troubled with attending readings on certain abstruse statutes. Money then, as now, was the only thing requisite; for with this any person of decent character is sure of being admitted to the bar; and without it, all the precision of a Buller, all the integrity of a Pratt, and all the perspicacious sagacity of a Mansfield, would prove unavailing. Mr. Romilly accordingly, after keeping the usual number of terms, assumed the loga forensis, and was called to the bar; his wig and his stuff gown were exactly like those of every other barrister, but there was something under both that soon distinguished him from the rest of his competitors. It is admitted that, in the law, nothing can be effected without judustry-this he possessed in no common degree; yet labour would be of but little avail without genius: this had been frequently and powerfully displayed by him in a great many instances, and in the course of his forensic pursuits, his conduct was peculiar to himself. He shunned those arts by which some men of his profession introduced them selves to notice, and acquire meretricious celebrity. Amiable in his own natural disposition, his demeanour bore the stamp of innate worth and honour.

We wish it had been possible to state the first suit in which Sir Samuel

Romilly was engaged, or at least that in which be first distinguished himself. We remember, however, that, about the year 1796, he acquired great celebrity as the counsel for Mr. Gale Jones, who was tried for sedition at the Warwick assizes. In the history of memorable meo, a trifling event constitutes an epoch and the biographer of Lord Coke has been eager to record, that his Lordship evinced a promise of his future 'celebrity in arguing the case of the Cook of the Inner Temple. Without referring, however, to other instances, in which the early dawns of genius were manifested by Sir Samuel Romilly, it is sufficient for our purpose to state, that he directed his attention to the Chancery bar, and soon attained considerable eminence in the slow but pretty certain road to opulence-that of a respectable equity draftsman. He also went the midland circuit, and his rising fortune beginning to be buzzed about, his practice augmented rapidly. It is a well known fact, that the late Marquis of Lansdown was not only himself a man of uncommon talents and penetration, but endowed with a certain peculiar

faculty of discovering these qualifications in others. This rare gift was particularly displayed at an early period in the choice of his associates, as the names and reputations of a Barre, a Baring, a Dunning, and other distinguished persons, will fully attest. Nor did his sagacity fail on the present occasion; for, many years since, Sir Samuel was selected by his Lordship from the crowd of young barristers, invited by him to his house, and admitted to his friendship; accordingly, during the long vacation, he was a constant visitor at Bow Wood, the summer residence of that nobleman, and generally repaired thither in company with Mr. Jekyl, the present Master in Chancery.

Having acquired those habits which usually promote health and success in life, Mr. Romilly, in Wiltshire, as well as in town, was accustomed to rise early, and he was accordingly seen frequently by peep of day strolling along the groves which adorned that beautiful and picturesque spot just alluded to, sometimes contemplating the scene around him, but more frequently with a book in his hand, in order to catch those moments for improvement, which others too often waste in indolence. It was there too, that he first saw the amiable woman, whose lamented death has been the proximate cause of the sudden loss which the country has sustained in the person of this distinguished man. She was then Miss Garbett, the daughter of a gentleman who had acted many years since as secretary to Earl Shelbourne, when a minister of state. In the mean time a sudden indisposition of Mr. Romilly, in addition to an ardent desire to visit foreign countries, determined him to make a tour on the continent. He accordingly passed through France, which then only began to display revolutionary symptoms, and spent some time at Geneva. Thence he proceeded to Switzerland, which at that period enjoyed a state of uninterrupted happiness and tranquillity, with an exception of some trifling disturbances in the Pays de Vaux, a country governed by the Bernese with a degree of rigour that afterwards proved fatal, not only to their own liberties, but to those of all the Helvetic body. At length, after refreshing his mind by foreign travel, and acquiring a knowledge of the world, he returned to England and married Miss Garbett. This event took place in the month of January, 1798, as

"JANUARY 3.—Married at Knill, in the county of Hereford, Samuel Romilly, Esq. of Lincoln's-inn, to Miss Garbett, eldest daughter of Francis Garbett, Esq. of Knillcourt."

