AN ECCENTRIC JUDGE.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1305, 9 November 1880, Page 2

AN ECCENTRIC JUDGE.

David Rae, Lord Eskgrove, for a ion" 1 time the head, ot criminal law in Scotland, could have had few who exceeded him in oddity. Thus, whenever addressing a jury, if a name could be pronounced in more ways than one, he g-.ive them all. Syllable he nlwavs called *ylL\fri/{ : and ■whenever the word ended with the lettor " G," the letter was pronounced, and strongly so. He crowded hi-* speech with a meaningle&s succession of adjective-*. The article " A " Avas generally made into <!»'• ; and he would describe a good man, for instance, as " our cxoc\h(>/( and worthy, and amia^//, aud asrreeafoV/, and very good man.', The stories ('ockburn tells of him are ridiculous. " I heard him." says Cockburn, "condemning a tailor to death for murdering a boldier by stabbing him. He addressed him thu« : — 'And not only did you murder him, whereby he v?;is berea-m/of his life, but you did thrust, or push, or pierce, or project, or propel the lethel weapon through the belly-band of his regiment/ breeches, which were his Majesty's''' The following story is well known :—ln: — In the trial of Glengarry, for murder in a duel, a lady of great beauty was called as a witness ; she came into court veiled, but before administering the oath Eskgrove expounded to her the nature of he*- duty as a witness. ' Youtv/y woman ! you will consider yourself as in the presence of the Almighty, and of this high Court ; lift up your veil, throw off all modesty, and look me full in the face !' He had to condemn two or three persons to death for housebreaking ; he first, as usual, explained the nature of the various crimes, assault, robbery, and hame-sucken, giving to the prisoners the etymology of the words ; he then reminded them that they had attacked the house, aud the persons within it, and robbed them : and then he wound up with this climax ; ' All this you did — just when they were sittin' doon to their denner !' He never failed to signalize himself in pronouncing sentences of death, and it was his style to console the prisoner thus : — ' whatever your religi-oK* persua-ftoM may be, or even if, as I suppose, you be of no persna-tion at all, there are plenty of rever-c;/r/ gentle-;»f« who will be most happy for to show you the way to eternal life.' " Cockburn says a common arrangement of his logic to juries was this — " And so, gentle-wen, having shown you that the panel's argument is utterly imposs-iYnM, I shall now proceed for to show you that it is extremely impYob-abill"

. Sarah Bernhardt has been interviewed by the Xcw York Herald correspondent, and she gives her impression of the audiences in London. She finds both the people and the newspapers infinitely more kind and generous towards her than those in Paris, and by way of return she is endeavoring 1 to learn English, &o that when sue goes over to America this autumn, and when she comes buck to England next spring, she may be able to play Shakespeare to English-spoukigg people intueir own tongue."