THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.
Vol. 17, No. 496.] SATURDAY, June 27, 1831. [PRICE 2d.
* * * * *
[Illustration: BARON BROUGHAM & VAUX.
Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain,
&c. &c.]
* * * * *
THE
MIRROR
OF
LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT,
AND
INSTRUCTION:
CONTAINING
ORIGINAL ESSAYS;
HISTORICAL NARRATIVES; BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS; SKETCHES OF SOCIETY;
TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTIONS; NOVELS AND TALES; ANECDOTES;
SELECT EXTRACTS
FROM
NEW AND EXPENSIVE WORKS;
_POETRY, ORIGINAL AND SELECTED;_
THE SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS;
DISCOVERIES IN THE ARTS AND SCIENCES;
_USEFUL DOMESTIC HINTS;_
&C. &C. &C.
* * * * *
VOL. XVII.
* * * * *
LONDON:
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY J. LIMBIRD, 143, STRAND,
(_NEAR SOMERSET HOUSE._)
1831.
* * * * *
PREFACE.
* * * * *
Each of our semi-anniversaries calls for a variation in our thankful
expressions to the public for their continued patronage. Yet we are
prone to confess ourselves puzzled to ring the changes even on so
pleasurable a theme as gratitude--although it is equally delightful
to the donor and receiver. We will, however, persevere, to keep
our friendship with the public in constant repair, and to gain new
friends; for it is in the course of a periodical work as elsewhere
in the world: "if a man does not make new acquaintance as he advances
through life, he will soon find himself left alone." There is,
moreover, something agreeable in writing a preface: it yields a second
crop of pleasurable associations: and the brief retrospect of six
months breaks up the _tedium_ which may at some time or other be
attached to literary pursuits. We collect the six-and-twenty sheets
into a volume, and turn over their leaves until they almost become
new acquaintance: some of their columns point to current events, and
thus by a little aid of memory, make an outline chronology of the
half-year; and, above all, if we have pleased the reader, we, at the
same time, enjoy the self-satisfaction of having been employed to so
gratifying an end. We like too the spirit of acquaintanceship which
these prefacings, meetings, and greetings tend to keep up, although
there may be persons who impatiently turn over a preface as the
majority of an audience at the theatre rise to leave as soon as the
last scene of a pantomime is shown.
* * * * *
The contributions of Correspondents abound in this volume. Their
subjects belong to that class of inquiry which is useful and
entertaining, and their research is amusing without dry-as-dust
antiquarianism: this is a serviceable feature, inasmuch as it is
conversational; and we know "what is said upon a subject is to
be gathered from a hundred people." So it is with not a few of
these communications: separately, their value may be small; but,
collectively, they remind us of Dr. Johnson's quaint illustration of
the many ingredients of human felicity: "Pound St. Paul's Church,
into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is, to be sure, good for
nothing: but put all these together, and you have St. Paul's Church."
A single article may occasionally appear trifling; but, take the
sheet, and its bearing is obvious; and in the volume still more so.
Our Correspondents only enjoy the reward of seeing their papers in
print: _esto perpetua_ is the only charm we use; and our poetical
friends would gladly accept the _perpetua_ for the
Nods, and becks, and wreathed smiles
of the heroines of their verse.
SEVENTEEN is a promising time in life: it is redolent of youth, and
hope, and joy; may not the context hold good in art and literature.
Strictly speaking, we are but in our ninth year, although our volumes
number seventeen. If we continue to partake as largely of the gale of
public favour as hitherto, we shall not despair of an evergreen old
age. We know the value of this favour, and shall strive to maintain it
accordingly. It is to us like the Queen of Chess:
Lose not the Queen, for ten to one,
If she be lost, the game is gone.
Sterne, who delighted in large type and blanks, would probably call
this, as he did all life, "a mingled yarn;" and so we have done.
143, Strand, June 27, 1831.
* * * * *
MEMOIR
OF
BARON BROUGHAM AND VAUX,
LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF GREAT BRITAIN, &C.
* * * * *
His purpose chose, he forward pressed outright,
Nor turned aside for danger or delight.--_COWLEY_.
* * * * *
The illustrious subject of this Memoir is the eldest son of a
gentleman of small fortune, but ancient family, in Cumberland,[1] His
mother was the daughter of a Scotch clergyman; in the mansion of whose
widow, on the Castle Hill of Edinburgh, the father of Lord Brougham
lodged when prosecuting his studies at the University there. Chambers,
the laborious topographical historian of the Modern Athens, says that
Lord Brougham was born in St. Andrew's Square, in that city, though
this has been disputed. The family of the late Mr. Brougham consisted
of four sons:--Henry John, an extensive wine-merchant in Edinburgh,
who died at Boulogne, about two years since; James, the Chancery
Barrister, who formerly sat with Baron Abercromby in parliament, for
Tregony, and sits at present for Downton, Wilts; and William, who has
recently been appointed a Master in Chancery, and elected Member for
the Borough of Southwark.
