The
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Communications in regard to the contents of the Magazine should be addressed to the Editor, Thos. Tileston Baldwin, 1038 Exchange Building, Boston, Mass. The Editor will be glad to receive contributions of it appears that, by one eminent writer at least, articles of moderate length upon subjects of in the " meagrely tilled " fields to which Mr. terest to the profession; also anything in the Cook calls attention have not been neglected .way of legal antiquities or curiosities, facetia, wholly. But in Mr. Curtis's classification Ells anecdotes, etc. worth himself is consigned to the " also ran" Conundrums, both in the asking and in the class of " men of note and influence in their answering, have a certain fascination for the respective States." legal mind; which is, perchance, the reason We can agree, indeed, with Mr. Cook in his why a scholarly writer, Frank Gaylord Cook, proposition that " the perspective of multiplying Esq., of the Boston bar, winds up an interest years " was necessary for the perception of the ing article on Oliver Ellsworth, in the April quality of Ellsworth's work; but that the judg Atlantic Monthly, in this fashion : ment of the present or of a later age will give "Why is it, then, that Oliver Ellsworth has Ellsworth a higher relative place than was as received so little attention from biographers and signed him by his contemporaries seems im historians? He was not born in Massachusetts probable. Rather he seems to have been one of or in Virginia. In Connecticut, as in Penn those fortunate individuals who did good work sylvania, the historic field has been meagrely in his time and generation, and reaped at least tilled. Moreover, the dramatic and opportune his full reward from the hands of the men of his quality of his work has been perceived only own time. But his contemporary fame seems through the perspective of multiplying years." to lack staying-power. The first of these answers strikes us as in Mr. Cook's suggestion, however, that Ells genious rather than convincing. It seems to worth " be called one of the fathers of American imply a literary boycott of such of our early federation," is to be commended. For if he be statesmen and public men as could not show so classed, certainly some fifteen or twenty other the union label denoting birth in Massachusetts members of the Constitutional Convention of or Virginia; or perhaps it implies nothing more 1787 have a fair claim to recognition as sharers than that these two Commonwealths have had in the same paternity; and in this age of rapidly the advantage, for a hundred years, of an enter increasing " sons " and " daughters," to say prising publicity bureau. There are, however, nothing of socially-warring " dames," it is no certain difficulties in accepting either of these more than decent caution to provide a liberal views. If either of them be true, how, for ex number of " fathers." ample, does it happen — to speak only of mem The fact is, however( that the ability shown bers of the Constitutional Convention — that by Ellsworth in the Constitutional Convention George Ticknor Curtis, in his " History of the was that rather of the tactful politician than of Constitution," when mentioning the fifteen most the statesman. A recent writer 1 in The Green important and influential men in the Convention, Bag, in speaking of Ellsworth's work in the names but six sons of Massachusetts and Vir Convention, notes " how absolutely wrong the ginia (or only five, if Franklin be not in future Chief Justice was upon almost every cluded), and nine sons, by birth or adoption, question." " He had," says Mr. Jones, " two of the other States? Indeed, of the fifteen, fixed ideas : the limitation of the national power, three — the two Morrises and Franklin — were 1 Francis R. Jones, Esq., of the Boston Bar. " Oliver members from Pennsylvania, and Roger Sher Ellsworth"; The Green Bag, Vol. XIII, No. 11; man came from Ellsworth's own State; so that November, 2901.
