Lydia Maria Child, Isaac T. Hopper: a true life

Mr. Bussier sprang hastily from his chair, and seated himself at the magisterial desk, which was raised about a foot from the floor, and surrounded by a railing. Conceiving himself now armed with the thunders of the law, he called out, in tones of authority, ‘Mr. Hopper, I command you to quit this office!’

The impassive Quaker stood perfectly still, and pointing to Abraham Morris, he again tendered the half dollar, saying, ‘I want an extract from thy docket, in the case of this man's wife. Here is the lawful fee for it. Please give it to me.’

This quiet perseverance deprived the excited magistrate of what little patience he had left. He took the importunate petitioner by the shoulders, pushed him into the street, and shut the door.

Friend Hopper then applied to Jacob Rush, President of the Court of Common Pleas for a writ of habeas corpus. The woman was brought before him, and when he had heard the particulars of the case, and examined her deed of manumission, he immediately discharged her, to the great joy of herself and husband.

Friend Hopper thought it might be a useful lesson for Mr. Bussier to learn that his ‘little brief authority’ had boundaries which could not be passed with