As an Equity Judge, Lord Talbot exceeded all the high expectations which had been formed of him. In my long [A. D. 1733-1737.] journey from the reign of Ethelred to that of George IV., I find this Chancellor alone without an accuser; without Sewer upon his Knee with the Towell before he did eate, his Royall highnesse sitting at the end of the Table on his right hand, and Prince Rupert att the other end. The Dukes and Lords and other his Maties attendants of Qualitie, after some short time of waiting, had leave from his Matie to sitt downe to Dinnar att Tables prepared for them on each side of the Hall. The Reader and some of the Benchers, to witt, Sir Thomas Beverley, Master of Requests to his Matie, Sir Robert Atkins, Knt of the Bath, all the tyme of his Maties dineing waiteing neere his Maies Chair, and some other of the Benchers with white staffes waited as Controlers of the Hall to keepe good order, and above ffifty of the Barristers and Students, the most part of them attending as waiters and carrieing up his Maies meate, which was served upon the Knee. The rest of the Barristers and Students waiting upon the Lords att their table. The three cources, wherein were exceeding great plenty and variety of Dishes, and after them a most liberall Banquett, was served up by the said Barristers and Students, and delivered by them upon their Knees at the King's Table, The Music consisting of His Maties Violin, playing all the tyme of Dinnar in the Gallery at the lower end of the Hall. Towards the end of Dinnar his Matie, to doe transendant honor and grace to this Society, and to expresse his most gratious acceptance of their humble duty and affection towards him, was pleased to demand the Book of Admittances to be brought to him, and with his owne hand entered his Royal name therein, most gratiously condiscending to make himself a Member thereof, which high and extraordinary favor was instantly acknowledged by all the Members of this Society then attending on his Majestie with all possible Joy, and received with the greatest and most humble expressions of Gratitude, itt being an Example not presidented by any former King of this Realme. His Royall highness and Prince Rupert followed this great and highest Example, as also the Dukes and other Lords, who, before his Maies rising from dinnar, borrowed Gownes of the students and put them on, and in those Gownes waited on his Matie, with which his Matie was much delighted. And his Matie, through his owne most obliging favor vouchsafed to it (having made himselfe more neerely and intimately concerned for the good of this Society,) was pleased himselfe to begin a health to the welfare thereof, and to cause itt to be pledg'd in his owne presence, and immediately gave the Reader leave to drink his Maties health, and to begin to his Royal Highnesse. Then riseing from dinnar, he was agayne attended to the new Councell Chamber, where he conferred the honour of Knighthood on Mr Nicholas Pedley and Mr Richard Stote, two of the Benchers, who had in their turns been Readers of this house, as also upon Mr James Buttler, one of the Barristers, and Mr Ffrancis Dayrell, one of the Students, That soe every degree and order of the Society might have a signall Testimony of his Maties high favour. His Majestie upon his departure made large expressions of his most gracious acceptance of the Enterteynment, and returned his thanks to the Reader, and was pleased to signifie the great respect and esteem he should ever have for the Society.

"The Gentlemen of the Horse Guards, Yeomen of the Guard, and other inferior attendants, were bountifully enterteyned att the costs and charges also of the Reader. The Gentlemen of the Horse Guards dined in the old Councell Chamber, the Yeomen of the Guards in Mr Day's Chamber, And the Coachmen and Lacqys in the Gardiner's house, to all their contentment.

"On Saturday following Mr Reader, Sir Robert Attkins, Sir Nicholas Pedley, and Sir Richard Stote, Benchers and Readers of Lincolnes Inne, waited on his Matie att Whitehall, being conducted to his Maties presence by the Earle of Bath, and gave most humble thanks for that high and transcendant honour he had been pleased to vouchsafe to this Society, which was graciously received by his Matie, And did the said Benchers the honour to Kisse his hand."

an enemy; without a detractor; without any one, from malice or mistake, to cavil at any part of his character, conduct, or demeanour.

