Page:Men of Mark in America vol 1.djvu/460

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352
WILLIAM PIERCE FRYE

easily in reach of men of his attainment in the profession of law; but readiness for public service at personal cost seems to have been a paramount trait inherited from his ancestors of Colonial and Revolutionary times. He had himself experienced no early struggles against poverty either to gain a living or to acquire an education. He selected the profession of law through personal preference and received his instruction from one of the ablest lawyers in the state of Maine, learning law and at the same time studying statesmanship in the life of his teacher. In making legislation a profession he brought to his aid an established reputation for courteous fairness and a firm and well developed character that made him in the halls of congress a typical representative, senator and presiding officer. Like many other sons of the Pine Tree state, he has found his relaxation from study and the cares of official life in casting the fly on the numerous trout brooks that have made Maine noted, and in hunting both small and large game in its well stocked forests.