It may not be uninteresting here to allude to the circumstances under which his alliance with this amiable woman was formed. In his first acquaintance with this lady, he had to combat with scruples of that honourable and generous sentiment which distinguished the whole of his life. Struggling then in the first dawn of his career, without paternal fortune, and without having yet acquired any of those solid emoluments which have since crowned his professional pursuits, he was unwilling to change his situation until he was fully established in those means which would enable him to support, with comfort and independence, the lovely choice of his affections. But there were other still more honourable motives which restrained him in the indulgence of a passion, which his amiable mind treated as secondary to the accomplishment of an object which had the first place in his heart. At that time he had not only to maintain himself in a very expensive profession, but he had a filial duty to discharge towards the authors of his being, upon whom the frowns of fortune were then bent with an unrelenting aspect. It was at a time when he felt for their situations most keenly, that he first became acquainted with this young lady, the perfections of whose mind, and the beauty of whose person, completely won his affections. conduct on this occasion was worthy of his head and his heart. He declared his sentiments to the object of his tender regard, but added, that he must "acquire two fortunes" before they could be married; the first, for those to whom he owed his first duty-his parents; the second, for her. The lady knew how to appreciate his merit and his motives, and their vows were mutually pledged to each other. He entered upon his career of profit and honour with that assiduous energy which forms a chief feature of genuine talent. In a comparatively short period he raised a considerable sum, and with it purchased an annuity for his parents. Having put them in possession of this provision for their lives, he formally declared to them that

His

his obligations to them were now fulfilled, and he was about to enter into other relations, which must exclusively govern him in their turn.

He began a second time with fresh spirit-acquired "a second fortune,” all within a very few years; settled it upon her upon whom he had bestowed his heart, and married her.

There is no instance, perhaps, in the history of the British Bar, of such a rapid career. But the circumstances of the times proved favourable to his success; for, Sir John Scott, now Lord Eldon, was promoted to the Woolsack, and became Lord High Chancellor of England, while Mr. Milford, now Lord Redesdale, became first Speaker of the House of Commons of England, and then Chancellor of Ireland.

Having always exhibited a marked attachment to constitutional liberty, Mr. Romilly, who had by this time obtained a patent of precedency, was at length selected as a fit person to fill the office of Solicitor-General. Accordingly, when Mr. Fox and Lord Grenville came into power together, he was nominated to that office in the beginning of 1806, and having succeeded Sir Vicary Gibbs, was immediately knighted. Indeed, at that time, Sir Samuel's extensive knowledge of the practice of the Court in which he peculiarly appeared, was considered as rendering him a fitter candidate for the highest judicial situation in the country, and we understand that it was in fact intended to nominate him to the office of Chancellor, on the then change of Administration, but the high distinc tion was conferred upon another celebrated ornament of the British Bar. His new appointment rendered it necessary that he should have a seat in the House of Commons, and consequently Sir Samuel was returned for Queenborough; and, notwithstanding the laborious and almost incessant attention required by his profession, both at Westminster-Hall and in his Chambers at Lincoln's-inn, he determined to discharge his duties as a Member of Parliament with that discrimination and energy peculiar to himself. With a mind so active, and with a heart so feelingly alive to the interests of the community, it was not likely that he should miss any opportunity that presented itself of directing such qualities to the attainment of some public good. The first act of his parliamentary duty

was one which strongly marked the character of his mind, and the acute susceptibility of his heart. Perceiving in the course of his practice that a number of creditors were, in certain cases, deprived of their just demands, by the intervention of the law relative to landed property, he resolved to attempt a remedy. Accordingly, on the 25th of March 1807, he obtained leave to bring in a bill," For making the freehold estates of persons liable to the bankrupt laws, who might die indebted, assets for the payment of their simple contract debts."

This excellent measure, however, was lost by a majority of 69 to 47. This mortification did not repress the energy of its author, for Sir Samuel again brought the subject before the legisla ture, and it received its sanction under the form of an act "For the more effectually securing the payment of the debts of traders." The success of this second bill was owing to some judicious alterations, by which a preference was given to specialty creditors.

The next instance in which Sir Samuel signalised the powers of his mind was in the impeachment of Viscount Melville. On that occasion he was appointed by the House of Commons as one of the managers, and he not only assisted in preparing and arranging the accusatory matter, but during the fifteen days that the trial lasted paid the most sedulous attention to all the proceedings. The event of this important proceeding is fresh in the memory of the public. The next but most import ant act of his public life was the assistance he gave with all the energy of his mind, and all the powerful exertions of bis eloquence in the accomplishment of that great object, which reflects the highest lustre upon the national character of Great Britain - the abolition of the slave trade. His speech on that occasion teemed with the most melting pathos, the most overwhelming argument, and the most irresistible eloquence, upon a subject which could not fail to elicit, from a heart like his, genuine warmth of philanthropy and benevolence in a cause so interesting to humanity. It need scarcely be said, that an appeal so made by such a man, had a talismanic effect upon the feelings of the House; indeed, it was received with such enthusiastic admiration, that one passage was followed by three distinct rounds of applause, an event,

which, perhaps, never occurred before in the House of Commons. Towards the conclusion he introduced a most brilliant apostrophe, in which he drew a comparative estimate of the labours and the engagements of the original propounders of this important measure, and the then despot of France.

