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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
I reported this trial simply for my own amusement, one idle day last week, and without expecting to publish any portion of it - but I have seen the facts in the case so distorted and misrepresented in the daily papers that I feel it my duty to come forward and do what I can to set the plaintiff and the defendant2 right before the public. This can best be done by submitting the plain, unembellished statements of the witnesses as given under oath before his Honor Judge Shepheard, in the Police Court, and leaving the people to form their own judgment3 of the matters involved, unbiased by argument or suggestion of any kind from me.
There is that nice sense of justice and that ability to discriminate4 between right and wrong, among the masses, which will enable them, after carefully reading the testimony5 I am about to set down here, to decide without hesitation6 which is the innocent party and which the guilty in the remarkable7 case of Smith vs. Jones, and I have every confidence that before this paper shall have been out of the printing-press twenty-four hours, the high court of The People, from whose decision there is no appeal, will have swept from the innocent man all taint8 of blame or suspicion, and cast upon the guilty one a deathless infamy9.
To such as are not used to visiting the Police Court, I will observe that there is nothing inviting10 about the place, there being no rich carpets, no mirrors, no pictures, no elegant sofa or arm-chairs to lounge in, no free lunch - and in fact, nothing to make a man who has been there once desire to go again - except in cases where his bail11 is heavier than his fine is likely to be, under which circumstances he naturally has a tendency in that direction again, of course, in order to recover the difference.
There is a pulpit at the head of the hall, occupied by a handsome, gray-haired judge, with a faculty12 of appearing pleasant and impartial13 to the disinterested14 spectator, and prejudiced and frosty to the last degree to the prisoner at the bar.
To the left of the pulpit is a long table for reporters; in front of the pulpit the clerks are stationed, and in the centre of the hall a nest of lawyers. On the left again are pine benches behind a railing, occupied by seedy white men, negroes, Chinamen, Kanakas - in a word, by the seedy and dejected of all nations - and in a corner is a box where more can be had when they are wanted.
On the right are more pine benches, for the use of prisoners, and their friends and witnesses.
An officer, in a gray uniform, and with a star upon his breast, guards the door.
The case of Smith vs. Jones being called, each of these parties (stepping out from among the other seedy ones) gave the Court a particular and circumstantial account of how the whole thing occurred, and then sat down.
The two narratives16 differed from each other.
In reality, I was half persuaded that these men were talking about two separate and distinct affairs altogether, inasmuch as no single circumstance mentioned by one was even remotely hinted at by the other.
Mr. Alfred Sowerby was then called to the witness-stand, and testified as follows:
"I was in the saloon at the time, your Honor, and I see this man Smith come up all of a sudden to Jones, who warn't saying a word, and split him in the snoot - "
Lawyer. - "Did what, Sir?"
Lawyer. - "What do you mean by such language as that? When you say that the plaintiff suddenly approached the defendant, who was silent at the time, and 'busted him in the snoot,' do you mean that the plaintiff struck the defendant?"
Witness. - "That's me - I'm swearing to that very circumstance - yes, your Honor, that was just the way of it. Now, for instance, as if you was Jones and I was Smith. Well, I comes up all of a sudden and says I to your Honor, says 1, 'D__n your old tripe18 - ' " [Suppressed laughter in the lobbies.]
The Court. - "Order in the court! Witness, you will confine yourself to a plain statement of the facts in this case, and refrain from the embellishments of metaphor19 and allegory as far as possible."
Witness. - (Considerably subdued20.) - "I beg your Honor's pardon - I didn't mean to be so brash. Well, Smith comes up to Jones all of a sudden and mashed21 him in the bugle22 - "
Lawyer. - "Stop! Witness, this kind of language will not do. I will ask you a plain question, and I require you to answer it simply, yes or no. Did-the-plaintiff-strike-the defendant? Did he strike him?"
Lawyer. - "Take the witness! take the witness! take the witness! I have no further use for him."
The lawyer on the other side said he would endeavor to worry along without more assistance from Mr. Sowerby, and the witness retired25 to a neighboring bench.
"I was a standing27 as close to Mr. Smith as I am to this pulpit, a-chaffing with one of the lager beer girls - Sophronia by name, being from summers in Germany, so she says, but as to that, I - "
Lawyer. - "Well, now, never mind the nativity of the lager beer girl, but state, as concisely28 as possible, what you know of the assault and battery."
Witness. - "Certainly - certainly. Well, German or no German, - which I'll take my oath I don't believe she is, being of a red-headed disposition29, with long, bony fingers, and no more hankering after Limburger cheese than - "
Lawyer. - "Stop that driveling nonsense and stick to the assault and battery. Go on with your story."
