Rensselaer Republican, Volume 15, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 July 1883 — TESTING A WITNESS. [ARTICLE]

TESTING A WITNESS.

A lawyer had seen the story of the -witness who was confident of his accurate notion of time, and was requested to give his ideas of two minutes. A watch was held, and at the end of twenty seconds he declared that two minutes had elapsed. The lawyer resolved to try the experiment on a sailor in the hospital, whose deposition he was taking in regard to a collision, and the time which had elapsed after the vessel left the whart. The sailor answered, “about ten minutes.”

“Man,” said the lawyer, “how longdo you think ten minutes to be ?” “About ten minutes.” ' Out came the lawyer’s watch, as he said, “I’ll tell you when to begin and you tell me when the ten minutes are up.” “Aye, aye, sir,” said the sailor. The lawyer stood with his back to a mantel on which a little clock was facing the sailor. After three minutes the lawyer exclaimed, “See here, are you going to keep up here all day ?” No answer. The hand of the clock was on the exact notch of ten minutes as the sailor said carelessly, “Guess the time mus’ be about up.” “Well,” said the lawyer, “of all men, dying or alive, that I ever saw you -can measure time the best.”