ouisiana,
and he was entirely unacquainted with this. Crawford's reply was
eminently characteristic. The great principles of all laws are the
same. Their object is to enforce the right, and maintain impartial
justice between man and man. In hearing a case, a judge of good common
sense will generally find out the justice of the matter. Let him
decide right, and do substantial justice, and he will, ninety-nine
times out of one hundred, decide according to law, whether he knows
anything about the law or not. And such a judge is always best for a
new country, or, in truth, for any country. The appointment was
secured, and George Matthews left his native State forever.

Soon after reaching Louisiana, he married Miss Flower, of West
Feliciana--a lady in every way suited to him. She was of fine family,
with strong mind, domestic habits, and full of energy. They were very
much attached to each other, and were happy and prosperous through all
the life of the great judge. Mrs. Matthews still lives, and in the
immediate neighborhood of her birthplace, and is now active, useful,
and beloved by all who know her, though extremely old.

When the Territory was organized into a State under the Constitution,
Matthews was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court by Governor
Claiborne--an office he held through life, and the duties of which he
discharged with distinguished ability, and to the honor of the State
and the entire satisfaction of the Bar and the people.

The mind of Judge Matthews was strong and methodical. His general
character largely partook of the character of his mind. He steadily
pursued a fixed purpose, and was prudent, cautious, and considerate in
all he did. There was no speculation in his mind. He jumped to no
conclusions; but examined well and profoundly every question--weighed
well every argument; but he never forgot the advice of Mr. Crawford,
and sometimes would strain a point in order to effect strict and
substantial justice. As a judge, he was peculiarly cautious. However
intricate was any case, he bent to it his whole mind, and the great
effort was always to learn the right--to sift from it all the verbiage
and ambiguity which surrounded and obscured it, and then to sustain it
in his decision. Upright and sincere in his pursuits, methodical, with
fixity of purpose, he was never in a hurry about anything, and was
always content, in his business, with moderate profits as the reward
of his labor. As a compa