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R. SERJEANT BALLANTINE. 
 
 ARTJTYPE, E. BleHSr 
 
SOME EXPERIENCES 
 
 OF 
 
 A BARRISTER'S LIFE 
 
 BY 
 
 ME. SERJEANT BALLANTLNE 
 
 A NEW AND REVISED EDITION FROM THE SIXTH LONDON EDITION, 
 
 WITH ADDITIONS, CORRECTIONS, AND A NEW PREFACE 
 
 WRITTEN BY THE AUTHOR IN AMERICA 
 
 5 1 
 
 NEW YORK AND PftlSofilMl * 
 M. STODDART 
 
 1883 
 
jl As t.s 
 
 COPYBTGHT, 1883, BY J. M. STODDART. 
 
 |THI LItftAft 
 
 #ASMi!i<PrON 
 
PREFACE 
 
 AMERICAN EDITION. 
 
 OINCE my arrival in New York I have learned 
 with much satisfaction the favor with which 
 my Experiences have been generally received ; and, 
 having been honored with an introduction to many 
 of the most distinguished lawyers of the United 
 States, am assured by them that they join in the 
 approbation accorded ; the terms also in which they 
 were pleased to express themselves have very much 
 enhanced my satisfaction. To this, however, there 
 has been some drawback, from the fact that the 
 edition of my book published in this country is a 
 transcript from the first English edition, which 
 contained many errors arising from various causes. 
 These and other considerations have induced me 
 to offer to the American, public- an edition from 
 which the errors in question, are now carefully ex- 
 punged, and additions have been made to the text 
 which will, I trust, conduce to the interest of the 
 work. It will be obvious to the reader that its 
 
j v PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. 
 
 contents extend beyond the limits indicated by the 
 title, and that I have offered opinions as well as re- 
 lated facts. These assume no merit, except that of 
 being perfectly sincere and the result of much ex- 
 perience and thought. Such, for example, are the 
 chapters on vivisection, in which I am aware that 
 I am opposed to the judgment of many distin- 
 guished men who are in favor of the practice. It 
 will also be seen that I call attention to the re- 
 lations existing between crime and the mode of 
 dealing with it, and to the efficacy of punishments 
 generally. I have also discussed a question which 
 I think of great constitutional importance, and pro- 
 tested strongly against certain innovations that are 
 favored by Lord Selborne, a Lord Chancellor of in- 
 finite learning, but possessing very imperfect experi- 
 ence upon the subject affected by these changes. 
 
 It will doubtless be discovered that although I 
 have not formally discussed the subject, I put much 
 faith in the jury system ; and I find, from an able 
 article in the November number of the Century 
 magazine, that the question is one engaging much 
 attention on this side of the Atlantic. I presume 
 to give no opinion upon any argument applying 
 solely to the mode adopted in the United States, 
 but take this opportunity of emphatically asserting 
 that in matters of fact, both of a civil and criminal 
 character, I believe a jury to be the best if not the 
 
PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. y 
 
 only security for the maintenance of justice. In 
 this opinion, as well as others that will be found 
 in the body of the work, I speak in no spirit of dic- 
 tation, but solely with a view of inviting full and 
 impartial criticism to a subject of vital importance. 
 
 The Author. 
 
 New Yoek, ) 
 
 December, 1882. ) 
 
NOTE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 
 
 MAY be permitted to say a few words by way 
 of apology for some errors that have been very 
 kindly pointed out to me. I fear that they have 
 generally arisen from my trusting too implicitly to 
 my memory. The edition now appearing has pro- 
 gressed too far to enable me to correct the whole of 
 them, but there is one that I wish at once to set 
 right — namely, my statement that Baron Bolland 
 was ,the only judge appointed by Lord Lyndhurst 
 (p. 136). 
 
 At a future time I will explain the origin of the 
 blunder. 
 
 WM. BALLANTINE. 
 
 Union Club, 
 
 April 13, 1882. 
 
PEEFATORY NOTE. 
 
 HAVE felt at a loss to know in what manner 1 
 ought to introduce the following pages to the 
 reader, and should have been inclined to launch them 
 without a word of preface, but that it might be 
 thought that I formed an exaggerated estimate of 
 their intrinsic worth, which certainly is not the case. 
 
 What I have striven to do, and trust I have suc- 
 ceeded in doing, has been to adhere strictly to facts 
 in the incidents related ; and the conclusions ex- 
 pressed are the honest results of such experience as 
 a long professional life, not unmixed with other asso- 
 ciations, has enabled me to form. 
 
 If my lighter sketches should amuse a leisure hour, 
 my object will have been attained ; and if any sug- 
 gestions upon graver topics should furnish hints lead- 
 
 r n 
 
v }} j PREFA TOR Y NOTE. 
 
 ing to any more useful end, I shall be amply re- 
 warded. 
 
 It may be permitted to me to add, that whilst 
 writing in no presumptuous spirit, I have not hesi- 
 tated, upon some subjects, to express my opinions 
 with perfect frankness and candor 
 
 WM. BALLANTDTEL 
 
 The Temple: 
 
 March, 1882. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO 
 
 THE NEW EDITION. 
 
 ^pHE encouragement afforded to me by the recep- 
 tion of the early editions of my Experiences 
 induces me to offer them in a more convenient and 
 cheaper form. 
 
 I have added some few further observations in 
 the shape of postscripts to some of the chapters, 
 and have also been enabled, through the kindness 
 of several correspondents, to correct errors into 
 which I had been led through imperfect memory ; 
 and to these kind friends I take this opportunity 
 of tendering my thanks. I may say without osten- 
 tatious humility how conscious I am of the many 
 defects that existed in the arrangement of the work, 
 and how grateful for the considerate manner in 
 which they have been treated. 
 
 Should this volume obtain circulation in a more 
 extended sphere, I can wish it no better reception 
 than that accorded to the editions which have pre- 
 ceded it, and which has been to me the source of 
 
 heartfelt satisfaction. 
 
 Wm. B. 
 
 October 24, 1882. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Early days-Temple Church-Gardens-First pantomime-Visit 
 to Wimbledon-Broadstairs-Steam-packets-First impres- 
 sions of the sea-St. Paul's School-Tyranny-Inhabitants of 
 Serjeants' Inn-The Bolt-in-Tun-Mr. Wigan's school-Mr. 
 Piatt-Charles Ewan Law-Pleader's Chambers-* ellow- 
 pupils— Ben Hyam— Call to the bar— Anecdote . 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 LONDON DURING MY PUPILAGE. 
 
 Wellington— Walter Scott— Resurrectionists— Burke and Hare- 
 Vivisection— The Duke of Wellington-Hackney coaches- 
 Glass coaches-Cabs-Bishops-Working clergy-Patent 
 Theatres-Actors-English Opera House— Adelphi Theatre- 
 Keeley— Mrs. Yates— Anaesthetics— Courts of Request— Sam 
 Hall— Darrell Stephens— Periodical literature— Dinners 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 
 
 5 Inner Temple Lane-My laundress-My clerk-My earnings 
 ' -My tradesman-Middlesex Sessions-Bodkin-Clarkson 
 -Huddleston-Prendergast-Anecdote-Gambling-houses 
 —Anecdote-Middlesex magistrates-Grant of licenses- 
 Spirit licenses— Licensing meetings . • • •_ • 
 
 15 
 
 35 
 
x ii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MY EARLY PERFORMANCES. 
 
 PAGH 
 
 Conquest — G-omersal — Mrs. Conquest — Father and son— "Mr. 
 Const — Phillipps — Clarkson — Accident — Gambling-houses — 
 Hazard — Roulette — Cheating — Running Rein — Crockford's — 
 Anecdotes — Jem Bland — -Anecdote — Piccadilly Saloon — 
 Sam Chifney — Mirfin — Duel 45 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 CHOICE OF CIRCUIT. 
 
 Home Circuit — Sheriff's chaplain — Lodgings — Opening the com- 
 mission — Grand Jury — Criminal Court — M. Berryer — Civil 
 Court — Circuit mess — Juries — Mr. Arnold — John Locke, M. P. 
 — Sothern — Judges' dinner — Spankie — Andrews — Turton — 
 Broderic — Thesiger — Piatt — References — Samuel Warren — 
 Lord Cairns — Alfred Thesiger — The Denman family — Lady 
 Croft — Sir Thomas Croft — Lord Denman — Trial at Maidstone 
 — Chambers — Appointed revising barrister . . . .56 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE THAMES POLICE COURT. 
 
 Thames police office — My father — Captain Richbell — Mr. Broderip 
 — Awkward mistake — Charles Mathews — Mr. Const — Dunn 
 — Sir Frederick Roe — Laing — Nervousness — Central Court — 
 City judges' dinners— The Ordinary — The Recorder — Arabin 
 — Alley — Adolphus — London Coffee House — Duel — 
 Tenterden — Scarlett — Charles Phillipps — Brougham — Duel- — 
 Anecdote — Insolvent Court appointment . . . .68 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE TRIAL OF COURVOISIER. 
 
 Murder of Lord William Russell — Appearance of Central Court — 
 Royal duke — Tindal — Baron Parke — New evidence— Inter- 
 view between Phillipps and Courvoisier — Phillipps's communi- 
 cation to Baron Parke — Conduct of Phillipps — His speech — 
 Improper expressions — Duty of counsel — Present crime — 
 Punishment of death — "Age" — "Satirist" . . . .81 
 
CONTENTS. x [{{ 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE CENTRAL, CRIMINAL COURT. 
 
 PAGH 
 
 Clarkson — Bodkin — Wilkins — Parry — Alderman Planner — The 
 Rope-walk — Offenses against women — Unlucky hairdresser 
 — Origin of Central Criminal Court — Lord Mayor — Sheriffs 
 — Aldermen — Sir Peter Laurie — Joseph Adie — The Brothers 
 Forester — Calcraft ... 91 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Jerningham — Huddleston — Hubert Jer ningham — Dubois — 
 Brothers Smith, authors of" Rejected Addresses " — Author of 
 "Ingoldsby Legends" — Theodore Hook — Mr. Hill — Mrs. and 
 Miss Dubois — Hook's joke about himself —Thrown into pris- 
 on—Attacks upon Queen Caroline — Gilbert Gurney — Scene 
 at the Old Bailey — Poole — Hill's inquisitiveness — The Clar- 
 ence Club — The Dilkes — The author of " Pleasures of Hope " 
 — Lord Justice James — Frank Stone — Marcus Stone — Two 
 Indian officers — Death of Captain Barberie — Bransby Cooper 
 — Sir Astley Cooper — Death of Bransby Cooper — Wakley — 
 Action against County Fire Office — Alleged suicide of Sadleir 
 — Inquest — Verdict — Anecdote of Patch, the murderer — 
 Daring Conspiracy — Action against the " Times '* — Gambling 
 loss 100 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 SUIT IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS. 
 
 Lords present- -Bill to annul the marriage between Esther Field 
 and Samuel Brown — Counsel engaged — Case opened by Sir 
 Fitzroy Kelly — My cross-examination — Rolt sums up — House 
 adjourns — Following day the Earl of Devon withdraws the 
 bill — Extract from the "Times" — Dr. Locock — Lord Lynd- 
 hurst introduces himself to me — Cross-examination — Extensive 
 existence of false evidence — Unskillful cross-examination — 
 Danger of — Proper principle of — A ijemark of mine in a case 
 — Tests of truth — Equity courts — Remark of a judge to me — 
 Embarrassment of witness not proof of falsehood — Curious 
 robbery— Acquittal of prisoner — Gross fraud exposed — Rail- 
 way accidents — Evidence — Remark of Lord Coleridge— Anec- 
 dote of Lord Hatherley — Mr. Rolt — Sir John Baylejr — Parties 
 at Mr. Lumley's — Two ex-Chancellors — Delafield — Exami- 
 nation-in-chief . Ill 
 
x i v CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 FAMOUS AUTHORS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Old taverns — Shakespeare Club — First meet Thackeray — His 
 works — Colonel Newcome — Becky Sharpe= — Colonel Crawley 
 — Archdeckne — John Forster — First meeting with Charles 
 Dickens — Miss Dickens — Bardell v. Pickwick — Toole — Dinner 
 at Mr. Cartwright's — Meeting with Charles Dickens — His 
 death — Mr. Justice Talfourd — His parties — Frank Talfourd — 
 Macready — Bulwer — Sheridan Knowles — Albert Smith — 
 Death of Talfourd— Lady Talfourd— Norton v. Lord Mel- 
 bourne — Mrs. Norton's character cleared — Improper state- 
 ments by Sir John Campbell — Mr. Norton as a magistrate . 123 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 LORD LYNDHURST. 
 
 Lord Lyndhurst — His birth — Defense of Dr. Watson — Lord 
 Castlereagh's opinion of the defense — Becomes M.P. and 
 Solicitor-General — My recollection of him as Chief Baron — 
 The case of Small v. Attwood — Conduct as a judge — Sir 
 Charles Wetherall — Slovenliness of Sir Charles — Anecdote — 
 Charles Austin — Professional practice — Marriage— Retirement 
 — Becomes a county magistrate— Sir Fitzroy Kelly — Informa- 
 tion against the London docks — Ipswich election petition — 
 Painful incident — Appointment as Chief Baron — Case of 
 Margaret Waters — Case of Tawell — Dr. Letheby — Mr. Justice 
 James Alan Park — Anecdote — Old Midland Circuit — Practical 
 joke — Serjeants — Goulburn's apology — Answer of Park — 
 Copley and Denman 134 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 MR. BARON PARKE. 
 
 Deportment of Mr. Baron Parke — Accused of over-subtlety — His 
 love of the profession — Amusing squib of Mr. Justice Hayes 
 — Anecdote — Fondness^ for fresh air — Parke created Lord 
 Wensleydale — Two murder cases in which I defend the 
 prisoners — One at Chelmsford, the other at Lewes — First 
 case a woman charged with murdering her husband — I am 
 urged to pursue a course against my judgment — Refuse to 
 do so — My reasons — Trial before Baron Parke — Acquittal — 
 Probable grounds — Conduct of judge — Professor Taylor — 
 
CONTENTS. ■ xy 
 
 Subsequent career of the prisoner — A murder at Hastings — 
 Offer of reward — Trial — Effect of the offer of reward — Un- 
 necessary evidence — Dramatic scene — Acquittal of the 
 prisoner 144 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 IMPRESSIONS OF SWITZERLAND AND H0MBURG. 
 
 A long vacation — Trip to Switzerland — Albert Smith — Mont 
 Blanc—" Mr. Ledbury's Tour " — Suicide at the Pont Neuf, in 
 Paris — Basle — Trois Rois hotel — First view of the Rhine — 
 Balcony of hotel — Anthony Trollope- — Outside of the Trois 
 Rois — Carriages — Railway — Geneva — Albert and Arthur 
 Smith — Geneva — Fishing on the lake — Chamouni — Exhibi- 
 tion at the Egyptian Hall — Diligence arrives at Dijon — 
 Homburg — Early morning at the springs — The Duke of 
 Cambridge — The olind prince — His parties — Introduction to 
 the Prince of Wales — The evening at Homburg — Scenes on the 
 terrace — Morning drives — Gambling saloons — Their abolition 
 — Stock Exchange— Chances of the table — Systems — Ruined 
 gamblers — Ladies — Mr. Goldsmidt — Departing visitors — Anec- 
 dotes of hotel proprietors — Ruse to get possession of a seat — 
 Anecdote of two ladies — Homburg at present — Monaco — In- 
 terference of foreigners ........ 154 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 LORD CAMPBELL. 
 
 Retirement of Lord Denman — Appointment of Lord Campbell — 
 Importance of a judge's demeanor — Lord Campbell obtains a 
 peerage for his wife — Becomes Chancellor of Ireland, with a 
 peerage to himself — Short tenure of office — Becomes Chief 
 Justice, and ultimately Lord Chancellor — His "Lives" — Miss 
 Strickland — Anecdote told by Phillipps — Lord Campbell's 
 version — His character as an advocate — Trial of Lord de Ros 
 — Details — Campbell's speech — Sauter la coupe — Sir William 
 Ingelby's attempt to explain the trick — Mr. Lawrence — Sir 
 William Follett — His good nature — Mr. Wightman . . 167 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Campbell's irritability. 
 
 Great knowledge and industry of Campbell — Grotesque exhibition 
 of impatience — The trial of Palmer — Sir Alexander Cockburn 
 
xv i CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 — Mr. Serjeant Shee — Theory of the prosecution — Professor 
 Taylor — Sir Benjamin Broclie's evidence — Good sense of 
 Campbell — Palmer's probable object — Palmer is convicted 
 — His note to his attorney — Mr. Serjeant Shee — Opinion of 
 Campbell's politeness — History repeats itself: — Analogy 
 between Palmer and Thurtell — Murder of Weare by Thurtell 
 — Supper afterwards — Probert and Hunt turned king's 
 evidence — Fate of Probert and Huntr^Causes before Lord 
 Campbell — Railway accidents — Difficulty in ascertaining in- 
 jury — Mr. Glover's case — Unfavorable impression created by 
 his evidence — Verdict — Mr. Glover's death — Another railway 
 case — Dishonest practitioners — British Bank trial — Verdict — 
 Sentences — The last time I saw Lord Campbell — His death — 
 Sir Richard Bethell appointed in his place — I receive from 
 him a patent of precedence ....... 176 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. • 
 
 I BECOME A SERJEANT. 
 
 I become a Serjeant — Former importance of the office — Queen's 
 Ancient Serjeant — First Queen's Counsel — A grievance — Mr. 
 Serjeant Manning treasurer — Opinion of the judges by Lord 
 Campbell — Coleridge — Erie — Maule — Fonblanque's attack on 
 Maule — Serjeant Storks — Gazelee appointed treasurer — Ser- 
 jeant Tozer — I am elected treasurer — Go to India — Am re- 
 elected — Dissolution of the Inn — Testimonial to myself . . 186 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE GARRICK CLUB. 
 
 Garrick Club — Character of its members — Hook — Barham — The 
 authors of the " Rejected Addresses" — Dickens — Thackeray — 
 David Roberts — Stanfield — Charles Kemble — Charles Kean 
 in "Louis XI." — "The Corsican Brothers" — Mephistopheles — 
 Robert Keeley — Leigh Murray — Albert and Arthur Smith — 
 Serjeant Talfourd — Do wling— Morgan O'Connell- — Appalling 
 incident at a fire — Shirley Brooks — Serjeant Parry — Douglas 
 Jerrold — Hamblet — New house — Walter Lacey — Palgrave 
 Simpson — Tom Holmes — Frank Fladgate — Le Chevalier 
 Brasseur — The Prince of Wales a member of the club . . 198 
 
CONTENTS. xv jj 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 INEQUALITY OF SENTENCES. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Sir Frederick Pollock — His residence in Serjeants' Inn — His ca- 
 reer at Cambridge, and high distinction — Innocent vanity — 
 Demeanor upon the bench — Manning's case — Interesting case 
 before Pollock — Anecdote of Cyrus Jay — Accident on Great 
 Eastern Railway — Trial before the Chief Baron — Evidence of 
 engineers — Doubtful evidence admitted — Verdict for plaintiff 
 — Second action before Sir Alexander Cockburn — Evidence 
 in former case contradicted — Action before Chief Baron Kelly 
 — Dr. Sumner, Bishop of Winchester — His hospitality — His 
 fondness for birds and flowers — David Pollock — General 
 Pollock — Anecdote — Boulogne-sur-Mer — An old Irish officer 
 — Alderman Kennedy — Charles Dickens — Albert and Arthur 
 Smith — Dr. Elliotson — Passage from Boulogne — Mrs. Milner 
 Gibson's parties — Mr. Justice Crowder 207 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 MURDER OF MR. DROMMOND. 
 
 Sir Nicholas Tindal — Trial — Defense upon the ground of insanity 
 — Acquittal — Indignation of the public — Proceeding in tne 
 House of Lords — Dicta of the judges — Extensive existence 
 of insanity — Anecdote of a lunatic — What principle ought 
 to apply in legal questions — Case tried before Baron Alder- 
 son — Case of Mrs. Ramsbottom — Her trial — Jury discharged 
 — Her death — Discovery afterwards — The case of Mrs. 
 Thwaites — Her extraordinary delusions — Trial before Lord 
 Penzance — Verdict — Reflections thereon — The Probate 
 Court — Creswell the first president — Lord Penzance — Sir 
 James Hannen 220 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 TRIAL OF BARBER AND FLETCHER. 
 
 The trial of Barber and Fletcher — Baron Gurney the judo-e His 
 
 severity — Attack upon him by Wilkins — Gurney's original 
 views — The Christian names of his children — Russell Gurnev 
 Recorder of London — Second trial of Barber — Mr. Justice 
 John Williams — Mr. Erie — His conduct of the prosecution 
 
X yiii CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 — Unjust verdict — Sentence — Pardon — Anecdotes of Wil- 
 liams — Character of Erie — Last cause tried by Erie — His 
 benevolence — Petersfield election committee — Distinguished 
 members of the Western Circuit — Sir John Karslake . . 233 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 CAMPDEN HOUSE FIRE. 
 
 Campden House — Mr. and Mrs. Woolley — -Fire — H^ouse destroyed 
 — Insured to the amount of 30,000Z. — Action against insur- 
 ance companies tried at Croydon assizes — Amusing incident 
 — Lodgings at Croydon — Madame Titiens — Objection to her 
 by my landlady — Signor Giuglini — Star and Garter — Balfe — 
 Miss Balfe — Mowbray Morris — -Delane — Meeting at Dr, 
 Quain's — Charles Lever — The Arditis 242 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Evans's — Paddy Green — Herr von Joel — Habitues at Evans's — 
 Thackeray ■ — - Dickens — Albert Smith — Shirley Brooks — 
 Douglas Jerrold — Robertson — Mr. Barry — Prince Maxi- 
 milian — Mr. Bowlby — Planche — Charles Mathews — Miss 
 Priscilla Horton — History of an acrobat and scene with a 
 gymnast — Mr. Sterling — Character of chorus girls — An old 
 Pantaloon — Incident behind the scenes — Drive from Green- 
 wich- "Punch" 249 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. . 
 
 ILLUSTRIOUS VISITORS. 
 
 Unexpected visitors — Louis Napoleon — Count D'Orsay — Object 
 of their visit — Louis Napoleon swindled — Obstinacy of the 
 Prince — My opinion of him — Prosecution — Failure — Courtesy 
 of the Count — Interview with the Prince at the races — Baroii 
 Alderson — His humanity — Mr. Humfrey, Q.C. — His suffer- 
 ings and death — Lawrence — Sir John Jervis — Maule — Sir 
 John Paul — Bon mot — Lady Blessington — Lord Beacons- 
 field — Bulwer — Death of Lord Beaconsfield — Dr. Quain — 
 Montagu Corry . . 261 
 
CONTENTS. x j x 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 LORD LYTTON. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction to Lord Lytton — Alleged theft of papers— His 
 fondness for animals — Deafness — Trial of accused — Acquittal 
 — Intercourse with Lord Lytton — His character— His works 
 — Their continued popularity — Consulted by him — Tendency 
 to the supernatural — " Guy Mannering " — Mr. Const — Anec- 
 dote told of Sir Astley Cooper — Lytton interested in criminal 
 matters — Foundation of his novels — Anecdote of Fauntleroy 
 — Lord Lytton fond of whist — His superstition — Last time I 
 met him — Macaulay — Portland Club — Different members — 
 Crimean War — War correspondents — Losses — Colonel Good- 
 lake — Mr. Greville 269 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 CURIOUS TRIAL FOR MURDER. 
 
 Miss Banks — Living at a boarding-house — Becomes acquainted 
 with a medical man and his wife — Intimacy — Leaves the 
 boarding-house— Marriage— Goes to live at Richmond— Be- 
 comes ill — Attended by two doctors — Becomes worse — Physi- 
 cian sent for— Dies on May 3, having previously made a will 
 in husband's favor — Arrest of husband — Letter from accused 
 
 — Conviction of Dr. Smethurst — Mistake of Dr. Taylor 
 
 Probable origin— Death of a Mr. G .—Curious statement. 285 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE PELLIZZIONI TRIAL. 
 
 Disturbance in a public-house— Harrington stabbed— Afterwards 
 died — Tried at the Central Criminal Court — Mr. Baron Mar- 
 tin the judge — Conviction — Interference on his behalf— Con- 
 fession of Mogni— His trial— Pellizzioni tried for wounding 
 Rebbeck— Conduct of the police — I receive a visit from the 
 Marquis D'Azeglio— Another case of police evidence and 
 trial for perjury _ 299 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 STATE OF REGENT STREET. 
 
 Condition of Regent Street— Charges by the police— Mr. Knox— 
 Removal of the division — I am taken into custody — Sir 
 
xx CONTENTS 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Alexander Cockburn — Complain to the Commissioner — An- 
 swer — Pretended witness — Prosecution of a constable — High- 
 handed proceedings — Imprudent publicity of police proceed- 
 ings — Kingston Hill murder — Coroners' courts — Thames 
 Police Court — Hodgson and Abbott, the Brewers — Irish and 
 Jews — Aaron Smith — Change of court and practice — My 
 father and the Home Office — Position of magistrates . . SOS ■ 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 ELECTION COMMITTEES. 
 
 Parliamentary practice — Coppock — Cockburn — Harrison and Joy 
 — Anecdote — Serjeant Merewether — Henry Merewether, 
 Q.C. — Hope Scott — Beckett — Denison — Rodwell — Election 
 committees — Prosecution for bribery — The ballot — Its insuffi- 
 ciency — Mr. Justice Fitzjames Stephen — Waddington — Locke 
 — Tipperary petition — Anecdote — Archbishop of Cashel — Ex- 
 tensive bribery — Anecdote— Bristol petition — Witness suc- 
 cessfully cross-examined — Trial at Bristol Sessions — Serjeant 
 King-lake — Mr. Collins — Montagu Williams — Ribton — Ob- 
 stinate juryman — Acquittal of accused 319 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 ELECTION JUDGES. 
 
 Election judges — Martin — Lush — Willes — Blackburn — Mellor — 
 Grove — Bradford — Petition against Forster — Successful ter- 
 mination — Letter from Forster to myself — Westminster — 
 Petitions — Decision for Smith — Lush — Bramwell — Black- 
 burn — Hastings petition — Mr. and Mrs. Brassey — Wallingford 
 — Petition against Vickers — Sir Charles Dilke — Interest taken 
 by the ladies — Awkward position of the judge — Scruples of a 
 brewer — Decision in favor of the seat — Petersfield petition — 
 Tamworth petition — Justice Willes — His extraordinary con- 
 duct — Attack upon me — His denial of intention — Letter from 
 Mr. Peel — His statement — My opinion of Mr. Justice Willes 330 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE UNION CLUB. 
 
 The Union Club — Its date — The first meeting — Mr. Raggett^ 
 manager — Numerous peers members — Committee of five, in- 
 cluding Sir Robert Peel— Plot of ground parohased — House 
 
CONTENTS. xx i 
 
 PAGE 
 
 built— Became member in 1852 — Sir John Jervis — Lord Jus- 
 tice Bruce — Montague Chambers — Selwyn — Justice Byles — 
 Messrs. Goslings — Mr. Veasey — Anecdote of my mother — Sir 
 Frederick Slade — Sir Henry Webb — Sir Thomas Henry — Sir 
 John Bayley — Mr. Justice Maule — Death of Henry — Anec- 
 dote of the Bishop of Bath and Wells — Anecdote of a Derby 
 Day — Anecdote of two barristers — Position of one of them . 342 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 MADAME RACHEL. 
 
 Madame Rachel — Her Visits to Drury Lane Theatre — Her shop in 
 Bond Street — Her extortion— The Beauty — Imposition upon 
 her — Causing her arrest — Interference of friends — Prosecu- 
 tion of Madame Rachel — Use of a nobleman's name — Im- 
 prisonment of Madame Rachel — Afterwards took to her 
 old courses — Again Imprisoned — Death — Murder of De la 
 Rue — Curious conduct of the murderer — Mysterious letter- 
 Trial — Interview with Hocker — Found guilty — Case of Franz 
 Miiller — Lefroy — Trial at Guildhall — Morrison v. Belcher — 
 " Zadkiel's Almanack " — Pretenses of Morrison — Dr. Robinson 
 — Prophecies — Cockburn — Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton — 
 Admiral Belcher — Mr. Slade — Middlesex magistrates — Mr. 
 Edlin \ 350 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 RISK ALLAH. LANDSEER. COCKBURN. 
 
 Risk Allah Bey — Landseer — Cockburn — Thackeray's allusion to 
 foreigners — Curious story of Risk Allah — His marriage — The 
 death of his ward — His trial for murder at Brussels, and also 
 for fraud and passing forged notes — Action against " Daily 
 Telegraph " — Damages — Brings another action for the loss of 
 3,000Z. in specie — Extraordinary story — Defendants an insur- 
 ance company — I was counsel for them — Jury discharged — 
 Action never renewed — Serjeants' Inn, Fleet Street — Resi- 
 dents there — Sir Thomas Wilde — Case of Small and Atwood 
 — Anecdote — Unpopular sentences— Meeting at Wiesbaden 
 — Lord Truro — Sir Frederick Pollock — Matthew Davenport 
 Hill — Martin appointed judge 360 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 MR. LANDSEER. 
 
 Club at the Piazza — Mr. Landseer — Meeting with Sir Edwin — 
 His works — Am his counsel — Action by a tailor for the price 
 
xx ii CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGH 
 
 of a coat — Sir Edwin tries it on in court — His demeanor — A 
 tailor on the jury — Amusing tableau; great laughter — Wil- 
 liam Harrison Ainsworth — Pleasant party — Jack Sheppard 
 — Dudley Costello — Ainsworth' s truthful prophecy — Lola 
 Montez — Her Marriage — Charge of bigamy — Bean firing at 
 the Queen — Her self-possession— Defend Connor and Good 
 also — Captain Charitie — Mr. Healy — Am counsel' for him — A 
 soldier flogged to death — Flogging proper for certain culprits 369 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 CHIEF JUSTICES. 
 
 Chief Justices Tenterden, Denman, Campbell, Cockburn — Curious 
 mistakes of Campbell — Anecdote of Tenterden — Baron 
 Richards — Character of Cockburn — As an advocate — Great 
 powers — Often opposed to Thesiger — Became member for 
 Southampton — Great speech in Parliament — His promotion — 
 Not equal as a judge — Too hasty — Humane — Knowledge of 
 modern languages — Death of Phinn — Visit shortly before 
 Cockburn's death — Mr. Walsh — Schoolfellow with me at St. 
 Paul's — Lunatic asylums — Description by Charles Reade — 
 Insanity 378 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 EXTRAORDINARY WILL CASE. 
 
 Extraordinary will case — Brought before numerous tribunals — 
 Pretense of finding codicils in different places — Great im- 
 probability — Question of handwriting — Codicils all disputed — 
 Serjeant Hayes with myself for defense — His humorous 
 speech — Summing up of Cockburn — Action upon three prom- 
 issory notes — Somewhat similar in their circumstances — 
 Tried before Baron Huddleston — Jury discharged — After- 
 wards before Lord Chief Justice Coleridge — Verdict for de- 
 fendants — Doubts as to evidence of handwriting . . . 387 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 AN APOLOGY TO MY READERS. 
 
 An apology — Entry in diary — First meeting with Charles Dickens 
 — Sir Charles Forbes — My brother — Another entry — En- 
 gagement to be married — Dr. Croly — Mr. Stutfield — Mrs. 
 Croly — Her opinion of her husband — Alderman Gibbs — 
 
CONTENTS. xx iii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Planche — Madame Vestris — Tom Duncombe — Wakley — Ser- 
 jeant Spankie — Bon Mot — Anecdote of Duncombe — Horace 
 Ciaggett — Miss Day — Regimental joke — Planche's extensive 
 knowledge of the theatre — Mr. and Mrs. Frank Matthews . 397 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 THE MAYOR OF CORK. 
 
 The Mayor of Cork — Attempt to murder the Duke of Edinburgh 
 — Daniel O'Sullivan — His conduct — Approval of the attempt 
 — Disgust of society — Action of the House of Commons — I 
 am appointed counsel to the House — Resignation of the Mayor 
 — Meeting with two old friends— The Hon. James Stuart 
 Wortley and Paddy Green — Wortley — Character and career 
 — Horace Pitt — Countess of Wicklow — Claim of peerage for 
 an alleged son — I am retained — Return retainer — Case taken 
 to House of Lords — Fraud exposed — Horace Pitt became Lord 
 Rivers — Death of his wife — Subsequent marriage — His belief 
 in the Claimant — His death 406 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 VIVISECTION. 
 
 Occasional recklessness — Opinions of Sir William Fergusson — 
 Also of Mr. Richard Holt Hutton — Articles in the " Nineteenth 
 Century " review — Sir James Paget — Professor Owen — Dr. 
 Samuel Wilks— Their opinions — Difference between Fergus- 
 son and Paget — Difficulty of fair discussion upon the subject 
 — Calculated to induce speculative operations — Value of 
 evidence — Recent case — Operation upon cats and monkeys 
 — Conduct of students . - 413 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 THE TICHBORNE BARONETCY. 
 
 Marvelous story — Enormous amount expended in defense — 
 Chief Justice Bovill — Cockburn — Kenealy — Sketch of Sir 
 Roger's early days — Goes to Stony hurst — Aftewards to Paris 
 — Then into the Carabineers — Quitted England — Went to 
 Rio de Janeiro — -Embarked for England on board the "Bella " 
 — Narrative of Claimant — Saved from the wreck— And 
 landed in Australia — Lives in poverty — Marries — In business 
 
xx i v CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 as a butcher in Wagga Wagga — Death of Sir Roger's fathei 
 — Advertisement for lost son — His arrival in London — Visit 
 to Wapping— Retainer of Mr. Holmes — Recognition by Lady 
 Tichborne — My impression of his appearance— I had an in- 
 terview with Lady Tichborne and accepted retainer for the 
 Claimant 420 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE TICHBORNE CASE. 
 
 Affidavits filed — Tattoo marks not mentioned — Claimant cross- 
 examined — Employment of Chancery barrister — No question 
 put about tattoo marks — Absurd excuse if fact was known — 
 Improbability of solicitor or counsel for Claimant going on 
 with the case if such a fact had been proved — Commence- 
 ment of suit in Common Pleas — Counsel engaged — Jury — 
 Case might have been stopped earlier than it was — Claimant 
 called — Cross-examination — Address of Solicitor-General — 
 Witnesses — I submit to a non-suit — Closing scene — Com- 
 mittal of Claimant — Doubtful propriety of this course . . 427 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 INDICTMENT OF CLAIMANT. 
 
 Before Cockburn, Mellor, and Lush — Hawkins and Parry for the 
 prosecution — Dr. Kenealy for the defense — Character and 
 conduct of Kenealy — " The Englishman " — Kenealy's calum- 
 nies — Prejudicial effect upon Claimant — Imprudent conduct 
 of case — Proper mode of conducting it — Important effect of 
 Lady Tichborne's recognition — Paris witnesses — Kenealy's 
 imprudence — Mr. MacMahon — Retirement of Mellor — 
 Death of Lush 436 
 
 CHAPTER XLIIL 
 
 LORD WESTBURY. 
 
 Kindness to myself — Vote of censure upon him — His resignation 
 — Verdict of manslaughter against his brother-in-law — 
 Defended by Cockburn — Kind behavior of Bethell — Immedi- 
 ate acquittal — Middle Temple .library — Trial of Hopley 
 — Shocking brutality — Conviction — His brother — Instance of 
 Cockburn's sense of justice — Mr. Scherer — Laboriousness of 
 Cockburn — Blackburn — A great Judge — Fracas with High 
 Sheriff— High Sheriff fined 442 
 
CONTENTS. XXV 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 CRIMINAL COURTS AND CRIMINAL JUDGES. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Baron de Vidil — Assault upon his son — Trial before Blackburn — 
 Conviction — Trial of Karl Frantz — Acquittal — Amalgamation 
 of the Common and Equity law — Equity barristers in 
 criminal courts — Difference between civil and criminal juris- 
 dictions — Want of Appeal Court — Reference to poisoning 
 case — Certain axioms — Criminal Code Commission — Theory 
 of a criminal court — System of transportation — Unfortunate 
 position of convicts under present system .... 451 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 THE TRIAL OF THE GAEKWAR OF BARODA. 
 
 I am retained — Retrospect necessary — Voyage to India — Great 
 changes — P. andO. Company — Incidents of a wreck — Captain 
 ~Mackeson — Sir Richard Garth — Journey to Brindisi — Voy- 
 age to Alexandria — Train across the desert — The "Australia " 
 — Captain Murray — Brides — Accident to a dog — The Southern 
 Cross— Curious appearance — Aden — Arrival at Bombay — 
 Kind reception — Messrs. Jefferson and Payne — Bycullah 
 Club — Parsee cemetery — Chisholm Anstey .... 459 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 * TRIAL OF THE GAEKWAR. 
 
 Trial of the Gaekwar — I leave Bombay for Baroda — Its extent — 
 Origin of the name Gaekwar — History of country and 
 monarch — Journey by train — Kind reception upon the road 
 and upon arrival — Our residence — Mrs. Scobell — Flower 
 garden — Excessive heat — Monkeys — Parrots — Cobras — 
 Town of Baroda — The population — Heaviness — Cheetahs — 
 Highland dress of regiment — Camels — Elephants — Tigers — 
 Her Majesty — Gracious reception — -Kindness of Mr. Branson 
 — Presents of fish and fruit — Sir Lewis Pelly — His hospitality 
 — English regiment — Docility of a partridge .... 470 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 THE MEETING OF COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 Meeting of Commissioners — Intense heat — Trial commenced — 
 Scindia — Sir Dunker Rao — The Maharajah of Jeypore — Sir 
 
xxvi CONTENTS. 
 
 FA OB 
 
 Richard Couch — Sir Richard John Meade — Counsel for pros- 
 ecution — Counsel for defense — Picture of the Gaekwar — 
 Conduct of trial — Evidence of Colonel Phayre — His character 
 — Complaint of his conduct — His dismissal — Charge of poi- 
 soning — His extraordinary account — Not adverted to in the 
 judgment — Phayre's telegram — His letter — Dr. Seward — 
 Bowh - Poonaka — Dr. Seward's interference— Insult to the 
 Gaekwar . 480 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 
 CONTINUANCE OF THE TRIAL. 
 
 Continuance of trial — Curious discovery — Raoji's belt — Hemchund 
 Futeychund — His credit disputed by the English Commis- 
 sioners — Believed by the natives — No real attempt at poison 
 — Object of discovering the parcel of arsenic — Damadhur Punt 
 — His object in giving evidence — Feeling of the audience at 
 his evidence — Result — Reasons given — Documents published 
 by Mr. Aitcheson — Charge against English press — Untrue — 
 Curious decision of Government — Kind conduct of the Gaek- 
 war— Now in the custody of Seward 488 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 TERMINATION OF THE TRIAL. 
 
 Termination of trial — Pleasant life during its continuance — De- 
 parture — Voyage home — My embarkation — Met by a large 
 concourse of natives — Bidding me adieu — Handsome testimo- 
 nial — Present of his portrait from the Gaekwar — Meet Sir 
 Lewis Pelly in London — He dines with Sir Napier Sturt and 
 myself at the Garrick Club — His Royal Highness the Prince 
 of Wales honoring us with his company .... 496 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 GENERAL REVIEW. 
 
 State of the Law fifty years ago — Gross Abuses — The Marshalsea 
 -Jacob Omnium — Small number of Queen's Counsel — Ser- 
 jeants' Inn — Abolition without due consideration — Eminence 
 of Equity Barristers— Unfitness to preside in Criminal cases 
 — Grounds of this unfitness — Different trials — Wrong verdicts 
 — Court of Criminal Appeal necessary — Grounds for its adop- 
 
CONTENTS. xxvii 
 
 PAGB 
 
 tion — Courtesy between Bench and Bar — Connection be- 
 tween Serjeants' Inn and the City — November 9 — Sir Thomas 
 Chambers — His absurd blunder — Serjeant Woolrych — St. 
 Paul's — Sir John and Lady Holker — Stony hurst — A con- 
 scientious clergyman — Lord Justice John Holker — His death. 502 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 
 SOME FURTHER TRIALS. 
 
 Duel between Mirfin and Elliot— Trial of the seconds — Found 
 guilty — Pugilism — Formerly creating admiration — Juries un- 
 willing to convict — The decadence of pugilism — Unfairness — 
 Sayers and Heenan fight — Acrobats — Brutal exhibition — 
 Letter from tbe Queen — Union Club — Tom Holmes — Lord 
 Lowtber — Lord Rivers — Fraudulent ballot— Eccentricities in 
 clubs — Anecdotes — I become possessed of a letter of the 
 Duke of Wellington to my father — The Union a non-polit- 
 ical club 513 
 
 CHAPTER LII. 
 
 LAST CHAPTER. 
 
 Mr. Teesdale — His son — A most valuable client — Incident in poi- 
 soning case — Anecdote of a Chairman of Quarter Sessions — 
 Advantage of clerical advice — Mr. Serjeant Thomas — Serjeant 
 Wilkins's anecdote — Anecdote of Mrs. Thomas — Gratifying 
 letter — Photograph of Homburg Spring — Young Boucicault 
 — Melancholy end — Majority of criminals — The fair Alice — 
 Lord Frankfort — Trial of Alice — Acquittal — Adolphus — Her 
 engagement at a theatre — Her subsequent career — Another 
 trial — A beautiful girl — Awkward position for a gentleman 
 — Her trial- -Conviction — Transportation — Marriage — Con- 
 vict wives 522 
 
 APPENDIX 531 
 
SOME EXPERIENCES 
 
 OF 
 
 A BARRISTER'S LIFE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 T_ T OWLAND STREET, Tottenham Court Road, 
 *■ -*- was, as I have heard, the place of my birtn 
 My first memories, however, are of a farm-house — I 
 have none of how I got there. I remember a large 
 yard, and plenty of straw to roll about in ; the pigs 
 and the poultry were my earliest friends, freedom and 
 fresh air my happiness. It was at Warboys, a small 
 village in Huntingdonshire. The property belonged 
 to my mother, who was a native of Somersham in the 
 same county. 
 
 These happy days were terminated by a long jour- 
 ney. Stuffed inside a coach, I was sick and miserable, 
 and was scolded for being troublesome. I remember 
 perfectly being deposited in a dull, dreary home, which 
 
 1 
 
2 CHILDHOOD. 
 
 I now know was No. 1 Serjeants' Inn, Fleet Street, 
 and have a distinct impression how sour the bread 
 tasted. It is strange that so trivial a circumstance 
 should remain upon the memory when many much 
 more important are obliterated, and it is only on that 
 account that I have thought it worth recording. 
 
 From this period my mind is a blank, until I was 
 sent to a school at Fulham, kept by two maiden ladies 
 of the name of Batsford. I have no recollection of 
 what I learned, or how I was taught; but the Sun- 
 days passed there have remained graven on my mind: 
 Marched, two and two, to the parish church, clad in 
 our best clothes, and encased in a sort of moral strait- 
 waistcoat; cramped up in a narrow pew, prayer-book 
 in hand, listening to what we could not understand, 
 we strove, often ineffectually, to keep awake, know- 
 ing that if we yielded to drowsiness we forfeited our 
 share of the pudding — sole pleasure of the day. 
 
 Oh ! how I envied the swallows, as they flitted 
 across the windows in joyous sport, reveling in the 
 blessings given them by Grod, and forbidden to us upon 
 the day sanctified by Him. I do not remember how 
 long I remained under the charge of these ladies, of 
 whom I still retain kindly recollections. 
 
 My father had originally been in the army, but at 
 the period of my birth had been recently called to the 
 bar. He carried on his profession, as well as resided, 
 in Serjeants' Inn, Fleet Street. My mother, at the 
 time of her marriage, was a young lady of wealth and 
 position in Huntingdonshire. The house in which 
 we dwelt was the reverse of lively, and I fancy that 
 my father's fortunes were not at that time prosperous. 
 
FIRST PANTOMIME. 3 
 
 My mother was a most excellent and pious woman, 
 and carried out with conscientious rigor the views of 
 Sunday which had prevailed at our school. I was 
 taken regularly to the Temple Church, and never 
 will the memory of the hours passed within those 
 solemn walls be effaced from my mind. Under the 
 influence of the Rev. Mr. Eowlett, a most worthy but 
 not enlivening clergyman, I too frequently yielded to 
 the sleepy god, and for doing so received present pun- 
 ishment and was promised a terrific future A worthy 
 old nurse, of the Baptist persuasion, who would not 
 willingly have hmrt a fly, helped to fill my soul with 
 terrors ; and at the top of our dreary house, in a lonely 
 bedroom, the memory of my offenses and the antici- 
 pation of their penalty drove me nearly frantic. 
 
 Unheard and unpitied, I many a time cried myself 
 to sleep. The relation also of any horrible crime used 
 to produce a most painful effect upon me in my lonely 
 moments, and I particularly remember hearing talked 
 about the murder of a Mrs. Donathy, an old lady liv- 
 ing in James Street, Bedford Eow. It caused a great 
 sensation at the time, and it is wonderful, after a long 
 lapse of years, how vivid my recollection of it is. The 
 thought of it was present to me at night, and every 
 noise conjured up a murderer to my imagination. Such 
 memories remain — perhaps, also, their consequences. 
 
 The Temple Gardens relieved the monotony of 
 our domicile, but even there I felt that the lynx eyes 
 of the gardener were watching my every movement. 
 
 I cannot say what period of my life was thus occu- 
 pied, but I remember one magical and delightful event. 
 I was taken to see a pantomime. How wonderful it 
 
4 BROADSTAIRS. 
 
 was, and how beautiful ! I have never forgotten it. 
 I even now remember a scene in which, in a snow- 
 storm, Baron Munchausen fastened his horse to the 
 steeple of a church, mistaking it for a gate, and the 
 next morning, the snow having melted, there was the 
 steed dancing upon air. Great was my ecstasy when 
 the Baron, taking aim with his gun, separated the 
 reins from the steeple, and the horse came tumbling 
 down. And there was another welcome treat in my 
 existence, when I went on a brief visit to one of my 
 father's sisters. She lived at Wimbledon, and was 
 married to the Rev. Joshua Ruddock, who prepared 
 a few lads for the University. With what pleasure 
 I recall my aunt's loving hospitality, the delight of 
 roving on the Common and over the Danish Camp, 
 the little present of books long looked forward to 
 which terminated my happy sojourn. 
 
 Once my brother and myself were taken to the sea- 
 side — Broadstairs, afterwards a favorite resort of 
 Charles Dickens. The mode by which this pleasant 
 watering-place was then reached was by two steam- 
 packets. I remember their names — the "Engineer" 
 and "Majestic." They had nearly superseded the 
 old Margate hoys, which, however, like the stage- 
 coaches with the railways in a future generation, were 
 then maintaining a hopeless contest with their formi- 
 dable rivals. I believe that these were the first steam- 
 ers upon the Thames, 1 and- were allowed to die a 
 natural death at a mature age, after a prosperous 
 career. Their successors, although not extinct, have 
 to a great extent yielded to the convenience and speed 
 
 1 They were certainly the first that ran to Margate. 
 
ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL. 5 
 
 of conveyance by rail, and now, of the many thou- 
 sands who in the course of a year visit the Isle of 
 Thanet, only a small proportion select this very agree- 
 able mode of reaching it. 
 
 On the morning following our arrival at Broadstairs, 
 which had not been until late on the preceding even- 
 ing, for the first time the broad expanse of the ocean 
 disclosed itself to my astonished senses. I can but 
 inadequately describe the sensation it occasioned. It 
 must have been calm, with a summer haze hanging 
 lazily over its surface, whilst to my unaccustomed eyes 
 distant vessels seemed suspended from the sky. Once 
 only, since that time, have I experienced the same feel- 
 ing of wonderment and awe, and that was when, many 
 years after, the view of a long range of snowy moun- 
 tains burst upon my vision. On such occasions as 
 these something seems added to our nature, exalting 
 and purifying it. The sands, too, were a source of 
 intense enjoyment. But most of my readers have had 
 this illustrated by means more vivid than words, in 
 the happy faces of the urchins playing upon the 
 beach. Many pleasant hours have I since passed in 
 the same locality : but what can ever replace the joy 
 ousness that knows no remorse for the past or fear for 
 the future! 
 
 A contrast came only too soon: the blackest and 
 most odious period of my existence arrived — I was 
 sent to St. Paul's School. The bouse was then stand- 
 ing where it does now in the church-yard ; but, 
 shortly after I entered, the school was removed to 
 Aldersgate Street whilst the present building was 
 being erected. 
 
Q TYRANNY OF MASTERS. 
 
 I was a day scholar. 1 There were four masters, 
 all clergymen. Dr. Sleath was at the head. Of him I 
 knew nothing except by sight, never having reached 
 the classes over which he presided. He was a man 
 of portly presence, a good scholar, I believe, and much 
 respected. Bean, Edwards, and Durham were the 
 three other instructors, and, however different these 
 were in many respects, they possessed one common 
 attribute. They were all tyrants — cruel, cold-blooded, 
 unsympathetic tyrants. Armed with a cane, and sur- 
 rounded by a halo of terror, they sat at their respect- 
 ive desks. Under Durham the smaller boys trembled ; 
 Edwards took the next in age. Each flogged contin- 
 uously. The former, a somewhat obese personage, 
 with a face as if cut out of a suet-pudding, was sol- 
 emn in the performance of this, his favorite occupa- 
 tion. The Rev. Mr. Edwards, on the contrary, though 
 a cadaverous-looking object, was quite funny over the 
 tortures he inflicted. Trois Echelles and Petit Andre', 
 the executioners of Louis XI., so admirably described 
 by Walter Scott in his novel of "Quentin Durward," 
 treated their victims after a similar fashion. One of 
 the favorite modes of inflicting pain adopted by these 
 tyrants was, when the boys came in on a winter's 
 morning, shivering and gloveless, to strike them vio- 
 lently with the cane over the tips of their fingers. I 
 nearly learned at that school the passion of hatred, 
 and should probably have done so but that my mind 
 was too fully occupied by terror. Bean was a short, 
 podgy, pompous man, with insignificant features. His 
 mode of correction was different in form, and I can 
 
 1 Some boys boarded with the masters. 
 
THE PRESENT SCHOOL. 7 
 
 see him now, with flushed, angry face, lashing some 
 little culprit over back and shoulders until nis own 
 arm gave way under the exertion. Amongst the 
 amusements of this gentleman, one was to throw a 
 book — generally \Entick's Dictionary, if I remember 
 rightly — at the head of any boy who indulged in a 
 yawn, and, if he succeeded in his aim, and produced 
 a reasonable contusion, he was in good humor for the 
 rest of the day. I have met them all three since my 
 school days, and found them shallow and ignorant, no 
 doubt with plenty of Greek and Latin in their heads, 
 but without knowledge of human nature or power of 
 appreciating the different dispositions of their pupils. 
 All that was necessary for them to know was that 
 they were capable of suffering. I have heard that of 
 late years the school has been admirably conducted, 
 and has turned out brilliant scholars; but I am not 
 aware that any of my contemporaries obtained in their 
 subsequent careers great distinction. There were, of 
 course, the ordinary catalogue of minor nuisances in 
 the shape of very good boys and very great bullies. 
 I was always badly dressed, and seldom had any 
 money in my pocket. This was no fault of my poor 
 mother, and I fancy, as I have before hinted, that at 
 that time the res angusta pervaded our household. 
 It is a bad thing for a boy to be sent to a school in a 
 worse plight than his fellow-pupils : it is apt to breed 
 meanness in himself, and invariably subjects him to 
 tyranny from others. Of the latter I underwent my 
 full share. I suspect I was a bit of a coward ; I 
 know I hated fighting. There was a fat brute named 
 Thompson who used to thrash me unmercifully, but 
 
8 REMOVAL TO HA MP STEAD. 
 
 one afternoon I hurt his head with a leaden inkstand^ 
 and, although I got well caned for this little accident, 
 I found it had a good effect on my boy persecutors. 
 
 I may mention that during the time I was attend- 
 ing this school my father had removed from No. 1 to 
 No. 6 in the same Inn, and that amongst its other in- 
 habitants were Serjeant Wilde, afterwards Lord Truro, 
 Frederick Pollock, afterwards Chief Baron, and Mr. 
 Jervis, a Welsh judge, father of the future Chief Jus- 
 tice of the Common Pleas of that name. 
 
 On my way to school I had to pass an ancient inn, 
 called the " Bolt in Tun." It was situated on the 
 south side of Fleet Street. Its sign as well as name 
 breathed memories of the past — The Arrow into the 
 Target. There was generally a four-horse coach 
 standing opposite its gateway". How I lingered, gaz- 
 ing with admiring eyes at coachman and horses ! How 
 I envied the passengers ! They were about to quit 
 smoky London and breathe the fresh air of the fields. 
 They had no dread of the cane descending upon 
 frozen fingers. I knew what would be my fate ; 
 but still I looked and longed, and turned to take one 
 look more. I could not picture unhappiness in the 
 hearts of the passengers. I ran on to my gloomy 
 lot, hoping not to be late ; but if I were, that I should 
 get some warmth into my trembling hands. 
 
 After I had been at St. Paul's some four or five 
 years, my father took a house at Hampstead, and, to 
 my great joy, I was sent to a school at Blackheath, 
 called Ashburnham House, kept by Mr. Wigan. 
 This gentleman was a scholar, and both kind and 
 considerate to his pupils. He had a brother, a physi- 
 
MR. PL ATT. . 9 
 
 cian in Finsbury Square, 1 and his sons Alfred and 
 Horace, subsequently distinguished actors, were 
 amongst my fellow-pupils. The school was not finan- 
 cially a success, and broke up. »I went afterwards 
 to another private school at Hampstead, kept by 
 worthy people named Johnson, and in the air of this 
 most pleasant of surburban places I soon regained 
 my spirits and looked more contentedly upon life. 
 Here I remained for some years, having little to re- 
 cord until I commenced the graver studies of the law. 
 
 And I now propose to sketch, very briefly, my 
 career up to the time when I obtained permission 
 from the Honorable Society of the Inner Temple to 
 gain what livelihood I could in the position of a bar- 
 rister. 
 
 At the period when I was looking forward to this 
 event, there might be seen in different parts of Lon- 
 don an individual of somewhat eccentric appearance. 
 He was a thin, active old gentleman, with powdered 
 hair, and I believe a pigtail — certainly with knee- 
 breeches and silk stockings. This was Mr. Piatt, 
 clerk to the celebrated Lord Chief Justice, Lord 
 Ellenborough, and father of Thomas Piatt, barrister- 
 at-law, Queen's Counsel, and ultimately a baron 
 of the Exchequer. This latter gentleman was a 
 friend of my father, and kindly received me into his 
 chambers, where I remained for some three months. 
 He is worthy of a place in any legal records. Well 
 educated, but with no commanding talent, with no 
 pretense to eloquence, and starting from a compara- 
 
 1 1 have mentioned this connection of Mr. Wigan in consequence of an 
 utterly false account that I saw in a recent publication of the position of 
 Mr. Alfred Wigan's parents. 
 
10 THE HONORABLE MR. LA W. 
 
 tively humble position, by industry and perseverance 
 and most upright and honorable conduct, he achieved 
 the high position I have mentioned, with the respect 
 of the public and? the profession. 
 
 And yet, strange to say, he violated the obvious 
 intentions of nature, and like Liston, the comedian, 
 who imagined himself to have been intended foi 
 tragedy, although essentially comic in the form and 
 expression of his features, the subject of my sketch, 
 with a face that seemed made to create laughter, 
 would plant upon it the most lugubrious of looks. 
 "Pray," said Lord Lyndhurst to him one day, "spare 
 us that wife and twelve children face." Nevertheless, 
 his appeals to the common juries were very effective. 
 The following climax, which I remember, greatly in- 
 creased the damages awarded to a young lady for 
 whom he was counsel: "And, gentlemen, this ser- 
 pent in human shape stole the virgin heart of my un- 
 fortunate client whilst she was returning from con- 
 firmation ! " 
 
 The Honorable Charles Ewan Law, son of Lord 
 Ellenborough, commenced a career at the bar about 
 the same period as Mr. Piatt, and went the same cir- 
 cuit, the Home, wkh every accompaniment to suc- 
 cess except his own demeanor. He undoubtedly pos- 
 sessed ability, but it was smothered by pomposity and 
 vulgar pride. 
 
 He signally failed at the bar, but his rank and con- 
 nection obtained for him the office of Recorder of 
 London, and he was thoroughly ashamed of the pat- 
 rons who had placed him there. Although I do not 
 consider that there is any merit in being humane, I 
 still think it fair to say that in his administration of 
 
FELLOW PUPILS. H 
 
 justice he was considerate and merciful. He was in 
 Parliament, but never distinguished himself. I re- 
 member, after Mr. Piatt became a judge, his presid- 
 ing at the Central Criminal Court, Mr. Law being 
 then in the inferior position of Recorder. 
 
 After leaving Mr. Piatt's chambers, I went to those 
 of Mr. William Henry Watson, at that time a pleader 
 below the bar, who afterwards became a Baron of the 
 Exchequer. His father was a general officer, and he 
 had himself commenced his career in the army. He 
 was, I believe, a good case lawyer, and had a large 
 business. He received some ten or a dozen pupils, 
 whom he permitted to learn what they could, and, 
 judging by myself, this was very little. He was a 
 gentleman, and a favorite with all of us. I have little 
 to i ecord of the two years I passed in these chambers 
 amongst a mass of papers, copying precedents of plead- 
 ing which were a disgrace to common sense, and in 
 gossip with my brother students, most of them as idle 
 as myself. They were older than I was, and amongst 
 them was a gentleman with whom I have remained 
 ever since upon terms of intimacy. This was Mr. 
 Joseph Brown. He was a very hard worker, and 
 used to suffer grievously from the want of that qual- 
 ity in the majority of his fellow-pupils. He became a 
 distinguished leader upon the same circuit with my- 
 self, and will go down to posterity as the admired 
 author of the longest set of pleadings ever known. 
 At the bar, his arguments have been most exhaust- 
 ive, and never weakened by any approach to levity. 
 Socially, his knowledge and learning render him a 
 most delightful and improving companion, and ever\ 
 one who knows him respects and likes him. 
 
12 CALL TO THE BAR. 
 
 John Nodes Dickenson, another pupil, was also a 
 hard worker, and, oddly enough, like myself, had been 
 at the school kept by the Misses Batsford. He also 
 joined the Home circuit, and he and I were accus- 
 tomed to lodge together at Maidstone. He accepted 
 early in his career a Colonia] judgeship. His brother, 
 the eminent Queen's Counsel, has recently retired 
 from the equity bar. 
 
 Edward Rushton, familiarly called Ned, was a pu- 
 pil of a different type. Much older than any of us, 
 he had been an active politician, and amused us with 
 tales of election contests. We believed him to be a 
 great orator. Perhaps he was. Cobbett had given 
 him the name of Roaring Rushton. He became af- 
 terwards stipendiary magistrate at Liverpool, his na- 
 tive place. 
 
 Hamill, another pupil, obtained the post of a police 
 magistrate of the metropolis. I must not forget, too, 
 " Ben Hyam," whose real name was Marriott. His 
 father was a magistrate, before whom a charge was 
 made by a Turk, an itinerant vender of rhubarb, who 
 had been robbed of all his earnings. The case was 
 clear enough, and the thief ordered to be committed. 
 The Moslem was told he must appear at the next ses- 
 sions. He swore by the Prophet that he could not; 
 upon which the magistrate, legally enough, ordered 
 him to find bail for his appearance, which of course 
 he was unable to do, and went to prison in default. 
 The magistrate, ex debito justitice, admitted the pris- 
 oner to the same privilege, of which he speedily 
 availed himself. The sessions arrived, and, as might 
 be expected, the thief did not. Ben Hyam, after the 
 loss of his earnings and his liberty, was released 
 
DOUBTFUL COMPLIMENTS. 13 
 
 What became of him I never heard, but his reflec- 
 tions upon English justice could hardly have been high- 
 er than those we entertain about an Eastern cadi. 
 Hence arose the nickname bestowed on my friend 
 Marriott, which he' retained to the day of his death, 
 which occurred early. 
 
 I have met with an account of the above incident 
 as having occurred in Russia, but I can vouch for the 
 accuracy of my statement, and that it occurred in 
 London, about the year 1830. 
 
 At last the labors which led to the bar and might 
 lead to the woolsack were over. I had eaten the re- 
 quisite number of dinners. A good appetite and good 
 digestion rendered this not difficult, and there were 
 pleasant young fellows, full of hope and high spirits, 
 engaged in the same occupation with myself. 
 
 The batch to be " turned off" were summoned to 
 the bench table. We were each presented with a 
 glass of wine, and a speech was made to us by the 
 treasurer, giving us good advice and wishing us pros- 
 perity in our forthcoming career ; and so we were 
 launched upon the sea, looking then so calm, btft, alas ! 
 too often engulfing pitilessly the brightest ventures. 
 Upon these occasions unpleasant truths were some- 
 times uttered, and on one of them a gentleman named 
 Carden, who had to return thanks for his fellow-stu- 
 dents, concluded by expressing his regrets that none 
 of those who had wished them success were likely 
 to live to see it. 
 
 I propose in my next chapter to give a glimpse of 
 London as I remember it during my pupilage, some 
 of the scenes I witnessed, and the impressions they 
 conveyed. 
 
14 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 I have been asked by some of my younger 
 readers, "What is a Margate hoy?" and I fancy 
 the term has slipped out of our vocabulary since the 
 clays of which I have spoken. It was, as far as I 
 know, confined to sailing vessels conveying pas- 
 sengers to the port of Margate, and which were the 
 principal means by which visitors reached that 
 watering-place. 
 
 When I wrote my sketch of St. Paul's School, I 
 was not aware of three of my bar contemporaries 
 having been educated there, and, although after my 
 time, before the departure of Bean and Edwards — 
 Sir James Hannen, the present Baron Pollock, and 
 Dr. Pritchard, all men who confer distinction upon 
 a school. The latter gentleman, however, has told 
 me that the tyranny he experienced brought on a 
 brain fever. I have also received a letter from Mr. 
 Whitehurst, a surviving brother of the late amusing 
 and clever correspondent of the Daily Telegraph 
 newspaper, who was himself educated at St. Paul's 
 School, more than confirming my account of the 
 gross cruelty practised by the three tyrants I have 
 described. It ought to be recorded, whilst referring 
 to the school, that one of the most distinguished 
 scholars of the age was educated there — the present 
 Master of Baliol — and I have been told was greatly 
 indebted to Dr. Sleath, from whom, however, he 
 certainly did not derive those views which have 
 rendered the name of Jowett more famous than 
 even his eminent attainments. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 LONDON DURING MY PUPILAGE. 
 
 1" N giving a description of the great metropolis pre- 
 *- viously to my call, I shall confine myself as nearly 
 as possible to the results of my own observation, and 
 the impressions springing from it. Its surface and 
 extent were very different from those which now 
 present themselves to the view; bricks and mortar, 
 marching in all directions, have eaten up many a 
 green field and pleasant lane ; and palaces now cover 
 what were unhealthy swamps or the noisome dwell- 
 ings of the poorest classes. 
 
 It is not, however, the changes only that meet the 
 eye which have to be recorded. Science, literature, 
 thought, have made prodigious strides, and many 
 speculations are now openly discussed upon subjects 
 which it would then have been thought impiety even 
 to allude to. Steam, a sleeping giant, has been forced 
 to work, and panting and puffing has brought people 
 together, adding to their pleasures and enlarging their 
 minds : and, wonder of wonders, more wonderful than 
 any tale of magic, electricity has conquered space, 
 and seems now to be pursuing a career to which there 
 is no apparent limit. Some crimes have assumed 
 larger proportions, and the present has been an age 
 of daring and gigantic fraud. 
 
 And yet in those days there existed men worthy 
 
 15 
 
IQ WELLINGTON AND WALTER SCOTT. 
 
 of any period in a great nation. The battle of Wa- 
 terloo was fought in the year 1815, and the greatest 
 general since the time of Marlborough was placed by 
 the enthusiastic voice of the nation upon a pedestal from 
 which in that capacity he has never been displaced, 
 although as a statesman he was unpopular, and per- 
 secuted by a thoughtless mob. Walter Scott had 
 only recently published one of the most charming of 
 his works, " Guy Mannering," which will for all ages 
 delight young and old. Byron and Shelley had startled 
 sober people by their wondrous poetry and reckless 
 opinions. Great lawyers had adorned the bench, and 
 the bold advocacy of Erskine had done much to ce- 
 ment the liberties of the people, whilst crimes of 
 stupendous atrocity were not without their represent- 
 atives. 
 
 The interests of medical science had created a body 
 of men that have passed into oblivion. Like the 
 ghouls of eastern story, they haunted grave-yards, and 
 lived upon corpses, violating the tomb, and gaining a 
 living by supplying the dissecting-table with its ghastly 
 subjects. They were called resurrectionists. It oc- 
 curred to a native of Edinburgh, named Burke, that 
 an easier and more profitable method might be devised 
 to attain the same end, and he and an accomplice 
 named Hare established a system of assassination ; lads 
 wandering about the street were little likely to be 
 missed, there were few to inquire for them. They 
 might be half-starving, but still their carcasses would 
 serve the purpose of the surgeon's knife : and they 
 must not be spoiled by external damage, and so these 
 fiends, stealthily crawling behind them, pressed a pitch 
 
HARE, THE MURDERER. 17 
 
 plaster over their mouths and noses, and thus suffo- 
 cated them. They were then conveyed to the dis- 
 secting-rooms and sold to the anatomists, fetching a 
 good price, as, unlike many stolen from the grave, the 
 bodies were comely and free from corruption. There 
 appears to have been strange carelessness on the part 
 of the recipients ; they knew that the class they were 
 dealing with was infamous, and the appearance of the 
 subjects ought to have created suspicion - 1 but it is fair 
 to remember that probably those best able to form an 
 opinion were not present at the earlier stages of the 
 transaction. " To burke" has become a recognized 
 word in the English language applicable to stopping 
 a discussion. No one doubts that the study of anat- 
 omy, pursued through the means of dissection of dead 
 bodies, is most useful in the interest of mankind. No 
 one will dispute the labor, thought, and skill that 
 have been exercised in its practice, or the enormous 
 benefits that have been attained by it ; and although 
 there may be a sensational feeling against it, no real 
 evil is inflicted by its exercise ; and the interests both 
 of science and humanity fully justify its use. 
 
 It is now some fifteen years ago that a man of mid- 
 dle height and proportionately stout, clad in one of the 
 ordinary white smocks worn by laborers, guided by a 
 dog and holding in one of his hands a metal saucer, 
 might be seen slowly perambulating the streets of Lon- 
 don. His sightless eyes, turned upwards, appealed to 
 the compassion of the passer by. This man was Hare, 
 the accomplice of Burke, who had been admitted as a 
 
 ' The principal surgeon engaged in this traffic was obliged to leave Edin- 
 burgh from the feelings excited amongst the populace. 
 
 2 
 
IS VIVISECTION. 
 
 witness against him. Subsequently to the trial he ob 
 tained employment in another name upon some lime- 
 works. His fellow-laborers found out who he was, 
 and threw him into one of the pits, the contents of 
 which caused him the loss of his sight. There was 
 a woman who was accustomed to join him at the end 
 of the day, and apparently accompany him to wherever 
 he lived. 
 
 I have often seen these two meet, but never no- 
 ticed a smile on the face of either of them. 
 
 The infamy of this crime was not confined to Scot- 
 land. I remember, when a youth, I was taken to the 
 Old Bailey to see two men tried for the murder of an 
 Italian boy by similar means, and with the same object. 
 It was the first time that I made my appearance in 
 that court, and if I remember rightly I had a seat 
 with the Ordinary. The names of these men were 
 Bishop and Williams; they were both convicted and 
 executed. 
 
 In recording the above circumstances my mind nat- 
 urally reverts to a practice which existed then as it 
 does now, and which I believe is viewed by a great por- 
 tion of the community with feelings of repulsion and 
 horror. I need hardly say that I allude to vivisection. 
 It is said that it promotes knowledge which is serv- 
 iceable to the human race, and those who practice it 
 defend it upon that ground. If this assertion were 
 conclusively proved, which certainly is not the case, 
 I should still protest against its use, and denounce it 
 as a disgrace to a Christian land. The hypothesis 
 upon which it is defended must be that the brain, 
 muscles, and nerves of an animal are analogous to 
 
VIVISECTION. -.q 
 
 those of a human being, and therefore will, under cer 
 tain conditions, exhibit similar results. If so, vivi- 
 sectionists apply to creatures formed like themselves 
 tortures which the ingenuity of science has rendered 
 more terrible than any invented by the savage. 
 
 There can be no doubt that some of their victims 
 do possess thought and memory, affection and grati- 
 tude, that might shame their persecutors, but whether 
 these qualities are developed in the same way or are 
 dependent upon the same causes, must be matter of 
 speculation. How can the vivisectionist know that 
 when he touches some nerve which makes the un- 
 happy creature writhe in unspeakable agony, the same 
 effect would be produced upon the human frame? 
 borne slight difference may create a complete error 
 in the conclusion arrived at, and a human patient may 
 be treated upon an erroneous assumption that his 
 bram is worked upon by the same influences' as that 
 of a dog. If, on the other hand, the assumption is 
 that animals are differently formed from ourselves it 
 is difficult to embrace the idea that their torture 
 can produce beneficial consequences. I believe 
 that speculation of a kind created by vivisection is 
 more likely to lead to blundering than to benefit 
 and the report which I have read of the inquiry be- 
 fore _ the Eoyal Commission by no means removes 
 the impression; but as I have already said, if it were 
 proved to demonstration that some benefit might be 
 obtained by it, the practice is not the less abominable 
 and unholy. I believe that the true instincts of ev- 
 ery pure heart will throb in sympathy with this feel- ' 
 mg. As I write, my old collie, friend and compan- 
 
20 DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 ion for the last ten years, is looking at me with his 
 earnest brown eyes, as if thanking me for this hum- 
 ble protest against the torture of dumb life. 1 
 
 Having alluded to the Duke of Wellington, I may 
 here mention that I once met him at dinner. He was 
 then much aged, talked gravely and with great dis- 
 tinctness, ate but little, drank no wine, and left early. 
 He was a member of the Union Club when I joined 
 it, and I have heard a story that he became a mem- 
 ber of Crockford's, the famous gambling resort, that 
 he might blackball his sons if they became candi- 
 dates. Of course I had heard a great deal about him, 
 after the fashion and with the accuracy usually ex- 
 tended to children by their early informants. I re- 
 member the touching anecdote of how he and that 
 old Prussian warrior, Blucher, met upon the field of 
 Waterloo and mingled their tears over the bodies of 
 the slain. The well-known and much more probable 
 story is told of the latter that, having been enter- 
 tained at a city dinner, and thoroughly enjoyed its 
 gorgeous hospitality, he delighted his hosts by his ad- 
 miration of London, concluding, however, with the 
 startling exclamation, " What a splendid city it would 
 be to sack!" 
 
 The Duke afterwards gave a dinner at Apsley 
 House to the Tower Hamlets magistrates. I remem- 
 ber that at the time the Duchess was ill, and the fear 
 of her being disturbed prevented the picture gallery 
 from being lighted up. I constantly met the Duke 
 
 1 This dog when a puppy was given to me by Colonel Farquharson of In- 
 vercauld, and I could record instances of his sagacity quite equal to many 
 attributed to reason in a human being. 
 
HACKNEY COACHES. 21 
 
 afterwards, and was always very graciously recog- 
 nized. 1 
 
 Streets at this period after dark blinked with the 
 aid of oil lamps. A machine called a hackney-coach, 
 licensed to carry six people, redolent of damp straw, 
 driven by a still damper coachman, was the principal 
 mode of locomotion. The driver was called a jarvey, 
 a compliment paid to the class in consequence of one 
 of them named Jarvis having been hanged. Omni- 
 buses were unknown. 
 
 Those stalwart figures in blue that are now to be 
 seen lounging gracefully by area steps, were still im- 
 bedded in the brain of Sir Robert Peel. Officers 
 called Bow Street runners were supposed to catch 
 thieves, with whom in their convivial hours they as- 
 sociated. 
 
 Watchmen — Charlies they were named — called 
 the hours of the night, probably lest by some acci- 
 dent they might disturb offenders. When middle- 
 class people went to a play, or to some little distance 
 out of town, they performed the operation in what 
 was called a glass coach ; why so called I must leave 
 to antiquarian research. It did not smell so much of 
 straw as the hackney-coach, and the driver at some 
 period or other may have washed himself. It was, 
 however, an eminently respectable vehicle, and nat- 
 urally, therefore, very slow and solemn in its move- 
 ments, and its employment was a great event in the 
 family. There sprang up, however, in my compar- 
 atively early days, a dissipated-looking vehicle called 
 a cab. It was formed of an open box placed upon two 
 
 ' Vide Appendix. 
 
22 THE CLERGY. 
 
 high, wheels. This was for the passenger ; the drivei 
 sat upon a board by the side. They were considered 
 fast — not so much in motion as in character. How- 
 ever, the necessity for locomotion does away with 
 prejudice, and I have lived to see an archbishop in a 
 hansom cab ! 
 
 The Church was represented in the main streets 
 of London by figures that exhibited a strange appear- 
 ance to my juvenile mind. These were the bishops. 
 They then wore white wigs, surmounted by a three- 
 cornered hat called a shovel, a long silk apron, knee- 
 breeches, and silk stockings, for which their legs sel- 
 dom seemed well suited. I have often felt grateful 
 that Queen's Counsel in their robes are exposed to the 
 view of only a limited circle, and the very thought 
 of walking through a crowded thoroughfare in my 
 full-bottomed wig throws me into a cold perspiration. 
 In the narrow places and by-ways men soberly 
 dressed in plain, and sometimes threadbare, black, 
 then, as now, brought consolation to the hovels of the 
 poor and starving. These, a noble, self-denying race, 
 are the working clergy, and are confined to no denom- 
 ination. 
 
 London did not boast of so many theatres as it 
 does now, and the drama scarcely presented any sim- 
 ilar features. Drury Lane and Covent Garden were 
 then the principal, and, possessing certain privileges, 
 were called patent theatres. The performers were 
 described as Her Majesty's servants. The legitimate 
 drama, the ordinary entertainment, was varied by 
 farces — not pieces of buffoonery, but comedies in two 
 acts ; and the pantomime at Christmas, then really 
 
PATENT THEATRES. 23 
 
 justifying its name, was one of the institutions of the 
 country. To those accustomed to the magnificent 
 scenery, gorgeous decorations, and the semi-operatic, 
 semi-burlesque displays now called pantomimes, the 
 simplicity of their predecessors would be astonishing. 
 They were played in dumb show, and a plot pervaded 
 the whole. It was simple enough. In the beginning 
 a benevolent fairy announced her intention of pro- 
 tecting certain virtuous lovers, whilst a demon was 
 bent upon their destruction. A tyrannical father and 
 objectionable suitor were patronized by the latter. 
 They constantly followed the virtuous pair, who as 
 constantly eluded their grasp, whilst they themselves 
 met with every kind of misfortune, until they became 
 clown and pantaloon ; whilst the lovers were sprightly 
 harlequin and columbine, still persecuted by their old 
 enemies, until the good fairy made them happy in do- 
 mains of bliss. The tricks and tumbling which char- 
 acterized the performance were witnessed with shouts 
 of laughter by the urchins who then crowded every 
 part of the house, very different indeed from the grav- 
 ity that now attends the representations. The panto- 
 mime was usually preceded by such dramas as " Jane 
 Shore" or " George Barnwell," whether with the idea 
 of contrast or with a view of inculcating moral lessons 
 I cannot say ; but inasmuch as the gods never allowed 
 them to be heard, whatever the purpose was, it had 
 no chance of succeeding. 
 
 The names of Kemble, Edmund Kean, Miss 
 O'Neill and many others adorn the theatrical annals of 
 those days. I have seen the two latter, but must have 
 been too young to appreciate them. I have a vivid 
 
24 THEATRES. 
 
 recollection of Charles Kemble playing the " Incon- 
 stant," in the comedy of that name, and every word 
 and gesture of the actor, in his scene with the bravos, 
 remain fresh upon my memory. Miss Foote was the 
 heroine. How beautiful she was ! 
 
 I have been frequently in the company of Charles 
 Kemble ; and I remember on one occasion dining with 
 him at the Garrick Club. He sat immediately under 
 a life-like picture of a scene from a drama called the 
 " Merry Monarch," in which he represented Charles II. 
 Fawcett played Captain Copp, and one of the most 
 charming of actresses, Maria Tree, played Mary. 
 How well I also remember Miss Love, and the ballad 
 of "Buy a Broom." However, fond as I am of the sub- 
 ject, I must not weary my readers. Those who also 
 like it, and there are many less amusing and instruc- 
 tive, will find abundant food in two pleasant volumes 
 lately published by the veteran author and stage man- 
 ager, Mr. Sterling, and a clever and very entertaining 
 pamphlet called " Church and Stage," written by Hen- 
 ry Spicer, an old and valued friend of mine. The 
 English Opera House stood upon the site of the pres- 
 ent Lyceum. The only memory I have of it is see- 
 ing Miss Kelley play Meg Merrilies in a version of 
 " Guy Mannering." The old Adelphi, however, a small 
 theatre standing on the same site as the present build- 
 ing, deserves special mention. The first piece I re- 
 member being played there was " Tom and Jerry." 
 A little unknown man, who had been given some 
 three lines to say, contrived in doing so to create roars 
 of laughter. His part was written up, and from* that 
 time to his death he was recognized as one of the most 
 
MRS. YATES. 25 
 
 comic actors that ever delighted an audience. This was 
 Robert Keeley, and it is no unjust criticism to say that 
 he was fully equaled by his talented wife, who still 
 lives, and although she has retired from the stage, is 
 as bright and lively as ever. 1 The glories of the Adelphi 
 would fill a volume. What old patron of the drama 
 will ever forget Yates, Jack Reeve, little Wright, Miss 
 Honey, or that most wonderful of stage villains, 0. 
 Smith ? And even out of- this phalanx of talent there 
 stood one figure, Mrs. Yates, the most perfect per- 
 sonator of what may be called domestic drama that 
 ever walked the stage. I had the pleasure of know- 
 ing her in private life, where, like many other ladies 
 then and now following the same calling, she was 
 as much respected and admired as she was in her pro- 
 fessional career. At the Haymarket Buckstone was 
 in his line without a rival. But I must hurry on. 
 There are many about whom I should like to say a 
 loving word, but space forbids. I must not, however, 
 forget the transpontine theatres, the Surrey and Co- 
 burg, the latter renamed after our gracious Queen. 
 Terrific combats signalized their boards ; outraged in- 
 nocence, diabolical oppression, virtue rewarded, wick- 
 edness punished by means utterly impossible oif the 
 stage, drew crowds of admirers, and filled the small pic- 
 ture-shops with characteristic likenesses. One Italian 
 
 l July 21, 1881. — I had the pleasure yesterday, at the house of my hospi- 
 table friends, Mr. and Mrs. Levy, of meeting this lady, and my description 
 of her is by no means overcharged. She told me that she was seventy-five 
 years old. I had a long and most pleasant talk with her. Mrs. Wigan, the 
 widow of my old school-fellow, the distinguished actor, herself a most ac- 
 complished actress, was also present. It was delightful to see these two old 
 ladies seemingly so happy, and receiving much attention from everybody 
 present. 
 
26 GREAT SURGEONS. 
 
 opera house existed, but I do not fancy that it possessed 
 attractions beyond a limited circle. Fashion reigned 
 within its walls, and I confess that even if I could 
 have obtained admission I should greatly have pre- 
 ferred a Surrey melodrama. 
 
 Whilst steam and electricity have worked their 
 magic changes, a boon has been conferred upon suf- 
 fering humanity by the application of anaesthetics. 
 
 In my early days there were great surgeons. The 
 names of Astley Cooper and Brodie, and a crowd of 
 others, adorned and elevated a noble profession, but 
 they had to pursue their art inflicting great pain in alle- 
 viating disease. At present, happily, sense and feel- 
 ing sleep whilst the knife performs its marvelous task. 
 
 Let me now take a glimpse at the surface of what 
 I will call old London and its ways. Although there 
 were distinguished lawyers and an imposing array of 
 courts, justice was slow and expensive. There were 
 no county courts, but here and there in the metropolis 
 were dotted small debts courts, not remarkable for dig- 
 nity or use; they were called Courts of Request. 
 Debtors were incarcerated, and suffered frequently 
 worse punishments than criminals. The Queen's 
 Bench prison, with its misery and its shame, is a thing 
 of the past, and the sad voice of the poor prisoner is 
 no longer heard from the walls of the Fleet. 1 Police 
 courts were called offices, and the magistrates might 
 be costermongers ; Sir Richard Birnie, the chief magis- 
 trate, was, I believe, a saddler. The streets at night 
 
 1 In those days, one of the prisoners incarcerated in the Fleet used to 
 stand behind an opening and^solicit alms from the passers-by; his words 
 were, " Pray remember the poor debtors." 
 
COFFEE HOUSES. 27 
 
 exhibited scenes of disorder and unchecked profligacy. 
 The south end of Regent Street, called the Quadrant, 
 was a covered way, and nearly every other house was 
 devoted to open and public gambling. The same may 
 be said of Leicester Square. There was no limita- 
 tion as to the hours of closing places of entertainment, 
 and in many of these were exhibited the coarsest de- 
 scription of vice. The saloons of the patent thea- 
 tres could not be entered by decent women. 1 Drunk- 
 enness exhibited itself in the foulest guise, and ex- 
 tended to classes now generally above its influence. 
 Clubs were comparatively few and not accessible 
 to the masses, and taverns, amongst which I may 
 mention the London Coffee House, on Ludgate Hill, 
 and the Piazza, in Covent Garden, were still used by 
 gentlemen of position and fashion. A restaurant had 
 never been heard of, and would probably have been 
 denounced as savoring of Bonaparte. A la mode beef- 
 shops and eating-houses of different grades, but of 
 little pretensions, furnished the entertainment neces- 
 sary to those who could not enjoy the domestic din- 
 ner. One was in Rupert Street,' called Hancock's, 
 where excellent fare was provided at a very moderate 
 rate, and served by the neatest of waitresses; and 
 there were two French hotises, called the Sablonniere 
 and Newton's. The former, in Leicester Square, was 
 supposed to represent the highest order of French 
 cookery. Ladies were not admitted into any places 
 of this class. The small houses in by-streets, in the 
 City especially, with sanded floors, a fire, a gridiron, 
 
 1 The abolition of this nuisance is due to the exertions of the late Mr, 
 Macready. 
 
28 SAM HALL. 
 
 and a cook at the end of the room, the broiling hot 
 steak or chop, the appetizing kidney and sausage, are 
 almost things of the past. Supper-houses, frequented 
 only by men, were very important features of the night, 
 and, if they reflected truly the tastes and manners of 
 the generation, it would not be considered refined. 
 
 I may mention Evans's, the Coal Hole, the Cider 
 Cellars, and Offley's. 1 The suppers served were ex- 
 cellent, and, in addition, there was singing, the habitues 
 sitting at the same table with the singers. 
 
 There were some good songs excellently sung, but 
 there were others of a degrading and filthy character. 
 Most of my readers will remember a scene described 
 by Thackeray in his novel of " The Newcomes," re- 
 ferring to this subject, which is far more graphic and 
 powerful than any I can attempt. It seems strange 
 that in places undoubtedly frequented by gentlemen, 
 obscenities of this description should have been en- 
 couraged; but it must be remembered that in those 
 days there were many coarse features throughout so- 
 ciety. 
 
 Vice, clothed in its most repulsive garb, stalked pub- 
 licly through the streets. Pugilism, treated as a noble 
 English institution, created an atmosphere of coarse- 
 ness and slang, and even inllprivate society toasts were 
 given and conversation was tolerated that would now 
 shock the least refined. 
 
 There was one song sung, or rather recited, that 
 
 ►made a considerable impression upon my mind, called 
 
 "Sam Hall." The name of the singer was Ross. He 
 
 1 In mentioning these names I have referred to those of which I had some 
 personal experience. There were doubtless many others. 
 
DARRELL STEPHENS. 29 
 
 had been an actor at several minor theatres. The pro- 
 fanity of its expressions prevents my quoting the words. 
 It was supposed to describe an interview between a 
 condemned criminal and the Ordinary, whose well- 
 intentioned advice is met by the felon with an account 
 of his career, starvation, the gutter, cruelty, small 
 theft, the corruption of a gaol, the brand upon him, 
 robbery from a shop and the brutal sentence; — the 
 hopelessness of his entire life was most dramatically, 
 and I think truly, portrayed. Before quitting the sup- 
 per-rooms I will venture to record a painful incident 
 that occurred in connection with one of them. I had 
 been to a ball at Kensington, and, together with some 
 friends, went into the Cider Cellars to sup. Amongst 
 them was a gentleman much valued by all of us, named 
 Darrell Stephens. Whilst we were consuming kid- 
 neys and Welsh rarebits with all the vigor of youth- 
 ful appetites, he was unmercifully chaffed for confin- 
 ing himself to a poached egg. Poorfellow! he dropped 
 down dead when walking in Fetter Lane the follow- 
 ing day. 
 
 I never witnessed any prize fights ; but the elo- 
 quent pen of Mr. Dowling surrounded them with a 
 halo of glory. Spring and Langham, to my mind, 
 appeared modern Ivanhoes, and the scene of encoun- 
 ter another field of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. 1 I have, 
 however, since witnessed some of these heroes enjoy- 
 ing their laurels, the deities of sporting pot-houses, 
 where, with distorted noses, and an absence of the 
 proper complement of teeth, eyes uncomfortably bung- 
 
 1 See Appendix. I do not include the two I have mentioned in my sub- 
 sequent description. 
 
30 REVIEWS AND MAGAZINES. 
 
 edup, and mouths reeking with gin, they were probably 
 recording their former triumphs. I wonder whether 
 it is true that the paladins of old, who are supposed 
 to have leaped so gracefully on to their gallant steeds 
 and performed such miracles of valor in the prize 
 fights of those days, were, in fact, lifted upon their 
 chargers, and, when rolled off, frequently smothered 
 in their iron mantles. 
 
 Periodical literature, which has now reached such 
 gigantic dimensions, was then confined within com- 
 paratively small limits: the "Edinburgh" and the 
 " Quarterly " were the only reviews, "Blackwood," 
 modestly calling itself a magazine, was supported by 
 articles both grave and amusing; " Fraser " introduced 
 Thackeray to the public, and the " Yellowplush Pa- 
 pers" have never been surpassed, even by himself; 
 Theodore Hook rollicked in the " New Monthly " ; 
 whilst Captain Marryat, in the pages of the " Metro- 
 politan," detailed adventures and humorous scenes of 
 sea life. 
 
 The " Times," conducted with wondrous ability, had 
 become a director of public opinion, and there was 
 scarcely a respectable household that did not secure 
 a pennyworth of it in the course of the day, the price 
 of which was sevenpence, precluding to many its en- 
 tire purchase. Penny papers were unknown and un- 
 dreamt of. In the middle classes five o'clock was 
 an ordinary dinner hour ; and six o'clock was fash- 
 ionable in the rare event of a party. Menus had not 
 been heard of, and a dinner a la Busse had not trav- 
 eled from the north. Paterfamilias presided over the 
 food, and a perspiring carver did not dig lumps of 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 31 
 
 meat from the joint and hand them with half-cold 
 gravy to the guests. It is a great mistake of dinner- 
 givers in modern style to have joints at all : they are 
 invariably carved in the most sickening fashion, 
 and, from the appearance presented by the parts 
 that reach the guests, might belong to any animal 
 ever created. 
 
 I have in the foregoing pages given the reader 
 some of the memories of the past, and my reflections 
 thereon. There are others that I may hereafter re- 
 cord, which belong to a somewhat later period of 
 my life, but I think it time to say something of 
 those matters that more particularly belong to my 
 professional' career, and I therefore propose in my 
 next chapter to introduce my readers to its com- 
 mencement. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 I have received a letter from a lady, who de- 
 scribes herself as a native of Midlothian, protest- 
 ing against Burke being described as a Scotch- 
 man, and giving satisfactory reasons for supposing 
 that her country was not disgraced by his pro- 
 duction. 
 
 • The eminent surgeon, Mr. Partridge, then con- 
 sulting surgeon of King's College Hospital, and 
 since deceased, the same gentleman who was sent 
 to Garibaldi when wounded, is entitled to the credit 
 of discovering and exposing this infamous trade in 
 London. 
 
 The recent trial of the Queen against Lamson, 
 
32 POSTSCKllr i . 
 
 which took place lately at the Central Criminal 
 Court before Mr. Justice Hawkins, was preceded 
 by a series of experiments by scientific men upon 
 different animals, with a view of testing the effect 
 of a particular poison. I am not aware, of any other 
 instance when, after a crime has been committed, 
 evidence has been manufactured for the purpose of 
 a conviction. 
 
 I cannot commend the practice. If the criminal 
 had been a wealthy man, he would probably have 
 employed other professors, to perform upon other 
 animals, and thus a kind of tournament of torture 
 would have been established, and, judging by what 
 I have often witnessed in courts, a conflict of opin- 
 ion. Fortunately for justice, the prisoner had no 
 funds, and the facts were to my mind conclusive 
 against him. At the same time, far too much 
 prominence was given to the testimony thus ob- 
 tained, and the trial contrasted very unfavorably 
 with those of Palmer and Smethurst, in which, 
 as I have already pointed out, the true value of 
 scientific testimony was admirably explained by the 
 learned judges who presided at those trials* 
 
 In referring to the police magistrates, I have 
 mentioned that, at the period of my father's ap- 
 pointment, there was no restriction as to the busi- 
 ness they had previously followed. The last un- 
 professional person who held the office was Mr. 
 Codd, a gentleman of position and high character, 
 extremely conscientious in the performance of his 
 duties, but wanting in the training necessary for 
 their performance. I had the pleasure of his ac- 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 33 
 
 quaintance, and passed many pleasant hours at his 
 house in Kensington. 
 
 In reference to my observations upon the subject 
 of dinners, I must be permitted to add a remark of 
 my friend Mr. Archdale, copied from a most kind- 
 ly article written by him upon the subject of my 
 book. 1 "The perspiring butler only ceases from 
 his toil to rush about, shoving lumps of ice into 
 champagne glasses — an abominable custom, as wine 
 ought only to be cooled from the outside." With 
 this observation I cordially concur. 
 
 It was customary for the patent theatres to bring 
 out their respective pantomimes upon the first night 
 of the week after Christmas Day. This was known 
 as Boxing Night, from the practice, more universal 
 than now, of the presents made on that day ; and 
 the heights of the galleries gave the title of gods to 
 their occupants, and the music, by no means of a 
 celestial character, furnished by them effectually 
 defeated any possibility of the audience being either 
 improved or amused by the tragedies preceding the 
 pantomime ; but a first night was a scene to be wit- 
 nessed and not forgotten : the masses of heads, com- 
 mencing with those of the curly joyous urchins in 
 the boxes, and reaching row after row until the 
 chins and noses pressed upon the rails of the gal- 
 leries, presented a living collection upon which 
 promised enjoyment fixed an unmistakable stamp. 
 A similar scene may still be witnessed upon the 
 first night of the gorgeous entertainment given at 
 Old Drury at Christmas by its enterprising man- 
 
 1 The article appeared in the Temple Bar magazine of June, 1882 
 
 3 
 
34 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 ager, and many of the present generation may like 
 the entertainment better. 
 
 I ought, in my brief sketch of favorite actors, to 
 have mentioned T. P. Cooke, who was certainly not 
 excelled by any of his contemporaries in melodrama. 
 Jerrold's play of " Black-Eyed Susan " gave him an 
 opportunity of displaying also a wonderful power 
 of pathos. 
 
 I knew him very well in private life in my early 
 days, a quiet, refined gentleman. 
 
 A melodrama called the " Miller and his Men " 
 became one of the most popular entertainments at 
 the London theatres : it filled the character shops 
 with supposed likenesses. Grindolf the robber, dis- 
 guised as a miller and represented by Mr. Farley, 
 fascinated children's imaginations, and the " Chough 
 and the Crow," a beautiful glee composed by Bailey, 
 introduced into the piece and sung by the robbers, 
 has lasted as a favorite down to the present time. 
 The frequenters of Evans's in the days of Paddy 
 Green have often listened to it with pleasure, sung 
 very charmingly by the lads who formed the choir 
 of that establishment. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF MY PEOFESSIONAL LIFE. 
 
 j| COMMENCED legal operations upon a second 
 A floor at No. 5 Inner Temple Lane — the same lane 
 in which Dr. Johnson flourished. They were grimy 
 old buildings then : their names even have ceased to 
 exist, and handsome edifices fill up the space thus 
 left. Dirt seemed at that time an attribute of the law. 
 Now appearances are changed, and the surface is, at 
 all events, much improved. In those days the even- 
 ings were supposed to be occupied by study, and con- 
 sultations were held : now, after dark, passengers may 
 seek in vain for the glimmer of a rushlight. 
 
 I cannot say that I burned much midnight oil. No 
 attorney, late from the country, ever routed me out 
 and thrust a heavy brief into my hands — a circum- 
 stance which we have heard has so often been the ori- 
 gin of success to eminent lawyers. My establishment 
 was limited. I shared with some half-dozen other 
 aspirants to the Bench what, in Temple parlance, is 
 called a laundress, probably from the fact of her never 
 washing anything. I fancy that her principal employ- 
 ment was walking from my chambers to the pawu- 
 
 35 
 
36 EARNINGS. 
 
 broker's, and thence to the gin-shop. At the end of 
 a short period, my property, never very extensive, 
 was reduced to little more than a pair of sheets, a tea- 
 pot, and a coal-scuttle, over which last it pleased Provi- 
 dence that she should tumble downstairs, and the in- 
 juries then sustained relieved me from her future at- 
 tendance. A mischievous little urchin cleaned my 
 boots and was called clerk. 
 
 My means were extremely limited, and it may in- 
 terest my readers to know what my professional earn- 
 ings were during the first three years of my career. 
 I was called to the bar in June, having attained the ma- 
 ture age of twenty-one the preceding March. Be- 
 tween that period and the following Christmas I made 
 four guineas and a half; the second year I made thirty 
 guineas, and the third seventy-five. I am afraid I 
 must admit that I did not measure my expenditure 
 by my income. My father had undertaken to furnish 
 my chambers, and one of the principal articles he sent 
 me was a horsehair arm-chair with only three legs, 
 upon which I got so accustomed to balance myself 
 that I scarcely felt safe on one furnished with the 
 proper complement. He also had promised certain 
 assistance by way of income, upon which promise I 
 lived ; but it was something like the income allowed 
 to the Hon. Algernon Percy Deuceace by his father 
 the Right Hon. the Earl of Crabs, recorded in the ver- 
 itable history of Mr. Yellowplush. I possessed one 
 confiding tradesman. His name was Gill, he lived 
 close by in Essex Court, and, fortunately for me, 
 dealt in almost every article. My transactions with 
 him remind me of a conversation recorded between 
 
MR. GILL. 37 
 
 a foreign prince and his steward. The former, com- 
 plaining that his horses looked thin, was informed that 
 the corn dealer would supply them with no more oats. 
 "Who will trust us?" asked the prince. After deep 
 and long consideration the steward said that he thought 
 they still had credit with the pastry-cook. " Feed the 
 horses upon tarts!" said the prince. 
 
 Gill was my resource for everything, from pats of 
 butter to blacking. At last, after long suifering, he 
 struck, shaking his head when I told him of the cli- 
 ents I expected. On the afternoon after this event I 
 was balancing myself upon my three-legged chair in 
 melancholy mood, and wondering whence my dinner 
 would come, when a knock sounded at my door, and a 
 clerk from Messrs. Allen, Gilby and Allen, 1 blessed be 
 their names ! brought me, and paid for, three half-gui- 
 nea motions. With this mine of wealth in my pocket 
 I determined to enjoy myself luxuriously, and accord- 
 ingly went to Hancock's, an establishment I have al- 
 ready described. The glorious repast still remains 
 imbedded in my memory — twice of saddle of mut- 
 ton: I am afraid to say how many helps of jam tart. 
 After a handsome honorarium of threepence to Mary, 
 who had never looked coldly upon me in my worst 
 hours of impecuniosity, I had still twenty-five shil- 
 lings left. 
 
 Wretch that I was, I forgot the patient Gill, and 
 found my way into one of those sinks of iniquity, a 
 gambling-house, in Leicester Square, and came out 
 possessed of thirty -five pounds! 
 
 i These gentlemen were well-known solicitors in Carlisle Street, Soho 
 Square, and almost my earliest clients. 
 
gg MIDDLESEX SESSIONS. 
 
 I was a millionaire. Gill once again smiled upon 
 me, and the penny roll and pat of butter upon my 
 breakfast table next morning testified to his restored 
 confidence. 
 
 When I was called to the bar the police magistrates 
 were qualified to sit upon the sessions bench, and the 
 county justices might preside at the police offices, 
 which they frequently did. My father on some occa- 
 sions presided at the Middlesex Sessions. The smaller 
 class of criminals were tried before this tribunal ; there 
 was also a large amount of civil business, consisting 
 of poor-law appeals. These involved intricate points 
 of law, and a great deal of money was spent in ridic- 
 ulous contests between parishes in relation to the 
 support of paupers. Mr. Bodkin, who afterwards be- 
 came chairman, or, as it was then called, assistant- 
 judge of these sessions, was an extremely able advo- 
 cate in this kind of case, and from his early experi- 
 ence possessed much practical knowledge. 
 
 Mr. Clarkson, at first his usual antagonist, contrived 
 to blunder through them, but he and others shortly 
 yielded to Mr. Huddleston, afterwards and now a 
 Baron of the late Exchequer, and one whose mind 
 was of an order peculiarly qualified to master the tech- 
 nicalities of this description of business. This gen- 
 tleman was one of my earliest friends at the bar. He 
 possessed qualities which made his success only a mat- 
 ter of time. He was fond of society, but never neg- 
 lected work, and his thorough knowledge of his causes 
 made him a most powerful and efficient advocate. 
 
 His career has been in all respects a successful one, 
 and there are few men who are able to reflect as 
 
MICHAEL PRENDERGAST. 39 
 
 he can that, both in public and in private life, he has 
 attained every object of an honorable ambition. 
 Whilst dwelling upon the Middlesex Sessions, I must 
 say a few words of that curious-looking figure usually 
 seated at the corner of the barrister's bench. One 
 who saw him for the first time might be inclined to 
 ask, What is it! Upon minute investigation might be 
 discovered, encased in clothes far too large for him, 
 the gaunt figure of a very unclean-looking man. 
 
 This was Mr. Michael Prendergast — "Mike," he 
 was always called. Slovenly as his dress was, his 
 mind was more so: with a greater fund of general 
 knowledge than most people, it seemed mixed so in- 
 extricably in his brain that it was next to useless. He 
 rarely had any but the smallest cases from the dirtiest 
 of clients, and whilst one of them was being tried 
 would not unfrequently sit in a state of abstraction, 
 out of which an unhappy clerk had to wake him. He 
 possessed, however, much power at times, and great 
 independence. I remember a little scene which will 
 illustrate his habits not incorrectly. A case of his 
 had been called on. He was late, and it was half 
 over before he arrived in court — his clerk in an agony, 
 the chairman grumbling. Of this, however, he took 
 no notice whatever. "Frederick" (to his clerk), 
 " where' s my brief 1 ?" Loud whisper from Frederick, 
 " I gave it you at breakfast ; feel in your pockets." 
 A search commenced, and having first pulled out 
 of his trousers pocket a half-round of butter toast, 
 from the depths of it was extracted the single greasy 
 sheet that constituted his instructions. 
 
 He was elected by the Court of Common Council to 
 
40 GAMBLING HOUSES. 
 
 the small debts court in the City. How he managed 
 the business there I have no means of knowing, but 
 I am certain that he did so in the strictest spirit of 
 justice. 
 
 The habits of the metropolis, which. I have briefly 
 sketched in the last chapter, furnished a class of busi- 
 ness that occupied a considerable portion of time. Al- 
 though, as I have already mentioned, gambling-houses 
 of every degree were publicly open in many of the 
 West End streets and squares, and although at this 
 period they were not interfered with by the police or 
 other authorities, they were illegal, and liable to indict- 
 ment, and there was a nest of scoundrels who lived 
 upon them. The great field for their operations was 
 the Middlesex Sessions, and the Grand Jury their 
 hunting-ground. Indictments were prepared, and true 
 bills having been obtained, warrants were applied for, 
 and granted as a matter of course. Armed with these, 
 communications were opened with the keepers of the 
 houses, some of whom, being wealthy, did not relish 
 the prospect of twenty -four hours in prison before 
 they would be admitted to bail, which was the first 
 screw put on, and so these pillagers of the public had 
 to submit to be pillaged themselves, and large sums 
 of money were thus obtained. If these proceedings 
 had been confined to the proprietors of such estab- 
 lishments, people would be inclined to say, Let the 
 thieves pick each other's pockets ; but the trade was 
 too profitable to be limited, and many instances oc- 
 curred in which perfectly innocent people were made 
 the victims of extortion by these harpies. Mr. Serjeant 
 Adams, when he became chairman, put his foot upon 
 
DISPENSATION OF PROVIDENCE. 4^ 
 
 their operations, by preventing warrants from issuing 
 except under certain restrictions. 
 
