Dartford.
{143}
_Straw Bail_ (Vol. vii., p. 85.).--Part of this Query may be answered by
the following extract:
"For the bribery and perjury so painfully frequent in Attic testimony,
the editor contents himself with quoting from an article in the
_Quarterly Review_ (vol. xxxiii. p. 344.), in which the Greek courts of
justice are treated of.--'We have all heard of a race of men who used,
in former days, to ply about our own courts of law, and who, from their
manner of making known their occupation, were recognized by the name of
_Straw-shoes_. An advocate, or lawyer, who wanted a _convenient_
witness, knew by these signs where to find one, and the colloquy
between the parties was brief. 'Don't you remember?' said the
advocate--(the party looked at the fee and gave no sign; but the fee
increased, and the powers of memory increased with it). 'To be sure I
do.' 'Then come into the court and swear it.' And Straw-shoes went into
the court and swore it. Athens abounded in Straw-shoes."
See Mitchell's _Wasps_ of Aristophanes, note on line 945.