Witness. - "Well, Sir, she - that is, Jones - he sidled up and drawed his revolver and tried to shoot the top of Smith's head off, and Smith run, and Sophronia she whalloped herself down in the saw-dust and screamed twice, just as loud as she could yell. I never see a poor creature in such distress30 - and then she sung out: 'O, H-ll's fire! what are they up to now? Ah, my poor dear mother, I shall never see you more!' - saying which, she jerked another yell and fainted away as dead as a wax figger. Thinks I to myself, I'll be danged if this ain't gettin' rather dusty, and I'll - "
The Court. - "We have no desire to know what you thought; we only wish to know what you saw. Are you sure Mr. Jones endeavored to shoot the top of Mr. Smith's head off?"
Witness. - "Yes, your Honor."
The Court. - "How many times did he shoot?"
Witness. - "Well, Sir, I couldn't say exactly as to the number - but I should think - well, say seven or eight times - as many as that, anyway."
The Court. - "Be careful now, and remember you are under oath. What kind of a pistol was it?"
Witness. - "It was a Durringer, your Honor."
The Court. - "A Deringer! You must not trifle here, Sir. A Deringer only shoots once - how then could Jones have fired seven or eight times?" [The witness is evidently as stunned31 by that last proposition as if a brick had struck him.]
Witness. - "Well, your Honor - he - that is, she - Jones, I mean - Soph - "
The Court. - "Are you sure he fired more than one shot? Are you sure he fired at all?"
Witness. - "I - I - well, perhaps he didn't - and - and your Honor may be right. But you see, that girl, with her dratted yowling - altogether, it might be that he did only shoot once."
Lawyer. - "And about his attempting to shoot the top of Smith's head off - didn't he aim at his body, or his legs? Come now."
Witness. - (entirely32 confused) - "Yes, Sir - I think he did - I - I'm pretty certain of it. Yes, Sir, he must a fired at his legs."
[Nothing was elicited33 on the cross-examination, except that the weapon used by Mr. Jones was a bowie knife instead of a deringer, and that he made a number of desperate attempts to scalp the plaintiff instead of trying to shoot him. It also came out that Sophronia, of doubtful nativity, did not faint, and was not present during the affray, she having been discharged from her situation on the previous evening.]
Washington Billings, sworn, said: - "I see the row, and it warn't in no saloon - it was in the street. Both of 'em was drunk, and one was a comin' up the street, and 'tother was a goin down. Both of 'em was close to the houses when they fust see each other, and both of 'em made their calculations to miss each other, but the second time they tacked34 across the pavement - driftin, like diagonal - they come together, down by the curb35 - almighty36 soggy, they did - which staggered 'em a moment, and then, over they went, into the gutter37. Smith was up fust, and he made a dive for a cobble and fell on Jones; Jones dug out and made a dive for a cobble, and slipped his hold and jammed his head into Smith's stomach. They each done that over again, twice more, just the same way. After that, neither of 'em could get up any more, and so they just laid there in the slush and clawed mud and cussed each other."
[On the cross-examination, the witness could not say whether the parties continued the fight afterwards in the saloon or not - he only knew they began it in the gutter, and to the best of his knowledge and belief they were too drunk to get into a saloon, and too drunk to stay in it after they got there if there were any orifice about it that they could fall out of again. As to weapons, he saw none used except the cobble-stones, and to the best of his knowledge and belief they missed fire every time while he was present.]
Jeremiah Driscoll came forward, was sworn, and testified as follows: - "I saw the fight, your Honor, and it wasn't in a saloon, nor in the street, nor in a hotel, nor in - "
The Court. - "Was it in the City and County of San Francisco?"
Witness. - "Yes, your Honor, I -I think it was."
The Court. - "Well, then, go on."
Witness. - "It was up in the Square. Jones meets Smith, and they both go at it - that is, blackguarding each other. One called the other a thief, and the other said he was a liar38, and then they got to swearing backwards39 and forwards pretty generally, as you might say, and finally one struck the other over the head with a cane40, and then they closed and fell, and after that they made such a dust and the gravel41 flew so thick that I couldn't rightly tell which was getting the best of it. When it cleared away, one of them was after the other with a pine bench, and the other was prospecting42 for rocks, and - "
Lawyer. - "There, there, there - that will do - that-will-do! How in the world is any one to make head or tail out of such a string of nonsense as that? Who struck the first blow?"
Witness. - "I cannot rightly say, sir, but I think - "
Lawyer. - "You think! - don't you know?"
Witness. - "No, sir, it was all so sudden, and - "
Lawyer. - "Well, then, state, if you can, who struck the last."
Witness. - "I can't, sir, because - "
Lawyer. - "Because what?"
