"to the manner born," and his charges to the jury are interesting for clearness of statement and fairness in presenting the contentions of each side. His summing up in a recent capital case, in a trial which lasted upwards of ten days, disclosed an unrivaled power of memory and that did not require a reference to any minutes of the testimony. . His opinions in the law court are gener ally dictated to a stenographer. In point of language their style and composition demonstrate the fact that directness, clear ness, force and ease may thus be obtained, even if with the possible loss of the glow of composition that so much delights the writer. There is, however, an advantage in this method, provided one has carefully matured in his mind what he intends to say. He rids himself of a vast amount of me chanical drudgery, economizes his time, and in the same time disposes of more work. It has also another and singular quality,— one by which I first discovered that the Judge dictated his opinions, — it conveys to the reader the sound of the voice of the person dictating if you arc familiar with it. The tones of the voice are perceptible to the mental ear, and I observed this in the first case of his that came to my hands as Re porter of Decisions. The clear soprano tone of his voice was perceptible to me at once. The labor-saving stenographer has come to stay. His influence upon us must, in the main, be highly beneficial, whatever it may be upon poetry and purity of style. Nothing but the fixed habit of manual composition, incident to years, prevents its general adop tion in all literary occupation. His first opinion, Mitchell v. Abbott, 86 Maine, 338, is a somewhat curious one by reason of the peculiar facts embodied in it. It was an action against the trustees of the Dexter Savings Bank to recover a reward of one thousand dollars, offered by those offi cers for the detection of the murderers of the treasurer, Barron, of that bank. Barron
was murdered February 22, 1878, and the offer of reward, without any limit as to its duration, signed by President Bradbury, was made the following day. This action was not brought until after the lapse of nearly fifteen years from the date of the offer of the reward. It was admitted that the murderers, Stain and Cromwell, were convicted of the crime and sentenced to prison for life on March 31,1 890. An in teresting question arose, which the counsel argued fully, whether the defendants were personally liable; but the court did not consider it necessary to consider it, and held that, in view of the time which had elapsed between the offer and the conviction, a withdrawal or revocation of the offer must be presumed to have occurred before it had been accepted. In a recent case, Norway Savings Bank v. Merriam, to appear in the 88th Maine, Judge Wiswell has written a satisfying opinion upon that branch of the law relating to deposits "in trust," and which have given the courts not a little trouble and resulted in decisions in some States, not easily recon ciled with each other. The opinion helps clear up some of the uncertainties, and makes plain that gifts in such form, to be sustained in equity, must be based on an in tention of the donor, accompanied by a de claration of the trust. It will furnish an admirable guide for savings bank officers, and serve as an oft-cited case for the profession. It has already been commended by treasur ers of banks who have had experience in such matters and who have called for ad vanced copies of it. Those little lights and shades which enter into the full picture of a man do not require much more to be said. He is agreeable at all times, and of a companionable disposi tion. He enjoys a good story, is a good listener and a great reader. In conversation he draws information from others as well as imparting it, and his manner is that of a quiet raconteur.
