rubber case. In 1848, he sympathized with the Irish uprising, and ran for Lieutenant Governor of New York. He leaned greatly to the Southern cause during the war, acting as counsel for Jefferson Davis, and signing his bail-bond. Prosecuted, without compensation, Tweed and his associates, 1871-75, which eventually destroyed the ring in New York. He was nominated for President, 1872, against his will, by the anti-Greeley Democrats. Appeared in 1877 for Samuel J. Tilden before the Electoral Commission.

As a lawyer, he stood in the foremost place. His devotion to the law and his clients amounted to an overmastering passion. Although not a general reader, he was deeply read in law, but held that an hour's thinking is worth many hours of reading. His life was pure and spotless; his manner, quiet, almost icy at times. He was a master special pleader, wonderfully self-possessed, a dogged worker, and understood every detail of his case. "Possessed," said Samuel J. Tilden, "a more perfect knowledge of law that any lawyer in this country or abroad."

Jurisprudence and Justice.

"Jurisprudence is of human origin; justice is an attribute of Divinity, pre-existent of all created things, eternal and immutable. Its authority is not derived from any human code, either of positive institution or of customary reception; its decrees are found in the voice of God speaking to the heart which faith has purified to receive and reason has enlightened with capacity to understand."-Extract from argument in Armstrong v. The United States, in Court of Claims, Washington, 1855.

New York Code.

Charles O'Conor said, after the New York code of procedure had been in force twenty years: "The common practice is to tell your story to the court, precisely as your client tells it to you, and just as any old woman, in trouble for the first time, would narrate her grievances. A demurrer to any code pleading is a very dangerous step, because it is utterly impossible for the keenest investigator to determine, in most cases, what any other reader than himself will understand to be the import of the pleading demurred to."

Admiralty Jurisdiction.

"That admiralty jurisdiction could exist without tide-water or salt water was an idea too novel for even the great mind of Chief Justice Marshall, but at last judicial wisdom, sharpened and impelled

by strong necessity, cast aside these immaterial incidents, and, looking at the substance of the thing, found in the Constitution a government for our great rivers and inland seas."

The Duty of Defense.

"To afford even those whom impartial justice arraigns, upon credible evidence, a fair hearing, is the first duty of our profession."-Said in a letter when charged with defending high-handed criminals.

Wished to be Shaved in Silence.

O'Conor sat down in a talkative barber's chair, who, thinking he would do his best to please the great lawyer, asked him how he would be shaved. "In silence," was the significant reply.

Daniel Lord, Jr.-Why Junior.

A country lawyer once entered the Court of Appeals of New York while Daniel Lord, Jr., was arguing a case, and inquired of O'Conor, "Who that was addressing the court?" Mr. O'Conor replied, “That is Daniel Lord, Jr., and he puts the junior after his name so he may not be mistaken for the Almighty."

O'Conor's Comment on Conkling's Fee.

"Roscoe Conkling came into O'Conor's office one day in a nervous state. 'You seem very much excited, Mr. Conkling,' said O'Conor, as Roscoe walked up and down the room. 'Yes, I'm provoked,' said Conkling.

'I never had a client dissatisfied about my fee before.' 'Well, what's the matter?" asked O'Conor. 'Why, I defended Gibbons for arson, you know. He was convicted, but I did hard work for him. I took him to the Superior Court, and he was convicted; then to the Supreme Court, which confirmed the judgment and gave him ten years. I charged him $600, and he is grumbling about it-says it is too much. Now, Mr. O'Conor, I ask you, was that too much? 'Well,' said O'Conor, deliberately, 'of course you did a great deal of work, and $600 is not a big fee; but to be frank with you, Mr. Conkling, my deliberate opinion is that he might have been convicted for less money.'"-September, 1891, Green Bag.

B. R. Curtis on Forrest Divorce Case.

Justice B. R. Curtis said at a public dinner in Washington in 1852, that he regarded Charles O'Conor's management of the Forrest divorce case as the most remarkable exhibition of professional skill ever witnessed in this country.-1 Life and Writings of B. R. Curtis, p. 167.

"Read Less, and Think More.”

"A young man sent him a large list of books which he had read, and asked O'Conor what others he would advise him to read. The great lawyer, who had not even heard of some of the books on his list, recommended him 'to read less and think more.""_ Scott's Distinguished Lawyers, p. 549,

Merchant Endorsed an Early Note for Law Books.

"When he started to practice he did not own a single law book. A merchant endorsed his note for three hundred and twelve dollars for one hundred and fifty-six law books at two dollars each. For thus befriending him, he left to the merchant's granddaughter one-third of his estate at death."-Scott's Distinguished Lawyers, p. 546.

Disadvantage of Being an Irish Catholic.

"So far from being an advantage, the reputation of being an Irishman and a Catholic has been to me a serious political, social and professional disadvantage."

Piercing Eyes.

The most marked characteristic of Mr. O'Conor was his piercing eyes, which seemed to bore two holes through whatever they looked upon.

His Experience With an Indiana Railway.

"He loaned a friend $25,000. Afterwards, as this loan was secured by Indiana railroad bonds, he sent the claim to a law firm in Indianapolis. They reported the security was not good, and that they could get a certain per cent. in settlement from the railroad company. He wrote them to sue the company and put the claim in judgment. They wrote back that the mortgage had been foreclosed, and the road sold for a mere song. O'Conor insisted upon their