Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. IV.djvu/24

 6 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS Miller & Elam, which continued until it was dis solved by Gen. Harrison s election to the presi dency in 1888. While not always the senior in years, he was the senior in fact in every firm of which he was a member; such is the ungrudging testimony of all those who have been his partners. Though breaking the chronological order of events somewhat, it is as well to complete here the sketch of his professional career. He has been con cerned in the most important litigation in Indiana for nearly thirty years. He was employed in all sorts of cases, such as came to attorneys engaged in general practice before the era of professional specialists. The panorama of human life with all its disappointments and successes is unrolled before the busy lawyer who has such a practice. The exec utive devotion to special branches makes men strong in their lines ; it narrows them also, and the lawyer whose work has a wider range acquires greater breadth of view, a happy versatility, and a flex ibility of mind which enable him to pass from one subject to another without weariness and without distraction. Benjamin Harrison has amazed his associates in professional and official life by the ease and ability with which he despatches so much important business in a masterly style. For the exigencies of high station the discipline of his pro fessional life was an excellent preparation. As a lawyer he was thorough in the preparation and