He was great through strong sense and
sound judgment, great by comprehensive views of things, great by high
and elevated purposes. Perhaps sometimes he was too cautious and
refined, and his distinctions became too minute; but his discrimination
arose from a force of intellect, and quick-seeing, far-reaching
sagacity, everywhere discerning his object and pursuing it steadily.
Whether it was popular or professional, he grasped a point and held it
with a strong hand. He was sarcastic sometimes, but not frequently; not
frothy or petulant, but cool and vitriolic. Unfortunate for him on whom
his sarcasm fell!
His conversation was as remarkable as his efforts at the bar. It was
original, fresh, and suggestive; never dull or indifferent. He never
talked when he had nothing to say. He was particularly agreeable,
edifying, and instructive to all about him; and this was the charm of
the social intercourse in which he was connected.
As a professional man, Mr. Mason's great ability lay in the department
of the common law. In this part of jurisprudence he was profoundly
learned. He had drunk copiously from its deepest springs; and he had
studied with diligence and success the departures from the English
common law which had taken place in this country, either necessarily,
from difference of condition, or positively, by force of our own
statutes. In his addresses, both to courts and juries, he affected to
despise all eloquence, and certainly disdained all ornament; but his
efforts, whether addressed to one tribunal or the other, were marked by
a degree of clearness, directness, and force not easy to be equalled.
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