 One of the worthies, who was a large proprietor of 
 gambling-houses, became the lessee of the Adelphi 
 Theatre, and Charles Phillipps used to relate an anec- 
 dote of his once meeting him and being offered a box, 
 which he declined, thinking that some time or other 
 he might be asked in return to defend the generous 
 donor for nothing, and if Mr. Phillipps ever committed 
 an irregularity, it certainly was not of that description. 
 He asked him, however, how he was getting on. 
 " Capitally," said the gentleman; " Providence seems 
 to watch over all my undertakings." 
 
 There was one great field-day held at the Middle- 
 sex Sessions, from which every member of the bar 
 had a chance of picking up a guinea or two. This 
 was the day appointed for hearing applications for mu- 
 sic and dancing licenses. Unless some complaint was 
 made by the police, those that had previously existed 
 were granted, as a matter of course ; but about the 
 new ones there was generally a contest, certain of the 
 justices taking the opportunity of ventilating what 
 they called their ideas. A certain section of these 
 gentlemen, none of them of position or note, opposed 
 the grant to any of the applicants. A homily upon 
 morals, the profanity of music, the indecency of danc- 
 ing, and the length of ladies' dresses, formed the sta- 
 ple of their orations. Broad views upon what may 
 fairly be deemed an important social question could 
 not be expected from the speakers, and certainly never 
 made their appearance. As far as I have been able 
 to judge, assuming the perfect honesty of their wor- 
 
42 MIDDLESEX MA GISTRA TES. 
 
 ships, they betrayed simply a narrow-minded, unrea- 
 soning bigotry. One thing may be said of them, that, 
 although their speeches rendered the tribunal ridicu- 
 lous, they produced no other effect, as the result had 
 been usually secured by a previous canvass, It seems 
 to be time when these matters should be made sub- 
 ject to police regulation: it is manifestly most unjust 
 that the interests of individuals, and the comforts and 
 amusements of the people, should be regulated by the 
 crotchets of a clique or the favoritism of a majority. 
 
 There existed another source of profit to the bar in 
 connection with the magistracy. ' This arose from ap- 
 plications to local benches for the grant of spirit licenses. 
 Those not in the secret will scarcely believe what a 
 license was worth ; and if there was not a considera- 
 ble amount of jobbery about their disposition, all I 
 can say is that the justices must have been an uncom- 
 monly pure body of men. Brewers and builders were 
 the real proprietors of many of the houses applied 
 for — I need hardly say in the names of nominees. I 
 should think that in some cases their value would ex- 
 ceed £3,000 to £4,000. The justices had been to 
 view the premises, elaborate plans were prepared, 
 learned arguments upon the state of the neighbor- 
 hood and the necessity for further accommodation were 
 advanced. On the other hand, the publicans already 
 licensed rushed in a body to oppose the grant : there 
 was no traffic, there was no custom, they and their 
 families were starving. It was amusing to look at the 
 rosy countenances of the starving publicans. 
 
 The justices, seated round a table in solemn con- 
 clave, listened patiently to all that was said. Specta- 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 43 
 
 cles upon respectable noses assisted in the examina- 
 tion of the plans ; the rhetoric of counsel was listened 
 to with kindly attention. The chairman states that 
 it is an important question, and has been so ably ar- 
 gued on both sides that they would like to consider it 
 in private. The room is cleared, every one knows 
 how it is to go, except, perhaps, a confiding client who 
 may have hope from the eloquent address of his advo- 
 cate. This, however, was a rare phenomenon. The 
 justices return, and announce the decision. I wonder, 
 as Cicero did of the augurs of his day, that they did 
 not burst out laughing in each other's faces. 
 
 I need not say that there were many distinguished 
 names amongst the Middlesex magistracy, but the 
 possessors of them rarely, if ever, expressed their 
 views at the great "October meet," 1 or were to be 
 found at the different local licensing meetings. 2 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 At the period when Mr. Serjeant Adams was 
 elected as chairman, there was no salary attached 
 to the office, and he and another member of Ser- 
 jeants' Inn, Mr. Serjeant Andrews, were candidates 
 
 1 The sessions for the grant and renewal of licenses takes place in this 
 month. 
 
 a In the chapter in which I have endeavored to sketch the state of the 
 streets of London in the days of my pupilage, I have given them a charac- 
 ter for coarseness and indecency, from which it may be inferred that there is 
 now a great improvement. I regret to say that this is far from being the 
 case. Scenes are now nightly enacted in some of the principal thorough- 
 fares of this metropolis that in a future age will scarcely be credited. The 
 coarseness, impurity, and vulgarity of London appear to be massed within 
 these localities. 
 
44 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 for it. The former gentleman was elected, and 
 made an excellent chairman, but soon discovered 
 that the office was one to sustain the dignity of 
 which a salary was required, and by indefatigable 
 exertions succeeded in obtaining it ; but as this was 
 supplied by the Crown, the office subsequently lapsed 
 into its patronage. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MY EARLY PERFORMANCES. 
 
 T T was at the sessions, of which in my last chapter 
 *- I have given a brief account, that I made my first 
 forensic display. The occasion was not an important 
 one, nor productive of much profit. 
 
 I was instructed by a gentleman named Conquest 
 to apply for the renewal of his license for a theatre 
 called the Garrick, situated in Leman Street, White- 
 chapel. This place of amusement was within my 
 father's district, who was then a magistrate of the 
 Thames police, and it was probably from this circum- 
 stance that so much confidence was reposed in me. I 
 rose, but could see nothing; the court seemed to turn 
 round, and the floor to be sinking. I cannot tell what 
 I asked, but it was graciously granted by the bench. 
 For this performance I received half a guinea, the 
 sweetest that ever found its way into my pocket. Mr. 
 Conquest, in addition to being the proprietor of this 
 theatre, was a favorite low comedian, and very popu- 
 lar with the denizens of the East. Another great fa- 
 vorite was Mr. Gomersal, who, however, became bet- 
 ter known at Astley's Amphitheatre by his imperson- 
 ation of Napoleon Bonaparte in the drama of the 
 
 45 
 
46 ^ JEW ATTORNEY. 
 
 11 Battle of Waterloo." An additional attract ion at the 
 G-arrick Theatre was the wife of the proprietor, a 
 very pleasing and pretty actress, and celebrated as a 
 ballet mistress, in which capacity she prepared many 
 successful artistes for the stage. Mr. Conquest mi- 
 grated to the City Road, and for many years managed 
 the Eagle Saloon and Theatre with credit and suc- 
 cess. A son of his subsequently conducted it. He 
 also was and is an actor, and now, I believe, delights 
 the audiences of the Surrey Theatre. 
 
 My diffidence had somewhat abated, when I was 
 entrusted with a brief by a rather shady attorney of 
 the Jewish persuasion ; and being at that time with- 
 out experience, I yielded implicitly to his instruc- 
 tions. A young gentleman of the same faith was call- 
 ed as a witness. My client suggested a question. 
 Blindly I put it, and was met by a direct negative. 
 " What a lie !" ejaculated my client, and dictated an- 
 other question : the same result followed, and a sim- 
 ilar ejaculation. By his further instruction I put a third, 
 the answer to which completely knocked us over. 
 My client threw himself back : " Well," said he, "he 
 is a liar, he always was a liar, and always will be a 
 liar." "Why," remarked I, "you seem to know all 
 about him." "Of course I do," was the reply, " he is 
 my own son ! " 
 
 Nothing struck me in my early days as more odd 
 than the number of different surnames in which the 
 same family of Jews seem to delight. One son of 
 Mr. Saul Yates, of St. Mary Axe, was Mr. Sidney, an- 
 other Mr. Daniel, while a third rejoiced in the appel- 
 lation of Jacobs. I forget by what names my client 
 and his hopeful progeny were known. 
 
MR. CONST. 47 
 
 A gentleman of the name of Const presided as 
 chairman of the sessions when I joined them. He was 
 a friend of my father, and I received from him ail the 
 encouragement he could give me. Messrs. Charles 
 Phillipps and William Clarkson, to both of whom I 
 shall have again to refer, did the principal criminal bus- 
 iness, and looked with no friendly glances upon new- 
 comers. Their greediness for fees was an opprobri- 
 um to the court. Wrangles constantly occurred, in 
 which all sense of shame seemed to be abandoned. 
 The latter of the gentlemen I have named was un- 
 der great obligations to my father, but from neither of 
 them did I ever receive an act of kindness, or until 
 I had forced my own way, barely of courtesy. 
 
 I may here mention a circumstance in which I was 
 the innocent cause of a sad catastrophe that happen- 
 ed to two of my clients. These were west-country 
 farmers, who had been convicted of cruelty to animals, 
 and had appealed from the conviction to the sessions. 
 The question raised was as to the mode of conveying 
 calves to market. Upon the day when the case should 
 have been heard, I obtained a postponement to suit 
 my convenience, and it came on the following week, 
 when my clients were completely exonerated and the 
 conviction was quashed. 
 
 They were returning home the same afternoon by 
 the Great Western Railway, when a boiler burst. A 
 mass of iron was projected into the air and fell upon 
 the carriage in which they were seated, alighting be- 
 tween the two and killing them both. 
 
 Although the state of the streets was greatly im- 
 proved by the institution of the new police, the gam- 
 
48 
 
 GAMBLING HOUSES. 
 
 bling establishments still nourished. Leicester Square, 
 the Quadrant, Bennett Street, Bury Street, and Duke 
 Street were full of them. No concealment was af- 
 fected. They were open to all comers, who were at 
 some of them ushered in by powdered footmen. I 
 learned a great deal of the proceedings of these estab- 
 lishments from cases in which I was engaged at dif- 
 ferent times, for and against the proprietors, and I be- 
 lieve that in most of these hells the chances of gain 
 were assisted by flagrant trickery. At some of the 
 principal — those, for instance, in Bennett Street — the 
 decorations of the rooms were very elegant. Perfect 
 quiet and decorum were observed by the players, who 
 were generally of the better class. 
 
 The principal game played was hazard, of which 
 there were two kinds : French hazard, in which the 
 players staked against the bank, and English, or chick- 
 en hazard, in which they played against each other, 
 with a settled profit to the proprietors. I fancy this 
 mode of gambling was not so much exposed to fraud. 
 
 I do not think that rouge et noir was played any- 
 where. Roulette, which afforded abundant means of 
 chicanery, was to be found at all the lower descrip- 
 tion of houses, and a game which seems now to be ex- 
 tinct, called u une, deux et cinque" This was played 
 in a sort of basin lined with velvet, and a ball about 
 the size of a cricket ball, with colors, red, black, and 
 blue, as far as I can remember, stamped upon it. I 
 cannot recollect how the game was played, but I was 
 told that it was a fruitful means of cheating. With 
 one example of the mode of procedure at roulette, 
 through the medium of an accomplice, I became ac- 
 
GAMBLING HOUSES. 49 
 
 quainted professionally. Most of my readers have 
 seen a ronlette table, and are aware that there are 
 upon it thirty-six numbers, separated from each other 
 by small divisions, and that the players stake upon 
 different numbers. I need not recapitulate the 
 way in which unwary people were inveigled into 
 these places. A class of gentry called "bonnets" 
 were actively engaged in this employment ; but when 
 it was thought that a good thing was on, the propri- 
 etor would say out loud, "We may as well be quiet: 
 put up the bars." The intended victim supposed this 
 to mean that other people should be shut out, but the 
 accomplice took it as a direction to manipulate the 
 table by raising, which was done by machinery, an 
 almost imperceptible obstruction before any number 
 which would have secured to the player a large stake. 
 I was informed that most of the tables were so con- 
 structed as to render this a very easy process. The 
 profits made must have been enormous. 
 
 The places, however, at which gambling was to be 
 witnessed in all its magnitude were the different race- 
 courses. There might be seen a range of booths, ex- 
 tending from the grand stand to the end of the course, 
 in all of which play in its various forms, and at prices 
 adapted to all classes, openly flourished. 
 
 I have read that during the gold fever there was 
 not sufficient accommodation for the influx of diggers 
 within Melbourne, and that a quantity of tents was 
 erected outside the city. This was known as the can- 
 vas town. The same term might have been- applied 
 to the booths I have described, whilst greed of gold 
 was the distinctive emblem of both. 
 
50 RUNNING REIN FRAUD. 
 
 It was at one of these establishments that a person- 
 age was pointed out to me who afterwards became fa- 
 mous. He was a handsome-looking man, with strong- 
 ly-marked Jewish features, and altogether not unpre- 
 possessing. This was Mr. Goodman, or Goody Levi, 
 as he was usually called, twelve years afterwards the 
 hero of the Running Rein fraud. It may be remem- 
 bered that he substituted a four-year old horse called 
 Maccabseus for Running Rein, and won the Derby 
 with it. The fraud was discovered, and upon a trial 
 in the Court of Exchequer, before Baron Alderson, 
 fully exposed ; that learned judge, who was not wont 
 to conceal his opinions, observing that if gentlemen 
 would condescend to race with blackguards they must 
 expect to be cheated. 
 
 I noticed several well-known characters who were 
 patronizing Mr. Goodman's — men who, when I was 
 young, were well known upon town. They were all 
 engaged in play : Count d'Orsay, the dandy of the age, 
 Lord Cantelupe, the Earl of Chesterfield, and many 
 others, whom I have now forgotten, and upon whom 
 I then looked with wonder and admiration. 
 
 The altar, however, at which the greatest sacrifices 
 were made, and which reared its head above all rivals 
 of a similar class, was that of which Mr. Crockford 
 was the proprietor, and which went by his name. This 
 was no mean refuge for every-day gamblers; it was con- 
 stituted as a club, and confined to members. It pre- 
 sented an imposing front on the upper part of the west 
 side of St. James's Street. It is now, with little external 
 alteration, the Devonshire Club. Personally I knew 
 nothing of it, but heard romances of play related as 
 
CROCKFORD. 51 
 
 having occurred within itsprecincts, of enormous suras 
 changing hands, and of much sorrow and desolation 
 invading many a family. Tales almost fabulous were 
 related of its splendor, the luxuries that accompanied 
 it, and of course of its orgies. I have always, however, 
 heard that no suspicion of actual unfair play was en- 
 tertained. The proprietor was himself a very large 
 speculator upon the turf, and a story was told in con- 
 nection with his death, which, even if not true, shows 
 the opinion that was entertained of the play frater- 
 nity of that day. It was said that he was very largely 
 interested in a certain race, and that others following 
 his lead had backed a particular horse that was con- 
 sidered likely to win. It is well known in the sport- 
 ing world that if the maker of any bets dies before 
 the event betted upon is determined the wagers are off. 
 Mr. Crockford had been very ill, and much anxiety 
 was felt by the parties interested in the event. The 
 horse won ; but before the race the great speculator 
 had passed into another sphere. Those around him are 
 said to have kept this secret, and having learned by 
 means of carrier pigeons the result of the race, had 
 supported his dead body in front of one of the win- 
 dows in St. James's Street, so that it might be seen by 
 the people returning from the course. This may be 
 a fable founded upon the character of the persons con- 
 cerned. It was generally believed, or, at all events, 
 was generally asserted. 
 
 I heard from one of my disreputable acquaintances 
 another curious story in connection with the gambling 
 sets, and about the truth of this I entertain very little 
 doubt. Names were given to me, and circumstances 
 
52 JEM BLAND. 
 
 related that strongly confirmed it : one or two of the 
 persons are still living. There were letter-carriers 
 employed by the Post Office, who, being in the pay of 
 certain professional betting men, regularly furnished 
 them with information obtained from the letters of 
 well-known turfites, which they were in the habit of 
 opening. In those days envelopes were rarely used, 
 and letters written upon a sheet of paper were folded 
 and sealed ; by means of a kind of hook the sides 
 were extracted, and the contents could be deciphered 
 with tolerable accuracy. 
 
 He told me of one instance, giving me all the names 
 of the parties engaged. A person of very high posi- 
 tion was the owner of a horse, which he had entered 
 for a handicap race, and contrived by previous public 
 trials of his speed to convey an inferior notion of the 
 animal's powers, with a view to secure its being lightly 
 weighted. This he communicated to people in his con- 
 fidence, so that it might be backed at long odds ; but 
 the same knowledge having been previously obtained 
 through the medium of the postman, the market had 
 been used up, and his device, which was successful, 
 turned to the profit of other more skillful but not greater 
 rogues. 
 
 A man of middle age and middle height, clad in top 
 boots and buckskin breeches, might on most Mondays 
 and Thursdays be seen wending his way down Picca- 
 dilly. His goal was Tattersall's. This was Jem Bland, 
 one of the greatest operators upon the turf. He 
 could neither read nor write ; he was ready, however, 
 to make any number of bets, no matter of what amount. 
 He could enter no memoranda, and no one entered 
 
PIGCADILL Y SAL ON. 53 
 
 any for him. But he had a most surprising memory, 
 and upon returning to his house he dictated the list 
 of his bets, with unfailing accuracy, to a lady con- 
 nected with his establishment. 
 
 She also read all the letters addressed to him, and 
 thus obtained a considerable amount of private infor- 
 mation of turf doings. This, he discovered, she was 
 in the habit of imparting to some of her favorite ac- 
 quaintances. He was fully equal to the occasion. A 
 great race was about to be run — I think The Colonel 
 and Zinganee were the competitors. He conveyed 
 to his fair friend a batch of false reports, the circula- 
 tion of which enabled him to make a very good book, 
 and after that he changed his amanuensis. 
 
 In one of the most foul haunts of the metropolis 
 there used to congregate many men of exalted rank, 
 and (with the exception, of course, of the clergy) of 
 all professions, with them mixed evil-looking keepers 
 of low gaming, and, probably, of other houses, bet- 
 ting men, prize fighters, and bullies. After the sa- 
 loons of the jjatent theatres had disgorged their con- 
 tents, those who had not met with friends found their 
 way to this den. Unlimited drink pervaded the es- 
 tablishment. It was known as the Piccadilly Saloon, 
 and occupied part of the site of the present Criterion 
 Theatre. I had not the means, and I hope not the 
 taste, to join in the orgies that went on ; but I have 
 upon two or three occasions visited the place, and have 
 a lively recollection of the scenes enacted. No play, 
 it is true, went on overtly ; but there were harpies on 
 the look-out for the unwary, whom they inveigled to 
 neighboring slums, and there drugged, robbed, and 
 perchance murdered them. 
 
54 MIRFIN. 
 
 I could name many of those who, I believe, nightly 
 frequented this pandemonium, but it would serve no 
 useful purpose. There were, however, two, both pub- 
 lic characters, whom I saw upon the few occasions I 
 was there; and who particularly attracted my notice. 
 One was Sam Chifney, the well-known jockey of 
 George IV. ; the other was a police magistrate, who 
 presided at a court in the north-west district, and who, 
 I was told, frequently left the saloon only in time to 
 administer justice to the drunken and profligate who 
 came within his jurisdiction. 
 
 One night, or rather the early morning, later in date 
 than the period to which I have hitherto been refer- 
 ring, a group of six men were congregated at one of 
 the tables. I was not present, and it is from the re- 
 lation of a spectator that I have gathered the follow- 
 ing particulars. With one of the party I had a slight 
 acquaintance, having met him at the Cider Cellars and 
 Evans's. He was a gentleman-like, unpresuming, and 
 inoffensive young man. This was a person of the name 
 of Mirfin. His position was that of a linen-draper, or 
 assistant to one, in Tottenham Court Koad. He and 
 a man named Elliott, whom I understood to be a re- 
 tired Indian officer, got into a squabble. Mirfin had 
 been drinking, and scarcely knew what he was about. 
 Suddenly the party rose and left the room. It seems 
 that they obtained pistols, and the whole six, occupy- 
 ing two hackney coaches, drove to Wimbledon Com- 
 mon, and there a sad combination of farce and tragedy 
 was performed. Poor Mirfin was put up and fired at 
 by Elliott, an expert shot. Probably Mirfin himself 
 had never handled anything more dangerous than a 
 
A DUEL. 55 
 
 yard measure. The first shot went through his hat. 
 He was plucky enough, however, for again he stood up 
 to be fired at, and Elliott succeeded in murdering him. 
 The affair, from the brutality and ridicule that ac- 
 companied it, the circumstances that led to it, and the 
 place in which the quarrel occurred, gave a finishing 
 stroke to an institution already tottering; and the as- 
 sassins who, through the false shame of men of honor, 
 were able to pursue a system of terrorism, are now 
 infamies of a past generation in this country. In a 
 neighboring one the practice fortunately appears to be 
 verging on the confines of burlesque. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 I haye received several letters upon the subjects 
 contained in this chapter, and am much obliged to 
 the writers, who furnish me with what are, I have 
 no doubt, some accurate details. They do not, how- 
 ever, alter the inferences I have drawn, nor would 
 they, I think, enhance any interest that may attach 
 to my account. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 CHOICE OF CIRCUIT. 
 
 T N former chapters I have brought my readers to 
 the period when it was necessary to choose my 
 course of proceeding in the legal struggle I was about 
 to commence, and my interests as well as my finances 
 pointed to the metropolitan and adjacent districts. 
 Accordingly, I joined the Middlesex Sessions, of 
 which tribunal I have already given some description, 
 being introduced by a gentleman named Alley, a leader 
 of the bar. Subsequently I joined the Central Crim- 
 inal Court, and almost as a consequence fixed upon 
 the Home Circuit, which consisted of Hertfordshire, 
 Essex, Sussex, Kent and Surrey. In choosing a cir- 
 cuit, a barrister, with certain exceptions, is bound by 
 his first choice,, and it ought to be made with grave 
 deliberation. When I was called there were no rail- 
 ways. We were not allowed to use public convey- 
 ances or live at hotels. The leaders generally trav- 
 eled, accompanied by their clerks, in their own car- 
 riages, the juniors two or three together, in dilapidated 
 post-chaises. It was customary for the judges to enter 
 the town before the bar, and, as it is called, open the 
 56 
 
OPENING THE COMMISSION. 57 
 
 commission, after which they adjourned to church, 
 affording a grand opportunity to the sheriff's chap* 
 lain, usually a very young man, to enforce upon them 
 their duties as citizens and judges. During this cer- 
 emony the carriages came rattling in, lodgings were 
 engaged, the juniors, two or three of them, sometimes 
 more, occupying one sitting-room. The attorneys 
 were to be seen hurrying with the briefs destined for 
 their fortunate recipients, witnesses lounged 'about 
 the bars of the public-houses, and the juniors wan- 
 dered up and down the street wondering what they 
 should do with themselves, and whether a good time 
 was coming. 
 
 The next morning (the commission was usually 
 opened on a Monday) the real business of the assizes 
 began. A flourish of trumpets, not necessarily in 
 harmony, announced that His Majesty's judges would 
 take their seats in half an hour, another flourish that 
 they had done so : one in the Crown Court, the other 
 in the Civil. The former court is the great object of 
 attraction. A real judge is a sight to see ; he is clad 
 in scarlet ; the High Sheriff, in a mysterious costume, 
 sits beside him ; solemnity is given to the scene by 
 the presence of a parson. It is said that even the 
 criminal is elated by a sense of the dignity of his 
 position, so different from being tried by Squire Jones 
 in his blue coat and drab trousers. I suspect, how- 
 ever, that the fact that the judge will not take into 
 consideration his being a notorious poacher is in real- 
 ity the cause of his satisfaction. His lordship, in 
 charging the grand jury, probably congratulates them 
 upon something, and remits them to perform the not 
 
58 CIRCUIT. 
 
 very arduous duties of indorsing their own previous 
 committals, that tribunal being principally composed 
 of the magistrates of the county. The trials are then 
 proceeded with, and disposed of with- impartiality 
 and decorum. 
 
 The criminal courts of the assizes give the junior 
 members of the bar an opportunity of ventilating their 
 powers, and they almost invariably receive assistance 
 and encouragement from the judges. The feeling 
 thus early engendered produces through a subsequent 
 professional career the kindly intercourse that exists 
 between bench and bar, in no respect derogating 
 from the dignity of the former or the independence 
 of the latter. 
 
 I remember the great French advocate, M. Berry er, 
 remarking upon this trait of the profession in our 
 country with some surprise, but with warm admira- 
 tion. 
 
 In the meanwhile the business in the Civil Court 
 has commenced. There is a kind of interlude of un- 
 defended causes. The court is densely crowded by 
 barristers, who, during the charge to the grand jury, 
 are excluded from the Crown Court, lest they should 
 hear what the judge says, and take a hint from it. 
 Of course if there is anything useful to know, the 
 solicitors, who are not excluded, repeat it. This is 
 an old-fashioned absurdity, which ought to be abol- 
 ished. 
 
 A cause is called on. The acceptance to a bill of 
 exchange not contested has to be proved. A voice is 
 heard from the middle of the crowd enunciating with 
 difficulty, "May it please your lordship " "Pray 
 
CIRCUIT MESS. 59 
 
 speak out," says the judge. The counsel almost col- 
 lapses, but, struggling and panting, at last succeeds 
 in giving the necessary proof, and so a number of 
 cases are disposed of, and the real business of the 
 Civil Court commences. The leaders have taken their 
 seats, exchanged bows with the judges, nodded to 
 each other, and the stereotyped dialogue ensues be- 
 tween the judge and leader, "On what day, Mr. , 
 
 will it be convenient to take special juries ? " "The 
 bar is at your lordship's disposal." "What do you say 
 to Thursday V 7 "It will suit admirably." " Thurs- 
 day be it then. Mr. Sheriff, let the special juries be 
 summoned for Thursday next." And now horses are 
 off, and the day is exhausted upon the trial of usually 
 trifling causes. The adjournment at last arrives. The 
 former opponents walk to their lodgings, chatting 
 gayly together ; and the juniors rejoice that the time 
 has come when all meet at a dinner, where good- 
 humor and thorough cordiality between the highest 
 and the lowest in the professional scale usually reign. 
 I will not run the risk of wearying my readers with 
 any long description of the mess, but I think that I 
 may mention, to the credit of its members, that no 
 personal jokes prevailed, and, though laughter was 
 often excited at the expense of one or other of the 
 members, it was thoroughly good-humored. Officers 
 were elected. An Attorney and Solicitor-General 
 brought offenders to justice. One offense was, going 
 special to another circuit. It was one of gravity, and 
 an exemplary fine was imposed. Getting married was 
 passed over with a simple admonition, upon the 
 ground that it carried its own punishment with it. 
 
60 JOHN LOCKE AND MR. SOTHERN. 
 
 There was a poet laureate, and sometimes the verses 
 composed were amusing, and, if personal, without bit- 
 terness. Mr. Arnould, afterwards a judge in India, 
 filled at one time this office with much credit. He 
 was an accomplished poet as well as a lawyer. 
 
 One of the means of extracting fun was making the 
 criminal address the mess in aggravation of his offense. 
 And I must here mention a gentleman who will not 
 appear in any of my strictly legal recollections, but 
 whose memory will always be regarded by members 
 of the profession, especially those on the Home Cir- 
 cuit, with respect and affection. 
 
 John Locke, member for Southwark, now no more, 
 was the very soul of the circuit table; his speeches 
 elicited roars of laughter. I have often endeavored 
 to explain to myself in what particular attribute his 
 humor consisted, but it was as little to be defined as 
 it was impossible to resist. I have only met one in- 
 stance of a somewhat parallel character. This was 
 in another valued friend, now also passed away, the 
 late Mr. Sothern. In "Lord Dundreary" he created, 
 by means especially his own, the most uncontrollable 
 laughter, and the same mystery, as in the case of John 
 Locke, enveloped the cause. 
 
 The apparently utter confusion of mind, the striv- 
 ing vainly to get hold of the threads of a subject, the 
 look of vacancy attending the failure, and the solemn 
 attempt to resume the struggle, were features common 
 to both. I recall these gentlemen as having furnished 
 many of the most amusing hours of my life, and join 
 with all their friends in mourning over their departure 
 
 One other institution I must not omit to mention — 
 
MR. THESIGER. 
 
 61 
 
 * the dinner given by the judges to the bar, at which 
 young and old were kindly received. A custom, now 
 extinct, then existed of each guest giving the judge's 
 servants two shillings. This gave rise to the enter- 
 tainment being profanely called a two-shilling ordinary. 
 As trumpets initiated the assizes, so they celebrated 
 their termination. The rickety post-chaises were 
 again called into requisition, and in another town the 
 judges underwent the same trumpeting, and with 
 their last blast each town was left to slumber in its 
 pristine dullness. 
 
 When I joined the circuit Mr. Serjeant Spankie 
 and Mr. Serjeant Andrews were in a partial lead. The 
 former had held high office in India. I scarcely re- 
 member him. The latter was possessed of a very 
 solemn appearance. 
 
 There were two members who both gave great 
 promise, and were looked upon as the future leaders . 
 one was Mr. Turton, who closed his career in this 
 country by accepting an appointment in Calcutta; the 
 other, a Mr. Broderic, who succumbed prematurely 
 to ill health. 1 These events left a splendid opening 
 for Mr. Thesiger, who ultimately shared the lead with 
 Mr. Piatt. As is known, the former passed through 
 the offices of Solicitor and Attorney-General, and ul- 
 timately became Chancellor during Lord Derby's ad- 
 ministration. He received this post whilst conduct- 
 ing the prosecution of the British Bank directors, in 
 which I was associated with him, and I may say that 
 
 i I have no personal recollection of either of these gentlemen, but my 
 father, who remembered them both, has described the former to me as pos- 
 sessing all the qualities of an accomplished advocate, and the latter as a 
 most acute and learned lawyer. 
 
62 MR. THESIGER. 
 
 I never heard a finer effort than his opening of the 
 lengthy and complicated facts of that cause. He was 
 very painstaking and industrious. His appearance 
 was greatly in his favor — tall, with well-marked and 
 handsome features ; his manner was slightly artificial, 
 and his jokes, of which he was fond, were somewhat 
 labored. He had been when a boy in the navy, and 
 was, I have heard, in one of Nelson's engagements. 
 When called to' the bar he joined the Surrey Sessions, 
 where he soon was deservedly held in high favor, and 
 selected the Home for his circuit. I do not think he 
 was very popular when he became a leader. He was 
 accused of favoritism in giving references, and was 
 surrounded by a clique who received them. 1 As an 
 advocate he was successful with special juries, but 
 Piatt beat him before common ones. He was emi- 
 nently correct in his demeanor, and set an excellent 
 example to the bar by his regular attendance at the 
 Temple Church. When Chancellor he refused Ser- 
 jeant Parry and myself, both of us in good business, 
 patents of precedence, upon the ground that he had 
 fully made up his mind never to confer that rank upon 
 a serjeant. He afterwards, very properly but very 
 inconsistently, conferred it upon Serjeant Simon and 
 Serjeant Sargood. A great scandal was created by 
 his appointing a near connection of his own Master 
 in Lunacy. This ofiice was intended for lawyers of 
 standing and experience, and the gentleman in ques- 
 tion was only nominally a barrister, and held a clerk- 
 ship in some public office, and, although possessing 
 
 i The selection of junior members of the bar to arbitrate becomes very 
 invidious when a leader selects only his own personal friends. 
 
SAMUEL WARREN. 63 
 
 very high qualifications, certainly did not come within 
 the intention of the statute creating the office. Mr. 
 Disraeli, shocked at what had the appearance of a job, 
 declined to defend it in the House of Commons. The 
 gentleman selected instantly sent in his resignation, 
 and Lord Chelmsford then appointed Samuel Warren, 
 himself little better than a lunatic, although a clever 
 one. 
 
 Warren was, at the time, in the House of Com- 
 mons, and pronounced a sort of funeral oration upon 
 himself when leaving it, which was listened to with 
 more patience and apparent satisfaction than any of 
 his former speeches. When Mr. Disraeli reformed the 
 Conservative Government he left out Lord Chelms- 
 ford, and appointed Lord Cairns to fill the office of 
 Chancellor. One of this nobleman's acts was to raise 
 Alfred Thesiger, a son of Lord Chelmsford, to the post 
 of Lord Justice. The appointment was considered 
 premature ; but every one who knew Mr. Thesiger 
 felt that his legal knowledge and indefatigable indus- 
 try warranted the selection, whilst his unvarying cour- 
 tesy and real kindness of heart disarmed unkind com- 
 ments, and his early death caused universal regret in 
 the profession and to all who knew him. I cannot 
 forbear offering a personal tribute to his memory. He 
 has been with me and against me in several cases; 
 most pleasantly we got on together, and the friendli- 
 ness which I believe existed between us was by no 
 means diminished by his promotion. I know of no 
 one for whom I felt a more sincere regard. 
 
 During the period that I was what was humorously 
 called reading at Watson's, my parents were still at 
 
(34 THE DENMAN FAMIL T. 
 
 Hampstead, and I became acquainted with a family 
 who, from their connections and associations, were, 
 as well as in themselves, extremely interesting. They 
 consisted of grandmother, daughter, and grandson. 
 The eldest of the three was Mrs. Denman, widow of 
 the eminent physician; the second lady was her 
 daughter, also a widow. Her husband was the cele- 
 brated Sir Richard Croft. It is well known that the 
 young and popular Princess Charlotte died whilst 
 under his care. Much bitterness existed at that time 
 against her father, and calumnies extended most un- 
 justly to his physicians. Sir Eichard was very sen- 
 sitive, and his mind gave way under the pain inflicted. 
 Sir Thomas Croft, their son, who had been in the 
 Guards and fought at Waterloo, was frequently of the 
 party, and it was through my acquaintanceship with 
 them that I first knew Sir Thomas Denman, the son 
 of Mrs. Denman, Lady Croft's brother and uncle of 
 Sir Thomas. He was then Attorney- General, and 
 came frequently to see his relatives, and through the 
 length and breadth of the land a more truly affec- 
 tionate and happy family never existed. 
 
 It is impossible for memory to dwell upon a more 
 noble figure than that of the mother of the future 
 Lord Chief Justice. Her features were strongly 
 marked, and greatly resembled his when he had ar- 
 rived at a later period of his life. They lived upon 
 Heath Mount, where I was frequently received by 
 them. Mrs. Denman was very fond of whist, and 
 would play three or four rubbers without apparent 
 fatigue. 1 The party consisted of the three I have al- 
 
 1 At this period long whist was always played, and I imagine that old- 
 
LORD DENMAN. 65 
 
 ready mentioned and myself. I think I remember 
 Miss Joanna Baillie on one occasion joining the tea- 
 table. They were all most kind to me, and, inde- 
 pendent of the boon they conferred by making me 
 known to the future Chief Justice, I shall always feel 
 that their society was one of the most agreeable in- 
 cidents of my life. 
 
 As I only profess to give my own experiences, and 
 leave history to deal with general events, I have but 
 little to record relating to Lord Denman's career. 
 Every one has heard of the noble stand he made in 
 defense of Queen Caroline, and it speaks well for 
 William IV., upon whom during the trial he made a 
 bitter attack, that it was by his appointment that he 
 became Lord Chief Justice. Whilst he filled that of- 
 fice my practice was confined principally to the crim- 
 inal courts, and consequently, except upon the occa- 
 sions when he presided at those tribunals, I had no 
 opportunity of observing him. His manner was uni- 
 formly gracious and kindly, and his demeanor digni- 
 fied. Cruelty, or oppression of any kind, would elicit 
 from him occasional bursts of indignation, but in his 
 administration of criminal justice he never forgot the 
 natural frailty of human nature. 
 
 One personal incident, having an important bearing 
 upon my career, I may be permitted to mention. I 
 had been just four years at the bar, and neither my 
 prospects nor finances were flourishing. The spring 
 assizes were going on at Maidstone, when one of the 
 boatmen attached to the Thames Police called on me, 
 
 fashioned people thought there was profanity in the change now universally 
 adopted, but which then, like smoking, was supposed to indicate a fast and 
 reckless life. 
 
 5 
 
66 MONTAGUE CHAMBERS. 
 
 in great distress. His mother was in grievous trouble. 
 She had committed some small offense, and was to be 
 tried before Lord Denman. At the poor fellow's en- 
 treaty I defended her, and she was acquitted. At the 
 judges' dinner, afterwards, Lord Denman, shaking 
 hands with me, said, "You did that case very well, 
 but it was the witnesses to character got the woman 
 off." He alluded also to the meetings at his mother's 
 of which I have made mention. On the summer as- 
 sizes following he was also the judge, and I applied 
 to him for a revising barristership. There was only 
 one vacancy, which he gave to a Mr. Kennedy. I 
 happened, in somewhat disconsolate mood, to go into 
 the court as it was rising, and caught his eye. As I 
 heard afterwards, after seeing me, he sent for Mon- 
 tague Chambers, who held a revising appointment, 
 and asked him if his position upon circuit was not such 
 that he might dispense with it. That gentleman at 
 once placed it at Lord Denman's disposal, and he sent 
 it to me. The remuneration was not large, but at 
 that time it was vitally serviceable. I held the ap- 
 pointment for four years, when the number was di- 
 minished, and those last appointed were excluded. 
 My colleague upon this occasion was Mr. Shee, after- 
 wards a judge of the Queen's Bench. 
 
 I am sure the members of my profession will ex- 
 cuse me for saying a few words on Chambers, and I 
 believe all will join me in the tribute that this op- 
 portunity gives me of paying, to one who not only 
 served me on that occasion, but with whom I have al- 
 ways remained on terms of friendship. Originally in 
 the Guards, he doffed the scarlet at the call of duty 
 
POSTSCRIPT. G7 
 
 and affection, became an assiduous worker, a success- 
 ful advocate, and leader of the Home Circuit, and no 
 man ever attained position who, by strict honor, fair- 
 ness, and integrity, deserved it better. I am glad to 
 say that, although he has retired from the profession, 
 I still meet him at a club to which we both belong ; 
 and whilst he has not reaped the highest honors, he is 
 always contented and in good spirits, and not alto- 
 gether unwilling to furnish his numerous friends with 
 some of the anecdotes of his career. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Me,. Serjeant Andrews was the gentleman I 
 
 have mentioned in a former chapter as being the 
 
 opponent of Mr. Serjeant Adams for the office of 
 Chairman of the Middlesex Sessions. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE THAMES POLICE COUET. 
 
 AT the time I. was called to the bar my father was 
 a magistrate, and was residing at the official resi- 
 dence of the Thames Police, then situated at Wap- 
 ping, on the river-bank, opposite to what was called 
 Execution Dock, where, but shortly before, it was the 
 custom to hang pirates in chains. He had for a col- 
 league an old sea captain of the name of Pichbell. It 
 was thought, in those days, that the experiences of 
 navigating a ship on the sea would be a good prepara- 
 tion for administering the law in connection with the 
 river. At this office there was a staff of police under 
 the control of the magistrate, and the river was pa- 
 trolled by this force. I was accustomed to accompany 
 them day and night. They saved my limited resources 
 the expense of cabs; and many is the chase I have 
 joined in of suspicious wherries, and sometimes a 
 scamper, not unattended with danger, upon shore, 
 when the officers were in the performance of their 
 duties. I believe them to have been an admirable 
 body of men, joining discipline with much of the 
 knowledge possessed by the old Bow-Street runners ; 
 and it was to one of these men that I was indebted 
 68 
 
MR. BRODERIP.— AWKWARD MISTAKE. QQ 
 
 for the brief that, as I have already mentioned, 
 brought me to the attention of Lord Denman. 
 
 A Mr. Broderip became colleague with my father 
 upon the decease of Captain Bichbell. A barrister, a 
 good lawyer, and refined gentleman, he was a fellow 
 of the Zoological Society, and took great delight in 
 the inmates of the Gardens. I cannot refrain from 
 mentioning an anecdote that occurred many years af- 
 ter, when he had been transplanted to the Marylebone 
 Police Court. I was then in some criminal practice, 
 and appeared before him for a client who was suggest- 
 ed to be the father of an infant, and about which there 
 was an inquiry. Mr. Broderip very patiently heard the 
 evidence, and, notwithstanding my endeavors, deter- 
 mined the case against my client. Afterwards, calling 
 me to him, he was pleased to say, " You made a very 
 good speech, and I was inclined to decide in your 
 favor, but you know I am a bit of a naturalist, and 
 while you were speaking I was comparing the child 
 with your client, and there could be no mistake, the 
 likeness was most striking." "Why, good heavens !" 
 said I, "my client was not in court. The person you 
 saw was the attorney's clerk." And such truly was 
 the case. 
 
 My father afterwards took a house in Cadogan 
 Place, where he died. I remember the late Charles 
 Mathews canvassing him for his vote for the appoint- 
 ment of district surveyor # at Bow. He obtained it, 
 and also the place. Fancy one of the brightest of 
 mortals amongst the chimney-pots of Bow ! He did 
 not long remain in this uncongenial sphere ; and I re- 
 member shortly after, in company with a large party, 
 
70 MR. CONST. 
 
 consisting of Adolphus and others, old and fast friends 
 of his father, seeing him make his first appearance at 
 the Olympic Theatre in the farce of "Old and Young 
 Stagers," inaugurating the brilliant career which, to 
 the sorrow of all acquainted with him, has recently 
 terminated. 
 
 Mr. Const, who, as I have already mentioned, pre- 
 sided at the Middlesex Sessions when I joined them, 
 occupied a house at the eastern corner of Clarges 
 Street, in Piccadilly. He kept an open table for his 
 intimate friends, who were in the habit of notifying 
 their intention to dine — within a certain number and 
 up to a given hour of the day. My father was one of 
 the privileged, and I was frequently received at these 
 parties, where I met very pleasant people — amongst 
 others, William Dunn, " Billy Dunn," treasurer of 
 Drury Lane Theatre — and sometimes departed, after 
 a hospitable dinner, with tickets in my pocket for Old 
 Drury, no small boon to a pocket that did not contain 
 much cash. 
 
 Sir Frederick Roe was also a constant and very 
 welcome visitor. I believe that he succeeded Sir 
 Robert Baker as chief, magistrate at Bow Street. He 
 was a tall, handsome, gentlemanly man, who had the 
 reputation of having enjoyed life in many phases. He 
 succeeded to a large fortune, and retired from the 
 bench. I remember my father congratulating him 
 upon his accession to wealth. "Ah ! " said he, with a 
 deep sigh, "it has come too late." 
 
 A very different style of magistrate was Mr. Laing, 
 whom I also frequently met. I never saw him with- 
 out thinking of a shrivelled crab apple. In the story 
 
NERVOUSNESS. 7J_ 
 
 of " Oliver Twist" Charles Dickens caricatured him 
 under the name of Fang. 
 
 A reverend gentleman complained of him to the 
 Home Office. I fancy he had exhibited some irrita- 
 bility of temper in a case before him, and the author- 
 ities were not sorry to follow the lead of a popular au- 
 thor, and dismissed him. His accuser was shortly 
 afterwards convicted of stealing a silver spoon at a 
 chanty dinner at which he presided. 
 
 Mr. Laing, notwithstanding an unfortunate temper, 
 was a thoroughly honorable gentleman, a good law- 
 yer, and accomplished scholar, very precise in his 
 dress, but, as I have said, very sour-looking. Every 
 day of his life he might be seen at the same hour 
 wending his way to the Athengeum Club, where he 
 always dined. 
 
 I do not think that glibness and self-confidence ex- 
 hibited early in court are a good augury for ultimate 
 success. No one, until he has measured himself with 
 others, has a right to form a high opinion of himself. 
 It is true that after a young barrister has ejaculated 
 with difficulty a few incoherent words, he sits down 
 with a parched throat, and - a sort of sickening feeling 
 that he will never succeed ; but the most successful 
 of advocates have experienced these sensations, and 
 to this day I believe that many rise to conduct cases 
 of importance with some of their old emotions. In a 
 former chapter I have described my sensations when 
 first I was called upon to address the court, and it was 
 long before I could do so with any amount of confi- 
 dence. 
 
 Although in the legal scale criminal courts and crimi- 
 
72 CENTRAL COURT. 
 
 nal trials do not hold the first places, they are of far 
 more importance in the eyes of the general public than 
 those tribunals and elaborate investigations by which 
 the greatest reputations and highest rewards are ob- 
 tained, and the Crown courts ought to be presided over 
 by men who can command and enforce respect. Such 
 certainly was not the rule when, in natural connection 
 with the Middlesex Sessions, I first joined the bar at the 
 Central Criminal Court; and there can be no doubt 
 that the mode in which business was conducted in that 
 tribunal made it a term of opprobrium to be called an 
 Old Bailey barrister. Except in very grave cases, the 
 business was presided over by judges appointed by 
 the City. A canvass amongst a parcel of by no 
 means the highest class of tradesmen, who were quite 
 incompetent to form a judgment, obtained for candi- 
 dates the places of Common Serjeant and Commis- 
 sioner, the Recorder being appointed by the Court 
 of Aldermen. The sittings of the court commenced 
 at nine o'clock in the morning, and continued until 
 nine at night. There were relays of judges. Two 
 luxurious dinners were provided, one at three o'clock, 
 the other at five. The Ordinary of Newgate dined 
 at both. The scenes in the evening may be imag- 
 ined, the actors in them having generally dined at the 
 first dinner. There was much genial hospitality ex- 
 ercised towards the bar, and the junior members were 
 given frequent opportunities of meeting the judges 
 and other people of position ; but one cannot but 
 look back with a feeling of disgust to the mode in 
 which eating and drinking, transporting and hanging, 
 were shuffled together. 
 
THE ORDINARY. 73 
 
 The City judges rushing from the table to take 
 their seats upon the bench, the leading counsel scur- 
 rying after them, the jokes of the table scarcely out 
 of their lips, and the amount of wine drunk, not ren- 
 dered less apparent from having been drunk quickly — 
 this is now all changed. The early dinners and evening 
 sittings have been interred with other barbarisms, and 
 the hours are the same as in the civil courts. At the 
 period I am speaking of, Mr. Cotton was the Ordi- 
 nary — not easily to be forgotten, somewhat tall, very 
 portly. His rubicund visage betokened the enjoy- 
 ment of the good things of this life. He was most 
 punctual in his attendance at both dinners, and never 
 affronted the company by abstinence at either. He 
 possessed a sort of dry humor, and I fancy was popu- 
 lar in the City. I had no opportunity of learning 
 whether he performed the very different offices con- 
 nected with his appointment with the same success 
 that he did his prandial ones. One of the jokes re- 
 corded of him has often been repeated. It was part 
 of his duty to say grace, including in it a prayer for 
 the principal officials. "Why," he was asked, " do 
 you not name the under-sheriffs?" "I only pray for 
 great sinners," was his reply. 
 
 The Honorable Charles Ewan Law, whom I have 
 already mentioned, was the Recorder: dignified in 
 manner before dinner always, and merciful, pompous, 
 and disagreeable, he possessed ability quite equal to 
 the necessities of his office. I remember an amusing 
 incident connected with him. On one occasion, after 
 dinner, he overturned his tray of coffee, which was 
 resting upon the bench. He said not a word. The 
 
74 THE HON. JAMES STUART WORTLEY. 
 
 same' jury sat the next morning. He had some coffee 
 brought in — quite an unusual thing at that hour. 
 Somehow it went over, to the great discomfiture of 
 the Clerk of Arraigns, who sat underneath. Turn- 
 ing to the jury, he said: " Grentleinen, I have con- 
 stantly begged that the desk should be made broader. 
 I met with the same accident on another occasion." 
 Mirehouse, the Common Serjeant, always called Taffy, 
 was a hot-headed Welshman, good-humored and 
 kindly enough. He turned the court into a low- 
 comedy theatre. Arabin, the Commissioner, a shrewd, 
 quaint little man, enunciated absurdities with most 
 perfect innocence. 
 
 "I assure you, gentlemen," he said one day to a 
 jury, speaking of the inhabitants of Uxbridge, "they 
 will steal the very teeth out of your mouth as you 
 walk through the streets. I Jcnoiv it from experience." 
 It ought to be mentioned, to the credit of the Corpo- 
 ration, that it had upon a former occasion elected Mr. 
 Denman as Common Serjeant, 1 and the most pleasant 
 years I passed in the court were during the time that 
 the Honorable James Stuart Wortley was Recorder. 
 This gentleman was an excellent judge, and extremely 
 popular with everybody. 2 
 
 On a morning in October, 1834, I was entertained 
 at breakfast in the Regent's Park. A tall, gaunt old 
 gentleman was my host. Afterwards I was taken 
 down in a most respectable family coach to the Ses- 
 sions House, Clerkenwell Green, and there intro- 
 duced to my future companions at the bar. Mr. Alley, 
 
 1 This was before my time. 
 
 2 He afterwards became Solicitor-General, and was succeeded by Mr, 
 Gurney. 
 
ALLEY AND AD OLPHUS. 75 
 
 as I have before mentioned, one of its oldest mem- 
 bers, performed this kindly office. He had had for- 
 merly a large business in the criminal courts, sharing 
 it mainly with Mr. Adolphus; but both these gentle- 
 men were now succumbing to the inroads of younger 
 men, Charles Phillipps and Clarkson, with Bodkin 
 bringing up the rear, getting the cream of the busi- 
 ness. Peter Alley was an Irishman; he had the rep- 
 utation of being a good criminal lawyer, and although 
 his manners were rough, his feelings were those of a 
 gentleman. He was most hospitable and kind. I have 
 already mentioned a well-known tavern called the 
 London Coffee House. It still exists, but its char- 
 acter is changed. Then it was frequented by mer- 
 chants and City men of position, and during the sit- 
 tings of the Central Court, Alley used to dine there 
 often, and invited from time to time members of the 
 bar, to whom the dinner was both an object and a 
 compliment. I was many a time his guest. He and 
 Adolphus had numerous quarrels, one of which led 
 to the oft-recorded duel on the Calais Sands. I have 
 heard a story in connection with it which is rather 
 amusing. I imagine that neither of them wanted to 
 fight ; but after one of these disputes, Adolphus sent 
 a letter of the most insulting character to Alley's 
 house. He might have addressed it to his chambers. 
 By accident, of course, Peter left the letter on the 
 table, where Mrs. Alley found it, and, naturally, also 
 read it. Alley blamed his carelessness bitterly; but 
 his wife, having true Hibernian blood in her veins, 
 holding the missive in her hands, exclaimed, " Peter, 
 much as I love you, I would sooner see you brought 
 
76 ADOLPEUS. 
 
 home on a stretcher than submit to such an insult." 
 The two fought, and one, I forget which, shot off a 
 part of the other's ear. They were both very proud 
 of the exploit, and, with a few growls, remained af- 
 terwards tolerable friends. Let me say a few words 
 of Adolphus. He was nearly a great man, and but 
 for an unfortunate temper would probably have risen 
 to the highest honors of the profession. He was a 
 lucid and impressive speaker, and possessed a singu- 
 larly logical mind. A fair judgment may be formed 
 of his powers by reading a speech he made upon the 
 Cato Street conspiracy case, in which he greatly dis- 
 tinguished himself. 
 
 He was called to the bar at a comparatively late 
 stage of life, and, although occasionally engaged in 
 civil causes, remained almost to the day of his death 
 a practitioner in the criminal courts. During some 
 portion of the period when he was in practice, Ten- 
 terden, a morose judge, who was supposed to be much 
 under the influence of Sir James Scarlett, was Chief 
 Justice of the Queen's Bench. 
 
 Sir James upon one occasion, how provoked I do 
 not know, said, "Mr. Adolphus, we are not at the Old 
 Bailey." "No," was the response, "for there the judge 
 presides and not the counsel." x When I first knew 
 Adolphus he had attained an advanced age, and it was 
 sad to witness the wreck he had become ; sad to think 
 of a life so wasted, of great abilities so cast away. 
 There was little generosity shown him by those who 
 were at this time doing the principal business ; and 
 
 » Since writing the above, I have met the anecdote differently worded iu 
 Campbell's Lives of the Chief Justices. 
 
CHARLES PEILLIPPS. 77 
 
 pygmies to him in intellect were enabled, through his 
 unhappy irritability, to drive him almost to madness. 1 
 Whilst referring to his temper, I am pleased to record 
 that to his juniors and his inferiors it was never exhib- 
 ited. To them he was unvaryingly considerate and 
 kind ; and I must also mention that he had been for 
 years a sufferer from a painful disease, which he bore 
 with the greatest patience and magnanimity. He lived 
 in Gower Street, where he gave frequent parties, 
 which were very popular, mainly through the accom- 
 plishments of his daughter and daughter-in-law, the 
 wife of his only son, John Leycester Adolphus, after- 
 wards a county court judge. He himself was a thor- 
 oughgoing Tory, and wrote a history of George III. 
 through Tory glasses, and when he died, an affection- 
 ate father and sincere friend passed away. 
 
 Mr. Charles Phillipps was a curious compound of 
 intellectual strength and weakness. He possessed 
 undoubted genius, and power of speech amounting 
 at times to eloquence, but was deficient in moral cour- 
 age and self-reliance. He was an Irishman by birth, 
 and his face and figure were greatly in his favor — 
 tall, with well-formed and expressive features, and a 
 musical voice. He had commenced his career on the 
 Munster Circuit, where he produced a great impres- 
 sion upon juries more impulsive than those he had to 
 address in England. Several specimens are given of 
 his style by a gentleman who has written some very 
 amusing articles in a magazine which until lately was 
 called the "Dublin University." He was still young 
 when he came over to this country, and, somewhat 
 
 » These observations do not include Mr. Bodkin. 
 
78 ANECDOTE. 
 
 inflated by the praises he had obtained, imagined him- 
 self to possess all the attributes, instead of only the 
 more superficial ones, of a great orator. Wanting in 
 discretion, when before a tribunal of which he had no 
 experience, he laid himself open to a merciless attack 
 at the hands of Brougham in one of the first cases in 
 which he appeared in the Court of Queen's Bench. 
 He collapsed under the punishment, and rarely ap- 
 peared afterwards in any of the civil courts. A ro- 
 mantic incident occurred at the commencement of his 
 residence in this country, in the shape of a love-affair 
 with a very beautiful girl, whom he subsequently 
 married, and a duel with an unsuccessful rival. 
 
 When I commenced my career he was signally the 
 prisoners' counsel at the Old Bailey, the Middlesex 
 Sessions, and also upon the Oxford Circuit. In this 
 capacity he was certainly at that time unrivaled. He 
 had great readiness, a power of repartee, earnestness 
 when it was required; and whatever deficiency he may 
 have shown in his earlier career, he had acquired a 
 very sound judgment. He was never dull, and the 
 juries liked him. I remember upon one occasion, in 
 the robing- room, when poor Adolphus, in a state of 
 irritation, and when his business had nearly all fallen 
 into the hands of Phillipps, said to that gentleman : 
 "You remind me of three B's — Blarney, Bully, and 
 Bluster." "Ah!" said Phillipps, "you never com- 
 plained of my B's until they began to suck your 
 honey." 
 
 I may here mention an incident that occurred in 
 connection with the trial in which Brougham and 
 Phillipps were opposed, and which I believe to be 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 79 
 
 perfectly true. A friend of the latter gentleman, of 
 the name of MacDowell, was a reporter upon the staff 
 of the "Times" newspaper, and it fell to his lot to re- 
 port his friend's speech. The reply of Brougham came 
 within the province of another gentleman. Mac- 
 Dowell wished his associate to leave out some of the 
 more stinging passages, but he would not be persuaded 
 to swerve from his duty. MacDowell contrived, how- 
 ever, to soften their effect by omitting the parts in 
 Phillipps's speech to which they referred, and, this be- 
 ing discovered, he lost his position on the " Times." 
 My father, from whom I heard the story, knew the 
 poor fellow, who never afterwards rallied, and died, I 
 fear, in great poverty. Phillipps himself kissed the 
 rod that had chastised him and became a constant as- 
 sociate of Lord Brougham, who made him Com- 
 missioner of Bankruptcy at Liverpool, an office for 
 which he was singularly unfitted. Subsequently he 
 was appointed to be one of the judgH?i of the old 
 Insolvent Court, which required a good knowledge 
 of figures, about which he knew nothing ; and his 
 colleague, who knew little more, was a gentleman 
 notoriously more insolvent than most of the suitors 
 who sought relief at his hands. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 My friend Mr. Archdale, in alluding to the first 
 appearance of Charles Mathews, mentions the fol- 
 lowing incident in the article to which I have al- 
 ready alluded : " Poor Liston had to deliver a poet- 
 ical and pathetic address upon the occasion, but the 
 moment he appeared roars of laughter from every 
 
80 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 part of the house greeted him, and although the 
 tears were streaming down his cheeks as he de- 
 livered the lines, they had no effect upon his 
 audience." 
 
 Liston, with whom I had a slight acquaintance, 
 was essentially a melancholy man. He seemed to 
 have been created to afford amusement to the masses 
 by the exhaustion of all power of retaining amuse- 
 ment for himself. He was also very sensitive, and 
 I believe he never would allow his children to wit- 
 ness his acting, which he considered to be in vio- 
 lation of the intentions of Providence and a dese- 
 cration of the great attributes of his nature. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE TRIAL OF C OURVOISIER. 
 
 CHORTLY before Mr. Phfflipps left the bar his 
 *^ name became associated with the Courvoisier 
 trial, which for many reasons interested me, and some 
 of the circumstances of which may, I think, equally 
 interest my readers. 
 
 On May 6, 1840, Lord William Russell was found 
 murdered at his house, No. 14 Park Lane. London 
 was in a state of excitement. The age of the noble- 
 man, his great historic name and position in society, 
 all combined to aggravate the horror naturally excited 
 by such an event. The circumstances clearly pointed 
 to domestic treachery ; and Courvoisier, his confiden- 
 tial valet, was apprehended, and, on June 18 follow- 
 ing, was put upon his trial, charged with the murder 
 The occasion might, from the appearance the Old 
 Bailey presented, have been thought one of the most 
 festive character. The court was crowded with ladies 
 dressed up to the eyes, and furnished with lorgnettes, 
 fans, and bouquets ; the sheriffs and under-sheriffs, ex- 
 cited and perspiring, were rushing here and there, 
 offering them what they deemed to be delicate atten- 
 6 81 
 
g2 COURVOISIER TRIAL. 
 
 tions. A royal duke honored the exhibition with his 
 presence, and, upon the occasion of a witness giving 
 a particular answer to a question from counsel, showed 
 his approval by an ejaculation of "Hear, hear." 
 
 Sir Nicholas Tindal, the presiding judge, was so 
 hemmed in by the extensive draperies of the sur- 
 rounding ladies that he had scarcely room to move, 
 and looked disgusted at the indecency of the spec- 
 tacle ; and I may here say that the scenes still occa- 
 sionally presented upon celebrated trials at the Old 
 Bailey do little credit to the officials who encourage 
 them. Mr. Baron Parke, to whom I shall hereafter 
 allude, was associated with the Chief Justice upon 
 the trial. Mr. Adolphus led for the prosecution, and 
 in opening it made allusions, scarcely in good taste, 
 to the fact of the accused being a foreigner, giving 
 Mr. Phillipps, who defended him, an opportunity for 
 a display of eloquent protest. The trial lasted for 
 three days ; and the proceedings upon the first two 
 were scarcely conclusive enough to have secured the 
 conviction. Upon the third day, when I came into 
 the robing- room in the morning, I found Mr. Phil- 
 lipps there, evidently very much agitated. I learned 
 afterwards that some new evidence of an important 
 character had come to the knowledge of the prosecu- 
 tion and been communicated to him. 
 
 A considerable quantity of plate had disappeared 
 from Lord William's house, and it was discovered 
 that immediately after the murder it had been depos- 
 ited by Courvoisier with some people m the neigh- 
 borhood of Leicester Square. This circumstance had 
 been disclosed on the previous evening. Courvoisier, 
 
COURVOISIER TRIAL. 83 
 
 to whom it was made known, requested an interview 
 with his counsel, which was very properly accorded, 
 and upon this occasion he admitted the correctness of 
 the statement as to the discovery. 
 
 He did not, as was generally supposed and asserted 
 at the time, avow that he had committed the murder, 
 although doubtless what he did own was very strin- 
 gent evidence of the fact ; and the communication 
 was certainly made, not for the purpose of admitting 
 his guilt, but merely to prepare his counsel to deal 
 with the evidence. 
 
 The course pursued by Mr. Phillipps showed the 
 inherent weakness of his character. It was pecul- 
 iarly a situation for self-reliance and sound judgment. 
 He was bound to continue the defense ; although no 
 doubt his mode of conducting it could not but be 
 materially affected by the new circumstances. Mr. 
 Phillipps, however, adopted a line that was wholly 
 inexcusable. He sought an interview with Mr. Baron 
 Parke — who, it must be remembered, although not 
 the presiding judge, was assisting at the trial — com- 
 municated to him the confession of his client, and 
 asked his advice. This conduct placed the judge in 
 a most painful position, and was grievously unjust to 
 the accused. It is probable that if Baron Parke had 
 not been taken by surprise, he would have declined 
 to express any opinion. I happen, however, to know 
 that, having learned that the prisoner did not intend 
 to relieve his counsel from the defense, the learned 
 baron said that of course he must go on with it. And, 
 if he gave any advice at all, this was the only advice 
 he could give, and ought to have been patent to the 
 
84 COURVOISIER TRIAL. 
 
 inquirer ; and certainly no censure can be too severe 
 upon the conduct of Phillipps, who, when assailed 
 for his management of the case, violated the confi- 
 dence that his interview with Baron Parke demanded, 
 and endeavored to excuse himself by saying he had 
 acted under that learned judge's advice. 
 
 I heard Phillipps's speech: it was extremely elo- 
 quent. He made the most of some indiscretions in 
 his opponent's opening, but he was overweighted by 
 the facts ; and certainly, since I have been at the bar, 
 juries have not shown themselves apt to be carried 
 away by flowers of rhetoric. Many of those used by 
 him in this speech were not only in bad taste, what- 
 ever might have been the circumstances, but upon 
 this occasion they were utterly unjustifiable. I have 
 refreshed my memory of some of them from a most 
 useful and admirably arranged work of a Mr. Irving, 
 called " Annals of our Time," and from his work I 
 extract the following specimens: "Supposing him to 
 be guilty of the murder, which is known to Almighty 
 God alone" ; "I hope for the sake of his eternal soul 
 that he is innocent." Such expressions from the 
 mouth of an advocate possessing the knowledge that 
 Phillipps did at the time he used them, were not only 
 offensive to good taste, but scarcely escaped convey- 
 ing a positive falsehood. 
 
 It is of the essence of advocacy that counsel should 
 under no circumstances convey his own belief, or use 
 expressions calculated to do so, and the only excuse 
 that I can find for Phillipps is from the knowledge that 
 he always composed his important speeches before 
 he delivered them, and that up to the morning of the 
 
TRANSPORTATION. 35 
 
 last day lie believed that Courvoisier was innocent. 
 But whilst this may redeem him from the imputation 
 of conveying a falsehood, it does not excuse the lan- 
 guage in which he indulged. 
 
 There is not, I think, any ground for saying that he 
 endeavored to fix guilt by unworthy means, upon a 
 servant girl. It may be said that in every case where 
 it is acknowledged that an offense has been commit- 
 ted the defense of the client must be founded upon 
 the assumption that some one else is guilty ; but, ex- 
 cepting those expressions to which I have alluded, and 
 which do not point to any one in particular, I cannot 
 recall anything that went beyond the bounds of legiti- 
 mate advocacy ; and I am sure that, whatever his faults 
 of taste and judgment, he would not have been capa- 
 ble of so grave a crime. 
 
 He felt very bitterly the comments made upon him 
 by the press. I think they went beyond what his 
 conduct deserved, but, as I have been obliged to ad- 
 mit, he certainly laid himself open to very grave cen- 
 sure. I suppose few counsel have defended more ac- 
 cused persons than myself, and I must allow that in- 
 nocence was not the characteristic feature of the major- 
 ity of my clients ; but I cannot remember any case 
 in which I received an unqualified admission of guilt. 
 The utmost that approached to it was a mild sugges- 
 tion that if the evidence was too strong for me to ob- 
 tain an acquittal, it was hoped that I would save my 
 client from transportation. 
 
 I think that it may not be unserviceable at the ex- 
 isting time to make a few observations upon this sub- 
 ject. I am greatly struck by many of the features 
 
g6 PUNISHMENT. 
 
 that now present themselves in connection with crime. 
 I think they are very formidable, more so than ever I 
 remember them, and unless they are checked, point 
 to an appalling future. There seems to me to be 
 more abstract brutality amongst the criminal classes, 
 and more recklessness of human life, and certainly, the 
 contingencies to which the police are subjected whilst 
 executing their functions are extremely frightful. 
 The question, therefore, must come to the front wheth- 
 er our present punishments are the most efficacious 
 that can be applied. 
 
 When transportation was in force it created much 
 dread in the minds of the criminals. There was a mys- 
 tery attendant upon it, and a sense of final separation 
 from every home tie. It operated also most strongly 
 upon their friends and accomplices, thus creating, what 
 is most to be desired, an efficient example to others. 
 Now their friends know where they are, and in the mis- 
 erable holes in which they themselves grovel, in cold, 
 starvation, and wretchedness, they are apt almost to 
 envy the food and warmth of a prison. There is also 
 another point to be considered, if I am right in the 
 view that I have formed. There are classes of criminals 
 that can never be reformed whilst they are allowed to 
 remain in this country, and yet their offenses may not 
 justify imprisonment for life. Practically, a gaol ed- 
 ucates them for graver ones. These include thieves 
 from their birth, but who carry on their trade without 
 resorting to violence. In another country they might 
 find an opening for redemption ; in this, none. There 
 may be political grounds which make it impossible to 
 revert to the system of transportation. With these 
 
CRIMES OF VIOLENCE. 37 
 
 I am not capable of dealing ; but my experience may 
 be trusted for knowing that next to death it inflicted 
 the greatest terror, and to those capable and desirous 
 of repentance the only chance of reformation. 
 
 The crimes, however, that are now creating a feel- 
 ing allied to terror in the public mind, are those which 
 subject our fellow-creatures to death or cruel injury, 
 and the question requires very grave consideration and 
 a freedom from morbid sentimentality. The punish- 
 ment of death is still ' continued, and is thought to 
 be sufficient to intimidate brutal offenders, and of one 
 thing I have no doubt, that there is no example of a 
 criminal under a capital sentence, who would not with 
 joy exchange jthe penalty for any other form of pun- 
 ishment known to our law. Why, if it be inflicted 
 and is supposed to be thus efficacious in any case, 
 should it be applied to a result and not to the inten- 
 tion ? Why should a villain, armed with a revolver, 
 maim a man for life whilst in the performance of his 
 duty and escape the gallows % I think that the police 
 ought to be told that they shall be furnished at least 
 with every protection possible. There were many 
 conscientious and kindly-hearted people who objected 
 to the lash being used ; but surely if a deliberate war 
 is waged by crime, and carried on by reckless violence 
 and brutality against society, the most efficacious 
 means ought to be used to defeat it. I am quite 
 aware that any punishment that shocks the bulk of 
 thinking and observant people could not be estab- 
 lished ; but humanitarianism may be carried too far, 
 and we have arrived at a crisis when order must 
 assert itself in language which will produce a deter- 
 rent effect upon criminals. 
 
88 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Whilst upon the subject of scoundrels and their 
 doings, it will not be amiss to mention two who, 
 amongst a crowd of smaller ones, flourished about the 
 time of the Courvoisier trial. The cut-throats and 
 garotters who at different periods have . infested the 
 metropolis were not greater pests than the proprietors 
 of two newspapers called the " Age" and the " Sat- 
 irist." The weapons with which they effected their 
 robberies were slander and threats. They hunted out 
 the secrets of families, and lived upon the fears of 
 those to whom they appertained, and for some time 
 these miscreants drove a thriving trade. Their names 
 were, I believe, Westmacott and Barnard Gregory. 
 I witnessed the former in the dress-circle of Covent 
 Garden Theatre howling under the horsewhip of Mr. 
 Charles Kemble, whose daughter he had foully slan- 
 dered, and I had the satisfaction of convicting the lat- 
 ter at the Old Bailey. 
 
 A volume might be filled with a record of their 
 villainies, and of the desolation that followed upon 
 their trial. Let us hope that, like the murders com- 
 mitted by professional duelists, they are the filthy 
 emanations of a by-gone age, and are buried in the 
 infamy generated by their existence. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Although in the above and following pages I 
 have not assumed to myself the position of a dic- 
 tator to those who have means of knowledge far 
 greater than mine, I, nevertheless, have possessed 
 opportunities of witnessing under many phases the 
 operation of crimes and the application of punish- 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 89 
 
 merits; and if suggestions of mine can be of any 
 service, it would gratify me to feel that my career 
 has not been without some value to my fellow- 
 creatures. I do not believe in the preventive effect 
 of long imprisonments. I do believe that mentally 
 and physically they demoralize their victims, whilst 
 after a time the labor ceases to be a punishment, 
 and warmth and food are recognized as the only 
 happiness of life. 
 
 When released they may still have mind enough 
 left to become the instructors of youth in the quar- 
 ters already corrupt enough to which they return. 
 I have glanced at the reasons why I strongly advo- 
 cate a system of transportation. I am confident 
 that it is a most deterrent punishment, and I can- 
 not help thinking that in some of our African col- 
 onies it might be carried out. It is said that the 
 unhealthiness of the climate makes it in many cases 
 a death sentence ; but surely, when our soldiers and 
 sailors are sent there, and when lawyers accept po- 
 sitions embodying every risk, the climate is good 
 enough for our malefactors. It may not be gene- 
 rally known that when transportation was first in 
 use it was not part of the penal code, but in cases 
 of death sentences the choice was offered to the 
 criminals. 
 
 There is at the present moment in a part of the 
 United Kingdom an organization of the foulest 
 crimes, and so long as any punishment is inflicted 
 that keeps the perpetrator within the reach of his 
 friends, its dread possesses but small effect. Let 
 the conviction under the summary processes which 
 
90 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 are now proposed be followed by a removal from 
 the country for ever, whether with additional pun- 
 ishment or not. Unless I have greatly misjudged 
 the effect of transportation, and my knowledge of 
 human nature has gone far astray, there will be 
 introduced a means of checking crime that at pres- 
 ent does not exist either in England or Ireland. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT. 
 
 AI7ILLIAM CLARKSON enjoyed a large busi- 
 ness at the Central Criminal Court. He was 
 not without ability of a certain kind, which was great- 
 ly assisted by his connection by marriage with a re- 
 spectable firm of solicitors. Loud-voiced and swag- 
 gering, with oneundeviating form of cross-examination, 
 whatever might be the position or character of the wit- 
 ness, and that the very reverse of gentle or refined, he 
 did much to maintain the opprobrium attaching to those 
 who practiced at the court. He was by no means con- 
 siderate to his juniors, but succumbed at once to those 
 capable of resistance. My recollection does not furnish 
 me with any circumstances in his career, professionally 
 or privately, that I can record to his advantage. 
 
 William Henry Bodkin was a man of a different 
 type, and, in my opinion, if his education had been 
 equal to his natural ability, he would have attained a 
 very high position. He was acute and clear-headed, 
 and, as I have already mentioned, he was very suc- 
 cessful in the civil business of the Middlesex Sessions 
 He was a pleasant companion and extremely popular, 
 
 91 
 
92 CHARLES WILKINS. 
 
 and there were many, including myself, who received 
 from him substantial marks of kindness. 
 
 When Mr. Phillipps obtained the appointment which 
 I have recorded in the last chapter, I acquired a con- 
 siderable accession of business, which, however, 
 greatly diminished upon the advent of Mr. Charles 
 Wilkins, a man who had already attained a high posi- 
 tion at sessions in the North of England. He was 
 at once patronized by the solicitors practicing in the 
 court, and the qualities he possessed were calculated 
 to create early impressions in his favor. An imposing 
 person and a deep sonorous voice controlled the audi- 
 ence. He was a fluent speaker, and arranged the 
 matter he had to deal with very clearly. His expe- 
 riences in many walks of life 1 must have furnished 
 him with extensive knowledge of human nature ; his 
 mind, however, was incapable of grasping the niceties 
 of law, and he possessed no readiness in dealing with 
 any matter suddenly started. A successful repartee 
 threw him upon his back, and ridicule drove him fran- 
 tic. He greatly diminished my business when first 
 he came, but I fancy after a time I discovered his 
 weak points, and I do not think he maintained the 
 reputation he had gained when he first joined the ses- 
 sions. He afterwards changed the scene of his labors 
 by taking the coif, and in a certain class of civil busi- 
 ness again, for a certain time, obtained considerable 
 success. Whilst practicing at the Central Criminal 
 Court he defended a solicitor, named Barber, in a 
 very celebrated trial, of which I propose hereafter 
 to give some account. 
 
 1 There were many stones told of the vicissitudes of his life which I have 
 
ALDERMAN HARMER. 93 
 
 Subsequently to his departure I shared the lead 
 with Mr. Parry, a man of great knowledge, power, and 
 ability, until both of us quitted the field and followed 
 Mr. Wilkins's example by taking the degree of the 
 coif. We were often subsequently brought in special 
 to the Central Criminal Court, and probably even 
 upon this stage did not lose much by our promotion. 
 
 Before concluding my recollections of the Court, I 
 ought to mention two firms of solicitors who divided 
 between them much of the defense business. Mr. 
 Harmer, an alderman of the City of London, was at 
 the head of one of them, and carried on business in 
 Hatton Garden. His appearance indicated good liv- 
 ing and good nature ; he was gifted with great shrewd- 
 ness, and possessed, amongst the classes whose nat- 
 ural destination was the Old Bailey, an immense repu- 
 tation, and a most profound confidence was reposed 
 in him by a large body of clients, none of whom had 
 reason to regret their trust. He was rejected as Lord 
 Mayor upon the ground of certain opinions, now to 
 be found in many respectable journals, that were ven- 
 tilated in the " Dispatch " newspaper, of which he 
 was proprietor. He realized a good fortune, and built 
 a villa on the bank of the Thames, which he chris- 
 tened Ingress Abbey, but which his friends called New- 
 gate, where he entertained with great hospitality. 
 
 The other firm to which I allude was that of Messrs. 
 Lewis and Lewis of Ely Place, the senior partner of 
 whom, of small stature and quiet manner, with feat- 
 ures characteristic of shrewdness and a kindly nature, 
 might often have been seen unpretendingly making 
 
 no means of verifying. He was at one time certainly in the medical profes- 
 sion, and at another an actor in the provinces. 
 
94 ASSAULTS ON WOMEN. 
 
 his way to the barristers' table. ~ His movements were 
 watched with anxiety and hope as he quietly walked 
 about and slipped a brief into the hands of a pleased 
 recipient. His firm possessed a large business, which 
 he principally had built up by means in all respects 
 honorable to himself. There were two other solici- 
 tors of high standing and character who did a large 
 business, Mr. Humphreys and Mr. Wontner, but they 
 more usually appeared on the part of the prosecutions. 
 
 What was called the Rope-walk was represented by 
 a set of agents clean neither in character nor person, 
 and I fear that the guinea eagerly sought by coun- 
 sel in his early days told a sad tale of misery and 
 self-denial endured by those who, as too often is the 
 case, had to suffer for the sins of their relatives. 
 
 Duriug my experience I have rarely known a thor- 
 oughly innocent person convicted, although there are, 
 certain charges scarcely sustained by strict evidence, 
 but which carry with them a moral conclusion and 
 in which juries are apt to reject law and yield to 
 prejudice; but little evil arises from such results, and 
 substantial justice is obtained. 
 
 I must, however, except one class of cases in which 
 I have seen very grave errors committed by juries, 
 and I fear that many innocent people have- suifered. 
 I allude to charges preferred by women against the 
 opposite sex. Juries in many of these instances seem 
 to bid adieu to common sense. The tears of a good- 
 looking girl efface arguments of counsel and the sug- 
 gestions of reason. However absurd and incredible 
 the story told may be, a fainting fit at an appropriate 
 time removes from their minds all its improbabilities 
 
AN UNFORTUNATE HAIRDRESSER. 95 
 
 I have often wished that such charges might be dis- 
 posed of by a jury of matrons. In cases that might 
 fairly be the subject of an action before a civil tri- 
 bunal the juries take up a high moral tone, and think 
 themselves justified in inflicting the punishment 
 awarded to one of the highest of crimes. I could 
 record many instances in which, I believe, there has 
 been a lamentably wrong conclusion arrived at against 
 the person charged. In one case that I was engaged 
 in, and in which the jury would scarcely listen to me, 
 they were persuaded by the earnest exhortations of 
 the judge to acquit the prisoner, but they appended 
 to their finding the hope that his lordship would see 
 that he was severely punished. 
 
 I remember a fashionable perruquier being tried 
 many years ago at the Central Criminal Court for an 
 outrage upon a young person in his employment. I 
 cannot give the details of the story, which carried to 
 my mind falsehood upon the face of it, but being plau- 
 sibly told by a weeping complainant of prepossessing 
 appearance, the hearts of the jury were moved, and 
 their common sense was washed out. He was con- 
 victed and sentenced to a long term of transporta- 
 tion, which was, however, subsequently remitted. 
 
 A good story, for the truth of which I should, how- 
 ever, be sorry to vouch, is told, that the wife of the 
 Governor of New South Wales, happening to be in 
 England, implored the Home Secretary to carry out 
 the sentence, as there was not a decent hairdresser 
 in the colony. 
 
 It is well known that the Old Bailey, rechristened 
 the Central Criminal Court when its jurisdiction was 
 enlarged, was of civic origin, and still retains its orig- 
 
96 CITY DIGNITARIES. 
 
 inal character. The aldermen, although they act by 
 deputy, are judges, the Lord Mayor being the nomi- 
 nal head. The sheriffs, represented by the under- 
 sheriffs, appertain to it; and these latter perform their 
 more painful functions through the medium of the ex- 
 ecutioner. The citizens of London and their repre- 
 sentatives have, in the days when the liberties of the 
 people were threatened, made many a gallant stand, 
 and done good service, and for this deserve the grati- 
 tude of posterity ; but now the Lord Mayor, his state 
 coach, the aldermen, the men in armor, the sword- 
 bearer, and the City marshal are tawdry and useless 
 monuments of a past age. The magisterial functions 
 are discharged by paid clerks, of whom the aldermen 
 are merely the mouthpieces, and might just as well 
 be represented by their chains and robes. The mode 
 by which officers called upon to perform high judicial 
 duties are elected is a scandal to the age. The great 
 merchants shrink from all connection with the corpo- 
 ration ; and the definition of a good chief magistrate 
 is one who has been most profuse in his hospitalities. 
 
 I should be very ungrateful if, in recording my 
 opinion of the aldermen in their public capacity, I 
 were not to acknowledge the number of most esti- 
 mable, kindly, and excellent men who have at all times 
 belonged to their body, and, during the early period 
 of my practice at the Central Criminal Court, I and 
 other members of the bar had to thank them for 
 very liberal and unpretentious hospitality. My 
 comments apply solely to their position in relation 
 to the administration of justice, which I regard as 
 mischievous and absurd. 
 
 There was one alderman of whom I have a very 
 
SIR PETER LAURIE. 97 
 
 distinct recollection : this was Sir Peter Laurie. He 
 was a great friend of my father : he was a shrewd and 
 far-seeing Scotchman, quaint and conceited, but with 
 plenty of sound good sense and an honorable charac- 
 ter. I mention him, however, not so much on his 
 own account as to introduce to my readers one of the 
 most original rogues of the time, and the mode in 
 which, upon one occasion, Sir Peter dealt with him. 
 Joseph Adie was his name, and amongst other modes 
 of raising money he hit upon one of circulating letters 
 to numerous people, professing that he had obtained 
 knowledge which would be most beneficial to them, 
 and by these means for a time he drove a thriving 
 trade. 
 
 He was brought up before Sir Peter, whoj finding 
 that he had committed no punishable offense, was 
 obliged to discharge him ; but in doing so the worthy 
 alderman said, by way of reprimand : " Now, Joseph, 
 if any one wants to know your character, refer him to 
 me." Adie, in all his future letters, headed them, 
 " Referred, by permission, to Sir Peter Laurie." Ul- 
 timately Mr. Adie fell a victim to a suit by the post- 
 office authorities for the price of stamps he had omit- 
 ted to pay, and in default was sent to gaol. Whether 
 he has since flowered in some other shape I know not ; 
 if so, probably he has also thought it convenient to 
 appear in some other name. 
 
 As a wayfarer passed in the neighborhood of the 
 Mansion House about the period I have been more par- 
 ticularly recording, he might frequently have seen two 
 neatly dressed personages, somewhat past middle age 
 They bore a great likeness to one another, although 
 one affected juvenility in a brown wig, the other wear- 
 
98 THE BROTHERS FORESTER. 
 
 ing his own perfectly white hair. Each presented a 
 rosy-faced countenance, and a mild benevolence ap- 
 peared to beam upon it ; they might have been the 
 brothers Cheeryble. They were the brothers Fores- 
 ter, the celebrated City officers ; their hands were 
 never profaned by touching vulgar thieves, and those 
 whom they did touch usually terminated a career of 
 great crime upon the gallows. 
 
 Notwithstanding their occupations, they were really 
 as kindly as they looked. In many a heart-rending 
 scene they had, as far as their duty would allow them, 
 given solace to the afflicted. And their evidence in 
 court was always truthful and unexaggerated. I have 
 had many a gossip with both of them, and heard some 
 painful episodes of criminal life, which I may some 
 time hereafter record in these volumes. I have con- 
 fined myself as nearly as possible to personal expe- 
 riences. 
 
 The institution of the new police probably super- 
 seded their employment. Their cheery faces are no 
 more seen, probably no longer exist. I have no doubt, 
 if living, they are provided for by the generosity of the 
 corporation, never wanting towards those who have 
 served them conscientiously. 
 
 It is only right, whilst mentioning the celebrities 
 connected with the Old Bailey, that I should allude to 
 one other personage. Rarely met with upon festive 
 occasions, he was, nevertheless, accustomed to pre- 
 sent himself after dinner on the last day of the ses- 
 sions. He was a decently dressed, quiet-looking man. 
 Upon his appearance he was presented with a glass of 
 wine. This he drank to the health of his patrons, and 
 expressed with becoming modesty his gratitude for 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 99 
 
 past favors, and his hopes for favors to come. He 
 was Mr. Calcraft, the hangman. 1 
 
 POSTSCEIPT. 
 
 In referring to the higher officials of the corpora- 
 tion, no slur can be cast upon their thorough upright- 
 ness, but it is obvious that in the great metropolitan 
 court they are simply ornamental, and that in the 
 minor courts the business is substantially performed 
 by subordinate officers without responsibility, and 
 whose names are not even known to the public ; and 
 although the selection of a recorder has upon many 
 occasions been creditable to the Court of Aldermen, 
 it is no less the result of a canvass, which cannot be 
 commended, and the selection of other persons called 
 upon to perform important judicial functions by a 
 large body of small tradespeople. The scenes attend- 
 ing the canvass, and the mode in which the result is 
 usually attained, must be highly reprobated. 
 
 1 This occurred in a past generation. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FKIENDS. 
 
 A MONGST the friendships I formed and greatly 
 ■*^*- valued during the early period of my career at 
 the bar, was that of Charles Edward Jerningham, 
 nephew/ I believe, of the Earl of Stafford. We sat 
 together briefless at the Central Criminal Court ; we 
 shared a room over a butcher's shop during the assizes 
 at Maidstone, and sighed in unison for the trumpets 
 that announced the dinner hour to be approaching. 
 He was a charming companion and an accomplished 
 scholar. In consequence of his health failing, he quit- 
 ted the profession and went abroad, and I never saw 
 him again, although I occasionally heard from him. 
 I have, however, had the pleasure of meeting his son 
 Hubert, a gentleman who has distinguished himself 
 in diplomacy and literature. 1 Huddleston and Jer- 
 ningham were in those days my most intimate com- 
 panions at the bar. 
 
 I was, however, fortunate in possessing some very 
 pleasant acquaintances out of the profession, and 
 amongst them was a gentleman well known in London 
 society — Mr. Dubois. He lived in Sloane Street, where 
 
 1 He has now added M. P. to his distinctions. 
 100 
 
MR. DUBOIS. 101 
 
 he exercised a liberal and ungrudging hospitality to a 
 large circle of friends, chiefly connected with literature 
 and art. Amongst them were the brothers Smith, 
 authors of the "Rejected Addresses," of whom, how- 
 ever, I have no very precise recollection ; and Bar- 
 ham, the charming author of that wonderful collection 
 of drolleries, " The Ingoldsby Legends." This gen- 
 tleman I also had the pleasure of meeting elsewhere, 
 and his quiet, refined humor has often been a source 
 of great delight to me. Theodore Hook — bright, im- 
 provident, reckless genius — was a constant visitor, 
 and with him, a little, rosy-faced individual, his 
 tried friend and worshiper, Mr. Hill. This latter 
 was a mystery. No one knew when he came into 
 the world, and it used to be said that if really 
 he had been born after a legitimate fashion, the 
 records of his birth had been lost in the fire of Lon- 
 don. Mr. Dubois, in addition to being a recognized 
 patron of literature, performed judicial functions in a 
 small debts court, in a street leading out of Holborn, 
 called the Court of Requests, but his duties never 
 seemed to give him anxiety or to affect his cordial good 
 temper. His house formed a fair example of the hos- 
 pitality of a former generation. The dinner hour, as 
 far as I remember, was half-past five, when the guests 
 met substantial fare and a hearty welcome, the pleas- 
 ure derived from which was greatly enhanced by the 
 cordiality and kindness of Mrs. Dubois and her pretty 
 and accomplished daughter. But the hour when fun 
 reigned supreme approached nearer to midnight. 
 Then it was that I have heard Theodore Hook, who 
 seemed to brighten for the occasion, sing some of his 
 
1Q2 THEODORE HOOK. 
 
 most amusing songs. They were supposed to be ex- 
 temporary, but his friend Hill might be detected 
 furnishing a cue. 
 
 Poor Theodore, although upon these occasions brill- 
 iant, was a sad wreck when seen at other times. He 
 had lived hard, which meant something in those days, 
 and had seriously damaged his constitution. As is 
 well known, he once filled the post of Treasurer of 
 the Colony of the Mauritius, and his carelessness had 
 resulted in a serious deficiency in the funds over 
 which he had control, no imputation, however, be- 
 yond carelessness resting upon his character. His 
 answer when asked how he came to leave the island 
 has been often told. "It was," he said, "through a 
 complaint of the chest." He was sued by the Gov- 
 ernment for the amount deficient, and thrown into the 
 Queen's Bench prison ; a step which would not have 
 been taken but that they were forced into it by the 
 Opposition, who were furious at the attacks made 
 upon Queen Caroline in the "John Bull" newspaper, 
 which he edited. My friend Dubois as Duberly, and 
 Hill as Hull, will be recognized in his amusing novel 
 of "Gilbert Gurney"; and I am inclined to think 
 that the description in that work of the scene at the 
 Old Bailey and of the deaf judge will fully bear com- 
 parison with the great trial of "Bardell v. Pickwick," 
 immortalized by Dickens. 
 
 I also remember Poole, the author of " Paul Pry," 
 a character suggested to him, umbrella and all, by Mr. 
 Hill. It used to be the pride of this latter gentle- 
 man to learn everything about his neighbors. He 
 could inform his associates which of their friends had 
 
MR. DILKE. 103 
 
 a party and what they had for dinner. He used to 
 look down the areas and watch the confectioner's man ; 
 in fact he acted the role of a busybody for the amuse- 
 ment of his friends, but was too much liked ever to 
 have been a mischievous one. 
 
 It was about the time of these convivial meetings 
 that I became a member of the Clarence Club, called 
 by its detractors the Clearance, from the fact of its 
 having been founded upon the Literary Union, dis- 
 solved to get rid of some objectionable members. 
 There were many agreeable people belonging to it. 
 Amongst others, a prominent member was Mr. Dilke, 
 founder of the "Athenaeum" journal, father of the 
 first baronet, who also was a member, and grand- 
 father of the present statesman. Those who knew 
 this gentleman well spoke of him as possessing an in- 
 tellect of great capacity and power. His son, an old 
 friend of mine, was a very agreeable companion. He 
 was most useful in the management of the very diffi- 
 cult details connected with the Exhibition of 1851, 
 and his services were much appreciated by the late 
 Prince Consort, himself no mean judge of the capacity 
 of those with whom he had dealings, and in recogni- 
 tion of them a baronetcy was conferred upon him by 
 Her Majesty. 
 
 Tom Campbell, the author of " The Pleasures of 
 Hope," did not present a romantic figure ; and his 
 carelessness about dress rendered his appearance much 
 less agreeable than his poetry. The late Lord Justice 
 James was also a member. I was not personally ac- 
 quainted with him. I fancy that he always exhibited 
 those marks of ability which, when he was promoted 
 
104 MEMBERS OF THE CLARENCE CLUB. 
 
 to the bench, rendered him one of its greatest orna- 
 ments. 
 
 Another gentleman, a member of the club, and with 
 whom I had the pleasure of being on terms of inti- 
 macy, was the late Frank Stone, an artist who pos- 
 sessed a great charm. There are few pictures, to my 
 thinking, more pleasant to look at than those that 
 came from his brush. His health was not good, and 
 he died whilst in the full vigor of his mind. I need 
 not mention how honorably and successfully his son 
 Marcus Stone has followed in his father's steps. 
 
 As I am professing to write experiences of my own 
 life, I cannot forbear mentioning two members of the 
 club who were intimate associates and friends of 
 mine. Their names are not inscribed upon the tablets 
 of fame, but they are worthy to be remembered. 
 Captain Barberie was one of them, an Englishman 
 by parentage, but being either born in India, or taken 
 there very early, he presented a complexion nearly 
 Eastern. He had only one leg, his other having been 
 amputated at the thigh joint. He had served in India, 
 and his limb was shattered at one of the sieges which 
 the British had been obliged to raise, and it showed 
 wonderful vitality, that, with the wounded leg dang- 
 ling to his body, he bore the fearful trial of a retreat 
 before it could be amputated. His face had the mark 
 upon it of a fearful cut which he received from a 
 native whom he had discovered embezzling stores ; 
 it also bore the marks of a severe attack of the small- 
 pox which he had suffered from in India. I have not 
 drawn a very inviting picture of his personal appear- 
 ance ; he was, nevertheless, pleasant to look upon, 
 
MEMBERS OF THE CLARENCE CLUB. 1Q5 
 
 and much beloved- by his many friends. His daily 
 companion and associate was a Major Henderson, also 
 an Indian officer, who was wounded at the same siege. 
 His wound was upon the head, and had been received 
 whilst storming the fortress where his friend had his 
 leg shattered. He was taken up apparently dead, but 
 it turned out that the bullet had carried his handker- 
 chief, which he wore under his regimental cap, into 
 the wound, and with the handkerchief the bullet 
 came out. He was trepanned, and although at times 
 suffering great pain, lived for many years after. 
 
 One day Barberie was missing from the club; and 
 when on the next day he did not turn up, I went to 
 Duke Street where he lived, and, opening the door 
 of his chambers, saw him stretched upon a sofa. 
 "Do not come in," he said to me, "I have got the 
 small-pox." Of course I asked whether I could as- 
 sist him. He said that Henderson was doing all that 
 he required. Daily inquiries were made after him by 
 his friends, and, to the satisfaction of all, we heard 
 that the crisis was past, and he was in a sound, healthy 
 sleep. Ten minutes after, he was dead. A tray of 
 crockery had been dropped in the court-yard and 
 startled him from his sleep. His mind wandered for 
 a moment, and then passed into eternity. 
 
 Although naturally very clever, he was a perfect 
 child in the world's ways, and a designing woman hav- 
 ing obtained great influence over him, his friends 
 feared he would marry her. He was not upon good 
 terms with his relatives, and had made a will bequeath- 
 ing everything to her. One afternoon, shortly before 
 his death, Henderson, myself, and he were at the club, 
 
106 MEMBERS OF THE CLARENCE CLUB. 
 
 and we were laughing at him for his infatuation ; he 
 got very much annoyed, left the club, and, as we heard, 
 afterwards, went off to the dwelling of this person, 
 and, being quite unexpected at that hour, he found 
 her in company which fully justified our opinions. He 
 came home, destroyed the will, and never left the 
 house afterwards. His illness prevented his making 
 another disposition of his property, and his relatives 
 got all he left behind him. He received a pension of 
 £50 per annum for the loss of his leg, and he had an 
 amusing mode of appraising everything according to 
 that value. He would describe, for example, a sum 
 of £25 as half a leg, and in this way divided it into 
 fractions with great accuracy. 
 
 Barberie wrote a very vivid account of his calamity 
 in " Bentley's Miscellany," headed "How I Lost my 
 Leg." He was only thirty-five years old when he 
 died, after undergoing more misfortunes than most 
 people are subject to in the longest life, and suc- 
 cumbed at last to the combined action of a disease he 
 had previously suffered from and the carelessness of 
 a stupid servant. Major Henderson survived his 
 friend for some years ; but the affairs of the club not 
 having been prosperous it was dissolved, the members 
 were scattered, and amongst others I lost sight of this 
 gentleman. 
 
 I had the pleasure of the acquaintance of Mr. 
 Bransby Cooper, the nephew of the eminent surgeon, 
 Sir Astley Cooper. He was himself in the same pro- 
 fession ; but early in his career had the misfortune to 
 fail in an operation, which cost the patient his life. 
 
 His mode of performing it was severely criticised 
 
BRANSBY COOPER. 107 
 
 by Mr. Wakley in the " Lancet," and, although he ob- 
 tained a verdict in an action he brought against that 
 gentleman, the damages were scarcely sufficient to 
 clear him from blame. In another respect, through 
 no fault of his own, he was unfortunate. His uncle 
 retired from the profession, leaving him in the occu- 
 pation of his house in Spring Gardens, and securing 
 for him one prosperous year ; but getting sick of leis- 
 ure, Sir Astley returned suddenly from abroad, and, 
 as I have heard the story, wandered to the end of the 
 Chain Pier at Brighton, having half a mind to termi- 
 nate the misery of idleness. Instead, however, of 
 availing himself of the ocean for that purpose, he or- 
 dered a post-chaise, and turned up in Spring Gardens 
 as quickly as four horses could carry him, and there 
 renewed his profession, which he carried on success- 
 fully for many years. Bransby Cooper, after this, al- 
 though possessing surgical skill and excellent judg- 
 ment, never obtained any hold upon the public. He 
 used often to complain to me of a soreness and irri- 
 tation in his throat, which he attributed to a laceration 
 caused by his having swallowed a fish-bone. He died 
 suddenly whilst at the Athenaeum Club, his death be- 
 ing caused by a cancer in the throat. It is probable 
 that he was aw 7 are of the fact, although he affected 
 to ignore it. 
 
 Wakley was a man of mark in his time, and the ac- 
 tion brought against him by Bransby Cooper gave 
 him notoriety. He was himself plaintiff against the 
 County Fire Office to recover the amount insured 
 upon his house, which had been burned down, and the 
 office raised the defense that he had himself done it. 
 
108 WAKLEY. 
 
 He recovered a verdict ; but I believe the damages 
 were never paid, and he took no steps to enforce them. 
 
 He was a popular speaker, and was returned to 
 Parliament for a metropolitan borough. Some one, 
 alluding to a speech he had made, remarked to Sheil, 
 the Irish orator, " that he would never set the Thames 
 on fire." " No," said Sheil, " unless he had first in- 
 sured it." He became coroner for Middlesex, and in 
 that capacity held an inquest upon a body presuma- 
 bly that of Mr. John Sadleir, member for Sligo, an 
 Under Lord of the Treasury, and the perpetrator of 
 stupendous frauds. The corpse was found upon 
 Hampstead Heath, and it was alleged that death had 
 resulted from suicide. There were circumstances 
 about the appearance and the finding that led some 
 people to doubt whether it really was the body of 
 Sadleir; biit Mr. Wakley knew him well, and could 
 make no mistake, and it was also identified by Mr. 
 Edwin James, the Queen's Counsel; but, as far as I re- 
 member, these were the only witnesses to its identity. 
 
 Bransby Cooper was fond of narrating an anecdote 
 of his uncle in connection with a murder committed 
 at Rotherhithe by a man named Patch. The deceased 
 had been shot; and from the position that he was in 
 at the time, and the direction of the wound, Sir Ast- 
 ley, then Mr., Cooper was satisfied that the shot was 
 fired by a left-handed man. 
 
 Patch assured his counsel that such was not the 
 case with him; but, when called upon to plead, held 
 up his left hand. It may be necessary to mention 
 for the information of some of my readers, that at 
 that period a prisoner pleading was always told to 
 hold up his hand. He was convicted and executed 
 
A SWINDLING NOBLEMAN. 109 
 
 I may here mention another acquaintance that I 
 formed, if not so reputable a character as those whom 
 I have had the pleasure of describing heretofore. 
 This was an Italian nobleman, who came over to this 
 country with good introductions, and whose manners 
 and varied information were calculated to create a 
 very favorable impression upon society. It turned 
 out that, although his rank was unquestionable, he 
 was one of a gang of forgers, and engaged in carry- 
 ing out a conspiracy of a very remarkable and daring 
 character. The course contemplated was to pass si- 
 multaneously, in the principal cities upon the Conti- 
 nent, forged letters of credit purporting to issue from 
 Messrs. Glyn and other bankers in London. The 
 scheme failed by a mere accident ; and the circum- 
 stances connected with it were investigated and ex- 
 posed with great ability by the " Times" newspaper, 
 against, which journal, in consequence of its strict- 
 ures, a person who was supposed to be an accom- 
 plice, brought an action. It was tried at the Croy- 
 don summer assizes in the year 1841, and the sub- 
 stantial correctness of the articles was clearly estab- 
 lished. The merchants of London subscribed for a 
 testimonial to the paper to mark their sense of the 
 great ability which, regardless of expense, had been 
 exhibited by it in exposing the fraud. The proprie- 
 tors dedicated the large sum of money subscribed to 
 public purposes. 
 
 It was said that the nobleman committed suicide, 
 but no very authentic account of the circumstance, if it 
 really occurred, ever reached this country. I cannot 
 
HO POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 help thinking that I had some hand in assisting the 
 design of the conspirators, as I was inveigled to a 
 party at the Grecian Tavern in the Strand, where I 
 lost what was for me a considerable sum of money, to 
 the nobleman. I learned afterwards the character of 
 the people whom I met, all of whom were gentlemen 
 by birth and swindlers by profession. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 I remember one extemporary verse of poor Hook's 
 which caused a good deal of laughter, although I do 
 not quote it as possessing much merit. There was a 
 well-known personage about town who was a frequent 
 visitor at Dubois's. His name was Sir Burgess Ca- 
 mac. He had, I believe, made a fortune in the East. 
 One night, after Theodore had amused the company 
 with a poetical sketch of some of the people present, 
 but omitting Sir Burgess, "Have you nothing to 
 say about me ?" asked that gentleman ; upon which 
 Theodore, seating himself at the piano, recited — 
 
 This is Sir Burgess Camac, 
 Whose name spells the same 
 
 Both forwards and back, 
 Which is all I can say of Sir Burgess Camac. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 SUIT IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS. 
 
 T T is somewhat remarkable that the first case of 
 - much importance in which I was engaged was in 
 the House of Lords, before a tribunal composed of 
 the following noblemen : the Earl of Devon, chair- 
 man, Lord Lyndhurst, Lord Campbell, the Earl of 
 Radnor, the Earl of Lonsdale, Lord Sudeley, Lord 
 Mountford, and others. A bill had been introduced 
 to annul the marriage of a young lady, Miss Esther 
 Field, contracted with a person named Samuel Brown, 
 upon the grounds of coercion and fraud on his part, 
 accompanied by the allegation that the marriage had 
 not been consummated. The circumstances were 
 very extraordinary. The lady was possessed of a large 
 fortune — £1,200 per annum in land, and £40,000 in 
 money. She was barely eighteen years old, whilst 
 Brown was fifty-two, of humble origin, and no appar- 
 ent means. However, he prevailed upon the lady to 
 marry him, much, I fancy, to the disgust of a young 
 gentleman, the son of an attorney, who would very 
 willingly have taken his place, and probably, in the 
 event of the bill having passed, would have succeeded 
 
 111 
 
112 HOUSE OF LORDS. 
 
 in doing so. There was a formidable array of coun- 
 sel in support of it — Sir Fitzroy Kelly, Mr. Rolt, Sir 
 John Bayley, Mr. Walford, and Mr. Austin. I was 
 alone in opposition to the bill. 
 
