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Show 'UrySlllisJ iysraes WIT f r '; COYiGHT ? S p. ft -w,i-H ''-''.r..'i'-X lMTk ImMUt -- THE FtON JUDGE OF MALTA. One night, 200 years ago, Judge Cambo of Malta sat by his bedroom window gazing out upon the sleeping town, which was bathed in brilliant moonlight. Had Judge Cambo not been sitting by hi" window that night, his name would never have been known outside the Island of Malta, which Is about eight miles wide and seventeen long; but .he couldn't aleep well that night, for one reason or another, so he took his seat by the window, and eventually became known all over the world, or wherever lawyers congregate. congre-gate. Thus we see upon what a small peg destiny sometimes hangs. There Is no doubt that Judge Cambo was a man of integrity and ability. Some even hold that he had a conscience. con-science. In his youth he was considered consid-ered sentimental and went so far, upon occasion, as to write poetry. But he took up the study of the law quite early, and the law became an Infatuation Infatua-tion with him. As the years went on he became saturated with it, so that It took full possession of his soul and mind. He judged everything in the earth and the waters under the earth by his Maltese law, which was somewhat some-what different from that now prevailing, prevail-ing, as the island then was under the dominion of the Knights of St. John. In the mind of Judge Cambo, though he perhaps wouldn't have confessed it, justice was a small thing as -compared with the law. 7' justice and the law could be made to walk comfortably along the same road, well and good; noted conHClontiounly, and a fow nave expressed their belief that ho acted properly. Such Is tho reverence for luw. Tho linker ciunn up for trial, a wretched and terrlhed man. The police po-lice had a strong case against him. He was arroHted Just an lie was leaving the corpse, and he had the sheath of a dagger or stiletto In his pocket. Hut as the case wore on it became apparent ap-parent that tho evidence wasn't conclusive con-clusive enough, and the.ro was a probability prob-ability that the accused would be acquitted. ac-quitted. Then this marvelous Judgo Cambo used every endeavor to make tho baker confess the crime. He threatened threat-ened and entreated, but the accused persisted In declaring his Innocence. So Judgo Cambo ordered him to tho torture and ho was stretched upon the rack. For a time he stuck to his claim of innocence, but when the agony became be-came intolerable he confessed to the crime which he had never committed, and Judgo Cambo looked on, calm and inscrutable, and wrote down the racked man's confession as It came from his blood-flecked lips. Surely there never was a more zealous public official than Judge Cambo! The Judge was now quite satisfied. The prisoner had been proved guilty according to the law, and there was nothing further to do except to sentence sen-tence tho man to death, which the judge did with much feeling, rebuking him mildly for trying to obstruct the course of Justice by refusing to confess. con-fess. So the unfortunate baker was taken forth from the Jail upon a lowering low-ering day and done to death by the executioner. ex-ecutioner. He was burled down by the sea, near where St. Paul was shipwrecked once upon a time, and the gruss grew over him, and his memory became dim in the haunts of men. The years passed on, and Judge Cambo often sat by his window and gazed at the sleeping town, and if ghosts troubled him he gave no sign. The whole island admired ad-mired and reverenced him as a saintlike saint-like man, who respected the law above all things except religion. The Judge was growing old among his honors and dignities when an untoward thing happened. In another part of the island a man was tried and convicted of a capital crime, and when he saw that doom was written against his name he made full confession of various evil things he had done in his sinful career. Among other things, he confessed that he was the murderer of the man for whose death the baker was tortured and executed. He narrated all the circumstances cir-cumstances of the murder, down to the smallest detail, and cited the judge as a witness. He knew that the judge had seen the murder, for, as he was 'J "Presently the Baker Beheld the Corpse, and Stood Looking at It, as Though Dazed." i plunging his knife into the victim's body, he happened to see the Judge at the window, and the judge was looking straight at him. i The grand master of the knights now called upon the judge for an explanation ex-planation and Cambo quietly admitted that the man's story was strictly true. But he argued that he had only done his duty; that it was quite proper to send a man to an ignominious death rather than violate the sacred law as he understood it. The judge was sentenced sen-tenced to the forfeiture of his office and to public degradation, and was ordered or-dered to turn over his worldly assets to the family of his victim. He lived a. few years, shunned and hated as much as he formerly was admired and respected, and with the knowledge that his name was a hissing all over the world. otherwise, the law had the right of way, and justice must scratch for itself. it-self. So Judge Cambo sat at his window, in the soft Mediterranean night, and as he looked into the street beneath him he saw one man stab another. The wounded man, who had been flying for his life, reeled and fell. At this moment mo-ment the murderer's cap fell off, and his face was fully exposed to the judge. The judge and the assassin stared at each other for a moment, and then the latter replaced his cap, threw away the sheath of his knife and ran. The learned jurist sat at his window, gazing calmly at the dead man. An ordinary man might have raised an alarm, but the judge did nothing. It is possible that he was raking rak-ing through his mind for a law that would fit the case. The night wore on and morning was approaching, and the judge remained at his window. Then a baker came into the street, carrying his loaves for distribution. Presently the baker beheld be-held the corpse, and stood looking at it, as though dazed. Then he saw the sheath of the knife, picked it up and examined it and put it in his pocket. Then panic overtook him and he ran, but just at that moment policemen came around the corner and seized him. The unfortunate baker was led away to prison arid the judge, calm and serene, lay down for a few lines of slumber. In due season the baker was brought up for trial in the criminal court, and the presiding judge at that court was Cambo. He had come to the conclusion, conclu-sion, after ruminating over all the law he had absorbed in the course of his career, that he had no right to act from his own private knowledge in a matter brought before him in his official offi-cial capacity. Learned writers, dis-eu3sli'r dis-eu3sli'r the cane, have said thai he |