OF ARTS AND SCIENCES : JUNE 9, 1868. 23 



The position thus won by well-directed effort was never lost by in- 

 attention or neglect. In his daily contests in the courts he was often 

 defeated, but never unprepared. The singular uprightness of his 

 character, always keeping him from any attempt to mislead either 

 court or jury, gave a weight to his arguments which rendered him at 

 all times an effective advocate and a formidable opponent. No one 

 could accuse him of ever having tried to " make the worse appear the 

 better reason," and he reaped the reward of his sincerity in gaining the 

 entire confidence of those whom he sought to influence by his logic. 



His life was a purely professional one. Once only he was a candi- 

 date for a seat in the New York Senate, and was defeated. Twice, 

 however, he was invited to a position on the bench, each time by 

 appointment to fill vacancies, — once to that of the Superior Court of 

 the city of New York, and once to the Court of Appeals of the State. 

 On each occasion — from no sordid motives, as all will believe who 

 ever knew him, but from a deep-grounded distrust of the plan of an 

 elective judiciary, then recently adopted in New York, and from a con- 

 sequent unwillingness to be connected with a system which he thor- 

 oughly disapproved of — he declined the appointment. 



His reputation, therefore, was simply that of a lawyer. It borrowed 

 nothing from the prestige of official rank or authority. It was bravely 

 fought for, and fairly won, in an arena where learning and skill could 

 alone secure the prize, and diligence and fidelity alone retain it. The 

 fact, therefore, that his name was so widely known, not only among his 

 immediate associates, but throughout the land, is conclusive testimony 

 to his great ability. 



It is not in the nature of things that any private professional repu- 

 tation should long survive in the minds of men, but Mr. Lord's influ- 

 ence will long outlive his reputation. Coming to the bar at a time 

 when American jurisprudence was just beginning to assume its present 

 independent position, he did much towards establishing many of its 

 doctrines, which, though now admitted as forever fixed, were then un- 

 certain and without authority. In some departments he was an 

 acknowledged leader, particularly in commercial and insurance law, 

 and the mercantile community will long be governed in some of its 

 most important interests by principles and methods for which it is in- 

 debted to him. 



The uprightness and truth which illustrated Mr. Lord's character as 

 a lawyer and a man were the outgrowths of a true Christian faith 



