Secretary Richardson had refused an offer, very tempting in a pecuniary point of view, to become a member of a large banking house in London. But when an oppor tunity presented for him to go upon the Bench of the United States' Court of Claims for life, his devotion to legal studies and practice overcame every other consideration; and he resigned the office of secretary of the treasury. His nomination as judge of the United States Court of Claims was con firmed by the Senate, June 4, 1874. Judge Richardson was then fifty-two years of age, and for twenty-two years he performed the duties of the court with signal judicial ability and sterling integrity. It is said to have been " an accession that obviously strength ened the court." After a period of eleven years of faithful devotion to duty as judge of the court of claims, he was appointed chief justice of the court. Upon the retirement of Chief Justice Drake, President Arthur sent to the United States Senate the name of William Adams Richardson to be chief justice of the court of claims, and the nomination was confirmed January 20, 1885. This was his fifth appointment as judge for life. 1. Judge of Probate for the County of Middlesex, Mass., 1856: 2. Judge of Probate and In solvency forthesamecounty, 1858 : 3. Judge of the Superior Court of Massachusetts, 1869 (declined): 4. Judge of the United States Court of Claims, 1874: and later, Chief Justice of that court, 1885. He was punctuality itself. During his period of twenty-three years upon the bench
in the court of claims, he never missed a day in attendance on the sessions, except during a week's confinement at home from an accident. His taste was not the modern one for games; his chief exercise was walk ing. He had made nineteen trips across the Atlantic, but he certainly was not idle in any of these. His biographer says, " An intense love of labor was the key-note of his character." In the summer of 1896 he had in England a slight stroke of paralysis. He returned home, where an illness of two weeks terminated his life, October 19, 1896. In the choice of his biographer Judge Richardson showed his characteristic in sight and sagacity. This book has great excellence in a department of literature open to very frequent criticism. It is well known that several persons of genius have left requests that their memoirs should not be written; and although these have gener ally been disregarded, the reasonableness of the command has been thereby justified! The authorcalls this " a fragmentary sketch," but it would not be so designated by any reader. It is a clear, consecutive narrative of a remarkable life and character, without one waste, obscure, or tedious sentence, holdingsustained interestthroughout. Stroke by stroke, the picture stands out in all the life-likeness of a portrait. A copious appendix, consisting of reso lutions and memorial tributes to Chief Jus tice Richardson by distinguished men; lists of his published works, offices held, collegi ate degrees conferred, and other facts, add to the interest and value of the volume.
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