that there were very few people in the cars. Then, when we had it all done, Ogden took his seat by one of the windows, where a string came in, and I took my seat at the other, and so we were by the pole all the way. The Judge. And how did you manage in getting the pole off when the train stopped at our station ? Clicket. Why, we had our knives all ready, as soon as we got upon the platform, and I went to one end of the pole and Ogden to the other, and we cut the strings both at the same time, and so took the pole away. Warner. Very well ; I have no more questions to ask. Ogden. Then, Clicket, you may go. The reason, gentlemen of the jury, why I brought this witness in to prove these facts, is not only that you may see that the pole was really mine, but also that you may understand how much trouble I took to get it here, and how much I valued it. The Judge. Very well ; that was very right and proper. Now, Warner, you claim that you bought this pole, I understand. Warner. Yes, I do. The Judge. Very well ; proceed to prove it. Warner. My first witness is Moses. The Judge. Come forward, Moses, and give your evidence. Warner. I want you to tell the jury, Moses, what you recol lect about a bargain I made with Ogden about the fishing-pole. Moses. It was yesterday afternoon. We were all sitting on a seat near the pond. BAEGAIN NOT CONCLUDED. 61 A negotiation. The witness should speak to the jury. The Judge. Whom do you mean by all ? Moses. Ogden, Warner, Barker, and I ; and Jenny was playing about pretty near there, by the side of Warner's pier. The Judge. Was it at Warner's pier where you were at the time ? % Moses. Yes ; Warner had been setting up a flag-staff near his pier, and now he was making a flag to hoist upon it. Ogden was making a drawing of the seat on the point of land nearly opposite. While they were there, they began to talk about Ogden's swap ping his fishing-pole for a pair of compasses that belonged to Warner. Warner. Who proposed the trade first ? Moses. You did not propose it ; Ogden did. The Judge. Give your answer to the jury, Moses, not to War ner. Warner asks you the questions, but he asks them for the benefit of the jury, for it is they who have this question to decide ; so you must address your answer to them. Moses (turning to the jury). Ogden proposed it ; at least he said that he would not sell his pole for money, and he did not know of any thing that Warner had that he would exchange it for unless it was his compasses. Warner. And did I offer him my compasses for it ? Moses. Yes ; and he said, Well. The Judge. And so you understood that the bargain was con cluded? jl Moses. At any rate, he said Well. He asked Warner where the compasses were. Warner said they were up in his room, and 62 BARGAIN NOT CONCLUDED. The circumstances of the bargain concerning the pole and the compasses. Ogden asked him to go and get them. He said he would, and he did. The Judge. He brought them down and gave them to Ogden ? Moses. Yes. The Judge. And Ogden received them ? Moses. Yes ; he took them, looked at them, and put them in his pocket, and then went on with his drawing. Warner. And now about the pole tell the judge about his de livering the pole. Moses. Warner asked him where the pole was, and he told him that it was in the long shed, hung there under a certain beam. Warner asked him if he might go and get it, and Ogden said Yes ; so Warner went and got it. The Judge. You are positive that Ogden distinctly gave War ner leave to go and get the pole, are you, Moses ? Moses. Yes, I am. Warner said, I am going to get it shall I ? and Ogden said Yes. The Judge. Very well. This looks so far very much like a regular bargain, with the delivery of the property to consummate it. However, we will wait to hear what the other party have to say. Is this all you want of this witness, Warner ? Warner. No ; I wish to ask him another question. Tell the jury, Moses, whether any thing was said about the condition that the compasses were in. Moses. Yes, there was something said about it, but I did not hear it all. One thing was, Warner said the brass was tarnished, but Ogden said he did not care any thing about that ; he could BARGAIN NOT CONCLUDED. 63 Ogden's defense. Why Moses did not hear the conversation. rub it bright again very easily. Warner said, besides, something about the points being dull, and the joints being loose, and Ogden said he did not care any thing about those things either. Warner. So the jury will please to observe that it was under stood at the time that the bargain was made that the compasses were not in very good condition, so that the plaintiff can not dis avow the bargain on that account. I have no more questions to ask, and I think I have proved that Ogden sold the fishing-pole to me, and that he got what he bargained for as pay for it. Offden. Before this witness goes, I wish to ask him one ques tion, and I also wish the jury to remember the old proverb about one story being good till another is told. I think I can bring for ward some evidence that will throw new light upon this transac tion. I do not, however, mean at all to impugn Moses's testi mony ; all that he has said is strictly true, I have no doubt ; but there are some other facts that you ought to know before you de cide the question. I shall bring forward other witnesses to prove these additional facts ; but first I want to ask Moses one ques tion. You said, Moses, I believe, that you did not hear all we said about the condition that the compasses were in ? Moses. Yes, I did say so. Ogden. What is the reason you did not hear ? Moses. Why, I did not pay much attention. Ogden. Why did not you pay attention ? Moses. I was busy at the time untangling my kite string, and looking at the pictures in a little story-book that Jenny had there. 