have often manifested, on the other, he does not fall into the strain of sinister forebodings which many eminent citizens feel it impossible to avoid, in contemplation of the outbreaks of that anarchical spirit with which the history of recent times has been in some quarters mournfully signalized." Mr. Chandler originated the Law Reporter, which he conducted for the first ten years; and in his style exhibited clearness, force, purity, and sound legal learning. It is a journal of practical service to the bar and men of business. His American Criminal Trials, commencing with the case of Anne Hutchinson, including the best statement extant of the trial of the British soldiers in the massacre of 1770, is a valuable work, that should be brought down to a later period. It has been published, also, in London. The Bankrupt Law of the United States, and an Outline of the System, with Rules and Forms in Massachusetts, was prepared by Mr. Chandler. The elaborate review of the D'Hauteville case, in the Law Reporter, 1841, wherein he very learnedly argues in favor of the precedence of the father to the custody of the children, in cases of divorce, will often be cited in our courts.

As an instance of the playful humor of Mr. Chandler, we will relate an incident which occurred at the dinner of the city authorities, July 4, 1848. Mayor Quincy, junior, who presided, announced the reception of a note complaining that the candles had burnt out, and gentlemen could not light their cigars, suggesting that, as there was a Chandler present, he should give them the benefit of his art. The Chandler was not forthcoming, which gave occasion for the following order from the mayor," Mr. City Solicitor, you will please give your attention to this case;" whereupon, Peleg W. Chandler arose, and censured the conception of engaging unmarried men to deliver orations, -Mr. Giles, the present orator, being a bachelor,—and he hoped an order would be passed, regulating this matter. Mr. Chandler's remarks were principally directed to the bachelor state of the orator of the day. He was surprised to see him enter Tremont Temple, take his stand coolly upon the platform, surrounded with a bevy of young beautiesthe girls of the public schools, and discourse upon responsibilities. What responsibilities had he? Here some arch hits were made at an old bachelor's virtues, which excited the loud laughter of the assembly. The witty solicitor concluded, with hoping that the orator, when he retired for the night to his attic and his narrow couch, would ponder well upon what he had said. It was his fault that he was not married,

for many men, twice as homely-looking, had wives, and here a queer allusion was made to somebody on the platform, that had been married twenty years, Mr. Chandler's eye being upon his honor the mayor. "If," said the solicitor, "the orator should address any woman with half the eloquence he had employed in his oration, she would have to give him her heart."

CHARLES SUMNER.

JULY 4, 1845. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES.

"LET it not be forgotten," says our orator, "that the virtues which shed their charm over the annals of war, in all its horrors, are all borrowed of peace, they are emanations of the spirit of love, which is so strong in the heart of man that it survives the rudest assaults. The flowers of gentleness, of kindness, of fidelity, of humanity, which flourish in unregarded luxuriance in the rich meadows of peace, receive unwonted admiration when we discern them in war,-like violets, shedding their perfume on the perilous edges of the precipice, beyond the smiling borders of civilization. God be praised for all the examples of magnanimous virtue which he has vouchsafed to mankind! God be praised that the Roman emperor, about to start on a distant expedition of war, encompassed by squadrons of cavalry, and by golden eagles which swayed in the winds, stooped from his saddle to listen to the prayer of the humble widow, demanding justice for the death of her son! God be praised that Sydney, on the field of battle, gave, with dying hand, the cup of cold water to the dying soldier! That single act of self-forgetful sacrifice has consecrated the fenny field of Zutphen far, oh! far beyond its battle; it has consecrated thy name, gallant Sydney, beyond any feat of thy sword, beyond any triumph of thy pen! But there are humble suppliants for justice in other places than the camp; there are hands outstretched elsewhere than on fields of blood for so little as a cup of water; the world constantly affords opportunities for deeds of like greatness. But, remember well, that these are not the product of war. They do not spring from enmity, hatred and strife, but from those benign sentiments whose natural and ripened fruit of joy and blessing can only be found in peace.

If, at any time, they appear in the soldier, it is not because, but notwithstanding, he is the hireling of battle. Let me not be told, then, of the virtues of war. Let not the acts of generosity and sacrifice which have blossomed on its fields be invoked in its defence. From such a great root of bitterness no true good can spring. The poisonous tree, in oriental imagery, though watered by nectar and covered with roses, can produce only the fruit of death. * * * * And yet Christ and Mars are still brought into fellowship. Let us see them together. There is now floating in this harbor a ship-of-the-line of our country. Many of you have, perhaps, pressed its deck, and observed, with admiration, the completeness which prevails in all its parts, its lithe masts, and complete net-work of ropes,-its thick wooden walls, within which are more than the soldiers of Ulysses,its strong defences, and numerous dread and rude-throated engines of war. There, each Sabbath, amidst this armament of blood, while the wave comes gently plashing against the frowning sides, from a pulpit supported by a cannon,-in repose now, but ready to awaken its dormant thunder, charged with death,-a Christian preacher addresses the officers and crew. May his instructions carry strength and succor to their souls! But he cannot pronounce, in such a place, those highest words of the Master he professes, 'Blessed are the peace-makers,' 'Love your enemies,' 'Render not evil for evil.' Like Macbeth's 'Amen,' they must stick in his throat!"

