ong. He had a curious fashion of using
the ancient nomenclature of the Common law where it had passed
out of the knowledge even of most lawyers and the comprehension
of common men. He would begin his appeal to the jury in some
case where a fraud had been attempted on his client, by saying,
"Gentlemen, the law abhorreth covin." He was a lawyer everywhere.
His world was the Court-house and his office. I met him in
the street, of a Sunday noon, one summer and said to him,
"Why, Brother Bacon, you must have had a long sermon to-day."

"Oh," Mr. Bacon said, "I stayed to the Sunday-school. I have
a class of young girls. It's very interesting. I've got
'em as far as the Roman Civil Law."

Mr. Bacon could seldom be made angry by any incivility to
himself. But he resented any attempt to deprive a client,
however much of a n'er-do-well he might be, of all the rights
and forms of a legal trial. He was also much disturbed if
any lawyer opposed to him misstated a principle of law, who
ought, in his judgment, to know better. I was once trying
a case against him and his partner, Judge Aldrich, where General
Devens was my associate. Devens was summing up the case,
and complaining of the conduct of some parties interested
in the estate of a deceased person. One of them was a son
of a deceased niece. There being no children, under our law,
the nephews and nieces inherit, but not the children of deceased
nephews or nieces, when there are living nephews or nieces.
General Devens, not having in his mind the legal provision
at the moment, said to the jury: "The sound of the earth on
the coffin of the old lady had scarcely ceased when one of
these heirs hurried to the probate office to get administration."
Mr. Bacon rose and interrupted him with great emotion. "He
is not an heir."

"I said," Mr. Devens repeated, "one of these heirs, Mr.
A. F."

Bacon burst into tears and said again, with a broken voice:
"He is not an heir, I say, he is not an heir."

I saw the point and whispered to Devens: "An assumed heir."

"Very well," Devens said, "an assumed heir, if my friend likes
it better." Bacon replied with a "Humph" of contentment and
satisfaction, and the matter subsided. As I was walking home
from the court-house with Mr. Bacon afterward I expressed
my regret at the occurrence and told him that General Devens
had the greatest respect for him. Mr. Bacon replied: "He
had no business to say it. Aldrich told me to tell