family, however afflicted, indigent, or fallen; are ruled by the
strong Heart, and not by the strong (though immeasurably weaker)
Hand. I have described them at some length; firstly, because their
worth demanded it; and secondly, because I mean to take them for a
model, and to content myself with saying of others we may come to,
whose design and purpose are the same, that in this or that respect
they practically fail, or differ.
I wish by this account of them, imperfect in its execution, but in
its just intention, honest, I could hope to convey to my readers
one-hundredth part of the gratification, the sights I have
described, afforded me.
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Dickens, Charles – American Notes for General Circulation
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To an Englishman, accustomed to the paraphernalia of Westminster
Hall, an American Court of Law is as odd a sight as, I suppose, an
English Court of Law would be to an American. Except in the
Supreme Court at Washington (where the judges wear a plain black
robe), there is no such thing as a wig or gown connected with the
administration of justice. The gentlemen of the bar being
barristers and attorneys too (for there is no division of those
functions as in England) are no more removed from their clients
than attorneys in our Court for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors
are, from theirs. The jury are quite at home, and make themselves
as comfortable as circumstances will permit. The witness is so
little elevated above, or put aloof from, the crowd in the court,
that a stranger entering during a pause in the proceedings would
find it difficult to pick him out from the rest. And if it chanced
to be a criminal trial, his eyes, in nine cases out of ten, would
wander to the dock in search of the prisoner, in vain; for that
gentleman would most likely be lounging among the most
distinguished ornaments of the legal profession, whispering
suggestions in his counsel’s ear, or making a toothpick out of an
old quill with his penknife.
I could not but notice these differences, when I visited the courts
at Boston. I was much surprised at first, too, to observe that the
counsel who interrogated the witness under examination at the time,
did so SITTING. But seeing that he was also occupied in writing
down the answers, and remembering that he was alone and had no
‘junior,’ I quickly consoled myself with the reflection that law
was not quite so expensive an article here, as at home; and that
the absence of sundry formalities which we regard as indispensable,
had doubtless a very favourable influence upon the bill of costs.
In every Court, ample and commodious provision is made for the
accommodation of the citizens. This is the case all through
America. In every Public Institution, the right of the people to
attend, and to have an interest in the proceedings, is most fully
and distinctly recognised. There are no grim door-keepers to dole
out their tardy civility by the sixpenny-worth; nor is there, I
sincerely believe, any insolence of office of any kind. Nothing
national is exhibited for money; and no public officer is a
showman. We have begun of late years to imitate this good example.
I hope we shall continue to do so; and that in the fulness of time,
even deans and chapters may be converted.
In the civil court an action was trying, for damages sustained in
some accident upon a railway. The witnesses had been examined, and
counsel was addressing the jury. The learned gentleman (like a few
of his English brethren) was desperately long-winded, and had a
remarkable capacity of saying the same thing over and over again.
His great theme was ‘Warren the ENGINE driver,’ whom he pressed
into the service of every sentence he uttered. I listened to him
for about a quarter of an hour; and, coming out of court at the
expiration of that time, without the faintest ray of enlightenment
as to the merits of the case, felt as if I were at home again.
In the prisoner’s cell, waiting to be examined by the magistrate on