with extreme care. I have seen
proofs of this." Shortly before his leaving town, he purchased a copy of
Thirlwall's (the Bishop of St. David's) History of Greece, in eight
volumes, "to read over at the sea-side;" and he did so: telling me that
"he liked it much,--that it had told him many things which he had not
known before." This copy his brother presented to me after Mr. Smith's
death, and I value it greatly. One morning I found him much exhausted;
but soon after I had taken my seat, he said, "You can oblige me by
something, if you will do it for me. I recollect that there is generally
lying on your table, at chambers, 'Bell's Principles of the Law of
Scotland.' Now I am very anxious to read the book, as I expect to be in
one, if not two, Scotch appeal cases, in the House of Lords, next
session!--Will you do me this favour?" Of course I immediately procured
the book to be forwarded to him, and it afforded him uncommon pleasure
for many days. He read it entirely through with deep attention, as his
numerous pencil marks on the margin attest, as well as several notes on
the fly-leaf, of leading points of difference between our law and that
of Scotland. At page 35, Sec.76, the text runs thus:--"Tacit acceptance may
be inferred from silence, when the refusal is so put as to require
rejection, if the party do not mean to assent; as when a merchant writes
to another, that he is against a certain day, to send him a certain
commodity, at a certain price, unless he shall previously forbid."
Opposite to this, Mr. Smith has written in pencil, "_Surely one man
cannot throw the duty of refusal on another, [in] that way?_" In the
course of a little discussion which we had on this subject, I said,
"Suppose the parties have had previously similar transactions?"--"Ah,"
he answered, "that might make a difference, and evidence a _contract_ to
the effect stated; but as nakedly enunciated in the text, I think It
cannot be the law of Scotland, or law any where." He made many
interesting and valuable remarks from time to time on Scotch law, and
expressed a high opinion of the work in question, referring to every
portion of it as readily as though it had been his familiar text-book
for years. I often found him reading the numbers of the Queen's Bench,
Common Pleas, and Exchequer Reports; and he once said, "I have a good
many arrears to get through, in this way, before the beginning of
term!" One day I saw a prodigious pile of law papers lying