USA > New York > The bench and bar of New-York. Containing biographical sketches of eminent judges, and lawyers of the New-York bar, incidents of the important trials in which they were engaged, and anecdotes connected with their professional, political and judicial career > Part 44
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While discharging the duties of attorney-general, in addition to an unusual amount of civil business which he was compelled to dispose of, it was his for- tune to conduct some very difficult and extraordinary
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criminal prosecutions. Prominent among these was the case of the People v. Covert-twice tried at the Livingston Oyer and Terminer in 1863.
The singular features of this case required in the counsel for the People, not only great legal learning, but a thorough acquaintance with medical jurispru- dence, particularly in the department of toxicology. Covert had been indicted for the murder of his wife, by administering arsenic to her, at different times, and under circumstances which rendered its detection very difficult.
The victim was young and beautiful. It was al- leged that the arsenic was administered to her at a period of approaching maternity, and in quantities which produced a lingering and painful illness, some of the symptoms of which were complicated by the peculiar situation of the victim. Immediately after her first attack, her mother and several of her friends took possession of her sick room, and by the aid of skillful physicians she was pronounced out of danger. She was then left to the care of a faithful nurse, with orders to admit no person, not even her husband, into the room. But some time during the ensuing night Covert entered the room and peremptorily dis- missed the nurse, alleging that he would watch with his wife the remainder of the night. On the following morning her horrid sickness returned with increased agony. The poor woman lingered eighteen days in the most excruciating misery, and then died.
Her declaration in articulo mortis was taken, in which she stated, among other things, that during the night her husband watched with her, he gave her some medicine which did not taste like that which had been left for her by the physician ; that at first she refused to take it, but he compelled her to do so, alleging that she would die if she did not. There were other cir- cumstances in the case which pointed to the guilt of the husband. He was arrested and committed to jail.
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The stomach of the victim was subjected to a chem- ical analysis by one of the most eminent chemists in the State ; but no arsenic was detected. This circum- stance was relied upon by the counsel for the defense with great confidence. But Mr. Dickinson, who was assisted by John A. Vanderlip, an eminent lawyer of the Livingston bar, relied with equal confidence on the theory of Orfila, Daugen, Flandin, and others, that in cases where solid poisons are administered in small doses, and at long intervals, chemical analysis will fail, provided the victim survives over sixteen days after taking them ; for by that time the poison becomes entirely absorbed and eliminated, particularly arsenic, which rapidly passes from the system by the various secretions. It was proved by eminent physi- cians who attended the woman, that the whole ali- mentary canal was so seriously inflamed that it pro- duced death-that this inflammation was caused by arsenic. It was proved by those physicians and by chemists that the elimination and absorption of poi- sons had taken place during the time which elapsed after taking the arsenic, and had thus passed out of the system, leaving its indubitably fatal results. Hav- ing proved this and the other circumstances, Mr. Dickinson contended to the jury that the fatal effect of the arsenic was fully proved, and that it had passed from the system ; and thus there was no necessity of producing it, any more than there would have been in producing the ball, the dagger, the ax, or the bludg- eon, had the woman been slain with either of those instruments.
"Supposing," said Mr. Dickinson, "that this woman had been killed by a pistol ball, which passed through her body, and lodged where it could not have been found; supposing we had proved by compe- tent evidence, that her death was occasioned by a fatal inflammation produced by the passage of that bullet through her, who would contend that the bullet
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must be produced before the man who shot her with it could be convicted."
Mr. Dickinson brought to this prosecution all the learning, ingenuity, and ability, which its singular intricacy demanded. His address to the jury occu- pied five hours, and has been excelled by few forensic efforts.
Covert made an obstinate and able defense, and the jury, after deliberating nearly two days, failed to agree-standing ten for conviction, and two for a dis- charge of the prisoner. On a subsequent trial, he was acquitted, having produced some evidence which satisfied the jury in their verdict; but Mr. Dickinson was not present at that trial.
At the expiration of his term as attorney-general, he was appointed by Mr. Lincoln a commissioner to settle the Oregon boundary question with Great Britain. "Your long experience as a statesman, your acknowledged legal ability," said Mr. Lincoln, in announcing to him his appointment, " has prompt- ed me to tender the place to you, with the earnest hope that you will accept it." But it was most re- spectfully declined, although it was one of the most honorable and lucrative appointments within the control of the president.
