SHAKESPEARE A LAWYER. "Sometime like a lawyer." Timon of Athens. "And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew, Goldsmith. Τῆς φύσεως γραμματεὺς ἦν, τὸν κάλαμον ἀποβρέχων εἰς νοῦν. Suidas. THE works of William Shakespeare contain a remarkable quantity of law terms, whose significations are naturally unknown to the generality of readers. Some of the admirers of our great dramatist may assert that the universality of his genius, the strength, vigour, and magnitude of his intellectual faculties and powers of investigation, enabled him to acquire a more profound knowledge of a greater variety of subjects than ever yet seems to have been possessed by the same individual, and that the legal knowledge he has displayed in the correct use of law terms is not more remarkable than his intimate acquaintance with human nature, and accurate observation of the habits and customs of mankind, or than the knowledge of seamanship, and the correct use of nautical terms he has displayed in the Tempest. To attempt to account for the frequent occurrence and correct use of law terms in |