But in the midst of the career, which he had now entered upon, an event occurred, that tended not a little to cramp his efforts for the public good, by diminishing the extent of his legal and political influence. That administration of which he had formed so distinguished a part was doomed to be dissolved, and he himself was, of course, prepared to retire from the office which he had exercised with so much moderation; for we have some reason to believe, that during the year in which he acted as King's Solicitor General, not one prosecution for libel, not a single solitary attempt to narrow or infringe upon the liberty of the press took place. This singular proof of forbearance, however, is not to be ascribed to any want of instances in which his official authority might have been exercised, but rather to the constitutional jealousy with which he always regarded any step which might tend to sap that invulnerable bulwark of liberty-the free press. The whole of his public life evinced most strongly not only that he was the friend of public liberty, but its staunch advocate and defender whenever any attempts were made to invade it. His motive for action was not a party feeling, but that enthusiastic patriotism ever alive to the happiness of that community of which he formed a member.

Though Sir Samuel was dismissed from office on the occasion alluded to, he did not tamely submit to the exercise of the royal prerogative. On the contrary, he rose in his place in the House of Commons, and made a most able defence of the conduct of the exministers. He contended, that their intentions in respect to Ireland were equally replete with policy and justice, while their behaviour to his Majesty was founded on sound constitutional principles. They had refused to give the Sovereign a pledge not to renew the Roman Catholic question; and in this they had acted right, for they could not have complied with any degree of decency, or any appearance of respect for the important situations

which they had occupied. He at the same time manfully asserted that the King could not perform this or any ministerial act, in his own person, as by the laws, he could do "no wrong," and a responsibility was somewhere necessary; on this occasion, therefore, it undoubtedly attached to his Majesty's present ministers. He concluded by deprecating the return of Lord Melville to office; as, notwithstanding the acquittal of that nobleman, no one of his friends bad hitherto been hardy enough to move for rescinding the vote of the House of Commons against him.

The same spirit of enlightened wisdom and active humanity, which always marked this great man's conduct, had very early in life directed his mind to a most important subject, as it affects the welfare of the community; namely, the criminal jurisprudence of the country. In 1807, Sir Samuel, who had long meditated a grand reform in the criminal code, first disclosed his purpose. Before he had taken any step towards the accomplishment of this his favourite object, he had previously examined the old system with all the acuteness and discernment of a lawyer, and with all the benevolent energy of a friend to his species. He contrasted the criminal code of England with those of other countries; he endeavoured to trace the sources of crime to the laws themselves, and not to the innate corruption of human nature; the principal maxim of his conduct being rather to repress than to punish crime. In order to bottom his proposed alterations on facts, he moved for certain returns, with a view of ascertaining the effects of the old system. From these it appeared, that in the course of three years only, 19,178 prisoners had been tried for their lives in the United Kingdom, of whom no less than 9510 were convicted, and 327 executed; while, extraordinary to relate, a greater number, by five, suffered death in Dublin than in London. In bringing forward his proposed measure, the first step he recommended, was to alter one of our statutes respecting petty thefts, which had not been inaptly said to have been written in letters of blood, and with the pen of Draco, rather than composed in a manner suitable to the condition or habits of Englishmen. Another object he had in view, was to provide a legislative enactment for grant

ing compensation to persons who had suffered by the preferring of accusations against them, but who had afterwards been found to be innocent. Accordingly, on the 18th of May 1808, he rose, agreeably to notice, "To move for leave to bring in a bill for repealing certain parts of the criminal code of the country, by which capital punishments were inflicted: and also for granting compensation to persons who had suffered by the preferring of accusations against them, and who were latterly found innocent." In submitting this motion to the House, be expressed his consciousness of the danger of innovating on the established criininal law of the land; when it was considered, however, that the extent of punishment to be pronounced had by no means so great an effect in preventing the commission of crimes as the certainty of the punishment being put in execution, he felt conscious, that in the motion he had to submit, be should give increased effect to the criminal law of the country, by diminishing the number of offences in that very part of the code which it was his object to change from a capital punishment into one of smaller magnitude.

