The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1904-10-01
Bench and Bar.
Continued from Page |.

etn Ullneralueu, with the SWl1tlleSS ana
suddcnnesS of the lghtning's flash. So
twas with Cur brother. While on yOn-
der hill. as SO often before. and then, he
sought health and life grim death met
him spectre-like, face to face. and swift
ly claimed him as HIS own. Alas, the
blow which f"llcd him to the earth WAS
fatal Affection and skill sought to re-
store him but in vain. His work waS
done. The hour glass had run its full
tale. and HOW. after life's titful fever,
he sleeps we'll
o. dark and hlooay deed, what havoc
has followed in thy tran
The light of his presence has gone ont
from the home he loved so well. The de-
voted husband, the indulgcnt father, no
longer lavi~hcS the wealth of his aifec
ton upon those he so fOndly cherished.
Nor do we behold longer. the manly
form, the stately carriage, the flashing
eye, and those erStwhile raven, but time
whitcned, locks which the Psalmist de-
clarcS to be II "crGwn of glory"
And what shall we say Of his unwonted
absence from this place. the scene of his
lahorS, the forum, where for more than
forty years he had been an honored
counsellor? And yet he waS So much
Il part of this scene that though absent,
he seems to be with us here today.
Though dead, he >pcaketh, and we
are almost tempted to believe to be true.
the words of the poet when he cxclaimS,
The living are the only dead:
The dead live: nevermore To die
And often when we mourn them fled.
They never were SO nigh.
1t it.. impossible within the limits of
these brief exercises to attempt to por-
tray the many sided nature of our bro
Their. If he could hear the words that
may he spoken today nothing would be
more diStasteful to him than effusive
llaise and even an approach to fulsome
eulosy. Happily, in his case. the simple
recital of the truth is eulogy enough.
Instinctivcly. We think of him us II
lawyer. But why. in this presence and
in this place, need we specify the traits
that made him the great lawyer and
counsellor We know him to have been!
And yet. did we not seek out and men
ton the secret of his pre-emnencc, we
should be rccr,Lnt to his memory. Ma
turc made him Il lawyer, and he would
have been one, though he had never
opened IL book or read II report. The
secret of his plr-emincncc, in my judg
mcnt, is three fold.
First. He had II profound knowledge
of the law; not only of those undcrly-
ing principles that constitute the body
of the law. but Of their myriad modifica-
tons and qualifications. as set forth in
the decisions Of the courts of highest re-
sort i'll England and the United States.
To know understand and recall these,
involved tircleSS energy, Il retcntivc mem
DRY and an amazing capacity to alb
>prh. digest and marshal these great
truths. Wonder splendid library, prob
ably the finest in this State. is Il mOnu-
mcnt that speaks in volumes of his know
ledge of tn" law.
Second. Nature had given him Il CON
Atructivc mind and he was Il pioneer in
legal thought. He knew not only the
settled law but almost inStnctivcly, he
knew what the law should be. He stud
led Lot only to knew what the law was,
hut to confirm what he knew it ought
to lee. \ review of the decisions Of the
Maryland Court of Appeals will show
him often in the vanguard in advocacy
of some hotly contested hut finally vic
toriGus position hitherto denied. His
was the same cast IF mind AZ John Mar
ShalrS. the first Chief Justice of L. s..
and James Kent, the great Chancellor Of
New York. each of whom was Il pioneer
in his respective field.
Third. He loved the practice of III"
law and never did nature more tittingly
enGow any one fer such AN end. How
well ,lN we recall his control over the
witness. whether for him or against him:
his maStcrfu. logical ana forcible pre-
Scntatinn of the law: his commanding
presence: his eloquent voice; and that
wondrouS magnetism with which he Of
ten Swaycd iuri,~. and led men captive
at his will What wonder that his fame
grew and spread even beyond the bounds
of his State and that he was considered
to be one of the truly great lawyers IF
his day
But he WAS not merely Il lawyer. Hav-
| ing had the advantages If n liberal ,,u
cation. and with leisure for reading he
had wandered more widely than is gen
orally known. int" the fields a.! general
literature. His language was II molcl II
"Engiish un,ictilcd." His writing lorc
| the impress Of i master mind. ] l2i,
often Thought that had he entered the
field of editorial journalism. his sue, ,...
| in that wrlll have been even more con.
| siicuouS than in that Of his chosen o.
| cupatiun.
But time forhidS to say more. pleasing
| though the subject he.
F"ndly do we recall the charm of his
manner. the beauty of his smile lni
| that innate kinin,>> ana grntiru,,S e
| heart which made him weep alike over
| he niSfu!tun@s and SORROWS Of mankind
and the >GIitUringS of tue brute. We can
Only >h,d the tear If mourning. speak
| the w;ri of plai.r and commit his mem
CRY to- the Keeping of Kind puSterity. and
close with the lasting regret that Gne
whose voice had 50 often been raised in
defense of the weak and helpless. in his
last extremity on y0ndcr hill, found no
earthly defender nj hand. What Il warm
| ing to us all, and how are we reminded
| Of those words of Him who said THE
Son of Man cometh ut an hour when We
think not"
JUDGE JAMES \. rEARCE.
Gentlemen of the Par: Responding
| for the Court, we all know that some of
IL Il,