A Lawyer's Jokes

1899

Many lawyers are accustomed to relieve the practice of their profession with merry jests. There was one famous lawyer of Philadelphia, Judge Peters, who began his career with a joke, and is said to have ended it in the same way, although most of his jests were of a mild and gentle sort, and not at all uproarious — and they were often at his own expense.

A Philadelphia paper relates that immediately after his admission to the bar, and while still very young, Mr. Peters "hung out his shingle" in the shape of a sign in which these words were inscribed:

RICHARD PETERS, ATTORNEY-AT-LAW.
BUSINESS DONE HERE AT HALF PRICE.
(N. B. — HALF DONE.)

He averred that his sign drew him so much business at the very start that he was soon able to charge full rates and guarantee thorough attention to business. His friends, however, declare that he never did anything otherwise than thoroughly. In his last years, Judge Peters, being much interested in real estate, attempted to develop a suburban tract which he owned, and to encourage it he put up on the ground a plan of the locality, covering it, on a post, with a carefully constructed glass case. He was asked why he did that.

"Oh," he said, "if I leave it exposed every hunter who comes along will riddle it with shot — and then everybody will see through my plan!"

The scheme did not succeed, and some one advised him to have the property officially laid out, which had never been done.

"All right," said the judge, "it's time to lay it out. It's been dead long enough!" — Youth's Companion.