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and lost so few, in proportion to the whole number tried. * * No man could argue a legal question before a court with more learning and power; no man could try a cause with more tact, judgment and skill. Though not eloquent, in the common acceptation of that term, no man could address a jury more persuasively and effectively. No man's opinions as chamber counsel, whether oral or written, were more carefully considered or wiser. No man in all the departments of professional life ever made fewer mistakes.”—Geo. S. Hillard.

Butler's Opinion of.

"I was quite young when I first saw Jeremiah Mason. In late life I saw him not unfrequently in court trying cases, some of them of the very greatest importance, and I had such cause to reverence and admire him that in my library stand three busts of the three greatest lawyers, each in his peculiar sphere, of whom I ever had any knowledge: Jeremiah Mason, Daniel Webster and Rufus Choate."-Butler's Book, p. 64.

Consulted by an Insurance President.

Just as Mason was about to leave his office one morning, a pompous president of an insurance company called to consult him. Said Mason: "Mr. B., I must be in court in twenty minutes. Please to state the facts in your case as tersely as you can, and I will give you my best attention." But Mr. B. could not

help stating his own views of the law as he proceeded, and it was pretty obvious that he would not be able to finish his statement within the time allowed. The old lawyer was silent and indignant during the twenty minutes, and then rose, looked at his watch and said, "Good morning, Mr. B.; were you always such a damned fool."

His Style Conversational.

"His style before a jury was conversational and plain. He would go close to the jury-box, and force conviction upon his hearers, and carry off verdict after verdict."-Lodge's Life of Webster, p. 40.

His Manner, Language, Appearance, Etc.

"In 1832 I went to hear Mr. Mason before a House committee of the Legislature of Massachusetts in favor of a bill for the incorporation of a company to construct a railroad from Boston to Salem. The bill was violently opposed. Mr. Mason was then in the meridian of life, and without a peer in his profession. He was employed to appear before the committee. I went to hear him. He had not spoken five minutes before my attention was absorbed, and although he spoke for nearly two hours, I was sorry when he closed. His argument was conclusive. The impression which it made upon my mind has never been lost. It was the first time I had heard a purely logical speech. It was not eloquence, but concise, clear, cogent argument. It was profound, yet so

clear that anybody could follow and understand it. The committee reported favorably upon the bill, and it was soon after passed by both branches of the Legislature. Mr. Mason was full six feet and a half in height, and upwards of three hundred pounds in weight. His head, which while speaking was always slightly inclined towards his right shoulder, was well formed, and, although very large, seemed to be small in comparison with his tall and massive body. His dress was careless, if not slovenly, and there was a wide show of linen between his trousers and his waistcoat. He spoke deliberately. His enunciation and his command of language were perfect. He was not an orator, and was doubtless inferior to many of the lawyers of the day as an advocate before a jury; but in legal knowledge and in clear and cogent logic, he had no equal, not even in Mr. Webster."-McCulloch's Men and Measures, Etc., p. 34.

Subpoena the Angel.

"Mason was once engaged to defend a clergyman accused of a capital crime, and was repeatedly bothered by the attempts of the brethren to make him substitute theological for legal evidence. As he was making out his brief one of these sympathizers with the prisoner rushed into the room with the remark that Brother Avery was certainly innocent, for an angel from Heaven had appeared to him the night before, and had given him direct assurance of the fact.

"That is very important evidence, indeed,' was Mason's gruff reply; 'but can you subpoena that angel?" -Whipple's Character and Characteristic Men: Harvey's Reminiscences of Dan'l Webster, p. 65.

Webster's Opinion Of.

"I regard Jeremiah Mason as eminently superior to any other lawyer whom I ever met. I should rather, with my own experience (and I have had some pretty tough experience with him), meet them all combined in a case, than to meet him alone and singlehanded. He was the keenest lawyer that I ever met or read about. If a man had Jeremiah Mason and he did not get his case, no human ingenuity or learning could get it. He drew from a very deep fountain. Yes, I should think he did—from his great height."Harvey's Reminiscences of Webster, p. 65.

Surprised the Witness.

"Mr. Mason possessed to a marked degree the instinct for the weak point. He was once cross-examining a witness who had previously testified to having heard Mr. Mason's client make a certain statement, and it was upon the evidence of that statement that the adversary's case was based. Mr. Mason led the witness around to this statement, and again it was repeated verbatim. Then, without warning, he walked to the stand, and pointing straight at the witness, said, in his high, unimpassioned voice: 'Let's see that

paper you've got in your waistcoat pocket? Taken completely by surprise, the witness mechanically took a paper from the pocket indicated and handed it to Mr. Mason. The lawyer slowly read the exact words of the witness in regard to the statement, and called attention to the fact that they were in the handwriting of the lawyer on the other side. 'Mr. Mason, how under the sun did you know that paper was there?' asked a brother lawyer. 'Well,' replied Mr. Mason, 'I thought he gave that part of his testimony more as if he'd heard it, and I noticed every time he repeated it he put his hand to his waistcoat pocket, and then let it fall again when he got through.'"-Nov., '91, Green Bag.

Webster Wrote: "Have Some of Your Pounding in My Bones Yet."

"Webster wrote Mason just after he made his celebrated 'Reply to Hayne:' 'I have been written to to go to New Hampshire to try a cause against you next August. * If it were an easy and plain

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case on our side, I might be willing to go; but I have some of your pounding in my bones yet, and I don't care about any more till that wears out."-Whipple's American Literature, p. 156.