Soon after this, Governor Fenton, learning that Judge Henry R. Selden was about to resign the place which he had so ably and acceptably occupied on the bench of the Court of Appeals, tendered the position to Mr. Dickinson, but he thought proper to decline the high and distinguished honor thus offered to him.
"One of the last acts of President Lincoln was to nominate him for the office of district-attorney for the southern district of New York. He accepted this office, and entered upon the discharge of its duties.
"When this appointment was announced, although it was felt that the requirements of the office were not such as to claim the constant exercise of his best legal
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abilities, it was universally recognized as a partial acknowledgment of the generous services which he had both the desire and the power to render his' coun- try. He commenced the discharge of its duties at a period when it especially demanded experience, learning, and ability. His appointment was, there- fore, considered a fortunate circumstance for the gov- ernment."
This was the last official position Mr. Dickinson ever occupied. In order to discharge its duties, he was compelled most of the time to remain in the city of New York. He was thus obliged to surrender the comforts of his home at Binghamton, which he had spent years in adorning with elegance and refinement, where taste, cultivation, intelligence, and tranquillity furnished a "pure banquet-a feast of the mind."
He continued in the active discharge of his duties until the ninth day of August, 1866. On that day he was engaged in the United States Circuit Court. On its adjournment, in the afternoon, he returned to the residence of his son in law, Hon. Samuel G. Courtney, with whom he resided when in the city. Towards evening he complained of indisposition, which was not regarded as serious. He continued in this condi- tion until Thursday about noon. He had risen from his bed on that morning-dressed and shaved him- self-ordered his breakfast, saying that he felt much better ; and as Mr. Courtney left the house, he said, in a pleasant, jocular way : " You may run the office to-day ; I shall be down there to-morrow." To-mor- row! alas, for him it was never to come. . Ere its arrival his career on earth was to cease, and he was to pass away from all its scenes,
" To realize in some unclouded sphere Those pictured glories feebly imaged here."
Soon after this, his symptoms indicated serious ill- ness ; at length they assumed an alarming appear-
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ance, and before five o'clock in the afternoon, his medical attendant informed him that he was rapidly approaching the close of life. He received this an- nouncement calmly. No change passed over his face. Taking the hand of Mrs. Dickinson, who stood by his bed-side, he said :
"Let us bear it like Christians ; the separation will not be long. You will be with me again soon, and then we shall never part."
He then dictated messages of affection to each member of his family-beautiful, tender and touching were these few words-they were indeed "precious heritages " from a departing father, now treasured in their heart of hearts, for no man was ever more fondly loved by his family than he.
In a brief time the end drew near. Raising him- self, he said, in a clear, strong voice : "The conflict is strong, but the other side is ours," and in a few mo- ments he was gone.
The intelligence of his death produced the most profound sorrow in all circles, and among all parties. The various courts then in session in the city promptly adjourned. A very large meeting of the New York city bar was convened, attended by the ablest of its members, and also by some of the most distinguished citizens of the city and State. Eulogies of impressive eloquence were pronounced, and every- where unusual marks of respect to the memory of the deceased statesman were observed.
At Binghamton, the intelligence of his death was received with every token of grief-not assumed for the occasion, but real, unaffected grief. Bells were tolled, public and private buildings were draped in mourning, and a large community mourned the death of a favorite son, and every one felt his loss as a per- sonal affliction.
The Broome county bar immediately assembled to testify their sorrow at the death of him who, for so many years, had been its distinguished leader, and
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whose social worth had rendered him dear to all of them.
At the time of his death, the Legislature of the State was in session. The event was thus announced to both branches of that body :
"NEW YORK SENATE, Saturday, April 14, 1866.
"The following preamble and resolution were pre- sented by Mr. Folger, seconded by Mr. H. C. Mur- phy, and unanimously adopted :
" Whereas, The Senate, filled with mournful re- collections brought by the return of the day when Abraham Lincoln met his violent death, has received an additional sadness from the sudden decease of the Hon. Daniel S. Dickinson, formerly president of this body, as well as the worthy and able incumbent of many offices of honor and trust under the State and nation,
" Resolved, That, as a proper mark of respect for the memory of the departed, this body do now adjourn."
Resolutions equally expressive of sympathy and . sorrow were, on the same day, unanimously passed in the Assembly and entered on its journal.
