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in the calm occupations of industry, in the pursuits of a just and legitimate commerce. We may behold the beams of science and philosophy breaking in upon their land, which at some happy period in still later times may blaze with full luster; and joining their influence to that of pure religion, may illuminate and invigorate the most distant extremities of that immense continent. Then may we hope that even Africa, though last of all the quarters of the globe, shall enjoy at length, in the evening of her days, those blessings which have descended so plentifully upon us in a much earlier period of the world. Then, also, will Europe, participating in her improvement and prosperity, receive an ample recompense for the tardy kindness (if kindness it can be called) of no longer hindering that continent from extricating herself out of the darkness which, in other more fortunate regions, has been so much more speedily dispelled.

It is in this view, sir, it is in atonement for our long and cruel injustice toward Africa,— that the measure proposed by my honorable friend most forcibly recommends itself to my mind. The great and happy change to be expected in the state of her inhabitants. is, of all the various and important benefits of the abolition, in my estimation, incomparably the most extensive and important.

I shall oppose to the utmost every proposition which in any way may tend either to prevent, or even to postpone for an hour, the total abolition of the slave trade- a measure which, on all the various grounds which I have stated, we are bound, by the most pressing and indispensable duty, to adopt.

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THOMAS ERSKINE

Thomas Erskine (1750-1823), unlike the great orators contemporaneous with him, had little scholastic training. His family, though of the nobility, were in straitened circumstances. After completing

the high-school course in his native city of Edinburgh he spent a few months at St. Andrews University, though not as a regular matriculate. He had little Latin and scarcely more of Greek than the alphabet.

At the age of fourteen, when most boys of rank were in college, he gave up his course and entered the king's navy, where he remained four years. The great redeeming feature of these years was the fact that he gained not only

physically from active service at sea but also mentally from extensive travel which is the best substitute for diligent study in the schools.

On his return from sea he determined to give up the navy and devote himself to the study of English literature. For two years he pursued this work with great ardor. Large portions of Shakespeare and Milton were committed to memory. The many speeches in the play of "Julius Cæsar" and

in the second book of "Paradise Lost" were his delight and were declaimed over and over.

At the age of twenty Erskine purchased a commission in the army. While there he had ample time to devote to the study of English, which afterwards, in his speeches, was freer from admixture with other tongues than that of any of his great contemporaries. He obtained such a mastery of Milton and Shakespeare and their spirit that it is said he could carry on a respectable conversation in quotations. On this point Dr. Johnson remarks, that "he who would excel in eloquence must give his days and nights to Shakespeare and Milton." Erskine devoted two years to this kind of study, which gave him a rich fund of ideas and the best of English from which to choose his eloquent words.

Not only was Erskine versed in the literature of our language, but he became an earnest student of men. His experience in the army and navy, gained from travel and in mingling with so many and so great a variety of human beings, gave him the best opportunity to know men-how to take them, how to deal with them, how to influence them, and the effect of reason and passion upon them. Like Patrick Henry, Erskine made men his life study. His love of fun and frolic, his wit, his humor, his good nature and companionship, drew men to him. This mingling with men and knowing them added greatly to his ability in after years as a pleader before the bar, and aroused, in a no less degree, that keen perception of the varying moods of his public audiences.

As a result of his travel, his acquaintance with literature, and his knowledge of men, Erskine became a brilliant conversationist. Boswell spoke of him as one "who talked with a vivacity, a fluency, and a precision which attracted particular attention." This gift of eloquent conversation was the basis of his public speaking.

On his return to London an incident occurred which was destined to change his whole life work. He happened into the courts at Westminster, where he met his old-time friend and benefactor, Lord Mansfield, the most learned judge on the English bench, who was presiding on this occasion. The judge showed him marked courtesy and even invited him to a seat with him on the bench. During the progress of the trial, in which the ablest attorneys of England were engaged, Lord Mansfield explained the points of the case. Erskine listened with deep interest. But when they were through he began to reflect on their method of presenting the case, and found, in spite of his ignorance of the law, that some points were not made as strong as he thought they might have been. That day he dined with Mansfield, and during the course of their meal Erskine asked the judge if he thought it possible for him to become a lawyer. The judge neither encouraged nor discouraged him. But the old ambition of Erskine's boyhood, and the earnest desire then expressed by his father that he should become a professional man, now crowded upon him. He could not be rid of it, and although the prospect was gloomy, considering the support necessary for his wife and children, he determined to enter upon the study of law. He took up his residence at Cambridge, and after three years he was admitted to the bar and began his career as a lawyer at the age of twenty-eight.

It is not necessary to record the circumstances of his first law case. We choose rather to speak of his elements of power. It is sufficient to say that although the court was against him, yet his earnestness and ability in presenting the case and urging the principles involved, won him the verdict. "Never," says Goodrich, "did a single case so completely make the fortune of an individual. Erskine entered Westminster Hall that morning not only in extreme poverty but

with no reasonable prospect of an adequate subsistence for years. He left it a rich man. It is said that while retiring from the hall he received thirty retainers from attorneys who were present. Not only was his ambition gratified, but the comfort and independence of those whose happiness he had staked on his success as a lawyer were secured for life. Some one asked him how he dared to face Lord Mansfield so boldly on a point in which he was clearly out of order, when he beautifully replied, 'I thought of my children as plucking me by the robe and saying, “Now, father, is the time to get us bread."

Erskine's style is distinguished for its purity and strength. There is no straining after effect. It is chaste, polished, harmonious. Not being a classical student, he acquired his knowledge of the language through his study of the English authors. His extensive vocabulary, his choice of words, his varied imagery, his copious and animated description came largely through his intimate acquaintance with Shakespeare, Milton, and the Bible. Few of the great orators had a style. freer from admixture with the Latin and the Greek. In this particular John Bright's style most resembles that of Erskine. Both men were simple and rhythmical in style and seldom indulged in figures of speech; both believed that when there was a choice between a word of Latin or Greek origin and an Anglo-Saxon word, the latter was invariably the stronger.

Unity and strength characterized Erskine's every utterance. His speech hinged around a great central principle, and each step was felt to bear on that point. His reasoning was compact and powerful, and the order in which he set forth his arguments showed a mastery of the human mind. “Like a skillful general," says Mathews, "he massed his forces on one point of assault. Instead of frittering away the strength of his reasonings by arranging them under many different heads,

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