Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-09-12

. 1 N
i LAWYER. more universal in his taste and am
: ton more promiscueus IN his studies and less s.
tematc in his habits, is not so much legal N
= | chine running in groove but unites in his pl
. | ter with his brief. the Advocate with his 81
| quence and the Counselor with his wisd ol
| Whether beforethe Court Of Magistrate or
Nsi Prius. or Appeais...whether in Chance
ble adaptable and imperturbable ambidexte
every ready to give on opinion of hand, to wri
an unstudied brief. or put case in "winson
| way" to the Court and Jury.
While this tyVe OF American Lawyer wit
the aid of modern digests and form books.
| often eminently successful in securing an q,
tensive business, and in acquiring a deal (
ready cash; yet his mode Of professional pra,
tice is not so conducive Of enlarged legal al
tainments, of thorough mental discipline. an
pre-eminent success. as II the same energy, th
same will and talents. were confined TO a par
ticular branch of his profession. 1t is not IN
| random skirmishing. but the concentrated fire
| which breaks the lines of an enemy While
| may be true of American lawyers, az a elns,
| yet the country abounds with exceptions; for
is fast becoming the practice in our cities, 70
| the Lawyer to direct his efforts in enc channel
and make q specially OF one branch of his pro
| fession. alt
If England can justly boast of Coke, of Hard
| wicke. of Hale. of Eldon. OF Lyndhurst AM
| Brougham, cannot We present, with equal pride
| our Marshall. our Kent, our Story, and fancy
| As advocates before juries, our European broth
ers, as a class. though they may excel us On tn,
| Bench, are not the equals of Americans. Dt
| the rich dietion of Burke, and the splendid an.
| tithesis of Phillips, arrayet in polished order
| and clustered in festOons of gorgeous beauty
| not find counterparts IN the rich colors anc
| blended beauties of William Writ and Ruff,
| Choate? Ifthe adroit and mastery Erski1e
| filling his role with more success than any Brit
ish contemporary, dazZled jury with the
bright colors drawn from his radiant fancy. and
linked them to him with the chain of his logic
have we not given a generous rival in the fruit
full imagination and burning genius of Patrick
Henry: in the brilliant captivations, the dax.
zling .splendor, and fiery logic of Sargent s.
Prentiss? liz Brougham was clear, classical,
and comprehensive. was not Daniel Webster
more sol Was the wit OF Curran more pun
gent than that of Tom Marshall, or his coca
sionai lofty elOquence more powerful? III
France. under the practice of her Civil Code. y
produced Mirabeau, with his passion. and the
late Bereyer, with his unriyaled legal reputa-
ton, cannot our Louisiana proudly place by
their Eide our banished Benjamin and the liy-
ing Grimes?
Is not the legal casket of our own Tennessee
niled with LtUin0 jewels (of whom / will not
speak, and does not her historic urn glow with
with the sacred ashes of a long line of Judicial
Fathers and unrivaled Advocates? The voice
OF Grundy has not yet lost its echo in the cham
bers OF the human memory Of tO-day-swift as
tPegasqs' merry as Mars. and. in the conduct of
where are Crabbe and Campbell. Andrew
Hays and the ergersI Has not the captivating
charm Of Tom Fletcher, and the graceful a
thOs and infinite humOr of Ephraim H. Foster
a bright page in the Bar eloquepce of the times3
Has the clear shrill voice of John s. Brien-3O
late received in the bosom of Mount OIiyet-
who always dashed into the trial of lawsuit as
Hotspur into fight, lost it magnetic touch up
on the ear of Tennessee juries? Where con Id
be found a brighter instance of genuine Bar
eloquence. that frightened all it touched and
could invoke from his captive jury, at if by
magic. the tear or the smile as his cause was
grave or gay, than that exemplified in the his
tory of the late X. NJ. Burton, of the Lebanon
Bar. compeer of William Martin of yesterday,
and Stokes and Caruthers Of to-day?
Did not the capaclous brain of John Marshall
of Franklin. full of antithetic analysis, of logic
and learning-whether entangling the Court
with the subtlety of his refinement and infinite
research, as he ran the gauntlet of the law, or
toying with the passions of jury, to the an
nOyance of his adversary, demonstrate a mas
terly superiority in all his varied professional
duties?
Can we. to day reeur for moment to the sa-
cred memory of Andrew Ewing, without drop
ping a tear for his untimely fate, when, in pa
triotle exile. he gave his talents his energy, and
his life to The Lost Cause" our cause, dearer
than allY His name Is suggestive of all that
was fair and generous in legal practice. of all
that was earnest. and pathetic, and straightfor-
ward. IN argument. Upon his tongue the ''mys-
tic bee seemed to have dropped the honey of
persuasion, and while he espoused his clients
cause with zeal that brOOked no defeat when
once the lists were entered. like true knight
Of medieval ehivalry, he poised we'll his lance,
and TO the target hurltd it shiyeringl Peace
10 the ashes of this Bayard of the Bar
Our venerable President, DIR. Cossett, has
been gathered, as golden sheAf, into the gran
airy of Eternal Life. Philosopher, scholar, gen
tleman-
He has gone to his homo like a Well-ripenCd
sheaf,
The car in its fullness, and scar in its leaf;
The Angels have borne him. with joy. to the
skies,
The portals of Heaven have closed on its
prize"
Caruthers and Green par mobile fratrua !
