The court proper is divided from the rest of the room by an iron or
wooden rail guarded by a jealous court attendant, who is always a
strong advocate of court etiquette and very properly maintains the
dignity of the court. He is in uniform with a shield or badge of
office conspicuously displayed and being taken from the civil service
list whereon war veterans and retired firemen or policemen have a
preference, is generally of a certain age. Naturally, being old and
having to stand so much, he has tender feet, and with the customary
effects of all secure and salaried positions, acquires both a slow and
shuffling gait and the ordinary characteristics of his class. He is
subject to many petty annoyances, foolish questions, repeated
inquiries, people talking or arguing, little disorders pursue him on
every hand.

The object of the attendant in the court is to maintain order and
preserve dignity. They are almost avid in their pursuit of the
ignoramus who comes in with his hat on his head or covers himself on
going out before he reaches the door. Their salaries are not large but
their duties are not arduous. They may seem solicitous to the judge
and sometimes overbearing to the litigants and lawyers, but they are
only in the position of the supes or ushers in the theater. Yet they
are understanding and wise as regards the human drama constantly
played before them.

The lighting of the court-room is unusually dramatic. There are no
foot-lights, but the best theory of stage lighting is that there
should be none. One of the most effective scenes in the modern
theater is the court setting in Galsworthy's _Justice_. The lighting
is indirect and the spots of red and green lights at the judge's desk,