facts which resulted in the publication of "The Life and Writings of B. R. Curtis," his father; and in the following year he edited "The Jurisdiction, Practice, and Peculiar Jurisdiction of the Courts of the United States,"—a work which has had peculiar interest for all lawyers. He was appointed a lecturer in Harvard, with especial reference to the foregoing named subject, in 1881; and in 1885 he edited the eleventh volume of Myer's "Federal Decisions." He was appointed to a position on the bench of the Municipal Court of Boston in April, 1886.
Ex-Chief-Justice John Appleton, of Maine, died in Bangor, February 7. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1822. Mr. Appleton was appointed a reporter of decisions in 1884, justice on the Supreme Bench in 1852; and ten years later he was raised to the first place, and filled it with such honor to himself and the State that he was reappointed in 1869 and again in 1876. In August, 1883, he retired, being then seventy-nine years old. He continued his law practice, how ever, until 1885, when he became an invalid. Judge Appleton was a ceaseless worker, and when not hearing cases was in his study actively at work upon some legal question. His name and works are continuous in the Maine Reports for about half a century, and during his justiceship he disposed of more cases than any other Maine judge. Many important statutory changes in the laws of evidence and other branches of jurisprudence resulted from his efforts. "Appleton on Evidence," 1860, is a standard law-book. He was the father of the now common law allowing criminals to testify in their own behalf, and the author of the world-famous decision that the dog is a domestic animal.
Paul West, one of the best known of the younger lawyers of the Boston Bar, died on February 3. He was born in Nantucket, August 24, 1846. His early life was spent in the service of the Tudor Ice Company, and in the course of his employment he visited almost every country in the civilized world. Abandoning mercantile life, he devoted himself to the study of the law, and was admitted to the Suffolk Bar. Endowed with great natural ability, he soon made for himself a name in his chosen profession, and entered upon a successful career which has been cut short by his untimely death.
Judge Benjamin Frederick Trimble, one of the ablest jurists of Mississippi, died in Carrollton, January 18. He was a son of Judge William Trimble, and was born in Florence, Ala., in 1830, being at the time of his death m his sixty-first year. Judge Trimble came from a line of distinguished jurists, many of whom have left an unfading impress on the jurisprudence of America. His great-uncle, Judge Robert Trimble, sat with Marshall and Story on the Supreme Bench of the United States. Two others of his great-uncles occupied the position of United States circuit and district judges. His father was Commonwealth Attorney in Kentucky; and his grandfather, Judge James Trimble, with whom he read law at Raymond, Miss., was an eminent lawyer. Judge Trimble was admitted to the bar in 1854. In 1868 he was appointed circuit judge, which position he held two years. In 1876 he was again appointed to the same office by Governor Stone, and was reappointed by Governor Lowry in 1882. He was named for judge of the Supreme Court, but declined the appointment on account of his strong friendship for Judge Chalmers. Judge Trimble was remarkable for the native strength and depth and wonderful grasp of his brilliant intellect. Nature had richly endowed him, and it is said of him that he needed no reference to adjudged cases to render a correct and impartial judgment.
Hon. Bainbridge Wadleigh died in Boston, January 24. He was born in Bradford, N. H., Jan. 4, 1831. At the age of fourteen years he was prepared for college under private tuition and at Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, N. H.; but his health, which had always been delicate, compelled him to give up his studies and spend two years in outdoor life. In January, 1847, he began the study of law in the office of Hon. M. W. Tappan, of Bradford, late Attorney-General of New Hampshire. There he spent three years in careful training, both of mind and body. In February, 1850, when only nineteen years of age, he was admitted to the New Hampshire Bar at Newport, and immediately began the practice of law at Milford, N. H., where he has since made his
