Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 109, September 14th, 1895Various
General
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 109, September 14th, 1895
Various
English wit and humor -- Periodicals
I have been requested by a large number of the profession to which
I have the honour to belong, to bring a matter of some personal
importance before the public in an appropriate manner. It seems to
me that I cannot carry out this instruction more judiciously than by
communicating with the Editor of a paper representing by universal
consent the Bench, the Bar, and the Populace. I am assisted in this
task--one of considerable delicacy--by a document that came into my
hands at a time when the scheme, now full grown, was in its infancy.
It is a note from "Mr. Senior," who presided at my mess in Hall some
weeks before the commencement of the present Long Vacation. It speaks
for itself:--
"MY DEAR BRIEFLESS,--In reply to your letter, 'No, I certainly
was not joking.' It is true that we four had got to the third
bottle of our after-dinner port; but in that admission I see
no reason for assuming that our intellectual faculties had
failed us. No; I shall be only too pleased if the proposed
Testimonial should become an accomplished fact. To put it
tersely, if Athletics are to be rewarded, why should Learning
wait? Yours sincerely, ----."
I purposely omit the signature--an influential one--as I have no
desire to bring undue pressure to bear in a cause so purely personal
to myself. I need scarcely say that a Testimonial, even when it takes
the shape preferred by _Mr. Micawber_, is highly gratifying. But when
the matter was first broached, I had serious doubts whether I would
maintain the dignity of the Bar if I became a party to the proceedings
that would bring it to a successful issue. This being so, I have
little hesitation in laying before you this case and opinion. The
first--at request--was prepared by myself; the latter was appended by
a Counsel whose name, if revealed, would carry great weight, not only
with lawyers but the community at large.
CASE.
It is proposed to give Mr. A. BRIEFLESS, Jun., a Testimonial, which it
is intended shall take the shape of a bag of money, in consideration
of his services to the Bar. It is in contemplation that this money
shall be collected from the human race in general, and the British
public in particular. It may be suggested--not that the contention
has as yet arisen--that there is something derogatory in a
Barrister-at-Law receiving pecuniary assistance from persons other
than those of his kith and kin. Mr. A. BRIEFLESS, Jun., although
enjoying a very considerable practice as things go--he has held no
less than three consent briefs during the last five years--is not
very wealthy, and it must be admitted that a grant would not be an
unwelcome incident in his career. For all that he would shrink from
doing anything that might be considered derogatory to his title of
"esquire"--a distinction that he not only holds as his father's heir,
but by the usage of his office.
You are requested therefore kindly to say--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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