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'masculine organisation some forty odd years ago, and one would think that his well-known appreciation of thefitnessof things in most other respects would have stepped in here, and saved his Court from the imputation of never, even by accident, having a presentable servitor connected with it. Though the Court of Requests could never compete with the judicial establishment of Judge Willis, in putting on its stage the " stunning pieces," which rendered the Supreme Court, in its infantine days, so highly sensational and entertaining to the public, nevertheless, there used to be, occasionally, a deal of genuine fun, betweLn the Commissioner, the suitors, the Registrar, and especially the unhandsome bailiffs. O n e of them usually acted as Court Crier, and he went through this stereotyped duty in such a comical manner as induced one to believe that he had lost his vocation in not having been brought up to the stage—for if so, Coppin never yet had his equal in screaming farce or low comedy. N o one but a born genius could ever evoke the peals of laughter out of a simple cause list, a string of plain, c o m m o n , though sometimes uncouth names, as this Stentor used to effect, by the tone of voice in which he would vociferate them, a style of utterance midway between a wobble and a bray. T h e audience used to get convulsed with laughter, the suitors called, purposely closed their ears thereby ensuing an encore, the howler would be c o m m a n d e d by either the Griffin or the Commissioner to howl louder, but plainer, the tongue used to pop in and out as if there was a spasmodic hneute amongst its tissues, and the barking, though noisier, grew more inarticulate at every repetition. T h e people would renew their screaming, the Griffin would flop down in his seat, with his face as fiery as his hair, and begin to pat the islet with the palm of his hand to keep it cool—whilst the Commissioner would lie back in his chair of judgment, inclined for a good laugh but for its gross impropriety, and eyeing the unconscious cause of all the boisterous merriment, with a look of bland severity, give himself up to a temporary dignified resignation. W h a t I have feebly endeavoured to describe was of frequent occurrence, yet it was permitted to go on, for Barry was good-natured, and no doubt inwardly amused with what passed before him. Yet notwithstanding all these funny episodes, an amount of business was got through, actually astonishing. T h e "Little-Go" used to sit once a month, and though it commenced with sixty cases in 1840, in 1842 and '43 the list was often over a thousand. In one month, early in 1843, there were between three and four thousand plaints taken out, though hundreds of them never came lo trial, and the wonder is h o w any m a n with the mental calibie of Mr. Barry, could wade through the mass of trash that was thus developed. Yet he did so with methodical stateliness, courteous solemnity, and a rigid conscientiousness not excelled, when in after years he was the Acting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. All this he did for £ 1 0 0 a year, at a time when he had a considerable practice at the Bar, and he was rarely absent from any public movement calculated to promote the public good. M r . Barry's most trying moments in the Court of Requests were when there was a lady in the case. In the ,£io jurisdiction the plaintiffs and defendants had to conduct their suits without legal assistance, and though, on the whole, it m u c h expedited the business, it sometimes produced irregularities which led to occasional small "scenes." Where the disturbing element was a " lord of creation " the Commissioner had not m u c h trouble in bringing his lordship within the bounds of propriety, but he could not lord it so easily over a lady. Occasionally a maiden lady or matron would (in some case about the making of a dress, or the cost of a head of cabbage) dispute his law, laugh at his logic, jeer at his polite remonstrances, and flout his decision. At this he would first smile and bow, next politely remonstrate, then grow severely serious, and when at last driven into a corner by the volubility of the feminine tongue, sometimes fluently polite, and not seldom vulgarly emphatic, he would turn at bay and bring his tormentor sharp up by a curt little oration, of which the following may be taken as a sample :—" M a d a m , pardon m e for a moment. I must not be interrupted. Permit m e to observe, m a d a m , that you have outstripped all the bounds of decorum. Y o u have transgressed the limits of strict propriety, and disregarded the amenities that should be observed within a Court of Justice. If you were a m a n I should experience but little difficulty in meting out condign punishment, for the contemptuous manner in which you have comported yourself in m y presence. Your sex, however, protects you from the extreme measure, which I should otherwise be prepared to take. N o w m a d a m , you have already heard m y decision, and you will have the goodness to withdraw." Whilst the " lady " thus talked at drew in her breath for a rejoinder, a graceful semi-circular bow, low as the inkstand before him, astonished her, and then a rebound of the wigged head and a mandate to the crier to call the next case clinched the business, and the litigant would take herself away with an incipient sob of