very impassioned appeal to the judge; and in replying to it, Mr. Wedderburn (Lord L.) summed up a most ironical picture of Mr. ****'s powers of eloquence, in these words. "Nay, my lords, if tears could have moved your lordships, tears sure I am would not have been wanting." The lord president immediately interrupted Mr. W. and told him that he was pursuing a very indecorous course of observation. Mr. W. spiritedly maintained that he had said nothing but what he was well entitled to say, and would have no hesitation in saying again. The lord president, irritated probably at so bold an answer from so young a man, rejoined in a manner, the personality of which provoked Mr. W. to tell his lordship, that "he had said that as a judge which he durst not justify as a gentleman." An observation such as this, which put an end to all observation, was not of course to be brooked; the lord president threw himself on the judgment and protection of his brother judges; and the result was, that Mr. W. was unanimously ordered to make a most abject and ample apology, under pain of deprivation. Mr. W. declared indignantly that "he would never make an apology for what his conscience told him was no offence;" and with these words throwing off his gown, he cast it on the ground; and rubbing the dust from off his feet upon it, bade the court and his brethren at the bar farewell. Fortune, it would seem, was in one of her tricky moods. Exiled by mere accident from that native scene of action on which all his hopes of success had been originally set, and where he could never have attained to more than a provincial eminence, Mr. W. bent his steps towards England; he devoted himself to the study of its laws; and in no long time became the first law officer in England, and the right arm of as able a minister as ever wielded the destinies of Britain. EFFECT. Mr. Lee, the barrister, was famous for studying effect when he pleaded. On the circuit at Norwich, a brief was brought to him by the relatives of a woman who had been deceived into a breach of promise of marriage. Lee inquired, among other particulars, whether the woman was handsome? "A most beautiful face," was the answer. Satisfied with this, he desired she should be placed at the bar, immediately in front of the jury. When he rose, he began a most pathetic and eloquent address, directing the attention of the jury to the charms which were placed in their view, and painting in glowing colours the guilt of the wretch who could injure so much beauty. When he perceived their feelings worked up to a proper pitch, he sat down, under the perfect conviction that he should obtain a verdict. What then must have been his surprise, when the counsel retained by the opposite party rose and observed, that it was impossible not to assent to the encomiums which his learned friend had lavished on the face of the plaintiff; but he had forgot to say, that she had a wooden leg! This fact, of which Lee was by no means aware, was established to his utter confusion. His eloquence was thrown away; and the jury, who felt ashamed of the effects it had produced upon them, instantly gave a verdict against him. PHYSIOGNOMY. A witness was one day called to the bar of the House of Commons, when some one took notice, and pointedly remarked, upon his ill looks. Mr. Fox (afterwards Lord Holland), whose gloomy countenance strongly marked his character, observed, "That it was unjust, ungenerous, and unmanly, to censure a man for that signature which God had impressed upon his countenance, and which therefore he could not by any means remedy or avoid." Mr. Pitt rose hastily and said, "I agree from my heart with the observation of my fellow member; it is forcible, it is judicious, and true. But there are some (throwing his eyes full on Fox) upon whose face the hand of heaven has so stamped the mark of wickedness, that it were IMPIETY not to give it credit." EDWARD IV. On this prince's declaration of war against Louis XI. of France, he addressed his parliament in an able speech, which concluded with the following impressive words: "But I detain you too long by my speech from action. I see the clouds of dire revenge gathered in your hearts, and the lightning of fury break from your eyes, which bodes thunder against our enemy; let us therefore lose no time, but suddenly and severely scourge this perjured court to a severe repentance, and regain honour to our nation, and his kingdom to our crown." FRENCH CURATE. 66 During the French revolution, the inhabitants of a village in Dauphiny had determined on sacrificing their lord to their revenge, and were only dissuaded from by the eloquence of their curate, who thus addressed them. 'My friends," said he, "the day of vengeance is arrived; the individual who has so long tyrannized over you must now suffer his merited punishment. As the care of this flock has been entrusted to me, it behoves me to watch over their best interests, nor will I forsake their righteous cause. Suffer me only to be your leader, and swear to me that in all circumstances you will follow my example." All the villagers swore they would. "And," continues he, "that you further solemnly promise to enter into any engagement which I may now make, and that you remain faithful to this your oath." All the villagers exclaimed, "We do." "Well then," solemnly taking the oath, "I swear to forgive our lord." Unexpected as this was, the villagers all forgave him. BISHOP PORTEUS. In one of the debates in the house of Peers in 1794, a noble lord quoted the following lines from Bishop Porteus's Poem on War. "One murder makes a villain; Millions, a hero! Princes are privileged In human sacrifice? Why burst the ties Of nature, that should knit their souls together They yet still breathe destruction, still go on, New pains for life; new terrors for the grave. From universal ruin. Blast the design, The bishop, who was present, and who generally voted with the minister, was asked by a noble earl, then accustomed to stand alone in the discussions of the house, if he were really the author of the excellent lines here quoted? The bishop replied, "Yes, my lord; but they were not composed for the present war!" TILLOTSON. The published sermons of Tillotson rank among the best in the English language; and it is probable there would not have been a bad one from his pen to complain of, had his ability in delivering his sermons, been equal to his ability in writing them. But it happened to Tillotson (too much after the manner of the pulpit orators of his country) that he once preached his king asleep; and by way of making amends for the sleeping draught, he was ordered to publish what, had it been heard, neither king nor subject could have wished but to forget. In 1680, an extreme dread of popery induced him to deliver |