table in a roar, would make us shed tears, if we had tears to shed. So great is this difference that it seems to amount to more than a difference of taste. The truth is that scholasticism had totally vitiated the human mind; form had superseded substance; the object of language was neither to express nor conceal thought; not to convince the understanding, nor yet to persuade the heart; but was simply to astound and mystify the hearer by a maze of ingenious paradoxes, a train of audacious sophistries; and the speaker or the writer was admired only as an acrobat is admired, for his feats of skill, with but little regard to the utility of his efforts. Where want of space forbids a resort to proof we must venture, as a well-grounded opinion, that in point of decorum, learning and integrity, the bar contained a greater number of creditable examples than any other rank or calling in society. Pierre Flotte, a lawyer, was excommunicated by the pope, Boniface VIII., as being "one-eyed of body, and totally blind of spirit" (Semi-videns corpore menteque totaliter excæcatus); but this was only for maintaining the laws against the encroachments of the Holy See. Another lawyer, Yves de Kermartin, was canonized by another pope for the good deeds done while in the flesh. He is the only lawyer, it is said, who ever attained to that posthumous honor; he is known in the calendar as St. Yves, and is the patron saint of the French bar. History transmits the names of many lawyers of this early period, who were no less beloved and respected for their integrity and virtue, than renowned for their learning and elo quence. After the discovery, or reported discovery, of the Pandects at Amalfi, the study of the civil law was pursued with all the zeal which marked the restoration of learning; and then arose the great teachers of the law who mapped out the plan of ancient and modern legal science. Among these, and of the first, was Alciat, a Milanese by birth, but by adoption a Frenchman, who first clothed the law with the elegance of polite literature, and who prepared the way for Cujas, the only lawyer to whose name the epithet of great has ever been permanently attached. Devoting his life exclusively to the study of the Roman law, possessing a vast genius for scholarship, Cujas is supposed to have attained a proficiency in this branch of learning which has never been equalled in modern times. His habit was to lie at full length on the floor, poring over some volume or manuscript of the law. Vast throngs of students followed him wherever he went. As he spoke of nothing but his favorite science, and never on the subject of religion, he was suspected of being a Calvinist. Being asked one day, directly, his opinion on the subject of religion, he remarked cautiously that he found nothing on the subject in the Pandects. There is no doubt but that this study of the civil law produced a class of men who, in respect of philosophic cultivation, of scientific attainment, and of liberality of character, excelled our revered sages of the common law. It was but natural that it should do so. We can not mention many names in this brief article; but let us pause, in conclusion, upon that of a good, pure and great lawyer, Chancellor l'Hopital. There is something in the life of this man that elevates and refines our conception of human nature. It can not be unfair to compare him with a great English judge of a later period. Sir Matthew Hale was born more than a century after l'Hopital. Both were profound jurists; able, upright, laborious and conscientious judges. Both of them, in the intervals of exacting pursuits at the bar and on the bench, devoted their time to legal and miscel laneous writings. Of the latter kind, Hale left behind him two volumes of moral and religious tracts; l'Hopital two volumes of Latin poems. The former had a great success in their day; the latter are said by those who have read them to be not destitute of poetical talent; but both the homilies and poems are nearly forgotten now. Both had a capacity for unrelenting and profitable study, and both were cultivated scholars. But at this point the resemblance ceases. The earliest born was by far the more enlightened of the two. Sir Matthew Hale, a prey to bigotry in its gloomiest form, caused two women to be burned for witchcraft; he was the last of the English judges who sentenced for that offence. So rank was his intolerance, that he declared that whoever believed not in witchcraft was an atheist. Far from being a time-serving judge, yet it so happened that all his errors only tended to his official promotion, and to an increase of popular favor. His didactic writings made his name, while he was living, a household word, and enhanced the veneration in which he was held after his death. If it is a reproach to his memory that he caused two decrepit, innocent old women, to be burned to death by fire, it was no discredit to him while living; he was mentioned in the prayers of the faithful, and his walk and