' The entry by the Irish Attorney-General of a nolle
prosequi in the case of Mr. Larkin and his associates, who had been in- dicted at the Dublin Assizes, recalls what is perhaps the best legal story in the world. Lord Chief Justice Holt, soon after the Restoration, was trying the case of a Puritan schismatic, when a religious fanatic, who called himself a prophet, went about naked, and often carried a brazier of live coals on his head, rushed into the Court and exclaimed, "I am ordered by the Lord God Almighty to tell thee, 0 Chief Justice, to enter a voile prosequi in this case." The judge, without a moment's hesitation, replied: "Now do I know thee to be a knave and a liar, for the Lord God Almighty knoweth as well as I know that it lieth not with the Chief Justice, but with the Attorney-General, to enter a nolle prosequi" There could not be a better illustration of the danger of using technical terms when one does not understand their true nature. If the prophet had only used vague general expressions Holt would never have been able to catch him out so neatly. One might, indeed, vary Lord Westbury's famous dictum to his pupils and say, " Never make a mistake in your logic : it is sure to be found out. The facts remain at your disposal." Unfortunately, however, technical terms have an unholy and fatal fascination for the amateur.
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