The Forsyte Saga - Volume 1

Next to the Divorce Court, this court was, perhaps, the favourite

emporium of justice, libel, breach of promise, and other commercial

actions being frequently decided there. Quite a sprinkling of persons

unconnected with the law occupied the back benches, and the hat of a

woman or two could be seen in the gallery.

The two rows of seats immediately in front of James were gradually

filled by barristers in wigs, who sat down to make pencil notes, chat,

and attend to their teeth; but his interest was soon diverted from these

lesser lights of justice by the entrance of Waterbuck, Q.C., with the

wings of his silk gown rustling, and his red, capable face supported

by two short, brown whiskers. The famous Q.C. looked, as James freely

admitted, the very picture of a man who could heckle a witness.

For all his experience, it so happened that he had never seen Waterbuck,

Q.C., before, and, like many Forsytes in the lower branch of the

profession, he had an extreme admiration for a good cross-examiner. The

long, lugubrious folds in his cheeks relaxed somewhat after seeing him,

especially as he now perceived that Soames alone was represented by

silk.

Waterbuck, Q.C., had barely screwed round on his elbow to chat with

his Junior before Mr. Justice Bentham himself appeared--a thin, rather

hen-like man, with a little stoop, clean-shaven under his snowy wig.

Like all the rest of the court, Waterbuck rose, and remained on his

feet until the judge was seated. James rose but slightly; he was already

comfortable, and had no opinion of Bentham, having sat next but one to

him at dinner twice at the Bumley Tomms'. Bumley Tomm was rather a poor

thing, though he had been so successful. James himself had given him

his first brief. He was excited, too, for he had just found out that

Bosinney was not in court.

'Now, what's he mean by that?' he kept on thinking.

The case having been called on, Waterbuck, Q.C., pushing back his

papers, hitched his gown on his shoulder, and, with a semi-circular

look around him, like a man who is going to bat, arose and addressed the

Court.

The facts, he said, were not in dispute, and all that his Lordship

would be asked was to interpret the correspondence which had taken place

between his client and the defendant, an architect, with reference

to the decoration of a house. He would, however, submit that this

correspondence could only mean one very plain thing. After briefly

reciting the history of the house at Robin Hill, which he described as a

mansion, and the actual facts of expenditure, he went on as follows: