practice met his indebtedness in full. His aversion to sharp practice under the guise of legal proceedings appears from this clause in the codicil annexed to his will : " I bought Mr. Shertz's property at sheriff's sale at much below its value. I only want my own, — all except three hundred dollars of the proceeds of it and the interest, I direct shall be re turned to the estate." In private life Stevens led a bachelor's existence, solitary and alone. He had no wife to grace his board, nor children to brighten his home. His social qualities were not marked. He was essentially a man of brains, not of the heart. Says Mr. Blaine : "He was disposed to be taciturn. A brilliant talker, he did not relish idle conversation. He was much given to reading, study, and reflection, and to the retirement which en abled him to gratify his tastes. As was said of Mr. Emerson, Mr. Stevens loved solitude and understood its uses." Nevertheless among his associates at the bar and in poli tics, his society was much sought after and enjoyed. His witty sarcasm and stinging ridicule gave a zest and pungency to his ob servations and criticisms upon contempora neous men and events that made them ir resistible. " He possessed the keenest wit, and was unmerciful in its use toward those whom he did not like. He illustrated in concrete form the difference between wit and humor. He did not indulge in the lat ter. He did not enjoy a laugh. When his sharp sallies would set the entire house in an uproar, he was impassive, his grim visage as solemn as if he were pronouncing a funeral oration." His distinctive individuality im pressed itself deeply upon the community and at the bar, where traces of his manners might still be recognized in others long after his death. His office was naturally sought by law students, attracted by his brilliance and the success attending his legal practice. In his demeanor toward younger men he was kind and generous. He encouraged and aided them. Charitable appeals of any kind found in him a generous and sympathetic as
sistance. But even his kindness was masked by his short answers and brusqueness of man ner. One aspirant for legal honors, afterward president judge of Lancaster County, wrote to Stevens with a view of locating in his office, inquiring terms, etc. He received the following laconic and characteristic letter in reply: — Dear Sir, — Have room; take students; terms, $200. Some pay : some don't. TlIADDEUS SlEVENS. Stevens had the culture and refinement which an intelligent course at an academical institution insures. He was a good classi cal scholar, well versed in ancient and modern literature and history. In his later years, however, he read few books. In Shakspeare, Dante, Homer, and Milton, and in the Scrip tures he found ample supplies for the grati fication of his literary tastes. He kept copies of these works constantly in his sleeping-room, where it was his habit to read in bed. Stevens's personal appearance, notwith standing the misfortune of a crippled foot, was impressive. His stature was of fine propor tion. His large head, with sharply chiselled features; the small, deeply sunken eyes; the wide, firm mouth, and square, massive jaws, — all gave abundant evidence of his able, stern, and fearless- character. In court his stalwart form and grim countenance were the central figure of a scene always more or less picturesque. Those who have wit nessed such a scene must retain their im pression of it forever. The words descriptive of Buonarotti's statue of the " Great Law giver of the Israelites," although rather intense, do not seem unfitting as applied to the Great Commoner : " There is a grandeur, a self-consciousness, a feeling as if the thun der of heaven were at his disposal; yet he brings himself into subjection before he would unchain it; waiting to see whether the foes whom he intends to annihilate will venture to attack him. Such a man could