The official record of Queen Victoria's visit on the occasion of the opening of the New Hall-after describing an audience with which the Treasurer and two other Benchers were honoured to invite her Majesty and her Royal Consort, her Majesty's gracious intimation that they would be present at a "déjeûner" on the 30th of October, and the preparation made to receive them-thus proceeds :

"The Queen's Counsel wore their silk gowns, and the long full-bottomed wig. Lord Cottenham, Lord Campbell, and the Speaker, wore their black velvet court dresses; the three Vice-Chancellors their full dress, Judges' wigs, and Lord Bexley his blue and gold official dress, as a former minister of the Crown.

"At the top of the Hall a table was placed upon the dais for the Queen, his Royal Highness Prince Albert, and the other guests who accompanied the Queen; the benchers and the preacher of the Inn; and then, transversely, four tables reaching to the bottom of the Hall were devoted to the Bar and such of the students as attended. Each plate was numbered; and the barristers were placed according to their seniority.

"The tables were all handsomely and substantially decorated and furnished: the entertainment being a cold one. The band of the Coldstream Guards attended, and played during the time her Majesty was in the Hall.

"At the top of the Hall, from time to time, appeared not only the benchers, but the Cabinet Ministers, who were invited. Lord Campbell was one of the first to make his appearance; the Duke of Wellington was dressed as a Field Marshal, but entirely undecorated; Lord Lincoln followed in the costume of a Cabinet Minister. All the benchers being assembled, and the hour of arrival drawing nigh, the procession for receiving her Majesty, headed by the Treasurer, made its way down the Hall, and placed itself at the south-east entrance of the Hall, and shortly afterwards the Queen, with Prince Albert, attended by four of the ladies in waiting, and certain high officers of her household, arrived. The party came in five private carriages, attended by a body of the Life Guards; and soon in the Hall the National Anthem was heard. In a few moments after, Mr. Doyle, the steward, announced "The Queen." Her Majesty immediately entered, passing up the middle of the Hall, leaning on Prince Albert's arm, and preceded by the Treasurer walking backwards, and amidst loud and hearty cheering. Her Majesty walked to the library, followed by her ladies, the Cabinet Ministers, Officers of State, and the Benchers, who came two and two, according to the date of their election to the bench.

"The Queen wore a blue drawn silk bonnet with a blue feather, a dress of Limerick lace, and a scarlet shawl with a broad gold edging.

"In the Library, the Queen, seated on a chair of state, held a levee, and received an address from the benchers, the barristers represented by the four seniors, and the students or fellows, two of whom were also present. The address was read by the Treasurer to the Queen, on his knee, and was as follows:

"Most Gracious Sovereign,

"We your faithful subjects, the Treasurer and Masters of the Bench, the Barristers and Fellows of the Society of Lincoln's Inn, intreat your Majesty's permission, humbly to testify the joy and gratitude inspired by your august presence. The edifice in which, under such happy auspices, we are for the first time assembled, is adorned with memorials of many servants of the Crown, eminent in their talents, their learning, and their integrity. To the services as recorded in history of these our distinguished predecessors, we appeal in all humility for our justification in aspiring to receive your Majesty beneath this roof.

"Two centuries have nearly passed away since the Inns of Court were so honoured by the presence of the reigning prince. We cannot, therefore, but feel

While in no respect deficient in judicial gravity and dignity, the flowing courtesy of his manners seems to have won all hearts.

Well ac

deeply grateful for a mark so conspicuous of your Majesty's condescension, and of your gracious regard for the profession of the law.

It is our earnest desire to deserve this proof of your Majesty's favour, by a zealous execution of the trust reposed in us, to guard and maintain the dignity of the Bar of England.

"In our endeavours to this end, we shall but follow in the course which it has been your Majesty's royal pleasure to pursue. Signally has your Majesty fostered the independence of the Bar and the purity of the Bench, by distributing the honours which you have graciously bestowed on the profession among the members of all parties in the State.

"Permit me, also, most gracious Sovereign, to offer your Majesty our sincere congratulations on the great amendments of the law which have been effected since your Majesty's accession to the throne throughout many portions of your vast empire.

"The pure glory of these labours will be dear to your Majesty's royal heart; for it arises from the welfare of your subjects.

