How they got time to read their papers no one could guess. A story is told of Bovill being specially retained in an action at the Liverpool assizes. Always popular among his brethren, the men of the northern circuit determined to give him a special dinner. The junior of the circuit had the duty thrown on him of seeing to the great man's comfortable entertainment, and was assured, by one who knew, that he need not trouble himself, that Bovill would eat or drink any thing and everything that was set before him; which came to pass. Nothing was passed by untasted. Last of all, the great leader rose, and in a few words thanked his hosts warmly for the excellent dinner they had given him, but prayed their indulgence, for he had a consultation at I0 P.M., at the Adelphi, and had not opened his papers; and then, in answer to the inquiry of the junior whether he would not have a b. and s. or a cup of coffee, he was horrif1ed out of his wits at being asked for a bottle of stout; after which and upon which the great man retired to read his papers and give a con sultation. I have read somewhere in a life of Lord Kldon, that he and his brother, Lord Stowell (to my mind the greater lawyer of the two), habitually dined together at one of the old taverns one night of every week, and that the waiter always knew his duty, namely, to lay down six bottles of port for the two great lawyers. Verily there were giants in those days. Then there was Serjeant Parry, one of the last of the order of the coif, and one of the last of the old masters of eloquent advocacy. At that time appeared "Alice in Wonder land." I do not know whose hand it was that sketched the illustrations to that im mortal work, but I have a strong idea that he studied Serjeant Parry for his picture of the Mock Turtle. Then there was Mr. Grove, whose knowledge of chemistry and of science in general cattsed him to be rushed for in patent cases. He f1rst achieved fame in 1857, in the trial of William Palmer, the
prisoner of Rugeley. He lived to patent an excellent coffee-pot and to make a first-rate judge. And " shall gentle Coleridge here unno ticed pass?" I have spoken of him before amongst the judges; but before the end of the sixties he held a leading place among successful and favorite advocates. Perhaps the case which, most of all, brought him to the front, was the Tichborne case, in which Hawkins was with him. It is well known that Hawkins was retained in that case with the intention that he should cross-examine the claimant; for in cross-examination he had no rival; but Coleridge, as leader, claimed the fat scoundrel as his lawful prey, and then commenced the style of question ing, "Would you be surprised to hear," which came to be in every man's mouth for some time, but was discouraged by the bench in later cases. If you will turn over the old f1les of Punch you will see a small sketch representing Coleridge getting into a hansom, and cabby looking down through the top door, "Would you be surprised to hear I am engaged?" The way Hawkins turned poor Mr. Baigent inside out in that case, still lingers in my memory.1 One recollection I have of Hawkins as a leader in the sixties: the scene is the bail court, the judge is Lush, a very pious man, the case is an action for libelling a swindling insurance company bearing a pious name, as it might be "The Young Men's Christian Assurance Association Limited." Dcnman is leading for the plaintiff company, and is just f1nishing the examination in chief of the pious secretary of the company. " If I am rightly instructed, your office is conducted on strictly religious principles? " " Yes, sir, I am glad to say it is." " I believe you commence and end each day's work with prayer?" "Yes, sir, we do." "I have no further questions to ask." Up jumps 1 Coleridge's handling of this cross-examination evoked from Lord Westlmry the remark : " One impostor, at least, will he exposed."