 Sir F. Kelly opened the case with a considerable 
 amount of coloring, which was maintained by Esther 
 under the examination of Mr. Rolt. In my cross- 
 examination I endeavored to make her relate the facts 
 in a natural manner, and to get rid of the exaggera- 
 tions that had colored her examination in chief. Other 
 witnesses were called, and Mr. Rolt having addressed 
 the House in favor of the bill, the case was adjourned 
 until the following Friday. On that day I w T as about 
 to address their lordships, when the Earl of Devon 
 interposed, and I copy from the " Times" of August 
 11, 1848, the observations that he made : — 
 
 " He said that their lordships did not feel it necessary 
 to call upon the learned counsel to address them. He 
 had in the first instance, he was free to admit, come 
 down to the House with a strong bias in favor of the 
 bill for annulling the marriage ; but the evidence he 
 had heard, and the able cross-examination of the 
 learned counsel against the bill, had created a con- 
 trary opinion in his mind. In that opinion he was 
 supported not only by Lord Brougham, whom, in 
 common with other learned lords, members of this 
 House, he had consulted, but by Lord Lyndhurst, 
 who had most carefully perused the whole of the pro- 
 ceedings in the Court of Chancery, and had heard the 
 arguments and evidence which had been offered at 
 the bar of their lordships' House, and informed him 
 that there was not a sufficient case to sustain a bill 
 
L ORD L YNDHURST. 1 1 3 
 
 for annulling the marriage of this young lady. From 
 the Lord Chancellor he had also received a similar 
 intimation. 
 
 "Such being not only his own opinion, but that of 
 his noble and learned friends, he felt it impossible for 
 him to move the further progress of the bill." 
 
 The eminent physician, Dr. Locock, had been sub- 
 poenaed as a witness by the petitioner, but was not 
 called. 
 
 At the end of the first day, Lord Lyndhurst came 
 up to the bar of the House, where I was standing, 
 mentioned that he had known my father, and paid me 
 a kind compliment upon the mode in which I had con- 
 ducted the case, concluding by asking me whether I 
 intended to call witnesses; and upon my replying that it 
 depended upon the result of a consultation, remarked, 
 with a significant smile, "I do not think you will." 
 
 It will not be out of place here to make some re- 
 marks upon cross-examination. The records of courts 
 of justice from all time show that truth cannot in a 
 great number of cases tried be reasonably expected. 
 Even when witnesses are honest, and have no inten- 
 tion to deceive, there is a natural tendency to exag- 
 gerate the facts favorable to the cause for which they 
 are appearing, and to ignore the opposite circum- 
 stances : and the only means known to English law by 
 which testimony can be sifted is cross-examination. 
 By this agent, if skillfully used, falsehood ought to be 
 exposed, and exaggerated statements reduced to their 
 true dimensions. An unskillful use of it, on the con- 
 trary, has a tendency to uphold rather than destroy. 
 If the principles upon which cross-examination ought 
 
I 14 OR OSS-EX AMINA TION. 
 
 to be founded are not understood and acted upon, it 
 is worse than useless, and it becomes an instrument 
 against its employer. The reckless asking of a num- 
 ber of questions on the chance of getting at some- 
 thing is too often a plan adopted by unskillful advo- 
 cates, and noise is mistaken for energy. Mr. Baron 
 Alderson once remarked to a counsel of this type, 
 "Mr. , you seem to think that the art of cross- 
 examination is to examine crossly." 
 
 In order to attain success in this branch of advo- 
 cacy, it is necessary for counsel to form in his own 
 mind an opinion upon the facts of the case, and the 
 character and probable motives of a witness, before 
 asking a question. This, doubtless, requires experi- 
 ence ; and the success of his cross-examination must 
 depend upon the accuracy of the judgment he forms. 
 
 Great discernment is needful to distinguish mate- 
 rial from unimportant discrepancies, and never to dwell 
 long upon immaterial matters ; but if a witness intends 
 to commit perjury, it is rarely useful to press him up- 
 on the salient points of the case, with which he prob- 
 ably has made himself thoroughly acquainted, but to 
 seek for circumstances for which he would not be 
 likely to prepare himself. 
 
 And it ought, above all things, to be remembered 
 by the advocate, that when he has succeeded in mak- 
 ing a point, he should leave it alone until his turn 
 comes to address the jury upon it. If a dishonest 
 witness has inadvertently made an admission injurious 
 to himself, and, by the counsel's dwelling upon it, be- 
 comes aware of the effect, he will endeavor to shuffle 
 out of it, and perhaps succeed in doing so. 
 
CR OSS-EXAMINA TIOK \\^ 
 
 The object of cross-examination is not to produce 
 startling effects, but to elicit facts which will support 
 the theory intended to be put forward. Sir William 
 Follett asked the fewest questions of any counsel I 
 ever knew ; and I have heard many cross-examina- 
 tions from others listened to with rapture by an ad- 
 miring client, each question of which has been de- 
 struction to his case. 
 
 What is called a severe cross-examination, when 
 applied to a truthful witness, only makes the truth 
 stand out more clearly ; and unless counsel is able to 
 arrive in his own mind at a satisfactory opinion, it is 
 far better to ask nothing than to flounder on with the 
 chance of getting out something by a crowd of ques- 
 tions. A truthful witness usually adheres to the dry 
 statement of facts, and avoids diverting attention by 
 introducing irrelevant matter ; and I think a remark 
 I made to a jury upon one occasion is a sound one. 
 It was upon a trial before Chief Justice Erie. I had 
 put a question to a witness as to what he was doing 
 at a particular time, this being a matter important to 
 the inquiry. "I was talking to a lady," was his an- 
 swer; adding, "I will tell you who she was, if you 
 like. You know her very well." I made no obser- 
 vation at the time, but when addressing the jury said 
 that my experience led me to the conclusion that hon- 
 est witnesses endeavored to keep themselves to the 
 facts they came to prove, but that lying ones endeav- 
 ored to distract the attention by introducing something 
 irrelevant ; and I think this remark is worth consider- 
 ation, and points out one of the tests of truth or false- 
 hood in a person under examination. 
 
116 CROSS-EXAMINATION. 
 
 Some judges upon the bench never shone in this 
 branch of advocacy, and scarcely appreciate the value 
 of it, and a refinement that now attends trials, and 
 contrasts in many respects favorably with the coarse- 
 ness of a former period, occasionally interferes with 
 the force and persistence required in dealing with 
 some persons in the box. 
 
 In the equity courts, the notion of cross-examina- 
 tion is ludicrous ; it has, however, the merit of being 
 thoroughly inoffensive. 
 
 I have heard two or three specimens of it. In 
 these cases the witnesses had filed affidavits which 
 the adverse counsel examined from, and made them 
 repeat orally what they had already sworn to, as if 
 the object of the process was to obtain from the 
 mouth of the witness in court what had already been 
 put upon paper in the solicitor's office. 
 
 An experienced equity judge once said to me in re- 
 lation to a question I had asked, " Really, this is a 
 long way from the point." "I am aware of that, my 
 lord," was my answer. "If I were to begin any 
 nearer, the witness would discover my object." 
 
 It is impossible to overestimate the acuteness and 
 argumentative powers of the judges and practitioners 
 in the equity courts, but I am confident that they 
 would find great assistance if the examination of wit- 
 nesses were less of a sham. 
 
 Embarrassment exhibited under a searching cross- 
 examination is not to be relied on as a proof of false- 
 hood ; the novelty of the position or constitutional 
 nervousness may frequently occasion it. 
 
 I remember a remarkable instance of this in a trial 
 
ROBBERY OF THE OXFORD COACH. \\>] 
 
 in which I was engaged to defend a prisoner. It was 
 a curious case. Messrs. Coutts, the bankers, were 
 in the habit at certain periods of remitting specie to 
 a bank at Oxford by a coach that went to that city. 
 The money was contained in a box, and placed under 
 the charge of the coachman. Upon a particular day, 
 when the supposed box arrived at its destination, it 
 was found to contain rubbish, the real one having been 
 subtracted. It was proved that my client, who was 
 a passenger, had got down before the end of the 
 journey, with no apparent excuse, and did not take 
 his seat again. Beyond this, however, there was lit- 
 tle to sustain the charge against him. The coachman 
 naturally was a principal witness, but became so em- 
 barrassed, and answered questions in so shuffling a 
 manner, although with perfect truth, that both judge 
 and jury believed that he was an accomplice in the 
 robbery, and in this opinion I confess I shared. 
 
 My client was acquitted, but shortly afterwards was 
 tried and convicted of another offense. I took the 
 opportunity (I think through the medium of the chap- 
 lain) to ask how the Oxford robbery had been effected, 
 and learned that the coachman had, against orders, 
 gone into a public house to get a glass of ale, and it 
 was during his absence that the prisoner contrived to 
 convey the dummy to an accomplice in front, receiv- 
 ing from him the genuine box, with which he de- 
 camped. 
 
 I have myself succeeded, by cross-examination in 
 cases where claims were made for injuries received 
 in railway accidents, in showing that the claimant had 
 not even been present at the time of the occurrence ; 
 
118 A GROSS FRAUD. 
 
 and I may mention that, in a case tried this very 
 year before the Lord Chief Justice, I assisted in ex 
 posing a very gross fraud of this nature attempted by 
 a medical man. No witnesses were called by the 
 company which I represented, and upon my cross-ex- 
 amination, supplemented by some very important 
 questions by the judge, the jury, upon the plaintiff's 
 evidence alone, found a verdict for the defendants, 
 and I believe the plaintiff had not been near the place 
 when the accident occurred. 
 
 Cross-examination has recently become more im- 
 portant than ever in sifting the evidence of profes- 
 sional witnesses in cases where injuries have been 
 sustained from the above class of accidents, and in 
 which the most eminent professional men occasion- 
 ally fall into grave errors, and I feel obliged to add 
 that some in the lower walks of the profession make 
 the manufacture of these cases a not unprofitable 
 trade. One of these worthies admitted in a recent trial 
 that he might have been engaged in a hundred of them. 
 
 A remark was recently made by the Lord Chief 
 Justice which accords most thoroughly with my ex- 
 perience, that perjury is greatly on the increase, and 
 although, when detected, severe punishments may 
 help to check it, it must be remembered that cross- 
 examination is the only means by which it can be 
 exposed. 
 
 I cannot forbear relating an anecdote in connection 
 with one of the most amiable and excellent of judges, 
 the late Lord Hatherley, when hewasVice-Chancellor. 
 I was counsel before him, and had to cross-examine 
 a very plausible, but certainly not truthful, witness 
 
MR. LUMLETS GARDEN PARTIES. H9 
 
 I did so with some severity, and I imagine that I 
 should have been successful before a jury. 
 
 His lordship, however, was of a different opinion, 
 and was much struck with the ingenuousness of the 
 young man, and he evidently thought that he had 
 been exposed to a cruel ordeal. As the witness him- 
 self was going out of the court, he was heard to 
 whisper to a friend, "Why, the old gent believed 
 every word I swore." x 
 
 I was very well acquainted with Mr. Rolt, the sec- 
 ond counsel in the case with an account of which I 
 commenced this chapter. I visited at his house, and 
 met him frequently at the Grarrick Club, and at the 
 houses of mutual friends. He was a most distinguish- 
 ed member of the Chancery bar, and became Lord 
 Justice. He planted the seeds of a premature death 
 by giving himself too little relaxation from intensely 
 hard work. I have seen him come into the club of 
 an evening looking worn and exhausted, swallow a 
 hasty dinner, and rush off to further labor. He earned 
 a high reputation, but paid a heavy price for it. Very 
 different in appearance and habits was another of the 
 counsel, Sir John Bayley, son of the eminent Baron 
 of the Exchequer. He was jovial, and kindly, and, 
 although esteemed a good lawyer, was more known 
 for his social than his legal eminence ; mainly through 
 his support and assistance, I became a member of the 
 Union Club, and through his kindness also I enjoyed 
 some of the most charming of gatherings at the 
 grounds of Mr. Lumley, situated on the banks of the 
 Thames, near Hammersmith Bridge. He was at that 
 
 'The term applied to his lordship was not of so refined a description. 
 
120 MR - DEL AFIELD. 
 
 time the lessee of Her Majesty's Theatre. The site 
 of his villa is now occupied by wharves. There, in the 
 midst of a most brilliant scene, were on these occa- 
 sions assembled distinguished guests of different ranks, 
 who were delighted to meet all that was bright and 
 beautiful in the theatrical and operatic world. At 
 one of these fetes, I remember two ex-Chancellors en- 
 joying the conversation of that most fascinating of dan- 
 seuses, Mademoiselle Duvernay. No doubt, as Lord 
 Campbell said of himself when he was met at Cre- 
 morne Gardens, they considered it their duty to study 
 the habits of all classes of the community. The period 
 when this occurred renders it unnecessary for me to 
 say that they were not Lord Selborne, Lord Cairns, 
 or Lord Hatherley. 
 
 Mr. Delafield, who had been a member of the great 
 brewing firm of Combe, Delafield and Company, took 
 to the less profitable venture of the Covent Garden 
 Opera House, and he also gave charming parties of 
 a similar character at a pretty villa on the Fulham side 
 of Putney Bridge. The large fortune with which he 
 retired from the brewery was soon engulfed in the 
 expenses of his operatic venture. And when, in after 
 years, I met him, as I did not unfrequently, he was 
 living at Brussels for the sake of economy, but seemed 
 to bear the loss of his fortune with philosophy and 
 cheerfulness. 
 
 Sir Fitzroy Kelly and Mr. Austin were both men 
 of mark, but I shall postpone any observations about 
 them to a future chapter. 
 
 I trust that I shall not be thought guilty of unjus- 
 tifiable vanity in recording the circumstances of the 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 121 
 
 case commencing this chapter, and quoting the obser- 
 vations of Lord Devon. I hope also that in the com- 
 ments that I have made upon the mode of dealing 
 with witnesses it will not be considered that I arro- 
 gate to myself any superior knowledge. At the same 
 time it is possible that a record of the experience I 
 have obtained in a long career may not be without 
 its use to some of my younger professional friends. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Iisr reviewing the above chapter, I cannot but feel 
 that it is more appropriate to readers of my own pro- 
 fession than to the general body of the public, and, 
 looking at it in that view, it is apparent that it is 
 very imperfect. It passes over an element quite as 
 important as cross-examination, namely, examina- 
 tion-in-chief, which I would venture to define as the 
 art of making a witness tell his story naturally and 
 in the manner most calculated to affect the minds of 
 the hearers favorably ; and in cases where facts are 
 complicated and witnesses either unwilling or unin- 
 telligent, a case is not unfrequently put in peril by 
 an inexperienced advocate having the duty cast upon 
 him. Instructions constantly contain much matter 
 that it is unnecessary and imprudent to introduce. 
 I can only lay down one rule that may be of service, 
 and which I venture to commend to my young friends 
 at the bar. Make yourself thoroughly acquainted 
 with the story that each witness has to tell, and with- 
 out following the proofs in the brief; make him tell 
 it in the way that if you were asking questions for 
 
122 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 your own information you would adopt, having made 
 notes of the signal points and important dates. 
 
 For other purposes trust to your own memory, and 
 mind skill in examination as well as cross-examina- 
 tion does not come from intuition ; and I have fre- 
 quently felt it was my duty to my client, and cer- 
 tainly intended no disrespect to my junior, to take a 
 witness that in order would be appropriated to him 
 into my own hands. 
 
 f 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 FAMOUS AUTHORS. 
 
 TNDER the colonnade of Covent Garden there 
 ^ existed a cluster of taverns : Evans's, the Gor- 
 don, New and Old Hnmmums, the Tavistock, the Pi- 
 azza, and the Bedford. The two last had been the 
 resort of noblemen and people of rank and distinction 
 in society, who dined there at hours that would now 
 be considered early, and consumed a considerable 
 quantity of port wine. So I have heard and read. 
 When I knew the houses themselves their glory had 
 waned, although the Piazza still carried its head some- 
 what higher than its neighbors. In a large room in 
 this tavern was held a nightly meeting called the 
 Shakespeare Club. Its name suggests its character, 
 and that of the majority of its members. Here it was 
 that for the first time I met Thackeray. His appear- 
 ance has often been described, and, although he was 
 then unknown to me, it at once commanded my at- 
 tention, tall above the ordinary height, and propor- 
 tionately broad. His face had been disfigured by a 
 blow received in boyhood, and in repose would have 
 been called plain. Although characterized by great 
 
 123 
 
124 THACKERAY. 
 
 solidity, it was only when he lifted his eyes that it 
 became illumined, and the observer felt that it was 
 one of rare intelligence. When I met him upon this 
 occasion, I was not aware that he was the author of 
 the papers published in "Fraser's Magazine" entitled 
 the Yellowplush Correspondence, which, in its anon- 
 ymous form, I had read with intense amusement, nor 
 have I found reason upon reperusal to alter my judg- 
 ment. I am not, however, a great worshiper of his 
 more elaborate works, although I do not presume to 
 dispute the great power, thought, and knowledge that 
 they exhibit. They present an unpleasant, and I do 
 not think entirely correct, view of human nature. I 
 believe it is better than he paints it. Thackeray ap- 
 pears almost to divide it into knaves and fools. My 
 experience — and much of it lias been gained amongst 
 what would be deemed the outcasts of society — is 
 that in every class there is much that is good and es- 
 timable ; but even assuming his views to be correct, 
 and that his novels are skillful and accurate analyses 
 of human nature, the scenes they exhibit sometimes 
 pain, and do not always amuse, me. Colonel New- 
 come, the very pattern of amiability, presents an un- 
 pleasant picture whilst victimized by an Asiatic swin- 
 dler, whom the reader sees through from the outset. 
 Doubtless the Colonel's resignation in adversity is 
 very noble, and affords an excellent example, but can 
 hardly be called a pleasant picture. 
 
 I follow the career of Becky Sharpe with mingled 
 compassion and disgust. I cannot imagine anything 
 more repulsive than her betrayal of her husband. And 
 I am not sure that the virtuous indignation of Colonel 
 
THA CKERA Y. \ 25 
 
 Crawley is quite consistent with his character as pre- 
 viously described. I do not forget "Pendennis," and 
 the old Major — a perfect sketch ; and I am almost 
 wonderstruck at the learning and research exhibited 
 in "Esmond," but when I read a novel I want a hero 
 who does not give me lessons, and I do not care for 
 the anatomy of human nature, however skillfully it 
 may be laid bare. 
 
 I am willing to admit and regret my heterodox 
 opinions and own myself to be whatever the great 
 mass of Thackeray's admirers may choose to call me, 
 but they are my opinions, and I do not wish to make 
 capital by borrowing those of other people. 
 
 Although not amongst his intimate friends, I met 
 him frequently. We were members together of the 
 Garrick Club, and I often saw him elsewhere. 
 
 I never thought him an agreeable companion. He 
 was very egotistical, greedy of flattery, and sensitive 
 of criticism to a ridiculous extent. He may have pos- 
 sessed great powers of conversation, but did not ex- 
 hibit them upon the occasions when I had an oppor- 
 tunity of judging. 
 
 He did not hesitate to introduce his associates and 
 the members of his club into his novels, and one of 
 these latter, a curious compound of drollery and sim- 
 plicity, named Archdeckne, 1 figures in " Pendennis" 
 under the name of Foker ; and on one occasion I 
 think that Albert Smith had great reason to complain 
 of his proceedings. 
 
 This gentleman and a poor fellow now dead, Joe 
 Robbins, had been associates and friends ; the latter, 
 
 1 I am told that this gentleman was by no means offended by the celebrity 
 he obtained through figuring in Thackeray's novel. 
 
126 THA GKERA T. 
 
 who originally had been in a lucrative business, quit- 
 ted it for the stage and got into a very sad plight. I 
 know that Albert Smith had been most considerate 
 and kind to him, but had on one occasion refused to 
 join in some subscription that had been set on foot on 
 his behalf. Thackeray circulated throughout the club 
 a caricature, in which the likenesses were unmistak- 
 able. Robbins was represented wounded by thieves 
 and being assisted by some good Samaritan, also por- 
 trayed, whilst Albert Smith, the Pharisee of the par- 
 able, was passing scornfully upon the other side. 
 There was another member of the club who had in- 
 judiciously published some remarks about him, for 
 which he pursued him with but little consideration 
 or mercy. And I cannot forbear expressing my sor- 
 row that a man so really great .should have descended 
 to most unworthy sneers at another equally great man 
 and brother author, Sir Edward Lytton Bulwer, as 
 he did on several occasions. 
 
 The last time I saw him was about three weeks 
 before his death. He was sitting alone at a table at 
 Evans's, poring over an obscure Irish journal in which 
 some derogatory remarks about himself were pub- 
 lished. He attributed them to an individual whom 
 I need not name, and was intensely angry, which I 
 confess I thought at the time was eminently absurd. 
 His description, however, of the Irish in many of his 
 works was not calculated to make him popular in that 
 country. Having ventured to make these strictures, 
 founded upon my observation and judgment, of a 
 man who has established a great mark on the litera- 
 ture of his age, I ought to mention a fact which was 
 
CHARLES DICKENS. J27 
 
 within my knowledge, that he suffered from a most 
 painful and irritating disease, and also that among 
 those who knew him well, and to whom he extended 
 his confidence and friendship, he was most enthusi- 
 astically beloved. 
 
 I remember one other member of the Shakespeare 
 Club, John Forster, the biographer of Dickens. His 
 temper was not a very comfortable one to deal with, 
 and I fancy was mainly instrumental in breaking the 
 club up. 
 
 At the house of some very agreeable people named 
 Levien, living in Woburn Place, I first had the pleas- 
 ure of meeting Charles Dickens, and also his sister, 
 a young lady of great talents and accomplishments, 
 who unfortunately died when still quite young. Dick- 
 ens had already won his spurs under the sobriquet of 
 Boz. He and Thackeray happened to be contempo- 
 raries, otherwise there was no similarity between 
 them, either in their writings or their character. 
 
 The works of both of them, published as they 
 were periodically, were eagerly looked forward to. 
 Their styles were very different: it may be said that 
 Thackeray invited thought and reflection, whilst Dick- 
 ens, although by no means losing sight of the true de- 
 lineation of human nature, showed that his main ob- 
 ject was to amuse. How great a genius it must have 
 been that immortalized Pickwick ! 
 
 -What other man could have enshrined such a mass 
 of absurdities in the minds of the public by genuine 
 fun and shrewd knowledge of human nature ? Bar- 
 dell against Pickwick is a burlesque, and yet there is 
 nothing impossible in a deaf judge or an inflated ad- 
 
128 CHARLES DICKENS. 
 
 dress by counsel, and a speculative firm of attorneys 
 may be found even during the present days of purity. 
 My dear old friend Toole still creates roars of laugh- 
 ter while personating Serjeant Buzfuz, in a wig and 
 gown with which I presented him for the purpose. 
 Mr. Pickwick becomes almost a hero when he goes 
 to prison upon principle. Many of Dickens's novels 
 had higher ends, which they have fully attained, and 
 some of the characters are drawn with a force of de- 
 scription and knowledge certainly not surpassed by 
 any writer of any age. 
 
 Imagine yourself in the parlor of a country inn on 
 a wet day. How the misery you are looking forward 
 to is changed into content by the discovery of one of 
 his novels ! They amuse man, woman, and child alike, 
 and they furnish good thoughts and kindly feelings to- 
 wards their fellow-creatures. I was very much at- 
 tached to Charles Dickens; there was a brightness and 
 geniality about him that greatly fascinated his com 
 panions. His laugh was so cheery, and he seemed 
 so thoroughly to enter into the feelings of those around 
 him. He told a story well and never prosily; he was 
 a capital listener, and in conversation was not in the 
 slightest degree dictatorial. 
 
 He, like Thackeray, was very sensitive, and I re- 
 member a period when his conduct had been so mis- 
 interpreted that he suffered agonies. No man pos- 
 sessed more sincere friends or deserved them better. 
 He was the best after-dinner speaker I ever heard, 
 and I cannot forbear recording a trifling incident that 
 occurred the last time I met him, and shortly before 
 his death. We were both dining at Mr. Cartwright's, 
 
MR. SERJEANT TALFOURD. 129 
 
 in Old Burlington Street ; I was sitting nearly oppo- 
 site to him, and referred to a speech that he had made 
 at the previous Royal Academy dinner in terms of 
 praise certainly not exaggerated. He replied, " Praise 
 from Sir Hubert ! " I and Mr. Spicer, a friend of his 
 and mine, had put him up at the Union Club, and, to 
 our great grief, the news of bis death reached us upon 
 the day on which he would have been elected. 
 
 A mutual friend, and one equally dear to us both, 
 was Mr. Serjeant, afterwards Mr. Justice, Talfourd, 
 lawyer, orator, and poet. Those who knew him will 
 never forget his kindly, genial face, the happiness ra- 
 diating from it when imparting pleasure to others, and 
 his generous hospitality extended in no niggard spirit. 
 
 He occupied a large house in Russell Square, and 
 the gatherings that frequently took place in it included 
 not only those who had obtained eminence in their 
 profession, but the young who were striving to do so. 
 Science and literature were represented by their most 
 distinguished members. Painters, poets, historians, 
 and actors mingled together and enjoyed themselves, 
 Talfourd moving about and welcoming his miscella- 
 neous company with cordial smiles and greetings. I 
 remember poor Frank, his eldest son, and whose youth 
 showed much promise (terminated, unhappily, by pre- 
 mature death), bending over the chair of a pretty and 
 popular actress with looks and words of devotion, and 
 it will be no improper breach of confidence to say 
 that she refused his hand lest at his early age she 
 might injure his prospects. He was an amusing writer, 
 and initiated the modern school of burlesque, and it 
 is no reflection upon the clever authors of the present 
 9 
 
130 MR - SERJEANT TALFOURD. 
 
 day to say that his works would bear comparison with 
 any of them. 
 
 Macready, always the actor, was happy to be the 
 guest of the author of " Ion," one of his best parts. 
 And there also he could converse with Sir Edward 
 Lytton Bulwer, whose plays of " The Lady of Lyons " 
 and " Richelieu " had furnished him with brilliant ma- 
 terials for the display of his talents. The author of 
 " The Hunchback " was no unworthy or unconsidered 
 guest. Huddleston also, who had been early appre- 
 ciated by his host, who never lost the opportunity of 
 giving beginners a lifting hand, was a frequent and 
 favored visitor. 1 
 
 And Albert Smith, full of life and jollity, but who 
 had not then climbed his mountain, seemed none the 
 less happy because he had not yet obtained fame. 
 How many others I might mention, and, alas ! how 
 many, with Talfourd himself have left the earthly stage ! 
 I need not say that it was not only in social and lit- 
 erary life that Talfourd distinguished himself. In the 
 House of Commons he was much respected, and his 
 successful efforts in carrying the Copyright Bill con- 
 ferred a real boon upon his brother authors. He at- 
 tained one of the objects of his ambition by a seat 
 upon the bench, and, as is well known, died suddenly 
 whilst in the performance of his duties at Stafford as- 
 sizes. 
 
 In the slight sketch I have ventured to offer to my 
 readers I must not forget to mention the great aid he 
 received from the loving, true, and cordial co-opera- 
 tion of Lady Talfourd, who, with her most charming 
 
 1 Mr. Huddleston went the same circuit as Mr. Serjeant Talfourd. 
 
NORTON AND LORD MELBOURNE. \^\ 
 
 daughters and niece, assisted with heartfelt cordiality 
 in diffusing happiness throughout the assembly. 
 
 When at the bar, Mr. Serjeant Talfourd was coun- 
 sel, in conjunction with Campbell and Thesiger, for 
 Lord Melbourne in the action brought against him by 
 Mr. Norton for criminal conversation. In his Diary 
 lately published, Lord Campbell does not mention the 
 names of either of these gentlemen. Serjeant Tal- 
 fourd was, as I know, retained at the express desire 
 of Mrs. Norton, and he always entertained ah un- 
 doubting conviction of her innocence. I was greatly 
 interested in the case, not only from its public char- 
 acter, but from the fact of being acquainted with both 
 Mr. and Mrs. Norton, the former being a brother mag- 
 istrate of my father. I had myself met the lady upon 
 one or two occasions. She was probably one of the 
 most beautiful women of her age, and extremely clever 
 and accomplished. There is no doubt that a great in- 
 timacy existed between her and Lord Melbourne, but 
 he was quite old enough to be her father, and was pos- 
 sessed of great power of conversation, and I see no 
 need whatever to assume impropriety, and certainly 
 none was proved by credible testimony. I have re- 
 cently read through the evidence very carefully, and 
 if I had been counsel for the defendant, I should not 
 have entertained any doubt of a successful result; in- 
 deed, I cannot understand how her husband could 
 have been so ill-advised as to bring the action. Not- 
 withstanding the ability of Sir William Follett, the jury 
 gave a verdict for the defendant without the slightest 
 hesitation. The case was tried in the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas, before Sir Nicholas Tindal, a most pains- 
 
132 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 taking judge. Mrs. Norton herself felt very acutely 
 the indignity she had been subjected to, but society 
 entirely absolved her — a conclusion that I have heard 
 was fully indorsed by Her Majesty, whose opinion must 
 have been a source of great comfort and satisfaction 
 to her in after life. 
 
 However innocent Lord Melbourne may have been, 
 Sir John Campbell was not justified in stating " that 
 his client solemnly and upon his honor declared his 
 innocence." Most clients would do the same if they 
 could find counsel who would lend themselves to re- 
 peating the assertion. Sir John was at this time the 
 leader of the bar, and this extremely unprofessional 
 proceeding was not a good example to his juniors. 
 He certainly told the jury in the same breath that 
 they ought not to be influenced by it. But Sir John 
 was not a man to waste his words. 1 
 
 In the course of my subsequent career I was fre- 
 quently engaged in cases before Mr. Norton. He 
 was an extremely pleasant, gentlemanly man, and a 
 good magistrate. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 I have been subject to some but not unkind 
 criticisms for my description of Thackeray. They 
 were genuine, and certainly not conceived in an 
 
 i The following are the words of the Attorney-General, copied from the 
 report of the trial in the Times newspaper, dated June 23, 1836 : "I think 
 it right, in the name of Lord Melbourne, to declare, as he has instructed 
 me to do in the most clear, emphatic, and solemn manner, that he never had 
 any criminal intercourse with Mrs. Norton, nor had he done anything in the 
 slightest degree to abuse the confidence of Mr. Norton. The jury were not 
 to be swayed by this declaration." 
 
POSTSCRIPT. -jog 
 
 unkindly spirit. It is with pleasure I mention a 
 conversation I had since my volume appeared with 
 Sir Henry Thompson, the eminent surgeon, who 
 told me that he had seen very much of him, and 
 had never met a man more kind-hearted, more 
 ready to listen to a tale of sorrow or want, or pos- 
 sessing more extended benevolence. 
 
CHAPTER XIL 
 
 LORD LYNDHUEST. 
 
 T ORD LYNDHURST, when I saw him upon 
 *~-^ the occasion I have related in a former chapter, 
 was of advanced age, but possessed a singularly noble 
 and prepossessing appearance. The intellect stamped 
 upon his features was accompanied by an expression 
 of kindliness, his voice was musical, his manner refined 
 and courteous. 
 
 His Life has been written by Lord Campbell, and 
 fully justified what he himself said when he heard 
 that it was contemplated, that the prospect added an- 
 other pang to death. 1 Although born at Massachu- 
 setts, it was whilst it was a loyal colony, and he was 
 consequently a British citizen. Llis father, an artist, 
 painted several pictures that obtained great reputation, 
 amongst others one now in the National Gallery, the 
 subject being the Death of Lord Chatham. I am not 
 aware whether it is considered a great work by con- 
 
 i I quote the following passage from a criticism upon Lord Campbell's 
 Lives of Lyndhurst and Brougham that appeared in the Times newspaper 
 of April 3, 1869 : "All through the Lives we see Lord Campbell running 
 a literary muck, striking right and left with so sublime an impartiality that 
 scarcely a man he jostles in the crowd of public characters he threads, escapes 
 unharmed." 
 
 134 
 
LORD LYNDHURST. 135 
 
 noisseurs. I do not myself like the treatment of the 
 subject. According to all his contemporaries, Lord 
 Lyndhurst, whilst at the bar, was a most brilliant and 
 successful advocate. His powers were tested in a case 
 in which, with Sir Charles Wetherall, he was retained 
 for the defense of a certain Dr. Watson, charged with 
 high treason. Upon reading the evidence, it is diffi- 
 cult to avoid wondering that instead of indicting him 
 for the capital offense, the officers of the Crown had 
 not proceeded against him for sedition. Lord Lynd- 
 hurst was at that time Mr. Serjeant Copley, and it fell 
 to his lot to sum up the facts in favor of the accused, 
 a duty which he performed with admirable skill and 
 judgment. I do not myself think that even with infe- 
 rior advocacy the conviction would have been warrant- 
 ed, although, in such cases, much depends upon the 
 prepossessions of the jury, and it was doubtless from 
 this knowledge that Mr. Serjeant Copley wound up his 
 address with an elaborate but most eloquent and pow- 
 erful appeal to them, entreating them to dismiss all 
 prejudice from their minds, and be governed solely by 
 a fair construction of the evidence. Lord Castlereagh, 
 a most influential member of the Government, was 
 upon the bench during the trial, and was greatly struck 
 by the ability displayed by the counsel, and through 
 his lordship's influence a seat in Parliament was ob- 
 tained for him, and subsequently he was made Solici- 
 tor-General. The Government under which he ac- 
 cepted the post was a Tory one, and Mr. Serjeant 
 Copley had always professed strong Liberal opinions. 
 He had not, however, taken any part in politics, nor 
 did he betray any confidence or trust. And whatever 
 
136 LORD LYNDHURST. 
 
 may have been the views of the party he joined, his 
 performance of the duties of his office was consistent 
 with the liberal sentiments that he had previously ex- 
 pressed. 
 
 My earliest recollection of him was when he was 
 holding the office of Chief Baron of the Exchequer, 
 and it was in that capacity that he pronounced judg- 
 ment in the celebrated case of Small v. Attwood. 
 This case involved many complicated facts, and the 
 question was as to the falsity or truth of certain rep- 
 resentations in relation to the qualities of a mine ; 
 and although his decision was reversed in the House 
 of Lords, it was admitted at the time to be a model 
 of clearness, and I believe now that the conclusion 
 he arrived at is considered to be sound law. 
 
 He did not hold the place of common-law judge 
 for long, but during that time gave satisfaction to the 
 public and the bar, to which latter he was kind and 
 considerate. The tendency .of his mind was always 
 to the side of mercy. He aided and encouraged an 
 inexperienced advocate, and was careful that a client 
 should not suffer through any deficiencies of counsel. 
 It is told of him that when he became Chancellor, 
 and upon one occasion was describing the principles 
 upon which he selected a judge, he said, "I look out 
 for a gentleman, and if he knows a little law so much 
 the better." Sir William Bolland, who I believe was 
 the first one he made, certainly fulfilled the former 
 condition. With Lord Lyndhurst's subsequent career 
 history has dealt, and with it I had no acquaintance, 
 except occasionally having listened to some of his 
 brilliant displays in the House of Lords when in op- 
 position to a Liberal ministry. 
 
SIR CHARLES WETHER ALL. 137 
 
 Sir Charles Wetherall, although engaged against 
 the Government in the case of Dr. Watson, was one 
 of the last specimens of a thorough Tory of the old- 
 est school. He was a very learned man, and much 
 respected for his conscientious adherence to opinions 
 that were getting much out of fashion ; but whilst 
 strait-laced in his principles, his ideas of dress were 
 much the reverse, in fact, he was one of the greatest 
 slovens that ever walked, and it was a wonder when 
 he did walk how his clothes and his body contrived 
 to keep together. He was Recorder of Bristol, where 
 his High Church and State views had not rendered 
 him particularly popular, and a story is told that dur- 
 ing the Bristol riots he made his escape from the fury 
 of the mob in the disguise of a clean shirt and a pair 
 of braces. 
 
 Reverting to the case before the House of Lords, 
 I ought not to pass over, without a few words, the 
 name of Charles Austin. He was a distinguished 
 lawyer and scholar, but latterly confined himself to 
 parliamentary business, in which he attained immense 
 success, and realized a large fortune. He did not add 
 to the character of the profession by accepting nu- 
 merous cases which he well knew he could not attend 
 to. Doubtless they were delivered by solicitors who 
 were aware of the risk they ran, and preferred tak- 
 ing it to the chance of his being retained against 
 them. I cannot, however, think the practice was 
 honorable or one that could be justified on any grounds 
 whatever. Mr. Austin himself retired early from the 
 profession, and, marrying the accomplished step- 
 daughter of Charles Dance, the author of many 
 
1 38 SIR FITZR Y KELL Y 
 
 comediettas, in the performance of which Madame 
 Vestris, Liston, Mathews, Mrs. Orger, and others de- 
 lighted the public, retired into Norfolk, his native 
 county, took to rural pursuits, and became Chairman 
 of Quarter Sessions, in which capacity he gave great 
 dissatisfaction to the county gentry by not properly 
 appreciating the enormity of poaching. 
 
 With Sir Fitzroy Kelly I early formed an acquaint- 
 ance, and was upon intimate terms with him down 
 to his death. He was a skilled lawyer, and most in- 
 dustrious, and, although not a brilliant speaker, earn- 
 est, forcible, and logical, and in cases involving tech- 
 nicalities and complicated details I never knew any 
 one his superior ; nothing ever disconcerted him or 
 turned him from his point. 
 
 One of the best instances I can recall of his advo- 
 cacy was when he was counsel for the London Docks 
 in an information laid against that company by the 
 Crown. I was with Sir A. Cockburn, then Attorney- 
 General, for the prosecution. Nothing could be heav- 
 ier than the subject, or more masterly than the way 
 with which Kelly dealt with it. He was listened to 
 by court and jury with rapt attention, and the reply 
 of the Attorney-General showed how much he felt 
 the overwhelming power of his opponent. There 
 was another case in which I remember him, and in 
 which a defendant had great reason to be grateful for 
 his advocacy. 
 
 This was a charge against a city merchant of 
 wealth and position named Zulueta, who was tried at 
 the Old Bailey for trafficking in slaves, the only in- 
 stance I fancy in which such an offense has been 
 
SIR FITZR T KELL Y. ^ 39 
 
 charged against an English citizen. The facts proved 
 against him were very formidable, and the view taken 
 by Mr. Justice Maule, the judge who tried him, was 
 unfavorable. The jury debated for a considerable 
 time, but ultimately returned a verdict of not guilty 
 Kelly was very ambitious, and his election for Ips- 
 wich was on one occasion followed by a petition which 
 was attended by a painful incident. I knew some- 
 thing of the circumstances. There had been a great 
 deal of bribery, and a person named Pilgrim had 
 been the principal agent of Kelly's party. He had 
 been got out of the way, of which fact Kelly must 
 have been aware. Charles Phillipps had undertaken 
 to conduct the case for him, but, tempted by a fee 
 elsewhere, had deserted it and left him to manage it 
 himself; whilst doing this he was most improperly 
 asked by a member of the committee if he knew any- 
 thing about Pilgrim, and he answered that he did not. 
 If his counsel had been asked such a question, he 
 could, with truth, have answered in a similar manner. 
 Kelly ought to have declined to answer at all, but of 
 course the inference then would have been conclusive 
 against him. But no sophistry can justify what he 
 did. It is well known that Sir Walter Scott con- 
 stantly denied that he was the author of " Waverley," 
 justifying himself by saying that when impertinent 
 questions were put to him he had a moral right to do 
 so ; but in all these cases it is the motive that colors 
 the act. There is, however, no doubt that the ques- 
 tion put upon this occasion was perfectly unjustifiable. 
 Sir Fitzroy was subsequently much persecuted by a 
 Mr. Wason, who had been his opponent upon the 
 
140 MARGARET WATERS. 
 
 above occasion, but who failed in his efforts to do him 
 any substantial injury. 
 
 Sir Fitzroy became Chief Baron upon the resigna- 
 tion of Sir Frederick Pollock. He was a most pains- 
 taking and conscientious judge, but latterly became 
 tedious, and doubtlessly interfered with the progress 
 of business. He died at an advanced age, and up to a 
 few days before his death, when I saw him, was in 
 full possession of his faculties, and exhibited the 
 greatest cheerfulness. 
 
 Kelly presided at the Central Criminal Court upon 
 the trial of a woman named Margaret Waters, charged 
 with murder. The case was known as the baby-farm- 
 ing case, and the accused was found guilty. I pros- 
 ecuted upon the part of the Crown, and although the 
 details were very shocking, and the conviction per- 
 fectly proper, I should have been glad if the jury had 
 given a more favorable verdict, and I did what I could 
 to obtain a commutation of the sentence of death ; 
 but Sir Fitzroy, although he had been a strenuous 
 advocate for abolishing the punishment of death, would 
 not interfere on this occasion, and the woman was ex- 
 ecuted. 
 
 There is no doubt, however, that a severe example 
 was required, as the system pursued was horrible in 
 the extreme. 
 
 Sir Fitzroy Kelly's appearance was very striking : 
 he had a finely chiseled face and regular features, with 
 an intelligent forehead and lively bright eyes; his man- 
 ner was somewhat artificial, and his demeanor, always 
 courteous, was of the old school. He was very hos- 
 pitable, and also went out a great deal into society, 
 
MR. JUSTICE JAMES ALAN PARK. \^1 
 
 where his pleasant manners and varied information 
 made him always welcome ; by his death I lost a most 
 kind and valued friend. 
 
 I ought, I think, before concluding this sketch, to 
 mention a trial in which he was engaged whilst at the 
 bar, and which entailed upon him, I think unjustly, a 
 good deal of ridicule. This was the case of Tawell, 
 a Quaker of eminent outward respectability, who, to 
 maintain it, had poisoned a woman with whom he was 
 connected, under circumstances of singular atrocity. 1 
 
 The poison indicated was prussic acid, and Sir 
 Fitzroy accepted the suggestion of Dr. Letheby, the 
 scientific chemist, that the odor discovered from the 
 stomach of the deceased might have been caused by 
 her eating, apple-pips. The folly of the suggestion 
 was due to Dr. Letheby, but I cannot approve of the 
 judgment of the counsel in accepting it. I shall have 
 something to say hereafter of the opinions in such 
 matters of professional witnesses ; for the present I 
 will only observe that, whilst listened to with respect 
 they ought to be adopted with great caution. 
 
 After I had been called some few years to the bar, 
 I was engaged in a case of some importance, but of 
 no interest to the public, and I only refer to it for the 
 purpose of introducing the name of Mr. Justice James 
 Alan Park, who presided upon that occasion, for the 
 last time before his death. He is not unworthy of be- 
 ing remembered as a lawyer of the old school, with 
 prejudices of the oldest. I am not sure whether he wore 
 a pig-tail ; he ought to have if he did not. He was sin- 
 
 1 Since these volumes were published, I have been informed that Tawell, 
 although professing to be a Quaker, had never been received into the body. 
 
142 ANECDOTE OF MIDLAND CIRCUIT. 
 
 gularly like His Majesty, George the Third, a fact of 
 which he was proud. He was called "St. James's 
 Park," to distinguish him from the judge of the same 
 name who was called "Green Park." He was well 
 versed in the more abstruse branches of the profession, 
 and was generally respected by the public and the bar. 
 In his latter days he had acquired a habit of thinking 
 aloud, which led on one occasion to a rather amusing 
 incident. Whilst trying an old woman upon a charge 
 of stealing faggots, he unconsciously ejaculated, 
 " Why, one faggot is as like another faggot as one 
 egg is like another egg" The counsel defending the 
 case heard the observation and repeated it to the 
 jury. " Stop," said Sir James — " stop ; it is an in- 
 tervention of Providence. This was the very thought 
 that passed through my mind. Gentlemen" (address- 
 ing the jury), " acquit the prisoner." 
 
 I cannot resist telling a story, although it does not 
 say much for the decorum of the old Midland Circuit, 
 or of the eminent lawyers who practiced upon it in 
 those days. Serjeants were then an institution, and 
 the old Midland boasted of many most learned and 
 eminent ones ; Goulburn, Clark, Vaughan, Adams, 
 Hayes, are no mean names, and were all of this rank ; 
 but those were times when even Serjeants were not 
 always distinguished for sobriety, and it so happened 
 that upon one particular evening much conviviality 
 had been indulged in, the merry party being congre- 
 gated at an hotel where the judge, Sir James Alan 
 Park, was staying. One of the body had escaped 
 early, and was supposed to have gone to bed, contrary 
 to all circuit rules ; it was determined to seek him, 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 143 
 
 and the whole party, with as much steadiness as they 
 could preserve, entered what they supposed to be his 
 bedroom, and jerked the clothes off the bed of its 
 sleeping occupant. Imagine their horror when they 
 were confronted with the venerable countenance of 
 the judge. 
 
 Their disappearance was quickly made, and grave 
 deliberations were entered into as to what was to be 
 done, and it was determined that Serjeant Goulburn, 
 a great favorite and friend of his lordship, should ex- 
 plain and apologize. Accordingly next morning, with 
 no small trepidation, he proceeded to do so, stating 
 whom it was intended to have awakened. "No, no," 
 said Sir James, shaking his head, "brother Goulburn, 
 it was no mistake, for I heard my brother Adams say, 
 ' Let us unearth the old fox.' " 
 
 Many other tales are told of the merry days of a 
 circuit that nevertheless produced some of the bright- 
 est ornaments of our profession, and upon whose re- 
 cords are inscribed names that will never perish, those 
 of Copley and Denman. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Tawell, whose execution for murder I have re- 
 ferred to in this chapter, although professedly a 
 Quaker, was not a member of the Society of Friends. 
 He was always distrusted by that body, having been 
 mixed up with transactions of a disreputable char- 
 acter upon former occasions. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ME. BARON PARKE. 
 
 HP HE learned judge who obtained the sobriquet of 
 ■*- Green Park, to distinguish him from Mr. Jus- 
 tice James Alan Park, was one of the Barons of the 
 Exchequer, and in my opinion no man ever held a 
 place upon the bench with greater honor to himself 
 and benefit to the public. Undoubtedly he had his 
 defects, but in the higher attributes of his office he 
 has never been surpassed. 
 
 Much of his character was reflected upon his coun- 
 tenance, which exhibited great power and intelli- 
 gence. Upon the bench his deportment was grave 
 without being in the slightest degree pompous. He 
 paid the most profound attention to the proceedings, 
 never exhibited signs of impatience, was courteous to 
 every one alike, and would now and then go out of 
 his way to say a kindly word of encouragement to a 
 beginner. He was admitted to be a learned and ac- 
 complished lawyer, although accused of yielding his 
 mind too much to the subtleties of the profession. 
 He loved the law, and probably, like lovers of more 
 material things, could see no fault in the object of his 
 love. His tendency to uphold technical views gave 
 144 
 
BARON PARKE. 
 
 145 
 
 rise to a very clever squib by the late Mr. Justice 
 Hayes, in which the spirit of the baron is supposed 
 to arrive in Hades, where, instead of receiving the 
 applause that he expected from admiring ghosts, he is 
 mobbed by several of them, who had been obliged to 
 quit their earthly tenements before he had settled a 
 point really immaterial to their respective claims. 
 
 When late one day at a party, he told a lady of my 
 acquaintance that he could not tear himself away from 
 a beautiful demurrer. His fondness for fresh air will 
 long be remembered by those engaged in some of the 
 trials over which he presided. On the coldest day in 
 the early spring he insisted upon every window of 
 the court being open, and the jury, each member with 
 a different colored handkerchief over his head, a shiv- 
 ering sheriff and despairing Ordinary, presented a 
 sufficiently comical scene to those not too frozen to 
 be amused by it. He was occasionally in the habit 
 of sitting until late in the evening, which I am obliged 
 to say I cannot altogether excuse, as very few of 
 those engaged in a cause had equal powers of en- 
 durance with himself. He suffered fearfully from 
 gout, but this never affected his temper, or impaired 
 his faculties. Upon his retirement from the bench 
 he was created a life peer, but objections being taken 
 to the power of the Crown to establish such an office, 
 he received a peerage in the usual way, and was called 
 up to the House of Lords under the title of Baron 
 Wensleydale, and here he assisted most usefully upon 
 the hearing of appeals. He might be seen of an after- 
 noon wending his way to the House upon a roan cob, 
 as grave and respectable in its deportment as its rider 
 10 
 
146 MURDER GASES. 
 
 He did not survive his promotion very long, and, leav- 
 ing no male issue, the title became extinct. 
 
 Baron Parke presided in two cases on the Home 
 Circuit in which I was engaged to defend the prison- 
 ers. They were both charges of murder: one was tried 
 at Chelmsford, and the other at Lewes. I look back 
 to them with considerable interest. They were the 
 first in which I was counsel and where the life of a 
 client was involved ; and I think that the circumstances 
 of both of them were such as to render them worth 
 relating. 
 
 In the first case, a young woman of somewhat pre- 
 possessing appearance was charged with poisoning 
 her husband. They were people in a humble class 
 of life, and it was suggested that she had committed 
 the act to obtain possession of money from a burial 
 fund, and also that she was on terms of improper in- 
 timacy with a young man in the neighborhood. 
 
 The solicitor instructing me was vehement in ex- 
 pressing belief in his client's innocence. I was of a 
 different opinion. He, acting upon his belief, desired 
 that certain witnesses should be called. I, governed 
 by my convictions, absolutely refused to do so, offer- 
 ing at the same time to return my brief. This, how- 
 ever, was refused, and I was left to exercise my own 
 responsibility. The above question frequently arjses, 
 and some counsel have considered themselves bound 
 to obey the wishes of the solicitor. There is no doubt 
 that this is the safest course for the advocate, for if 
 he does otherwise and the result is adverse he is like- 
 ly to be much blamed, and the solicitor also is exposed 
 to disagreeable comments; but I hold, and have al- 
 
CASE OF POISONING. 147 
 
 ways acted upon the opinion, that the client retains 
 counsel's judgment, which he has no right to yield to 
 the wishes or opinions of any one else. He is bound, 
 if required, to return his brief, but if he acts against 
 his own convictions he sacrifices, I think, his duty as 
 an advocate. When the case came on, another inci- 
 dent occurred in which again I was called upon to ex- 
 ercise my view against the wishes of the solicitor. 
 He desired that I should challenge one of the jury- 
 men, but, not giving what I thought were valid 
 grounds, I refused to do so, thinking then, and I have 
 no reason since for considering otherwise, that using 
 this privilege produces an unfavorable effect and that 
 it ought never to be exercised except upon very sub- 
 stantial grounds. 
 
 I do not propose to go through the details of the 
 trial. It is sufficient to say that a minute quantity of 
 arsenic was discovered in the body of the deceased, 
 which in the defense I accounted for by the sugges- 
 tion that poison had been used carelessly for the de- 
 struction of rats. Mr. Baron Parke summed up not 
 unfavorably to the prisoner, dwelling pointedly upon 
 the small quantity of arsenic found in the body, and 
 the jury without much hesitation acquitted her, and, 
 oddly enough, the juryman whom it was suggested I 
 should challenge showed himself strongly in her favor 
 throughout the trial. Dr. Taylor, the professor of 
 chemistry, and an experienced witness, had proved 
 the presence of arsenic, and, as I imagine, to the great 
 disappointment of my solicitor, who desired a severe 
 cross-examination, I did not ask him a single question. 
 He was sitting on the bench and near the judge, who, 
 
148 MURDER AT HASTINGS. 
 
 after he had summed up and before the verdict was 
 pronounced, remarked to him that he was surprised 
 at the small amount of arsenic found; upon which 
 Taylor said that if he had been asked the question he 
 should have proved that it indicated, under the cir- 
 cumstances detailed in evidence, that a very large 
 quantity had been taken. 
 
 The professor had learned never to volunteer evi- 
 dence, and the counsel for the prosecution had omit- 
 ted to put the necessary question. Mr. Baron Parke, 
 having learned the circumstance by accidental means, 
 did not feel warranted in using the information, and I 
 had my first lesson in the art of u silent cross-exami- 
 nation." 
 
 Some years after, at the Central Criminal Court, I 
 was engaged in an unimportant trial, the prosecutrix 
 of which was a comely middle-aged woman. The 
 officer in the case told - me that she was my old 
 Chelmsford client. She had married her former 
 lover, and they were keeping a public house in the 
 east end of London under other names, and bore 
 highly respectable characters. 
 
 On the outskirts of the town of Hastings, at the 
 time of the occurrences I am about to relate — a time 
 that my readers may guess when I tell them the rail- 
 way had not extended beyond Tunbridge — there lived 
 in a detached residence an elderly couple of respecta- 
 ble position. Their establishment consisted of two 
 maid-servants and a housekeeper, who had for many 
 years been a valued and trusted servant. A man 
 whom we will call Smith — his real name has escaped 
 my memory — had been footman, but had left some 
 
MURDER AT HASTINGS. 149 
 
 weeks before. It was upon a certain Sunday at this 
 date that, according to their usual custom, the master 
 and mistress and the two maid-servants had gone to 
 morning church, leaving the house in charge of the 
 housekeeper. Upon their return, shortly before one 
 o'clock, they found the old lady weltering in her 
 blood, barbarously murdered. Plunder had evidently 
 been the object, as many articles were missing, and 
 the poor creature had probably met her fate endeav- 
 oring to protect the property of her employers. 
 
 A reward was offered for the discovery of the mur- 
 derer, and in the result Smith was apprehended and 
 ultimately tried at the Lewes assizes before Mr. 
 Baron Parke, and I was retained for and defended him. 
 
 It appeared that upon the Saturday afternoon pre- 
 ceding the murder he had been met in London by 
 an acquaintance, to whom he had applied for the loan 
 of some small sum of money. He told this person 
 that he was going to return to Hastings, and at about 
 half-past eleven o'clock on the Sunday morning he 
 passed through a turnpike gate upon the outskirts of 
 the town, and near to the house where the crime was 
 afterwards committed. He was well known to the 
 turnpike-man, who proved this fact, and no doubt 
 was thrown upon the accuracy of these witnesses. 
 The subsequent evidence, if true, was conclusive of 
 his guilt, and yet partly through error and mismanage- 
 ment by the police, and partly through falsehood and 
 exaggeration introduced by the witnesses in hopes 
 of the reward, it crumbled to pieces, and I obtained 
 an acquittal with the entire concurrence of the judge, 
 although neither he nor I had the slightest doubt of 
 the prisoner's guilt. 
 
150 FALSE EVIDENCE. 
 
 The first witness called was a cobbler, of a relig- 
 ious turn of mind. He swore that he was taking home 
 a pair of boots to a customer, and being ashamed to 
 be seen pursuing carnal avocations on the Lord's day, 
 he had gone through some fields behind the house 
 where the murder took place, and saw the prisoner 
 entering by the back way. Under cross-examina- 
 tion he speedily came to grief. No one in court 
 could doubt that his evidence was utterly false. He 
 could not tell who his customer was, and as for the 
 boots they were perfectly mythical, and he was obliged 
 to admit that he had been very 'diligent in his inquiries 
 about the reward. 
 
 The stolen property was found under a hedge, con- 
 cealed in a pocket-handkerchief, which I have no 
 doubt whatever belonged to the prisoner, and one of 
 the maid-servants swore that she had seen him using 
 it when formerly he had been her fellow-servant, but 
 by way of making her evidence more conclusive, 
 pointed to a hole which she declared she noticed at 
 that time. A washerwoman from London was called 
 also to speak to it. She had washed it after he had 
 left the service, and she swore positively that there 
 was no hole in it when in her possession. Footsteps, 
 identified by the police as the prisoner's, were said 
 to have been discovered near the place where the 
 property was found, but the gravest doubt was thrown 
 upon this evidence by a riding-master, who declared 
 that after the articles must have been deposited where 
 they were found, and before the discovery, there had 
 been a storm which, to use his own expression, would 
 have washed out the hoof-marks of a horse ; in truth, 
 
MISTAKEN IDENTITY. 151 
 
 the whole of the evidence was tainted by the exist- 
 ence of a promised reward. 
 
 The discrepancies which were patent, and the un- 
 doubted falsehood told by the cobbler, were sufficient, 
 in themselves, to wreck the case ; but another por- 
 tion of the evidence produced failed in so singular a 
 manner, that anything like a conviction was rendered 
 impossible. 
 
 The prosecution undertook to prove that the pris- 
 oner was at a village between Tunbridge and Hast- 
 ings called Robertsbridge on the night before the 
 murder. This proof was obviously superfluous, as the 
 evidence of the turnpike-man was undisputed, and 
 brought the prisoner conclusively upon the spot of 
 the murder. But this endeavor gave rise to the most 
 dramatic scene I ever witnessed in a court of justice. 
 The postman of Robertsbridge swore positively to 
 having met him, and, noticing that he was looking 
 tired, invited him to come to a public house and take 
 a glass of ale ; that he did so, and remained for some 
 half-hour talking to him and three other persons, who 
 corroborated this statement. None of them had the 
 slightest doubt of his identity. Nor were they shaken 
 by cross-examination. They not only recognized his 
 person, but having heard him speak before the magis- 
 trate, stated that they remembered the tone of his 
 voice. At my request a person was placed in the dock 
 beside him. The postman was desired to look at the 
 two then standing together. He trembled, turned 
 ghastly pale, and I thought he would have fainted. 
 The excitement in court was intense, and a pin might 
 have been heard to drop. The likeness between the 
 
152 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 two men was marvelous ; the postman looked and 
 looked again ; at last he gasped out, " I do not know 
 which is the man." And, in fact, he had been mis- 
 taken ; it was incontrovertibly shown that the man I 
 produced was the person whom the postman had met. 
 He had come down by the same train as the prisoner, 
 and was on the way to Hastings at the time he was 
 met at Pobertsbridge. He had not appeared at the 
 preliminary proceedings, not wishing, for family rea- 
 sons, that his journey to and from London should be 
 known. Thinking, however, that his silence might 
 endanger the life of a fellow-creature, he had com- 
 municated with the prisoner's solicitor. Either the 
 police knew of his existence, in which case the Rob- 
 ertsb ridge witnesses ought never to have been pro- 
 duced, or they must have been guilty of gross negli- 
 gence if they did not. 
 
 I have since endeavored to find out what had be- 
 come of the accused man after his acquittal. I heard 
 that for a short time he had been guard to a coach, 
 but could learn nothing of his subsequent career. 
 The learned Baron had summed up the case with his 
 usual clearness and impartiality. The jury did not 
 debate for five minutes, and to illustrate a habit of the 
 learned judge, to which I have already alluded, when 
 they were pronouncing the verdict of " not guilty " a 
 neighboring clock was tolling the hour of midnight. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 The juries in both the cases recorded in the 
 above chapter exhibited the most untiring atten- 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 153 
 
 tion, and this is a characteristic of this tribunal in 
 cases involving serious issues, whether criminal or 
 civil. There seems at the present time a disposition 
 to undervalue it in legal proceedings, and a dis- 
 tinction is drawn between criminal and civil cases ; 
 but if they are useful and necessary, as seems to be 
 admitted in the latter, I cannot see why they should 
 be dispensed with in the former: in both, their 
 function is to deal with facts. The result, no doubt, 
 must greatly depend upon the judge, whose duty it 
 is to preside and, by his technical knowledge and 
 experience, bring the facts clearly before the jury ; 
 and I do not think that this tribunal is always to 
 be blamed for what may sometimes be deemed an 
 absurd and inconsistent conclusion. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 IMPRESSIONS OF SWITZERLAND AND HOMBURG. 
 
 A /[" Y readers will have discovered by this time, if 
 ■*-*■*- I had not already told them, that whilst I pledge 
 myself to the substantial accuracy of the facts I relate, 
 I possess but little method in stating them. I rarely 
 give dates, and make no attempt at chronological or- 
 der; all I seek is to reproduce impressions that ^w ere 
 made upon me at the time of the occurrences to which 
 they refer, and my opinions and thoughts upon them, 
 for whatever they may be worth, and thus, in defiance 
 of all order, travel from grave to trivial, and from 
 matters of business to those merely of pleasure. 
 
 My last chapter might have been extracted from the 
 " Newgate Calendar." I will now ask my readers to 
 imagine a certain long vacation, and, quitting the re- 
 gion of crime, to accompany me upon a very unpre- 
 tending excursion to what I have always thought the 
 most beautiful of lands. My passport has been ob- 
 tained, and I have without a sign of regret bidden 
 adieu for the present to forensic costume, and am at- 
 tired for foreign travel. Switzerland is my goal, and 
 there I expect to meet my old friend, Albert Smith ; 
 it is the year after he has taken possession of Mont 
 154 
 
ALBERT SMITH. I55 
 
 Blanc, and has laid the foundation of a fortune which, 
 up to this time, had been coy to no unworthy court- 
 ship. For he was a man of genius, and, if inferior 
 to Thackeray and Dickens, he was by no means want- 
 ing in the descriptive powers of the latter author. 
 He possessed much sense of humor, and was capable 
 of writing a story that maintained a strong interest 
 throughout with the reader. As a companion he was 
 full of fun, and bubbled over with high spirits. He 
 had passed some years of his early life in Paris in the 
 study of medicine, and could record many an amus- 
 ing scene of the Quartier Latin. He spoke French 
 fluently, and the good-looking, fair-haired young Eng- 
 lishman must have been a favored partner at the dances, 
 when grisettes, now a departed class, after the honest 
 labor of the day, indulged in much joyousness with- 
 out coarseness or crime. 
 
 One of his early productions was a novel called 
 " Mr. Ledbury's Tour." It was extremely entertain- 
 ing from the beginning to the end; the first volume 
 contains some powerful writing ; it also gives the ac- 
 count of an incident which happened when I was in 
 his company. We were returning from some place 
 of amusement, and were walking on the banks of the 
 Seine close to the Pont Neuf, when we were startled 
 by a splash. We saw a body in the stream about the 
 centre under the bridge — only for a moment, and then 
 the dark waters closed over it. On the following day 
 the lifeless body of a good-looking young man, appar- 
 ently English, was stretched out upon the slab of the 
 Morgue. His dress betokened that he was of the 
 better class. I never learned any of the facts con- 
 
156 FIRST VIEW OF THE RHINE. 
 
 nected with the catastrophe, and do not know whether 
 the account of the gambling-house scene introduced 
 into "Mr. Ledbury's Tour" has been founded upon 
 any knowledge subsequently obtained of this unfortu- 
 nate man's history. 
 
 I had engaged to meet my friend at Geneva, but 
 will commence my tour at that well-known refuge for 
 travelers, the Trois Rois at Basle. Fancy that I am 
 standing in its spacious hall, awaiting the decision of 
 a grave official as to whether I shall be allowed to en- 
 ter farther within its precincts. I am at last invited 
 to climb a number of stairs, fit preparation for mount- 
 ain travel, and am assigned a few feet of uncarpeted 
 floor with a tiny bed, but sheets very tempting in their 
 whiteness. I hear a rushing noise, and looking out of 
 the little window of my room I see for the first time 
 the broad expanse of the Rhine hastening upon its 
 downward voyage to the ocean. 
 
 It was long before I could tear myself from the view 
 of the mighty river. It was an autumn evening, and 
 a moon nearly at its full was silvering the waters as 
 they careered along, whilst small lights began to show 
 themselves from the gabled buildings on the opposite 
 side, and, when I cast my eyes up the stream, the hills 
 but dimly seen furnished the imagination with a glo- 
 rious promise of beauty and grandeur. 
 
 I descend into the well-known salon. The table 
 dliote is over, and the tables are laid out for tea ; 
 everything looks fresh. Honey, the prominent feature 
 of the tea-table, tempts to a beverage of which the 
 innocence is in keeping with the purity of the scene. 
 
 There is a balcony outside running the entire length 
 
THE HOTEL DES TROIS ROIS. ^57 
 
 of the room ; it is here that Anthony Trollope has 
 fixed the locality of one of his charming love-scenes. 
 And where could be found a better 1 The warm soft 
 feeling of an early autumn evening, the moon upon the 
 waters, the music of the stream — all these, perchance, 
 as new sensations as the words of a first love whis- 
 pered in their presence. 
 
 Let us now go to the front of the hotel, where in 
 those days was witnessed a sight that will never be 
 seen there again — a large open space filled with car- 
 riages of every description, and coachmen in every 
 guise, the tinkling of bells, and now and again the loud 
 cracking of whips, which secure a space for traveling- 
 carriages to dash up to the door, where an obsequious 
 porter receives the inmates. The conveyances waiting 
 around have deposited their freights, and their drivers 
 are looking out for the chance of a party returning 
 to the localities to which they respectively belong. 
 
 Now all is changed. The railway disgorges its 
 hundreds at fixed times. The only vehicles to be 
 seen are the unromantic omnibuses, and a miscel- 
 laneous crowd hustle their way into the hotel, their 
 object apparently being to visit the greatest number 
 of places in the shortest possible period ; the most 
 earnest inquiries generally being about the time 
 that the next train will start. 
 
 The Rhine still pursues its downward course from 
 the mountains. The Trois Rois stands where it did, 
 the same official disposes of the human mass, but in- 
 stead of the groups that one remembers dwelling with 
 newly awakened sensations of pleasure at a beautiful 
 and novel scene, and viewing with interest the curi- 
 
158 MEETING WITH ALBERT SMITH. 
 
 osities of the country which ornament the saloons, 
 there appears to have sprung up a feeling of indiffer- 
 ence. "Move on, move on," seems to be the cry. The 
 crack of the postilion's whip and the jingling bells 
 of the horses are no longer heard : they have been su- 
 perseded by the scream of the steam-engine, and the 
 traveler, hot and almost suffocated by the closeness 
 of the railway carriage, passes in a semi-comatose 
 state through the most lovely and glorious of nature's 
 works. From Basle I went to Zurich, sharing a car- 
 riage with two travelers whom I accidentally met. A 
 charming drive it was : it is now accomplished by train. 
 And upon this journey it was that for the first time a 
 range of snow-clad mountains presented themselves 
 to my wondering eyes, a sight, indeed, that surpassed 
 everything that my imagination had pictured. From 
 Zurich I hastened on to Geneva, where, at one of the 
 hotels in the town — the palaces since built did not 
 then exist — I met my friend Albert Smith and his 
 brother Arthur, and with them innocently amused 
 myself by catching small fish and admiring the ex- 
 quisite scenery of the lake. After a day or two I ac- 
 companied them to Chamouni, where I profited by 
 the celebrity that they had acquired. It is sad to 
 think that none of us will ever hear again the story 
 told by Albert of his ascent of the great mountain. 
 His pleasant voice and manner and really graphic 
 description of the incidents gave it a great charm, 
 and his introduction, under the title of " Gralignani's 
 Messenger," of a topical song, was a great success. 
 The prettily ornamented room at the Egyptian Hall 
 was nightly filled, and the amusement afforded was 
 
HO M BURG. 159 
 
 of a kind that offered no impediment to the presence 
 of the most strait-laced of moralists. 
 
 In returning from Geneva I passed over the Jura, 
 one of the most lovely ranges of mountains in Switz- 
 erland, now lost to the traveler in consequence of the 
 railway. From the banquette of the diligence each 
 turn of the road presented a new scene of beauty to 
 its occupier. Having reached Dijon, at which place 
 we stopped, the journey home was shortly accom- 
 plished. I cannot imagine that the impression made 
 by this my first visit to Switzerland w T ill ever be ef- 
 faced. 
 
 A very different place, dependent more upon art 
 than natural beauty, although by no means deficient in 
 the latter quality, was Homburg. Sparkling it was 
 and brilliant when I first saw it, which was a long time 
 ago. Its beauties and its naughtinesses have been 
 often described. 
 
 How joyous was the scene it presented in the early 
 morning, and who would guess that any of the gayly 
 dressed throng crowding round the springs were in- 
 valids in search of health ! Everything was there 
 that could enliven. The crisp air, through which vi- 
 brated the lively strains of music, gave freshness to 
 the charms of the scene. What a place for a gossip, 
 orfor a flirtation ! Dangerous, I admit, for under such 
 influences words may be spoken not easily, if re- 
 pented, to be recalled. Those seats with honeysuck- 
 les and jasmine twining around the trellis-work have, 
 I will venture to say, been the scene of many a vow 
 breathed, and many a soft response. Then the pa- 
 rade, shaded on each side by trees, was crowded with 
 
160 VISITORS AT HOMBUR G. 
 
 company exchanging friendly salutes as they sauntered 
 from one spring to the other. The visitors on the oc- 
 casion I am now thinking of were principally Eng- 
 lish, most of them well known in the world of fame 
 and fashion. I could mention the names of many la- 
 dies, but it would be invidious to select among so 
 much that was beautiful in the fair sex any particular 
 example. 
 
 Amongstthemen one figure might every morningbe 
 seen striding manfully along, battling gallantly with 
 an old enemy, the gout, recognizing with a kindly nod 
 and smile those whom he knew — and they were many, 
 for with one of the known characteristics of his fam- 
 ily he never forgot a face. This was the Duke of 
 Cambridge, who annually sought these springs, and 
 was always an object of interest to his fellow-coun- 
 trymen. Another visitor, seen also frequently leaning 
 upon a gentleman's arm and pacing slowly up and 
 down, was the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Strelitz, 
 the blind prince, his great calamity making him the 
 object of compassion, whilst the courage with which 
 he bore it obtained for him feelings of admiration and 
 respect. It was my great privilege to join some small 
 parties in which he entertained many affectionate 
 friends, and in the course of which he displayed qual- 
 ities proving that his grievous calamity had in no re- 
 spect impaired his power of feeling as well as of im- 
 parting intellectual enjoyment. It was during this 
 visit to Homburg that I had the honor of being in- 
 troduced to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, 
 from whom since that time I have met with many in- 
 stances of kindly feeling. In the evening, after the 
 
GAMBLING ROOMS. \Q\ 
 
 cafe's and hotels had, in some instances, furnished rea- 
 sonably good dinners, a different scene was presented 
 in another locality. On a terrace outside the conver- 
 sation-rooms were numerous tables, seated at which 
 the visitors were enjoying coffee, ices, and no small 
 quantity of beer. They were composed of all ranks, 
 ladies of the highest, in costumes of exquisite taste, 
 mingling with the peasantry from the surrounding 
 country, decked in their village finery ; and mixing 
 amongst the crowd were to be met the flashily-dressed 
 tradesman from Frankfort, and the unlucky gambler 
 who had just lost his last napoleon. A fine band 
 played a succession of popular airs, and thus the even- 
 ing afforded a fund of amusement to those content to 
 enjoy the natural beauties of the place and the means 
 of enhancing them so liberally supplied by the pro- 
 prietor of the gambling establishment. There were 
 occasional operas, at which Patti delighted the visit- 
 ors, and the drives in the surrounding woods afforded 
 both health and pleasure in the daytime to those who 
 preferred to seek them to the fascinations presented 
 in the gorgeous saloons of the establishment. It was 
 in these that the naughtinesses prevailed. I wish I 
 was able to speak of them with becoming reproba- 
 tion, but prefer to leave this office to others better 
 qualified to do so. 
 
 No doubt all the evil passions which are supposed 
 to emanate from a certain place were present at the 
 gambling tables, but there was such an air of decorum 
 that they were concealed from an ordinary observer. 
 A serious lady of my acquaintance called it a feast of 
 Satan ; but the attendants upon the banquet were so 
 11 
 
162 GAMBLING SYSTEMS. 
 
 decently clad, and conducted themselves so quietly, 
 and looked altogether so very respectable, that it was 
 difficult to take them for that gentleman's satellites. 
 Still, the word of the moralist went forth : Homhurg 
 was purified, and gambling driven into holes and cor- 
 ners where there is no supervision to prevent the 
 worst of frauds, or else it has a decent coat put on and 
 is called speculation. 
 
 I wonder whether Monsieur Blanc in his splendid 
 palaces, with his refaits and zeros, has broken more 
 hearts and disseminated more ruin than that scrupu- 
 lously washed and dressed gentleman whom on a Sun- 
 day you may see walking so decorously to church, 
 who occupies two dirty rooms in Throgmorton Street, 
 and is a shareholder in that mighty gambling house, 
 the Stock Exchange. 
 
 Before bidding adieu to Homburg it is only right 
 to say that everything was conducted with perfect 
 fairness. No imputation to the contrary has ever been 
 suggested. Every one knew or might have known the 
 chances secured to the tables. No one could fail to 
 see around him, in the amusements and luxuries pro- 
 vided by the proprietor for the visitors, proof of the 
 enormous profits he must be realizing ; and, independ- 
 ently of the advantages incident to the tables, the most 
 important of which was the limit that players were re- 
 stricted to, and which almost without an exception 
 could beat the capitalist, whilst the funds of the bank 
 defeated the smaller speculators — it really was a ma- 
 chine working uninfluenced by passion or feeling 
 against those who were operated upon intensely by both. 
 
 Most of the habitues practiced a system, but I nev- 
 
RUINED GAMBLERS. 1(33 
 
 er yet knew of a case in which it succeeded for any 
 length of time, although I have heard and known of 
 large sums won by strokes of luck where the player 
 has succeeded without any pretense to science or cal- 
 culation. Around the table, and wandering listlessly 
 about the rooms, might be seen shabbily-dressed in- 
 dividuals, apparently without an object on earth : they 
 are ruined gamblers — the passion still strong upon 
 them, the means of gratifying it departed. You might 
 sometimes see one of these individuals move stealthily 
 up to an apparent novice, and suggest to him that for 
 a few florins he could teach him an invaluable mode 
 of play. If the novice listens to him he will explain 
 the mere accident which prevented his own success. 
 Perhaps he obtains what would get him one decent 
 meal, but with flushed face he creeps to the roulette 
 table, puts the piece upon his favorite number, with 
 a haggard smile upon his face sees it swept off by the 
 croupier, and steals back penniless and starving,* to 
 continue his hopeless wanderings. 
 
 An observer might also notice certain ladies who, 
 whatever might be their character, are quiet and un- 
 obtrusive. When first seen they shine with much 
 jewelry ; this from day to day diminishes, and finally 
 the whole has disappeared. 
 
 I do not fail to remember that Mr. Goldsmidt, the 
 obliging banker, in High Street, had always some dia- 
 monds that he could sell you, "a very great bargain." 
 
 The countenances of the visitors departing from 
 Homburg are graver than they were when starting 
 to reach it. It is to be hoped that enough remains in 
 their pockets to secure a meal at the Hotel de Russie 
 at Frankfort, which, if anything can do it, will restore 
 
1£4 MODE OF OBTAINING A SEAT AT THE TABLE. 
 
 their cheerfulness. Stories are told of the hotel keep- 
 ers at Homburg having some specific by which they 
 find out when their customers are ruined, and furnish 
 them with means to take their unlucky carcasses to 
 some other locality, where they may dispose of them 
 as they please. 
 
 Upon one occasion I must own to having been 
 guilty of a very unjustifiable ruse to get possession of 
 a seat at a rouge-et-noir table. It was occupied by 
 a lady well known at the springs : she was of the 
 highest respectability, and although she could not re- 
 sist the temptation of play, she indulged in it upon 
 thoroughly economic principles, making three or four 
 crown pieces last for a considerable time. She was 
 not young, she was not beautiful, and was very jeal- 
 ous of her husband, which was a fact pretty notorious. 
 Well, there, upon one occasion, she was sitting stak- 
 ing a crown about every half hour, and, having five 
 cro*wns left, she had evidently capital enough upon this 
 system to last the entire day. I looked around ; no 
 vacancy seemed likely to be made by other players, 
 and so it occurred to me, moved, as we say in the crim- 
 inal courts, by the instigation of the devil, to say to a 
 frierd, loud enough for her to hear, " I wonder who 
 
 that pretty girl is that Charlie is flirting with on 
 
 the parade," naming her spouse. The legs of her 
 chair grated upon the ground as it was drawn rapidly 
 back ; the five crowns were swept together and de- 
 posited in her reticule, and hastily and anxiously the 
 lady departed. I trust I may be forgiven, and I am 
 glad to say that I heard of no domestic calamity. 
 
 One other little incident I cannot forbear relating 
 There was a well known frequenter of the rooms — I 
 
ANECDOTE OF TWO LADIES. \Q§ 
 
 will furnish her with a fancy name. Mrs. Delamere 
 was an elderly female, with a countenance that did 
 not attract, and who certainly could not be charged 
 with using any meretricious ornament. She took her 
 seat daily at the roulette table : with much diving 
 into a bag she would produce her capital, six or seven 
 florins being apparently its limit. She secured a chair 
 early, and kept it resolutely against all comers, watch- 
 ing the chances of the table. The incident I am 
 about to relate will show what she considered them 
 to be. One day there entered the rooms a lady of a 
 type very different from that of the ordinary frequent- 
 ers. She was clad in a sober, dark dress, almost 
 Quaker-like in its neatness. A bonnet that at once 
 established the respectability of its wearer surmount- 
 ed a middle-aged and not unpleasing countenance. 
 The stranger seemed fascinated by the tables ; she 
 approached them, walked round them, peeped over 
 the players' heads, and after an evident inward strug- 
 gle placed a napoleon upon a number immediately in 
 front of Mrs. Delamere. Round went the wheel, and 
 to that number thirty-five napoleons were pushed by 
 the croupier. These Mrs. Delamere immediately 
 clutched. The lady to whom they belonged mildly 
 expostulated, saying they were hers. "Yours ! " yell- 
 ed Mrs. D., looking her victim sternly in the face. 
 " Don't try that game with me — this is not the first 
 time you have attempted it." The lady shrank back 
 abashed, and Mrs. Delamere thus became an instru- 
 ment in the hands of Providence to check, at its very 
 outset, a tendency to the debasing vice of gambling 
 in a fellow-creature. 
 
 Homburg is still charming and still attracts. The 
 
166 MONACO. 
 
 springs are, as formerly, crowded in the morning, and 
 on my last visit I recognized many old faces. The 
 band still played ; the same mixed crowd was to be 
 seen in the evening ; and it certainly had this advan- 
 tage, to those who studied economy But were unable 
 to resist temptation, that it was much cheaper than in 
 former days. 
 
 At Monaco there still exists an establishment in 
 which, in one of the most lovely spots in the world, 
 rouge-et-noir and roulette are played with every cir- 
 cumstance of outward decorum. It is said that the 
 prince of the country derives his principal revenues 
 from the proprietors. Lately a movement has been 
 got up by certain English sojourners to procure their 
 expulsion. A friend of mine, who possesses a very 
 beautiful villa in the neighborhood, was solicited 
 the other day by another resident to sign a memorial 
 for this purpose, but as he considered that those who 
 did not like it might keep away, and that it was pure 
 impertinence to interfere with the arrangements of a 
 foreign place, he absolutely declined. His friend ex- 
 hausted every argument upon the score of morals 
 without avail, and, making a last effort, he pointed out 
 how much it would increase the value of their prop- 
 erty. I should be very sorry to treat with disrespect 
 the conscientious scruples of any class, and, if pres- 
 sure comes from the natives of a country to abolish an 
 institution, it ought to be treated with consideration ; 
 but really the opinions of foreigners, who might find 
 plenty of improprieties in their own country to reform, 
 are, in my humble judgment, worthy not only of no at- 
 tention, but are generally the outcomings of self-inter- 
 est, and signal examples of impertinence and conceit 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 LORD CAMPBELL. 
 
 T N the year 1850 Lord Denman, stricken by illness, 
 ■*- retired from the bench. If not so profound a law- 
 yer as some of those who had filled the office of Lord 
 Chief Justice in former years, he possessed the highest 
 qualities of a great judge, and the necessity for his re- 
 tirement occasioned general regret, and a more complete 
 contrast can scarcely be imagined than that presented 
 between him and his successor, Lord Campbell. The 
 high-minded feeling and heartfelt courtesy of the one 
 was replaced by a superficial veneer of forced polite- 
 ness that concealed the natural bad taste and peevish 
 temper of the other. 
 
 I have indicated in former pages the importance I 
 attach to the demeanor of a judge when upon the bench. 
 He has no excuse for discourtesy, he naturally com- 
 mands the respect and consideration of all present. 
 Fractiousness and impatience seriously impair his use- 
 fulness. They produce nervousness in counsel of in- 
 experience, who ought to be encouraged, if not out of 
 kindness to themselves, for the sake of those to whom 
 it is the duty of the judge to see, to the best of his 
 power, that justice is done. Lord Campbell was a 
 
 167 
 
16g DEMEANOR OF LORD CAMPBELL. 
 
 learned and skilled lawyer, but his manner was harsh 
 and irritable. He had no compassion for weakness. 
 He crushed where he ought to have striven to raise. 
 It is of no value for a sufferer to be told, even if it be 
 the fact, that under an offensive demeanor there exist 
 a kind heart and amiable disposition ; such knowledge 
 affords no comfort to a young barrister who has been 
 snubbed before his first client and the entire court. 
 Lord Campbell ought to have had mercy, for he was 
 by no means himself insensible to applause, and some- 
 times sought it by not very dignified means. His Life, 
 unlike the Lives of those whose history he has written, 
 has been delivered to posterity by himself, and he es- 
 caped the death-pang that others, not without reason, 
 apprehended from his undertaking their biography. 
 
 He undoubtedly was a consistent partisan, and his 
 views were enlarged and liberal upon the great political 
 subjects with which he had to deal ; at the same time 
 it must be admitted that the services he performed met 
 with sufficiently substantial rewards, and his Diaries 
 show that he pursued his material interests with skill 
 and unflagging perseverance. He obtained a peerage 
 for his wife as a consideration for remaining Attorney- 
 General at a time when his resignation of that office 
 would have been of serious inconvenience to the Min- 
 istry; and when, in 1841, the Government to which 
 he was attached was tottering, he created a scandal 
 by securing to himself the appointment of Irish Lord 
 Chancellor and a peerage. His services in that capac- 
 ity lasted about a fortnight — a fact that the long-headed 
 Scotchman must have foreseen. When the vacancy 
 occurred in the Chief Justiceship, it was only proper 
 
INTERVIEW WITH MISS STRICKLAND. IQQ 
 
 that he should obtain a post which not only his services 
 but his great legal attainments fully entitled him to. 
 And of his subsequent appointment as Chancellor 
 there is no reason to complain. I do not know whether 
 he was popular with the equity bar, or what judgment 
 was formed of his ability in that branch of the law, but 
 he certainly possessed the merit of unwearying indus- 
 try, and exhibited upon all occasions a conscientious 
 endeavor to make himself master of his subject. 
 
 His Lives of the Chancellors and Chief Justices are 
 pleasant and readable books, and exhibit his love for 
 work, although he by no means disdained to avail him- 
 self of the labors of others, which I do not remember 
 that he ever acknowledged. I heard Charles Phil- 
 lipps tell a story of having been talking to Lord 
 Brougham at the House of Lords, when he pointed 
 out to him an elderly female in a poke bonnet stand- 
 ing at the bar. " Do you see," said he to Phillipps, 
 ''the old lady standing there? She is Miss Strick- 
 land. She is waiting to reproach Campbell with his 
 literary larcenies. He will escape by the back way." 
 It appears, however, from an extract that I insert from 
 his Diary, that he was not successful in doing so. The 
 following is his account of, I presume, the occurrence 
 related by Phillipps : — 
 
 " My exploit in the House of Lords last night was 
 introducing myself to Miss Strickland, authoress of 
 the ' Lives of the Queens of England,' who has been 
 writing a violent letter against me in the newspapers. 
 After I had conversed with her for half an hour, she 
 exclaimed, 'Well, Lord Campbell, I do declare you 
 are the most amiable man I ever met with.' I thought 
 
170 CHARACTER OF CAMPBELL AS AN ADVOCATE. 
 
 Lord Brougham would have died with envy when I 
 told him the result of my interview; and Ellenbor- 
 ough, who was sitting by, rubbed his hands in admi- 
 ration. Brougham had thrown me a note across the 
 table, saying, ■ Do you know that your friend, Miss 
 Strickland, is come to hear you ? ' " 
 
 I suspect that, if it had been possible to have heard 
 Lord Brougham's account of the interview, if indeed 
 he witnessed it, more amusement would have been af- 
 forded to the reader than that transmitted to posterity 
 by the most amiable man Miss Strickland ever knew. 
 
 Whilst he was at the bar I had not many oppor- 
 tunities of hearing Campbell. He was, beyond doubt, 
 a very skillful advocate. His manner was dry and 
 not pleasing, but he commanded attention, possessed 
 great power and force, and was, I should think, with 
 rare exceptions, thoroughly judicious. In strictly 
 legal arguments few men at the bar surpassed him, 
 although Kelly was equally earnest and as well versed 
 in legal subtleties ; Follett, with certainly equal at- 
 tainments, possessed a more fascinating voice and 
 manner. 
 
 I have already given some account of the case of 
 Norton v. Lord Melbourne, of the result of which 
 Lord Campbell was very proud ; but he has succeeded 
 in many cases of far greater difficulty, though not of 
 such public interest. 
 
 There was another case in which he was engaged, 
 which also attracted a great deal of attention, and it 
 so happened that my old master, the General, as Wat- 
 son was always called, was engaged in it. The day 
 before it came on I was dining with him, and the fol- 
 
ACTIO X OF LORD DE ROS AGAINST CUMMING. 171 
 
 lowing morning I accompanied him to the Court of 
 Queen's Bench, where it was tried before Lord Den- 
 man. It was an action brought by a Lord de Ros 
 against a gentleman named Cumming for defamation, 
 and Watson was with Thesiger and Alexander for the 
 defense. It arose out of play transactions at different 
 clubs, and it was alleged that Lord de Ros had been 
 habitually guilty of cheating. The court was crowded 
 to the ceiling, and I remember Lord Lyndhurst, 
 amongst many other gentlemen, being upon the bench, 
 taking apparently a great interest in the trial. 
 
 The story was a very strange one. Lord de Ros 
 was a man of high family, I believe Senior Baron, 
 and was not only a popular man, but wealthy and lib- 
 eral in the ordinary transactions of every-day life, and 
 a member of several of the best clubs in London and 
 elsewhere. There was no doubt that, long before the 
 matter was brought to an issue, whispers had circu- 
 lated imputing to his lordship unfair practices. He 
 had received a well-meant although anonymous com- 
 munication advising him to desist from play, and a 
 paragraph charging him broadly with cheating had ap- 
 peared in a newspaper. Ultimately certain gentle- 
 men, amongst whom was Mr. Cumming, undertook 
 the responsibility of the charge, upon which the ac- 
 tion was brought against the latter gentleman by 
 Lord de Ros for slander. The transactions attrib- 
 uted were alleged to have occurred at a club at 
 Brighton, the Travelers', in Pall Mall, and more 
 markedly at a proprietary club that was then in 
 existence and kept by a gentleman named Graham, 
 from whom it took its name, and of which many dis- 
 tinguished men, including Lord de Ros,were members. 
 
172 CASE 0F LORD DE ROS AGAINST CUMMING. 
 
 His lordship was an excellent whist-player, and con- 
 sidered quite a match for the finest of the day. Nev- 
 ertheless, it was asserted that he resorted to an elabo- 
 rate trick to obtain an unfair advantage. I will en- 
 deavor to explain its nature, but it is difficult to do so 
 clearly. It consisted in a reversal of the cut, that is 
 to say, that after the cards had been cut to the dealer 
 he would contrive, by an act of legerdemain, to re- 
 place the last card, which ought of course to have gone 
 amongst the other cards into its original position at 
 the bottom of the pack. It is obvious that for the 
 purpose of rendering this trick of benefit to the dealer 
 he must have acquired a knowledge of what the card 
 so replaced was. And it was said that for this pur- 
 pose Lord de Ros contrived to mark certain court cards 
 in such a manner as to be able to distinguish them and 
 secure the presence of one of them at the bottom of 
 the pack when he presented it to his adversary to be 
 cut. 
 
 It is really incredible that any sane man should have 
 conducted his proceedings with such recklessness as 
 he did, and one cannot help thinking of the saying, 
 " Quern Deus vult perdere prius dementat." 
 
 The witnesses examined against him had noticed 
 that when about to deal he endeavored to distract at- 
 tention by coughing, an infirmity that did not trouble 
 him at other times, and one of them, Sir William In- 
 gelby, declared that he did not remember an instance 
 of his dealing without turning up a king or an ace ; 
 the cards with which he played were afterwards 
 examined and found to be marked, apparently with 
 the thumb nail. Colonel Anson, George Payne, and 
 
GEO. ANSON, GEO. PA TNE, LORD HY. BENTINCK. \ 73 
 
 Lord Henry Bentinck were amongst the witnesses 
 deposing to having noticed Lord de Ros in his mode 
 of dealing. 
 
 These gentlemen were amongst the finest players 
 of the day, and he must have known that they were 
 looking on whilst he was transposing the cards, which 
 adds to his extraordinary folly, if it does not almost 
 prove him to have been insane. 
 
 Sir John Campbell, who with Sir William Follett 
 and Mr. Wightman appeared for Lord de Ros, made 
 a long, energetic, and powerful speech, showing his 
 capacity in a hopeless case. I cannot, however, think 
 that a suggestion he made of conspiracy upon the 
 part of the gentlemen called could be either prudent 
 or justifiable, as it was clear that they had all come 
 forward most unwillingly. After an anxious and 
 thoroughly impartial charge by the Lord Chief Jus- 
 tice, the jury, without hesitation, found the only possi- 
 ble verdict, for the defendant. 
 
 The trick was not a new one, and was known by 
 the name of sauter la coupe, and Sir William Ingelby 
 excited much laughter by undertaking with a pack 
 of cards to show the mode in which it was performed, 
 and, fortunately for his reputation, he made a very 
 clumsy exhibition of it. Sir John Campbell also 
 caused a good deal of fun by inadvertently describ- 
 ing it as couper la saute. An anecdote was related in 
 connection with this case of a young member of the 
 club who had noticed Lord de Ros performing this 
 trick asking an older member what he ought to do 
 "Bet upon him" was the advice given, of course in 
 joke. 
 
174 ATTEMPT TO SHO W PHYSICAL INFIRMITY. 
 
 An endeavor was made to show that Lord de Ros 
 had some physical infirmity connected with the mus- 
 cles of the hand, which would have prevented his 
 manipulating the cards in the manner described, and 
 for this purpose the eminent surgeon, Mr. Lawrence, 
 was called, but did not succeed in substantiating this 
 view. Mr. Lawrence was a skillful surgeon, and also 
 a literary man of great attainment. He wrote a work 
 in early life which was said to be anti- Christian, and 
 he lost position with the public in consequence of it. 
 The views enunciated in it are now to be found in 
 the common literature of the day, but in those times 
 free thought, or rather the expression of it, met with 
 scant favor. I frequently met Mr. Lawrence during 
 the latter days of his life, in professional matters. He 
 laid himself open to be a witness in cases of railway 
 accidents, but although his appearance was greatly in 
 his favor, and~ his knowledge deep and varied, he was 
 too hasty in forming an opinion, and too dogmatic in 
 asserting it. I always thought it dangerous to call 
 him, and preferred his being on the opposite side. 
 
 Of Sir William Follett, who was counsel both in 
 this and the Melbourne trial, I knew personally but 
 very little. From what I did know I should say no 
 man ever lived more thoroughly unaffected or with a 
 kinder heart, and of the greatness of his attainments 
 all were agreed. Once only, when junior to Sir Fred- 
 erick Pollock, I was opposed to him. In the absence 
 of my leader a somewhat complicated verdict was re- 
 turned, and Sir William, seeing my difficulty, helped 
 me out of it. He had never spoken to me before, 01 
 I to him. His early death was a great source of sor- 
 
MR. JUSTICE WIG HTM AN. 175 
 
 row to his private friends, and a very grave one to his 
 country. 
 
 Mr. Wightman afterwards became one of the judges 
 of the Court of Queen's Bench, and a very efficient 
 and useful one. He had a certain amount of dry hu- 
 mor, an instance of which I remember upon a trial 
 at the Maidstone assizes. A very excellent and learned 
 friend of mine, not however famed for his brevity, 
 had been for some considerable time enforcing his ar- 
 guments before a Kentish jury. Mr. Justice Wight- 
 man, interposing, said, "Mr. , you have stated 
 
 that before," and then, pausing for a moment, added, 
 " but you may have forgotten it, it was a very long 
 time ago." I have been before this judge very often, 
 and have a very pleasant recollection of his courtesy 
 and good humor, and his shrewdness was very formi- 
 dable to a guilty client. 
 
 I only remember being present at one other case 
 which Sir John Campbell, then Attorney-General, 
 conducted. This was an indictment at the Central 
 Criminal Court against a solicitor named Williams 
 upon a charge of forging a will. Campbell was for 
 the defense, and I followed his conduct of the case 
 with great interest and attention, and certainly it was 
 a fine specimen of powerful advocacy, and, against 
 the view I had formed, it was successful. The pros- 
 ecution gave rise to much subsequent litigation in 
 our courts, which, however, as I believe, ended in 
 the establishment of the will. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Campbell's irritability. 
 
 1 1 HAVE not hesitated to express my opinion of 
 A Lord Campbell's demeanor upon the bench ; but 
 his great knowledge and unwearying industry render- 
 ed him an extremely powerful common law judge. 
 There is no doubt that a very learned man in his po- 
 sition may feel weariness at the occasional prolixity 
 of counsel, but it is not less his duty to restrain the 
 exhibition of it where the advocate is genuinely en- 
 deavoring to convey his views. The impatience oc- 
 casionally exhibited by Lord Campbell took a form at 
 times that was positively grotesque. I remember up- 
 on one occasion, during the speech of a very able coun- 
 sel, now a judge, that after having shown many signs 
 of irritability, his lordship could no longer keep his 
 seat, but getting up marched up and down the bench, 
 casting at intervals the most furious glances at the im- 
 perturbable counsel, and at last, folding his arms across 
 his face, leaned as if in absolute despair against the 
 wall, presenting a not inconsiderable amount of back 
 surface to the audience. A very clever caricature 
 was drawn of him by a barrister, representing his 
 half-dozen phases of disgust, and terminating with his 
 dorsal exhibition. 
 176 
 
TRIAL OF PALMER. \*jfj 
 
 In 1856 he presided at the Central Criminal Court 
 upon the trial of William Palmer, upon a charge of 
 murder. This case was peculiarly one of cold-blooded 
 crime. Palmer was by profession a surgeon, by prac- 
 tice an assassin, and he was tried for poisoning a per- 
 son named John Parsons Cook. 
 
 Sir Alexander Cockburn conducted the prosecution, 
 admittedly in the very highest style of excellence. 
 Palmer was defended by Mr. Serjeant Shee, a man 
 of power and eloquence, and very earnest and con- 
 scientious. He was induced, and I am sure with sin- 
 cere conviction, to express a personal belief that the 
 accused was innocent, meaning, however, merely that 
 he was not guilty of committing the crime by the 
 agency suggested. Lord Campbell did not check or 
 reprove him, probably having Lord Melbourne's case 
 in his recollection, and not wishing to be reminded 
 of it. The prosecution based their theory mainly up- 
 on the death having been caused by strychnine: which 
 was founded upon descriptions given by different wit- 
 nesses of the appearances the deceased exhibited be- 
 fore his death. 
 
 There were, however, circumstances that weaken- 
 ed this theory, and certainly antimony had also been 
 employed. Professor Taylor was very confident upon 
 the subject ; and attributed the death solely to the for- 
 mer poison, and if the case had been allowed to drift 
 into chemical refinements, serious difficulties might 
 have arisen. Sir Benjamin Brodie would give no opin- 
 ion as to the actual poison used, but declared without 
 hesitation that he had never known a natural death 
 12 
 
]_78 SUMMING UP. 
 
 attended with the appearances described. The strong 
 good sense of Lord Campbell brushed away the mere- 
 ly scientific question ; showed that it was not material 
 to discover by what poison the deed had been effect- 
 ed ; dwelt with overwhelming force upon the facts, to 
 which, as he explained, the medical evidence was 
 merely subsidiary, and only used for the purpose of 
 demonstrating that the appearances presented were 
 consistent with the means suggested. I have no doubt 
 that Palmer was a practiced poisoner, and that he had 
 hoped to evade justice by mingling the poisons and 
 deceiving the scientific witnesses. If this was his 
 aim, Lord Campbell signally defeated it. 
 
 He was convicted without much hesitation, and re- 
 ceived his doom with perfect calmness. He was a 
 sporting man, and when the verdict was returned 
 wrote upon a slip of paper which he handed to his at- 
 torney, " The riding did it," alluding to Cockburn's 
 speech. 
 
 Mr. Serjeant Shee had an impossible task. He was 
 an old companion of mine upon circuit, and when Lord 
 Denman appointed me a revising barrister I was as- 
 sociated with him as . a colleague. He was subse- 
 quently made a judge of the Queen's Bench, the first 
 Roman Catholic of late years appointed to that post 
 in England, but did not survive his honors very long. 
 He was highly esteemed and respected, especially by 
 his brethren at the bar. 
 
 The reputation of Lord Campbell for politeness was 
 amusingly illustrated by a remark made by the crier 
 of the court to a friend at the commencement of this 
 case. His lordship had said with great suavity of 
 
PALMER AND THURTELL. 179 
 
 manner, " Let the prisoner be accommodated with a 
 chair." " He means to hang him," said the crier. 
 
 History, it is said, repeats itself, and crime is no 
 unimportant part of history, and will be found much 
 the same, although in various disguises, in different 
 generations. The motives actuating its commission, 
 and the character of the criminal, can be clearly trac- 
 ed and recognized, but the modes by which the deed 
 is accomplished vary with the period. Thus there is 
 a close analogy between Palmer and a murderer nam- 
 ed Thurtell, who was convicted some half-century 
 ago. Both were called gentlemen: Thurtell, because 
 he kept a gig ; Palmer, because he kept an apothe- 
 cary's shop. Both were turfmen and gamblers. In 
 both instances the victim was a particular friend and 
 intimate associate of the murderer ; and in both, the 
 object of the crime was to get rid of debts incurred 
 at play or by betting. Thurtell's crime represented 
 the coarseness of the age ; Palmer's, its improved in- 
 telligence. Had the former lived in Palmer's time, 
 instead of first shooting and then battering out the 
 brains of Weare, he would have invited his friend to 
 supper, and put strychnine or antimony into the ap- 
 ple-sauce accompanying the roast pork of which that 
 supper consisted, and with which Thurtell and his 
 accomplices regaled themselves after the murder. 
 
 I dare say few of this generation recollect anything 
 about the circumstances of the case to which I have 
 referred. 
 
 Thurtell had lost money to Weare, and got an ac- 
 complice named Probert to ask him to a cottage be- 
 longing to that person down in Hertfordshire, and he 
 
180 RAIL WAT A CTIONS. 
 
 himself undertook to drive liim. In a lane near their 
 destination, Thurtell drew a pistol and shot Weare 
 in the head ; the wound not being fatal, he finished 
 his work with the barrel of the pistol. The body 
 was conveyed to Probert's cottage and deposited un- 
 der a sofa, whilst a party, consisting of the owner of 
 the cottage, Thurtell, a man named Hunt, and Pro- 
 bert's wife, had supper. The body was afterwards 
 deposited in a pond, where it was subsequently found 
 through the information of accomplices. 
 
 Probert and Hunt turned king's evidence. The 
 former was subsequently hanged for what in any other 
 person would have been treated as borrowing a horse, 
 but the jury were only too glad to make him pay the 
 the penalty of his former crime. Hunt was trans- 
 portedfi#n/I I have heard was killed by the crew upon 
 his outward voyage. 
 
 I remember two causes in which I was engaged be- 
 fore Lord Campbell : they were both founded upon 
 railway accidents, and in both of them, through no 
 fault of the judge, there was a miscarriage of justice; 
 and although not of any great public interest, they il- 
 lustrate some of the phases that present themselves, 
 in actions of this kind, where the verdict depends not 
 upon a question of fact, but upon the character of an 
 admitted injury and the amount of compensation to be 
 awarded. If such injury is outwardly apparent and 
 none is said to exist internally, the task is not difficult, 
 but almost in every case some occult evil is said to 
 have occurred, sometimes without any foundation, and 
 nearly always exaggerated, and a jury are obliged to 
 rely upon the truthfulness of a claimant and the ac- 
 
MISTAKEN RESULT. Igl 
 
 curacy and sound judgment of professional men. It 
 is somewhat unfortunate that many undoubtedly able 
 medical men have made this class of case a specialty, 
 and some of these gentlemen are almost invariably 
 selected as witnesses, and I fear quite unwittingly act 
 too often with a spirit of partisanship. 
 
 A gentleman named Glover was the plaintiff in the 
 first of the two cases to which I have called atten- 
 tion. He had been, I believe, member for Reading, 
 and, although no external injury was apparent, it was 
 stated that he had received a serious spinal shock, and 
 that the result might be fatal. His appearance, how- 
 ever, in the witness-box did not support this idea, and 
 his manner prejudiced his case exceedingly, f It was 
 finikin and coxcombical, and many, of whom I con- 
 fess myself to have been amongst the number, thought 
 that he was not candid in giving his evidence ; and the 
 statements of the doctors, which gave a very grave 
 aspect to the alleged symptoms, had in consequence 
 less weight than they deserved. Lord Campbell took 
 an unfavorable view, and evidently thought that there 
 was gross exaggeration. The jury, coinciding in this 
 opinion, returned a verdict quite inadequate to the in- 
 juries if truly represented. Within three months the 
 unfortunate gentleman, a comparatively young man, 
 died, and it could not be doubted that his premature 
 death resulted from the effects of the injuries he had 
 undergone, and which had been correctly indicated by 
 the medical men. 
 