"That your Majesty may long reign over a loyal, prosperous, and contented people, is our devout and fervent prayer to Almighty God.""

"The following reply, which her Majesty received from Sir James Graham, was then read:

"I receive, with cordial satisfaction, this dutiful address. My beloved Consort and I have accepted with pleasure your invitation, for I recognise the services rendered to the Crown at various periods of our history by distinguished members of this society; and I gladly testify my respect for the profession of the law, by which I am aided in administering justice, and in maintaining the prerogative of the Crown and the rights of my people.

"I congratulate you on the completion of this noble edifice; it is worthy of the memory of your predecessors, and the station which you occupy in connexion with the Bar of England.

“I sincerely hope that learning may long flourish, and that virtue and talent may rise to eminence within these walls."

"A chair was placed for the Prince on the left of her Majesty; he did not occupy it, but remained standing.

"The above address, and its answer, having been read, the Treasurer was knighted and his Royal Highness Prince Albert was invited to become a member of the Inn, to which he at once agreed, and the admission book being handed to her Majesty and Prince Albert, they were graciously pleased to sign their names therein, as also did the following persons -The Lord Chancellor, the Duke of Wellington, the Marquis of Exeter, the Earl of Aberdeen, Lord Liverpool, the Earl of De La Warr, the Earl of Jersey, the Earl of Hardwicke, the Earl of Lincoln, Lord George Lennox, Sir James Graham, the Honourable Colonel Grey, the Honourable Captain Alexander N. Hood, Colonel Bouverie, and Captain Francis Seymour.

"The ceremony being over in the Library, her Majesty, accompanied by the above party, then proceeded to the Hall. Grace being said by the chaplain, the assembly received the permission of the Queen to be seated; her Majesty, occupying a chair of state with a canopy, partook of the refreshment provided, appearing pleased and well contented.

"On the right of the Queen sat Prince Albert; next to his Royal Highness the Lord Chancellor, then came the Duke of Wellington, and then the Earl of Aberdeen, and then Lord Cottenham.

"On the left of her Majesty sat the treasurer Sir Francis Simpkinson, and. then one of the ladies in waiting; next the Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Campbell, and others. At the end of the banquet, which lasted about half an hour, grace was again said; and then the treasurer, having received permission from her Majesty

quainted with the most abstruse branches of the law of real property, he had himself heard delivered in court all the important judgments of

to propose a toast, proposed the health of her Majesty the Queen, who had that day honoured them with her Royal presence.' This was responded to with plaudits. After some minutes, the cheering having subsided, the treasurer stated that his Royal Highness had that day become a member of the Inn, and begged, with the permission of her Majesty, to propose the health of their new member, 'His Royal Highness Prince Albert.' This also was received with loud cheering, and was rendered even more interesting by the manner in which the Queen joined in it. Holding a glass of port wine in her hand, she stood up all the time, and drank it off to the bottom. His Royal Highness, in a peculiarly distinct voice, returned thanks, and said he had received her Majesty's commands to propose Prosperity to the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn,' which was drunk. Soon after the Queen, accompanied by the ministers and benchers, withdrew, amidst loud cheering. Her Majesty and her party retired into the council-room; from whence, after her carriage had been summoned, she came again into the Hall, and, accompanied by the treasurer and benchers, she proceeded, amidst loud cheering, into her carriage, and departed.

"It is further to be noticed that Prince Albert, on withdrawing after the feast, put on a student's gown over his Field Marshal's uniform, and so wore it on returning from the Hall."

Afterwards, as appears by the following entries, his Royal Highness Prince Albert was in due form called to the Bar, and was elected a Bencher.

"Lincoln's Inn.

"At a Council, held the 3d day of November, 1845. "Ordered, That his Royal Highness the Prince Albert, having been graciously pleased to become a member of this Society, be invited to the bench; and that Sir J. A. Francis Simpkinson, the treasurer, the Right Honourable the Vicechancellor of England, and William Selwyn, Esq., three of the masters of the bench, be deputed to invite his Royal Highness accordingly."

