The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1873-12-10

70 these elements or Skill and strengtl
he added a sublime sense Of Justice,
grand love Of truth, a lofty scorn Of al
that was 2unmanly or mean. Thu
armed and fortified, he defended wit
the art and ,heroism of. master th
salient points Of his own case, and assail
ed, with the ponderous blows Of q giant
the defenses Of his adversary. Witt
such armor and such weapons, his earn
est, urbane manner, his forcible, fervit
augmentation, his superb rhetoric
rarely failed to convince the court or t.
conciliate the jury ~ ~ .'-i 80 .
The leadership Of the bar in tn
wholeup country was the early and th'
splendid reward of forensic powers 81
commanding and 50 incoptestible. yTh'
championship Of, such q bar is tam'
as enduring as it is exalted: .is
It was an ancient and cherished Gus
tom in this State that young men ofhigf
promise, especially of high expectation:
at the bar, should display their youthful
proves and seek the first rewards O.
ambition in the representative branch O.
the State Legislature. ......
In that hall .cf the commons young
aspirants for fame made their first trials
of strength, and grappled in the strug
Gle with noble emulation anda knight
Iy courtesy; and in. that hall lifelong
Lurels were won, and laurels, never tt
be regained, were lost. In that arena
and in that presence Calhoun, McDutiie
Cheves, Huger, Hayne, Hamilton, LIE
care, and a host Of others displayed
those grand intellects which in maturel
years and higher stations. achieved such
brilliant renowD. .. r..
In that ancient hall, amongst those
youthful commoners, the standard:
of scholarship and of oratory repre-
sented the scarcely less high stand
ards of that grand old college, in which
orators and statesmen, scholars and
gentlemen, received their early training
In that hall, and amongst those intel
lectual athletes, David Lewis. Wardlaw
asserted his claims to those honors which
were bestowed with such muni6cence
by his. countryneu upon. the saefts ;o1
his later years. 49, 4. vga .1s.gu.,
In those splendid debates, which
threw the shadoM upon the. other and
higher. branch of the Legislature
his scholarly attainmepts, Ills 'hlfi polished
elocution, the 'range' and, force o.
his augmentation, the grace and courte:
sy Of bis manner but, above all, the
precise information and practical Illus;
tration which be broughtsintob the'rd rdis;
cussion, earnedafor hiinTs consideration
and an inanenae. (which but few Of his
competitors ever aequiredl TInthA real
earnest workof legislation, ,ithose superb
abilitieswhieh gave him, sueh tincontes'
tible superiority at.the bar, and esReeenl: R 6 II
ly bis perfect familiarity with the ysll NUM- n
cipa law, rendered. his sefyyicss IL She
LegattgHrs not Ct q}n4ly Distinguished H'f put
The speakership of the House was
the handsome recognition of services SC
eminehG aad Of qualifications so con
spicdousf 20; 2tjHnto7q ot1no "Eh .
la His, thorough knowledge 4of ;parlia,
mentary law, his fine Judgment, his
graceful promptness, hiss unfaggings as
siduity mastered all the arduous; duties
and perplexing. details Of that RESPONSE
BILE office, and established for him a rep
.utation not inferior to that:of the most
illustrious Of bis predecessors.
But eminent as he was at the bar
eminentfas, he was as the presiding off
Ger Of deliberative assemblies, we shoulc
not conceive the colossal proportions O.
his intellectual stature, unless we con
template him as-he sat on the bench
interpreting the law, upholding its ma
jesty,. dispensing its, justice. ....
To this, bis, greatest, most tondlJ
cherished and last office, the goal O.
his ambition, and the enthusiasm Of hi
life, he came, in the mature vigor O.
his intellect, bringing to its great du
ties the stores of knowledge which
had been gathered and boarded from
all other stations in his brillian
career. O., -. ....-..
The greatest repute at the ba
and the most splendid renown il
legislative halls, are but tleeting mem
ories, local traditions, dazzling ant
glorious though they be; yet the.
are but memories and traditions tha
fade away and are lost in the Oblivion
which remorselessly engulfs all til
unrecorded past. But, in high judicia
stations, genius rears monuments, an'
learning leaves memorials that are a
imperishable as jurisprudence itself
These monuments and these memoir
ais, from December 1871 to May 1860
from the second volume Of McMullen t.
the fifteenth of Richardson, may b
proudly invoked to define the measur
of his learning and to determine tn
might Of his intellect.
The natural endowments Of Judg
Wardlaw, no less than his requirements
eminently qualified him for usefulness
as we'll as distinction as u circuit Judge
His administrative abilities were hne
his familiarity with adjudicated case
was wonderful, his readiness was grace
full, his courtesy, was elegant, his i'm
partiality was noble.
So scrupulous was his sense Of oficia
responsibility, that he but once failed t
be present at the commencement OF
term of Court, and failed on that OF
casion by cause which no circumspet
ton could avert, and no energy coul
overcome. The delicacy Of his estimat
of official duty was evinced, not NOR
by bis ,punctuality than by the dispatc
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