prepare an amendment of the declaration
or the answer or plea, or, perhaps, to see whether he had
got the attesting witness to prove some signature. But when
we had got past all that I used to find that he had prepared
his evidence with reference to what was the pinch of the
case of what was likely to be finally the doubtful point in
the mind of court or jury with infinite sagacity and skill.
I have rarely known a better judge of the effect of evidence
on the mind of ordinary juries. He took his clients into his
affection as if they had been his own brethren or children,
and seemed always to hate to be compelled to make any charge
for his services, however successful.

He had a pleasant wit. On one occasion a member of the bar
named Holbrook, who was not a bad fellow, but had, like the
rest of the world, some peccadilloes to repent of, came into
the Court-house one morning just as the Court was coming in
where the lawyers were gathered. Much excited, he said he
was riding into Worcester in a chaise from the neighboring
town where he spent his nights in the summer. His horse had
run away and tore at a terrible rate down Main Street, swinging
the chaise from one side to the other as he ran, and breaking
some part of the harness and perhaps one of the shafts. But
at last he had contrived to crawl out through the window behind
in the chaise top and hold on to the cross-bar. Letting himself
down just as the chaise had got to the extremity of its sway
from one side to another, he let go and escaped without injury.
But, he said, it was a terrible five minutes. Every action
of his life seemed to rush through his memory with the swiftness
of a torrent. "You ought to have very heavy damages, sir,"
said Mr. Dadmun.

Another of the brightest of the young lawyers when I came
to the Bar was H. He had, however, had rather an unfortunate
introduction to life. His father, who was a very wealthy
and prosperous manufacturer, sent him to Yale College and
supplied him liberally with money, not only for his support,
but for the indulgence of every extravagant taste. Beside
spending what his father allowed him, he incurred a good many
debts, expecting to find no difficulty in their payment. His
father failed in business with a great crash about the end
of his junior year and died suddenly. He kept on, however,
on credit, until he graduated and then came out with a heavy
load of debt, and no resources for studying his prof