BEFORE COURT AND COUNSEL
Before Court and counsel he was always the courteous gentleman, never impugning motives or flinging epithet or invective. He was always sure of his subject and object. He had perfect poise, was always erect, self-contained and self- controlled. He was never in a hurry, never flurried, never flustered. He was always at himself, never taken by surprise or off his guard. In all the many legal encounters he fought I never knew him to be worsted in ready and apt attack and defense. The fitting retort was always at the door of his lips, waiting to leap into utterance, One instance will serve for many:
"ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA"
In a Toledo, Ohio, terminal suit, counsel for the other side interrupted Mr. Ingersoll in the midst of his argument by asking: "Colonel, did you ever read the story of Ananias and Sapphira?" "Yes," came the reply, quick as a flash, "and while you were speaking this afternoon I looked to see you drop dead every minute!" The hit was so palpable, so perfect, that even the dignified Court of a Federal District joined in the general convulsion and tilted so violently in his chair that he came perilously near toppling over.
In short, those in a position to know and qualified to judge, -- those at all acquainted with Mr. Ingersoll's legal attainments and career, -- accorded to him the highest honors. In nearly every court in which he practiced he was regarded as the leading figure. In any important case in which he appeared, only the greatest champions ventured in the lists against him; no lesser knight of the law could hope to cope successfully with him. He was in truth, with all his other claims to greatness, one of the really great lawyers of his day. |
