Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1871-01-14

lighted in their company, and was
fond of their wit, literature and learn
ing, and was the sympathi2ing friend
Of tile young men of the pro ession,
aud never failed to- give them u hear
ty welcome to that forum, in which
he had achieved triumphs and from
which his most exquisite eujoyments
were derived. During his whole life
he regarded truth as the greatest of
human virtues, a virtue which he
observed and practiced in all his in
tercourse with men. No hope of
profit to himself-no temptation of
ambition, no fear of danger, could
have seduced or driven him into the
paths of falsehood. With him truth
lay at the foundation of all human
excellence, and without 1t he did not
believe any superstructure erected by
man, could have a permanent exis-
Itence. / remember he oDce said to
me, i'm his own glowing language:
"with truth on my lips, | am the peer
of the tallest spirit of the land, and
with it / enter undismayed and
stand unabashed in any earthly tri
bunal, and laugh to scorn the CEN
sures or the calumnies of the world"
These virtues, fidelity and uniform
%politeness to his family and unswerv-
ing devotion to truth, were his dis
tinguished characteristics rs n gentle
man.
There is not one of us, my friends,
who might not increase our reptta-
ton as gentlemen by following his
example. AS a lawyer, what can |
say of him that is not familiar to this
whole country. When he and j reg
ularly attended all the courts in this
Circuit, | was a witness to his almost
miraculous success as an advocate.
He certainly had nc superior in the
criminal courts Of the country. When
he took q deep interest in his client,
as he was certain to do, if he believed
he was Innocent, or that he was the
victim of persecution, his soul swell
ed beyond all measure, and seemed
to glow with more than mortal fires.
If he was not a great reader of
books, he was u great reader IF men.
!, They were his books, and he read
them understandingly. He was gift
ell with an intuitive knowledge of
men, and was familiar with the his
tory of almost every family in the
8 district; who such u man married +;
the family of his wife and all the
ramifications of their blood, which
knowledge he used very skillfully in
the selection of the jury which was
to pass upon the guilt or innocence OF
his client. He was very adroit in the
examination of witnesses, and woe
betide that man who was guilty OF
the slightest departure from the truth,
for he was certain to detect it. He
made himself familiar with every
! fact connected with the cause, and
frequently drew from q reluctant wit
ness some little circumstance on
, which he would hang a doubt as to
: the guilt of the prisoner and acquit
!. him. His first object was to put him
: self in sympathy with the jury, and
thus preparing them to be impressed
with his own earnest convictions:
If not a profound lawyer, he was
a nan of genius and assiduously Gull
3 tivated all the emotions and aifec'
! tions--too much genius it may be tC
: cOnfine himself to the study of the
black letter of the law, and the dull
, details of the profession-leaving
; these things to others, he often burst
upon the jury with such deep patho'
{ and dazzling splendOr, that led then
/, captive to his will.
: He was an orator Of action and ear
l nest convictions, and spoke f ON The
heart to the heart, and moulded it tt
. his purposes with aS much ease as thu
; potter moulds the clay.
The Instruments he used to unlock
u the hearts Of the jury, were geniui
y and strong emotions, which were i,
. his hands more potent than the want
= of the e%nchanter. They were thu
u Inspirations of genius made irresista
I BILE through his natural emotions ant
: cultivated affections. He won hi
; reputation through the emotions an,
gained his causes through the afIec
y tons. While the jury were dazzle'
:, by the brillianc.y of his genius, hi
:. enchanting emotions threw arOun,
their hearts IL network, though invis
lille, strong enough to subdue the vii
:. and make it subServient to his own
y While Others less gifted, or cast in
!: different mould, We're content to ap
u peal to the head alone, he swept tn
u strings of the heart with more skill
y than amateur ever lavished upon hi
i instrument of music, and evokin,
= from the depths of the soul, all tina
= Is DTiSiiJ anu iE'IllIDlilpuS III our TIA
ture-he caused tears to flow down tn,
IS hard face of the jury, like the waite
which guShed from the Rock whel
y touched by the rod Of Moses.
y 1t n thus he extracted from tn
:" lips of the jury responses more swee
to the ears of his client than minstrel
u ever gave to enraptured audiences
His power as an orator, and his sue
y cess as an advoca-e, had their f0un
u dation in the affections and emotion,
" of his own heart, which were to hin
II the gift of God, and which he assidu
:, ously cultivated. Here was the Sc
g cret of his power as an advocate
i power which he welded for thirty
. five years, and whose sceptre thert
!, was none to dispute, though he cam
= in daily contact with rivals of no or
y binary ability, in his own fayorit
" field Of professional labor.