In early life Mr. Brougham was called to the bar of the Supreme Court
of Edinburgh, where he practised for some time, and with considerable
success, if we may judge from his frequent employment in Scotch
appeals. His selection, too, on the part of persons charged with
political offences to conduct their defence, would imply him to be
well read in the institutions of his country. It was while at the
Scotch Bar that, in conjunction with the late Mr. Francis Homer and
Mr. Jeffrey, he planned and established the _Edinburgh Review_, of
which he was for many years a most able and constant supporter. About
this time also he became a member of the celebrated Debating Society
at Edinburgh.
Although professionally a lawyer, Mr. Brougham's ambition soon became
directed to the senate; and, observes a clever contemporary, "it is
an instructive example of the working of our admirable system of
representation, that, up to the 16th of October last, Henry Brougham,
the greatest orator and statesman that perhaps ever enlightened
Parliament, was indebted for his seat to the patronage of a
borough-holding Peer." He first took his seat for Camelford, a
borough in the interest of the Duke of Bedford. In 1812, he contested
Liverpool with Mr. Canning, and failed; and, in the same year, he
was nominated for the Inverkeithing district of Boroughs, and failed
there also. He was, however, subsequently returned for Winchelsea, in
Sussex. During the discussions in parliament respecting the Princess
of Wales, Mr. Brougham, we believe, was honoured with the confidence
of her Royal Highness, and espoused her cause with much effect. His
earliest efforts as a British senator were likewise distinguished
by the same regard to the rights of individuals, and the liberties
of the country, which he has uniformly manifested to the present
time. Nor was he then less firm in opposition to what he deemed the
encroachments of the crown, and the extravagances and abuses of
the government, than he has since proved. His bold denial of the
sovereign's right to the droits of the Admiralty, in 1812, will not
soon be forgotten.
In the early part of 1816, Mr. Brougham brought forward a motion
for preserving and extending the liberty of the press, for which the
ministers, particularly Lord Castlereagh (who knew well how to use
"the delicious essence,") passed on him the highest encomiums; and
miscalculating the firmness of the bepraised, some persons thought the
minister's eulogy a lure for the member's vote; but the result proved
that Mr. Brougham was above all temptation. In the same year he made a
tour on the continent: in France he was the object of much attention;
and he afterwards visited the residence of the Princess of Wales, in
Italy, as was supposed, on a mission of some importance.
In this year also, Mr. Brougham delivered two speeches in parliament,
which are memorable for the truth of their prospective results. In
one of them, on the treaty of the Holy Alliance, occurs the following
almost prophetic passage: "I always think there is something
suspicious in what a French writer calls, '_les abouchemens des
rois_.' When crowned heads meet, the result of their united councils
is not always favourable to the interest of humanity. It is not the
first time that Austria, Russia, and Prussia have laid their heads
together. On a former occasion, after professing a vast regard for
truth, religion and justice, they adopted a course which brought
such misery on their own subjects, as well as those of a neighbouring
state--they made war against that unoffending country, which
found little reason to felicitate itself on its conquerors being
distinguished by Christian feelings. The war against Poland, and
the subsequent partition of that devoted country, were prefaced by
language very similar to that which this treaty contains; and the
proclamation of the Empress Catherine, which wound up that fatal
tragedy, had almost the very same words."--The second speech to
which we allude was on the abuses of ancient charitable institutions.
Speaking of schools, the funds of which were landed and freehold
property, Mr. Brougham remarked, "In one instance, where the funds of
the charity are £450, one boy only is boarded and educated. In another
case, where the revenue of the establishment is £1,500. a year, the
appointment of a master lying in the lord of the manor, that gentleman
gave it to a clergyman, who out of this sum paid a carpenter in the
village £40. for attending the school. The funds in the country,
applicable to the education of the poor, cannot," he added, "be less
than one hundred and fifty thousand pounds." The result of these
and similar representations was the appointment of a committee to
investigate the state of the various charities of the kingdom, and
inquire into the application of their funds; from which measure great
public good has already resulted.
In 1818, Mr. Brougham was invited to become a candidate for the county
of Westmoreland, where his family have been settled for the last
sixty or seventy years: he could not, however, withstand the powerful
influence of the Lowther family, and thus lost his election. He made
another effort, at the dissolution of parliament, consequent upon the
death of George III., but was again unsuccessful; and a third time in
1826.
We are now approaching one of the most eventful eras of Mr. Brougham's
parliamentary life: we mean his intrepid defence of the late Queen.
Mr. Brougham was the first to dispatch M. Sicard, the old and faithful
servant of the Queen, with the intelligence of the death of George
III. The Queen immediately replied to Mr. Brougham, that she was
determined to return to England; and on February 22, 1820, Mr.
Brougham received from Lord Castlereagh an assurance that no indignity
should be offered to her Majesty while abroad. Mr. Brougham was now
appointed her Majesty's Attorney-General, on which occasion he
was admitted within the bar, and assumed the silk gown, which was
subsequently taken from him, but restored.
