3. The next story, citing the Green Bag, concerned Lawyer Smith, who, dozing over a brief, dreamed that he had died, and that his spirit took its place in the spirit line before the Pearly Gates to await St. Peter's certification. In the line were many whom Smith had known among these, lawyers; and among the lawyers, a woman. Smith saw that Peter admitted no lawyers but sent them down the steps to the left. But the Gates opened to the woman and Smith saw her handed a harp and halo. He was next, and the interrogations and answers ran thus: P. Name? S. John Smith. P. Residence? S. Chicago. P. Occupation? S. Lawyer. P. That will do, Mr. Smith. No lawyers allowed in here. Stairs to the left. Next! S. But, your Honor, you just let a lawyer in. The woman ahead of me has been a member of the Bar forty years, I swear she is a law. P. Oh, go on! She only thinks she is. Down to the left. Step lively, please." And Peter tapped Smith on the head with the key so hard that he awoke. 4. The next man took a Chicago Post clipping from his pocket and read: "That's very well done," he said when the sweet young thing who had interested herself in the law submitted the paper to him, “but you have overlooked one thing.” "What's that?" she asked. "You do not say at the conclusion, And further affiant saith not." "But I stop, don't I?" she demanded. "Oh, yes." "And I put the signature in?" "Yes." "Well, I should think any one of sense could see that when affiant quits talking he has stopped." "Yes, but-" "If a person said 'That's the end' every time he finished a statement in conversation people would think he was a fool, wouldn't they?" "When you close a letter you don't have to say 'Here's the finish,' do you?" "No; but in law it's different." "Well, if the judges are so stupid they've got to be told when the end is reached, I'll just write Finis.' That's prettier, anyway." "But it won't do." "Then you can keep your old law books," she exclaimed petulantly. "And you can keep your old judges. Any one who can't see when the writing stops and draw his own conclusions from that hasn't sense enough to do business with a reasoning being and I won't waste any time over him. So there, now!" SPEAKING OF THREE-YEAR COURSES. John, the son and legal limb of the family, had that morning commenced his legal studies by entering the office of the village lawyer. The following after-supper conversation is reported: Father-Wal, John, how do you like the law? John-Don't like it, dad; sorry I learnt it. WHY THE BUTCHER SNIFFS. There is a butcher in this town who elevates his nose and sniffs when you speak to him of the legal fraternity, and the reason for his contempt for the profession lies in the fact that one of his customers recently got the better of a limb of the law whom the butcher had employed to collect a debt. The bill in question was for $49.50, and the lawyer wrote the customer that he proposed to haul him up in supplementary proceedings forthwith and inquire into the why and wherefore of his inability or neglect to settle. On receipt of this belligerent message, the customer hot-footed sought out the lawyer and made a speech to him, in which he deplored the stringency in the financial situation, which he felt assured would be only temporary; that all he wanted to settle the debt was to be allowed to pay in instalments, and wound up with a tender of $25, which the lawyer accepted and sent to the butcher, with a note in which he threw a few bouquets at himself as the cleverest member of the Bar south of the Harlem river. Time passed and nothing further was heard from the customer, and letters to him remained unanswered. Again the dire threat of supplementary proceedings was trotted out, but this time in vain. Somewhat chagrined, the lawyer was proceeding to put the threat into execution, when he made the paralyzing discovery that in debts in an amount less than $25 supplementary proceedings could not be brought —a fact that it was painfully evident the customer was well aware of. He assayed an explanation to the butcher, but it was a poor, lame, halt, and blind one, and this is why the purveyor of meats sneers when lawyers are mentioned.-New York Tribune. 1 FORMERLY ASSISTANT EXAMINER IN THE UNITED STATES Patent Office. Although nearly every civilized country now has a patent system, it is a recent institution in the history of the law for, being as it is a necessary adjunct to industrial development, its origin can be traced back to the time when the mechanical arts were in their crude state and just beginning to invoke the attention of legislators. Patents for inventions were originally included in the monopolies of England in which exclusive rights to manufacture or trade were granted by the Crown as far back as the sixteenth century. The exercise of this prerogative appears to have been for the purpose of raising revenue and promoting the various trades and arts by awarding certain privileges to ingenious workmen, inventors, manufacturers, and tradesmen. From time to time these privileges were improperly granted to incompetent persons and became such a detriment to public policy that Parliament and the courts began to discourage the more oppressive ones until in the famous case of the Clothworkers of Ipswick (1615) it was held that the Crown had no general power to grant to a corporation the monopoly of a particular trade, but if a man had made a discovery or brought a new trade within the kingdom the Crown might grant him an exclusive right therein for a limited time. After this, however, monopolies were still valid when confirmed by Parliament, and not until the enacting of the Statute of Monopo |