Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 15.pdf/346

 И/illiam Pinkney. court as special minister to demand indem nity for the seizure and confiscation of Amer ican merchant ships in 1809. He was then to proceed to St. Petersburg as Minister Plenipotentiary to the court of Russia. Mr. Pinkney landed at Naples in July, 1816, and after several months spent in fruitless conferences and discussions, pro ceeded to visit Rome and some of the princi pal Italian cities, stopping thereafter at Vi enna and Berlin. His immediate departure for St. Petersburg was delayed on account of a slight diplomatic question concerning the trial of a Russian consul in Philadelphia, and it was not till the early part of 1817 that he reached the Russian capital. His recep tion here was in every way agreeable, and he found in the Russian court and society ample opportunity for the keen observation in which he delighted. His stay in Russia was, however, comparatively short. On ac count of ill health he had asked for his recall before leaving Italy, and when the recall came in 1818 he joyfully returned for the third and last time to his best-loved manner of life. During the closing years of hid career he constantly practised with the same faithful ness and ardor before the Supreme Court, and from the fourth of January, 1820, till his death represented Maryland in the United .States Senate. It was at this time, in the Senate, that he delivered one of the most powerful of the speeches of his life against the clause prohibiting slavery in the bill to admit Missouri to the Union. He kept up his professional and political inter ests with unabated vigor till, prostrated by overwork and excitement in the preparation înd delivery of an argument before the Su preme Court, he was attacked by the sick ness, which, in a brief space, proved fatal.

305

His death on the twenty-fifth of February, 1822, was a sorrow and shock to his all associates. Mr. Harper, Mr. Webster, Mr. Clay, Mr. Marshall, and the most prominent men of the day recalled and eulogized his remarkable powers and rare qualities. The Supreme Court, the Senate, and the House of Representatives attended his funeral and passed resolutions. Evidences of the respect in which he was held were general in his own State and throughout the whole coun try. Mr. Pinkney achieved a reputation as a statesman, and his kindly courtesy and pleas ant manners won the affection of those with whom he came in contact, but his great aim in life was neither political nor personal pop ularity. With him distinction as a lawyer was the one and worthy goal, and his pro fessional life reveals most clearly the ele ments of his success. The best characteriza tion of him was that of a distinguished law yer who said of him, "that he did not believe that he ever undertook a cause, however in significant it might be, without entering into it, as it were, with his whole soul, and man aging it as if his whole professional reputa tion were at stake upon the issue. It was his pride and passion never to appear in court, but after having; entirely mastered the busi ness which he was to transact. Sleep, exer cise, the pleasures of society, he was always ready to renounce, rather than hazard the loss of an inch of the ground which he had gained, or seem at any moment unequal to his reputation." -His sterling traits of mind and character, and his passionate love for his profession achieved for him a lasting success which justifies his reputation as one of the foremost lawyers the United States has ever produced.