 I have, in a former chapter, whilst considering the 
 mode of treating witnesses, cautioned an observer 
 against being too much biased by appearances, not 
 
]_32 ANOTHER RAILWAY CASE. 
 
 necessarily indicative of a desire to deceive, but re- 
 sulting from the natural infirmities of the human mind 
 which become developed by the nervousness of an un- 
 accustomed position, and I have seen a thoroughly hon- 
 est witness show himself from this cause in a very un- 
 favorable light. 
 
 In the other case, tried, I believe, before the same 
 judge, the plaintiff was brought into court apparently 
 in a moribund state. He seemed scarcely able to ar- 
 ticulate, and his limbs were without power or sensi- 
 bility. According to the doctors, and I do not im- 
 pugn their truth as to the fact, his powers of sensa- 
 tion had been tested by a needle, which had been in- 
 serted in his arm without his exhibiting any sign of feel- 
 ing; in fact, he created general sympathy, and obtained 
 a very large verdict amounting to many thousands. 
 It was thought useless to move for a new trial. Within 
 a week after the time had elapsed for doing so the 
 plaintiff was recognized climbing Snowdon in full ac- 
 tivity and strength, and within the twelvemonth was 
 presented with an heir, who, thanks to his father hav- 
 ing been so nearly killed, was likely to have some- 
 thing to inherit. 
 
 The manufacturing of injuries has become a regular 
 trade amongst a low class of practitioners — men who, 
 although utterly ignorant of the elements of their pro- 
 fession, have had no difficulty in learning what are the 
 usual symptoms of a grave shock. The patient is 
 sometimes a rogue, and deliberately misrepresents his 
 feelings. Sometimes the nervousness that follows a 
 railway collision leads him readily to embrace ideas 
 suggested by questions put to him by his attendant. 
 
SENTENCES UP ON TEE BRITISH BANK DIRECTORS. \ §3 
 
 The doctor has probably made a bargain by which he 
 will secure to himself a percentage upon the damages 
 awarded by the jury, which amount, the action being 
 against a railway company, is certain to be paid. 
 
 There is a specimen of this kind of medical man 
 well known in our courts. When last I saw him he 
 would not swear that he had not been the doctor in 
 more than one hundred cases arising from railway ac- 
 cidents, and he certainly could not have been selected 
 for his knowledge, as he was unable to tell the nor- 
 mal temperature of the human body. It is not likely 
 that a majority of general practitioners have legiti- 
 mately had half-a-dozen of such accidents under their 
 care. 
 
 Lord Campbell tried the case of the British Bank 
 directors, charged with the falsification of accounts 
 and various misrepresentations with a view to defraud 
 the public ; and although greatly assisted by the open- 
 ing of Sir Frederick Thesiger, to which I have already 
 alluded, it does not detract from the ability with 
 which he mastered and dealt with its complicated 
 details. His summing-up seemed to me to be con- 
 clusive of the guilt of all the defendants, although he 
 recommended the jury to acquit one of them. They, 
 however, were unable to realize any distinction be- 
 tween the different parties, and convicted them all ; 
 but whilst inflicting different terms of imprisonment 
 upon the others, Lord Campbell did not punish the 
 defendant in whose favor he had summed up. Speak- 
 ing of this incident in his Diary, he says, " I let one 
 of them off with a nominal fine because he was im- 
 properly convicted." 
 
184 
 
 LORD CAMPBELL'S DEATH. 
 
 This was a very high-handed proceeding, and was 
 severely commented upon, and motives not of a cred- 
 itable character were suggested. I do not know 
 whether there was, or not, any foundation for them, 
 and therefore forbear to repeat them. The jury had 
 throughout exhibited great intelligence, for which, 
 before the verdict, they were highly complimented by 
 the judge. I confess that it struck me that if the 
 gentleman in question was entitled to be let off, the 
 punishment of his companions could scarcely be 
 deemed consistent with equal justice. 
 
 I shall have again to refer to Lord Campbell in his 
 position of head of Serjeants' Inn. The last time I 
 saw him was on the afternoon of the day preceding 
 his death. He was then Chancellor, and had, I be- 
 lieve, been presiding in the Court of Chancery. He 
 was walking sturdily towards his own residence, in 
 apparently perfect health and vigor, and, although he 
 had attained an advanced age, the news of his death 
 occasioned universal astonishment. I had not heard 
 that he had exhibited any failure of power or dimi- 
 nution of intellect in the performance of his onerous 
 duties, and certainly to the last he exhibited his un- 
 tiring industry. 
 
 He was, to my great satisfaction, succeeded b}^ Sir 
 Richard Bethell, from whom I had already received 
 many marks of kindness, and it was by his direction 
 (he being Attorney-General) that I had been ap- 
 pointed one of the counsel to conduct the prosecution 
 of the British Bank directors; and it was from him 
 also that I afterwards obtained what I venture to think 
 was a bare act of justice-— a patent of precedence. 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 285 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 I heard the following amusing anecdote in con- 
 nection with an action against a railway, and, al- 
 though the facts were not within my knowledge, I 
 have no doubt of their truth. A stockbroker of 
 the Jewish persuasion, equally famous for his wealth 
 and benevolence, assisted a member of the same per- 
 suasion with the funds necessary to carry on an ac- 
 tion. This personage was carried into court, a melan- 
 choly object, unable to walk, and destined to be' a 
 cripple to the end of his days. He obtained very 
 large damages. Not very long afterwards he walked 
 into his benefactor's office, apparently in excellent 
 health and spirits, to employ him in investing the 
 damages. 
 
 The very eminent surgeon Mr. Erichsen has pub- 
 lished a work upon railway accidents, detailing the 
 symptoms that may be expected to be exhibited in 
 them. This I believe to be, amongst that class of 
 practitioners whom I have described, a kind of 
 vade mecum, and probably comprises their entire 
 law library. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 I BECOME A SERJEANT. 
 
 A S this chapter will, I fear, to ordinary readers be 
 "*■•*• very dull, I have postponed it beyond many of the 
 incidents that I have already related ; but as it refers 
 to ,one of the most important events in my career, I 
 must entreat their consideration and patience. I be- 
 came a serjeant. The term is one that with the gen- 
 eral public is surrounded with a sort of mysterious 
 haze. Every one knows what a sergeant is in the 
 body militant ; and a sergeant of police is viewed 
 by the masses with mingled feelings of terror and re- 
 spect. We all know that the one is dressed in red, 
 the other in blue. But what is a serjeant-at-law ? — 
 that is the question. Qnce, after I had attained this 
 rank, I was counsel before a court-martial at Aldershot, 
 and most hospitably invited to dinner at the mess — I 
 think it was of the Welsh Fusiliers. When I presented 
 myself and announced my name and title to the order- 
 ly, he informed me, with a scornful air, that it was an 
 officers' mess. As a matter of fact, we are only in- 
 ferior in rank to a knight ; and formerly the position 
 was a most important one, all the great judicial offices 
 being filled from its ranks, and many a distinguished 
 186 
 
THE RANK OF SERJEANT. 187 
 
 name is recorded in its annals. The Queen's ancient 
 Serjeant, the head of the body, was the foremost man 
 at the bar. It was not until the reign of Elizabeth 
 that Queen's Counsel were heard of; that arbitrary 
 lady created the first in the person of Francis Bacon. 
 These possess, however, no distinctive rank in society, 
 but simply precedence in court. The Serjeants were, 
 and still are, joined in the commission with the judges 
 going circuit, which, until a comparatively recent date, 
 was not the case with Queen's Counsel. Formerly 
 they had exclusive audience in the Court of Common 
 Pleas ; this is now abolished, and no fault can reason- 
 ably be found with doing away with a restriction injuri- 
 ous to clients and scarcely just to the rest of the bar. 
 Upon the abolition of this privilege, the existing mem- 
 bers of the court were placed upon a level with the 
 Queen's Counsel in court by the grant of a patent of 
 precedence. 
 
 I have already alluded to what I considered a great 
 grievance that I was subjected to by the refusal of Lord 
 Chelmsford to grant me this rank. It had, subse- 
 quently to the opening of the court, been granted to 
 members of our body, and it could not be asserted that 
 my business was not such as justified my application. 
 Lord Campbell also passed me over, as he did Mr. 
 Serjeant Parry, who had an equal claim, although he 
 gave it to Mr. Serjeant Hayes, by which gentleman he 
 sent a message that my claim should be considered on 
 a future occasion. His death intervened, and I ob- 
 tained the dignity from Lord Westbury, but not before 
 the delay had been a considerable source of inconven- 
 ience to me, if not of injury. 
 
183 PATENTS OF PRECEDENCE. 
 
 I do not propose giving any elaborate account of the 
 institution. My friend Serjeant Pulling has done so in a 
 very able article in the "Edinburgh Review." x There 
 was, however, one distinction between their rank and 
 that of Queen's Counsel that ought to be mentioned — 
 the latter could not hold a brief against the Crown 
 without a license ; the coif was essentially a popular 
 institution, and no such restriction existed. It is true 
 that the permission may be obtained, and the value set 
 by Her Majesty upon her counsel being, I believe, 11. 
 5s. Qd., he can for that price obtain permission to serve 
 the enemies of the State. This facility did not always 
 exist, and I believe that the difficulty occasioned the 
 employment of Mr. Serjeant Copley in the defense of 
 Dr. Watson, the circumstances attending which I have 
 already related. I cannot help thinking that it is a 
 great pity that the order should have been practically 
 abolished, which however is the case, although legally 
 it still exists. The result has arisen from the discoun- 
 tenance shown to it by later chancellors, their incon- 
 sistency with regard to patents, and ultimately by the 
 necessity for judges taking the rank, which formerly 
 they were obliged to do, being abolished. 
 
 I became serjeant in 1856, having been recom- 
 mended by Sir John Jervis and created by Lord Cran- 
 worth, and I was duly elected to the Inn attached to 
 the society. 
 
 The Lord Chief Justice (then Lord Campbell) pre- 
 sided, and the business of the Inn was conducted by a 
 treasurer, a post filled at that time by Mr. Serjeant 
 Manning, Queen's ancient serjeant. In the biography, 
 
 i The date of this extremely able and interesting article is November, 1877. 
 
MR. JUSTICE COLERIDGE. 189 
 
 recently published, Lord Campbell has recorded his 
 opinion of his brethren upon the bench and of the 
 Serjeants. He had dined there only twice, but does 
 not allow any want of self-confidence to interfere with 
 the candor of his views. His words are : "My breth- 
 ren of the bench are a most respectable set. I believe 
 them to be superior to their predecessors who filled 
 their places fifty years ago." 
 
 It would occupy too much space to describe the 
 different most learned and able judges who formed the 
 subject of this commendation, but by some process of 
 self-exaltation Lord Campbell upon more occasions 
 than this has apparently assumed that the puisnes 
 were a kind of inferior beings to himself. Amongst 
 the names that occur to me are those of Mr. Justice 
 Coleridge and Mr. Justice Erie, afterwards Chief Jus- 
 tice of the Court of Common Pleas, both judges in the 
 court over which Lord Campbell presided, and Mr. 
 Justice Maule. The first-named, a most justly dis- 
 tinguished judge, had retired before I had obtained 
 much civil business, and I can only therefore speak of 
 his conduct of this branch of the profession from hear- 
 say, but I have always understood that he was a very 
 learned lawyer, and had great confidence reposed in 
 him by the profession and the public. I can, however, 
 speak of him as having been counsel before him in 
 many criminal trials, and I have no hesitation in say- 
 ing that no judge ever presided with greater dignity, 
 patience, and courtesy ; and if Lord Campbell had 
 taken an example from him, he would certainly have 
 given more satisfaction, both as a judge and a gentle- 
 man. I may here venture to record a very trifling cir- 
 
190 MR - JUSTICE MA ULE. 
 
 cumstance which exhibited, as I then thought and still 
 think, great kindness of heart. In my early days I 
 managed my voice very badly, and was accustomed to 
 strain it too much, and having a case before him at the 
 Kingston assizes, Mr. Justice Coleridge sent me down 
 a note conveying a hint to me to avoid doing so, 
 couched in very kind words. 1 
 
 Of Mr. Justice Erie I shall speak hereafter, having 
 seen more of him than of many of the other judges. 
 I have had, however, many opportunities of forming 
 an opinion of Mr. Justice Maule. I was very well 
 acquainted with him, for in addition to practicing be- 
 fore him we were members of the same club, the 
 Union. He was one of Lord Campbell's respectable 
 set, and certainly did not extend to the Lord Chief 
 Justice even the modicum of praise accorded by that 
 learned judge to himself. He entertained and con- 
 stantly expressed for him the greatest contempt, and 
 there is no doubt that Mr. Justice Maule did possess 
 a much higher and nobler class of intellect. I used 
 very often to dine with him, and was amazed at the 
 variety of his knowledge, his acute grasp, and great 
 reasoning powers. I have heard Sir John Jervis, who 
 was chief of the court in which Maule sat, express 
 quite as warm an opinion as I have done about his in- 
 tellect. He was admitted to be a first-rate lawyer, 
 and had been senior wrangler and senior medalist at 
 Cambridge. 
 
 His manner was cynical, but he possessed a kind 
 
 'The last time I saw this learned judge was upon the Tichborne trial, 
 when he had the satisfaction of seeing his son filling the office of Solicitor- 
 General. 
 
THE ''EXAMINER." \§\ 
 
 and humane disposition. He abhorred cruelty, and 
 punished it with severity; but wherever he could find 
 excuses in the natural feelings of the human mind, he 
 always treated them with mercy. His jokes upon 
 the bench were sometimes wanting in dignity, which 
 laid him open to unfavorable comment. On one oc- 
 casion a savage onslaught had been made upon him 
 by Albany Fonblanque, the editor of the "Examiner." 
 When told of it by some kind friend, he merely said, 
 " Well, I can't understand it, I never <?id him a favor." 
 Many good sayings are recorded of him, but they are 
 more adapted to professional than general readers. He 
 suffered dreadfully from asthma, and resigned his ap- 
 pointment after a paroxysm from which he suffered 
 whilst sitting in the House of Lords. 
 
 The Serjeants escaped the negative pi'aise accorded 
 to the judges. They were deemed by Lord Camp- 
 bell to be entitled to something more positive, and 
 his description of them is short and pithy. " The 
 Serjeants," says he, " are a very degenerate race." 
 At the time this good-natured and charitable descrip- 
 tion was written I had not become a member of the 
 body, but I should have been very happy to have 
 shared their company. They were generally well- 
 educated gentlemen, with an average of ability equal 
 to any of the same number of members of the bar ; 
 and, amongst them, there were those entitled upon 
 many grounds to claim professional distinction. Mr. 
 Serjeant Manning, the treasurer, was a very learned 
 and distinguished lawyer, well versed in black-letter 
 writings, and his opinions upon such subjects were es- 
 teemed of great value. I can thoroughly well under- 
 
192 SERJEANTS MANNING AND STORKS. 
 
 stand the contempt that Lord Campbell entertained 
 for him, as he never knew how to turn his knowledge 
 into profit. I cannot, however, but smile at the recol- 
 lection of this gentleman. He was old himself when I 
 j oined the Inn, and ably represented its antiquity. He 
 was very strict in making us eat and drink after the 
 manner of our ancestors; any relaxation gave him seri- 
 ous disturbance, and I am afraid that my want of rever- 
 ence caused him no small amount of heart-burning ; 
 but after all, Tiis foibles were innocent enough, and 
 might have been recorded by a kindly pen. Another 
 degenerate was Mr. Serjeant Storks. To be sure, he 
 was a gentleman and a wit. He was a good lawyer 
 also, and led the Norfolk Circuit. It was no disgrace 
 to him that a more powerful man, Sir Fitzroy Kelly, 
 was too much for his calibre. When I first knew 
 him his powers were somewhat impaired by age. 
 He was a great admirer of men whom he called the 
 giants. Lord Ellenborough was his idol. Of Lord 
 Campbell he used to say that he had got on as much 
 by trickery as by real merit, and that he was the great- 
 est jobber that had ever flourished at the bar. As one 
 instance of his accomplishment in this capacity, Storks 
 used to relate, that in his reports Campbell, for the 
 first time, published the names of the attorneys in the 
 various cases, which he found led to useful introduc- 
 tions. If degenerate himself, Serjeant Storks had the 
 good fortune to be father of General Storks, the well- 
 known and distinguished officer. Mr. Serjeant Hayes 
 came within his lordship's list. He also possessed the 
 qualities that probably entitled him to the description 
 at Lord Campbell's hands, for he was a thorough gen- 
 
SERJEANTS PIQOTT AND GAZELEE. I93 
 
 tleman, an accomplished lawyer, and a kind friend, 
 but never succeeded in making a large income. As 
 long as lie remained amongst the degenerates, he was 
 the soul of the table. He was a leader upon the Mid- 
 land Circuit, at the mess of which his conversational 
 powers added greatly to the enjoyment of the mem- 
 bers, and his kindness of disposition endeared him to 
 every one. 
 
 Lord Campbell himself, pitying his degeneracy, 
 raised him to the ranks of respectability, in which 
 atmosphere, however, he did not long survive. 1 
 
 Mr. Serjeant Shee, another gentleman coming within 
 Lord Campbell's category, was a Roman Catholic. 
 He led with great power and success the Maidstone 
 sessions, and, subsequently taking the coif, obtained 
 a considerable lead upon the Home Circuit. He was 
 a very able speaker, but somewhat heavy. He was 
 certainly a scholar and a high-minded gentleman, but 
 not having met with great success was entitled to the 
 sneers of Lord Campbell. He too became a judge, 
 but did not enjoy his promotion for any great length 
 of time. He was greatly liked at Serjeants' Inn, and 
 would have been respected in any association where 
 gentlemen and lawyers met. He it was who defended 
 Palmer in the case of which already I have given some 
 account. 
 
 One more degenerate, Mr. Serjeant Pigott, became 
 eminent as a Baron of the Exchequer. He was a 
 contemporary of Baron Huddleston, both of them 
 being called upon the same day, and both of them 
 leaders of the Oxford Circuit. He was much liked. 
 
 1 He was created a Judge of the Queen's Bench and died suddenly at the 
 Court. 
 
 13 
 
194 I BECOME TREASURER. 
 
 and if not a powerful man, was a thoroughly consci- 
 entious judge. 
 
 Upon Mr. Serjeant Manning's retirement, Mr. Ser- 
 jeant Gazelee became treasurer of the Inn. This 
 gentleman was the son of a judge. His father has 
 been delivered to posterity as having presided at the 
 famous trial of Bardell v. Pickwick. I just remember 
 him, and certainly he was deaf. I believe him to have 
 been a learned lawyer. His son was a man of good 
 ability, and had the advantage of a college education 
 and first-rate introductions. He was not troubled 
 with much diffidence, nor did he extend extravagant 
 praise to his fellow-creatures ; but as far as I know, 
 he never behaved with unkindness, and I have heard 
 of many generous and disinterested acts that he has 
 performed. He was succeeded, I believe not imme- 
 diately, by Mr. Serjeant Tozer in the office of treas- 
 urer. In the year 1872, upon his resignation, I was 
 elected in his place. I found that for some time past the 
 expenditure had been excessive, and that many gross 
 abuses had gradually crept in. I dismissed most of the 
 servants, and made many alterations. I found that bet- 
 ter entertainment could be supplied at a cheaper rate, 
 and I remember with much satisfaction the cordial way 
 in which I was supported by the judges and my brother 
 Serjeants. Our little dinners in the hall, formerly a 
 chapel, on the windows of which were emblazoned 
 the arms of many old and distinguished members of 
 the Inn, and upon whose walls hung the pictures of 
 eminent lawyers, were marked by good temper and 
 friendly feeling. I was elected annually until the year 
 1875, when I accepted a retainer to go to India, and 
 
A PLEASANT MEMENTO. 195 
 
 sent in my resignation, and my friend Mr. Serjeant 
 Simon was elected in my place, but upon my return 
 that gentleman resigned, and, being reinstated, I re- 
 mained treasurer until the abolition of the Inn ; and 
 now, although its duties are abolished, and its conviv- 
 ialities are no more, the order still exists, and, if I 
 have no other word inscribed on the roll of fame, I 
 shall be recorded as the last treasurer of one of the 
 most ancient, and at one time the most honored, of 
 the institutions of Great Britain. As the order was 
 virtually abolished, it was determined to sell the prop- 
 erty of the Inn, which was accordingly done, and the 
 last meeting was held on April 27, 1877, when the 
 resolution recorded below was come to. 
 
 Present — Lord Chief Justice Cockburn, Lord Chief 
 Justice Coleridge, Lord Chief Baron Kelly, Mr. Baron 
 Bramwell, Mr. Justice Brett, Sir Montague Smith, Mr. 
 Justice Mellor, Mr. Justice Lush, Mr. Justice Den- 
 man, Mr. Justice Grove, Mr. Baron Pollock, Mr. Bar- 
 on Huddleston, Mr. Justice Lindley, Serjeant Parry, 
 Serjeant Simon, Serjeant Wells, Serjeant Petersdorff, 
 Serjeant Pulling. 
 
 It was proposed by the Lord Chief Justice, and sec- 
 onded by the Lord Chief Baron, and carried unani- 
 mously, " That the cordial thanks of this meeting, on 
 behalf of all the members of the society, be given to 
 Mr. Serjeant Ballantine for his long and valuable serv- 
 ices as the Treasurer of Serjeants' Inn, and that he 
 be requested to select from the property of the socie- 
 ty such a piece of plate as he may think proper as a 
 substantial memento of the good feeling towards him 
 of the members of the society." 
 
196 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 It would be very ungenerous on my part if I did 
 not acknowledge my obligations to Mr. Serjeant Pull- 
 ing, whose industry and research had much to do with 
 the successful arrangements that were made, and who 
 also received a piece of plate. Three of my brethren 
 have passed away, Serjeant Parry, Serjeant O'Brien, 
 and Serjeant Sargood, all men of ability. The first 
 attained great distinction, Serjeant O'Brien not as 
 much as his talents deserved, and Serjeant Sargood 
 was one of the ablest of the advocates in parliamentary 
 business ; and, although my meetings with the re- 
 mainder are now, I am sorry to say, but rare, my feel- 
 ings of respect and affection for them are undimin- 
 ished. 
 
 When I joined Serjeants' Inn I was compelled to 
 leave the Inner Temple, into which society I have 
 since been received back, and also am generously per- 
 mitted to enjoy the hospitality of the bench table as 
 an honorary member. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 The instructions received by Mr. Serjeant Shee 
 in Palmer's case were very positive that no strych- 
 nine bad been used, and, notwithstanding the strong 
 evidence of the scientific witnesses, I cannot help 
 believing that this was the case : there is no doubt 
 that symptoms were detailed consistent with death 
 from that particular poison, but they were related 
 by ignorant people, who probably had their minds 
 more or less imbued by the questions put to them. 
 Brodie positively refused to endorse that view, al- 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 197 
 
 though he had no doubt that the deceased had been 
 poisoned. I have already expressed my opinion of 
 Lord Campbell's direction in that case, and of the 
 essential importance pointed out by him of not al- 
 lowing charges of this character to drift into mere 
 medical and scientific questions. 
 
 I have omitted to mention Mr. Serjeant George 
 Atkinson, who for a short time presided as treasurer 
 — an amiable and thoroughly conscientious man, 
 but with ideas upon the subjects of old institutions 
 which were certainly not consistent with some of 
 the ideas that prevailed in the inn. He retired 
 after a time and went out to Bombay. I en- 
 deavored to see him during the short time I stayed 
 there, but was not successful. He was a most 
 amiable gentleman, and good but pedantic lawyer. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE GAKKICK CLUB. 
 
 A GAIN in defiance of chronology, I am about to 
 "^^ go back many years and describe another insti- 
 tution. I could wish that an abler pen than mine 
 would perform the task, nevertheless it is a labor of 
 love : my theme is the old Garrick Club, then occu- 
 pying a small, unpretending-looking house in King 
 Street, Covent Garden. There was, however, no re- 
 sort in London that could boast of attracting so much 
 of brilliancy and wit. 
 
 Named after Garrick, it was naturally sought by 
 actors, poets, artists, and novelists, and members of 
 the graver professions were only too glad to relieve the 
 labors of the day by the society of all that was dis- 
 tinguished in literature and art. Although I joined 
 it early in my career, I was not an original member, 
 and missed those convivial meetings that I have heard 
 described, in which Theodore Hook, Barham, and the 
 brothers Smith * shone and sparkled with so brilliant 
 a light ; and when the memory dwells upon " Gilbert 
 Gurney," the "Ingoldsby Legends," and "Rejected 
 Addresses," I can imagine at times, when their au- 
 
 1 Authors of the " Rejected Addresses." 
 
 198 
 
FORMER MEMBERS OF THE GARRICK CLUB. 199 
 
 thors met in the social smoking-room, there must have 
 been an absolute surfeit of fun. Of Theodore Hook 
 I am well able to judge, having, as I have already re- 
 lated, frequently met him. I also knew Barham. He 
 used to dine with a friend of mine named Walsh, 
 delighting the guests with his refined humor. The 
 Smiths I never have had the pleasure of meeting. 
 But I must not gibbet myself as a " laudator temporis 
 acti," for, although a new generation had sprung up 
 when I joined the club, it was by no means an un- 
 distinguished one. Dickens and Thackeray had made 
 their marks, and they were broad and lasting ones. 
 But of these writers I have already recorded my im- 
 pressions. 
 
 Stanfield and David Roberts were noble repre- 
 sentatives of art. The former, the great painter of 
 ocean beauty and grandeur, was not often at the club, 
 and I can scarcely recall his appearance. But David 
 was there constantly, when his kindly, good-humored 
 face, remindi?ig one of a country farmer upon market 
 day, would often expand itself at our pleasant gath- 
 erings. I do not think that a greater favorite existed 
 in the club. Charles Kemble was frequently there, 
 but, alas ! no one could have recognized in his ap- 
 pearance the gentlemanlike swagger with which once 
 upon a time he portrayed " The Inconstant," or the 
 mixture of fun, dignity, and embarrassment he had 
 been wont to convey in " The Merry Monarch." If 
 any of my readers would like to obtain an idea of this 
 charming actor during his best days, there is an excel- 
 lent picture of him in a scene with Fawcett and Maria 
 Tree, in which he portrays Charles II. It hangs upon 
 
200 CHARLES KEMBLE AND CHARLES KEAN. 
 
 the walls of the club : he was then the embodiment 
 of life, but the light of those days had departed, he 
 had become very deaf, and, like many people suffering 
 from that infirmity, used every endeavor to make him- 
 self hear. This was impossible, but others were fully 
 informed of his thoughts ; and as these were occasion- 
 ally far from complimentary to the hearer, his presence 
 latterly in the club was looked upon with some appre- 
 hension. 
 
 Charles Kean was a most worthy representative of 
 the drama. He, it is well known, was the son of one 
 of the greatest and most original actors that ever lived. 
 He was highly educated, and his tastes and feelings 
 were refined. He set an example of most careful and 
 laborious study, and, whether in a particular piece he 
 attained success or not, he never spared time or pains 
 to deserve it. There were some parts in which he 
 was very successful. I think that his best effort was 
 in " Louis XL," a play translated from the French. If 
 he were alive, however, I would not venture to say 
 that he excelled in melodrama, and certainly did not 
 in Shakespeare. In the "Corsican Brothers " he was 
 admirable, and in a translation of Carry's " Faust," in 
 which he played Mephistopheles, I never saw any 
 better performance. 
 
 Upon its first night he deviated from the strict pro- 
 priety that ordinarily characterized everything he did 
 by offering to bet two to one in bishops ; but it being 
 suggested that this would indicate a superfluity of 
 such articles in his dominions, he excised it from his 
 part. He was the most sensitive man I ever knew in 
 my life. A great feud existed between him and Al- 
 
SENSITIVENESS OF CHARLES KEAN. 201 
 
 bert Smith. The original cause I forget, but he had 
 offended Albert, who put into some penny paper that 
 a patient audience had endured the infliction of Charles 
 Kean in "Hamlet" in the expectation of seeing the 
 Keeleys in the afterpiece. One night I and a mem- 
 ber named Arabin, the son of Mr. Serjeant Arabin, 
 were talking with Albert Smith in the coffee-room. 
 At the opposite side stood Charles Kean, scowling. 
 Presently Albert departed. In about three strides 
 Charles Kean reached us. "Richard," he said, in 
 the most tragic of voices, " I never thought that you, 
 my old school-fellow, would have consorted with that 
 viper." Poor good-natured Dick had heard nothing 
 of the quarrel. On another occasion it is related that 
 he addressed an old orange -woman at his theatre 
 whom he had discovered applauding Ryder, 1 who had 
 been playing in the same piece with himself, in some-, 
 thing of these terms, "Ungrateful wretch ! thou who 
 hast eaten of my bread and enjoyed the hospitality 
 of my roof, how couldst thou applaud that man % " 
 But, after all, these were but foibles, and he was in 
 all substantial respects a credit to his profession. 
 
 I have already spoken of that little round object 
 with a bald head and fresh-colored face, and some- 
 what serious expression of countenance, no longer al- 
 most a supernumerary, but now the very funniest of 
 comedians, not trusting to grins and distortions, but 
 thoroughly artistic in his comedy, Robert Keeley. 
 There are many now upon the stage of equal ability, 
 but none with the same characteristics. There are 
 
 1 This gentleman had been a member of Charles Kean's company at the 
 Princess's, and is still a well-known actor. 
 
202 SERJEANT D WLING—MOR G AN JOHN O CONNELL. 
 
 some, but they are still alive, whose names I ought 
 next to record, but as I am down amongst the dead 
 men, and my living friends will feel no jealousy about 
 precedence, let me mention poor Leigh Murray. 
 What a promising actor he was, and how much courted ! 
 It was unlucky for his future fame that he was so. 
 He followed pleasure and sacrificed life. Albert and 
 Arthur Smith — how sad to be obliged to class them 
 in the death-category ! Their addresses had not been 
 rejected, but their enjoyment of their success was 
 only too short. Albert married the eldest daughter 
 of Keeley, and she very soon followed him to the 
 grave. There were plenty of lawyers, some still alive, 
 but many of them have passed away. 
 
 Ought I to say more than I have already done of 
 Serjeant Talfourd— as genial in the club as in his own 
 house, and qualified as member in every capacity that 
 formed a claim for entering it? Another Serjeant 
 was there also; he was not great, nor did he possess 
 literary powers, but he was connected with the editor 
 of " Bell's Life," who was, I believe, his brother. 
 His name was Dowling, and he was once, when a 
 junior, in a cause with Gurney as his leader. A wit- 
 ness had been called and told to go down. " Allow 
 me to ask a question," said Dowling. "Certainly," 
 said Gurney, who would have snapped his head off if 
 he had not been allied to a newspaper. He asked one 
 single question. In the next Sunday paper a para- 
 graph in the following words appeared: "Here Mr. 
 Dowling rose and, with a most impressive tone and 
 manner, asked the witness where he lived." Yet an- 
 other let me mention of those who are no more — 
 
APPALLING ACCIDENT AT A FIRE. 203 
 
 kindly, genial, good-natured Morgan John O'Connell. 
 He was contented with his illustrious name, being 
 nephew of the Liberator, and did not seek to add to 
 its laurels; but everywhere he was a favorite. We 
 witnessed together a most appalling incident ; it will 
 never pass from my memory. We were seated one 
 night at the club, when the whole sky became lighted 
 up, and it was apparent that a large fire was raging. We 
 started off in search of it, and found that it had broken 
 out in some warehouses situated upon the south-east 
 side of London Bridge. They had contained an im- 
 mense quantity of oil, which escaped in a state of 
 ignition and spread itself over the surface of the river, 
 presenting to the eyes of the beholder a sea of flame. 
 
 Some unhappy creatures in a boat approaching too 
 near were sucked into the fiery gulf. We heard one 
 horrible shriek, as if coming from a single voice, we 
 witnessed arms struggling in unspeakable agony, and 
 then the pitiless element closed over them forever. 
 No picture of pandemonium has ever equaled the hor- 
 ror of this frightful reality. It haunted me for weeks. 
 
 From a sad scene, where could my thoughts more 
 pleasantly wander than to Shirley Brooks, and my 
 friend and brother Serjeant Parry, who was one of 
 the most popular of the lawyers belonging to the club"? 
 and, although not a member, I have often met Doug- 
 las Jerrold there, the very bitterest of satirists and 
 mosff epigrammatic of authors. Of Albert Smith I 
 have already spoken. And let me end my obituary 
 — how sad to think how long it is ! — with one celeb- 
 rity, by no means the least valued or appreciated. He 
 was almost an institution in himself, and pity it is that 
 
204 MR. HAMBLET, THE STEWARD OF THE CLUB. 
 
 he was only mortal : it was Mr. Hamblet. He called 
 himself the steward of the club, but this was only the 
 modesty of a great man. He was its dictator, and 
 reigned supreme. The sense of his position sat in 
 placid dignity upon his countenance, as he moved about 
 extending an occasional recognition to a favorite mem- 
 ber. Sometimes, if he discovered any breach of the 
 rules, a single frown upon his face made the culprit 
 shrink abashed. For many years he ruled, and there 
 were no rebels to his authority ; but at last he also 
 yielded to the decrees of fate, and his like will ne'er be 
 seen again. 
 
 It seemed only proper that, after he had passed 
 away, the old house should not long survive, and now 
 the members of the Grarrick occupy a handsome edi- 
 fice in a street named after it. Some of its rooms are 
 very good, the drawing-room and the smoking-room 
 particularly so : inthe former, the fine pictures of its ex- 
 cellent collection are very advantageously seen ; and 
 in the latter, there are upon the walls paintings pre- 
 sented by Stanfield and Roberts, and some interest- 
 ing ones by an artist of the name, I believe, of Haig. 
 I doubt, however, whether the club is so cosy as it 
 was ; although there are still members in it whom I 
 knew in early days, and who will, I trust, long keep 
 out of my former list. 
 
 The stage could not be better or more honorably 
 represented than by the veteran Walter Lacey, a ster- 
 ling actor, always ready to do his very utmost to please, 
 both in public and private ; excellent in some parts, 
 and far above mediocrity in all he has attempted. I 
 have known him well throughout the greater part of 
 
SIMPSON, HOLMES, FLADGATE, BRASSEUR. 205 
 
 his career. Then there is my old friend Palgrave 
 Simpson, accomplished as a writer, and almost unri- 
 valed as an amateur actor. But what business have 
 I to call him old ? He is as young as ever, and would 
 have been without a rival were it not for Tom Holmes, 
 to whom every accomplishment seemed to come by 
 nature. History gives him many years of life, his 
 appearance and talents much fewer. His last per- 
 formance was in an amateur pantomime, where he 
 delighted an immense audience, including royalty, by 
 a wonderfully active and witty performance of Panta- 
 loon. 
 
 Of course in recording old reminiscences it would 
 be impossible to forget Frank Fladgate, now, I be- 
 lieve, the father of the club, and who, for all the years 
 it has existed, and through all its changing scenes, has 
 never made an enemy. No one of the present day is 
 so conversant with the records of the stage and the 
 lives of the greatest actors ; and it is a real treat to 
 listen to his pleasant talk, and note his adoration of 
 his beloved Shakespeare. 
 
 One other of my oldest friends I must mention, and 
 then adieu to the old Garrick. Not only in this club 
 did I know Isadore Brasseur, but we were brother 
 members of the Clarence, and we frequently met 
 amongst mutual friends. He had been a professor at 
 King's College, and in that capacity became known 
 to the Prince of Wales, who has ever since exhibited 
 towards him the most cordial affection. We do not 
 now often see him amongst us ; but there is no lack 
 of English friends who are glad to seek " Le Cheva- 
 lier Brasseur " in his pleasant Paris home. 
 
206 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 And now vale valete. It would be an agreeable task 
 to refer to other living members distinguished in lit- 
 erature, in art, in the drama, in the army, and in my 
 own profession ; but the catalogue would be too long, 
 and so I have confined myself to a word or two about 
 those only whom, dead or living, I have known and 
 valued in the early days of the old club-house, and 
 the estimation in which it is now held could not be 
 better testified than that it boasts amongst its mem- 
 bers His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Dick Arabin was a great favorite both at the Gar- 
 rick and the Union Club, indeed in all places to which 
 he resorted. He was the son of the quaint old gen- 
 tleman who presided at the Central Criminal Court, 
 and whom I have described in the sketch of that tri- 
 bunal. The premature death of Charles Kean was 
 attributable to the incessant labor he devoted to his 
 profession, his anxiety to provide for relatives whose 
 support he generously undertook inducing him to 
 overtax a not very strong frame. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 INEQUALITY OF SENTENCES. 
 
 A REFLECTION that forces itself upon the mind 
 1 *~ of every one who has observed the machinery 
 of our courts is how very much the fate of men and 
 causes must depend upon the temper and disposition 
 of those who preside ; there is such an enormous 
 amount of discretion vested in judges, which might 
 be limited, although it could not be abolished. I do 
 not believe that a code could be so formed as to meet 
 the multifarious requirements of our complicated state 
 of existence; but I do think that in. certain matters 
 grave scandals are created by the apparent inequality 
 of decision's, and I think it would look better in the 
 eyes of the public and be much more satisfactory for 
 the judge if a certain sentence always followed the 
 same verdict, and mitigating circumstances were left 
 for the executive to deal with. This subject is a very 
 large one, and it is not upon any assumption that I 
 am capable of dealing with it that I have made the 
 allusion I have done ; but it has arisen from thinking 
 how very different in every mental feature was Sir 
 Frederick Pollock, who became Chief Baron of the 
 Exchequer after the death of Lord Abinger, from his 
 
 207 
 
208 SIR FREDERICK POLLOCK'S EARLY CAREER. 
 
 contemporary, Lord Campbell. I remember the former 
 from the earliest period of my life, as Mr. Frederick 
 Pollock. He lived opposite to our house in Serjeants' 
 Inn. His elder brother David practiced in the old 
 Insolvent Court in Portugal Street, where my father 
 also endeavored to obtain business. Pollock was at 
 one time member for Huntingdon, and Somersham, 
 my mother's birth-place, being in the same county, as 
 he rose in the profession, he was a man of mark in the 
 eyes of my family. It also happened that in very 
 early days I possessed a client and friend, Frank 
 Betham, who entrusted him with his business, and oc- 
 casionally gave me the junior briefs of which I have 
 already recorded one instance. When franks were in 
 use I was proud to obtain Pollock's signature. I have 
 watched him in and out of office, and no one had more 
 vicissitudes. A banker of Huntingdon named Veasey 
 was his intimate friend. This gentleman occupied a 
 house that once belonged to my mother in that town, 
 and he also belonged to the Union Club, where I often 
 heard him repeat the praises of Sir Frederick, who 
 received the appointment of Chief Baron whilst con- 
 ducting a case at the Central Court, of which hereaf- 
 ter I have given an account, and I hope that I shall 
 not detract from his dignity by saying that he did not 
 conceal his delight. I look back to him with much 
 affectionate regard, which may possibly bias my opin- 
 ion ; but I am not afraid to assert that no stain ever 
 found its way upon his escutcheon, and no charge of 
 jobbery ever followed his well-deserved success. He 
 was in fact an upright and honorable gentleman. His 
 attainments were of a very high order. He took the first 
 
SIR FREDERICK'S DELIGHT IN MATHEMATICS. 209 
 
 honors at Cambridge, and almost down to his death took 
 delight in the most abstruse problems in mathematics. 
 He belonged to a race of lawyers to whom the latest 
 hours of night and the earliest in the morning pre- 
 sented no impediment to study, and almost to the last 
 he was fond of putting upon his letters the very early 
 hour at which they were written. I am not quite 
 sure that I must not attribute to him some small share 
 of personal vanity, as he was accustomed to sit upon 
 the bench nursing a very handsome leg and foot, and 
 looking at it with great complacency. One of his nu- 
 merous daughters was married to Mr., afterwards 
 Baron, Martin, and the active, energetic, and power- 
 ful mind of this gentleman possessed great weight 
 with his father-in-law, and gave rise to some com- 
 ments which certainly, as far as intentions went, were 
 not deserved. 
 
 There is always great difficulty in avoiding criti- 
 cism, however honest may be the endeavor, when a 
 successful advocate practices before a near connection. 
 It has been my lot to be engaged before him in many 
 cases. He possessed firmness and decision, and 
 though sometimes hasty, he was never harsh or dis- 
 courteous. I do not think a young counsel ever had 
 to complain of injustice being done to him, and he 
 thoroughly appreciated merit. Although solemn in 
 his manner, both upon the bench and in society, I 
 have heard him make the best after-dinner speech 
 that I ever listened to, except from the lips of Dick- 
 ens. Amongst the causes celebres that were tried be- 
 fore him was that of the Mannings, for a very brutal 
 murder in Bermondsey. It excited much attention al 
 14 
 
210 CURIOUS INSURANCE CASE. 
 
 the time, Mrs. Manning having been maid to a lady of 
 distinguished rank, and having subsequently followed 
 a career that made her somewhat generally known. 
 I defended her unsuccessfully, as she was hanged ; 
 and, although she was my client, I suspect she was 
 the power that really originated the deed of blood. 
 I was once counsel in the Court of Exchequer in a 
 curious and interesting case. It was an action brought 
 by executors against a life insurance company to re- 
 cover the amount of a sum insured upon the life of a 
 person who, it was alleged, was accidentally drowned. 
 It appeared that shortly after the insurance had been 
 effected he went down to Brighton, and stated to the 
 people at the house where he put up that he was go- 
 ing out to bathe, and his clothes were found upon the 
 beach, but he himself did not return. His relatives 
 claimed the amount of the insurance money. The 
 company disputed the claim. Some little time after 
 the disappearance, a body, in a partial state of decom- 
 position, was cast on shore on one of the Channel 
 islands. The parties interested did not feel the least 
 difficulty in identifying the body as that of their lost 
 relative, but, on the other hand, there were no natu- 
 ral means by which it could have got from Brighton to 
 the coast where it was found. Several witnesses were 
 called upon this point, and I remember making the 
 Chief Baron laugh by a very indifferent joke. A 
 doctor had been examined, and some little delay oc- 
 curred. My lord got impatient, and said, somewhat 
 pettishly, "Who is your next witness, brother?" 
 "Well, my lord," I answered, "having called the doc- 
 tor, the next in order will be the undertaker." 
 
RAIL WAT A CCIDENT. 211 
 
 The jury were ultimately discharged, and the claim 
 was never renewed. Of its fraudulent nature there is 
 not the smallest doubt. It was shown that in all cases 
 of drowning at Brighton the body was cast back if the 
 immersion had taken place near the shore, and the 
 currents made it simply impossible that it could reach 
 the spot where the body identified was cast. Sir 
 Frederick had a very retentive memory for faces, and 
 on one occasion that he was trying a case a little at- 
 torney named Cyrus Jay was'a witness. This gentle- 
 man, one etc., was not known in the higher profes- 
 sional walks, and I fancy entered the witness-box with 
 some trepidation. The chief, however, as was his 
 habit, and is the habit of all experienced judges, 
 scanned Cyrus very attentively, and, having heard his 
 name, said, "Are you any relation of my old friend 
 the Rev. Mr. Jay of Bath ?" " I am his son," said the 
 witness. In subsequently telling this anecdote, Cyrus, 
 added, "After that I felt I could swear anything I 
 liked." In the case I am about to record I think that 
 Sir Frederick Pollock laid down the law wrongly ; in 
 the way, however, he directed the jury the verdict 
 returned was the only one open for them to give ; but 
 the history of it, for many reasons that I shall men- 
 tion, is worth recording. It was an action against the 
 Great Eastern Railway Company by a gentleman who 
 undoubtedly had been seriously injured in an accident 
 upon that line, and which had been occasioned by the 
 fracture of the tire of one of the wheels of the engine. 
 
 Now whether such a fracture could have been pre- 
 vented by reasonable care is a question of great diffi- 
 culty, and can only be determined by the evidence of 
 
212 OPINIONS OF SCIENTIFIC WITNESSES. 
 
 engineers. These gentlemen have undergone an ap- 
 prenticeship before committees of the House of Com- 
 mons, and have learned to give plausible reasons for 
 all the propositions they advance, and as counsel can 
 rarely shake their evidence, he had better leave them 
 alone, trusting to the same number of witnesses lie is 
 instructed to call on the other side. It is then that 
 Greek meets Greek. Engineers have more power, 
 for the above reason, when in a witness-box, than other 
 professional witnesses. The inside also of a bar of 
 iron is more of a terra incognita than even the inside 
 of a human body ; at all events there are fewer peo- 
 ple who know anything about it ; but medical men 
 who do not make a trade of being witnesses are fre- 
 quently much embarrassed when called upon to give 
 reasons for their opinions. They are accustomed to 
 rule supreme in the sick chamber, and their judgment 
 there is not disputed. Very likely they are right in 
 their evidence, but are not the less embarrassed. I 
 doubt much whether a parson who had preached the 
 soundest of doctrine would be able to uphold it in the 
 teeth of a rigorous cross-examination. I have been 
 engaged in many cases involving mechanical and med- 
 ical questions. In the former I have trusted to mem- 
 bers of the same profession ; in the latter, generally 
 to myself. In the case in question no fault was to be 
 found with the wheel that had given way, but* two 
 most eminent engineers, amongst the very highest in 
 their profession, declared that they had seen the cor- 
 responding wheel, which had not been removed from 
 a siding upon the railway where it had been taken to 
 after the accident, and that they had examined it with 
 
A SECOND ACTION BEFORE SIR A. COCKBURN. 213 
 
 great care, and had discovered in it a fissure into which 
 they could easily have placed the blade of a knife. 
 One of them said he had actually done so. As the 
 company did not anticipate any evidence about this 
 particular wheel, counsel were not prepared with en- 
 gineers upon the other side, who might have treated the 
 fissure as totally immaterial, and the Lord Chief 
 Baron, as I think improperly, held that its existence 
 was evidence of negligence. Perhaps it was, but 
 surely not negligence affecting the accident. How- 
 ever, the jury found, as they were bound to do upon 
 the ruling, a substantial verdict for the plaintiff', who 
 had lost a leg. 
 
 Another person injured in the same accident brought 
 an action against the company in the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas, but in the interval the wheel alleged to be 
 defective was exhumed and examined, and upon the 
 trial it was produced, and it showed incontestably 
 that there was not upon it either speck or blemish. 
 An endeavor was made to discredit the fact that it 
 was the same wheel, the engineers who had obtained 
 the verdict in the Court of Exchequer reasserting 
 and repeating their evidence. Thus it became a 
 matter of fact and not of science, and Lord Chief 
 Justice Cockburn, before whom the case was tried, 
 so left it to the jury, and they, with scarcely a mo- 
 ment's hesitation, found for the defendants. 
 
 Whilst upon this subject, I may mention a case in 
 which I was counsel for the same company, tried at 
 Croydon before Chief Baron Kelly, and in which the 
 tire of a wheel had given way, and much of the en- 
 gineering talent of the country was called upon one 
 
214 DR- SUMNER, BISHOP OF WINCHESTER. 
 
 side or the other. After a very long trial the compa- 
 ny obtained a verdict. But the case is interesting 
 principally from the evidence that was given in rela- 
 tion to the smelting of the iron previous to formation 
 into bars, showing how an almost perceptible grain 
 of any foreign substance getting into the molten mass 
 would create the nucleus of extensive injury, which, 
 if not upon the surface, would be undiscoverable by 
 any tests; consequently that the accidents that hap- 
 pened to the tires usually occurred with perfectly new 
 wheels, the old ones having had their capacities thor- 
 oughly tested. 
 
 Sir Frederick Pollock was very fond of the Home 
 Circuit, and I have frequently had the opportunity of 
 enjoying his great social qualities at Farnham Castle, 
 the residence of the late Dr. Sumner, then Bishop of 
 Winchester. It was a real relaxation to go from Guild- 
 ford to this very beautiful spot, where the prelate 
 extended to the bar the most liberal hospitality. His 
 parties were rendered more agreeable by the guests 
 from Aldershot, and young and old, red coats and 
 black, met with the most cheery welcome, greatly 
 enhanced by the accomplishments and courtesy of the 
 ladies of the family. 
 
 The bishop was very fond of his garden, and with 
 him, and enjoying his simple thoughts and polished 
 conversation, and sharing, as I did, his love for birds 
 and flowers, I have passed many an hour that in a 
 circuit town would have hung heavily enough. I have 
 already mentioned David Pollock. He went out to 
 Bombay as chief justice, and there died. Another 
 brother, as is well known, was a most distinguished 
 general, and received the thanks of his country foi 
 
CONCLUSION OF CIRCUIT. 215 
 
 the services he performed. Sir Frederick retired from 
 the bench, receiving the honor of a baronetcy, and 
 making way for Sir Fitzroy Kelly. He was a con- 
 sistent Tory, and passed through the different changes 
 that the party underwent, and when at last he came 
 to the front I fancy there were very few in the pro- 
 fession that grudged him his good fortune. It is not 
 a bad story that is told of him when upon the North- 
 ern Circuit.' A gentleman named Alexander had a 
 large leading practice, and it was noticed that Mr. 
 Pollock, as he then was, always made complimentary 
 allusions to him. Some one asked him how he could 
 possibly do so. " Why," said he, "do you not per- 
 ceive that if I did not keep Alexander in business, I 
 should have that fellow Cresswell against me in ev- 
 ery case f " 
 
 When the Guildford assizes, the last place of the 
 summer circuit, ended, I seldom lost much time in 
 hastening abroad, and my steps seemed naturally to 
 turn to Boulogne-sur-Mer. I was very fond of the 
 place. It is now a good deal changed. The aboli- 
 tion of imprisonment for debt has enabled most of 
 the unwilling sojourners to return to their native 
 shores, and thus it has lost the gayest and most care- 
 less of its residents. At the time I am now recalling, 
 most of them belonged to a little club, held in the 
 Rue de l'Ecu. Taken generally, their original social 
 rank was good, and their manners were easy and gen- 
 tlemanlike. We played whist at franc points, and I 
 need not say that no credit was asked for or given. 
 One or other of the members would disappear for a 
 time. It was understood that he was putting up at 
 the "English hotel," by which name the debtors 
 
216 DEATH OF AN OLD IRISH OFFICER. 
 
 prison was designated. If any of us were fortunate 
 enough to have a run of luck, and win some five 
 pounds or so, the club was deserted by the whist- 
 players during the week following, whilst the lucky 
 winner might be seen, probably for the only time that 
 season, enjoying his dinner and Lafitte at one of the 
 best tables dliote. One of the characters I remember 
 was an Irish major^ a thorough good specimen of his 
 country. He was a tolerably regular frequenter of 
 the whist-table, and played an excellent rubber. He 
 had a son, an officer of high distinction in the Indian 
 army. Very precise was the major in his demeanor, 
 and careful in his play. From the few words that 
 occasionally escaped his lips, and from what was heard 
 of him from other quarters, it was clear that he had 
 moved in the higher circles, and had at one time been 
 possessed of large means ; but he never either boasted 
 or complained. We learned that after a short illness 
 he had died in a solitary lodging, and also a sad tale 
 of the poverty that surrounded him. The circum- 
 stances which existed in India at that period prevent- 
 ed his son from knowing anything of his position. 
 When his desk was opened, a number of memoranda 
 were found, showing that, however polished his asso- 
 ciates may have been, they did not possess much 
 honesty ; and there were signatures of some well- 
 known persons to I O U's who might, if they had 
 paid a tenth of what they owed him, have enabled 
 him to live and die in comfort. 
 
 Should the above lines meet the eyes of his son, I 
 trust he will not feel that I have improperly drawn 
 aside a curtain that ought to have been kept closed, 
 but it has been done in no unkindly spirit. 
 
ALDERMAN KENNEDY. 217 
 
 Amongst the figures that were not gay or thought- 
 less, I well remember Alderman Kennedy, who was 
 one of those convicted upon the British Bank trial, 
 and upon whose face and in whose weary footstep the 
 observer would discover hopeless despondency. Van- 
 ity had been his ruin. He had by most honorable 
 means realized a large fortune in India, and he be- 
 lieved that he was equal to cope with the intrigue and 
 trickery of the rascals of this metropolis. By his con- 
 nection with the British Bank he sacrificed fortune 
 and character. 
 
 I knew him very well before his fall, a weak, pomp- 
 ous, kindly-hearted man. He could not see any ele- 
 ment in nature superior to himself. Oh, how wearily 
 he trod those stones ! I sought to renew my acquaint- 
 ance with him, but he rejected all my overtures. 
 Poor fellow, sinned against, but having in truth no 
 fraud in his own thoughts, he died in a foreign place, 
 and the epitaph upon his tomb ought to have been — 
 Victim of self-conceit. 
 
 Charles Dickens was very fond of Boulogne, and 
 on the occasion that I particularly remember him in 
 the place, he occupied a villa upon the Calais road. 
 Albert and Arthur Smith were also frequent visitors. 
 They used to catch little fish in the harbor, as in for- 
 mer days they did in the lake of Geneva. And I also 
 met an old acquaintance of mine, an eminent physi- 
 cian, Dr. Elliotson. He carried on his profession in 
 Conduit Street, Regent Street, and had formerly en- 
 joyed a very large practice ; but he became a convert 
 to mesmerism, which he fancied could be made a val- 
 uable agent in the treatment of disease. Unless a 
 reformer can crush, he must be crushed, and EMiot 
 
218 DR. ELLIOTSON. 
 
 son being an enthusiast and not an impostor, the holy 
 war of etiquette was waged by his profession against 
 him and ruined his business. 
 
 Upon one occasion this gentleman, Charles Dick- 
 ens, and myself started together in the packet from 
 Boulogne for Folkestone. Neither of my comrades 
 was a good sailor, and they knew it themselves. The 
 illustrious author armed himself with a box of homoe- 
 opathic globules ; and the doctor, whose figure was 
 rotund, having a theory that by tightening the stom- 
 ach the internal movements which caused the sick- 
 ness might be prevented, waddled down to the boat 
 with his body almost divided by a strap. The weather 
 was stormy, and neither remedy proved of any avail. 
 
 I frequently met Dr. Elliotson in society. He was 
 a man of very varied attainments, and a great favorite. 
 Amongst the houses at which he was a constant visit- 
 or was that of a lady, Mrs. Milner Gibson, who at one 
 time gathered around her a large circle, comprising 
 most of those famous in literature, art, and the pro- 
 fessions ; and here also every foreigner possessing a 
 grievance and an unhappy country was always made 
 heartily welcome. 
 
 Dr. Elliotson was also a much valued guest at Mr. 
 Justice Crowder's, where I used to meet him. This 
 judge I remember with great feelings of pleasure, join- 
 ed to regret at his comparatively early death. 
 
 He had been on the Western Circuit with Cock- 
 burn, and, being his senior in the House of Commons, 
 might have contested with him the honor of the So- 
 licitor-Generalship ; but he preferred the safer and 
 easier position of a seat on the bench, which he filled 
 with general respect and approval. 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 219 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 If I obeyed the voice of some of my critics, I might 
 without much difficulty add the dates to the matters 
 I have related, and it is with no disrespect to their 
 opinions that I still omit to do so. If the accuracy 
 of any of the facts had been challenged, the "Anno 
 Domini" might be necessary, but I cannot help think- 
 ing that what is intended as a gossiping sketch, and 
 claiming no controversial importance, would be rather 
 impaired than improved by such a formality. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 MURDER OF MR. DRUMMOND. 
 
 TN the commencement of the year 1843, as a gen- 
 tleman named Drummond was walking down Par- 
 liament Street, he was fatally wounded by a pistol- 
 shot, fired by a man of the name of MacNaghten, a 
 Scotchman. It was clear that he was mistaken by 
 him for Sir Robert Peel, whom it was his intention 
 to have killed. As Mr. Drummond was a man gen- 
 erally respected, and of the most inoffensive habits, it 
 was not unnatural that a storm of indignation should 
 arise against the perpetrator of the act, whilst the 
 patience exhibited by his victim during the few days 
 that he survived the attack added to the general sym- 
 pathy of the public. 
 
 MacNaghten was placed upon his trial for murder 
 in the following February, Sir Nicholas Conyngham 
 Tindal, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, presid- 
 ing. I have had occasion to refer to this judge, al- 
 though not at any length, when giving an account of 
 the Courvoisier trial. He was certainly not a man 
 of startling characteristics, but upon the bench pre- 
 sented a singularly calm and equable appearance. I 
 never saw him yield to irritability, or exhibit impa- 
 220 
 
TRIAL OF MACNAGHTEN FOR MURDER. 221 
 
 tience. I should say in fact that he was made for the 
 position that he filled, and sound law and substantial 
 justice were sure, as far as human power could pre- 
 vail, to be administered under his presidency. 
 
 It required a judge of this calibre to control the 
 violent feelings of indignation launched not unnatural- 
 ly against the accused. Sir William Follett conduct- 
 ed the prosecution, and the late Lord Chief Justice, 
 then Mr. Cockburn, was retained for the defense. 
 
 The facts were easily proved, and the only question 
 that was in issue was whether the prisoner at the time 
 of the commission of the crime was of sound mind, 
 and the onus of showing the contrary practically de- 
 volved upon the prisoner's counsel. 1 MacNaghten 
 had been treated as a lunatic, and he appears to have 
 imagined that Sir Robert Peel was bent upon his de- 
 struction, which he intended to prevent by the assas- 
 sination. There was no ground whatever for even the 
 belief that Sir Robert Peel knew him. 
 
 In a case not altogether analogous, but bearing some 
 similarity to it, Erskine had made a most masterly and 
 argumentative speech, dealing with the diiferent 
 phases of insanity, and Cockburn in his defense of 
 MacNaghten had the advantage of thatgreat advocate's 
 views and treatment of the subject. This, however, 
 did not detract from the merit of one of the most 
 masterly arguments ever heard at the English bar. 
 Several witnesses were called, and the facts that I 
 have briefly stated were fully proved. Before the 
 evidence was concluded, the Chief Justice appealed 
 to Sir William Follett, who admitted that he must 
 
 1 This is not so theoretically, as the indictment in terms declares the ac- 
 cused to be of sound mind and understanding. 
 
222 DEFENSE OF INSANITY. 
 
 submit to a verdict acquitting the prisoner upon the 
 ground of insanity, and this verdict was accordingly 
 pronounced. A storm of indignation followed it. 
 Mad or not, the prisoner ought to have been hanged. 
 Such was no uncommon expression, and a general de- 
 nunciation of mad doctors, and some not very compli- 
 mentary remarks upon lawyers, might notunfrequently 
 be heard. This outcry resulted in a very singular 
 proceeding on the part of the House of Lords, which 
 had no precedent, and fortunately has never been re- 
 peated. The judges were summoned by their lord- 
 ships to express their opinions upon the law applica- 
 ble to insanity in criminal cases. It seems to me 
 surprising that they did not point out that such a pro- 
 ceeding was extra-judicial, and that their opinions 
 could only properly be given upon certain facts arising 
 before them in their judicial capacity, and that what 
 was asked of them was to make a law in anticipation 
 of facts that might hereafter arise. The same proceed- 
 ing also might be adopted in relation to any subject, 
 civil or criminal. However, the judges went and sat 
 in solemn conclave, but as might be expected, being 
 called upon to found abstract opinions with no facts 
 to go upon, they have not greatly assisted the admin- 
 istration of justice. 1 
 
 The important points propounded by the judges 
 seem to be as follows : — 
 
 " The only ground upon which an alleged lunatic 
 is entitled to an acquittal is that he did not know the 
 difference between right and wrong in the act that he 
 committed" If they had proceeded to say upon what 
 
 1 Mr. Justice Maule pointed out this difficulty. 
 
REFERENCES TO JUDGES BY HOUSE OF LORDS. 223 
 
 principles this question was to be determined, some 
 benefit might have arisen from their opinions. 
 
 The judges further say, "that although a person 
 may in a particular matter act under an insane delu- 
 sion, and act in consequence thereof, he is equally 
 liable with a person of sane mind." I presume this 
 to mean that unless it be shown that the delusion de- 
 stroyed his knowledge of the difference between right 
 and wrong, which is to be discovered and proved in- 
 dependently of the admitted delusion, he must be 
 considered of sane mind. If these dicta are to be 
 received as law, then a totally different principle gov- 
 erns civil and criminal cases, and a person incapable 
 of making a will or executing a deed may, neverthe- 
 less, be liable to be executed for the commission of 
 what in a sane person would be a crime. However 
 startling this proposition is, it cannot be controverted, 
 and it appears to me that the subject is one worthy 
 of further consideration and much more careful an- 
 alysis than has ever been applied to it. In the obser- 
 vations that I have already made, and in those that 
 follow, I do not pretend to lay down any proposition 
 or dictate any solution of the difficulty, but merely 
 wish to suggest certain matters that in the course of 
 my practice have presented themselves, with a view 
 of attracting the attention of men better informed 
 and more experienced upon the subject. 
 
 That insanity exists to a most deplorable extent is 
 testified by the numerous establishments, both public 
 and private, for the care of lunatics, and the question 
 of how far mental derangement, admitted to exist 
 upon a particular point, affects the conduct of an in- 
 
224 SINGULAR CLEVERNESS OF A LUNATIC. 
 
 dividual beyond the scope of that point, is a subject 
 worthy of the research both of medical men and law- 
 yers. Doctors have introduced the term " uncon- 
 trollable impulse," and an excuse has been sought un- 
 der this term for violent bursts of passion arising from 
 natural causes ; but may not such symptoms be also the 
 result of insanity ? Have we not numerous instances 
 in which under such influences the victims have de- 
 stroyed themselves % It is not difficult to presume 
 that they knew they were doing wrong ; and, indeed, 
 the cunning that in many cases attends their acts in- 
 dicates that they did ; but assuming one of the qual- 
 ities of the sane human mind to be self-restraint, and 
 supposing this barrier has been removed by insanity, 
 ought the sufferer to be held criminally liable for his 
 acts, although evidence existed that he was conscious 
 of the difference between right and wrong? 
 
 When Ravaillac assassinated Henry IV. of France, 
 he believed that in doing so he was commending him- 
 self to God, and as many enthusiasts at all times and 
 in all countries have acted under such impressions, it 
 would be a dangerous doctrine to declare that because 
 the sense of right and wrong had disappeared, a crim- 
 inal should be deemed irresponsible; and yet, on the 
 other hand, an utter lunatic may possess a sense of 
 right and wrong in many actions of his life. The 
 case is well known of a madman who was cross- 
 examined by Erskine ineffectually for some time. At 
 last the counsel obtained the clue, and in answer to 
 a question he put the witness said, "I am the Christ." 
 Upon a subsequent occasion, when again cross-exam- 
 ined, he carefully avoided the admission that had de- 
 
INFERENCES FROM AN INSANE DELUSION. 225 
 
 feated him upon the former occasion. He was admit- 
 tedly a lunatic, but certainly if he had been charged 
 with a crime it might fairly have been contended that 
 he knew the difference between right and wrong. 
 
 As I have said already, a civil act is destroyed by 
 proof that the person performing it was at the time 
 subject to mental delusion upon one subject, although 
 in every other perfectly reasonable. The only prin- 
 ciple upon which this rule can be founded is that the 
 mind is one and entire, and if diseased it is impossi- 
 ble, whatever may be the external signs, to say to 
 what extent, and in what direction, the disease ex- 
 tends. If this be good reasoning, surely it is equally 
 applicable to the mind of a person charged with a 
 crime. I cannot think that, where an insane delusion 
 is clearly proved, although numerous facts may be 
 brought forward to show that the lunatic distinguished, 
 up to the time of the offense, the difference between 
 right and wrong, that he ought to be consigned to the 
 gallows. The gout that has taken possession of a 
 man's toe suddenly leaps to his heart. When a man 
 believes himself to be the Saviour, how is it possible 
 for human skill to tell what thought or opinion is 
 likely to control any act of his life? The law must 
 yield to the dispensations of Providence, however 
 much prejudice and passion may seek to sway its 
 administration. 
 
 I was witness of the result of the outcry that Drum- 
 mond's assassination occasioned in a case tried before 
 Baron Alderson at the Central Criminal Court. That 
 very learned judge summed up strongly for an acquit- 
 tal upon the ground of insanity. The jury, however, 
 
226 CASE- OF MRS. RAMSBOTTOM. 
 
 took the matter into their own hands, and convicted 
 the prisoner. The judge made urgent recommenda- 
 tions to the Home Secretary, but, nevertheless, the 
 man was executed. It will not, I think, be uninter- 
 esting to record here one or two cases involving these 
 questions, and in which I have at different periods of 
 my career been engaged as counsel. One of them 
 was of a very distressing character. 
 
 A lady of the name of Ramsbottom, the wife of an 
 eminent physician, herself of middle age and gener- 
 ally respected, was suspected of pilfering from a dra- 
 per's shop in Baker Street, Portman Square. She 
 was watched, followed, and her person was searched, 
 and several small articles were found concealed in 
 different parts of her dress. She was given into cus- 
 tody, went through the painful ordeal of an inquiry at 
 the Marylebone Police Court, and was committed for 
 trial at the Middlesex sessions. At the period when 
 this occurred, Mr. Serjeant Adams was the presiding 
 judge. He was thoroughly impartial and knew all 
 the law necessary for his position, but it was not very 
 well packed in the receptacle of his brain, and the par- 
 ticles constantly came out at wrong times and places. 
 The case, however, could hardly have been confused ; 
 the facts were perfectly clear, the whole of the lady's 
 life, as far as its history was known, was not only free 
 from reproach, but thoroughly rational. The only 
 point that could be relied upon for the defense was 
 that the articles stolen were so trivial that no sane ob- 
 ject could exist for intentional theft, and the only sug- 
 gestion that could be made in her favor was that she 
 was not responsible for her actions, being compelled 
 by an uncontrollable impulse, or, to use a technical 
 
MBS. BAMSBOTTOM'S TBIAL FOB THEFT. 227 
 
 term, that she was the victim of kleptomania, not a 
 very popular defense before a jury of tradesmen. 
 However, after having been locked up for some hours, 
 they were ultimately discharged without giving a ver- 
 dict, a result arising probably more from compassion 
 for the lady's husband than any doubt about the facts. 
 I thought at the time that if, instead of laying a 
 trap for her, the proprietor of the shop had conveyed 
 a hint either to herself or to the doctor, it would have 
 been the kinder course, and subsequent circumstances 
 showed that in reality her conduct was attributable 
 to insane influences, although certainly she knew thor- 
 oughly well that she was acting wrongly. 
 
 She died very shortly after the ordeal she had un- 
 dergone, broken down in health and spirit with the 
 shame and disgrace, and I was consulted, after her 
 death had taken place, by Dr. Ramsbottom under the 
 following circumstances. Every drawer and cupboard 
 in the house was found to be full of new goods, which 
 she must have been in the habit of abstracting'during 
 many years, and I believe that in every instance they 
 were contained in their original wrappers. Mrs. Rams- 
 bottom was a religious woman, and I cannot doubt 
 that every Sunday she listened with respect and 
 veneration to the lessons taught in church, and fully 
 realized the commandment of " Thou shalt not steal." 
 And it is clear that she by the acts she committed in- 
 curred danger and obtained no advantage. I advised 
 Dr. Ramsbottom not to make the discovery public, 
 and the articles found were distributed amongst differ- 
 ent charitable institutions. 
 
 Can any one doubt that insanity irresistibly con- 
 trolled her conduct? 
 
228 CASE OF MRS. THWAITES. 
 
 Many instances are upon record in which this ex- 
 traordinary mania is alleged to have developed itself. 
 And one case is known where an attendant always 
 accompanied a lady of high rank when she went out 
 shopping, and paid for the articles she stole. Sup- 
 posing in any of these instances the parties had com- 
 mitted a crime of a different description, would it be 
 just to hold them responsible? The question is not 
 unimportant, as such acts, if clearly proved, would, 
 as the law now stands, invalidate a will. 
 
 Certainly the most remarkable and interesting case 
 connected with mental derangement, in which I acted 
 as counsel, was in connection with a will of a lady 
 named Thwaites. She died at an advanced age, leav- 
 ing a very large fortune, which she bequeathed to 
 different persons with whom she associated during 
 her lifetime, and none of whom were her relatives ; 
 and her next of kin disputed the will upon the ground 
 that she was insane at the time of making it. 
 
 She had inherited the fortune in early life, unex- 
 pectedly, upon the death of her husband, and had ad- 
 ministered it with judgment and discretion. She was 
 neither niggardly nor profuse. She was charitable 
 without being reckless, and kept her accounts, which 
 were somewhat complicated, with accuracy and in 
 excellent order. No restraint of any kind was ever 
 placed upon her. She played whist, and, I am told, 
 played it fairly well. She endured pain on different 
 occasions with great resignation, 1 and moreover there 
 was nothing extraordinary in the disposition of her 
 
 1 Dr. Turner, an old friend of mine and a physician of great eminence at 
 Brighton, gave me an account of her great patience under suffering. 
 
HER WILL SET ASIDE. 229 
 
 property, as she had never held much intercourse with 
 her own relatives. 
 
 Unquestionably, however, she was guilty of some 
 very extraordinary proceedings, and expressed some 
 singular views. She asserted that she had been chosen 
 by our Saviour to receive Him upon His return to 
 earth, and that this event would therefore occur dur- 
 ing her lifetime, and she indicated the reality of this 
 belief by making very extensive preparations for His 
 reception, principally in the upholstery Kne, and 
 there was a great deal of absurdity exhibited in 
 the arrangements she made. Lord Penzance, be- 
 fore whom the case was tried without the interven- 
 tion of a jury, held that her will was invalid. The 
 circumstances of this case suggest reflections as to 
 how far religious opinions, absurd and ridiculous 
 as they may ajmear to others, are to be accepted 
 as proof of insanity. The main idea, round which 
 every thought and act rotated in her mind, was the 
 approaching return of the Saviour to earth. This 
 surely cannot be treated as insane. The notion that 
 she was selected to receive Him might be the product 
 of vanity and the misunderstanding of some of the 
 mysterious passages that occur in portions of the 
 Scripture, whilst the preparations she made were only 
 the natural consequences of such a belief on the part 
 of a person of utterly unrefined ideas ; and it is to be 
 noted that she was a woman of no education, and from 
 her earliest youth had been the object of fulsome at- 
 tentions and flattery. 1 
 
 1 Sir Roundell Palmer led me upon the first trial, and his speech is well 
 worth the perusal of those who desire to look deeply into this subject. 
 
230 CONSIDERATIONS UPON INSANITY. 
 
 But a grave doubt has occurred to me as to whether 
 the belief in question really had full and undivided 
 possession of her mind, and whether there was not 
 rather a pride in putting forward the claim. She sac- 
 rificed nothing of personal interest and Comfort, and 
 never appeared to undervalue the good things of this 
 world in consequence of the great honor that was in 
 store for her. 
 
 These speculations, however, are beside my main 
 object in discussing the subject. For that purpose I 
 assume that a delusion, utterly inconsistent with sanity, 
 had taken possession of her senses, and that, therefore, 
 she was unfit to execute any legal document. In 
 what manner ought she to have been dealt with if she 
 had committed what in a sane person would have 
 been a crime ? Her whole life showed that she un- 
 derstood the distinction between right and wrong, and 
 if the issue left to a jury had been narrowed to that 
 question, unless the fact that she was under a delu- 
 sion upon the subject of the Saviour's returning to 
 earth and becoming her guest could be treated as evi- 
 dence that she was unable to tell right from wrong, 
 she must have been convicted. 
 
 I have been engaged in many cases of interest since 
 the constitution of the Probate and Divorce Court, be- 
 fore the three judges who have severally presided, 
 and, amongst others, the very unhappy one of Lady 
 Mordaunt. This unfortunate lady became insane af- 
 ter a confinement, and continued hopelessly so from 
 that period. This was an instance where the mind 
 was entirely destroyed, and therefore it presented none 
 of those difficulties which I have pointed out in other 
 
FORMATION OF THE PROBATE COURT. 231 
 
 cases, and which. I venture to think deserve the at- 
 tention both of those who make the laws and those 
 who administer them. 
 
 Having mentioned the Court of Probate and Divorce, 
 this may not be an improper place to allude to its for- 
 mation and the judges who have presided in it. When 
 first constituted, Mr. Justice Cresswell, then a mem- 
 ber of the Court of Common Pleas, was selected as 
 its head, and it would have been difficult to make a 
 better choice. He was a most able lawyer and a man 
 of the world. He had been a successful leader at the 
 bar, was an acute cross-examiner, and an utter despiser 
 of all shams. He narrowly watched the demeanor of 
 the witnesses who gave evidence before him, and 
 usually formed just conclusions. I wish I could fin- 
 ish my sketch without a word of reproach or blame, 
 but, in justice, I must say that his manner was too 
 often supercilious, thus detracting from his high quali- 
 ties. At the same time he was eminently just, and 
 never carried any feeling he might have shown against 
 either counsel or witness into the comments that he 
 made to the jury, and his perfect impartiality will, I 
 am sure, be admitted and remembered by every one 
 who knew him. He tried one very remarkable pro- 
 bate case, in which I opposed a will propounded by a 
 person named Smethurst, presenting features which I 
 think are of a very singular character. This man suc- 
 ceeded in upholding the will, which I attribute to one 
 of the most admirable speeches I ever heard from Dr., 
 now Sir Robert, Phillimore, who was his counsel. 
 
 Lord Penzance, a Baron of the Exchequer, suc- 
 ceeded Creswell, who died from the result of an acci- 
 
232 LORD PENZANCE— SIR JAMES HANNEN. 
 
 dent. He possessed all the high judicial qualities of 
 his predecessor, whilst his demeanor was most courte- 
 ous to every one, and, if it was his duty to differ from 
 counsel, he did so with good taste and gentlemanly 
 bearing. He had mixed much in the world, and thus 
 obtained that knowledge which in the Divorce Court 
 is peculiarly required. It was a matter of sincere re- 
 gret when, in consequence of ill health, he was obliged 
 to retire from the office. 
 
 It would not become me to discuss the merits of 
 Sir James Hannen, the present presiding judge, but 
 I may say that I have been engaged with and against 
 him in many cases whilst he was at the bar, and I 
 never knew a more conscientious or painstaking ad- 
 vocate. 
 
CHAPTER XXL 
 
 TEIAL OF BAEBEE AND FLETCHEE. 
 
 T N the month of April, 1844, a trial took place at the 
 *- Central Criminal Court which brought to light a 
 very elaborate and complicated system of fraud. The 
 parties alleged to have been engaged in it were a per- 
 son of the name of Fletcher, who was by profession a 
 medical man, an attorney of the name of Barber, and 
 three women. The forgery of wills and the persona- 
 tion of individuals was the basis of the different trans- 
 actions. No doubt whatever exists as to Fletcher 
 having been largely and criminally engaged in them ; 
 but Barber alleged that he had acted simply in a legal 
 capacity without any knowledge of the character of 
 the acts. Fletcher also from the commencement en- 
 tirely exculpated him, and there was nothing to show 
 that he derived any profit except such as he was en- 
 titled to for his professional charges. At the same 
 time it was difficult to account for a shrewd man of 
 business being mixed up in so many transactions as 
 were proved against Barber without his having a sus- 
 picion of their nature. The prosecution was conduct- 
 ed by Sir Frederick Pollock on the part of the Bank 
 of England. A very excellent lawyer of the name of 
 
 233 
 
234 ATTACK OF WILKINS UPON BARON GURNEY. 
 
 Graves (who is recently dead), with myself, defended 
 Fletcher, and for him the only hope could be from 
 some technical point, which, however, all the ingenui- 
 ty and legal acumen of my leader were unable to dis- 
 cover, and he was unhesitatingly found guilty. 
 
 Barber was defended by Wilkins, a gentleman 
 whose qualities I have already described. The judge 
 who tried the case was Mr. Baron Gurney, who had 
 obtained for himself the reputation of being very harsh 
 and severe in his administration of justice, and cer- 
 tainly his manner warranted the opinion. I do not 
 remember that whilst presiding upon this trial he did 
 anything that could invite censure ; but Wilkins made 
 a most bitter attack upon him in the course of his 
 speech. The words he used, as far as I can remem- 
 ber them, were as follows : " There exist those upon 
 the bench who have the character of convicting judges. 
 I do not envy their reputation in this world or their 
 fate hereafter." Mr. Baron Gurney was at this time 
 an old man and in feeble health, and Sir John Bailey, 
 who was one of the junior counsel for the prosecution 
 and a great friend of the baron, told me that he felt 
 the attack very much. I do not consider that the 
 position of a barrister could justify expressions of such 
 a character, and, although his client was acquitted on 
 this occasion, I cannot help thinking that when he 
 was subsequently tried on another case this attack 
 was not forgotten. I can, however, very well remem- 
 ber that early in my career it was with fear and trem- 
 bling that I appeared as counsel before the object of 
 them. 
 
 Mr. Baron Gurney, when at the bar, possessed great 
 
BARON GURNET, HIS EARLY CAREER. 235 
 
 power and cleverness in dealing with facts, a quality 
 which also distinguished him upon the bench ; but 
 certainly he had earned the reputation of being a very 
 pitiless judge, and his manner at times was almost 
 brutal, and already in these pages I have more than 
 once expressed my opinion of how grave a defect this 
 is in those who have to administer justice. 
 
 In early life Mr. Gurney was nearly a rebel, but it will 
 be more polite to describe him as having been a very ad- 
 vanced Liberal ; as, however, he progressed in the pro- 
 fession the vivifying light of Toryism began to affect 
 his senses, and before he arrived at the bench high 
 Church and State doctrines had taken firm root in his 
 mind. He must often have lamented that when he 
 named his children he had not been endowed with the 
 spirit of prophecy, as certainly in that casefthey would 
 have sailed under very different names than those of 
 Russell, Hampden, and Sidney. The first of these 
 gentlemen afterwards filled the office of Recorder of 
 London • he possessed all his father's clearness and 
 precision, with great gentleness of manner and kind- 
 ness of heart. He did the greatest credit to the cor- 
 poration who elected him, and it will be long before 
 his loss is forgotten. 
 
 After the acquittal of Barber, both prisoners were 
 again put upon their trial for uttering the forged will 
 of a lady named Ann Slack. In the interval, however, 
 between the two trials a change had taken place. 
 Mr. Justice John Williams presided, and Sir Freder- 
 ick Pollock having become Lord Chief Baron, Mr. 
 Erie, afterwards Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, 
 conducted the prosecution. This gentleman did not 
 
236 MR - JUSTICE JOHN WILLIAMS. 
 
 possess eloquence, and suffered from a slight impedi- 
 ment in his speech, but was nevertheless a very acute 
 and able advocate. As I was still representing Fletch- 
 er, although his fate was sealed, I watched the con- 
 duct of the case very carefully. Mr. Erie labored 
 the strong parts against Barber, and contrived almost 
 to make it appear that he was the fons et origo of the 
 whole conspiracy. Wilkins made a very indifferent 
 defense, and Mr. Justice Williams simply followed in 
 the most servile manner the lead of the counsel for 
 the prosecution. Both prisoners were convicted, and 
 sentenced to transportation for life. As regards Bar- 
 ber, the verdict was most unjust, for, without affirm- 
 ing his absolute innocence, it is impossible to say that 
 there was not very grave doubt as to his guilt. After 
 Barber had been sent out of the country in pursuance 
 of his sentence and had undergone great hardships, he 
 was pardoned, and received some compensation. I 
 often saw him during the short period that he surviv- 
 ed his return, his tall form gaunt and haggard, and 
 the sufferings he had undergone stamped upon his 
 features. He must have been an object of pity to 
 every one possessed of human sympathy. 
 
 Johnny Williams, so every one called him, except 
 when he was " my lord," had been one of the counsel 
 for Queen Caroline, associated with Brougham and 
 Denman. His knowledge of the Italian language was 
 supposed to have been the reason why he was select- 
 ed for that position, as he had not held any distinguish- 
 ed place at the bar. I fancy his business was pretty 
 much confined to criminal cases, in the conduct of 
 which he had the reputation of sharpness and sagaci 
 
MR. JUSTICE ERLE. 237 
 
 ty. He was much given to strong expletives, which 
 in the following anecdotes I must be excused for 
 omitting. 
 
 Upon the trial of a prisoner for a capital charge, 
 he had been induced by the urgency of an attorney, 
 although against his own opinion, to ask a question, 
 the answer to which convicted his client. Turning 
 to the attorney, he said, emphasizing as may be im- 
 agined every word with strong additions : " Go home, 
 cut your throat, and when you meet your client in 
 
 h , beg his pardon." Another story told of him 
 
 is that a clerk, recently married, hanged himself. 
 Another person who afterwards entered his employ- 
 ment expressed a hope that Johnny would not be 
 offended at his entering into the holy bonds of mat- 
 rimony. " Certainly not," said he. " Marry by all 
 means ; but when you hang yourself, do not do so in 
 my chambers," which his former clerk had done. He 
 was a capital shot, and whilst enjoying the sport upon 
 some gentleman's preserves, and knocking over the 
 birds right and left, the gamekeeper whispered con- 
 fidentially to his comrade, " They tell me this 'ere 
 gent is a judge. I'll take my Bible oath he has been 
 a poacher." 
 
 Mr. Erie became, as is well known, puisne judge 
 in the Court of Queen's Bench, and afterwards Lord 
 Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. He 
 possessed a very judicial manner, thorough indepen- 
 dence, and an earnest desire to secure justice in the 
 cases he tried. He was, however, very obstinate, and 
 when once he had formed an opinion it was almost 
 impossible to get him to change it. His experience 
 
238 LJTST CAUSE TRIED BY MR. JUSTICE ERIE. 
 
 in life had given him but little knowledge of some of 
 its by-paths. He put too much faith in outside re- 
 spectability, and was almost as weak as some juries 
 in cases where injuries were alleged to have been in- 
 flicted upon women. Upon one occasion at Guild- 
 ford, when I was engaged to defend a prisoner upon 
 a charge of this description, I ventured respectfully, 
 but strongly and earnestly, to allude to this, which I 
 considered an infirmity of his mind, and I referred to 
 cases in which I thought injustice had been done. In 
 summing up he commented with a good deal of emo- 
 tion upon my observations, but gave me credit for 
 sincerity. In a former chapter I have alluded to this 
 case, which resulted in an acquittal, owing to the im- 
 pressive caution which, I venture to think, I caused 
 him to introduce into his charge to the jury. 
 
 I was counsel in the last cause that he tried, and 
 his dealing with it illustrated what I have said about 
 his want of knowledge of the ways of the world. It 
 was an action arising out of the sale of a horse, for 
 which my client had given three hundred guineas. It 
 was a magnificent looking animal, and had been shown 
 off by a very pretty girl before it was purchased. 
 The horse was a screw, and the whole affair a plant. 
 The Chief Justice was indignant at my defense. He 
 could see nothing to justify the imputations I had 
 made, and so he summed up. The jury, however, 
 with very little hesitation, found in favor of my client. 
 I met Erie leaving the court. He was greatly vexed 
 at the verdict, and could not understand it. I told 
 him that the parties probably were known to the 
 jury, but I cannot help thinking that he felt his power 
 
BENEVOLENCE OF MR. JUSTICE ERLE. 239 
 
 and influence were waning. His predecessor, Sir 
 John Jervis, would have seen through the whole 
 fraud in a moment. 
 
 Whatever may have been his deficiencies, and al- 
 though the Court of Common Pleas has been presid- 
 ed over by most distinguished judges, none ever sat 
 upon the bench who left behind him a higher charac- 
 ter for the most unswerving integrity. 
 
 He was a man of great benevolence, and I have 
 heard many anecdotes indicative of his kindness of 
 heart, and one example happened to come within my 
 own knowledge. ' He was presiding in the Civil Court 
 at Northampton, and was obliged to direct a jury 
 against some poor people who had been scandalously 
 but legally swindled. To them the result was abso- 
 lute ruin. On the following morning an elderly gen- 
 tleman on horseback made his appearance in the alley 
 where the sufferers resided. This was Sir William 
 Erie. He gave them some very good advice, and 
 with it a sum of money that replaced them in their 
 old position. 
 
 Having, as I have already mentioned, a slight inv 
 pediment in his speech, he had contracted the habit 
 of looking into the air instead of into the faces of his 
 audience. The effect of this was peculiar. After 
 his retirement from the bench he went to live in the 
 country, where he enjoyed himself for many years, 
 and died at an advanced age. The last time that I 
 saw him was when I was counsel in the Petersfield 
 Election Committee ; the place was near his resi- 
 dence, and he came over and took his seat beside Mr. 
 Justice Mellor, who was the judge. I need not say - 
 
240 SIR JOHN KARSLAKE. 
 
 that he was cordially recognized by such members of 
 the bar as were present. I took the opportunity of 
 quoting one of his decisions in the Court of Common 
 Pleas which was, I fancy, bad law. Very quietly he 
 got hold of the report from which I had quoted. Of 
 course he could not interfere, but I fancied that his 
 look was almost agonized when Mr. Justice Mellor 
 decided the point mainly, I believe, out of respect 
 for his opinion. 
 
 Sir William Erie had been a member of the West- 
 ern Circuit, and it is no unpleasing task to record the 
 eminent men whose early professional life commenced 
 upon it : Sir William Follett, Mr. Justice Crowder, 
 Lord Chief Justice Cockburn, Sir Montague Smith, 
 Sir Robert Collyer, and now Lord Chief Justice 
 Coleridge. But not less in ability, and in all those 
 qualities which make a man loved and respected, was 
 a gentleman whose premature death has deprived the 
 profession of one of its greatest ornaments. 
 
 When first I met Sir John Karslake he was one 
 of the gayest and brightest of a pleasant circle at the 
 house of Mrs. Crealock, in Stanhope Place, Hyde 
 Park. He speedily attained a very high position at 
 the bar, and no rank was so exalted that he might not 
 have fairly aspired to it. He broke down from over- 
 conscientiousness. He was never satisfied that he 
 had done enough for a client, and he wore himself 
 out by labor and anxiety where an equally successful 
 result might have been attained at a much less cost. 
 
 I have been with him. in cases from which his at- 
 tention never flagged, although his brain was being 
 racked by the most horrible of agonies. No wonder 
 he succumbed. 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 241 
 
 The last time that I was with him was in an action 
 brought by, I think, the Italian Government against 
 an English firm for breach of contract in the supply 
 of boots for the army. He was suffering fearfully, 
 and I was very anxious to relieve him of the work, 
 which it was quite within my power to do, but I could 
 not prevail upon him to accept the slightest help. It 
 must have been some, though a sad, satisfaction to his 
 oldest friend to offer the tribute to his memory which 
 appeared lately in a morning journal, and which those 
 who read it will admit was by no means overcharged x 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Since I published my former volumes I have again 
 looked through the trial of Barber and Fletcher: it 
 is extremely interesting, from having been one of the 
 very few in which a reasonable doubt may not be en- 
 tertained as to whether a man entirely innocent had 
 not been convicted, and it is one also in which the 
 power of advocacy was very signally exhibited. If 
 the counsel had been reversed, the result would almost 
 certainly have been different. It also shows how great 
 is the effect of the reply of an able counsel in a case 
 presided over by a weak judge. 
 
 Really the least favorable conclusion that ought to 
 have been arrived at against Barber was that he had 
 been incautious. He was a poor man, and probably 
 did not desire to look too deeply into the proceedings 
 of one of his best clients. But the fact, clearly proved, 
 that he received nothing beyond his proper costs, 
 ought to have secured his acquittal. 
 
 _ » A letter from Lord Coleridge referring to Sir John Karslake appeared 
 in the Times newspaper of the date of October 10 1881 
 
 16 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 CAMPDEN HOUSE FIRE. 
 
 TN 1862 Campden House was a feature at Ken- 
 *- sington. It was occupied by a Mr. and Mrs. 
 Woolley, who received a good deal of company, and 
 were said to be persons of wealth. The parties they 
 gave would now be called aesthetic. 
 
 Mr. Woolley was himself a confirmed invalid, his 
 eyesight defective, and he could scarcely move about 
 without the assistance of a valet. In the commence- 
 ment of the above year, and in the middle of the 
 night, a fire broke out upon the premises. It spread 
 with singular rapidity, and consumed the whole of 
 them with their alleged valuable contents. The prop- 
 erty was insured in different offices to the aggregate 
 amount of £30,000, and the companies disputed the 
 payment. They alleged that Mr. Woolley was in dis- 
 tressed circumstances, that the amount of property in 
 the house was grossly exaggerated, and that he had him- 
 self set fire to it in pursuance of an elaborate system of 
 fraud. They alleged that his apparent feebleness was 
 simulated for the purpose of successfully carrying it 
 out. It was clear that if he really was the invalid 
 he appeared to be, that their theory must be aban- 
 242 
 
CAMPDEN HOUSE FIRE. 243 
 
 doned, and if he were shamming that he must have 
 contrived to keep up the appearance for a consider- 
 able time before executing his contemplated design. 
 
 He brought an action against the Sun Insurance 
 Company, it being arranged that all the other claims 
 should stand or fall by the result: It came on to be 
 tried at the Croydon summer assizes, before Mr. Baron 
 Bramwell. Mr. Bovill, myself, Mr. James, the pres- 
 ent Attorney-General, and a Mr. Rosher were coun- 
 sel for Mr. Woolley. Mr. Lush, the late Lord Justice 
 (I forget who was with him), represented the com- 
 pany. 
 
 There were many circumstances that justified the 
 resistance of the claims, and it was pretty clear that 
 the result would turn upon the mode in which Mr. 
 Woolley underwent examination. If he was playing 
 a part, he was the very best actor that I ever saw. 
 He was unshaken by the cross-examination, and his 
 painful infirmities secured the sympathy of the jury, 
 who found a verdict in his favor, which was not sub- 
 sequently disturbed. 
 
 A rather amusing incident occurred in connection 
 with the case. The fire had broken out after mid- 
 night, and a gentleman saw and reported it; but when 
 the question arose of calling him as a witness, he pro- 
 tested against our doing so, as it would inform some 
 inquisitive connections where he was on that morn- 
 ing, which, for some reason, he had a very strong ob- 
 jection to. It occurred to me that his evidence might 
 be admitted, and I sounded Lush upon the subject, 
 and learned that there was a witness in his brief who 
 had exactly a similar objection, and so we agreed that 
 
244 MY LANDLAD Y AT CROYDON. 
 
 the two should pair off together, and we called neither 
 of them ; and I believe that this benevolent arrange- 
 ment prevented some little inconvenience in two do- 
 mestic circles. 
 
 The assizes for the Home Circuit were held every 
 alternate year at Croydon, and for many years I was 
 accustomed to lodge with two worthy old people, who 
 kept a small shoemaker's shop in the High Street ; 
 very honest they were, and kindly, and professedly 
 Christians of great strictness, but of the not uncom- 
 mon denomination of those from whose creed charity 
 is expunged. I was engaged for the prosecution at 
 an assizes many years ago of a young German charged 
 with murder ; and for the purpose of tracing the al- 
 leged murderer it was necessary to call the celebrated 
 singer, Madame Titiens, who had afforded him pecun- 
 iary relief after the commission of the act. I had 
 known this lady for some j^ears, and always enter- 
 tained the greatest respect for her character as well 
 as admiration for her talents and accomplishments. 
 She was extremely generous, and her own country- 
 people especially were always sure of assistance. It 
 was this reputation that had induced the accused to ap- 
 ply to her. As is well known, the hotels during the as- 
 sizes are very full, and I invited Madame Titiens and 
 her niece to occupy my lodgings whilst she was wait- 
 ing to be called. On the following day my old land- 
 lady gave me notice to quit, saying "she would have 
 no stage-playerS in her house." Madame Titiens had 
 a pretty little residence in the Finchley Road, where 
 I have often enjoyed most pleasant evenings. Amongst 
 those whom I was in the habit of meeting was Siguor 
 
MADAMS TITIENS. 245 
 
 Giuglini, the wonderful tenor. His career was bat a 
 short one ; the climate of Russia and a habit he un- 
 fortunately contracted of taking stimulants destroyed 
 his nervous system, and for some time he was an in- 
 mate of the asylum kept by my old friend Dr. Tuke 
 at Turnham Green. But there was no hope of re- 
 covery. Madame Titiens frequently called upon him 
 there and took him out for a drive. He was perfectly 
 harmless, and not discontented with his lot, express- 
 ing himself grateful for the kindness he received from 
 the doctor. He ultimately was sent into Italy, where 
 he died. Many also were the pleasant parties in which 
 I met Madame Titiens at the Star and Garter at 
 Richmond, not then the great ugly staring barrack of 
 a place that occupies the site where Mr. Ellis, the 
 picture of a host, used to receive the guests. The 
 old house was burned down. In itself it had not much 
 pretension, but the garden behind was a perfect pict- 
 ure of loveliness ; the small garden-rooms, with honey- 
 suckles, jasmine, and roses twining themselves up the 
 sides, with a lovely sweep of lawn, on which were 
 scattered trees that had flourished there for many a 
 long day, affording shade as well as beauty ; one mag- 
 nificent spreading beech, itself a sight, and an avenue 
 of limes forming the prettiest of walks at the bottom 
 of the garden, with a view beyond : none fairer to be 
 seen through the length and breadth of England. A 
 company possessed themselves of it. To their eyes 
 and imaginations nothing was so beautiful as bricks 
 and mortar. The trees were in the way, and have 
 been cleared off; in the place of flowers that seemed 
 to flourish of their own free will, formal beds are stiffly 
 
246 DELANE— MOWBRAY MORRIS— BALFE. 
 
 planted. The dear old lime-walk is supplanted by a 
 terrace without an atom of shade, and which is not 
 imjDroved by the perfume of the stables, over which it 
 has been constructed. No modern improver can ever 
 make Richmond otherwise than beautiful, but the love- 
 liness of the Star and Garter is one of the things of the 
 past. The very obliging manager of the hotel is not re- 
 sponsible for the vandalisms that have changed the fair 
 scene that existed into its present shape, and as far as at- 
 tention and good fare will satisfy the visitor, he will 
 have no reason to complain. On a Sunday at the period 
 I speak of th e garden was usually crowded. Artists and 
 singers, whose avocations kept them in London during 
 the week, reveled in the landscape, and amongst them 
 I have often enjoyed it ; and there were representa- 
 tives of every other class, well-known figures of the lit- 
 erary, political and social worlds. There was a party 
 I well remember in connection with one of the most 
 delightful days of many that I passed there ; it con- 
 sisted of Balfe the composer, and his surpassingly love- 
 ly daughter, whose career was only too short. She was 
 twice married ; once to Sir J. Crampton, w r ho I think 
 w r as our ambassador to the Court of Russia, and after- 
 wards to a grandee of Spain, and died when quite 
 young. Mow r bray Morris was another of the group. 
 He w^as manager of the " Times" newspaper, and with 
 him I was very intimate. I was his counsel in a case 
 that caused him anxiety and pain, but ended success- 
 folly for him. The fourth of the group in addition to 
 myself was Mr. Delane, the editor of the same paper, 
 and upon the shoulders of these two men rested the 
 entire weight of its management. No one could be 
 
CHARLES LEVER. 247 
 
 in the society of the latter gentleman without feeling 
 that he was a man of the age. There was a quiet 
 power in his conversation, his knowledge was very 
 varied, and a vein of agreeable persiflage adorned and 
 lightened whatever he talked about. The last time I 
 met him was at a dinner party at Dr. Quain's, the 
 eminent physician. 
 
 At that time his mind had partially given way un- 
 der the attacks of incurable disease, and it was pain- 
 ful to witness how occasional were the flashes of an 
 intellect that in former days was wont to shed so bright 
 and lasting a light. On this occasion his brougham 
 came for him at the time it had been his custom to go 
 to the office, and he still had the idea that he was act- 
 ively engaged, although the real editorship had passed 
 into other hands. It seems so short a time since we 
 live were stretched upon the grass plot in full health 
 and spirits, and now I alone of all that party am left 
 to recall it. 
 
 Another of whom I am obliged to speak in the 
 past, and with whom I have passed at the Star and 
 Garter, as well as elsewhere, many a pleasant hour, 
 was Charles Lever, the author of " Harry Lorrequer " 
 and other works of fiction ; a bright, well-educated, 
 witty Irishman. His stories at table were as amus- 
 ing and improbable as many that came from his pen. 
 I believe he was a member of the Garrick Club, but 
 I do not remember ever meeting him there. I can- 
 not recall whether it has been at some of the pleas- 
 ant gatherings in those old days that I have met 
 George Augustus Sala. Wherever it was, I know 
 that he added fully his share to the joyousness of the 
 
248 SIGNOR AND MADAME ARDITI. 
 
 party. Every one has read his graphic sketches of 
 different phases of London life, and amusing details 
 of travels abroad ; but not so many his very clever 
 novel of the " Seven Sons of Mammon," which, I think, 
 bears comparison with most of the fictions of the 
 day. 1 Amongst others from whose society this pleas- 
 ant resort derived an additional charm were Signor 
 and Madame Arditi, with whom I was fortunate 
 enough to form an acquaintance shortly after their 
 arrival in this country, and I believe it was upon my 
 invitation that they, for the first time, made its ac- 
 quaintance, and, since that period, in their company 
 I have often and much enjoyed myself. I have been 
 glad, in concluding the brief sketch that I have vent- 
 ured upon of this hotel, and after bemoaning the de- 
 struction of honeysuckles and rose-trees, and the 
 barbarous disfigurement of a favorite spot, and mourn- 
 ing over departed friends, to be able to refer to those 
 who are still living, and affording pleasure to a large 
 circle of friends, and to express a hope that they may 
 •long continue to do so. 
 
 1 In it will be found the apprehension of his heroine, by a French detect- 
 ive, on the Derby race-course, which equals, in skill and power, any sensa- 
 tional incident that I have ever read. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 evans's. 
 
 |j ET me now change the scene and present my 
 
 readers to one of a very different description. 
 
 although there are many to be found here who might 
 
 have been seen on the preceding Sunday enjoying the 
 
 pleasures of the Star and Garter. 
 
 It is the interior of a large hall, and the hour 
 about midnight. The atmosphere is thickened by 
 smoke. There are numerous tables, at which gen- 
 tlemen are seated taking refreshments. The walls 
 are covered with paintings of celebrated actors and 
 actresses, and upon a raised platform at the further 
 end of the room are some dozen boys singing with 
 taste and accuracy a popular glee. Moving amongst 
 the tables, upon legs rather shaky, a rotund figure 
 with a rubicund face and yellow wig offers with much 
 courtesy his snuff-box to the occupiers, hoping at the 
 same time that they have been supplied with all they 
 want. The hall is Evans's, Covent Garden. Since 
 I last saw it, twenty years ago, it is much changed ; 
 a handsome edifice is added to the long room of 
 which it consisted when Colonel Newcome left it in 
 disgust at the obscenity that went on. The owner 
 
 249 
 
250 EVANS'S. 
 
 of the snuff-box is the proprietor of the hall, and 
 to him is due the change in its character that has 
 taken place. It is conducted with perfect propriety, 
 the amusements are refined, and the refreshments 
 good and moderate. My readers will recognize Mr. 
 Green, Paddy, as he" was always called behind his 
 back, and by those who knew him well in speaking 
 to him. Originally he had appeared upon the stage 
 at the Adelphi, not, I fancy, in a higher capacity than 
 a chorus-singer ; and in the days that I have previ- 
 ously spoken of he sang at the old rooms, not, how- 
 ever, any songs that were reprehensible ; although I 
 must, I am afraid, admit that he was present during 
 the time that they were sung, and when reminded of 
 the improprieties of those days he would shake his 
 head gravely ; but as he was a devout Catholic, I have 
 no doubt he had obtained absolution. I used to take 
 a great deal of pleasure in his conversation. He was 
 possessed of a very retentive memory, and could re- 
 late, and did so pleasantly, many scenes of London 
 life. Artists, lawyers, writers, actors, and men of 
 fashion congregated in the hall of a night, and in a 
 corner of what once was formerly the old room, a 
 circle of friends used to meet, and in cheerful and not 
 unintellectual gossip, spend much agreeable time. 
 Paddy was very proud, and might not unreasonably 
 be so, of some who joined this group. 
 
 There was also a gallery, the visitors to which were 
 concealed by trellis-work, and to this ladies were ad- 
 mitted, and here they could listen to the songs and 
 eat suppers supposed generally to be confined to the 
 other sex. Paddy also prided himself upon these 
 
HERR VON JOEL. ■ 251 
 
 visits, and recorded with much gusto the names of 
 distinguished guests ; and it was a well-known fact in 
 the establishment that royalty had condescended to 
 accept a pinch of snuif from his hospitable box. 1 
 
 Another personage, scarcely of less interest than 
 Mr. Green himself, was always to be seen in the 
 rooms. He also wandered from table to table, and 
 was received with a welcome by the habitues. He 
 professed to sell cigars, but when the eye of his chief 
 was not upon 'him, he would pull out of his pocket a 
 well-worn card, and express a hope that the visitor 
 would honor his concert which was shortly about to 
 come off; but no one ever lived who witnessed it. 
 This was Herr von Joel, once upon a time a popular 
 singer in refined circles. 
 
