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precepts which are given in the Gospel in order to fit us for a

better.'

In another number, we shall conclude our review of this work. It is " an old friend with a new face :"—but, contrary to the proverb, the meeting has given us great pleasure; and we wish for many of the kind.

ART. VIII. The Life of William late Earl of Mansfield. By John Holliday of Lincoln's Inn, Esq. F.R, S. and Barrister at Law. 4to. pp. 520. 11. 13. Boards. Elmsly and Bremner, &c.

1797.

T

HIS work is dedicated to a venerable Prelate who stood deservedly high in the estimation and confidence of the Earl of Mansfield, and whose literary abilities would have eminently qualified him for the office of his biographer. Mr. Holliday modestly observes, that it would have been happy for an enlightened age, if the Bishop's bodily health had kept pace with the vigor of his mind, if his other avocations would have permitted what his inclination would not fail to prompt-the payment of a just tribute to the memory of a zealous patron and a sincere friend :-an office, which, from a chain of circumstances, devolves on one who, however ambitious he may be from motives of gratitude, respect, and veneration, feels himself very unequal to the task of bending the bow of Ulysses and of performing so difficult a service.'

As it does not follow, by any necessary and unavoidable connexion, that the undertaking which (from causes that all good men must regret) the Bishop of Worcester might feel it proper to decline should find an adequate supporter in Mr. Holliday, it will be asked what advantages or opportunities. this gentleman possesses to qualify him for the prosecution of the work. The following detail of some of the sources of his information is submitted in the preface by way of answer to this question. The circumstance mentioned in the first paragraph seems to have suggested the first idea of the present performance.

An original letter, in 1735, introduced in the early part of this work, fell into his hands, as one of the executors of the late Mr. Booth, a gentleman of great eminence in his profession, and contemporary with Mr. Murray. In this letter he found the emanations of a friendly heart; and could not reconcile to himself the propriety of classing it, on the one hand, among papers uninteresting to the public, or of keeping it in secret, on the other. In fine, it

* Dr. Hurd, Bishop of Worcester.

But,

was

was restored to lord Mansfield at the distance of near half a century, who, after having permitted the company then present to read it, was pleased with great politeness (and possibly with some design) to desire that it might be restored to the same person from whom it came, adding that it could not be in better hands.

The late lord chief baron Parker first communicated to lord Mansfield a clause in Mr. Booth's will, whereby he left all his Manuscripts to the author of these sheets; when the lord chief justice was pleased to say, " he was extremely glad to hear they were in such hands, since few people knew so well as himself the value of these manuscripts."

In addition to the great assistance thus derived from one contemporary of Mr. Murray, the author has had the honor of receiving some valuable communications from the learned Sir James Marriot, judge of the court of admiralty, who was in the habits of friendship and great intimacy with lord Mansfield.

To Francis Wheeler, Esq. of Whitton near Coventry, who well deserves, and is probably now intitled to the venerable distinction of Father of the Bar, and who was also contemporary with Mr. Murray; he is also indebted for liberal and friendly communica

tions.

Some interesting anecdotes of lord MANSFIELD have been put into the author's hands by Dr. Turton, in the most friendly

manner.

'To George Brooks, Esq. banker in Chancery-lane, and late high sheriff of the county of Bedford, the author's grateful thanks are due for the first portrait which was ever drawn of the honorable Mr. Murray, from which the engraving in the Front of this Work

has been made.

The debt of gratitude is also very great to William Seward, Esq. F. R. S. who in addition to his permission, to use any of the few yet correct materials which he had previously given to the public, has transmitted some choice observations, of which the author of these sheets is not a little proud.

To Dr. Combe (whose elegant and erudite edition of Horace, inscribed to the earl of Mansfield, has proved that works of literature may flourish under the auspices of a liberal profession) the author's best acknowledgements are justly due.

To have said so little by way of information or advice to the courteous reader, seems to require an apology. The author will endeavour to make the best atonement in his power for the omission.

To those, who, in reading the life of a great man, have only amusement in view, he has no advise to offer, no rules for their recreation to lay down. But to the Tyros at the bar, and the students looking up to it, he begs permission to recommend, that after a cursory view of the whole, they will respectively be pleased to impose something like a task on themselves, of not only reading, but of seriously studying, one of the three chapters or divisions of this work, in one or other of the legal vacations in the year; with a view to discover close analytical reasoning, adorned with an happy facility of

expression,

expression, clear conceptions, and just conclusions, which will not fail amply to recompence the attention they shall give to the speeches which flowed from the tongue of the British Tully. If, by patience and perseverance, the great supporters of studious minds, that, which at the first blush may be somewhat irksome and laborious, should wear a more pleasing aspect, and even become a favorite study, the author's labors in their service will not have been in vain: since by emulating the irresistible eloquence of a Pericles, they will probably rise above mediocrity, and disdain to creep with Timæus.'

