In the room itself several gipsy-looking men and women lounge in
a corner. At one end is a broad table and some comfortable chairs behind
it. In front of each chair, on the table, two sheets of clean foolscap
have been placed on a sheet of blotting-paper. These and a variety of
printed forms were taken from the clumsy box that is now open.
At last there is a slight stir as a group is seen to emerge from the
inn, and the magistrates take their seats. An elderly man who sits by
the chair cocks his felt hat on the back of his head: the clerical
magistrate very tenderly places his beaver in safety on the broad
mantelpiece, that no irreverent sleeve may ruffle its gloss: several
others who rarely do more than nod assent range themselves on the
flanks; one younger man who looks as if he understood horses pulls out
his toothpick. The chairman, stout and gouty, seizes a quill and sternly
looks over the list of cases.
Half a dozen summonses for non-payment of rates come first; then a
dispute between a farmer and his man. After this the young mother
'swears' her child; and, indeed, there is some very hard swearing here
on both sides. A wrangle between two women--neighbours--who accuse each
other of assault, and scream and chatter their loudest, comes next.
Before they decide it, the Bench retire, and are absent a long time.
By degrees a buzz arises, till the justice-room is as noisy as a market.
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