honour." He had entered his 89th year; and as his life had been long and prosperous, so his death was such as he had desired. He was amply prepared for it. From the time when he was unable to attend his parish church, the communion had, at short intervals, been privately administered to him; and he was in the habit of piously declaring that he was ready to obey the summons from the world in which he had enjoyed so many blessings, contented and grateful.

Although he had long withdrawn from the gaze of mankind, the news of his death caused a deep sensation, and there was a general desire that he should have a public funeral. All the judges and members of the bar had resolved to attend it in a body; and Whig statesmen as well as Tory intimated a desire to testify their respect for his merits as a magistrate by joining in the solemnity. But, his will being opened, it was found that after expressing a wish that he should be buried in Westminster Abbey, modestly giving as a reason "the attachment he felt for the place of his early education," he expressly directed that his funeral should only be attended by his relations and private friends. Accordingly his remains were deposited in Westminster Abbey in the same grave with those of his deceased wife, between the tombs of Lord Chatham and Lord Robert Manners; and there a splendid monument was erected to his memory, the workmanship of Flaxman,-the expense being defrayed by a legacy of 15001. gratefully bequeathed for this purpose by a client for whom, when at the bar, by an extraordinary display of his eloquence, he had recovered a great estate.

His funeral.

His will.

His will, dated the 17th of April, 1782, all in his own handwriting, thus piously began: "Whenever it shall please Almighty God to call me to that state to which, of all I now enjoy, I can carry only

the satisfaction of my own conscience and a full reliance upon his mercy through Jesus Christ."-He then goes on in very plain, clear, and untechnical language to make provision for those depending upon him, to leave legacies to friends, and to bequeath the rest of his property to his nephew Lord Stormont; thus concluding, with good sense and good feeling: "Those who are dearest and nearest to me best know how to manage and improve, and ultimately in their turn to divide and subdivide, the good things of this world which I commit to their care, according to events and contingencies which it is impossible for me to foresee, or trace through all the mazy labyrinths of time and chance."

lawyers of

Lord Mansfield must, I think, be considered the most prominent legal character, and the brightest His position ornament to the profession of the law, that among the appeared in England during the last century. the 18th As an advocate he did not display the im- century. passioned eloquence of Erskine, but he was for many years the first man at the bar among powerful competitors. Both before a jury in the common law courts, and addressing a single judge in the courts of equity, by the calm exertion of reason he won every cause in which right was with him, or which was doubtful. There was a common saying in those days, “Mr. Murray's statement is of itself worth the argument of any other man." Avoiding the vulgar fault of misrepresenting and exaggerating facts, he placed them in a point of view so perspicuous and so favourable to his client, that the verdict was secure before the narrative was closed. The observations which followed seemed to suggest trains of thinking rather than to draw conclusions; and so skilfully did he conceal his art, that the hearers thought they formed their opinion in consequence of the workings of their own minds, when in

truth it was the effect of the most refined dialectics. For parliamentary oratory he was more considerable than any lawyer our profession could boast of till the appearance of Henry Brougham,-having been for many years in both Houses in the very first rank of debaters. Lord Somers entered parliament late in life, and could not speak without long preparation. Lord Cowper was much more ready; but he had not had the benefit of an academical education, and his political information was rather limited. Lord Harcourt hardly aspired to rise above the level of the Tory squires by whom he was surrounded. Lord Macclesfield was unpolished, though forcible; and Lord King was dull and tiresome. Lord Hardwicke had very moderate success in the House of Commons, and his weight in the House of Lords arose rather from his high judicial reputation than from his eloquence. Lord Camden's set speeches in the House of Lords were admirable;-but he had been found quite unequal to the noise and irregularities of the House of Commons. Dunning, amidst all this turbulence, was in his element, and was listened to almost as well as Charles Fox himself;but he could not bear the stillness of the Upper House, and there he fell into insignificance. Even Lord Plunkett caused disappointment when he spoke in the House of Lords, after having been acknowledged in the House of Commons to be superior to Peel or to Canning. Neither in the one House nor in the other did Erskine ever do anything at all commensurate to his forensic reputation. Thurlow prevailed more by the shagginess of his eyebrows and the loudness of his vociferation than by his sentiments or his expressions; and the effect of Wedderburn's oratory, which was far more artistic, was ruined by his character for insincerity. When Lord Eldon had broken down in an attempt he made in the House of Commons to be humorous, he never aimed

at anything beyond the pitch of an Equity pleader; and Lord Redesdale's speeches in parliament would have been reckoned dull even in the Court of Chancery. Of Lord Mansfield's three successors-Lord Kenyon, Lord Ellenborough, and Lord Tenterden the first affected a knowledge of nothing beyond law, except a few Latin quotations which he constantly misapplied; -the second, though a scholar, and a ripe and good one, was only a few months in the House of Commons, during which he did nothing beyond bringing in a law bill; and in the House of Lords he rather alarmed the Peers by violent ebullitions of indignation, than charmed or convinced them by polished reasoning;the last, having devoted all his best years to the drawing of special pleas, never was a member of the House of Commons, and the few times that he addressed the Lords he seemed to be opening to the jury the issues joined on some very complicated record. But when Murray was in the House of Commons, the existence of administrations depended upon his giving or withholding from them the aid of his eloquence, and in the House of Lords he was listened to with increased respect and deference. The combination of this excellence with his other performances is certainly much to be wondered at; for, while his competitors were preparing for the approaching conflict by conning over the works of orators and poets, he was obliged to devote himself to the YEAR-BOOKS, and to fill his mind with the subtleties of contingent remainders and executory devises. Who is there that could have argued against Mr. Justice Blackstone in the morning concerning the application of the rule in Shelley's Case, and in the evening shown himself equal to Lord Chatham on the question of the right of the British parliament to tax America, or the policy of declaring war against Spain ?* *Soon after his death, the following tribute was paid to his powers as an

Felicity of the life of a lawyer practising under him.

Nothing remains to be said for the purpose of proving that he was the first of Common Law judges. Looking to the state of the court of King's Bench in his time, it is impossible not to envy the good fortune of those who practised under him. The most timid were encouraged by his courtesy, and the boldest were awed by his authority. From his quickness, repetition and prolixity were inexcusable; and there was no temptation to make bad points, as sophistry was sure to be detected, and sound reasoning was sure to prevail. When the facts were ascertained, the decision might be with confidence anticipated; and the experienced advocate knew when to sit down, his cause being either secure or hopeless. The consequence was, that business was done not only with certainty, but celerity; and men making many thousands a year had some leisure both for recreation and elegant literature.* We need not wonder that, being prosperous and happy under him, they were eager to pay him homage, and that they exulted in his paternal sway. We may form a notion of the love and respect with which he was regarded from the following appeal to him, when we know that the speaker was Erskine, the most fearless and independent of men, addressing him in the case of the Dean of St. Asaph:

orator, by one who had often listened to him :-" As a speaker in the House of Lords, where was his competitor? The grace of his action, and the fire and vivacity of his looks, are still present to imagination; and the harmony of his voice yet vibrates in the ear of those who have been accustomed to listen to him. His Lordship possessed the strongest powers of discrimination; his language was elegant and perspicuous, arranged with the happiest method, and applied with the utmost extent of human ingenuity; his images were often bold, and

always just; but the character of his eloquence is that of being flowing, perspicuous, convincing, and affecting."Burton's Character of Classical Remains.

* I have been told by Lord Erskine,"In Lord Mansfield's time, although the King's Bench monopolised all the common-law business, the Court often rose at one or two o'clock, --the papers, special, crown, and peremptory, being cleared; and then I refreshed myself by a drive to my villa at Hampstead."