Simp studied a profession, and was a volunteer counsel in the memorable
case of Jeems Pinckney against Jeems Rutledge. His speech, on that
occasion, occupied in delivery just three minutes, and set the
court-room in a roar. He paid the village editor ten dollars to compose
it, and the same sum to publish it.
"If you could learn it for me," said Simp, anxiously, "I would give you
twenty dollars."
This, his first and last public appearance, was conditional to the
receipt from his mother, of six thousand acres of land and eighty
negroes. It might have been a close calculation for a mathematician to
know how many black sweat-drops, how many strokes of the rawhide, went
into the celebrated dinner at the Maison Doree, wherein Master Simp and
only his lady had thirty-four courses, and eleven qualities of wine, and
a bill of eight hundred francs.
In that prosperous era, his inalienable comrade had been Mr. Andy Plade,
who now stood beside him, intensely absorbed.
Of late Mr. Plade's affection had been transferred to Hugenot, the only
possessor of an entire franc in the chamber. Hugenot was a short-set
individual, in pumps and an eye-glass, who had been but a few days in
the city. He was decidedly a man of sentiment. He called the Confederacy
"ow-ah cause," and claimed to have signed the call for the first
secession meeting in the South.
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