64 BAEGAIN NOT CONCLUDED. Barker's testimony. The offer. The reply. Ogden. So you don't think you heard all the conversation that passed distinctly? Jlfoses. No, I only heard what I have told you ; but I am very ' sure that all I have told you is true. Ogden. I have no doubt of it at all. But you may go now, and I wish Barker to come. Here Moses retired, and Barker took his place on the witness stand. Ogden. Did you hear Warner offer me his compasses for my fishing-pole ? Barker. Yes, I did. Ogden. What were you doing at the time ? Tell the jury. Barker. I was looking on to see Ogden draw. The Judge. And you were listening to the conversation at the same time, I suppose ? Barker. Yes, I was paying particular attention to it. Ogden. Moses stated that, when Warner made me that offer, I said Well. How did I say it I mean, in what tone of voice ? Did I say it decidedly, as if I meant to settle the question, or in a doubtful tone ? Barker. You said it in a doubtful tone. The Judge. Are you confident of that, Barker ? Because that is a very important point. Barker. Yes, I am very confident of it, not only because I re member distinctly the tone itself, but also from what he said at the same time. The Judge. What was it that he said ? BARGAIN NOT CONCLUDED. 65 What Ogden said about the compasses. Dull points. Barker. He said perhaps lie would, or lie rather thought he would, or something of that sort. Ogden. Well, now, Barker, you heard what Moses said in re gard to the conversation that took place between me and Warner in respect to the condition the compasses were in. Was any thing else said besides what Moses repeated? Barker. Yes ; Ogden said that he did not care any thing about the brass being tarnished, because he could easily polish it again, nor about the joint being loose, for he could easily tighten it by turning the screw or hammering the rivet, nor about the points being dull, because he could easily sharpen them. The only thing he cared about, he said, was that the points should be of steel. He said that the points of some compasses were made of iron, and some of steel, and that iron points would not stand at all for nice work. He did not care how dull the points were, he said, if they were only of steel, for he could grind them down and sharpen them himself as fine as needles. The Judge. What did Warner say to this ? Barker. He asked him how he could tell whether they were of steel or of iron. Ogden said he could tell very easily when he came to see them and examine the points. He could tell by the kind of dullness. If the dullness was made by the points hav ing broken off without any bending, that would show that they were of steel ; but if the points were bent, that would show they were of iron ; so Warner said he would go and get the compasses and let him see. Ogden. And he brought the compasses down ? si E 66 BAJiGAIN NOT CONCLUDED. Ogden took the compasses to examine them. Barker. Yes ; he went to the house, got the compasses, and brought them down, and handed them to you. Ogden. Address the jury in your answers. Barker (continuing). He handed them to Ogden. The Judge. And how did Ogden receive them ? What did he say? Be particular in this, because it is a very important point. Barker. He took them and looked at them, and then handed them to me, and asked me what I thought. I told him I could not tell. Then he took them again, and said that he could not tell very well without his magnifying-glass, and that he could take them up to the house when he went home, and see. So he put them in his pocket. He rather thought they were steel. Ogden. Now there is one thing more. The other side at tempted to prove that I delivered the fishing-pole to Warner by telling him where it was, and authorizing him to go and get it. Relate to the jury what the conversation was in respect to that. Barker. Warner said that he did not believe but that the fish ing-pole was cracked. He said he never knew a reed fishing, pole that had belonged to a boy a week that was not cracked in some joint or other, and generally in two or three joints. So Og den told him that he might go and get the fishing-pole and see. The Judge. Very well ; and that is all you know about it. Barker. Yes, except that a little while afterward, when Ogden had finished his drawing, we went up to the house, and there we saw Warner with the fishing-pole, which he said was his. Og den said No ; that the bargain was not concluded ; that he had not yet decided to take the compasses. Warner said that he did BARGAIN NOT CONCLUDED. 