"At a Special Council, held the 20th day of November, 1845. "Upon the motion of the treasurer, seconded by the Right Honourable the Vice-chancellor of England,

"Resolved unanimously,

"That his Royal Highness Prince Albert be called to the bar, and be forthwith and hereby published a barrister of this Honourable Society; the keeping of all his terms and exercises, and the payment of all fees and expenses, being dispensed with.

"Resolved,

"That in the event of his Royal Highness accepting the invitation to the bench, the payment of all fees and expenses of every kind be dispensed with.

"At a Council, held the 12th day of January, 1846. "Upon the report of Sir J. A. Francis Simpkinson, the Right Honourable the Vice-chancellor of England, and William Selwyn, Esq., that in pursuance of the order of council of the first day of Michaelmas Term, 1845, deputing them to wait upon his Royal Highness the Prince Albert with an invitation to the bench of this Society, they have waited upon his Royal Highness accordingly, and they report that his Royal Highness has been pleased to accept the invitation. It is ordered, that his Royal Highness the Prince Albert be called to the bench, and that he be published at the next exercise in the Hall."

On the grand day of the following Trinity Term, his Royal Highness dined in the Hall as a Bencher-when he most gracefully entered the dining hall, after Henry Tancred, Esq., M. P. for Banbury, the Treasurer. Such intercourse tends to strengthen the throne, and to perpetuate the liberties of the people!

Lord Harcourt, Lord Cowper, Lord Macclesfield, Lord King, and Sir Joseph Jekyll, and he knew familiarly the most minute details of practice, which are only to be learned thoroughly by experience, and to which there was then hardly any printed guide. In addition to these qualifications, he was energetic and indefatigable in business, punctual in his hours of sitting-till he had subdued his arrears, eager to avoid, instead of to make, a holiday, and to postpone, instead of hastening, the adjournment of the Court. He was under the influence of no leader at the bar, and he on no occasion showed peculiar favour to any counsel, unless to those who required encouragement from their modesty and timidity. He never even incurred a suspicion of corruption in the disposal of office or of undue influence in his decrees.*

Some of his decisions are to be found in Peere Williams, but his chief reporter is Forrester, a barrister who practised before him, and has left us an octavo volume, entitled, "Cases Tempore Talbot." This gentleman, with an adequate share of professional knowledge and accuracy, possessed little skill in composition, so that he gives us a very faint notion of the lucid reasoning and felicity of illustration universally ascribed to the Judge whose fame he ought to have perpetuated.

I can do little more than show how Lord Chancellor Talbot disposed of a few of the principal questions which came before him. He first decided that the Court will assist a testamentary guardian to prevent an improper marriage of an infant heir. The son of the late Lord Raymond, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, while a boy of seventeen, was about to marry a Miss Chetwynd. Thereupon his guardians, under his father's will, filed a bill in the Court of Chancery, and presented a petition, stating that it would be a great disadvantage to the minor to marry at this time, and that it had been necessary to keep him in close custody to prevent his marrying, and praying that the Lord Chancellor would give such directions as he should think fit for the benefit of the ninor. Lord Chancellor: “I am glad that this application has been made. The Court will prevent the marriage if it has the power to do It is admitted that the young lady is of a good family, and it is not shown what fortune the young peer has, so that I cannot tell whether this be a Smithfield bargain or not; but his age is improper for marriage; that is the consideration which weighs most with me, and upon which I think myself bound to interfere. In order to strengthen the hands of the guardians, I order them to retain the Lord Raymond in their care and custody, and that they do not permit him to marry without the consent of the Court. But it has been said that it would be very

so.

* It is related of him, that he much valued a maxim taken for the motto to a law book published by Judge Jenkins. "The common law has been from the beginning of the world, for it is common reason;" and that "he quoted and avowed this maxim from the bench whenever any thing repugnant to it was offered from the bar." But I think he was too sensible a man to set up for law his own notion of what was reasonable or unreasonable, expedient or inexpedient. It was well said by Mr. Justice Burrough, “Public policy is an unruly horse, which, if a Judge unwarily mounts, ten to one he is run away with."