Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1902-09-04
WILMINGTON. DELAWARE THURsDAY, 4. 1902.
and endearing to both the bench

mendable and endearing to both the bench
1 and bar.
His death is distinct loss to both, and
BY each it will long be sincerely deplored.
His was a unique personality in both his
professional and social ife.S He was above
all things social being. His robust frame,
virile nature, exuberant spirits and vivid
enjoyment of life made him the most at
| tractive and delightful of comrades. As
such, among young and old, he was every
Where and at all times facile prlnoeps.
| Dame Nature was in prodigal mood
wherrshe gave him being 60 years ago. For
he was truly child of nature; prodigal in
MS redundant vitality. prodigal in his
pleasures, prodigal in his hospitnlities and
even in his generous benefactions to church
and club, toiyoung and old.
/ He was thoroughly emotional being,
| very sympathetic, with intense attachments,
full of strong impulses and impatient of
restraint and methodical methods. Conse-
| quently he sometimes necessarily combined
big mistakes with large virtues. But those
who knew him best feel that the happiness
| he gave and the good he strove to do fully
condoned his faults.
| That wns magnanimous and ennobling
maxim of the great Latin race: De mortuis,
! NIL nisi bonum'-'Say nothing but good
| of the dead. For in Christian land there
| is no place for personal prejudice or un-
generous criticism beside the bier of the
| silent dead.
To-day stand here to say for him what
| know he would have said for me had he
| survived me as had hoped he would. feel
| that the circle. Of, my true and lifelong
friends is rapidly narrowing and that the
| gray mist is fast reaching hitherward from
the illimitable ocean of futurity. My old
| friend and your professional brother has
disappeared within it, beyond the range of
human ken. His life work is done. His
| usefulness on earth Is ended. After life's
htful fever he sleeps we'll.
I'm the language of the great and wise
royal preacher of old, let US trust, as l
| shall return unto Goa who gave it,.
Judge Grubb was much affected MS he
| spoke of the death of Mr.. Bird.
MIR. ENGLAND SPEAKS.
Howell S. England followed Judge Grubb
| and said:
always on an occasion of this kind,
when we are gathered here TO pay our last
tributes to the memory of departed
brother, do / Iexperience the inadequacy of
words to describe the character of him we
mourn, or to give expression to our feelings
upon his decease But never before did
experience that inadequacy 80 painfully as
now.
"Mr. Bird was a man of SO unique
character that we fail at the threshold to at
tempt TO portray him. His cordial greeting
on the street, at the bar of this court. or in
the privacy of his office, his poses his
gestures, his fund of wit, his inimitable
gift of repartee, his clothes always so spot
less and never the same suit twice his
| manner, his personal magnetism. all these
will remain with US in memory as long as
we live, but how can we describe them?
HE was a student of men and things
more than of books. No member of this
bar had a more varied knowledge of the
principles of machinery, the arts, trades and
occupations of men, nor of the subtleties OF
human nature itself, than had Mr.. Bird.
And 1t was this knowledge, coupled with a
methodical mind that was a perfect master
OF 1t, wherein lay his great success as a
lawyer. 1t will seem a tame term of court
unenlivened by case tried by Mr.. Bird.
But he Is gone; we shall see him no
more, but we who knew him SO we'll and SO
long will miss him while memory lasts.
And vet ] find il impossible to say good
bye TO Mr.. Bird. The anecdotes he told, the
things he said and did, better than all anec-
dotes are living in my mind, forming now
as they always will form, a cherished part
of my possessions.
And ii, as wise ones tell us, we pass on
after death into another life beyond, of this
! feel assured there awaits US in that other
life hearty, whole souled welcome from our
departed friend"
MIR. FRAIM, A LONGTIME FRIEND.
Robert O, Fraim also paid tribute to
Mr.. Bird, with whom he had been ac-
quainted since shortly after Mr.. Birds ad-
mittance to the bar in 1885. As an advocate
before the court, he had very few II any
superiors. No man more faithfully guarded
the interest Of his client than did he. He
was kind, affable and courteous at all
times, to the bench, bar and all persons.
He was honored and respected by all ranks
and classes of society. In his DEATH the
bar has lost one of Its brightest members
| and the Sfata rra of ttu apt ni4
zens.
JUDGE sPRUANoE ADDS A TRIBUTE.
Judge Spruance then spoke briefly, as
follows II have but few words to add TO
what has been so well and feelingly said on
this sad occasion. The announcement of
the death of our friend was to me, as it
doubtless was to most of you, great shock,
had known him intimately for nearly 40
years.. While at the bar l was frequently
brought in close contact with him as an as
sociate or opponent, and was in quite con-
slant social intercourse with him from the
beginning of our acquaintance to the end of
his life. shall attempt no analysis of his
characteristics as lawyer or as man. 1t
is enough to say that fully recognized and
appreciated his unusual powers as an advo-
cate, which brought him great and deserved
success in his profession TINT was
under the charm of those admirable social
qualities, which rose and held the friendship
of the old and the young, the high and the
low.
/" For many years he was notable and
vital figure at this bar and in this COM
munity, and it is hard to realize that he is
to be no more with us and of us. Peace to
his ashes.'
The resolutions were adopted by rising
vote, and then Judge Spruance named the
following committees to present the resolu-
tions to the courts specified:
Superior Court Benjamin Nields, Andrew
E. Sanborn.
Chancery-H Il. Ward and Alexander
B. Cooper. s
Supreme Court-John Biggs and William
T. Lyman. S
United States Court for the District of
Delaware-Willard Salisbury and William,
Michael Byrne.