been sacrificed to the vanity or the lucre of place; but still there was no allusion to Canning, and no connexion that ordinary men could discover, with the business before the house. When, however, he had collected every material which suited his purpose; when the mass had become big and black, he bound it about and about with the cords of illustration and argument; and, when its union was secure, he swung it round and round with the strength of a giant and the rapidity of a whirlwind, in order that its impetus and effects might be more tremendous; and while doing this, he ever and anon glanced and pointed his finger to make the aim and direction sure." There are, however, many faults in the oratory of Mr. Brougham. Labour is always visible in his efforts; his sentences are involved and tedious; his delivery, though forcible, is never rapid or impassioned; and his voice, agreeable at first, becomes unmusical when exerted. He has no persuasion, and is apt to be rude and personal; by which he often loses his senatorial dignity, and shows that he is better qualified to discuss questions than to deal with his fellow men. "To paint," "the says an authority before cited, hideous wrong of tyranny and oppression to exalt the glory of resisting them to scourge meanness and cruelty -to overwhelm ignorance and presumption with sarcastic scorn, were tasks perfectly congenial to Mr. Brougham's powers. But the softness of pity-the subduing power of gentleness and goodness-the fervency of affection, and the tenderness of love, either found no sympathy with him, or were not thought fit to be made use of in the exercise of his art : "Impiger, iracundus, inexorabilis, acer.” he seemed to desire to be borne along by the torrent of his indignation, and never stopped for a moment to watch by the fountain of human tears." As an advocate, the subject of our memoir was less distinguished by his legal knowledge than by his skill in the examination of a witness and his subtlety in addressing a jury. He is, however, not among those who condescend to cajole a jury out of a verdict; on the contrary, his speech is rather the lecture of one in authority, than of him who seeks to persuade or allure. But though somewhat dictatorial in his arguments, he enforces them with such couscientious confidence, that the casual listener feels as much mortification as surprise, when he hears the efforts of so splendid an advocate nullified, in one word, by the judge on the bench, from whose mouth the letter of the law drops, like a dead, but destructive weight, on a fabric that, to all but the unimpassioned lawyer, seemed beyond the power of human ingenuity to shake. He usually commences his addresses in a subdued tone, gradually increasing in vehemence as he proceeds, till at last he has been known to arrive at a paroxysm of actual fury, in which he deals out some of those tremendous Philippics, that have made him second only to Cicero in that branch of oratory. To his brother counsel, Mr. Brougham is, in general, courteous, although occasionally apt to take offence without sufficient cause. He once had an altercation, at the Lancaster assizes, with Mr. Alderson; who, having accused Mr. Brougham of unfairness, the latter rose from his seat, and seemed elevated above his usual stature; his right hand was extended upwards, as far as he could raise it, and he suddenly struck it down upon the table with a force which would have split a board of ordinary materials. In a voice which filled every corner of the court, and rivetted the attention of the astonished crowd, he exclaimed, "I will no longer bear silently the running fire of insinuation which has been played upon me by my learned friend. resent his repeated accusation of unfairness. I will not submit to it." Mr. Alderson assured his lordship, that in his observations he did not, of course, intend to accuse his learned friend, but the parties by whom he was instructed, and by whom his case was got up. Mr. Justice Bayley said he was sorry to see so much warmth; for which, he thought, there was no occasion. "But I will defend myself, my lord," exclaimed Mr. Brougham, in a loud and unsubdued tone. The matter here dropped, but it left a painful impression on the auditory. This feeling had not subsided, when, at a later period of the day, Mr. Brougham took away all its painfulness by a happy turn. He was examining a witness as to words spoken, or something done, which led the learned gentleman to express a suspicion to the witness that the person spoken of had been in a passion. The witness said he thought it was so. "But I sincerely hope," said Mr. B., "he was not in such a passion as my friend Mr. Alderson was, just now, at somebody near me.' As a writer, Mr. Brougham has evinced powers equally transcendent and versatile; he wrote his Colonial Policy in his twenty-third year; has shown his knowledge of natural philosophy, by several communications to Nicholson's Journal; and of ethics and literature, by his articles in the Edinburgh Review. "In this periodical," says a writer in the