Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
give Miss Stiles her own way and try to improve her taste in dress if
possible. It was practically understood between them, though Mrs.
Tarbell had as yet refused to commit herself, that as soon as the trial
was over and the damages had been pocketed, Miss Celandine should be
duly installed, enrolled, and accredited as a student in the office of
Juddson and Tarbell. In the mean time, Augustus had been made an
office-boy through Mr. Juddson's interest.
The Stileses having been sent on before, Mrs. Tarbell, attended by the
office-boy bearing a bag full of books and papers, slipped quietly over
to court, whither Mr. Juddson said he would follow her in a few moments.
The room was crowded. Judge Measy had not yet appeared.
Mrs. Tarbell looked about her. It was the first day of the autumn term,
and, for one reason or another, the bar was very fully represented.
There was ex-Judge Dingley, with his frills and his snuff-box; Mr.
Moddison, with his shaggy eyebrows and square jaw; Mr. Brileson, almost
as long and thin as his nose; Mr. Eakins, looking as much like Oily
Gammon as ever; and, besides the leaders of the bar, any number of the
rank and file, especially of the junior members of the profession; and
with some of these young gentlemen's elder brothers Mrs. Tarbell had
danced, once on a time. There was a stir as Mrs. Tarbell came in; the
lawyers made way for her, and the jurors, witnesses, and spectators
craned their necks to get a look at her. Among the spectators, of
course, were Mrs. Pegley and the Pegleyites. Mrs. Tarbell knew that they
were there, but did not look at them. Mr. Pope rose magnificent and
shook hands with her; several persons shook hands with her. Mrs. Tarbell
felt that she was going to acquit herself commendably. She had gone
over the case three or four times with Alexander, she had rehearsed her
speech until she knew it by heart, she had joked about the case with her
friends (not her Pegley friends) at Cape May until she was no longer
afraid of it, if she ever had been, and she was quite able to feel that
Pope was insignificant. She had at first been filled with an
apprehension that he would become very intimate with her on the strength
of their mutual antagonism; but when several days passed by, and he had
done nothing more than bow courteously, she reflected that, after all,
it was not a very uncommon occurrence for him to have a jury case; and
when he privately came and offered to compromise she wondered what there
had ever been to frighten her in the man. She refused the compromise, of
course: if her case had been only half as strong she would have refused
it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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