;ingularly adapted. in taste and culture, for the
part each played upon the drama of life In
'pIred By christian faith, and practiced in
christian virtues, they. hand in hand, pursued
With zeal and courage the tangled highways
that circle about the Hills of Science" in
Titing along their classic ways the young ambi-
ton of the land The results of their noble eff
orts is seen and felt in every courthouse in the
South. Though lost to sight. they are ITO
memory dear" The one Judge Green) scarce
lived to bow in sackclOth and ashes for the mis-
fortune Of his beloved South, in whose cause
his gallant son had fallen. or to moisten with
he swelling graye-mound Of his friend, when
by the dread summons" he joined him in that
mansion, not made with hands, eternal in the
II eayens."
The other Judge Caruthers) for the faith that
was in him, an exile from the quiet haunts of
his classic shades, while yet the sentinel piled
bis lonely beat. and the crimson tide of battle
cOuTSed the arteries of the land, fell quietly to
sleep 10 his philosopher chamber, as q wearied
child at rest, and aWoke IN the New Jerusa
lem."t
Sleep on, our dear old Fathers in the Law -
sleep in your innocence, as doth the passions
in infancy's bTeasul
While the night.wind shall chant its solemn
dirgeS over your patriOt-graves, your names,
enshrined in the hearts of your pupils, wall be
held in grateful remembrance; and when those
follow in ha
ways of our noble science, shall pass through
the summer of life into the evening of age, aud
the shadows Of the past grow thicker and darker
upon US, may we look back with increasing de-
light upon the felicities of other years, when
y9U taught US the way! If we have so lived
that the rough places have worn smooth, as the
twilight approaches. and the sunny spots we
have left behind grow brighter and brighter.
while the music chords of the heartIgroW softer
and sweeter, then, and not till then, will we
rise to q full reality Of your gentler power.
And for you, our absent brothers. who are
gone on the wings of life eternal, we drop a
tear! Some have gone by slow decay into that
sleep that knows no waking" and crossed that
mystic river into the blissful gardens of the
future, with the shout of christian triumph on
their lips Others have been snatched from
the crested ridge of battle. midst the war cry
of glory.
Little they'll reck, if we'll let them sleep on,
In the grave where their country has called
them"
Some fell beneath that weird flag. the witch
cry of whose charmed lite still glistens in its
starry folds. as 1t waves in triumph Ger the
home of the brave" Though loit fought US,
and conquered yet. with soldiers admiration
for the courage of his foe, we write upon your
tombs, with our hearts iull of the ''Olden time"
FeqUiescdt iH pace!
- BY the far larger number known TO our cata-
lOgue who have been summoned hence have
given their lives as a libatiOn to liberty, on the
yet smoking aitars of their native South. The
frat ri yr-lt Of tbn rs
Mater, shed Tor the Lost Cause" flowed from
the patrieian veins of young Babe PeVtOn amid
the disasters of Fishing Creek. The Dark and
Bloody ground at Perryville drank in the liie;
current OF Capt VIM. Seay. The historian Will
ind upon the glory-scrOll of Shiloh no brighter
name than Col. Kit" William s-scholar, law
yer. soldier! The imprint of success was
stamped upon him in all the walks of life, and
Competition fled from hun" as be cOursed his
young and brief career.
And Maj. Robertson. too. full Of hope and
promise, was cut down by the death missiles that
fatally flew over this field and closed career as
bright as twas brief. "Uuice 4 decOrum est pro
DdfTtu HOrt!"
Col. Dick Keeble. modest. devoted, unyied-
ing. watered the sacred sell of the Mother OF
States with the best blood of Tennessee, in the
deadly breach" at Petersburg.
Columbus Sykes, of my class. after winning
the rank OF lieutenant Colonel amid the paths
of danger, fell. VIII le in the line of his duty,
into the cold embrace of the dread destroyer.
DIR. Blythe. with a patriotic devotion alike
characteristic of his family and his own ardent
nature gave his service to our cause, and sealed
it with his life.
Mai. Wilkinson. who donned his warrior
plume, and mustered in the ranks OF Tennes-
sees Immortal Second" ut the first blast of the
bugle. gave
The last libation that liberty draws
From the heart that bursts and breaks In her
cause"
And, amid the vanishing smoke of the lot bat
tie, waved long adieu TO the thlnned ranks
of his scar-cOyered comrades, as the last gun
died in echoes around the field OF BentOnyille,
in the Old North State.
Gen. Carter, who fell at that bridge of signs,
and mingled his blood in the waters OF Harpeth,
as they flowed around the melancholy but
brave ly fought field of Franklin, had won with
merit. and worn with honor, the Star tof the
Brgader) by the side of his motto. tam M
U,H.0m dut JdCidH.'
den. Hatton, companion Of my youth, and
rival of my better days. had won honOrs ut th,
Bar, before the hustings, and III the councils o.
the natiOn-ike Harry Percy on the held. lei
a f,,r,th lAh Ii