Thus  Mr.  Beaman's  opportunity  came  by  the  chance  choice
of  a  subject  for  a  prize  thesis,  and  he  so  well  availed  himself  of
it  that  it  brought  him  position,  his  wife,  and  a  fortune.
He  practiced  his  profession  in  partnership  with  Edward  N.
Dickerson,  a  distinguished  patent  lawyer,  until  1879,  when  he  be-
came a  member  of  that  firm  of  notable  lawyers  composed  of  Wm.
M.  Evarts,  Charles  F.  Southmayd  and  Joseph  H.  Choate.  By
the  retirement  of  its  senior  members,  he  was  at  the  time  of  his
death  practically  at  its  head,  and  as  such,  entrusted  with  the
largest  and  most  important  business  interests  as  counsel  for  great
railway  lines,  for  important  corporations  and  leading  capitalists
whose  operations  were  world  wide.  How  well  he  administered
these  weighty  trusts,  all  who  were  brought  in  contact  with  him
will  freely  admit.
His  trained  legal  mind,  sound  judgment,  far-reaching  sagac-
ity, fair  conclusions,  conciliatory  spirit  were  effective  and  con-
vincing and  brought  him  high  reputation  and  successful  issues
to  his  clients.
With  all  this  engrossing  professional  work  pressing  upon  him,


280  HISTORY  OF  CORNISH.
he  was  always  a  leader  in  any  movement  for  the  public  good,
social,  charitable  or  political,  unsparing  in  his  efforts  and  regard-
less of  himself.
But  it  is  for  his  personal  qualities  that  he  will  be  best  remem-
bered. He  was  one  of  the  cheeriest  men  that  ever  drew  the
breath  of  life,  bubbling  over  with  boyish  enthusiasm,  gifted  with
an  irrepressible  humor.
"Whose  wit  in  the  combat  as  gentle  as  bright,
Ne'er  carried  a  heart-stain  away  on  its  blade."

Buoyant,  fascinating,  pervading  the  very  air  with  his  conta-
gious sympathy,  he  was  the  center  of  every  social  gathering,  and
the  best  man  at  a  dinner  table  for  raillery,  repartee  and  brilliant
passage  at  arms  in  conversation.
