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 The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. what pitiful value was attached to his ser vices by the parvenus who manipulated politics. He could not help them to their illicit cakes and ale, and was therefore what is now called a "back number." Judge Porter says that on assuming his seat " he seemed like a noble bird that had been by some unexpected event thrown into a strange flock." One more anecdote, and

with Gibson as a man we have done. At the United States Hotel in Philadelphia some one had an airgun, and after mid night, when the peo ple were in bed, he and a certain judge used to shoot at a mark thirty feet range. One night the ancient shooter of black squir rels emerged from his bedroom, took thegun, and beat them both. He died here on Tues day, May 3, 1853. His successor wrote his epitaph.

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for the position he held. An epigrammatic sentence or an amazing paradox was an attrac tion he could not resist. Kind-hearted and amiable, it was almost impossible not to be attracted to him; and it may be censorious to point out any of his defects, though they have had a lasting effect for evil upon the Com monwealth. It is well known (at least the tradition is as well authenticated as anything of the kind can be) that when on the death of C. J. Tilghman the number of the Supreme Bench was increased to five, there was an arrange ment or understand ing between the Ex ecutive and the Leg islature that the two new members would be Mr. Binney and Mr. Baldwin (afterwards an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States). The former was to be Chief - Justice. In place of this, Mr. Bin ney was offered a com The following para mission as Associate, graphs about Chiefand Mr. Rogers was Justice Gibson have appointed. The loss SILAS M. CLARK been written expressly of these men to our for this article by one jurisprudence can of the elder members of the bar, to whom scarcely be appreciated. the author desires to record his thanks. A familiar story told by Gibson of himself, The late Chief-Justice (Gibson), the last which, alas! was literally true, illustrates his of the persons selected for the position, has character as a judge; but the astonishing been quite conspicuous. Since then, the thing is that one hears it repeated as if it community has preferred a pale uniformity, were a mere piece of pleasantry. He claimed and deprived itself of the capacity to tempt to have arrived at the perfection of judicial the best fitted to take the exalted office conduct by being able to appear to give pro at the expense of the surrender of mere found attention and not hear a word. What emolument. would be thought of a juryman who after ver Gibson was a man of enormous frame, bril dict of guilty of murder made this boast? liant as a writer, and concealing thereby the And is there a distinction in the judge's very remarkable defects of a powerful mind favor? It is little less astonishing that the