e at once, this is a
most extraordinary man.

Judge Wheeler knew but little of the antecedents of Summerfield. He was
of Northern birth, but of what State it is impossible to say definitely.
Early in life he removed to the frontier of Arkansas, and pursued for
some years the avocation of village schoolmaster. It was the suggestion
of Judge Wheeler that induced him to read law. In six months' time he
had mastered Story's Equity, and gained an important suit, based upon
one of its most recondite principles. But his heart was not in the legal
profession, and he made almost constant sallies into the fields of
science, literature and art. He was a natural mathematician, and was the
most profound and original arithmetician in the Southwest. He frequently
computed the astronomical tables for the almanacs of New Orleans,
Pensacola and Mobile, and calculated eclipse, transit and observations
with ease and perfect accuracy. He was also deeply read in metaphysics,
and wrote and published, in the old _Democratic Review_ for 1846, an
article on the "Natural Proof of the Existence of a Deity," that for
beauty of language, depth of reasoning, versatility of illustration, and
compactness of logic, has never been equaled. The only other
publication which at that period he had made, was a book that astonished
all of his friends, both in title and execution. It was called "The
Desperadoes of the West," and purported to give minute details of the
lives of some of the most noted duelists and blood-stained villains in
the Western States. But the book belied its title. It is full of
splendid description and original thought. No volume in the language
contains so many eloquent passages and such gorgeous imagery, in the
same space. His plea for immortality, on beholding the execution of one
of the most noted culprits of Arkansas, has no parallel in any living
language for beauty of diction and power of thought. As my sole object
in this communication is to defend myself, some acquaintance with the
mental resources of Summerfield is absolutely indispensable; for his
death was the immediate consequence of his splendid attainments. Of
chemistry he was a complete master. He describes it in his article on a
Deity, above alluded to, as the "Youngest Daughter of the Sciences, born
amid flames, and cradled in rollers of fire." If there were any one
science to which he was more specially devoted than to any and all
others, it was chemistry. But he reall