argument against him, but entirely engrossed in the question before him, he sped on with unerring certainty, scattering like the chaff before the wind the sophistries and mistakes of the opposition. Aiming at the very heart of the controversy, without any variableness or shadow of turning, he landed in the harbor of victory, laden with the fruits of success.

To me the greatness of Governor FELCH was most conspicuous in his earnestness and simplicity of manner. Never, in the thirty years that I knew him, did I witness one act or listen to one word of frivolity from him; always earnest, always sincere, in the smaller as well as the greater things of this life. Not that he was cross, sour, or morose; on the contrary, he was the most pleasant of all men to meet. I have sometimes thought that Governor FELCH was not subject to the bodily pains and mental annoyances that the ordinary man is heir to, for his face was a stranger to clouds, and his soul seemed the cradle of happy thoughts. But to him life was earnest, and whatever was worthy of his attention was worthy of his earnest attention. Whether you met him in the daily affairs of life, in the exciting moments of a hotly contested lawsuit, or in the contemplation and presentation of the great questions of State, the same frank, candid, deep, and earnest manner was ever with him.

To his intensely earnest nature was added purity of purpose and freedom from guile. He knew no wrong in himself, and refused to see any in others. All who met him loved him, and, encouraged by his kindness and simplicity of manner, at once felt at home in his presence. There was no egotism, no self-importance, no false dignity in his nature; there were no mannerisms, no repuls ive, offensive ways about him.

ALPHEUS FELCH's greatness was the natural outgrowth and development of a pure life. He alone, of all the people who knew him, seemed never to be able to realize that he was a great man. He seemed not to be affected by the mental fluctuations of the ordinary mind, or, if he

was, the lowest ebb of his mental greatness so far excelled the grasp of the commonalty that it was not discoverable.

I remember, one bright morning, standing upon the walls of old Fort Mackinac, and looking down upon the city of Cheboygan, twenty miles away. It seemed to be a city of crystal houses, so bright and clear was the atmosphere. A morning later, I again climbed to the top of the old walls, in the hope once more to look upon that beautiful picture. To me, the morning was as bright and the air as pure and clear as upon the former occasion; but to my astonishment Cheboygan had sunken out of sight. I could not even locate the city or guess its whereabouts. I expressed my disappointment to the officer in charge of the fort. He replied: "That is a very common experience here. While you cannot perceive it," said he, "there is a difference in the condition of the atmosphere; it is a little heavier this morning, and you could not see Cheboygan if it were only ten miles away."

I have sometimes thought what is true with the atmosphere at Mackinac is equally true with the human mind. Today the conditions of the mind and body are such that the mental altitude is much greater than yesterday, the mental vision much clearer and brighter, and the expansive soul grasps today what was not visible yesterday. It is possible that, by a constant study of those conditions of body and mind that produce the clearest mental grasp, man might shorten the periods of mental depression and lengthen the periods of his mental buoyancy. But, whether that be so or not, it is certain that the soul of ALPHEUS FELCH had so long been permitted to dwell amid the clear fields of mental greatness that it seemed never to bear a lesser wing.

ALPHEUS FELCH is dead. Never again shall we be permitted to refresh ourselves in the sunshine of his great soul, never again drink in the deep wisdom of his words. But there have been men who have long since left us whose lives were so pure that their influence dwells with

us still. There be those who have gone before us, who have for many centuries rested peacefully beneath the "cold clods of the valley," and yet no man can speak for an half hour without mentioning their names; no history is complete that does not record the grandeur of their deeds; no man can aspire to greatness who cannot recount the history of their lives.