The political conduct of Sir Samuel Romilly during the last ten years has been one tissue of exertion for the pnblic welfare, and notwithstanding the most laborious occupation in his professional pursuits, which have been incessant, he has ever been found in his place upon all occasions in which the interests of the public have been concerned. His favourite object, the amelioration of the criminal code, had ever since the occasion last mentioned, occupied the greatest portion of that attention which he could bestow, without prejudice to his professional business. His conduct in Parliament during the session of 1816-17, during the discussion of the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act, will ever be embalmed in the grateful memory of his countrymen. On that occasion, fired with the love of constitutional freedom, he exerted his manly and impressive eloquence against a measure which he conceived not only unnecessary, but as a wanton attempt to infringe the liberties of the people. In short, the whole tenor of his parliamentary career has been marked by an inflexible spirit of independent feeling; by a zealous endeavour to promote the in

terests of his countrymen, and a jealous watchfulness of every thing which could in the slightest degree infringe upon their constitutional privileges. In a life such as that of Sir S. Romilly, it is not likely that it should be productive of those events which would give interest to the mere biographer or historian. The even tenor of his way must neces sarily be barren of those incidents which excite extraordinary curiosity, or gratify the taste of the curious. It affords no striking features which arrest the attention of the observer, or produce that expression of surprise and admiration in times like the present. To delineate his character justly, though certainly no easy task, would be to describe the placid virtues of a good citizen, who performs his part on the theatre of the world with propriety, with sincerity, and with that zealous integrity which an honest and virtuous man demeans himself towards that great family of which he is a member. Hence the task of his biographer must be confined to those incidents of his public life, which, though they do not strike with astonishment, mark the character of a good and great man.

On the dissolution of the late Parliament, a considerable number of the most respectable electors requested Sir Samuel to be put in nomination for the city of Westminster, free of trouble and expense, and be accepted the invitation. The state of the concluding day's poll on that occasion afforded a proud testimonial of the sense enter tained by the most enlightened city in the world, of the virtues and the worth of this great man. It is needless to say that he stood at the head, and his election was carried by the acclaiming voices of 5238 free citizens.

Of Sir Samuel's professional character it would be vain for us to offer any thing to heighten the estimation in which it has been universally held. To descant on this part of his character would only be to aggravate the loss which the public has sustained in an able, a zealous, and a matchless advocate, who embracing in his own mind a comprehensive knowledge of the practice of the court in which he pleaded, was possessed of a strength and acuteness of faculties which enabled him to grasp in an instant at the merits of a case, however intricate and obscure, and develope those parts which had previously lain hidden in the ponderous

machinery of the proceedings. In the conduct of the causes intrusted to his care, that acuteness of mind which was his chiefest recommendation was always discernable. Perspicuity of arrangement, strength of language, and variety of expression, accompanied every appeal to the bench, and never failed to impress upon the mind of the court, the strength of the cause he had undertaken. In his personal demeanour towards those around him, amenity of manners, gentleness of deportment, and politeness in his carriage, always marked his conduct, and bespoke and ensured the affection and respect of those who had occasion to communicate with him, either upon professional or other busi

ness.

To the juniors of his own profession he was ever kind and encourag ing, and whilst they courted his good opinion and countenance, were emulous in imitating his example. His industry and perseverance were not only proverbial, but had almost grown to a fault. Indeed the immense extent of his practice had rendered his application to business indispensable; but it is one of the singular features of his character, that in the midst of business he almays preserved the equanimity of his mind and the cheerfulness of his temper. There is, however, but too much reason to suppose, that whilst his complicated and various pursuits did not impair his faculties, or weaken the vigour of his mind, yet that the deprivations of personal comfort and of social joys tended to cast a melancholy tinge upon his temper, and which was one of the latent causes of the destruc tion of that fabric of moral endowments, which produced his sudden dissolution. Naturally a man of a social and domestic disposition, the peculiar circumstances of his situation would necessarily produce an acute sensation in his mind, from being deprived of domestic intercourse with his beloved family.

Sir Samuel was in his person tall, thin, and was about sixty years of age. His complexion dark, and his aspect somewhat saturnine, until it brightened up with a smile. His features were regu lar, and in the general contour of his countenance there was an air of benig nity and benevolence truly indicative of his mind. His nose was aquiline, and his visage rather long, but not so disproportionably to the rest of his countenance. His eye possessed a commanding intelligence which bespoke a capacious