67 After the evidence is all given the parties should be heard. decide to take them if the points were of steel, and that they were of steel, he said ; so it was all settled. Then Ogden said that, before going any farther, he would go to court with the case, and have it decided whether the fishing-pole was already Warner's or not. Ogden. That is all I have to ask this witness, and I have no other witnesses. The Judge (to Warner). Do you wish to cross-examine this witness ? Warner. No, I believe not. The Judge. Then the next thing is to hear what the parties have to say to the jury before the jury decide. Ogden, you are plaintiff; it is your turn first. Ogden. Gentlemen of the jury, I have proved to you that this was my pole. I bought it in New York, and Clicket and I brought it here, and we took a great deal of pains in doing it. It is a valuable pole, and I have no idea of letting it go out of my possession till I have actually sold it. Talking about selling a pole is one thing, and actually concluding the sale of it is another. I maintain that although, in this case, we talked about a trade, and although we have not yet decided not to make it, still, it is not yet concluded, and, until it is concluded, the pole is mine, and I have a right to it ; and, accordingly, that you ought to decide that Warner should give it up to me. The Judge. Well, Warner, what have you to say ? Warner. Gentlemen of the jury, I have proved that we agreed to make this trade, provided that I found the pole not cracked. 68 BARGAIN NOT CONCLUDED. The arguments. Ogden's statement of the question. and that he found the points of the compasses were of steel. He took the compasses and examined them, and could not deny but that they were of steel; I took the pole and examined it, and found it was not cracked ; so, I think, the bargain is all settled. For, even by his own showing, he is bound to take the com passes if he finds, when he comes to examine them with a micro scope, that the points are of steel. If he were to wait till he had examined them, and were really to find that they are of iron, then I confess that he might claim the pole again. But he has not done that ; and, even if I give him the pole now, and he finds the points of the compasses are of steel, then I could come to him and claim the pole again, and it makes no difference whether I keep it now or take it then. The Judge. Ogden, have you any thing more to say ? You are entitled to the last word, if you wish it. Ogden. I wish to say, in regard to the last point that Warner made, that I do not deny that I shall be obliged to give him the pole for the compasses in case, after I examine them, I find the points to be of steel ; nor, on the other hand, do I admit it. I neither deny it nor admit it. I say nothing about it. We have not come to that yet. The question before this jury is not wheth er I shall be obliged to give him my pole when I find the points of the compasses are all right, but whether I have already given it to him. That is to say, the question is not whether he will have a right to claim the pole by-and-by, but whether it is his now. The Judge. Gentlemen of the jury, the question you have to BARGAIN NOT CONCLUDED. 69 Was the bargain concluded. The jury decided it was not decide is a very simple one. Was the bargain concluded ? Did the parties come to a conclusion that they would make this ex change, and did Ogden receive the compasses as his property, de livered to him by Warner, and did he deliver the pole as proper ty that he had conveyed to Warner ? Or, were the articles re ceived and delivered only for examination, with a view to decide contingencies on which the consummation of the bargain was to depend ? If you think that the bargain was concluded, then you must decide that Warner has a right to keep the pole. If you decide it was not concluded, Ogden is entitled to the possession of the pole until it is, and Warner must give it up to him. The jury, after retiring for a short time, returned into court, and announced their verdict as follows : The bargain was not concluded, and Warner must give up the pole. 70 ONE THING AT A TIME. Bond vs. Clicket. The complaint The defendant's offer. V. ONE THING AT A TIME. JBond against Clicket. JUDGE JUSTIN presiding. For Bond, Orville appeared as counsel ; for Clicket, Warner. The case was opened by the clerk's reading a brief statement of the plaintiff's claim, as follows : il 7&at,na=uintt . ana (2s und by it." \ " Well," said Urbin, " I don't care so much about it as I did, and I believe I'll pay for the padlock ; and you may tell the boys so ; for I think the court is an excellent way of settling dif ficulties among the boys." " Will you ?" said Justin. " I am very glad to hear you say so, for now, after this, I don't think we shall have any more trouble. Whenever the boys think that the verdict rendered against them is unjust, they'll say to themselves, * I don't think it is right ; but Urbin submitted when he did not think it was right, and so will I." " After this the court continued in operation a long time, and nobody refused to submit to the decisions of the juries. Some times, indeed, a verdict was given which transcended the powers of the jury, and then the judge would set it aside, and order a 160 INSUBORDINATION. Great advantages of the court of Momingdale. new trial ; but, unless the decision was thus formally annulled by the proper authority, nobody refused to submit to it. Thus the court was not only the means of settling a great many disputes in a rational and manly way, but it was a means of great improve ment and instruction to the boys. They all admitted, however, that the successful working of the system was due, in a great de gree, to the tact and skill, and to the legal attainments, unusual for a boy of his years, displayed by Judge Justin. THE END. TTXTT, LI RARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. SEP 1 6 1952! 7 C1.1195&. Form L9-50m-ll,'50 (2554)444 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHMIII-.-- A 001372172 5 PS 1000 A8j