HIS SUCCESS AT THE BAR.
Franklin Pierce’s earliest effort at the bar, as we have already
observed, was an unsuccessful one; but instead of discouraging him, the
failure had only served to awaken the consciousness of latent power, and
the resolution to bring it out. Since those days, he had indeed gained
reputation as a lawyer. So much, however, was the tenor of his legal
life broken up by the months of public service subtracted from each year,
and such was the inevitable tendency of his thoughts towards political
subjects, that he could but very partially avail himself of the
opportunities of professional advancement. But on retiring from the
Senate he appears to have started immediately into full practice. Though
the people of New Hampshire already knew him well, yet his brilliant
achievements as an advocate brought him more into their view, and into
closer relations with them, than he had ever before been. He now met his
countrymen, as represented in the jury box, face to face, and made them
feel what manner of man he was. Their sentiment towards him soon grew to
be nothing short of enthusiasm; love, pride, the sense of brotherhood,
affectionate sympathy, and perfect trust, all mingled in it. It was the
influence of a great heart pervading the general heart, and throbbing
with it in the same pulsation.
It has never been the writer’s good fortune to listen to one of Franklin
Pierce’s public speeches, whether at the bar or elsewhere; nor, by
diligent inquiry, has he been able to gain a very definite idea of the
mode in which he produces his effects. To me, therefore, his forensic
displays are in the same category with those of Patrick Henry, or any
other orator whose tongue, beyond the memory of man, has moulded into
dust. His power results, no doubt, in great measure, from the
earnestness with which he imbues himself with the conception of his
client’s cause; insomuch that he makes it entirely his own, and, never
undertaking a case which he believes to be unjust, contends with his
whole heart and conscience, as well as intellectual force, for victory.
His labor in the preparation of his cases is said to be unremitting; and
he throws himself with such energy into a trial of importance as wholly
to exhaust his strength.
Few lawyers, probably, have been interested in a wider variety of
business than he; its scope comprehends the great causes where immense
pecuniary interests are concerned--from which, however, he is always
ready to turn aside, to defend the humble rights of the poor man, or give
his protection to one unjustly accused. As one of my correspondents
observes, “When an applicant has interested him by a recital of fraud or
wrong, General Pierce never investigates the man’s estate before engaging
in his business; neither does he calculate whose path he may cross. I
have been privy to several instances of the noblest independence on his
part, in pursuing, to the disrepute of those who stood well in the
community, the weal of an obscure client with a good cause.”
In the practice of the law, as Pierce pursued it, in one or another of
the court houses of New Hampshire, the rumor of each successive struggle
and success resounded over the rugged hills, and perished without a
record. Those mighty efforts, into which he put all his strength, before
a county court, and addressing a jury of yeomen, have necessarily been,
as regards the evanescent memory of any particular trial, like the
eloquence that is sometimes poured out in a dream. In other spheres of
action, with no greater expenditure of mental energy, words have been
spoken that endure from age to age--deeds done that harden into history.
But this, perhaps the most earnest portion of Franklin Pierce’s life, has
left few materials from which it can be written. There is before me only
one report of a case in which he was engaged--the defence of the
Wentworths, at a preliminary examination, on a charge of murder. His
speech occupied four hours in the delivery, and handles a confused medley
of facts with masterly skill, bringing them to bear one upon another, and
making the entire mass, as it were, transparent, so that the truth may be
seen through it. The whole hangs together too closely to permit the
quotation of passages.
The writer has been favored with communications from two individuals, who
have enjoyed the best of opportunities to become acquainted with General
Pierce’s character as a lawyer. The following is the graceful and
generous tribute of a gentleman, who, of late, more frequently than any
other, has been opposed to him at the bar:--
“General Pierce cannot be said to have commenced his career at the bar in
earnest until after his resignation of the office of senator, in 1842.
And it is a convincing proof of his eminent powers that he at once placed
himself in the very first rank at a bar so distinguished for ability as
that of New Hampshire. It is confessed by all who have the means of
knowledge and judgment on this subject, that in no state of the Union are
causes tried with more industry of preparation, skill, perseverance,
energy, or vehement effort to succeed.
“During much of this time, my practice in our courts was suspended; and
it is only within three or four years that I have had opportunities of
intimately knowing his powers as an advocate, by being associated with
him at the bar; and, most of all, of appreciating and feeling that power,
by being opposed to him in the trial of causes before juries. Far more
than any other man, whom it has been my fortune to meet, he makes himself
felt by one who tries a case against him. From the first, he impresses
on his opponent a consciousness of the necessity of a deadly struggle,
not only in order to win the victory, but to avoid defeat.