Charles Sumner, a son of Charles Pinckney Sumner, the High Sheriff of Suffolk, was born in Boston, Jan. 6, 1811. His birth-place was on the location of the Bowdoin schoolhouse. He was fitted for college at the Boston Latin School, where he bore off the prizes for English composition and Latin poetry, besides the Franklin medal, at the end of his course. During this period he was a devoted student of history, often rising before daylight to read Hume and Gibbon. In allusion to youthful associations, Mr. Sumner once expressively remarked, "We incline, by a natural emotion, to the spot where we were born, to the fields which witnessed the sports of childhood, to the seat of youthful studies, and to the institutions under which we have been trained. The finger of God writes all these things, in indelible colors, on the heart of man; so that, in the dread extremities of death, he reverts, in fondness, to early associations, and longs for a draught of cold water from the bucket in his father's well." His father's family attended divine worship at Trinity Church; and, doubtless, the influ

ence of the rector, the late Rev. Dr. Gardiner, in the illustrations of catechetical instruction and learned pulpit discourse, contributed greatly to the moulding of his literary taste. How obvious is the warm love of his native city, where he exclaims, "Boston has always led the generous and magnanimous actions of our history. Boston led the cause of the Revolution. Here was commenced that discussion, pregnant with the independence of the colonies, which, at first occupying a few warm but true spirits only, finally absorbed all the best energies of the continent,—the eloquence of Adams, the patriotism of Jefferson, the wisdom of Washington. Boston is the home of noble charities, the nurse of true learning, the city of churches. By all these tokens she stands conspicuous, and other parts of the country are not unwilling to follow her example. Athens was called the eye of Greece,- Boston may be called the eye of America; and the influence which she exerts is to be referred, not to her size,— for there are other cities larger far,—but to her moral and intellectual character."

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Through the whole range of this work, we have alluded to the literary festival of commencement, whenever the occasion offered; and we cannot forbear citing a passage from Sumner to the point. "The ingenuous student, who has passed his term of years — a classical Olympiad amidst the restraints of the academy, in the daily pursuits of the lecture-room, observant of forms, obsequious to the college curfew, now renounces those restraints, heeds no longer the summoning bell, divests himself of the youthful gown, and here, under the auspices of Alma Mater, assumes the robe of manhood. At such a change, the mind and heart are open to receive impressions which may send their influence through remaining life. A seasonable word to-day may, peradventure, like an acorn dropped into a propitious soil, send upwards its invigorating growth, till its stately trunk, its multitudinous branches, and sheltering foliage, shall become an ornament and a protection of unspeakable beauty."

Mr. Sumner graduated at Harvard College in 1830, when he took a part in a conference on the Roman ceremonies, the system of the Druids, the religion of the Hindoos, and the superstition of the American Indians. After having devoted his mind to literary studies until 1831, he entered the Law School at Cambridge, where he was assiduous in the study of juridical science, never relying upon the text-books, but sought the original sources, read all the authorities and references, and made himself familiar with books of the common law, from the

Year Books, in uncouth Norman, down to the latest Reports. It was said that he could go into the law library, of which he was the librarian, and find any volume in the dark, when in their proper places. While still a pupil, he wrote several articles in the "American Jurist," which were creditable to his reputation. He read law for a period in the office of Benjamin Rand, a counsellor of Boston, and was admitted to the bar at Worcester in 1831, and forthwith commenced practice in Boston, 1834, when he was appointed Reporter of the Circuit Court, in which capacity he published three volumes, known as "Sumner's Reports." Before his admission to the bar, he became the principal editor of the "American Jurist," at which period he detected a curious error of so great a name in the law as Lord Chief Baron Comyns, repeated, also, by Chitty, with respect to the action of replevin. During the first three winters after his admission to the bar, while Judge Story was absent at Washington, he lectured to the law students at Cambridge, having the sole charge of Dane School, for part of the time, during the absence of Professor Greenleaf, and performed like duties during Judge Story's illness, in 1843. Mr. Sumner was the editor of "A Treatise on the Practice of the Courts of Admiralty in Civil Causes of Maritime Jurisdiction, by Andrew Dunlap," with a valuable appendix and indexes, amounting to more matter than the original treatise, published at Philadelphia, in 1836. This labor was attempted because of the illness of Mr. Dunlap, who work was completed, and stated, four days previous to his decease, that Mr. Sumner had worked over it "with the zeal of a sincere friend, and the accuracy of an excellent lawyer."

died before the

In the autumn of the year 1837, Mr. Sumner departed for Europe, where he remained until the spring of 1840. In order to show the estimate of his character extended by Judge Story, we here extract a passage from his letter of introduction, addressed to a gentleman in London,-James John Wilkinson, Esq.,- under date of Nov. 3, 1837:-"Mr. Sumner is a practising lawyer at the Boston bar, of very high reputation for his years, and already giving the promise of the most eminent distinction in his profession; his literary and judicial attainments are truly extraordinary. He is one of the editors indeed, the principal editor of the American Jurist,' a quarterly journal of extensive circulation and celebrity among us, and without a rival in America. He is also the reporter of the court in which I preside, and has already published two volumes of reports.