he was often called to order by the judge and the lawyers, who became highly irritated as he proceeded. Though often interrupted, he managed to say much that he wished the people to hear, made a very capital defence of his breach of prison, and was, I believe, let off with a small fine and costs.

I was once in an English court when a man was tried for stealing a sheep, and death was at that time the penalty, if proved guilty. I listened to the evidence with the painful assurance that it must convict him; but in spite of it, and of the judge's charge being dead against the prisoner, the jury brought in a verdict of "not guilty," owing, no doubt, to their horror of taking life for the theft of a sheep.

My next experience of courts was in Newport, Rhode Island, where Judge Story took me to his circuit court, on purpose to hear Daniel Webster plead against a man who had taken charge of a large sum of money, in doubloons, to oblige a friend, and had been robbed of them. The plea for the defence was very able and seemed unanswerable; but when Mr. Webster spoke, he tore in rags and tatters the web of reasoning which had just appeared so strong, and made one feel ashamed of having supposed the man who lost the money could be excused for it. The court rang with the deep sonorous voice of Mr. Web

ster, when he pronounced the words "unpardonable negligence" again and again, in the most emphatic tones. He won the case and won the admiration of all who heard him. Mr. Webster was then in his prime, and he looked the grand character that he was. Judge Story, too, was the beau ideal of a judge. His serene and benevolent countenance gave the promise of as much mercy as was compatible with justice. I happened to be at Newport when the Circuit Court was sitting there and saw much of those two great men, and the impression they made on me at that time was so strong, that in writing this, I seem to see them before me and hear again their voices, though it is more than forty years ago.

I never was again in an American court of law, until a few years since, when I went from Baltimore to Washington, on purpose to hear Jacob Barker plead his own cause before the judges of the Supreme Court, who listened to him with evident pleasure for four consecutive days, and for three or four hours each day.

His claim on the United States government dated back to the time of the war with England in 1812. At that period of great financial distress in the treasury department, Jacob Barker raised a large loan for the government, and this has never been fully repaid, though he has been prosecuting his claim ever since. In stating his

case before the judges, he gave an interesting and very spirited review of the whole period, interspersed with lively anecdotes, and delivered with great energy and fluency.

The first day of his speaking the AttorneyGeneral was present, and after listening for an hour, he tried to stop Mr. Barker, and begged the judges not to let him go on at such length. But they said they would listen to Mr. Barker as long as he pleased to speak; on which the AttorneyGeneral left the court, and never appeared again till Mr. Barker had finished. This long plea was made by an octogenarian, and no young man could have done it with more energy, acuteness, or vivacity.

TH

CHAPTER XL.

MISS DELIA BACON.

HE first lady whom I ever heard deliver a public lecture was Miss Delia Bacon, who opened her career in Boston, as teacher of history, by giving a preliminary discourse, describing her method, and urging upon her hearers the importance of the study.

I had called on her that day for the first time, and found her very nervous and anxious about her first appearance in public. She interested me at once, and I resolved to hear her speak. Her person was tall and commanding, her finely shaped head was well set on her shoulders, her face was handsome and full of expression, and she moved with grace and dignity. The hall in which she spoke was so crowded that I could not get a seat, but she spoke so well that I felt no fatigue from standing. She was at first a little embarrassed, but soon became so engaged in recommending the study of history to all present, that she ceased to think of herself, and then she became eloquent.

Her course of oral lessons, or lectures, on his

tory interested her class of ladies so much that she was induced to repeat them, and I heard several who attended them speak in the highest terms of them. She not only spoke, but read well, and when on the subject of Roman history, she delighted her audience by giving them with great effect some of Macaulay's Lays.

I persuaded her to give her lessons in Cambridge, and she had a very appreciative class assembled in the large parlor of the Brattle House. She spoke without notes, entirely from her own well-stored memory; and she would so group her facts as to present to us historical pictures calculated to make a lasting impression. She was so much admired and liked in Cambridge, that a lady there invited her to spend the winter with her as her guest, and I gave her the use of my parlor for another course of lectures. In these she brought down her history to the time of the birth of Christ, and I can never forget how clear she made it to us that the world was only then made fit for the advent of Jesus. She ended with a fine climax that was quite thrilling.

In her Cambridge course she had maps, charts, models, pictures, and everything she needed to illustrate her subject. This added much to her pleasure and ours. All who saw her then must remember how handsome she was, and how gracefully she used her wand in pointing to the illus