think themselves entitled to a monopoly of the business, did not choose to treat with much favor the applications of new candidates for admission to the bar. After a rigid examination, however, Mr. Smith was found to be fully qualified in his studies; and after a good deal of shuffling it was found that the only objection that could be made was, that no certificate had been filed showing that his studies of the law had been for the full period required for admission to the bar. It was now the last day but one of the term, and the bar, unwilling to favor a new rival, rejected his application. Smith, determined not to be foiled by his opponents, who he knew had been more than usually rigorous, in his case, in enforcing the letter of their rules, immediately withdrew from the court-house. In less than half an hour he was on his way, on horseback, to Salem, where he procured the necessary certificate, and, by riding hard all night, returned to Amherst before the assembling of the bar on the next day, having the "evidence in his pocket" of his consecutive studies. He now applied for another meeting of the bar, but his request was haughtily refused. Conscious that he had now complied with the letter of the rules, and determined not to submit to what he looked upon to be a gross wrong, Mr. Smith promptly appeared before the court, and stating to their honors in respectful tones the treatment he had received from the bar, craved the interposition of the court. The judges at once, and unanimously, ordered his name to be enrolled as an attorney. This was a triumph to the young aspirant, and the story getting abroad, made him many friends among the people. The rage of the old lawyers was without bounds, and they scarcely refrained from insult ing the court, in their desire to humble the young lawyer from Peterborough. But a speedy triumph awaited him. He went fresh and vigorous into the midst of his profession; the very next term gave him a full docket; he rose at once to the head of the profession in his native county; and the very men who had opposed his admission to the bar, were compelled to employ him to argue their

causes.

Mr. Smith, from 1788 to 1790, represented his native town in the General Assembly of the State, and performed a valuable service upon a committee for revising the laws of the State. In 1792,

he was an active member of the convention which revised and perfected the Constitution of New Hampshire, which has to this day remained without change; for during the wild career of radicalism, which threatened, for a time, to set adrift all the cherished interests of the State, the people-to their praise be it saidstill adhered with fondness, as the sheet anchor of their safety, to the good old Constitution of 1792. That the truly conservative principles of that excellent charter should have been preserved, unimpaired, during the disorganizing and corrupt state administrations which followed the advent of Jacksonism in 1829, is indeed a marvel, and we regard it as a pregnant sign that the people of New Hampshire, in a strong and steady ma jority, will ere long be found ranged with their natural brethren, the Whigs of the indomitable North.

Mr. Smith's political career commenced under the first administration of Washington. He was elected to the first Congress in 1790, and was a member of the second, third and fourth Congresses. He was a useful representative, observant, and faithful to his constituents and the country. When the two great political parties which originated on the adoption of the federal constitution, began to assume a bodily form in Congress, Mr. Smith was found with those who supported the Constitution, or the Federalists, as they were called, in opposition to the Anti-Federalists, or Democracy, which title the latter party assumed after the opening of the great drama of the French Revolution. He was the personal and intimate friend of Fisher Ames, and of Calcot, Gore, Harper, and others; and kindred views and associations soon placed him on the most pleasing footing with Jay, Hamilton, Marshall, Wolcott, and others of the great men of his time. He was honored with the respect and confidence of Washington and Adams, and continued to advocate, through life, the principles which he had heard expounded from the lips of the Father of his country.

Towards the close of the year 1796, Mr. Smith was chosen, almost without opposition, for the fourth term in Congress; but in July, 1797, having received from President Adams the appointment of U. S. Attorney for the District of New Hampshire, he resigned his seat in Congress, and settled at Exeter. Professional business poured in upon him, and public

honors followed him. In 1800, he was appointed Judge of Probate for the county of Rockingham. On the reorganization of the United States Courts, at the close of Mr. Adams' administration, Mr. Smith received the appointment of Judge of the Circuit Court of the United States. He entered with zeal upon his new duties, and was fast acquiring a high reputation as a jurist, when a new organization of the courts, after the accession of Mr. Jefferson, made for the express purpose, among others, of getting rid of what were termed the "midnight judges," left him out of office. He returned again to his practice at the bar.

