tered justice wickedly, had degraded the judiciary, and had degraded the age, answered: "The Senator from Massachusetts will be happy if his name shall stand as high upon the historic page as that of the learned judge who is now no more. I believe the decision was right, and feel that my opinion on a question of law is at least entitled to as much respect as that of either of the Senators from Massachusetts, [Wilson had also opposed the placing of a marble statue in the Supreme Court room], one of whom did not pretend to be a lawyer at all, while the other was a lawyer for only a few months.."-1 Blaine's "Twenty Years of Congress," pp. 135-6.

Lost an Eye in Seconding a Duel.

He lost one eye, as second in a duel, from a piece of glancing bark.

JAMES KENT, NEW YORK.

(1763-1847.)

A many-sided man. Born at Fredericks, New York, July 31, 1763; died at New York city, December 12, 1847, aged eighty-four. He was the son of a lawyer. He was placed in school at five; in a Latin school at nine; in Yale at fourteen, graduating at eighteen. He read law with Attor ney General Egbert Benson of Poughkeepsie, and was admitted at twenty-two. Thence till a Supreme Judge, thirteen years later, he studied daily, Greek and Latin four hours before breakfast, French two hours after dinner, classic English part of his evenings, besides keeping abreast of his profession. It is as a Chancellor, law professor and author that he is renowned. He was sixteen years Supreme Judge of New York (1798-1814), ten of which he was Chief Justice; nine years Chancellor (1814-1823), but being then sixty years of age, he was incapacitated by the New York statutes, since repealed, though physically and mentally vigorous. He again became a professor in Columbia Law school in 1823, and was

strongly urged, especially by William Wirt, then United States Attorney General, for the Supreme Bench of the United States.

He effected, says Judge Duer, "a change in administering equity so extensive and entire that with a single exception (that of Lord Nottingham) it has no parallel in legal history." He introduced the custom of rendering written opinions. There being few American law books, and no reports-except those of Dallas just commencing-he pioneered. His Commentaries (1826-30), of which six editions were issued during his life, and 21,000 sets were sold up to 1853, at a profit of $120,000 to him and his heirs, are more comprehensive in research, fuller in illustration, more copious in civil, commercial and maritime law, equity jurisprudence and the law of nations, than Blackstone; but do not include torts, crimes, administration, or procedure. "His decisions are without a superior in any country or age," says Hoffman. "Unequalled,” adds Gibson, "by those of any English Chancellor since the Revolution, except, perhaps, those of Eldon."

Parent's Duty to Child.

"The parent who sends his son into the world uneducated, defrauds the community of a useful citizen and bequeaths to it a nuisance."

The Bible.

"The general diffusion of the Bible is the most effective way to civilize and humanize mankind; to purify and exalt the general system of public morals; to give efficacy to the first precepts of international and municipal law; to enforce the observance of prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude, and improve all the relations of social and domestic life."

Rights of Individuals.

"The absolute rights of individuals may be resolved into the right of personal security, the right of personal liberty, and the right to acquire and enjoy property."

Romans Despised Commerce.

"The genius of the Roman government was military, and not commercial. Mercantile professions were despised; nothing was esteemed honorable but the plow and the sword. They prohibited commerce to persons of birth, rank and fortune. Their navigation was for the purpose of war and not of com merce."

Public Good Rather Than Private.

"A private mischief is to be endured rather than a public inconvenience. If a common highway be out of repair, a passenger may lawfully go through an adjoining private enclosure. So it is lawful to raze houses to the ground to prevent the spreading of conflagration."

No Individual Perfect.

"As no individual is cursed with every vice, neither is any blessed with every virtue."

Government for Man as He Is.

"Government must be framed for man as he is, and not for man as he would be if he were free from vice."-1 Kent's Com., 305.

His Achievements.

"Kent's labors will stand pre-eminent among the intellectual achievements of American history." Adlai E. Stevenson in an address, "The Lawyer," before the New York Bar Association, January 16, 1894.

Burglary of Arm, Shoulder and Head.

One Cowdry was on trial before Judge Kent for burglary. The evidence showed he had cut a hole through a rubber tent, in which several persons were sleeping, projected his head and arm through the hole, and abstracted various valuable articles. His counsel claimed that inasmuch as his body never en