Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1876-03-29

the obstacles that lie IN the path of
unassisted poverty, make up the
true ideal Of the hero at last, to
whose escutoheon, unstained with
human blood, no greater glory
could be impaired by all the bla-
zonry Of the herald's college. He
came upon the bench of the Su-
preme Court at a time when the
labors Of that tribunal were simply
appalling, and they have 80 con-
tinued until this honr. If there
ever was in any public station q
more perfect model of unfaltering
fidelity to any public trust, the an
mails Of this country do not furnish
it. 1t has been long apparent to us
all, that his herculean labors were
gradually undermining a naturally
vigorous constitution, and it is GER
tain that they have destroyed his
valuable life. He has died martyr
to his sense of duty to the State. l
will not undertake to describe the
texture of his extraordinary mind,
nor to estimate here the value and
extent of his public services. His
speeches at the bar, in the Legisla-
ture, in the constitutional conven-
tion, upon the hustings, in the
United States Senate, his several
revisals of our statute laws, his lit
erary addresses, his great career as
public journalist, and his opin-
ions delivered from this bench, all
these constitute a monument to his
fame, compared to which,
1.-THE trophied urn and sculptured bust,
Wou be but mockery Of his dust"
He was man of great moral
courage. No man ever knew him
to falter in the discharge of a known
duty, whatever might be the conse-
quences to himself. But he had
not the courage to do what he con-
ceived to be wrong. It is said that
with his last utterances he breathed
out his pure and gentle life in an
assurance to his family Of an abun-
dant faith in the promises of our
holy religion. He was a great stu
dent of the bible, believing with
the great English philosopher, that
"a little knowledge leads to Atheism,
but a great deal brings us back to
God. In his religion there was
none of the rigor Of the ascetic or
the ostentation of puritanism, but
much of that calm philosophy and
quiet faith that made him realize at
all hours and in all places the ON
nipresence Of a God. With him,
the Christian religion, even re-
garded from the standpoint of a
high craftsmanship, was the best
and surest foundation of good gov
ernment and social order, and, like
Sir Walter Scott, he would, if ne
cessary, have died a martyr for it,
so completely is its divine origin
proven by its beneficial effects upon
human society. cannot trust my
self to speak Of him in the relations
he bore to us all in the labors of
this tribunal. will not attempt
to do so, but in the name of the
bench and the bar Of this bereayed
commonwealth, bid the gentle
spirit Of this great and good man,
an affectionate farewell. And when,
in after years, the State shall gather
up her scattered jewels, and mural
tablets within her splendid capitol,
or towering obelisks from her own
prolific quarries shall crystalize
their virtues for the emulation Of
men, let it be said of this noble
gentleman, that nature made him
great, and not high station-that a
public trust, in his eye, was a holy,
consscrated thing = and though
now and then reviled, he reviled
not again, but with princely dig
nifty that was as beautiful as It was
serene, he abided the slow but GER
tain triumph of truth and justice.
And thus, having lived the life Of the
civic hero, he has died the death of
the Christian gentleman, the high
est type of man. he has gone to
his long homeland here in this
sorrOwing commonwealth, "the
mourners go about the streets"