light on the case itself, and illuminates, at times, other and unsuspected fields of law. A few examples, taken almost at random, will perhaps, give point to the suggestion. Planché v. Colburn, 1831, 8 Bingham 14, de cided that an author might waive the con tract on the refusal of the defendant to pub lish his work and sue in a quantum mentit for work and labor. The book in question was one upon Costume and Ancient Armor. On turning to Planché in the Dictionary of Na tional Biography, vol. xlv., p. 395, it will be seen that Planché is the author of The History of British Costumes, published in 1834, which has been of great service to Eng lish historical painters-. The short biograph ical account of Planché contains two items of interest. "In 1823 on the revival of 'King John' at Drury Lane by Charles Kemble, Planché, after making historical re searches, designed the dresses and superin tended the production of the drama gra tuitously. This was the first occasion of an historical drama being brought out with dresses of the period of its action." Then again quoting from the same sketch it ap pears that "an unauthorized production .(of Planché's 'Charles XII.') led to the ap pointment of a select parliamentary commit tee on dramatic literature and to the passing on ID June, 1833, of the act 3, William IV, c. 15, giving protection to dramatic authors." Take another instance. Wheaton v. Peters, 1834, 8 Peters, 591, is a very leading case in the law of copyright, in which the author's right s at common law and under statute are carefully considered. The plain tiff was the illustrious Henry Wheaton, lawyer, diplomatist and leading author ity on international law. He was Judge Peter's immediate predecessor as reporter of the United States Supreme Court (Carson's History of the Supreme Court of the United States, pp. 620-623) ancl the dispute arose from Judge Peter's alleged illegal use of mat ter for which Wheaton thought—erroneous ly as it turned out—that he had secured the copyright. Wheaton's name suggests that of his commentator, William Beach Lawrence,
at one time our charge d'affaires in London, later lieutenant and acting governor of Rhode Island (who figures in two wellknown cases: Hall r. Lawrence, 1852, 2 R. I. 218, and Lawrence v. Dana, 1869. Fed. Cases, vol. 8, 136. . . . Dana was no less a man than the late Richard Henry Dana, Jr., known in literature as the author of Tivo Years Before the Mast; To Cuba and Back, and "the only Massachusetts advocate," Sen ator Hoar says, "who ever encountered Rufus Choate on equal terms." The judgment in Lawrence г'. Dana, while it did not enjoin, practically prevented the reissue of Dana's edition of Yheaton—a great loss to students of international law. (Adams' Dana, Vol. П., pp. 282-327; 390-402.) In still an other case—Merivale i'. Carson, 1887, L. R. 20 Q. B. Div. 275, the plaintiff's name sug gests a family well known in literary circles. So much for the parties to the action. It is scarcely necessary to state that the date of the action is of great importance for the law of last century, indeed of the past decade, may not be law today. Like every organic growth it obeys the law of social and legal evolution. The names of the lawyers lend a personal interest to the case—at least to students and practitioners. A case in which Hamilton, Pinkney and Wirt, Jeremiah Mason, Web ster and Choate appeared is really interesting from that fact alone; but to the student this fact of itself means that the case was carefully argued and every aid offered the court that the wit and ingenuity of man could advance or devise. In the same way cases in which the names of William M. Evarts and Charles O'Connor—notably Lemmon v. The People. 1860, 20 N. У. 562—and the more recent cases in which Messrs. Olney and John C. Gray, Carter, Choate and Edward M. Shepard figure as the lawyers, mean that no p^int or authority bearing on the issue was over looked. In the same way English cases in which Hardwicke (Yorke). Eldon (Scott), Romilly, Westbury (Bethell), and Cairns ap pear as attorneys of record have a peculiar interest in themselves and offer the guaran