The Queen having arrived at St. Omer, on her way to England, Lord
Hutchinson, on the part of the King, was despatched to prevent, by a
liberal offer, her leaving the continent. Mr. Brougham consented to
accompany his lordship, willing to co-operate in the purpose yet bound
by office and by friendship to secure for the queen the best possible
terms. The Queen, however, was resolved, and while the deputies were
exchanging notes, her Majesty sailed for England, and proceeded to
London amidst all the demonstrations of popular triumph. Mr. Brougham,
with Mr. Denman, on behalf of the Queen, next met the Duke of
Wellington and Lord Castlereagh, on behalf of the King, to propose
measures for an amicable arrangement, but the insertion of her
Majesty's name in the Liturgy being refused, the negotiation failed.
The struggle was now fast approaching. The notable green bag was laid
on the table of the House of Commons, and Mr. Brougham commenced by
deprecating a hasty discussion. The next day the minister developed
the projected prosecutions of the government; Mr. Brougham replied,
and concluded by demanding for the Queen a speedy and open trial.
We need only advert to his subsequent reply to the note of Lord
Liverpool, to the speech of Mr. Canning, and to the conciliatory
proposition of Mr. Wilberforce. Then followed his speech at the bar
of the House of Lords against the intended mode of investigation--his
speech against the bill of Pains and Penalties--his reply to the
crown counsel, and afterwards to the Lord Chancellor--and finally his
defence of the Queen against the several charges. His _defence_, it
will be remembered, lasted nearly two days, and Mr. Brougham, amidst
profound silence, concluded one of the most eloquent speeches ever
heard within the walls of parliament--with this pathetic appeal:--
"My lords, I call upon you to pause. You stand on the brink of a
precipice. You may go on in your precipitate career--you may pronounce
against your Queen, but it will be the last judgment you ever will
pronounce. Her persecutors will fail in their objects, and the ruin
with which they seek to cover the Queen, will return to overwhelm
themselves. Rescue the country; save the people, of whom you are
the ornaments; but severed from whom, you can no more live than the
blossom that is severed from the root and tree on which it grows. Save
the country, that you may continue to adorn it--save the crown, which
is threatened with irreparable injury--save the aristocracy, which is
surrounded with danger--save the altar, which is no longer safe when
its kindred throne is shaken. You see that when the church and the
throne would allow of no church solemnity in behalf of the Queen, the
heartfelt prayers of the people rose to heaven for her protection. I
pray heaven for her; and I here pour forth my fervent supplications
at the throne of mercy, that mercies may descend on the people of this
country richer than their rulers have deserved; and that your hearts
may be turned to justice."
The result need scarcely be alluded to. Men of all parties,
however discordant might be their opinions upon the point at issue,
acknowledged and admired the intrepidity and splendid talents of Mr.
Brougham on this memorable occasion.
Brilliant as has been the parliamentary career of Mr. Brougham from
this period, our limits will allow us only to advert to a few of its
brightest epochs. Whether advocating the rights and liberties, and
a spirit of social improvement, at home, or aiding the progress of
liberal opinion abroad, we find Mr. Brougham exercising the same
uncompromising integrity and patriotic zeal. Spain, in 1823, became a
fitting subject for his masterly eloquence. His remarks on the French
government, on April 14, in the House of Commons, on the consideration
of the policy observed by Great Britain in the affairs of France and
Spain, will not soon be forgotten: "I do not," said Mr. Brougham,
"identify the people of France with their government; for I believe
that every wish of the French nation is in unison with those
sentiments which animate the Spaniards. Neither does the army concur
in this aggression; for the army alike detests the work of tyranny,
plunder, cant, and hypocrisy. The war is not commenced because the
people or the army require it, but because three or four French
emigrants have obtained possession of power. It is for such miserable
objects as these that the Spaniards are to be punished, because
they have dared to vindicate their rights as a free and independent
people. I hope to God that the Spaniards may succeed in the noble and
righteous cause in which they are engaged."
In 1824, (June 1), we find Mr. Brougham in the House of Commons,
moving an address to the King, relative to the proceedings at Demerara
against Smith, the missionary; but, after a debate of two days, the
motion was negatived.[2]
During the period of Mr. Canning's ministry, his liberality gained Mr.
Brougham's support: this is the only instance of Mr. Brougham's not
being opposed to the minister of the day; and, observes a political
writer, "he has been as much above the task of drudging for a party as
drudging for a ministry."
The year 1828 is a memorable one in Mr. Brougham's parliamentary life.
