The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1879-01-02
sTAUNToN. VIRGINIA. JANUARY 2. 1879.

guisbetl himself in the Constitutional Con
vention Of 1929 andlS30, became a candl
date Tor the office Of Judge. Mr.. Peyton wa
also brought forward by hia friends. Thomp
son had made himself popular OF, the basi
question, and was regarded as ore OF tn
rising mensof his contemporaries. He wa
the junior OF Mr.. Peyton. My father, at tina
time, was member Of the House of Dele-
gates from Augusta county. The contes
for Judge came off My father, the arden
advocate of Mr.. Peyton, was sustained in biz
opinion of him by some Of the aDlest jurists
of Virginia, amongst whom was benjamin
4 Watkins leigh who said to him that Mr.
1 Peyton was the greatest lawyer west OF the
1 Blue Ridges The then Senator for this dis
trict, y personal enemy, without just cause,
however, Of Mr.. Peyton, exerted all his pop
nlarity and power In favor Of Thompson,
and on his election boosted that he had &C.
compiished long cherished wish, that OF de
featlng an ambition Of Mr.. Peyton.i But he
signally failed. It Is well known that Dir
r. did not wish the office OF Judge, mncl
preferred to retain the greatly more lucrative
situation Of public prosecutor and his large
Law practlces as well because Of the more act.
I'VE character OF his duties IS prosecutor, asin
the interest Of a large and growing family.
! Major James Garland, now Judge Of the
Hastings Court OF Lynchburg, himselfa great
l., Il Pk I nj
to the bar Of Nelson county, said in con-
versation with me ~ was member OF the
Legislature that elected Thompson. But for
| the course OF the Senator from Augusta and
Rockbridgc, your father would have sue
ceedcdin the election OF John Howe Peyton,
than whom there Is no greater lawyer in
| the Commonwealth" of.fi tl
| Mr.. Frazier has go we'll described him as
o common lawyer, and the most eminent
prosecutor that Virginia has ever had, that l
forbear to say anything further with refer
ence to that matter. That Is o part OF the
! history OF the jurisprudence Of this State. l
| will add that hare seen his Coke Littleton,
(studed by him as student OF law) with the
marginal pages filed with annotations and
references, indicating the application and
devotion no felt for his profession. l have
been told that be had grim way oiprevent-
ing such as he ] not the ability, from enter
Ing into the profession of law. In his library
there was rare old edition Of Littleton on
Tenures. He considered this book as the
basis Of the laws Of real property in Eng-
land. and he thought that it should be first
read without Coke 3 Commentary. When
young man desired to study law under
him, whom he knew to have no capacity to
succeed, he placed this work in his hands,
asking him to read it again and again and
strive to understand it without recourse to
the commentary, and return for examination
after fortnight or three weeks perusal, of
such part as he had mastered, It rarely
happened that the young man did not hand
him back the book at the end ola short time,
announcing his purpose Of seeking llveli-
hood In snme other field. Thus he was in
strumental IN; keeping some from the pro
fesslon who by entering into the law would
have derived no profit to themselves nor re-
flected credit upon the profession.
His conversation with his son and myself
above referred to, on Uses and Trusts, ex-
emplifei the fact that he had not forgotten
in his maturrr, what he had learned In his
Younger years. have been told that Mr..
Peyton had acquired tho habit OF reading
Blackstone cnce year, and 1t was rarely
the case that he referred to precsdents and
decisions OF the courts, which has become
the bane OF the profession Of this day, but
that for authority, he went down to the deep
foundations OF the law, treating and re-
garding 1t as fixed ard accurate science,
not depending upon the opinion Of this jurist
or that, and thus arriving at conclusions corr
Yincine to Judge and Jury.
There have been many men whom the ac-
cldent OF applause or fortune have made
great. But few who were great in them
selves. Amongst the latter Mr.. Peyton
stands in the front rank. As man, he was
true, honest, and noble despising the ig-
noble, and valuing only the elevated: seeking
BY genuine courtesy and kindness to win all
hearts, and by stern integrity TO retain the
golden opinions he had gained. AZ father and
husband, active and earnest in his endeavor to
fill the picture Of a true man; as . lawyer.
he stood second to none, and BY the breadth
OF his learning and knowledge, his clear and
comprehensive manner, and his earnest and
determined performance of duty as public
prosecutor, he has won position snch az
few lawyers have attained in the State. As
a statesman. the high praise which his gem
eration gave him, the deep respect in which
he was held by the great and eminent men
OF his time, and the undying record which
history bears to his genius and achievements,
mark him az one Of the great men ofVrgin-
la, who may be proud OF her son, while she
can justly regret that he should have sought
privacy and retirement in preference to ma
tional glory Modest, sincere, learned and
determined, Virginia has had few to equal
or surpass him. As in the past, he moulded
and controlled the opinions and actions Of
the times, so in the future may he ever serve
asa model for the true and the good,as an In
centive to the ambitious, and may the young
learn to emulate his life, while the old re-
we're and respect his memory.
j. II. McCuE,
Relics of Plus TX.
Immediately after the death Of the late
Pope, Plus TX, Allessandra Malpieri, Ro.
man Sculptor. obtained permission from the
authorities to take casts in plaster Of the
face and right hand Of the, Pontlff. and he
carried out the undertaking with success in
the presence Of Dr. Ceccarelli, chief physic-
ian at the Vatican. A CODY Of these casts