J8(56.] 215 [Price. 



interchange of opinion imparted to them all that he knew, essential 

 to a just and enlightened decision, caring more for the faithful 

 administration of justice and the credit of the Court, thau for any 

 personal distinction ; and then assigned to them their full share of 

 the cases requiring legal research and written opinion. He was 

 ample in learning, penetrating, and full of resource in grappling with 

 difficult cases, but very cautious, fearing to err; carefully examined 

 the facts and authorities, and with accurate precision considered and 

 applied the proper ruling principles. If sustained by the Supreme 

 Court he was happy for this proof that he had committed no error; 

 if reversed, yet was he happy that no one had suffered by his mistake. 

 His love of justice surpassed his pride of opinion ; he was most prompt 

 to correct himself; and upon discovery that the innocent had suffered 

 by false evidence, he was instant to repair the wrong. So careful 

 and cautious was he, that he was well justified in a very firm reliance 

 upon a deliberately formed opinion; and with that confidence fear of 

 consequences vanished; yet so conscientious was he that he was still 

 open to conviction from the sensitive apprehension of doing wrong; 

 and reinvestigation on the suggestion of his colleagues, was sometimes 

 followed by a reversal of himself before his first impressions, and 

 even his formed opinions, had passed into irrevocable judgment. 



His brethren and friends also testify to other qualities of the mind 

 and heart, not so obvious to the public, but which serve to complete 

 the character of the man, without impairing the character of the 

 judge. Beneath that calm judicial serenity we beheld, there flowed 

 a current of feeling, which, though it rippled not the surface, was 

 strong in sympathy or indignation, which was sometimes outspoken, 

 as honesty and duty required, in approval or censure. As a com- 

 panion he was social and genial; as a friend warmly attached and 

 hospitable ; with his judicial brethren, sometimes relieving the 

 seriousness of weighty consultation with fitting anecdotes, racy 

 humor, or pungent wit. He had a cultured mind, preserved his 

 classic attainments; added French and Spanish to his Latin and 

 Greek, and kept up with the literature of the times as far as he could 

 without neglecting any public duty. It was among his regrets that 

 he had so much td sacrifice his literary enjoyments. Whatever 

 might be the differences of opinion between himself and friends, 

 these disturbed not their happy intercourse. He was gentle and 

 kind to rich and poor, and wonderfully patient to hear the palliating 

 circumstances narrated by the interceding friends of those whom 

 be was to sentence, or had sentenced, to penal endurance. What 



