ental condition at which the farmer was present, and at the close
of it some conversation took place about the disposal of the cattle.
Turning to the farmer Cockburn said that they might be sold, but that he
would have to dispose of them wholesale for he could not now _retail_
them.
He was walking on the hillside on his estate of Bonaly, near Edinburgh,
talking to his shepherd, and speculating about the reasons why his sheep
lay on what seemed to be the least sheltered and coldest situation on
the hill. Said his lordship: "John, if I were a sheep I would lie on the
other side of the hill." The shepherd answered: "Ay, my lord; but if ye
had been a sheep ye would have had mair sense."
Sitting long after the usual hour listening to a prosy counsel, Lord
Cockburn was commiserated by a friend as they left the Court together
with the remark: "Counsel has encroached very much on your time, my
lord."--"Time, time," exclaimed his lordship; "he has exhausted time and
encroached on eternity."
When a young advocate, Cockburn was a frequent visitor at Niddrie
Marischal, near Edinburgh, the residence of Mr. Wauchope. This gentleman
was very particular about church-going, but one Sunday he stayed at home
and his young guest started for the parish church accompanied by one of
his host's handsomest daughters. On their way they passed through the
garden, and were so beguiled by the gooseberry bushes that the time
slipped away and they found themselves too late for the service. At
dinner the laird inquired of his daughter what the text was, and when
she failed to tell him he put the question to Cockburn, who at once
replied: "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me she gave me of the
fruit and I did eat."
Jeffrey and Cockburn were counsel together in a case in which it was
sought to prove that the heir of an estate was of low capacity, and
therefore incapable of administrating his affairs. Jeffrey had vainly
attempted to make a country witness understand his meaning as he spoke
of the mental imbecility and impaired intellect of the party. Cockburn
rose to his relief, and was successful at once. "D'ye ken young Sandy
----?"--"Brawly," said the witness; "I've kent him sin' he was a
laddie."--"An' is there onything in the cratur, d'ye think?"--"Deed,"
responded the witness, "there's naething in him ava; he wadna ken a coo
frae a cauf!"
When addressing the jury in a case in which an officer of the army was a
witness, Jeffrey frequ
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