and character of Chancellor Kent. Simple as a child in his tastes and habits through out his tranquil and useful life; more than any other judge the creator of the equity system of this country, the author of com mentaries which, in accuracy and learning, in elegance, purity, and vigor of style, rival those of Sir William Blackstone, his name is admired, his writings prized, his judg ments at law and in equity respected in every quarter of the globe (and nowhere more than in England), wherever in its widening conquest the English language, which is the language of freedom, has carried the English law." Twenty-four years previous to the pub lication of his commentaries, he with Judge Radcliff had published their Revision of the Laws of New York. Chancellor Kent also published his " Notes to the Charter of the City of New York " in 1829. From this period on, Kent spent his days in attending to the preparation of new edi tions of his commentaries, in reading his favorite classic writers (he had read Juvenal, Horace, and Virgil eight or ten times) and books of travel, entertaining distinguished visitors, corresponding with the foremost men of the day, and traveling into different parts of this country. England's great judges, such as Dchman, and Germany's learned scholars, such as Liebcr, not to mention our own Edward Ever ett, Charles Sumner, and Daniel Webster, wrote to him constantly for advice, opinions, or for friendship's sake. Space forbids the quotation of many letters, but here is one from Webster who called Kent " his friend, admirer, and pupil." "Boston, Oct. 29, 1832. "My Dear S1r : — Mr. Calhoun, as you are doubtless aware, has published a lalwred defence of nullification in the form of a letter to Gov. Hamilton. It is far the ablest and most plausible and therefore the most dangerous vindication of that particular form of revolution which has yet appeared.
"In the silence of abler pens and seeing, as I think I do, that the affairs of this Government are fast approaching a crisis, I have felt it my duty to answer Mr. Calhoun. And as he adopted the form of a letter in which to put forth his opin ions I think of giving my answer a similar form. The object of this is to ask your permission to address my letter to you. I propose to feign that I have read a letter from you calling my attention to Mr. Calhoun's publication and then in answer to your supposed letter to review his able arguments at some length, not in the style of a speech, but in that of cool, constitutional and legal discussion. If you feel no repugnance to be thus written to, I will be obliged to you for your assent; on the other hand if any reasons suggest themselves to you against such a form of publica tion, another can be adopted. I cannot complete the paper before election, as I am at present a good deal pressed with professional affairs; but I hope to bring it to light in the course of next month. "I have little to say to you, my dear sir, upon political subjects. The whole ground is open to you. I trust you will be one of those who have votes to give, and I devoutly pray that you may yet see some way of uniting the well disposed to rescue us from peril. "I am, dear sir, with most sincere and true regard, yours, Dan'l Webster." Hon. James Kent, New York. It may be added that Webster's request was graciously granted. Some idea of the temper of the times is afforded by the fol lowing passage from a letter to Kent, written by Chief-Justice Uagget of Connecticut on October 29, 1832 : — "I declare to you, my friend, though I witnessed the shutting of the port of Boston in 1774, the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill in '75, the rebellion of 1787-8 in Massachusetts, and the portentous period of 1789, I never felt such fearful forebodings as I now feel." But of all the letters written to or by the Chancellor, the one he penned and sent to Mrs. Elizabeth Hamilton, the widow of Alexander Hamilton on the tenth day of December, 1832, is easily first in importance
