The House: An Episode in the Lives of Reuben Baker, Astronomer, and of His Wife, Alice — John Shaqi
The House: An Episode in the Lives of Reuben Baker, Astronomer, and of His Wife, AliceField, Eugene
General
The House: An Episode in the Lives of Reuben Baker, Astronomer, and of His Wife, Alice
Field, Eugene
Home ownership -- Fiction; Humorous stories
"Sir," I cried, "Reuben Baker is not a name to be ashamed of, and if
you think that by any of your underhand hocus pocus you can trespass on
my premises and prevent my caring for my own property you are grandly
mistaken."
"You 'll sing a different song to-morrer," said the fellow, and I am
sure I heard him chuckling to himself as he walked away.
Later in the day I learned from neighbor Baylor that I had indeed
transgressed the law by operating the lawn hose at ten o'clock in the
morning. It seems that there is an ordinance imposing a fine upon all
who sprinkle their lawns between eight o'clock in the morning and five
o'clock in the afternoon.
I declared in very vigorous English that I would never submit to any
such outrage, and my indignation touched the boiling point when, still
later in the day, a policeman came to my house and handed me a document
apprising me that I must give a good and sufficient bond for my
appearance the next morning before his honor, Justice Fatty, to answer
to the charge of having maliciously, etc., defied, disobeyed and broken
the ordinance, etc. I went at once to seek the counsel of Lawyer
Miles, for whose legal acumen and forensic eloquence I had harbored the
profoundest veneration ever since I had heard his prosecution of a man
named Tackleton for causing the death of neighbor Baylor's pet dog. I
recall that on that occasion there was not a dry eye in the court and
that even the defendant himself wept copiously; whereupon the presiding
justice, fearing that he might be unduly influenced by the emotion of
the auditors, ordered the constable to clear the room of everybody not
a party to the cause. At this supreme moment Lawyer Miles, with
streaming eyes and amid choking sobs, cried out: "Mercy, your honor; in
the name of the tenderest and holiest of human considerations I appeal
for mercy! Turn out the men-folks if you will, but spare, oh, spare
the women and children."
Ever since this memorable occasion I have regarded Lawyer Miles as the
foremost of living jurists, and it was the most natural thing in the
world that I should determine to confide to him any legal business of
mine that might arise--in which determination I was confirmed by a
suspicion that Lawyer Miles never charged his neighbors any fee for his
professional services.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account