it of which it was his custom to ride, he was trying
a cause on a bond, when a witness for defendant was introduced, who
testified that the defendant had taken the amount of the bond, which was
quite a large sum, from his residence to that of the obligee, a distance
of several miles, and paid him in silver in his presence. The evidence
was totally unexpected; his clients were orphan children; all their
fortune was staked on this case. The witness had not yet committed
himself as to how the money was carried. Without any discomposure--without
lifting his eyes or pen from paper--he made on the margin of his notes
of trial a calculation of what that amount in silver would weigh; and
when it came his turn to cross-examine, calmly proceeded to make the
witness repeat his testimony step by step,--when, where, how, and how
far the money was carried--and then asked him if he knew how much that
sum of money weighed, and upon naming the amount, so confounded the
witness, party, and counsel engaged for the defendant, that the defence
was at once abandoned, and a verdict for the plaintiff rendered on the
spot.[5]

Another plain duty of counsel is to present every thing in the cause to
the court openly in the course of the public discharge of its duties. It
is not often, indeed, that gentlemen of the Bar so far forget themselves
as to attempt to exert privately an influence upon the judge, to seek
private interviews, or take occasional opportunities of accidental or
social meetings to make _ex parte_ statements, or to endeavor to impress
their views. They know that such conduct is wrong in itself, and has a
tendency to impair confidence in the administration of justice, which
ought not only to be pure but unsuspected. A judge will do right to
avoid social intercourse with those who obtrude such unwelcome matters
upon his moments of relaxation. There is one thing, however, of which
gentlemen of the Bar are not sufficiently careful,--to discourage and
prohibit their clients from pursuing a similar course. The position of
the judge in relation to a cause under such circumstances is very
embarrassing, especially, as is often the case, if he hears a good deal
about the matter before he discovers the nature of the business and
object of the call upon him. Often the main purpose of such visits is
not so much to plead the cause, as to show the judge who the party
is--an acquaintance, perhaps--and thus, at least, to interest his
feelings. Co