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Sparks, William Henry, 1800-1882

"The Memories of Fifty Years Containing Brief Biographical Notices of Distinguished Americans, and Anecdotes of Remarkable Men; Interspersed with Scenes and Incidents Occurring during a Long Life of Observation Chiefly Spent i"


I was young and ardent, and felt offended at this opposition, and gave
all the aid I could to the passage of the bill. Fortunately for our
cause, there were many young lawyers in the Legislature, and these
were a unit, and we succeeded in carrying the measure. From that day
Nesbitt seemed nearer to me than any other of the Bar in our circuit.
We have been separated over forty years, he remaining in his native
State, while I have wandered away to the West. Still that warmth of
heart toward him has never died out. And now, when both are on the
grave's brink, we meet, not to renew, but to find the old flame
burning still. King, Nesbitt, and myself were born in the same county,
and our ancestors worshipped at the same church--Old Bethany--and
to-day we recalled the fact as we mourned the death of our early
friend and compeer at the Bar.
Time has swept on. Our children are gray with years. One by one, all
who were at the Bar with us are gone, save two or three, and to-morrow
we shall be gone. But the oblivious past has not curtained from memory
yet the incidents and the men of that past, and while I may I will
bear testimony to these, and to the men who were their chief actors.


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