 He used to sing Swiss mountain melodies. He 
 also whistled and imitated birds very naturally, and 
 towards the end of an evening would give an amus- 
 ing imitation of a farm-yard. He sang one night ; 
 the next he did not appear, nor the next, and on the 
 following we heard that he was dead. 
 
 Mr. Green retired from its management, and it grad- 
 ually sank in character. Now the building has become 
 the property of a club to which has been given the name 
 of the Falstaff, it is to be hoped that some of the old 
 associations may be revived, and from what I know of 
 the subscribers I think that the wish may be fulfilled. 
 
 I was a favorite with Mr. Green, and one chair was 
 always kept for me. I belonged to several clubs, but 
 during the years I am now dwelling upon there were 
 no meetings so convival as these, and the faces to be 
 
 1 This gallery was only occupied by visitors known to Mr. Green, and was 
 not open to the public generally. 
 
252 PADDY GREEN. 
 
 seen in the room, even if the visitor was not in direct 
 communion with them, were pleasant to behold. 
 Thackeray was constantly there : he was not social, 
 but people liked to be in apparent company with the 
 great novelist. He sat apart generally, wrapped in 
 contemplation. Charles Dickens would flit in only 
 rarely, but always in apparently good spirits, and glad 
 to respond to the many words of welcome he received. 
 Albert Smith, after he had descended from Mont Blanc 
 at the Egyptian Hall, never missed the pleasant re- 
 union, and there were none who came amongst us 
 more deservedly popular than he and his brother. I 
 have met Douglas Jerrold there. To him I have be- 
 fore alluded. I have seen him in company with men 
 of great ability, but I never saw any one who, for a 
 short period, sparkled so much ; but, meteor-like, he 
 too sank into darkness. Shirley Brooks was often 
 amongst us. . I need say no more of him than I have 
 already done. A very constant guest was Robertson, 
 the creator of a style of drama which, with the assist- 
 ance of Mrs. Bancroft's talent, has filled with splendid 
 audiences a theatre which for years before had wooed 
 in vain the patronage of the public. Poor Robertson 
 died only too early, almost before he could witness 
 the triumphs of his sister, Mrs. Kendal, one of the 
 most fascinating actresses of the present day. 
 
 Quaint little Buckstone would sometimes hop in, 
 and excite amusement and fun apparently without in- 
 tention. I think it was here that I was introduced 
 to Mr. Barry, an Irish barrister, since Attorney-Gen- 
 eral, and now judge, and from whom I have since re- 
 ceived a substantial mark of friendship. There was 
 
PRINCE MAXIMILIAN.— MR. BOULTBY. 253 
 
 one amongst those I met who fills a melancholy space 
 upon the page of history; I allude to Prince Maximilian. 
 Paddy Green took me up to him one night whilst he 
 was indulging in a tankard of ale, and introduced me 
 to him very effusively, and we met on other evenings 
 and drank beer together. He was very unaffected, 
 although with a reserved manner. I cannot help 
 thinking, though possibly this may result from after 
 events, that there was upon the countenance of the 
 future Emperor of Mexico a cloud that seemed to 
 foretell his melancholy fate. 
 
 And there was another, not so illustrious and not 
 known to history, whose fate was fully as sad. This 
 was Mr. Bowlby, a man of great ability, engaged upon 
 the staff of the "Times" newspaper. He had suffered 
 many troubles, about which he had consulted me, and 
 I entertained for him a sincere friendship. One night 
 very late we were seated together at Evans's ; on the 
 following day he was to start for China, to which 
 place he had accepted the post of correspondent with 
 the English army. 
 
 He was not in high spirits, and told me that it was 
 only for the sake of those dependent upon him that 
 he went. He sailed, as he had proposed, on the follow- 
 ing day, and joined the army. Shortly after his ar- 
 rival there was an engagement in which our troops 
 had been victorious. My friend, with some compan- 
 ions, rode on in advance of the main body, and being 
 surprised were all of them taken prisoners by the 
 Chinese. They were subjected to frightful tortures, 
 from which poor Bowlby died. In the far distant land 
 a monument has been erected to his memory, and the 
 
254 PLAN CHE.— CHA RLES MA THE WS. 
 
 object for which he sacrificed his life has been attained 
 through the liberality of those he served. 
 
 It is only very recently that a well-known face is 
 missing from the tables of those who love the society 
 of artists, and, old as he was when he passed away 
 from the scenes of his successes, his death caused sur- 
 prise, for he had looked for so many years the same, 
 his cheery spirits never seemed to flag, and he ap- 
 peared to have defied the inevitable. 
 
 This was Planche*. I knew him well and met him 
 often. I suppose that in his long journey through 
 life, although he met with great success, he never 
 made an enemy ; and though many of his contempo- 
 raries might be named whose literary fame is greater, 
 very few have caused more amusement ! He was, 
 moreover, fortunate in being associated with Madame 
 Vestris, who seemed to be created to embody upon 
 the stage, and even to give additional charm to his re- 
 fined and elegant burlesques. 
 
 There was another friend of mine who defied age, 
 whose good temper and high spirits never flagged, 
 who could have been an eminent architect, who was 
 an accomplished painter, but who preferred the stage 
 and its trials ; this was Charles Mathews. 
 
 The fame of his father, and the popularity that from 
 his earliest age he had himself obtained, secured him 
 a reception on the first night of his appearance at the 
 Olympic Theatre never before equaled by any actor. 
 The promise he then gave he entirely fulfilled, and 
 within six months of his death he drew large houses 
 and played with vigor and spirit. I had a very agree- 
 able meeting with him and his accomplished wife upon 
 
MISS PRISCILLA HORTON. 255 
 
 one of my visits to Homburg, and I remember with 
 pleasure a dinner that I gave to them at the Hotel de 
 Russie, at Frankfort, and afterwards how the actor, 
 who himself never failed when he desired it to excite 
 fun and merriment, laughed most heartily at the tricks 
 of a clown in a circus to which we all adjourned after 
 an excellent repast. 
 
 I have in a former chapter mentioned meeting Mac- 
 ready, but I had no particular acquaintance with him. 
 He was a conscientious manager, a scholar and a gen- 
 tleman, but fractious and overbearing. Such at least 
 was his reputation. I cannot say I think he was a 
 good delineator of Shakespeare's characters. The one 
 which, in my opinion, he played best was Prospero, 
 in the "Tempest." I was present one night, the first 
 that it was played at Covent Garden Theatre, when a 
 young lady made her appearance in Ariel. She was 
 wafted across the stage, and sang, with exquisite 
 sweetness, the well-known song commencing "Where 
 the bee sucks." This was received with rounds of 
 applause, and practically raised her into the prominent 
 feature of the play. This was Miss Priscilla Horton, 
 then scarcely known, but who has since been continu- 
 ously gathering laurels as Mrs. German Reed. I could 
 not hope to recall to the memory of those who have 
 witnessed the extravaganzas of Planche their effect 
 upon the audience, or to give an idea of it to others 
 who have not, without naming a performer who was 
 of no small assistance to them. The most blustering 
 he was of monarchs : his swagger conveyed a volume, 
 and so did his voice, which he used with infinite effect 
 and humor. The name of this gentleman was Bland, 
 
256 AN ACROBAT. 
 
 and he, like Madame Vestris, seemed to have been 
 created for the special illustration of Planches genius. 
 
 In the allusions I have made to members of a pro- 
 fession from all of whom I have met with much kind- 
 ness, and amongst whom I have enjoyed so many 
 pleasant hours, I need hardly say I have been gov- 
 erned solely by the memories that have presented 
 themselves to my mind, and not with any notion of 
 exhausting the subject ; and I have not ventured to 
 refer to those with whom I still have the pleasure of 
 an acquaintance, lest the sincere terms I should be 
 obliged to use might cause me to be accused of flat- 
 tery. 
 
 There are public performers who do not strictly 
 belong to the theatrical profession, and with one of 
 these I happened in a business matter to be brought 
 into contact. He was an acrobat, and plaintiff in an 
 action for breach of contract. I was much struck 
 with the amount of simple truthfulness that he dis- 
 played in giving evidence, and asked him to call upon 
 me, which he did. I was curious to learn something 
 of a life of so exceptional a character. He was a 
 sinewy little fellow, and born into the world in the 
 name of Martin, but he called himself Martini. His 
 brother, he told me, was just dead, and he was look- 
 ing out for another, not a real brother, but a profes- 
 sional one. His last brother was named Jones, and 
 he had fallen from the trapeze and broken his neck. 
 "■ You see," he said in relating the story, "it is very 
 difficult to get suited, as we may not know each oth- 
 er's tricks." He was quite aware, he said, of the 
 dangers of his profession, but then the salary was 
 
GYMNASTS. 257 
 
 large, and he hoped to save enough in two or three 
 years to retire. He ate no meat whilst under en- 
 gagement, and never took stimulants at any time. 
 He told me of some shocking accidents, where the 
 sufferers were only crippled, and said that they were 
 usually occasioned by the carelessness of the people 
 employed in the performances. Exhibitions of the 
 sort that this poor fellow described are a scandal to a 
 civilized country. My friend, however, was by no 
 means despondent, and considered his branch of the 
 profession much higher than that of gymnasts, who 
 did not risk their lives. Whatever we may think of 
 the taste that encourages the latter class of perform- 
 ers, their exhibition does not, at all events, shock hu- 
 manity. My client won his verdict, but whether he 
 succeeded in finding another relative, or what became 
 of him afterwards, I never heard. I once remember, 
 during a pantomime at Drury Lane, a great professor 
 of what he called gymnastic art. He wore a mask 
 of truly satanic appearance, and three urchins, rep- 
 resenting imps, assisted him in his performance. I 
 saw him between the acts in the green-room. His 
 theatrical head was lying on a table. His own real 
 one was very gentle and mild. The boys were tum- 
 bling ; one of them performed an unusually good 
 somersault. " God will reward you, my boy," he 
 said, patting him upon his head. Turning to me he 
 added, "They are good children. Their mother 
 hears them their prayers night and morning." It was 
 evident that there was real affection between those 
 four, and that they felt no small pride in their monkey 
 tricks. 
 
 17 
 
258 MR - STERLING. 
 
 I was inducted behind the scenes very early in my 
 life, and have been told that I ran away from Miss 
 Foote, the beautiful actress, when she wanted to kiss 
 me. I have, however, never fully believed this story. 
 I have since known much of the life behind the cur- 
 tain and of the heart-aching that is concealed within 
 the glare and tinsel exposed to the audience, and I 
 believe that a very wrong estimate is formed of those 
 who make part of the splendid pageant. The chorus- 
 singers and ballet-girls are consigned, by the opinion 
 of those who know little about them, to much unde- 
 served obloquy. Of course, amongst them, as in all 
 classes, there are those who merit this opinion, but I 
 believe the majority are honest, hard-working girls, 
 and that there is many a household saved from starva- 
 tion by their patient industry. 
 
 Those who have known Drury Lane Theatre as I 
 have done for many years, before and behind the cur- 
 tain, will have had great pleasure in the acquaintance 
 of Mr. Sterling, for long the stage manager. He was 
 not only most excellent in this department, but Avas a 
 thoroughly kind-hearted though strict disciplinarian. 
 He has confirmed the opinion that I have expressed of 
 the character of t\\e employees. Mr. Sterling has recently 
 published an amusing account of the actors and act- 
 resses that he has known, and is the author of several 
 pleasant farces. I met him at dinner shortly ago at my 
 old friend's, Sir Mordaunt Wells, and had a charming 
 gossip about former days. He told me a little story 
 (hat [ilcascd me. It was of three young children who 
 were fairies or angels in the pantomime last Christ- 
 mas. It was on one of the bitter snowy nights, and all 
 
AN OLD PANTALOON. 259 
 
 the vehicles were off the road. The eldest of the 
 three was only eight years old. The two infants, each 
 clinging to the arm of the elder child, set off to walk 
 to Camberwell, and got there safely. How soon ne- 
 cessity teaches courage and self-reliance ! Those who 
 have read the Life of Grimaldi, edited by Charles 
 Dickens, will have learned with what agony of body 
 on the part of the performer roars of laughter from the 
 audience are sometimes elicited. The career of these 
 poor fellows is seldom long. Their great muscular 
 exertions, and the draughts they are exposed to, soon 
 bring on disease. The clown of one pantomime may 
 not be seen in the next, but the motley is there, and 
 no one asks for him who wore it last. There have, 
 however, been some who have played for many con- 
 secutive years, and I remember a Pantaloon with 
 whom I often had a gossip, named Barnes. He was 
 a very sober, decent fellow. Once when I was be- 
 hind the scenes at Old Drury he told me, almost with 
 tears in his eyes, that he was not to be engaged for 
 the next Christmas. "And to think," said he, "that 
 they have turned me off, although I have played for 
 thirty years, and engaged a mere boy!" 
 
 Before I close my theatrical recollections, I must 
 relate an incident in which I placed a most distin- 
 guished and highly respectable friend of mine in a 
 very embarrassing position. He was induced, by a 
 desire to add to his knowledge and by my persuasion, 
 to accompany me behind the scenes during the per- 
 formance of a pantomime. To him the sight was a 
 novel one, and, doubtlessly engaged in admiration of 
 some of the mechanical effects, he was unconscious 
 
260 AMUSING INCIDENT. 
 
 of the flight of time, which I also disregarded. Sud- 
 denly the scene was changed, and we found ourselves 
 in a storm of carrots, cabbages, and turnips, which 
 terminated the act, technically termed, I believe, a 
 " general rally." 
 
 I will not mention my friend's name, as in the 
 minds of some highly conscientious people the con- 
 tact with a stage cabbage would cause pollution. Not- 
 withstanding this experience, once again my friend 
 trusted himself to my care, to drive him home from 
 a Greenwich dinner. The whitebait, somehow, had 
 got into my head, and, like myself, my horses were 
 somewhat fresh. We went at a spanking pace until 
 suddenly brought to a standstill by the pole of my 
 phaeton running through the back of a costermong- 
 er's cart. My friend declared that I instantly fell fast 
 asleep, and left him to pacify a furious lady, whose 
 back had been placed in no small jeopardy. He suc- 
 ceeded in doing so, and I never asked how. He al- 
 ways had a way with the ladies. We reached home 
 safely. There was an omnibus that got iuto our way 
 near St. Martin's Church, but this peril we also es- 
 caped, or the country might have lost a valuable serv- 
 ant. 
 
 Ought I to forget the first theatrical performance 
 that I ever beheld, that tyrannical and brutal husband 
 Punch ! I did delight, and half believed in him. 
 Now, when I notice poor fellows whom I see wearily 
 treading the street with the show upon their shoul- 
 ders, I think of two pictures painted by a French art- 
 ist, entitled " Avant et Devant" one representing a 
 laughing audience in front, the other a starving wife 
 and children behind. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 ILLUSTEIOUS VISITOES. 
 
 TN the month of June, in the year of our Lord 
 A 1847 — I like to make the most of a date when I 
 possess one — I received a visit at my chambers of a 
 very unexpected character. It was from two person- 
 ages who were then amongst the most noted in Lon- 
 don society. One of them was Prince Louis Napo- 
 leon ; the other the prince of dandies, Count D'Orsay. 
 Of course I knew the former by sight, and with the 
 latter I had some personal acquaintance from having 
 met him at the house of a well-known physician, Dr. 
 James Johnson, residing in Suffolk Place, Pall Mall, 
 and with whose family I was upon terms of intimacy. 
 
 The object of their visit was to consult me with re- 
 lation to a fraud of which Prince Louis Napoleon had 
 been made the subject. It appeared that a bill-dis- 
 counter had, under the pretense of raising money for 
 the Prince, obtained from him two bills of exchange, 
 amounting to £2,000, the proceeds of which he had 
 converted to his own use. 
 
 The circumstances were explained to me, and, al- 
 though there could be no doubt that the Prince had 
 been swindled, the mode in which it had been effect- 
 
 261 
 
262 LOUIS NAPOLEON. 
 
 ed did not bring the perpetrator within the operation 
 of the criminal law ; and this to the best of my abili- 
 ty I explained, but I could not convince the Prince, 
 who seemed quite unable to grasp the idea that the 
 law of this country was not regulated by the Code 
 Napoleon. They remained with me for some time, 
 but my arguments had no effect. He reiterated his 
 views with scarcely a change of expression, and seem- 
 ingly could not get mine into his mind. Shortly after 
 they had left, the Count returned, and expressed him- 
 self thoroughly satisfied with the correctness and wis- 
 dom of the advice that I had given, but said that it 
 was useless to argue with the Prince ; that he was 
 possessed with one idea upon the subject, and that 
 nothing would remove it. He said that he himself 
 was greatly annoyed, and with some embarrassment 
 offered me a fee ; but I declined to treat our conver- 
 sation in a professional point of view. We parted 
 upon very agreeable terms, and I met him occasional- 
 ly afterwards. 
 
 It would be very presumptuous to assume that up- 
 on so short an opportunity I should be capable of 
 forming a correct opinion of the Prince's intellect, 
 but there can be no impropriety in expressing the 
 view left upon my mind at the time ; and this certain- 
 ly was not favorable. It seemed to me that he shroud- 
 ed himself with a solemn air as if he was thinking 
 profoundly, but that it really arose from a slowness of 
 comprehension. Whether or not the wild exploits of 
 Boulogne and Strasburg and some other events of his 
 subsequent career may justify this opinion, I leave it 
 for historians to determine. He proceeded with the 
 
CO UNT U 0R8A Y. 263 
 
 case, and the bill-discounter was committed for trial 
 at the Central Criminal Court, which came on before 
 Mr. Baron Alderson, a learned and very strong judge, 
 and he at the conclusion of the counsel's opening ad- 
 dress interposed and pointed out the difficulty which 
 I had in my interview with the Prince attempted to 
 explain. His counsel was obliged to yield to it, an 
 acquittal took place, and a scandal was avoided. 
 
 I have described Count D'Orsay as the prince of 
 dandies ; and so he was. I never saw a man who in 
 personal qualities surpassed him, and his dress de- 
 served the epithet of artistic. Whether he was riding 
 through the park, mounted upon a horse that seemed 
 made to show off his handsome figure, and which he 
 managed with a grace that did not in those days dis- 
 tinguish his countrymen, or he was in the omnibus 
 box at the opera, arrayed, I must admit, somewhat gor- 
 geously, he always commanded admiration. 
 
 The term dandy conveys to my mind, when asso- 
 ciated with those of whom I have read — the Brum- 
 mells and other characters of the Regency — by no 
 means a pleasant impression. I should have expect- 
 ed to see something grotesquely dressed, with cynical 
 manners and offensive demeanor. 
 
 Count D'Orsay was courteous to every one, and 
 kindly. He put the companions of his own sex per- 
 fectly at their ease, and delighted them with his varied 
 conversation ; and I never saw any one whose man- 
 ner to ladies was more pleasing and deferential; and 
 I am not ashamed to record the fact that when, as 
 occurred occasionally, he stopped and spoke to me in 
 the park or elsewhere, I used to hope that some of 
 
264 BARON ALDERSON. 
 
 my ordinary companions might witness me in con- 
 verse with this " glorious creature." 
 
 It was many years after the circumstances that I 
 have detailed that I again saw Prince Louis Napoleon, 
 and he had then by a wonderful concurrence of events 
 attained the object of his ambition and prophecy. 
 He was Emperor of the French. It was upon the 
 race-course in the Bois de Boulogne that I then saw 
 him when I was with a party of friends. He noticed 
 me, and sent the Count de Morny to desire that I 
 should be presented to him. He received me with 
 great civility — I fancy his manner seldom reached 
 cordiality — made no particular allusion to the circum- 
 stances of our former meeting, but desired that my 
 friends and myself should be accommodated in what 
 I suppose was the royal stand. He was looking very 
 ill and worn. I never saw him afterwards. 
 
 Mr. Baron Alderson was a man worthy of more no- 
 tice than I have been able to give him from any per- 
 sonal experience. He is one of those designated by 
 Lord Campbell as respectable, and that he deserved 
 that character there is no doubt ; but he was in addi- 
 tion a splendid scholar and highly cultivated lawyer. 
 His manner was somewhat brusque, but he was a very 
 humane judge, and, forming an opinion from what I 
 saw of him, almost nervous when trying capital cases. 
 I was counsel in two murder charges before him, in 
 both of which he leaned strongly to the side of the 
 accused. One of them was that of a young man, who 
 was acquitted, though certainly guilty, and was after- 
 wards practically proved to be so, being convicted of 
 the robbery which the murderer only could have ef- 
 
MR. HUMFREY, Q.C. 265 
 
 fected. Alderson's father had been a physician of 
 great eminence at Norwich, one indeed of the lights 
 of the profession. I was well acquainted with a son 
 of the Baron's, a very agreeable, gentlemanly person ; 
 but the combined talent of the two generations has 
 centred in a female branch. 
 
 The counsel who was selected to conduct the 
 prosecution on the part of Prince Napoleon. in my 
 place was a gentleman named Humfrey. He was a 
 Queen's Counsel, and leader upon the Midland Cir- 
 cuit. I knew but little of his forensic powers, but I 
 was a witness to the gallant bearing he exhibited un- 
 der a fearful trial, and happened to be associated with 
 him almost up to the hour of his death. Some eighteen 
 months previously he had been operated upon for can- 
 cer. He continued to practice, and upon the occasion 
 I am now referring to I was his junior in a cause be- 
 fore Sir John Jervis in the Court of Common Pleas. 
 Humfrey was suffering intensely, and obliged to 
 conduct it sitting. I learned, whether from him or 
 not I do not remember, that his daughter was to be 
 married on .the following morning. He knew that 
 his end was approaching, and his anxious hope was to 
 live over this marriage. 
 
 He left court at four o'clock, and shortly afterwards 
 was found clinging to the rails of Westminster Abbey, 
 was conveyed home, and died during the night. I 
 am able to mention that the marriage which he so 
 much desired to witness took place when the year of 
 mourning had terminated. During the progress of the 
 trial he told the Chief Justice that he had no hope, 
 and that he was so sorry for his clerk. Jervis told 
 
266 SIR JOHN JERVIS. 
 
 him not to trouble himself, and that he would pro- 
 vide for him, which he did after Humfrey's death by 
 giving him an office in the Court of Common Pleas. 
 
 The operation to which I have referred was per- 
 formed by the eminent surgeon whose name has al- 
 ready occurred in these pages, Mr. Lawrence, who 
 sent a report (of course without names) to the " Lan- 
 cet." His patient, who used to read everything upon 
 a subject he was so painfully interested in, recognized 
 that it referred to himself. The concluding words of 
 the report were to this effect : " The operation was 
 most successful, and will, I trust, prolong life for 
 twelve months." Another actor in this painful episode 
 soon followed his friend. Sir John Jervis, a man of 
 indomitable pluck, had but a feeble constitution, and 
 it was very painful to witness his sufferings. He was 
 a member, as well as Maule, whom I have already 
 mentioned, of the Union Club, and I have seen him 
 there almost in a state of suffocation from asthma. 
 The incident that I have related of him was by no 
 means the only one that exhibited his kindness of heart. 
 
 I was counsel before Mr. Baron Alderson in the 
 case of Sir John Dean Paul, the banker in the Strand. 
 He was indicted with his partners, Messrs. Strachan 
 and Bates, for embezzling property entrusted to them 
 by their customers. Sir John was believed in by a 
 large circle of confiding friends as the most devout of 
 men, and the evidence upon the trial proved that he 
 certainly was amongst the most fraudulent. They 
 were all three found guilty. 
 
 My old friend, Henry Allworth Merewether, who 
 had an account with them, is credited with a good 
 
DISRAELI AND BULWER. 267 
 
 joke in connection with their failure. After it had 
 occurred he was coming down the steps of the bank- 
 ing-house and nearly tumbled. A friend who hap- 
 pened to be passing expressed a hope that he was not 
 hurt. "Oh no," said he, " I have only lost my balance." 
 
 About the period during which I received the visit 
 that I described at the beginning of this chapter, there 
 might be seen on most afternoons, driving up and 
 down in Hyde Park, an elegantly appointed barouche, 
 and in it two ladies, both strikingly handsome ; the one 
 approaching middle age, the other was quite young. 
 These were Lady Blessington and her niece, Miss 
 Power. I knew neither of them, and only introduce 
 their names as their house was the nucleus that at- 
 tracted much of the brilliant society of the time, includ- 
 ing the two personages who had honored me with a 
 visit, and also two others, with one of whom I became 
 slightly acquainted, and with the other I was upon 
 terms of some intimacy. The first of these two was 
 Benjamin Disraeli, the other Sir Edward Lytton 
 Bulwer. 
 
 I met the former upon two occasions, both at a 
 comparatively recent date. The first was at a dinner 
 party given by Lord Henry Lennox. He sat next 
 but one to me at the dinner table, but I had no con- 
 versation with him, and indeed he was very silent. 
 Of course, I was interested in observing him, and 
 pleased with the opportunity which I was afford- 
 ed of being introduced to him. I met him once 
 afterwards at a garden party 'of the Prince of Wales 
 at Chiswick. He was with Lady Beaconsfield ; but 
 although he spoke to me, I doubt very much whether 
 he knew who I was. He left to join some one, and 
 
268 DR - QUAiN. 
 
 not returning, I saw Lady Beaconsfleld to her car 
 riage. I suppose that the sympathy exhibited by all 
 classes and of every shade of politics during the ill- 
 ness that terminated in his death has never been sur- 
 passed. 
 
 The etiquette existing amongst medical men was 
 curiously illustrated upon this occasion ; but I con- 
 fess that whilst I should be very loth to blame an 
 adherence to rules that have been created both for the 
 honor of the profession and the interest of the pub- 
 lic, it is difficult not to feel that there are contingen- 
 cies which would justify a deviation from them. I 
 have reason to know that Dr. Quain entertained but 
 little hope of the recovery of his distinguished pa- 
 tient from the first, and in this instance it cannot be 
 said that the etiquette of the medical profession in 
 any way interfered with the most skillful treatment 
 of so illustrious a patient. 1 
 
 I was well acquainted with the brother of Lord Bea- 
 consfleld from a very early period. He was a member 
 of the Clarence Club. I also used to meet Montagu 
 Corry, who not unfrequently joined the little corner 
 that I have described at Paddy Green's ; and although 
 I knew so little of Lord Beaconsfleld personally, I fan- 
 cied that I could gather, from the terms in which he 
 was spoken of by others, the clue to that affection he 
 had the reputation of creating in the minds of all 
 who had the pleasure of his intimate acquaintance. 
 
 1 It is well known that a question arose about meeting Lord Beaconsfield's 
 regular medical attendant, who professed homoeopathy. No one has more 
 rigidly maintained the honor of the profession than Dr. Quain, whom I am 
 proud to call my friend ; and the course of conduct he pursued was univers- 
 ally approved. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 LOKD LYTTON. 
 
 VyHEN Lord Lytton was Secretary of State for 
 the Colonies, some papers were removed from 
 the office in which they had been deposited. This 
 had clearly been done surreptitiously, and it turned 
 out that the person doing it had been actuated by some 
 idea that he could obtain from their possession a per- 
 sonal benefit. Lord Lytton was greatly annoyed. 
 He thought that some reflection would be cast upon 
 him for want of sufficient care, and he determined to 
 prosecute the offender, who was given into custody, 
 and after which I was consulted by his solicitors upon 
 the subject. Lord Lytton requested that I would call 
 upon him, which I did one morning at No. 1 Park 
 Lane, where he then resided. I went at the time he . 
 appointed, and found him at breakfast. 
 
 I remember that he had several animals about him, 
 amongst others a parrot, of which he appeared to be 
 very fond. He had always gone in for artistic dress, 
 and had shone in London another star with Count 
 D'Orsay. If I remember correctly, he was even then 
 somewhat deaf. I thought that he attached to the 
 affair far more consequence than it really deserved, as 
 it was quite absurd to suppose that any one would 
 dream of blaming him. However, the man was sent 
 
 269 
 
270 TRIAL AT THE CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT. 
 
 for trial at the Central Criminal Court, and was made 
 the subject of a State prosecution. Sir Fitzroy Kelly, 
 then Attorney-General, conducted it with his accus- 
 tomed solemnity. Serjeant Parry defended, and in a 
 very able speech made the most of the importance that 
 had been attached to a very trivial matter. Baron 
 Martin summed up against the prisoner, as in law he 
 was bound to do, but did it in a way to show that he 
 should have been glad if the law had been otherwise, 
 and the jury accommodated themselves to his views 
 by acquitting him. From that time I used very fre- 
 quently to meet Lord Lytton, and upon several occa- 
 sions dined with him, both in Park Lane and after- 
 wards in Grosvenor Square. He was certainly a man 
 well worthy of record in the history of his generation. 1 
 As a statesman, he is the property of history. He 
 certainly possessed the merit of being most painstak- 
 ing, and, I should say, almost too anxious. As an ora- 
 tor, his style was elaborate and his speeches most 
 carefully prepared. The unfortunate infirmity of his 
 deafness was a bar to his being an efficient debater. 
 Of his literary works I, in common with the rest of 
 society, am able to form a judgment. They were 
 very popular, and generally exhibited much care, re- 
 search, and knowledge, and his novels certainly pos- 
 sessed what I may perhaps place too highly in the 
 category of excellence, the power of amusing. It is 
 difficult to imagine four writers of the period, all en- 
 gaged in works of fiction, whose attributes were so 
 entirely different as those of Thackeray, Dickens, 
 
 1 A critic remarks that this latter observation is superfluous. I may, admit- 
 ting this to be the case, I think, be nevertheless excused for making it. 
 
BELIEF IN THE SUPERNATURAL. 271 
 
 Bulwer, and Disraeli, and the age is not to be despised 
 in which they flourished. Of the two latter, it must 
 be remembered that other pursuits than that of litera- 
 ture principally occupied their minds. 
 
 It is no small compliment to Bulwers dramatic 
 compositions that several of his plays still hold pos- 
 session of the stage. The principal parts, both male 
 and female, have been played by the best of our act- 
 ors and actresses, and still form the ambition of nov- 
 ices. "The Lady of Lyons" and "Richelieu" are 
 said to be stilted, but whenever they are performed 
 by actors of intelligence they invariably command good 
 audiences, and the play of " Money " is always pop- 
 ular, especially in the " provinces." The best per- 
 formance that I ever witnessed of " Eichelieu " was 
 by Mr. Booth, the well-known American actor. 
 
 Lord Lytton consulted me upon another matter in 
 which he had acted upon very bad advice, and which 
 was a source of great annoyance to him, and I am vain 
 enough to believe that he placed considerable confi- 
 dence in my opinion. I have upon several occasions 
 remained with him after other guests had left. He 
 was not a good conversationalist, as he was too didac- 
 tic, and appeared rather to be giving a treatise than in- 
 viting a discussion, but what he said was very instruct- 
 ive as well as amusing. I noticed that he dwelt with 
 great apparent pleasure upon the supernatural, and 
 those who have read some of his works, "Zanoni" for 
 instance, and "A Strange Story," can scarcely doubt 
 that he was strongly impregnated with a belief in it. 
 It is very interesting to note the number of remark- 
 able men who have exhibited similar impressions 
 
272 SIR ASTLEY COOPER. 
 
 They are rarely, if ever, boldly avowed, and are nearly 
 always protested against ; but still the feeling creeps 
 out, and it is also remarkable how willing the mass 
 of people are to receive it with apparent concurrence. 
 
 I suppose that no one thinks of calling " Guy Man- 
 nering " a supernatural novel, and yet the main inter- 
 est of the story turns upon a horoscoj)e cast by an In- 
 dian soldier, whilst Meg Merrilies, one of the most 
 powerful of the author's characters, is clearly endowed 
 with a spirit of prophecy, and we have never heard this 
 most charming of works of ficiton charged with im- 
 probability. I am convinced that Mr. Const, whom I 
 have before mentioned, a lawyer and a man of pleasure, 
 one of all others whom I should have thought least cap- 
 able of fanciful ideas, was fully possessed with the no- 
 tion that he had lived before. He kept a diary, record- 
 ing events in the Latin language, and once he lent me 
 two or three pages which detailed some incident in 
 which I was interested, and there I found a scene in 
 the description of which he stated that he recognized 
 every feature, and the actually spoken words, although 
 he never could have witnessed it during his present 
 life. When I was translating this aloud, he snatched 
 the diary from my hand. 
 
 I do not think it will be out of place whilst upon 
 this subject to relate a story told of Sir Astley Cooper. 
 I am not certain that it has not already been in print, 
 but I know that I have had frequent conversations 
 about it with his nephew. 
 
 There had been a murder, and Sir Astley was upon 
 the scene when a man suspected of it was apprehend- 
 ed, and Sir Astley, being greatly interested, accom- 
 
SUPERNATURAL ANECDOTE. 273 
 
 panied the officers with their prisoner to the gaol, and 
 he and they and the accused were all in a cell, locked 
 in together, when they noticed a little dog, which kept 
 biting at the skirt of the prisoner's coat. This led 
 them to examine the garment, and they found, upon 
 it traces of blood, which ultimately led to the convic- 
 tion of the man. When they looked round, the dog 
 had disappeared, although the door had never been 
 opened. How it had got there, or how it got away, no- 
 body could tell. When Bransby Cooper spoke of 
 this, he always said that of course his uncle had made 
 a mistake, and was convinced of this himself; and 
 Bransby used to add that, no doubt, if the matter had 
 been investigated, it would have been shown that there 
 was a mode of accounting for it from natural causes. 
 But I believe that neither Sir Astley nor his nephew 
 in their own hearts discarded entirely the supernatural. 
 
 In relating these anecdotes I am only recording how 
 men of great intellect may be affected by such cir- 
 cumstances. I thought at one time that the last in- 
 cident applied to the case of Patch, which I have told 
 in a former chapter ; but although it may do so I am 
 unable to substantiate it, and must leave it therefore 
 upon no more solid foundation, than my memory of its 
 relation to myself as having occurred during some 
 portion of Sir Astley Cooper's early career. 
 
 Lord Lytton was extremely interested in criminal 
 investigations, and I could always obtain his attention 
 when I related any of those in which I had myself 
 been engaged, and in novels that he had written pre- 
 vious to my acquaintance with him he had used the 
 records of crime in their construction. A leading idea 
 18 
 
274 FAUNTLEROY. 
 
 in "Pelham," although the details were dissimilar, 
 was suggested by the case of Thurtell, of which I 
 have already given some particulars ; and there was 
 a trial that took place at the early part of the present 
 century. The history of a person named Wainwright 
 had furnished incidents very similar to those related 
 in the novel of "Lucretia." In that case the man was 
 convicted of forgery and transported, but no doubt 
 whatever existed that he had also been a practiced 
 poisoner. 1 I have always thought that the prologue 
 to this work was one of the most powerful pieces of 
 writing that ever came from Lord Lytton's pen. He 
 told me himself that the character of the banker in 
 "The Disowned" was suggested by Fauntleroy, and 
 those who remember the history of this man are aware 
 that he was a voluptuary as well as a forger. Lord 
 Lytton describes him also as a craven ; and I was able 
 to relate an anecdote that showed that this apprecia- 
 tion of his character was correct. 
 
 At the time of the committal of Fauntleroy my 
 father was a visiting justice at Coldbath Fields, to 
 which prison he was sent. An old Bow Street officer 
 — or runner, as these officials used to be designated 
 — of the name of Vickery was the governor. A sus- 
 picion arose that some one in the gaol had been tam- 
 pered with to enable the prisoner to effect his escape, 
 and my father assisted in the investigation of the cir- 
 cumstances, and I learned from him that it was clearly 
 proved that a ladder of ropes and other conveniences 
 for escape had by some agency been supplied to him ; 
 but, as was supposed by those engaged in the inquiry, 
 
 1 Before his death he confessed to having done so. 
 
THE PORTLAND CLUB. 275 
 
 his courage failed him, and he did not make the at- 
 tempt. 1 
 
 Although the " Disowned " is an excellent and in- 
 teresting work of fiction, the author has, I cannot help 
 thinking, been guilty of a slight slip in one of the epi- 
 sodes contained in the work. A very graphic and 
 amusing sketch is given of the arrest of the* banker. 
 He is supposed, before the crash had taken place, or 
 anything was known about its probability, to have 
 gone disguised to the White Horse Cellar, to have 
 asked for a letter directed in an assumed name, and 
 on reading it pretended that he was suddenly called 
 abroad, and ordered a post-chaise. A police officer 
 — why or wherefore is not stated — is seated in the 
 room, orders another post-chaise, follows the banker, 
 and apprehends him at Dover, exhibiting an amount 
 of sagacity that even in those days was more than re- 
 markable. I ventured once to draw Lord Lytton's 
 attention to the difficulty presented to my mind, but 
 got no explanation, and he did not seem to me to be 
 much pleased with the subject. 
 
 Once when I was enjoying a somewhat confidential 
 talk with him at the commencement of our acquaint- 
 ance, I related an episode in my own life in which he 
 seemed to take a kindly and sympathetic interest, and 
 he afterwards embodied it with little alteration in one 
 of his novels called " What will He do with It?" 
 
 Lord Lytton was very fond of whist, and he and I 
 both belonged to the well-known Portland Club, in 
 
 1 I have since writing the above had the incident confirmed by a corre- 
 spondent, who states that preparations had been made upon the Dover road 
 to convey this criminal to the coast. 
 
276 LAST MEETING WITH LORD LYTTON. 
 
 which were to be found many of the celebrated play- 
 ers of the day. He never showed the slightest dis- 
 position 0-' a gambler. He played the game well, and 
 without excitement or temper, and apparently his 
 whole attention was concentrated upon it; but it was 
 curious to see that at every interval that occurred in 
 the rubbers he would rush off to a writing-table, and 
 with equally concentrated attention proceed with 
 some literary work until called again to take his place 
 at the whist-table. There was a member of the 
 club, a very harmless, inoffensive man, of the name 
 of Townend, for whom Lord Lytton entertained a 
 mortal antipathy, and would never play whilst that 
 gentleman was in the room. He firmly believed that 
 he brought him bad luck. I was a witness to what 
 must be termed an odd coincidence. One afternoon, 
 when Lord Lytton was playing, and had enjoyed an 
 uninterrupted run of luck, it suddenly turned, upon 
 which he exclaimed, "I am sure that Mr. Townend 
 has come into the club." Some three minutes after, 
 just time enough to ascend the stairs, in walked this 
 unlucky personage. Lord Lytton, as soon as the rub- 
 ber was over, left the table and did not renew play. 
 
 r J he last time I saw Lord Lytton was after I had 
 ceased to be a member of the club, but was invited 
 to dine there by a Mr. Dommett, a very old and 
 valued friend of mine. It was shortly before Lord 
 Lytton's death. He was about going into Devon- 
 shire, and invited me to visit him there. I cannot 
 remember whether he had just undergone or was 
 about to undergo an operation with a view to ame- 
 liorate his deafness. Unhappily, there was such an 
 
MACAULAY. 277 
 
 operation performed, resulting in an abscess, which, 
 suppurating internally, caused his death. This event, 
 I am certain, created great commiseration in all the 
 circles where his unaffected courtesy, as well as other 
 qualities, rendered him a most agreeable companion. 
 
 Amongst those who were cotemporary with Lord 
 Lytton, and, like him, statesman, orator, and author 
 — I am tempted to say novelist also, although such a 
 description might be protested against — was Thomas 
 Babington Macaulay, whose painting of his favorite 
 hero William is just as fanciful as Walter Scott's de*- 
 scription of Claverhouse in " Old Mortality." Fan- 
 ciful, however, be it or not, it and other of his works 
 have afforded to this, and will afford to generations 
 to come, instruction and delight. 
 
 It is not, however, to criticise his works that I re- 
 call his name, but to mention that a very pleasing in- 
 cident in my own life was making his acquaintance 
 and traveling for three days in his company. He was 
 with Mr. Ellis, an eminent lawyer and a friend of 
 mine. We passed through some of the cities of Bel- 
 gium. Every one has heard of his marvelous mem- 
 ory and inexhaustible fund of information ; he de- 
 lighted to impart it. There was no subject about 
 which he talked that he was not eloquent and in- 
 structive upon, and I did not at all regret that during 
 the time I was in his company I myself was con- 
 strained to preserve almost uninterrupted silence. 
 
 In recording my recollections of Lord Lytton, I 
 have not been sorry to introduce my readers to the 
 Portland Club. It comprised amongst its members 
 many well-known personages, with some of whom 
 I was upon terms of intimacy. 
 
278 LORD HENRY BENTINCK. 
 
 It was considered to be a play club, not similar to 
 Crockford's and Graham's, as the games allowed were 
 confined to such only as combined skill with chance, 
 and, as I have previously mentioned, many first-rate 
 players belonged to it. There was a dinner in the 
 evening, which brought people together, and at which 
 much good fellowship prevailed. The play at times 
 was high, but a moderate game could generally be 
 obtained by those who desired it. 
 
 When first I entered the club my attention was at- 
 tracted by an active, lithesome old man engaged in 
 a game of billiards, which, considering his age, he 
 was playing with wonderful power and skill. This 
 was "the Squire" Osbaldistone. He had filled for 
 half a century before I knew him no small space. in 
 the sporting world, and it was not difficult to discover 
 in him the weakness that had wrecked a fine fortune. 
 Although few surpassed him in his knowledge of 
 horses, and no amateur in riding them, and although 
 he was a first-rate pedestrian, cricketer, and shot, he 
 overestimated his powers in playing, as it were, against 
 the field, and laid the odds on himself instead of ob- 
 taining them. He bore his fate with apparent equa- 
 nimity, and the lessons he had received did not seem 
 to have in any respect lessened his opinion of himself. 
 
 A very constant player at afternoon whist was Lord 
 Henry Bentinck. His name, as may be remembered, 
 was introduced with those of George Anson and 
 George Payne upon the Lord de Ros trial, and by it- 
 self would have been sufficient guarantee that no hasty 
 or unconsidered charge had been launched against that 
 unfortunate nobleman. 
 
 I think that Lord Henry was a man of considem- 
 
LORD HENRY BENTINCK. 279 
 
 ble intellect, but he was extremely reserved, and al- 
 though I have met him at Lord Lytton's and else- 
 where, he furnished but few opportunities for form- 
 ing a judgment. He was a fine whist player, indif- 
 ferent to the stakes he played, and a rigid adherent to 
 the rules of the game, from which, as he understood 
 them, nothing would induce him to deviate. 
 
 An excited adversary might display by a gesture 
 what he had in his hand, but it was lost upon Lord 
 Henry; and if cards were exposed under his very nose, 
 his eyes might see them, but it altered not his play. 
 I can remember well a member, who did not so much 
 respect accuracy in play as he did the result of it, 
 gnashing his teeth at what he deemed the idiotism 
 and folly of his lordship. There are many alive who 
 may guess to whom I allude ; he himself is dead. 1 
 
 I was once walking home with Lord Henry from 
 a dinner party at Cavendish Square. He told me that 
 Lord de Ros had received frequent warnings, but 
 seemed blind to all of th em ; and from my perusal of 
 the trial — I have heard about his lordship from other 
 sources — I am convinced that Lord de Ros furnished 
 an example of a mind in most respects sound and in- 
 telligent, but subject to this one uncontrollable im- 
 pulse. Lord Henry considered that no one surpassed 
 himself in skill in any game that he played, but he 
 told me that although in the long run he had been 
 a winner, it was to a very trifling extent — saying, 
 I remember, that he should have made more as a 
 journeyman glazier ! 
 
 James Clay, the recognized authority upon the 
 
 1 A very friendly critic is mistaken in supposing that I join in the dis- 
 approval. 
 
280 JOHN BUSHE. 
 
 game of whist, was a member, and played frequently. 
 There was an amusing rivalry between him and Lord 
 Henry; each of them declared that the other knew 
 nothing about the game. Mr. Clay was a great pro- 
 ficient in all games of skill. He was champion bill- 
 iard player amongst amateurs. His work upon whist 
 was recognized as the great authority until " Caven- 
 dish " rather supplemented it than wrote a new one. 
 He might, however, be remembered for higher quali- 
 ties than these exhibit. He was extremely well in- 
 formed, capable of taking correct and forcible views 
 upon most subjects. In the House of Commons, where 
 he sat for the borough of Hull, he was much looked 
 up to, and his house in Bryanston Square was the 
 scene of many pleasant gatherings. 
 
 One of the most amusing companions I ever met 
 with, whether in this club or out of it, was John Bushe, 
 not a young man when first I made his acquaintance, 
 but full of life and good spirits. He was an Irishman, 
 and the son of the well-known Chief Justice of the 
 Irish Court of Common Pleas, a judge whose witty 
 sayings somew r hat startled the decorum of the bench, 
 even in times not famous for that characteristic. His 
 son was bright and amusing, and his little parties in 
 the Albany were always highly appreciated. No one, 
 probably, had seen more of life in all its phases. In 
 the early part of it he had been engaged in one or two 
 " affairs of honor," as they w r ere called ; there were 
 few Irishmen who had not been, but no one could be 
 less prone to quarrel than he was, or who possessed 
 a more perfectly even temper. He was a good player 
 at most games, and, as may be supposed, very popu- 
 lar in the club. 
 
GENERAL WINDHAM. 281 
 
 There is still a figure that I recall, indeed it would 
 be very difficult to forget it— Dr. Jones, father of 
 " Cavendish," and himself as good a whist player as 
 his son, the author of its rules, who also belonged to 
 the club. 
 
 I have frequently played a rubber with another 
 member, whose name became famous during the Cri- 
 mean war — General Windham. The gallantry uni- 
 versally exhibited during that memorable struggle has 
 prevented individual traits from standing prominently 
 forth upon, many of the occasions on which they were 
 exhibited ; but Windham was fortunate in the particu- 
 lar event which has rendered his name celebrated, and 
 even more fortunate in the eloquent and able pen that 
 has connected it with the storming of the Redan. 
 For this he is indebted to William Russell, of whom 
 I believe I may say, without prejudice to others, that 
 he created what has become an institution — the " mil- 
 itary correspondent " to a newspaper. His career and 
 his example have been ably followed, and it would be 
 difficult to exaggerate the qualities necessary for the 
 performance of the duties involved. It requires not 
 only literary attainment of no mean order, but he must 
 be a man possessing military knowledge, unflinching 
 courage, and great powers of endurance. It was in 
 an ardent desire to fulfill his duties that my poor friend 
 Bowlby, as I have previously mentioned, became the 
 victim of Chinese barbarity. 
 
 I knew Russell well in the early part of my career, 
 and before he had made his name famous ; and, al- 
 though not thrown much into his society, we have met 
 at the Grarrick Club and elsewhere during the inter- 
 vals of his freedom from work. He, like so many who 
 
282 CRIMEAN WAR. 
 
 bear honored names, is an Irishman, and it was through 
 some of my friends belonging to that country that I 
 first made his acquaintance. 
 
 Kingston is an old friend of mine, and, apart from 
 his professional merits, would, I am sure, enliven the 
 dullest of campaigns. The reputation of Forbes and 
 others cannot be enhanced by anything I say. I only 
 regret that I do not possess the personal knowledge 
 of them to enable me to add to the interest of these 
 pages. 
 
 The Crimea — nearly thirty years have elapsed since 
 the name became famous in English annals. The 
 reality of the war was scarcely dreamed of by its au- 
 thors, and I do not believe that any such terrible con- 
 flict was expected. I know that Lord Raglan, when 
 he rearranged his insurances, stated with confidence 
 that the expedition would be a merely military march. 
 
 I remember the event in connection with its social 
 aspect, and even at this distance of time I can recall 
 happy young faces that before the event I have seen 
 at the Garrick Club and at Evans's, and with the own- 
 ers of which I have often enjoyed myself, who soon 
 after found their graves in a foreign land. The w r ar 
 made a sad clearance in many a place of amusement, 
 but now that the pangs first experienced have become 
 deadened by time, there is many a family reconciled 
 to a loss that has left a noble fame behind. 
 
 One of the most amusing evenings that I ever pass- 
 ed in my life was with one to whom before the war 
 1 had bidden good-bye, and who, having been upon 
 nearly every battle-field through the campaign, and 
 become the proud possessor of the Victoria Cross, had 
 escaped without a wound — Colonel Goodlake. How 
 
MR. GREVILLE. 283 
 
 he did escape is one of those marvels difficult to be ac- 
 counted for, as he stood about six feet five in his boots, 
 and presented a corresponding breadth of person. I 
 dined with him tete-a-tete at the Tower on one night 
 shortly after his return, and listened with intense in- 
 terest to his simple but not less graphic details of the 
 different fights, and his affecting account of deaths of 
 lads whom we had both known. I was filled with 
 admiration for the courage and endurance of our sol- 
 diers, officers and men, and with a detestation and 
 horror of what is called " the glory of war." 
 
 It is a general trait of great men in all professions 
 that they rarely blazon their own exploits, and this 
 applies signally to those belonging to the military pro- 
 fession. My old friend, Colonel Napier Sturt, himself 
 a Crimean officer, when on guard at St. James's Pal- 
 ace, gave me frequent opportunities of meeting his 
 comrades at very agreeable dinnerparties, and of list- 
 ening to anecdotes, serious and gay, of the campaign. 
 
 Amongst the latter I was much amused by one told 
 me, that an attack made upon a hamper of good things 
 from Fortnum and Mason, which had suddenly in- 
 vaded their quarters, invalided more men in the 
 regiment than the fire of the enemy. 
 
 At one of these entertainments I met Mr. Greville, 
 whose " Memoirs" have caused so great a stir. He 
 talked agreeably, but said very little, and seemed 
 somewhat bored. I have read with great interest his 
 recollections, and certainly his life ought to have fur- 
 nished him with incessant enjoyment, mixing as he 
 did with all that was famous and intellectual in socie- 
 ty ; but if the entry he made in his diary when he at- 
 tained his fortieth birthday was a true index of his 
 
284 EXTRACT FROM GREVILLE'S JOURNAL. 
 
 feelings, the reader would be apt to exclaim, " All is 
 indeed vanity !"/ 
 
 1 The following is the extract referred to, April 3, 1834: — 
 " Yesterday I was forty years old — an anniversary much too melancholy 
 to think of. And when I think how intolerably these forty years have been 
 wasted, how unprofitably spent, how little store laid up for the future, how 
 few the pleasurable recollections of the past, a feeling of pain and humil- 
 iation comes across me that makes my cheeks tingle and burn as I write. 
 It is very seldom that I indulge in moralizing in this journal of mine. If 
 anybody ever reads it, what will they care for my feelings and regrets ? It 
 is no reason, they will think, that because I have wasted my time they 
 should waste theirs in reading the records of follies that are nothing more 
 than the great mass of the world are every day committing. Idleness, 
 vanity, and selfishness are our besetting sins, and we are perpetually 
 whirled about by one or other of them. It is certainly more amusing, both 
 to other people and to myself (when I look back to what I have written), 
 to read the anecdotes and events of the day than all this moral stuff (by 
 which I mean stuff as applied to me, not as being despicable in itself), but 
 every now and then the fancy takes me, and I think I find relief by giving 
 vent upon paper to that which I cannot say to anybody — ' Cela fait partie 
 de fii' doctrine interieure qu'il ne faut jamais communiquer ' (Stendthal). 
 I am satisfied, and I will go to other things — the foreign or domestic scraps 
 I have picked up." — Greville's Journal, vol. iii. p. 77. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 CURIOUS TRIAL FOR MURDER. 
 
 f AM about to tell a story, the circumstances of 
 which would be thought improbable in a romance, 
 and yet every word of it is true ; and there are inci- 
 dents which I believe to be connected with it that 
 would add to its strangeness, but which I suppress, 
 because I do not possess the proofs requisite for their 
 authentication. 
 
 What I shall relate will disclose a series of blun- 
 ders, the danger of placing too great reliance upon 
 scientific testimony, and the want of a tribunal capable 
 of revising decisions alleged to have been erroneous 
 in criminal cases. 
 
 The unfortunate victim was a lady of the name of 
 Banks, who, at the date of my narrative, might still 
 be entitled to be called young, and certainly was of 
 that opinion herself. She was a member of a highly 
 respectable family, and possessed of some £2000, en- 
 tirely at her own disposal, and had some further ex- 
 pectancies. She was not fond of the trammels of 
 home life, and, preferring to reside at a boarding- 
 house, she selected the establishment of a respectable 
 lady at Bayswater, where also resided a medical man 
 and his wife of the name of Smethurst, the former 
 
 285 
 
286 BIGAMY. 
 
 about fifty years old, the latter twenty years 'older. 
 An intimacy sprang up between the doctor and the 
 lodger, of which the mistress of the house did not ap- 
 prove, and gave Miss Banks notice to leave, which 
 she did upon November 29th in the year 18 — . The 
 doctor also left upon December 12th following, and 
 was married the same day to Miss Banks at Batter- 
 sea Church. Oddly enough, no surprise was ex- 
 pressed by the doctor's wife, and her position in the 
 affair is very difficult to be understood ; it will cer- 
 tainly be made apparent by the course of events that 
 she was in communication with her husband and 
 upon apparently affectionate terms throughout the 
 events I am about to detail. Nothing more is known 
 with certainty of the doctor and Miss Banks until 
 February 4th, when they took apartments in one of 
 the suburbs, where they remained until April 15th, 
 living as man and wife, and upon leaving went to an- 
 other residence in the neighborhood. It is to be re- 
 marked that from the time of their removal in Feb- 
 ruary, Miss Banks was apparently suffering from ill- 
 ness, and Dr. Julius, one of the best known medical 
 men in the neighborhood, was called in to see her. 
 It must be borne in mind, in reference to statements 
 subsequently relied upon by the prisoner, that no sug- 
 guestion was then made by him that she was preg- 
 nant, but he stated that she was suffering from a bil- 
 ious attack. It would not, however, assist the gen- 
 eral reader or help to develop the story to give any 
 details of the symptoms then exhibited. 
 
 Suffice it to say that Dr. Julius found, to his great 
 astonishment, that none of his remedies produced 
 
POISONING SUSPICIONED. 287 
 
 the slightest effect, and he felt confident that some 
 agent was at work to counteract them. Naturally 
 he was very loth to express such an opinion, and 
 he continued to watch the case with great anxiety ; 
 and, without mentioning his suspicions to his partner, 
 requested that gentleman to take charge of the pa- 
 tient for two or three days, which accordingly he did. 
 At the end of that time he also was impressed with 
 the same conviction, and declared his positive opinion 
 that the lady was being placed under the influence of 
 poison, thus fully supporting the view previously ar- 
 rived at by Dr. Julius. 
 
 Towards the latter end of April, the sister of Miss 
 Banks was for the first time communicated with, and 
 she at once came. Her evidence does not throw any 
 light upon the case, except that she deposed that her 
 sister's health was generally good, and that, although 
 she occasionally suffered from bilious attacks, they 
 succumbed readily to simple treatment. Her appear- 
 ance at this time was so alarming that, at the sister's 
 suggestion, another medical man was sent for, and 
 one of the most eminent physicians of the day attend- 
 ed and saw her on the last day of April. No com- 
 munication was made to this gentleman of the suspi- 
 cions entertained, but the first words he uttered after 
 his examination were: "That lady is being poisoned!" 
 
 A portion of arsenic was discovered in some vomit 
 that was analyzed by the well-known chemist, Pro- 
 fessor Taylor ; and this, joined to the absolute con- 
 viction of all three medical men, induced one of them 
 to apply for a warrant, and the pseudo-husband was 
 arrested upon it. He was, however, by an utterly un- 
 
288 M ISS BANKS'S WILL. 
 
 accountable blunder, released, the magistrates accept- 
 ing his statement that his absence would kill his wife, 
 and allowing him access to his apartment without su- 
 pervision. His release, however, did not prevent the 
 fatal result, for on the following day, May 3d, the un- 
 fortunate lady died in great suffering. A post-mortem 
 examination was held upon her body, and both arsenic 
 and antimony were discovered in different parts of 
 the intestines. It was proved by the landlady of the 
 house in which she died that the supposed husband 
 alone waited upon her, declining upon the ground of 
 poverty (for which there was no foundation) to employ 
 a nurse, and that no portions of the food sent up to 
 their rooms were ever returned. In giving an ac- 
 count of the illness and death of this poor lady, I have 
 avoided details of a technical character as much as 
 possible, but I think I have said enough to make my 
 views intelligible ; and I have now to call attention to 
 certain facts that must be taken in conjunction with 
 the medical evidence to enable the reader to form a 
 sound conclusion upon the case. 
 
 On Saturday, the 12th of April preceding the 
 death, the accused man went to a solicitor, and re- 
 quested him to call at his lodgings the next day for 
 the purpose of drawing out a will, at the same time 
 showing; him the draft of one which he said a barrister 
 had prepared. The solicitor objected to doing so on 
 Sunday, but, being told that the lady was ill, consent- 
 ed, if sent for, to come. His visitor called upon him 
 again the next morning, and brought him to where 
 he and Miss Banks were residing. The lawyer wished 
 that a medical man should be present, but this was de- 
 clined. The draft that he had seen before was jDro- 
 
COMMITTAL OF ACCUSED. 2 89 
 
 duced; and a will was drawn up founded upon it, 
 which left everything to the accused, and Miss 
 Banks executed it, signing her maiden name. 
 
 It was proved at the trial that in a box belonging 
 to the prisoner were found subsequently many forms 
 of wills, and also a letter, which for some reason had 
 not been forwarded, directed to his wife, and which 
 appeared to me one of the most significant incidents 
 m the case. The letter was dated May 2d, and con- 
 tained an intimation that he (the prisoner) had been 
 prevented by circumstances from leaving for town so 
 soon as he expected in consequence of his professional 
 assistance being required by a patient on whom he 
 was attending, and that, if anything unforeseen pre- 
 vented him from leaving before the 11th, money should 
 be sent to her for certain purposes, and concluded 
 with the expression of a hope that he might find her 
 quite well on his return, which he trusted would not 
 long be delayed. 
 
 I have already stated that Miss Banks died upon 
 May 3d, and the supposed widower, who in the mean- 
 while had unrestricted access to his room, being again 
 taken into custody, was examined before a bench of 
 magistrates, and finally committed to take his trial for 
 murder at the Central Criminal Court, and in due course 
 was arraigned before the Lord Chief Baron Pollock. 
 It so happened that upon the second day of the trial 
 a juryman was taken ill, the jury were consequently 
 discharged, and the case was adjourned to a subse- 
 quent sessions, when the same judge presided. I con- 
 ducted the prosecution, and the facts as I have related 
 them, but in greater detail, were proved. Mr Ser- 
 19 , 
 
290 TRIAL BEFORE CHIEF BAR ON P OLL OK. 
 
 jeant Parry, with whom was Mr. Giffard, defended, 
 and two abler men could not have been selected. 
 Medical practitioners were called by them to prove 
 that the appearances detailed were consistent with 
 natural causes ; and one gentleman, who had figured for 
 the same purpose upon the Palmer trial, started a theo- 
 ry to support this opinion. 
 
 The Lord Chief Baron pointed out that it was not 
 from isolated, symptoms that a conclusion could be 
 formed, but by the aggregate of all of them joined to 
 the independent facts of the case — the same doctrine 
 in fact as that enforced by Lord Campbell upon the 
 trial of Palmer — and the jury, as it appeared to me 
 at the time, and I still think, came to the right and 
 almost inevitable conclusion of the prisoner's guilt. 
 A great outcry, however, subsequently arose, a medi- 
 cal war was waged with great vigor in the newspapers, 
 and petitions were forwarded to the Secretary of 
 State. Two documents also were produced ; one a 
 letter to Miss Banks's sister, and another an entry by 
 the prisoner in a diary. The fact was suppressed 
 that copies of both were in the hands of the prisoner 
 at the time of the trial, and that I had offered to put 
 them in evidence if it was desired on his behalf, and 
 the Secretary of State was probably drawn into the 
 conclusion that they had been kept back against his 
 wishes. 
 
 Ultimately the matter was referred to Sir Benjamin 
 Brodie to report upon, and he obviously could only 
 deal with it in its purely medical phase, and without 
 the light thrown upon it by the other evidence. Of 
 course no one on the part of the prosecution could in- 
 
PROFESSOR TAYLOR'S MISTAKE. 291 
 
 terfere. The Home Secretary ultimately released the 
 prisoner, who afterwards proved the will of Miss Banks 
 and thus secured possession of her property. 1 
 
 When the following facts are brought to the atten- 
 tion of the reader, this result can easily be understood. 
 
 It will be remembered that on the day before the 
 death of Miss Banks, the accused man was given into 
 custody, but released. Whether this could have been 
 under any circumstances prudent, it is abundantly clear 
 that either everything that could throw light upon the 
 subject ought to have been taken possession of before- 
 hand, or some watch placed upon the supposed hus- 
 band ; but neither was done. He obtained access to 
 his room, and I have very little doubt that he laid a 
 trap, into which Dr. Taylor innocently fell. After the 
 death, everything that the prisoner had allowed to re- 
 main was secured, when it was noticed that the medi- 
 cines supplied by the local practitioners were nearly 
 untouched, but there was nothing to excite suspicion 
 but one bottle filled with colorless liquid. This was im- 
 mediately pounced upon; it was known that arsenic had 
 already been discovered in the body, and so Professor 
 Taylor set to work upon a portion of the liquid with 
 the usual test for the discovery of that poison. This is 
 called Beinsch's test, and consists in mixing a small 
 quantity of hydrochloric acid with the liquid to be test- 
 ed, and then dropping into it a piece of copper gauze, 
 upon which, if there be any arsenic in the mixture, it is 
 supposed to attach itself. Accordingly this was done 
 with a portion of the liquid in question, but, instead 
 
 1 After the pardon for the murder he was tried, convicted, and imprisoned 
 for twelve months for bigamy. 
 
292 ORIGIN OF THE ERROR. 
 
 of the gauze attracting anything, it became itself dis- 
 solved. Another piece of gauze, and then a third met 
 with the same fate : at last traces of arsenic did at- 
 tach themselves to a piece of the wire which had not 
 dissolved, and when before the magistrates the Pro- 
 fessor, without explaining the difficulty that he had 
 encountered, simply stated that upon analysis he had 
 discovered arsenic. The remaining portion of the con- 
 tents of the bottle was preserved, 1 and being subjected 
 to a different test, turned out to contain no arsenic what- 
 ever, but was a bottle containing a solution of chlorate 
 of potash, and Professor Taylor ultimately found out 
 that the arsenic he had discovered after so many trials 
 had actually emanated from his own copper gauze, 
 which had been dissolved in the early experiments. 
 
 Although really the arsenic and antimony that had 
 undoubtedly been discovered in the body rendered it 
 immaterial whether any was contained in this partic- 
 ular bottle, there can be no doubt that so terrible an 
 oversight on the part of a man of great eminence was 
 calculated to affect public opinion, and lead it to cast 
 discredit upon the whole of the scientific testimony 
 produced, and I have now to relate an incident in con- 
 nection with it which will, I think, throw some light 
 upon the origin of this most serious mistake. 
 
 A physician, now of great eminence, who was pres- 
 ent when the vomit was analyzed, and who gave evi- 
 dence upon the subject of dysentery, of which he had 
 obtained much experience in the Crimean campaign, 
 forwarded to the solicitor who was conducting the 
 prosecution a number of the " Lancet," containing a 
 
 1 I well remember that upon the inquest Dr. Smethuret showe'l great 
 anxietv ili.it this should he ilone. 
 
UNSATISFACTORY TESTS. 293 
 
 letter from tlie prisoner, written some seven or eight 
 years before, upon the subject of the extraction of teeth, 
 and in this number, and upon the opposite page to that 
 which contained his letter, was one of a series of lectures 
 by an eminent chemist on the detection of arsenic, in 
 which it was stated that wherever chlorates were used 
 Reinsch's test would invariably be defeated. It was 
 probably perfectly known to the prisoner that this test 
 had been usually applied by Dr. Taylor, and I have 
 never been able to make up my mind whether there 
 was really any poison in the bottle, or whether it was a 
 contrivance which had been arranged for the purpose 
 during the interval between the prisoner's first and 
 second apprehensions, with a view to the result that 
 occurred; but, whatever was the intention, it undoubt- 
 edly saved his life. 
 
 It is due to the memory of Dr. Taylor to state that 
 a doubt crossing his own mind led to the discovery of 
 the mistake which was disclosed upon the trial, and 
 did not really affect the weight of the evidence, or ap- 
 parently the minds of the jury, it being shown that it 
 would not affect the analyses of the vomit and intes- 
 tines. It may not be altogether satisfactory to man- 
 kind to mention that Dr. Taylor wrote to several of the 
 most eminent chemists to obtain specimens of the gauze 
 used by them in their experiments, and that it was in 
 every instance found impregnated in the same way. 
 The difficulty that presents itself to my thoughts is, 
 why the presence of the chlorate was not ascertained 
 before the test was applied. 
 
 It is a pregnant example, however, of what I have 
 been so anxious to enforce — that the speculations of 
 scientific men, however eminent, ought never to be 
 
294 LETTER IN THE " LANCET:' 
 
 made the basis of a case. They may and constantly 
 do materially assist it. In the instances of Palmer 
 and many others they were so far auxiliary to the other 
 evidence that they showed it to be perfectly consist- 
 ent with the natural conclusion that the facts them- 
 selves had presented to all reasoning minds. 
 
 The solicitor of the deceased was indefatigable in his 
 exertions in the conduct of this case. His sympathies 
 and indignation were both roused, and it occurred to 
 him, in looking at the letter of the prisonerin the "Lan- 
 cet," to see where it was dated from, and he found that 
 it was dated from a street in the West End, where the 
 prisoner was living with his wife, and practicing as a 
 doctor. His brother carried on business as a chemist 
 in an adjacent street. They both left somewhat sud- 
 denly, after an event upon which the subsequent his- 
 tory throws a somewhat ghastly light. 
 
 A gentleman named Gr , thirty-three years old, 
 
 accompanied by his wife, a young lady possessing 
 some attractions, came to lodge at the brother's house, 
 and shortly afterwards was taken ill ; he was attended 
 only by the prisoner, the drugs being supplied by his 
 brother. None of the invalid's family saw him, and 
 some of them were refused admittance. He died, and 
 shortly after both brothers disappeared from the neigh- 
 borhood, as also did the widow. The certificate of 
 his death described it as resulting from disease of the 
 kidneys- No medical man's name is attached. The 
 application of arsenic would produce symptoms that 
 might be mistaken for this disease. No investigation 
 seems to have taken place, and nothing was heard of 
 the poor fellow's wife until the period between the 
 two trials of the prisoner, when the solicitor received 
 
SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES. 295 
 
 an extraordinary communication through an equally 
 curious channel. A lady sitting in the gallery during 
 the first trial made some remark to a neighbor favora- 
 ble to the prisoner, when that person said, " Oh, he 
 is guilty ; he is one of a gang of poisoners." 
 
 The lady asked what she meant, and received a 
 statement and also the person's name and address, 
 which she communicated, and an officer was sent tc 
 make inquiries. 
 
 She turned out to be the widow of a sergeant and 
 quartermaster in the army, and she furnished a long 
 statement, which it is hot necessary for me to set out 
 in extenso. The important part of it was, that she was 
 residing with her husband in a house at Brompton, 
 that the prisoner's brother was living next door, that 
 the prisoner was constantly there, and that a lady call- 
 ing herself Mrs. G was living in the same house. 
 
 The witness stated that, about three years before, this 
 lady had come into her house in a highly excited state, 
 and said that the prisoner had been trying to force her 
 to make a will in his favor, and made further state- 
 ments indicating a belief that she should be poisoned 
 if she did. 
 
 The witness saw Mrs. G upon other occasions ; 
 
 once the servant fetched her when she was in a fit, 
 and a doctor was also present. The patient madd 
 statements about the prisoner that showed she was in 
 great apprehension as to the food she was taking. 
 Mrs. G appeared to be about forty years of age. 
 
 On the 9th of December preceding the marriage 
 of Dr. Smethurst with Miss Banks the same witness 
 
296 NEED OF APPEAL IN CRIMINAL CASES. 
 
 saw the prisoner with another lady, who, from the de- 
 scription, was probably the unfortunate deceased. The 
 foregoing statement was made to Sergeant Macln- 
 tyre, a police constable, and, whether the conclusions 
 of the witness were correct or not, there seems but 
 
 little doubt that Mrs. G must have been the 
 
 widow of the prisoner's former patient. 
 
 I think also that it will be admitted that if the cir- 
 cumstances I have related be substantially correct, 
 they show that through a variety of unfortunate causes 
 the case must be regarded as exhibiting a most lament- 
 able result. 
 
 I have already mentioned that a strong contest went 
 on in the press upon the result of the trial, and rep- 
 resentations, some of which were certainly untrue, 
 were made to the Home Secretary. The facts were 
 of such a peculiar character that the whole of them 
 should be taken together to enable a sound conclusion 
 to be arrived at. It is simply impossible that this 
 can be done without ordinary legal machinery. Every 
 lawyer knows that in civil cases a rule for a new trial 
 is constantly granted until light is thrown upon the 
 facts by those opposing it. In criminal cases no power 
 exists for such a purpose. The scheme of a Court of 
 Appeal frightens our Legislature, but justice demands 
 it, and I believe that it might be effected with both 
 ease and benefit. I was well acquainted with the lead- . 
 ing physician in the case, who w r as certainly one of 
 the foremost men in his profession. He never swerved 
 for a moment in his conviction that the unfortunate 
 woman was poisoned ; and I fancy that he agreed 
 with Brodie and other eminent medical men, that an 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 297 
 
 experienced eye witnessing a death-bed can scarcely 
 be mistaken as to the signs presented if poison has 
 been administered. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 In the first and subsequent editions the names of 
 the principal persons described in the above re- 
 markable case were suppressed through the caution 
 always exercised by Mr. Bentley, but I think un- 
 necessarily on this occasion, and I publish them in 
 the present edition without hesitation, taking upon 
 myself any responsibility for doing so. In record- 
 ing the incidents I have abstained from stating 
 many about which I entertain little doubt, but of 
 which I do not possess conclusive proof. 
 
 About one part of the case, and that not the least 
 extraordinary, I am perfectly clear that there existed 
 a secret understanding between husband and wife. 
 Whilst the proceedings were in progress a very inti- 
 mate friend of mine, Captain Ward, who had been a 
 distinguished officer in the Indian Service, took great 
 interest in them, and read certain correspondence that 
 had passed between the two. He-was much struck 
 by the similarity it bore to the communications be- 
 tween the Thugs, which body of assassins he had 
 been largely instrumental in suppressing. 
 
 There probably never existed in the medical pro- 
 fession a man of more varied knowledge or sounder 
 judgment than Sir Benjamin Brodie, but all that he 
 was able to say was that the symptoms as related to 
 him as attending the death of Miss Banks were con- 
 
298 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 sistent with other causes than those imputed to the 
 prisoner, and such must be the case in most deaths 
 by poison ; but the facts which ought to create the 
 substantial grounds for a verdict being entirely out 
 of the province of the medical referee, his conclusions, 
 however sound they may be from a scientific point of 
 view, must be an unsatisfactory basis to act upon. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE PELLIZZIONI TRIAL. 
 
 TOURING- the year 1864 a trial took place at the 
 *^ Central Criminal Court which presents features 
 worthy for more reasons than one to be recorded. In 
 the first place, the life of a perfectly innocent man 
 was placed in jeopardy, and in the next the course pur- 
 sued by the police deserves attention and calls for 
 remark. 
 
 It appeared that upon the 26th of December in the 
 previous year a serious disturbance had taken place 
 in a public-house situated on Saffron Hill, Clerken- 
 well. This locality was at the time inhabited by the 
 humbler class of Italians, and a squabble arose be- 
 tween them and some Englishmen of the neighbor- 
 hood, resulting in the death of a man named Harring- 
 ton, who was mortally wounded, and in serious injury 
 to another man of the name of Rebbeck. 
 
 In both cases the injuries inflicted were by some 
 sharp instrument, and in all probability by the same 
 one. An Italian named Pellizzioni was found lying 
 upon the body of the deceased man, and was then 
 seized by the police, who naturally inferred that he 
 was the perpetrator of the acts. He, however, de- 
 clared that he had only come in after they were com 
 mitted, was endeavoring to quell the disturbance, and 
 in the scuffle still going on was thrown upon the body 
 
 299 
 
300 MR. BARON MARTIN. 
 
 of Harrington, who was not quite dead. No weapon 
 of any kind was found near the spot. After some ex- 
 aminations at the police court Pellizzioni was com- 
 mitted for trial, and tried before Mr. Baron Martin 
 upon the charge of willful murder. 
 
 This learned judge had been a very successful ad- 
 vocate upon the Northern Circuit, where, however, 
 he had not had any experience in the criminal courts, 
 and although essentially humane and kind-hearted, 
 was hasty in forming opinions, and slow in changing 
 them ; and it was obvious that very early in the case 
 he took a strong view against the prisoner, and sum- 
 ming up in accordance with it, a verdict of guilty was 
 pronounced. Sentence of death was passed, the judge 
 stating in the course of it that " he had never known 
 more direct or conclusive evidence in any case." It 
 would serve no useful purpose to discuss the testi- 
 mony given by the various witnesses called, and I 
 shall dismiss the question with this remark — that it 
 was extremely conflicting, and there must have ex- 
 isted upon one side or the other very gross perjury. 
 Several policemen were called and were examined at 
 great length. No knife ivas produced or alluded to on 
 the part of the prosecution. 1 
 
 The conviction of Pellizzioni produced a great sen- 
 sation in the neighborhood where he resided, and 
 where he bore the character of a singularly inoffen- 
 sive man, and those who had known him entertained 
 a very different opinion from Mr. Baron Martin, and 
 a shrewd suspicion, if not a certainty, existed amongst 
 
 1 I have been told that the knife was in court, but it certainly was not 
 alluded to. 
 
CONFESSION OF MOGNI. 301 
 
 them as to who the culprit really was. Doubts were 
 ventilated through the columns of the " Daily Tele- 
 graph," and the proprietors of that journal took a 
 strong personal interest in the matter. Mr. Negretti, 
 the well-known optician, who was also a countryman 
 of the convict, was indefatigable in his behalf, and 
 ultimately the force of public opinion in the neigh- 
 borhood, and the interference of a Catholic priest, in- 
 duced a man named Gregorio Mogni to confess that 
 he was the person who had committed the crime, al- 
 though, as he alleged, in self-defense. 
 
 Mogni was committed and tried at the following ses- 
 sions of the Central Court upon a charge of man- 
 slaughter. It fell to the lot of Mr. Justice Byles to 
 try the case. This learned judge possessed great 
 acuteness, but showed very clearly that he was influ- 
 enced by the strong view previously taken by Mr. 
 Baron Martin. 
 
 I was instructed by the friends of Pellizzioni to 
 prosecute, and Mr. Montagu Williams, upon very slight 
 materials, and with very great ability, defended. 
 Mogni was convicted, nor can I see how any other re- 
 sult could have been arrived at. This, however, brought 
 about a very peculiar state of things, as there were two 
 men now lying in Newgate convicted of the same 
 crime. In the one case the judge had declared that 
 he had no doubt of Pellizzioni's guilt ; in the other, 
 Mogni, who could not be mistaken, declared that he 
 alone committed the crime. Fortunately for the ends 
 of justice, whoever killed Harrington also stabbed 
 Rebbeck, and so, to solve the difficulty, the Govern- 
 ment put Pellizzioni through the ordeal of a trial for 
 
302 FINDING OF KNIFE. 
 
 this latter offense, and Mr. GifFard prosecuted on theii 
 behalf, which ensured the certainty that the evidence 
 would be fully sifted. The case occupied some time, 
 I forget how long, and Mogni was called, and adhered 
 to his confession. He was cross-examined very rig- 
 idly, but in the end the jury without hesitation ac- 
 quitted the prisoner; and I do not entertain the slight- 
 est doubt that he was perfectly innocent, and very 
 unpleasantly for himself, and at the risk of his neck, 
 illustrated the old lines commencing, " Those who in 
 quarrels interpose." It is, however, very seldom that 
 a man who has engaged solely in the endeavor to pre- 
 vent strife has been placed in such jeopardy, ,and it is 
 worthy of consideration to what this can fairly be at- 
 tributed ; I believe it arose from the haste and im- 
 petuosity with which the police first adopted a con- 
 clusion, and afterwards adhered to it, although they 
 were well aware of circumstances that strongly mil- 
 itated against its correctness. 
 
 It will be remembered that upon the first trial no 
 weapon was produced or alluded to on the part of the 
 prosecution, though it' will scarcely be credited that 
 the knife with which both injuries were inflicted had 
 been for some time before in the hands of the police. 
 This fact was not brought before those who conducted 
 the prosecution, nor before the jury who tried the case, 
 and it is difficult to find satisfactory reasons for this 
 concealment. The knife had been found at some dis- 
 tance from the spot where the crime had been com- 
 mitted, and could not have been convej^ed there by 
 Pellizzioni. It was known throughout the neighbor- 
 hood that it was Mogni's knife, and it is difficult to be- 
 lieve that the police alone were ignorant of this fact 
 
EVIDENCE OF POLICE. 303 
 
 Upon the subsequent trials it was produced, and 
 identified by Mogni. He had, after stabbing the two 
 men, handed it to a fellow-countryman named Cetti, 
 who had thrown it in an out-of-the-way place, where 
 it was subsequently found. 
 
 The public house in which the occurrence took 
 place was evidently of a very low description, and the 
 witnesses called upon the trial were not unlikely to 
 be influenced by the opinion of the police. The po- 
 lice had the practical management of the prosecution 
 •before it came into court ; and I have felt that in call- 
 ing attention to its remarkable details, I am perform- 
 ing a useful duty to society. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that very few in the po- 
 sition of Pellizzioni would be likely to receive the aid 
 of a powerful journal, or obtain the sympathy and as- 
 sistance of influential friends. 
 
 Upon the original trial certain death-bed statements 
 made by Harrington, when in extremis, were sworn 
 to by a policeman, which inculpated the prisoner, and 
 which were said to be taken down by another con- 
 stable. This circumstance doubtless was instrumental 
 in obtaining the first verdict, but through the con- 
 duct exhibited by these witnesses it was entirely dis- 
 credited by the juries upon the two subsequent in- 
 vestigations. 
 
 A short time after the acquittal of Pellizzioni I 
 received a visit from the Marquis D'Azeglio, the Sar- 
 dinian Minister, who was instructed to convey to me 
 the thanks of his Government for my exertions in the 
 case. This was the means of my forming a most 
 agreeable acquaintance. The Marquis was very pop- 
 
304 MARQUIS DAZEGLIO. 
 
 ular in English society, and I met him occasionally 
 in London, and subsequently at Homburg, where, 
 through his introduction, I passed many pleasant hours. 
 
 I understood from him that the services rendered 
 to Pellizzioni in this country had been very warmly 
 appreciated in his own. I believe that the Marquis 
 died not very long after I had the pleasure of knowing 
 him, and, if so, it must have been in the prime of life.' 
 
 It is manifest that in all investigations in criminal 
 matters, the police must form a very material ele- 
 ment, and the correctness of the result must greatly 
 depend upon their truth and accuracy. It is, there- 
 fore, most important that those who preside upon such 
 inquiries should understand the characteristics of the 
 body, and know something of then* organization. I 
 fear that without such knowledge very serious mis- 
 chances, and perhaps fatal ones, are likely to arise. 
 I have had constant opportunities of forming a judg- 
 ment, and my remarks are not founded upon any preju- 
 dice against a necessary, and in many respects trust- 
 worthy, body of men ; but from the conclusions that 
 my experience has forced upon me, I am obliged to 
 say that the evidence given by the police ought to be 
 viewed with a considerable amount of caution. 
 
 Wherever men are associated in a common object, 
 as in their case, an esprit de corps naturally arises, and 
 this not unfrequently colors the testimony of individ- 
 ual members. Their duties are extremely trying, and 
 calculated frequently to cause anger and irritation, 
 feelings which almost invariably induce those pos- 
 sessed by them to exaggerate, if not to invent. The 
 
 1 I am very glad to hear that in tins 1 am mistaken, and that the Marquis 
 is alive and well. 
 
POLICE TESTIMONY. 305 
 
 classes against whom they appear are usually without 
 the position that commands consideration, and conse- 
 quently statements made to their prejudice meet with 
 the more ready belief. 
 
 The feeling of sanctity that probably once attached 
 to an oath becomes deadened in the minds of those 
 who are taking it every day,, and an easy manner and 
 composed demeanor are acquired by persons constant • 
 ly in the witness-box. There exists a very bad habit 
 in the force of communicating their opinions at the 
 outset of an inquiry, thus pledging themselves to views 
 which it is damaging to their sagacity to retract. 
 The Pellizzioni case furnishes an example of the evil 
 arising from this habit. Everybody knows that " an 
 experienced and intelligent officer has, with his ac- 
 customed acuteness," secured the murderer, etc. ; and 
 in this case the police did not like publishing the fact 
 that they had committed a flagrant blunder, and so an 
 innocent man was very nearly being executed. On 
 the other hand, in many cases where constables have 
 discharged their duties in a most exemplary manner, 
 and may have been either disabled or killed, I cannot 
 think that their services are sufficiently considered or 
 properly rewarded ; and, as I have said in a former 
 portion of these pages, I do not think that nearly suf- 
 ficient protection is thrown around them by adequate 
 punishments being meted out to those from whom 
 they have been subjected to serious injuries. In the 
 earlier days of their existence they were very unpop- 
 ular, and it was only natural that the Executive should 
 use every effort to support them, and magistrates were 
 censured occasionally for the views they took in cer- 
 20 
 
306 ALLEGED FALSE CHARGE. 
 
 tain cases against members of the force. Now, how- 
 ever, I am sure that as efficient a control as is possi- 
 ble is exercised by the Commissioners, and the mag- 
 istrates perform their duties without dread of the 
 Home Secretary, formerly a feeling not wholly with- 
 out justification. And as far as my observation has 
 enabled me to form a judgment, the police preserve 
 order in the streets with good temper and firmness. 
 
 The preceding reflections are made in no unkind or 
 unfriendly spirit, but now especially, when judges 
 who have never been inside a criminal court are 
 called upon to preside in trials where the issues pos- 
 sibly involve the life of a human being, and where 
 the police perhaps are material witnesses, my obser- 
 vations may not be altogether out of place or un- 
 worthy of consideration. 
 
 I am unable to furnish the date of the following 
 case, in which I was engaged on the part of the de- 
 fendant, a policeman ; it was, however, after the trials 
 of which I have in the last chapter given an account. 
 In relating the circumstances I shall not express any 
 belief as to the truth or falsehood of the charge made, 
 but the view taken by the jury justifies me in quot- 
 ing it as an illustration of some of the observations 
 that I have presented to the reader. 
 
 In a certain district in St. John's Wood, shortly be- 
 fore the case I am recording, a number of burglaries 
 had occurred, and great indignation had been expressed 
 at the supineness of the police, not unaccompanied by 
 insinuations of a graver kind. 
 
 Two young men, of perfect respectability as far as 
 appeared from evidence that was adduced, were walk- 
 
PR OSECUTION FOR PERJUR Y. 307 
 
 ing on their way home somewhat late one night in 
 the neighborhood which had been the scene of the 
 burglaries, and, according to their own account, they 
 had clone nothing that was calculated to excite sus- 
 picion, nor had anything upon their persons unusual 
 for respectable people to possess. To their astonish- 
 ment they were seized by three policemen, and charged 
 with attempting to break into a house. 
 
 The three officers declared that they had watched 
 them, and caught them in the act, and had actually 
 taken from them the implements of burglary. 
 
 It is obvious that, if the young men told the truth, 
 one of the most wicked cases of conspiracy ever 
 known had been planned by the police, and was car- 
 ried out by flagrant perjury. 
 
 The accused were discharged, and they, in their 
 turn, prosecuted the three officers at the Central 
 Court. The cases stood for trial before the Recorder, 
 Mr. Russell (erurney, whose name I have previously 
 mentioned, and who, whilst thoroughly impartial, was 
 rather inclined to the side of authority than otherwise. 
 
 The charges were for perjury, and it is right that I 
 should mention, for the benefit of the general reader, 
 that only one person can be included in an indictment 
 for that particular offense. 
 
 This being so, the defendant charged was able to 
 call, and did call, his two companions. The case was 
 very ably conducted by Mr. Serjeant Sleigh, and he 
 had the advantage, not on such an occasion a small 
 one, of a reply. A very clear summing-up followed, 
 and the jury, after some deliberation, convicted the 
 accused. 
 
308 CONVICTION. 
 
 It will be quite understood that I express no opin- 
 ion as to the correctness or the reverse of this verdict. 
 I thought, however, that it was of such very grave 
 importance that I advised. that the two remaining in- 
 dictments should be removed into the Court of Queen's 
 Bench, which was accordingly done, and the sentence 
 upon the person already tried was postponed until the 
 result of the further investigations. These were not, 
 however, proceeded with ; no public prosecutor ex- 
 isting at the time, and it is likely that the expense 
 deterred the young men, who had sufficiently vindi- 
 cated their characters, from proceeding any further in 
 the matter. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 STATE OF EEGENT STEEET. 
 
 "TVJ OT a great many years ago — it was during the 
 -*■ ^ time that a valued friend of mine, and most ex- 
 cellent magistrate, presided at the Marlborough Street 
 Police Court — a number of cases were investigated 
 involving very serious charges against the police sta- 
 tioned in that district, and I am able myself to testify 
 that to some extent, at all events, they were well 
 founded. 
 
 Regent Street and the surrounding localities were 
 frequented by women carrying on a miserable calling. 
 The Quadrant especially was rendered almost impass- 
 able for decent people. The shop-keepers were up 
 in arms, and bitter complaints were raised against the 
 negligence of the officers. The inquiries, however, 
 set on foot fully explained the reason of this. The 
 constables upon the beat were in the pay of the worst 
 and most troublesome of those who infested the 
 streets, in consideration for which they allowed them 
 to annoy the passengers with impunity ; whilst those 
 who were quiet and inoffensive had blackmail levied 
 upon them by the most tyrannical and cruel means. 
 If they refused to pay, they were taken into custody, 
 
 309 
 
310 AMUSING ADVENTURE. 
 
 had to pass the night in a wretched cell, were the next 
 morning charged with annoying people and obstruct- 
 ing the footway, and although I know that Mr. Knox, 
 having grave suspicions of the motives of the officers, 
 threw what protection he could over the accused, a 
 fine was often imposed, and further, imprisonment 
 followed in consequence of its non-payment. The 
 wretched victims learned prudence, and obtained the 
 necessary license to pursue their unhappy trade. I 
 have seen upon several occasions a female, of the class 
 alluded to, place upon a post or window-sill a piece 
 of money, and a policeman come up and remove it. 
 At last the scandal attained such large dimensions that 
 it became necessary to transplant the entire division 
 to some other district. I have no means of following 
 their career. They had probably to bemoan amongst 
 the savages of the East the halcyon days they had en- 
 joyed in the advanced civilization of their former serv- 
 ice. The resignation of Mr. Knox consequent upon 
 his illness was a great loss to the public. He was a 
 most conscientious and painstaking magistrate, but 
 unfortunately he allowed his anxiety to do justice to 
 prey upon a very impressible disposition, and ulti- 
 mately to affect his health. I have had many con- 
 versations with him on the subject I am now dwell- 
 ing upon, and I believe that he fully shared the opin- 
 ion I have expressed as to the necessity of great cau- 
 tion in dealing with police testimony. 
 
 I will now relate an amusing adventure of my own 
 which bears upon the subject. One night late — it 
 might be early morning — I was in Piccadilly, and, at- 
 tracted by a gathering of people, I came upon a police- 
 
SIR ALEXANDER COCKBURN. 31 1 
 
 man struggling with a drunken, powerful woman. 
 She had either falleu or been thrown down, and he 
 had fallen upon her. There were expressions of in- 
 dignation being uttered by the persons around, and a 
 row seemed imminent. I touched the officer lightly 
 upon the shoulder, saying, " Why do you not spring 
 your rattle 1 You will hurt the woman." He jump- 
 ed up, and, seizing me by the collar, said, " I take 
 you into custody for obstructing me in the execution 
 of my duty." I remained perfectly passive, and in 
 the meanwhile another constable had come up and 
 had seized the woman, whom he was handling very 
 roughly. At this moment Sir Alexander Cockburn, 
 then Attorney-General, who was returning from the 
 House of Commons, appeared upon the scene, and 
 seeing a woman, as he thought, ill used, remonstrated 
 in indignant language with the officer, upon which the 
 constable who had hold of me stretched out his other 
 arm — whether reaching Sir Alexander or not I could 
 not see — and said, " I arrest you also." "Arrest me," 
 exclaimed the astonished Attorney-General; " what 
 for ? " " Oh," said my captor, " for many things, 
 You are well known to the police." I cannot surmise 
 what might have become of us. Possibly we should 
 have spent the night in company with the very ob- 
 jectionable female on whose behalf we had interfered. 
 Some people, however, fortunately recognized us, and 
 we were released. I took the numbers of the officers, 
 and, being determined to see the end of the affair, 
 went next morning to the courfr where the charge 
 ought to have been made, and heard that the woman 
 had effected her escape, which, considering I had left 
 
312 HIGH-HANDED PROCEEDINGS. 
 
 her in charge of half-a-dozen officers, and that she was 
 very drunk, was a remarkable feat of prowess. 
 
 With the concurrence of Sir Alexander Cockburn, 
 I wrote a full account to Mr. Mayne (I forget whether 
 at that time he was knighted), and after a day or two 
 received an answer from some subordinate, treating 
 my letter with great coolness, and saying that if I had 
 any complaint to make I might go before a magistrate. 
 To this communication I replied by a private note to 
 the Commissioner to the effect that I should select 
 my own mode of ventilating the matter. A very 
 courteous reply, promising thorough inquiry, resulted 
 from this further step. 
 
 I never heard anything more about it, and am sor- 
 ry to say was not patriotic enough to take any further 
 trouble in the matter. 
 
 There was one circumstance that struck me as of 
 serious import. In the middle of the disturbance a 
 tall man dressed in military apparel, and who certainly 
 had not been present at the commencement, walked 
 up and, addressing himself to the officer, said, "I 
 have seen everything. You are quite in the right. 
 I am ready to give evidence. Here is my card." In- 
 dependent witnesses of this description are a danger- 
 ous addition to police testimony. 
 
 The following is an instance of the somewhat high- 
 handed proceedings of the Home Office in the early 
 days after 'the institution of the new police. There 
 was a very worthy but not very wise magistrate who 
 presided at Bow Street. He had been guilty of many 
 eccentricities, but had escaped censure. It so hap- 
 pened that a constable was charged before him with 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF POLICE. 3^3 
 
 taking bribes from the Keepers of disorderly houses 
 to induce him to suppress warrants entrusted to him 
 to serve. I was instructed by the parish authorities 
 to prosecute. There never was a clearer case, and as 
 it was stated that it was by no means an isolated one, 
 the sentence of a month's imprisonment was by no 
 mean® too severe. Long, however, before this term 
 had expired, the officer was performing his duties as 
 usual, and the magistrate received an intimation that 
 his retirement would be accepted, and his valuable 
 services rewarded with a pension. 
 
 I have already stated that, in my opinion, there is 
 far too much publicity permitted by the police in con- 
 nection with their proceedings; and with very great 
 respect to the authorities at Scotland Yard, and es- 
 pecially so to a gentleman at the head of the detective 
 department, with whom I have the pleasure of being 
 upon terms of intimacy, and whose intelligence and 
 industry I fully appreciate, I cannot think that the 
 system pursued is a good one for the detection of 
 crime and the discovery of offenders. 
 
 The publicity, rather encouraged than checked, 
 tends to defeat the chances of success. It is known 
 from one end of ,the kingdom to the other who are 
 the officers having the charge of a particular inquiry, 
 and the amount of information that they possess is 
 blazoned forth ; whilst the system of reporting the 
 different steps taken to a central office produces delay 
 which may be very prejudicial. 
 
 The old Bow Street runners did not inform the 
 criminals whom they wanted to catch with what their 
 trap was baited, and where it was to be laid, nor did 
 
314 CORONERS' COURTS. 
 
 they waste valuable time in making reports. They 
 did not let the public know all that they knew them- 
 selves, but they arrived at a conclusion from their 
 own experience, and worked it out in silence and 
 secrecy. I do not think that a detective in those 
 days would have been guilty of the piece of flagrant 
 absurdity that was exhibited but recently in the case 
 of the murder committed upon Kingston Hill, when 
 it was published to the entire world that the police 
 possessed no clue, and that the murdered man had 
 died without giving any information ; by this means 
 destroying certainly one chance of discovering the 
 criminal through the instrumentality of a possible ac- 
 complice, who, if he had not been assured of his safe- 
 ty, might have made a confession. I suspect that old 
 officers, if they had opened their mouths at all, would 
 have been guilty of the pious fraud of saying, " that 
 they had obtained a full description of the murderer." 
 
 The police also must frequently be much embarrass- 
 ed by the proceedings of coroners' courts. These are 
 often conducted by incompetent officers, at some low 
 pothouse, where all the gossip *of the neighborhood 
 finds vent, and where the information obtained is 
 blurted out, and probably read with keen amusement 
 by the offender who is wanted, and who thus learns 
 how to keep out of the way. Secrecy and rapidity 
 are two elements most essential for waging a success- 
 ful war against the criminal classes, and they happen 
 to be the very ones most remarkable for their absence. 
 
 For two or three years previously to my call to the 
 bar I resided with my father at the official residence 
 of the Thames police at Wapping. He had removed 
 
THE THAMES POLICE. 315 
 
 there upon the death of Captain Kichbell, who had 
 previously occupied it. The entrance to it was from 
 a narrow street called Old Gravel Lane. Its frontage, 
 which still exists, looks out upon the river opposite to 
 Rotherhithe. Here, but shortly before, existed Ex- 
 ecution Dock, where the bodies of pirates might be 
 seen dangling, hung in chains. The house abutted 
 upon "Wapping Old Stairs," so it had some claim to 
 poetry, and the neighborhood was not without society, 
 Messrs. Hodgson and Abbott, the brewers, residing 
 within a few doors of the house occupied by my father. 
 The former gentleman was better known by the name 
 of " Brown Stout." I believe they were the first ex- 
 porters of bitter ale to India. My father was now the 
 senior magistrate, and upon him devolved the organi- 
 zation and management of the police attached to the 
 office. I have in a former chapter referred to this 
 body ; their duties were confined to the river, and to the 
 localities adjacent to its shores. These included districts 
 inhabited by very lawless classes, and as I frequently 
 accompanied the officers whilst upon duty, I had many 
 opportunities of witnessing their conduct, and the 
 power they possessed was considerable. I have seen 
 the most serious disturbances quelled in a few min- 
 utes by the presence of two or three of them, and I 
 do not remember any occasion when they received 
 serious injury. They knew the localities well, and 
 the character of the people who inhabited them, and 
 were thus enabled to trace offenders with very marked 
 success. They were well and kindly managed by 
 my father, who possessed great influence over them, 
 and they always resorted to him in cases of difficulty. 
 
316 JEWS AND IRISH. 
 
 Their discipline, although strict, gave them much inde- 
 pendence, which certainly was of service when speedy 
 action was required. I have often thought that offi- 
 cers organized upon a similar system, and attached 
 to the different police courts of the metropolis, would 
 be a most useful instrument both for the repression 
 and detection of crime. 
 
 The districts over which my father's jurisdiction 
 extended included streets and alleys inhabited by a 
 class very difficult to manage. Irish and Jews of the 
 humblest rank occupied the wretched dwellings of 
 which they were composed, and the feuds between 
 the two races often ended in squabbles that attained 
 formidable dimensions. My father, after a time, was 
 looked up to by the rival parties, and succeeded in 
 creating a much more peaceful state of things. In 
 his efforts he was greatly aided by the rabbi and 
 Catholic priest of the neighborhood, with both of 
 whom he had established a firm alliance. 
 
 He had a very high opinion of the social qualities 
 of the Jews, and of their humanity and charity 
 amongst themselves, and he found the Irish extremely 
 amenable to kind treatment. 
 
 There was a man who frequently figured in the 
 court during my early days at the bar, a short, dark, 
 repulsive-looking fellow of the name of Aaron Smith, 
 and his history was a very extraordinary one. He 
 had been brought before my father charged with pi- 
 racy, and there was no doubt that he had been one 
 of a crew on board a pirate vessel. They had boarded 
 a Dutch merchant ship amongst others, and been 
 guilty of great brutality. He declared that he had 
 
SMOKE NUISANCE. 3^7 
 
 been taken prisoner by the pirates, and acted under 
 compulsion, and this statement was probably true. 
 At all events, he was acquitted both in Holland and 
 in this country, and flourished as a money-lender for 
 many years after. 
 
 The time came when all was changed in connection 
 with my father's jurisdiction. The new police was 
 created, and the officers attached to the Thames be- 
 came amalgamated with that body. The office became 
 a court, and the business was removed to Arbor 
 Square, Stepney. The duties of the magistrate be- 
 came simply judicial. 
 
 My father certainly distrusted the evidence given by 
 certain members of the new force, and considered that 
 they occasionally exhibited unnecessary harshness, 
 and I can well imagine that he was not looked upon 
 favorably by the authorities at the Home Office, in 
 consequence of the expression of some of his views. 
 He was also involved in a discussion in connection 
 with the smoke nuisance, in which his decisions dif- 
 fered from their wishes upon the subject. They sent 
 him an opinion of the Attorney-General, almost or- 
 dering him to be governed by it. He, however, ad- 
 hered to his own construction of the law. He was 
 too generally respected to be treated with overt indig- 
 nity, but when he urged his claim to be removed to 
 a more agreeable district, he was met with the doubt- 
 ful compliment that he was too useful in his present 
 position. At this time he resided in Cadogan Place, 
 and the fatigue attendant upon reaching his place of 
 business, added to other causes, obliged him to resign 
 his office. 
 
318 INDEPENDENCE OF MA Q1STRA TES. 
 
 From all I hear, nothing can exceed the cordial re- 
 lations that now exist between the magistracy and the 
 executive, but, considering that the body out of which 
 the former are chosen is the same as that from which 
 the judges are selected, I cannot help thinking that 
 they should be put upon the same footing. There 
 seems certainly no reason why a distinction should 
 exist between their status and that of the gentlemen 
 filling the office of county court judges, and it is only 
 in accordance with constitutional principles that those 
 who exercise judicial functions should be independ- 
 ent of official control. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 ELECTION COMMITTEES. 
 
 ' I A HE practice before Parliamentary committees, 
 although open to the entire bar, had been pretty 
 much confined to a select few, who devoted them- 
 selves entirely to it. Previously, however, to the 
 time to which I wish to direct attention, many emi- 
 nent outsiders had conducted some of the more im- 
 portant inquiries. Coppock, one of the acutest of 
 Parliamentary agents, had secured the services of 
 Cockburn, whose qualities singularly fitted him for 
 this description of business, and Thesiger and Austin 
 found in him a formidable opponent. Edwin James 
 also possessed all the qualities necessary for the work. 
 He had great readiness, handled his facts amusingly, 
 but with considerable force, and was never tedious. 
 He was an excellent Nisi Prius leader, and, although 
 not possessed of any remarkable knowledge of law or 
 profound scholarship, contrived to manage Lord Gamp- 
 bell better than any of his rivals at the bar. In 1867, 
 the year after a general election, all those whose 
 names I have mentioned had quitted the arena, and I 
 was retained in several of the contested cases. It 
 was the last year that the House of Commons exer- 
 
 319 
 
320 MESSRS. HARRISON AND JOT. 
 
 cised this jurisdiction, which, as is well known, was 
 subsequently relegated to the Common Law judges. 
 The ground for this change was the supposition that 
 the inquiries before committees resulted too often in 
 decisions founded less upon the facts than the com- 
 position of the tribunal ; and this certainly had been 
 the case in former years. The politics of the major- 
 ity were more considered by litigants than the evi- 
 dence to be adduced ; and if a member, under the un- 
 usual influence of conscientious feeling, voted against 
 his party, he was looked upon as little better than a 
 traitor. It is extremely amusing to look back to some 
 of the old trials. Two gentlemen, named Harrison 
 and Joy, seemed to possess the greatest favor with 
 the public, and their mode of doing business had at 
 least the merit of originality. A decision could al- 
 most always be found for propositions however ab- 
 surd, and the arguments of the counsel for the re- 
 spective parties seemed to consist in pelting each 
 other and the committee with cases ; and it would 
 have been strange indeed if the predetermination of 
 the majority was not able to find some authority to 
 justify it. A story is told of Harrison that he kept a 
 kind of vade mecum, in which he entered up the dif- 
 ferent decisions of committees, and that upon one oc- 
 casion, having quoted several in support of the view 
 for which he was contending, he inadvertently left the 
 book upon the table. His adversary picked it up and 
 found, upon an opposite page to that which had been 
 referred to, all the authorities on the other side, which 
 he quoted in answer, much to Harrison's discomfit- 
 ure, who, it is needless to say, never afterwards lost 
 sight of his valuable companion. 
 