conversation were pointed to as an example which the youth would do well to follow. Even now it is said that he must be judged by the age in which he lived, and that he is not to be censured for faults which were common to his time; but this claim is, perhaps, more charitable than correct, since we judge all men by their relationship with the era in which they live; not to applaud them if they have been no worse than those by whom they were surrounded, but to discern whether they have intellectually or morally excelled their age. | servances, he discarded the common belief in sorcery. At a time when religious persecution was esteemed to be the first duty of a citizen, he pleaded almost alone for religious toleration. He was not only in advance of his age; he was in advance of the present age. "Placed by circumstances near a king whe was a minor, and between two hostile factions, charged with the maintenance of the royal authority against all the unchained passions and interests of the time, l'Hopital was a political as well as a forensic orator; but whether in the assemblies of the States General, or in the forum of the Parliament, he never forgot his character as a magistrate. It was not by violence but by gentleness that he sought to allay hatred and to restore peace. It was toleration that he preached, with a strong and natural eloquence, sprinkled with popular proverbs, breathing the amiable spirit of the gospel. Whilst Catholics and Huguenots were running to arms, he assailed his adversaries with the weapons of charity. A good life,' he said, 'persuades more than prayer; the sword can do but little against the spirit, unless it is to destroy the soul with the body. Let us take away these diabolical names, names of parties, factions and seditions, Lutherans, Huguenots, Papists; let us not change our name of Christians!'" In another discourse he said: "Let us look upon the Protestants as our brethren; let us not condemn a helpless people unheard. What we have to do is to rule the State, not to pass on questions of faith. One may be a good citizen without being a Catholic; one may separate from the church without ceasing to be a good subject of the king. What is needed is that the citizen, whether Protestant or Catholic, live in peace. Woe to those who counsel the king to put himself at the head of half of his subjects for the purpose of butchering the other It is no merit now to disbelieve in witchcraft; it would have been a merit in Sir Matthew Hale. There were not wanting intelligent men and women, living at that time, who rejected the barbarous superstition; and certainly this learned judge who was familiar with the great writings of antiquity, was not without the means of forming a higher judgment. The truth is, that with all his fine natural abilities and extensive acquirements, there was a certain narrowness in his composition which greatly limited the bounds of his intellectual vision. To him the common law, with all its artificial, and often unjust and oppressive rules, was the perfection of human reason; and to him vulgar and irrational superstition spoke with the accents of the divine voice. While he was free from servility, he was at the same time a stranger to that spacious freedom of thought which made up the life of l'Hopital. Both lived in strangely troubled times, wherein the path of duty was closely beset with thorns and snares, when any sincere conviction might be branded And not in vain did he labor; for after years and punished as a crime; but from out of these of painful and fearless effort, he obtained the difficulties the French jurist achieved the edict which prevented the establishment of the nobler triumph. Sir Matthew Hale walked Inquisition in France, and also the more shorthand in hand with all the prejudices of his lived edict of pacification, guaranteeing the free age; if he sometimes withstood the crown, he exercise of Protestant worship. Certainly a never resisted the people; l'Hopital did both. man living on the border-land of the middle Animated by a sincere respect for religion, ages-for he was born in 1504-capable of these mindful of its precepts, and diligent in its ob- | liberal and generous views, devoting a life-time half!" in endeavoring to secure their adoption, and achieving so much, may well be considered to be one of the brightest ornaments that the bar has ever produced in any country; as one of the heroes of the true knighthood of noble and magnanimous spirits, upon whose spotless lives the historian may dwell with pleasure, and the reader with profit. If it is apparent to us that Chancellor THopital was greatly in advance of the civilization of his time, his contemporaries for the most part only perceived that there was a want of harmony between him and them. With the usual discriminating logic of the world, they said that since he was in favor of toleration of Huguenots, he must needs be a Huguenot himself; a charge which was more plausible than any other that could be made, and