Rditorial Department. IN Blackivood's Magazine "Sigma" gossips entertainingly about famous English judges, telling the following anecdotes, among others:— Lord Bowen was probably the only judge who, on being summoned on an emergency to the dread ordeal of taking Admiralty cases, entered upon his doom with a pleas antry. After explaining to the counsel of that consummately technical tribunal the reason of his presiding over it on the oc casion in question, and warning them of his inexperience in this particular branch of practice, he concluded his remarks with the following quotation from Tennyson's beauti ful lyric, then recently published: "And may there be no moaning of the Bar When I put out to sea." Although posing as one of those unterrestrial judges who have never heard of a music-hall, and are wholly unacquainted with slang, Lord Coleridge was not above enjoy ing an occasional touch of Billingsgate when applied to any individual whom he did not particularly afreet. One of his learned breth ren, with whom he was on intimate terms, was one day abusing a fellow Puisne, who happened to be especially repugnant to them both, in language the reverse of parlia mentary. Coleridge listened to the approbrious appellations with bland satisfaction, and then unctuously observed, "I am not ad dicted to expressions of that kind myself, but would you mind saying it again?" As is well known, he signalized his tenure of the Lord Chief Justiceship by presenting the unprecedented spectacle of appearing as a defendant, in an action brought against him by his son-in-law, in the course of which he actually sat in the back benches of the court prompting his counsel. Probably the greatest compliment paid to Lord Chief Justice Cock-burn as an advocate was from Palmer, the Rugeley poisoner ("my sainted Bill," as his mother always termed him!), who, on being found guilty, handed down to his counsel a slip of paper bearing the following words: "It's the riding that's done
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it," Cockburn having been the prosecuting counsel. Lord Westbury had issued invitations for a "high Judicial" dinner party, the guests in cluding Vice-Chancellor Wood, a saintly old gentleman, who had recently produced a work on "The Continuity of Scripture," and the late Lord Penzance, alike in official and private life the embodiment of austere decor um. To the inexpressible indignation of these eminent worthies, both of whom were accompanied by their ladies, they found the end of the Chancellor's table, that should have been occupied by Lady Westbury, pre sided over, in her absence, by a foreign Countess, more conspicuous for her Jascinations than her fair fame! As may be easily imagined, the drawing room part of the en tertainment was not of long duration, and on reaching home the outraged author of "The Continuity of Scripture" immediately sat down and indited a complaint of four pages to Lord Palmerston, the peccant Chancel lor's ministerial chief. Lord Palmerston's reply, which my informant had the privilege of seeing, was scarcely consolatory. It ran thus: "My dear Wood,—I quite agree that the Chancellor's conduct is inexcusable; but I am sure you will admit that he treated me worse than any of you, for he made me take the lady down to dinner! Sincerely yours, "Palmerston." Mr. Justice Byles was trying a case at Win chester, in which some soldiers of the depot were indicted for a riotous affray with a gang of navvies employed in the neighbor hood. One of these navvies had been under examination for a considerable time with very little practical result, and at last the judge interposing observed to the examining counsel that he appeared to be making very little way with the witness, who had better be allowed to give his evidence after his own fashion. "Come, my man," said the judge reassuringly, "we must get to the end of this. Suppose you tell the story in your own way." "Well, my lord," broke out the navvy, great ly relieved at being delivered from his tor
