"  Mr.  Choate  converted  these  incidents  into  one  of  his  finest
episodes.  He  gave  us  the  Chief  Justice  in  his  most  exalted
intellectual  frame  ;  but  then  how  ingeniously  did  he  darken
the  canvas  with  all  the  horrors  of  that  great  man's  morbid
delusions !  Surely  the  jury  were  not  to  believe  that  a  malady
thus  foreshadowed,  when  added  to  and  aggravated  by  the
channel  of  transmission,  could  issue  in  anything  less  than
necessary  and  utter  mental  overthrow !  His  theory  might
have  gained  assent,  had  it  not  been  that  the  questionable  wit-
ness was  himself  in  court.  His  whole  demeanor  and  expres-
sion, however,  were  those  of  a  man  absorbed  in  melancholy  ;
and  I  think  Mr.  Choate's  side  had,  from  the  outset,  staked
their  expectations  upon  the  miscarriage  of  this  witness  on  the
stand.  In  the  first  place,  would  the  party  setting  up  the  will
dare  to  call  him  \  If  not,  it  would  be  a  confession  of  at  least
present  incompetency.  If  they  should,  how  probable  that  so
consummate  a  cross-examiner  would  easily  reach  the  clew  to
his  distractions,  and  thus  topple  him  from  any  momentary  self-
possession.  It  was  in  taking  this  timid  and  reluctant  witness
into  his  own  hands,  and  bringing  him  to  feel  that  he  was  tes-
tifying under  the  shelter  of  the  great  '  Defender  '  himself,  that
Mr.  Webster  figured  more  conspicuously  than  in  any  other
part  of  the  case.     Thus  borne  up  and  through  a  long  direct


1<20  MEMOIR   OF   RUFUS    CHOATE.  [Chap.  VI.
examination,  he  braved  the  cross-examination  with  perfect
composure.  This  was  the  critical  point  of  the  case  to  which  I
have  before  alluded.  I  know  I  am  spinning-  out  this  note  to  a
merciless  length,  but  my  apology  is,  that  reminiscences  of  Mr.
