Free Legacy by James A. Michener

He also wore women's powder and grease to handsome up his face, shoes high-heeled to make him taller, and suitings, changed each day, to bedazzle the ladies in the gallery and the judges on the bench. He dazzled me.
    Starr could not report on Pinkney's inspired argu- ments in favour of a strong, central government, because, as the papers revealed: 'Pinkney's argu- ments on the first day must have satisfied judge Starr, who slept through much of the second day and some of the third.' But after the decision was read, only three days after argument, Chief Jus- tice Marshall told a friend: 'I could not have writ- ten this difficult decision judgment without the assistance of judge Starr, who sat with me for three long days and nights, caring for my pages as I finished them and bringing me refreshment.' And what were Marshall's answers to the two burning questions? That the government could operate on implied powers, thus adjusting to new needs and conditions as they arose. Therefore, even though the Constitution said not one word about the right of the central government to estab- lish a national bank supervising the currency, common sense, as Alexander Hamilton had rea- soned, dictated that the federal government must have that power. And that in the vital areas defined by the Constitution, the powers of the
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    federal government prevailed over those of the states. Of course, it would be profitable to Maryland if she could tax operations of the federal government carried on within her boundaries, but the rights of the central had to supersede; also, each state would be tempted to impose duties upon the goods of other states com- ing into it, but the federal government could not allow the confusion that would result. When these matters were finally clarified for judge Starr, he exulted in letters home; 'I think I have helped John Marshall save the nation. We can now march forward.' But the picture of Judge Starr which I treasure is one written by an Englishman travelling through his former colonies:
    The judges of the Supreme Court meet in Wash- ington part of the year, then serve as circuit judges during the remainder. Chief justice Mar- shall is responsible for Virginia and North Caroline; judge Starr for South Carolina and Georgia. It is their delight, at the end of their circuits, to meet in Richmond, where they engage in a protracted challenge of quoits cov- ering three or four days. The Chief justice is now near eighty, but as bright of eye as a man of thirty. judge Starr is a quarter of a century younger, and of such enormous girth that he requires a. coloured boy to reach down and
    fetch him his quoits, round iron saucers with big holes in the middle.
    You should hear these eminent jurists com- pete. Standing side by side at one end of the pit, they pair themselves with local gentlemen at the other end, which means that the two judges
    compete one against the other. Their shouts can be heard at a distance, and there are noisy arguments as to whose quoit is nearer the peg.
    I did notice, however, that when the Chief justice made a particularly good throw, the players agreed that his was best, even though judge Starr's was clearly closer, and although Marshall must have been aware of this favouri- tism, he acceptedit as his due.
    When the game ended, with him invariably the winner, players and spectators alike repaired to a tent to gorge ourselves on barbe- cue, a delicious concoction of roasted pork and peppery sauce, assisted by melons and fruits, all washed down with glasses of toddy, punch and porter, followed by a rich dessert called mince pie.
    It is difficult for the English visitor to realize that these two unpretentious old men in shirt sleeves determine the legal fate of our thirteen former colonies and the eleven new states which have recently joined them.
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    General Hugh Starr 1833-1921
    On Saturday, Nancy insisted that we avoid a big lunch and go instead to the Georgetown Racquet Club for some vigorous