“THE OLD GRATER.”

Putaruru Press, Volume VI, Issue 224, 16 February 1928, Page 2

“THE OLD GRATER.”

AND A PRETTY GIRL. As women’s dress advances it may become so much like an in.finitelysensible man’s that she may give the lead without waiting for the Prince of Wales. For man is as wax in her hands, hands, as counsel mentioned during the hearing of a Supreme Court case recently. He recalled a case in which the judge had spoken of a woman’s sobs as having been likely to affect the jury, and he gave it as his own opinion that “it is practically impossible to obtain from a common jury a verdict against a pretty woman who cries at the right times.” Judges themselves are not immune from this natural male weakness. In his newly-issued volume of recollections Sergeant A. M. SulliVan, K.C., tells of a once-famous Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Sir Peter O’Brien, whom everyone knew as “ Pether.” Pether always treated a pretty girl as conclusive evidence in favour of the party whose witness she might be. Once in Limerick a barrister named Kelly had a hopeless case. He put into the witness box as his last reserve a supremelypretty girl. Pether beamed upon her, but, catching the eye of a cynical bystander, His Lordship somewhat quailed. “ Mr. Kelly,” he said, “ Mr. Kelly, this will not do. This will not do, Mr. Kelly. I don’t mind admitting that there may have been occasions when testimony of this kind might have affected me, but that is a long time ago, Mr. Kelly. I am now an extinct volcano.”

This was extremely disconcerting to Paddy Kelly, who found no ready reply to make, but he noticed that Pether, notwithstanding the protest, had commenced to ogle the girl, and the more she blushed the more ardent Pether showed himself.

“ I dinnaw, me Lord,” said Paddy in his broad brogue, “ but there might be a few rumbles in the old crater yit.” Pether was delighted, and adjudged accordingly.