Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 31.djvu/215

 Sketch of Capt. Don P. Halsey. 207

the same year in which he died. He is still survived by his widow and four sons. ,

In appearance Captain Halsey was exceedingly prepossessing, be- ing tall fully six feet and well proportioned, carrying himself with soldierly grace and erectness. His features were noble and intel- lectual, and his manners those of the Virginia gentleman of the old school, as courtly and polished as natural kindness of heart and cul- tivated refinement of mind could make them.

As a lawyer he was able, learned and conservative, safe in counsel and sound in opinion, carrying weight with both court and jury for his strong reasoning and clear expression of legal principles. As a draughtsman of legal papers he was a master, while in the court room or office, wherever professional duty might call him, he ever evinced the broad learning and painstaking accuracy which made him one of the most accomplished lawyers of the bars at which he practiced. He made no pretensions as an orator, but there were few speakers who could excel him in the forcible and convincing ex- pression of his views on any topic, legal, political or literary, while his powers of logic and polished purity of diction were such as to enable him to successfully compete in any forum or intellectual gath- ering.

In conclusion, the writer feels impelled, not only in filial pride and devotion, but as the mature judgment of his mind, to say of him as Hamlet said of his father:

" He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again."

DON P. HALSEY (]R.)