Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1874-12-10

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know that N AS\
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the national 1fty's pesiey. Miller,
-Swayne, Davis. Hunt, Bradley, Strong,
and Waite-all men Of quiet habits and
relative youth-will keep that high tri.
bunal in the course prescribed BY the
spirit of the war that broke the preten.
sions of the Provinces.
| Clifford il the Oldest sitting member
on the Bench. His life and privacy
are strictly judicial. Little or nothing
is known Of his daily walks and talks.
His enormous size and stature prohib-
it him from much exercise. He is a
diligent judge. Behind him stretch
the years Of public action far away to
the City Of Mexico, where he made the
treaty Of peace when Texas was the
public question, and her annexation the
policy of the party to which Clifford
belonged. Faithfully the old man
his skin, and hair, and the light of his
eye, of almost muscular strength
stands by the opinions he formed as a
Van Buren, Democrat. Nobody imputes
anything but high conscientiousness to
him, vet he differs with the majority less
on the facts than on the flavor Of the
Constitution. What a commentary on
the finite mind? A little primer of laws,
called The Constitution" does not
real the same way to two equally pure,
cqu,lly wise Judges.
While Clifford boards by Davis at
the National Hotel, Field keeps house
! on Capitol Hill He is wonderful
home-body, and is always repairing or
adding something to his establishment.
There, in n part Of the same building
where Calhoun died, and Congress met,
and prisoners-of-war were kept, the
Jud re reads everything under the sun,
new OF old, and is little more in love
with his home every day. How could
he 60 against the Legal Tender decis-
ion, being so much that way himself ?
| The court is queer little world
It's greatest practitioner is dead, Cur
tbs. He was q natsfzk lawyer. His
mini could cross an ocean on stepping
stones, so exact and so all-abounding
was it. He used to sit on this bench,
but res, ,ned to practice and make a
competence; and every day, going to
and fro, from law to liquor from ethics
to teddy, he described with his elbows,
/ by repeated bendings of the same, sew
eral Recommendations of the globe
The vast professions of common law,
the stately pile of the Roman statutes,
which I,egare labo-ed so hard to recon-
ellie with the common law, and thus
mingle the classical and Gothic arches,
rose all the clearer to Curtis sight on
the vulgar compound called a cocktail.
He was good old Democratic teddy.
taker. He died in the recess, when the
court was off at leisure. We shall not
look upon his like again.
! Judge Miller is finishing a law-b0ok,
made up, believe, of the decisions OF
the bench whereof be is worthy mem.
Der.
He is a good man to have around
says Mrs. Miller. He can just take a
book. and sit and read good humored.
| " all day. and be interrupted by the
children while writing his decisions"
/ When new man is to come on the
bench, they chatter together Ikea mum.
Der Of great clucking hens, each of whom
expects q new hen to sit mutually on
the general eggs which she had no part
in laying. They look at him when he
arrives, and make up their minds, and
go home and report to their wives eve
nv dav. OF course their wives know
very little about it, but it is quite a
subject for great while. The new
man, meanwhile. is advised by his wife
on the subject Of his gown. There she
is great authority, on the subject OF
backstich and the sire Of the sleeves
1t is not every woman who can get hel
husband into petticoats. She goes t.
court slyly. to see if he gowned as vel
as the rest Of them; and sometimes
perhaps. suggests that it is time he had
new one-intimating that her old sill
Is also shabby.
Bret Harte told me good stor,
about his visit 70 washington yea
ego. He had not been IN the city a
any time previously. Il was delighted
with that Capitol" he said. 1T is st
wide-reaehing, 50 pure, so worthy OF tn,
country, I strolled up ldown. know
ing little about it oil, until / saw o sign
Clerk Of the Supreme Court Then
guessing the door, ] entered that awful
tribunal Of which I had heard so much
sure enough, there they were. in tkei
.. silk sowns-large, grave. Greek iookin,
fellows, all in row, with one lawye
talking, two listening, and no specta
tors fA
az sat down, the solitary intruder, il
far corner. The sounds Of the plead
er monotonously arising made the onl
disturbance besides
I'm few minutes one Of the Judges
! automatically turning his head, locke,
at me. He said something to the mex
. Judge. The next to thethird So alon,
tie whole line the mysterious ccmmu
niat;cn v~ak They I'll faced from th