son did not know what to choose, but his father said to him very decidedly that it was his wish he should be a lawyer. The boy at that time had no conception of what the study of the law involved. His thoughts were concentrated upon how to get a library, which he supposed to be the first requisite in carrying out the desire of his father, and his first inquiry was, "How shall I get a library?" To which his father replied that if he would do just as he desired him to do for a year or two he would pay him a stated salary, and that he would, by the time he really needed one, have accumulated sufficient money to make the necessary purchase.

The bargain was struck between the eccentric father and his promising son, the terms of which were that he was to retire to the home of an uncle, who lived on a farm in the recesses of the mountains, and there devote himself to the study of three books with which he was furnished. These were the Bible, Shakespeare and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Another of the conditions. imposed upon the obedient boy was that each of the prescribed volumes he must read through carefully three times and make copious notes of his reflections in the perusal of the famous works. The Bible seemed to be the hardest of all for the future great advocate to become interested in. Of course, the two others possessed an immediate charm for him, but soon the Bible began to fascinate his mind, and he came out of the trial imposed by the elder Beach with a ripe knowledge of the contents of the great works that had been given as a task to study. This apparently strange course insisted upon by the father was fruitful of the most magnificent results in the formation of the great lawyer who was to be developed from the rigid discipline exacted. It was the foundation of that wonderful vocabulary which charmed in after years all who heard the well chosen words drop from the lips of the great advocate in his appeals to a jury.

One of the most remarkable facts connected with Mr. Beach's long and active life is, that, with the exception of four years, from 1843 to 1847, when he was but thirty-four, during which period he filled the office of District Attorney for his native county. He never again occupied a public position, and this because of his devotion to the profession he had chosen. This is indeed a rare record, and displays a determination of character which few men possess in this age, when the song of the political siren is so seductive to the bright American youth, who sees the possibilities of the civic crown as great for him as any others in the struggle for National preferment

There were other peculiarities in the life of this celebrated advocate which seem so strange as belonging to one who possessed the very attributes which call forth their splendor and magnificence. One was that he never, in all his brilliant career, delivered an address that could be regarded as a strictly public one, nor did he make so-called political speeches. It is doubtful if this could be said of any of his contemporaries.

Mr. Beach's specialty was criminal law, the incipiency of the knowledge of which was, in a great degree, acquired while he was District Attorney of Saratoga County, where the majority of his cases were those of a criminal nature. In the trial of these he was, of course, confronted by the best legal talent in the State. Trained in that school by four years of hard work, he not only developed his power of "sifting the evidence," but it also brought out his forensic talent, which ever after was the light of his great reputation.

His oratory was of that class which is only born. It came spontaneously from him like the clear stream from the rock in some mountain gorge; pure in its diction, sweet in its intonation and irresistible in the force of its argument. To write a speech, for him was a failure. It

is recorded that he never attempted it but once, ever afterward relying upon the natural flow of language he possessed and the power of his gifted mind to array the facts of his case before a jury. This kind of oratory is seldom bestowed by kind Nature; few are they who can invoke the glow and brilliancy of words that entrance an audience extemporaneously. Careful preparation mark the great speeches of the century, as an investigation will discover.

But it must not be inferred that because this eminent lawyer was rarely gifted to speak to the passions and sympathies of "twelve men in a box," that he was not a most devoted student in the cause of his client. He never came into court without the most careful preparation. The only thing he could afford to dispense with was the labor, which many great advocates are compelled to assume, of writing out and committing to memory the address to the jury.

Fortunately for Mr. Beach he was able to study his profession in his youth without the grim spectre of poverty overshadowing the flame of his midnight lamp, as has been the case with many of our prominent lawyers, but which has been said by a great judge to be essential to the development of extraordinary legal talents. When young Beach's term of reading was completed he at once entered upon the practice without the pangs of starvation staring him in the face, although no client came immediately to consult him, perhaps.

The remarkable command of language which Mr. Beach possessed to such a degree that he may be regarded as a marvel in this particular, was not altogether due to inborn genius; continuity of thought is a gift in oratory, but the vocabulary can only come by severe study. Besides the excellent training and, perhaps, curious discipline exacted by the father, Mr. Beach's mother was a woman of rare intellectual gifts, and to the gentle

guidance of her in the selection of what studies he should pursue in the training for the vocation he was to pursue in the particular of oratory, great credit is due. It was she who placed in his hands such works as tables of synonyms and those which gave the nice differences of words, which he ever afterward cultivated, like Rufus Choate, until, like him, too, he possessed a vocabulary exceeded by but few men in the history of letters.

Added to the charm of his oratory was a figure and physique that equally attracted his auditors; a combination, which, when possessed by the individual, completes the sphere of his enchantment and the enthusiasm he invokes. Some orators demand an occasion to inspire them, and rare, indeed, are they who can become eloquent without this incentive. With Mr. Beach it was a matter of indifference. He could talk as sweetly to the echoing groves, with no other auditors than the dumb creatures around him, as he could in the crowded court room, with a surging mass of people hanging with breathless interest on every word that he uttered.

As a jury lawyer Mr. Beach was unsurpassed. The record of his legal life will disclose the fact that he was engaged in more suits and a greater diversity of causes. than any of the other great lawyers who were contemporary. Many of them were his superior in scholastic attainments, for he himself admitted that his education. in the domain of history, the sciences and the classics had been sadly neglected, all of his desultory reading having been confined to what is termed of the light order. But when before a jury he had but few peers.

Until he had arrived at the age of forty-two he remained a citizen of Saratoga, his birthplace. Then he removed to Troy, in the same state, where he entered into a partnership with two other noted advocates, the firm title being Pierson, Beach & Smith. This firm was a famous one and did a large business, extending over a

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greater portion of the State. In 1870 Mr. Beach removed to New York City, associating himself with the firm of Beach & Brown, Mr. Beach taking the place of Charles A. Rapallo who had just been elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. The members were himself, his son and Augustus C. Brown, Judge Rapallo's partner up to the time of his elevation to the Bench. In the metropolis of the country Mr. Beach at once took a position at the head of his profession, for he was now engaged on one side or the other of the most prominent cases in the courts; cases of national fame involving immense sums of money.

Among the many cases in which Mr. Beach was engaged the following are the most prominent: The Commodore Vanderbilt will case; the celebrated Brinkley vs. Brinkley divorce case; counsel for George G. Barnard, who was tried on articles of impeachment, as Justice of the Supreme Court of New York; the People vs. Edward S. Stokes, for the murder of James Fisk, Jr.; he was also counsel in the Beecher-Tilton trial. In this latter some of the most eminent advocates were associated with him. Mr. Beach was also counsel in the case of Bowen vs. Chase; and he was for the defendant in the famous Maggie Jordan case. His last criminal case was defending Jesse Billings, the alleged murderer of his wife.

The following is an extract from his address to the jury in the Brinkley divorce case:

"Evidence of marriage! May it please your honor, what is evidence of marriage? Why, living together, may it please your honor; cohabiting together, may it please your honor; introducing each other as man and wife; walking in the sacred relations as such; rearing up children together, may it please your honor; that going down into the valley of the shadow of death that a wife assumes in such relations. And for all these they were married. They were married when he enjoyed the