his own county was Luke Hall, subsequently Chief Justice of the State. At this period Justices of the Peace in Vermont had a large civil jurisdiction, which was final when under a certain amount of damages, consequently there was in these Justices' Courts a great deal of petty litiga tion. The future Senator and the embryo Chief Justice often met in these courts, where the discussions were not in general adapted to soften exacting dispositions nor to soothe acrimonious feelings, and the pair were in a perpetual feud that did not even permit of their speaking to each other. Soon after Mason entered his orifice, Gen eral Bradley, finding it necessary to transact some business at a distance on a court day, requested Mr. Mason to attend to his mat ters, which the latter undertook with much reluctance. Mr. Hall expected this would be much to his advantage in a case in which Bradley was the opposing counsel, but Mason proved the winner. General Bradley was much gratified at this evidence of his pupil's ability, and said to him that his own engagements were now so numerous and important that he could not attend personally to these petty causes and he forthwith proposed to give Mr. Mason the whole charge and management of all the business before the Justices' Courts, with all the fees in litigated cases, and one half the income (taxed costs) in those not litigated. This was a very advantageous arrangement for a student who desired money more than erudition, and Mr. Mason earnestly desired to relieve his father of the burden of his sup port; but all such practice must be detri mental to the judicial system. Mason him self has said that it was a proposal " grossly improper " for a lawyer to make or for a stu dent to accept. However, accept it he did, and using his own words, " launched out on a sea of pettifogging." After a year and eight months in this place he applied for admission to the bar, General Bradley (as he learned later) being
his most strenuous opponent. The rules re quired two years of study in the State, but the matter was decided on the principle of equity, and he was admitted in June, about three months previous to his admission in New Hampshire. For the year and a half in which he acted for General Bradley in the Justices' Courts he had done a considerable business. He says of himself in this position, " I knew very little law, but that was the less neces sary, as most of my opponents knew not much more, and the Judges I addressed, none at all." Soon after his admission to the Vermont bar he began to think favorably of New Hampshire as a place to commence practice on his own account. Vermont, he says, was under some reproach for the manner of her separation from New York, a large propor tion of the people were poor, and the courts and the bar inferior in tone to those of New Hampshire. He had become acquainted with the several members of the bar in the county of Cheshire, N. H., who assured him that there would be no objection to his admission. Perhaps the result was attained the more easily from his purchase of the farm of Col onel Moore, a lawyer who desired to move to another part of the country. Small professional business flowed in upon him in great abundance in his new location, two hundnid and two suits having been com menced by him in the Court of Common Pleas during his first year, besides a vast num ber of writs returnable before Justices of the Peace; yet, during the third year the num ber of suits was only two hundred and fiftyseven. The cause of this immediate popu larity was the good reputation he had brought with him, together with his course at the out set of his residence here. Thinking himself very kindly treated by the bar, in his admission without conditions, Mr. Mason gave them a fine supper. It was presided over at his request by Judge Champney, of New Ipswich, who, at the close of the
