The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1884-02-19
For the FIoRfptAN.1
JAMES II. ARCMER.


Georgia informs me 0y letter that ne nearu an
eminent lawyer at the Atlanta bar say that
James T. Archer was one Of the most lOvablc
men that he had ever met. and that " not sew
enty- five per cent. of all his professional COM
peers could, if boiled down and rectified to es-
sence, make one such jurst"
Incited by this perhaps extravagant panegyr-
ic, my young correspondent has made strong
appeal TO me to outline, for publication, some of
the most salient points that llumine character
so much honored abroad and beloved at home.
The animus of his desire is so laudable-that he
"may emulate his virtues Ut that l am con
strained, although sensible of my unfitness for
the task, to minister, as best may to his graft
fication.
1t seems very strange to write the familiar
name at the head of this article, and to realize
that there is no living personality 70 answer to it,
His presence had such magnitude and vitality,
and the grasp of his warm hand was so strong
and hearty, that il is difficult to think of him
even now rs lifeless, and to accept the fact that
we can see his face no more.
When l first became acquainted with Mr.
Archer, in the year that territorial Florida be
came crystalized into State uS45) ne was one
of those men that might be of any youthful age
twenty five thirty, thirty five; there was no
decipherng from his facial lines what years
and what was only weather. Those pronounced
him youngest who scrntnized his physiognomy
closest Ne one looked AT him then, nor at any
subsequent period of his life, without feeling
that he was in the presence of a remarkable spe-
cimen of physical, mental and moral manhood.
had
ing thin, his anatomy well knit and endowed by
nature with what painters call fine symme-
tries" Honest, with u little Guinness at times,
able 10 please and fascinate without resorting to
the wiles of the hypocrite, candid and fearless
in all that he said and did; EVER READY TO DE-
FEND RATHER THAN TO MALIGN, he was literally
incapable of giving willfnl offence to any one
The lamented Mallory once said of him that
he was SO free from vanity that his judgment
could not be affected by flattery 1t was To this
he owed in great degree the verticaness Of his
judgment, and the talisnan that secured and re-
tanned for him the exquisite pleasure of last
ing friendships. Himself a strong man, his test
OF manhood was entirely Independent of conven-
tional rules, and therefore was never "conde-
scending 10 those intellectually below him, but
cordially welcoming everybody the ground
of human brotherhood. | once witnessed touch
ing meeting between Mr. A. and a good old ne
gro slave, when the former seized the extended
hand of the latter, and remarked that he was
glad to meet his old-tme acquaintance. The
sable friend CALCULATED 1" | don't doubt il, Massa
Jimmy, for you always loved a poor negro as
well as you did white man." Yes respond
ed Mr.. Archer, provided he had that pearl with
in him called honesty" The aged negro laid his
withered hand gently on his white friend
shoulder, and with fearful eyes, responded
That's it, that's it, my good friend, and may
God bless you"
In what might be called the by-play of lfe's
social drama he was most magnetic character,
as some can testify who are now living. The
great delight Of his friends and companions was
the hearty joyousness of his spirit, the over
whelmng cordially of his disposition which in
the social circle and around the festive board
flooded every company he entered with the
wealth Of his own genial nature
There moved contemporaneously with him in
the professional paths and social circles Of the
State another of almost equal brain power but
describing-a hard grained, querulous man.
coarse, dry, and subject TO fits of tacturnity,
rolling himself up like hedgehog with his
points all outward his sensibilites all blunted,
bis heart callous and the tone of his life metallic
sharp and exacling. Unhappily, he was dis
appointed offce-seeker, and like many of the
present day, in my minds eye, had been rolling
the stone OF Sisyphus and pouring into the sieve
OF Danaides until he frittered away his health
and gifts in pursuit OF that which his vauling
ambition necessarily coveted but never realized.
What a striking contrast between the two per
sons have presented in juxtapostion
The one CHEEKY as the bright morning, fra
grant rs the dew in the new blown rose the
other as cold, unsympathelc and repeling as
the gray rock in the morning mist
Will the young reader pause for moment,
and discuss in his mind the two picturesy Ii may
lead him to profitable meditation
would remark in this connection that it re-
quires intelligence of a peculiar order, rare
combination of the best qualities of the head and
heart TO endow men with that degree Of versa
tility so beautifully exemplihed in Mr. Alchels
make up.
Passing on, he was one OF the best If not the
very best, equipped lawyers in the State and
man OF almost constant and profound study.
His working capacity was something very ex-
traOrClinary. His character at the bar was al
ways so far above suspicion that it was never as
sailed. He was terse, logical earnest and cx-
ceedingy lncid speaker. and in the most heated
forensic contests kept his temper in control
Always decOrous in debate he reused no mans
jealousy, and encountered no other hostility
than that which was entertained for the cause
he espOused. This was markedly illustrated in
the celebrated case of Winthrop versus Groom.
at the conclusion of which Judge Law, Of Sa
vannah, and Mr. Pettgrew, of Charleston con
graduated him in the presence Of the court and
the appauding spectators, upon the splcndnr of
his thrilling speech the former gracefully ac-
knowledging that he had encountered u foeman
worthy of his steel In that argument he gave
the impression that every word he uttered en-
bodied fact or principle. Even far back in
the morning twilight of his professional career,
his ustrous star did not pale in the galaxy of
judicial celebrities made respendent by Brock
enborough, Bronson, Hagner, Westcott Senior,
Berthelot, Judge Baker, Duval White, Down
ing, Dupont, George Call. Balizell, Judge Webb,
Leslie A. Thompson, Long, George X. Walker,
and last though not least, that unique specimen
of the venuS homo Ea0ruo IT War1 As NV