from theirs, and because I have been furnished with very important materials to which they had not access. The whole of Lord Loughborough's papers, including his correspondence from the time when he left Scotland till the close of his career, have been submitted to me by the present Earl of Rosslyn, his representative, and it will be found that they throw great light upon the history of the reign of George III., particularly the interesting eras of the Regency in 1788,-the accession of the Alarmist Whigs to Mr. Pitt's government in 1792,—and the dissolution of that government in 1801.-I have received from the Earl of Auckland a large collection of letters to his father, the first Lord Auckland, from Lord Loughborough, beginning when he was making his way at the English bar, and continued long after he was Chancellor. The present Lord Viscount Melville has likewise favoured me with some letters written by his father and Lord Melville in 1801 respecting Catholic emancipation which will embitter the public regret that those great ministers, Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas, were so recklessly thwarted in their scheme for consolidating the Union with Ireland.--Respecting Lord Loughborough's early career, and his private history, I have obtained much interesting information from the kindness of the Right Honourable the Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland, the Very Reverend Dr. Lee, Principal of the University of Edinburgh, and my friend Mr. Gordon, Sheriff Depute of Aberdeenshire. Several original letters of Lord Erskine have been communicated to me by different individuals with whom he was in the habit of corresponding,—and his son, the Right Honourable Thomas Erskine, has not only put me in possession of an exquisitely beautiful letter written by him when he was a boy at St. Andrew's, about to become a soldier or a sailor, and of all the note books compiled by him when he was a student of law, when he was at the bar, and when he was Chancellor,-together with other valuable papers which belonged to him, but has corrected for me various mistakes to be found in the common biographies of this illustrious advocate. Even for the Life of Lord Eldon I have new materials of considerable value, in addition to the very copious “Selections from his Correspondence," given to the world by Mr. Twiss. Sir Robert Peel, placing a confidence in me, by which I feel most highly honoured and gratified, has allowed me to read and to use at my discretion all the letters which passed between him and Lord Eldon from the time when he himself became Secretary of State for the Home Department, in the beginning of the year 1822.*—In the Rosslyn MSS. I have found several very characteristic letters which passed between Lord Loughborough and Lord Eldon about the time when the Great Seal was transferred from the one to the other. I have likewise been favoured with some original letters of Lord Eldon, by Mr. W. E. Surtees, his kinsman.-From the Records of the Northern Circuit, which have been thrown open to me, I have gathered many entertaining particulars of Jack Scott's bonhomie at the bar, and an account of the grand dinner given to him in London when he had become an Ex-Chancellor.-I ought likewise to return thanks to the Reverend Charles Stewart of Sunning Dale, for enabling me, from his boyish recollections, to present such an amiable and interesting picture of Lord Eldon in private life. I can now only humbly express a hope that as there has been no relaxation of industry on my part, this last Series of the "Lives of the Chancellors" may be as indulgently received by the public as its predecessors. I am only aware of one objection that has been seriously urged against me as a writer, and this I confess I have not at all attempted to correct that, forgetting the dignity * It may be right that I should state, upon a matter of such delicacy, that all the letters and extracts which I selected from this correspondence as proper for publication, were shown to, and approved by, not only Sir Robert Peel, but the present Earl of Eldon. of history, my style is sometimes too familiar and colloquial. If I err here it is on principle and by design. The felicity of my subject consists in the great variety of topics which it embraces. My endeavour has been to treat them all appropriately. If in analysing the philosophy of Bacon, or expounding the judgments of Hardwicke, or drawing the character of Clarendon, I have forgotten the gravity and severity of diction suitable to the ideas to be expressed, I acknowledge myself liable to the severest censure: but in my opinion the skilful biographer, when he has to narrate a ludicrous incident, will rather try to imitate the phrases of Mercutio than of Ancient Pistol "projicit ampullas et sesquipedalia verba." I cannot yet understand why, in recording a jest in print, an author should be debarred from using the very language which he might with propriety adopt if he were telling it in good society by word of mouth. And now, courteous reader, FAREWELL! Hartrigge House, Roxburghshire, October 1. 