Scarcely had Judge Smith closed his business as Circuit Judge, and re-opened his office at Exeter, before he was tendered the appointment of Chief-Justice of New Hampshire. The salary at that period, attached to this high office, was eight hundred dollars only, not a fourth part of the income which a lawyer of his standing could then command at the bar. He therefore, after mature deliberation, decided to decline the appointment, unless he could be assured that the Legislature would increase the salary. That body was soon to be in session, and the Governor held the commission in abeyance, until their pleasure could be known. It is worthy of note, as showing the esti mate at that time placed upon the character and attainments of Judge Smith, that the Legislature, though the majority was opposed to him in their political opinions, raised the salary immediately to $1,000, and soon afterwards to $1,500 per annum. He entered upon his duties in September, 1802, and remained ChiefJustice until chosen to the Chief Magistracy, in 1809.

Party spirit in New Hampshire ran high, from this period until the close of the war in 1812. The high character of Chief Justice Smith could not shield him from the fiery ordeal, when he came before the people as a candidate for office, and in the following year, the republican party succeeding under the ticket headed by JOHN LANGDON, Governor Smith again returned to the practice of his profession. His loss from the bench, where he was popular, was everywhere felt, and the weakness of the court which succeeded, was openly complained of by the people. In 1813, the federal party was again thrown into power in the State, and acting upon what they supposed to be the wishes of the people, adopted one of

those radical and violent changes, which often prostrate a political party. The laws which established the "Superior Court of Judicature" were repealed, and an act passed creating the "Supreme Judicial Court of New Hampshire." The operation of this proceeding was, to abolish the offices of the existing judges, and give to the dominant party the appointment of a new bench of justices. În making up the new bench, Arthur Livermore, who had been chief-justice of the old court, was retained as associate judge in the new, and Judge Smith, who had resigned his seat on the bench in 1809, to accept the office of governor, was again appointed Chief-Justice of the State. The remaining seat upon the bench of the new court was filled by Caleb Ellis, an eminent lawyer from the county of Cheshire.

This measure was assailed with great vigor by the republican orators and the press; inflammatory pamphlets and handbills were scattered broadcast over the State, and the popular clamor became general; not that a change had been made-for everybody admitted the necessity of a change-but at the mode of effecting it. The Constitution contemplates two modes only in which judges may be removed: impeachment, for crimes, or removal by address, for incompetency. The latter of these alternatives should have been adopted; and the cry of violating the Constitution would not have been raised. The new system, however, after some show of violence on the part of its opponents, finally, through the firmness of Chief-Justice Smith, went into successful operation, and was continued until the republican ascendency was regained in 1816. . In that year, the system of 1813 was abolished, and the old Superior Court, with some slight modifications re-established. It is worthy of note, however, that the constitutional objections, so freely urged in 1813, were wholly forgotten by the victorious party of 1816; and by refusing to restore either of the old judges with the old court, the republicans in effect justified their removal by the Federalists in 1813! We are not sure but that the radical precedent of the act of 1813, has been more than once followed by the radical democracy of New Hampshire since 1816. Men who were staunch federalists from 1813 to 1828, have since had paramount influence in the so-called democratic party of that State-and there is no class of men who

make so thorough, unscrupulous and uncompromising radicals as your renegades from old federalism.

Judge Smith returned again to the bar, and soon found himself engaged in a very extensive and lucrative practice. He followed his profession until 1820, when he retired with an ample though not large fortune. He spent the remainder of his life in a quiet and unostentatious retirement, preserving to the last his faculties unimpaired, and those high social qualities which contributed to his own enjoyment, and the happiness of all around him. In conversation, Judge Smith had few equals. To the young and old, to the belles-lettres scholar and the man of science, and, above all, to his numerous female friends, he never failed to render himself agreeable. Few were so well acquainted with the private history and correspondence of distinguished men; and to have heard him converse upon the characters of those who lived in the most important eras of English and French history, one could hardly realize that he was not listening to a fellowactor with the very persons described. Nor was he indifferent to the character of the great men of our own time. On the contrary, he scrutinized their acts, and acknowledged their merits, and discussed the bearing of their principles with interest, fairness and good sense. Indeed, it was a remarkable trait in his character that he kept close up with the spirit of the age. He never affected to consider the times in which he took an active part, as exclusively marked by patriotism or intellect; nor did he think every departure from the track to which he was used an improvident innovation. But he read and observed, with an honest intention to inform himself of the character of all improvements; and in this respect he wisely identified himself with the present instead of pining regretfully over the past.