EENR Y ALL WOR TH MERE WETHER. 32 1 
 
 Mr. Serjeant Merewether, who afterwards became 
 Town Clerk of London, had considerable business in 
 Parliament ; and his son, Henry Allworth Mere- 
 wether, an old friend of mine, was a deservedly suc- 
 cessful practitioner. This gentleman was a very 
 agreeable companion, and one of the most popular 
 members of the Garrick Club. He did not like elec- 
 tion petitions, and confined himself latterly to private 
 bills, in which branch of Parliamentary business he 
 was opposed to Hope, Scott, Beckett, Denison, Pod- 
 well, and others of like calibre, and must have been 
 a man of considerable ability to hold his own, as he 
 did for many years, against such opponents. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that for a few years previ- 
 ous to 1867, and very notably during that year, a 
 great change of feeling exhibited itself in the election 
 committees. Members had begun to look upon the 
 obligation that they undertook from a more serious 
 point of view than they had done heretofore ; a higher 
 quality of advocacy had made itself felt ; and there 
 can be no doubt that strong and independent counsel 
 do materially color the proceedings of tribunals be- 
 fore which they practice. Moreover, public opinion 
 began to assert itself, and indignation was felt that 
 partisan grounds should govern judicial proceedings. 
 These elements combined gradually produced a re- 
 sult which plainly developed itself in the proceedings 
 before committees in this year of 1867. I was, as I 
 have mentioned already, in many of the contested 
 cases, and had opportunities of forming an opinion 
 about most of the others, and also of hearing the re- 
 marks of very good judges upon the subject; and I 
 21 
 
322 BRIBER Y. 
 
 have no hesitation whatever in saying that, in every 
 instance, there was exhibited not only the qualities 
 most calculated to elicit truth, but the most consci- 
 entious adherence to strict impartiality. 
 
 The tribunals were extremely pleasant to practice 
 before, and the members that constituted them cer- 
 tainly were very competent to judge of the facts, hav- 
 ing had their own experiences to be guided by, and 
 within my observation an excellent feeling prevailed 
 between them and counsel. I do not think that there 
 existed so holy a horror for bribery as ought to affect 
 well-regulated minds ; in fact, the war waged against 
 Parliamentary corruption does not seem to have at- 
 tained either practical or moral success, and an ordi- 
 narily acute observer must come to the conclusion 
 that the virtuous denunciations he hears are in most 
 instances mere shams. There is no force of public 
 opinion honestly brought to bear against it. I should 
 be glad to know whether the gentry in the neighbor- 
 hood have ever withdrawn their custom from a trades- 
 man found guilty of accepting bribes, or whether any 
 gentleman has been excluded from society because he 
 has given them. Only during the present year I had 
 the honor of being associated with the Attorney-Gen- 
 eral in the prosecution of some bribery informations 
 tried at Maidstone. A solicitor, a leading one in the 
 county, was called as a witness. He had been obliged 
 to make a clean breast of it before the commissioners. 
 He mounted the witness-box with a jaunty air, and 
 with a complacent smile upon his countenance, dis- 
 closed the organized system of bribery of which he 
 had been contriver and manager. I doubt whether a 
 
MR. JUSTICE FITZJAMES STEPHEN. 323 
 
 single client will take his title deeds out of this gen 
 tleman's possession, or treat him with less considera- 
 tion. Another witness got up ; he was one of the 
 bribed, and was attended by several of his friends and 
 co-bribees — I invent the word for the occasion. He 
 gave his evidence in a jocular manner, and it was list- 
 ened to with much hilarity and evident admiration. 
 Even in the House of Commons, where a good deal 
 of verbal indignation is ventilated, the true feeling 
 crept out upon a recent occasion, when the majority 
 refused to issue a commission in a case where, ac- 
 cording to public rumor, bribery and corruption had 
 been rampant. 1 
 
 I do not believe that the ballot will ever be effect- 
 ual to prevent the practice, and, moreover, it intro- 
 duces an additional moral taint. A voter may make 
 a solemn promise, take advantage of the secrecy to 
 break it, and of course tell lies to prevent the discovery 
 of his treachery. I do, however, think that in charges 
 of intimidation secret voting may be of service. 
 
 I noticed an observation made upon the trial of one 
 of the bribery informations by a very learned judge, 
 and one who takes just views upon most subjects, Mr. 
 Justice Fitzjames Stephen, " that probably the same 
 feeling existed in the minds of many people upon the 
 subject of bribery, as existed in a former generation 
 upon that of dueling," and to this I will venture to 
 add, as existed in Members of Parliament as to the 
 duties imposed upon them in election committees. 
 
 1 Whether the punishments recently inflicted upon comparatively insig- 
 nificant personages will produce the desired result, remains to be seen. For 
 my part, I suspect that their only effect will be to prevent future juries from 
 convicting. 
 
324 MR - LOCKE. 
 
 My first appearance before a Parliamentary tribu- 
 nal was in a petition against the return of Mr. Wad- 
 dington, who was then Chairman of the Eastern Coun- 
 ties Railway Company, now the Great Eastern. He 
 was a personal friend, and entrusted his interests to me, 
 although in this branch of business I was then quite 
 unknown ; I think he had been returned for Har- 
 wich — the place, however, is not material. His col- 
 league was Mr. Locke, one of those engineers who 
 have assisted in the marvelous change that now gov- 
 erns the world. I succeeded in keeping the seat for 
 Waddington, but recollect the case less on that ac- 
 count than for the opportunities it gave me of enjoy- 
 ing Mr. Locke's society. I remember well his simple 
 but graphic details upon many subjects, especially of 
 the sensations he experienced when, after a tunnel had 
 been finished, the supports were first removed ; it was 
 impossible to say that some precaution might not have 
 been wanting, and that all those waiting anxiously for 
 the result might not be immolated in one common ruin. 
 How short was his span of life, compared to that of 
 other benefactors of our age ! He quitted it after he had 
 conferred immense benefits, but before he had been 
 able to enjoy the glory that he had so nobly earned. 
 
 I conducted, about this period, the petition against 
 the sitting member for Bristol. The bribery was fla- 
 grant, there was really no defense attempted, and I 
 consequently succeeded without difficulty in unseat- 
 ing the sitting member. 
 
 One of the cases in which during the sittings of 
 1867 I was engaged, and which greatly interested me, 
 was that against Colonel White for Tipperary. He 
 
TIPPERAR Y ELECTION PETITION. 325 
 
 was my client, and also a personal friend. He himself 
 was perfectly pure ; but the supporters of a candidate 
 in an Irish election are rarely controlled by the dic- 
 tates of strict jDrudence. He had been supported by 
 the Catholic priesthood, and it was alleged that vio- 
 lence and intimidation had prevailed to a considerable 
 extent on the part of his supporters. My junior in 
 the case was an Irish barrister, whose name, for rea- 
 sons that may be imagined, I forbear to record, and 
 I will therefore venture to furnish him with a fic- 
 titious one. 
 
 One of the witnesses supporting the petition, an offi- 
 cer of the Irish constabulary, was detailing a scene of 
 violence in which several heads were broken and di- 
 vers misadventures of the same kind occurred. He 
 was asked by Mr. Cooke, the counsel on the part of 
 the petitioner, who was the ringleader, and answered, 
 Mr. O'Finigan ; and upon being further questioned 
 who that gentleman might be, up rose my junior, and, 
 glaring at the counsel who had asked the question, 
 said, " I am Mr. O'Finigan, and I am not ashamed of 
 my name." I was told that.this gentleman intended 
 to challenge me for putting upon him a gross insult, 
 viz., that I would not allow him to cross-examine any 
 of the witnesses. However, I succeeded in appeas- 
 ing his wrath, and under the influence of a Greenwich 
 dinner, at which I entertained him, we became excel- 
 lent friends, and he was really a very good fellow, 
 though beyond doubt a most enthusiastic partisan. 
 Colonel White had certainly not encouraged any ille- 
 gal proceedings, and the Archbishop of Cashel, his 
 very warm supporter, had used all his influence to pre- 
 
326 ARCHBISHOP OF CASHEL. 
 
 vent them. I do not know of any case in which 1 
 have been engaged in which the decision, which was 
 in favor of my client, gave me more sincere satisfac- 
 tion. On this occasion the majority of the committee 
 were opposed in politics to the Colonel. 
 
 During the time the proceedings were going on I 
 saw a great deal of the Archbishop, who was a very 
 highly cultivated gentleman. I received from him 
 many courtesies, and it was with great regret that I 
 heard of his death. 
 
 I do not think it would be possible to exaggerate 
 the amount of bribery that was proved in the course 
 of these inquiries to have existed. It was confined to 
 no class — tradesmen, the squirearchy, the lawyers, 
 and, by no means insignificantly, the clergy, all were 
 implicated ; and I cannot forbear to add that the 
 amount of perjury necessary to conceal it was by no 
 means deficient. Even if I remembered the details 
 it would furnish neither amusement nor instruction to 
 relate them. I can, however, recall one case that 
 amused me intensely. A white-headed old gentleman, 
 the agent of one of thejparties, was in the witness- 
 box. He looked the very embodiment of respecta- 
 bility. He was nevertheless subjected to a severe 
 cross-examination by the opposite counsel, who sug- 
 gested that he had been a party to distributing bribes. 
 At last he turned his venerable face to the committee, 
 incipient tears being visible in his eyes, and making 
 a most affecting appeal to them, asked, in a voice 
 broken by emotion, whether a man who had lived all 
 his life in the borough, without a stain upon his char- 
 acter, ought to be exposed to the insult of such ques- 
 
BRISTOL PETITION. 327 
 
 tions. Whether the committee were or were not af- 
 fected by his appeal I cannot tell, but they unseated 
 his employer, and I know that the venerable gentle- 
 man had actually received 500 sovereigns, which he 
 had distributed most honorably "in bribing the 
 electors." 
 
 There was another petition against the sitting mem- 
 ber for Bristol during this year, in which I was en- 
 gaged for the petitioner. One of the principal wit- 
 nesses opposed to me was a physician in the borough, 
 a gentleman of high position and character. His ap- 
 pearance and manner were both greatly in his favor, 
 and I confess that at first I looked with doubt upon 
 my instructions that he was the main instrument of the 
 the bribery that had existed, and I consequently pro- 
 ceeded very warily to deal with him. It was long 
 before I could get at any of the facts, but, after a time, 
 it became plain to me that he was prevaricating, and 
 ultimately this was evident to the committee, who 
 over and over again cautioned him. At last, after long 
 struggling on his part, I forced out of him admissions 
 of his thorough culpability, and the member was un- 
 seated. I refer to this case with some feeling of tri- 
 umph; it was really an instance of the success of those 
 principles I have endeavored to lay down for cross-ex- 
 amination. I could not have proved any of the facts 
 by independent testimony, but I formed a confident 
 and, as it turned out, a correct judgment as to the 
 complicity of the witness, and worked upon this as- 
 sumption. I hope I may be excused for the vanity of 
 recording that this effort met with a very high compli- 
 ment from one of the most distinguished members of 
 my profession. 
 
328 OBSTINA TE JUR YMAN. 
 
 Out of this trial, I believe, a case arose at Bristol 
 before the Recorder, Mr. Serjeant Kinglake — a very 
 learned lawyer, one of Lord Campbell's degenerates. 
 It was against a solicitor, who, elated at the result, had 
 mounted upon a white horse, led a mob of people, 
 and celebrated it with much noise, to the accompani- 
 ment of broken heads and windows. He was indicted 
 for a riot. Collins, now leader of the Western Circuit, 
 Montagu Williams, and myself were retained for the 
 defense. Ribton, an old friend of mine, and a powerful 
 advocate, prosecuted, as he did everything, with con- 
 siderable energy and at great length. As our refresh- 
 ers were very liberal we reconciled ourselves to this 
 latter quality, which was more than rivaled by the 
 Recorder. Under the auspices of Mr. Collins I saw 
 many of the sights best worth witnessing in the town, 
 and as the issue for our client did not involve very 
 grave consequences, we passed our time agreeably 
 enough. When the jury were impaneled, I thought I 
 recognized the face of one of them, and learned after- 
 wards that he had been a witness before the committee 
 at the House of Commons, where I had handled him 
 rather roughly. After a vehement reply from Mr. Rib- 
 ton, and a summing-up in which all the constitutional 
 questions of the last century and former ones were dwelt 
 upon by the Recorder, the jury retired, but could net 
 agree — there was one obstinate juryman. The Re- 
 corder would not discharge them, intimating that they 
 might sleep upon it. This, however, precluding the 
 enjoyment of supper, did not suit the fancy of the ma- 
 jority. They retired into their private room, from 
 which shortly came forth sounds of discord. 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 329 
 
 After a pause they returned into court, the obstinate 
 juryman looking hot and disheveled, and evidently 
 not inclined for further intercourse with his brethren. 
 
 A verdict of not guilty was pronounced, and my client 
 was again at liberty to mount his steed amongst the 
 cheers of enthusiastic supporters. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 I look back to these inquiries as forming the most 
 pleasant portion of my professional life. The work 
 suited my tastes and whatever qualities I possessed, 
 and certainly I was very successful, whilst the un- 
 varying courtesy of the tribunal rendered the per- 
 formance of the duties singularly agreeable. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 ELECTION JUDGES. 
 
 A S might be expected from the character of the 
 ^-*- tribunals by which Parliamentary committees 
 were superseded, an endeavor was made to introduce 
 definitions applicable to the different questions raised 
 before them, and to bring the proofs within their com- 
 pass. Evidence was restricted by the rules prevail- 
 ing in the ordinary courts, and each judge had toper- 
 form the province of a jury, in construing facts and 
 intentions, as well as to lay down the law. 
 
 Very few of the judges had experience of elections, 
 and no doubt the machinery adopted by candidates 
 presented some novel points for their consideration. 
 Generally, I think, their decisions gave satisfaction to 
 independent observers, and certainly were arrived at 
 with great care and attention. 
 
 I was engaged in several petitions tried before the fol- 
 lowing judges: — Baron Martin, Justices Lush, Willes, 
 Blackburn, Mellor, and Grove; all men of great learning 
 and experience. I think that the first case I was in 
 under the new regime was that of Norwich, before 
 Baron Martin, and this was speedily disposed of by 
 unseating the member. It was always pleasant to 
 330 
 
MR. FORSTER. 331 
 
 practice before this learned judge. He was a thor- 
 ough man of business, a sound lawyer, hasty, but very 
 agreeable to counsel, and I imagine possessed no small 
 practical experience of the "doings" of an election. 
 I recall with great satisfaction a case in which I was 
 counsel before him at Bradford. My client was Mr. 
 Forster, the sitting member, and now so well known 
 as Secretary for Ireland. 
 
 Of course the result was of vital importance to this 
 gentleman, and although he was personally clear from 
 all imputation; there were circumstances extremely 
 difficult to deal with, and I felt a very considerable 
 amount of anxiety. Mr. Forster had himself been 
 away during the canvass, and it was admitted that he 
 was strongly opposed to any unfair influence being 
 used ; but there had been proceedings at the munici- 
 pal elections which had shortly preceded the borough 
 one, by which it was sought to affect his seat. My 
 task was rendered more difficult from the fact that 
 the same judge had unseated Mr. Ripley upon grounds 
 some of the features of which were similar to those 
 relied upon against my client, and in conducting the 
 case my endeavor was to distinguish it from the one 
 previously decided, and in this effort I was successful, 
 and justly so. Since that time I have had the pleas- 
 ure of meeting Mr. Forster, when he has been a guest 
 of my friend Sir Bruce Seaton, at the Union Club, 
 and he has expressed himself in very kind terms of 
 my conduct of the case. I also received at the time 
 a letter from Mrs. Forster, who had been intensely 
 anxious, and expressed herself very gratefully to me 
 I asked permission of Mr. Forster to record these 
 opinions, and received from him the following letter: — ■ 
 
332 SIR HENRY JAMES. 
 
 August 22, 1881. 
 My dear Serjeant Ballantine, — I am glad you are publishing youf 
 reminiscences, and look forward with pleasure to their perusal. 
 
 By all means make any use j 7 ou like of anything I said about your 
 defense of me when under trial. I have never lost my sense of the value 
 of that defense, or of its great ability. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 W. E. Forster. 
 
 I hope that my publication of the above may not 
 be considered a proof of foolish vanity, but I estimate 
 very highly the opinion of Mr. Forster, and consider 
 that if he is under an obligation to me, so to a mucb 
 greater extent are the public. 
 
 If I assisted upon this occasion in benefiting the 
 Liberal party, I subsequently, before the same judge, 
 aided in maintaining the seat of Mr. Smith for West- 
 minster, thus conferring a boon upon the Conserva- 
 tives. I am bound, however, to say that my leader, 
 Mr. Hawkins, now upon the bench, was the princi- 
 pal contributor to this result. 
 
 Notwithstanding some faults that I have already 
 indicated, Mr. Baron Martin, when obliged by his in- 
 creasing deafness to resign, was a great loss to the 
 bench. 
 
 In recording successes of which I am proud, and 
 by the result of which the public have benefited, I 
 am very pleased to mention that in a petition against 
 Mr. Serjeant Cox, the then sitting member for Taun- 
 ton, I succeeded in annulling his election, and, upon 
 a scrutiny, seating my old friend, then Mr. James, 
 since that time become Sir Henry, and now Attorney- 
 General ; and upon a petition against him after a sub- 
 sequent election I was successful in maintaining his 
 seat. 
 
LORD JUSTICE BRAMWELL. 333 
 
 If the lives of the puisne judges who have occupied 
 the bench during the last generation could find a bi- 
 ographer, no one would fill a brighter or more honor- 
 able space than Lord Justice Lush, but recently de- 
 ceased. During the time he was at the bar and upon 
 the Home Circuit I was constantly associated with 
 him both in publjc and private, and after his promo- 
 tion I frequently appeared before him. His career 
 exhibits a course of unwearied industry and unswerv- 
 ing integrity from his earliest youth. He would not 
 be properly described as a powerful advocate, but he 
 was singularly lucid and always a perfect master of 
 the facts. As a judge, unmoved by partiality, and, 
 although strict in his views, patient, considerate, and 
 humane ; as a man, his kindness and charity had en- 
 sured to him the affection of every one who knew 
 him. He tried several of the election cases in which 
 I was engaged, but I do not remember any that pre- 
 sented features worthy of recording. 1 
 
 Lord Justice Bramwell was a good judge, and re- 
 strained upon the bench a natural irritability of tem- 
 per. I also conducted cases before him, but not of 
 great interest except to the parties. I cannot forbear 
 saying that I never saw any one more anxious to as- 
 sist a counsel who had a difficulty in explaining some 
 proposition, or more patient in its investigation. It is 
 considered by the profession that his retirement from 
 the Appeal Court is a very serious loss. 
 
 No one can deny that in the selection of Mr. Black- 
 burn as a puisne judge Lord Campbell conferred a 
 
 1 I had hoped that my kind old friend would have read my appreciation oi 
 him. I wrote it originally in his lifetime. 
 
334 MR - BRASSEY. 
 
 benefit upon all connected with judicial proceedings. 
 He possesses a powerful intellect, great grasp and so- 
 lidity, and has the reputation of being a profound law- 
 yer. A Scotch accent does not improve a naturally 
 harsh voice, and his demeanor can scarcely be term- 
 ed graceful, or his manner pleasant, but these are su- 
 perficial objections. There is nothing of harshness or 
 intentional discourtesy about him ; I should doubt 
 whether he had ever been what is called a ladies' man, 
 and his gallantry was put to a severe test in the fol- 
 lowing cases, and certainly did not show itself to be 
 co-extensive with his law. 
 
 In the first of these I appeared to defend the seat 
 of a gentleman who, although he has never been con- 
 nected with the Government, is a very distinguished 
 and useful member of the House of Commons, and 
 would have been a great loss. This was Mr. Brassey, 1 
 member for Hastings, who was petitioned against by 
 Colonel Calthorpe, the distinguished Crimean officer. 
 
 One of the means of bribery suggested was the 
 purchase of unnecessary apparel by certain ladies, en- 
 ergetic supporters of the sitting member ; and it was 
 amusing to witness the face of the judge during these 
 millinery investigations, and to hear his ejaculations 
 upon the number of yards apparently necessary to 
 clothe the female form. It was evidently a subject 
 which his brain was incapable of grasping without 
 making inquiries that were repellent to his sense of 
 modesty. I trust that I may be forgiven for mention- 
 ing that I received the greatest assistance from sug- 
 gestions given me by Mrs. Brassey ; she showed the 
 greatest acuteness, and I consider that the result 
 
 1 This gentleman is now a member of the Government. 
 
WALLINGFORD PETITION. 
 
 335 
 
 which was ultimately given in favor of her husband, 
 was in a great measure due to her exertions. I was 
 not at all surprised at the charming account written 
 by this lady of the cruise of the Sunbeam, which I 
 have read with real pleasure, both for its own merits 
 and the memories it recalled of what was a very 
 pleasant inquiry. 
 
 The Wallingford election petition, tried before the 
 same judge, was a severe infliction upon his patience, 
 and involved him in a comical position. In this I was 
 again counsel for the sitting member, a Mr. Stanley 
 Vickers, a distiller. It can do no harm now to con- 
 fess that I never was engaged in a case in which, not- 
 withstanding the vehement assertions of my client, I 
 felt graver doubts. Indeed my conscience almost 
 gave way under the strain of this conviction, and 
 probably would have done so but for the support and 
 assistance of my friend Montagu Williams, who was 
 with me in the case. 
 
 Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke was the petitioner. 
 The election had been conducted by the supporters 
 on both sides with no inconsiderable warmth, which 
 may be accounted for by the fact that the ladies of 
 the locality had taken a very active part in it, and were 
 warm partisans — it might, indeed, have been called 
 a ladies' battle, and they appeared in court arrayed 
 in the colors of the respective candidates. But the 
 warmth of their advocacy was made so apparent upon 
 the first day, that on the second they were divided, 
 and placed upon opposite sides of the court. This was 
 the occasion of the incident I have referred to. Mr. 
 Justice Blackburn had taken his seat and composed 
 
336 AMUSING SCENE. 
 
 himself for the performance of his duties, when a lady, 
 having arrived late, had to pass him to get to her party. 
 Now, his lordship's legs being no unimportant portion 
 of his body, her flounces became seriously entangled 
 in her attempted passage, and for the moment the 
 judge was lost sight of by the audience in front, whilst 
 the lady presented the appearance of sitting upon his 
 knee. The judge's voice was heard in no musical tones, 
 and when relieved from the embarrassment he de- 
 clared, in emphatic language, " that he never had been 
 in such a position before " ; and this I am disposed to 
 believe. 
 
 I remember, amongst the allegations, there was a 
 charge against the sitting member of personal bribery ; 
 he was said to have committed it whilst in the com- 
 pany of a lawyer, a clergyman, and a brewer. He 
 and the two former stoutly denied the assertion ; the 
 brewer was vacillating, and, oddly enough, upon the 
 very day that he was to be called was thrown from 
 his horse, and the injuries he sustained prevented his 
 appearance as a witness. 
 
 The counsel for the petitioner had great difficulties 
 to contend with, from the case not having been well 
 got up ; and Mr. Justice Blackburn was not then much 
 experienced in the trial of election petitions. - He did 
 not consider that the case was brought home with suf- 
 ficient certainty, and, after an inquiry lasting for sev- 
 eral days, Mr. Vickers was declared duly elected. 
 
 I do not remember being in more than one election 
 case before Mr. Justice Mellor — that of Petersfield, 
 to which I have already alluded. In this poor Alfred 
 Thesiger was opposed to me, and exhibited his usual 
 
TAMWORTH PETITION. 337 
 
 skill. The petition was decided in favor of my client, 
 but subsequently reversed upon a legal point. This 
 learned judge possessed a great fund of common 
 sense, and other qualities well calculated to adorn the 
 bench. He 1ms always been a most kind and valued 
 friend to me. Mr. Justice Grove, distinguished for 
 his deep and varied scientific acquirements, and also 
 an excellent lawyer, tried the petition presented 
 against Sir Henry James. 
 
 I am obliged to say that in the opinion I have 
 formed of the other judges I cannot include Mr. Jus- 
 tice Willes, and in the case of a petition against Sir 
 Eobert Peel and Sir Henry Bulwer, the sitting mem- 
 bers for the borough of Tamworth, his decision was 
 received with the most unbounded astonishment, 
 whilst the reasons given for it, and the observations 
 accompanying them, were certainly unintelligible to 
 any ordinary mind. There were one hundred and 
 thirty men employed by an acknowledged agent of 
 one of the sitting members, and paid for two days' 
 work, the nomination and polling days. Nineteen 
 of these men were voters. The work was a mere 
 sham; there was no legitimate work for them to do, 
 and they did none. This was urged upon the learned 
 judge as conclusive proof of undue influence on the 
 part of the agent in question. Mr. Justice Willes, 
 however, assumed that they were hired to obtain 
 popularity for the man who employed them. He cer- 
 tainly added that he did not think that such a mode of 
 gaining popularity by an agent just before an election 
 was desirable. Still more extraordinary was the mode 
 in which, in the most inflated language, he held up a 
 
 land agent of Sir Robert's to admiration, and smoth- 
 22 
 
338 MR - JUSTICE WILLES. 
 
 erecl him with praise. There was a collection of small 
 tenements that had been held by generations of the 
 same tenants; they had practically descended from 
 father to son, although it was usual for the occupiers 
 to appear on a quarter-day at the bailm's house and 
 go through the form of renewal. The agent can- 
 vassed these poor people, hinting to one that some- 
 thing should be done for repairs ; to another, a woman, 
 that it would be better for her husband to vote for 
 Bulwer; and conveying threats and promises through- 
 out the entire neighborhood. 
 
 The election took place ; and, on the quarter-day 
 following, these poor people attended as usual for a re- 
 newed of their leases, and in every instance where they 
 had voted adversely it was refused. They w T ere, in 
 addition, treated with the utmost harshness ; and in 
 some instances, when they were unable to find a place 
 to go to, higher rents were extorted from them — a pro- 
 ceeding not attempted to be justified. It would occupy 
 too much space to record the panegyrics lavished wpon 
 this gentleman. But not content with this, the judge 
 fell foul of me, with pretty much the same delicacy and 
 taste with which he had praised the agent, concluding 
 with the following not very intelligible sentences: 
 "Allow if you will that he (the agent), like others 
 whom I have known coming from the same part of 
 the country, is somewhat dark, and hard, and angular 
 in business matters, I am not to judge of his moral 
 character. But I have known such men, and I have 
 known them not only as truthful but as kindly as those 
 who could gloze, and who could be base in matters 
 of figures and facts." 
 
 At the time he uttered this remarkable tirade I had 
 
ABSURD DECISION. 339 
 
 left the court and gone to London, but received a let- 
 ter from one of my friends, giving me an account of it, 
 and saying that the judge had made his intention most 
 marked by directing his words towards the space that 
 I had occupied during the inquiry. I wrote to him re- 
 quiring an explanation, to which he answered that he 
 had not intended them to apply to me, which did not 
 exalt my ideas of his accuracy, although it prevented 
 me from taking other steps. His oration, which took 
 up a considerable time, ended by retaining both mem- 
 bers in their seats. 
 
 I cannot account for his otherwise incredible conduct 
 than by supposing that the position of the respondents 
 exercised, perhaps unconsciously to himself, an influ- 
 ence upon his mind, and threw a sort of glamour over 
 his understanding. He was always given to over-re- 
 fining, but upon this occasion his ingenuity surpassed 
 the bounds of common sense, and absolutely traves- 
 tied the facts of the case to force them into the de- 
 cision on which he had determined. 
 
 I have never made any concealment of my opinion 
 of the behavior of Mr. Justice Willes in this case, and 
 some time after it I received a letter from Mr. Peel, 
 who had been the opponent of the sitting members at 
 the election, requesting to know whether I had ad- 
 vised the petition, and whether the facts had been cor- 
 rectly stated to me. I answered in the affirmative, 
 and added that the facts proved upon the trial were 
 much stronger than those laid before me. 
 
 Some time afterwards a piece of plate was present- 
 ed to Mr. Peel by his supporters and friends, and up- 
 on this occasion he referred to my letter in the follow- 
 ing words: — 
 
340 SPEECH OF MR. PEEL. 
 
 "The evidence collected was submitted to Serjeant 
 Ballantine and Mr. Henry James, and they advised 
 that a petition should be presented, which was accord- 
 ingly done. Having heard the evidence given in court, 
 he (Mr. Peel) was satisfied that bribery prevailed ex- 
 tensively, especially in the case of the 130 men, who 
 were employed by the agent of one candidate, and 
 paid by the agent of the other. Intimidation was also 
 clearly practiced, because threats were used, and aft- 
 erward carried out ; but upon the trial astonishingly 
 subtle distinctions were drawn between treating and 
 reasonable refreshment and as to agency. He be- 
 lieved that there was but one opinion in the country 
 with regard to the trial, and that was that the failure 
 of the petition was a miscarriage of justice. 
 
 "Serjeant Ballantine having been asked whether 
 he would advise a petition in a similar case again, said 
 he should certainly do so, and be confident of a differ- 
 ent decision from any other judge upon the bench, 
 and that the grounds of the decision of Mr. Justice 
 Willes were totally inexplicable to him. Mr. James 
 in answer to the same question said that there were 
 many reasons why he should not express an opinion 
 about the judgment." 
 
 Mr. Justice Willes possessed the reputation of be- 
 ing one of the most profound and able lawyers upon 
 the bench. His habits, as far as I had any opportu- 
 nity of observing them, exhibited no cordiality, but I 
 had always been upon perfectly good terms with him. 
 He was in criminal cases a merciful judge, and im- 
 pressed me as having a hatred of injustice and tyranny. 
 He was, however, singularly emotional, and in another 
 election petition in which I was engaged — it was that 
 
CHARACTER OF MR. JUSTICE W1LLES. 341 
 
 of Penzance— he exhibited this trait in a ridiculous 
 manner. An allegation of bribery against a doctor, I 
 am not sure that he was not a veterinary surgeon, 
 was strongly relied upon, and appeared to me to be 
 fully made out; but his lordship almost burst into tears 
 at the idea of a member of that "noble profession" 
 being guilty of such a crime. It is more than prob- 
 able that with this disposition and an enormous strain 
 upon his mind, his naturally great intellect was shaken 
 from its pedestal, and subsequent events have led me 
 to believe that this was the cause of eccentricities 
 which I should be sorry to attribute to motives of a 
 more unworthy character. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE UNION CLUB. 
 
 T N the course of the foregoing pages I have fre- 
 quently mentioned the Union Club, and as it is 
 one of the earliest, if not the very first established 
 upon the now existing basis of the principal clubs, it 
 may not be altogether uninteresting to give some 
 short sketch of its history. It is much older than is 
 generally supposed, having come into existence in the 
 early part of the year 1805. At one time there 
 seemed to be a chance of its being christened The 
 Cumberland, its original meetings being held in a 
 house bearing that title, but I can only find one occa- 
 sion when, for some twenty-four hours, it bore that 
 name ; always after it was known by its present one. 
 
 The first meeting of which any record exists took 
 place on February 20th, in the year I have mentioned, 
 and on this day the first committee was chosen ; it 
 was headed by the Marquis of Headfort, Lord Rod en, 
 and General Ormsby. There were upon it several 
 officers of high rank and a Mr. John Spencer Smith, 
 who, I fancy, was a member of the great banking 
 (inn of Smith, Payne and Smith. 
 
 It does not appear by the minutes to which I have 
 342 
 
UNION CLUB. 343 
 
 access what was done between that time and a meet- 
 ing that took place upon February 3d, in the follow- 
 ing year ; this was held at Cumberland House, and 
 called a meeting of managers. Their names do not 
 appear, but I conclude they consisted of the commit- 
 tee previously chosen ; and a person of the name of 
 Raggett, who was, I fancy, a tavern-keeper, was ap- 
 pointed under the description of proprietor and con- 
 ductor, and authorized to procure a house, and on 
 March 16th following, there was a further resolution 
 in which Mr. Raggett was called master, but no busi- 
 ness was done until February 3d, 1807, in which the 
 terms of subscription were settled at ten guineas a 
 year, and one guinea for the servants, a guarantee be- 
 ing given to Raggett that there should be no less num- 
 ber of members than 250 ; that gentlemen should be 
 elected by ballot, which was to take place between 11 
 at night and 1 o'clock in the morning. 
 
 It is strange that amongst the minutes in possession 
 now of the club I cannot find with any certainty what 
 proceedings took place between that period and January 
 30th, 1812, nor even where the evening meetings took 
 place. I am inclined to believe they were at the house 
 of the Duke of Leeds, in St. James's Square; the club, 
 however, does not, up to that date, appear to have at- 
 tained any considerable success, as I gather from the 
 proceedings that then took place. Mr. Raggett express- 
 ed a desire to throw up his engagement, as there were 
 not a sufficient number of members to make it remu- 
 nerative, and in consequence it was determined that 
 fifty new ones should be elected, which seems to have 
 been immediately done, and the number readily ob- 
 
344 UNION CLUB. 
 
 tained. When this had been achieved the club ap- 
 peared to float on without difficulty. Amongst the 
 number there were no less than fifty-six members of 
 the House of Peers, including the Dukes of York and 
 Sussex, Richmond and Devonshire, the Marquis of 
 Wellesley, Duke of Argyll, Lord Granville, Leveson 
 Grower, Marquis of Hertford, Lord Peterborough, 
 Lord Stair, and, most celebrated of all, Lord Byron. 
 
 There were also members of the firm of the Bar- 
 ings, and also the Messrs. Hoare, and, amongst names 
 still remembered, Sir Jonah Barrington, Quintin Dick, 
 and Mr. Labouchere. 
 
 At this time it was, in the strictest sense of the 
 term, a proprietary club, which, I believe, was the 
 case of all others then existing. The principal of 
 these were Brooks's and White's, the Travelers', and 
 the United Service ; and so it continued until the 
 year 1821, in the August of which it was established 
 substantially in its present form, and, I believe, was 
 the first club that adopted it. A committee of five 
 was appointed to carry it out, and the success that 
 followed is not wonderful, as one of the greatest men 
 of any age assisted in the task, the Right Hon. Sir 
 Robert Peel. The other members were Viscount 
 Gage, Lord Lowther, Pascoe Grenfell, and George 
 Hammersley, and under their auspices the Union 
 Club took the form under which, with slight varia- 
 tions, it still exists. The plot of land upon which the 
 house was built was secured at a rental of £306 per 
 annum, and has now forty years to run, and the house 
 itself was built under the direction of Mr. Smirke, 
 the architect, who was selected by the committee m 
 
LA WYERS AND BANKERS. 345 
 
 consequence of having designed that occupied by the 
 United Service. I cannot find that there are any dis- 
 tinguished members of the bench or bar amongst 
 those originally elected ; indeed, I do not recognize a 
 single specimen ; neither is the Church represented. 
 I suppose that in the early period of the century 
 graver and more improving occupations than those of 
 club life occupied the time of both professions. 
 
 I became a member in 1852, and the bar had nu- 
 merous representatives by no means undistinguished 
 at that date, or shortly after : Jervis, afterwards Chief 
 Justice of the Common Pleas ; Maule, a judge of the 
 same court ; Lord Justice Knight Bruce, Mr. Mon- 
 tague Chambers, Lord Justice Selwyn, Mr. Justice 
 Byles, and many others. There was also a good 
 sprinkling of eminent bankers, including two or three 
 members of the Messrs. Goslings, one of the oldest 
 firms in London, and from whom I have received 
 many acts of kindness. One of them used to play the 
 moderate whist to which players were confined by the 
 rules of the club. I can remember him so well. He 
 looked, what he was, the picture of a gentleman of 
 the old school, and it was pleasant to see him riding 
 his well-bred cob quietly along the park. 
 
 There was another banker, a very old gentleman, 
 who made his appearance only occasionally. I have 
 already mentioned him as a friend of Sir Frederick 
 Pollock, and as one of his great supporters at Hunt- 
 ingdon, where he carried on his business. His name 
 was Veasey, and he was the oldest banker in England ; 
 I believe I am right in saying that in that capacity he 
 used to preside at an annual dinner of the members 
 
346 MR - y^ASEY. 
 
 of the profession. His age must have been very great 
 at the time of his death, but almost to the last he main- 
 tained a jaunty air and juvenile dress, with old-fash- 
 ioned courteous manners. In one sense he was part 
 of my family history, having been trustee in diiferent 
 settlements in which my mother was interested. He 
 occupied a house in the town of Huntingdon that had 
 once belonged to her. 1 
 
 On one occasion, some years before his death, I 
 happened to be in this town upon professional busi- 
 ness, and dined with him. He took me before dinner 
 into a little side room, in which there was an old-fash- 
 ioned window, and pointing to one of its panes said, 
 " There your poor mother scratched her name with 
 her diamond ring ; it shall never be removed in my 
 time." And there, truly enough, was " Betsy Cole," 
 written at least eighty years before. It was not easy 
 when I was a candidate to secure election to the club, 
 and, notwithstanding the distinguished men I have 
 mentioned, lawyers were unpopular ; but I was fortu- 
 nate in my sponsors. Sir Frederick Slade, the Queen's 
 Counsel, was one of them, and Sir Henry Webb, a 
 man greatly courted in society and liked in the club, 
 was the other. Sir John Bay ley and Sir Thomas 
 Henry, the chief magistrate of Bow Street, very warmly 
 supported me. All those whose names I have men- 
 tioned are dead, as also*many others whom I recall 
 with a feeling of sadness, and with whom I have en- 
 joyed many pleasant hours. As I have already men- 
 tioned, I was intimate with Mr. Justice Maule, and 
 
 i He dressed in imitation of George IV., but this was his only foible that 
 ever I discovered. 
 
SIR THOMAS HENRY. 347 
 
 have expressed the high opinion I had of his intellect. 
 Lord Justice Knight Bruce possessed many brilliant 
 qualities, and certainly was one of the most vivacious 
 companions that I ever met with. Selwyn seemed a 
 very kind and easy-tempered man, and was a great 
 scholar, an accomplished lawyer, and the picture of 
 health. I have heard he lost his life at a comparative- 
 ly early age through the effects of a surgical operation. 
 
 I cannot close my memories of the club during, to 
 me, its old days, without a few more words of Sir 
 Thomas Henry, who remained a sincere friend to the 
 end of his career. At some private houses where we 
 frequently met he was an immense favorite and always 
 welcome guest. As a magistrate he commanded, 
 and justly, great respect, and was in fact an excellent 
 officer. His legal knowledge had been obtained by 
 study, and he never made any mark at the bar. He 
 was appointed when unusually young, as were two of 
 his contemporaries, Norton and Hardwick. They 
 were all three gentlemen ; and the two latter, as well 
 as Henry, fully justified their appointment. His death 
 was very sad. It was his duty on race days to sit in 
 a temporary office at Epsom, and on one ungenial oc- 
 casion he got chilled and was not attended to, although 
 his illness ought to have been apparent, and for a long 
 time he was kept out in the cold ; a very little care 
 and a slight restorative would have saved a valuable 
 life probably for many years. 
 
 I came out of the club one day and found Selwyn 
 talking to a gentleman in the guise of a bishop ; he 
 introduced me to him. It was Lord Auckland, Bishop 
 of Bath and Wells. Selwyn left him at the corner of 
 
348 ANECDOTE. 
 
 Pall Mall, and his lordship and myself walked togethei 
 up St. James's Street, down Piccadilly, to Hyde Park 
 Corner. Of course there were many respectful salu= 
 tations to him, and several people we met recognized 
 me ; they must have felt a good deal of surprise at the 
 company in which they saw me. He was very courtly 
 and pleasing, but I could not forbear at parting to take 
 off my hat, and with a low bow said, " My lord, you 
 have ruined my character." He gave a good-humored 
 smile, and expressed a hope that he had improved it. 
 
 The foregoing incident brings to my mind a trip I 
 had to the Derby in very different company. There 
 were four of us, all men, in a barouche, and one of 
 my companions had brought his butler with him, who 
 was clad in a white neckcloth. A lot of roughs rec- 
 ognized me, and one of them shouted out, " There 
 goes the serjeant with his domestic chaplain." We 
 very soon made him doff the garb that involved me in 
 such a calumny. 
 
 The following story has gone the round of the pro- 
 fession, but has probably not traveled beyond it. It 
 relates to two Queen's counsel ; one of them at all 
 events deserves some description. He was a man who 
 had fought a singularly energetic battle against feeble 
 health with great success, and, possessing strong good 
 sense, had become one of the most eminent members 
 of the bar. He was fond of the turf in a prudent way, 
 and knew a good deal about it. " He would have 
 made a splendid jockey," once said one of his admirers; 
 " what a pity he took to the law !" This, however, 
 was not his opinion, and he realized the largest fortune 
 ever made at it. Moreover, he loved the work as 
 well as the money he made by it, 
 
ANECDOTE. 349 
 
 The other party to this anecdote was of a different 
 type. He had been obliged to work to live, and did 
 not love it. He had, however, obtained reasonable 
 success. He liked amusement, and sought it, and 
 considered a Long Vacation ought to be devoted to 
 nothing else. One day, just after the conclusion of 
 this period of legal holiday, the two counsel met. 
 They were old acquaintances, and were on the same 
 circuit. " What have you been doing ?" was the nat- 
 ural question of one to the other ; and an account was 
 given by the latter of his trip upon the Continent. 
 " Well," said the former, " I have not stirred from 
 town, and have been doing lots of work." " What is 
 the use of it V was the observation made ; " you can- 
 not carry your money with you, and if you did it would 
 soon melt." 
 
 His money-making is now at an end, and at present 
 his earnings are in no danger. He is in the service of 
 his country, and seems to love work just as much now 
 as when very tempting figures were endorsed upon 
 every case in which he was engaged. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 MADAME EACHEL. 
 
 T N one of the worst haunts of the metropolis there 
 resided in the days that I practiced at the Mid- 
 dlesex Sessions a Jewess called Rachel. Her name 
 and her occupation were not unfrequently brought 
 to the attention of the magistrates ; a further de- 
 scription of them would not be desirable. 
 
 I saw her,without knowing either who she was or her 
 calling, behind the scenes at Drury Lane Theatre. Her 
 ostensible object was to sell articles of dress to the 
 female employees. Her real business was brought to 
 light by one of them throwing the contents of a glass 
 of porter into her face in response to an insulting prop- 
 osition ; she never to my knowledge appeared there 
 afterwards. The next that was heard of her was keep- 
 ing a shop in Bond Street, ostensibly for the sale of 
 perfumes and cosmetics, but in reality for the pur- 
 poses of extortion and robbery. On a certain occa- 
 sion the wife of Admiral C unwarily entered it 
 
 for the purchase of some trifling article. Madame 
 Rachel was singularly plausible, and induced her cus- 
 tomer to purchase from time to time other matters to 
 a small amount, and sent in an exorbitant bill for them, 
 350 
 
MADAME RACHEL. 35^ 
 
 which I believe was paid, and Mrs. C discontin- 
 ued her patronage. Upon this happening, a claim ar- 
 rived amounting to £1,000, upon the allegation that 
 Mrs. C — — had been cured by Madame's aid of some 
 skin affection ; dark hints of other matters accompa- 
 nying the claim. There was not a word of truth in 
 the assertions or insinuations, and the Admiral most 
 properly resisted the claim, which was scouted with 
 disgust and indignation by a jury. 
 
 Madame Rachel, however, was not discouraged, and 
 still professed the power of making ladies beautiful 
 forever, and, strange as it may appear, there were 
 many who yielded to the pleasing belief. Amongst 
 them was a lady, who once upon a time had been a 
 beauty, was possessed of a fortune, and thought that 
 it could not be better employed than in securing a 
 continuance, or rather reproduction, of her charms, 
 and she was persuaded that the effect already pro- 
 duced had inflamed the heart of a nobleman of dis- 
 tinguished appearance, well known about town, and 
 that a letter fabricated by Madame Rachel was the 
 genuine outpouring of that gentleman's sudden and 
 enthusiastic passion. She obtained from her dupe 
 large sums of money, and, emboldened by success, 
 demanded larger, and actually caused her victim to 
 be arrested for a supposed debt. This brought mat- 
 ters to a climax, and friends interfering, Madame made 
 her appearance at Marlborough Street Police Court, 
 and was committed for trial at the Central Court. The 
 quondam beauty — a skeleton encased apparently in 
 plaster of Paris, painted pink and white, and sur- 
 mounted with a juvenile wig — tottered into the wit- 
 
352 TRIAL OF MADAME RACHEL. 
 
 n ess-box. The folly she had exhibited and her child- 
 ish mode of giving evidence probably led some of the 
 jury to distrust her, and they were discharged with- 
 out a verdict. 
 
 Upon a subsequent sessions Rachel was tried be- 
 fore Mr. Commissioner Kerr, a gentleman of very 
 sound sense, and was without much hesitation con- 
 victed and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. I 
 prosecuted upon both occasions, and on the first, 
 through a false impression, made an observation about 
 the nobleman whose name had been mentioned, which 
 I afterwards felt was not justified and I greatly re- 
 gretted. The fact was, that there was nothing more 
 impudent perpetrated in the case than the use of his 
 name by Madame Rachel, and for which it turned out 
 there was not the slightest pretense. 
 
 The prison discipline did not apparently possess 
 much influence upon Madame, who took to her old 
 courses immediately the term had expired, and, by a 
 similar process to that she had already gone through, 
 found her way back again to prison, and there died ; 
 not, however, before she had done much mischief, 
 darkened many a home, and led many girls, who but 
 for her might have been happy and contented, into 
 misery and crime. She was one of the most filthy 
 and dangerous moral pests that have existed in my 
 time and within my observation. 
 
 In the year 1845 I was counsel at the Central Court 
 in a case that excited interest at the time of its occur- 
 rence. It presented some curious facts, and although 
 no doubt could arise as to the guilt of the accused 
 man, there was nevertheless a mystery connected with 
 the deed which was never explained. 
 
HOOKER IN NEWGATE. 353 
 
 A gentleman of respectable position was found ly- 
 ing with his throat cut, and perfectly dead, in a lane 
 between what then was Chalk Farm and BelsizePark; 
 his name was De la Rue. Whilst a constable was 
 standing by his body, a young man dressed in a gen- 
 tlemanly manner came up, made some remark to the 
 policeman, leaned over the body, examined it, and felt 
 the pulse. He appeared perfectly calm and unem- 
 barrassed. His name was Hocker, and he was the 
 murderer. On the body of the deceased was found 
 a letter signed Caroline, asking De la Rue to meet her 
 at the spot where the body was found ; this letter was 
 proved to be in the handwriting of the prisoner, and 
 property of value that had belonged to Mr. De la Rue 
 was found upon Hocker's person. 
 
 The impulse that brought him back to the body 
 of the man he had slain was indeed strange, and the 
 coolness with which he felt and examined it showed 
 marvelous power of self-control. The trial took place 
 before Mr. Justice Coleridge, and is one of those which 
 exhibited the excellent qualities as a judge that he 
 possessed. The difficulty that arose of explaining in 
 any intelligible way the letter or the connection that 
 existed between the parties made him extremely anx 
 ious, and my instructions furnished no clue to solving 
 the difficulty, yet I felt there might be some explana- 
 tion, and for the first and only time in my life that I 
 ever did so, I requested and obtained an interview 
 with the prisoner. It took place in Newgate, during 
 the midday adjournment of the Court, and remains 
 vividly upon my memory. He was quite young, 
 scarcely twenty years old ; he was seated upon a wood- 
 en bench in a small square cell, whitewashed, and 
 23 
 
354 FRANZ MULLER. 
 
 without other furniture, himself quite calm and self- 
 possessed. He would give no further statement than 
 that I had already received. I told him that I could 
 not put it forward with any hope of success, and ad- 
 vised him, if he insisted upon adhering to it, to make 
 i himself. He said he preferred to do so, and ac- 
 cordingly he conveyed it to the jury without any ex- 
 hibition of nervousness, although, I am confident, with- 
 out hope. If the facts proved had left any possible 
 conclusion but that of guilt it would have been enforc- 
 ed upon the jury, who had no alternative but to find 
 a verdict of guilty, and he was necessarily condemned 
 to death, which he suffered, showing no sign of either 
 repentance or fear. Mr. Clarkson led me in this case 
 and concurred in my view. 
 
 Whilst visiting my chamber of horrors I may be ex- 
 cused for exhuming another trial in which I was also 
 engaged, leading on this occasion for the Crown ; it 
 was the case of Franz Miiller, a German, charged 
 with the murder of Mr. Briggs in a railway carriage. 
 The prosecution of Lefroy, which has recently caused 
 so much attention, has, from its similarity in many of 
 its circumstances, brought it into notice. And the 
 two cases are in many respects alike, both being con- 
 clusively proved by circumstantial evidence, and in 
 both the prisoner declaring his innocence almost to 
 the last. It is very satisfactory to feel that the means 
 used after the conviction of the latter criminal to raise 
 an issue that had never been suggested when it could 
 have been properly tested were not countenanced, 
 either by the learned judge who tried him or by the 
 Home Office authorities. 1 
 
 1 An endeavor was made after the trial to show that Lefroy was insane. 
 
MORRISON AND BELCHER. 355 
 
 I will now call the attention of my readers to some 
 more amusing legal incidents ; the locality, although 
 a near neighbor of the Old Bailey, is not redolent of 
 crime; it is the Court of Queen's Bench, Guildhall. 
 Sir Alexander Cockburn is the presiding judge, and 
 the trial about to take place one of considerable in- 
 terest. There were several members of the aristocra- 
 cy present, amongst them the Marchioness of Ailes- 
 bury, Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, the Earl of Wilton, 
 and Lord Harry Vane ; whilst the Church was rep- 
 resented by the Bishop of Lichfield and Dr. Robin- 
 son, the Master of the Temple. The occasion that 
 drew these noble and reverend personages to an un- 
 accustomed scene was an action brought by Lieuten- 
 ant Morrison against Admiral Belcher for libel. The 
 plaintiff called himself an astrologer, and was the au- 
 thor of " Zadkiel's Almanack," whom the Admiral had 
 practically denounced as a cheat and impostor. Mr. 
 Serjeant Shee was counsel for Lieutenant Morrison, 
 I was retained for the defendant, and the ground up- 
 on which he founded his attack was that some years 
 before the plaintiff had asserted that he was upon 
 terms of acquaintance with certain spirits of another 
 world, who exhibited themselves through the medium 
 of a crystal ball, and there was no doubt that he had 
 claimed this remarkable privilege, and had exhibited 
 proofs of it before the different distinguished people 
 who appeared in court as his witnesses, although they 
 did not all of them fully support his claim. The 
 presence of the clergy might be accounted for by his 
 most intimate friend and constant visitor being St. 
 Luke, who conversed in the English language, and 
 
356 "ZADKIEL'S ALMANACK." 
 
 associated with him upon familiar terms. A young 
 person who gave the name of Eva also visited him ; 
 but the most pleasant of his acquaintances was Titania, 
 who appeared to have been permitted by her lord 
 and master to be a frequent guest. One of the ladies 
 who was called as a witness on the plaintiff's behalf 
 at the trial deposed that she had seen her mother re- 
 flected in the ball, and also a knight clad in complete 
 armor, but of whose conduct she did not entirely ap- 
 prove, as there was a young lady attired in pink, to 
 whom he was evidently paying very marked attention. 
 The witness who gave this evidence was neither 
 young nor flighty, and gave it with much earnestness 
 and solemnity, ending by declaring that the scene 
 would never pass from her memory. 
 
 I was somewhat surprised to see Dr. Robinson 
 amongst the believers, as from all I had heard of his 
 discourses in the Temple Church he was by no means, 
 of an imaginative turn of mind. 1 
 
 The reading of the almanack, and the different au- 
 guries connected with the birth of great men, together 
 with prophecies as to the date of their dissolution, 
 afforded much amusement. Brougham was bound to 
 have been dead, but unfortunately had survived the 
 event foretold, and several others had disappointed 
 the predictions of the sage. Much laughter was oc- 
 casioned by a description of the singular brilliancy 
 presented by the planets Mars and Venus upon the 
 birth of Lord Palmerston. The Chief Justice Cock- 
 
 1 Dr. Robinson appeared to take much interest in the case ; but 1 am as- 
 sured, upon the thoroughly reliable authority of the Rev. Canon Cooke, that 
 Dr. Robinson was neither a believer nor supporter of Zadkiel. 
 
MR. SLADE. 357 
 
 burn reveled in the case, which terminated in a ver- 
 dict for twenty shillings, the judge refusing to certify 
 for costs. Sir Edward Lytton Bulwer was examined, 
 but did not support the plaintiff's supernatural claim, 
 although he evidently disapproved of the levity exhib- 
 ited in court. 
 
 Admiral Sir Edward Belcher was a most distin- 
 guished and gallant officer. He had commanded two 
 or three Arctic expeditions, but was not, however, a 
 popular officer. He was very much of a martinet, al- 
 though, as far as I was able to judge, by no means of 
 a cruel or inhuman disposition ; latterly he was not 
 employed according to his expectations, and showed 
 a good deal of disappointment in consequence. I knew 
 him very well ; he was singularly well informed, al- 
 though somewhat speculative. Private matters, of 
 the rights of which none but the parties to them could 
 form a judgment, had greatly embittered his life. 
 There was a singular physical fact connected wilh 
 him — he had entirely lost the sense of taste ; this he 
 frequently complained of, and could not account for. 
 A friend of mine, an eminent member of the bar, suf- 
 fers in the same way, but is able to trace the phe- 
 nomenon to the shock that he suffered in a railway 
 collision. 
 
 Not many years ago it became my duty to repre- 
 sent an American gentleman named Slade, who, like 
 Mr. Morrison, professed an intimate acquaintance with 
 the world of spirits, and also obtained a considerable 
 number of believers. A scientific doctor alleged that 
 his proceedings were mere tricks, and undertook to 
 expose them ; and a magistrate, before whom evi- 
 
358 MIDDLESEX MAGISTRATES. 
 
 clence to this effect was given, committed him as a 
 rogue and vagabond to gaol. From this decision he 
 appealed to the Court of Quarter Sessions, where I 
 appeared as his counsel, and an amusing though not 
 very edifying scene occurred. The bench presented 
 the appearance that it does upon the gala clays, when 
 the morals of dancing and music are discussed by sol 
 emu tongues. Justices filled every corner of it, and 
 no one entertained much doubt for what they had 
 r.ome. Mr. Edlin, assistant judge, occupied the chair. 
 I took a purely legal objection to the conviction, wdiich 
 was argued at considerable length, and the chairman 
 was prepared to decide in its favor, but to this his 
 brethren demurred, and the court adjourned. After 
 a very considerable delay, they returned, Mr. Edlin 
 took his seat, and amidst signs of astonishment exhib- 
 ited upon the faces of the magistrates, quashed the 
 conviction, which they subsequently declared he had 
 no authority whatever to do, and, indeed, stated that 
 he acted in direct antagonism to the opinions of the 
 majority. No doubt this was the case, and quite un- 
 warrantable, but at the same time he was the proper 
 person to decide a point of law. There were only 
 two or three others upon the bench who knew any- 
 thing about it, or could understand the argument, 
 even if they had tried to do so, and his judgment ought 
 to have been decisive upon it. It would be an un- 
 satisfactory state of things that the guilt or innocence 
 of an accused person should be determined by the 
 vote of a majority. It must be remembered that the 
 conviction, if affirmed, involved imprisonment, and 
 was, therefore, just as serious in its result as if it had 
 
MIDDLESEX MAGISTRATES. 359 
 
 been tried before a jury, who must be unanimous, 
 and are under the obligation of an oath. I am aware 
 that magistrates sit constantly with the chairman to 
 decide appeals, but these are rarely m sensational 
 
 cases. -I j • 
 
 Mr. Slade took an early departure from a land in 
 which his powers had been appreciated in so unsat- 
 isfactory a manner to himself. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 EISK ALLAH. LANDSEEE. COCKBUEN. 
 
 A BOUT the same period, I met three remarkable 
 personages : Risk Allah Bey, Sir Edwin Land- 
 seer, and Sir Alexander Cockburn. It is many years 
 ago, in the days when the world was all before me. 
 The first was a foreigner who became afterwards a 
 celebrity in the law courts. The second was an ar- 
 tist whose works will never be forgotten, and whose 
 genial qualities will never be surpassed ; the third, a 
 brilliant orator, accomplished lawyer, and ultimately 
 Lord Chief Justice of England. 
 
 Thackeray, in his novel of "The Newcomes," re- 
 marks how easy the entrance is into society of a for- 
 eigner possessing agreeable and plausible manners, 
 without those formalities with which it fences itself 
 against the inroads of its own country-people. Risk 
 Allah was handsome, his manners polished, his cos- 
 tume picturesque. I did not admire his face, and when 
 many years afterwards I saw him under the circum- 
 stances I am about to describe, I thought it repul- 
 sive. He was apparently upon terms of some in- 
 timacy with Sir Alexander Cockburn, who, like 
 himself, was an accomplished linguist, and not un- 
 willing to display his accomplishment in this respect. 
 In the year 1857 Risk Allah married an English 
 360 
 
RISK ALLAH. 3g^ 
 
 lady of the name of Lewis, who possessed a consider* 
 able fortune. Connected with her, in some way that I 
 do not now remember, was a lad named Charles Read- 
 ley. Risk Allah was entitled in the event of his wife's 
 death to the possession of her fortune. The lady, 
 shortly after he married her, fell into bad health, to 
 which after some time she succumbed; and Risk Allah 
 succeeded to a large sum of money, and to the care of 
 the young man, who was of weakly constitution and 
 suffered from epileptic fits. He was entitled to 
 £5,000, which reverted upon his death to Risk Allah. 
 Readley had also made a will and insured his life in 
 that gentleman's favor. Such being the condition of 
 affairs, these two were in March, 1865, staying at the 
 Hotel du Rhin at Antwerp, and happened to be the 
 only visitors in the hotel. Readley was alive, and, ac- 
 cording to the evidence of a chambermaid, was, on one 
 morning of the above month, at seven o'clock, sleeping 
 quietly. At nine o'clock he was found dead in his bed, 
 with a wound in his throat, and a discharged gun by 
 his bedside. 
 
 It was suggested that he had committed suicide ; 
 but suspicion attached to Risk Allah, who was appre- 
 hended and subsequently put upon his trial before the 
 Supreme Criminal Court at Brussels, charged with the 
 murder of the young man. Much and very lengthy 
 evidence was given on both sides, and long arguments 
 supplied by able advocates ; and the result was, after 
 a patient summing-up by the presiding judge, that 
 Risk Allah was acquitted. 
 
 He was also accused of complicity with a person 
 named Osman in a number of frauds. There was no 
 
3G2 A CTION A GAINST THE " TELEGRAPH." 
 
 doubt of the roguery of this person, and that his pro- 
 ceedings had been very extensive, but the court came 
 to the conclusion that Risk Allah had been a victim 
 and not an accomplice in his offenses. 
 
 There was another matter which threw suspicion 
 upon him in connection with two forged checks. This, 
 however, was fully gone into before the tribunal at 
 Brussels ; and of this also he was acquitted. 1 
 
 A number of experts upon handwriting were called 
 on both sides, and also experts to show that from the 
 position of the body Readley might have shot himself. 
 
 Some articles appeared in the " Daily Telegraph " 
 newspaper commenting upon the trial with a great 
 deal of force and ability, but there could be no doubt 
 that the guilt of the accused was more than suggested, 
 and Risk Allah brought an action for libel against the 
 proprietors. After an acquittal by a competent tribu- 
 nal, it would not have been right or prudent to plead 
 a justification, and under these circumstances, the only 
 question that could be submitted to a jury was that 
 of damages, and the case came on to be tried, in June, 
 1868, before Sir Alexander Cockburn. Mr. Serjeant 
 Parry appeared for Risk Allah, and made an extremely 
 eloquent speech on his behalf. Mr. Coleridge, the 
 present Chief Justice of England, who led me for the 
 " Daily Telegraph," said all that could be urged under 
 the circumstances. Sir Alexander Cockburn summed 
 up with perfect fairness, and the jury returned a ver- 
 dict for £960, which, under all the circumstances, 
 could not be considered exorbitant. 
 
 1 These three charges were, in accordance with Belgian law, included in 
 one indictment. 
 
) 
 
 RISK ALLAH AND INSURANCE COMPANY. 363 
 
 On July 2d, in the same year, Risk Allah made an- 
 other appearance before the same judge, again in the 
 character of a complainant, and again the victim, by 
 his own account, of a series of disastrous circumstances 
 in which he was the injured person. These occurred 
 after his adventures in Belgium, and the story was 
 developed in an action brought by him in the Court 
 of Queen's Bench against the British and Foreign Ma- 
 rine Insurance Company for the sum of £3,000, for 
 which amount he held an insurance in that company. 
 Mr. Serjeant Parry was again his counsel, and I led 
 for the defense. The story Risk Allah told was a 
 very remarkable one. He was, he said, previous to 
 the occurrence afterwards detailed, considerably in 
 debt, and being moved by his desire to pay his credit- 
 ors, he collected from a variety of sources the amount 
 he claimed from the company ; this he turned into 
 specie, and it realized £3,000 in gold. He kept his 
 good intentions to himself, none of his creditors heard of 
 the favorable news, nor did he blazon forth to strangers 
 the information, or exhibit the money, although sev- 
 eral persons were shown the parcel said to contain it. 
 He secreted it about his person, which was quite nat- 
 ural, as he was then at Constantinople, where, as in 
 other great cities, all people do not possess such hon- 
 est dispositions as he did. The only memorandum he 
 had verifying his possession of the money was con- 
 tained in a pocket-book also upon his person. He 
 knew that the noble sacrifice he was about to make 
 would leave him penniless, but he had determined to 
 dedicate his life to his country, and enlist under the 
 renowned chieftain, Omar Pasha. Having taken the 
 
364 TRIAL OF ACTION. 
 
 precaution of insuring his treasure with the company I 
 represented, and hugging his valuable freight close to 
 his body, he embarked in a boat on the shores of the 
 Bosphorus, for the purpose of reaching the ship that 
 was to carry him to those climes where he could light- 
 en his conscience and his pockets ; but Providence, it 
 would appear, does not always watch over the virtuous, 
 or prosper their efforts, however intended for the ben- 
 efit of others, for, just as he was stepping on board, 
 souse he went into the sea. 
 
 Fortunately for himself, Risk Allah was an excel- 
 lent swimmer, and, reaching the top, was rescued ; 
 the bag remained at the bottom ; and his misfortunes 
 did not end there, for he might still have felt a happy 
 consciousness that his note-book would show to the 
 world his unluckily frustrated intentions. Alas! here 
 again cruel fate pursued him, for the good Samaritan 
 who had rescued him from drowning deprived him 
 even of this consolation by picking his pocket of the 
 valuable document. So that, beyond the credit that 
 could be attached to his own relation, he had not a 
 scrap of evidence to support the claim he made against 
 the company for the loss, and it is obvious that there 
 were no witnesses that could be called for my clients, 
 so that I was obliged in reply to rely upon the im- 
 probability of the story and Risk Allah's antecedents. 
 I commented upon the extraordinary features that had 
 characterized his life, and upon the strange positions 
 in which he had contrived to place himself. I vent- 
 ured to suggest that, however innocent he may have 
 been, the perils he had incurred would naturally have 
 induced him to protect himself from suspicion in subse- 
 
RESULT OF A CTION. 3^5 
 
 quent transactions, that nothing could have been more 
 easy than to have obtained a dozen witnesses to prove 
 the contents of the bag, and also the means by which he 
 had obtained them. The case, as I have said, did not 
 admit of my calling witnesses. To my great surprise 
 the Lord Chief Justice took a strong view in favor of 
 the plaintiff. I am confident it was a sincere one, 
 although I think that a feeling of sympathy had cre- 
 ated it rather than the calm judgment which ought to 
 have governed his views. He was extremely elo- 
 quent, and appealed strongly to the jury in favor of 
 Risk Allah, pointing out that my speech had been pure 
 declamation, and that I had called no witnesses, ig- 
 noring altogether the impossibility of my doing so. The 
 jury, after deliberating for a long time, were ultimately 
 discharged without giving a verdict, one of them re- 
 marking, in relation to Risk Allah intending to pay his 
 creditors, "My Lord, I cannot swallow that!" 
 
 Risk Allah never afterwards, to my knowledge, 
 made any other appearance upon our shores, and what 
 is his true history will never, perhaps, be disclosed in 
 this world. 
 
 It will be within the recollection of those who have 
 perused the account of my early days, that in Ser- 
 jeants' Inn, Fleet Street, at the time my father resided 
 there, so also did Mr. Wilde, afterwards Mr. Serjeant 
 Wilde, Solicitor-General, Chief Justice of the Com- 
 mon Pleas, and Lord Chancellor. He had only ob- 
 tained the degree of the coif when I was first called 
 to the bar ; however, I remember upon one occasion 
 being his junior, and although I cannot recall either 
 the name or nature of the case, I have a very distinct 
 
366 SIR THOMAS WILDE. 
 
 recollection of a consultation at his chambers, which 
 lasted from eight until twelve o'clock. He was prob- 
 ably one of the most laborious and painstaking men 
 that ©ver practiced, and in many respects the late Sir 
 John Karslake reminded me of him. Like him, his 
 earnest and anxious attention to work impaired his 
 health, and brought on, as it did with Sir John, severe 
 neuralgia, amounting in fact to tic douloureux, which re- 
 sulted, as was probably the case with the latter gentle- 
 man, in softening of the brain. He also bravely conduct- 
 ed causes of great importance with infinite skill whilst 
 suffering the acutest agonies. This was the case with 
 the celebrated appeal in Small and Attwood, in the 
 House of Lords, and in which he succeeded in obtain- 
 ing a reversal of the judgment pronounced by Lord 
 Lyndhurst, in the Court of Exchequer. He obtained 
 permission to argue the case without his wig, in con- 
 sequence of the acuteness of his suffering. 
 
 An amusing circumstance occurred in the middle of 
 his argument. His client had made him a present of a 
 pair of carriage horses, and one day shortly after this 
 event his servant came into the breakfast-room with 
 a very long face and told his master that Attwood 
 was dead, at which naturally he was much shocked. 
 Upon inquiry, however, it turned out that his coach- 
 man had christened the two horses Small and Att- 
 wood, and that it was one of these that had departed 
 this life. 
 
 I remember one occasion in connection with this 
 judge illustrative of the necessity of adapting punish- 
 ment to the opinion of the public — it was after he 
 had become Chief Justice, and he was presiding in 
 
EVIL OF UNPOPULAR SENTENCES. 3(37 
 
 tlie Crown Court at the Kingston Assizes. He de- 
 ferred sentencing the . prisoners convicted upon the 
 first day until the following morning, and then sen- 
 tenced several of them to be flogged ; there was not 
 another conviction during the whole assizes. 1 He 
 was a very pleasant judge to counsel, but inclined to 
 be severe to criminals. 
 
 I met him once after his retirement at Wiesbaden. 
 He was staying at the Hotel de Quatre Saisons, amus- 
 ingly nicknamed the Quarter Sessions, from the num- 
 ber of lawyers that patronized it. He was then man- 
 ifestly in bad health, although I did not discover any 
 mental weakness ; he was pleased with the attention 
 I was glad to pay him, ^aid rewarded me with much 
 pleasant gossip. He Lad a very great admiration for 
 the talent of Mr. Aloipbus^ and confirmed the view 
 that I have already expressed of that gentleman, that, 
 but for his temper, he would have become a very dis- 
 tinguished member oi the bar. Lord Truro and Sir 
 Frederick Pollock, wdiilst poles asunder in politics, 
 had been all their lives fast friends; but although 
 each had led a life of intense labor, the mental re- 
 sults were very different, which may be accounted 
 for by Sir Frederick being so polished and accom- 
 plished a scholar, whilst Lord Truro was entirely un- 
 educated. I believe he was the uncle of Lord Pen- 
 zance. There was another very great friend of Lord 
 Truro, a man of ability, Matthew Davenport Hill, very 
 much of the type of Lord Truro himself, and he also 
 was a poignant sufferer from a similar malady, tic 
 
 1 The sentences may have been on a later day ; upon this point my mem- 
 ory does not serve me, but I remember well the effect. 
 
368 MATTHEW DAVENPORT HILL. 
 
 douloureux. When Truro was Chancellor he was 
 anxious to make Hill a judge, but unfortunately that 
 gentleman had got into some scrape by disclosing a 
 communication intended to be confidential, and the 
 Cabinet put such a pressure upon the Chancellor 
 that he was forced to give up his intention, and 
 appointed Martin, the son-in-law of his old friend 
 Pollock. 
 
 I do not know whether it was from Truro or Pol- 
 lock that I heard the following incident : When they 
 were both at the bar, the latter was retained to de- 
 fend a clergyman in Norfolk for a serious, and indeed, 
 although he was out on bail, a capital offense, and in 
 a consultation that gentleman admitted his guilt to the 
 counsel. Sir Frederick felt that this knowledge would 
 embarrass his conduct of the defense, especially as it 
 was a question of the credit of certain witnesses, and 
 requested and obtained permission to give up his brief, 
 which came afterwards into the hands of Sir Thomas 
 Wilde, to whom the same admission was not made, 
 and he obtained an acquittal. Pollock had no doubt 
 that it would have been his duty, after accepting the 
 retainer, to conduct the case, if his client had insisted 
 upon it. 
 
 I never met Lord Truro afterwards, but with him 
 and Pollock terminated a generation of great lawyers 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 MR. LANDSEEE. 
 
 T N a former chapter I have mentioned a meeting of 
 literary and theatrical personages, and others whc 
 delighted in such society, held at the old and well- 
 known tavern called the Piazza in Covent Garden. 
 They did not assemble very early, indeed nowadays 
 they could not have met at all. The stern command 
 of Policeman A. would have barred their entrance. 
 At that time, however, taverns as well as clubs were 
 open at all times, and the hours chosen by those who 
 frequented the assembly in question were generally 
 the small ones. 
 
 Conversation was the order of the day, or night, 
 which made it rather remarkable that a gentleman 
 who could not hear a word that was said should have 
 been one of the most constant visitors. This was Mr. 
 Land seer, a brother of the celebrated artist, himself an 
 engraver of reputation, but unfortunately stone deaf. 
 I cannot, however, recall him to my memory with- 
 out feelings of gratitude, if only for the pleasure he 
 afforded me upon one or two occasions of meeting the 
 eminent artist. I know of no one whose works have 
 for me a greater fascination. He has spiritualized ani- 
 24 369 
 
370 SIE ED WIN LANDSEER. 
 
 mal life, and has given it an affinity to the human race, 
 and yet has neither destroyed nor altered its natural 
 characteristics. We see told upon his canvas the no- 
 bility, of which in the higher animals so many exam- 
 ples have been proved to exist, and in dealing with 
 those which fill a humbler space in nature he has cre- 
 ated a poetry essentially his own. One wonders what 
 those two squirrels are saying to each other. Evi- 
 dently they must have discovered a feast of filberts, 
 or some other great event in their woodland lives. Sir 
 Edwin was, as far as I could judge from the little I 
 saw of him, very unaffected and kindly, as indeed 
 from his works he must have been, and the following 
 anecdote shows that he had no small sense of humor. 
 I had the honor of having him upon one occasion 
 as a client; it is as far back as 1862 ; the question 
 involved was undoubtedly one of art, although not of 
 such a character as might have been expected. The 
 plaintiff's profession was that of a tailor, a very emi- 
 nent one at the west end of London ; and he sued 
 Sir Edwin for payment for a work that he had 
 executed by that gentleman's order. 1 It was a coat 
 which Sir Edwin declared violated every principle 
 of high art, and he refused to countenance such a de- 
 viation from its true principles. The case was tried 
 in the Exchequer, before (I believe) Mr. Baron Mar- 
 tin. The plaintiff entered the witness-box, and a very 
 distinguished-looking personage he was. The coat 
 was produced, and the judge suggested that Sir Ed- 
 win should try it on ; he made a wry face, but con- 
 
 1 1 presume that other items had probably been admitted and money paid 
 into court to meet them. 
 
SCENE IN COURT. 371 
 
 sented, and took off his own upper garment. He 
 then put an arm into one of the sleeves of that in dis- 
 pute, and made an apparently ineffectual endeavor to 
 reach the other, following it round amidst roars of 
 laughter from all parts of the court. It was a com- 
 mon jury, and I was told that there was a tailor upon 
 it, upon which I suggested that there was a gentle- 
 man of the same profession as the plaintiff in court 
 who might assist Sir Edwin. This was acceded to, 
 and out hopped a little Hebrew slop-seller from the 
 Minories, to whom the defendant submitted his body. 
 With difficulty he got it into the coat, and then stood 
 as if spitted, his back one mass of wrinkles. The 
 tableau was truly amusing; the indignant plaintiff 
 looking at the performance with mingled horror and 
 disgust; Sir Edwin as if he were choking; whilst 
 the juryman, with the air of a connoisseur, was ex- 
 amining him and the coat with profound gravity. At 
 last the judge, when able to stifle his laughter, ad- 
 dressing the little Hebrew, said, " Well, Mr. Moses, 
 what do you say ? " " Oh ! " cried he, holding up a 
 pair of hands not over clean, and very different from 
 those encased in lavender gloves which graced the 
 plaintiff. " It ish poshitively shocking, my lord ; I 
 should have been ashamed to turn out shuch a thing 
 from my establishment." The rest of the jury ac- 
 cepted his view, and Sir Edwin, apparently relieved 
 from suffocation, entered his own coat with a look of 
 relief, which again convulsed the court, bowed and 
 departed. 
 
 The name of Mr. Landseer brings to my mem- 
 ory that of another gentleman and of a scene, 
 
372 WILLIAM HARRISON AINSWORTH. 
 
 a very pleasant one, that occurred, alas ! many 
 years ago. Its locality is a house in the neigh- 
 borhood of Kilburn, spacious and elegantly fur- 
 nished ; the time is early summer, the hour about 
 eight o'clock in the evening ; the dinner has been re- 
 moved from the prettily decorated table, and the earlv 
 fruits tempt the guests, to the number of twelve or 
 so, who are grouped around it. At the head there 
 sits a gentleman no longer in his first youth, but still 
 strikingly handsome ; there is something artistic about 
 his dress, and there may be a little affectation in his 
 manners, but even this may, in some people, be a not 
 unpleasing element. He was our host, William Har- 
 rison Ainsworth, and whatever may have been the 
 claims of others, and in whatever circles they might 
 move, no one was more genial, no one more popular. 
 He had at this time fully won his spurs. Jack Shep- 
 pard had, through his graphic pen, become a hero to 
 the masses, and was not less popular because very 
 proper people shook their heads and exclaimed that it 
 was a very evil example ; and not only did the novel 
 pay the circulating libraries, but became the subject 
 of a very popular drama. Poor Paul Bedford played 
 one of the characters — Blueskin, in which he ren- 
 dered with great gusto the song of "Jolly Nose." 
 No one can say that this song was refined, but it 
 laid hold somehow of the whistling public. At 
 last, as I have heard, Mrs. Keeley made the char- 
 acter of Jack so fascinating that the licenser of j)lays 
 was obliged to stop the performance. How well 
 I can remember her charming little figure upon 
 the stool in Jack's workshop, and her sweet voice 
 
POLITENESS. 373 
 
 singing the naughty sentiment contained in the words, 
 "And I'll carve my name on the dungeon stone." 
 
 I have traveled away from the pleasant dinner- 
 table, but, before I leave it, there are two guests 
 certainly I must not forget; one is Dudley Cos- 
 tello, a great ally and intimate friend of our host, 
 an indefatigable inditer of pleasant tales to vari- 
 ous periodicals, good-humored, sociable, and with a 
 large stock of amusing conversation. In the prime 
 of life, full of spirits, and apparently of health, 
 he seemed fully launched upon the path of suc- 
 cess and fame. Shortly after I had met him at 
 this dinner party the usual signs of his pen were 
 absent from the magazines, and as I was return- 
 ing from, I think, Strasburg to Paris, and at one 
 of the intermediate stations, I saw a ghastly-look- 
 ing object staggering under a carpet-bag; I went 
 forward to assist, when, to my horror, I recognized 
 the mere skeleton of my poor friend. He thought, 
 he said, that he should try some waters, but his face 
 told a tale that was only too soon verified. I carried 
 in his bag, and pressed his hand in bidding adieu, and, 
 although not given to sentiment, fancy that I scarcely 
 restrained my feelings, and, indeed, as I think over 
 the scene, can scarcely do so now. 
 
 Opposite to me at the dinner-table of which I have 
 given a description sat a good-looking young fellow, 
 a member of the same profession as myself, got up 
 with infinite care. He was seated next to a venerable 
 lady, rattling and shining with diamonds ; these two 
 were engaged in the innocent occupation of cracking 
 bon-bons and reading the mottoes. Harrison Ains- 
 
374 LOLA MONTEZ. 
 
 worth, pointing my attention to him, said, "He (nam- 
 ing him) will make his way in the world." The 
 prophecy has turned out correct, and I am bound to 
 say that even now, if it would give an old lady pleas- 
 ure, he would still spell proverbs with her out of pure 
 good nature. I frequently visited Ainsworth at a 
 house he occupied at Kemp Town, Brighton, but of 
 late years have lost sight of him. I am glad to see 
 within the last few days, upon the club table, that he 
 still figures in the world of literature, and if ever he 
 reads these lines, I do not doubt that he will remem- 
 ber that pleasant entertainment at which he was the 
 accomplished host. 1 
 
 About or soon after this period, I became acquainted 
 with a character very different from any of those who 
 graced the table of Harrison Ainsworth. It was a 
 lady, and she had claims to celebrity. Her name was 
 Lola Montez, and her life had been one of adventure, 
 in the course of which it was suggested that she had 
 not been particular as to the number of her husbands. 
 She was, I believe, of Spanish origin, and certainly 
 possessed that country's style of beauty, with much 
 dash of manner, and an extremely outre style of dress. 
 She had been .upon the stage, and attracted the admi- 
 ration of a monarch, and the anger of his subjectr. 
 When, subsequently, she visited this country, she fas- 
 cinated a young gentleman named Heald, who mar- 
 ried her. It was stated that she had been previously 
 married to a Captain James. The friends of Mr. Heald 
 made a charge against her of bigamy, and it was 
 
 1 I will not erase the foregoing lines, although the object of them has 
 passed away since I wrote them. 
 
BEAK 375 
 
 through being consulted upon this occasion that I be- 
 came acquainted with her. She had to appear at 
 Marlborough Street Police Court upon two or three 
 occasions. I forget whether the charge was ultimately 
 abandoned, or whether she left England* before any 
 result was arrived at. My impression was that it 
 could not have been substantiated. 
 
 In the year 1842 a piece of insolence was offered 
 to Her Majesty, whilst driving, by a person named 
 Bean, a cripple. He contrived to make his escape, 
 and his deformity being his most noticeable feature, 
 no humpbacked person could escape the vigilance of 
 the police, until, fortunately for this unhappy race, 
 the real criminal was arrested. He was prosecuted 
 for misdemeanor only, and convicted, and suffered 
 some period of imprisonment, which apparently cured 
 the miserable desire for notoriety that had alone dic- 
 tated the attempt. He was alive until recently, and 
 might be seen at the different wharves from which 
 the river steamers were accustomed to start, hawking 
 uewspapers, in a civil and inoffensive manner. 
 
 Her Majesty exhibited upon the occasion that won- 
 derful coolness and self-possession which have distin- 
 guished her under the most trying circumstances. 
 
 It was from about the date of this trial that my 
 business increased at the Central Court and I was en- 
 trusted with cases of some importance ; in recalling, 
 however, those years, I am unable to remember many 
 personal incidents. I was engaged in one trial which 
 exhibited, what I have already remarked upon, the 
 extreme hesitation of Mr. Baron Alderson to permit 
 a conviction in capital cases. The prisoner was a very 
 
376 CAPTAIN CHARITIK 
 
 young man, named Connor, and the learned judge cer- 
 tainly strained ever point in his favor. The jury were 
 out for several hours, but ultimately convicted him, 
 and he was executed. I was also concerned for a per- 
 son named' Good, for the murder of a woman with 
 whom he was living at Wimbledon. He also came 
 to an unfortunate end. 
 
 A Captain Charitie also entrusted me with his de- 
 fense. This was upon an indictment removed into 
 the Court of Queen's Bench, the charge being that 
 he, in conjunction with a director of the East India 
 Company, was engaged in selling cadetships, and un- 
 fortunately the case against him was fully proved. 
 
 There was another proceeding in which I was coun- 
 sel for a gentleman named Healy, who had made an 
 imputation upon Mr. Wakley, the coroner for Middle- 
 sex, for his conduct in a matter which I think is not 
 unworthy of being recorded. A private soldier be- 
 longing to the 7th Hussars had been cruelly flogged. 
 He had certainly been guilty of a very grave offense, 
 that of striking his corporal with a poker. The sen- 
 tence was 150 lashes, which he underwent. He was 
 permitted to stagger to the hospital, and there died 
 within a few hours. The medical men of the regi- 
 ment certified that his death had not in any way re- 
 sulted from the flogging ; this was apparently absurd, 
 and very discreditable, and it is by no means wonder- 
 ful that a jury, under the direction of Mr. Wakley, 
 and after hearing the evidence of the very eminent 
 surgeon, Mr. Erasmus Wilson, should come to the op 
 posite conclusion, and return a verdict accordingly 
 Some strictures made by my client in a medical jour- 
 
FLOGGING. 377 
 
 nal were very severe upon Wakley, who moved against 
 him for a criminal information, but I was able to show 
 the court that the complainant had provoked the at- 
 tack, and the rule was discharged. At the same time I 
 consider that the exposure and the investigation of this 
 affair have been a lasting benefit to the community. 
 Such a punishment upon any human being is horrible, 
 and naturally directed public attention to the subject, 
 and, I imagine, has been the means of abolishing the 
 lash both in the army and navy. I have already re- 
 ferred to the application of it in the instance of crimes 
 attended with violence, and for them it is efficient 
 and proper; the perpetrators of such offenses are 
 cowards as well as ruffians. Imprisonment creates 
 little if any terror in their imagination, probably they 
 are well acquainted with gaol life ; and according to 
 accounts apparently authentic, there are means by 
 which its hardships may be alleviated. It is certain 
 that the discipline rarely if ever produces a good re- 
 sult, and when an account appears in a newspaper of 
 some atrocious act of violence, it is constantly stated 
 that the perpetrator is a released convict. The lash, 
 however, is viewed by these wretches with abject 
 terror, and I am confident that the pain they are made 
 to feel is the best protection, in the absence of the 
 punishment of transportation, that can be afforded to 
 a peaceable public, 
 
CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 CHIEF JUSTICES. 
 
 HTENTERDEN, Denman, Campbell, Cockburn, 
 have each during my connection with the legal 
 profession occupied the highest place on the Common 
 Law Bench. Each after his own fashion has admin- 
 istered justice, and they are remarkable instances of 
 an observation I have already made of the differences 
 of character exhibited by men filling the same posi- 
 tion. Of Tenterden I have scarcely a recollection ; I 
 have seen him, and I think of a sour old man, with 
 the manners of a pedagogue. The description given 
 of him by Lord Campbell, in his " Lives of the Chief 
 Justices," confirms my memory in this respect. 
 Campbell makes, however, a curious mistake in an 
 anecdote he relates of him. Having described his 
 origin, which was being the son of a barber at Can- 
 terbury, and his beginning life as a chorister-boy in 
 the cathedral of that city, he tells a story which he 
 attributes to Mr. Justice Richardson. In going the 
 Home Circuit with Lord Tenterden the two judges 
 visited ihe cathedral of Canterbury together, when 
 the Chief Justice, pointing to a singing-man in the 
 choir, said, " Behold, Brother Richardson, that is the 
 only human being I ever envied. When at school in 
 this town, we were candidates together "for a choris- 
 378 
 
MISTAKE OF CAMPBELL. 379 
 
 ter's place ; he obtained it, and if I had gained my 
 wish he might have been accompanying you as Chief 
 Justice." 
 
 Now, the fact is, that this story was narrated by 
 Baron Richards, and its scene was York Cathedral, 
 but whether the fortunate rival of Lord Tenterden 
 was present there, and could have been pointed out, I 
 do not know. It certainly did not occur at Canter- 
 bury when the judges were going the Home Circuit, 
 as Canterbury is not one of the assize towns, and the 
 nearest locality to it is Maidstone, which is at a very 
 considerable distance, only reachable by posting, at a 
 sacrifice of time that the judges were not likely to 
 expend for a visit to the cathedral. I do not remem- 
 ber Campbell going the Home Circuit ; if he did, the 
 blunder is unaccountable. 1 I heard a story of the cir- 
 cumstances under which Richards was offered the 
 judgeship by Lord Eldon. He was a Welshman, 
 and happening to be in the Court of Chancery, the 
 Chancellor threw him a slip of paper with these words 
 written : " Dear Taffy, — What do you say to a puisne 
 Baron ? " I believe that he accepted the offer upon 
 the understanding that he was to become Chief when 
 a vacancy occurred. Of Denman I have said my say, 
 as also of Lord Campbell. The last occupant of the 
 office was by no means the least remarkable of the 
 four, and his character would form a curious study ; 
 it is those traits that were patent from which alone I 
 have the power of judging, for although I knew him 
 and occasionally associated with him in private, from 
 
 1 I was not aware of what I have since learnt is the fact, that Lord Camp- 
 bell when first called oined the Home Circuit. 
 
380 COCKBURN. 
 
 my earliest years at the bar, I never was on terms of 
 intimacy with him ; I more nearly approached it dur- 
 ing the last three or four years of his life. Cockburn 
 was one of those men who, like Erskine (as I have 
 heard), although small in person, did not look so. 
 No one would for a moment have thought him insig- 
 nificant, and although his face was decidedly plain, it 
 had when smiling a peculiar charm. His voice was 
 very melodious, of which fact he was a little too well 
 aware, and always willing to make the most of the 
 effect it was calculated to produce. With ladies his 
 manners were deferential, and, if gossip was to be be- 
 lieved, had been fully appreciated. As an advocate 
 he was equal to any one I ever heard at the bar. He 
 was fond of amusement, and sought it through many 
 sources, but he mastered the most complicated facts 
 with ease, and his industry never deserted him. He 
 exhibited at times a polished vein of sarcasm, great 
 skill in analysis, and, upon occasions that called them 
 forth, powers of impassioned oratory. He was con- 
 stantly pitted against Thesiger, no unworthy oppo- 
 nent, and fully maintained his position, and in some 
 notable cases obtained unexpected success. I have al- 
 ready mentioned the trials of MacNaghten and Palmer. 
 The same results would probably have been attained by 
 much inferior advocacy in both these cases, but few 
 men at that time in the lead could have steered with 
 such consummate skill. It perhaps may seem that 
 with Follett at the bar I place Cockburn too* high 
 in the scale of advocacy ; it may be so, but my expe- 
 rience of the latter distinguished counsel does not fur- 
 nish me with examples by which to modify my judg- 
 
DEFENSE OF PALMERSTON 38X 
 
 ments. Cockburn's reply in MacNaghten's case 1 was 
 described by Cresswell, one of the presiding judges, 
 as the finest speech that he had ever beard. Cock- 
 burn became member for Southampton, and very soon 
 made his mark in the critical arena of the House of 
 Commons, and upon the occasion of the great debate 
 of June 24, 1850, impugning Lord Palmerston's for- 
 eign policy, he was put forward to defend it. I re- 
 member very well his speech ; it took the House by 
 storm, and in no small degree conduced towards the 
 victory obtained by the minister. From that period 
 Cockburn moved on quickly, filling successively the 
 offices of Solicitor and Attorney-General, and ulti- 
 mately those of Chief Justice of the Common Pleas 
 and of England. I suspect that even with this flood 
 of success and accumulation of honors, a lingering dis- 
 appointment remained that he had not grasped- the 
 seals. A true appreciation would not be formed of 
 his qualities as an advocate and the versatility of his 
 mind if I did not refer to his practice in the committees 
 before he entered Parliament. In election inquiries it 
 might naturally be expected that he would be success- 
 ful, as they were peculiarly of a character for which 
 he had already shown his capacity ; but he was equally 
 fortunate in the management of private bills, and fought 
 the famous fight of the narrow against the broad gauge, 
 supported by Locke, against Austin and Thesiger, 
 backed by Brunei and a host of scientific talent. 
 
 The triumph of Palmerston was followed by a black 
 day for England. The most trusted of our statesmen 
 
 1 In this I am in error. Tindal presided, with Coleridge and Williams J., 
 upon this trial, and the speech of which I heard Cresswell speak was one 
 made before him upon circuit. 
 
382 GOCKBURN AS CHIEF JUSTICE. 
 
 perished through an accident, and it was long before the 
 nation ceased to deplore the death of Sir Robert Peel. 
 
 I cannot assign to Sir Alexander Cockburn as a judge 
 the almost unqualified praise that I have given him 
 as an advocate. He carried naturally the qualities 
 that had distinguished him in that capacity to the 
 bench, and exercised them without sufficient discre- 
 tion. It is, in my judgment, a great mistake to think 
 that a judge ought to keep back his own opinions from 
 a jury, but they ought to be conveyed calmly and 
 without passion, and after due consideration, but un- 
 fortunately Sir Alexander Cockburn was extremely 
 impressionable, and constantly at the outset of a case 
 would express with great confidence an opinion which 
 he subsequently would not have been sorry to recall. 
 The evil result, however, had been frequently accom- 
 plished before he was able to correct it. It must also 
 be admitted that he too often sacrificed matter for 
 effect, and sentiment captivated him more than the 
 graver questions involved in a suit. I cannot say that 
 these were small faults, but I never doubted that he 
 was anxious to do justice, and his manner in doing it 
 was usually courteous ; and notwithstanding his occa- 
 sional impetuosity, he gave his unswerving attention 
 to any inquiry that he was presiding over. A more 
 thoroughly humane man never occupied the seat of 
 justice, and he afforded counsel every assistance and 
 consideration ; it is impossible that a greater contrast 
 could exist in this respect than between him and his 
 predecessor. 
 
 Cockburn was verging upon eighty years old when 
 he died, but to the last exhibited no failure of intel- 
 lect, or, so far as I could observe, of physical power 
 
DINNER AT COCKBURNS. 383 
 
 After sitting in court the whole of the day, he was to 
 be seen leaving the private door, and marching off 
 with as sprightly an air and as active a gait as if \\e had 
 only realized the half of his years. He lived as long 
 as I remembered him in Hertford Street, Mayfair, and 
 there I have seen him surrounded by books, evidently 
 occupied by some engrossing literary labor. I have 
 already alluded to his acquaintance with modern lan- 
 guages, and believe that he was an accomplished 
 classical scholar. He presided, after the death of 
 Lord Campbell, at Serjeants' Inn, where he added 
 greatly to the conviviality of the table ; and when the 
 affairs of the society were wound up, I ventured, with- 
 out any sanction from my brethren, to send him the 
 remainder of some old port wine, which he greatly 
 enjoyed, and which I have shared at his table. Upon 
 the occasions that I dined there he was extremely en- 
 tertaining, not unwilling to recount former triumphs 
 in the profession, and certainly affording me amuse- 
 ment in doing so. I reminded him once of a painful 
 incident to which we were parties. 
 
 We were engaged to dine with one of his oldest 
 friends, a gentleman named Phinn, a barrister by pro- 
 fession. He had held high office in the Admiralty, but 
 had quitted it, and was practicing at the Parliament- 
 ary bar. He resided in chambers in St. James's 
 Street, and on the occasion of which I speak, Cock- 
 burn and myself met at the door, and learned to our 
 horror that our expected host had just fallen down 
 dead. The account that we received was that he was 
 going upstairs to dress, that a loud shriek was heard 
 and that he was found extended and lifeless. 
 
 I called in Hertford Street one Sunday, three weeks 
 
384 VISIT TO COGKBURK 
 
 before the death of Sir Alexander, and found him, as 
 usual, in his library hard at work. He was engaged 
 in a work upon venery, of which a portion had al- 
 ready been published. He seemed well in health, 
 though not in his usual spirits, but he spoke of the 
 opening of the New Law Courts as if he anticipated 
 being present. He presided after this in his court, 
 and did not show, as far as I observed, any signs of 
 his approaching end. In the account that I have 
 given of the trials in which Risk Allah was the 
 plaintiff, I have intimated my opinion that he took 
 a prejudiced view in his favor, and I shall here- 
 after have to comment upon his demeanor in the 
 proceedings against the claimant to the Tichbome 
 baronetcy and estates. It is also impossible to ap- 
 prove of the tone that he adopted in his controversy 
 with Lord Penzance, whilst the temperate and digni- 
 fied bearing of. this latter judge deserves warm ad- 
 miration ; but in these proceedings the industry and 
 research of the Chief Justice were signally exhibited. 
 
 Whatever were his faults, they were those of im- 
 pulse, and directed more to the support of the weak 
 than in favor of harshness and oppression, and under 
 his auspices the Court of Queen's Bench sustained 
 its dignity, and commanded the respect of the public 
 and the profession. By his death a pleasant figure 
 has disappeared from society, and a great name is 
 erased from the annals of our times. 
 
 When first I met the subject of the above sketch, 
 there was a contemporary of his, moving in the same 
 circles, also accomplished and popular. His name 
 was Walsh. When I was in the lowest class at St. 
 Paul's School he was in the highest, and when I joined 
 
LUNATICS. 385 
 
 the Home Circuit he was leader of the Kent Sessions. 
 He married a lady of mature age, but possessing con- 
 siderable fortune. When, many years after meeting 
 him in London society, I was staying in Florence, I 
 heard he had a villa there, and sought him out. He 
 was in a deplorably hypochondriacal state, and noth- 
 ing seemed capable of rousing him. Some time after 
 this I was taken professionally to the house of a med- 
 ical man in the Finchley Road, to assist in the exam- 
 ination of an alleged lunatic, and there I found my 
 poor friend, hopelessly and miserably insane. I have 
 every reason to believe that he was treated with skill 
 and kindness, although I utterly disapprove of private 
 lunatic asylums, it being naturally to the advantage 
 of their keepers that the patient should remain under 
 their care. 
 
 It is not many years ago that I became acquainted 
 with a pregnant example of this evil. I was asked 
 by a member of the bar to visit his brother at a pri- 
 vate lunatic asylum of high class. He was confined 
 there contrary to his brother's wishes, who did not 
 think he was judiciously treated or required confine- 
 ment. The family were wealthy, and a large sum was 
 paid for the maintenance of the gentleman in question. 
 I accordingly went down, and, calling at the house and 
 sending in my card, requested permission to see the 
 patient. I was told that the proprietor was not at 
 home, and that in his absence I could not be permit- 
 ted to do so, although I produced the brother's au- 
 thority. I insisted, and threatened to move the Court 
 of Queen's Bench if the refusal was persisted in, and 
 at last I was admitted, and found the patient lodged 
 
 in a very handsome suite of apartments, opening out 
 
 '25 
 
386 CHARLES READE. 
 
 upon some beautiful grounds. He made no complaint 
 of his treatment, and was manifestly under the influ- 
 ence of insane impulses ; but my astonishment was 
 extreme, upon looking at the literature with which he 
 was supplied, to find that it was of a character emi- 
 nently calculated to foster the peculiar form of disease 
 to which he was subject. An inquiry was subse- 
 quently held before a master in lunacy ; the result 
 was that he was released from the asylum, and put 
 under the charge of a skilled person, and, subject to 
 such superintendence, permitted his liberty. His re- 
 moval was opposed by the proprietor, who lost by it 
 a net profit of at least £600 per annum. 
 
 My old friend Charles Reade has described in works 
 of fiction, with great power and ability, the evils that 
 may arise from these institutions when in unscrupu- 
 lous hands ; and the existence of such men as Dr. 
 Tuke, and others whom I could name, whose sense 
 of honor and general character place them above all 
 suspicion, does not in my judgment make the system 
 one to be trusted or approved of, and I am afraid that 
 the protection intended by the law to be afforded by 
 independent opinions is too often imperiled by a near 
 connection existing between the proprietors of these 
 asylums and the medical men who certify for the re- 
 ception of persons supposed to be lunatics. 
 
 The whole subject of insanity, as I have elsewhere 
 endeavored to show, deserves supervision — the nature 
 of it, its obligations, and its treatment ; and if the sta- 
 tistics upon it are correct — and it is true that of late 
 years there has been a great increase of the malady — 
 no social evil better deserves a thorough legislative 
 investigation. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 EXTRAOEDINARY WILL CASE. 
 
 HHE beautiful neighborhood of Matlock, in Der- 
 -*- byshire, was kept for some years in a state of 
 excitement by local circumstances that created a ro- 
 mantic interest. 
 
 They were the subject of various legal proceedings. 
 The House of Lords, the Court of Chancery, Lord 
 Chief Justice Erie and Lord Chief Justice Pollock, 
 had all tried their hands at a satisfactory solution, and 
 at the end of eight years they reached the Court of 
 Queen's Bench, where, with the assistance of a re- 
 spectable complement of counsel and solicitors, and 
 an intelligent jury, directed most ably by the Chief 
 Justice of England, they were ultimately disposed of. 
 
 George Nuttall lived the whole of his life at Mat- 
 lock, his native town. He was a land surveyor, much 
 respected, and must have been a good business man, 
 as at his death, which happened at the comparatively 
 early age of fifty-four, he was possessed of landed 
 property to the amount of nearly £3,000 per annum, 
 and some £10,000 in the Funds. He had no near 
 relations. In September, 1854, he had made his will. 
 His mode of doing this was peculiar. A Mr. Newbold 
 
 387 
 
388 DEATH OF TESTATOR. 
 
 was his solicitor and also an intimate friend ; this gen- 
 tleman prepared it, but the testator copied it in dupli- 
 cate. He was an illiterate man, and in what purported 
 to be his copies, and there was no suggestion against 
 their authenticity, were to be found several instances 
 of words wrongly spelled I wish to avoid as far as 
 possible technical details, and it will be sufficient to 
 say that the bulk of the property was left to John 
 Nuttall, a cousin, and foreman in the service of a con- 
 tractor in London. 
 
 John Else, the brother-in-law of a person living 
 with the testator, at the time of his death, in the ca- 
 pacity of housekeeper, was an assistant overseer and 
 bailiff of the County Court at Matlock ; he had been 
 employed by the testator in collecting accounts. 
 
 The testator died in March, 1856, having been for 
 some time before his death in an extremely feeble 
 state of health. The duplicate wills were beyond 
 question placed in a cupboard in his bedroom ; and 
 there was also no doubt that two or three days before 
 his death he was very anxious to get to that cupboard, 
 but unable from feebleness to do so or explain his 
 wishes. 
 
 Immediately after his death one copy of a will was 
 produced, which was authentic; a second copy, also 
 authentic, was found before the funeral, with an inter- 
 lineation which was subsequently disputed, although 
 not at the time, by John Nuttall, who had principally 
 benefited by the will, and whose estate was lessened 
 by the terms of the interlineation, and probably, but 
 for subsequent events, it would have passed without 
 challenge. 
 
CODICILS PR OD TJCED. 389 
 
 This was the state of affairs on April 21st following 
 the death, when John Nuttall himself died, leaving 
 his property to his children. A fortnight after his 
 death, Else produced a codicil, which he declared 
 that he had found amongst the papers of the original 
 testator; it was dated October 27, 1855, and pur- 
 ported to be entirely in the testator's handwriting. 
 Eight months after the production of this codicil, Else 
 produced another, which he said he found in a little 
 penny account-book, pinned on to one of the leaves ; 
 it was dated January 6, 1856. There is no doubt 
 that there was much improbability in the story of both 
 these discoveries, and moreover there were misspell- 
 ings in both the documents to which no similar ones 
 were to be found in the writing of the testator, and it 
 may generally be stated that Else and his belongings 
 derived benefit from both of them. Nevertheless 
 there was not anything that was not susceptible of 
 some explanation, which, however, it would only en- 
 cumber the main features of the tale to relate. 
 
 Another nine months elapsed, and then Else, ac- 
 cording to his own account, made a most astounding 
 discovery, brought about by means almost miraculous. 
 He had gone to reside in the testator's former house, 
 at the back of which there was a yard, and on one 
 side of it there was a flight of steps, leading up to a 
 hay -loft, at the farther end of which was a small room 
 used as a lumber or tool house. 
 
 Into this loft on October 9, 1857, it moved the spir- 
 it of Else, accompanied by a boy named Campion, to 
 ascend, and it struck him that the window of the lum- 
 ber room wanted cleaning, and so he told the boy to 
 
390 LEGAL DIFFERENCES. 
 
 clean it, which he accordingly proceeded to do, but 
 not being able to reach high enough, Else laid hold 
 of the window-sill to pull himself up, when the board- 
 ing gave way, and disclosed a small hole in the wall, 
 in which was an earthenware jar. In the jar was a 
 small bag containing twenty sovereigns, and also an- 
 other codicil, substantially giving the bulk of the prop- 
 erty to Else, like the two former ones, and containing 
 instances of misspelling dissimilar to any occurring 
 in the genuine writing of the testator. It will be ob- 
 served that the different codicils were found by Else 
 in the order of their respective dates. One circum- 
 stance I think ought to be stated. Newbold, the so- 
 licitor, who had died before the last trial took place, 
 had expressed a belief which, although not in positive 
 terms, was not altogether antagonistic to the authen- 
 ticity of the codicils. 
 