was at the same time the most damaging. In 1568, Catherine de Medicis, the evil genius of her age, excluded him from the council; and a few days later she sent to his country seat, whither he had retired, and demanded the seals. He surrendered them without regret, saying truly that the world had become so corrupt that he could no longer influence its affairs. He had previously, in a public discourse, held at a time when the frame-work of SOciety was completely overturned by civil war, when an imprudent word often meant death to the speaker, declared, with that unconscious intrepidity which was one of the most marked traits of his character, "Every order of society is corrupted; the people are badly instructed; they hear only of tithes and taxes, nothing of good morals; each wishes to see his own religion approved, that of all others persecuted." It is said that in his retreat he found unexpected enjoyments. The exercise of private charity, the amusements of a country life, the reading and composition of Latin poems, in which he took great pleasure, and the conversation of a few friends, occupied the time which was not consecrated to the care and education of his children. Passing his days in this manner he wrote to a friend: "I was ignorant that rural life possessed so many charins. I have seen my hair grow white without knowing where I could find happiness. In vain nature had created me to love repose and leisure; I never should have surrendered myself to that pleasing inclination, if Heaven, regarding me with an eye of pity, had not released me from the fetters which I should not have been able to break. If any one imagines that I thought myself happy when fortune seemed to smile upon me, and that I am unhappy now that I have lost all her brilliant advantages, he knows but little of the bottom of my heart." Four years after his retirement, he saw in the massacre of St. Bartholomew, the dire catastrophe of that policy of violence which he had powerfully struggled against all his life. He recorded his sad commentary on the event in the lines of Statius: "Excidat illa dies ævo, nec postera credant But his own life was imperilled; furious bigots recalled the author of the theory of toleration, which was a condemnation of their wicked deeds. Being counselled to flee for safety, he said, " By no means; I shall only go hence when, acccording to the pleasure of God, my hour is come." The next day he was told that a troop of armed men were approaching the house, and he was importuned to allow the doors to be closed and that his family and friends there present might fire upon them if they endeavored to enter; but being perfectly unmoved, he replied, "No; open the door; and if the small door is not wide enough for them to enter, open the large one." The men had, indeed, come to put him to death, but just before they reached the house they were overtaken by a messenger from the king, who was sent to inform them that the chancellor was not of those who were proscribed. On being told this he said coldly and without changing countenance, "I did not know that I had merited either death or pardon."-U. M. Rose, in Southern Law Review. In a breach of promise suit at Barrie the other day, Mr. Justice Patterson pointed out that, in his opinion, an action for breach of promise should only be the resort of a spinster of mature age, whose chances to enter the matrimonial state had been entirely spoiled in consequence of the faithlessness of a suitor. In the case before him, the plaintiff was young and handsome, and, in all respects, a likely girl to captivate some other and more desirable member of the sterner sex. This very practical view of the case was upheld by the jury, who assessed the damages at one hundred dollars. REPORTS AND NOTES OF CASES. SUPERIOR COURT. Montreal, May 16, 1878. HART et al., v. BEARD. Demurrage-Working Days. Where a rate for demurrage was stipulated in the charter party, held, that only working days should be counted in estimating the demurrage. The action was to recover the sum of $731, balance remaining due by defendant on the purchase of 529 tons of coal. There was also a demand for five days' demurrage at 29.28 per day. The defendant confessed judgment for $731, but denied the liability to demurrage. Action.-See Corporation, 2, 4; Judge; Landlord and Tenant, 1; Officer; Proximate Cause; Witness, 3. Adjournment. Where a judicial sale is duly advertised to take place on a certain day, which is afterwards made a legal holiday, the sale may and should be on that day adjourned to another.- White v. Zust, 28 N. J. Eq. 107. Administration.-See Executor. Adultery.-See Evidence, 7. Advertisement.-See Tax, 6. Agent.-1. An agent authorized to sell machines with warranty, made such a sale after his agency had expired, and delivered the notes received by him in payment to his successor in the agency, who had no authority to warrant, and who sent the notes to the principal with The principal brought an action on the notes. Held, that he ratified the sale, and was bound by the warranty.