“His vigilance and perseverance, omitting nothing in the preparation and
introduction of testimony, even to the minutest details, which can be
useful to his clients; his watchful attention, seizing on every weak
point in the opposite case; his quickness and readiness; his sound and
excellent judgment; his keen insight into character and motives, his
almost intuitive knowledge of men; his ingenious and powerful
cross-examinations; his adroitness in turning aside troublesome
testimony, and availing himself of every favorable point; his quick sense
of the ridiculous; his pathetic appeals to the feelings; his sustained
eloquence, and remarkably energetic declamation,--all mark him for a
‘leader.’
“From the beginning to the end of the trial of a case, nothing with him
is neglected which can by possibility honorably conduce to success. His
manner is always respectful and deferential to the court, captivating to
the jury, and calculated to conciliate the good will even of those who
would be otherwise indifferent spectators. In short, he plays the part
of a successful actor; successful, because he always identifies himself
with his part, and in him it is not acting.
“Perhaps, as would be expected by those who know his generosity of heart,
and his scorn of everything like oppression or extortion, he is most
powerful in his indignant denunciations of fraud or injustice, and his
addresses to the feelings in behalf of the poor and lowly, and the
sufferers under wrong. I remember to have heard of his extraordinary
power on one occasion, when a person who had offered to procure arrears
of a pension for revolutionary services had appropriated to himself a
most unreasonable share of the money. General Pierce spoke of the
frequency of these instances, and, before the numerous audience, offered
his aid, freely and gratuitously, to redress the wrongs of any widow or
representative of a revolutionary officer or soldier who had been made
the subject of such extortion.
“The reply of the poor man, in the anecdote related by Lord Campbell of
Harry Erskine, would be applicable, as exhibiting a feeling kindred to
that with which General Pierce is regarded: ‘There’s no a puir man in a’
Scotland need to want a friend or fear an enemy, sae lang as Harry
Erskine lives!’”
We next give his aspect as seen from the bench, in the following
carefully prepared and discriminating article, from the chief justice of
New Hampshire:--
“In attempting to estimate the character and qualifications of Mr. Pierce
as a lawyer and an advocate, we undertake a delicate, but, at the same
time, an agreeable task. The profession of the law, practised by men of
liberal and enlightened minds, and unstained by the sordidness which more
or less affects all human pursuits, invariably confers honor upon and is
honored by its followers. An integrity above suspicion, an eloquence
alike vigorous and persuasive, and an intuitive sagacity have earned for
Mr. Pierce the reputation that always follows them.
“The last case of paramount importance in which he was engaged as counsel
was that of Morrison v. Philbrick, tried in the month of February, 1852,
at the Court of Common Pleas for the county of Belknap. There was on
both sides an array of eminent professional talent, Messrs. Pierce, Bell,
and Bellows appearing for the defendant, and Messrs. Atherton and Whipple
for the plaintiff. The case was one of almost unequalled interest to the
public generally, and to the inhabitants of the country lying around the
lower part of Lake Winnipiscogee. A company, commonly called the Lake
Company, had become the owners of many of the outlets of the streams
supplying the lake, and by means of their works at such places, and at
Union Bridge, a few miles below, were enabled to keep back the waters of
the lake, and to use them as occasion should require to supply the mills
at Lowell. The plaintiff alleged that the dam at Union Bridge had caused
the water to rise higher than was done by the dam that existed in the
year 1828, and that he was essentially injured thereby. The case had
been on trial nearly seven weeks. Evidence equivalent to the testimony
of one hundred and eighty witnesses had been laid before the jury. Upon
this immense mass of facts, involving a great number of issues, Mr.
Pierce was to meet his most formidable opponent in the state, Mr.
Atherton. In that gentleman are united many of the rarest qualifications
of an advocate. Of inimitable self-possession; with a coolness and
clearness of intellect which no sudden emergencies can disturb; with that
confidence in his resources which nothing but native strength, aided by
the most thorough training, can bestow; with a felicity and fertility of
illustration, the result alike of an exquisite natural taste and a
cultivation of those studies which refine while they strengthen the mind
for forensic contests,--Mr. Atherton’s argument was listened to with an
earnestness and interest which showed the conviction of his audience that
no ordinary man was addressing them.
