Many anecdotes are still current of his wise and
racy sayings. His sons inherited large fortunes and were
all of them men of mark and influence in Boston. Francis
C. Grey, the Judge's uncle, was a man of letters, a historical
investigator. He discovered the priceless Body of Liberties
of 1641, which had remained unprinted from that time, although
the source from which our Bill of Rights and constitutional
provisions had been so largely drawn.
Judge Gray's father was largely employed in manufacturing
and owned some large iron works. The son had been brought
up, I suppose, to expect that his life would be one of comfort
and ease, free from all anxieties about money, and the extent
of the labor of life would be, perhaps, to visit the counting-
room a few hours in the day to look over the books and see
generally that his affairs were properly conducted by his
agents and subordinates. He had visited Europe more than
once, and was abroad shortly after his graduation when the
news reached him that the companies in which his father's
fortune was invested had failed.
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