Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 04.pdf/172

 Mr. yustice Bradley. sponsive, nor could any man have been more lcfyal in his attachments. To inferiors in station he was most considerate and kindly. The servants of his household would, as the phrase goes, "do anything in the world for him." Though it may not be said that he cared greatly for society, except so far as it brought him into the company of men and women of intellectual tastes, he liked to have his friends visit him, and he was delightful as a host. The pleasure his conversation afforded rendered him everywhere a welcome guest. Equipped as he was to talk well upon any conceivable topic, he was modest in sharing the conversation; for he had not about him a particle of display. He pos sessed a store of anecdote seemingly inex haustible, upon which he could draw to enliven the company. Nature had dealt bountifully with Mr. Justice Bradley, for to all the rest she had added that rarest of gifts, genuine humor. The next morning after a small dinner party that took place about a year ago, I wrote down a few notes of the conversation, to preserve something of what Mr. Justice Bradley had said. I print an extract, which may be relied upon, I think, as being almost his very words. Mr. Justice Bradley — we were speaking of juries — said he was once taken by the constable for a juryman. " I was walking one morning, rather plainly dressed, near the City Hall, when a man came up and said, ' Do you live in the District? ' I said, ' Yes.' ' Own property in the District? ' 'Yes, I do; but what's that to you?' 'Well,' he said, ' I want you to come with me.' ' What for?' ' I want you to serve on a jury; they are short of a juryman in there, and I 'm sent out to get one.' (This was only a short time after I had come to Washington.) 'How long will it take?' 'I don't know,' said he; 'it may take two or three days.' ' But I have n't time, I 'm busy.' ' Oh, they all say that; I don't accept any such excuse as that.' So I walked along a little way toward the building, as if I were going in. ' But I 've business to attend to,' said I. 'Oh, well, your business can wait.' ' No, it can't, — I 've got to

go to the Capitol; I 've important things to attend to there.' At first I had thought I would let him take me in, and then I would tip the wink to the Judge; but I concluded I would n't go so far as that, so I said to him : ' Are you in the habit of putting Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States in your jury-box?' 'Why, are you a Justice of the Supreme Court?' 'Yes,' said I. 'What name?' 'Bradley,' said I; and after I had told him, he concluded to let me go." Mr. Justice Bradley told this in a charmingly dramatic way. Mr Justice Bradley said that Davis used to tell a story that after he had sat a short while on the bench, Caleb Cushing argued a case. He made a learned argument with some extraordinary propo sitions in it. When the judges had retired, Davis said to the Chief-Justice (Taney), " Well, is that your famous Mr. Cushing? I don't think he makes much of a law argument." " Oh," said Taney, "you don't understand our brother Cushing. The fact is, Brother Cushing has no convictions." Bradley mentioned Cushing's going to New Jersey to ask the Court to reverse its decision, and permit the bill to be amended, and new mat ter stated, — all of which was unlawyerlike. He talked two or three hours; the Court went out, and in a few minutes returned, and overruled his motion. I asked him if he thought Cushing would have made a successful Chief-Justice had he been confirmed. "Well," said B., in a quizzical way, "had every thing shaped itself right, he might. The letter that was exhumed was made the pretext for reject ing him." B. thought Cushing's work in China was the best he ever did. B. spoke in high terms of a letter drafted by Mr. Webster on this occasion to the Emperor of the Celestial Empire, as being finely conceived, — about a page of type, — most admirable diplomatic paper. While at the bar in Newark it happened that several books out of his library, bor rowed by his intimate friend, Mr. Frelinghuysen, for a temporary purpose, had been detained rather longer than usual. The two lawyers met each other every day. Mr. Bradley gravely caused an advertisement to be conspicuously inserted in the daily news paper, headed " Lost or Stolen," and describ