Kaleidoscope, "his papers were known by their rough vigour; by the unmusical labour of his periods; and his constant effort to dip his ploughshare below the surface and turn a deep furrow." His ubiquity of mind is as remarkable as the ease with which he adapts it to particular occasions; he can make an oration in praise of Greek at Glasgow, and in praise of trade at Liverpool; has been known to retire at night, after a stormy election contest in the day, to write an elaborate article for the Edinburgh Review; and once, during the busiest period of a circuit, composed, whilst surrounded by his briefs, a treatise on sheep shearing, for the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. ciplined by constant practice, which shine so brightly on public affairs, embellish and delight the narrower scene; the same readiness and acuteness which have enabled him to surmount all the complications of a court of law render him, in a modified form, the idol of the dinner party or drawingroom company. In conversation, he is jocular and witty; and many of his bon-mots are repeated, to enliven other meetings than those in which they first raised the laugh of mirth and pleasantry. In what our neighbours, the French, esteem so much, the saying of clever things, and the uttering of pointed expressions which remain upon the memory, Mr. Brougham would bear away the palm of excellence, even in Paris; and were it worthy of our theme, or consistent with our limits, we might entertain the reader through many a page, with the jeux d'esprit, repeated from mouth to mouth, as the sallies of Mr. Brougham in his "hours of ease, or more playful contests of superiority." In his profession, also, he would sometimes condescend to make a pun. His opinion being, one day, required, whether an action would lie, "yes," he replied, "if the witnesses will lie too." It may finally be remarked of Mr. Brougham, that, even at this moment, he holds a conspicuous place, both in history and biography, which has already been awarded to him in more than one European work of celebrity. In the Encyclopædia Americana, he is spoken of as "a public benefactor," whose life, his biographer hopes, "will long be spared to his country;" and the writer of his life in the Biographie des Contemporains thus concludes:-" Versé dans les sciences physiques, profondément instruit dans le droit de son pays, habile dans le science de l'économie politique, Brougham est l'un des orateurs les plus distingués du siècle." In private life, he is highly respected, and sets an example of industry and activity to all within the sphere of his influence, He rises early and retires late, subdividing his time systematically, and devoting it to the various business he has to perform with scrupulous regularity. He once requested a gentleman, who wanted to see him on private business, to call on him at Hill Street, any morning between six and eight. "In the circle of society," says the writer in the National Portrait Gallery, we have before quoted, " in which Mr. Brougham has moved and moves, his good humour, his playfulness, his many accomplishments, and his general acquaintance with all subjects, from the mere topic of the hour to the most profound investigation, have ever made him an especial ornament and favourite. In these periods of relaxation, the same versatility and strength of mind, dis-easiness. Mr. Brougham was married, on the 1st of April, 1819, to Mary Anne, eldest daughter of the late Thomas Eden, Esq., and the widow of John Spalding, Esq. He had two daughters by his wife; the eldest of whom is dead, and his sur viving child is said to be in a state of health, which gives her father, who is extremely fond of her, much un STEPHEN LUSHINGTON. THIS distinguished civilian and politician, the second son of a baronet, was born about 1780; and, having received a good education, he went to complete his studies at All Souls' College, Oxford; where he graduated B. A. in 1803; M. A. in 1806; B. C. L. in the following year; and D. C. L. in 1808. Having, in the meantime, become a member of Doctors' Commons, and of the Inner Temple, he was, by that society, called to the bar, and commenced the practice of a civilian, in which character he soon acquired distinction. He entered parliament as member for the town of Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, when, joining the opposition, he supported the administration of Fox and Grenville; and, notwithstanding his property in the West Indies, voted, in 1807, for the abolition of the slave trade. In February, 1808, he supported Mr. Tierney's motion for a committee on trade and navigation, in reference to the policy of the celebrated orders in council; and, on the following 9th of March, in support of Lord Folkstone, in his motion for considering the Oude charge against the Marquess of Wellesley, late governor of India, he contended, that that nobleman, " in the gratification of his own ambitious views, had abrogated the solemn provisions of ratified treaties; and committed, by his disregard of the recorded injunctions