Edward L. Pierce, Memoir and letters of Charles Sumner: volume 3

Romilly has always seemed to me the model man in my profession. He was a great lawyer, without narrowness or pedantry; he was one of the few who thoroughly understood the law, and have been willing to reform it; he was a lover of learning and humanity.

To Theodore Parker, June 8:—

I call for the printing of the admirable discourse of yesterday,¹ which I listened to with breathless interest. You gave a fresh turn to the great kaleidoscope, revealing new shapes and forms of the unutterable atrocity of war.

To William F. Channing, September 26:—

I am happy in your sympathy. I often think of your father's² confidence and kindness to me, and regret now that he has gone that I did not see him more. . . . His tracts on the Duties of the Free States passed through the press under my eye.

To Lord Morpeth, October 1:—

This note comes so soon after my last, to announce the coming of Bancroft as our minister. You know his genius, his brilliancy, and his eccentricity. With little or no favor in Boston among his neighbors, he has risen to one of the pinnacles of his party. His wife you will remember, though you did not know her much. She is refined, intelligent, good,—a pleasant example of American womanhood. I am anxious through you to commend her in such manner as may be proper to the kindness of the Duchess of Sutherland. I think she will be more attractive than any American lady who has ever been in England. Her worth of character will commend her to your sister more than her station or personal graces.

Sumner contributed to the Law Reporter in June, 1846,³ a biographical sketch of John Pickering, in which he dwelt upon the latter's studies in philology, and his union of professional and literary labors. The sketch is inspired by a strong personal regard, which was again shown in his eulogy on ‘The Scholar’ pronounced a few months later. It is a beautiful tribute, and in its kind one of Sumner's best papers.

Sumner delivered the oration before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard College at its anniversary, Aug. 27, 1846.⁴ It was a tribute to four eminent graduates of the college who had recently died, and was entitled, ‘The Scholar (John Pickering); the Jurist (Joseph Story); the Artist (Washington Allston); and the Philanthropist (William E. Channing).’ The first two