Professor Parker, when Chief Justice of New Hampshire, had a memorable struggle with Judge Story, who held the United States Circuit Court, over a question under the Bankrupt Law. The facts are stated on pages 245 and 246 of the History of the Law School. In my time it was thought that Professor Parker did not like Story, or Story's rather showy law books. He probably would have agreed with the following remarks on page 12 of the History: "Story was the kindly master who, in his lectures, smoothed the rough places and was profuse with instruction and help. We may suppose his lectures, like his books, to have been learned, fluent, often original and profound, sometimes, however, dodging a difficulty rather than trying to overcome it." I have heard it said that Story stands higher as a writer of opinions than as a legal author.
There was in my day a student named Stevenson who was assigned to argue one side of a Moot Court case before Professor Parker, sitting as Judge. Stevenson, who knew and well understood the Professor, in the course of his argument read a few sentences from one of Story's books and then, pausing and looking at the Judge, said: "May it please your Honor. There follows this passage about half a page of Latin. I have not read it, but it looks as though it were on our side."
Professor Parker, during the War for the Union was _pro_ the administration _saepe_; _pro lege, pro republica semper_. He had, of course, profound reverence for the writ of habeas corpus. A student once stated a strong case of treasonable conduct and asked him if he would not suspend the writ in such a case. "No, sir," said the Professor, "I would not suspend the writ of habeas corpus, but I would suspend the corpus."
Professor Theophilus Parsons was a son of the great Chief Justice of Massachusetts of the same name. He was sixty-six years of age when I knew him, a man of the world who had touched life at many points, a voluminous writer of law books and an instructive and entertaining lecturer. There was a side to his nature which he did not show to his class. I used to have among my books a small volume of sublimated Swedenborgian doctrine written by him. It was difficult to associate it with the genial and jovial man you saw in the lecture room. I have tried to assimilate this message from the New Jerusalem, but have failed, no doubt because of some invincible ignorance and innate incapacity of my own.