The first chapter comprizes the period of Lord Mansfield's legal and political career, to the time at which he was made Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench. The rapid success of Mr. Murray at the bar will be better known to posterity from the celebrated lines addressed to him by Pope, than from all the learned industry displayed by Mr. Holliday in enumerating the causes in which he was engaged during his early attendance on the House of Lords: but the merits of a poet and an antiquary are of an opposite kind, and we shall not refuse to our author the praise of laborious accuracy. Mr. Holliday, however, not unfrequently travels into the regions of panegyric, and his prose is sometimes a little too poetical. In his account of Lord Lovat's trial, he is quite extravagant in his commendations of Mr. Murray's eloquence:

In this trial, the king's solicitor-general (Mr. Murray) seems to have been considered as the mirror of eloquence and sound judgement. When we impartially consider the acknowledged effect which his first speech had on the house; the concurrent testimony of applause which flowed from the law-lords; the impartial and well-timed approbation of his colleague Mr. Attorney-general Ryder; and lastly, though not least, the repeated encomiums of the prisoner at the bar, bestowed on Mr. Murray's eloquence; are not we well warranted in drawing this conclusion, that these concurrent eulogies equal, if they do not surpass, any tribute of applause, given to the fluent orators of Greece and Rome by their warmest panegyrists?'

This passage is yet outdone by the following, which he quotes from an anonymous writer, in treating of Lord Mans. field's judicial character: (p. 458.)

"The lustre of his eloquence was something more than human, and the firm integrity of the judge was the emanation of a divinity. Here Demonsthenes and Tully shrink from the comparison-here acknowleged superiority stands confessed-here the exulting Briton may exclaim,

"Cedite, Romani-Cedite, Graii!"

Surely this fulsome strain of adulation, instead of doing honour to the dead, only disgusts and nauseates the living. It is to be observed, also, that Mr. H. is not always fortunate enough

to

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to distinguish between praise and satire. Thus he construes a severe sarcasm of Lord Chatham into a signal encomium on the character of Lord Mansfield. P. 53. On a great occasion, Lord Chatham having quoted Lord Sommers and Lord Chief Justice Holt, and having drawn their characters in splendid colours, turning to Lord Mansfield with a truly dignified gesture, he exclaimed: "I vow to God I think the Noble Lord equals them both in abilities."-It is well known that Lord Chatham was commending those great men for their integrity and veneration for the Constitution. No man ever disputed Lord Mansfield's abilities:-but here Lord Chatham's commendation designedly stops, and Lord Mansfield felt it, but we believe not as a compliment. It is not the possession, but the use of great talents, which entitles the possessor to the just esteem of mankind.

The two succeeding chapters or divisions of this work contain much profound learning, extracted from the printed Reports of Cases decided by Lord Mansfield in the situation of Chief Justice; and likewise some curious particulars of his private life, which will be more interesting to the general

reader.

The circumstance of his rescuing a young nobleman from the fangs of a noted money-lender does honour to his heart: but it is related with too much prolixity to be inserted here, and concludes with an unlucky flourish of the biographer, in which he confounds Othello the Moor with the Merchant of Venice.

The following tribute of respect to the memory of an able and upright Judge is the production of Lord Mansfield's pen, and is no mean specimen of his talents for composition. Writing to a friend on occasion of the Death of Mr. Justice Dennison, he says:

"As an office of piety, I am prompted to write the inclosed t. I am not used to writing, much less to writing epitaphs.

"To the Memory of

Sir THOMAS DENNISON, knight,
this monument was erected

by his afflicted widow.

He was an affectionate husband,
a generous relation,

a sincere friend, a good citizen,
an honest man.

* From Burrow, Cowper, Douglas, &c. transcribed very copiously,

not by Mr. Holliday, we presume, but by his clerk.

+ Mr. Holliday supposes this epitaph to be written in 1758; See

p.275. but, from the epitaph, it appears Sir Thomas Dennison did not hat die till 1765.

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Skilled

Skilled in all the learning of the common law,
he raised himself to great eminence
in his profession;

and shewed by his practice
that a thorough knowledge
of legal art and form

is not litigious, or an instrument of chicane,
but the plainest, easiest, and shortest way
to the end of strife.
For the sake of the publick,
he was pressed, and at last prevailed upon,
to accept the office of a Judge
in the Court of King's Bench.
He discharged the important trust
of that high office

with unsuspected integrity
and uncommon ability.
The clearness of his understanding,
and the natural probity of his heart,
led him immediately to Truth, Equity,
and Justice.

The precision and extent of his legal knowledge
enabled him always to find the right way
of doing what was right.

A zealous friend to the constitution
of his country,

he steadily adhered to the fundamental principle
upon which it is built,

and by which alone it can be maintained;
a religious application of the inflexible
rule of Law

to all questions concerning the power
of the Crown,

and privileges of the Subject.

He resigned his office, February 14, 1765,
because from the decay of his health,
and loss of his sight,

he found himself unable any longer
to execute it.

He died September the 8th, 1765, without issue,
in the 67th year of his age.

He wished to be buried in his native country,
and in this church.
He lies here

near the lord chief justice GASCOIGNE,
who, by a resolute

and judicious exertion of his authority, supported Law and Government in a manner which has perpetuated his name,

and made him an example famous to posterity."

* In Harewood Church, Yorkshire.'

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