Early in the session, upon the debate of the battle of Navarino, we
find him expressing his readiness to support the ministry as long as
the members who composed it showed a determination to retrench the
expenditure of the country, to improve its domestic arrangements,
and to adopt a truly British system of foreign policy. It was on this
occasion that Mr. Brougham used the expression which has since become
so familiar--"The schoolmaster is abroad." On Feb. 7, Mr. Brougham
brought forward a motion on the State of the Law, in an elaborate
speech of six hours delivery. The debate was adjourned to February 29,
when Mr. Brougham's motion, in an amended shape, was put and agreed
to, requesting the King to cause "due inquiry to be made into the
origin, progress, and termination of actions in the superior courts of
common law in this country;" and "into the state of the law regarding
the transfer of real property." Even the heads of this speech would
occupy one of our pages. A passage much quoted at the time of its
publication is a good specimen of Mr. Brougham's forcible style of
illustration: "He was guilty of no error--he was chargeable with no
exaggeration--he was betrayed by his fancy into no metaphor, who once
said, that all we can see about us, King, Lords, and Commons, the
whole machinery of the State, all the apparatus of the system and its
varied workings, end simply in bringing twelve good men into a box."
In the same month, Mr. Brougham spoke at great length in support of
Lord John Russell's motion for the repeal of the Test and Corporation
Acts. On March 6, Mr. Brougham spoke in support of Mr. Peel's motion
for Catholic Emancipation, which he described as going "the full
length that any reasonable man ever did or ever can demand; it does
equal justice to his Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects; it puts
an end to all religious distinctions; it exterminates all civil
disqualifications on account of religious belief. It is simple and
efficacious; clogged with no exceptions, unless such as even the most
zealous of the Catholics themselves must admit to be of necessity
parcel of the measure."
In the session of 1829, Mr. Brougham explained the proceedings of
the Commissioners appointed to inquire into Public Charities, who, it
appeared, had examined sixteen counties, and partially examined ten;
altogether amounting to more than 19,000 charities, being more than
half the number in the whole kingdom.
In 1830, Mr. Brougham supported Lord John Russell's plan for
Parliamentary Reform, as an amendment to a motion of Mr. O'Connell;
in which Mr. Brougham opposed universal suffrage and vote by ballot.
In the same week also, he spoke at some length on the punishment of
Forgery by death. The opinions which he expressed, Mr. Brougham said,
he had learned from his great and lamented friend, Sir Samuel Romilly;
and he concluded by expressing his hope that he should live to see the
day when this stain should be removed from our statute-book. In the
following month Mr. Brougham brought in a bill for local jurisdictions
in England, for diminishing the expense of legal proceedings. On June
24, Mr. Brougham spoke at great length upon the inadequacy of the
ministerial bill for the reform of the Court of Chancery. On July 13,
he moved for the abolition of West India Slavery, and expatiated at
great length and with extreme earnestness--first, on the right of the
mother country to legislate for the colonies, and next on the legal
and moral nature of slavery.
Upon the dissolution of parliament, consequent upon the death of
George IV., Mr. Brougham was invited to the representation of the
extensive and wealthy county of York. In his speech to the electors
he alluded to Parliamentary Reform, a revision of the Corn Laws,
and the extinction of Colonial Slavery, as three grand objects
of his ambition; and concluded by thus explaining his becoming a
candidate--"_because it would arm him with an extraordinary and a vast
and important accession of power to serve the people of England_." It
need scarcely be added, that his election was secured; his return was
free of all expense: indeed, never was triumph more complete.[3]
Soon after the assembling of the new parliament, Mr. Brougham, in
connexion with the topic of the recent revolutions on the continent,
and parliamentary reform in this country, concluded an interesting
debate by saying--"He was for reform--for preserving, not for
pulling down--for restoration, not for revolution. He was a shallow
politician, a miserable reasoner, and he thought no very trustworthy
man, who argued, that because the people of Paris had justifiably
and gloriously resisted lawless oppression, the people of London and
Dublin ought to rise for reform. Devoted as he was to the cause of
parliamentary reform, he did not consider that the refusal of that
benefit, or, he would say, that right, to the people of this country
(if it were a legal refusal by King, Lords, and Commons, which he
hoped to God would not take place) would be in the slightest degree a
parallel case to any thing which had happened in France."
Mr. Brougham's elevation to the exalted station which he now fills
need be related but briefly, since the particulars must be fresh
in the recollection of our readers. Upon the resignation of the
Wellington ministry--with the title of BARON BROUGHAM AND VAUX, he
took the oaths as Lord Chancellor, November 22, and his seat in the
Chancery Court on November 25, 1830.
In the House of Lords, in reply to some censurable observations on
his acceptance of office which had been made elsewhere, his lordship
explained his motives with great candour. After an allusion to his
difficulty in resigning his high station as a representative for
Yorkshire, Lord Brougham said, "I need not add, that in changing
my station in parliament, the principles which have ever guided me
remain unchanged. When I accepted the high office to which I have been
called, I did so in the full and perfect conviction, that far from
disabling me to discharge my duty to my country--far from rendering my
services less efficient, it but enlarged the sphere of my utility. The
thing which dazzled me most in the prospect which opened to my view,
was not the gewgaw splendour of the place, but because it seemed
to afford me, if I were honest--on which I could rely; if I were
consistent--which I knew to be matter of absolute necessity in
my nature; and if I were as able as I knew myself honest and
consistent--a field of exertion more extended. That by which the Great
Seal dazzled my eyes, and induced me to quit a station which till this
time I deemed the most proud which an Englishman could enjoy, was,
that it seemed to hold out the gratifying prospect that in serving my
king I should be better able to serve my country."
