position, he had a practice of nearly $20,000 a year. He united learning and common sense in a degree seldom found in one man, so that the law became with him the perfection of human reason. He adapted old rules to new conditions, and is undoubtedly the greatest common law judge New England ever produced, and it is doubtful whether America has produced a greater, if we except Marshall. He had a patient ear, yet he was firm-no lawyer, however audacious, presuming to trench on the dignity of his court. He held the scales of justice with an even hand. His charges to a jury were simple and clear, yet covered the question in controversy. His character and integrity were unquestioned. In his opinions (10 Pick. to 15 Gray, 55 volumes), by which he is known wherever the common law prevails, he has left, in the words of Horace, "A monument more enduring than brass." Says Judge Bigelow: "No subject was so great as to be beyond the reach of his comprehensive grasp; no distinction so minute as to elude his discriminating observation."

Law Must Be Practiced.

"Law is an art as well as a science.

Whilst it has its foundation in a broad and comprehensive morality, and in profound and exact science, to be adapted to actual use, in controlling and regulating the concerns of social life, it must have its artistic skill, which can only be acquired by habitual practice in courts of justice. A man may be a laborious student, have an inquiring and discriminating mind, and have all the advantage which a library of the best books can afford, and yet without attendance on courts and the means and facilities which practice affords, he would be little prepared, either to try questions of fact or argue questions of law."

Butler's Otter Overcoat and Judge Shaw.

One morning Benjamin F. Butler went into the consultation room of Judge Shaw, dressed in a long, black otter-skin overcoat. Judge Shaw looked at him with a quizzical smile, and said: "How is it, Mr. Butler? What are those lines in Pope? Aren't they something like this: "The fur that warmed a monarch warms a bear?”—Butler's Book, p. 1001.

Teaching Butler's Dog How to Growl.

At another time Butler was taking a big mastiff from Lowell to Boston. Some one asked Butler where he was going with his dog. He replied down to the Supreme Court. He was then asked what he

was taking the dog down there for. "Oh," said he, "to show him to the Chief Justice, so as to teach him to growl."-Butler's Book, p. 1002.

Webster Induced Him to Take the Chief Justiceship.

"Webster urged Governor Lincoln to appoint Mr. Shaw to fill the vacancy on the Massachusetts Supreme bench, and Governor Lincoln consulted him about it. Judge Shaw then had a very large practice, yielding him $15,000 or $20,000 a year. Webster said to Governor Lincoln: 'Appoint Lemuel Shaw by all means.' 'But he won't take it,' said the Governor. 'We must make him take it,' said Webster. Webster then approached Mr. Shaw upon the subject. He was almost offended at the suggestion. 'Do you suppose,' said he, 'that I am going, at my time of life, to take an office that has so much responsibility attached to it for the paltry sum of $3,000 a year?' 'You have some property,' replied Webster, 'and can afford it.' 'I shall not take it under any circumstances,' was his answer. Said Webster, 'I used every argument I could think of. I plied him in every possible way, and had interview after interview with him. He smoked and smoked, and as I entreated, and begged, and expostulated, the smoke would come thicker and faster. Sometimes he would make a cloud of smoke so thick that I could not see him. He would groan and smoke. I guess he smoked a thousand cigars while he was settling the point.

*

* Although he accepted the office with the

greatest reluctance, he has filled it with unsurpassed ability; and to-day there is not in the world a more upright, conscientious and able judge than Chief Justice Shaw. He is an honor to the ermine. For that, I repeat, the people of Massachusetts owe me a debt of gratitude, if for nothing else.'"-Harvey's Reminiscences, p. 127.

Shaw's Great Understanding of the Grounds of Public Policy.

"The strength of Chief Justice Shaw lay in an accurate appreciation of the requirements of the community whose officer he was. Some, indeed many, English judges could be named who have surpassed him in accurate technical knowledge, but few have lived who were his equals in their understanding of the grounds of public policy to which all laws must ultimately be referred. It was this which made him, in the language of the late Judge Curtis, 'the greatest magistrate which this country has produced.”—O. W. Holmes, Jr., "The Common Law," p. 106.

Hillard's Figure of a Bear.

Along in the fifties an effort was made by opponents of Judge Shaw, headed by Benjamin F. Butter, to oust the judge from his position on the Supreme bench of Massachusetts, by altering the constitution. During the speeches, George S. Hillard made use of the following significant language in

opposition to the scheme: "As long as we have jackalls at the bar who import their morals from the State's prison and their manners from Bear's Garden, we must have a lion on the bench, able and willing, with the first stroke of his paw, to draw their scalps over their eyes."

Don't Let Choate Get Hold of the New Dictionary.

When Judge Shaw, before whom Rufus Choate had often pleaded, heard that there was a new edition of "Worcester's Dictionary," containing twentyfive hundred new words, he exclaimed, "For heaven's sake, don't let Choate get hold of it."

Dog for a Juryman-Shaw and Choate.

Judge Shaw remarked to Choate, a dog having jumped into an empty chair, while they were waiting for the absent juryman to return who had vacated it: "The panel is full, Mr. Choate, proceed with your argument." Choate, who had not noticed the situation, rose and turned to address the jury, and instantly noticed that he was being made the victim of a joke, but he immediately retorted: "Yes, he (pointing to the dog) might do for a judge, but I hardly dare trust him for a juror."

Ugly but Great.

"In coming into the presence of your honor, I experience the same feelings the Hindoo does when he bows before his idol-I know that you are ugly, but I feel that you are great."-Said by Rufus Choate to Judge Shaw.