“No one who witnessed that memorable trial will soon forget the argument
of Mr. Pierce on that occasion. He was the counsel for the defendant,
and was therefore to precede Mr. Atherton. He was to analyze and unfold
to the jury this vast body of evidence under the watchful eyes of an
opponent at once enterprising and cautious, and before whom it was
necessary to be both bold and skilful. He was to place himself in the
position of the jury, to see the evidence as they would be likely to
regard it, to understand the character of their minds and what views
would be the most likely to impress them. He was not only to be familiar
with his own case, but to anticipate that of his opponent, and answer as
he best might the argument of the counsel. And most admirably did he
discharge the duties he had assumed on behalf of his client. Eminently
graceful and attractive in his manner at all times, his demeanor was then
precisely what it should have been, showing a manly confidence in himself
and his case, and a courteous deference to the tribunal he was
addressing. His erect and manly figure, his easy and unembarrassed air,
bespoke the favorable attention of his audience. His earnest devotion to
his cause, his deep emotion, evidently suppressed, but for that very
reason all the more interesting, diffused themselves like electricity
through his hearers. And when, as often happened, in the course of his
argument, his clear and musical accents fell upon the ear in eloquent and
pointed sentences, gratifying the taste while they satisfied the reason,
no man could avoid turning to his neighbor, and expressing by his looks
that pleasure which the very depth of his interest forbade him to express
in words. And when the long trial was over, every one remembered with
satisfaction that these two distinguished gentlemen had met each other
during a most exciting and exhausting trial of seven weeks, and that no
unkind words, or captious passages, had occurred between them to diminish
their mutual respect, or that in which they were held by their
fellow-citizens.
“In the above remarks, we have indicated a few of Mr. Pierce’s
characteristics as an advocate; but he possesses other endowments, to
which we have not alluded. In the first place, as he is a perfectly
fearless man, so he is a perfectly fearless advocate; and true courage is
as necessary to the civilian as to the soldier, and smiles and frowns Mr.
Pierce disregards alike in the undaunted discharge of his duty. He never
fears to uphold his client, however unpopular his cause may seem to be
for the moment. It is this courage which kindles his eloquence, inspires
his conduct, and gives direction and firmness to his skill. This it is
which impels him onward, at all risks, to lay bare every ‘mystery of
iniquity’ which he believes is threatening his case. He does not ask
himself whether his opponent be not a man of wealth and influence, of
whom it might be for his interest to speak with care and circumspection;
but he devotes himself with a ready zeal to his cause, careless of aught
but how he may best discharge his duty. His argumentative powers are of
the highest order. He never takes before the court a position which he
believes untenable. He has a quick and sure perception of his points,
and the power of enforcing them by apt and pertinent illustrations. He
sees the relative importance and weight of different views, and can
assign to each its proper place, and brings forward the main body of his
reasoning in prominent relief, without distracting the attention by
unimportant particulars. And above all, he has the good sense, so rarely
shown by many, to stop when he has said all that is necessary for the
elucidation of his subject. With a proper confidence in his own
perceptions, he states his views so pertinently and in such precise and
logical terms, that they cannot but be felt and appreciated. He never
mystifies; he never attempts to pervert words from their proper and
legitimate meaning to answer a temporary purpose.
“His demeanor at the bar nay be pronounced faultless. His courtesy in
the court house, like his courtesy elsewhere, is that which springs from
self-respect and from a kindly heart, disposing its owner to say and do
kindly things. But he would be a courageous man who, presuming upon the
affability of Mr. Pierce’s manner, would venture a second time to attack
him; for he would long remember the rebuke that followed his first
attack. There is a ready repartee and a quick and cutting sarcasm in his
manner when he chooses to display it, which it requires a man of
considerable nerve to withstand. He is peculiarly happy in the
examination of witnesses--that art in which so few excel. He never
browbeats, he never attempts to terrify. He is never rude or
discourteous. But the equivocating witness soon discovers that his
falsehood is hunted out of its recesses with an unsparing determination.
If he is dogged and surly, he is met by a spirit as resolute as his own.
If he is smooth and plausible, the veil is lifted from him by a firm but
graceful hand. If he is pompous and vain, no ridicule was ever more
perfect than that to which he listens with astonished and mortified ears.
“The eloquence of Mr. Pierce is of a character not to be easily
forgotten. He understands men, their passions and their feelings. He
knows the way to their hearts, and can make them vibrate to his touch.
His language always attracts the hearer. A graceful and manly carriage,
bespeaking him at once the gentleman and the true man; a manner warmed by
the ardent glow of an earnest belief; an enunciation ringing, distinct,
and impressive beyond that of most men; a command of brilliant and
expressive language; and an accurate taste, together with a sagacious and
instinctive insight into the points of his case, are the secrets of his
success. It is thus that audiences are moved and truth ascertained; and
he will ever be the most successful advocate who can approach the nearest
to this lofty and difficult position.
“Mr. Pierce’s views as a constitutional lawyer are such as have been
advocated by the ablest minds of America. They are those which, taking
their rise in the heroic age of the country, were transmitted to him by a
noble father, worthy of the times in which he lived, worthy of that
Revolution which he assisted in bringing about. He believes that the
Constitution was made, not to be subverted, but to be sacredly preserved;
that a republic is perfectly consistent with the conservation of law, of
rational submission to right authority, and of true self-government.