Our ancient brethren deified their great men, and drove the stars into constellations that their memories might be ever before them. Those men lived after they were dead, and the memory of their great deeds and pure lives has accomplished more after death than they were able to accomplish while living. While the march of civilization has carried us beyond the day of building constellations to perpetuate the memory of our great men, it has not carried us beyond the influence of the lives of such men as ALPHEUS FELCH. Without constellations, without pyramids, without temples, the influences of that pure life shall live forever, and, like the waves of the sea, shall never cease to roll until they beat against the shores of eternity; and even then their gentle murmurs shall awaken the beautiful birds of Paradise that dwell forever amid the flowers that fringe the borders of that undiscovered country, and, snatching up the soft refrain, from throats tuned to chant immortal praises, they will well forth a song of love until it assails the very throne of God.

Chief Justice LONG responded as follows:

A great and good man has passed from our midst, and it is a fitting and just tribute that has been paid to his memory here today. It was not my good fortune to know him intimately, but no one who has studied the history of this State can have lost sight of the fact that in the life of Governor FELCH a part of that history is found. He found his active work in a generation long past and gone, but his memory and his deeds survive. How pure his life, and how grand his achievements, have been fittingly

remembered here. The world is better and wiser that he lived. He had passed man's allotted age. He lived beyond the time of most of his early associates, yet his mind was unimpaired to the last. Upon his ninetieth birthday many of his friends gathered together at his home city to do him honor and reverence. What a pleasure to read his address upon that auspicious occasion! The rich flow of language, historical incident, and happy thought which characterizes it leads one to believe that his years had not dimmed his intellect, nor taken from him that grace which he possessed throughout his entire life.

Fifty-four years ago he entered upon the duties of justice of this court. He moved into what is now the State of Michigan, in 1833. It was then only a territory, and an almost unbroken wilderness. Yet dur-. ing his life it became a great and prosperous State. He took part in its upbuilding, and helped to make it what it is today. He had the distinguished honor to be not only a member of the Supreme Court, but Governor and United States Senator. In 1894 he was one of the three surviving Senators of the Congress in which he served. As he so beautifully and aptly expressed his remembrance of the past, "In my mind the past and the present meet and embrace each other, and the God-given gift of memory reviews and repeats the incidents of the past with a pleasure-giving power that never tires."

As a lawyer, he stood high in his profession, always observant of the amenities of life. As a judge upon the bench, he was esteemed and respected by the bar. As Governor and United States Senator, he was beloved by his people. In his last days he was cheerful in heart, and had the kindliest feelings toward all men. His life was spotless; his last days were full of peace.

The resolutions will be spread upon the journal of this court, as enduring evidence of his greatness, his gentleness, and his purity of life, that the coming generations may read and know his character.

JUNE TERM, 1895.*

CONKEY v. CARPENTER.

1. CREDIBILITY OF WITNESS-INSTRUCTIONS TO JURY. Where a witness is shown to have been convicted of crime, it is proper for the court to instruct the jury that they may take that fact into consideration in determining his credibility.

2. SAME.

An instruction that the jury may consider, as bearing upon the credibility of a witness, the fact that "something has been said about his having been interfered with in some manner by the police for alleged ill treatment of his wife," is reversible error where there is no evidence upon which to base the remark.

3. SAME--PROOF OF REPUTATION,

The presumption is that men are truthful, and the fact that one's character in that regard has never been discussed is cogent evidence of good reputation. It is error, therefore, to instruct the jury, in a case where a witness is sought to be impeached, that a person who testifies that he has never heard the witness' reputation for truth and veracity questioned at all is not entitled to the same consideration as one who testifies that he has heard it questioned and discussed among the neighbors of the witness.

4. VETERINARY SURGEON-QUALIFICATION-ACTION FOR SERVICESBURDEN OF PROOF.

One holding himself out as a veterinary surgeon undertakes that he possesses ordinary professional skill, and therefore, in an action for services rendered in such capacity, it devolves upon him to prove his qualification, at least so long as his right to practice is not regulated by statute.

5. SUIT FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES - PROOF OF COMPETENCYADMISSION TO PRACTICE.

In an action for professional services, where there are no statutory regulations, the burden resting upon the plaintiff of estab*Continued from Vol. 105.