Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-03-02

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any extended enlozy, much less Of at /
tempting such biographical "reminiscences
As trust may be hereafter prepared, to tie
end that his Iuemury may be Kept green III
the state which he loved So well.
| shall better follow my mood II avail
myself Of the indulgence Of your honors
rather to recall some of the salient features
of his character which | believed i'm
pressed themselves upon all who came IN
contact with him.
Judge COmegys was familiar figure to
me from my earliest recollection. lie had
what is an immense advantage, splendid
physique. He was in all respects manly
man, He took pleasure in outdoor eXer-
else of every kind which were available
To him, long before the interest in ath.
letics Of recent years had been developed.
He was an oldrtimc athlete before It was
fashionable to he one. lie varied she
momutony of his pursuits, even at an aye
at which men naturally become indolent,
by embracing every opportunity to take
ali afternoon drive behind good horse
or to sit in the stern sheets of
his saibOat with Il SLOUGH hat pulled
down closely over his head, aud ruddy
glow upon his cheeks, as lie sailed over the
waters of the Delaware bay. During the
Kent county courts, | remember that
many of us when first going ont OF doors
met him returning from 4 long walk
| which gave him yigor for the labor and
| confinement Of the court room during the
| day. As long as can remember him, uplu
the time age enlccbled his physical powers
| he was n splendid illustration of mems
| sana III corpOre sano.
Chief Justice Comegys was very many
| sided man; above and beyond all he was
| thorough Delawarean. lie loved the State
| with something Of that love which child
| Feels for its nursing mother. He was proud
| OF her history, sensitive to her honor, So
icitous for her welfare jealous OF her
reputation and ever mindful of the honor
able achievements Of her sons both living
ana dead
He never tired of talking of the
variety Of the productions Of Delaware
and particularly OF her flora. | shall
never forget his appearance at the recep
ton to the Pan.Amerlcan Congress, bear
ing branch Of mistletoe in full bloom,
nearly as large as his body. This he dis
tributed to the visitors and with all the
ardor OF boy explained to the foreign
ladies' its peculiar virtue. He was also
thoroughly an American aud his visit to
Europe, as know from letters written to
me at the time, intensified his love for his
country and his faith in the stability of
her institutions.
The Chief Justice was a man of broad
sympathies and always took deep interest
in what was going On iii the world. Few
men in orr state, probably, kept more
fully abreast of the times His reading
was not Of character either casual or
spasmodiC, but embraced much of what
was valuable i'll the current literature Of
Europr. When he went abroad late in
life, so well informed was he, that IN
his then impaired health he found
! AS he wrote me that he actually
3 suffered physically from the intensity
/ and variety Of the impressions pro
duced by contact with the matera
, evidences OF the great facts of our Anglo
I Saxon legal history which, though ia
4. miiar to him. had never seemed 50 real
9 1t was not Il triiling fact as showing hi
{ intense professional spirit, that, when il
q London he chose a hotel not in tn
arstocratiG West End. but one which wa
t formerly Que Of the inns of court, that h
: might live for time in the very atmos
l. pherc which had been breathed by til
Il great lawyers to whom, under tod, "
owe the benciicent system of laws, whicl
:, it is the privilege OF your honors to ex
Il pound and administer.
8 Considering him as lawyer. ! am NJ
q qualified TO speak of him in the earle
e Years Of his professional career, but an
4 warranted III saying, upon the testimOn
n Of those who knew him intimately, this
n he possessed a natural aptitude for his PR
~ fession and was studiuus, palnstaklng an
NJ industrious, even at the very beginning
n and his close attention to his bushes
ii speedily brought To him clients who b.
came attached to him by friendly AS we
~ rs professional ties.
~ Ny own observation Of his profession
n career extends over several years prior
Il. his elevation to the bench. For five yea
If ] was i'll regular attendance at the kcl
"a county court, and ! had ample oppu
nj tunity to become acquainted with h
na qualities Us Il lawyer. lie was essential
mr. an advocate and his professional abiliti
tt,+rn Tf1,, Ill