Witness. - "Because, sir, you see toward the last, they clinched43 and went down, and got to kicking up the gravel again, and - "
Lawyer. - (resignedly) - "Take the witness - take the witness."
[The testimony on the cross-examination went to show that during the fight, one of the parties drew a slung-shot and cocked it, but to the best of the witness' knowledge and belief, he did not fire; and at the same time, the other discharged a hand-grenade at his antagonist44, which missed him and did no damage, except blowing up a bonnet45 store on the other side of the street, and creating a momentary46 diversion among the milliners. He could not say, however, which drew the slung-shot or which threw the grenade. (It was generally remarked by those in the court room, that the evidence of the witness was obscure and unsatisfactory.) Upon questioning him further, and confronting him with the parties to the case before the court, it transpired47 that the faces of Jones and Smith were unknown to him, and that he had been talking about an entirely different fight all the time.]
Other witnesses were examined, some of whom swore that Smith was the aggressor, and others that Jones began the row; some said they fought with their fists, others that they fought with knives, others tomahawks, others revolvers, others clubs, others axes, others beer mugs and chairs, and others swore there had been no fight at all. However, fight or no fight, the testimony was straightforward48 and uniform on one point, at any rate, and that was, that the fuss was about two dollars and forty cents, which one party owed the other, but after all, it was impossible to find out which was the debtor49 and which the creditor50.
After the witnesses had all been heard, his Honor, judge Shepheard, observed that the evidence in this case resembled, in a great many points, the evidence before him in some thirty-five cases every day, on an average. He then said he would continue the case, to afford the parties an opportunity of procuring51 more testimony.
[I have been keeping an eye on the Police Court for the last few days. Two friends of mine had business there, on account of assault and battery concerning Washoe stocks, and I felt interested, of course. I never knew their names were James Johnson and John Ward1, though, until I heard them answer to them in that Court. When James Johnson was called, one of these young men said to the other: "That's you, my boy." "No," was the reply, "it's you - my name's John Ward - see, I've got it written here on a card." Consequently, the first speaker sung out, "Here!" and it was all right. As I was saying, I have been keeping an eye on that Court, and I have arrived at the conclusion that the office of Police Judge is a profitable and a comfortable thing to have, but then, as the English hunter said about fighting tigers in India under a shortness of ammunition52, "it has its little drawbacks." Hearing testimony must be worrying to a Police Judge sometimes, when he is in his right mind. I would rather be Secretary to a wealthy mining company, and have nothing to do but advertise the assessments53 and collect them in carefully, and go along quiet and upright, and be one of the noblest works of God, and never gobble a dollar that didn't belong to me - all just as those fellows do, you know. (Oh, I have no talent for sarcasm54, it isn't likely.) But I trespass55.]
Now, with every confidence in the instinctive56 candor57 and fair dealing58 of my race, I submit the testimony in the case of Smith vs. Jones, to the People, without comment or argument, well satisfied that after a perusal59 of it, their judgment will be as righteous as it is final and impartial, and that whether Smith be cast out and Jones exalted60, or Jones cast out and Smith exalted, the decision will be a holy and a just one.
I leave the accused and the accuser before the bar of the world - let their fate be pronounced.
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1
ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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defendant
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| n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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discriminate
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| v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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bail
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| v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人 | |
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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15
pervades
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的第三人称单数 ) | |
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16
narratives
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| 记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分 | |
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17
busted
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| adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词 | |
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18
tripe
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| n.废话，肚子, 内脏 | |
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metaphor
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| n.隐喻，暗喻 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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21
mashed
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| a.捣烂的 | |
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bugle
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| n.军号，号角，喇叭；v.吹号，吹号召集 | |
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gad
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| n.闲逛；v.闲逛 | |
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trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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25
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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deposed
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| v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证 | |
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27
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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28
concisely
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| adv.简明地 | |
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29
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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32
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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33
elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
tacked
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| 用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝 | |
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curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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gutter
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| n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟 | |
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liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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39
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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40
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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41
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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42
prospecting
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| n.探矿 | |
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43
clinched
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| v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议） | |
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44
antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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45
bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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46
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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47
transpired
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| （事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生 | |
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48
straightforward
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| adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的 | |
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49
debtor
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| n.借方，债务人 | |
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50
creditor
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| n.债仅人，债主，贷方 | |
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51
procuring
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的现在分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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52
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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53
assessments
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| n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价 | |
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54
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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55
trespass
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| n./v.侵犯，闯入私人领地 | |
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56
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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57
candor
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| n.坦白，率真 | |
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58
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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59
perusal
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| n.细读，熟读；目测 | |
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60
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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