Judge Smith died at Dover, NewHampshire, on the 21st September, 1842, at the age of eighty-two years. The following inscription, prepared by his friends, DANIEL WEBSTER and GEORGE TICKNOR, graces the plain marble which denotes his resting-place:

"Here rest the remains of JEREMIAH SMITH: In early youth a volunteer in the cause of the Revolution, and wounded at

the battle of Bennington; afterwards a Representative in Congress by the choice of the People of New Hampshire, and an able and efficient supporter of the measures United States, and Judge of the Circuit of Washington; a District Attorney of the Court, by the appointment of Washington's successor; in years yet more mature, Governor of New Hampshire, and twice its Chief-Justice-He was, at every period of his life, well-deserving of his country, by his courage, his fidelity, and his devotedness to the public service; equalled by few in original power, practical wisdom, and judicial learning and acuteness; surpassed in the love of honor, justice and borough, November 29th, 1759, and lived truth by none. He was born at Peterin Exeter from 1797 till a few months before his death, at Dover, September 21st, 1842; always most loved in those circles of domestic affection where he was best known; and always a Christian, both by his convictions and by the habits of a life protracted, in extraordinary cheerfulness and energy, to above fourscore and two years."

The following estimate of the character of Chief-Justice Smith, making every allowance for the partiality of private friendship, would suffice to establish his reputation as a jurist, were there no other memorials left of his career in his native State.

"Judge Smith's natural powers of mind excitable temperament, he acquired know were of a high order. With an ardent and ledge easily and rapidly. After he commenced the practice of law, he always indulged himself freely in miscellaneous reading and studies; and his attainments in literature and general knowledge were highly respectable. But the chief labor of his life was devoted to the study of the law. This he studied systematically as a science. As a counsellor and advocate, he soon rose Although successful at the bar, he was preto the first grade of eminence at the bar. eminently qualified for the office and duties of a judge. With an ample stock of learning, in all the various branches and departments of the law, well-digested and methodized, so as to be always at ready command, he united quickness of perception, sagacity and soundness of judgment. Disciplined by a long course of laborious study, he was able to bear with patience the most tedious and protracted investigations and discussions, to which a judge is so constantly subjected. The most distinguished traits of his character were impar

tiality and inflexible firmness in the performance of all his judicial duties. As Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire, he found a sufficiently ample field for the exercise of all his talents. Before the Revolution, little had

been done in the Colony of New Hampshire to systematize the practice of law; and, for many years after the Revolution, lawyers were seldom selected to fill the bench of even the highest courts. The consequence was, that the practice and proceedings of the courts were crude and inartificial, and the final determination of causes depended more on the discretion and arbitrary opinions of the judges and jurors, than on any established rules and principles of law. This, of course, rendered legal decisions vague and uncertain -the most intolerable evil of a bad administration of justice, and but slightly alleviated by the highest purity of intention in the judges. To remedy this evil, Judge Smith labored with diligence and perseverance, by establishing and enforcing a more orderly practice, and by strenuous endeavors to conform all judicial decisions to known rules and principles of law. His erudition and high standing with the profession, as well as with the public at large, enabled him to effect much in this respect, and to his labors the State is greatly if not chiefly indebted for the present more orderly proceedings and better administration of justice."

JOEL PARKER, LL.D.

He added, that, "with Chief-Justice Smith, industry in preparation on the part of counsel, research into the points of law, and a frank and manly presentment of the whole case, placing it upon its true merits, without disguise or concealment, would go as far for the maintenance of truth and justice as with any judge he had ever known."

A brief notice of the family of Judge Smith is all we have space to add, leaving some reflections upon the history of political parties in New Hampshire, which we had prepared, for a future number of the Review.

