that is more lovable, companionable, and profitable, in social intercourse, than is Charles Sumner."

In writing to Mr. Sumner, while enjoying such advantages in England, Judge Story says in a letter, dated August 11, 1838:

"I have received all your letters, and have devoured them with unspeakable delight. All the family have heard them read aloud, and all join in their expressions of pleasure. You are now exactly where I should wish you to be,―among the educated, the literary, the noble, and, though last, not least, the learned of England, of good old England, our mother-land, God bless her! Your sketches of the bar and bench are deeply interesting to me, and so full that I think I can see them in my mind's eye. I must return my thanks to Mr. Justice Vaughan for his kindness to you; it has gratified me beyond measure, not merely as a proof of his liberal friendship, but of his acuteness and tact in the discovery of character. It is a just homage to your own merits. Your Old Bailey speech was capital, and hit, by stating sound truths, in the right way.'

The most flattering attentions were shown to Mr. Sumner by distinguished members of the English bar and the bench, and while attending the courts at Westminster Hall, he was frequently

invited by the judges to sit by their side at the trials.

"At the meeting of the British Scientific Association, he experienced the same flattering attentions. In town and country, he moved freely in society, to which intelligence and refinement, wealth and worth, lend every charm and grace. Nor did the evidence of such respect and confidence pass away with his presence. Two years after his return from England, the Quarterly Review, alluding to his visit, stepped aside to say: ‘He presents, in his own person, a decisive proof that an American gentleman, without official rank or wide-spread reputation, by mere dint of courtesy, candor, an entire absence of pretension, an appreciating spirit, and a cultivated mind, may be received on a perfect footing of equality in the best circles-social, political, and intellectual; which, be it observed, are hopelessly inaccessible to the itinerant note-taker, who never gets beyond the outskirts of the show-houses.' Eight years later yet, he received a compliment, which, from an English bench, is of the rarest occurrence. On an insurance question, before the Court of Exchequer, one of the counsel having cited an American case, Baron Parke, the ablest of the English judges, asked him what book he quoted. He replied, 'Sumner's Reports.' Baron Rolfe

said, 'Is that the Mr. Sumner who was once in England?' On receiving a reply in the affirmative, Baron Parke observed, 'We shall not consider it entitled to the less attention because reported by a gentleman whom we all knew and respected.' Not long ago, some of Mr. Sumner's estimates of war expenses were quoted by Mr. Cobden, in debate, in the House of Commons."

In Paris he was received with the same cordiality as in England, and was speedily admitted to a familiar intercourse with the highest intellectual classes.

"He attended the debates of the Chamber of Deputies, and the lectures of all the eminent professors in different departments, at the Sorbonne, at the College of France, and particularly in the Law School. He became personally acquainted with several of the most eminent jurists-with Baron Degerando, renowned for his works on charity; with Pardessus, at the head of commercial law; with Fœlix, editor of the 'Review of Foreign Jurisprudence;' and other famous men. He attended a whole term of the Royal Court at Paris, observing the forms of procedure; received kindness from the judges, and was allowed to peruse the papers in the cases. His presence at some of these trials was noticed in the reports in the law journals."

While residing in Paris, he became intimately acquainted with General Cass, the American minister, at whose request he wrote a masterly defence of the American claim to the northeastern boundary, which was received with much favor by our citizens, and republished in the leading journals of the day.

In Italy, Mr. Sumner devoted himself with the greatest ardor to the study of art and literature, and read many of the best works of that classic land, on history, politics, and poetry. In Germany, he was also received with that high regard which is justly paid to distinguished talent and transcendent genius. Here he formed an intimate acquaintance with those eminent jurists, Savigny, Thibaut, and Mittermaier. He was kindly received by Prince Metternich, and became acquainted with most of the professors at Heidelberg, and with many other individuals distinguished in science and literature, as Humboldt, Ranke, Ritter, &c.

With his mind richly stored with learning, Mr. Sumner returned from Europe in 1840. On reaching Boston, he met with a cordial reception, and immediately resumed the practice of his profession in his native city. He, however, did not engage in an extensive legal practice, as his chief attention at this time was turned to the science or lite

rature of the law, a subject which, to Mr. Sumner, has always been invested with peculiar charms.

In 1843 he again occupied the chair as lecturer at the Cambridge Law School. In 1844-6 he edited an edition of Vesey's Reports in twenty volumes. This was a great undertaking, but was ably executed. The critical and explanatory notes which he contributed to the work, and the biographical sketches of eminent lawyers introduced, were exceedingly useful, and tended greatly to enhance the value of the original production. In noticing this work, the Boston Law Reporter speaks in the highest terms of the extensive professional resources of Mr. Sumner, and of the rare legal knowledge which he displayed in his editorial labors. It says:

"Wherever the occasion offers itself, the editorial note has been expanded, till it assumes something of the port and stature of a brief legal dissertation, in which the topics are discussed in the assured manner of one who feels that his foot is planted on familiar ground, and whose mind is so saturated with legal knowledge, that it readily pours it forth at the slightest pressure, reminding us of those first 'sprightly runnings' of the winepress extracted by no force but the mere weight of the grapes. Mr. Sumner has also introduced a new element into his notes. We allude to his bio