But he fell short a little. I learned, later, that
it was a man named Shaw who afterward became famous as a writer
and humorist under the pseudonym of Josh Billings. He was
the son of Henry Shaw, formerly of Lanesboro; at that time
a millionaire dwelling in New York, and known to fame as
one of the two Massachusetts Representatives who voted for
the Missouri Compromise in 1820. Henry Shaw was, I believe,
a native of Lanesboro, and had represented the Berkshire district
in Congress.
The person whom the Worcester lawyers of this time like best
to remember was Peter C. Bacon. He was the Dominie Sampson
of the Worcester Bar. I suppose he was the most learned man
we ever had in Worcester, and probably, in Massachusetts.
He was simple and guileless as a child; of a most inflexible
honesty, devoted to the interest of his clients, and an enthusiastic
lover of the science of the law. When, in rare cases, he
thoroughly believed in the righteousness of his case, he was
irresistible. But in general he was full of doubts and hesitation.
He was, until he was compelled to make his arguments more
compact by the rules of court limiting the time of arguments,
rather tedious.
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