Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1879-08-30

said by his Honor on that occasion ana
believing that the many readers OF your
valuable paper would be Interested III
and benefited by IL contemplation OF
the illustrious example set forth III the
life and character of our deceased
friend, we ask that the same may DC
published, so that all may read and be
profited by the example of so great ana
good Il man rs James L. Harrison.
MACON BAR.
GENTLEMEN OF THE BAR
listened with great pleas
ure on Yesterday, to the eulogies. pro-
nounced by different members OF your
BODY, on the life and character OF our
deceased brother. | cordially concur
in the tributes which you have paid to
his they will find a sincere
response in the hearts of all who knew
him. The lament in Marnlion over the
treasured dust of England, is u la
mcnt to-day
..Now Is the stately column broke,
The beacon light Is qLenched IN smoke,
The trumpet's silver sound Is stu,
The warder silent on the hill"
II would be vain for me to attempt to
authenticate titles to respect and dls-
tinction, which are so well established
MS those of our lamented friend; or TO
add anything to what you have said III
reference to him; to cndeavor to do so,
would be like an effort
$40 guild refined gold, to add another u
Into the rainbow, or with taper light,
10 seek the bcauteous eye oil heaven 10
garnish."
But at the hazard of repeating sentl-
ments already expressed, let me say,
gentlemen. we do well to honor the
memory of James Il. Harrison. We
are fortunate to have known, ana TO
have been intimately associated with
such a man. Whoever knew him as we
have known him, will not resort to his,
tory or tradition or to ether states and
countries for Il model of professional
character and conduct. His great and
accurate learning. his "potless integrity;
| his eminent success. his systematic and
studious habits, the confidence reposed
in him. and the admiration bestowed
upon him, arc subjects which all of us
NAV remember and contemplate with
both pleasure and profit. Asmcnbers
of the Bar, we cannot afford to forget
or relinuuish our interests in such a
legacy. If our teachers and guides
were limited to the living; if the vir-
tues and examples of the illustrious
Dead, persisted with their bodies, now
much of the lights and beauty and glo,,,
: nv of the earth would be extlnguished
= But it is not SO. 1t is a consollng re-
; Election. that even in this life, there are
: limitations on the powers of death and
: the grave. To die; to sleep; to sleep
!, i'm the dreamlcss realms of the tomb
, this is not the end of Jul b%eing-not
r The end of earthly existence, to II well
/, spcnt life. The good we do, is not al
f WAYS Inferred with Il bones; but lives
: after us-lives to encourage, to direct
to bless and elevate our kind.
, Mr.. Harrison was the p%r0foundest
LAWYER, the readiest, the best disclpiin.
ed and the most thoroughly equipped
LAWYER, that we have known in our day
: and generation. | will not say of him
e Webster. that Ihcre never WIS d itaatissi
! to be pleaded on earth, to which h'
was not equal !" but tits Il modest asser
D ton of truth to affirm, that no cause
|. ever occurred in u practice. to whicl
!. he was not equal, and that he would
: have been d recognized leader ut an!
= bar.
: II Is an easy matter in this country
too easy perhaps, to obtain admission
5 to the bar. and the name and priv
e lcges of an Attorney and Counsellor
= ut law. But to become II great lawyer
e to take position in the very front RAM
S and at the head OF the legal profession
c in any part of this country and to main
tain such position, in alarge, active, va
rious practice, for more than a genera
3 ton, is Il Proud Achievement. Ant
such achievement does not belong t.
that class of honors to which men arr
: born, or which is thrust upon them
G and which II breath can unmake as
u breath has made; but venture to So!
that ii requires more capacity, more
e self-dcnial. more patient labor, ant
more strong individuality to accom-
plish such result, than any other o
life. 1t is but Il common observation
C to say. that few, very few are equal tc
o such u task; few, very few have wori
the laurels of such u triumph. But thi
= was the work, the undisputed distinc
V ton of him whose memory we homo
to-day. And his work was well done
Ifhis image in marble or on canvas
were set up in our midst to-day, al
appropriate inscription for 1t w0ult
be that engraved on the statue ofMO
liere, in the Hall of the French Acad
n envy: Nothing is wanting to HIS glo
ry HE, is wanting to ours"
The career of the lawyers intense
I ~ practical and necessarily conserva
n tive. Novelty, poetry, romance, ar
q the least of its constituents. Its h0
Y rizOr is bounded at every point b!
/ presidents and authority, whose impe
rious mandate is, "%lIithcrto shalt tliol
% come. and no farther; aud here shall
0 thy proud waves be stayed" no lcarI
/ what the law is-not to make discov
erics-not what il might, could, would
81 orshould be-and how to apply 1t, il
about the end of legal a~ttainmcnts.-
G While such n career is fruitful in leg
q sons of instruction, and affords thu
: highest displays 0fm0ral and intellect
ual power and heroism, it is, as n gen
eral rule, barren Of those incidents
n which startle and make lasting i'm
| pressions on the public mind. In tn,
i language u IlOTucc IIlllheI'iH ms va
logy on Judge Tilghnnan, such cnrec'
: "docs not exhibit the magnificent va
riety of the ocean, sometimes uplifte'
A to the skies, ut others rcceding to it
darkest caves; at II moment, 81,
: with the ensigns Of power and wealtl
: and at another, %strrNing its shore
S with the melancholy fragments of ship
wrecks; but it is the equal current o
n majestic river, that safely bears upoi
n its bosom the riches of the land, an'
= reads its history in the smiling elite
n and villages that are reflected from IL
I unvarying surface"
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