The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1867-04-05


Judge Adds possessed powerful
intellect, considerably above the ma
iority Of professional men. As a law
yer, his opinion and judgment in It'll
gated questions always had great
weight with his associate counsel. ms
well as with the litigant parties In
all important crses, when he had be-
come acquainted with the facts and
substantiating evidence, he thought
long and intensely; considered how
the case would strike the minds of a
jury, under the charge of the court;
and if he supposed that the chance
was against his Giant he advised n
compromise. He was not, perhaps,
what is technically called a learned or
book lawyer, and seldom read law
book except in the preparation of the
causes in which he was engaged. This
remark is not applicable so much to
the carly part Of his practice as to a
later period Of his life; and even here
an exception, perhaps, should be made
in relation TO the law of real estate r.
Few lawyers were so well acquainted
with the law relating to real actions as
he When he first came into Yer
mont actions of ejectment constitu-
ted a considerable portion of the liti-
cation in the courts, and his knowl-
edge of the law in relation to such ac-
tons, was superior to most of the at
tornies in this part Of the State, and
was much relied on by The litigating
parties, as well as by all others con
cerned. When he first commenced
practice in st. Adams there does not
seem to have been much use for books
and book learning. Moro reliance
was placed on the skill of the adyo-
cate and the ignorance or bias of the
court, than on presidents and legal
lore produced from books.
In the early part Of his life, while at
college he devoted considerable atten-
ton to metaphysics and to matheme-
tics; and was probably more interes-
ted in those sciences than in the clas-
sic literature Of the ancient Greeks and
Romans The theory Of Locke, Reid
and Stewart hadm attraction for him
than that of Plato and Aristot tie; and
the problems Of Euclid and Archimi-
DIES and the prmcipia Of Newton, re-
ceiyed more of his attention than the
{ stately epics of Homer and Virgil, OF
the dramatic works Of Sophoces OF
/; Terrence, or Aeschylus or Euripides. -
His standing in his class at college
was among the first. His grafton de-
liyered on his graduation at com
mencement was published in pam
phlet form Later in his life he was
not a great reader. Like most Other
lawyers, who are pressed with proies-
sional business, his attention was toe
much engrossed by his profession to
employ much Of his time in miscella-
) neous reading. AS he was inn sense
an author teacher, or lecturer, within
the meaning commonly understood by
those terms, he seldom had occasion
: to allude to, or cite, any important
, historical event; and apparently sup
. posed that the study Of history, or OF
the arts and sciences, and of many
other matters which interest and en-.
r gage the attention of common read
ers, was not of great Importance in
the every day business of life He
made himself acquainted with the i'm
portant political and theological ques-
! tons of the day, and, indeed, with all
other topics which deeply engaged the
attention of the public mind, and was
ready to express an opinion on al
questions which had two sides, or adj
mitted of different interpretations
Although he had been regularly
educated at a university, and, Of
course, was acquainted with the ancient
classics, yet he seems to have entirely
neglected them after leaving college
not viewing them practically of any
importance. In this respect, however
he was not singular. Probably ma
iority of those who are educated at
our colleges utterly neglect, after then
graduation, Latin ana Greek classics
and those sciences in which they are
merely initiated while in college, as
being, in their opinion, unnecessary
to their success i'll business. But
however little he may have regarded
the benefit Of classic education in
regard to himself he spared no pains
nor expense in tho education of his
children, not only in those branches
of learning that intimately concern the
practical business Of life, but also in
/ H.. -,;,,,o,. orI o,fo x,tI,.b 90,