COURT SKETCHES

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 March 1935, Page 3

COURT SKETCHES

IN "THE TIMES” A CENTURY AGO. Newspapers both in England and Australia have made features of special articles on happenings in courts as distinct from the ordinary reports. The idea is not one of recent years, as some may imagine. Over a century’ ago “The Times," London, published such descriptive accounts, and here is an extract from one: — "Mis. Margery Watkins, a sbortu’luat figure with face and arms as blue Ln! berries, waddled up to the bench to make good her claim of 17c- 9d for ■ho hebdomadal ablution of the body linen of Mister Kemble Macready Waldergrave, a 6-foot aspirant to hisI trionic honours, and a well-known star ] at one of the amateur minor theatres. Defendant struck attitudes in the box: gave Shakespeare quotations as I answers. . . . ' "Defendant: ‘Rumble your belly full, spit fire, crack your cheeks; I lax ye not with unkindness; I never gave y.? kingdom;-:.’ "Betty: You give us kingdoms! Why. you shabby scrub, you never stood the price of a the time we ve . washed for you . . . | "The defendant threw himself into ’an imposing attitude, and than, as if a | sudden thought had struck him, asked 'and obtained 24 hours’ grace. The defendant folded his arms, walked slowly 'out of court, and as ha cast a glance I at the sleeves of his coat, ejaculated ‘O my prophetic soul, my uncle!’ ”