 There were a number of minute facts — arguments 
 about handwriting, the relations existing between the 
 different parties, and their opposing interests ; but I 
 think I have told enough to make the general reader 
 understand the proceedings which occurred after the 
 production by Else of these remarkable documents. 
 
 The parties, conflicting were the representatives of 
 the original residuary legatee on the one side, and 
 John Else practically, though associated with another 
 person named Cresswell, on the other. 
 
 The duplicate wills being admitted, the question 
 was raised as to the validity of the three codicils, and 
 a suit was instituted in Chancery for this purpose, the 
 result of which was that an issue was directed by the 
 Master of the Rolls to try this question. It came on 
 
TRIAL BEFORE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE COCKBURN. 391 
 
 at the summer assizes for Derby in 1859, before Lord 
 Chief Justice Erie and a special jury, who found in 
 favor of the codicils. The Master of the Rolls was 
 not satisfied, and directed another trial, which came 
 on before Chief Baron Pollock, at the spring assizes 
 at Derby in 1860, and then the jury reversed the 
 former verdict, finding that the codicils were forger- 
 ies. An application was then made on the opposite 
 side to the Master of the Rolls, but he was satisfied 
 and refused to interfere. Next came an appeal to the 
 Lords Justices, who were divided in opinion ; and 
 then there was a reference from them to the House 
 of Lords, who decided for a new trial, and directed 
 that it should take place in London, before the Lord 
 Chief Justice of England and a special jury, and upon 
 this occasion the counsel engaged were, for Else, the 
 real plaintiff, Mr. Karslake, Q.C., Mr. Field, Q.C., 
 and Mr. Hannen, the present judge of the Probate 
 Court ; for the defendants, the representatives of the 
 will, Mr. Serjeant Hayes, myself, and Mr. Wills. 
 
 It will be obvious, from the slight sketch that I have 
 given of the circumstances, that the case of the plaintiff 
 depended upon the truth of Else himself and the four 
 witnesses who severally were pledged to having wit- 
 nessed the successive codicils, and here was introduced 
 another element. It was alleged that Buxton and 
 Gregory, the witnesses to the first codicil, had been 
 tampered with. Adams was dead, but his deposition 
 upon the last trial was read, and it supported the cod- 
 icils to which his name was attached. Nothing ap- 
 peared against his character. He was a surgeon, and 
 really could not be mistaken, and moreover, had. no 
 
392 MR - KARSLAKE. 
 
 apparent interest in the matter. Knowles's son took 
 a legacy under the second codicil. Knowles himself 
 was examined upon the trial at the Guildhall, and 
 swore to his own and Adams's signatures. I cross-ex- 
 amined him, but failed to elicit anything that in my 
 own judgment seriously affected his credit ; and I con- 
 fess that the effect upon my mind was that, standing 
 by themselves, notwithstanding the prevarication of 
 Buxton and Gregory, these four witnesses did present 
 a formidable case in favor of the codicils. 
 
 As Mr. Karslake put it with point and judgment, 
 "Direct and positive evidence was to be met by ap- 
 parent improbabilities, and by speculations as to hand- 
 writing, the codicils being all of them alleged to be 
 the testator's own." 
 
 Sir Alexander Cockburn prided himself greatly up- 
 on his discernment in matters of handwriting, not al- 
 together without justice ; but it was with him a favor- 
 ite subject, and he seized upon it with avidity, and 
 dissected it at length. He found and pointed out dis- 
 similarities between the admitted and contested sig- 
 natures, and also dissimilarities in style. The mis- 
 spellings also were pointed out by him, and strangely 
 differed from those proved to exist in documents writ- 
 ten by the testator; but although these were very re- 
 markable, still this observation might be made : how 
 was it that Else, who was perfectly acquainted with 
 the testator's handwriting, and with the ordinary blun- 
 ders contained in it, and having plenty of time to 
 prepare the documents, fell into such transparent er- 
 rors 1 Handwriting is a dangerous element upon 
 which to rest a case ; the evidence of what are called 
 
MR. SERJEANT HAYES. 393 
 
 experts is viewed with no great confidence. Juries 
 distrust it, and in this particular action I did not quite 
 agree with the opinion expressed by the Lord Chief 
 Justice as to the dissimilarity. 
 
 Mr. Serjeant Hayes took, in my opinion, the right 
 course in dwelling upon the improbabilities of the 
 story, which he did with great ingenuity and humor. 
 He was not a powerful speaker, and not equal to 
 Mr. Karslake, who upon this occasion fully supported 
 his reputation, and was most justly complimented by 
 Sir Alexander Cockburn for the mode in which he 
 had conducted the case ; but Serjeant Hayes possessed 
 a very acute mind, and was very droll in some parts 
 of his speech. I cannot forbear quoting that portion 
 of it which referred to the discovery of the last codicil, 
 and was received with roars of laughter. I copy it 
 from a pamphlet, published by a Mr. Keene of Derby, 
 and from which I have refreshed my memory upon 
 other matters in the case: — 
 
 u Then as to the third codicil found in the jar in the 
 hole in the wall. ' What's that,' said Else, ' what's that 
 in the jar?' Why a codicil, to be sure! What else 
 could it be but a codicil in ajar in a hole in the wall? Of 
 course it was a codicil. Why, but for this remarkable 
 discovery, it might not have been found at all, at all 
 events until the house was pulled down a century 
 hence. What a place for a man of business to put 
 his last will in ! " 
 
 Serjeant Hayes then proceeded to state, what was 
 subsequently proved, that during the testator's lifetime 
 an iron vise weighing sixty pounds had been screwed 
 over the window board in which the jar containing the 
 
394 SUMMING-UP. 
 
 codicil was placed, and which must have been unscrew- 
 ed by the testator whilst suffering from a most serious 
 abscess in the back. The Serjeant then proceeded thus: 
 "Why, imagination can scarcely go beyond this story. 
 One blessing of theChancery proceedings has been that 
 they have stopped the finding of codicils. But for 
 them a fourth must have been found — it must have 
 come. The second and third had each been found after 
 nine months, the usual period of gestation; but perhaps 
 as there was so little of the proj3erty left to be still dis- 
 posed of, this might have been only a seven months' 
 codicil. It was certainly difficult to conceive where 
 it could have been found ; one could hardly imagine 
 a more obscure place for secreting it. Perhaps, how- 
 ever, in Job Knowles's quarry, while his men were 
 blasting the rock with gunpowder, of course in some 
 fissure Else may have seen an antediluvian toad sit- 
 ting on something, and said 'What is that?' Why, 
 what could it be but a codicil? However, thanks be 
 to heaven! no more codicils had been found." 1 
 
 The Lord Chief Justice summed up the case with 
 admirable perspicacity, but, as I expected he would, 
 dwelt very strenuously upon the evidence afforded by 
 the handwriting, not, however, neglecting to make 
 forcible comments upon other parts of the case ; and 
 the jury without much hesitation found a verdict for 
 the defendants, which, as it turned out put the exist- 
 ing codicils at rest forever, and no further discoveries 
 astonished the world, although there are some still liv- 
 ing who shake their heads and express disbelief in the 
 conclusion arrived at. 
 
 1 Knowles was in occupation of a quarry. 
 
SIMILAR CASE. 395 
 
 I have in a former chapter called attention to the 
 fact that crime, like other incidents in the history of 
 nations, repeats itself, and this remark may apply to all 
 descriptions of it. I have myself recently been engaged 
 in a case that brought forcibly to my mind the great 
 Derby will case, and which illustrates one at all events 
 of the remarks I have made as to the distrust juries 
 have in the evidence of handwriting. Here the plaintiff 
 set up three documents ; they were promissory notes, 
 and there were three witnesses, who could not be mis- 
 taken, and who swore to the signature being that of a 
 person since dead, and that they had seen him sign them. 
 In this respect the evidence was probably of more 
 weight than that of the attesting witnesses to Nuttall's 
 alleged codicils. The documents in question had been, 
 as alleged, executed by this gentleman eight years be- 
 fore, and he being dead, there was no direct contra- 
 diction to the story of the plaintiff. They had been 
 kept during all this time in a receptacle as eccentric 
 in its character as the boarding of the window-sill, 
 namely, in a cash-box at the shop of a kind of general 
 dealer, who was one of the witnesses to the signature, 
 but had no apparent interest in the case. Strangely 
 enough, the stamps of the bills in two instances had 
 the dates erased, which was accounted for by their 
 contact with old coins, which might have rubbed against 
 them ; but what was still more odd, it was the date 
 only that had disappeared, the outer rim, which was 
 the highest part of the stamp, being un effaced. At 
 the time that the deceased was supposed to have signed 
 the notes, which amounted to £1,250, and for which 
 he only received £500, he was in abundant funds. 
 
396 VERDICT. 
 
 An action was brought by the drawees against the 
 executors, and was tried before Mr. Baron Huddleston. 
 I was counsel for the defense, and confess that in my 
 judgment the evidence as to the handwriting was 
 conclusive against the claim. I never witnessed dis- 
 crepancies so apparent, and Mr. Chabot, the experi- 
 enced judge of handwriting, pointed out many with 
 great clearness, in addition to those discoverable by 
 the most ordinary observer. The learned Baron also 
 was obviously of a similar opinion, but the jury nev- 
 ertheless were discharged without giving a verdict, 
 there being eleven of them for the plaintiff. Upon a 
 second trial, before the Lord Chief Justice, very little 
 prominence was given to the evidence of writing, and 
 Chabot was not called, but the utter improbability of 
 the story was mainly relied upon, the result being a 
 verdict, after little consideration by the jury, for the 
 defendants. 
 
 Whether I am right in supposing that the different 
 tactics obtained this result I cannot say, but there is 
 no doubt that if a branch of evidence distasteful to a 
 jury is made too prominent, it frequently leads to their 
 attention being distracted from facts that in themselves 
 are sufficient to support the conclusion contended for. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 AN APOLOGY TO MY READERS. 
 
 T HAVE already mentioned the fact that when first I 
 ■■- began a record of some of the events of my life, I did 
 so for amusement, and with no idea of publishing the 
 contents ; and since I have commenced the task with a 
 view of submitting the result to the public, I have fre- 
 quently wavered, and almost determined to abandon 
 it. I have feared that my personal anecdotes might 
 be deemed too trivial, and my professional ones too 
 dull. I have also felt that the contents of many of my 
 chapters greatly exceed the limits that the title of the 
 work would seem to justify, also that I have presented 
 opinions that can scarcely be deemed of interest to 
 the general public, and in one or two instances I may 
 be accused of introducing matters that amount almost 
 to treatises. Difficulties also have presented them- 
 selves, which, if my pages had remained in my own 
 custody, would not have been of importance, but for 
 which when I offer them to the public I am bound to 
 apologize. I rarely kept a diary, and only interjec- 
 tionally, at long intervals and for short periods, and 
 then only of private matters ; and as I believe my mind 
 is naturally of an irregular type, the circumstances 
 
 397 
 
398 MYSELF. 
 
 that come into it during the progress of my work re- 
 fuse to maintain any order, and defy every endeavor 
 to preserve the dates. This may not be accepted as 
 an excuse for events of one era tumbling against those 
 of an entirely different period, and if I were one of 
 the industrious classes I might sit down and rearrange 
 what I have written ; but if I did contrive to write a 
 book orderly, and in accordance with rule, my iden- 
 tity would be lost, and so if my details are confusing 
 I must throw myself upon the mercy of my readers, 
 and ask them to pity my infirmities. In the pursuit 
 of my task I have also found myself limited by the 
 fact that the details of many of the cases I have been 
 engaged in might give pain to some persons who are 
 living, a result which I have felt bound to avoid. 
 
 The above lines are a proof of how incurable is my 
 disposition. They ought to have been at the com- 
 mencement, and here they are thrust into the middle 
 of the book ; but then a lengthy preface terrifies most 
 readers, and I think it prudent to avoid an element 
 that might deter people at the outset. 
 
 One entry I have found under the date of January 
 10, 1838 : " Called on Miss Whitcombe, afterwards 
 with her upon, the Honeys. Dined at Sir Charles 
 Forbes's. Evening party at Levi en's. Met Boz — 
 looks quite a boy. His sister was there ; she sang 
 beautifully, is pretty, and, I should think, clever. 
 Also met Mrs. Dodd, a very beautiful woman. Hard 
 frost." 
 
 Miss Whitcombe was the sister of Lady Roney, the 
 wife of Sir Patrick Cusack Roney, one of my earliest 
 friends. Both these ladies were singularly beautiful 
 
ENTR Y FR QM OLD DIAR Y 399 
 
 Lady Roney died early ; Miss Whitcombe married a 
 distinguished Indian officer, causing me a period of 
 extreme depression. 
 
 Sir Charles Forbes was a very wealthy merchant 
 and director of the East India Company. He lived 
 in a large house in Fitzroy Square, and my father was 
 intimate with him. He was a man noted for his be- 
 nevolence, and amongst many acts of kindness he gave 
 a younger brother of mine an assistant-surgeoncy in 
 the Company's service. My brother was a very good- 
 looking young fellow, and unfortunately, as it turned 
 out, very susceptible. A lady and her daughter went 
 out in the same ship, the latter being engaged to be 
 married to an officer of rank. I fancy she looked with 
 no unfavorable eye upon the young assistant-surgeon. 
 The mother was prudent and said nothing whilst on 
 board, but immediately upon landing gave a hint to 
 the colonel of his regiment, which resulted in my 
 brother being sent to Scinde, where he caught a fever 
 which ultimately laid the seeds of a premature death. 
 
 Mrs. Dodd was one of the handsomest women in 
 London. She lived with her husband in Montagu 
 Square, where they extended great hospitality. 
 
 Oh, these diaries, which I have come upon by mere 
 accident ! Here is another entry, earlier it must be 
 than the last, but I have only the leaf, and the date 
 is torn off. I record the return of a ring from a pretty 
 Irish girl, and my abandonment to utter despair. She 
 was the daughter of a very eminent solicitor in Dub- 
 lin, and afterwards married an officer, who at the time 
 was aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief. She 
 died of consumption within six months of her mar- 
 
400 THE REV. DR. CROLY. 
 
 riage. It was upon the occasion of a visit to her fam- 
 ily that I saw Dublin for the first and only time. At 
 this period I had no means and but shadowy pros- 
 pects, and her father acted wisely in putting an end 
 to an unpromising engagement. Her brother is an 
 officer of distinction, whom I have often met since, 
 and with whom I have always been upon terms of 
 intimacy. And now, reader mine, I shall exhume no 
 more domestic histories, and have only recorded these 
 to show that my life has not always been devoted to 
 the engrossing studies of the law. 
 
 Another entry, however, I will refer to, as it men- 
 tions the name of a gentleman who at the time filled 
 some space in public history ; I allude to the Rev. Dr. 
 Croly. He was a popular preacher at St. Stephen's, 
 Walbrook, and was the author of different works, 
 amongst others a novel called " Salathiel." 
 
 My father and myself were dining at the house of 
 a Mr. Stutfield, a Middlesex magistrate. He lived 
 in very good style at Clapton. The doctor was en- 
 gaged at that time in the persecution of Alderman 
 Gibbs, whose conscience enabled him to bear it with 
 philosophy. It must be remarked that conscience 
 does vary very considerably in different people. The 
 note I find is in these words : " Met Dr. Croly ; a 
 brute " — and such is my remembrance of him — 
 " noisy, self-asserting, and maintaining the whole talk 
 at the table, the greater part of it consisting of boasts 
 of his own doings. A little meek-faced lady sat next 
 to me, viewing him with a look of ineffable disgust, 
 and whispering now and again to me at the end of 
 one of his romances, ' I don't believe a word of it.' ' 
 
TOWER LIBERTY SESSIONS. 401 
 
 I have not mentioned that through the nomi- 
 nation of the Duke of Wellington I had become a 
 magistrate of the Tower Liberty, and I suppose 1 
 still hold that dignified position. My father was 
 chairman of the Sessions, but there never was any- 
 thing to do in my time. I did hear that there 
 once was a case tried there, and a difficulty arose 
 from there being no Testament upon the premises, 
 but now the jurisdiction is engulfed in the Middle- 
 sex Sessions. When Alderman Gibbs became Lord 
 Mayor I dined, on November 9th, at the Guildhall, 
 but it was a stupid dinner, as there is no doubt he 
 was in very bad odor, and few of the Ministers 
 attended. 
 
 I have lately, and since I wrote the first of these 
 volumes, read recollections and reflections by my old 
 friend Planche\ He naturally refers to many of those 
 whom I have met and given my impressions of, and 
 also, as he was an acute observer, if my opinions are 
 correct, there must be a sameness between our ac- 
 counts. I hope that this will not destroy any interest 
 that may otherwise have been created. I am inclined 
 to think that my description of Thackeray's personal 
 appearance must have been founded upon seeing him 
 at a later date than I imagined to be the case, as 
 Planche' describes him as tall and slight at what would 
 be about the same period. He confirms my view of his 
 character. I was much struck by his sketch of Billy 
 Dunn, so entirely confirmatory of my remembrance. 
 I was, however, surprised at his assigning the palm 
 of beauty to Mrs. Robinson amongst all with whom 
 he had associated, as he has often told me that there 
 26 
 
402 MADAME VESTRIS. 
 
 never had been a being so lovely as Madame Vestris, 
 and judging by the fascination that she exercised over 
 so many, this account must be near reality ; true it is 
 that the brilliancy of her mind and variety of her ac- 
 complishments gave zest to her charms. Amongst 
 those who worshiped at her shrine was one whom I 
 just remember, an elegant gentleman, and courted 
 guest in all societies. Strangely, for the period in 
 which he lived, he was a " Radical," but though his 
 opinions were considered " uncommonly low," no one 
 could deny the refinement with which they were ex- 
 pressed. He and Wakley were returned after the 
 Reform Bill as members for the borough of Fins- 
 bury. 
 
 They were opposed by that hard-headed old Scotch- 
 man, Mr. Serjeant Spankie, whom I have already 
 mentioned. Tom Duncombe was not famous for pay- 
 ing his debts, and Wakley was accused of having 
 burned his house to cheat an insurance company. A 
 bon-mot of the Serjeant's is recorded by Mr. Greville 
 in his memoirs ; it was old then, and so I am only fol- 
 lowing an illustrious example in repeating it. Span- 
 kie, canvassing an elector, was told that he had prom- 
 ised to vote for his two opponents. "Well," said he, 
 "T only hope you may have one for a debtor, and the 
 other for a tenant." Spankie, after he had passed the 
 meridian of life, married a really very charming young 
 lady. This event was celebrated by the poet laureate 
 of the Home Circuit in the following distich : — 
 
 When Miss Smith was twenty 
 She had lovers in plenty; 
 When Miss Smith got older 
 Her lovers got colder ; 
 
SERJEANT SPANKIE'S MARRIAGE. 403 
 
 Then came Serjeant Spankie, 
 And Miss Smith said Thankie. 1 
 
 My recollection of Tom Duncombe is of a tallish, 
 good-looking man, dressed in a blue coat with brass 
 buttons, and a collar reaching half-way up his neck. 
 This was the fashionable costume of the period ; his 
 head, however, had its full complement of brains, as 
 the following anecdote will testify : There was a cer- 
 tain individual, his name and place of abode arc alike 
 immaterial ; he was collector of some portion of His 
 Majesty's revenue ; he was also the collector of auto- 
 graphs bearing a stamp, of which he possessed several 
 specimens presented to him by the honorable member 
 for Finsbury before he was elected for that borough. 
 After that occurrence it was found impossible to in- 
 duce Mr. Duncombe to treat his handwriting with 
 proper respect, and so the individual in question hit 
 upon a means of persuasion which was very unlucky 
 for himself as it turned out. The honorable member 
 lived in the neighborhood of Westminster, and one 
 afternoon when starting upon his Parliamentary du 
 ties he was confronted by some half-dozen men en- 
 cased in boards, with the announcement upon them that 
 the possessor of certain documents bearing the signa- 
 ture of "Thomas Duncombe" was willing to part with 
 them to the highest bidder. This gentleman proceeded 
 calmly to the House of Commons, and, impelled as 
 he said by the interest he took in the application of 
 public moneys, moved for a return of such of the king's 
 taxes as had been collected and not paid over. The 
 
 1 I have not published the real name, but the description given of the 
 young lady's waning attractions was much opposed to the fact. 
 
404 HORACE CLAGGETT. 
 
 motion, being seconded, was carried as a matter of 
 course. This was by no means convenient to the in- 
 ventor of the boards, and a catastrophe ensued that 
 led to their disappearance, and the patriotic member 
 was never again troubled to take possession of the 
 documents bearing his signature. 
 
 Another of the devoted admirers of Madame Ves- 
 tris was Horace Claggett. He was in some crack 
 regiment, and when I knew him was past middle age, 
 but handsome still. His finances did not accord with 
 disinterested love, and he discarded the drama and 
 went in for matrimony with a Miss Day, who was in 
 some way connected with the firm of Day and Mar- 
 tin, and who had many thousand charms besides. She 
 yielded to his attractions and accepted his suit. He 
 had a rival for her hand, an officer in a dragoon 
 regiment, who was rejected; on this becoming known 
 to his comrades, they chalked up next morning on the 
 door of his quarters, "Try Warren's." * 
 
 I never met Madame Vestris in private life, and the 
 last time I saw her was at the Central Court, when 
 she was obliged to prosecute a servant for theft. Her 
 appearance then had greatly changed, and she had an 
 affection of the nerves of the face which created the 
 appearance of distortion. I have heard that she was 
 a woman of great kindness of disposition, and beloved 
 by those associated with her of both sexes. Planch e* 
 has made an account of her different managements 
 and successes a labor of love, the perusal of which 
 will fully reward those readers who take an interest 
 in the drama. He was also intimately acquainted, not 
 
 1 Another famous blacking manufacturer. 
 
MR. AND MRS. FRANK MATTHEWS. AQ§ 
 
 only with herself, but with the brilliant company that 
 surrounded her and aided in her performances, and in 
 his work many amusing anecdotes will be found. 
 
 I knew Frank Matthews and his wife, both clever 
 comedians. He was younger than -his namesake, but 
 used to play old men to the sprightly youths of the 
 latter favorite. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 THE MAYOR OF CORK. 
 
 INHERE are some events that occur which defy 
 every effort of reason and common sense to un- 
 derstand, and it was to a combination of these that I 
 was indebted for the honor conferred upon me of be- 
 ing appointed to act as counsel to the House of Com- 
 mons. 
 
 Early in the year 1869 his Royal Highness the Duke 
 of Edinburgh was upon a tour, and was visiting our 
 colony of Australia, and whilst there was fired at by 
 an Irishman of the name of O'Farrell. A more wan- 
 ton piece of ruffianism was never known. In the dif- 
 ferent attempts to assassinate distinguished people 
 there have usually been causes, real or imaginary, act- 
 uating excitable minds, founded upon a notion of in- 
 jury or mistaken sense of patriotism. But this at- 
 tempt simply represented ruffianism without a redeem- 
 ing trait, and probably, when it became known, such 
 was the almost universal opinion. 
 
 Certainly, amongst reasonable beings it would have 
 
 been assumed that nothing more degraded could be 
 
 produced in a civilized state. Those, however, who 
 
 entertained that opinion turned out to be mistaken 
 
 406 
 
SEDITIOUS CONDUCT OF THE MAYOR. 407 
 
 Another Irishman, envious of his countryman's repu- 
 tation, was determined to surpass it if he could do so 
 with safety to his person, and accordingly Mr. Daniel 
 O'Sullivan, Mayor of Cork, entered into the lists with 
 that view. It was not an easy task, but it must be 
 admitted that he fully succeeded. Of course before 
 he could occupy his official post of mayor he must have 
 taken the oath of allegiance. He also must be sup- 
 posed to have known that it was part of the duty he 
 had imposed upon himself to enforce peace and good 
 order. In pursuance of his ideas of these duties, he 
 proceeded to abuse his brother magistrates, to declare 
 that the law he had undertaken to administer was un- 
 constitutional, promised publicly to apply for the sus- 
 pension of his brother magistrates — a proposal which, 
 it is right to mention, was received with loud cheers 
 by his friends in court — got into a rhapsody about the 
 patriots who had tried to blow up Clerkenwell gaol, 
 and ended in an ecstatic glorification of that noble 
 Irishman who had fired at the Duke of Edinburgh in 
 Australia. Of course society was indignant and dis- 
 gusted, and as the House of Commons was sitting, it 
 was mentioned from several quarters in terms of in- 
 dignation. There existed no summary means of get- 
 ting rid of him by the Executive, and it was neces- 
 sary that legislative action should be taken, which was 
 accordingly done, and a bill was brought in by the At- 
 torney-General to disqualify the Mayor of Cork from 
 holding any office, in consequence of the use of scan- 
 dalous and seditious language. 
 
 It was determined that evidence should be taken, 
 and upon May 12th, the Attorney-General for Ireland 
 
^08 PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 
 
 informed the House that, acting under its orders, he 
 had taken care that evidence should be forthcoming 
 in support of the preamble of this bill, and he had al- 
 so, acting under the order of the House, appointed 
 counsel to be heard at the Bar. These were the So- 
 licitor-General for Ireland, Mr. Serjeant Ballantine, 
 and Mr. Edward Barry. He had now to move that 
 counsel be called in. Mr. A. Sullivan, 1 however, be- 
 fore I had the honor of appearing for the first time 
 before this tribunal, got up and announced that the 
 Mayor of Cork intended to resign, and Mr. Maguire 
 read a letter from him to that effect. The O'Dono- 
 ghue spoke a few words to a similar effect. With this 
 latter gentleman I had the pleasure of some private 
 acquaintance, and although he would not desert a fel- 
 low-countryman, he had, I am quite sure, no sympathy 
 with him. The affair was terminated by Mr. Glad- 
 stone accepting the undertakings of the gentlemen I 
 have mentioned, and, considering the intense indig- 
 nation felt by this country at the outrage committed 
 upon an unoffending member of the Royal family, and 
 the scandalous language of a magistrate, it reflects 
 great credit upon the House of Commons that they 
 should have exhibited such moderation of language 
 and dignity of demeanor. 
 
 When I was informed that I should have the hon- 
 or of appearing for the House, I was conducting an 
 election petition at Stafford, and, traveling all night, 
 was somewhat nervous as to the figure I should make. 
 The evidence had been hurriedly collected, and 
 scarcely so strict in form as would have been required, 
 and perhaps it was fortunate that the collapse took place. 
 
 1 Not, I believe, any relation to the Mayor. 
 
STUART WORTLET. 409 
 
 It was, I think, upon the morning of my arrival in 
 town I came upon two individuals both of whom I had 
 known well. They were a curiously consorted pair. 
 I had wandered into St. James's Park, and noticed an 
 invalid chair with a gentleman in it, and, walking by 
 its side, a figure which I thought that I recognized. 
 I came up, and, looking round, recognized my old 
 friend Paddy Green, and in the chair, aged from what 
 he was when last I saw him, but as pleasant-looking 
 as ever, the Hon. James Stuart Wortley, once leader 
 of the Northern Circuit, afterwards Recorder of the 
 City of London, and subsequently Her Majesty's So- 
 licitor-General. He had given way under the strain 
 of the last office, and become partially paralyzed. I 
 understood that these two frequently met in this same 
 place, and exchanged gossip about their very differ- 
 ent lives. 
 
 Stuart Wortley was as good a criminal judge as 
 ever sat upon the bench. I never saw him out of 
 temper. He was a sound lawyer, and managed the 
 court admirably. It was a misfortune both for it and 
 himself when he changed his position for that of offi- 
 cer of the Crown. He was not rapid enough, nor did 
 he possess sufficient energy for the work of Nisi Prius. 
 I was in one criminal case against him in the Queen's 
 Bench. He exhibited a good deal of nervousness in 
 the conduct of it, and I succeeded quite properly in 
 getting a verdict. He resided in Carlton Terrace, 
 where I have occasionally dined with him, and at that 
 time his wife welcomed all his friends with the most 
 genial kindness, and in the days of his sorrow and 
 sickness, was the source to him of support, comfort, 
 
410 EARL OF WIGKLOW. 
 
 and hope, while exhibiting a womanly example of 
 patience and self-denial. Paddy was by nature a gen- 
 tleman, and seeing him by the side of a man of Wort- 
 ley's position, and his kindly deference and really en- 
 tertaining conversation, added to the respect I felt 
 for him. These two were, although in such different 
 frames, valued pictures of my life, and it was with a 
 feeling of deep interest, on this the last day, that I 
 rested my eyes upon either of them, the one having 
 quitted the ermine, and the other the motley ; that 
 they should be passing on their way together, joined 
 by the common bond of a kindly nature. 
 
 Not very long after this, I was consulted in a case 
 that promised at one time to become of interest and 
 importance. Horace Pitt, a colonel in the Blues, and 
 at one time the handsomest man in London, had mar- 
 ried a lady of a station not equal to his own, but pos- 
 sessing great beauty. At the time I speak of, she was 
 separated from him and residing with a niece, the 
 daughter of a Mrs. Richardson. This young lady had 
 formed an acquaintance with a Mr. William Howard, 
 son of the Hon. and Rev. Francis Howard, brother 
 of the Earl of Wicklow, and ultimately she married 
 him. He, however, from very early life, entered into 
 every description of profligacy, was rarely sober, and 
 became nearly imbecile. The Earl of Wicklow hav- 
 ing died without issue, this William Howard inher- 
 ited the title, but did not live long enough to enjoy it. 
 
 I met his widow at Boulogne, where she was stay- 
 ing with her aunt, who had then become Lady Rivers, 
 her husband having succeeded to that title. Mrs. 
 Howard was accompanied by a little boy of pleasing 
 
FICTITIOUS CLAIM. 411 
 
 appearance, whom she represented as being the son 
 of her late husband, and consequently the Earl of 
 Wicklow. I think I was staying at the same hotel 
 with them ; at all events, I became acquainted with 
 them, and learned that their claim was disputed, and 
 I was ultimately retained to support it. 
 
 I found that the allegation upon the other side was 
 that the child was not her own, but had been pro- 
 cured from some other source, and there were so 
 many circumstances that struck me as suspicious that 
 I insisted upon the lady undergoing a medical exam- 
 ination by some physician of eminence. This she re- 
 fused to do, and as I was acting for her as a friend, I 
 declined to go on any further in the case. She after- 
 wards retained eminent counsel, who conducted her 
 cause in the House of Lords, and placed it in as favor- 
 able a light as it was capable of. 
 
 An adjournment, however, having taken place, a 
 discovery was made that did not at all surprise me. 
 A nurse and other persons belonging to the Liverpool 
 Workhouse identified Mrs. Howard as having come 
 there with another lady and procured a recently born 
 child from its mother, who was a pauper in the work- 
 house. Mrs. Howard would not face this evidence, 
 and refused to be examined. Of course, there could 
 be but one result — the dismissal of her claim. There 
 were others who, I believe, put her up to making it. 
 I have never heard what became of her or of the 
 child, which had been kindly and carefully brought 
 up. Shortly after this event Lady Rivers died. She 
 had been a great sufferer for many years, and Lord 
 Rivers married again a lady of high position. He 
 
412 LORD RIVERS. 
 
 was an old acquaintance of mine, and I used to meet 
 him frequently during the first trial of the Tichborne 
 case. He was a very enthusiastic supporter of the 
 claimant, but whether upon any reliable grounds I am 
 not aware. I used to meet him two or three years 
 ago at Maidenhead, and have had frequent conversa- 
 tions with him. He spoke very unfavorably of the 
 claimant, but nevertheless his faith in his identity was 
 not in the slightest degree shaken. 
 
 I am sorry to say that he has recently died, and I 
 believe almost his last act was to initiate an endeavoi 
 to reverse the judgment of the Court of Queen's Bench 
 upon the case. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 VIVISECTION. 
 
 IN an early portion of these pages I ventured some 
 observations upon the subject of vivisection. I 
 described it according to the feelings I entertained, 
 and upon the foundation of accounts that I had read 
 of the nature of the experiments practiced upon dif- 
 ferent animals. I was led into referring to the sub- 
 ject not only because it was one upon which I had 
 always felt great horror, but I thought it not inappro- 
 priate to the mode in which corpses were obtained 
 for the dissection table. No one ever estimated more 
 highly than I do the eminent services of medical men 
 towards their community, their high character, or 
 their noble sacrifices and self-denial, but I believe that 
 in the pursuit of science there are amongst some a 
 recklessness and disregard of consequences which 
 may lead, as it did in the matter of the resurrection- 
 ists, to grave evils. I find that one of the most emi- 
 nent surgeons that have ever adorned the profession, 
 Sir William Fergusson, in the evidence he gave be- 
 fore the commission appointed to inquire into the 
 practice of vivisection, in July, 1875, expressed a great 
 dislike to and disapprobation of many of the experi- 
 ments resorted to. 413 
 
414 RICHARD HOLT HUTTON. 
 
 Although, my feelings — it may be called sentiment 
 — extend themselves to all animals that are subjected 
 to dissection whilst living, my observations were more 
 particularly directed to those that had become do- 
 mesticated. In this view I am upheld by Mr. Rich- 
 ard Holt Hutton, a member of the commission, and, 
 I believe, by no means one of the least eminent. He 
 makes a great distinction between domestic and other 
 animals. The former, he says, possess a higher sen- 
 sibility than others ; they have been brought under 
 the influence of civilization, and these members of our 
 household, he thinks, ought to be exempted from all 
 liability to such experimentation ; and he puts for- 
 ward another reason that must surely reach the heart 
 of any one possessed of common feeling. I will quote 
 his own words upon the subject: — "A third reason 
 for this exception seems to suggest itself from the 
 very nature of our relations with these creatures, 
 which we have trained up in the habit of obedience 
 to man and confidence in him, so that there is some- 
 thing in the nature of treachery, as well as insensi- 
 bility to their suffering, in allowing them to be the 
 subject of severe pain, even in the interests of science." 
 
 Since I wrote my earlier observations upon this 
 subject, three treatises have been published in the 
 " Nineteenth Century " Review, bearing the names 
 of great men, in which it is discussed, — Sir James 
 Paget, Professor Owen, and Doctor Samuel Wilks, 
 and their far-famed reputation gives to their opinions 
 a commanding weight. Of course in a question of 
 experience or science I cannot presume to place my 
 opinion upon a par with theirs, although I cannot ad 
 
SIR JAMES PAGET. -SIR WILLIAM FERGUSSON. 41 5 
 
 mit that scientific reasoning can overcome conscien- 
 tious feeling. Still, the utterances of such men upon 
 any point are bound to be carefully weighed. I have 
 a slight acquaintance with Sir James Paget, and from 
 that, and the high estimation in which he is every- 
 where held, the utmost respect is due to his views, 
 and in some of them I thoroughly agree ; there are 
 many cruelties inflicted by mankind upon animals 
 without the excuse created by the object of vivisec- 
 tion. I hope that he is correct in saying that the pain 
 suffered during its process is not so severe as those 
 who read its description imagine ; and I fully concur 
 in his statement that sensibility increases by culture 
 and refinement, and this view also accords with Mr. 
 Hutton's; but I am obliged, if not to dispute, at all 
 events to quote an authority against the accuracy of two 
 of his illustrations — those in which he attributes to 
 Hunter the valuable discoveries in relation to tying 
 up the arteries, to experiments upon living animals, 
 and to the same source to Dr. Simpson of Edinburgh 
 the discovery of the use of chloroform in excluding 
 pain during operations upon human beings. Sir Wil- 
 liam Fergusson, whom I have already quoted, does 
 not concur with Sir James Paget as to either of these 
 statements ; and I will quote his words, which I take 
 from the report of the Commission held in 1875: — 
 " Some of the most striking experiments that have 
 been performed upon the lower animals with refer- 
 ence to surgery have really been performed already up- 
 on the human subject, and proved on the human sub- 
 ject, and therefore there is scarcely any necessity for 
 the repetition of such operations." He then illustrates 
 
416 DR. SIMPSON'S EXPERIMENTS. 
 
 his views by referring to John Hunter, whom he de- 
 scribes as one of the greatest physiologists and greatest 
 surgeons that ever lived, and who devised an opera- 
 tion upon the arteries which was one of the most 
 brilliant in surgery, and did so for the first time upon 
 the human patient. By this operation Sir William 
 was of opinion that everything necessary was known, 
 and yet he says it is notorious that since that time thou- 
 sands upon thousands of animals have been tortured un- 
 necessarily to prove what was already perfectly well 
 known. 
 
 Another remarkable statement is made by Sir Wil- 
 liam Fergusson, and surely a very suggestive one. 
 " I am not aware," he says, " of any great surgeons 
 having been great experimenters upon animals, and I am 
 not aware of any great operator upon the human sub- 
 ject who ever prided himself upon being a good op- 
 erator upon the lower animals." He also speaks of 
 the experiments in chloroform, of which he says : 
 " All the experiments upon the lower animals have 
 been performed since the experiments have been con- 
 clusively applied to the human subject." 
 
 It will be observed that Sir William quotes, as illus- 
 trating his own. view, the very examples relied upon 
 by Sir James Paget. I had the pleasure of knowing 
 Sir William in private life, and have heard him fre- 
 quently reprobate the unnecessary practice of vivi- 
 section ; and in reading the article of Sir James Paget 
 himself I cannot help thinking it is written in a some- 
 what apologetic strain, and not quite as if his feelings 
 went with the opinions he has enunciated. 
 
 It is very difficult indeed to obtain, upon such a sub- 
 
DANGERS OF SPECULATIVE OPERATIONS. 417 
 
 ject as vivisection, a fair discussion ; it is naturally 
 mainly confined within scientific limits and assertions : 
 the great body of the public, who are shocked at its 
 practice, become lost in terms of art ; whilst the alle- 
 gations of great and useful discoveries dependent upon 
 it are made, conscientiously, no doubt, but without 
 the kind of evidence which would alone be satisfactory 
 in the case of other discoveries ; and I have thought 
 it therefore desirable to place before those who take 
 an interest in the subject the antagonistic opinions of 
 such men as Fergusson and Paget. I admit that mine, 
 in a scientific point of view, can be of little weight. 
 
 Throughout the proceedings upon the Commission 
 the use of anaesthetics is enforced, and, so far as suf- 
 fering during an operation is concerned, there is no 
 doubt that external evidence of pain is destroyed ; 
 but let the imagination follow the victim through the 
 hours, days, months, during which it is kept alive for 
 the purpose of fresh experiments. 
 
 It was stated by most of the witnesses that the 
 pupils expressed indignation if any unnecessary cruelty 
 was exhibited by the performers ; and I was very 
 glad to read this, as I imagined such scenes were 
 likely to engender indifference to human suffering. 
 
 There is another aspect of the practice that occurs 
 to me, and I believe that there are eminent men of 
 the medical profession who will not altogether ignore 
 it — it is calculated to lead to speculative operations 
 upon our fellow-creatures. It may probably also arise 
 from my practice in courts where evidence is scruti- 
 nized, and the conclusions arrived at with caution, that 
 I do not assume the correctness of those which are 
 27 
 
418 "NINETEENTH CENTURY" REVIEW. 
 
 not subject to adverse tests, and I have seen so many 
 scientific witnesses enter a witness-box with undoubt- 
 ing minds upon a particular theory, who have left it, 
 if not themselves convinced of their error, at all events 
 having convinced every one else of it, that I cannot 
 blindly follow assertions that are repugnant to my 
 natural feelings. 
 
 I hope that the above observations may not be 
 deemed presumptuous ; but as the very learned con- 
 tributors to the subject in the " Nineteenth Century " 
 Review threaten a crusade with the view of enlarging 
 the sphere of the vivisectionist operations, and re- 
 moving the restrictions which were created in conse- 
 quence of the report of the Commission of 1875, I 
 have ventured to call attention to certain differences 
 that exist amongst the most eminent of those who 
 advocate the practice ; neither can I admit that the 
 subject can be determined purely upon scientific 
 grounds. 
 
 I am also entitled to consider certain reports that 
 have appeared in the public journals quite recently — 
 an investigation that has taken place in a public court, 
 and statements that have been made, and that remain 
 uncontradicted. 
 
 I am now quoting from the " Times " of November 
 18th in the last year. It appeared that two eminent 
 professors, after dilligent search into the brains of 
 living animals, were unable to agree upon a result : 
 upon which another professor, equally eminent, hav- 
 ing obtained a supply of cats and monkeys, endeav- 
 ored to settle the question by similar means. I did 
 not follow the history of the cats, aiid cannot tell for 
 
TORTURE OF MONKEYS. 419 
 
 how long they served the purpose of this inquiry. I 
 learned a little more about the monkeys. They, it 
 appeared, after the first inquiry into their brains with 
 the scalpel, were kept for seven weeks, during which 
 time several essays were made upon the journey of 
 discovery. I suppose thev were selected as bearing 
 some resemblance to the human being. 
 
 Poor things ! they had been probably kidnapped ; 
 but still I can imagine them enjoying a period of 
 pleasure, petted by the sailors on board the vessel 
 that brought them over, and then gradually disposed 
 of by the philosopher's knife. 
 
 If the following paragraph, which I copy from the 
 same paper that I have already quoted, be correct, it 
 does not say much for the humanizing character of 
 the lectures and illustrations : — 
 
 " A large crowd of medical students assembled out- 
 side the court, but in consequence of 1heir howling 
 and cheering, were kept out of it." 
 
,CHAPTER XL. 
 
 THE TICHBORNE BARONETCY. 
 
 A MONGST marvelous stories developed in legal 
 proceedings, none in my time have exceeded the 
 adventures of the claimant to the Tichborne baronetcy 
 and estates. The largeness of the property and the 
 position of the family naturally attracted attention to 
 a claim which sought to dispossess owners of estates 
 the rights to which had never before been doubted, 
 still less contested. The claimant was denounced as 
 an impostor by many merely because his story was 
 antagonistic to experience, whilst others were pre- 
 pared to support him from the very marvels which sur- 
 rounded it. The recognition by his mother was 
 thought by many to be an irresistible proof of his iden- 
 tity, and this obtained additional strength from opin- 
 ions emanating from people of position and character, 
 who had known Sir Roger well, and to whom no un- 
 fair motives could in justice be attributed. At the 
 commencement of the proceedings, certainly, shrewd 
 lawyers believed in him, and even now there are many 
 persons who have no sympathy with his career, but 
 who nevertheless are convinced of his identity. 
 The interest in the case was also enhanced by the 
 420 
 
PUBLIC INTEREST IN THE CASE. 421 
 
 enormous amount expended in the conduct of the de- 
 fense, and the proceedings before Lord Chief Justice 
 Bovill might have been more properly described as 
 " morning performances " than sober legal inquiries. 
 
 The rush for seats was much noticed and com- 
 mented upon in different journals, and his lordship's 
 health was supposed to have been impaired, not so 
 much by the judicial strain as by the arduous and un- 
 accustomed duties of master of the ceremonies; whilst 
 in relation to the criminal trial the Lord Chief Justice 
 of England had unfortunately expressed opinions that 
 led the supporters of the claimant to assert that he 
 was not likely to obtain a fair trial at the hands of 
 that learned judge. 
 
 In the course of the second trial an unfortunate and 
 reprehensible element was introduced in the shape of 
 a writer who, representing the claimant as counsel, 
 made this a centre point from which to shower in- 
 vective upon the heads of all who were opposed to 
 his claims. 
 
 It is not my intention in the following pages to ex- 
 press any opinion upon the truth or falsehood of the 
 present romance. I was at the commencement re- 
 tained as the claimant's counsel, and I do not consider 
 that it would be right for me to disclose more of the 
 circumstances than are known or may be known 
 through the ordinary channels of public information. 
 
 A brief sketch of the previous history of Sir Roger 
 Tichborne is necessary to enable my readers to fol- 
 low the remarks that I am about to oifer. He was 
 born in the year 1829, and partially educated at Stony- 
 hurst College, a Catholic establishment of very high 
 
422 EARL Y HISTOR Y OF SIR R GER. 
 
 character, his family, as is well known, being of that 
 faith. He does not appear to have remained at the 
 college long, and it may be doubted whether he had 
 made great progress in his studies — a circumstance 
 that ought not to be lost sight of. Upon leaving it 
 he was sent to Paris, and there, if the evidence of the 
 witnesses given at the trial be true, he must have met 
 certain persons who professed to describe him as he 
 appeared in that city at the period in question. Upon 
 leaving Paris he returned to England, and in the year 
 1849 obtained a commission in the Sixth Dragoon 
 Guards (the Carabineers), and remained in the regi- 
 ment until some time in the year 1 853. His character 
 whilst there does not throw much light upon the identity 
 of the claimant. He certainly exhibited no signs of a 
 vicious disposition, and was retiring rather than the 
 reverse. On the other hand, he was restless and unset- 
 tled. Hiscareer, afterhe left the army, was not indicated 
 with much clearness, but he certainly quitted England, 
 and. within twelve months after he had left the army 
 he was staying at Rio de Janeiro. 
 
 No known object but the spirit of adventure had 
 apparently taken him thither, but at this period it was 
 undoubtedly his intention to return to his native land, 
 as he secured a berth on board a vessel called the Bella, 
 bound for Liverpool, and upon which he embarked. 
 
 This is common ground, and the theory of his 
 family is that the ship was wrecked, and the passen- 
 gers and crew, including Sir Roger Tichborne, were 
 drowned. 
 
 We must now take up the narrative from the mouth 
 of the claimant ; and he gives an account of the wreck 
 
THE CLAIMANT AT WAG GA WAGGA. 423 
 
 of the Bella, but says that, with others of the crew, 
 he escaped in one of the boats, and after knocking 
 about the sea for some days was picked up by a trad- 
 ing vessel and landed in Australia ; and one circum- 
 stance must strike the reader of this narrative as re- 
 markable, that, if he were Sir Roger Tichborne, he 
 did not pursue the design that he clearly had when at 
 Rio, and return to England at once. I cannot think 
 that he could have had any difficulty in obtaining 
 means to do so. 
 
 I will hasten over this part of the story — he ap- 
 pears to have pursued a life of hardship and advent- 
 ure, probably not unattended with crime, and cer- 
 tainly with poverty, and to have taken to himself a 
 slightly educated woman for a wife, and in the year 
 1865, to have been living at a village called Wagga 
 Wagga, where he was pursuing the calling of a butch- 
 er. It was in this year that the father of Sir Roger 
 Tichborne died, and his mother, who had always en- 
 tertained a belief that her son was alive, caused ad- 
 vertisements to be inserted in numerous papers, some 
 of which undoubtedly reached the remote district in 
 which the claimant was living. 
 
 Now, the supposition on the part of those who op- 
 posed his claim is not only that he was not Sir Roger, 
 but that he could by no probable means up to this 
 time have ever even heard of such a person ; and it is 
 certainly very remarkable that these advertisements 
 should have attracted his attention, that he should 
 have declared himself to be the lost heir; and, what 
 is more singular still, that he should have been able, 
 as was undoubtedly the case, to borrow funds to come 
 
424 LADY TICHB ORNE. 
 
 over to England, from sources possessing apparently 
 not the slightest ground for reposing belief in him. 
 But so it was. On the other hand, his eagerness to 
 leave Wagga Wagga was not followed by correspond- 
 ing alacrity in reaching England. He wasted time, 
 took a circuitous route, and did not eventually reach 
 London until Christmas day, 1866. Then his pro- 
 ceedings, if he were really Sir Roger, were of a most 
 eccentric description. It was not questioned that he 
 went down to Wapping, and made apparently anx- 
 ious inquiries about the family of a butcher named 
 Orton, whose son had started some years before on a 
 voyage to Melbourne. He showed a knowledge both 
 of the Orton family and the locality that subsequent- 
 ly became an important feature in the different inqui- 
 ries, and led to very unfavorable conclusions against 
 trim. 
 
 He attributed this conduct to a request from a per- 
 son of that name who had been his associate in Aus- 
 tralia. 
 
 The solicitor originally retained for him was a gen- 
 tleman named Holmes, who certainly believed in him, 
 but before he took any steps in the case desired that 
 he should be seen by the mother of Sir Roger, to 
 which the claimant readily consented, and an inter- 
 view took place in an hotel in Paris where he was 
 staying. It was alleged that he was ill, and when 
 Lady Tichborne saw him he was in bed. It was said 
 that he practiced means to prevent her having an op- 
 portunity of judging of his identity ;. this, however, 
 was denied, and without hesitation she acknowledged 
 him as her lost son. 
 
 I may now say a few words of the impression he 
 
INTER VIE W WITH LADY TICHB ORNE. 425 
 
 made ujdou me when first I saw him. He was stout 
 and unwieldy, with marked but not coarse features, 
 although his size would at first create such an im- 
 pression, but his hands and feet were certainly not 
 what I should have expected to find upon a low-bred 
 person. The expression of his face was not bad, and 
 somewhat of a melancholy cast. His manners were 
 not those of a person who had ever moved in good 
 society. 
 
 What was a noticeable point was that a great like- 
 ness was discoverable in him to many members of the 
 Tichborne family. 
 
 When I was first consulted upon the matter by 
 Mr. Holmes, I felt that the disturbance of a family in 
 an estate that they had held unchallenged for so many 
 years was so grave a matter that I ought not to act in 
 it without satisfying myself, as far as it was possible 
 for me to do, that there was reasonable ground for the 
 claim, and., before moving in it, requested an inter- 
 view with Lady Tichborne, which was accorded with- 
 out hesitation. I had been informed that she had al- 
 ways clung to the idea that her son was alive, and I 
 had also heard that for some family reason her feel- 
 ings were somewhat antagonistic to members of her 
 husband's family. She called upon me at my cham- 
 bers, and I had an interview with her without the 
 presence of any one but ourselves, and certainly with 
 no favorable bias in my own mind toward the claim- 
 ant. Lady Tichborne was a very quiet, lady-like 
 personage, and was dressed plainly in black. She 
 seemed to have endured suffering, and to be more 
 aged than her years would warrant. She did not 
 
426 RETAINED FOR THE CLAIMANT. 
 
 exhibit any animosity toward her kinsfolk, but ex- 
 pressed herself most earnestly upon the subject of 
 the claimant. She treated the notion of her being 
 mistaken as to his identity as being absurd, spoke of 
 marks upon his person which she had remembered 
 noticing in his infancy — I did not ascertain whether 
 she had actually seen them since — and she ended our 
 interview by the following words, which I remember 
 well : " How can a mother be mistaken in her son % " 
 However the belief may be accounted for, I am con- 
 fident that the lady was truthful, and fully alive to the 
 gravity of her declaration. 
 
 I accepted a retainer with Mr. Hannen on the part 
 of the plaintiff, and although neither of us was unap- 
 preciative of the many improbabilities that attended 
 the claim, I believe that both considered it was one 
 that the claimant had a right to bring forward, and 
 possessed many circumstances to uphold it. 
 
CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE TICHBORNE 
 
 CASE. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS were commenced in the Court 
 of Chancery ; affidavits were filed ; experienced 
 counsel, practicing in those courts, appeared for the 
 respective parties, and the case was begun ; and, hav- 
 ing briefly sketched the position of the claimant, I 
 propose to show what weapons the representatives of 
 Sir Roger Tichborne's family possessed to encounter 
 the attack. 
 
 In the first place, they were entitled, and did, as a 
 matter of fact, file affidavits, and in them might have 
 gi ven — an d ought, in my opinion, to have done — any 
 information they possessed bearing upon the facts. 
 Some five or six years afterwards they alleged for the 
 first time that the real Sir Boger had indelible tattoo 
 marks upon one of his arms, of which they were aware 
 wlien first he made his claim, but nothing was then said 
 in the affidavits on this subject. 
 
 They had the power of subjecting the claimant to 
 cross-examination — peculiarly important in such a 
 case if skillfully exercised — and they availed them- 
 selves of it. They believed the claimant to be an 
 
 427 
 
428 CROSS-EXAMINATION OF CLAIMANT. 
 
 impostor, and if so, they must have known that lie 
 was a most daring one, and ready to adopt every means 
 to defeat discovery. Still, much may be done by an 
 advocate who knows how to deal with human nature, 
 and has practiced his powers largely and with signal 
 success. Such a man was one of the counsel they had 
 retained — none abler at that time at the Bar — Mr. 
 Hawkins. I believe, from the effect afterwards pro- 
 duced by Sir John Coleridge, that, even with the 
 scanty materials supplied, Mr. Hawkins would have 
 crushed the case at its very outset if it had been false ; 
 but instead of using this power the advisers of the 
 family availed themselves of the talents of a Chancery 
 barrister of high character and reputation, but who 
 probably had little previous experience of cross-ex- 
 amination under such unusual circumstances ; and they 
 never could have supplied him with sufficient knowl- 
 edge of the alleged marks, or undoubtedly, in my 
 opinion, he would have asked the question of the wit- 
 ness whether he had any such upon his arm, and the 
 witness could not have done otherwise than answer in 
 the negative. There were, according to their account 
 subsequently, two witnesses (at least) of good posi- 
 tion who were ready at that very time to come for- 
 ward and say that they had actually themselves tat- 
 tooed him at the college. 
 
 The only reason that I have heard given for this 
 mode of conducting the case was that the claimant 
 might have created the marks if he had been in- 
 formed of their existence. This is nonsense ; such an 
 attempt must have been discovered, and would have 
 wrecked the case. If he had been asked the ques- 
 
COMMENCEMENT OF THE TRIAL 429 
 
 tion in the way that Hawkins would have put it, and 
 attempted to shuffle, he would have been simply told 
 to hold out his arm, and the non-existence of any such 
 marks would have been destructive to his claim. 
 
 Assuming that this fact was really known, and that 
 it had been proved, I have no hesitation in expressing 
 my belief that neither the solicitor nor counsel con- 
 cerned for the claimant would have consented to go 
 on with the case. I am confident that it would have 
 more than shaken the belief of his warmest support- 
 ers, and, unlike those discrepancies which were abun- 
 dantly proved at the trial, there would have been some- 
 thing palpable for common minds to grasp ; and I be- 
 lieve this monster trial, with the gigantic bill of costs, 
 would have perished at its birth in the Court of 
 Chancery. 
 
 In one of those holes situated at Westminster, and 
 in which during my professional career many legal 
 tournaments have taken place, commenced the great 
 encounter between Tichborne and Lushington, such 
 being the name by which the case was designated. 
 Sir William Bovill, the Lord Chief Justice of the Com- 
 mon Pleas, presided. I led for the plaintiff, and with 
 me were associated Mr. Hardinge Giffard, Mr. Jeune, 
 Mr. W. B. Rose, and Mr. Pollard. 1 For the defend- 
 ants, the Solicitor-General (Sir John Coleridge), Sir 
 George Hony man, Q.C., Mr. Hawkins, Q.C., Mr. Chap- 
 man Barber, and Mr. Charles Bowen. Mr. H. Mat- 
 thews, M.P., and Mr. Purcell were counsel for the trus- 
 tees of the Tichborne estate. 
 
 The Court did not present so gay an aspect as the 
 Old Bailey upon one of the gala days of that estab- 
 
 1 Mr. Hannen had in the mean time been promoted to the Bench. 
 
430 CHIEF JUSTICE BO VILL. 
 
 lishment ; the bright robes of the aldermen were sadly 
 missed, and, whatever may have been the wishes of 
 some of the visitors, no chance existed of the princi- 
 pal performer ending his days in company with the 
 Ordinary and executioner ; but brilliant representa- 
 tives of rank and fashion crowded around the throne 
 of justice which Sir William filled with no dissatisfied 
 air. He did not then anticipate the labors that would 
 be cast upon his shoulders. The first act opened with 
 a terrific combat between him and certain jurymen, 
 and legal weapons of unusual severity were used. A 
 colonel in the Queen's Body Guard appealed to be 
 permitted to attend upon Her Majesty's sacred person, 
 but his lordship, fully capable of representing the feel- 
 ings of this august personage, assured him that she 
 greatly preferred the administration of the law to any 
 protection that he could afford to herself. At last, 
 however, all difficulties were conquered, although the 
 sacred twelve were not reached, and the trial com- 
 menced with only eleven victims. 
 
 Of the Lord Chief Justice one would not wish to 
 say an unkind word. No one could doubt his impar- 
 tiality, and his thorough good nature rendered him 
 very popular. He had been a successful advocate, 
 and had a fair knowledge of law, but wanted dignity, 
 and scarcely possessed grasp enough to deal with such 
 a case. Occasionally he accepted advice from a bevy 
 of ladies who clustered around him, and who took a 
 great interest in the proceedings. This certainly was 
 not upon law, but in French and geography, in which 
 it was early shown that he had not been thoroughly 
 grounded. It was not to be wondered at that, notwith- 
 
DEPOSITION OF LADY TICHBORNE. 43 1 
 
 standing his intended fairness, the color of his mind 
 was evidently adverse to the plaintiff. Those who are 
 not lawyers ought to be made aware that the burden 
 of proof lay upon the claimant, and that unless I, on his 
 behalf, succeeded in making a case of such inherent 
 probability as to require an answer, the defendants 
 would succeed in the action. A thoroughly strong 
 judge, if he feels that counsel for the plaintiff has not 
 succeeded in doing so, will often convey a view to that 
 effect. And if, after this case had proceeded through 
 part of the claimant's cross-examination, a suggestion 
 to this effect had been made from the bench, I think 
 that I should have withdrawn ; it was clearly impos- 
 sible for any jury to say that such a case had been 
 made out as to exclude doubt. 
 
 The names of the gentlemen who were my juniors 
 are sufficient to show that the assistance I had was 
 as powerful as any that could be obtained at the bar. 
 
 In launching the evidence, I began with putting in 
 the deposition of Lady Tichborne, who had died be- 
 fore the trial, and I afterwards proceeded with wit- 
 nesses who had known Sir Roger and undertook to 
 identify him. Of these I called several. I thought 
 before putting the plaintiff in the box it was desirable 
 to give an air of probability to the story he was about 
 to tell. At last the jury desired to have him present- 
 ed to them, which accordingly I did. Great sensation 
 and rustling of silks and satins accompanied the 
 claimant as he rolled into the witness-box. I have 
 already described his appearance. Mr. Giffard took 
 upon himself the laborious task of examining him in 
 chief, and it is impossible to say that the effect prir- 
 
432 
 
 THE CLAIMANT. 
 
 duced diminislied the unfavorable impression which, 
 in the court at all events, had been produced by his 
 appearance. His evidence lasted until the middle of 
 the fourth day from its commencement, when the So- 
 licitor-General commenced his cross-examination, 
 which continued for several days. This learned coun- 
 sel seemed to lay in a fresh stock of ammunition ev- 
 ery evening, commencing a vigorous discharge on each 
 successive morning. 
 
 One prominent and most damaging result was in 
 exhibiting the claimant's utter ignorance of the 
 French language, and Sir John's perfect familiarity 
 with this and also with the classics enabled him to ex- 
 pose the witness upon these latter subjects in lights 
 both startling and ridiculous. I presume that his ob- 
 ject was not only to win the case, but entirely to de- 
 stroy the claimant for any future attempt, and cer- 
 tainly no cross-examination was ever heard in a court 
 of justice which exhibited more labor and industry, 
 or was more completely successful. 
 
 And if the Lord Chief Justice had then interfered 
 and, without expressing any opinion of the actual mer- 
 its of the case, had asked the counsel for the plaintiff 
 whether they could hope for a verdict, whatever might 
 be the justice of the plaintiff's claim, I think, as I have 
 hinted already, that all of us would have admitted that 
 we could not. 
 
 I know that the jury were themselves prepared 
 to endorse such a suggestion. However, the case 
 went on, and the Solicitor-General addressed .the 
 jury at great length and with marked ability, and 
 proceeded to call witnesses, during which a defection 
 
WITHDRAWAL OF MR. ROSE. 433 
 
 occurred in our camp, and Mr. Rose, one of the firm 
 of solicitors instructing us, embraced an adverse view. 
 The subject is a painful one, which I do not wish to 
 dwell upon ; it caused the counsel much embarrass- 
 ment and difficulty, and the course pursued by him 
 was extremely prejudicial to any views that could 
 have been adopted in the interest of his client. 
 
 After the conclusion of his speech, the Solicitor- 
 General proceeded to call witnesses, many of whom, 
 as was the case with those called on the part of the 
 claimant, were open to no suspicion of falsehood or 
 dishonesty, amongst them Lord Bellew and the peo- 
 ple from Paris ; and I believe that it was at this pe- 
 riod of the trial that the tattoo evidence was for the 
 first time started in the case. After a time I felt it 
 to be impossible to obtain an affirmative conclusion, 
 and that I was not justified in keeping up the case 
 any longer, and accordingly determined to accept a 
 non-suit upon the part of my client. Some intimation 
 must have been given that I intended to do so, as a 
 grand finale was prepared, and the performance attract- 
 ed a more than usually fashionable audience. The 
 stage was grouped in somewhat a melodramatic fash- 
 ion : the centre figure in his usual place in the body 
 of the court, ladies pressing eagerly in every direction, 
 and at the back, only dimly visible amongst the brill- 
 iant dresses, two dark figures, apparently greatly out 
 of place, but in reality very important performers in 
 the scene about to be performed. They were tip- 
 staves, prepared to take the unhappy claimant into 
 custody. 
 
 Whatever may have been the opinion of the jury, 
 28 
 
434 COMMITTAL OF CLAIMANT. 
 
 the course I adopted prevented them exjDressing any, 
 and therefore it appears to me that the judge had no 
 precedent whatever for the course he pursued, which 
 was, upon my withdrawal, to order the claimant into 
 custody. I cannot forbear thinking that this was most 
 unfortunate. Even where a jury have returned a ver- 
 dict declaratory of their opinion, judges have almost 
 invariably refused to exercise this power, and I re- 
 member Lord Penzance saying emphatically that he 
 considered such a course cast an unfair prejudice 
 upon an accused person. It was in this instance a 
 sacrifice to convenience. It was doubtless felt by 
 those who were determined to prosecute the claim- 
 ant that if he were treated in the usual fashion of per- 
 sons charged with crimes, there would be great delay 
 and difficulty. He would have to be brought before 
 a magistrate, a prima facie case made out for a com- 
 mittal, and he would be entitled to call witnesses to 
 rebut it. Fresh scenes, probably not very decorous 
 ones, would have been enacted before an inferior 
 tribunal. 
 
 I do not believe that there ever was an instance in 
 which any judge exercised this power without the 
 opinion of the jury having been expressed, and I can- 
 not think that, considering the mass of evidence, some 
 of it certainly honest, on the part of the plaintiff, and 
 the jury having expressed no opinion, a judge was 
 j ustified in broadly proclaiming his view by a proceed- 
 ing so arbitrary as the committal. It may be said that 
 otherwise a great criminal might have escaped. Per- 
 haps he would, and might even have become a member 
 of the Legislature. But, in my opinion, it would have 
 
BOGLE'S EVIDENCE. 435 
 
 been far better that an offender should obtain immu- 
 nity than that a large body of the public should be- 
 lieve that his punishment has been obtained by un- 
 usual means, as undoubtedly was the case by the pro- 
 ceeding in question. 
 
 In the foregoing sketch I have not mentioned a per- 
 sonage who took a very remarkable part in upholding 
 the claimant, and one whose conduct was not recon- 
 cilable with any corrupt motives that could be sug- 
 gested upon the trial ; this was an old servant of the 
 Tichborne family named Bogle. He was a negro, 
 and of considerable age. He was receiving a pension 
 for his services, which his conduct upon the occasion 
 of the claim caused him to lose. He declared his 
 recognition of the claimant, and it is extremely diffi- 
 cult to know how he could be mistaken, and at least 
 equally difficult to understand why he should have 
 perjured himself. I confess I saw nothing in his man- 
 ner which led me to that belief. He was cross-exam- 
 ined at length, and was not at all shaken. 
 
 His hair was perfectly white, and Mr. Hawkins 
 could not resist the joke that he reminded him of an 
 ebony stick with an ivory knob. The management by 
 this gentleman of the witnesses upon this trial, as well 
 as upon the one I am about to narrate, satisfies me of 
 the correctness of my opinion, that if he had cross- 
 examined the claimant before the commissioner, the 
 case would probably have collapsed, and that if he 
 had done so, possessing the knowledge of the tattoo 
 marks, it certainly would. 
 
CHAPTER XLIL 
 
 INDICTMENT OF CLAIMANT. 
 
 /^\N the 23d day of April, 1873, the trial of the 
 ^-^ claimant took place in the Court of Queen's 
 Bench, before Sir Alexander Cockburn and Justices 
 Mellor and Lush, and no one could doubt that it would 
 be conducted with perfect fairness and impartiality, 
 notwithstanding that the Lord Chief Justice had pre- 
 viously made no secret of his views, which were un- 
 favorable to the accused. 
 
 Mr. Hawkins, as I have elsewhere incidentally men- 
 tioned, conducted the prosecution, in which he had 
 the assistance of Serjeant Parry and other counsel of 
 eminence. The defense was entrusted to a gentleman 
 named Dr. Kenealy. He is now no more, and it would 
 be well for his reputation if he had passed away at 
 an earlier period. He was a man of singular learn- 
 ing, and one of the finest classical scholars of the day, 
 a fluent speaker, and, although eccentric, by no means 
 a contemptible poet. The trial of the claimant might 
 have given him an opportunity of obtaining distinc- 
 tion of an honorable kind, and the tribunal as consti- 
 tuted was most favorable to him, as he had dedicated 
 a poem, which might by many have been considered 
 436 
 
DR. KENEALY. 437 
 
 fulsome, to Sir Alexander, who always treated him 
 with marked attention, received him as a guest at his 
 house, had been the means of obtaining for him a silk 
 gown, and undertaken the office of godfather to one 
 of his children ; but the notoriety that he attained by 
 a course that he adopted would have injuriously af- 
 fected the interests of any client. 
 
 Dr. Kenealy published a newspaper called the 
 "Englishman," in which he attributed, in violent terms, 
 crimes of the deepest dye to men and women of po-' 
 sition and character. One man, whom he was under 
 deep obligation to, he actually charged with assassi- 
 nation. There is no doubt that the extravagance of 
 his accusations destroyed their effect against their in- 
 tended victims, but they as certainly created a feel- 
 ing of repulsion towards the man whose cause he af- 
 fected to advocate. And I know that the horror of 
 being in any way associated with him prevented some 
 believers in the claimant from coming forward on his 
 behalf. Independently of this defect in his character, 
 he exhibited every fault incident to advocacy; he in- 
 sulted the judges, he disgusted the jury, and finally 
 committed the cardinal blunder of undertaking to prove 
 what was not really in issue, namely, that his client 
 was in truth Sir Roger Tichborne. This was neces- 
 sary for the success of his paper, but destruction to 
 the prospects of his client. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that the claimant was 
 now being tried upon a criminal charge, and conse- 
 quently the position of the parties was entirely changed 
 from what existed at the civil suit, the onus in the for- 
 mer lying upon the plaintiff, as I have already pointed 
 
438 BAD ADVOCACY. 
 
 out, to prove his case. In the indictment, however, 
 it was incumbent upon the prosecution to prove that 
 he was not the person he alleged himself to be, and 
 that without reasonable doubt. Dr. Kenealy took 
 up the exactly opposite position, and dealt with the 
 facts as if he were bound to prove the identity. Noth- 
 ing could be more prejudicial than such a course. 
 Any advocate of ordinary judgment ought to have 
 known that to secure such a result was beyond the 
 bounds, I am almost prepared to say, of possibility. 
 If a barrister of discretion, judgment, and character 
 had enforced upon the attention of the jury those ele- 
 ments that existed in the case, and which were cer- 
 tainly very remarkable, and appealed to that body to 
 consider whether they were not such as defeated the 
 certainty of guilt, I believe that, if a favorable ver- 
 dict had not been obtained, the jury would have been 
 discharged. 
 
 The recognition by the mother, skillfully dealt with, 
 could not have failed to produce a great effect. It is 
 true that her deposition was not receivable in evidence ; 
 but what a topic would have been the hardship of its 
 rejection in the hands of a counsel capable of using 
 it ! It would probably have had more effect even 
 than its reception. Then there were witnesses, offi- 
 cers, gentlemen and ladies of unimpeached character. 
 There was Bogle, an apparently disinterested witness, 
 and many earnest believers of lower rank, who would 
 again have come forward, and a careful selection of 
 these could not fail to have had much weight; and if 
 I am right in my conclusion that some of the Paris wit 
 nesses were unreliable — and upon the former trial 
 
DR. KENEALY. 439 
 
 their evidence was most contradictory — a great point 
 might have been made. 
 
 If they had broken down, as I am sure these would 
 have done if the counsel had been reversed, a most 
 important effect would have been produced upon the 
 case of the prosecution, and let me add that from 
 much experience that I have had of the Lord Chief 
 Justice, although I am sure that he had taken a strong 
 view against the defendant, I am also confident that, 
 if a doubt had dawned upon his mind of the correct- 
 ness of the conclusion, he would have given to it the 
 fullest effect. Instead, however, of using the means 
 in his power to conciliate the Court and the jury, Dr. 
 Kenealy lost no opportunity of irritating the feelings 
 of both. A signal instance was exhibited in his cross- 
 examination of a witness of position, whom I believe 
 to have been mistaken, and who ought to have been 
 dealt with upon that assumption, instead of which the 
 Doctor launched against him the charge of deliberate 
 perjury, and cross-examined him upon an incident in 
 his early career calculated to give pain, but which 
 could have no earthly effect upon the character or 
 credit of his testimony. And this he persisted in, 
 notwithstanding the earnest remonstrances of the 
 judges and the indignant protests of the jury. 
 
 Finally, he took upon his shoulders the unneces- 
 sary burden of proving that the defendant was really 
 Sir Roger Tichborne, leaving it to be implied that, if 
 successful, he would displace the existing possessor 
 of title and property, instead of pointing out that un- 
 der no imaginable circumstances could there be any 
 such result, and appealing to the well-known princi- 
 
440 CHIEF JUSTICE COCKBURN. 
 
 pie of criminal law, that no man should be convicted 
 whilst a doubt fairly existed of his innocence. I alsc 
 have no hesitation in saying that, if the jury did not 
 believe the tattoo evidence, there would have been a 
 blow struck at the superstructure of the prosecution 
 of so serious a character when joined to the other 
 facts favorable to his case, and to which I have al- 
 luded, that it would fully have justified a jury in ac- 
 quitting him. 
 
 There was a gentleman originally associated with 
 Dr. Kenealy in the defense of the claimant who suf- 
 fered greatly from the course that his leader pursued, 
 which he considered to be outrageous and grossly im- 
 prudent, and he frequently consulted a mut/ual friend 
 of ours, Mr. Serjeant O'Brien, upon what he ought to 
 do, and latterly he declined to appear in court, al- 
 though (acting under his friend's advice, in which I 
 concurred, having been consulted by that gentleman) 
 he took no active steps in the matter. I consider the 
 claimant's interests suffered most gravely by the cir- 
 cumstances related by Mr. MacMahon, the gentleman 
 in question. 
 
 Although, as I intimated before, the Lord Chief Jus- 
 tice entertained a strong opinion against the defendant, 
 which had unfortunately become known, the latter's 
 interests did not in any respect suffer from it. The 
 fault that the Chief Justice exhibited, and which was 
 transparent throughout, was posing too much for effect, 
 and rather encouraging than checking the length to 
 which the proceedings were dragged out, and certainly 
 occupying a very unnecessary amount of time in his 
 own summing-up, which, however, displayed his ac- 
 
LUSH AND MELLOR. 441 
 
 customed grasp and ability. The position of the two 
 other judges was really nominal, but I must say that 
 I think the trial would have been far shorter and much 
 more consistent with the usual sobriety of criminal 
 trials in this country if it had been presided over by 
 either of them. The eminent head of the court upon 
 this occasion has since passed away. 
 
 Mr. Justice Mellor has prudently secured health 
 by retiring from the bench, and may he long enjoy 
 it. He has carried with him into his retirement 
 the -respect and affection of the bar. Sir Robert 
 Lush, too, after a life so undeviating in the per- 
 formance of every duty that it might be called 
 monotonous, has at last, covered with honor, ter- 
 minated his earthly career. I tried to obtain a 
 glimpse of my dear old friend, but he was too un- 
 well to see me when, shortly before his death, I 
 made the endeavor. 
 
 The leading counsel for the prosecution is now upon 
 the bench. His conduct of it was lengthy and elab- 
 orate, too much so in my opinion, but thoroughly ex- 
 haustive. Even if Dr. Kenealy had possessed ordi- 
 nary discretion and good taste, he would have been 
 no match in advocacy for his competitor, who was 
 assisted by Serjeant Parry, himself one of the actors, 
 and by no means an unworthy one, who has left the 
 stage. 
 
CHAPTER XLIIL 
 
 LORD WESTBURY. 
 
 pHERE are very few men for whom, not being 
 associated upon terms of intimacy, I entertain- 
 ed a greater admiration than I did for Lord West- 
 bury. I also felt much sympathy with him upon the 
 occasion when he was obliged to abandon the office 
 of Chancellor, which, judicially, certainly no one ever 
 filled with greater credit. I had received from him 
 when Attorney- General many acts of kindness. He 
 had appointed me to argue a case before the judges 
 in the Court of Crown Cases Reserved, and also as 
 counsel in the prosecution of the British Bank direct- 
 ors, and when he became Chancellor had given me a 
 patent of precedence. 
 
 He was involved in difficulties in consequence of 
 some arrangements made by his son, Mr. Richard 
 Bethell, which certainly showed a want of sufficient 
 supervision upon his part, but I know that his affec- 
 tion and trust in that gentleman were unbounded. 
 The vote of censure in the House of Commons im- 
 plied carelessness only, and the announcement by him- 
 self in the House of Lords of his resignation of the 
 Lord Chancellorship was listened to with sympathy, 
 442 
 
FOOLISH VERDICT OF A CORONER' S JURY. 443 
 
 and his concluding observations with such amount of 
 applause as would scarcely have been the case if any 
 graver imputation had rested upon his conduct. That 
 concluding scene of his public career was truly pain- 
 ful to his friends, by whom he was much beloved, but 
 on his part was conducted with the utmost dignity. 
 He had married into the family of a gentleman named 
 Abraham, an architect of considerable eminence, and 
 it so happened that this was the means by which I 
 became personally acquainted with him. One of his 
 brothers-in-law was at the same school with me — at 
 Mr. Wigan's, at Blackheath. Another carried on the 
 profession of architect, and during his supervision of 
 the building of the now well-known premises of Mr. 
 Smith, in the Strand, in his capacity of district sur- 
 veyor, an accident happened by which some lives 
 were lost, and the wisdom of a coroner's jury led to a 
 verdict of manslaughter against Mr. Abraham, by 
 whom I was retained. Sir Richard Bethell, then So- 
 licitor-General, sent for me, and showed great anxiety 
 upon the subject. I assured him that there was not 
 the slightest risk ; that it was only one of the mis- 
 chievous pieces of folly that not unfrequently distin- 
 guished a coroner's court, and would be corrected di- 
 rectly it arrived before a competent one. However, 
 he was not satisfied with my assurance, and made 
 himself fully master of every technicality of the law 
 upon the subject. The case was committed to the 
 Central Criminal Court, where Mr. Abraham had to 
 appear and surrender into the dock, which he did, ac- 
 companied to the entrance of it by his brother-in-law. 
 Sir Alexander Cockburn, who was the Attorney-Gen- 
 
444 SHOCKING TRAGEDY. 
 
 eral at that time, had volunteered to appear for him, 
 and was with me and Mr. Bovill, afterwards Chief 
 Justice of the Common Pleas, for the defense. The 
 parade, however, except as exhibiting kindly feeling, 
 was perfectly unnecessary. The grand jury, of course, 
 threw out the bill, and the judge directed the petit 
 jury to acquit upon the inquisition. 
 
 Sir Richard was a member of the Middle Temple 
 Bench, and it was supposed that through his influence 
 Mr. Abraham was employed as architect upon the erec- 
 tion of a new library, and in consequence it generally 
 goes by the name of "the little Bethel." 
 
 In the spring of 1860 a shocking tragedy occurred 
 at Lewes. A gentleman named Hopley and his wife 
 kept a school in this town. He had several scholars, 
 and amongst them a boy of the name of Reginald 
 Channell Cancellor, whose father was one of the Mas- 
 ters of the Court of Common Pleas. 
 
 This poor boy was of weak intellect, and Hopley, 
 whose own mind was, I am willing to think, distort- 
 ed, exercised upon him a system of unceasing cruelty. 
 He seemed to imagine that the weakness, partly nat- 
 ural, and partly the result of terror occasioned by his 
 own conduct, was obduracy of temper, and the feebler 
 he became in mind and body, the more cruel were the 
 tortures inflicted upon him. At last, during the night 
 of April 21st, his system of correction was brought 
 fully to the test. Screams that sent terror into the 
 hearts of the other pupils were heard during the long 
 hours of the night. The poor children lay shudder- 
 ing with fear and horror, whilst the wretched half- 
 witted victim of a lunatic's system of education was 
 
MR HOPLEY. 445 
 
 deliberately mangled to death, and was found on the 
 following morning a corpse. 
 
 I knew Hopley's brother, who was an artist, with 
 some genius, but eccentric, living in St. John's Wood, 
 and through him was retained to defend Thomas Hop- 
 ley at the Lewes Assizes, where he was indicted and 
 tried for manslaughter before Sir Alexander Cockburn. 
 Mr. Cancellor, the father, was well known to all of 
 us, which heightened the feelings we entertained. 
 The plea of insanity was not set up, although for the 
 credit of human nature I could wish that it should have 
 been, and believe that it could have been supported 
 upon the definitions of that malady that I have already 
 discussed. Cockburn was intensely affected, as he 
 always was when sympathy was demanded. Hopley 
 being found guilty of manslaughter, was sentenced to 
 four years' penal servitude, and issued from his gaol a 
 circular, of which I will venture to transcribe the fol- 
 lowing portion. He advocated the formation of a 
 " grand model educational establishment," with him- 
 self as the model Christian master, and his wife, mar- 
 ried and educated by him for this express purpose, "to 
 aim at becoming the model Christian mistress." The 
 lady however, did not appear ambitious of the posi- 
 tion, or to approve of the system of education, for, 
 some years after, she sued for a divorce, and obtained 
 a decree for a judicial separation. What has become 
 of him I know not. I hope I did my duty to him as 
 his counsel, but I did not attempt to justify his sys- 
 tem of education. 
 
 His poor brother, whom I sincerely pitied, had ex- 
 pended years in painting a picture called, as far as my 
 
446 COCKBURN'S SENSE OF JUSTICE. 
 
 recollection serves me, " The Building of a Pyramid 
 by an Early Egyptian Queen." The slaves, with enor- 
 mous difficulty, are supposed to be bringing the mate- 
 rials from immense distances, and the work represent- 
 ed on the canvas was not feebly portrayed by the la- 
 bor exercised in its delineation. The minutiae were 
 very exact and carefully executed, but there was no 
 great imagination displayed in its construction, and it 
 did not command success adequate to its great elabora- 
 tion. It was, however, his idol. He parted with it 
 to serve his brother, and, poor fellow! he mourned 
 over it, and that and the disgrace of the trial hastened 
 the end that a feeble constitution and many disap- 
 pointments had long threatened. 
 
 Sir Alexander's sense of justice, as well as energy 
 in pursuing it, was evidenced recently in a matter 
 about which he had many years before formed a strong 
 opinion. When he was nearly a briefless barrister a 
 case was tried upon the Western Circuit before Mr. 
 Justice Williams. This was not the eminent lawyer 
 and distinguished judge, Vaughan Williams, but the 
 "Johnny " whose jokes I have recorded. The pris- 
 oner was convicted. The details would afford no 
 amusement nor add any point to the anecdote that I am 
 relating ; it is sufficient to say that he was sentenced 
 to transportation for life, and, notwithstanding very 
 earnest endeavors on the part of Cockburn and others 
 who considered the evidence to be unsatisfactory, un- 
 derwent a great portion of his sentence, and it was 
 only recently that, the case being again ventilated, the 
 late Lord Chief Justice, in the midst of his pressing 
 avocations, renewed with unabated energies his en 
 
APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES FOR ELECTION TRIALS. 447 
 
 deavors on his behalf, and with success. The inno- 
 cence of the convict, now bowed down by years, has 
 been recognized. He has received a free pardon, and 
 a sufficient pension for his remaining years. It is not 
 only in this case that the public has to recognize an 
 enlightened change in the constitution of the Home 
 Office. I am glad to take the opportunity of mention- 
 ing a very dear and valued friend of mine, and many 
 others of former days. I allude to a gentleman 
 named Scherer, a shorthand writer, very accomplished 
 in his own profession, and possessing other qualities 
 which endeared him to many friends at the bar as well 
 as elsewhere. He was one of the most earnest be- 
 lievers in the innocence of the person I have referred 
 to, and energetic in his endeavors on his behalf. Poor 
 Scherer's premature death did not enable him to reap 
 the reward of his disinterested exertions, as his friend 
 Cockburn had the satisfaction of doing. 
 
 Sir Alexander Cockburn never shunned hard work, 
 and amongst his efforts will be remembered an elab- 
 orate address to the Chancellor protesting against the 
 appointment of the judges to try election petitions. 
 All his brethren concurred in it. However, it may 
 fairly now be said that the evils anticipated have not 
 been realized, and that the judges retain in their per- 
 formances of these duties the same character for im- 
 partiality that follows their career in all others im- 
 posed upon them. 
 
 The intense labor and research which he brought 
 to bear upon the discussion of the Alabama Claims, 
 and his luminous work upon the subject, strikingly il 
 lustrate the various qualities of his mind, and are mat- 
 ter of world-wide interest. 
 
448 LORD BLACKBURN. 
 
 I have only to add that I think that the late Lord 
 Chief Justice would form a worthy object for a far 
 more skilled biographer than myself. I trust, never- 
 theless, however far I have been from exhausting the 
 subject, that I have not done injustice to a man who, 
 amongst those recorded upon the page of English his- 
 tory, is entitled to hold a most distinguished place. 
 
 I am now about to record, not at any length, two 
 cases in which I was engaged, and which were pre- 
 sided over by a judge of a very different type and 
 character from the one I have just parted with. I have 
 already introduced Lord Blackburn, and recounted 
 some of his proceedings during the election campaign. 
 He also is worthy of record by a graver and more 
 learned pen than I possess. I have no doubt that 
 there are those who can speak of hours spent by him 
 in indefatigable pursuit of the deep and profound 
 knowledge that, since his promotion to the bench, he 
 has exhibited ; and perhaps there are some who may 
 have seen him in gayer scenes. His great patron, 
 Lord Campbell, was once met at Cremorne Gardens, 
 studying, as he said, human nature. Lord Blackburn 
 preferred seeking it in Coke upon Littleton, without 
 assistance from the haunts of revelry. I have never 
 heard of his hanging over the chair of any north-coun- 
 try maiden, whispering soft words into her ear, or ex- 
 hibiting the activity of his person in the mazes of a 
 waltz or even of a Highland reel. He was wont to 
 sit in a back row in the Court of Queen's Bench, and 
 greatly are Lord Campbell's judgments indebted to 
 his clear and profound appreciation of law. Latterly, 
 before promoted to the bench, he was entrusted as 
 
BLA CKB URN AS JUD QK 449 
 
 junior with heavy mercantile causes, but never with 
 the lead ; and, except amongst the solicitors who thus 
 had experience of him, it could not be said that he 
 had obtained reputation even as a lawyer. His ap- 
 pointment by Lord Campbell was viewed with sur- 
 prise, and people were astonished when they subse- 
 quently discovered that there were such excellent 
 grounds for it. His manner upon the bench was harsh 
 and ungenial, but it was soon found that this was only 
 his surface deportment. He was especially patient and 
 painstaking. He had the fault that judges who have 
 had little experience in the conduct of causes must 
 necessarily have — an awkwardness in marshaling the 
 facts of a case so as to suit them to the comprehen- 
 sion of a jury. But at the time of his translation to 
 his present position he had become a most excellent 
 Nisi Prius judge, and there was no one before whom 
 I would sooner have practiced. 
 
 Shortly after his appointment he went the Home 
 Circuit, and got into a sort of fracas at Guildford with 
 Mr. Evelyn, who was High Sheriff. It appears that 
 Mr. Justice Blackburn thought it necessary to hear 
 the evidence in the cases he was trying, which the 
 noise in court rendered extremely difficult. He or- 
 dered a portion of the building, which at that time 
 was a most inconvenient one, to be closed against 
 the public. Mr. Evelyn published a placard declar- 
 ing this proceeding to be contrary to law, and order- 
 ing it to be opened. 
 
 For this Mr. Evelyn was fined £500, Lord Chief 
 Justice Cockburn, the senior judge, taking the oppor- 
 tunity of doing what he was able to do full well-— 
 29 
 
450 FRACAS WITH THE SHERIFF. 
 
 making an extremely impressive address in inflicting 
 the fine. 
 
 Mr. Evelyn had been misled by some foolish friends, 
 and it so happened that Mr. Serjeant Shee and my- 
 self had passed the preceding Saturday to Monday at 
 his very pretty place in the neighborhood, and amongst 
 those who did not know much about us we got the 
 credit of being his advisers — of course, without foun- 
 dation. 
 
 I will reserve the particulars of the two cases I 
 have referred to until my next chapter. One wus 
 that of the Baron de Vidil, the other that of a Ger- 
 man named Karl Frantz 
 
CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 CRIMINAL COURTS AND CRIMINAL JUDGES. 
 
 THE Baron de Vidil was a friend of the Orleans 
 dynasty, and whilst that family were staying at 
 Twickenham he was in the habit of visiting certain 
 members of it. He had a son, a youth, as far as I can 
 remember, about nineteen years old, and the story I 
 am about briefly to relate is a very strange one. The 
 father and son were riding together in a secluded lane 
 in the neighborhood of Orleans House — it was in the 
 June of 1861 — when the young man suddenly received 
 a blow upon his head, and, turning round, saw his 
 father in the act of repeating it, and he did inflict sev- 
 eral of a murderous character with a heavily -loaded 
 whip, and it was at the time alleged that it was his 
 intention to commit murder. The lad pressed his 
 horse forward, threw himself off the saddle, and, cov- 
 ered with blood, sought the protection of a man and 
 woman who happened to be passing. He fi rst seeme d 
 disposed to accuse his father vehemently, and to dis- 
 close the causes of the attack, but after a short time 
 nothing would induce him to give any information. 
 
 The Baron escaped to Paris, but was delivered up' 
 to the English government, and tried before Mr. 
 
 451 
 
452 TRIAL OF KARL FRANTZ. 
 
 Justice Blackburn at the Central Criminal Court. 
 Sufficient evidence was obtained from the man and 
 woman, who had witnessed part of the assault, to con- 
 vict him of unlawful wounding, but, as his son re- 
 mained resolutely silent, no more serious verdict 
 could be procured. I was retained for his defense, 
 but learned no more than the rest of the public, and 
 the events leading to the transaction remain still a 
 mystery. Yidil was very well known in French so- 
 ciety, and the circumstance of my defending him in- 
 troduced me to the acquaintance of many of its 
 members. 
 
 They could give no clue to the transaction, but I 
 fancy for some reason he had previously been in ill 
 odor. It was one of the earliest criminal cases tried 
 by Mr. Justice Blackburn, and excited much interest 
 at the time. 
 
 During the assizes following, a young man mamed 
 Karl Frantz, a German, was tried before the same 
 judge for the. murder of a woman named Haliday, 
 the wife of the parish clerk of Kingswood, in Surrey. 
 This is the case that I have already mentioned in 
 which Madame Titiens was examined, and if he had 
 been clearly identified 'by her probably the result 
 would have been different ; but she exhibited some 
 little hesitation, and the facts, which present no inter- 
 est to the general reader, were circumstantial, though 
 to my mind conclusive. I prosecuted the prisoner, 
 and the present Mr. Justice Denman defended him 
 with great ability and success, but I cannot help think- 
 ing that the result was an example of how a judge of 
 intellect, however powerful, is embarrassed when 
 
LEGAL PROCEDURE. 453 
 
 called upon to deal with facts to which he has been 
 previously unaccustomed, especially when they involve 
 so serious an issue as the life of a fellow-creature. 
 Mr. Justice Blackburn impressed those who heard 
 him sum up upon this occasion with the idea that he 
 was laboring under a sense of hesitation and doubt ; 
 and juries, always loth to inflict the penalty of death, 
 were affected by his demeanor. On this occasion 
 this very distinguished man fully exhibited his kindly 
 nature and his inexperience. 
 
 I do not think that it is unfitting that I should take 
 this opportunity to make a few observations upon a 
 subject of vital importance in the administration of 
 the criminal law. The amalgamation of the common 
 law and equity systems is now an accomplished fact, 
 although the procedure is still very different in the 
 different courts, and judges are called upon to deal 
 with causes by means utterly novel to them ; but this, 
 doubtless, will all come right in time, after a reason- 
 able number of suitors have been ruined ; but I vent- 
 ure to suggest that this change affords the oppor- 
 tunity that has been long wanted of initiating a radi- 
 cal alteration both in the practice and the procedure 
 of criminal courts. I certainly do not make the fol- 
 lowing observations from any doubt of the ability 
 of members of what was called the equity bar ; but 
 surely it can hardly be conceived that they are fitted 
 to be taken from the midst of affidavits, with no 
 knowledge of oral testimony, or of the habits and 
 character of those who occupy the proceedings of the 
 Crown Courts, to preside upon some complicated 
 question, involving the life, or the slavery for life, of 
 
454 NEW TRIALS. 
 
 a human being. And although I believe that the in- 
 experience of the judge is far more likely to result in 
 a guilty man escaping than an innocent one being con- 
 victed, a court of justice is one of those large stages 
 upon which an incompetent performer is likely to cre- 
 ate feelings weakening its efficacy and example, and 
 may possibly be the cause of most calamitous results. 
 
 I have in former chapters taken occasion to refer to 
 the character of particular classes of witnesses, to the 
 temptations that exist in some matters to falsify facts, 
 and the occasional deliberate manner in which this is 
 attempted. And it ought to be remembered that the 
 Crown Courts are the arena upon which beginners 
 are launched in the profession. Unlike the Civil 
 Courts, the judge may not, and generally has not, the 
 assistance of the ablest and most experienced advo- 
 cates to take all human care that nothing shall escape 
 notice that requires consideration, and therefore much 
 more must necessarily be left to his experience and a 
 mind assumed to be practiced. In a civil proceeding, 
 however small the stake, he can be corrected if he 
 should err, and upon this ground new trials frequently 
 take place. But no court of appeal exists to which a 
 fellow-creature condemned to expiate a real or sup 
 posed crime upon the scaffold has a right to resort 
 for the correction of erroneous law or a wrong con- 
 clusion of fact. 
 
 In the account I have given of a previous case, I 
 have shown the imperfect means existing in the hands 
 of the Home Secretary, and the mischievous results 
 that occurred from there being no others. 
 
 I wish that my observations should be of service 
 
CRIMINAL APPEALS. 455 
 
 and produce inquiry, and this object would not be at- 
 tained by any exaggeration. I am confident of the 
 earnest desire of those who are called upon to fulfill 
 their novel duties to accomplish the object, but they 
 cannot by intuition jump into the knowledge that is 
 required to do so. 
 
 As I conscientiously believe that the employment 
 of untrained men to try grave criminal charges is a 
 great and serious evil, I wish to show my entire ab- 
 sence of prejudice by quoting the admission from all 
 quarters of the bar of the agreeable manner in which 
 they have hitherto presided, but this is only what 
 would be expected of highly-educated, kindly gentle- 
 men. And I am by no means sure that a barrister 
 likes a judge the less because now and then he lets 
 him get a verdict that he has no right to expect. 
 
 I have often thought over the subject of an appeal 
 in criminal cases before it was forced so prominently 
 forward as it now is by the appointment of barristers 
 to the bench who have no experience in this class of 
 work, and I believe no one doubts for a moment the 
 principle, but, as I am aware, great and serious diffi- 
 culties surround the subject, and it threatens an in- 
 quiry into the whole system of criminal procedure : 
 and although I have neither the pretension nor ability 
 to be a law reformer, my experience may enable me 
 to give some hints not altogether useless to those 
 who may be called upon elsewhere to deal with this 
 subject. 
 
 Let me lay down some axioms which I believe are 
 sound. 
 
 Harshness and over-severity affect seriously the ad- 
 
456 CRIMINAL CODE 
 
 ministration of justice, by rendering juries unwilling 
 to convict, and acquittals obtained through weakness 
 encourage the criminal classes in the pursuit of their 
 career. 
 
 In grave crimes, such as murder, a failure on one 
 side or the other through want of experience on the 
 part of the judge is always damaging, and may pro- 
 duce fatal consequences. 
 
 A commission composed of very learned men has 
 been engaged lately in preparing suggestions for a 
 code of the criminal law ; and, no doubt, if such a 
 production could be accomplished, it might materially 
 facilitate the administration of justice throughout its 
 different channels. I am doubtful, however, notwith- 
 standing the energy and labor of Sir James Fitzjames 
 Stephen and his associates, whether we shall ever see 
 it accomplished. But I think that at very little ex- 
 pense or trouble much simplicity might be introduced 
 where it is greatly wanted, and that in many instances 
 tolerably accurate definitions might be secured. I 
 think also that many offenses clearly defined might be 
 accurately classified, and that each person before his 
 trial might with advantage be supplied with a state- 
 ment of his offense in intelligible, everyday terms. I 
 do not think any real, substantial good can be effected 
 without the creation of more judges, and it has oc- 
 curred to me that this might really be made the means 
 of saving instead of creating expense, and at the same 
 time effecting the much-desired object of a court of 
 appeal. I think that members of the new body should ' 
 sit throughout the year, as the police magistrates do, 
 a quorum of them to hear appeals, and the others re- 
 
COURT OF APPEAL. 457 
 
 lieving the different gaols. I should give the right of 
 appeal in all cases, subject to certain limitations de- 
 termined by the punishment inflicted — at all events, 
 to begin with. 
 
 The court of appeal ought to have the power of 
 both diminishing and increasing the punishments in- 
 flicted by the judges of first instance. It would not 
 be called upon to rehear the cases, but decide as is 
 done at present by the tribunals who hear motions for 
 new trials in civil suits, members of the Criminal Ap- 
 peal Court being embodied with the High Court of 
 Justice, and receiving aid from their brother judges. 
 In the above sketch of a plan that has long occurred 
 to my mind as being a basis to go upon, and in any 
 endeavor to amend the present state of things, I should 
 not, of course, interfere with the privilege of the 
 Crown to remit sentences, but should give it the as- 
 sistance now so fatally wanting in coming to a con- 
 clusion upon substantial grounds. 
 
 The facilities and cheapness with which the me- 
 tropolis can now be reached induce me to think that 
 the ambit of the Central Court might be extended 
 with advantage to further distances, and that a court 
 upon similar principles might be established in the 
 larger towns. There would be no objection to the 
 aldermen still pursuing the duties that they now so 
 innocently perform, but elective judges ought sum- 
 marily to/be abolished. 
 
 I wish also that our legislators would give their at- 
 tention to the question whether a system of trans- 
 portation could not be established. I am confident, 
 as I have said already, that it is the most preventive 
 
458 CONVICT PRISONS. 
 
 punishment (unless death is excepted) that has been 
 inflicted in modern times, and I look upon convict pris- 
 ons and the system pursued in them with great mis- 
 givings. The inmates appear to me to have a sodden 
 appearance, and there is a painful similarity in their 
 faces to those whom a visitor will see grouped in lu- 
 natic asylums. I believe that with no small propor- 
 tion of the criminal class the hope of their being re- 
 formed is utterly contradicted by experience, and yet 
 the idea of imprisonment for life is repugnant to our 
 feelings, and in many instances would be unjust. How 
 can society be benefited by the convict of some four or 
 five years being handed back to his old associates u ? 
 Even if he have the desire to reform, he has over- 
 whelming temptation to follow his old courses. 
 
 Society, too, gives him no aid in an honest endeav- 
 or. Where is the householder who will, knowingly, 
 take the released felon into his establishment ? And, 
 therefore, if he succeed in obtaining any employment, 
 he must do so by concealment, really amounting to a 
 fraud upon the employer — a bad beginning for an 
 honest service. And there are the eyes of two sec- 
 tions of mankind constantly upon him — his former ac- 
 complices, and his more recent but not less dangerous 
 acquaintances, the police. 
 
CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 THE TEIAL OF THE GAEKWAR OF BARODA. 
 
 T T ^HEN first I determined to present such mem- 
 * * ories as I thought might interest or amuse the 
 public, it occurred to me that my professional voyage 
 to India would naturally be considered one of the most 
 important incidents in my career, and not an unfitting 
 one with which to conclude its records. 
 
 The events that had preceded it were of an unu- 
 sual, and, it might be said, an almost romantic charac- 
 ter. It was alleged that a great crime had been com- 
 mitted by a monarch of an important territory against 
 the representative of the British Government accred- 
 ited to himself. 
 
 It was considered of so weighty a character that 
 the Governor-General determined that it should be 
 investigated in a form hitherto unknown, and without 
 a precedent, and bringing to bear to the inquiry the 
 most solemn and weighty elements that it was possi- 
 ble to employ; and upon the application of the ac- 
 cused potentate, every facility was afforded to him of 
 obtaining such assistance as his advisers deemed would 
 be desirable for his protection and defense ; and there 
 being some difficulty in securing the services of one 
 
 459 
 
460 MY RETAINER. 
 
 very eminent member of the Calcutta bar, it was de- 
 termined to retain counsel from England ; and ac- 
 cordingly Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Henry Matthews and my- 
 self were applied to, and I accepted the retainer, it 
 being the first that was ever received by a member of 
 this bar to appear as advocate upon any trial in India. 
 
 But although I have for some time contemplated 
 giving an account of the circumstances that occurred, 
 now that I am sitting down to the task I am sensible 
 that it is surrounded with many difficulties. I not 
 only do not feel myself competent to deal with the 
 political aspect of the affair, but should be extremely 
 unwilling to do so. My position, and I strictly main- 
 tained it during the trial that took place, was to deal 
 solely with the facts, with a view of proving that they 
 did not support the allegations against the accused 
 Prince ; but in the retrospect I am about to take of 
 them it will be impossible to avoid some comment 
 that trenches upon the proceedings of the Executive, 
 and I hope that I shall not exceed my fair privilege 
 if I endeavor in doing so to ameliorate the present 
 condition of my late client. If anything that I could 
 write could interfere with the new state of things es- 
 tablished in the country, I should not feel justified in 
 writing them. But years have now passed. A dy- 
 nasty has been changed, and I have neither desire 
 nor right to attack a policy established upon the re- 
 sponsibility of the rulers of the country. 
 
 Onceupon a time a voyage to India was an event, and 
 a story might have been woven out of it. How amus- 
 ing are many of the characters and scenes in Captain 
 Marryat's novels ! Some of my readers also may re- 
 
THE OVERLAND ROUTE. 461 
 
 member by the sides of the river Thames the great 
 hulls of splendid ships mouldering away. These were 
 the old East Indiamen. When the trade was thrown 
 open, smaller and quicker vessels carried away the 
 traffic, and then the whisper went forth of reaching 
 India by an overland route, and even when that was 
 accomplished something was still left for an imagin- 
 ative traveler to record — the bumping over the desert 
 upon the unaccustomed camel, and if wild Arabs were 
 not met with, they might still be pictured ; but now 
 there is a prosaic railway that takes the traveler from 
 Alexandria to Suez, where he is met by the splendid 
 steamships of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, 
 and transported, rarely with any accident, to lands not 
 so very long ago undreamed of, except by a compara- 
 tively few travelers. There has been a misadventure 
 in modern times, which made the subject of one of 
 Tom Taylor's most popular and amusing plays. An 
 officer on board the "Australia," the vessel by which 
 I went from Suez to Bombay, was one of the crew on 
 board a P. and 0. ship that was wrecked upon a rock 
 in the Red Sea during its return voyage. My inform- 
 ant told me that the incidents that occurred were re- 
 lated with considerable accuracy by the dramatist. 
 The play came out at the Haymarket Theatre. Buck- 
 stone and Compton were amongst the performers, and 
 I think pretty Mrs. Fitzwilliam. I heard from my in- 
 formant the name of the English officer who was stop- 
 ped making off with a bottle of bitter beer. He was 
 well known in the army as a soldier of distinction and 
 gallantry, and his succumbing to the illicit charms of 
 a bottle of Allsopp's ale created universal astonish- 
 
462 SIR RICHARD QARTH. 
 
 ment amongst his comrades. I ought to have men- 
 tioned that as it was doubtful how long the passengers 
 and crew might be kept in their unpleasant position, 
 the provisions were placed under a guard. The refer- 
 ence I have made to the marine service enables me to 
 mention a dear old friend of mine who had command- 
 ed one of the former East Indiamen — Captain Mack- 
 eson. Whilst the vessel was in (I believe) the Chi- 
 nese seas an insane sailor inflicted a severe wound up- 
 on his head, which invalided him, and he was obliged 
 to retire from the service upon a pension. He locat- 
 ed himself upon that very pretty spot, the Terrace, at 
 Hythe, in Kent, and at his hospitable house I spent 
 more pleasant hours than I can remember at many 
 other places. A son of his was at the Chancery bar, and 
 a cousin, whose agreeable society reminds me of my old 
 friend, is a member of the bench of the Inner Temple. 
 