Equally removed from that malignant hostility to order which
characterizes the demagogues who are eager to rise upon the ruins even of
freedom, and from that barren and bigoted narrowness which would oppose
all rational freedom of opinion, he is, in its loftiest and most
ennobling sense, a friend of that Union, without which the honored name
of American citizen would become a by-word among the nations. And if, as
we fervently pray and confidently expect he will, Mr. Pierce shall
display before the great tribunals of the nation the courage, the
consistency, the sagacity, and the sense of honor, which have already
secured for him so many thousands of devoted friends, and which have
signalized both his private and professional life, his administration
will long be held in grateful remembrance as one of which the sense of
right and the sagacity to perceive it, a clear insight into the true
destinies of the country and a determination to uphold them at whatever
sacrifice, were the predominant characteristics.”
It may appear singular that Franklin Pierce has not taken up his
residence in some metropolis, where his great forensic abilities would so
readily find a more conspicuous theatre, and a far richer remuneration
than heretofore. He himself, it is understood, has sometimes
contemplated a removal, and, two or three years since, had almost
determined on settling in Baltimore. But his native state, where he is
known so well, and regarded with so much familiar affection, which he has
served so faithfully, and which rewards him so generously with its
confidence, New Hampshire, with its granite hills, must always be his
home. He will dwell there, except when public duty for a season shall
summon him away; he will die there, and give his dust to its soil.
It was at his option, in 1846, to accept the highest legal position in
the country, setting aside the bench, and the one which undoubtedly would
most have gratified his professional aspirations. President Polk, with
whom he had been associated on the most friendly terms in Congress, now
offered him the post of attorney general of the United States. “In
tendering to you this position in my cabinet,” writes the President, “I
have been governed by the high estimate which I place upon your character
and eminent qualifications to fill it.” The letter, in which this
proposal is declined, shows so much of the writer’s real self that we
quote a portion of it.
“Although the early years of my manhood were devoted to public life, it
was never really suited to my taste. I longed, as I am sure you must
often have done, for the quiet and independence that belong only to the
private citizen; and now, at forty, I feel that desire stronger than
ever.
“Coming so unexpectedly as this offer does, it would be difficult, if not
impossible, to arrange the business of an extensive practice, between
this and the first of November, in a manner at all satisfactory to
myself, or to those who have committed their interests to my care, and
who rely on my services. Besides, you know that Mrs. Pierce’s health,
while at Washington, was very delicate. It is, I fear, even more so now;
and the responsibilities which the proposed change would necessarily
impose upon her ought, probably, in themselves, to constitute an
insurmountable objection to leaving our quiet home for a public station
at Washington.
“When I resigned my seat in the Senate in 1842, I did it with the fixed
purpose never again to be voluntarily separated from my family for any
considerable length of time, except at the call of my country in time of
war; and yet this consequence, for the reason before stated, and on
account of climate, would be very likely to result from my acceptance.
“These are some of the considerations which have influenced my decision.
You will, I am sure, appreciate my motives. You will not believe that I
have weighed my personal convenience and case against the public
interest, especially as the office is one which, if not sought, would be
readily accepted by gentlemen who could bring to your aid attainments and
qualifications vastly superior to mine.”
Previous to the offer of the attorney-generalship, the appointment of
United States Senator had been tendered to Pierce by Governor Steele, and
declined. It is unquestionable that, at this period, he hoped and
expected to spend a life of professional toil in a private station,
undistinguished except by the exercise of his great talents in peaceful
pursuits. But such was not his destiny. The contingency to which he
referred in the above letter, as the sole exception to his purpose of
never being separated from his family, was now about to occur. Nor did
he fail to comport himself as not only that intimation, but the whole
tenor of his character, gave reason to anticipate.
During the years embraced in this chapter,--between 1842 and 1847,--he
had constantly taken an efficient interest in the politics of the state,
but had uniformly declined the honors which New Hampshire was at all
times ready to confer upon him. A democratic convention nominated him
for governor, but could not obtain his acquiescence. One of the
occasions on which he most strenuously exerted himself was in holding the
democratic party loyal to its principles, in opposition to the course of
John P. Hale. This gentleman, then a representative in Congress, had
broken with his party on no less important a point than the annexation of
Texas. He has never since acted with the Democracy, and has long been a
leader of the free soil party.
In 1844 died Frank Robert, son of Franklin Pierce, aged four years, a
little boy of rare beauty and promise, and whose death was the greatest
affliction that his father has experienced. His only surviving child is
a son, now eleven years old.