Already has the official elevation of Lord Brougham been attended with
manifest advantages, and promises of still greater benefits to the
nation. Only such as are accustomed to the cares of office can form
but a faint idea of the perplexities which beset the Lord Chancellor
on the recent dissolution of parliament; yet in this arduous scene
Lord Brougham is believed by all but the bitterest of his political
opponents, to have comported himself with becoming equanimity. A
political contemporary observes, upon his recent appointment--"There
is no instance in modern times of an elevation marked with the same
characters. Lord Brougham had never before been in office; he had
passed through none of the degrees which for the most part, lead
to the proud eminence where he now stands. We have had learned
Chancellors, and political--or, we would rather say, politic
Chancellors--but never before Lord Brougham (with, perhaps, the
exception of Erskine), have we had what may be justly called a popular
Chancellor. * * The consideration which he disdained to accept from
party or from power in the House, his conduct has won from the great
mass of his countrymen out of it. We speak the plain and simple truth
when we say--and that not for the first time--that at no period of
our history since the era of the Commonwealth has any one Englishman
contrived to fix so many eyes upon him as Lord Brougham has for the
last few years."[4]
Of Lord Brougham's qualifications as a barrister we have already
spoken. To the hearing of appeals in the House of Lords, an important
section of the public business, his Lordship brings qualifications
not possessed by any of his predecessors. Seven years' practice at
the Scotch bar, and a very extensive employment in appeals from that
country (for he has been engaged in almost every case of importance
for the last ten years) have made him familiar with the machinery of
the law on which his decisions bear; and he therefore undertakes his
judicial task with professional confidence.
Besides contributing to the _Edinburgh Review_, as we have noticed,
Lord Brougham is the author of several papers in _Nicholson's
Journal_, and in the Transactions of the Royal Society, of which his
Lordship is a distinguished member. The chief entire work which bears
his name is entitled, "An Inquiry into the Colonial Policy of the
European States," 2 vols. 8vo. 1828; and a masterly pamphlet "On the
State of the Nation," which has run through many editions. Several of
his speeches have likewise been published.
It is, however, in connexion with _Public Education_, that the pen
of Lord Brougham has been more extensively employed. His zealous
co-operation with Dr. Birkbeck, and other patriotic men of talent, in
the establishment of Mechanics' Institutions in the year 1824, must
be gratefully remembered by thousands who have enjoyed their benefits;
and, for the advantage of the London Mechanics' Institution, were
republished from the _Edinburgh Review_, his excellent "_Practical
Observations upon the Education of the People_, addressed to the
Working Classes and their Employers."--The twentieth edition of
this pamphlet is now before us, and from its conclusion, to show
the practical utility of the author's suggestions, we quote the
following:--
"I rejoice to think that it is not necessary to close these
observations by combating objections to the diffusion of science
among the working classes, arising from considerations of a political
nature. Happily the time is past and gone when bigots could persuade
mankind that the lights of philosophy were to be extinguished
as dangerous to religion; and when tyrants could proscribe
the instructors of the people as enemies to their power. It is
preposterous to imagine that the enlargement of our acquaintance with
the laws which regulate the universe, can dispose to unbelief. It
may be a cure for superstition--for intolerance it will be the most
certain cure; but a pure and true religion has nothing to fear
from the greatest expansion which the understanding can receive by
the study either of matter or of mind. The more widely science is
diffused, the better will the Author of all things be known, and the
less will the people be 'tossed to and fro by the sleight of men, and
cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.' To tyrants,
indeed, and bad rulers, the progress of knowledge among the mass of
mankind is a just object of terror: it is fatal to them and their
designs; they know this by unerring instinct, and unceasingly they
dread the light. But they will find it more easy to curse than to
extinguish. It is spreading in spite of them, even in those countries
where arbitrary power deems itself most secure; and in England,
any attempt to check its progress would only bring about the sudden
destruction of him who should be insane enough to make it.
"To the Upper Classes of society, then, I would say, that the question
no longer is whether or not the people shall be instructed--for that
has been determined long ago, and the decision is irreversible--but
whether they shall be well or ill taught--half informed or as
thoroughly as their circumstances permit and their wants require.
Let no one be afraid of the bulk of the community becoming too
accomplished for their superiors. Well educated, and even well versed
in the most elevated sciences, they assuredly may become; and the
worst consequence that can follow to their superiors will be, that to
deserve being called their _betters_, they too must devote themselves
more to the pursuit of solid and refined learning; the present public
seminaries must be enlarged: and some of the greater cities of the
kingdom, especially the metropolis, must not be left destitute of the
regular means within themselves of scientific education.