1847. CONTENTS Conflicting Feelings of the Author in entering upon the Composition of this Memoir, 1. Loughborough's Birth, 3. His Ancestors, 4. When a Boy nearly killed by a turkey-cock, 4. His early Education by his Mother, 5. He is sent to School at Dalkeith, 5. At the University of Edinburgh, 6. His early Pro- ficiency, 7. His Intimacy with Robertson, Adam Smith, and David Hume, 7. Destined to the Bar, 7. His Study of the Law, 8. While still a Student of Law at Edinburgh, he contemplates going to the English Bar, 8. ried to Marchmont to be shown to Hume Campbell, and pronounced a Dunce, 9. His Revenge, 10. His first Visit to London, 11. Letter of Introduction from David Hume to Dr. Clephane, 11. His Proceedings in London, 12. His Letter to his Father proposing that he should abandon the Scotch for the English Bar, 13. His Father's conditional Consent, 13. He is entered of the Inner Temple, 13. He returns to Scotland, and enters on his Trials to pass Ad- vocate, 14. He continues Three Years at the Scotch Bar, 17. His first Brief, 17. His Elo- quence in the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, 18. He is ordained an Elder, and returned for the Burgh of Inverkeithing, 18. Proceedings against David Hume and Lord Kames, 18. Act of the General Assembly against Infi- delity, 19. Their Alarm, 20. They are protected by Wedderburn, 20. Over- ture against Hume, 21. Wedderburn's Speech in the General Assembly for David Hume, 21. Reply to Wedderburn, 25. Speech of Dr. Robertson, 26. Prosecution of Hume dropped, 26. Appearance of the Tragedy of Douglas, 26. Scandal excited in the Church, 27. Measures against the Author and other Clergymen in the General Assembly, 27. Proposed Act against Stage Repre- sentations, 27. Wedderburn's Speech on this Occasion, 27. Act passed by the General Assembly, 29. Wedderburn a Member of the POKER CLUB, 29. Form- ation of the "Select Society," 30. Wedderburn the first Præses, 30. Rules of the Society, 31. Questions Debated, 32. Foolish Plan for changing the spoken Language of the Country, 35. Sheridan's Lectures on Elocution, 36. The Members of the Select Society begin to speak English, 37. Failure of the At- tempt, 37. Establishment of the original Edinburgh Review, 38. Wedderburn Editor, 39. First Number, 39. The Preface written by Wedderburn, 39. Article by Wedderburn on Barclay's Greek Grammar, 43. Offence taken at some Articles on Religion, 43. ings after the English Bar, 44. the Resignation of David Hume as Librarian to the Faculty of Advocates, 45. His doubtful Success at the Scotch Bar, 46. His Quarrel with Lockhart, the Dean of Faculty, 46. Scene in the Parliament House, 47. He sets off for London, 48. He is superseded as Curator of the Advocates' Library, 48. Q. Whether his throwing off his Gown was premeditated with a View to his Re- Wedderburn's Journey to London, 50. His arrival there, 51. He takes Chambers in the Temple, 51. Becomes a Pupil of Sheridan, 51. And of Macklin, 52. Q. How far his acquired English Accent contributed to his Fortune? 53. He is called to the English Bar, 53. His Plans and Prospects, 54. His Habits, 54. He establishes a Club at the British, 55. He canvasses for Business, 56. Professional Etiquette at the English Bar, 56. Wedderburn's moderate success till he plunged into Politics, 56. Letter from Dr. Robertson mentioning Wed- derburn's Progress at the English Bar, 57. Unpromising state of Affairs for parliamentary Adventurers at the latter end of the Reign of George II., 57. Ac- cession of George III., 58. Wedderburn supports Lord Bute, 58. turned to Parliament, 59. No Account extant of his early Speeches, 59. Abuse of the Scotch, 59. Character of Wedderburn in the Rosciad, 60. obtains a Silk Gown, 60. His forray on the Northern Circuit, 61. a Nisi Prius Leader, 63. His success in the Court of Chancery, 63. him from David Hume, 63. Wedderburn becomes a Patriot, 64. sition his Reputation as a Debater rises, 65. Wedderburn counsel for the Re- spondent in the Douglas Cause, 66. His Letter to Andrew Stuart, 66. He loses his Seat in the House of Commons for Richmond by supporting Wilkes, 68. He takes the Chiltern Hundreds, 69. Dinner given to him by the Op- position, 69. Toasts and Speeches, 69. He agitates at public Meetings, 70. He is returned by Lord Clive for Bishops Castle, 70. Wedderburn pitted against Lord North, 71. Wedderburn's Speech on the motion for a Copy of the London Petition, 72. His panegyric on the Liberty of the Press, 73. with the Americans, 75. His lucky Quotation in answering the Attorney Ge- neral De Grey, 76. His defence of the Grenville Act, 77. His Speech in sup- port of Mr. Burke's Resolutions for conciliating America, 77. He is answered by Lord North, 78. Approximation between them, 78. Wedderburn censures the power of the Attorney General to file criminal Informations for Libel, 79. His Argument in support of the Rights of Juries in cases of Libel, 79. He again eulogizes the Liberty of the Press, 82. Wedderburn at St. Helen's, 82. |