of parliament, the good faith of the British character, and the security of our possessions in India." On the 11th of July, 1820, Dr. Lushington, after commenting on the treacherous conduct of France in endeavouring to set a Bourbon prince over the revolted Spanish colonies of South America, moved for official copies of all communications to the British government on the subject; and concluded by urging, that government should at once consider the propriety of recognizing the new governments of South America; which motion, however, he withdrew, on its being opposed by the late Lord Castlereagh and Mr. Canning. Having, in the meantime, been ap pointed one of her counsel by the late queen, the subject of our memoir, with Messrs. Brougham and Denman, obtained leave to plead at the bar of the house of lords, against the bill of pains and penalties for divorcing her majesty; and he also spoke in the commons at some length, on the refusal of the lord-chamberlain to let the queen have the plate which had been presented to her by his late majesty, George the Third, ending with a motion for all official papers on the subject, which was afterwards negatived without a division. He took an animated part during the examination of the witnesses on the trial that followed; and, on the 24th, 25th, and 26th of October. in conjunction with Mr. Denman, he ably summed up the defence; and, on the last-named day, made a most masterly speech on the same side, which closed the defence for her majesty. On the 3rd of July, following, he threw out some imputations against the Society for the Suppression of Vice, in opposition to the opinions of the late Mr. Wilberforce, on Mr. S. Whitbread's moving an address to the king, praying him to direct the attorney-general to enter a nolle prosequi, in the case of all prosecutions instituted by the society styling itself the Constitutional Association. In June, 1822, he appeared in the Prerogative court, as counsel for Mrs. Serres, the soi-disant Princess Olive, of Cumberland, in support of her claim to the sum of £15,000, bequeathed her by George the Third. On the following 12th of July, he, with Mr. (now Sir Charles) Wetherell, opposed the adoption of the clauses which had been introduced into the amendment marriage act bill; characterizing them as "obscure, inaccurate, absurd, and inconsistent;" and declaring, besides, his undisguised hostility to the principles of the measure. On the 9th of March, 1824, he, in a brilliant speech, supported the motion of the then chancellor of the exchequer, for a grant of £500,000 for the erection of new churches, on the ground of the advantages afforded to fanatical dissenters, from the want of churches; and their vital necessity to complete a Christian education. He, however, on the 10th of May, in the same year, warmly opposed the bill for repairing the cathedral of Derry, which he characterized "as a scheme for taxing the people of Derry, for purposes which were amply provided for by the funds in the hands of the dean and chapter." On the following 14th of June, he reprobated the proceedings at Demerara, against the missionary, Smith; declaring that the revolt which that ill-fated indi- | vidual was charged to have excited, was caused by the exaction of excessive labour, subjecting the negroes to severe punishments, and restraining them from religious worship. On the 17th of February, 1825, Dr. Lushington moved for copies of the committal of five persons to the gaol of Londonderry, in Ireland, for refusing to give evidence against a Roman catholic priest, who had been guilty of celebrating illegal marriages; when he dwelt strongly on the severity of the laws affecting the Romish clergy in that particular; and carried his motion without a division. On the 9th of May following, he supported Mr. Peel's motion for leave to bring in a bill to amend the laws regulating the impannelling of juries; and, on the 30th, on a motion being made for taking into consideration the report on the king's message, relative to the royal annuities, he moved, as an amendment, that the name of the Duke of Cumberland be omitted; so as to leave the government of the young prince, his son, and the application of the grant for his use, in the hands' of the king. On the 23rd of February, 1830, he supported Lord John Russell's motion for transferring the franchise of boroughs convicted of corruption, to Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester; and on the following 5th of April, he supported Mr. C. Grant's motion for the emancipation of the Jews. Dr. Lushington is justly esteemed as a man of learning and ability; and, but for the consistent manner in which he has pursued the political views with which he commenced his public life, would probably, ere this, have been raised to that official trust and dignity to which his merits might justly entitle him. It ought to be remarked, however, that notwithstanding his adherence to the principles of economy and reform both in church and state, few men are more sincerely attached to the church of England. |