Nature had been generous to Wade, and given him a fine, well-balanced, strong, clear intellect, of a manly, direct, and bold cast, as well of mind as temperament.  He was not destitute of learning in his profession, but rather despised culture, and had a certain indolence of intellect, that arose in part from undervaluing books, and although later a great reader, he was never a learned man.  His manners were rude though kind; he had wonderful personal popularity, and was the freest possible from cant, pretence, or any sort of demagogueism.  He was as incapable of a mean thought as of uttering the slightest approach to an untruth, or practising a possible insincerity.  He was a favorite with the young lawyers and students, who imitated his rude manner and strong language; was a dangerous advocate, and had much influence with courts.  In all these early years he was known as Frank Wade; “Ben” and “old Ben” came to him years after at Washington.

When he left the supper room Case found an opportunity to introduce Bart to him.  Wade received him very cordially, and spoke with great kindness of his brother Henry, and remarked that Bart did not much resemble him.

“So I am generally told,” said Bart; “and I fear that I am less like him in intellect than in person.”

“You may possibly not lose by that.  Most persons would think you better looking, and you may have as good a mind—­that we will find out for ourselves.”

Bart felt that this was kind.  Wade then remarked that they would find time on Monday to overhaul his law.  Later, Bart met Ranney, who, he thought, received him coolly.

The next day the young men went to church.  Nothing in the way of heresy found foothold at Jefferson.  It was wholly orthodox; although it was suspected that Wade and Ranney had notions of their own in religion; or rather the impression was that they had no religion of any kind.  Not to have the one and true, was to have none according to the Jefferson platform.

Monday was an anxious day for Bart.  He would now be put to a real test.  He knew he had studied hard, but he remembered the air with which Henry and Ranney waived him off.  Then he was so poor, and was so anxious to get through, and be admitted in September, that he was a little nervous when the lawyers found leisure in the afternoon to “overhaul his law,” as Wade had expressed it.

Ranney had no idea of letting him off on definitions and general rules, and he plunged at once into special pleading, as presented by Chitty, in his chapter on Replications.  No severer test could have been applied, and the young men thought it a little rough.  Bart answered the questions with some care, and gave the reason of the rules clearly.  Ranney then proposed a case of a certain special plea, and asked Bart how he would reply.  Bart enumerated all the various replies that might be made, and the method of setting each forth.  Ranney then asked him to state an instance of new assignment, in a replication; and when Bart had stated its purpose and given an instance, he said he thought that a good pleader would always so state his case in his declaration as to render a new assignment unnecessary, perhaps impossible.  He was then asked what defects in pleading would be cured by a general verdict? and gave the rules quite luminously.