Peter Bennett s Case.

I87

of his head, let him make ' hot ' for it with viii. was threefold, and to the king the forfeiture shillings; if it l>e the canine tooth, let iv. shillings of all the offender's goods. The punishment be paid as ' bot.' A man's grinder is worth xv. bore some proportion, however, to the station ■ shillings. in life of the offender; for if not a freeman, "If a man's windpipe be pierced, let ' bot ' be he was subject to a twofold retribution only. made with xii. shillings.

By a subsequent law, a freeman taken with

"If a man strike out another's eye, or his hand or his foot off, there goeth like ' bot ' to all; vi. the thing stolen in his hand was completely pennies and vi. shillings and ix. shillings, and the 1 at the mercy of the king, who might kill "him, sell him, or receive his "were." (It third part of a penny. "If a man's tongue be done out of his head by may be assumed, therefore, that if the man another man's deeds, that shall be like as eye- was ivorl/t much, his Majesty's royal clem ency was usually extended to the sparing of ' bot.' "If a man be wounded on the shoulder so that the wretch's life.) the joint oil flow out, let ' bot ' be made with xxx. The amputation of the hand and foot of shillings. the thief was afterward added to his other "If the arm be broken above the elbow, there punishments, - a considerable drawback, no shall be xv. shillings as ' hot.' doubt, on the facilities and pleasures of "If the arm shanks be both broken, the ' bot' hand-craft and foot-pad occupations. is xxx. shillings. If the standard of morality existing among "If a man break another man's rib within the our Saxon forefathers is to be fixed by refer whole skin, let x. shillings be paid as ' hot; ' if the skin l>e broken, and bone be taken out, let xv. ence to nothing more than their legislative zeal on this subject, it must be admitted that shillings be paid as ' bot.' a comparison between the moral state of "If the thumb be struck off, for that shall be themselves and their successors would tend xxx. shillings as ' bot.'" but little to the credit of the latter. In Almost every conceivable injury to a man's awarding punishment for offences involving person is provided for in this curious set of immorality, the Anglo-Saxons did not depart laws, with valuations fixed as in the instances from their grand principle of pecuniary retri above cited. bution, — in fixing which they regarded, as a Theft and robbery appear to have been matter of course, the station of the female, esteemed by our Saxon forefathers as the or, to speak more correctly, the rank of her most enormous of crimes; theft was accord lord, husband, or father. The penalty in ingly rendered a highly expensive pursuit. some offences of this nature was as high as By one of the earliest of the Anglo-Saxon that for killing a freeman, and in some cases laws, the compensation to the injured party even more.

PETER BENNETT'S CASE. COME years ago, a doctor named Royston, ] and as there was nothing wherewith to rebut ^ down in Georgia, had sued Peter Ben- or offset the claim, the only thing left to do nett for his bill, long overdue, for attending was to pay it. the wife of the latter. Alex. H. Stephens "No," said Peter; " I hired you to speak wason the Bennett side, and Robert Toombs, to my case, and now speak." then Senator of the United States, was for Mr. Stephens told him there was nothing Dr. Royston. Mr. Stephens told his client 1 to say; he had looked on to see that it was that the physician had made out his case, i made out, and it was.