On a Jury in Washington Territory [pp. 41-46]

On a Jury in Washington Territory.
ones, at most a squabble between neighbors over line fences, or the like. It is
the usual thing for the juror, especially
if he has muchintelligence, to be excused
from serving on many cases, so it goes
without saying that Mab and I often
went to court at ten to respond to the
call of the bailiff, and then to go shopping
or calling till we should report again for
the next case.
One afternoon Mab was retained, but
I was assured by the bailiff that no new
case would be brought up; so I went
calling. Just after I went away, however, a new case was called, and there
was one juror missing. Now, it is n't at
all the proper thing for a juror to be
missing; the dignity of the court must
be respected, and one is expected to give
so serious and weighty an occasion his
undivided attention, and not to go making calls. Therefore when the delinquency was reported, the court machinery was stopped, the judge looked a severe reprimand, and a deputy sped away
after the caller.
Now it happened that as I wore my
best gloves, and was displaying my most
elegant air, I thought it would be a good
time for ceremonious calls, fashionable
calls; not those cosy chats where one
takes a rocking chair, and with great
sociability spends a pleasant hour or
two, but where the weather, the family
health, and the latest things in literature
or art are gingerly touched upon for a
space of ten minutes, when the carriage
is discovered to be waiting. Well, I fashionably called from house to house, and
the deputy called after me. At last we
met on a crossing. I was taken into custody, as it were, and with the comforting
assurance that I should likely be fined
for contempt of court, was escorted back.
It was a serious matter with me, I assure
you, and I don't doubt I felt as guilty as
any culprit present, as I was marched up
the long aisle, past gaping, grinning
faces.
Shortly after, however, I had occasion
to be comforted for my delinquency. A
little room on the upper floor was jury
room, where we held our deliberations.
If my faint recollection is correct, it was
once when we were shut up there that
it happened. The case had been tedious,
and the judge's charge long, and he had
apparently taken it for granted that it
would be hours before we came to a
decision, and had serenely gone off to
dinner. But he did not know the mental capacity and decision of his jurors.
We were eleven to one on the first
count, and on the second the one perverse juror must have concluded that he
could n't possibly be right if the eleven
thought otherwise, for there was no dissenting voice. Then we clamored to be
let out; but no judge was there to receive
our report, and we pined in seclusion till
he, in his turn, had been followed up
and brought back by the marshal.
One thing that went far toward making Mab and me feel re-assured was the
fact that our fellow jurors were Irishmen, Scandinavians, or other honest
farmers, who perhaps could spell, but
certainly did not impress us deeply with
the superiority of the masculine brain.
Indeed, I think that but for the fact that
we were modest-minded young women,
we should have been inclined to take
credit to ourselves for our higher intellectual attainments. Any way, we felt
that all that was necessary was to be
very dignified, and we should not detract from the credit of our sex.
I am afraid that those lawyers regarded us as an innovation gotten up for
their diversion. They were, as I have
said, deferential to the last degree; but
0, some the questions they asked us!
"Were we surely twenty-one? " —" Had
we ever served on a jury before?" And
in one case where some neighbors had
resorted to weapons,- shovels, I believe
they were- in the settlement of a difference, "If we were attacked by any one
would we feel called upon to defend ourselves?" We thought we should, and
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[Jan.