Chapter Sixteen

Wrap It Up

 

It remained a possibility for a time, but not for very long. Plaistowe did in fact consider it but decided that it would be a bad precedent and possibly not very good for Roger, though he thought him a pleasant and potentially able young man. After the tumult and the shouting about Newent and Newent had died down and Roger had told everyone about it, he returned to the normal life of a pupil with Mr Grimes. He looked at untold numbers of briefs. He went regularly into Court, he made notes in Court which sometimes Mr Grimes actually looked at. He turned up points of law in the Bar Library, he started to prepare those technical legal documents called pleadings as an exercise and then looked to see how Mr Grimes did them himself; he went and had coffee at Grooms, he lunched in the Crypt, in counsel’s room in the Law Courts and very occasionally in hall. He often went to the ‘Bear Garden’ and he followed Mr Grimes about as fast as he could and he asked Henry innumerable questions. Sometimes he had that terrible sinking feeling in the stomach when he was in Court with Mr Grimes and saw Alec hovering about waiting to pounce on his master to drag him to some other Court, leaving perhaps Roger to hold the fort while he was away. But this did not actually happen for some months after his first day, though the fear of it was often there. Among other things he frequently went to the hearing of applications to adjourn cases. Mr Grimes often had to make such an application and one day, when it seemed as though he might be held up in the Privy Council and that no one else would be available, Roger was asked by Alec to be prepared to apply to the judge in charge of the non-jury list for a case to be stood out of the list. The application was consented to by the other side, but that did not necessarily mean that it would be granted. If cases about to come on for trial could be taken out of the list at will the lists would get into hopeless disorder. Some judges are fairly easy about granting applications which are consented to. Some are not so easy. Some are very difficult, particularly when the reason for the adjournment is simply that the parties are not ready. As usual Roger consulted Henry on the subject.

‘Who is the judge?’

‘Bingham, I think.’

‘That’s bad. He’s the worst. You must wrap it up.’

‘What’s that mean?’

‘Have you never heard of old Swift?’

‘Only by name really. What about him?’

‘I’ll tell you. He was a judge with an attractive accent all of his own, though with a north country bias and a rather slow way of speaking. He would pronounce “Mister” rather like “Mistah” and “o” in “of” rather like “u” in “up.” He was a very popular judge, though he was very much master in his own Court. No one could take liberties with Swift. He could be very awkward if he wanted to and he was naughty sometimes. He could also be very helpful if he wanted to be, particularly to a young man. He had an amusing sense of humour. The story goes that one day Swift was hearing applications for adjournments when a young man called Croft with a very white wig got up and asked leave to mention the case of Smith against Brown.

‘“What is your application, Mistah Cruft?” said Swift.

‘“It’s by consent, my Lord, to take the case out of the list for fourteen days, my Lord.”

‘“On what grounds, Mistah Cruft?” said Swift.

‘“Oh, my Lord, I don’t think the parties are quite–”

‘Before he could say any more Swift intervened.

‘“Wrap it up, Mistah Cruft,” he said.

‘“I beg your pardon, my Lord?” said young Croft, completely mystified.

‘“Wrap it up,” repeated Swift.

‘Croft just looked miserable – I believe you know the feeling – and thereupon Swift said rather sternly, but with a twinkle in his eye: “Sit down, Mistah Cruft, and listen to Mistah Andrew Pain. You have an application, I believe, Mistah Andrew Pain?”

‘“Yes, my Lord – in the case of Hatchett and Bellows which is No. 1357 in the non-jury list.”

‘“What is your application?”

‘“To stand the case out for a month, my Lord.”

‘“And the grounds?”

‘“Oh, my Lord, the action is for breach of an oral contract. One of the witnesses to the making of the contract is in Brazil and can’t be back for at least three weeks. At the time the case was set down it was not known by anyone that he would have to go there, but unfortunately only recently the witness’ aged mother who is staying in Brazil became ill and he had to go to her. Then, my Lord, another reason for the adjournment is that through no fault of the parties or their solicitors some of the documents in the case were burnt. They are vital documents and the solicitors are trying to reach agreement as to what they contained. Then, my Lord, another witness, or I should say a possible witness, has suddenly left his address and we haven’t been able to trace him yet. Finally, my Lord, one of the partners in the firm of solicitors instructing me has unfortunately just gone into hospital for appendicitis and the managing clerk who was attending to the matter has gone to another firm.”

‘“Mistah Cruft,” said Swift.

‘Pain was still on his feet, and his application not yet disposed of, so Croft, who was, of course, sitting down, thought he might have misheard and remained seated.

‘“Mistah Cruft,” said Swift loudly and sternly.

Croft rose trembling to his feet.

‘“Mistah Cruft, did you hear Mr Andrew Pain’s application?”

‘“Yes, my Lord.”

‘“That’s what I call wrapping it up,” said Swift.’