EULOGY OF DANIEL M. CHRISTIE.
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��ence for the bench, and was loftily above the meanness of attempting to influence the Court improperly, or to secure its approval of his views by any other means than the soundness of his argu- ment and the justice of his cause. No man ever more scrupulously kept the oath, and every part of it, which the attorney of the Court takes when he assumes the duties of his office.
He employed his efforts and influence to raise and purify the character of the profession. " ancient as magistracy and necessary as justice;" and no maxim was more insisted upon by him than that which " holds every man a debtor to his profession, from the which as men of course do seek to receive countenance and profit, so ought they of duty to endeavor themselves by way of amends to be a help and ornament thereunto." I know whereof I speak, because personal obser- vation has taught me, that he never pros- tituted his great powers to improper or even questionable purposes. In those delicate questions of professional duty which arise in every extended practice, he gave the doubt against his own in- terest. There were classes of cases, especially certain defences, in which, in- fluenced by high views of public morality and policy, he invariably refused to accept a retainer, without, however, im- puting anything improper or unprofes- sional to others who entertained opinions and adopted practices less fastidious in that regard. Nothing would induce him to appear in any capacity which could be construed into an apology for certain offences against the law. In this I am aware that he differed toto ccelo from other lawyers not less eminent, and not less honorable, perhaps, than himself — and I only mention it as a certain proof of his high and scrupulous character as an advocate, and that he thought the duties of good citizenship were para- mount to every personal consideration. He believed a lawyer's honor was his brightest jewel, and to be kept unsullied, even by the breath of suspicion. He was straightforward, honorable and sin- cere to the last degree. He had no covert or indirect ways. He had no arts but manly arts; and sooner than any
��man I ever knew would I select him as a model to be imitated in this respect.
There is one thing which, at the risk of being tedious, I wish specially to note to-day, and which I feel called upon to say in behalf of the many men who have sat at the feet of this Gamaliel of the law. In the name of all the generations of his students I wish to bear testimony that in the relation of master and pupil he was one of the most instructive, en- tertaining, kind and indulgent men in the world. In his office the austerity which he wore in public largely disap- peared. The bow was unbent, and his treatment of his students, without dis- tinction of persons, was marked by a uniform high courtesy, respect, and familiar unrestraint. He was ever ready to pour out his knowledge, the matured fruits of his experience and labor, in copious streams of delightful talk and reminiscence, in which he brought back vividly before the listener the varied in- cidents of his long professional career, his contests at the bar, his personal recollections of great men. and the cir- cumstances attending the settlement, one by one, of the main principles of our jurisprudence. At such times, when the springs of his rich and inexhaustible memory were unlocked, he would come nearer to neglecting business and clients than on any other occasion, as he turned aside to linger with the scenes that came trooping from the chambers of the past. No one, I venture to say, who has ever enjoyed the rare privilege of being his pupil will fail to appreciate and endorse what I now say, and to recall some hours thus spent as among the most valuable and best of his life. He treated his young men with a kindly interest, with helpfulness, and indulgence towards weak- ness, inexperience and ignorance of the law, and followed them through life with an affectionate regard, never hearing any good of them without rejoicing, nor any ill without sorrow and incredulity. These generous offices entitle him, so far as every one of them is concerned, to a lasting remembrance of the heart — to a personal attachment, admiration and veneration which never failed him in life, and is testified to-day by the sincere
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