came to him in an advanced age. Everything that
can make life honorable, everything that can make life happy--
honor, success, the consciousness of usefulness, the regard
of his countrymen, and the supremest delight of family life--
all were his. His friends take leave of him as another of
the great and stately figures in the long and venerable procession
of American Judges.

Next to Judge Wilde in seniority upon the Bench among the
associate Judges was Mr. Justice Charles A. Dewey of Northampton.
He had had a good deal of experience as a prosecuting attorney
in a considerable general practice in the western part of
the State. He was careful in his opinions never to go beyond
what was necessary for the case at bar. It is said that there
is no instance that any opinion of his was ever overruled
in a very long judicial service.

Judge Dewey was a man of absolute integrity and faithful
in the discharge of his judicial duty. He had no sentiment
and, so far as I ever knew, took little interest in matters
outside of his important official duties. He was very careful
in the management of property. When the Democrats were in
power in Massachusetts in 1843 they reduced the salaries of
the Judges of the Supreme Court in violation of the Constitutional
provision. Chief Justice Shaw refused to touch a dollar of
his salary until the Legislature the next year restored the
old salary and provided for the payment of the arrears. Judge
Dewey held out for one quarter. But the next quarter he went
quietly to the State House, drew his quarter's salary, went
down on to State Street and invested it, and did the same
every quarter thereafter.

In the days of my early practice the Supreme Court used to
sit in Worcester for about five or six weeks, beginning in
April. It had exclusive jurisdiction of real actions, and
limited equity jurisdiction. All suits where the matter in
issue was more than three hundred dollars might be brought
originally in that court or removed there by the defendant
from the Common Pleas if the plaintiff began it below. So
the court had a great deal of business. It also had jurisdiction
of divorce cases, appeals from the Probate Court and some
special writs such as habeas corpus, certiorari and mandamus.
But after all, the old Court of Common Pleas was the place
where the greater part of the law business of the county was
transacted. There were at first four civil terms in the year,
and, after