184 MY LIFE 



having been secured by the other side. Our friend was per- 

 suaded not to be present, and I was engaged to attend and 

 take full notes of the proceedings, which I copied out in the 

 evening and sent off to him. I stayed at a hotel with the 

 lawyer, and the town being very crowded, we shared the same 

 bedroom and had our meals together. He was by no means 

 sanguine of success, and the first day's proceedings made him 

 less so, as the other side stated that they had documents 

 that proved their case, and intimated that the defendant knew 

 it. The first day was Friday or Saturday, and we returned 

 to Gelli till the Monday, and in the interval there occurred a 

 scene. The lawyer felt confident that his client had not pro- 

 duced all the deeds he possessed relating to the estate, and 

 insisted on being shown every single document or he would 

 give up the case. Very reluctantly they were produced, and 

 after a close examination one was found which had a map 

 of the farm showing the boundary as claimed by the other 

 side. The lawyer was a little man and lame, while Mr. 

 Worthington was tall, erect, and defiant; but the former 

 stood up, and, holding the document in his hand, blazed out 

 against his client. " Mr. Worthington," he said, " you have 

 behaved scandalously, foolishly, almost like a madman. You 

 have deceived your own lawyer, and put him in the wrong. 

 You have denied the possession of documents which you knew 

 were dead against your claim. Had we known of the exist- 

 ence of this deed we would never have defended your case, 

 and if I were acting for myself alone I would throw it up 



instantly. But Mr. , my partner, is an old friend of 



yourself and your family, and to save you from open disgrace 

 the case must go on to the end. But I tell you now, you will 

 lose it, and you deserve to lose it, for you have not acted 

 honourably or even honestly." 



All this was said with the greatest fire and energy, and Mr. 

 Worthington was, for the first time in my experience, com- 

 pletely cowed. He vainly tried to interpose a word, to dis- 

 claim knowledge of the importance of this deed, etc., but the 

 lawyer shook his fist at him, and thoroughly silenced him. 

 Finally, he told him that he should now act without consulting 