"To the Working Classes I would say, that this is the time when by
a great effort they may secure for ever the inestimable blessing of
knowledge. Never was the disposition more universal among the rich to
lend the requisite assistance for setting in motion the great engines
of instruction; but the people must come forward to profit by the
opportunity thus afforded, and they must themselves continue the
movement once begun. Those who have already started in the pursuit of
science, and tasted its sweets, require no exhortation to persevere;
but if these pages should fall into the hands of any one at an hour
for the first time stolen from his needful rest after his day's work
is done, I ask of him to reward me (who have written them for his
benefit at the like hours) by saving threepence during the next
fortnight, buying with it Franklin's Life, and reading the first page.
I am quite sure he will read the rest; I am almost quite sure he will
resolve to spend his spare time and money, in gaining those kinds of
knowledge which from a printer's boy made that great man the first
philosopher, and one of the first statesmen of his age. Few are
fitted by nature to go as far as he did, and it is not necessary to
lead so perfectly abstemious a life, and to be so rigidly saving of
every instant of time. But all may go a good way after him, both in
temperance, industry, and knowledge, and no one can tell before he
tries how near he may be able to approach him."
We may here mention that in 1825, Lord Brougham was elected Lord
Rector of the University of Glasgow; his opponent, Sir Walter Scott,
lost the election by the casting vote of Sir James Mackintosh, in
favour of Lord Brougham.
Among the originators of the London University, Lord Brougham occupies
a foremost rank, and partly by the aid of his indefatigable talents,
that establishment was opened, in 1828, within seventeen months from
the day on which the first stone was laid.
Early in the year 1827 was established "the Society for the Diffusion
of Useful Knowledge," of which Lord Brougham became, and continues
to this day, chairman. In the original prospectus, issued under his
sanction, we find "The object of the Society is strictly limited to
what its title imports, namely, the imparting useful information to
all classes of the community, particularly to such as are unable to
avail themselves of experienced teachers, or may prefer learning
by themselves." The Society commenced their labours by a set of
Treatises, the first or "Preliminary Treatise," "_On the objects,
pleasures, and advantages of Science_," being from the pen of Lord
Brougham; and in perspicuity and popular interest, this treatise
is unrivalled in our times. His Lordship is also understood, in
conjunction with Mr. Charles Bell, to be engaged in illustrating
with notes an edition of Paley's works, to be published by the above
Society.
In the preceding outline of the political life of Lord Brougham, we
have quoted but few points of his personal character. This has been
so well drawn, and so recently too, that we are induced to adopt the
following traits from a contemporary Magazine.[5] The paper whence
these are extracted, purports to be a description of the Lord
Chancellor's first levee:--
"Unfeigned respect for, and a slight personal acquaintance with, the
noble person who now holds the seals, led me to attend his last levee.
The practice of receiving the respects of the public on one or two
stated occasions is sufficiently ancient, but I have understood was
discontinued, or not much observed, in the latter days of Lord Eldon.
It was revived with somewhat greater splendour by Lord Lyndhurst, but
still it attracted little public notice. I incline to think that it
was reserved for Brougham to illustrate the ancient custom, by the
splendour of those who chose to be dutiful to the Lord Chancellor.
The fashion of going to court is such, that it infers little personal
respect to the individual monarch; but the practice of attending the
levee of an inferior personage is to be ascribed to the respect which
individual eminence commands. When Lord Brougham announced his levees,
it could not be known whether he should receive the homage of the
aristocracy, to whom it was not supposed that his lordship's politics
were very amicable. It was moreover thought that the republican, or,
to speak more guardedly, the whig Lord Chancellor would care little
for a custom in which there was no manifest utility. He had declared
that the gewgaws of office delighted him not; and I dare say he would
fain bring his mind to believe that all ceremonial was idle, perhaps
contemptible. But it is the greatest mistake to suppose that Lord
Brougham is inattentive to the ceremonies with which his high place
is surrounded. A careful observer will see clearly that imposing
forms are perfectly agreeable to his mind; nobody could ridicule form
better, so long as he held no situation which required the observance
of customary rules; but elevated to his present distinction, it is
plain that he enjoys all the little peculiarities of his office.