-Eadie v. Ashbaugh, 44 Iowa, 519. 2. Where an agent has a power of substitution, and exercises it, his death revokes the authority of the substitute.-Lehigh Coal Co. v. Mohr, 83 Penn. St. 228. TORRANCE, J., said that under C. S. L. C. Cap. 60, the delivery of coal should be forty chald-out informing him by whom the sale was made. rons, or 120,000 lbs., per day. The 529 tons should have been delivered in ten working days, being from May 15 to May 26, inclusive. The delivery was not finished until May 31. The charter party was not binding on the defendant, as he was not a party to it; but it was a guide to determine the difficulty between the charterer and the defendant. The ship was to be discharged at the rate of 50 tons each working day, and demurrage was to be paid for a longer delay at the rate of £6 sterling per day. His Honor held that this meant working days, and Sunday, the 27th, and Corpus Christi, the 31st, must therefore be excluded. Defendant would have to pay for May 28, 29, and 30, at the rate named in the charter party, that being a reasonable allowance. Judgment accordingly. A. M. Hart, for plaintiffs. DIGEST OF U. S. DECISIONS. See Corporation, 2; Judgment, 1. Animal-A buffalo bull, which had been reared from a calf on a farm, and was as tame as ordinary cattle, was held not to be fero natura; and an action was sustained by its owner against one who killed it while trespassing on his land.-Ulery v. Jones, 81 Ill. 403. Application of Payments.-See Payment. Assessment.-See Tax, 3. Attachment. See Foreign Attachment. Bank. The power of discounting promissory Bills and Notes.-See Bank; Interest; Negotiable Instruments; Payment. Bill of Lading.-See Carrier, 2. Bona Fide Purchaser.-Where the power of towns to subscribe for stock in railroad com panies, and issue bonds to pay for the same, had been judicially affirmed by the decisions of the courts, it was held that bonds bought bona fide while such decisions stood unquestioned were valid, though later decisions throw doubt on the power. Williams v. Duanesburgh, 66 N. Y. 129. See Negotiable Instruments. Bond.-See Bona Fide Purchaser; Surety. By-law. See Municipal Corporation, 2. as by timely assistance may be kept from being carried to the poor-house, is a good charitable use.-State v. Griffith, 2 Del. Ch. 392, 421. 2. Testator gave real and personal estate to the commissioners of a county, and their successors in office for ever, in trust for the benefit of the orphan poor and for other destitute persons of said county; and directed that the land devised should not be sold, but should be used as a home, and that the personalty should be invested and used for the support and education of such poor and destitute persons. Held, that a good charitable trust, and a sufficient trustee, were designated.—Board of Commissioners of La Grange County v. Rogers, 55 Ind. 297. 3. A bequest of a fund to employ a preacher Common Carrier.-See Carrier. 2. Goods were delivered to carriers under a Consideration.-Forbearance by a creditor to institute proceedings in bankruptcy against his debtor is a lawful and sufficient consideration for a promise by a third person to pay the debt. 3. The mere fact that a passenger pays no fare does not of itself relieve the carrier from liability for negligence by which he is injured. -Blair v. Erie Ry. Co., 66 N. Y. 313. 4. Goods were sent by rail, having been packed and secured on a car by the shipper, but so insufficiently that on the transit they broke loose from their fastenings and were damaged, without fault of the carriers. Held, that the carriers were not liable, though their servants knew that the goods were not properly packed before starting.-Ross v. Troy & Boston R. R. Co., 49 Vt. 364. See Damages, 2. Cattle. See Animal. Conspiracy. See Judge. Constitutional Law.-1. A State has no power to regulate the sale of patent-rights.-Crittenden V. White, 23 Minn. 24. 2. A State tax on the gross receipts of a telegraph company, most of which receipts were derived from messages sent by the company on matters pertaining to commerce, and to or from points without the State, held, not unconstitutional as usurping the power of Congress to regulate commerce.- Western Union Tel. Co. v. Mayer, 28 Ohio St. 521. See Eminent Domain. Contempt.-See Foreign Attachment, 2. Contract.-A county subscribed for building a railroad the sum of $100,000, payable in instalments; certificates of stock were deliverable, by the terms of the subscription, when the whole was paid. After $30,000 had been paid, it was adjudged that the county had no power te make such a contract; and no more was paid. Held, that the county was not entitled to receive certificates of stock pro tanto.— Wapello County v. Burlington & Missouri R. R. Charity.-1. A devise for the support, maintenance, and education of the poor of a county, excluding such as should reside within the poor-house, but to be distributed among such | Co., 44 Iowa, 585. |