Thirty-eight years had passed away since Daniel S. Dickinson came to Albany with Lot Clark, tremb- ling with hope and fear, yet conscious of his high destiny ; standing before a chief justice of the State, asking him for a favor, which, if granted, would permit him, a stranger, poor and unknown, to enter an arena to contend with the giants of those days, for name and fame.
Moved by the strange inherent power of his intel- lect, the great chief justice listened approvingly to the story of the poor student,-granted a request which he had refused to a renowned lawyer and statesman,-opened to him the doors of the court,- called him to the bar,-and, as he had predicted, saw
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him ascend from one honor to another until he entered that august body, the Senate of the United States. Thirty years ! ah, how briefly they sped away ; and now in that very hall where, clothed in judicial dig- nity, he sat by the side of that chief justice before whom he was so recently a suppliant-where the pearls of his mind had been cast in rich offerings, in the days of his young ambition-the voice of sorrow and mourning for his death resounded. Well may we all address the throne of the Eternal in the lan- guage of him who spake as by inspiration : "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."
Mr. Dickinson possessed a chaste and refined liter- ary taste, strengthened and enlarged by an extensive knowledge of books-a long acquaintance and famil- iarity with the world. All his literary efforts exhibit the vivacity and strength of his mind, the quickness of his conceptions, and the purity of his taste.
Among the most pleasing and interesting produc- tions of his pen are the letters which he left behind him. They are, throughout, strongly impressed with the character of their author. They are written with great liveliness and force, with a considerable share of wit, perfectly natural and unaffected. It is this last quality which forms one of their principal charms. Some of his most beautiful letters are directed to Mr. Dickinson. In one of them, dated New York, Sep- tember Sth, 1865, he says :
" Your good, kind letter of the 6th, came yester- day. I deeply sympathize in the labor of love you are performing, in looking over and arranging our early family letters. There is no one better qualified than you to arrange such correspondence. I should scarcely venture upon a task so full of earlier remembrances and replete with tender emotion ; and I cheerfully commit it to you, in all the sacredness which belongs to it. I desire that you will be as careful of the letters written by yourself, as
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of the letters written by me, for they are the best of the two."
In another letter to her he says: "I am sorry to learn, by Mary's letter, received this morning, that you are still sleepless and ill. If you continue so long, I shall go home, regardless of everything else. I am uneasy when absent from you, at best, and when you are not well, my anxiety becomes painful. You know not half my solicitude and affection."
Two daughters survive Mr. Dickinson-Mrs. Court- ney and Mrs. Mygatt. Some of his letters to them are unequaled for their tenderness, elegance, and sim- plicity.
In a letter to the former, written in 1858, he says : "But, my dear child, I did not fail to read and ap- preciate your beautiful letter ; so beautiful and affec- tionate, that I longed for a moment to give a corres- ponding answer, but I could not get it. My life has been literally chequered by lights and shadows, but no one object has ever given me more pleasure than such obedience and devotion as you have uniformly shown from your earliest childhood."
In his reply to a letter written by Mrs. Courtney to him on his birth-day, September 16th, 1860, he says : "Your letter, written in remembrance of my birth- day, with its sweet tones of affection, was twice wel- come, and will be dearly cherished with many kind tokens of a beloved daughter to her father.
"I would that I were a patriarch, that I might confer on you a blessing of health, happiness, and peace; that peace which is unknown to those who flit over life's ocean in quest of excitement, to slaughter time and indulge sense, but that which elevates the desires, rectifies the heart, and fits us for a glorious fruition hereafter. Age brings me no sad- ness, no regrets, but consoles me with the reflection that when I have fought the 'good fight, and have finished my course,' if I have kept the faith, I shall
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live again in the land of flowers and spring-live, clothed with eternal joy and perpetual youth."
Christmas morning, 1862, he received a beautiful cross from Mrs. Mygatt. In acknowledging the re- ceipt of it, he says :
" My Dear Mary-I accept your beautiful present of a cross with affectionate emotion, and return you the warm tribute of a father's heart. That I may in- dulge a lively remembrance of the sentiments which prompted a gift so appropriate, and walk in the way which the symbol admonishes, is the prayer of my heart."