Somebody said that he presided in the House of Lords in a bar whig,
and instanced the fact as a proof of his reforming temper; but it
was not true. Accident may have obliged him to take his seat in this
ungainly form, but he had no purpose of deviating from the ancient
full-bottom, and he is now to be seen in all the amplitude of the
olden fleece. In like manner he observes the strict _regime_, so
fantastical to a stranger, of causing counsel to be shouted for
from without, although they are actually present; and he adds to the
oddness of this custom by receiving them with a most imposing mien,
and putting on his chapeau as they advance. This is a form, for
which the model is not to be found in the practice of his immediate
predecessors. It is possible, however, that his extensive and minute
reading may have made him aware that Wolsey, peradventure, or
some great chancellor of old, had the fancy to be covered when the
suppliants approached. Let any one observe with what studied dignity
he performs the duty of announcing the royal assent to Acts of
Parliament: he assumes a solemnity of tone for which his voice is not
ill-fitted, but which is unusual with him. These small circumstances,
and many such which might be mentioned, show that State is not
uncongenial to his mind. Why should it? His weakness consists in the
unreal contempt for what is not really contemptible. With his high
notions of office, I should have been surprised if he had foregone the
levee; and assuredly he has not reckoned without reason; for a more
splendid or flattering pageant could not be witnessed than that which
his rooms exhibited. Unquestionably the most remarkable man in the
empire at this moment, it is his fortune to attract the honourable
regards of all who are distinguished as compeers. It is not my
intention to offer any estimate of what I conceive to be his genuine
worth, as he may be appreciated in a more dispassionate time; I
speak of him only as a great man filling a very large space in the
consideration of the empire. Judging from the throng of all classes
upon this occasion, whose favour is desirable, no man is more popular
* * *. The Chancellor took his place at a corner of the room, backed
by his chaplain, and was soon encircled by the visitants; his dress
remarkably plain, being a simple suit of velvet in the court cut. The
names were announced from the bottom of the stairs, and each person as
he entered walked up to the Chancellor and offered his respects. The
numbers were so great that it was impossible to devote any marked
attention to each; as soon, therefore, as the visiter had made his
bow, he retired into the throng, or took his departure through the
adjoining room. I was not present at the first of the levees which
were held, and at which the attendance was very distinguished; but
a friend who was, spoke very highly of the manner in which the
Chancellor performed his noviciate. The Archbishop of Canterbury came
early, and was very kindly received: he was followed by the Archbishop
of York, and several other bishops, whose attendance gave proof that,
differ as they might from Lord Brougham, they surely did not consider
him an enemy to the Church * * *. The most remarkable visiter of that
evening was the Duke of Wellington;--the crowd was astonished, and
I dare say the Chancellor himself was surprised, when his name was
sent up--I doubt if they had ever met in the same room before. Their
political lives, with the exception of the Catholic Question, were one
unvarying course of opposition, if not enmity. I suspect that for a
time the Duke despised the talk of the lawyer; and, on the other hand,
Brougham had often declared, that the respect which he entertained
for military glory was not very lofty. Some of his bitterest tirades
were levelled at the Duke personally. No one will deny that it was
high-minded in the Duke to lay aside resentment of every sort, and
offer this mark of respect as well to the man as the office. The
Chancellor was flattered by the attention, and shook the Duke by the
hand very cordially * * *. Not the least remarkable personage in the
room was the Lord Advocate of Scotland. Brougham and he are very old
friends, and have been much engaged in the same species of literature.
Brougham was his predecessor in the editorship of the Edinburgh
Review--a fact which is not generally known, but which is certain.
Brougham was not the first editor, having filled that office for a
short time after Sidney Smith withdrew from the situation. Jeffrey
appeared extremely _petit_ in his court-dress, and did not seem very
much at home: he was acquainted with but few of his fellow visiters,
and had too much good taste to occupy much of the Chancellor's
attention: they did not seem to hold any conversation beyond the usual
common-place inquiries * * *. After I had paid my respects to the
Chancellor, there came tripping up the Marquess of Bristol, with a
springy step, which he must surely have acquired at the old court
of France; for I am sure that no such movement could be attained on
English ground. The elasticity of this noble lord was such, that when
once put in motion, he continued to spring up and down in the manner
of the Chinese figures, which are hawked by the Italian toy-venders.
Had I been told that the head of the house of Newry was a
dancing-master, who had not yet learned the present modes, I should
certainly have believed the story without scruple, if I had met him
anywhere else. He had no sooner left the Chancellor, than he was laid
hold of by a fidgetty solicitor, who was the only member of his class
in the room, and who, I understand, is a sort of favourite of the
Chancellor. The obsequious grin, and the affected ease of this worthy,
do not convey any very favourable impression on his behalf. He was
solicitor for the Queen, and in this capacity formed an intimacy with
her chief counsel, which an ill-natured person would perhaps think
makes him now forget in some measure the great disparity betwixt
their present condition. The Chancellor gave no discouragement to
his familiarity * * *. A variety of lords, squires, generals, _ossa
innominata_ followed, for whom the Chancellor cared perhaps about as
much as I did. At length Sir James Scarlett was announced, and the
Chancellor left his place to meet him. His welcome was very hearty.
