The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1878-04-13
DANIEL WEBSTER.

| "The nearest | ever came to a down
right row." said Mr.. Webster, "was with
Mr.. William Pinkney. Mr.. Piukney was
the acknowledged head and leader of the
! American bar. He was the great practi.
TONER at Washington when was admitted
| to practice in the courts there. | found
| Mr.. Pinkney, by universal concession, the
very head of the bar-a lawyer of extraor-
| binary accomplishments, and withal a very
wonderful man. But with all that, there
was something about him that was very
small. He did things that one would hard
! ly think it possible that gentleman of his
breeding and culture and great weight as
lawyer could do, He was very vain man.
| One saw it in every motion he made
| When he came into court he was dressed
in the very extreme of fashon-almost like
a dandy. He would wear into the court
room his white gloves, that he had put on
fresh that morning, and that he never put on
again. He usually rode from his house to
| the capitol on horseback; and his overalls
were taken off and given to his servant
who attended him. Pinkney showed in
his whole appearance that he considered
himself the great man of that arena, and
that he expected Difference to be paid to
him as the acknowledged leader of the bar
He had great many satellites-men, of
course, much less eminent than himself at
the bar, and of less practice-who tlattered
him, and employed him to take their briefs
and argue their cases, they doing the work
and he receiving the greatest part of the
pay. This was the position that Mr.. Pink
ney occupied when | entered the bar at
Washington.
/ was a lawyer who had my living to
get; and | felt that, although should not
argue my cases as well as he could, STILL if
my clients employed me, they should have
the best ability | had to give them, and
should do the work myself | did not pro-
pose to practice law in the Supreme Court
by proxy. ] think that, in some import
ant cases | had, Mr.. Pinkney rather ex
pected that ! should fall into the current
of his admirers, and divide my fees with
uiil. his utIeliy IeluSeu W 40. III
some important case Il have forgotten now
what the case was, Mr.. Pnkney was en-
ployed to argue it against me. | was 90
ing to argue it for my client myself.
81 had felt that, on several occasions,
his manner was, to say the least, very au-
| noying and aggravating. My intercourse
with him, SO far as | had any, was ALWAYS
marked with great courtesy and Difference
| regarded him as the leader of the Ameri
can bar; he had that reputation, and Just
| ly. He was very great lawyer. On the
occasion to which | refer, in some colo
quail discussion upon various miner points
of the case he treated me with contempt.
He pooh poohed, as much as to say it was
not worth while to argue a point that did
not know any thing about; that was no
lawyer. | think he spoke of the gentle
man from New HAMPSHIRE At any rate,
it was thing that everybody in the court
house, including the Judges could not fail
to observe. Chief Justice Marshall him.
self was panied by it. 1t was very hard"
added MIR. Webster, "for me to restrain
my temper, and keep cool; but | did so,
knowing in what presence stood. Think
he construed my apparent humility into a
want of what he would call spirit in re-