In another letter to Mrs. Mygatt, he says :
"My Darling Mary-Your note, so replete with beauty and affection, has just been received. I am proud that you and all my beloved ones are pleased with my Albany speech. It was hurriedly made and carelessly reported, and I am all the more glad that it has elements enough for your admiration left. I am always more solicitous of what those nearest and dearest to me think of my efforts, than I am of what the world will say or think."
On one of her birth-days he writes as follows :
" The light you brought to our household in your natal day, has never been quenched, but has grown brighter as time has advanced and new relations have multiplied. I have only time to send you this one word of affection, and to hope that your dear boy may be as pure in paternal regard and love as you have been."
The following, from a letter to Miss Nellie Mygatt, informs the reader of Mr. Dickinson's love of domes- tic life. He says :
"I love the social and domestic circle more than 'the applause of listening senates to command ;' the affection of cherished ones more than the ambition of the Cæsars ; the sacred cares of home, and the holy duties of religion, more than the eclat of the popular voice or the notes of the trump of fame."
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The foregoing extracts are taken from the published volumes of Mr. Dickinson's speeches and letters, com- piled by John E. Dickinson, Esq., who also wrote a very creditable sketch of the statesman's life.
In those volumes there are several pages devoted to the poetry of Mr. Dickinson, which was arranged and prepared by his daughter, Mrs. Mary S. D. Mygatt. In the preface to these poems, she says :
" To those who have known him only in the bustle and turmoil of public life, or perhaps through the press's medium, these heart thoughts may present some idea of the inner being, of the sentiment which graced his refined mind, that rendered the home he blessed with his presence so bright and cheerful, and of that devoted love which ever made his foremost thoughts and desires the happiness of those about him -endearing traits which the countless cares of an . eventful life could never change or take away."
Among these poems the following has been much admired, and possesses the interest of having been written but five days before his death, "as it would seem with some premonitions of his approaching end. It reveals the tenderness and purity of his inner life more than any speech that can be made."
To LYDIA.
In youth's bright morn, when life was new, And earth was fresh with dew and flowers, And love was warm and friendship true, And hope and happiness were ours,
We started hand in hand to thread The chequered, changeful path of life, And with each other, trusting, tread The battle-fields of worldly strife.
We ranged in walks obscure, unseen, O'er rugged steep, through vale and glen, And climbed along the hillside green, Unmindful of the future then.
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We caught the song of earliest birds, We culled the loveliest flowers of spring ; We plighted love in whispering words, And time sped by on fairy wings.
And as it passed new joys were found And life was gladdened by the birth Of prattling babes, who clustered round To cheer with smiles our humble hearth.
Fate thrust us forth before the world, And phantoms whispered earthly fame, Where hope's proud banner is unfurled, And happiness too oft a name.
Thus lured along, we rode the dark And foaming tide of public life, And proudly dared, with slender barque, The elements of storm and strife.
But storm and strife, thank heaven, have passed- The night has fled, and morning come ! And we, tossed mariners, at last Returned once more to hearth and home.
But of the loved ones God had given, Two have returned-two sunk to rest, In life's gay morning called to heaven, To the bright mansions of the blest.
They sleep amid Spring Forest's glades, Where flows its streamlet's murmuring waves,' And oft at evening's gentle shades We'll weep beside their early graves.
Yet loved ones cluster round us still, To gild the days of life's decline, And whisper-'tis our Father's will That blessings yet are yours and mine.
No change of life, no change of scene, No fevered dreams, no cankering cares, No hopes which are, or e'er have been, Nor wrinkled brow nor silver hairs,
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Have ever changed that vow of youth, Or blotted it from memory's page ; But, warm as love and pure as truth, It ripens with the frosts of age.
A few more days, a few more years Of life's capricious, fitful tide ; A few more sorrows, joys and tears, And we shall slumber side by side.
Then let us live-then let us love- As when life's journey we began, Until we meet in worlds above, When this sad pilgrimage is done.
These beautiful lines were read by Judge Pierre- pont, at the meeting of the New York city bar, called at the time of Mr. Dickinson's death to pay a tribute of respect to his memory.
ALVAH WORDEN.