 When in olden times a barrister embraced the op- 
 portunity of going as a judge to India, he was prepared 
 to be expatriated for ten years at least. Now he can 
 spend his long vacation in his native country. It was 
 not long after Sir Richard Garth had gone to India as 
 Chief Justice that I saw his genial countenance while 
 he was getting into a hansom at Charing Cross, look- 
 ing just as jolly as it was wont to do when mixing in 
 the circuit convivialities, of which he may perchance 
 remember one occasion at the Salisbury Arms, at 
 Hertford ! 
 
 I had not been over well for some time before I 
 accepted the retainer to defend His Highness Mulhar 
 Rao, the Gaekwar of Baroda ; but after obtaining some 
 excellent instructions and advice from my old friend 
 
VOYAGE TO ALEXANDRIA. 453 
 
 and medical adviser, Oscar Clayton, which I supple- 
 mented with a favorite prescription of my own, I 
 started on a certain day in January, 1875, en route for 
 India. I gave myself time to enjoy a dinner at Paris, 
 and made my way onwards over the Mont Cenis pass 
 to Bologna, where I stayed for the night (and a very 
 interesting old town it is), and then proceeded to 
 Brindisi. 
 
 As the train approached the shores of the Adriatic 
 it was by no means pleasant to hear the howling of 
 the wind and the dashing of the waves. We reached 
 Brindisi before it was light in the morning, and the 
 locality was certainly the reverse of inviting. The 
 passengers were turned out amidst rain and mud, and 
 found very wretched accommodations. It was diffi- 
 cult to get information as to when the vessel that was 
 to convey us to Alexandria would start, or indeed, 
 where it was. The light, when it arrived, did not 
 add to our satisfaction with the prospect. However, 
 at last I found the ship, which was not likely to start 
 for some time ; but when, was very difficult to find out. 
 
 There was a rough sea and drizzling rain. I heard 
 that there had been some unexpected change, either 
 in the captain or some of the arrangements, which 
 had caused delay ; but at last we started, and on the 
 evening of the third day arrived off Alexandria. The 
 harbor of this port is very dangerous, and the pilot 
 would not take us in until daylight, and so we re- 
 mained rolling upon a nasty sea until morning, when 
 we reached our destination ; and here again we had 
 to wait a considerable time, no one seeming to know 
 when the train for Suez would start. I saw nothing 
 
464 CAPTAIN MURRA T. 
 
 of interest, and, not knowing what time there was to 
 spare, made no endeavor to do so. Towards midday 
 our journey began, and we arrived at Suez in the 
 evening, when we ought to have embarked on board 
 the "Australia," which had sailed from Southampton, 
 but had got stuck in the Canal on its way. We were 
 not inconvenienced by this, as we were received with 
 great kindness for the night on board a very fine vessel 
 belonging to the company — I believe the "Pekin" — 
 and on the following morning the "Australia" made 
 its appearance. This vessel was at that time, and 
 may be now, one of the finest of the company's fleet, 
 and was commanded by a gentleman, the son, I be- 
 lieve, of a Presbyterian minister. 
 
 His name was Murray. He gave me the impres- 
 sion of being a first-rate seaman, and was certainly 
 possessed of great intelligence and information. I re- 
 ceived from him much courtesy, and greatly enjoyed 
 his society. He had very rigid and scriptural ideas, 
 accepting literally the contents of the Old Testament; 
 and had made it a labor of love to verify localities 
 which he supposed to be described in connection 
 with the Red Sea. His views as to the point selected 
 by the Israelites, for crossing were very firmly fixed, 
 and his reasons, which I will not pretend to transcribe, 
 given with earnest faith. 
 
 There were no adventures upon the voyage. The 
 weather was lovely and the passengers pleasant. There 
 were two very pretty brides, very much engrossed 
 with their husbands, one married to an officer, the son 
 of a medical man whom I knew in London, the other 
 to a wealthy planter or merchant in some remote part 
 of India. 
 
CURIOUS PHENOMENON. 465 
 
 A cynical old major, who had been the voyage back- 
 wards and forwards many times, said that the fair 
 brides were much more general in the distribution of 
 their agreeable qualities upon the return passage. 
 There was a colonel going out to conclude his period 
 of service. He was accompanied by his wife, who 
 had passed many years in the best Indian society. I 
 cannot remember their names. I wish I could, if only 
 to identify them with the pleasure I enjoyed in their 
 society. There was an elderly maiden ; but her com- 
 panion was an ill-tempered cur of a dog, whom she in- 
 sisted, against all the rules, in taking to her berth, 
 where it indulged in the most dismal howling. One 
 morning signs of lamentation and woe, not canine, 
 but female, proceeded from where she slept. Her 
 companion had disappeared and was never heard of 
 again. And there were grins upon a mischievous- 
 looking face, the owner of which had complained bit- 
 terly of his rest having been disturbed by the afore- 
 said animal. Some flying fish we saw, but not many, 
 and I do not remember their having been caught. 
 
 For two nights the constellation of the Southern 
 Cross was visible. The name has somehow created 
 an idea that it is more beautiful than it really is. Still 
 it is something to have seen. One night I was with 
 the captain upon deck, and witnessed what to me cer- 
 tainly was a phenomenon, and I think that my com- 
 panion told me that he had never witnessed it before. 
 Although there was a slight motion on the vessel, the 
 entire ocean presented an appearence that I can only 
 liken to an immense bowl of cream with invisible sides. 
 
 There did not appear to the eye the slightest move- 
 30 
 
466 RECEPTION AT B OMB A 7. 
 
 merit. The appearance lasted for many hours. We 
 had some of the water drawn up, and it appeared to 
 be of pure sea-green hue. Captain Murray could not 
 in any way account for it. I may be writing of some- 
 thing that others more conversant than myself with 
 voyages may have seen and can explain ; but I can- 
 not spare recounting one of the few incidents of my 
 only passage up the Red Sea. We had one visitor — 
 a quail. Where it came from, Heaven knows ; but 
 the pretty creature met with a kindly welcome. I 
 cannot say what became of it, but when we arrived 
 at Aden it was offered its liberty, which, however, it 
 was wise enough to decline, in view of a number of 
 kites that were gathered around the vessel. We were 
 persecuted to buy ostrich feathers at a higher price 
 than we should have got them for in Regent Street ; 
 and the scene that most of us have witnessed from the 
 windows of the " Trafalgar Tavern," at Greenwich, 
 was not badly imitated by a parcel of young blacka 
 moors sporting around the vessel. Aden is a wretcheo 
 hole We landed and were received kindly enough 
 by the English Resident, but there was nothing to 
 eat, drink, or see. We soon proceeded onwards. The 
 weather still, continued fine, and, after a quick and 
 pleasant voyage, we came to an anchor off Apollo Pier, 
 the harbor of Bombay, where I was met by the Gaek- 
 war's solicitors, Messrs. Jefferson and Payne, and af- 
 ter a really regretful parting from many of my fellow- 
 passengers, and my friend Captain Murray especially, 
 and being interviewed by a very kind and compliment- 
 ary member of the press, was taken off to the pretty 
 residence of Mr. Jefferson, who received me as his 
 
APPEARANCE OF THE CITY. 457 
 
 guest during the time I remained in Bombay, and 
 from whom and his family I met with much kindness 
 and hospitality. 
 
 The house occupied by my kind host is in the por- 
 tion of the city inhabited by all the principal people of 
 Bombay, and, I imagine, the only portion habitable 
 with any comfort. It is a declivity sloping down to 
 the harbor, called Malabar Hill. The residences are 
 built with great taste, and the spot is very beautifully 
 planted. The villas themselves have gardens of greater 
 or less extent, filled with beautiful shrubs. 
 
 The city itself, as I then saw it for the first time, 
 presented, with this exception, nothing to charm the 
 eye. The appearance that it impressed upon me was 
 as if it had lately been in the hands of some bankrupt 
 builder. There were no hotels of any pretension, or, 
 as far as I could learn, of reputation. There was a 
 very handsome club, called the Bycullah, of which I 
 was made an honorary member, excellently conducted ; 
 some fine shops, most of the articles coming from Eng- 
 land, and very expensive. 
 
 A feature which did not present much attraction to 
 me was the Parsee cemetery, about a mile from the 
 town. This was a very large building, surrounded 
 by high walls, over which passers-by were not able 
 to see. This sect do not bury their dead, but lay them 
 naked upon benches which are attached to the walls 
 inside. Certain ceremonies are performed, and the 
 bodies are left for the consumption of the birds of 
 prey, of which there are a multitude about the city. 
 There is not a great variety of food for human beings ; 
 and, although upon the sea, the varieties of fish are 
 
468 CHISHOLM ANSTEY. 
 
 very few, the only good one being a flat fish, some- 
 what larger but not unlike our flounder. I forget its 
 name. There are also prawns, and I have a grateful 
 recollection of a dish of them curried, at a dinner 
 given me by one of my confreres at the club. 
 
 Popular barristers made considerable incomes, but 
 the expenses of living are very large ; and it is im- 
 possible to practice without the possession of a car- 
 riage, and numerous servants also appear to be indis- 
 pensable. 
 
 To me the air was detestable ; and, although there 
 undoubtedly is a sea breeze, it is relaxing and de- 
 pressing. I cannot imagine a European having energy 
 in such a climate for hard work, but constitutions vary 
 and some get on very well. I dined, upon the two 
 visits, before and after I had been to Baroda, with the 
 Chief Justice Westropp and also with Mr. Justice 
 Bay ley, meeting with very elegant entertainments at 
 both houses. 
 
 Shortly before my arrival a somewhat eccentric 
 member of the bar, whom I had known well in Lon- 
 don, had died — Mr. Chisholm Anstey. He had been 
 in Parliament, where he was so indefatigable in wor- 
 rying everybody that the Government made him At- 
 torney-General at Hong Kong, and he celebrated the 
 night before that fixed for his departure by breaking 
 the heads of a couple of policemen, and thus nearly 
 lost his appointment. I was instrumental in settling 
 the matter for him. At Hong Kong he continued to 
 commit such vagaries that he was recalled ; before 
 being so, there had been two unsuccessful attempts 
 to poison him. He then settled down, as far as he 
 
ANSTETS ECCENTRICITY. 469 
 
 could settle, as counsel at Bombay, where he became 
 very popular with the natives, whose interests he ad- 
 vocated with great zeal, energy, and ability, and was 
 a considerable thorn in the sides of the constituted 
 authorities. 
 
 In my chapter upon Evans's, I ought to have men- 
 tioned him. He used, after having been heard of 
 playing some prank at the antipodes, to walk as calmly 
 into that resort as if he had never left the Temple. 
 He was really a genius, but was lucky not to have 
 ever been rich enough to invite the attention of certain 
 proprietors of lunatic asylums. 
 
CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 TRIAL OF THE GAEKWAR. 
 
 A FTER having been treated during my brief stay 
 ■^^ at Bombay with the greatest kindness by every 
 one — but certainly having come to the conclusion that, 
 charming as is the society, the city itself does not 
 furnish many attractions — I started a day or two be- 
 fore February 23d for the scene of my professional 
 performance. Until I learned that I was fated to de- 
 fend the monarch of Baroda, I must confess that I had 
 never heard of such a place, and the title of Graekwar — 
 or Gruicowar — had never reached my ears. I learned 
 what I could about it, and although by no means 
 anxious to do anything in the handbook line, I must, 
 to make my story intelligible, borrow some statistical 
 information upon the subject, which I do from a book 
 published, I believe, by the authority of the Grovern- 
 ment of India, and which, containing as it does the 
 official account of all the proceedings, including the 
 trial of His Majesty, I shall use throughout as my au- 
 thority, except when I name any other. Baroda, then, 
 as I learned, was the largest independent State in 
 Western India, and contains a very extensive popula- 
 tion. The original meaning of Gaekwar was "cow- 
 470 
 
THE QAEKWARS PREDECESSOR. 471 
 
 Herd," of which the possessors are proud, and theii 
 dominion isoverGuzerat and other provinces, of which 
 Baroda is the capital. The history of more than a 
 century and a half of this country and its rulers con- 
 tains the ordinary amount of crimes, insurrections, 
 treasons, and intrigues which is usually to be found 
 amongst Indian nations ; but I shall leap over them 
 all, and I do not recommend my English readers, if 
 they have anything else to do, to add to their infor- 
 mation upon these subjects. I must introduce them, 
 however, to the potentate who preceded my client 
 upon the throne. 
 
 This was Rhandi Rao, who died suddenly — not un- 
 frequently the case in the family, and whoever profited 
 by the death being always suspected of causing it ; 
 my client accordingly, without the slightest shadow 
 of proof, had to accept the common suspicion. When, 
 however, Rhandi died, his youngest wife was enceinte. 
 Her name was Jummabee, and if this young lady 
 bore a boy the throne would pass to him. She, how- 
 ever, lost the chance of being Queen Mother by be- 
 coming the mother of a girl. My client, Mulhar Rao, 
 thus became monarch. 
 
 He was passing his time in prison when called to 
 the throne, which does not appear to have been un- 
 common with this pastoral dynasty. Before I give an 
 account of the trial, I shall give a short sketch of pro- 
 ceedings that had preceded it, and which will be re- 
 quired for the purpose of its comprehension, but I 
 think that I have said all that is necessary before 
 commencing my journey from Bombay. 
 
 Early in the morning the train started from the 
 
472 HYMN PRESENTED. 
 
 outskirts. The distance we had to travel was 250 
 miles in a northern direction. The railway seemed 
 well constructed, the carriages comfortable, and the 
 pace tolerably good, although not rapid. I need not 
 mention the different towns at which we stopped ; 
 but it was known that I was in the train, and I can- 
 not doubt that the Graekwar was popular amongst the 
 native population from the reception that I met with, 
 which then, at all events, could only be attributable 
 to that cause. As we approached his territory, lunch, 
 called by some name that gave it importance, was 
 prepared,; and I had roses showered upon me and ad- 
 dresses presented to me by men whom I was given 
 to understand were of high class and position. I am 
 by no means insensible to compliments, but I felt a 
 good deal embarrassed by so unusual a display ; and 
 I could not help recalling one occasion, the only one, 
 that I went to the Lord Mayor's feast in my scarlet 
 robes, and was received from Chancery Lane to the 
 Guildhall by the population of that extensive thor- 
 oughfare with immense delight and applause, under 
 the mistake that I was an alderman. Upon the oc- 
 casion I am now relating, a hymn had been com- 
 posed in my honor, which was recited. I have since 
 received a translation of it, 1 and am afraid that, as upon 
 the civic occasion, an imaginary idea possessed my ad- 
 mirers. As the train approached its destination the 
 welcome became still more demonstrative, and I was 
 not sorry, upon the arrival at the station, to get off to 
 the residence that had been prepared for my recep 
 tion, two or three miles off. This was not palatial 
 
 i Vide Appendix. 
 
HEAT.— MONKEYS. AJ% 
 
 It was a bungalow, and situated upon an extensive 
 plain, where all the Europeans resided. There was 
 an English regiment whose barracks were also there, 
 and the Government residence, then occupied by Sir 
 Lewis Pelly,, and under his surveillance the unhappy 
 object of all this commotion. Other bungalows were 
 occupied by English officers and their wives, some of 
 them young English girls of position when in the 
 home country, and who were subjected to inconven- 
 iences which none of them could have anticipated, 
 but which they bore with no outward signs of discon- 
 tent. 
 
 Mrs. Scobell, the wife of the Advocate-General of 
 Bombay, and who was counsel for the Crown, had 
 come down by the same train that had brought me. 
 I was much gratified in being introduced to her, and 
 by my subsequent very pleasant acquaintance. Her 
 husband had been on the same circuit as myself, and 
 it is not necessary to say, both in his reception and in 
 our subsequent encounter in court, was most thor- 
 oughly courteous and obliging. When we arrived 
 there was some appearance of grass upon the plain, 
 but after a week it had disappeared, and the sun took 
 uncontrolled possession of the place. It was only in 
 the very early morning and the late evening that it 
 was possible to be exposed without covering. 
 
 There was a garden with shrubs and flowers, in 
 which, in these early mornings, might be enjoyed a 
 pleasant stroll, but the neighborhood furnished but 
 few attractions, and beyond what was called the com- 
 pound there were no roads. I was very kindly sup- 
 plied with an open trap and a pair of Arab ponies, not 
 
474 PARROTS.— COBRAS. 
 
 very amenable to discipline, with which I used to 
 drive about the outskirts and into the town, which I 
 Mall presently describe. I think the sight that struck 
 me as most strange was a solemn-looking conclave of 
 monkeys, seated under a large tree, whilst others were 
 reposing upon the branches, and some ten or a doz- 
 en natives at a short distance apparently worshiping 
 them. I was told that a person's life would not be 
 safe if he injured one of these 'animals. 
 
 Flocks of green parrots filled the air close up to 
 the residences, unhurt and unfearing, and even the 
 kites, of which there were many swooping over the 
 plains, were as tame as barn-door fowls. It is a great 
 comfort for the lower class of animals that the natives 
 suppose that their bodies are occupied by the souls 
 that have departed from the bodies of human beings, 
 and the most insignificant and objectionable animals 
 are alike protected by this supposition. On some 
 nights a continuous and almost unearthly howl is heard 
 at a distance. It comes either from wolves or hyenas, 
 I forget which I was told. A rustling is occasionally, 
 heard in a hedge, and you are informed that you have 
 been a few inches distant from the deadly cobra ; and 
 it is not desirable to walk after dark far from your 
 bungalow, unless accompanied by servants bearing 
 lights. Mrs. Scobell told me that one of these rep- 
 tiles was coiled up one evening upon her dressing- 
 table. The Hindoo servant appointed to attend upon 
 my wants particularly cautioned me to look into my 
 bath before I used it, as "De snake was very fond of 
 de cool place," and I need not say that I did not neg- 
 lect the information. 
 
APPEARANCE OF BARODA. 475 
 
 Having given, I fear, but an imperfect sketch of the 
 appearance of the country, a country full of novelty to 
 one visiting it for the first time, I will endeavor to give 
 an idea of its capital, and this really would be worthy 
 of a far abler pen than I possess. When for the first 
 time I approached it, my thoughts were carried back 
 to Eastern story, and I could picture to myself the 
 Caliph Haroun and his faithful Vizier seeking for ad- 
 ventures amongst the strange forms to be seen travers- 
 ing the narrow streets. It was evident that they were 
 composed of many races, and difficult to imagine that 
 they belonged to our own time. Of women, except of 
 the lowest class, none were to be seen, and these were 
 wrapped up as if they were treasures of untold price, 
 although they might not often change their garments. 
 The men seemed generally of diminutive stature, and 
 engaged in different works of labor. Some, however, 
 there were tall and handsome, with olive complexions. 
 And these were generally carrying heavy articles up- 
 on their heads, supported by their two arms, a post- 
 ure which displayed their fine sinewy forms to great 
 advantage. 
 
 Heaviness seemed to weigh over the city, and al- 
 though it was densely crowded, there was an utter ab- 
 sence of all joyousness. I never saw a smile upon a coun- 
 tenance or heard a sound of gayety. The men we met 
 scowled at us, and certainly the impression made up- 
 on me was that the Europeans were most thoroughly 
 hated. There were occasional cavalcades of persons 
 of superior rank on horseback, and native soldiers 
 were numerous throughout the town ; amongst others, 
 a regiment dressed in a costume similar to that of our 
 
476 CHEETAH.— CAMELS.— ELEPHA NTS. 
 
 Highland regiments, and having certainly a pictur- 
 esque appearance, though it was strange to our eyes 
 to witness their swarthy faces and slight, lithesome 
 figures clad in such a garb. 
 
 There was no display of merchandise in the shops, 
 and the external features of all the buildings, whilst 
 quaint and apparently governed by no fixed principle 
 of architecture, had the common attribute of neglect 
 and dirt. There were palaces that offered no excep 
 tion to this state ; and at the entrance of the town an 
 old gateway and dismantled tower, whilst it gave pict 
 uresqueness to the appearance, added to the gloom. 
 It was around another gateway about the centre that 
 I saw the Highland regiment grouped, lounging idly, 
 and showing little appearance of discipline. I was 
 struck by seeing a species of leopard called a cheetah 
 led through the street fastened by a chain. These 
 are used for hunting deer, but the sport is cruel and 
 without excitement, the unfortunate victim never re- 
 ally reaching its full speed before its enemy is upon 
 its haunches. In the streets there are some fine trees, 
 called, if I remember correctly, pupull trees, but they 
 add to, rather than diminish, its sombre character. 
 Amongst the quadrupeds that occupy the streets no 
 small proportion are camels and elephants, and upon 
 one occasion when I was driving my ponies through 
 the town, I found myself most unpleasantly obstruct- 
 ed by the back of a camel, whilst at no great distance 
 from my head was the trunk of an elephant ; but, re- 
 ally, whatever may be the case of the population, the 
 quadrupeds are extremely well-behaved. I was in- 
 troduced to a den of wild animals, amongst which 
 
TIGERS. 477 
 
 were several large tigers fastened to staples in the 
 walls, and not leaving very much space for visitors to 
 walk. I confess that I eyed the chains with consid- 
 erable interest, to use no more forcible expression. 
 The keepers seemed upon perfectly good terms with 
 them, but I was more astonished at finding one of 
 these animals in a yard open to the street, fastened in 
 the same way in a corner of it. Those who expected 
 rich stuffs or jewelry to be displayed, or gorgeous and 
 tempting shops of any kind, would have been sadly 
 disappointed ; there was nothing of the kind ; dirt ev- 
 erywhere was what struck the visitor most. I had 
 the honor of being introduced to Her Majesty, one of 
 of the wives of the Graekwar, through a thick trellis 
 work. She was most gracious, but I have no distinct 
 recollection of her conversation. The palace where 
 this distinction was conferred upon me was as grimy as 
 all the other places to which I had been introduced. 
 
 There may be some Eastern word meaning com- 
 fort, certainly there was no Eastern habit that I saw 
 representing it. I cannot flatter myself that I have 
 conveyed any very accurate idea of this scene of a city 
 that has been the arena of many a memorable perform- 
 ance during many centuries. It is, however, the best 
 that I am able to pen. There was really nothing to 
 excite admiration, either in the buildings or the de- 
 meanor of the people. All life, in which amusements 
 or pleasure could form a part, seemed to be smoth- 
 ered. Nevertheless, the passage through it left upon 
 my mind the impression of something stranger than 
 had ever before been presented to my senses. 
 
 I was not at all sorry to get back to my bungalow. 
 
478 SIR LEWIS PELLY. 
 
 Mrs. Branson, the wife of one of my brother counsel, 
 acted the good Samaritan, and by her knowledge, ac- 
 tivity, and good-nature not only afforded us pleasant 
 society, but managed the establishment so as to make 
 oar lot extremely comfortable. 
 
 Every morning a present was brought to us from 
 Her Majesty, consisting of fish and fruit, accompa- 
 nied by many polite messages, and these viands were, 
 no doubt, the best that could be procured, but were 
 not at all remarkable. 
 
 Amongst the personages who took no actual part in 
 the trial, but who added greatly to the comfort and 
 amusement that I derived from my visit to Baroda 
 was Sir Lewis Pelly, whose distinguished and long 
 service in the Government of India is too well known 
 to make any description of its details necessary. The 
 tact with which he effected the capture of the Gaek- 
 war,. and his good taste and courtesy, as far as it was 
 possible to extend it towards his captive, was admired 
 by every one ; and during the painful ordeal that the 
 unfortunate monarch had to undergo, when practically 
 under the surveillance of Sir Lewis and living with 
 him at the Residence, nothing could exceed his cap- 
 tor's kindly behavior, and I know that the Gaekwar 
 fully appreciated it. To the counsel engaged Sir 
 Lewis Pelly extended much hospitality, and we had 
 very agreeable gatherings at his table during the prog- 
 ress of the trial. 
 
 What he thought or what he knew were not for 
 public ears. Whether the view he took of His High- 
 ness was favorable or the reverse no one from his man- 
 ner could tell ; but I entertain a very strong opinion 
 
TAME PARTRIDGE. 479 
 
 that if early in the transactions he had been entrusted 
 with the management of the affairs of Baroda, I should 
 never have had the honor of defending an Eastern po- 
 tentate upon the charge of attempting to poison a Brit- 
 ish representative. 
 
 It is very ungrateful of me not to remember the 
 names of the officers, or the designation of the Eng- 
 lish regiment, whose rooms were opened to us, and 
 from whom we received such frequent and kindly 
 welcomes. It was, however, a regiment to which my 
 brother was attached during his lifetime, and I heard 
 a great deal about him. He seemed to have been a 
 particular favorite. 
 
 It did not appear to me that there existed any in- 
 tercourse between our countrymen and the inhabit- 
 ants. The Residence and the barracks rendered our 
 stay more than endurable, and I for one have a most 
 grateful recollection of the courtesies received at both. 
 
 One trifling incident afforded me amusement dur- 
 ing my early morning walks. This was the docility of 
 a partridge, which followed a man about the fields like 
 a dog. I was told that this is not an uncommon mode 
 of training these birds. I used to look forward to 
 witnessing its performance, and its possessor seemed 
 gratified at a very moderate present. 
 
CHAPTER XL VII. 
 
 THE MEETING OF COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 T T is superfluous to mention that shortly after day- 
 break on the morning of February 25, 1875, Ba- 
 roda was in a blaze of sunshine, for such was the case 
 every day during my sojourn. No rain, no dew. The 
 grass, a few blades of which did meet my eyes two 
 days before, was burned out of sight, and the heat 
 threatened a sunstroke to those who were exposed to 
 it for a moment. 
 
 Yet on this particular morning everything was. as 
 much alive as it could be. The monarch of a country 
 embracing 4,400 square miles, and containing a pop- 
 ulation of 5,000 persons to each mile, was about to 
 be put upon his trial for the attempted murder of an 
 English officer, holding the post of British Resident, 
 and great potentates had consented to assist in the 
 solemn duty, whilst the Chief Justice of India had 
 been deputed to conduct the inquiry after European 
 fashion, with the assistance of a military and civil of- 
 ficer, each most distinguished in their relative posi- 
 tions. A guard of infantry and a troop of lancers did 
 no more honor than is due to Maharajah Scindia, the 
 great Mahratta potentate, tried and trusted friend of 
 480 
 
MAHARAJAH SCINDIA. 481 
 
 England. His appearance was such as to command 
 respect in any country, and I cannot deny myself the 
 pleasure of copying a few words of description taken 
 from an. admirably conducted paper — the " Times of 
 India" — of what it presented on this eventful day: 
 "Burly and princely, an Oriental Harry the Eighth in 
 outward semblance" The writer might have added, 
 " before the English monarch had impressed upon his 
 features the marks of gross self-indulgence, selfish- 
 ness and cruelty." For Scindia's is a countenance 
 noble and pleasant to look upon. Sir Dunker Eao, 
 a Hindoo possessing great weight with his fellow- 
 countrymen, and esteemed a very able administrator, 
 was another of the judges, and the third native one 
 was the Maharajah of Jeypore, highly esteemed by 
 the English Government. 
 
 Sir Richard Couch, Sir Richard John Meade, and 
 Mr. Philip Sandys Melvil constituted the English ele- 
 ment. 
 
 No one can doubt that Lord Northbrook, in the se- 
 lection of such a tribunal, could have had no other 
 object than to elicit the truth. Naturally Sir Richard 
 Couch conducted the proceedings, and although I 
 cannot agree with the result that he arrived at, it is 
 impossible that any inquiry could have been managed 
 with more fairness and impartiality. No impediment 
 of any kind was presented to the defense, and certain- 
 ly the earnest attention paid by every member of the 
 court showed their full appreciation of the importance 
 of their position. 
 
 The Honorable Andrew R. Scobell, Advocate-Gen- 
 eral at Bombay, and Mr. Inverarity appeared for the 
 31 
 
482 PICTURE OF THE OAEKWAR. 
 
 prosecution. With me were Mr. Branson, Mr. Pur- 
 cell, Shantaram Narayan, and Wassudeo Juggonault. 
 For myself, I cannot forbear saying that my reception 
 was most cordial and kind, both from the bench and 
 my brethren at the bar. 
 
 The accused Maharajah sat upon the bench, Colo- 
 nel Sir Lewis Pelly sitting beside him. I have be- 
 fore me, whilst writing these lines, a singularly life- 
 like picture of His Highness, presented to me by him- 
 self after the trial, with many kind messages, and I 
 do not think his face was unprepossessing. His dress 
 was in singularly good taste ; his demeanor quiet and 
 dignified. 
 
 In conveying my opinion upon the result and the 
 evidence it was founded upon, I am quite aware that 
 the habits of life and the customs of the country pre- 
 sented very different features from what I had been 
 accustomed to deal with ; but I find, in the judgment 
 of the native members of the Court, that my views 
 are in many respects adopted by men who may be 
 fairly assumed to know their countrymen and their 
 habits thoroughly ; and it also is observable that my 
 conclusions are drawn from incidents, many not con- 
 troverted, and. from the conduct and testimony of the 
 accuser himself, which does not seem to me to have 
 met the attention it deserved from the English mem- 
 bers of the Commission, and, consequently, not from 
 the Government of India, who adopted their views. 
 
 At the time that the inquiry took place, Mulhar 
 Rao had only been upon the throne for five years 
 During the two first, Colonel Barr, and after him Colo 
 nel Shortt, had filled the place of British Resident, 
 
COLONEL PHAYRE. 483 
 
 and they seem to have behaved with prudence. In 
 March, 1873, Colonel Phayre was appointed. 
 
 He was fussy, meddlesome, and thoroughly injudi- 
 cious. There were two adverse parties in the State, 
 and instead of holding himself aloof from both, he 
 threw himself violently into that opposed to the Gaek- 
 war, and was greedy to listen to every accusation and 
 complaint that with equal eagerness was gossiped into 
 his ears. His annoyances and constant slights to 
 the Gaekwar were such that a dispatch was sent by 
 the latter to the Government, in temperate and judi- 
 cious terms, praying for his removal ; and its date is 
 most material — namely, November 2, 1874, seven days 
 only before the alleged final attempt at poisoning, but 
 almost if not quite contemporaneous with the alleged 
 tampering with servants. 
 
 The tone of his dispatch may be judged of by the 
 following sentence : " I beg it to be understood that I 
 do not impute other than conscientious motives to Colo- 
 nel Phayre" 
 
 Colonel Phayre had been asked to resign by the 
 Governor of Bombay, which he had declined doing, 
 and towards the end of November was actually dis- 
 missed by the Governor-General in terms the reverse 
 of complimentary — indeed to the effect that he utterly 
 misunderstood his duties ; J and it was not denied that 
 the intention to remove him was probably known to 
 the Gaekwar on November 9th, the very day of the al- 
 
 1 The words used by Lord Northbrook to Colonel Phayre when dismissing 
 him from his post were : " That he had thoroughly misunderstood the spir- 
 it of the instructions both of the Government of India and the Government 
 of Bombay, and that the duty of Resident could no longer be entrusted to 
 him with any reasonable prospect of a satisfactory result." 
 
484 EVIDENCE OF COLONEL PEAYRE. 
 
 leged attempt to poison ; and if not actually known, 
 his own dispatch still remained unanswered. This state 
 of affairs, which appeared to me nearly conclusive 
 against his guilt, was scarcely adverted to by the Eng- 
 lish Commissioners ; and it cannot be denied that it 
 materially impairs the value of Colonel Phayre's evi- 
 dence, whilst showing the absence of motive on the 
 part of the Gaekwar. 
 
 Independently of these facts, his mode of giving 
 evidence was not satisfactory. It was not until rep- 
 rimanded by the President that he admitted his con- 
 duct in Scinde. He very unwillingly, and after long 
 pressure, owned that he knew of the dispatch sent 
 to the Government complaining of him and seek- 
 ing his removal. He was obliged to admit receiving 
 the suggestion from the Governor of Bombay that he 
 should resign, and that this was probably known to the 
 Gaekwar ; and that about November 13th he received 
 a dispatch from the Central Government dismissing 
 him in terms of censure for his bad management of 
 the affairs of Baroda. 
 
 The English Commissioners do not appear to have 
 considered that these circumstances affected the reli- 
 ance to be placed in his testimony, or tended to show 
 an utter absence of motive for the crime attributed 
 to the Gaekwar. 
 
 The press in England almost universally demurred 
 to his evidence as unsatisfactory. It is necessary that 
 I should now give his own account of the important 
 transaction on November 9th, prefacing it with his 
 assertion that warning had been previously given to 
 him that such an attempt to poison him was contem- 
 
TELEGRAM FROM COLONEL PHATRK 485 
 
 plated. He said that upon coming home about half- 
 past seven in the morning he found his usual tumbler 
 of sherbet upon his wash-hand stand ; that he drank 
 two or three sips, from which he derived unpleasant 
 symptoms ; that he sat down to write for twenty min- 
 utes, and feeling worse, and being satisfied that it arose 
 from the sherbet, threw the contents out of the window 
 that he might not be tempted to drink it, leaving a small 
 brown sediment at the bottom. 
 
 The next step taken by the Colonel presents us 
 with pregnant evidence of his unfitness for one of the 
 most delicate trusts that could be reposed in an official 
 in India. In hot haste, and upon the very day when 
 the alleged attempt took place, he telegraphed to the 
 seat of Government in these words, written "in Hin- 
 dostani," so that there should be no difficulty in every 
 one through whose hands it passed understanding it : — 
 
 From Colonel Phayre, C.B., Resident, Baroda, to the Private Secre- 
 tary, Gunnesh Khind, Poonah. Bold attempt to poison me this day 
 has been providentially frustrated. More by next post. 
 
 It next appears that some of the debris amongst 
 which the sherbet was thrown was scraped up by 
 Colonel Phayre's order, and this, with the small re- 
 siduum at the bottom of the tumbler, was analyzed 
 by Dr. Seward and Dr. Grey, who stated that they 
 had discovered poison ; which fact was communicated 
 to the Colonel, who replied to Dr. Grey in the follow- 
 ing most remarkable letter, dated November 13, 
 1874. 
 
 After acknowledging the receipt of Dr. Grey's let- 
 ter, he proceeds : — 
 
 With reference to the statement made in your letter, that the pow- 
 der forwarded to you consisted partly of common white arsenic and 
 
486 EXTRA ORDINAR Y LETTER. 
 
 partly of finely-powdered silicious matter, which, under the microscope, 
 appeared to be rather powdered glass or quartz, being most likely the 
 former, I should feel much obliged by your kindly informing me 
 whether, in your opinion, the silicious matter referred to can possibly 
 be powdered diamond. 
 
 Previous to the receipt of your letter under reference, I had received 
 secret and confidential communication that the poison administered to 
 me did consist — 1. Common arsenic; 2. Finely powdered diamond dust ; 
 3. Copper. 
 
 The importance of verifying this communication is obvious. 
 
 R. Phatee, 
 Resident. 
 
 When I call the attention of my readers to the policy 
 pursued by the police towards some of the witnesses, 
 and also to the fact that the greater part of the evi- 
 dence was founded upon the supposition that dia- 
 mond dust was purchased by the Gaekwar, it will be 
 admitted that the terms of the above letter are very 
 extraordinary. 
 
 I naturally desired to know from whom Colonel 
 Phayre received the secret and confidential commu- 
 nication referred to in his letter. He steered clear 
 of the question, and I could obtain no satisfactory re- 
 ply without seeking and obtaining the assistance of 
 the Commission. It seemed singular that he should 
 forget the name of a person or persons whom he de- 
 scribed in such terms, and whom he must have been 
 in communication with within two or three days of 
 the alleged attempt ; but it was only after a consid- 
 erable time that at last the name of a certain Bowh- 
 Poonaka was disclosed — notoriously the bitterest 
 enemy of the Gaekwar, and the man who had been 
 for years fostering charges against him. It is not 
 within the compass of this book that I should dissect 
 further the evidence given by Colonel Phayre ; but 
 
postscript. 487 
 
 the remainder would certainly not create a favorable 
 impression of his discretion. It is not, however, un- 
 important in my view of the case to mention that 
 Bowh-Poonaka had complete access to Colonel 
 P hay re's dressing-room, and was proved to have been 
 there upon the morning in question. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 In the above chapter I have not explained as I 
 ought to have done the importance of the diamond- 
 dust element. There is a general belief amongst the 
 population of Baroda and the surrounding districts 
 that diamond dust is a deadly poison, and in this be- 
 lief Colonel Phayre participated. It would not be 
 pleasant, no doubt, to have a quantity of any silicious 
 substance in the human inside, but that the diamond 
 contains poison is an ignorant delusion. It will be 
 seen in a subsequent chapter that Dr. Grey was sub- 
 sequently of opinion that the powder might be pow- 
 dered diamond. 
 
CHAPTEK XLVIII. 
 
 CONTINUANCE OF THE TRIAL. 
 
 r I "HOSE of my readers who have been interested 
 ■ in the perusal of the foregoing pages will have 
 understood from them that the scrapings from the spot 
 where the bulk of the sherbet was thrown by Colonel 
 Phayre, and a small residuum that remained at the 
 bottom of the tumbler which contained it, were the 
 subject of the analyses of Drs. Seward and Grey. 
 There was, however, another parcel submitted to their 
 scientific skill, and in which I can quite believe that 
 they found arsenic. Raoji was a servant of Colonel 
 Phayre, and one of the supposed poisoners. Upon 
 November 9th his belt was taken from him and given 
 to another servant named Budhar. Why is not ex- 
 plained. On December 22d Raoji was arrested, and 
 after having been in the hands of the police until the 
 24th, after the usual custom, made a confession ; and, 
 amongst other things, stated that he was in the habit 
 of keeping the poisons entrusted to him in his belt. 
 It then occurred to Akbar Ali, an intelligent detective, 
 to examine the belt, and Budhar was sent for, and 
 made his appearance. Akbar's sagacious eyes discov- 
 ered a piece of thread and a packet of paper, which 
 had never been seen by Budhar during the six iveeks he 
 488 
 
HEMCHUND FUTEYCHUND. 439 
 
 had worn the belt, but immediately presented arsenic 
 to the imagination of Akbar. He, however, without 
 satisfying himself, rushed into the next room, where 
 Mr. Souter, a commissioner of police, happened to be, 
 and brought him to the piece of thread and the paper 
 parcel, and there, sure enough, was found the arsenic 
 afterwards tested, and which was said to be precisely 
 similar to the other portions referred to as having been 
 previously found. 
 
 Strange, however, that Akbar's remarkable presci- 
 ence should be afterwards verified by Raoji, who, up 
 to the discovery, had quite forgotten the circumstance 
 that he had left it there. 1 
 
 This incident is somewhat unfairly, although not, I 
 am sure, intentionally so, described in the following 
 terms in the report of the English Commissioners : 
 " The second packet (the one in question) was found 
 in Raoji's belt on December 25, 1874, in the pres- 
 ence of the commissioner of police, Mr. Souter." 
 
 Upon the twelfth day of the inquiry a scene was 
 presented, upon a correct reading of which depends 
 very much a true appreciation of the history of this 
 case. 
 
 A witness called Hemchund Futeychund was 
 called, and, upon presenting himself, brought to my 
 imagination what would probably have been the ap- 
 pearance of a person who had come out of the cells 
 of the Inquisition after the officers of that institution 
 had pursued their usual inquiries. He appeared to 
 
 1 It is, perhaps, fitting that I should mention that this last fact is much re- 
 lied upon by English Commissioners as proving the truth of the story ! A 
 judge conversant with evidence would generally have deduced an opposite 
 conclusion, and I was surprised at Sir R. Couch. 
 
490 THE MAHARAJAH OF JEYP ORE. 
 
 be in a prostrate condition of terror, and his miserable 
 story was of a continued persecution by the police ; 
 of the extortion from him of false statements, and the 
 manufacture of fraudulent documents. And to these 
 charges he resolutely, although with the appearance 
 of great nervousness, adhered, and was not shaken by 
 a very able cross-examination. 
 
 It is well to consider the position of this witness. 
 He was one of the most respectable trades-people in 
 Baroda, and a diamond merchant. It was attempted, 
 in pursuance of Colonel Phayre's letter, to connect 
 the Gaekwar with the purchase of diamonds, and 
 Hemchund alleges that he was forced by constant 
 pressure into supplying that testimony. We were in- 
 formed that he was kept for three days without a 
 bath, which the poor wretch imagined devoted him 
 to I do not know how many years of future torture. 1 
 
 The English Commissioners ignore his evidence 
 altogether, whether or not upon the ground that he 
 contradicted that given by the police they did not 
 state ; but I must say that upon this point I think 
 that the judgment of his own countrymen is far more 
 important and likely to be correct. None of them dis- 
 credit it. And the Maharajah of Jeypore, admitted 
 to be one of the ablest men in India, and a devoted 
 friend of the English Government, signally recognizes 
 it as truthful. Other servants of Colonel Phayre sup- 
 ply confessions. 
 
 Now it must be remembered that, although no im- 
 putation was thrown upon Colonel Phayre's integrity, 
 
 1 This was not proved, but told to the adviser of the Gaekwar after the 
 trial. 
 
DISCOVERY OF ARSENIC. 4Q\ 
 
 much comment was invited by his conduct, and he 
 was upon his trial as well as the Gaekwar. It may 
 be said, therefore, that each party would have half 
 the tribunal imbued with a prepossession in his favor. 
 My own deliberate and well-considered belief is that 
 Colonel Phayre was subjected to no real attempt to 
 be poisoned, but I think that certain persons were 
 anxious to retain him in the Residency, and to defeat 
 the endeavor of the Gaekwar to get him turned out, 
 and supposed that the alleged attempt would have 
 that effect. 
 
 The Colonel admitted that he had received warn- 
 ings beforehand, from whom did not appear ; and a 
 bitter enemy of the Gaekwar's supplied the Colonel 
 with a description of the materials by which the at- 
 tempt was actually made. It seems to be conceded 
 that, somehow or another, these people escaped with- 
 out any investigation. Diamond dust, arsenic, and 
 copper are the ingredients indicated. The quantity 
 left in the tumbler could not afford a satisfactory 
 analysis. And so there is a miraculous discovery of a 
 parcel containing arsenic in the belt of one of the sup- 
 posed poisoners, who had forgotten its existence until 
 after it was found ; and some respectable witness was 
 wanted to supply a proof of diamond dust, and so poor 
 Hemchund was produced, and he proved the whole 
 story told to be a lie, as did also another person named 
 Pedro, in relation to a statement made by another 
 accomplice. 
 
 But the theory that I entertain would be displaced 
 if Damadhur Punt had been a voluntary witness. He 
 was private secretary to the Gaekwar, and, as far as 
 
492 DAMADHUR PUNT. 
 
 is known, had no motive to procure his deposition. 
 It becomes, therefore, necessary to ascertain how this 
 gentleman happened to take up the position of his 
 master's accuser, and his account of this will throw no 
 small light upon what probably occurred with the oth- 
 er witnesses. 
 
 I copy the following from the report of the English 
 Commissioners : — 
 
 Damadhur Punt was arrested the evening of the day 
 upon which the Graekwar was placed in confinement 
 (January 14, 1875). He was imprisoned for two days 
 in the Senapali's office at the palace, and then he was 
 brought to the Residency, where he was placed un- 
 der a guard of European soldiers for sixteen days, and 
 afterwards under a police guard. Being, he states, tired 
 of the European guard, and, thinking that he could not 
 otherwise get out of confinement, Damadhur Punt made 
 a confession to Mr. Kichey, Assistant Resident, on Jan- 
 uary 29 and 30, 1875. It is substantially the same as 
 his evidence before the Commission, and ivas made un- 
 der a promise of pardon. 
 
 I can quite understand that Damadhur Punt did not 
 enjoy himself in company with sixteen English sol- 
 diers, and like Hemchund, was ready to redeem him- 
 self from such captivity, especially if running the same 
 risks in a future life by remaining in it. But what is 
 the value of such testimony! And every witness went 
 through this same preparation. 
 
 The feeling of the audience during the examination 
 of Damadhur Punt was shown very clearly by spit- 
 ting upon the floor and other signs of disgust. On the 
 next day it was observed that a much larger number 
 of soldiers occupied the court. 
 
TERMINATION OF PROCEEDINGS. 493 
 
 I have now given a summary of this remarkable 
 inquiry. I have expressed my own views, and have 
 ventured upon a theory that has always prevailed in 
 my mind, although at the period I considered that my 
 duty was confined to showing that the prosecution 
 had failed, which I think that I succeeded in doing ; 
 and, notwithstanding the great respect that I enter- 
 tain for the three members of the Commission who 
 felt it to be their duty to decide adversely, I still en- 
 tertain the same opinion. And I cannot think that 
 the weighty reasons given by the Maharajah of Jey- 
 pore, and substantially agreed in by his colleagues, 
 are met by any of the arguments used by the English 
 Commissioners. 
 
 Amongst them the Maharajah urges : — 
 
 "That Damadhur Punt, Raoji, and Musoo, whose 
 testimony is supposed to form the basis of this grave 
 charge against the Gaekwar, are accomplices, and their 
 evidence is not corroborated by a single respectable 
 witness." Again, and this is most important: — 
 
 "No documentary evidence, or evidence of a con- 
 vincing nature was forthcoming from Damadhur Punt, 
 notwithstanding his position as private secretary to 
 the Gaekwar, and the command he had over the re- 
 cords of the Maharajah's private office." 1 
 
 He also refers to Hemchund's direct contradiction, 
 which he treats as being trustworthy, and also to other 
 important contradictions. 
 
 The proceedings were terminated by a proclama- 
 tion dated Simla, April 19, 1875, signed C. U. Aitch- 
 
 1 As a matter of fact there was not a scrap of writing directly implicating 
 the Gaekwar. 
 
494 THE ENGLISH PRESS. 
 
 ison, Secretary to the Government of India, depos- 
 ing the Gaekwar on the ground of abuses previous 
 to and not connected with the inquiry, and in which 
 the following paragraph occurs : "The Commission- 
 ers being divided in opinion, Her Majesty's Govern- 
 ment have not based their decision on the inquiry or 
 the report of the Commission, nor have they assumed 
 that the result of the inquiry has been to prove the truth 
 of the imputations against His Highness." 
 
 Somewhat inconsistently, and, I venture to think, 
 neither in good taste nor in strict fairness, the same 
 gentleman — Mr. Aitchison — published upon the 21st 
 of the same month a sort of manifesto embodying the 
 views of the English Commissioners, and agreeing 
 emphatically with their conclusions. The document 
 does not exhibit any originality, or add at all to the ar- 
 guments adduced by the Commissioners themselves. 
 
 I have copied these extracts from a book in which 
 the proceedings are published in extenso, and appa- 
 rently by the authority of some one connected with 
 the Government, as, in some preliminary observations, 
 the writer refers to the delay that has occurred in giv- 
 ing the decision, and accounts for it as follows : " The 
 delay is generally attributed to a difference of opinion 
 betiveen the Viceroy in Council and the Some Govern- 
 ment, the former wishing to treat Mulhar Rao as a con- 
 victed criminal , while the latter, influenced no doubt by 
 the outcry of the l Times, 7 and other London papers, 
 which for some inexplicable reason had ranged them- 
 selves on the side of the defense before even waiting to 
 see reports of the case for the prosecution, wished to 
 avoid taking a course which would be sure to provoke 
 hostile criticism in England. 77 
 
PRESENT POSITION OF THE GAEKWAR. 495 
 
 Now this assertion about the press is certainly not 
 founded upon fact. I believe that the first adverse crit- 
 icism resulted from the cross-examination of Colonel 
 Phayre. And the evidence in the case was followed with 
 the greatest attention, and opinion was, as far as I have 
 seen, unanimous that it was most unsatisfactory and 
 unreliable. Judging also by the dispatches that I have 
 seen coming directly from Lord North brook, and which 
 exhibit an enlarged and statesmanlike mind, I can 
 never believe that he would have treated the opinions 
 of three illustrious princes with such indignity. I 
 have, as I have intimated, nothing whatever to do with 
 the reasons of State that influenced .the Government 
 in deposing the Gaekwar; but it must not be sup- 
 posed that I think the course was pursued upon well- 
 founded information furnished to the Viceroy. . I can- 
 not but remember the kindness and courtesy I re- 
 ceived at the hands of the Gaekwar, his patient and 
 uncomplaining demeanor during the inquiry, and his 
 kindly expressions of gratitude for my exertions; and 
 I should be glad if the above imperfect comments 
 should have some effect upon the judgment of those 
 who have to deal with him, and call their attention to 
 the position in which he is now placed, which, to my 
 intense astonishment, I understand to be practically in 
 the custody of the Dr. Seward who figured upon the 
 investigation as one of the bitterest witnesses against 
 him. 
 
CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 TERMINATION OF THE TEIAL. 
 
 ' I A HE great trial is ended. The regulation nuoi- 
 ber of guns has announced the departure of 
 each of the respective potentates. The English Com- 
 missioners have closed their note-books. Not a word 
 has been spoken, not a hint given as to what the de- 
 cision was likely to be, but the result was no surprise. 
 Colonel Phayre versus the Gaekwar of Baroda rep- 
 resented in the thoughts of men the momentous case 
 that had just concluded. 
 
 Eastern minds certainly never imagined that there 
 would be a British verdict against their compatriot. 
 Perhaps amongst our own countrymen a similar opin- 
 ion was entertained in relation to the native princes. 
 And the whole of the pomp and panoply might have 
 been spared. The Indian Government treated the 
 conclusion as a nullity, and simply effaced it ; but the 
 interest created by the proceedings will belong remem- 
 bered, and the members of the Court, by their pa- 
 tience, attention, and courtesy, are certainly entitled 
 to the thanks of all who were brought under their 
 influence. 
 
 Some few observations are worthy to be made. It 
 496 
 
COOLNESS OF THE COURT. 497 
 
 vvas marvelous, considering the intense heat, how de- 
 lightfully cool the court-house was kept. And I shall 
 never forget the thorough loyalty of my juniors and 
 the assistance they afforded me. I have mentioned 
 the names of all of them : the English members were 
 Mr. Branson and Mr. Purcell, at the houses of both 
 of which gentlemen at Bombay I was most kindly re- 
 ceived. The latter of these has since died. He im- 
 prudently exposed himself in the jungle, shooting, and 
 caught a fever. The former gentleman still continues 
 to practice at Bombay. A member of the bar named 
 Taylor represented some collateral interests, and af- 
 forded me much pleasant information and gossip. 
 
 We passed an agreeable life enough ; an unmistak- 
 ably good brand of champagne was sent to us through 
 the favor of the Bycullah Club, and we got fresh fish 
 every day from Bombay. I have mentioned that Mrs. 
 Branson kindly presided over our household. On the 
 morning following the termination of the trial we 
 started on our return journey, and I was again re- 
 ceived at the house of Mr. Jefferson until the sailing 
 of the homeward-bound P. and 0. steamer. I cannot 
 say that I suffered much from the effect of the climate, 
 but I preferred that of Baroda greatly to Bombay, the 
 former, although intensely hot, being perfectly dry, 
 which is far from being the case at the latter. 
 
 I received many kind compliments from all quar- 
 ters for my conduct of the case ; there is no doubt that 
 I might have excited native feeling to a considerable 
 if not dangerous extent, but it would have been an 
 improper advantage to take of my position to do so. 
 I felt that I had been retained to defend my client 
 32 
 
498 MESSAGE FROM THE OAEKWAR. 
 
 upon a specific charge, and I shall always think that 
 the prosecution failed to substantiate it. 
 
 Before I left Bombay a most gratifying mark of 
 kindly feeling and approval was exhibited towards me. 
 There were quite three-quarters of a mile to be trav- 
 ersed between Mr. Jefferson's house, where I was 
 staying, and the dock from which the steamer started, 
 and the whole space was filled with a dense mass of 
 people, who had assembled to wish me adieu. 
 
 So thick was it that the carriage could scarcely 
 make its way, and it is impossible that I should ever 
 forget the kindness and, I may venture to say, enthu- 
 siasm, with which I was received. An address was 
 also delivered to me, accompanied with a handsome 
 shawl— this article, I understand, being a very signal 
 mark of regard. The address was engrossed upon 
 parchment, and signed by fifteen hundred natives, in- 
 cluding the highest and most distinguished inhabitants 
 of Bombay, and was in the following terms : — 
 
 To William Ballantine, Esq., Serjeant-at-Law. 
 
 Patent of Precedence. 
 
 Sir, — As you are departing from these shores, after having with sig- 
 nal ability and independence • defended His Highness the G-aekwar of 
 Baroda — a prince in whom the people of this country are deeply inter- 
 ested — against the accusations preferred against him by the Government 
 of India, we, the undersigned inhabitants of Bombay, take this oppor- 
 tunity of thanking you for your exertions on behalf of the said op- 
 pressed prince. We request you to accept this little present (a shawl), 
 which we offer in testimony of our gratitude for your valuable labors 
 in his cause, and we bid you a cordial farewell, and wish you every 
 happiness. 
 
 Mere follow the Signatures. 
 
 Bombay, March 22, 1875. 
 
 My kind friends, Mr. and the Miss Jeffersons, ac- 
 companied me to the docks, and the carriage had con- 
 
VO YA QE HOME. 499 
 
 siderable difficulty in penetrating the crowd. At this 
 time I did not know what decision would be arrived 
 at about- the unfortunate Gaekwar, and had no draw- 
 back to the feeling of gratitude for all the kindness 
 that had been extended to me. After I had arrived 
 on board I received, through Sir Lewis Pelly, a very 
 kind message from my client, and requesting me to 
 accept a portrait of himself as a mark of his considera- 
 tion. This was transmitted to me subsequently. It 
 is painted by an Indian artist with considerable skill, 
 and is a remarkably good likeness. 
 
 I do not remember the name of the vessel that 
 brought me home. Everything was very pleasant on 
 board, and the voyage passed smoothly and without 
 any incidents. Amongst the passengers was Lord de 
 Grey, the son of the present Viceroy. He had been 
 round the world, and was returning, and his pleasant 
 anecdotes of travel took much away from the monot- 
 ony of the voyage. We both of us stopped at Suez, 
 and visited Cairo. Once upon a time a writer might 
 fill his pages with accounts of mosques and bazaars 
 and the strange habits of the natives. Now I should 
 as soon think of describing the streets of Margate. 
 An English brougham with a not unusual occupant 
 drives up and down the promenade. Every other 
 house almost, at all events in some of the streets, was 
 a gambling resort, and I heard some ugly stories about 
 the disappearance of Europeans. Lord de Grey and 
 myself visited the Pyramids. I did not, however, at- 
 tempt an ascent. They are the haunts of dirty, dingy, 
 disreputable beggars, who carry knives. 
 
 I was not sorry to get away from Cairo, and, reach- 
 
500 DINNER TO THE PRINCE OF WALES. 
 
 ing Alexandria by rail, joined the same ship, and, after 
 another calm passage, duly reached Brindisi, which I 
 nave already described, and I saw nothing to induce 
 me to change my mind. I regret that I cannot re- 
 member the name of the gentleman who at that time 
 held the post of Consul, that I might convey directly 
 to him my appreciation of the great kindness and at- 
 tention that he showed me. A telegraphic message 
 hurried me home, where, having arrived in due course, 
 I need not say I have no adventure to relate of the 
 journey. 
 
 I have had occasion to mention, in the course of 
 the foregoing pages, the name of Sir Lewis Pelly. 
 He had conducted the very delicate arrangements im- 
 mediately antecedent to the Commission, and had the 
 charge of the Graekwar's person during its continuance. 
 He also filled the post of Resident, and from him my- 
 self and brother counsel met with many proofs of 
 attention and kindness. His demeanor to the Prince 
 was characterized by all the courtesy and considera- 
 tion that his duty would permit. He vacated the po- 
 sition of Resident in favor of Sir Richard Meade, who 
 had been one of the Commissioners. Whilst I was 
 at Baroda I received a letter from Colonel Napier 
 Sturt, who was staying upon a visit with his brother- 
 in-law, Lord Northbrook. We met afterwards in 
 London, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales 
 did him and me the honor of dining with us at the 
 Garrick Club, on which occasion Sir Lewis Pelly was 
 also my guest, and thus I had the opportunity of re- 
 turning his kindness in the manner that must have 
 been most gratifying to himself. 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 501 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 The career of the unhappy subject of the above 
 sketch is terminated in this world. To me it has 
 been the occasion of one of the most interesting inci- 
 dents that could have occurred in a professional life. 
 
 Whether he was a profligate and tyrannical mon- 
 arch or the victim of falsehood and calumny is not 
 now of any importance to be considered. 
 
 The action taken by the Government of the time 
 could scarcely be considered as consistent, but it ap- 
 pears to have resulted in a satisfactory state of things 
 in Baroda, where the throne is occupied by a mon- 
 arch fully appreciative of British rule, and who has 
 the benefit of a Resident possessing discretion and 
 prudence, and whose advice is always at his com- 
 mand. 
 
CHAPTER L. 
 
 GENEKAL REVIEW. 
 
 TNa mental review of the contents of the different 
 A chapters contained in these volumes, I feel how much 
 I have left unsaid that might have amused, and pos- 
 sibly have been of some service to my readers. I 
 also feel that in my own profession changes have taken 
 place, and are doing so daily, which are deserving of 
 more reflection than I have hitherto given to them. 
 
 The public scarcely appreciate how much they may 
 be affected by these changes, although recent inci- 
 dents have occurred affording unfortunate illustrations. 
 
 No one can doubt that the general administration 
 of the law has during the last half-century improved 
 in every branch, and the present generation would 
 scarcely credit the amount of villainy, fraud, and op- 
 pression which previous to that period flourished un- 
 der its auspices. The gaols filled with victims, off! 
 cers of the sheriffs robbing both creditors and debt- 
 ors ; small courts, the offices of which were put up 
 for sale, and the costs incurred by the suitors brought 
 ruin to both parties. One flagrant example was the 
 Marshalsea, and a gentleman whom I slightly knew, 
 named Higgins, but who wrote under the nom de 
 502 
 
MARSHALSEA PRISON. 503 
 
 plume of " Jacob Omnium," conferred a benefit upon 
 society by his eloquent denunciation of its iniquities, 
 leading to the ultimate abolition of the Court. Im- 
 mense taxes were imposed upon legal proceedings by 
 numerous sinecure offices paid out of suitors' pockets. 
 The profession also was comparatively limited. In 
 1816, the year in which my father was called to the 
 bar, there were only twenty-eight King's Counsel. 
 Lord Eldon was Chancellor, Ellenborough Chief- 
 Justice, and Serjeants' Inn boasted several most dis- 
 tinguished members. I cannot think among the nu- 
 merous improvements effected that the destruction of 
 this last body can be numbered, and it seems to have 
 been done with thoughtlessness, and without such 
 formalities as dealing with so ancient an institution 
 deserved. I believe that those answerable for the re- 
 sult scarcely knew the character of the institution. 
 Formerly it had certain exclusive privileges. These, 
 as I have before said, were properly abolished, but 
 its peculiar quality, that of being essentially a popu- 
 lar institution, and not subject to the control of the 
 Crown, thus distinguishing its members from King's 
 Counsel, in itself made it worthy of retention. It pos- 
 sessed another great advantage — that a junior who 
 had not seen much civil business, and who had prac- 
 ticed principally at sessions, could, after seven years' 
 standing, claim the appointment, and thus get a step 
 intermediate to that of King's Counsel without sacri- 
 ficing certain business that the latter gentleman was, 
 by etiquette, bound to abandon. I have referred for a 
 second time to this rank, because I think now that, again 
 without full reflection, a course is being adopted by 
 
504 E Q UITY LA WYERS. 
 
 which ultimately both the public and the profession 
 will grievously suffer in the administration of justice, 
 and recent occurrences have forced the matters to 
 which I refer prominently forward. I have already 
 said, and wish emphatically to repeat, that no higher 
 intellects can exist than many that have adorned the 
 equity bar. The names of Bethell, Roundell Palmer, 
 Cairns, Jessel, and the late Lord Justice James rep- 
 resent men worthy of any age ; but I cannot think 
 that the general body of that branch of the profession 
 to which they belong are fitted to try causes depend- 
 ent upon oral testimony, and I consider them to be 
 specially unsuited to preside in criminal cases. 
 
 Their schooling has been that of drawing conclu- 
 sions from affidavits, and arguing before refined and 
 intellectual minds. The evidence does not come into 
 their hands directly, but has been manipulated by the 
 solicitor. They do not see the witnesses, as an ordi- 
 nary rule, and I have already expressed my opinion 
 as to their mode of dealing with such apparitions when 
 they occur. The judge who listens to the argument 
 has to be reached by calm and unimpassioned means 
 quite unfitted to a popular and comparatively unedu- 
 cated tribunal. . Can this be an appropriate prepara- 
 tion for a man to be placed upon a judgment-seat, 
 facing a dock, with the very form of which he is un- 
 acquainted, and called upon to deal with a fellow- 
 creature's life, upon materials of which he is, by prac- 
 tice,- absolutely ignorant % 
 
 It is not only that the individual so selected has no 
 experience of witnesses, but the class of business to 
 which his mind has been applied is totally different 
 
MURDER CASES. 505 
 
 from what presents itself in the criminal courts. No 
 doubt he has met with plenty of falsehood and fraud, 
 but they have been arrayed in a decent and respectable 
 garb, and bore no more resemblance to the crime and 
 its concomitants prevailing in the criminal courts than 
 they did outwardly to the fustian jacket of the laborer, 
 or even the gaudy apparel of the village beadle. My 
 readers have frequently noticed the following scene 
 in court. A learned judge has taken his place upon 
 the bench, a criminal charged with murder is arraigned 
 before him. He has no counsel. And his lordship, 
 addressing a gentleman who probably has no client, 
 
 says, " Mr. , will you kindly watch the case for 
 
 the prisoner?" 
 
 Let my readers picture to themselves the life of a 
 fellow-creature, possibly assailed by perjury, depend- 
 ent upon the practical knowledge of an Equity judge, 
 assisted by a junior counsel. 
 
 I was myself present when this actually occurred. 
 A Chancery barrister of most remarkable attainments, 
 and possessing every high quality except the experi- 
 ence necessary for his position, having been created 
 a judge, was called upon, amongst his first cases, to 
 try two most serious charges of murder, in the first 
 of which, the accused being without counsel, a ju- 
 nior barrister, at the request of the judge, defended 
 him, and did so with great ability and judgment, 
 and there was no failure of justice in the result. In 
 the second case, there occurred a scene which cer- 
 tainly w T oulcl not have happened if the judge had come 
 from the other branch of his profession, and I am not 
 sure that the verdict arrived at was correct ; certainly 
 
506 FAILURE OF JUSTICE. 
 
 it was subsequently modified. I am not sorry to re- 
 fer to these instances, because, except the evils that 
 must arise from the grounds I have referred to, it 
 would be impossible to attach censure to the judicial 
 qualities of the learned judge. The public have had 
 their attention called to two recent cases connected with 
 the administration of the criminal law. Both of them 
 happened to have been tried by the same judge, whose 
 intellect is of the highest order, and before whom it 
 has frequently been my pleasure to practice. He was 
 selected from the highest ranks of the Chancery bar. 
 In the first of these cases a prisoner was left for exe- 
 cution. The colleague of the judge fortunately enter- 
 tained doubt, and inquiries were readily instituted, 
 and the result was the discovery of the man's inno- 
 cence. In another case, two men had undergone a 
 long term of imprisonment, part only of a much longer 
 sentence, well deserved if they had been guilty. They 
 have been shown to be perfectly innocent, pardoned, 
 and recompensed. I was not present at either of these 
 trials, but some who were have told me that the judge 
 took a perfectly just view in both cases ; but he had 
 to address country juries of the commoner class, and 
 in both instances they were governed rather by details 
 that shocked their feelings than by the evidence that 
 ought to have controlled their judgment. 
 
 In the observations that I have made respecting 
 the appointment of purely equity lawyers as criminal 
 judges, it must not be supposed that I ignore the lia- 
 bility of human nature, in every grade and with what- 
 ever schooling, to error, and it is on this account that 
 I have so urgently pressed the necessity of a Court 
 
A COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL. 597 
 
 of Criminal Appeal. Applicable of course only to 
 convictions, it is essential that little delay should take 
 place between the trial and the appeal, and I have al- 
 ready ventured to shadow forth the kind of tribunal 
 that I think should be created. I have also expressed 
 an opinion that the absence of such a court is preju- 
 dicial to the interests of justice oftener by the escape 
 of criminals than by wrongful convictions. There are 
 certain words that are constantly used, and, whether 
 actually used or not, their impression exists in the 
 minds of a jury trying a capital case : "Remember, 
 your verdict is final." How many criminals have es- 
 caped through the influence of these words ! I have 
 recorded two instances in the course of these pages.' I 
 trust that there have not been many. cases where their 
 efficacy has not prevailed where it ought to have 
 done. But who on this earth can tell? 
 
 One other ground for the institution of a Court of 
 Appeals is, that it will abolish a most discreditable 
 anomaly. Cases may, by a well-known process, be 
 removed into the Court of Queen's Bench, and there, 
 although supposed to be tried by the highest officer 
 of the law, and with the assistance of a special jury, 
 a verdict of guilty is not necessarily final — it may be 
 appealed against. As the process of removal is ex- 
 pensive, it may not unfairly be alleged that in some 
 cases there exists one law for the poor, another for the 
 wealthy. The verdict against the defendant unre- 
 moved would be final. 
 
 Another evil, and in my opinion a very grave one, 
 arises from the creation of judges out of a different 
 sphere from those who ordinarily practice in the courts 
 
508 SCENE ON THE OXFORD CIRCUIT. 
 
 over which they are placed. In an early chapter 1 
 called attention to the remark of Monsieur Berryer as 
 to the courteous manner, kindly feelings, and perfect 
 confidence existing between the bench and the bar. 
 This mainly arises from the intimacy existing between 
 them during an early professional career. If a learned 
 judge upon a recent occasion had been so selected, it is 
 not likely that such a scene as that exhibited lately up- 
 on the Oxford Circuit could ever have taken place. 
 
 As I have taken my readers back to my old Inn, I 
 will venture to surround it with all the halo to which 
 it is entitled. We were and had been from time im- 
 memorial connected with the Corporation of the City 
 of London, and, inasmuch as the greatest compliment 
 appreciated by that august body was annually paid to 
 us, we were doubtless once upon a time of no small 
 importance ourselves. We received an invitation to 
 dine at the Lord Mayor's dinner on November 9th, and 
 arrayed in robes that gave us as much claim to notice as 
 the men in armor, and preceded by a personage known 
 as the City Marshal, we were assigned seats amongst 
 the principal guests at that great festival, and it was 
 really a sight worthy of notice. 
 
 The grandeur of the hall, the magnificence of the 
 dresses, the style of the entertainment, and the rank 
 of the guests, rendered it one of the greatest scenes 
 exhibited throughout Europe. Upon this great occa- 
 sion it was the office of one of the high officers of the 
 Corporation, no less a dignitary than the Common Ser- 
 jeant, personally to convey to us the invitation on the 
 first day of Michaelmas Term at our Inn. 
 
 Sir Thomas Chambers, when he occupied this office, 
 
MR. SERJEANT WOOLRYCH. 5Q9 
 
 was accustomed to commit a most amusing blunder. 
 Whether moved by some idea of his own dignity, or 
 acting under civic instruction, I am unable to say, but 
 when he came to perform his task, he addressed him- 
 self solely to the Judges, not even naming the Ser- 
 jeants, although the former were asked only in that 
 capacity, and were included with the Lord Chancellor 
 and Equity Judges specially in their official capacity, 
 and invited by the Lord Mayor himself personally. 
 The Common Serjeant was not probably aware that 
 whilst it in no respect derogated from his dignity to 
 convey a message from one great corporation to an- 
 other, he was performing the duty of a butler in con- 
 veying an invitation to dinner to individuals belonging 
 to it. 
 
 There was a worthy member of our body, Mr. Ser- 
 jeant Woolrych, who had written a most exhaustive 
 book upon sewers, and was also very learned about city 
 customs, and who exercised his mind greatly upon the 
 blunder into which the Common Serjeant had tumbled, 
 and wanted me, as Treasurer, to call attention to it. 
 He considered that this was not only due to common 
 humanity, but also to our dignity. I was, however, 
 deaf to his entreaties. 
 
 I do not remember dining more than upon one oc- 
 casion in my official capacity. On this occasion the 
 scarlet robes and heavy, cumbrous wig, necessary to 
 be worn, destroyed all possibility of enjoyment. The 
 Serjeants of the Inn were also invited one Sunday in 
 May or June, I forget which, to attend the service at 
 St. Paul's Cathedral. This was a very interesting cer- 
 emony ; and, although the names of the clergymen 
 
510 STONYHURST. 
 
 whom I heard preach have escaped my memory, 1 
 remember that the sermons were highly interesting 
 and intellectual ; but the beauty of the spiritual fare 
 was as greatly destroyed by our costume upon these 
 occasions, as our enjoyment was of the luxuries so lib- 
 erally provided upon the occasion of the Lord Mayor's 
 feasts. 
 
 An incident occurred to me which, from my con- 
 nection with the Tichborne case, gave me considera- 
 ble interest. It arose about eighteen months ago, when 
 I was enjoying a very charming visit with Sir John 
 and Lady Holker, at their country seat, at Coulthurst, 
 upon the borders of Lancashire and Yorkshire, and, 
 learning that Stonyhurst College was situated at no 
 great distance, I took the opportunity of driving over 
 to pay it a visit. It was the locality pointed at by a 
 great portion of the cross-examination by Sir John 
 Coleridge. Through its rooms and gardens the un- 
 happy claimant was invited to travel ; it was here the 
 learning was supposed to have been imparted of which 
 he was challenged to produce some proof, and it was 
 over the whole of this period that, if he were the gen- 
 uine baronet, his unfortunate failure of memory ex- 
 tended. I was most kindly received, and made an in- 
 teresting excursion through the establishment and its 
 grounds. Of course, I can form no opinion of its scho- 
 lastic successes, but I was struck by the variety of the 
 studies and their apparently efficient superintendence; 
 and there was one characteristic that I was fully able 
 to appreciate — the extreme attention and care appar- 
 ent in every portion of the establishment to the health 
 and physical comforts of the pupils. 
 
A WITNESS. 511 
 
 •v 
 
 Upon the first trial, to which I have just alluded, 
 and amongst the witnesses who were undoubtedly ac- 
 tuated by a firm belief in the identity of the claimant 
 with Sir Roger Tichborne, was a Catholic priest whc 
 had been one of the tutors during the stay of the real 
 baronet at Stonyhurst. This gentleman gave his ev- 
 idence in favor of the claim with great firmness and 
 evident honesty of intention. He was subjected to a 
 severe cross-examination, and suffered greatly under it. 
 
 He was one of those men of not an uncommon type, 
 whose feelings had been reached without a sufficient 
 aid from reason ; who did not dissect sufficiently from 
 materials before him what he really knew from what 
 had been impressed upon his mind from other sources. 
 Witnesses of this kind cut but an awkward figure in 
 the hands of a skillful counsel ; the more so that they 
 feel that they may have been misled and conveyed er- 
 roneous ideas. Such a feeling is very trying to a con- 
 scientious man, and it was evident that this gentleman 
 suffered greatly. I took the opportunity of inquiring 
 after him, and learned that his mind had given way, 
 and that he was in confinement. The very refined 
 and intellectual personage who was my cicerone had 
 been formerly a Protestant clergyman and one of the 
 masters of Eton College. 
 
 I am not precluded by the sincere friendship I feel 
 for my kind hosts from availing myself of the example 
 of Sir John Holker to illustrate some of my comments 
 upon appointments to the bench, especially as I shall 
 be confirmed by the entire profession. The position 
 that he attained at the Common Law bar speaks for 
 itself; his selection to conduct important equity cases 
 
512 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 shows that he must possess sufficient knowledge upon 
 that branch for appellant business : but what my at- 
 tention has been, throughout the remarks occurring 
 in these pages, particularly directed to, namely, the 
 criminal branch, is peculiarly satisfied by his appoint- 
 ment. Sir John possesses a large sessions experience, 
 and has dealt with witnesses of every grade and char- 
 acter. 
 
 I am uttering a very safe prophecy when I predict 
 that he will be received with a hearty welcome on ev- 
 ery circuit in the kingdom, and afford to those whc 
 belong to it all the comfort and assistance consistent 
 with an impartial exercise of his duty. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Since the above lines were written the prophecy 
 so safely made has been disappointed by the prema- 
 ture death of the subject of it, and his high qualities, 
 both of intellect and of heart, have been recorded by 
 the highest in the profession to which he did so much 
 honor. 
 
CHAPTER LI. 
 
 SOME FURTHER TRIALS. 
 
 T N the year 1838 I was present at a natural episode 
 •*~ to an event that I have related in a former chap- 
 ter (the termination of a disreputable broil at a house 
 of infamous resort) : it was performed at the Central 
 Criminal Court, and there the story was told in more 
 detail than I have previously related it. It was in the 
 early dawn of an August day that five young men met 
 at a well-known spot. One of them was a surgeon 
 and a friend of the unhappy man Mirfin who met with 
 his death, and it was from his mouth principally that 
 the complete story was told. He knew nothing of 
 the nature of the quarrel, but there was something 
 terribly significant in the mode in which the deceased 
 urged upon him to take care that the pistols were 
 Fairly loaded. The account given by him was not un- 
 favorable to his friend's opponent. On the first fire 
 the ball went through Mirfin's hat. He took it off, 
 looked at it, but against remonstrances from all quar- 
 ters, himself insisted upon another fire, which was 
 fatal to him. It must be said — though little can be« 
 said for dueling — -that if the encounter had occurred 
 between men of any position in society, this second 
 33 513 
 
514 DEA TH-BL OW TO D UELINO. 
 
 fire would not have been permitted. A judge long 
 since dead — Mr. Justice Vaughan — an excellent speci- 
 men of those whom I remember in my early days, 
 tried two of the parties to this sad scene. The prin- 
 cipal escaped, and only two of the seconds underwent 
 the ordeal. They were both found guilty of murder, 
 and sentence of death was recorded. This was a mere 
 form since disused, which excluded the capital penalty 
 and left the punishment in abeyance. They were im- 
 prisoned for a period of twelve months each. I knew 
 one of them slightly, by no means a cruel man, and 
 who has since filled a respectable position in society. 
 
 I think that I am not wasting the time of my read- 
 ers in dwelling upon this event, as it may be fairly 
 taken as an epoch from which the brutal custom of 
 dueling received its death-blow ; and as far as my ob- 
 servation and experience enable me to judge, the man- 
 ners and demeanor of society have become much more 
 refined and considerate, instead of having retrograded 
 and become coarser, as was prophesied would be the 
 case by those who advocated the practice. 
 
 Whilst the events that I have just related affected 
 materially the impressions of English society and has- 
 tened the abolition of one of the remnants of barbarism, 
 another, not altogether different in its character, was 
 struggling against the increasing refinement of the age 
 to maintain its existence. Pugilism at one time was 
 not without some claim to chivalry ; it was contrasted 
 frequently in varied discussions with the alleged use 
 of the knife in other countries, and perfect fairness 
 had been at one time a characteristic of the encount- 
 ers ; and it was not wonderful that the courage and 
 
PRIZE-FIGHTS. 5^5 
 
 endurance displayed should excite the admiration of 
 the classes especially to which these athletes belonged, 
 and give to themselves a feeling that the profession 
 was an honor to themselves and a crown of glory to 
 their children. 
 
 As was the case in duels, so in prize-fights it would 
 have been useless to appeal to juries to vindicate the 
 law. It is not uninteresting to witness the decline of 
 such feelings and to glance at the cause. The prac- 
 tice, however fairly conducted, could not be otherwise 
 than coarse and cruel. It must always have been 
 surrounded by elements distasteful to men of refine- 
 ment, and gradually that portion of society which con- 
 sisted of the better classes gave way to the repre- 
 sentatives of brutal ruffianism, and the honor of the 
 ring became tainted, first by suspicions, and latterly 
 by the certainty, of unfair play. Pugilists ceased to 
 be men ; they became mere animals, and were backed 
 as such, and hocussed as such. Honorable ambition 
 entered no longer into the minds of the combatants ; 
 the greed for gold tempted the disgusting sacrifice of 
 their bodies. Blacklegs outside the ring had proba- 
 bly paid, or agreed to pay, some miserable wretch to 
 endure a certain amount of bruises until a previously- 
 arranged result gave a sham victory to his opponent. 
 Such may fairly be described as being the state of the 
 prize-ring at a date of which I have a vivid recollec- 
 tion. It was in the year 1860, when the talk in every 
 club-room resounded with the approaching battle be- 
 tween Tom Sayers, the champion of England, and the 
 Benicia Boy, an American named Heenan. The con- 
 test was to revive those good old English days when 
 
516 SA YERS AND HEENAN. 
 
 the fists were held in glory. Sayers I had known 
 something of, in a matter in which he had been a wit- 
 ness. He was apparently a well-conducted, power- 
 fully-built man of between thirty and forty. Heenan 
 was younger and much taller. The fight took place 
 at Farnborough. An immense crowd assembled. 
 Whispers were circulated about those who, conceal- 
 ing their identity, witnessed the conflict. It was per- 
 fectly fair in intention ; both men were thoroughly 
 honorable and their pluck undeniable. Amongst the 
 glories obtained by Sayers was a broken arm. The 
 American nearly lost the sight of one of his eyes, 
 whilst the bodies of both were mauled and battered 
 out of human shape. Two hours and upwards did 
 this disgusting proceeding last, when the victory 
 seemed tending to one of the combatants, and then 
 the ferocity of the mob broke down the barriers of 
 the ring, a tumult occurred, and which of these two 
 heroes was the victor was never determined. From 
 this time until, recently the custom made no real at- 
 tempt to establish an existence. Lately, out of the 
 haunts of the low pot-house, human beings have been 
 extracted to furnish amusement to their brutal asso- 
 ciates, but it is satisfactory to find that the officers of 
 the law are sternly repressing the attempts, and that 
 the juries have no sympathy with the actors. 
 
 I sincerely, and with some confidence, hoped that 
 an event that occurred two years after the famous en- 
 counter, of which I have furnished my readers with a 
 sketch, would have directed public indignation to a 
 practice which, in its barbarism and its attendant cru- 
 elties, will bear comparison with any that can disgrace 
 
THE QUEEN'S LETTER. 517 
 
 civilization, with such force as to prevent its contirm 
 ance. It occurred in July, 1863. I will briefly re- 
 late its particulars. They made a great impression 
 upon my mind at the time, and I wrote to several of 
 the newspapers upon the subject. 
 
 There was an hilarious festival held at the Aston 
 Park, Birmingham, by a certain Order of Foresters, 
 and one of the amusing and intellectual entertainments 
 selected by the society was the engagement of a poor 
 woman who designated herself the Female Blondin. 
 Of course the performance was prepared to meet the 
 taste attributed to the audience. The woman had to 
 walk upon the tight-rope, and, if I remember rightly, 
 to carry over a chair, which she succeeded in doing. 
 After this — can humanity believe it ? — her head was 
 enveloped in a sack so as to completely blind her, and 
 in this condition again she essayed the task. A few 
 faltering steps — when, either from her nervousness or 
 owing to some accident to the gear, she was dashed 
 lifeless to the ground. In better and more pathetic 
 terms than any I could use, with noble and womanly 
 feeling, a letter was written by the command of Her 
 Majesty, which, having extracted and preserved it at 
 the time, I make no apology for reproducing. 
 
 It was directed to the Mayor of Birmingham, and 
 was in the following terms : — 
 
 " Her Majesty cannot refrain from making known 
 to you her personal feelings of horror that one of her 
 subjects, a female, should have been sacrificed to the 
 demoralizing taste unfortunately prevalent for exhibi- 
 tions attended with the greatest danger to the per- 
 formers. Were any proof wanting that such exhibi 
 
518 
 
 ACROBATS. 
 
 ticms are demoralizing, I am commanded to remark, 
 that it would be at once found in the decision arrived 
 at to continue the festivities, the hilarities, and the 
 sports of the occasion, after an event so melancholy 
 The Queen trusts that you, in common with the rest 
 of the towns-people of Birmingham, will use your in- 
 fluence to prevent in future the degradation of such 
 exhibitions in the park, which was gladly opened by 
 Her Majesty and the beloved Prince Consort, in the 
 hope that it would be made serviceable for the healthy 
 exercise and rational recreation of the people." 
 
 It is deserving of observation that these exhibitions 
 do not involve merely the present danger of the per- 
 sons engaged in them, but are founded upon a system 
 of education and training that is shocking in the ex- 
 treme. These wretched contortionists are brought up 
 to the work from infancy, and the means used to ren- 
 der their limbs serviceable to the purposes of their 
 wretched trade is to distort their proper movements, 
 'which can only be done by subjecting them to infi- 
 nite torture. And a short life of hardship and pain, 
 probably ended in agony, is entailed upon our fellow- 
 creatures without choice, or, at all events, before they 
 possess the means of knowledge. 
 
 I cannot help thinking that it is a scandal that these 
 performances, which I have no hesitation in saying 
 are illegal, should take place in establishments under 
 the control of the county justices and sanctioned by 
 their license. 
 
 Before concluding this chapter, my mind has been 
 greatly exercised as to whether I shall be justified in 
 referring again to the Union Club. I am quite aware 
 
UNION CLUB. g^g 
 
 that it is out of place. I ought no doubt to have re- 
 arranged my former comments ; but, then, whilst 
 bound to have no care for the trouble to myself, I 
 dreaded the reproachful looks of my printer, whose 
 patience I have already sorely tried, and so I have de- 
 termined to' throw myself once again upon the consid- 
 eration of my reader. Since I wrote the former pages 
 I have come across my old friend Tom Holmes. He 
 is still a member, and an old one, having been elected 
 in the year 1828. His father was the Tory Whip, 
 and one of the most popular men in London, and was, 
 in connection with the Lord Lowther of those days, 
 one of the earliest promoters of the Club. 
 
 During the years 1804 and 1805 it was, as already 
 stated, carried on at a house in St. James's Square. 
 It was at that time a club in which a great deal of 
 high play went on, and amongst the highest players 
 was a former Lord Rivers. I do not know what his 
 connection was with the nobleman of that name who 
 has recently died, but it was not lineal. 
 
 Mr. Holmes told his son that upon one occasion this 
 Lord Rivers exhibited to him in the club no less a 
 sum than £100,000 in bank-notes. Whether at that 
 time or not he was fortunate in play, it seems that good 
 fortune did not continue to follow him, as he drowned 
 himself some years after in the Serpentine, the act 
 being attributed to losses at play. A singular inci- 
 dent occurred at the election of Tom Holmes himself. 
 One black ball out often excluded, and upon this oc- 
 casion there were eight candidates, and it so happened 
 that his name was upon the last box in the row. The 
 first seven candidates were duly elected ; in the last 
 
520 ECCENTRICITIES. 
 
 ballot-box were seven black balls. A servant came 
 forward and charged a gentleman, the member for 
 some place in Ireland, with having voted unfairly, 
 and in reality he had retained all the balls until he 
 came to the last box, and there deposited them. 
 
 It seems that some suspicion had attached to him 
 in consequence of former proceedings. The ballot 
 was repeated, and Tom Holmes was elected without 
 a dissentient voice. No reason seems to have exist- 
 ed for the action of this gentleman, who made no de- 
 nial of the fact. Some idea not dissimilar to those 
 which are said sometimes to actuate the Hibernian 
 mind may have led him to hasten by this method the 
 election of his own friends. He was of course ex- 
 pelled the club, and also from several others of repu-. 
 tation to which he belonged. It is due to his mem- 
 ory to mention an incident that makes one feel that 
 the act was due to some curious hallucination. Some 
 short time after the discovery, he sent £100 to the 
 servant who had been the agent of his detection. 
 
 Volumes might be written of the eccentricities of 
 club life : I have myself known of many. There is 
 one that occurs to my mind to mention, as I was well 
 acquainted with the facts, and with the member in 
 question. He had been a colonel in the army, and 
 was accustomed whilst at dinner, when he supposed 
 that no one was looking, to transfer from his plate to 
 his pocket-handkerchief divers slices of whatever edi- 
 bles had been supplied to him, and these were sup- 
 posed to supply his breakfast upon the following morn- 
 ing. I know as a fact that this same gentleman, hear- 
 ing of a brother officer being in distress, made him a 
 
LETTER FROM THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 521 
 
 present of £3,000 without any solicitation, and mere- 
 ly remarking that he had intended to leave him that 
 amount in his will, and thought that it might at the 
 present time be of more service. 
 
 I was acquainted with a member of a military club, 
 and happened to go with him into an umbrella shop 
 in Regent Street ; he recognized, lying upon the 
 counter, an umbrella belonging to himself, and upon 
 examination he found that it bore his initials upon the 
 handle. Upon inquiry he learned that it had been 
 left there, to have the handle changed, by a brother 
 officer and member of the same club. A rather curi- 
 ous incident happened to me in the Union Club, which 
 I may as well mention now. I was lunching with 
 one of its younger members — I really forget his name : 
 he told me he was familiar with my name through a 
 letter to my father which had come into the posses- 
 sion of his, as executor of a Captain Cowell, from the 
 Duke of Wellington. This letter, which he showed 
 me, and a copy of which will be found in a note at the 
 end of this volume, related to a dinner given to the 
 Duke, and which I have mentioned in a former chap- 
 ter ; it probably came into possession of the captain 
 as adjutant of the Tower Liberty Militia, which office 
 he had filled at the time. 
 
 One of the objects which led to the creation of 
 the Union Club was to bring together within its walls 
 men of all shades of politics, and any violation of this 
 principle would have been considered as a subversion 
 of one of its cardinal rules. 
 
CHAPTER LII. 
 
 LAST CHAPTER. 
 
 I "HIS is the last chapter of the first work I have 
 -*- ever ventured to present to the public, and it 
 will be found to consist of scraps gathered up from 
 topics dwelt upon in preceding pages, put together 
 without order, but still, I hope, possessing some in- 
 terest. 
 
 Before I commenced my professional career I was 
 acquainted with Mr. Teesdale, a gentleman of very- 
 high standing in the city, and solicitor to one of the 
 principal dock companies at the time my father was 
 magistrate at the Thames Police office. He was the 
 father of Mr. John Marmaduke Teesdale, the present 
 head of the firm, and who was one of my earliest 
 clients and valued personal friends, who was also a 
 member of the Garrick Club, partook occasionally of 
 my tendency to Richmond and Homburg, and with 
 him I have had many pleasant hours, and upon some 
 personal matters have received very valuable advice. 
 In three of the cases that I have thought worthy of 
 recording he was the solicitor : — the poisoning case, 
 the Tamworth Election Petition, and the action of 
 Wellesley against Pole ; and those who know thor- 
 522 
 
INCIDENT IN THE POISONING CASE. 523 
 
 onghly the details of these cases will admit, without 
 hesitation, the proverbial blindness of justice. 
 
 Having referred to the poisoning case, I may men- 
 tion an incident told me by my friend, and which I. 
 omitted to record in the account of the trial. It may 
 be remembered that a very suspicious death took 
 place whilst the accused person was residing near his 
 brother's shop. It appeared that when he was solic- 
 iting a reprieve he supplied the Home Secretary with 
 "a statement which purported to be an account of the 
 places where he had resided. This was sent to Mr. 
 Teesdale, who noticed that no mention was made of 
 that locality. I think it was at a party at which Mr 
 Teesdale was a guest, a story was told which I will 
 not impute to him. It was one of that class which 
 the narrator declares he knows to be true, but he who 
 repeats it only says that it ought to be. It was upon 
 the eve of an important debate in the Lords that a 
 noble member of that august assembly was obliged to 
 preside in a Court of Quarter Sessions somewhere in 
 Yorkshire. There was, unfortunately, a heavy calen- 
 dar. What was he to do 1 There was no one to take 
 his place. He consulted the chaplain. Whom can a 
 man in difficulty resort to with more certainty of com- 
 fort and relief? He asks him, " Who is the greatest 
 scoundrel you have in the gaol ? " " John Hoggins," 
 was the reply. What further passed between the no- 
 ble chairman and his clerical adviser I cannot say, bu^" 
 directions were given that the said Hoggins should be 
 the first prisoner put into the dock. To the great 
 surprise of most people, he pleaded guilty, and was 
 addressed by his lordship somewhat in these terms : 
 
524 SERJEANT THOMAS. 
 
 " John Hoggins, the object of punishment is to re- 
 form, and when, as in your case, after a long course 
 of crime, repentance at last comes, the court is will- 
 ing to give effect to it," and he concluded by passing 
 a slight sentence. Hoggins was then turned out 
 amongst the other prisoners, who, most of them, ex- 
 hibited their penitence very expeditiously in the same 
 form, but their sentences seemed rather intended to 
 include what ought to have been given John Hoggins 
 than to reward their own sense of what was due to 
 society. The noble lord, however, was enabled to 
 perform his duty to his country in the House of Peers. 
 
 Amongst my brother "degenerates" was one not 
 unworthy of mention. Mr. Serjeant Thomas began 
 life in a humble position, but had the good fortune to 
 marry early an exceedingly accomplished lady. With 
 her help and great perseverance he obtained consid- 
 erable knowledge, especially in modern languages. 
 They, together, contributed to the press, and by this 
 means and rigid economy he was enabled to get call- 
 ed to the bar. In a certain class of cases and before 
 common juries he was by no means an unsuccessful 
 advocate. There was a somewhat unkind joke made 
 at his expense by a learned judge. He having moved 
 for a writ of Nolle Prosequi instead of Nolle Prose- 
 qui, "Pray," said the judge, "do not make anything 
 unnecessarily long on the last day of term." Thomas, 
 however, astonished the same judge upon another oc 
 casion by interpreting, off-hand, an Italian affidavit. 
 
 He was a terrible thorn in the side of Serjeant Wil- 
 kins; his familiar mode of dealing with this gentleman's 
 stilted sentences was by no means to the latter's taste. 
 
HOMBURG. 525 
 
 I was present one day at the Sheriff's Court, when 
 these two counsel were opposed to each other. Ser- 
 jeant Wilkins looked as if he could have eaten his an- 
 tagonist, and his voice was in perfect keeping with his 
 inflated oratory. Thomas arose when his time came, 
 and, fixing his eyes upon his opponent, commenced in 
 solemn tones with these words, "And now the Huiiy 
 Burly's done — " Wilkins waited for no more, but, 
 tucking up his gown, got out of court as quickly as 
 he could ; not without a remark from Thomas which, 
 being somewhat undignified, I abstain from repeating. 
 Thomas had brought up his family very creditably, 
 but had been unable to realize any substantial means. 
 At the time of his death his widow, a lady long past 
 her seventieth year, was not entitled to any share 
 in the division of .the property of the Inn, but I had 
 known much of her history, and brought her case before 
 the members, and without a dissentient voice I was 
 left to exercise my own discretion. I sent her the 
 same sum as she would have been entitled to if there 
 had been no technical bar. And I can recall no more 
 gratifying event in my life than the letter I received 
 from her in acknowledgment. She told me in the 
 most refined and graceful language, every word re- 
 plete with sincereity, that, by the kindness the Inn 
 had bestowed upon her, her remaining days were left 
 without a care or an anxiety. 
 
 A likeness I possess of the principal spring at Hom- 
 burg, most admirably photographed, brings back that 
 place to my memory. It includes myself and some 
 of my friends who were staying in that locality at the 
 time — with the exception of Signor and Madame Ar- 
 
526 BOUCICAULT. 
 
 diti none are known to fame. There is, however, the 
 figure of a good-looking young fellow, whose tale was 
 a sad and singular one. It is that of a son of Dion 
 Boucicault, whom about that time I saw a good deal 
 of. I do not know how long it was after this occa- 
 sion that he had been on a visit in Yorkshire. I 
 think, but am not quite sure, that it was with my 
 friend Sir George Armytage. In returning he missed 
 the train that he had intended to catch. The next 
 by which he traveled met with a collision, which in- 
 jured many of the passengers, but young Boucicault 
 escaped unhurt, and was actively engaged in assisting 
 those that were, when another train dashed up and 
 killed him upon the spot. Much sympathy was of 
 course exhibited to the parents, who in a graceful ac- 
 knowledgment concluded by saying "that the only 
 trouble he had ever given them was his death." 
 
 Those of my readers who may have taken up these 
 volumes with the notion that criminal courts afford 
 romances that create interest in those accused of 
 crime, will have been greatly disappointed by my 
 reminiscences ; and indeed my observation has led to 
 the conclusion that the motives usually are essentially 
 coarse and commonplace, and the criminals worthy of 
 very little sympathy. I have not been fortunate 
 enough to meet with any lovely females who have 
 drowned their infants or poisoned their parents from 
 high and praiseworthy motives ; nor have I met, 
 standing in the dock of the Old Bailey, forms that 
 would have graced the circles of fashionable society. 
 I do not mean to say that many who are seen in that 
 position have not been brought to it by a series of cir- 
 
THE FAIR ALICE. 527 
 
 cum stances that may make them well worthy of the 
 pity of the philanthropist ; but little remains, when 
 they have blossomed into this state, that is calculated 
 to command admiration. In the following case, how- 
 ever, of which I had some personal knowledge, I can 
 present a young lady who was really one of the pret- 
 tiest girls I ever knew, and whose story is not with- 
 out romance. It is a Miss Alice L . Of her early 
 
 history I knew nothing ; that is to say, before sixteen 
 years old. She was not more when first I met her. 
 I think I was introduced to her by my friend Captain 
 Barberie at one of those assemblies dedicated to in- 
 nocent recreation, and where the vouchers required 
 for the entry were not fenced round with serious ob- 
 stacles. And I presume that it was at one of these 
 reunions that the most noble Lord Frankfort — the 
 Baron de Montmorency — met her and fell victim to 
 her charms. I can tell my readers nothing of the 
 progress of the courtship, or of the occasions upon 
 which he lavished upon the idol of his affections the 
 jewels appertaining to his ancestral crown. Neither 
 am I able to detail how the enthusiastic love of the 
 noble Baron became turned into such bitter hate that 
 he consigned the lovely object of his former admiration 
 to the dungeons of Newgate upon the ignoble charge 
 of stealing those offerings of his love. Certain it is, 
 however, that upon November 31st, a.d. 1840, the 
 charming Alice, gracefully standing in the dock of the 
 Old Bailey, was the cynosure of hundreds of eyes. 
 
 She was defended by Mr. Adolphus, whose voice 
 was broken by emotion. Indignant glances were 
 showered upon the Baron. The judge was not un- 
 
528 HER ACQUITTAL. 
 
 moved. The jury acquitted without a moment's 
 hesitation, and with a graceful courtesy she de- 
 parted from the detested thraldom, celebrated as well 
 as beautiful. 
 
 The manager of an East End Theatre lost no time 
 in securing such a prize, and shortly after her- release 
 she appeared upon his boards. I am really ashamed 
 to say that I forget in what character she apjoeared, or 
 with what amount of success. Shortly afterwards I 
 lost sight of her, and it was not until many years after, 
 that, in a different sphere from that in which I first 
 met her, again I found myself in her presence. She 
 had become, as pretty, fair-haired girls are wont to 
 do, a portly dame, and was married to a gentleman of 
 good position in America. She was, when I then met 
 her, upon a visit to this country, and extended to me 
 a welcome and pleasant recognition. 
 
 The trial, it will be observed, took place forty years 
 ago, but I have heard that she is still alive, and, in a 
 certain State in America, leading a creditable life. 
 
 One more story connected with the Central Court 
 — a story of my comparatively early days, when 
 briefs were very rare and warmly welcomed. This 
 was a great occasion, and I was junior to Thesiger. 
 As in the last I have recorded, the mischievous 
 god was at the bottom of it, although the details 
 did not exhibit much romance. Our client was 
 a young gentleman of position and moderate for- 
 tune. He occupied a set of rooms in the Temple, 
 and fate made him acquainted with a young lady 
 who assisted in the disposal of the numerous arti- 
 cles of beauty and fashion in the establishment of 
 
TRIAL AT CENTRAL COURT. 529 
 
 Marshall and Snelgrove in Oxford Street. She was cer- 
 tainly, without exception, one of the handsomest young 
 women I have ever seen in my life. I believe that 
 the aiFection that grew up between the parties was 
 perfectly honorable. Unfortunately, however, in other 
 respects the young lady was not strictly correct. She 
 had access to his chambers, and made them the re- 
 ceptacle of her employers' wares. They were con- 
 cealed from his sight; but she, having been suspected, 
 was traced, and our client was charged with receiv- 
 ing stolen goods, and was placed in the dock beside 
 his inamorata. He was perfectly innocent, and ac- 
 quitted without hesitation. For her there was no de- 
 fense. She was found guilty, and sentenced to four- 
 teen years' transportation. He, poor fellow, suffered 
 greatly. I know that he was deeply attached to her, 
 and fully forgave her the cruel trial that she had oc- 
 casioned to him. I learned something of the subse- 
 quent history of the damsel. Her sentence was duly 
 carried out, but, upon the vessel in which she was 
 sent out, there were a doctor and a parson. Her 
 bodily ailments required the constant attention of the 
 former, whilst the latter greatly interested himself in 
 her spiritual welfare. I forget which of these it was 
 who succeeded in obtaining her affections, but to one 
 of them she was married upon her arrival at New 
 South Wales. It may not be known to many of my 
 readers that in the days of transportation a convict 
 might be married to a settler, and was assigned to him 
 as a servant, but remained amenable to the discipline 
 of the authorities in the event of any complaint being 
 
 made. 
 
 34 
 
530 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Many happy and prosperous marriages of this 
 class are recorded as having been entered into by 
 colonists of both sexes,, and a generation of hardy, 
 industrious, and honorable men have sprung from 
 them ; and I am not sorry to conclude a work which, 
 although intended principally to amuse, has not been 
 presented to the public without higher ends in con- 
 templation, by inviting reflection upon the above 
 facts, and by asking whether the most hopeful ad- 
 mirers of the present system of punishment can sug- 
 gest an equivalent. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT TO THE SIXTH EDITION. 
 
 In a notice that appeared of the late Mr. Wakley, 
 in chap. ix. vol. i. of the octavo edition of my Ex- 
 periences, I expressed a belief that the damages ob- 
 tained by that gentleman were never paid. 
 
 I learn from gentlemen of high standing (Messrs. 
 Potter and Landford) that their predecessors received 
 both damages and costs. 
 
 I am glad to take the first opportunity I have 
 had since receiving this information to rectify my 
 mistake. 
 
 The Author. 
 
 October 27, 1882. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Page 472. 
 
 The following is a translation of the curious hymn with the 
 presentation of which I was honored by the subjects of His 
 Highness the Gaekwar of Baroda, upon my entrance into his 
 dominions. I have referred to it and to my reception as 
 indicative of the feeling entertained towards him. It cer- 
 tainly exhibits much fertility of imagination. 
 
 [Translation.] 
 To 
 
 The Most Learned 
 
 SERJEANT BALLANTINE. 
 
 Mat your merits be praised in every nook and corner of 
 our country, and may our king be restored to his freedom 
 and throne ! 
 
 Then will your praises be sung everywhere. 
 
 Our hearts are filled with rising joy at the mention of your 
 name, and we entertain the dear hope that the cloud of 
 calamity that hangs over our king will be swept away. 
 Then will your praises, &c. 
 
 Is it not natural that the news of the arrest of the king of 
 our Gujarath should produce a sensation in our bosom ? Oh! 
 give us your helping hand! 
 
 Then will your praises, &c. 
 
 All the men of Bharata fervently pray to God that their 
 king be released and the grave charges attached to him be 
 wiped away. 
 
 Then will your praises, &c. 
 
 531 
 
532 APPENDIX. 
 
 May pure justice be dealt to our prince in a pure and unde- 
 filed way! In that case we shall sing merry songs expressive 
 of your great glory. 
 
 Then will your praises, &c. 
 
 Dhobi's Pole ^ I have the honor, most learned Sir, to be 
 in Khadia, \ your most obedient servant, 
 Ahmedabad. ) Hariprasad Peetamberray Derasary 
 
 Page 521. 
 
 The following is a copy of the letter referred to on the 
 above page: — 
 
 London, June 13, 1834. 
 
 My Dear Sir, — 1 am sorry to tell you that His Majesty has 
 invited me to dine at St. James's on Saturday the 21st in- 
 stant. As you are aware, these Royal invitations are con- 
 sidered as commands, to which all other invitations must give 
 way. Under these circumstances I must request the gentle- 
 men of the Tower Hamlets to excuse me for absenting my- 
 self from their proposed dinner at Blackwall, unless they 
 can postpone it until Wednesday, the 25th instant, if that 
 day should suit them, when I will attend them with great 
 pleasure. 
 
 Believe me, yours most sincerely, 
 
 Wellington. 
 
 W. Ballantine, Esq., 
 
 Thames Police Office. 
 
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