Brougham was doubtless gratified by this token of respect from a man
who was indisputably his leader in the courts, and for whose forensic
abilities it is known, that he entertains, and has often expressed,
the highest admiration. The position of the two men was singular, and
to the ex-attorney not very enviable. Scarlett was in high practice
before Brougham was even called to the bar. He kept a head of him in
their profession throughout; and twice he had filled the first places
at the bar, when the respective attainments of these eminent persons
were such, that if Brougham had been placed before him, Scarlett would
have had just ground of complaint; and the bar would have unanimously
decried the appointment. Now, however, by one of those cross accidents
which will occur in the most fortunate lives, Scarlett was, with
strict justice and universal acquiescence, placed below his former
competitor, and in direct opposition to all the early friends with
whom he commenced his political career. It was matter of necessity
and of course that he should go out when his employers were obliged to
surrender office; and no man could complain that Brougham should then
be elevated to a distinction, which in other circumstances Scarlett
might have thought his own by indisputable right * * *. The Speaker of
the House of Commons was then announced. Brougham and he met as warm
friends, though certainly men having little in kindred. In point of
talent there is no ground of comparison; yet it may be doubted whether
they are not nearly as great in their own way. I have no notion of
the place which the Speaker held in parliament before he was elected
to the chair, and I know few situations which require more tact and
management. In these qualifications the present Speaker is signally
gifted. He brings a degree of good nature to the office, which no
event, however untoward, can ruffle;--his calmness never forsakes him:
he is the same easy, dignified chairman at all times. The Commons are
a truly turbulent body, but they are not impatient of his sway. In all
emergencies he is vigorously supported: in his hands, the authority
of his office, though rarely exercised, has lost none of its force.
Brougham himself was one of the most fiery spirits in this hot region;
but a word from the Speaker would calm him in an instant. Among
other qualifications for command, he is possessed of a fine mellow,
deep-toned voice, which, while it powerfully enunciates the "Order,"
frees the command from all harshness or severity. As the first
commoner in the land, and a truly estimable gentleman, he was entitled
to be well received * * *. The last person of note who arrived before
I departed was Sir Thomas Denman. The Chancellor was engaged with some
one at the moment, and nothing passed betwixt them but an exchange
of bows. It was nearly ten years since I had seen Brougham and Denman
together; the Queen's trial was then the all-engrossing topic of
public consideration. Who could then have foretold that these men
would have in so short a space won the confidence of a sovereign, whom
they attacked with a degree of virulence which, even in those days
of party violence, was generally condemned? The change in feeling is
creditable alike to all."
Of the eloquence and general character of Lord Brougham, we have the
following excellent portraiture by a master-hand:[6]--
"Mr. Brougham is from the North of England, but he was educated
in Edinburgh, and represents that school of politics and political
economy in the house. He differs from Sir James Mackintosh in this,
that he deals less in abstract principles, and more in individual
details. He makes less use of general topics, and more of immediate
facts. Sir James is better acquainted with the balance of an argument
in old authors; Mr. Brougham with the balance of power in Europe. If
the first is better versed in the progress of history, no man excels
the last in a knowledge of the course of exchange. He is apprized of
the exact state of our exports and imports, and scarce a ship clears
out its cargo at Liverpool or Hull, but he has notice of the bill
of lading. Our colonial policy, prison discipline, the state of the
hulks, agricultural distress, commerce and manufactures, the bullion
question, the Catholic Question, the Bourbons or the Inquisition,
'domestic treason, foreign levy,' nothing can come amiss to him--he
is at home in the crooked mazes of rotten boroughs, is not baffled
by Scotch law, and can follow the meaning of one of Mr. Canning's
speeches. With so many resources, with such variety and solidity of
information, Mr. Brougham is rather a powerful and alarming, than an
effectual debater. In so many details (which he himself goes through
with unwearied and unshrinking resolution) the spirit of the question
is lost to others who have not the same voluntary power of attention
or the same interest in hearing that he has in speaking; the original
impulse that urged him forward is forgotten in so wide a field, in so
interminable a career. If he can, others _cannot_ carry all he knows
in their heads at the same time; a rope of circumstantial evidence
does not hold well together, nor drag the unwilling mind along with
it (the willing mind hurries on before it, and grows impatient and
absent)--he moves in an unmanageable procession of facts and proofs,
instead of coming to the point at once--and his premises (so anxious
is he to proceed on sure and ample grounds) overlay and block up his
conclusion, so that you cannot arrive at it, or not till the first
fury and shock of the onset is over. The ball, from the too great
width of the _calibre_ from which it is sent, and from striking
against such a number of hard, projecting points, is almost
spent before it reaches its destination. He keeps a ledger or a
debtor-and-creditor account between the government and the country,
posts so much actual crime, corruption, and injustice against so much
contingent advantage or sluggish prejudice, and at the bottom of the
page brings in the balance of indignation and contempt, where it
is due. But people are not to be _calculated into_ contempt or
indignation on abstract grounds; for however they may submit to this
process where their own interests are concerned, in what regards the
public good we believe they must see and feel instinctively, or not
at all. There is (it is to be lamented) a good deal of froth as well
as strength in the popular spirit, which will not admit of being
_decanted_ or served out in formal driblets; nor will spleen (the soul
of opposition) bear to be corked up in square patent bottles, and kept
for future use!