w with Edward D. Sohier, and immediately after his admission
became known as one of the most promising young men at the
Bar. Luther S. Cushing was then Reporter of the decisions
of the Supreme Court. He was in poor health and employed
Gray to represent him as Reporter on the Circuit. Gray always
had a marvellous gift of remembering just where a decision
of principle of law could be found, and his thumb and forefinger
would travel instantly to the right book on the obscurest
shelf in a Law Library. So nothing seemed to escape his thorough
and indefatigable research. When he was on the Circuit, learned
counsel would often be arguing some question of law for which
they had most industriously prepared, when the young Reporter
would hand them a law-book with a case in it which had escaped
their research. So the best lawyers all over the State got
acquainted at an early day with his learning and industry, and
when Cushing soon after was obliged to resign the office of
Reporter, Gray was appointed by the general consent of the
best men of the profession, although he had as a competition
Judge Perkins, a very well known lawyer and Judge, who had
edited some important law-books and was a man of mature age.
This was in 1854, only three years after his admission to
the Bar. The office of Reporter was then one of the great
offices of the State, almost equal in dignity to that of the
Judge of the Supreme Court itself. Four of our Massachusetts
Reporters have been raised to that Bench. He was quite largely
retained and employed during that period, especially in important
questions of commercial law. He resigned his office of Reporter
about the time of the breaking out of the war. Governor Andrew
depended upon his advice and guidance in some very important
and novel questions of military law, and in 1864 he was appointed
Associate Justice of the Court. In 1873 he became its Chief
Justice, and in 1882 was made Associate Justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States. The extent of his learning and
the rapidity and thoroughness of his research were marvellous.
But it is not upon this alone, or chiefly, that his fame as
one of the great Judges of the world will rest. He was a
man of a native, original intellectual power, unsurpassed
by any man who has been on the Bench in his time, either in
this country or in England. His decisions have been as sound
and as acceptable to the profession upon questions where no
author