Judge Smith was twice married. His first wife was Eliza Ross, daughter of Alexander Ross, Esq., of Bladensburg, Maryland, to whom he was married March 8th, 1797. She died June 19th, 1827. His second wife, to whom he was married Sept. 20th, 1831, was Elizabeth, daughter of the Hon. William Hale, of Dover, N. H. The children of his first marriage preceded him to the grave; and one son, born to him in his

old age, survives to inherit his name and property.

Judge Smith was the last of four brothers, who all died in the same year, and within a few months of each other. The first was the Hon. Samuel Smith, of Peterborough, N. H., at the age of seventy-five; the second was James Smith, Esq., of Cavendish, Vt., aged eighty-six; and the third, Jonathan Smith, Esq., of Peterborough, aged seventy-nine. They were all remarkably shrewd, clear-headed, strong-minded men, and respected in private and public stations. Samuel Smith was a Representative in Congress in 1813. He was one of the pioneers of manufacturing industry in New Hampshire, and, like most of those who first commenced the business in New England, sunk his fortune in the enterprise. During several of the latter years of his life, he gave his attention to historical researches. Regarding newspapers as containing the most minute and reliable history of the times that can be preserved, he toiled patiently for years in accumulating and perfecting files of those he considered the most valuable. In 1836, he informed the writer that he had formed files of eighty different American newspapers,

which were all systematically arranged, and were as perfect as they could be made. He had nearly completed files of almost every newspaper in New Hamp shire, and also files of Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington newspapers. His collection at that time con

sisted of more than seven hundred and fifty volumes, and we have been informed that the number was considerably increased prior to his decease. What a treasure to be laid hold of by some one of our Historical Societies!

THE founders of the National Academy discovered as much discretion as liberality, in permitting its annual exhibition to be made an advertisement for portraitpainters; for they not only judged that portraits ought to be works of art, but that the walls of the exhibition-room ought to be covered with painted canvases. Only one objection, and that in the trivial matter of a name, appears in their arrangements. They should be called, not the National Academy of Design, but the New York Association of Portrait-Painters. The air of the Art Union is bucolic and rustic, that of the Academy domestic and refined. One represents the nursery, the stable, and the bar-room; the other as faithfully depicts the parlor and the concert. In the Art Union truthful pictures of the grossest and simplest forms of life attract us; in the other we are equally delighted with the airs of artificial society; both attain their true ends-they instruct while they

amuse.

As the appearance of this notice is very nearly at the time of closing the exhibition, we may be permitted, without injustice to the great number of " meritorious gentlemen" whose works are in the exhibition, to mention only a few of the more remarkable pictures, with a view to some free remarks on the topic of art in general, for which they give us an opportunity.

Entering carelessly, and without a guide, we cast our eyes over a number of pieces, and, distracted among a crowd of excellences, fix the eyes at hazard on No. -, a picture entitled Children in the Country, by Peele. The face of the young girl has an expression of the most touching sweetness and simplicity. Her

* The Angel's Whisper.

attitude easy, but not slovenly, shows in the artist a feeling of that angelic modesty worshipped by the poets, striven for by the painters, and here, as in another picture of his, successfully depicted by Mr. Peele. This artist certainly has grace and feeling in an eminent degree, nor is his design deficient; it is the want of good coloring, and of clear, practised drawing, which prevents him from great popularity. His figures are not substantial-he does not seem to draw them with a feeling of their internal anatomy. He rather maps them down. As for his color, nothing could have less depth; it is very raw, and though correct, shows very little tone. Greuse, a celebrated painter of the last century, and who excelled in the same field with this gentleman, would consider this beautiful design of Mr. Peele's as but just begun; he would repaint the whole twice over, if we may believe Merimé,† in order to produce the greatest mellowness and depth; but the final effect would be given by all the coats, each being thinly laid on. Το paint in this manner requires time, but what can be more delightful than the result?

Passing into another room, we stood opposite a picture by Mr. Huntingdon, entitled "Folly and Devotion." A venerable figure appears reading from the Sacred Book; Folly, a buxom lass, looks about her as if expecting admiration: Devotion, fixed by the time and the occasion, listens with downcast eyes and in a modest attitude. Mr. Huntingdon has placed himself in the first rank in choice of subject; a particular too little attended to by modern artists, if we except those of Germany. A picture dealing with human character in the general

+ Merime on Oil-Painting.