It was too much for the young attorney, and he would have been less a man if it had not been. He came over and shook her hand warmly, and this time no one laughed.
It was really not worth while prolonging the case, and the prosecution was nervous. The way that old black woman took the court and its officers into her bosom was enough to disconcert any ordinary tribunal. She patronised the judge openly before the hearing began and insisted upon holding a gentle motherly conversation with the foreman of the jury.
She was called to the stand as the very first witness.
"What is your name?" asked the attorney.
"Now, Bobby, what is you axin' me dat fu'? You know what my name is, and you one of de Fairfax fambly, too. I 'low ef yo' mammy was hyeah, she'd mek you 'membah; she'd put you in yo' place."
The judge rapped for order.
"That is just a manner of proceeding," he said; "you must answer the question, so the rest of the court may know."
"Oh, yes, suh, 'scuse me, my name hit's Dicey Fairfax."
The attorney for the defence threw up his hands and turned purple. He had a dozen witnesses there to prove that they had known the woman as Jane Callender.
"But did you not give your name as Jane Callender?"