A supper
was to be given to him upon these conditions. If his dress was found
faultless upon that occasion, the other parties were to pay for the
entertainment; but if any carelessness could be detected about his dress
or in his appearance, the expense was to fall upon him. Upon the
appointed evening the gentlemen and the Judge met at the place agreed
upon, and to the surprise of all, the Judge's dress seemed faultless. He
appeared the very perfection of neatness and taste. The supper followed,
the Judge being in high glee over his victory. Near the close of the
repast, however, one of the guests, who sat next to Judge Marshall,
chanced to drop his napkin, and stooping down to pick it up, discovered
that the Judge had put on one of his stockings with the wrong side out.
Of course the condition of affairs was immediately reversed, and, amid
roars of laughter, the Chief Justice acknowledged his defeat.
The means of locomotion in the Southern States being limited in the days
of Judge Marshall, it was his custom to travel about the country, when
holding his circuit courts, in an old-fashioned and very much
dilapidated gig.
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