Commences Life as a Merchant .- His Character, Acquirements, and Industry .- Demagogues .- Mr. Worden's Opinion of Them .- His Parentage and Birth .- Prepares for College .- His Love for the Natural Sciences .- Decides not to Enter College .- Commences the Study of Medicine .- Abandons that Study and turns his attention to Mercantile Pursuits. Makes the Acquaintance of a Prominent Merchant of Auburn, New York .- Worden Enters his Store .- Pleases his Em- ployer .- Accepts a Position in the Auburn Bank .- Commences Business as a Merchant on his own Account .- For a Time, Meets with Great Success .- His Marriage to a daughter of the late Judge Miller .- Worden's Failure .- Commences the Study of Law .- Elected a Justice of the Peace .- Admitted to Practice .- His Success .- Engages in the Trial of a Cause against Mark H. Sibley .- Succeeds .- Forms a Partnership with Mr. Sibley and removes to Canandaigua .- His Pro- fessional Progress .- Worden is Engaged in the Celebrated Case of Griffith v. Reed .- Is Defeated by the Referees .- Appeals to the Supreme Court .- Worden Attends that Court, prepared to argue it himself against Marcus T. Reynolds .- Worden Loses his Trunk .- Appears in the Court Room, at Utica, in his Common Clothing .- His Appearance .- Remarks of Foppish young Lawyers .- The Argu- ment .- Interesting Scene .- Apparent Triumph of Reynolds .- Defeat Turned into Victory .- Success of Worden's Argument .- Its Effect .- Other Important Cases in which he was Engaged .- Worden and the General Term Lawyers of the Old Supreme Court .- He is Elected to the Legislature .- His Legislative Career .- His Efforts for the Passage of a Law Providing for a Constitutional Convention. -Law Passed .- The Convention .- Mr. Worden a Delegate. - Candidate for President .- Is Strongly Sustained .- John Tracy Chosen .- Mr. Worden's Labors and Activity in the Convention .- His Great Speech on the Powers of the Exec- utive .- Other Speeches .- His Plan for a Judiciary .- Closing Scenes of the Conven- tion .- Resolution offered that Members Sign the Constitution .- Opposed by Charles O'Conor .- Sustained by Worden and others .- Adjournment of the Con- vention .- R. H. Walworth, J. A. Collier and Mr. Worden. Appointed Codifying Commissioners .- Walworth and Collier Resign .- Worden's Labors and Duties. -Reappointed a Code Commissioner .- Returns again to the Duties of his Pro- fession .- Great Case of The Farmers' Loan & Trust Company v. Carrol .- Great Argument of, before the Supreme Court .- Worden, J. C. Spencer, Kirkland, Wm. C. Noyes and Hiram Denio engaged .- Interesting Scene in the Court Room. - Description of the Arguments .- Reflections on the Professional and Political Life of Alvah Worden.
Alvah Worden first entered the theater of life, on his own responsibility, in the character of a merchant. In this vocation, at a very early age, he developed
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that correct and ready knowledge of human nature, that thorough understanding of business in principle and in detail, that sound practical sense, which gave. him much prominence as a man of business.
His fine mind, his many intellectual endowments, at length, by an easy transition, led him to the legal profession. With an industry which no excess of toil could weary, he applied himself to the study of law as a science, a system for the well being of society, as regards the enjoyment of civil rights, the pre- vention of crime, and the encouragement of virtue. He sought its fundamental principles as well as the detail of each precedent and legislative rule, reducing them to the test of reason alone ; and when he came to his examination, he possessed, in extenso, the qualities and acquirements of a thorough lawyer.
Acute, sagacious, reflecting, with a plain, mascu- line, commanding eloquence, which ignored superflu- ous decoration and fancy, alike powerful in reason, attractive in ethical beauty and logical skill, he soon gained a commanding position at the bar of his native State, and took a high rank among the distinguished civilians of his day.
Among his faults, there was a certain firmness which sometimes degenerated into obstinacy, -a confi- dence in the principles he advocated, which was often blended with contempt for those who differed with him. His unbending honesty and straightforward integrity, in his intercourse with men, especially in politics, often led him to neglect that spirit of concilia- tion, which in a government like ours, conducted by the stratagem of party, is necessary in the attainment of important and responsible positions. It was a dis- tinguishing feature in his character, that he would neither yield his judgment to the clamor of the popu- lace, nor suffer himself to be swerved from the line of what he deemed to be his duty, by the artifices of demagogues; and hence, Mr. Worden was not an accomplished politician, simply because he did not
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